A delightful puzzle, albeit a tad difficult for a Quiptic.
Most of the definitions given are from Chambers 12th Edition. Most of the standard abbreviations used in the wordplay are shown with the unused letters in brackets e.g. Y(oung). Definitions are underlined in the clue and only included in explanations where further information is given.
Across
8a Brew up to face trouble (3,2,3)
CUP OF TEA – a clever anagram (trouble) of UP TO FACE
9a Empty and gloomy after short break (6)
HOLLOW – a short word for a break followed by an adjective meaning gloomy
10a Sample Beyoncé track from the past (4)
ONCE – hidden (sample) inside the clue
11a Obviously, with leader gone, I’m standing in very soon (10)
IMMINENTLY – an adverb meaning obviously without its initial letter E (leader gone) which is replaced by I’M
12a Sporty American boy’s the ultimate young horseman (6)
JOCKEY – start with a sporty American boy and add the final letter (ultimate) of thE and Y(oung) – the abbreviation is not supported by Chambers or the OED, but it is in “Chambers XWD – a Dictionary of Crossword Abbreviations”
14a Greens back BBC covering article on energy put into gas production (8)
CABBAGES – reverse (back) BBC, insert the indefinite article and add E(nergy) inside an anagram (production) of GAS
15a Peered at man briefly, then passed on (7)
STUDIED – a macho man without his final letter (briefly) followed by a verb meaning passed on – the definition of the man in Chambers is a delight “a sexually potent or active man, or one who thinks he is”
17a Sending away old flame, I return love note (7)
EXILING – the two-letter word for an old flame or former partner followed by I, the reversal of a word meaning zero (love) and the fifth note of the diatonic scale of C major
20a Angry speech foreign secretary managed to interrupt (8)
HARANGUE – the surname of the current Foreign Secretary around a verb meaning to manage
22a Dad has deposit account to begin with in years when he gets his wages (3,3)
PAY DAY – a two-letter word for Dad followed by the initial letters of (to begin with) Deposit Account, the latter sandwiched between Y(ear) and Y(ear)
23a Activist‘s party regain force (10)
CAMPAIGNER – a party or faction followed by an anagram (force) of REGAIN
24a Skip start (4)
JUMP – two definitions
25a Study programme for Ascot say? (6)
COURSE – Ascot is an example (say) of this horse-racing venue
26a Duty to accommodate Queen in train (8)
EXERCISE – a duty or tax around the Queen’s regnal cipher
Down
1d Reverse jacket worn by renegade (8)
TURNCOAT – a verb meaning to reverse followed by a jacket
2d Carry kid on back of bike (4)
TOTE – a kid or small child followed by the final letter (back) of bikE
3d Barred from Las Vegas boulevard, reportedly — why? (6)
STRIPY – a Las Vegas boulevard followed by the letter that sounds like (reportedly) why
4d Place to take rest of meat to scoff (7)
HAMMOCK – some meat followed by a verb meaning to scoff or deride
5d Place one might call low-tech? (5,3)
PHONE BOX – a cryptic definition of the kind of fast-disappearing place from which calls may be made
6d Can’t see anything at first, then shout back: “There’s no way out!” (5,5)
BLIND ALLEY – an adjective meaning can’t see anything followed by the initial letter (first) of At and the reversal (back) of a verb meaning to shout
7d Informal defender of the net? (6)
GOALIE – a colloquial word for the footballer who guards the net
13d They take people to fish round and about (10)
KIDNAPPERS – some fish (I had them for breakfast this morning!) around an anagram (about) of AND
16d Measures cooking span for chicken product (3,5)
EGG TIMER – a cryptic definition
18d Mean girl only just avoiding disaster (4,4)
NEAR MISS – an archaic word for mean or miserly followed by a young girl
19d Renamed foreign snake (7)
MEANDER – an anagram (foreign) of RENAMED
21d Mighty river warrior (6)
AMAZON – two definitions – a South American river and a female warrior
22d Quietly left to pursue organised care package (6)
PARCEL – the musical notation for quietly an L(eft), the latter preceded by an anagram (organised) of CARE
24d Knave‘s flag? (4)
JACK – two definitions – a knave and a flag which indicates nationality
Comments from solvers who are new to cryptic puzzles are more than welcome – and that doesn’t mean the usual suspects can’t add their thoughts as well!
Thanks Big Dave,
I definitely agree with you assessment of this puzzle which was really good.
I think Hectence is the most difficult of the Quiptic compilers.
So many excellent clues and so many that I stared at blankly for ages.
The last two in were EXILING (loved the ‘I return love note’) and PHONE BOX.
BLIND ALLEY was also a cracking clue. Excellent stuff Hectence.
I parsed 15a as man briefly = STU, short for Stuart.
Thanks Hectence & Big Dave.
I thought this was quite tricky and too difficult for a Quiptic. I may be missing something but I don’t get the clue for PHONE BOX. It seems pretty woolly to me. As you say NEAR=mean is archaic, so I can’t see it should be used here.
I did like KIDNAPPERS.
Thanks BD, happy birthday for last week.
Harder than I expected with some of the dd/cd clues taking a while for the PDM.
I didn’t enjoy this as much as some of Hectence’s other Quiptics because it felt like some of the clues had made their way over from a Rufus puzzle. I’m thinking specifically of 5dn, 7dn, 16dn and 24dn. In 18dn the archaic nature of that definition of “near” didn’t occur to me for a second because it is often used in cryptic cluing, and as such I don’t have a problem with it appearing in a Quiptic. HARANGUE was my LOI.
I actually enjoyed this one more than usual, even though the cryptic aspect was more challenging. It’s only been a few weeks since I started completing Quiptics and introducing myself to more Cryptics.
For this grid I found myself identifying and ‘solving’ the definition part of the clue first, then trying to parse the rest of the clue to confirm my answer.
Somehow, 2d ‘Tote’ was my last one in.
There is no distinction at all between this and a normal standard Guardian Cryptic (‘Near = Mean’ is but one example).
The Quiptic is a great idea, but the editor has to find people to write specifically to the brief (not just take random puzzles like this and wedge them into the Quiptic slot).
If they really can’t find enough setters who are prepared to do that, then I suppose I’ll have to do it!