Solving time 19:03
Some really good stuff here. 14D caught me out for a long time, as I never think to consider French phrases. Very well disguised anagram too. 29A was also very clever, and I didn’t understand 4D until looking it up later.
Across
| 5 | CON,CUR – CON short for convict. |
| 10 | DONATE,LL,O |
| 11 | (chape)L,AMAS(s) |
| 13 | HEARTB(breath*),URN |
| 15 | E,MB,LA(ZONE)D – I only knew the heraldic meaning of this word, but it’s there in Chambers: “to celebrate, glorify or praise”. |
| 17 | R,E(x)AM – I liked “no sign of error” to indicate removal of the X in a very smooth surface reading. |
| 20 | STEP(HEN)SON – although it’s well known that Richard Trevithick invented the locomotive, no maybe about it. |
| 22 | SU(US rev),BORDERS |
| 27 | C(ALED,ON)IA |
| 29 | (c)HAPPIES,T |
Down
| 1 | BODY – the plural is the French wine region, so refers to the fullness of flavour. |
| 2 | CANTER,BURY BELLS (“belles”) |
| 3 | WATER GAS (was great)* – can’t say I’d ever heard of this, but an easy anagram to untangle. |
| 4 | R.ALPH – from the poem by Coleridge: In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/A stately pleasure-dome decree:/Where Alph, the sacred river, ran/Through caverns measureless to man/Down to a sunless sea. |
| 7 | COMPUTER SCIENCE (soccer cup tie men)* – I got this from a few crossing letters before seeing it was actually an anagram. |
| 8 | RE,SENT(i)MENT |
| 9 | NO,TAPE,EP |
| 14 | JEU D’ESPRIT Jude* + priest* – two anagrams, well disguised with the title of the Hardy novel being anagram fodder and indicator. |
| 16 | OUTRE,A,CH |
| 18 | BEE,FED UP |
| 21 | TRIXIE – “tricksy” – a diminutive of Beatrix. |
| 23 | SA(L)SA – L in two lots of that old staple, Sex Appeal. |
There are 8 “easies” left out of the blog:
1a To endorse conflict with Democrat is not very bright (8)
BACK WAR D
12a Politician’s first audience is Conference, perhaps (4)
P EAR
19a Type of fuel used by olDER Vehicles (4)
DERV
24a Perform somersault and hit the roof (4)
FLIP
26a Retiring monarch, say, needs rest (5)
RE LAX. E.R. back lacks.
28a One samples various (treats)* (6)
TASTER
6d Offal regularly consumed in recent times (2,4)
O F L ATE
25d Settlement of bill, in part (4)
P AC T