FOI 4ac rapidly followed by 12ac, LOI 8dn I think as I really thought it would be a writer missing their first letter to mean “reckon” (sneaky work setter). Favourite clue definitely 17ac, good service and super definition. Thanks for this one and I’m sorry about my choice of title – but there are shags and asses in the puzzle aplenty, so I couldn’t resist!
ACROSS
1 Go for a small boat trip (6)
ASSAIL – A S SAIL [a | small | boat trip]
4 Friendly guy introduced by a note (8)
AMICABLE – CABLE [guy, as in rope] introduced by A MI [note]
10 Suppression of left in party rather sad (9)
CLAMPDOWN – L [left] in CAMP [party] + DOWN [rather sad]
11 Survive farewells when son moves west (5)
EXIST – EXITS [farewells], moving S [son] one letter westwards
12 Rare elks Ted shot, wearing this? (11)
DEERSTALKER – (RARE ELKS TED*) [“short”], semi-&lit
14 Have lunch — roast lamb perhaps, but no starter (3)
EAT – {m}EAT [roast lamb perhaps, dropping first letter]
15 Tittle-tattle about island that’s increasingly trendy (7)
NATTIER – NATTER [tittle-tattle] about I [island]
17 Stagger round centre of Athens, finding work at last (6)
REHEEL – REEL [stagger] around {at}HE{ns}. Last as in a cobbler’s last!
19 Sponge pudding brought back, I see (6)
LOOFAH – reversed FOOL [pudding] + AH [I see]
21 Edible creature carried by Chinese as luggage (3-4)
SEA-SLUG – hidden in {chine}SE AS LUG{gage}. Not edible in my book! But de gustibus etc.
23 Jenny pauses every now and then (3)
ASS – {p}A{u}S{e}S. A jenny is an female ass, that’s my assessment.
24 Suspect fanatics are from Kenya? (4,7)
EAST AFRICAN – (FANATICS ARE*) [“suspect”]
26 Bottoms round and smooth (5)
SLEEK – reversed KEELS [bottoms]
27 Naive or very clever, university expelling yours truly (9)
INGENUOUS – INGENIOUS [very clever], U [university] “expelling” and superseding I [yours truly].
Hope not to many people managed to get muddled-up and enter INGENIOUS!
29 What’s the most convincing passage? Jean-Paul Sartre’s is (8)
SOUNDEST – SOUND [passage] + EST [French for “is”]
30 On a high, as your date might be? (6)
STONED – a double def. No one likes to have to de-stone their own (edible) dates.
DOWN
1 Misfortune sees Sid losing head, in a manner of speaking (8)
ACCIDENT – {s}ID, in ACCENT [a manner of speaking]
2 Kiss husband in bar (5)
SHAVE – H [husband] in SAVE [bar]
3 One returning after death as devil? (3)
IMP – I [one] + reversed P.M. [post mortem = after death]
5 Nickname of the Speakers’s girl? (7)
MONIKER – homophone of MONICA [girl]
6 Acquit successor in hearing, and make peace (5,3,3)
CLEAR THE AIR – homophone of CLEAR THE HEIR [acquit the successor]
7 Prison report on health of union member? (9)
BRIDEWELL – or alternatively punctuated, and very succinctly, “Bride well.”
8 Reckon writer’s lacking capital (6)
ESTATE – EST{im}ATE [reckon], wherein I’M [writer’s] is lacking
9 Guff one has to endure in sauna? (3,3)
HOT AIR – double def, more or less
13 Obstinate Pole getting drunk after argument (5-6)
STIFF-NECKED – S [Pole] + NECKED [drunk] after TIFF [argument]
16 Time philosopher finds clothes for wedding (9)
TROUSSEAU – T ROUSSEAU [time | philosopher]
18 San Diego can make you distressed (8)
AGONISED – (SAN DIEGO*) [“can make you…”]
20 VIP ironically using these to write with? (3,4)
HIS NIBS – double def, more or less
21 Unkempt, much like a cormorant? (6)
SHAGGY – or, jocularly, SHAG-GY, like a SHAG [cormorant]
22 Bones of rodent served up by half-cut wife (6)
TARSUS – upside-down RAT [rodent] + {mis}SUS [“half-cut” wife]
25 Head has left for run, the idiot (5)
CLOWN – take CROWN [head] and give it L [left] in place of R [run].
Probably an even easier trap for the unwary to fall into than 27ac!
28 Maniac knocking over beer barrel (3)
NUT – inverted TUN [beer barrel]
Verlaine may like to know that Shag Ass Disease (often mis-spelled as Chagas) is a parasitic infection transmitted chiefly by kissing bugs.