I think that the ‘trip’ is justified to nail down the definition – as I think you are suggesting.

Michelle @5

It is remarkable how often there is more than one way to parse an answer. Sometimes one is so clearly preferable that one can put it down as the setter’s intention (even if I tend to come up with the other), sometimes there is not much to choose between them.

thanks for your comment. I have noticed in the past that there were some “strange” (in my opinion) parsings referring to computer keyboard layouts that I would never have thought of. That’s why I even dared to think that COM = command/order.

Anyway, as I have read here, the important thing is to solve the clue!

A task or errand incumbent or undertaken

which seems fairly conclusive.

I had a vague feeling that ‘butty’ had something to do with barges, but I am not sure if I had come across this meaning somewhere before or it was a good guess. Of course, I looked it up before committing myself to the blog, along with AC/DC (pop music is not one of my strong points), but those were the only references that I needed.

Thanks PeterO for a good blog. KD @3; I think the business trip is in the sense of a trip to a business (i.e. a shop) Yes, you and me running errands for our mums. I also thought BARGEE was fair enough, although I didn’t know the butty=barge meaning. Michelle @2; good to see you trying a different parsing. You are right that ‘com’ can be an abbreviation for command as here. In this strange crosswordland some abbreviations are more equal than others – if it doesn’t appear in Collins or Chambers, it’s often not used.

I particularly liked BRAGGART, HOAX and RUEFUL.

There was some clever clueing – GRADUATE and HEAVY METAL, for example – but there was some elaborate wordplay elsewhere which might have proved tricky for some solvers (this one, for example).

I’m afraid I gave up and cheated on BARGEE. Not a great clue in my opinion. And ERRAND for ‘business trip’ is not great either, I don’t think. When I was little, I would often run an errand for our mam, but I can’t ever remember there being a business element to it.

Thanks to Peter for the blog and to Hectence for the puzzle. I’m sure the latter will get over her attachment to Man City if she just gives it enough time …

I had parsed it as definition = ‘grumble about’. COM (order = command = ‘com’ abbreviation as found on computer keyboard) + PLAIN (without any fuss)

There were so many clues that I liked, especially HOAX, RUB OUT, BRAGGART, STEALTHILY, NIGHTCAP & ERRAND.

I couldn’t fully parse 12a BARGEE which I understood as “one bumped/barged into” but I could not parse the “by man with butty” bit. (Yes, I was led astray by thinking ‘butty’ = ‘sandwich’).

Thanks for the blog, PeterO.