Yes, it’s me again, this time due to Ringo’s work commitments today. A very straightforward puzzle which would be ideally suited to novice solvers (though they might need to learn a couple of new words eg 5dn & 17dn) so there is no need for much comment from me.
I did notice that point=E was used three times in the wordplay, though on a fourth occasion it was clued by ‘key’. There was also some repetition with the cluing of ‘try’ as part of the wordplay (‘attempt’ and ‘have a go’).
Across
1 Potential victim to avoid after session (7,4)
SITTING DUCK – SITTING (session) DUCK (avoid)
7 The main point is in when reversed (3)
SEA – E (point) in AS (when) reversed
9 Power-assisted vehicle for work in 7 across (5)
MOPED – OP (work) in MED (7 across)
10 A bread roll twist perhaps is plenty (9)
ABUNDANCE – A BUN (bread roll) DANCE (twist perhaps)
11 Dance leader needs a lively star (5,4)
BOSSA NOVA – BOSS (leader) A NOVA (lively star)
12 Sensational but pointless draw one day (5)
LURID – LUR[e] (pointless draw) I (one) D (day)
13 Life begins in challenging ones beloved! (7)
DARLING – L[ife] (life begins) in DARING (challenging)
15 Resentment – against settling in eastern city (4)
ENVY – V (against) in E (eastern) NY (city)
18 Womaniser turning down female? (4)
WOLF – LOW (down) reversed (turning) F (female)
20 Set of documents from vagrant protecting source of information (7)
DOSSIER – DOSSER (vagrant) around (protecting) I[nformation] (source of information)
23, 24 Equine enthusiasts hugging box trees (5,9)
HORSE CHESTNUTS – HORSE NUTS (equine enthusiasts) around (hugging) CHEST (box)
26 Hospital workers are prone to be swamped by instructions (9)
ORDERLIES – LIE (are prone) in (to be swamped by) ORDERS (instructions)
27 Stomach is a tender point (5)
ABIDE – A BID (tender) E (point)
28 Expected weather feature, according to the radio (3)
DUE – homophone (according to the radio) of ‘dew’ (weather feature)
29 Person voting to cut tennis is wrong (11)
CONSTITUENT – anagram (is wrong) of TO CUT TENNIS
Down
1 Unidentified lad holding key for a person of consequence (8)
SOMEBODY – SOME BOY (unidentified lad) around (holding) D (key)
2 Attempt to protect a nuisance from hanging (8)
TAPESTRY – TRY (attempt) around (to protect) A PEST (a nuisance)
3 Nation defined by Latin dialect (5)
INDIA – hidden in (defined by) ‘latIN DIAlect’
4 Part of 3 yearn to play ball (2,5)
GO ALONG – GOA (part of 3) LONG (yearn)
5 Express grief seeing recent support for beheaded South African (7)
ULULATE – [z]ULU (beheaded South African) LATE (recent)
6 What to give children with cold hands? (3,6)
KID GLOVES – cryptic def.
7 Watch nurse have a go (6)
SENTRY – SEN (nurse) TRY (have a go)
8 Makes changes to notices covering workers (6)
AMENDS – ADS (notices) around (covering) MEN (workers)
14 Develop eroticism into a form of exercise (9)
ISOMETRIC – anagram (develop … into) of EROTICISM
16 Person collecting popular moulded object (8)
FIGURINE – FIGURE (person) around (collecting) IN (popular)
17 Growing credit squeeze finally put on small US coinage (8)
CRESCENT – CR (credit) [squeez]E (squeeze finally) S (small) CENT (US coinage)
19 Group following battle (7)
FACTION – F (following) ACTION (battle)
20 The eyes could be inscrutable and fixed (4-3)
DEEP-SET – DEEP (inscrutable) SET (fixed)
21 Drove off, having found specs in outbuilding (6)
SHOOED – OO (specs) in SHED (outbuilding)
22 Headgear of girl getting married, reportedly (6)
BRIDLE – homophone (reportedly) of ‘bridal’ (of girl getting married) – Chambers confirms my belief that this is not an exact homophone but no doubt the two words are pronounced similarly in some regional accents
25 Requirement for soldiers at breakfast? (5)
TOAST – cryptic def. relating to boiled eggs
There is a minor typo in your answer to 1D.
Should be key of ‘D’
Thanks AID, typo corrected. I have also rescinded part of an observation in my preamble which was based on this typo (which I should have picked up when proof reading).
Straightforward and enjoyable. Thanks to Orense and Gaufrid.
Thanks Orense for a pleasantly straightforward puzzle and Gaufrid for the blog.
22dn: I was intrigued by Gaufrid’s comment about the inexact homophone here, as it seems exact to me, so I looked in the three dictionaries that were near at hand. In Chambers 1998 and 2008 there is indeed a difference in the way the pronunciation is given: bridal has a neutral vowel for the second syllable, while bridle has no vowel at all. Collins 2000 gives the same pronunciation for both words.
Hi Pelham
I only checked Chambers (12th Ed.) originally but, now you have mentioned Collins, I see that Oxford on-line and Macmillan agree with regard to identical pronunciation. However, Cambridge Dictionaries Online concurs with Chambers.