Guardian Quiptic 847 Hectence

Thank you to Hectence for a Quiptic with, I think, about the right level of difficulty. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1 Wrong to send volunteers round on service call (2,5)

AT FAULT : Reversal of(… round) TA(abbrev. for the Territorial Army, consisting of volunteers) plus(on) FAULT(a call by the umpire for a bad serve in tennis).

5 Sympathy and strong wine offered after knock (7)

RAPPORT : PORT(strong, fortified wine) placed after(offered after) RAP(a hard knock).

10 Lady singer with good range (4)

GAGA : G(abbrev. for “good”) + AGA(a cooking range named after the intiials of the original Swedish manufacturer).

Defn: … or a singer named Lady ____.

11 Said sorry for serving old sago pie (10)

APOLOGISED : Anagram of(serving) OLD SAGO PIE.

12 Firm grasp needed to operate the gears (6)

CLUTCH : Double defn: 2nd: The device needed to engage and operate the gears of an engine.

13 Keep on against money, upper class and, ultimately, privilege (8)

CONTINUE : CON(against, as opposed to pro;for) + TIN(slang for money) + U(descriptive of the upper class) plus(and) the last letter of (ultimately) “privilege “.

14 Corgi runs round Queen’s legs regularly for food (9)

GROCERIES : [ Anagram of(… runs) CORGI containing(round) ER(abbrev. for Elizabeth Regina, the Queen) ] + the 2nd and 4th letters of(… regularly) “legs“.

Amusing surface…perhaps every one of them does run around …

16 Biting cold? (5)

NIPPY : Double defn: 1st: Inclined to bite, like, say, a dog; and 2nd: Chilly;frosty.

17 Handle‘s extremely smooth at the back (5)

SHAFT : The 1st and last letter of(extremely) “smooth ” + AFT(at the back of, say, a ship).

19 Call to admire trick poetry she composed (3,6)

HEY PRESTO : Anagram of(… composed) POETRY SHE.

Defn: … performed by a conjuror.

23 Meat that’s processed is apt to absorb stuff (8)

PASTRAMI : Anagram of (processed) IS APT containing(to absorb) RAM(to stuff things into,say, a hole or suitcase).

Defn: … that’s also processed.

24 Support a heartless crony to get bequest (6)

LEGACY : LEG(one of the supports of say, a piano or you) + A + “crony ” minus its inner letters (heartless …).

26 Good to live with new love at sea, getting space and time (10)

BENEVOLENT : BE(to live;to exist) plus(with) N(abbrev. for “new”) + anagram of(… at sea) LOVE plus(getting) EN(in printing, a unit of measurement of space in text) + T(abbrev. for “time”).

27 Miss a hand-warmer! (4)

MUFF : Double defn: 1st: In sport, an unskilful play, like a mishit shot or a dropped catch).

28 Looks at specs for building (7)

ASPECTS : Anagram of(… for building) AT SPECS.

Defn: … as a plural noun.

29 American university gets everyone young, as a rule (7)

USUALLY : US(abbrev. for things American) + U(abbrev. for “university”) plus(gets) ALL(everyone) + Y(abbrev. for “young”, as in YMCA?).

Down

2 Briefly try tool starting engine on riverboat (7)

TRAWLER : “try ” minus its last letter(Briefly …) + AWL(a tool for pierceing) + the 1st letter of(starting) “engine ” plus(on, in a down clue) R(abbrev. for “river”).

3 Notice a point to change (5)

ADAPT : AD(short for “advertisement”, a publicity notice) + A + PT(abbrev. for “point”).

4 Hide note in flap (7)

LEATHER : E(one of the notes in the musical scale)contained in(in) LATHER(a flap;a state of anxiety or agitation).

Defn: … made from animal skin.

6 Sum total for a horse? (6)

AMOUNT : A + MOUNT(a horse on which you’re mounted).

7 I merit VIP treatment! Simple! (9)

PRIMITIVE : Anagram of(… treatment) I MERIT VIP.

8 Once more supply soldier with ecstasy and crack (2-5)

REEQUIP : RE(abbrev. for a member of the Royal Engineers in the British army) plus(with) E(abbrev’d slang for the drug Ecstasy) plus(and) QUIP(a crack;a witty or sarcastic remark).

9 Hard stuff with tonic, say, for the builder’s assistant? (8,5)

CONCRETE MIXER : CONCRETE(hard stuff) plus(with) MIXER(an example of which;say, is tonic water for mixing with liquor).

15 Jug meant for coffee surprisingly produces fierce tea! (9)

CAFETIERE : Anagram of(surprisingly produces) FIERCE TEA.

18 They try to have us on trip ashore round about 10 (7)

HOAXERS : Anagram of(trip) ASHORE containing(round about) X(Roman numeral for 10).

Defn: …, ie. fooling us.

20 Pupil ate spinach as part of an exercise programme (7)

PILATES : Hidden in(… as part of) “Pupil ate spinach “.

21 Diplomatic about fault hampering medical scanner (7)

TACTFUL : Anagram of(about) FAULT containing(hampering) CT(abbrev. for “computed tomography”;a method of obtaining detailed images of internal organs, most often refered to as a CT scan).

22 Didn’t take part when turned back by solicitor (3,3)

SAT OUT : Reversal of(… turned back) AS(when, as in “mind your head as you walk in the door”) plus(by) TOUT(a solicitor;one who seeks customers or clients brazenly).

25 Good morning, Mum! There’s a letter from Greece (5)

GAMMA : G(abbrev. for “good”) + AM(abbrev. for “ante meridiem”, denoting the hours in the morning) + MA(informal name for one’s mum).

Defn: …, from the Greek alphabet, that is.