An excellent QC, in my opinion, as it was quick (8:28) but definitely put up a struggle. Unusually, I had several half answers around the grid at one time waiting for a crossing letter (e.g. 15dn). Dnk the country at 15dn and had some fun at 12dn. COD to 13ac for the surface.

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Well, I struggled mightily with this, getting one wrong and needing to cheat on two, while managing to nod off as well. There were certainly some difficult words, including a medical term I'd never heard of, though it was Latiny enough to be able to work out. As often, the hidden eluded me for ages (the fact that it was some chemistry thing didn't help), while my biggest source of embarrassment - on a particularly embarrassing sort of solve - was my failure to remember what VALETUDINARIAN meant - and to separate it out from the 'valedictory' stable of words, even though I'd read an entry (very carefully, I might add) on it not six months ago.

Maybe everyone else will find it a breeze, but I would say that this is definitely not one for the Quickie brigade.

ACROSS

1 Good girl we're told deciding it's an unfair obstacle (5,7)
GLASS CEILING - G LASS sounds like 'sealing'
9 Greek festival inspires king – it’s something in the atmosphere (5)
ARGON - R in AGON; a Greek festival, such as the one at Olympia, at which competitors vied for laurel wreaths et al
10 Musical style it's rude to sing (9)
BLUEGRASS - BLUE GRASS (rat on someone)
11 The cloth sample on skimpy garments (8)
MINISTRY - TRY on MINIS
12 Leave the neighbouring housing compound (6)
ETHENE - hidden in[leav[E THE NE[eighbouring]; I'd herard of ETHANE but not this stuff
13 Investigator on the booze (8)
REPORTER - RE PORTER (a dark sweet ale brewed from black malt - one of my favourite tipples)
15 Heavy drinks bottles heading for tavern (6)
ROTUND - T[avern] in ROUND ('drinks bottles heading for tavern' is crosswordese for chuck the initial letter of tavern in drinks)
17 Reduce by cooking in two months (6)
DECOCT - DEC OCT; if I was being really honest (something I haven't tried for some time now) I would have to say that I'd never heard of this word. I probably said that last time it came up...
18 Flatter, or fairly flat? (8)
BLANDISH - if something were not that dull, but definitely on the dull side (think Michael MacIntyre doing yet another observational domestic sketch), then you might call it on the bland side, or indeed, 'blandish'. Oh God, I think I've just given him an idea he'll be able to pad out into a 3-minute item...
20 Prickly Scandinavian hero content to leave Norway (6)
THORNY - THOR N[orwa]Y
21 Sordid party game (8)
BASEBALL - BASE BALL
24 View short camera shot, in which a lot is crooked? (5,4)
CRIME WAVE - anagram* of VIEW CAMER[a]
25 Fiddle one misplaced? There it is! (5)
VOILA - VOILA with the I moving about
26 Christian book favouring giving up almost everything (12)
PROCESSIONAL - PRO CESSION (giving up) AL[l]; a book as well as 'Once in Royal David's City' then

DOWN

1 What may qualify school to provide set of rules (7)
GRAMMAR - one of the words that may premodify school, along with finishing and special needs, is GRAMMAR
2 Front of chest in great pain, so could be this? (6,8)
ANGINA PECTORIS - C[hest] IN GREAT PAIN SO* for the heart-related chest pain that my healthy lifestyle has so far kept me safe from
3 Passage south across the Atlantic (5)
SINUS - S IN US
4 Got on vessel in eastern sea (8)
EMBARKED - BARK in E MED
5 Flamboyant old Law Lord entertains (4)
LOUD - O in LUD; it is a sad indictment of modern times that judges are no longer addressed by barristers with their hands pressed against their chests under the lapels of their gowns as M'Lud. Boring old Milord is now the order of the day in the lego-judicial industry.
6 New wig and thong, kinky bedroom gear (9)
NIGHTGOWN - n[ew] WIG THONG*; shame on anyone who went down the leather, wrist-cuff route...
7 Invalid with a nature that's sickly? (14)
VALETUDINARIAN - INVALID A NATURE* for the hypochondriac
8 Get promoted in a post broadcasting (6)
ASCEND - A sounds like 'send'
14 Trained to run race, his performance is telling (9)
RACONTEUR - TO RUN RACE*
16 They could hack off Conservative Brexiteers (8)
CLEAVERS - C LEAVERS (bless 'em - I'd never have joined in the first place)
17 Didn't like touring Croatia's capital, back in Split (6)
DETACH - HATED reversed around C[roatia]
19 Item for traveller knocking on mansion walls (7)
HOLDALL - OLD (knocking on - geddit?) in HALL; walls is the containment indicator
22 Brief verse in French mostly useless (5)
ENVOI - EN VOI[d]; a literary entity that is still commonly found in crosswords - along with EPODES, ELEGIES et al - meaning a short stanza concluding a ballade
23 Demonstrate putting away hot alcoholic drink (4)
MARC - MARC[h]

