Apologies for the tardy post, and thanks to Gaufrid for the welcome prod in the right direction!
Quite a tough solve, this one, I thought, though to help us there’s a nice Battle of Trafalgar theme going on. This is a nod to the day of publication – the 21st of October – being the 207th anniversary of the event. Glow-worm’s customary inventive wordplay was very much in evidence, so I hope I managed to explain things. My understanding of 13dn in particular feels a bit wobbly.
| Across | ||
| 1 | TRAFALGAR | Mariner admitting flagrant loss of trust transformed battle (9) |
| FLAGRA[nt]* in TAR. The “loss of trust” signals the removal of the National Trust from the anagrist | ||
| 6 | HEATH | Moor as PM (5) |
| dd., referring to Edward Heath | ||
| 9 | ASSET | Nineties account returned with advantage (5) |
| TESSA<. For youngsters, or those from outside these Isles, the TESSA was a type of tax-efficient savings account, a precursor to the ISA | ||
| 10 | BUFFET CAR | Coach expert to cater innovatively (6,3) |
| BUFF + CATER* | ||
| 11,28 | KISS ME HARDY | Last request from X tough on setter (4,2,5) |
| KISS (“X”) + ME + HARDY | ||
| 12 | IRRITANT | Miss Hayworth’s aboard faulty train — a damned nuisance… (8) |
| RITA in TR[a]IN* | ||
| 14 | DISTRAIN | … Requisition one on the Underground? (8) |
| DISTRAIN. Clever, Dis being the underworld, I think. | ||
| 15 | GUSTO | Returning fillet of turbot suggests zeal (5) |
| [turb]OT SUG[gests]< | ||
| 17 | NEGEV | Origins of geological events seen in Nevada desert region (5) |
| G[eological] E[vents] in NEVada | ||
| 19 | NAUTICAL | Like 8 21, and not a soft touch, by the sound of it (8) |
| hom. of “nor tickle” | ||
| 22 | ANARCHIC | Revolutionary style by an Arabian (8) |
| AN ARabian + CHIC | ||
| 24 | TEE-HEE | Steer sheep for shearing ? that’s a giggle! (3-3) |
| [s]TEE[r] [s]HEE[p] | ||
| 26 | IMBROGLIO | Setter’s sibling beginning to get picture over quandary (9) |
| I‘M + BRO + G[et] + OIL< | ||
| 27 | IOTAS | Jots heading down in strange patois (5) |
| [p]ATOIS* | ||
| 29 | RED ENSIGN | New designer employed as standard (3,6) |
| (New DESIGNER)* | ||
| Down | ||
| 1 | TRACKS | Trails of Connexion on TV coming up over weekend (6) |
| [wee]K in SCART< | ||
| 2 | ASSISTING | Serving “Policeman” goes after lassie’s heart (9) |
| [l]ASSI[e] + STING. Sting of course being the bass player and drummer in popular beat combo The Police. | ||
| 3 | ATTEMPT | “Endeavour” is at provisional start of trip (7) |
| AT + TEMP + T[rip] | ||
| 4 | GOBY | Fish move past (4) |
| GO BY | ||
| 5 | REFERENDUM | Split in lower ranks of Lyceum after official vote (10) |
| REF + (REND in [lyc]EUM) | ||
| 6 | HEELING | Listing forwards’ duty? (7) |
| I assume this to be a dd., the second definition being a rugby reference, in that the forwards are the chaps in the scrum who use their heels to propel the ball backwards. | ||
| 7 | ACCRA | Port bow rises with changeable current (5) |
| Alternating Current + ARC< | ||
| 8,21 | HORATIO NELSON | Allowance in latitude he soon worked out – aboard 18? (7,6) |
| RATION in (Latitude + HE SOON)* | ||
| 13 | PAINKILLER | Father Mark’s unfortunate – Casualty is anodyne (10) |
| PA + INK + ILLER, possibly, though I’m not 100% convinced I see how that works | ||
| 16 | SPAGHETTI | Fare from Belgian town slum area reduced on 4th of April? (9) |
| SPA + GHETT[o] + [apr]I[l] | ||
| 17 | NEARISH | Operation on hernia’s quite imminent (7) |
| HERNIA‘S* | ||
| 18 | VICTORY | Endlessly failing Conservative achieves success (7) |
| VIC[e] + TORY | ||
| 20 | IBERIAN | Former Caucasian secret policeman held in Indiana (7) |
| BERIA in INdiana. Apparently Beria were indeed Soviet secret police force. | ||
| 23 | AMBER | “Proceed with caution” in child-free room (5) |
| [ch]AMBER | ||
| 25 | WOAD | Colouring Woss’s way? (4) |
| from ROAD, as pronounced perhaps by Jonathan Ross | ||
*= anagram; < = reversed; [] = removed; hom = homophone
I think it’s ILL ER, Simon. Thanks to you and Glow-worm
I agree with your reading of 6dn. Nice to see a reference to the oval ball game for a change. And I concur with nmsindy on 13dn – ER (for Emergency Room) is an American equivalent for Casualty.
I didn’t find this too difficult, although the NW corner proved a little slow.