This meticulously clued seems to have been fully worthy of its Friday slot - 8 hours in only 5 results have been under the 20 minute mark (almost 14 for me) and the Crossword SNITCH is reporting a hardness of 151 (went up from 141 in the time it took to write this preamble!), not quite unprecedented but certainly well up there. A combination of the definition parts being quite difficult to locate with some real attention being required to tease out the wordplay will do that, but even things that probably were alchemically more difficult here, e.g. the fact that it took me three passes through the grid to find an anagram of OR MEDAL, or that I had V__ and still could't see 23ac for the longest time. I think 11ac was my FOI (maybe my only one in on the first pass of across clues!) and 29ac my last.
I really liked this anyway, and what I liked most about it was that it passed my hard-to-articulate Timesiness test: the slight archaism in things like POOH-POOHS and OLD BEAN, and gloriously quirky phrases like SIT-UP-AND-BEG, PRIESTS HOLE, MOCK SUN... the richness of our language is well and truly on display. Bit of Latin, bit of German, bit of Cockney, it's all there. Top marks to the setter, and it's hard to pick a COD: I liked 16dn for "did show behind" though perhaps the surface ends up on the convoluted side... I actually really like 14dn for "rings and knocks", and it's such a good word, perhaps I'll just go with that. I'm expecting a wide variety of nominations today though: over to you!
Across
1 Hurry on by to see holiday apartment (9)
TIMESHARE - HARE [hurry] on TIMES [by]
6 Shop less, arguably, after going around stores (5)
GRASS - hidden reversed in {le}SS ARG{uably}
9 Fat Hilary maybe briefly rocking scale (7)
RICHTER - RICH [fat] + TER{m} [Hilary maybe, "briefly"]
10 Arab I transported across Bible Land (7)
BAVARIA - (ARAB I*) ["transported"] across AV [Bible]
11 Used to be clean after wiping hard (3)
WAS - WAS{h} [clean, "after wiping" H{ard}]
12 Where father hid pistols? Here, possibly (7,4)
PRIESTS HOLE - (PISTOLS HERE*) ["possibly"]
14 Grilled bread and roast at first attempt (6)
PANINI - PAN [roast] + IN I (= IN ONE) [at first attempt]
15 Number swarming around English holiday island (8)
TENERIFE - TEN RIFE [number | swarming] around E [English]
17 Competition needs reserve, it’s readily understood (4,4)
OPEN BOOK - OPEN [competition] needs BOOK [reserve]
19 A record is entertaining, getting top marks (6)
ALPHAS - A LP HAS [a | record | is entertaining]
22 Old man with kid: top in grand and thrilling sport (11)
PARAGLIDING - PA RAG LID IN G [old man (with) kid | top | in | grand]
23 Verse I felt that shows promise (3)
VOW - V OW [verse | I felt that!]
25 Familiar address used by head (3,4)
OLD BEAN - OLD [used] by BEAN [head]
27 Following on, batting to open the day (7)
RETINUE - RE [on] + IN [batting] "to open" TUE [the day]
28 A poem regularly reflecting on mostly sad state of islands (5)
SAMOA - reverse A {p}O{e}M on SA{d}
29 Not one boy attending Ladies College (9)
DISUNITED - TED [boy] attending DIS UNI [Ladies | College]
Down
1 Called out thanks to cast (5)
THREW - homophone of THROUGH ["called out" thanks to]
2 Bright spot in practice tests international body (4,3)
MOCK SUN - MOCKS UN [practice tests | international body]
3 Sort of bike offering exercise, with appeal (3-2-3-3)
SIT-UP-AND-BEG - SIT-UP AND BEG [exercise | with | appeal]
4 A hand put round brother, cowering? (6)
AFRAID - A AID [a | hand] put round FR [brother]
5 In relief, the writer turned, told what to do? (8)
EMBOSSED - reverse ME [the writer "turned"] + BOSSED [told what to do]
6 Sir’s ultimately condescending — and sort of light (3)
GUV - {condescendin}G + UV [sort of light]
7 Men arriving in time to fool one: that’s known in advance (1,6)
A PRIORI - OR [men] "arriving in" APR I = (April 1st) [time to fool] + I [one]
8 Forged letters written out in bold (9)
SHAMELESS - SHAM [forged] + EL ESS [two letters "written out"]
13 Quiet pressman not having enough to explain (4,5,2)
SHED LIGHT ON - SH ED [quiet | pressman] + LIGHT ON [not having enough]
14 Upset, small twin rings and knocks (4-5)
POOH-POOHS - reverse S HOOP HOOP [small | twin rings]
16 Did show behind curtains Italian backed and directed (8)
MOTIONED - MOONED [did show behind] "curtains" IT reversed [Italian "backed"]
18 Title or medal for wrestling (7)
EARLDOM - (OR MEDAL*) ["for wrestling"]
20 Deprived person of sanctuary with books (4-3)
HAVE-NOT - HAVEN OT [sanctuary (with) books]
21 Threads of story remain incomplete (6)
FIBRES - FIB RES{t} [story | remain, "incomplete"]
24 One involved in joint exercise (5)
WIELD - I [one] "involved in" WELD [joint]
26 Girl’s welcome from the floor (3)
EVA - upside-down AVE [welcome "from the floor"]
I really liked this anyway, and what I liked most about it was that it passed my hard-to-articulate Timesiness test: the slight archaism in things like POOH-POOHS and OLD BEAN, and gloriously quirky phrases like SIT-UP-AND-BEG, PRIESTS HOLE, MOCK SUN... the richness of our language is well and truly on display. Bit of Latin, bit of German, bit of Cockney, it's all there. Top marks to the setter, and it's hard to pick a COD: I liked 16dn for "did show behind" though perhaps the surface ends up on the convoluted side... I actually really like 14dn for "rings and knocks", and it's such a good word, perhaps I'll just go with that. I'm expecting a wide variety of nominations today though: over to you!