It was pleasant looking back over this puzzle, which I recall as a(n) 13ing outing, after a week. In the first edition of this blog, I thought that the one clue where I detected a problem still seemed deficient when I came back to it, but Jackkt and Kevin have set me straight. I would guess that most of y’all got through this one in a speedy fashion. I was watching YouTube while I worked it.

There sure were a lot—eight, plus one partial!—of (mangaras)*. Anagrinds are italicized in the clues.

ACROSS

1	I don’t know bishop in drink, okay (8)
	PASSABLE—PASS or “I don’t know” + AL(B)E
5	American beer had befuddled one supposedly enlightened (6)
	BUDDHA—That brew, to speak loosely, would be BUDweiser + (had)*. I sort of like the sceptical “supposedly,” though my impression is that Guatama was on to something.
10	New man cutting top of lip in close shave (4,5)
	NEAR THING—N + EARTH[-l]ING
11	Song of soprano that nut producer picks up (5)
	PSALM—P(S)ALM
12	Banker head of redundancy put up in temporary digs? (5)
	TRENT—T(R)ENT. “Banker” is a word used for a river only in crosswords, cf. “flower”
13	Flirt with nurse I natter about (9)
	ENTERTAIN—(EN or “nurse” + I natter)*. As in “entertain an idea.” Sometimes the anagrind is “nurse.” (At first I had RN for "nurse," as I was not familiar with the British term "enrolled nurse" and hadn't bothered to actually work out the anagram. Thanks again to Kevin.)
14	Decide a map needs altering for military adviser (4-2-4)
	AIDE-DE-CAMP—(Decide a map)*. This was my FOI. Bit of an echo below. (Did Ondine or Billy Name act as Warhol aides-de-camp? …Sorry.)
17	Fail to understand one teaching classes (4)
	MISS—Double definition (and the real thing). Do English schoolchildren still call their (female) teachers “Miss”? What about the male ones? I really want to know.
19	One costly, but ultimately lacking, plan (4)
	IDEA—I (“one”) + DEA[-r]
20	Horror story provided by Don King’s stylist? (4-6)
	HAIR-RAISER—Har de har har
22	Knight tyrannised after daughter’s gone and proposed (9)
	NOMINATED—N is for “knight” (because the king gets the K) + [-d]OMINATED
24	Yearn to have a partner, in practice? (5)
	COVET—I should have gotten CO[-]MET a lot more quickly Friday, having already worked this one not quite two weeks ago. My friend Emma is a veterinarian, but I don’t know if she shares her practice.
26	A large group of people going around island (5)
	ATOLL—How exactly is this supposed to work? It comes close, but… Lessee. A is A and “large” is L; in between we have a “group of people” going around, LOT <—. There’s nothing to say the A and L are themselves going around (the backward) LOT. Am I missing somethi I don't know why I couldn't see that after the A both L(arge) and LOT are going backwards. D'oh!
27	One plated molar lad cracked around lunchtime? (9)
	ARMADILLO—(molar lad + I [or "1" for "lunchtime"])*
28	Equipment associated with school camp (6)
	KITSCH—KIT +SCH(ool).
29	Advance publicity awful types ultimately diss (8)
	PROGRESS—PR + OGRES + [-dis]S

