(Apologies for the late post.) This turned out okay in the end for me despite a slow start. Thanks Phssthpok for the enjoyment. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle. Please enclose any comments on them in double brackets. Thank you.]]
Across
1 Decide to invent demons in fantasy (4,2,4,4)
MAKE UP ONE’S MIND : Edit.note. Thanks to Gaufrid: MAKE UP(to invent) anagram of( fantasy ) DEMONS IN. Apologies; I missed the wordplay, thinking it was just a cd.
10 Is essence of capsicum a mild flavour? (5)
UMAMI : Hidden in(essence of) “capsicum a mild “.
Answer: From the Japanese, a strong meaty taste of glutamates and certain amino acids
11 Keeping a record of top job left out (9)
ARCHIVING : ARCH(top;principal, as in arch-bishop, enemy, etc.) + “living”(the job one does for a living) minus(out) abbrev. for “left”.
12 Crazy fool swallows contents of verse (7)
BERSERK : BERK(British slang for a fool) containing(swallows) the 3 innermost letters(contents of) “verse”.
13 Drug planted in fragile craft (7)
SLEIGHT : E(slang abbrev. for the drug. Ecstasy) contained in(planted in) SLIGHT(of build;featherweight;fragile).
Answer: Trickery;cunning;craft.
14 Some brass baths held acid, originally (5)
TUBAS : TUBS(baths) containing(held) the first letter of(originally) “acid“.
Answer: Some instruments in the brass section of a band, made of brass, naturally.
16 One who pranced at choreography? (3,6)
TAP DANCER : Anagram of(choreography) “pranced at“. A WIWD(wordplay intertwined with definition) clue.
19 Sin, as priest wrote back, leads to the opposite (4,5)
VICE VERSA : VICE(a sin) + reversal of(wrote back) [ AS + REV(short for “reverend”;form of address for a priest) ].
20 Wiped out after placing a thousand on a financial derivative (5)
KAPUT : K(abbrev. for one thousand) plus(… thousand on) + PUT(aka a “put option”, where a buyer of the option has the right but not the obligation to sell at a specified price and date, a financial instrument , which latter could be a derivative, whose value, as the name indicates, is dependent on the value of other specified financial instruments ).
Answer: Demolished;ruined.
22 Cut off twist of hair (7)
TOPKNOT : TOP(cut off at the head) + KNOT(a twist).
25 Spirit of leader missing from squat via turmoil (7)
AQUAVIT : Anagram of(turmoil) [ the first letter deleted from(leader missing from) “squat” + VIA ].
27 Where to post Cockney’s plea for female pugilism? (6,3)
LETTER BOX : Homophone of(?) “let ‘er box”, how a Cockney would plead on behalf of a female pugilist for her to box. Strictly speaking, shouldn’t there be a homophone indicator?
28 Tribunal finds in favour of hesitation (5)
FORUM : FOR(in favour of) + UM(an expression of hesitation).
29 Resistant material made from satin weave without reinforcement (9,5)
STAINLESS STEEL : Anagram of(weave) SATIN + [LESS STEEL](minus reinforcement, something to harden something else, usually made of, or like, steel).
Down
2 I care oxygen ban is revised – not! (9)
ANAEROBIC : Anagram of(is revised) [I CARE + O(chemical symbol for the element oxygen) + BAN].
Answer: Descriptive of a life form that doesn’t require oxygen to survive, and, if there were an oxygen ban, wouldn’t care if it were lifted or not. Another fine WIWD clue.
3 Online publication features some wheeziness (1-4)
E-ZINE : Hidden in(features some) “wheeziness “.
Answer: Short for an electronic magazine on the Internet.
4 Wag rows in gym class with queen (9)
PRANKSTER : RANKS(rows, as of taxis, say) contained in(in) PT(abbrev. for “physical training”;gymclass) plus(with) ER(abbrev. for “Elizabeth Regina”;the Queen).
Defn: A jocular person.
5 Steals from prisons (5)
NICKS : Double defn. and Answers: 1st: Slang for steals;pinches; and 2nd: Slang for prisons, where you may find those who were caught stealing.
