Financial Times 14,606 by Mudd

Prize puzzle from the Weekend FT of April 26, 2014

This puzzle was fun! Looking back on it and explaining the clues now, it also seems unusually tricky but I managed to complete it fairly quickly. I think the outstanding clues here are 1A (ALPHABETICALLY), 11A (MIDSUMMER), 16A (OWNERLESS) and 29A (DIAMOND WEDDING).

ACROSS
1 All five initials ordered thus? (14)
ALPHABETICALLY – A[ll] F[ive] I[nitials] O[rdered] T[hus] are in alphabetical order!
10 Reversible uniform? (5)
LEVEL – palindrome
11 21st of June 2000? (9)
MIDSUMMER – MM (2000 in Roman numerals) is mid-suMMer
12 Instrument of the past present imperfect (7)
SERPENT – anagram of PRESENT. This is a musical instrument of olden times but not one I knew of.
13 A disappointment to be deflated? (3-4)
LET-DOWN – double definition
14 Not exactly a fight (5)
ABOUT – A (a) + BOUT (fight)
16 Cold heart ripped from Orson Welles, devilish – but not possessed (9)
OWNERLESS – anagram of ORS[O]N WE[L]LES. What a great find!
19 Panamanian city is eager to evacuate settler (9)
COLONISER – COLON (Panamanian city) + IS (is) + E[age]R
20 Dwarf among dumb outsiders, idiot (5)
DWEEB – WEE (dwarf) in D[um]B
22 Clean queen passing through gate (7)
STERILE – ER (queen) in STILE (gate)
25 M25 thus gripped in exam (7)
ORBITAL – BIT (gripped) in ORAL (exam)
27 Appetisers for the present, then? One for afters (9)
ANTIPASTI – ANTI-PAST (the present, then?) + I (one)
28 Solver and setter get on in custom (5)
USAGE – US (solver and setter) + AGE (get on)
29 Goddamned wind, I gathered, in celebration of the elderly? (7,7)
DIAMOND WEDDING – anagram of GODDAMNED WIND I

DOWN
2 Kitty’s after meat in the city (9)
LIVERPOOL – LIVER (meat) + POOL (kitty)
3 Well outside five – cut that to 2.5? (5)
HALVE – V (five) in HALE (well)
4 Is pregnancy so pushy? (9)
BUMPTIOUS – double/cryptic definition
5 Rising and falling, boy, it rises! (5)
TIDAL – LAD (boy) + IT (it) all backwards
6 Our decent letters getting lost, returned (9)
COUNTERED – anagram of OUR DECENT
7 Member ending in politburo – that’s neither here nor there (5)
LIMBO – LIMB (member) + [politbur]O
8 Stony broke, father splits pants (1-6)
Y-FRONTS – FR (father) in anagram of STONY
9 Simian regularly after mountain-climbing – it’s in the blood (6)
PLASMA – ALP (mountain) backwards + S[i]M[i]A[n]
15 Racketeer working in Preston (6,3)
TENNIS PRO – anagram of IN PRESTON
17 Doctor is near, gripping bed to administer drug (9)
NARCOTISE – COT (bed) in anagram of IS NEAR
18 Trouble when looking east, no bus, but —- —–? (3,6)
EYE STRAIN – E (east) + YES TRAIN (no bus?)
19 Mild oath turning up after curse, not entirely sauce! (7)
CUSTARD – CUS[s] (curse, not entirely) + DRAT (mild oath) backwards
21 Stake describing rotten post (6)
BILLET – ILL (rotten) in BET (stake)
23 More old gin, unfinished (5)
EXTRA – EX (old) + TRA[p] (gin unfinished)
24 A little nausea, sedated, so relaxed (5)
EASED – hidden word
26 Sure is spring! (5)
BOUND – double definition