Down
1	Travelling up mountain track, perhaps (11,4)
	PUNCTUATION MARK— (up mountain track)* I’m not 2’ed to say that this was my LOI, the definition was so carefully camouflaged. I love this trick, which we don’t see often, though probably often enough (you wouldn’t want to ruin the element of surprise).
2	Fraud finally destroyed yours truly? Oh, that’s awful! (5)
	SHAME—SHA[-m] + ME. Of course, all of SHAM is actually there too, but then you’d just be left with E. Still seems a little odd to lop off the M just to add it again, though this kind of thing is done often enough (if not too often. Ha).
3	New IT update for facility (8)
	APTITUDE—(IT update)*
4	French department learning about head of interior (5)
	LOIRE—LO(I)RE
6	Politician’s anger with posh Lord’s official? (6)
	UMPIRE—M(ember of) P(arliament) IRE “with” (coming before it) U for “posh.” “Politician’s anger” has to be read as “Politician has anger,” which always irks me a bit because one so rarely hears this particular elision in real life (as opposed to the contraction of “has” as a helping verb).
7	Aberrant mad and racist histrionics (9)
	DRAMATICS—(mad + racist)*
8	Governments reshuffling amid transitions (15)
	ADMINISTRATIONS—(amid transitions)*
9	Soldiers might be prepared before one goes off (3,5)
	EGG TIMER—Cryptic definition, “soldiers” being little strips of toast for sticking into soft-boiled eggs at breakfast
15	Hot chap doing Rome with a bad temperature (9)
	DREAMBOAT—(ROME + A BAD T[emperature])*
16	Give a hand to break up upset cobblers (8)
	CLAPTRAP—CLAP + PART <—
18	Party in possibly automatic Golf tailed guard (8)
	WATCHDOG—“automatic” is kind of WATCH (hence “possibly”), which has “Party,” or DO, between it and G(olf), or “in” them
21	Finish cut on black, short hair all at once (2,4)
	EN BLOC—EN[-d] or “Finish cut” + B(lack) + LOC[-k] or “short hair”
23	Object veterinarian used to restrain bird (5)
	DEMUR—The vet is a DR, holding that flightless wonder the EMU
25	Cost of treasure (5)
	VALUE—Double definition, though the two are not so disparate as to produce any kind of spark

A puzzle that seemed easier than average with just the one troublesome clue (21A), which fortunately fell on the right side of a coin toss an educated guess. The standouts, at least for this solver, were the two pieces of music that were both composed in my lifetime AND are in my iTunes collection - an occurrence only infrequently seen in the Times crossword. Granted, I'm not the biggest fan of either of the artists concerned but, in a Crosswordland where classical music predominates, it's nice to be thrown a bone every so often, even if not the absolute tastiest. Thanks, setter!

Definitions are underlined, * = anagram, {} = omission, dd = double definition

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This was a struggle. Particularly horrible were the clues with obscure answers which one couldn’t construct with certainty from the wordplay. Yes, I’m looking at you, Carne Ebbas Giant (sic) and Fianne Fáil (sic). Those two I had to google, both to check they were things and to find out how to spell them. In neither case (grumble) did the wordplay unambiguously specify the spelling. Fine if you live in or near that parish, I suppose, but too bad else. And yes, I do know now that the spellings above are wrong.

The rest was tough but doable. I guess my clue of the day is 9ac, for its nice structure and echo of the wonderful TV series. Thanks to the setter.

Clues are in blue, with definitions underlined. Answers are in BOLD CAPS, then wordplay. (ABC*) means 'anagram of ABC', with the anagram indicator in bold italics. Deletions are in [square brackets].

Across
1 It's Let It Be that concludes this great live event (4)
STET: last letters (“this concludes”) of the last four words.

4 Fish surprises, served with chopped fruit (4,6)
ROCK SALMON: ROCKS / ALMON[d].

9 Rumpole pays out, scrapping over sweetener (5,5)
MAPLE SYRUP: (RUMP-LE PAYS*), having “scrapped” O for “over”.

10 Irish drawn to saint excited reaction (4)
STIR: ST (saint) / IR (Irish).

11 Mountain girl in historic subcontinental region (6)
BENGAL: BEN / GAL.

12 Always travelling west, minister in eastern capital (8)
EVERMORE: REV inside E / ROME, all reversed (“travelling west”).

