This was actually a very easy puzzle by Mephisto standards, although the wordplay for a couple of the clues has me beat.
ACROSS
1 P(REF-A)B
5 G-LOOPY
6 T.A.-R-R-(m)AD-(m)IDDLE
10 STREISAND – (tardiness)* – I’m not keen on the “with” in this clue.
12 SELLE(r)S – old word for “saddles”, unless of course you are French, in which case it is still the word for “saddles”
13 O-BITS
17 JAPER? – I think!
19 AL(COP-OP)S – ALS being an obsolete form of ALSO
20 GO-R.M.-LESS
21 DE(d)UCE
23 (m)ORRIS – A Morris chair is an armchair with an adjustable back invented by William Morris in the 19th century
25 TROT-Y-L(ondon)
26 P(R-1-ZER(o))IN-G
27 COMESTIBLES – (Steele’s combo in)* less ONE – “tommy”, meaning food, being the definition
28 (<=ONE)SIS – Enosis being the union of Greece and Cyprus
29 GEYSER – homophone of GEEZER
DOWN
1 P-ASS-BAND – frequencies passed without attenuation, whatever that means?
2 EARLS COURT – COURT is supposed to be a homophone of “caught”, but not where I come from and Chambers has different phonetic pronunciations of the two, but I gave up arguing against dodgy homophones weeks ago
3 ARIEL – don’t know the wordplay, though?
4 BASS-WOOD
5 G’DAY – again wordplay defeats me?
6 ODD-BALLS
7 PLATEASM – LATE in (maps)* – pronunciation with a wide-open mouth, as in Doric Greek
8 YEWS – homophone of USE
11 KIPPER(TIES)S
14 ALGERNON – (large)* + NO-N(o)
15 FORCIPES – (fibreoptics)* less BIT
16 S(i)P-(RITZ)-(p)I(n)G – meaning slightly fizzy
18 RESALGAR – an orange mineral containing arsenic sulphide
22 GREBE – (berge)*
23 (n)ONCE
24 FITS – (<=STIF(f))
3D ARIEL = Rev. of (LEIR-A), LEIR = something which is learned
5D A reference to the Australian contingent in Earl’s Court (& Queensland) who might greet you by saying G’DAY?
18D REASALGAR = Rev. of (RAG-LASER)
RAG = Pithy part of Orange; i.e. “bits” from the middle of ORANGE???
LASER = juice (of the Laserwort)
Bill
18D should read RESALGAR and not REASALGAR
Bill