I found this a tad harder than usual, with the explanations for the NE corner the last to yield. Enjoyed the challenge though, so thanks to Phssthpok. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Verdict on suspension (10)
RESOLUTION : RE(on;with reference to) + SOLUTION(solutions are homogenous mixtures of one or more substances dissolved in a medium, except for colloidal solutions where very minute particles of a substance are not dissolved but are in a uniform suspension in a medium).
7 Money in vault (4)
BUCK : Double defn: 1st: An Americanism for a dollar;money, as in “he’ll do anything for a buck”; and 2nd: To jump;vault, as eg. a horse does.
9 Punch a priest (4)
LAMA : LAM(to punch;to beat) + A.
Answer: A Tibetan priest.
10 Soldiers billeted in home flaunt power (10)
INSTRUMENT : MEN(soldiers) contained in(billeted in) [ IN(at home;not out) + STRUT(to walk in a swagger, showing off;to flaunt, as in “to strut one’s stuff”) ].
Answer: An agent;a power to cause something. An example is a power, a written document/an instrument conferring legal authority.
11 Where to find ancient Greek army after fight (6)
SPARTA : TA(abbrev. for the British Territorial Army) placed after(after) SPAR(to fight, albeit unaggressively).
12 Prayer often follows sudden explosion! (5,3)
BLESS YOU : Cryptic defn: What is said after someone sneezes.
13 Pass out leek recipe? (4,4)
KEEL OVER : A reverse anagram: “over(an anagram indicator) of KEEL” is a recipe for forming “leek”.
Defn. and Answer: To collapse suddenly, as from a faint eg. soldiers during their passing out parade. J
15 Told to milk farm animals (4)
EWES : Homophone of(Told) “use”(to exploit;to milk).
17 In scrabble, valuable characters embody a style of music (4)
JAZZ : J,Z,Z(the valuable character tiles in the English verseion of the board game, Scrabble, with J scoring 8 points and Z 10 points) containing(embody) A.
19 Broke and not very fresh (8)
INSOLENT : “insolvent”(broke;unable to pay one’s debts) minus(not) “v”(abbrev. for “very”).
Defn: Being cheeky;impudent.
22 Unfinished dessert also known as main course (8)
MOUSSAKA : “mousse”(a dessert of eggs, cream, fruit, etc. set with gelatin) minus its last letter(Unfinished) + AKA(abbrev. for “also known as”, when referring to aliases).
Answer: A dish, the best known variant of which is the Greek one, with aubergines, tomatoes, meat and cheese.
23 Wrapping leg inside slip (6)
TAPING : PIN( slang for a human leg) contained in(inside) TAG(a slip;a small piece of paper, usually with information on it).
Answer: Wrapping with tape.
25 Insincere praise for pelvic rise exercise (3,7)
LIP SERVICE : Anagram of(exercise) PELVIC RISE. And there is an exercise called the pelvic raise, aka the pelvic lift.
26 You reactivate sample of organic compound (4)
UREA : Hidden in(sample) “you reactivate”.
27 American’s nearly getting on although in disagreement with (4)
AGIN : “aging”(the American spelling for “ageing”;getting on;getting older) minus its last letter(nearly).
Answer: Dialect for “against”;in disagreement with.
28 Perhaps Mozart is inferior to musical number in section of the orchestra (10)
WUNDERKIND : [ UNDER(is inferior to something or someone higher) + K(the K numbers used to refer to Mozart’s musical works, named after originator Ludwig Ritter von Köchel) ] contained in(in) WIND(the section of the orchestra comprising of woodwind instruments, incl. oboes, bassoons, flutes and clarinets).
Answer: A child prodigy, an example of which;perhaps was Mozart.
Down
2 For this, say former wife’s getting fat (7)
EXAMPLE : EX(slang for a former spouse or partner) plus(getting) AMPLE(a euphemism for the adjective “fat”).
Answer: The “this” in the defn. ie. for example;say.
3 Live using oxygen-rich gas (2,3)
ON AIR : ON(using, as in “he’s on drugs”) + AIR(oxygen-rich gas). Nice surface and misdirection.
Answer: To be broadcasting instantaneously;live (as an adjective, not a verb);not pre-recorded.
4 University vivisectionist first dissected hollow mollusc (8)
UNIVALVE : UNI(short for “university”) + first letter of(… first) “vivisectionist” + “alcove”(a hollow in a wall, say) minus its 2 innermost letters(dissected, as in taking apart the insides of body tissue). I’m not sure of the last bit. Edit.note: Thanks AID@1 ….. + [ first letter of(… first) “vivisectionist” contained in(dissected, as in to cut apart, eg. body tissue) VALE(a hollow;a depression in the ground) ].