14 Pass through having taken in Slovakia's capital (4)
VISA: S[lovakia] taken in by VIA (through).

15 Support British on search for swimmer (10)
RIBBONFISH: RIB / B / ON / FISH (search).

17 Cook has minutes to find relish (10)
ENTHUSIASM: (HAS MINUTES*).

20 Mock Shakespeare's ending in Tempest (4)
RAGE: RAG (mock) / [shakespear]E.

21 Letters Heather's about to bring in (8)
LEARNING: LING “about” EARN.

23 Old Greek sailor turning in as consequence (6)
THEBAN: AB “turning” in THEN (as consequence).

24 Good to deliver in box (4)
GRID: G / RID. Chambers gives “grid” as “framework”, which seems near enough.

25 Party girl Formula One founder entertains (6,4)
FIANNA FAÍL: ANNA (not ANNE, obviously, if you know the answer you’re looking for, although in that case you hardly need the wordplay!) “entertained by” F1 / FAIL (founder, as in “sink”). It’s an Irish political party.

26 Mimicking bird, cat who looks for excitement? (7,3)
PEEPING TOM: PEEPING (mimicking a bird) / TOM (cat).

27 Connection used by school in Karachi (4)
LINK: hidden answer.

Down
2 One to elicit pity generated in plays? (11)
TRAGEDIENNE: (GENERATED IN*).

3 Communications device to signal unwittingly (9)
TELEGRAPH: double definition, the second as in “he telegraphed his next move”.

4 Sovereign holds good man to be lawbreaker (7)
RUSTLER: RULER “holds” ST (saint).

5 Figure Caribbean agents may give (5,5,5)
CERNE ABBAS GIANT: (CARIBBEAN AGENTS*). The exact spelling is a punt unless you know the answer. It’s a hillside figure in Dorset.

6 Drink on tick for boss (7)
SUPREMO: SUP / REMO (another name for Riesling, apparently). I didn’t know this name for the grape, but this time the answer was obvious. On edit: forget that nonsense! A sensible parsing suggested in the comments is SUP (drink) / RE (on) / MO (tick).

7 Noise from the herd about race becomes slogan (5)
MOTTO: MOO (noise from the herd) “about” TT (motor cycle race).

8 Message sensibly delivered in this bottle? (5)
NERVE: double definition. The first alludes to signals to or from the brain travelling along the nervous system.

13 Notice eating irons wrongly placed (11)
RESIGNATION: (EATING IRONS*).

16 Remiss to hammer out soaring German air (9)
FORGETFUL: FORGE (to hammer out)  / TFUL (reversal of – i.e. “soaring” – LUFT. It's the German word for the air that we breath).

18 Make firm points to clinch argument (7)
STIFFEN: S[outh], E[ast] and N[orth] around TIFF.

19 Reductive substitution English man used in mass medium (7)
METONYM: E / TONY in M (mass) / M (medium).

21 Set cryptically? That brings advantage! (3,2)
LEG UP: the idea is that “LEG UP” could be a cryptic clue for GEL (set).

22 Bad blood initially denied young heroine (5)
ALICE: [m]ALICE.

Something of a disaster last night as I clicked submit to post this blog and LiveJournal instantly ate it, beyond any of my attempts at recovery. I have to dash out to catch a train right now... but there was plenty to talk about on this excellent crossword, so I promise I'll return and sort this placeholder out! In the meantime...

ACROSS
1 Goal minders do it (6)
OBJECT - double definition: to mind something is to have an objection to it

4 Rank alongside aphids, ultimately, as parasites (8)
SPONGING - PONGING [rank] alongside {aphid}S

10 Sort of tall beast that’s kept in cellar? (5,4)
TABLE SALT - (TALL BEAST*) ["sort of..."]

11 Assume that one judge must visit French city (5)
DIJON - DON [assume] that I J [one | judge] must "visit"

12 Dashed busy? (9,5)
INSPECTOR MORSE - we've talked in here only recently about how a "busy" is a member of the police force, and Morse code contains many dashes (as well as dots)... suggesting this groanworthy/brilliant pun of a definition.

14 What was taken from Samson and Lot (5)
SIGHT - double definition. Samson was blinded after being shorn; and "a sight" is a lot in some idiomatic uses as, again, I think we've discussed in here recently. "He's a damn sight more friendly than you are," that kind of thing.

16 Grabbing armband, collecting pants (9)
SNAFFLING - SLING [armband], "collecting" NAFF [pants]

18 Something said to be complete, note, within one (9)
UTTERANCE - UTTER [complete] + N [note], within ACE [one]

20 Inadequate person finally found new life, some job (5)
DWEEB - {foun}D {ne}W {lif}E {som}E {jo}B

21 MCC aim: come repeatedly for batting average abroad (5,2,5,2)
COMME CI COMME CA - (MC AIM COME COME*) ["for batting"]. Every schoolboy's favourite response to "Comment ca va?" if I recall correctly, due it being the most fun thing to say.

