Some great cluing going on in here: the puzzle is not afraid to keep a clue short if that’s all it needs, but I like the willingness to go long in other places (10ac) or to have the definition part be a big circumlocution, all the better to mislead us. Some obscure words but very generously clued, which makes them venial; and a fine complement of cryptic defs and smile-raising &lit. My COD though definitely goes to 17ac which is both nicely literary and managed to mislead me on two separate fronts, as I assumed Stowe must be the school and didn’t bother to look for a third meaning of PM for ages, given that it surely must be either prime minister or afternoon, right?
Excellent puzzle to conclude an enjoyable week of them then: thanks again setter. And I still have 376 days to solve crosswords in before I hit middle age, too…
ACROSS
1 Butcher uses same woman to see to joints (8)
MASSEUSE – (USES SAME*) [“butcher”]
5 Measure litres, then stupidly drinking gallons (6)
LENGTH – (L THEN*) [“stupidly”], “drinking” G [gallons]
10 100 mature British gents finished back on ship? That’s callous (4-11)
COLD-BLOODEDNESS – C OLD B LOO [100 | mature | British | gents] + reversed ENDED [finished] on SS [ship]
11 Wretched name for Slough medical specialty (10)
DESPONDENT – DESPOND [name for Slough (in The Pilgrim’s Progress)] + E.N.T. [medical specialty]
13 Where one can be cut off from Helsinki in retreat (4)
ISLE – hidden reversed in {h}ELSI{nki}
15 Benefit from 45 to 65 maybe after daughters leave (7)
MILEAGE – MI{dd}LE AGE, losing two D-for-daughters. Delighted at this surprising confirmation that I’m still young, thanks setter!
17 A posh Stowe girl’s PM? (7)
AUTOPSY – A U TOPSY [a | posh | (Harriet Beecher) Stowe girl]. PM as in Post Mortem, not prime minister or afternoon. Topsy’s the one who just growed.
18 Reticence about taking in unknown old tax cases (7)
COYNESS – ON [about], “taking in” Y [unknown], the whole cased by CESS [old tax]
19 Noble decoration and place to hang it? (3,4)
EAR LOBE – EARL O.B.E. [noble | decoration], leading to a place one could hang a decoration.
21 Upright character among crew makes appearance (4)
MIEN – I [upright character] among MEN [crew]
22 Worker slapped under restraint (10)
HANDCUFFED – HAND CUFFED [worker | slapped]
25 Low-tech Dictaphone suits criminal (15)
UNSOPHISTICATED – (DICTAPHONE SUITS*) [“criminal”]
27 Brussels chief enlists a French guard for sultan (6)
EUNUCH – EU CH [Brussels | chief] “enlists” UN [a (French)]
28 Applaud role reversal? Such tosh! (8)
CLAPTRAP – CLAP [applaud] + reversed PART [role]
DOWN
1 Black material that’s worn by drivers (7)
MACADAM – cryptic definition. The material is not being worn as clothes, but by the drivers’ wheels.
2 Note, very large (3)
SOL – SO L [very | large]
3 English medic thought inhaling CO upright relieved pain? (10)
EMBROCATED – E MB RATED [English | medic | thought] “inhaling” upside-down CO
4 Carpet that is past its best (5)
SCOLD – SC [scilicet = that is] + OLD [past its best]
6 Nelson perhaps changed colours, swopping parts (4)
EDDY – DYED [changed colours], swopping its first and second halves. Think we’re talking about Nelson Eddy (1901-67), American actor and singer.
7 State reported galley’s rejecting oil (11)
GREASEPROOF – homophone of GREECE [state “reported”] + PROOF [galley]
8 Extremely happy to keep willow ladders in this? (7)
HOSIERY – H{app}Y to “keep” OSIER [willow]
9 Sloth maybe in UK tourist hotspots (8)
EDENTATE – I think we’re talking about the part of the Lake District and the Tate Gallery here for the tourist hotspots, though my own first thought was the Eden Project in Cornwall.
12 When only Lassie’s broadcast? (5,6)
SILLY SEASON – (ONLY LASSIE’S*) [“broadcast”], &lit.
14 Which person up on a horse is invited to get down? (7,3)
STIRRUP CUP – another cryptic definition, “get down” here meaning to drink. I wonder if this clue might not have originally omitted the “on a horse” helping hand, before someone got cold feet.
16 English clubs still over the moon (8)
ECSTATIC – E C STATIC [English | clubs | still]
18 Travel to work miles in business vehicle Down Under (7)
COMMUTE – M M [miles (*2)] in CO UTE [business | Australian vehicle]
20 Turned out target based on European party (5,2)
ENDED UP – END [target] taking E DUP [European | party] as its base
23 Old comms service cable raised around top of tree (5)
DATEL – reversed LEAD [cable] around T{ree}. Never heard of Datel® but the wordplay was clear enough and it is in Chambers. Proprietary to British Telecom apparently.
24 Huge web image? (4)
EPIC – or E-PIC suggesting “web image”.
26 Endless rent rise (3)
TOR – TOR{n} [“endless” rent]
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