Answer: A shellfish with only one piece of shell.
5 Mutiny aboard naval vessel receiving orders (15)
INSUBORDINATION : [IN SUB](in a submarine;aboard a naval vessel) + ORDINATION(the reception;receiving of holy orders).
6 Anxiety as 7 Up is contaminated by river (6)
NERVES : Reversal of(Up) SEVEN(7) containing(is contaminated by) R(abbrev. of “river”).
7 Explosion is awful surprise (9)
BOMBSHELL : Double defn: 1st: A bombshell/bomb would cause an explosion, though I’m not sure the cause is synonymous with the effect.
8 Sympathise when control panel’s heart goes dead (7)
CONDOLE : “console”(a control panel) with its central letter(…’s heart) replaced by(goes …, as in “he goes/becomes red when he’s embarrassed”) “d”(abbrev. for “dead”).
Answer: The root word for “condolences”, which one might convey to someone who is bereaved.
14 One spins around heavy star without it (4,5)
LAZY SUSAN : LAZY(slow moving;clumsy;heavy, as in “a lazy/heavy gait”) + SUN(the earth’s star) containing(without) SA(abbrev. for “sex appeal”;it;that indefinable attractive quality).
Answer: A revolving tray for, commonly, foods, condiments, etc. placed at the centre of a dining table.
16 Sweatier gymnastics in a manner of speaking (2,2,4)
AS IT WERE : Anagram of(gymnastics) SWEATIER.
18 Devoted a party to band (7)
ADORING : A + DO(a party;a function) plus(to) RING(a circular band).
20 Elderly relative eager to make cloth (7)
NANKEEN : NAN(a child’s word for “grandmother”) + KEEN(eager;enthusiastic).
Answer: Cloth formerly made from cotton, originating from Nanjing (formerly Nanking), China.
21 Till arrival, broke into native greeting (6)
HARROW : ARR(abbrev. for “arrival” or “arrival time”, as seen in transport schedules) contained in(broke into) HOW(a representation of the word supposedly used by Native Americans as a greeting).
Answer: To use a harrow, an implement dragged over soil to level it, break up clumps, remove weeds, etc., which is part of the work required to till;farm the land.
24 Nerve extract (5)
PLUCK : Double defn: 1st: Bravery; and 2nd: To pull or draw out of;extract from, literally as with “chicken feathers”, and figuratively as in “a tight spot”.
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I found some of these clues rather obscure.
However, for 3D I got the same answer but put the V(vivisectionist first) in vale (hollow) to give valve following Uni.
Thanks s and P. Enjoyed this one but failed to parse a few of the clues – notably 10a, which is especially neat.
Thanks AID. You’ve got 3d right. Will amend the blog.
Thanks for the blog – quite a tough workout I thought.
Re 4d (UNIVALVE) (it’s 4d in the blog but 3d in AID’s comment)
I think the hollow is ALVEOLUS (definition: a pit, small depression or dilatation (Chambers); any small pit, cavity or saclike dilation… (Collins). The Latin “alveolus” is translated in Chambers as “hollow”), which is dissected in the literal sense – cut in half – to give ALVE. If you put V into VALE it doesn’t dissect it in any obvious way (it doesn’t go in halfway along, which would make “vavle”).
So I think it’s just UNI + V + ALVE[olus]. Please bear it in mind if you amend the blog!
Ooops – I posted slightly too late. Come to think of it “dissect” doesn’t need to mean in half (=bisect; I often confuse the two) so maybe it’s not alveolus anyway, though it makes the clue read a bit better syntactically/gramatically (“dissecting” seems more appropriate for AID’s reading).
And I was just too late to correct you on “dissect”/”bisect”, before you corrected yourself. For the surface reading, “dissected” is quite appropriate, serving as a verb in the sentence. As for an insertion indicator, there’s not much to choose between “dissected” and “dissecting”.
Thanks to blogger and setter.
Like you, I struggled with “bombshell” equating to explosion? I had “over” in 13a indicating a reversal rather than an anagram?
I thought we were heading for a pangram, but not often you get the letter K five times?
For bombshell I thought the definition was surprise with the wordplay Bomb (explosion) S (is) Hell (awful)
Thanks to the setter blogger.
Hi Ferret, agree about 13a, making the clue a reverse reversal.
Hi Prolixic, re bombshell, that’s a possible explanation, but it doesn’t resolve the doubt I had in my comment with “bomb”(/bombshell) being synonymous with “explosion”.
Thanks to setter and blogger.
[Center picture appears to be Jean Harlow who was the blonde bombshell (8D) of her era]
Cheers…
[[grandpuzzler, you’re right about Jean Harlow. I’ve added links to the answers to the other 2 beneath the pictures.]]