No 12953, Thursday 04 Jun 2020, Gridman

Solution to 9D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular/novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

ACROSS

1   Weary of walking, two ducks enter New Forest (8) FOOTSORE {F{00}TSORE*}

5   Right thing on stage with the central hero (6) PROPER {PROP}{hERo}

10 Setback in the matter of poetry (7) REVERSE {RE}{VERSE}

11 Class went ahead yet caused bitterness (7) RANKLED {RANK}{LED}

12 Dim old student abandoned tablet (6) OPAQUE {O}{PlAQUE}

13 Briefly declare good road to uncover Italian scientist (8) AVOGADRO {AVOw}{G}{ROAD*}

15 Animals rush back (4) DEER<=

16 I am goody-goody and agreeable — not one to have rashness (10) IMPRUDENCE {I'M}{PRUDE}{NiCE}

18 Just the day before the head of nannies passed (4-6) EVEN-HANDED {EVE}{Na...s}{HANDED}

20 Left one material (4) LACE {L}{ACE}

23 One day previously (8) SOMETIME [DD]

24 Subject takes right line (6) TROPIC {T{R}OPIC}

26 Mark, after sailor, to hold back (7) ABSTAIN {AB}{STAIN}

27 Become brighter and explain (5,2) CLEAR UP [DD]

28 Uses strength as aces lose power (6) EXERTS EXpERTS

29 All hints out for workers’ rises (8) ANTHILLS*

DOWN

1   Build DO seeks for a song — Really? (3,8,4) FOR GOODNESS SAKE*

2   Do away with rolling above it (7) OBVIATE*

3   Do rush out for burial cloth (6) SHROUD*

4   Rush animals to the North (4) REED<=

6   Agree Ned becomes an outlaw (8) RENEGADE*

7   Knight makes father take boy to one nook first (7) PALADIN {PA}{LAD}{1}{Nook}

8   Isles cooperated in building in wave detectors (5,10) RADIO TELESCOPES

9   Passes over party animals among bad set (9) ?R?V?R?E?  (Addendum - TRAVERSES {T{RAVERS}ES*} - See comments)

14 Change a tape intended to be heard (9) AMENDMENT {A}{MEND}{MENT}(~meant)

17 Morsel on each book for insect (5,3) WHITE ANT {WHIT}{EA}{NT}

19 Names changed by group cut all together (2,5) EN MASSE {NAMES*}{SEt}

21 Indian father gets red Spanish dress (7) APPAREL {APPA}{R}{EL}

22 Reportedly break part of a barrel (6) BREECH (~breach)

25 One shape’s incomplete in picture (4) ICON {1}{CONe}

Reference List

Duck = 0, Old = O, Student = L, Good = G, Right = R, Sailor = AB, Power = P, Each = EA, Book = NT(New Testament), Red = R

Dr RKE's TalePiece

True to CV's style, instead of a tale there are 3 limericks today.

AVOGADRO’s theories were held to be RENEGADE
Criticized by his colleagues as being very OPAQUE
SOMETIMEs it caused him to be RANKLED
But he dealt with them all EVEN HANDED
He dismissed them all from their posts, EN MASSE

Bolvar, the PALADIN, a hunter and Charlemagne’s peer
Became FOOTSORE while TRAVERSing for DEER
He rested his BREECH, tired of the drill
Little he knew, he’d sat on an ANTHILL
FOR GOODNESS’S SAKE, he had a very sore REAR

TROPIC of Cancer was a novel by Henry Miller
Banned by prudes as being not quite PROPER
In defence he said “please ABSTAIN
From reading it; WHITE ANTS‘ll gain"
In lurid fiction genre it became quite a killer