Times 27145 – Play Opus?

A typical Monday offering, combining lightness of touch with well-crafted clueing. Not the easiest, but one for those wishing to migrate from the Quickie to have a stab at. 28 minutes plus change for me.

ACROSS
1 Finish off second young seal (3,2)
MOP UP – MO PUP
4 Chat with consumers of computer with a lock on the outside (5,4)
TABLE TALK – TABLET A L[oc]K
9 Give pounds and see famous sculptor (9)
DONATELLO – DONATE L LO
10 Runs out of fast-going sauce (5)
PESTO – P[r]ESTO
11 Old city friend abandoning a young child (6)
URCHIN – UR (birthplace of Abram) CHIN[a]
12 Failed riverboat broken up without resistance (8)
ABORTIVE – anagran* of [r]IVERBOAT
14 Not a word, note, over Saturday crossword’s baffling jargon (5-5)
MUMBO-JUMBO – MUM B [musical note] O JUMBO
16 All-points bulletin? (4)
NEWS – not too tricky, methinks : N-E-W-S
19 Seldom-encountered poison’s killed copper (4)
RARE – [cu]RARE; CURARE kills quite a few pesky problems for crossword setters
20 Car — old one, mostly internal combustion with unlimited power (10)
AUTOCRATIC – AUTO (car) CRAT[e] (most of old car – crate as in ‘banger’) IC
22 Absent-minded don, not working, is characteristic (8)
DISTRAIT – D[on] IS TRAIT
23 Puzzle in game needs to be worked out (6)
ENIGMA – INGAME*
26 Round fraction is a source of confusion to observers (2,3)
OP ART – O PART for the optical illusion style of drawing
27 Highwayman — time due, unfortunately, for his latest wickedness (9)
TURPITUDE – TURPI[n] T (time) DUE* (anagram indicator is ‘unfortunately’)
28 Strongly attacking East European claim that’s out of order (9)
POLEMICAL – POLE CLAIM*
29 Newly equip sappers before attack (5)
REFIT – RE (Royal Engineers) FIT

DOWN

1 I had son interrupting old actor when Bottom played Pyramus (9)
MIDSUMMER – I’D S in MUMMER (old word for luvvie)
2 Confused rush and grass (5)
PANIC – double definition (DD), the second referring to the tropical grass panicum
3 Preferred it over obscure quibble about details (8)
PETTIFOG – PET (my pet student) IT reversed FOG; lawyer’s stock-in-trade
4 Ring road charge (4)
TOLL – DD
5 Very detailed autobiography of English baroque composer? (4-2-4)
BLOW-BY-BLOW – yes, there really was a composer called John Blow, who would toot his flute for you for a fee, presumably.
6 Sandwich, perhaps, and beer (6)
EXPORT – Sandwich in Kent was once the greatest port in England before it sold its soul to golf courses and fast food. Export is a type of pale ale: ‘In the nineteenth century, the Bow Brewery in England exported beer to India, including a pale ale that benefited from the duration of the voyage and was highly regarded among consumers in India. To avoid spoilage, Bow and other brewers added extra hops as a natural preservative. This beer was the first of a style of export ale that became known as India Pale Ale or IPA.’
7 Restrained muscles can experience nasty tension initially (9)
ABSTINENT – ABS TIN (can) ENT (initial letters of the final three words before ‘initially’)
8 Bank finally inclined to abolish penny coin? (5)
KRONE – [ban]K [p]RONE
13 Endless fun sightseeing? Oscar’s gone looking ahead (10)
FUTURISTIC – FU[n] T[o]URISTIC
15 Post guarding a non-working state water plant (5-4)
MARES-TAIL – REST (a non-working state) in MAIL
17 State capital abolishing old religious symbol (9)
SACRAMENT – SACRAMENT[o]
18 Confines father over row (8)
FRONTIER – FR ON TIER
21 For the time being basic learning is confined to the afternoon (3,3)
PRO TEM – ROTE in PM
22 Decline operation under doctor who’s finishing (5)
DROOP – DR O (‘who’s finishing’, i.e. the last letter of [wh]O) OP
24 Good frill that’s starched is rather harsh (5)
GRUFF – G RUFF (frill that’s starched)
25 Not knowing right from wrong, losing a mark for exam (4)
ORAL – [am]ORAL