25 Covered on the inside with wrinkles (5)
LINED - double def

26 Girl fashioned garland, almost new (9)
MADELEINE - MADE LEI [fashioned | garland] + NE{w}

27 Further comment, often too complicated (8)
FOOTNOTE - (OFTEN TOO*) ["complicated"]

28 Beef, for example, from across the pond or canal? (6)
MEATUS - MEAT U.S. [beef, for example | from across the pond]

DOWN
1 Course books containing sign of error troubles publisher (6,4)
OXTAIL SOUP - O.T. [books] containing X [sign of error] + AILS O.U.P. [troubles | publisher]

2 After first of January, one’s having to live in digs (5)
JIBES - after J{anuary}, I'S [one's] having BE [to live] in

3 Mild Liberal getting stick all round (7)
CLEMENT - L [Liberal] getting CEMENT [stick] all round

5 Pan perhaps necessary for recipe — teriyaki? (5)
PETER - hidden in {reci}PE TER{iyaki}

6 Green light’s extinguished: then sleeps (4,3)
NODS OFF - to give someone the green light is to give them the NOD; so NOD'S OFF [green light's | extinguished]

7 Fair distance beyond home? Wrong (9)
INJUSTICE - JUST ICE [fair | distance] beyond IN [home]

8 On the way out, I dispatched award (4)
GONG - GO{i}NG [on the way out, losing its I]

9 Resistance fighter trained in Sparta (8)
PARTISAN - (IN SPARTA*) ["trained"]

13 Helicopters from Richmond bringing winning team perhaps to the Oval (3,7)
EGG BEATERS - egg beaters are an American term for copters, so this is probably Richmond, VA, not the one south of the Thames. Bring BEATERS [winning, team perhaps] to EGG [the oval]. Whew!

15 Duck excessively short tackle (3,4,2)
GET DOWN TO - GET DOWN [duck] + TO{o} [excessively, "short"]

17 One used to call a contact, briefly, before work (4,4)
AREA CODE - A REAC{h} [a | contact, "briefly"] before ODE [work]

19 Raced round like a loony, after a fast time (7)
RAMADAN - RAN [raced] round MAD [like a loony], after A

20 Director finally accepted Zola and his article (2,5)
DE MILLE - {accepte}D + EMIL [Zola] + LE [his (i.e. a Frenchman's) article]. But wasn't it EMILE?

22 Space traveller wasn’t the only one to get in contact? (5)
COMET - if you get into contact with someone you meet them, so multiple people getting into contact could be said jocularly to have CO-MET.

23 Turn out fine in the end: I’m out of Casualty (5)
EVICT - {fin}E + VICT{im} [casualty, losing it's I'M]

24 Scandinavian of note is visiting (4)
OLAF - OF, visited by LA [note]

Even after four or more years of weekly Wednesdays, I still look forward to producing a blog, hoping it will test and titillate me (and you) and occasionally involve learning something new. Yesterday's was a good example. Today was a disappointment. I even wondered if I'd printed the wrong puzzle and done the Quick Cryptic. It took me less than 15 minutes with nothing to slow me down, 29a being the LOI after a little thought and a smile at the end. I hope I'm not going to cheese off people who found it hard, if any, but it was unsatisfyingly easy and unmemorable. I'm struggling to find more to say about it, so I'll just unravel the wordplay.
Favourite clue? 13a, of course.

