Times Cryptic 29306

Solving time: Exactly an hour. I didn’t find this easy, but I was always going to get there if I stayed with it long enough.

As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions and substitutions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]. “Aural wordplay” is in quotation marks. . I now use a tilde sign ~ to indicate an insertion point in containment clues. I usually omit all reference to juxtaposition indicators unless there is a specific point that requires clarification.

Across
1	Upright piano in bash: tuning note ruined (8)
	GOALPOST
	P (piano) contained by [in] GO (bash) + A (tuning note) + L~OST (ruined). At the beginning of a concert, orchestras check the tuning of their instruments against the note A sounded on an oboe. I’ve used a tilde ~ to indicate the insertion point.
5	Fight doctor in film (6)
	COMBAT
	MB (doctor) contained by [in] CO~AT (film)
10	Chap hogging last of syrup — from this? (5)
	MAPLE
	MA~LE (chap) containing [hogging] {syru}P [last of…]. The definition refers back to ‘syrup’.
11	Hard material — too hard, we fancy (9)
	HEARTWOOD
	Anagram [fancy] of TOO HARD WE. The dense inner part of a tree trunk where the hardest timber is to be found. I didn’t know the word but it had to be. It appeared here once before, 4 years ago.
12	Schools silent after dismissing current change (9)
	TRANSMUTE
	TRA{i}NS (schools) + MUTE (silent) [after dismissing current – I]
13	Get rid of devious character seen around Times page (5)
	EXPEL
	E~EL (devious character) containing [seen around] X (times) + P (page)
14	Clear with agreement to adopt Republican broadcasting company (7)
	NETWORK
	NET (clear – after tax), W (with) + O~K (agreement) containing [to adopt] R (Republican)
16	One not quoted abandoning chapter (6)
	UNITED
	UN{c}ITED  (not quoted) [abandoning chapter]
18	Fussed vaguely, satisfied to be welcoming a couple of females (6)
	FAFFED
	F~ED (satisfied) containing [to be welcoming] A + FF (couple of females). ‘Faff’ was used as wordplay in the Saturday puzzle blogged here on 2nd August.
20	Advertisement possibly attached to new gate (7)
	POSTERN
	POSTER (advertisement possibly), N (new).  A back or side entrance.
22	Dark changes enveloping area in African city (5)
	DAKAR
	Anagram [changes] of DARK containing [enveloping] A (area). Capital of Senegal.
23	Texas city accommodating couples runs this? Not half (4,5)
	FORT WORTH
	FOR TWO (accommodating couples), R (runs), TH{is} [not half]
25	Rippling nude torso — beefy stuff (9)
	TOURNEDOS
	Anagram [rippling] of NUDE TORSO. A small round thick cut from a fillet of beef.
26	Returned lots of cotton — it’s shrinking (5)
	TIMID
	DIMIT{y} (cotton) [lots of…] reversed [returned]. A hard-wearing cotton fabric woven with stripes or checks. I was going to say with some confidence that I’d never heard of this but it has appeared here three times, once in 2014 and twice in 2015. This is the first clue to mention cotton; on previous occasions it was simply ‘fabric’ or ‘material’.
27	Excessive energy in sailors is not good (6)
	ROTTEN
	OTT (excessive) + E (energy) contained by [in] R~N (sailors – Royal Navy)
28	Wind player at home tucking into wine (8)
	CLARINET
	IN (at home) contained by [tucking into] CLAR~ET (wine). As discussed here previously, orchestral players are sometimes referred to by the name of their instrument.

Down
1	Understand individual has secured manuscript, a precious item (8)
	GEMSTONE
	GE~T (understand) + ONE (individual) containing [has secured] MS (manuscript)
2	Brightest star heads for home abruptly after a recording (5)
	ALPHA
	A, LP (recording), H{ome} + A{bruptly} [heads for…]
3	Public meeting to urge diet? (5,10)
	PRESS CONFERENCE
	PRESS (urge), CONFERENCE (diet). The Diet of Worms, for example.
4	Foolish person in school mess (7)
	SCHMUCK
	SCH (school), MUCK (mess)
6	I will avoid describing original server as excellent (2,3,5,5)
	OF THE FIRST WATER
	OF THE FIRST (describing original), WA{i}TER (server) [‘I’ will avoid]. For too long I wanted the answer  to be ‘Of the first order’  and I had to wait for checkers to think past that.
7	Lives in this place will retain power where life exists (9)
	BIOSPHERE
	BIOS (lives – biographies) ~ HERE (in this place) containing [will retain] P (power)
8	Saunter to end of road and do nothing after one leaves (6)
	TODDLE
	TO, {roa}D [end of…], {i}DLE (do nothing) [after one leaves]
9	People attending American University fancy food at the Sorbonne? (6)
	GATEAU
	GATE (people attending – e.g. a sports ground), A (American), U (university). French [at the Sorbonne] for posh cake.
15	Pursue clubs, perhaps, for training gear (9)
	TRACKSUIT
	TRACK (pursue), SUIT (clubs, perhaps)
17	Working to death, working without hint of alleviation? Exactly (2,3,3)
	ON THE DOT
	ON (working), then anagram [working] of TO DE{a}TH [without hint of alleviation]
19	Welshman, finally losing heart, accommodated by father and daughter (6)
	DAFYDD
	F{inall}Y [losing heart] contained [accommodated] by DA~D {father} + D (daughter)
20	Mate shipping oars, drifting in shade (7)
	PARASOL
	PA~L (mate) containing [shipping] anagram [drifting] of OARS
21	Rubbish suggestion mostly thrown up in computer program (6)
	EDITOR
	ROT (rubbish) + IDE{a} (suggestion) [mostly] reversed [thrown up]. Good to see an inventive definition of ‘editor’ for a change.
24	Novel of Paris and of another city (5)
	ROMAN
	A mildly cryptic definition precedes the main one. The French word for a novel has crossed into English in the expression ‘roman-à-clef’ and in that sense it’s a novel in which real people or events appear with invented names.