Quite nicely pitched for a par Quiptic level of difficulty. Lots of anagrams to help the solver. Thanks Moley. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle.]]
Across
1 Trojan boy‘s heavenly body (8)
GANYMEDE : Double defn: 1st: In Greek mythology, a divine hero from Troy; and 2nd: One of Jupiter’s moons and the largest in the solar system.
5 Fate of the musical (6)
KISMET : Double defn: 1st: Destiny;lot, of Arabic origin; and 2nd: A 1953 Broadway stage musical.
9 New pie chart and inscription (8)
EPIGRAPH : Anagram of(New) PIE + GRAPH(a chart of the relationship between sets of numbers or quantities). Held up a bit by thinking that “chart” was part of the anagram fodder.
Answer: An inscription on a monument or building, not to be confused with an epitaph.
10 A shade backward, goes around pub to get a meal (6)
DINNER : Reversal of(backward) RED(a shade;a colour) containing(goes around) INN(a pub).
12 Burden those people on one point (5)
THEME : THEM(those people;third person plural pronoun) plus(on) E(abbrev. for “east”, one of the compass points).
Defn: In music, the refrain or recurring chorus of a song;the theme. Also the principal or recurrent theme of a speech, book, etc.
13 Passing a new variety of maple here (9)
EPHEMERAL : Anagram of(a new variety of) MAPLE HERE.
Answer: Fleeting;short-lived;passing.
14 Gremlins able to produce statuary from Athens (5,7)
ELGIN MARBLES : Anagram of(… to produce) GREMLINS ABLE.
18 No gents prepared to step into the light during a winter solstice (7,5)
LONGEST NIGHT : Anagram of(prepared) NO GENTS contained in(to step into) LIGHT.
21 A spirited settlement? (5,4)
GHOST TOWN : Cryptic defn.
23 One politician the French find is enough (5)
AMPLE : A(the indefinite article for “one” of a thing) + MP(Member of Parliament;a politician) + LE(the definite article “the” in French).
24 Back at one, father, bearing a venomous creature (6)
TAIPAN : Reversal of(Back) AT + I(Roman numeral for “one”) + PA(an informal term for “father”) + N(abbrev. for “north”, a bearing;a compass direction).
25 He paints foreign actor (8)
THESPIAN : Anagram of(foreign) HE PAINTS.
Answer: A term often facetiously used to refer to an actor (or actress).
26 Don’t hit the target twice, that’s careless! (6)
REMISS : MISS(don’t hit the target) placed after RE-(the prefix denoting a second time;twice, as in “re-enter”).
Answer: As in “I confess that it was remiss/careless of me to have forgotten your birthday – so please don’t punish me”.
27 Pale trio, ill-informed, producing a hair-remover (8)
EPILATOR : Anagram of(ill-informed) PALE TRIO.
Answer: Something to remove hair, specifically an electrical handheld device that pulls hair out (ouch!).
Down
1 Get sound to a restricted area (6)
GHETTO : Homophone of(sound) “get” + TO.
Answer: In former times, an area in a town or city where Jews, a minority group then, were forced to live in, and were restricted to that area. Nowadays it means an area where a minority group might inhabit due to social or economic restrictions, pressures or hardships.
2 Stage direction when these are off (6)
NOISES : Cryptic defn: Reference to the stage direction “noises off”, calling for noises made offstage as part of the drama.
3 Armies deployed by two Liberals (English) to French port (9)
MARSEILLE : Anagram of(deployed) plus(by) L,L(abbrev. for “Liberal” x2) + E(abbrev. for “English”).
Answer: The French Mediterranean port, whose English spelling is Marseilles.
4 Pirate coined new term for reduction in value (12)
DEPRECIATION : Anagram of(new) PIRATE COINED.
6 Identification for the Isle of Man, in a manner of speaking (5)
IDIOM : ID(abbrev. for “identification” carried by a person, eg. an ID card) plus(for) I.O.M.(abbrev. for the Isle of Man).
Answer: A style;manner of speaking peculiar to a people.
7 Primate and fellow medic unwell (8)
MANDRILL : MAN(a fellow, who’s also a primate, but not as colourful) + DR(abbrev. for “doctor”;a medic) + ILL(unwell).
8 Let’s rise anew with boundless energy! (8)
TIRELESS : Anagram of(anew) LET’S RISE.
11 Competition for first-class craft (12)
CHAMPIONSHIP : CHAMPION(first-class;unbeatable) + SHIP(a sea-going craft).
15 Pays attention, absorbed in real practice (9)
REHEARSAL : HEARS(pays attention;listens to) contained in(absorbed in) REAL.
16 Bishop’s lost weight, the old rogue (8)
BLIGHTER : B(abbrev. for “bishop” in chess notation) + LIGHTER(…’s;has lost weight).
Answer: A scoundrel;an irritating person. I not sure about “old” being in the defn.
17 Brothers and sisters acting together? (8)
UNIONISM : Cryptic defn: Reference to the male and female members of a trade union.
19 Run son’s hard copy (6)
SPRINT : S(abbrev. for son) + PRINT(a hard copy, as opposed to a soft copy in electronic form).
20 The French near building are less encumbered (6)
LEANER : LE(the definite article “the” in French) + anagram of(building) NEAR.
Answer: Literally and figuratively less burdened with extra weight.
22 Leaders, take some advice! Reduce staff, initially (5)
TSARS : First letters respectively of(initially) “take some advice! Reduce staff”.
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I enjoyed this perfect Quiptic by Moley.
My favourites were REMISS, GHOST TOWN, NOISES, LONGEST NIGHT.
I learnt one new word: MANDRILL.
I solved but could not parse 17d UNIONISM.
Thanks for the blog, scchua.
Mostly good, although GANYMEDE and EPILATOR are not, I think, everyday words – the latter I got from ‘depilatory.’
Thanks scchua; I also got caught at first thinking ‘chart’ was part of the fodder for 9a. I particularly liked REMISS.
[[Phew, the quiz was harder than the puzzle; I think the connections are as follows:
#1 Borodin, whose music was adapted for KISMET
#2 and #4, Joan Chen and Bryan Brown who appeared in TAI-PAN
#3 Ann Blyth who appeared in the 1955 film of KISMET
#5 Marlene Deitrich who appeared in the 1944 film of KISMET]]
[[Well done Robi!]]
I’m missing something in 12a. What has “burden” got to do with “Defn: In music, the refrain or recurring chorus of a song;the theme. Also the principal or recurrent theme of a speech, book, etc.”
Probably just me being a bit slow – it is near bedtime!
Thanks
That’s a not so common meaning of the noun “burden”.
I think the “old” in 16D is just because “blighter” is an old-fashioned word.