A bit on the hard side for an IoS. Thanks to Poins. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Lay a charge against heartless trooper from the east (6)
REPORT : Reversal of(… from the east, in an across clue) “trooper” minus its middle letter(heartless …).
4 Government to move quickly following princess’s loss of reputation (8)
DISGRACE : [ G(abbrev. for “government”) + RACE(to move quickly) ] placed after(following) DI(short for Diana, late princess)‘S.
9 Place firmly in position to keep top of it from bending easily (6)
PLIANT : PLANT(to place firmly in position) containing(to keep) the 1st letter of(top of) “it “.
10 Flower girl (8)
VERONICA : Double defn.
12 Lively pair oddly attending religious ceremony in Swaziland (8)
SPIRITED : [ The 1st and 3rd letters of(… oddly) “pair” plus(attending) RITE(a religious ceremony) ] contained in(in) SD(International Vehicle Registration code for Swaziland).
13 Drunk with Bangladesh’s opener before game (6)
BLOTTO : The 1st letter of(…’s opener) “Bangladesh” plus(before) LOTTOA(a game of chance).
15 Leave the centre of Exeter around eleven (4)
EXIT : The middle 2 letters of(the centre of) “Exeter ” containing(around) XI(Roman numeral for “eleven”).
16 English international returns to face me, the one out in front (10)
PACESETTER : Reversal of(… returns) [ E(abbrev. for “English”) + CAP(a player representing his/her country in international sports like football) ] plus(to face) SETTER(using “me” as the self-referential pronoun).
19 Old fellows against backing Penny, a female prodigy (10)
PHENOMENON : [ O(abbrev. for “old”) + MEN(fellows) + ON(against, as in “to lean on the back of the chair”) ] placed after(backing) [ P(abbrev. for “penny”, the currency unit) + HEN(the female of the species) ].
20 Attempt to secure rector’s support (4)
PROP : POP(a try;an attempt, as in “take a pop at solving crosswords”) containing(to secure) R(abbrev. for “rector”).
23 Be fretful long after area is shelled (6)
REPINE : PINE(to long for;to yearn) placed after(after) “area” minus its 1st and last letters(is shelled).
25 Hesitation over standing by exact limit (8)
RESTRICT : Reversal of(… over) ER(an expression of hesitation) plus(standing by) STRICT(exact, as in “a strict interpretation of the rules”).
Defn: … as a verb.
27 Happening at university to almost everyone after a time (8)
EVENTUAL : EVENT(a happening) plus(at) U(abbrev. for “university”) plus(to) “all”(everyone, as in “thanks to all”) minus its last letter(almost …).
28 Fish brought back recently get spread out (6)
DILATE : Reversal of(… brought back) ID(a fish species? I can only found “ide”, which in Swedish is “id”) + LATE(recently? I think “lately” not “late” is the correct synonym, as in “he has been behaving strangely lately/recently”.)
29 Garment from River Island splitting time and time again (3,5)
TEE SHIRT : TEES(the English river) + I(abbrev. for “island”) contained in(splitting) [ HR(abbrev. for “hour”, a period of time) plus(and … again) T(symbol for “time” in physics) ].
30 Exclusive religious group embracing the essence of self (6)
SELECT : SECT(a religious group) containing(embracing) the middle 2 letters of(the essence of) “self“.
Down
1 Sally in tears over ring found by a couple from Tenby (7)
RIPOSTE : RIPS(tears;pulls apart, as in “she rips his shirt off”) containing(over) O(letter signifying a ring or ring shape) plus(found by) the 1st 2 letters of(a couple from) “Tenby“.
Defn: A retort.
2 Ancient priest, following an example, volunteers to quit (9)
PRIMITIVE : PR(abbrev. for “priest”) + “imitative”(following an example;mimicking) minus(… to quit) TA(abbrev. for the Territorial Army, consisting of volunteers).
3 Rank outsiders from Ireland managed to overcome City earlier (6)
RANCID : The 1st and last letters of(outsiders from) “Ireland” placed below(… earlier) [ RAN(managed, as in “ran an organization”) placed above(to overcome, in a down clue) C(abbrev. for “City”)].
5 Assistant’s first to get to the bottom of plan (4)
IDEA : AIDE(an assistant) with its 1st letter(…’s first) moving to last position(to get to the bottom of, in a down clue).
