Financial Times 13,124 / Mudd

Not too often that Mudd makes a mid-week appearance, and this puzzle felt like a good (non-too-fiendish) fit for a summer’s Thursday.

Across
1 SNOWDROP – snow + drop
6 SLEEPY – lee in spy
9 VARIED – (a Verdi)*, although I was a little discombobulated  at “impromptu” as the anagrind.
10 LIFELINE – Li + feline
11 SHOT – double def’n
12 APOSTROPHE – (pare photo)*. Re: the greengrocer’s apostrophe – which was also alluded to in The Times puzzle a couple of weeks ago (@ 21A).
14 ANTELOPE – ante-lope.  A neat idea, and a pleasant diversion from the plethora of oft-encountered ant+elope gimmicks.
16 TRIP – double def’n
18 BRUT – r in but
19 SMOOTHER – o in smother
21 CHOPSTICKS – double def’n, re: pianists’
22 NAAN – i.e. palindromic
24 TOP BRASS
26 FRIGID – Ooh, er missus. Parental advisory warning….
27 DEPART – EP in dart
28 POLYGAMY – Poly + gamy.  I was held up here temporarily by trying to justify polygone instead.

Down
2 NEATH – hidden
3 WHISTLE STOP – (hit slowest + p)*.  A kind of “on the contrary”, by implication, definition.
4 RADIATOR – RA + (aid)< + tor
5 PULL ONES SOCKS UP –  metaphorical/literal double def’n.
6 SAFETY – fet[-a] in say
7 EEL -[-f]eel
8 PUNCHLINE – are Punch and Judy shows still deemed airworthy on the beaches of Britain? I imagine them being prime targets for the Guardianista assault troops.
13 OUTSTANDING – double def’n
15 NORTH POLE – (person loth)* – S
17 BOASTFUL  – (f + but also)*
20 STRAIT – (artist)*
23 AXIOM – [-t]axi + OM
25 BRA – brain – in. Slightly reminiscent of my all time fave Azed-winning clue.