Across
1	Kitchen device to ruin plumbing fitment (10)
	DISHWASHER - DISH = to ruin, WASHER is a plumbing 'fitment'. Well, it's just a little circular thing, not much of a fitment.
6	Item is piano tune (4)
	PAIR - P for piano, AIR = tune; an item as in a couple.
9	Hell surrounding Biblical city seen by an austere religious follower (7)
	PURITAN - UR that old city inside PIT = hell, then AN.
10	Note cut lines — join again? (7)
	REMARRY - REMARK = note, is 'cut' then RY for railway lines.
12	Herd straying and straying? Don't follow it (3,7)
	RED HERRING -  (HERD)* then ERRING = straying.
13	Something that swoops near the ground, head right back (3)
	OWL - LOW = near the ground, move the L to the end.
15	Stop last of dodgy group of settlers (6)
	COLONY - a COLON : is a kind of stop, Y = end of dodgY.
16	Exciting about Conservative (not Republican) taking a broad view (8)
	ECLECTIC - ELECTRIC for exciting; delete the R, insert a C a bit earlier.
18	Marine marker left by second person returning after start of month (4-4)
	LIFE-BUOY - L = left, 1 FEB = start of month, then YOU reversed.
20	Nothing quartet recalled about old instrument (6)
	VIOLIN - NIL = nothing, IV = quartet, reverse all and insert O for old.
23	Servant, giving one away, cracked (3)
	MAD -  MAID = servant, remove the I.
24	Healthy as a pampered inmate? (2,4,4)
	IN GOOD NICK - A pampered inmate could be in a GOOD NICK or jail.
26	Threatening to have party for graduate suffering grief (7)
	DOLEFUL - BALEFUL = threatening, replace the BA (graduate) by DO (party).
27	Brand of motor ending in remote display area (7)
	MARQUEE - MARQUE = brand of motor car, E = end of remotE.
28	Line chest for a bit of fun (4)
	LARK - L for line, ARK for chest.
29	What you get up to in the way of tweeting (4,6)
	DAWN CHORUS - Cryptic definition.

Down
1	Party leaders in politics expect information (4)
	DOPE - DO = party (yet again!), P E = initial letters of politics expect.
2	Most of certain area offloading millions of unusual paintings? (7)
	SURREAL - SUR(E) = most of certain, REAL(M) = area, losing its M for millions.
3	Hunter perhaps reset gin, with transient opportunity for observation (8,5)
	WATCHING BRIEF - a hunter could be a WATCH; (GIN)*, BRIEF = transient.
4	One guards small number of competitors (6)
	SENTRY - S for small, ENTRY for number of competitors.
5	I creep about, going after each listening device (8)
	EARPIECE - EA = each, (I CREEP)*.
7	6 ceding power left transport hub (7)
	AIRPORT - 6a was PAIR, lose the P, add PORT = left.
8	Original shell of confectionery recreated in sugary coating (5,5)
	ROYAL ICING - (ORIGINAL C Y)*, where C Y = the 'shell' of confectionery.
11	Crumbling Gothic remnant — it's something of an attraction (8,5)
	MAGNETIC NORTH - (GOTHIC REMNANT)*.
14	Representation to go up — way to attract Liberal (5,5)
	SCALE MODEL - SCALE = to go up, as in scale a wall; MODE = way, L for Liberal.
17	Upset record number entering target country (8)
	MONGOLIA - AIM = target, LOG = record, NO = number; insert LOG NO into AIM gives you AILOGNOM, upset it all to get the country.
19	Fine supplier of puzzles, overlooking first one cheating (7)
	FIDDLER - F = fine, RIDDLER = one supplying puzzles, remove the first R.
21	Varnish nearly all fine material? Question stopping short (7)
	LACQUER - LAC(E) = fine material, nearly; QUER(Y) = question stopping short.
22	Usual trick, hiding ring and military medal (6)
	COMMON - CON = trick; insert O = ring and MM abbr. for a military medal.
25	Communiqué given no time in part of military base (4)
	MESS - MESSAGE = communiqué, remove the AGE = given no time.

Just over ten minutes for this one and all the time it seemed pretty tricky. Loi 22ac. Whilst the old timers may sail through, serenely or otherwise, I feel there are a lot of learning opportunities for beginners here. There’s the short form for sickbay, an unusual word for mournful, a gun, a word meaning cunning, a 4 part parse at 25ac and, for those outside U.K., an area of London. Good luck!

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There were a few traps laid here, at 1 across 7 down and 21 down in particular where there are two obvious (or less than obvious words that kind of fit the clue). I knew the long anagram at 9 across which gave me a good start across the top, and I had read a short story by an Argentinian writer with almost the same last name as the plant at 15 down.  It was the bottom left side that was the last to fall.

Grid watch: 12 by 12, 180 degree symmetry but lots of crossing between quadrants. Rather nice grid I thought.

The first definition is underlined - all definitions are confirmed by checking the entry in Chambers.

Away we go...

