I found this quite an easy puzzle, solving time 13 mins.
* = anagram < = reversed
ACROSS
1 B (O OK) ENDS
6 P ARK
9 E (D WIN) A
10 AMOROUS glamorous less gl = heartless girl (middle letters removed)
11 P (A RENT) AL
12 P (HOB I)A My favourite clue, with amusing surface and seamless join at “I fear”
13 BLITHE SPIRIT (Thirties blip)* Successful play by Neol Coward – fairly well-known, I’d say.
16 M(AN-A)(BOUT)-(T)OWN Five-parter, though I got it straightaway from definition and enumeration M = male ana = gossip bout = session t = tense own = admit
19 TROP I C port<
20 RE (PRISon) AL not feasible = not on ie take ‘on’ away from prison. Excellent surface.
22 GREMLIN “Love and marriage, without hesitation, set back by mischievous creature”
The one clue I’ve a query on, though answer confirmed by Indy website. I think it’s (nil m(er)g)<
ie all reversed with nil = love er = hesitation and (the doubtful bit) mg = marriage. I can’t find that abbrev in dicts I looked at so I may be on the wrong track entirely (Thanks, Gaufrid, for explaining this below in comment 1 – marriage = merger)
28 A U PA(I)R
24 MERE Hidden
25 THE (O LOG) Y
DOWN
2 ODD (BALL)S odds = price (betting). ‘eccentric’ nicely misleading to suggest an anagram.
3 KNI FE ink< Fe = iron
4 NEAR THE KNUCKLE Double definition
5 SCALLOP Pollacks< less k = end of haddock (last letter)
6 PHOTOST AT (hotspot)* At = Astatine (radioactive element)
7 RU STIC(k) RU = Rugby Union Trickiest clue, I thought, with Russia also fitting with the definition ‘country’
8 COPPER SULPHATE (top clue perhaps)*
14 TIME PIECE “peace”
15 S (W) EATING
17 B AR (ONE) T
18 PR (v)AGUE
21 I’M PE(a)L
Hi NMS
22a NIL (love) MERG[er] (marriage without hesitation) reversed
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who thought Russia might be the answer to 7 down. I was only dissuaded when I typed it into the online grid and it didn’t tell me I’d completed the puzzle.
I was a bit mystified by the gossip in 16 across since I’d never heard of ana. Looking at the definition, it seems to mean a collection of reminiscences, which I suppose in a loose sense might be similar to gossip about something.
16A: I think you’re right NMS, when I had MAN-ABOUT-TOWN from MAN (Male) A BOUT (“gossip session”) T[ense] OWN (to admit) I assumed there was a particular sense of a BOUT for a good old scurrilous chin wag, but also thought it unusual that Phi used such an “easy” synonym as male/man. I didn’t equate ANA with “gossip”.
This was a bit of a break for me after the trouble I had trying to sort of today’s Guardian effoirt, so thumbs up to Phi for that. But none too exciting, if there is a downside.
Thanks, nms. Managed everything except bits of the NE corner. Park = berth seemed a bit of a stretch. But generally very enjoyable and a good start to the weekend.
I thought berth was OK because it can be a verb meaning to anchor a ship in port, which is similar to parking.
Almost finished prize crossword by phi.No luck with bottom left corner.The word thematic had me baffled too!