Perhaps it’s because it’s a bank holiday puzzle, perhaps I’m just being a bit lethargic, but I found this tricky. A couple of less common words (which is normal for Quixote); a good number of science-based clues (ditto and bravo); a typo in one clue; and another I can’t quite get my head round, so help welcomed.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Like something obtained from trader by steps outside church
PURCHASED
I think this is PHASED (‘by steps’) outside URC for United Reformed Church, but someone may have a better idea.
9 Indicators here showing the French faced with poverty
NEEDLES
A charade of NEED and LES for one of the French definite articles.
10 Gloria’s twinkling gem
GIRASOL
(GLORIAS)* ‘A kind of opal, reflecting a reddish glow.’ In some Romance languages it is also a ‘sunflower’ but whether that’s got anything to do with this definition, I know not.
11 Big stomach? Dad must have meal without starter
PAUNCH
A charade of PA and [L]UNCH.
12 Chemical making carbon paper so messy
COPPERAS
(C PAPER SO)* It’s a form of hydrated ferrous sulphate.
14 Tactful individual becoming twisted finally
DISCREET
Quixote’s taking advantage of the homophones DISCREET and DISCRETE, which are often confused, even by journalists who should know better. The latter means ‘individual’ and if you ‘twist’ its last two letters you’ll get the former, which is the definition.
15 Instrument one smuggled out of African country
GAMBA
GAMB[I]A. No, I hadn’t either, but it’s bowed and stringed.
16 I understand that man
ROGER
A dd, based on the fact that pilots always call air traffic controllers ROGER, even if they’re female.
17 Spooner’s group went down somewhere by the river?
SANDBANK
A Spoonerism of BAND SANK.
18 Constable supplying fruit to pet?
DOGBERRY
A charade of DOG and BERRY, referring to the character in Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing.
20 Theft from tin at church
SNATCH
More chemistry: SN for the chemical symbol for the metal tin followed by AT CH. Nice surface.
23 Ruler to walk clutching leg
MONARCH
An insertion of ON for the ‘leg side’ in cricket in MARCH.
24 Heard story, nothing that you would get on rugby field
LINE-OUT
A homophone (‘heard’) of LIE NOWT.
25 Street performers of modern music, big guys
STRAPPERS
Not a word I think I’d ever use, but it’s ST and RAPPERS.
Down
1 Cavalier cop crashed – not a very suitable vehicle for him
POLICE CAR
The setter is inviting you to remove A and V from (CAVALIER COP)* and make an anagram.
2 Uncertainty is keeping queen and king apart
RISK
An insertion of IS in R for ‘queen’ and K for ‘king’.
3 When roused, I change – hot and dynamic
HIGH OCTANE
(I CHANGE HOT)*
4 Band‘s gear
STRIP
No doubt it’s a dd, but I can’t quite see why. Is it referring to a football strip as ‘gear’?
5 Record on border one country’s reluctance to treat foreigners fairly?
DISCRIMINATION
A charade of DISC, RIM, I and NATION.
6 Companions of 9 turned up for bargain
SNIP
The solution to 9 across is NEEDLES; its companions are PINS and you need to reverse that.
7 Chemicals killing off some of the spies?
REDUCING AGENTS
More chemistry. I am liking this. A REDUCING AGENT is a compound or element that wants to donate an electron to another chemical species and thereby become oxidised. It’s a cd cum dd.
8 Lamp has exploded releasing hot gas in ionised from
PLASMA
Even more chemistry. (LAMP[H]AS)* with ‘exploded’ as the anagrind. There is a typo in the clue: it should be ‘ionised form’.
13 Process in hospital initially involved scan and possible removal of bad bits
CENSORSHIP
(PROCESS IN H)* with ‘involved’ as the anagrind.
15 Become mad and bang on as a loony
GO BANANAS
(BANG ON AS A)* with ‘loony’ as the anagrind.
16 See outside notice indicating protective covering for electronic equipment
RADOME
ROME is the Holy See, and AD for ‘notice’ is inserted to get the answer, which is an abbreviation of RADAR DOME. I didn’t believe it was a word till I looked it up.
19 Mistaken opinion of English bishop getting nothing right
ERROR
A charade of E, RR for Right Reverend or ‘bishop, O and R.
21 Sex educator giving us the sound of climax
HITE
Please. This is a family newspaper. Referring to Shere HITE, the American-born sex educator and feminist writer. A homophone of ‘height’.
22 Lots of ships, losing little time, disappear
FLEE
FLEE[T].
Thank you to the Don for today’s puzzle.
I found this very hard work – never heard of 12a so had to rely on checking letters. I agree with your explanations for 1a and the football strip element of 4d. I too also thought ‘family newspaper’ with regard to 21d!
Thanks to setter and blogger.
Thanks Pierre and Quixote,
The individual @ 21 down sounds like a spoonerism.
I almost always enjoy the Don’s puzzles and this was no exception. I couldn’t parse 1ac even though the answer was obvious enough from the definition because I was fixated on the “church” in the clue being the “ch” inside the answer. Pierre’s explanation makes a lot of sense. I didn’t notice the typo in the clue for 8dn. As far as 4dn is concerned I definitely read the second of the definitions as gear/strip in a sporting sense.
I trusted the wordplay for RADOME, and COPPERAS and GIRASOL both rang a faint bell and were the most likely arrangements of the anagram fodder.
The DISCREET/CENSORSHIP crossers were my last two in.
Muffyword@2 – your 21dn full name suggestion, which I have always wanted to see clued in a Private Eye puzzle, would indeed make a very apposite spoonerism IMHO.
Well obviously I agree about STRIP as I suggested the football kit idea but I still don’t think it’s all that great.
With some of the stuff certain setters put in, HITE seems rather tame to be honest although the spoonerism might be a tad OTT.
Thanks Pierre, hope to see some of you in Derby in a fortnight.
As usual a good Quixote experience, but I had never heard of COPPERAS and never thought of URC, so couldn’t explain 1ac, although both answers were clear enough.
Oh dear, I think one or two of the other setters are dragging Quixote down to their level. I seem to remember reading something he wrote, probably in an edition of his Chambers Crossword Manual, about clues needing to be the sort of thing one sees or says in polite society.
Well, we were lett a little underwhelmed by the solve largely due to the number of unusual words.
We were solving it electronically and reached the stage on a number of occasions when we clicked on the check button because we couldn’t be bothered to look things up in Chambers.
Thanks Pierre for parsing 1ac. Despite having a URC just up the road from us we couldn’t figure this one out.
Ah well, there’s always tomorrow! Thanks Quixote, we’re sorry but we just didn’t click with your puzzle today.
I managed this crossword except for 21 down, HITE – HEIGHT , with predominantly electronic help. not a crossword for the general readership.