Thank you to Filbert. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1. Help Conservative to hide billions, moving account (3,5)
SOB STORY : [ SOS(an urgent appeal for help) + TORY(a member of the Conservative Party) ] containing(to hide) B(abbrev. for “billions”)
5. Departure for one on ship (6)
EGRESS : EG(abbrev. for “exempli gratia”/for example/for one) + RE(with reference to/on the subject of) + SS(abbrev. for “steamship”, used in the names of such).
10. Remote location for one affected their game (9)
HERMITAGE : Anagram of(affected) THEIR GAME.
Answer: Remote dwelling for one living in solitude/a hermit.
11. Oddball dismissed seconds from predicted retirement (5)
OUTRE : OUT(dismissed, as with a batsman in cricket) + respective 2nd letters of(seconds from) “predicted retirement”.
12. Carol never felt unlimited (4)
NOEL : NO(never) + “felt” minus its 1st and last letters(unlimited).
13. Trace of life left in Sackville-West’s grand garden? (5,5)
VITAL SPARK : VITA(Sackville-West, English author and garden designer)’S + PARK(what you might call a grand garden).
15. Running, shot and pole? My hero (5,8)
DALEY THOMPSON : Anagram of(Running) SHOT AND POLE? MY.
Answer: The English athlete who was World Champion in the decathlon, which event includes the shot put and pole vault A sporting hero.
18. Builder’s facing police officer, 100 mph in left lane (8,5)
PORTLAND STONE : [ DS(abbrev. for “Detective Superintendent”, a police officer) + TON(term for a speed of 100 mph) ] contained in(in) [ PORT(nautical term for the left side of a marine craft facing forwards) + LANE].
Answer: Material used by builders for the façade of buildings.
22. Prepare to deep-fry Mars bars for Spooner, whose utterances keep coming (10)
CHATTERBOX : Spoonerism of [ “batter”(to prepare to deep-fry by dipping in batter) “chocs”(short for “chocolates”, an example of which are Mars bars) ].
Defn: One ….
24. Bride arranged the setting for fantasy (4)
IDEA : Hidden in(… the setting for) “Bride arranged”.
26. Book to be collected by car, where you’re put on hold? (5)
LIMBO : B(abbrev. for “book”) contained in(to be collected by) LIMO(short for “limousine”, a large luxurious car).
Defn: An uncertain period in which you are put on hold awaiting a decision or resolution.
27. Since fish nets unavailable, one loses weight on ship (9)
ASTRONAUT : AS(since/because, as in “I can’t do it now as I’m busy”) + TROUT(a freshwater fish) containing(nets) NA(abbrev. for “not available”/unavailable).
Answer: One who becomes weightless by being in a spaceship far from the earth’s gravity.
28. Return wrong filling delivered for pastry (6)
DANISH : Reversal of(Return) [ SIN(a wrong/an offence) contained in(filling) HAD(gave birth to/delivered) ].
29. Foot part of insect eaten by cook (8)
INFANTRY : [ IN(be part of/within) + ANT(a social insect) ] contained in(eaten by) FRY(to cook in hot oil or fat).
Defn: That for which … is a historical term.
Down
1. Species, cross including head of human and every other bit of lion (6)
SPHINX : [ SP(abbrev. for “species”) + X(letter representing a cross) ] containing(including) 1st letter of(head of) “human” plus(and) 2nd and 4th letters of(every other bit of) “lion”.
Answer: In Greek mythology, a creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion and the wings of an eagle, hence a cross species.
2. Local worker saving money (9)
BARTENDER : BAR(with the exception of/saving) + TENDER(or legal tender/money that is part of the official currency of a country at a particular time).
Defn: …, ie. one working in a pub frequented by people living or working nearby.
…/showman:
3. Stick the rug down in Ilkley? (4)
TWIG : T’(“the” as it would be pronounced in the local dialect of Ilkley, Yorkshire, England) WIG(“rug” informally).
4. Try a lie to distort truth (7)
REALITY : Anagram of(… to distort) TRY A LIE.
6. Complain again, hearing that firing range after August 12th? (6,4)
GROUSE MOOR : GROUSE(to complain/grumble) homophone of(…, hearing that) “more”(again, as in “to fail once more”).
Defn: An area of moorland where red grouse are hunted and shot, the season for which starts on August 12th
7. Abandoned lover with skill climbing on top (5)
EXTRA : EX(former/abandoned lover) plus(with) reversal of(… climbing, in a down clue) ART(skill/knack at doing something).
Defn: …/in addition to.
8. Quietly interrupting naval chief, talk (8)
SPEAKING : P(abbrev. for “piano”, musical direction to play softly/quietly) contained in(interrupting) [SEA KING](what you might whimsically call a naval chief).
Answer: …, as a noun.
9. Work over, what remains after term for professor? (6)
REHASH : [ EH?(like “what?”, expressing a request for clarification or repetition of, or surprise at, what’s been said) + AHS(remains after burning) ] placed after(after) last letter of(term for/completion of) “professor”.
14. Eurovision winner, upset country’s losing lead, wails (10)
ULULATIONS : Reversal of(…, upset, in a down clue) LULU(Sottish singer who represented the UK in, and won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969 with “Boom Bang-A-Bang”) + “nation’s”(country’s/state’s) minus its 1st letter(losing lead).
Answer: Vocal sounds like howls/wails involving rapid movement of the tongue and uvula.
16. Constant force cracks nuts as stated (9)
STEADFAST : F(symbol for “force” in physics) contained in(cracks) anagram of(nuts) AS STATED.
17. Spotty son managed to bag kiss (8)
SPECKLED : [ S(abbrev. for “son”) + LED(ran/managed, say, an organisation) ] containing(to bag) PECK(a light kiss).
19. Land with many inlets, as if cut by river (6)
NORWAY : [NO WAY!](like “as if!”, an expression of disbelief) containing(cut by) R(abbrev. for “river”).
Defn: …/fjords.
20. Dock‘s our standard base behind seafront, mostly (7)
SHORTEN : TEN(the numerical base for the decimal system, our standard numbering system, using digits 0 to 9) placed after(behind) “shore”(the seafront/seaside) minus its last letter(mostly).
Defn: …/to cut off the tip of, say, a dog’s tail.
21. Mean person you’d be pleased to see go (6)
PALTRY : PAL(friend, a person you’d be pleased to see/meet) + TRY(go/one’s turn to do something, say, during a multiplayer game).
Defn: …/of very small amount.
23. African dictator smuggling diamonds, mundane business (5)
ADMIN : AMIN(Idi, former African dictator) containing(smuggling) D(symbol for the suit of diamonds in a deck of playing cards).
Answer: Short for “administration”, which I suppose could be mundane most of the time.
25. Large item from IKEA perhaps unfinished until now (4)
SOFA : Last letter of(unfinished) “so far”(up to this moment/until now).
Missed TWIG although I could understand it once I corrected the error. I knew it had something to do with Yorkshire speech. I thought maybe they pronounce tile as tail. I new rug to be wig as well so more fool me. I seem to have been one short of completing a puzzle for the few days. Thoroughly enjoyed the puzzle though. Many thanks to schism and Filbert.
Thanks Filbert and scchua.
Tough stuff. 18a LOI, with all crossers, was able to parse.
Had to Google for GK.
Likes
HERMITAGE
PORTLAND STONE
CHATTERBOX
ASTRONAUT
REHASH
PALTRY
SPEAKING
NORWAY
Sorry scchua. I was called away as I was posting and have just revisited to see my mistakes, including being spell-checked writing your name and what should have been ‘last few days’. Liked SOFA.