Well done to Pan – this Quiptic hit the spot, for me at least. Clear cluing, no obscurities, friendly grid and nothing to frighten the children (well, maybe apart from 23dn …)
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) missing
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Sends request for payment, claiming raid ruined game
BILLIARDS
An insertion of (RAID)* in BILLS.
6 Small pale bird
SWAN
A charade of S and WAN and a chance for the obligatory Pierre bird link. I so want to be that baby swan.
8 Sauce turning vegetable into fish!
PILCHARD
Lovely clue: it’s a reversal (‘turning’) of LIP for ‘sauce’ and CHARD for the ‘vegetable’. Oily fish: make sure you eat plenty if you want to nourish your brain and continue to get better at cryptics.
9 Gas enveloping disembowelled limbless admiral
NELSON
Not a pleasant surface image, but Pan is asking you to insert LS for the outside letters (‘disembowelled’) of LimblesS in NEON to give you the Admiral that’s well-known to cricketers when the score is 111. Since you ask, it’s because he had one eye, one arm, and one lump of sugar in his tea. Or something like that.
10 Threat of setter adopting retro means of punishment in school
MENACE
When a setter puts ‘setter’ into the clue, you can generally be sure that it’s I or ME. Here it’s the latter: put a reversal (‘retro’) of CANE in it to get your answer.
11 Wastrel finally getting paid for work and gaining skills
LEARNING
A charade of L for the last letter of ‘wastreL’ and EARNING.
12 Holy man’s archaic pronoun for literary sailor
POPEYE
A charade of POPE and YE.
15 Altered ego is end to philosopher
DIOGENES
(EGO IS END)* with ‘altered’ as the anagrind.
16 Hotel guest‘s party included in cost of accommodation
RESIDENT
An insertion of SIDE in RENT.
19 Substitute for Queen posed with leader of Zimbabwe
ERSATZ
A charade of ER for Elizabeth Regina, our current monarch, SAT for ‘posed’ and Z for the first letter of Zimbabwe. The less said about the current leader of Zimbabwe, the better.
21 Slaughter in portion of land supplied by state
MASSACRE
A charade of MASS for the abbreviation for the impossible to spell Massachusetts and ACRE.
22 Meat in first and second part of feast served in lighted brandy
FLAMBÉ
Pan is inviting you to put LAMB in FE for the first two letters of ‘feast’.
24 Team tucked into dishes for fairies
PIXIES
An insertion of XI in PIES. Lots of teams have are made up of eleven players, hence XI for ‘side’.
25 Airport where men seize drugs at last
STANSTED
The Essex airport is an insertion of S for the last letter of ‘drugs’ in STAN and TED.
26 Guaranteed to retain stake?
ANTE
Hidden in guarANTEeed.
27 Do move, or doctor can with authorisation to use body parts!
DONOR CARD
Maybe slightly tricky, but it’s a clear definition: DO followed by (OR DR CAN)* with ‘move’ as the anagrind.
Down
1 Second class journey for The Woman in White?
BRIDE
If you just missed out on an A, then you’d get a B, which is ‘second class’. And if you went on a journey, it could be a RIDE. So there you go.
2 Let a cat out and provide milk
LACTATE
Another good surface reading. It’s (LET A CAT)* to give you a word for mammals providing milk to their young. Next time you’re in Costa having a LATTE, think on, because the roots are the same.
3 Vacuous extract from Carolina newspaper
INANE
Hidden in CarolINA NEwspaper.
4 King confused and careworn
RADDLED
A charade of R for Rex or ‘king’ and ADDLED.
5 Fashionable clothing outlet in touchy Southeast Asian country
SINGAPORE
Good job The Guardian allows trade names. An insertion of IN for ‘fashionable’ and GAP for the clothing store in SORE for ‘touchy’.
6 Secrecy because the French invaded
SILENCE
An insertion of LE for one of the French words for ‘the’ in SINCE for ‘because’.
7 Mend a torn unravelling decoration
ADORNMENT
(MEND A TORN)*
13 Age a feature in choice of surgical procedure
OPERATION
An insertion of ERA in OPTION.
14 Former partner given dodgy cider spiked with selenium is worried
EXERCISED
Well, I’d be worried if my scrumpy had been tampered with in this way. A charade of EX followed by an insertion of SE for the element with atomic number 34 in (CIDER)* The anagrind is ‘dodgy’.
17 Give rise to fashionable tapering structure
INSPIRE
A charade of IN for ‘fashionable’ and SPIRE.
18 Time and motive for attempted overthrow of government
TREASON
A charade of T and REASON.
20 Was sane, surprisingly, in Welsh city
SWANSEA
(WAS SANE)*
22 Blonde getting to grips with Latin, showing natural aptitude
FLAIR
An insertion of L for ‘Latin’ in FAIR for ‘blonde’.
23 Make babies with soldiers in bunk
BREED
It’s usually Premier League footballers who go in for group sex, but I guess soldiers are just as capable. Bit of a tight squeeze in a bunk, though. An insertion (not that type, obviously) of RE for Royal Engineers or ‘soldiers’ in BED for ‘bunk’.
Many thanks to Pan for today’s puzzle.
Yes, I agree that this was spot on for a Quiptic, and, for what it’s worth, OPERATION was my LOI.
I spent a long time on 12 looking for a rather more literary sailor. Snobbish of me to discount cartoons when I love graphic novels!
I too struggled on 12, not making the connection between “holy man” and “pope” (oh dear!)
I was worried when only three across clues went in at the start, but the downs made up for it!