Thanks Qaos for the enjoyable workout. Definitions are underlined in the clues. (Apologies for the late blog, but I had to fetch my car from the workshop.)
… and there is a theme of cars.
Across
9 Sailor, soldier and university lecturer start to attack spider (9)
TARANTULA : TAR(informal term for “sailor”) + ANT(a social insect, one which might belong to the caste of soldiers) plus(and) U(abbrev. for “university”) + L(abbrev. for “lecturer”) + 1st letter of(start to) “attack“.
10 Sound of distorted dialogue, eg line’s split (5)
AUDIO : Anagram of(distorted) “dialogue” minus(…’s split) [“eg” + “l”(abbrev. for “line”)].
Themewise: An “o” too many.
11 Lily Savage’s debut follows large breakout (5)
LOTUS : 1st letter of(…’s debut) “Savage” placed after(follows) [L(abbrev. for “large”) + anagram of(break…) OUT].
12 On this, exercise is routine drudgery (9)
TREADMILL : Double defn: 1st: Equipment to do physical exercise on; and 2nd: Metaphor for …
13 10 + 10 divided by small number? That’s a strain (7)
TENSION : [TEN(10) + I(Roman numeral for “1”) O(letter representing 0)] containing(divided by) S(abbrev. for “small”) + N(abbrev. for “number”).
14 Beatniks somewhat high starting to puff on pipes (7)
HIPPIES : 1st 2 letters of(somewhat) “high” +1st letter of(starting to) “puff” plus(on) “pipes” minus its middle letter(empty …).
17 Upright film detective (5)
SHAFT : Double defn: 1st: A column.
A car part, too.
19 Hit action man? No sweat (3)
RAM : “Rambo”(action man in the movies played by Sly Stallone, the Italian Stallion) minus(No) BO(abbrev. for “body odour” that may emanate from sweat).
20 Drummer from Dorking playing without drum kit, initially (5)
RINGO : Anagram of(… playing) “Dorking” minus(without) 1st letters, respectively, of(…, initially) “drum kit“.
Defn: …, aka Sir Richard Starkey, MBE.
21 Suggested being fooled from Germany to Albania? (7)
ALLUDED : “deluded”(being fooled/under a, well, delusion) with “de”(the internet domain name for Germany) changed to(from … to) “al”(ditto for Albania).
22 Take a trick over 1 heart to win (7)
TRIUMPH : TRUMP(to take a trick, in a card game like bridge) containing(over) I(Roman numeral for 1) + H(abbrev. for “hearts”, the suit in a pack of playing cards or a card of that suit).
24 Morning’s start with brewed coffee — it’s to do with the weather (3,6)
MET OFFICE : 1st letter of(…’s start) “Morning” plus(with) anagram of(brewed) COFFEE — IT.
26 Peering in closer, I found a little line in print (5)
SERIF : Hidden in(Peering in) “closer, I found“.
28 Dog starting to retrieve cricket balls (5)
ROVER : 1st letter of(starting to) “retrieve” + OVER(in cricket, a series of balls bowled to the batsman).
Defn: A name for dogs in general.
29 Alan is not revising subjects (9)
NATIONALS : Anagram of(… revising) ALAN IS NOT.
Defn: …/citizens of a nation.
Down
1 A modern language? (4)
HTML : Cryptic Defn: Acronym for “Hypertext Markup Language”, a programming language that creates pages that can displayed on a web browser, hence a modern language.
And shouldn’t it be (1,1,1,1)?
2 In a flash, neutron moves lower in part of an atom (6)
PROTON : “pronto”(quickly/in a flash) with its “n”(abbrev. for “neutron”) moving down(moves lower, in a down clue).
3 Woman’s relative mostly supported by daughter alone (10)
UNASSISTED : UNA(a woman’s name)‘S + “sister”(an immediate relative) minus its last letter(mostly) placed above(supported by, in a down clue) D(abbrev. for “daughter”).
4 Gold and special metal found in Texas (6)
AUSTIN : AU(symbol for the chemical element, gold) plus(and) S(abbrev. for “special”) + TIN(a metal element).
Defn: …, ie. its state capital.
5 Surrey town to provide meat (8)
CATERHAM : CATER(to provide/to supply what is needed, including food and drink maybe) + HAM(smoked or salted meat from a pig’s leg).
6 American actor wants gold for country (4)
LAND : “Landau”(Martin, American actor) minus(wants) “au”(symbol for the chemical element, gold).
7 Extra hearing transposes the limits of ultrasound (8)
ADDITION : “audition”(the sense or act of hearing) with 1st letter of(one of the limits of) “ultrasound” exchanged for(transposes) last letter of(second of the limits of) “ultrasound“.
8 Flatten headless, evil-tempered dwarf (4)
ROLL : “troll”(an evil-tempered dwarf) minus its 1st letter(headless, …).
Themewise: A missing “s”.
13 Least wobbly magnetic unit (5)
TESLA : Anagram of(… wobbly) LEAST.
15 For each goal, obtain authorisation (10)
PERMISSION : PER(for each, as in “rate per hour”) + MISSION(a goal/an objective/an ambition).
16 Animal over 50 shot to pieces (5)
SLOTH : Anagram of(… to pieces) SHOT containing(over) L(Roman numeral for “50”).
18 President covers up extremely important case (8)
ABLATIVE : ABE(nickname for Abraham Lincoln, former US President) containing(covers) reversal of(up, in a down clue) VITAL(extremely important/crucial).
Defn: …/in particular, one of the forms of a noun or pronoun in grammar.
19 Old star trained anew, winning first of Grammies (3,5)
RED GIANT : Anagram of(… anew) TRAINED containing(winning) 1st letter of(first of) “Grammies“.
Defn: … in outer space, not screen.
22 Non-drinkers receive insignificant comments online (6)
TWEETS : TTS(plural of “tt”/abrev. for “teetotaller”/a non-drinker) containing(receive) WEE(insignificant/tiny).
23 Former tabloid editor‘s male body part (6)
MORGAN : M(abbrev. for “male”) + ORGAN(a body part … not just belonging to a male).
Defn: Former editor of the tabloid “News of the World”.
Answer: …, Piers.
24 About band from the ’90s making comeback: one only works for money (4)
MERC : Reversal of(… making comeback) [C(abbrev. for “circa”/”about” in reference to a specific date or period in time) + R.E.M.(American rock band from the ’90s)].
Defn: Short for …
25 President once was able to buy off a Fed (4)
FORD : “afford”(was able/had the means to buy) minus(off) [“a” + “f”(abbrev. for “Federation”/Fed)].
Answer: …, Gerald.
27 Eat no food in banquet that lacks energy (4)
FAST : “feast”(a banquet/a large meal) minus(that lacks) “e”(symbol for “energy” in physics).
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