Simple enough Monday morning solve
Nothing unusual this morning. LOI was Bengal, because we had OPERATION for 17d, just not thinking. Enjoyable start to the week. Thanks Armonie!
Across
1 The Parisian is after Penny with exceptional piece of cake (6)
DODDLE
LE (the, Parisian) is after D (penny) with ODD (exceptional)
4 Stands at the game to see Queen in shadows (8)
TERRACES
ER (queen) in TRACES (shadows)
10 Report set out for dissident (9)
PROTESTER
(REPORT SET)* (*out)
11 Seduce casual worker given time (5)
TEMPT
TEMP (casual worker) + T (time)
12 Communist sees Tory leader? Rubbish! (4)
TROT
T (Tory leader) + ROT (rubbish)
13 Bill arrests staff of delivery supervisor (10)
POSTMASTER
POSTER (bill) arrests MAST (staff)
15 Officer is eating meat of antelope (7)
CHAMOIS
CO (officer) + IS eating HAM (meat)
16 Caught German with new material (6)
COTTON
C (caught) + OTTO (German) + N (new)
19 Olympian formerly in car club (6)
ATHENA
THEN (formerly) in AA (car club)
21 Charge makes Peter go wild (7)
PROTEGE
(PETER GO)* (*wild)
23 Length of time in a resort (10)
CENTIMETRE
TIME in CENTRE (resort)
25 Apprentice dined and departed (4)
LATE
L (apprentice) + ATE (dined)
27 British invader is no good when soused in drink (5)
ANGLE
NG (no good) soused in ALE (drink)
28 Defender gets a game point (9)
APOLOGIST
A + POLO (game) + GIST (point)
29 Emphasised the sweet courses, on reflection (8)
STRESSED
(DESSERTS)< (<on reflection)
30 Mountain trail heading west in Asia (6)
BENGAL
BEN (mountain) + (LAG)< (trail, <heading west)
Down
1 Wally the pickpocket succeeded with credit (8)
DIPSTICK
DIP (pickpocket) + S (succeeded) + TICK (credit)
2 Nothing girl put in hollow hides smell (9)
DEODORANT
O (nothing) + DORA (girl) put in DENT (hollow)
3 Misrepresented a song (4)
LIED
Double definition
5 Unpredictable vermin found in Morecambe (7)
ERRATIC
RAT (vermin) found in ERIC (Morecambe)
6 Taking back engineer’s drawing (10)
RETRACTION
RE (engineers) + TRACTION (drawing)
7 Officer came across space traveller (5)
COMET
CO (officer) + MET (came across)
8 Parody’s met with anger (6)
SATIRE
SAT (met) + IRE (anger)
9 Son removed small piles of corn (6)
STOOKS
S (son) + TOOK (removed) + S (small)
14 Vile lesson corrupted beauty (10)
LOVELINESS
(VILE LESSON)*(*corrupted)
17 On choosing to conceal age (9)
OPERATING
OPTING (choosing) to conceal ERA (age)
18 Lead pets around column (8)
PEDESTAL
(LEAD PETS)* (*around)
20 Detective in maturity becomes mean (7)
AVERAGE
VERA (detective, TV show) in AGE (maturity)
21 One for every boy (6)
PERSON
PER (for every) + SON (boy)
22 Fights for waste food (6)
SCRAPS
Double definition
24 Soldier’s spirit upset in Africa (5)
NIGER
(RE (soldier) + GIN (spirit))< (<upset)
26 Go off English church leader (4)
POPE
POP (go off) + E (English)
Thanks Armonie and Teacow
This was a fun puzzle, but I thought 23 wasn’t as precise as this setter usually is, as ‘CENTIMETRE’ can also be height or width. A question mark at the end might have resolved it.
Thanks to Armonie and Teacow. Much fun. Even in the US I’ve watched some episodes of Vera so I did parse AVERAGE, but the term STOOKS was new to me (and to my spell-checker) though eventually I did parse it before looking it up.
Thanks Armonie and Teacow
Nice gentle lead into the week with his crisp clueing. Particularly liked DIPSTICK in which the definition, answer and two of the components making it up were all slang words.
STOOKS took me back to university holidays when my vacation job was helping cart in stook hay (of oats, not corn) – always happy to see field mice scampering away from the last few sheaves, because it meant that there was very little likelihood of finding a snake lying under the last one !
Finished in the NW corner with CHAMOIS, that DIPSTICK and ATHENA the last few in.