6 Deliveries of nuts seen outside front of grocer’s (8)
GOOGLIES : GOOLIES(like “nuts”, slang for “testicles”) containing(outside) the 1st letter of(front of) “grocer’s“.
Defn: … bowled in cricket, where the ball swerves in one direction, but breaks in the other.
7 Belonging to the most famous group in Portugal is terrific (1-4)
A-LIST : Hidden in(in) “Portugal is terrific“.
8 Charm offensive finally has Italian running back to engage you in conversation (7)
ENAMOUR : The last letter of(… finally) “offensive” plus(has) reversal of(… running back) ROMAN(one from the Italian Eternal City or one from the ancient Republic or Empire) containing(to engage) U(“you” as it is pronounced;in conversation).
11 Considered action to take over club (7)
DEBATED : DEED(action;an act) containing(to take over) BAT(a club).
14 Feel better about having insurance (7)
RECOVER : RE(about;in reference to) plus(having) COVER(insurance,as in “do you have cover for any potential loss?”)
17 Stop for a short time after queen enters gallery (9)
TERMINATE : [ MIN(abbrev. for “minute”, a short period of time) placed below(after, in a down clue) ER(abbrev. for “Elizabeth Regina”, the Queen) ] contained in(enters) TATE(any of the network of art galleries in London, Liverpool and St. Ives).
18 First-rate crack (3-5)
TOP-NOTCH : I’m not sure how to parse this. It seems the setter intended this to be a double defn. clue, even though “first-rate”, “crack” and “top-notch” are all synonymous to one another. Is there another meaning common to only 2 of them?
19 Misconstrue part involving clergyman supporting soldiers in revolution (7)
PERVERT : PT(abbrev. for “part”) containing(involving) reversal of(… in revolution) [REV(abbrev. for “Reverend”, a clergyman) + RE(abbrev. for the Royal Engineers of the British Army) ].
The clue construction seems a bit loose: “supporting” in a down clue would indicate that RE comes before REV, leading to a reversal of [REREV]
21 Endless nonsense about limit of understanding (7)
PATIENT : “pants”(slang for nonsense;something worthless) minus its last letter(Endless …) containing(about) TIE(to limit;to restrict, as in “my not possessing a vehicle ties me in my getting about”)
Defn: and Answer: …, as adjectives.
22 Cancel industrial action (6)
STRIKE : Double defn.
24 Vexation shown by extremely perverse girl (5)
PEEVE : The 1st and last letters of(extremely) “perverse” + EVE(a girl’s name).
26 Former PM heading off for a place of seclusion (4)
LAIR : “Blair”(Tony, former prime minister of the UK) minus its 1st letter(heading off).
6A Googlies are bowled by a leg-spinner and they are deliveries that spin the opposite way to the bowler’s usual deliveries, though bowled with the same action. Nothing to do with swerve. The movement is off the pitch, not in the air. Surprised Pelham Barton hasn’t checked in.
Also puzzled by 28A.
18D My guess was that a “top notch” could be a first-rate crack”, if the notch made in, say, a piece of wood were considered a crack, which it sort of is. Open to other suggestions.
24D My dictionary does give “peeve” as a noun, though I’m not sure I have ever heard it used in that way.
Thanks to Poins and scchua.
Thanks scchua
Regarding 28ac, Chambers has “id or ide – a fish (Leuciscus idus), closely related to the chub, inhabiting fresh water in N Europe” and under ‘late’ it has ‘recently’ (adverb).
Gaufrid@2, my objection is that if I were to substitute “late” for “recently” in a proper sentence, I would have to use “of late”, not just “late”. Alternatively, “lately” as I suggested.
scchua
Sorry, but Collins agrees with Chambers, quote: “recently; lately – as late as yesterday he was selling books“.
scchua
The COED gives late 5 formerly but not now (late of the Scillies) – i.e.”recently of the Scillies”, the Chambers example is not good, it requires “as” in front of “late”.
Thanks Gaufrid/Cookie, I stand corrected. Apologies, Poins.
I was not correcting you, scchua, just feeling ratty – I cannot stand it when people say “Sorry, but…”, and Gaufrid has said something similar again this morning in the introduction to the Rufus crossword. Sil is another culprit. Incidentally, the example from Collins/Chambers that Gaufrid gives is fine, my apologies to him.