Across
1 Hurry on by to see holiday apartment (9)
TIMESHARE - HARE [hurry] on TIMES [by]
6 Shop less, arguably, after going around stores (5)
GRASS - hidden reversed in {le}SS ARG{uably}
9 Fat Hilary maybe briefly rocking scale (7)
RICHTER - RICH [fat] + TER{m} [Hilary maybe, "briefly"]
10 Arab I transported across Bible Land (7)
BAVARIA - (ARAB I*) ["transported"] across AV [Bible]
11 Used to be clean after wiping hard (3)
WAS - WAS{h} [clean, "after wiping" H{ard}]
12 Where father hid pistols? Here, possibly (7,4)
PRIESTS HOLE - (PISTOLS HERE*) ["possibly"]
14 Grilled bread and roast at first attempt (6)
PANINI - PAN [roast] + IN I (= IN ONE) [at first attempt]
15 Number swarming around English holiday island (8)
TENERIFE - TEN RIFE [number | swarming] around E [English]
17 Competition needs reserve, it’s readily understood (4,4)
OPEN BOOK - OPEN [competition] needs BOOK [reserve]
19 A record is entertaining, getting top marks (6)
ALPHAS - A LP HAS [a | record | is entertaining]
22 Old man with kid: top in grand and thrilling sport (11)
PARAGLIDING - PA RAG LID IN G [old man (with) kid | top | in | grand]
23 Verse I felt that shows promise (3)
VOW - V OW [verse | I felt that!]
25 Familiar address used by head (3,4)
OLD BEAN - OLD [used] by BEAN [head]
27 Following on, batting to open the day (7)
RETINUE - RE [on] + IN [batting] "to open" TUE [the day]
28 A poem regularly reflecting on mostly sad state of islands (5)
SAMOA - reverse A {p}O{e}M on SA{d}
29 Not one boy attending Ladies College (9)
DISUNITED - TED [boy] attending DIS UNI [Ladies | College]
Down
1 Called out thanks to cast (5)
THREW - homophone of THROUGH ["called out" thanks to]
2 Bright spot in practice tests international body (4,3)
MOCK SUN - MOCKS UN [practice tests | international body]
3 Sort of bike offering exercise, with appeal (3-2-3-3)
SIT-UP-AND-BEG - SIT-UP AND BEG [exercise | with | appeal]
4 A hand put round brother, cowering? (6)
AFRAID - A AID [a | hand] put round FR [brother]
5 In relief, the writer turned, told what to do? (8)
EMBOSSED - reverse ME [the writer "turned"] + BOSSED [told what to do]
6 Sir’s ultimately condescending — and sort of light (3)
GUV - {condescendin}G + UV [sort of light]
7 Men arriving in time to fool one: that’s known in advance (1,6)
A PRIORI - OR [men] "arriving in" APR I = (April 1st) [time to fool] + I [one]
8 Forged letters written out in bold (9)
SHAMELESS - SHAM [forged] + EL ESS [two letters "written out"]
13 Quiet pressman not having enough to explain (4,5,2)
SHED LIGHT ON - SH ED [quiet | pressman] + LIGHT ON [not having enough]
14 Upset, small twin rings and knocks (4-5)
POOH-POOHS - reverse S HOOP HOOP [small | twin rings]
16 Did show behind curtains Italian backed and directed (8)
MOTIONED - MOONED [did show behind] "curtains" IT reversed [Italian "backed"]
18 Title or medal for wrestling (7)
EARLDOM - (OR MEDAL*) ["for wrestling"]
20 Deprived person of sanctuary with books (4-3)
HAVE-NOT - HAVEN OT [sanctuary (with) books]
21 Threads of story remain incomplete (6)
FIBRES - FIB RES{t} [story | remain, "incomplete"]
24 One involved in joint exercise (5)
WIELD - I [one] "involved in" WELD [joint]
26 Girl’s welcome from the floor (3)
EVA - upside-down AVE [welcome "from the floor"]