6 Storage for tips of spearmint, pepper (ice, Cayenne), evening rosemary and chicory kernels? (5,4)
SPICE RACK : The first letters of each word, respectively, in(tips of) “spearmint, pepper (ice, Cayenne), evening rosemary and chicory kernels “. Another fine WIWD clue as each of those words is spicy or a spice, except “ice”, and I could find only one picture captioned “evening rosemary” on the net, but no other references. The picture seems to be of the variety of rosemary with blue flowers. Enlightenment, anyone please?
7 It’s sweet when I chant aloud (5)
ICING : Homophone of(aloud) “I sing(to chant)”.
8 Sirius Black material follows ghosts (3,4)
DOG STAR : TAR(black, sticky material) placed below(follows, in a down clue) DOGS(ghosts as a verb;haunts;persistently hangs around).
9 Freeze in response to marsupial (6)
NUMBAT : NUMB(to freeze, say, your fingers, until there is no more feeling in them) + AT(in response to;to be afftected by, as in “don’t get angry at me”).
Answer: An Australian marsupial.
15 Spotted occasion to fill in the next clue (9)
SEVENTEEN : SEEN(spotted;noticed) containing(… to fill in) EVENT(an occasion;a happening).
Answer: The number of the next clue in this puzzle.
17 In assemblies, he plans a vote rigging (9)
PHALANXES : Anagram of(rigging) [ HE PLANS A + X(indication of a vote) ].
Answer: An ancient battle formation, or now, any closely ranked or mass of people.
18 Rebel besieged nobleman, grabbing victory in islands (4,5)
CAPE VERDE : CADE(William, an English rebel of ) containing(besieged) { PEER(a nobleman) containing(grabbing) V(the sign for “victory”, famously flashed by Churchill) }
19 Food is very small – not large, small (7)
VITTLES : V(abbrev. for “very”) + “little”(small) minus(not) “l”(abbrev. for “large”) + S(abbrev. for “small”). Abbrevs. galore.
Answer: An obsolete or dialect form of “victuals”;food provisions.
21 Signs document after betting (6)
TOTEMS : MS(abbrev. for a manuscript;a type of document) placed below(after, in a down clue) TOTE(a betting system for horse races, shortened from “totalisator”).
23 Bread standing on end (5)
PITTA : Reversal of(standing on end, in a down clue) [AT TIP](at;on the end;tip). I think “on end” is doubling up.
Answer: Also spelled “pita”.
24 Board put on shelf (5)
TABLE : Double defn: and Answer: 1st: A table; and 2nd: A level hard surface. I might be missing something here.
26 One following boxed out of shape (5)
UNFIT : UNIT(quantity of one) containing(boxed) F(abbrev. for “following”).
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Thanks scchua
You seem to have missed some wordplay in 1ac:
MAKE UP (to invent) anagram (fantasy) of DEMONS IN
Thanks Gaufrid, my error, blog amended.
Hi scchua.
In 23dn, I think “standing” is a sufficient reversal indicator, so there is no double duty.
Hi Pelham, re 23dn, I thought of that too, but wouldn’t “standing” only indicate a vertical orientation. Come to think of it, “standing on end” would only be good as a reversal indicator if the end it’s standing on is its top end.
I wondered if 24a was meant to be a triple definition with “put on” akin to “put forward” or “put on agenda”=”table”. Not sure it really works though – but “put on” seems superfluous otherwise.
With regard to clue 24D, another meaning of table is to hold back until sometime later, ie the same as to shelve or put on shelf.
Thanks scchua and Phssthpok, I particularly like SEVENTEEN.
[[could pic 3 refer to CAPE VERDE’s prominence as a destination for bird-watchers?, pic 4 shows toes, whose skeletal components are phalanges/phalanxes]]
Thanks for your comments. Re 24d I think you’ve got it, AID.
[[Muffyword, pic 4 is correct, but your pic 3 answer is a bit cryptic, unless it’s meant for pic 2, whose answer is something else.]]
[[Sorry, I did mean pic 2 – which looks like a banded PITTA bird, whichI suspect would only accidently be seen at CAPE VERDE]]
[[Pic 2 PITTA is right. I’ll add links below the pics for answers to 1 and 3.]]