Across
1	Prohibition has young hooligan stuck in outhouse (6)
	BARNED - BAR(prohibition) and NED(young hooligan)
5	Gift to hospital — holy book (6)
	GRANTH - GRANT(gift) next to H(hosptial)
9	Flea perhaps coming to grief in Erica’s teapot (12)
	ECTOPARASITE - anagram of ERICA'S TEAPOT
10	Nocturnal animal may be food to a snake (7)
	NAGAPIE -  the snake may eat a NAGA PIE
13	Leading Greek character said to be a grass (4)
	ALFA - sounds like ALPHA(Greek character)
14	Maybe an old bird perches finally on beast of burden (6)
	SCAMEL - (perche)S, CAMEL(beast of burden)
16	Creature from outer space children design (4)
	ETCH - ET(extra terrestrial), CH(children)
17	Scripture that may be rendered in a chant (6)
	TANACH - anagram of A,CHANT
18	Dung and fibre kept in tin (6)
	SHAIRN - HAIR(fibre) in SN(chemical symbol for tin)
22	Robber making return, getting cut short, one captured (6)
	REIVER - REVERT(return) shortened, with I inside
23	Anxious and cross when one deemed good displaces king (6)
	ANGSTY - ANGRY(cross) with ST(saint, one deemed good) instead of R(King)
24	Snow yet to return (4)
	NEVE - EVEN(yet) reversed
27	Show fear, weeping — no yen, little energy (6)
	CRINGE - CRYING(weeping) with no Y(yen), then E(energy)
28	Senior not all trainees wanted (4)
	AINE - hidden in trAINEes
29	Darling husband taken into a shop (7)
	ASTHORE - H(husband) in A, STORE(shop)
30	Troubled ass — indicator reveals disease caused by worms (12)
	DRACONTIASIS - anagram of ASS,INDICATOR
31	Municipal officer beginning to cheer in call for round of drinks (6)
	SCHOUT - C(heer) inside SHOUT(call for a round of drinks) - a Dutch municipal officer
32	Something that cat sat on tot sits on (6)
	SUMMAT - the cat sat on the MAT, with SUM(tot) first

Down
1	Plant with insect gathering prime bit of nectar repeatedly (5)
	BENNE - BEE(insect) containing N(ectar) twice - sesame plant
2	A container, yours, decorated with a prickly plant (9)
	ACANTHINE - A CAN(container), THINE(yours)
3	Limited number with a skill in the time of the Flood (7)
	NOACHIC - NO(number), A, CHIC(skill)
4	Jock’s occasional place of retreat with interior design (6)
	DAIMEN - DEN(place of retreat) containing AIM(design)
5	Being received inadequately, weep as of old (6)
	GREETE - remove the last letter from GREETED(received)
6	When a river makes more than one bank (4)
	ASAR - AS(when), A, R(river) - for those of you new to barred puzzles, get used to ASARS, ESKERS and ESKARS
7	Antelope, one seen in Netherlands and part of Germany once (6)
	NILGAU - I(one) in NL(Netherlands), and GAU(germam territorial district)
8	Shrub no longer easy for the female to accommodate (7)
	HEATHER - EATH(easy) inside HER(the female)
11	Hunger after salmon in a traditional Scottish dish (8)
	PARRITCH - ITCH(hunger) after PARR(salmon)
12	Chance going round avenue you’ll see insect captured (8, two words)
	SLAVE ANT - SLANT(chance) containing AVE(avenue). SLANT = CHANCE(slang) is in Chambers, don't think I've seen or heard it used that way
15	Plant I found in cave here unexpectedly (9)
	ECHEVERIA - I inside an anagram of CAVE,HERE
18	Old deer springs, keeping time, jumping up (7)
	SPAYADS - SPAS(springs) containing DAY reversed
19	Material old-fashioned company’s given to poor actor (7)
	GINGHAM - GING(company), HAM(poor actor)
20	This unfortunate woman, getting red, is harangued terribly (6)
	AGUNAH - anagram of HARANGUED minus RED
21	Heartless bloke to show great anger spinning round (6)
	GYRANT - G(u)Y(bloke), RANT(show great anger)
22	Unruly sort around island behaves rowdily (6)
	ROISTS - anagram of SORT aorund IS(island)
25	Sheep on street close by in Scotland (5)
	EWEST - EWE(sheep) on ST
26	After a brief time duck becomes dry (4)
	SECO - SEC(brief time), O(duck, score of zero in cricket)

15:24. I didn’t find this too difficult for a Dean Mayer puzzle, which judging by comments on the blogs last weekend is unusual. When this happens, I generally have absolutely no idea why: it’s just that wavelength thing. When I say ‘wavelength’, I don’t mean some sort of mysterious supernatural force (what one contributor here once referred to as ‘mystic Meg’): it is just an observable fact that some find certain puzzles quite significantly easier or harder than others for reasons that are hard to pin down. Sometimes it's because the vocabulary is tricky but this one only has a couple of unusual words.

