A relatively gentle exercise that didn’t require too many trips to Chambers. I got stuck though on the NE corner for a long time (as long as the rest of the puzzle took) for some reason. Interesting if others experienced this as well. Definitions underlined.
Across
1 Opera by Harty without skill, idle (7)
WORKS,H[art]Y – plural opus=work is opera
7 Mounted exercise across the border? (4)
RAID – Scots rode I guess and &lit.
10 Multiple Aussie wager, as placed by crooked lad (relative involved) (9)
QUA,D(REL)LA – qua = as and rel=relative in lad*. It’s an Australian bet involving the last four horses (unrelated to the apocalypse).
11 Whimper, cross by the sound of it (4)
MEWL=”mule” which is a cross (of a horse and a donkey)
12 Confusion caused by Middle East dial reading backwards (6)
ME,SSUP – rev(puss=face=dial). One of the last clues solved.
13 Cost etc, miscalculated, one limited by precisian (8, 2 words)
PRI(CE T,A)G – a prig is a precisian (overly officious) etc*,a in prig. // Corrected thanks to Norman.
15 Calendar includes off-key panto turn combining melodies (12)
C(ONTRAPUNT)AL – (panto turn)* in cal[endar]
18 Shylock’s speciality, giving us one, note included (6)
US,A(N)CE – variant of usury
19 Hot? That is wrong as part of word describing winter (6)
H,IE,MAL – new word for me – indeed related to winter. Hiems=winter is in Chambers.
22 Re cyst, dad has first lanced, so out excitedly embracing mum (12)
[f]ATHER,O(MA)TOUS – adjective describing a cyst (atheroma). ma=mum in (so out)*
24 In plucky style, loose girl restricts allure with time, yen ending (8)
GR(IT,T)IL,Y – IT=sex appeal, T in girl*
26 Bard’s pen at work around house (6)
IN(HO)OP – Shak. enclosure.
27 Bananas turning pink (4)
STAB – rev(bats=banana) and pink=stab as a verb.
28 Scruffy dresser, mind enveloped in curled parchment (9)
S(CARE)CROW – scrow=scroll
29 Exploit, kind requiring money up front (4)
M,ILK
30 Feature of arms become soft around death (7)
B(END)LET – heraldic feature. I spent a long time assuming D=abbrev(death) only to realize eventually that END=death and that BLET=”incipient internal decay in fruit” thus “become soft”. Which by the way means something quite different in Russian (at least that’s what it sounds like to me). Oh well.
Down
1 Young woman aged, with scamp (4)
W,IMP – archaic young woman.
2 I toy with poser idly, tedium resulting (9)
OPEROSITY – (I toy, poser)*. Tedious.
3 Old pennies, out and in? It takes you back (6)
RE(WIN)D – both red and win are obs. words for penny.
4 Spruces roughly round legendary vessel, English – we’ll oversee business on voyage (12)
SUPERC(ARGO,E)S – cargo supervisors basically. Argo (our vessel of legend), E in spruces*
5 What causes a halt to work, including end of labour? (6)
HA(R)TAL – a strike in India. R in (a halt)* — basically an &lit.
6 Purge disposed of post assigned? Just a taster (12)
PREGU*,STATION
7 Ringing declamation about organ coming up (8)
R(ESON)ANT – rev(nose=organ) in rant
8 Item served in meal’s overdone (4)
ALSO – hidden. Item is archaic “furthermore”.
9 Day fruit’s beginning to deteriorate, with blotches on (7)
D,APPLE,D – for some reason hard clue for me but once solved I’m not sure why.
14 First in slips, error-free with left, not right, pouched (9)
S,ACCULATE – having sacs, i.e. pouched, Replace R in accurate=error-free with L.
16 What earns gardener a day’s pay, mower kit deployed? (8)
TIMEWORK – i.e. not piecework — (mower kit)* but I would have expected the definition to have been: “what earns e.g. a gardener…”.
17 Right one fills opening – displaying this distinctive quality? (7)
CHA(R,I)SM – or charisma.
20 Before catching plane abroad, I escaped a revolution (6)
E(MIG)RE – MIG is a Russian plane.
21 Nothing in summons to do with sex? (6)
C(O)ITAL – ref. coitus. Cital=summons.
23 Consumed in Sindh, a lentil puree (4)
DHAL – hidden &lit.
25 Once beaten, and still retaining opening from bullwhip (4)
Y(B)ET – archaic beaten.
Thank you ilan. Easy enough on the whole although I couldn’t get rewind, the only thing I could think of was rowing, oh well.
Thanks for explaining REWIND and MESS UP, which were the ones where I couldn’t figure out the wordplay. I liked WORK SHY and DHAL as clues.
Speaking of REWIND, this was a classic case of backing into a solution from what seemed to be the definition. The checked crossing letters kind of made REWIND inevitable. Now for the “old pennies” — at first only “d” and “as” and “denari” came to mind. But some memory of a “red cent” (yes, Americanese) made me wonder — and after a trip to Chambers, I had both red and win.
13a
This is of course (etc* + a) in prig
17d
Timework is NOT Piecework.
A gardener is paid for the TIME he spends gardening.
As opposed to people who are paid for the number of items (PIECES) they produce.
Thanks Norman! Both corrected.
Thanks all
I also struggled with last in, rewind.I had no red as penny to recall so remained bemused until now.