Thanks to Sleuth for an enjoyable crossword. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 A guy’s moved about romcom’s opening? It’s overly sentimental (6)
SUGARY : Anagram of(… moved) A GUY’S containing(about) 1st letter of(…’s opening) “romcom“.
4 Posh fellow probes possibly this non-believer (8)
HUMANIST : [ U(posh;upper-class) + MAN(a fellow) ] contained in(probes) anagram of(possibly) THIS.
Defn: One who believes that people’s spiritual and emotional needs can be satisfied without having to believe in a god or religion. (Thus, not exactly a non-believer.)
9 Show off foreign article in apartment (6)
FLAUNT : UN(an article in French grammar) contained in(in) FLAT(a residential apartment).
10 Something traditionally golden, right, in part of firearm? (8)
SILENCER : SILENCE(as in the traditional adage “Silence is golden”) + R(abbrev. for “right”).
12 Organisation to operate outside of an estate? (8)
BODYWORK : BODY(an organisation) + WORK(to operate;to function).
Defn: …, an estate car, that is.
13 Slam source of horror films? (6)
HAMMER : Double defn: 2nd: Hammer Film Productions, the company that produced horror films from the mid-1950s to the 1970s.
15 Hooligan in loo quite regularly (4)
LOUT : 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th letters of(… regularly) “loo quite“.
16 School rugby player of inferior quality (7)
SCHLOCK : SCH(abbrev. for “school”) + LOCK(a rugby player in the second row of the scrum).
20 Son cutting energy drink close to lazy and given to idle talk (7)
GOSSIPY : S(abbrev. for “son”) contained in(cutting) [ GO(energy;drive) + SIP(to drink slowly) ] + last letter of(close to) “lazy“.
21 Group boarding cab barracked (4)
ABBA : Hidden in(boarding) “cab barracked“.
Defn: Swedish pop group.
25 Stretch former nurse (6)
EXTEND : EX-(prefix indicating “former”;once) + TEND(to nurse;to attend to).
26 By the sound of it, defective balance in a marine animal (8)
PORPOISE : Homophone of(By the sound of it,) “poor”(defective) + POISE(a state of balance or equilibrium).
28 Current statement attributing responsibiliy to boyfriend? (2,2,4)
UP TO DATE : Possibly, a statement a girl on a date might make to attribute responsibility;leave a decision to her boyfriend.
29 Servant at home recalled during dinner, say (6)
MENIAL : Reversal of(… recalled) IN(at home) contained in(during) MEAL(an example of which;say, is “dinner”).
Answer: …, as a noun.
30 Those trailing person ordered around house (2-6)
NO-HOPERS : Anagram of(… ordered) PERSON containing(around) HO(abbrev. for “house”).
31 A serving figure in a party progressing slowly in bars (6)
ADAGIO : [A + GI(abbrev. for a person serving in the US Army) ] contained in(in) [ A + DO(a party;a social function) ].
Defn: …, bars that a music score is divided into, that is.
Down
1 Terribly fat slob left in US game (8)
SOFTBALL : Anagram of(Terribly) FAT SLOB + L(abbrev. for “left”).
2 Pretentiousness aged relative regretted on reflection (8)
GRANDEUR : GRAN(short for “grandmother”, one’s relatively aged relative) + reversal of(… on reflection) RUED(regretted).
3 Celebrity concerned with current name (6)
RENOWN : RE(concerned with;with reference to) + NOW(current;the present time) + N(abbrev. for “name”).
5 Measure for assessing spirit, say, in army group (4)
UNIT : Double defn: 1st: The standard measure used to assess the amount of spirit;alcohol intake; one unit equals 8 mg of pure alcohol.
6 A bishop to observe hosting African party gets suspension (8)
ABEYANCE : A + B(abbrev. for “bishop” in chess notation) + EYE(to observe;to look at) containing(hosting) ANC(abbrev. for the African National Congress, the South African political party).
7 Revenue from Indiana, Colorado and Maine (6)
INCOME : [ IN, CO, ME ](abbrev. for , respectively, the US states of Indiana, Colorado and Maine).
8 Bullfighter held up in bolero rottenly (6)
TORERO : Hidden in reversal of(held up in, in a down clue) “bolero rottenly“.
11 Exact recipe’s worked out (7)
PRECISE : Anagram of(… worked out) RECIPE’S.
14 Applause with sound cut off for rock guitarist (7)
CLAPTON : CLAP(a round of applause) plus(with) “tone”(a sound used as a signal, as in “a dialling tone”) minus its last letter(cut off).
Answer: Eric, who played in groups including the Yardbirds and Cream before going solo.
17 Coherent way to describe army recruit? (6-2)
JOINED-UP : A way to describe one who has enlisted in the army as a recruit.
18 Courteous round character trailed by fool largely wearing gaudy jewellery (8)
OBLIGING : O(the round-shaped character in the alphabet) placed above(trailed by, in a down clue) [ “git”(a fool) minus its last letter(largely) contained in(wearing) BLING(gaudy and ostentatious jewellery) ].
19 It runs in front of office in London station (8)
WATERLOO : WATER(fluid that runs in rivers, out of taps, etc.) placed above(in front of, in a down clue) LOO(a toilet, a British euphemism for which is “office”).
Defn: … on the Underground and main line rail networks.
22 Decorative item shown by second horse without a tail (6)
SEQUIN : S(abbrev. for “second” in time notation) + “equine”(a horse) minus its last letter(without a tail).
23 Tiny scrap of clothing? It’s not welcome for runners (6)
STITCH : Double defn: 1st: As in “she appeared on stage without a stitch on”; and 2nd: A sudden sharp pain in the side of the body caused be strenuous activity such as running.
24 Add a pair of pages before finale (6)
APPEND : A + P,P(abbrev. for “page”, in a pair) placed above(before, in a down clue) END(the finale).
27 Fixed look almost in principal actor (4)
STAR : “stare”(a fixed look at someone or something) minus its last letter(almost).
Thanks Sleuth and scchua
Unfortunately, 8 doesn’t work. It’s clearly intended as a reverse embed, but the letters actually give TORORE.
Nice straightforward crossword – shame about 8d
Thanks to Sleuth and scchua. Except for 8d I much enjoyed this puzzle. I did first think of swatch rather than STITCH but quickly saw my error and had to check that lock in SCHLOCK was indeed a rugby term. LOI was BODYWORK where I needed all the crossers even though I was thinking of estate car.
Thanks Sleuth and scchua
A pretty straightforward offering from Sleuth and a shame with the misspelling of the reverse TORERO. Didn’t fully parse the ‘estate’ (car) part of BODYWORK which was my last one in.