A good fun puzzle, in any event. There are a couple of usages here that I find rather offensive but I’m not going to play that tune again. There’s also one I don’t understand, to the extent that I’m far from sure I have the right answer. I can't think of anything else though. No doubt it will all come out in the wash.

Definitions are underlined, anagrams indicated like (THIS)*, anagram indicators like this.

Across
1	New Avengers agent, deadly one
	NERVE GAS - (AVENGERS)*. An agent of the chemical variety.
6	Deep pockets right for money
	BRASS - B(R)ASS.
9	Lebanon isn’t cut out to be like India
	SUBCONTINENTAL - (LEBANON ISN’T CUT)*.
11	What’s wrong with feeling arrogant?
	UPPITY - UP (wrong, as in ‘what’s up doc?’), PITY (feeling).
12	Backing identity parade, initially in 20’s strip club
	FLESHPOT - reversal of SELF (identity), H(Parade)OT. 20 here refers to 20ac.
14	For a joke, holding on to me
	PERSONALLY - PER (for), S(ON)ALLY. A SALLY is, according to Collins, a ‘jocular retort’. This seemed at best vaguely familiar, but certainly likely enough.
16	Junkie husband absent from show
	USER - UShER. ‘Show’ seems a bit of an overstatement of the usual instruction to head left or right depending on the answer to the question ‘bride or groom?’
18	Birds around me, not them
	EMUS - reversal of ME, US (not them).
19	People still suffer from it
	STAGNATION - CD.
21	Funding remainder’s due
	ENDOWING - END (remainder), OWING (due). END for ‘remainder’ struck me as a little bit loose while solving, but it’s undoubtedly there in the expression ‘odds and ends’. How would we feel about ‘odd’ defined in the same way?
22	Spa — huge disappointment
	BATHOS - BATH is the spa, then OS for ‘outsize’.
25	A domestic row
	TERRACED HOUSES - CD, and a very nice one. It’s so neat wondered if it had been done before, and sure enough Dean himself gave us 'those involved in a domestic row' in January of this year. This clue is, to my mind, an improvement on that one.
26	Fresh item of make-up
	LIPPY - DD. I wonder how familiar either meaning is to non-UK solvers.
27	Islander’s problem — a coach leaving island
	SUMATRAN - SUM (problem), A, TRAiN.

Down
2	End of the crack supply
	EQUIP - thE, QUIP. For once ‘supply’ doesn’t mean ‘supply’. There will be a version of that meaning along shortly though…
3	See combat without a break
	VACATION - V (see) AC(A)TION. V for vide.
4	Award accepted? One’s rejected
	GONG - GOiNG, as in the ‘going rate’ I guess.
5	Irish club needs decoy — what about convict?
	SHILLELAGH - SHILL (decoy), E(LAG)H. I remembered there was a word for an Irish club ending ELAGH but couldn’t remember how it started and it took me a while to come up with SHILL for ‘decoy’.
6	Mamma’s face
	BREAST - at least I think this is the answer, I don’t understand the first half of the clue.
7	Pour wine after an assortment of starters
	ANTIPASTI - TIP (pour) ASTI (wine) after AN.
8	Sad as it is, loner’s condition?
	SOLITARINESS - (AS IT IS LONERS)*. Semi-&Lit.
10	More plastic bananas
	SUPPLEMENTAL - SUPPLE, MENTAL.
13	Almost slide hands over soap
	EASTENDERS - EASe, TENDERS.
15	Journey to the bar and back?
	ROUND TRIP - CD.
17	Weedkiller ingredient containing water
	PARAQUAT - PAR(AQUA)T. The word was vaguely familiar but I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what it meant.
20	Wet, say, after running?
	SWEATY - (WET SAY)*. &Lit.
23	Carnivore had endless desire to feed
	HYENA - H(YEN)Ad.
24	Fancy wife? Not her
	WHIM - W, HIM.