Thanks to Provis. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Exclude man with a head scarf (7)
BANDANA : BAN(to exclude) + DAN(a man’s name) plus(with) A.
5 It is found in skull contents here (7)
BRITAIN : IT contained in(is found in) BRAIN(skull contents).
Defn: In this country.
9 I bail out with an excuse (5)
ALIBI : Anagram of(… out) I BAIL.
10 Drugs possibly cure people at first sign of tuberculosis (9)
TREATMENT : TREAT(to cure) + MEN(people, in general) plus(at) the 1st letter of(first sign of) “tuberculosis “.
11 Burnt out former girlfriend detested being without us (9)
EXHAUSTED : EX(former girlfriend) + HATED(detested) containing(being without) US.
12 It goes round both ways (5)
ROTOR : A palindrome(both ways)
13 Talked in English following special approval (5)
SPOKE : E(abbrev. for “English”) placed after(following, in an across clue) [ SP(abbrev. for “special”) + OK(a word of approval) ].
15 Clan held a reunion in a place of entertainment (5,4)
DANCE HALL : Anagram of(… reunion;a getting together) CLAN HELD A.
18 Person paying has an advantage right at the start (9)
PURCHASER : PURCHASE(an advantage, as you might have with a crowbar) + the 1st letter of(… at the start) “right “.
19 Demand is strictly correct (5)
EXACT : Double defn.
21 Branch of international organisation to get rid of weapons (5)
UNARM : [U.N. ARM](what you might call a branch of the United Nations;international organisation).
23 Cocky leader interrupts important Labour politician (3-6)
BIG-HEADED : HEAD(a leader) contained in(interrupts) [ BIG(important) + ED(Balls, Labour politician) ].
25 Breed of wild copra tree (9)
PROCREATE : Anagram of(wild) COPRA TREE.
26 Dance beat has energy (5)
TANGO : TAN(to beat) plus(has) GO(energy;drive).
27 Rang about help before student took charge (7)
DIALLED : Reversal of(about) AID(help) placed before(before, in an across clue) L(sign displayed by a student driver) + LED(took charge).
28 Way to deliver oddly easy progress (7)
STRIDES : ST(abbrev. for “street”(a way) + RID(to deliver from whatever by getting rid of the latter) + the 1st and 3rd letters of(oddly) “easy “.
Down
1 Piece of feathery material on top of the Queen’s hats (7)
BOATERS : BOA(a neck wrap-round of feathers) placed above(on, in a down clue) the 1st letter of(top of) “the” + ER(Queen Elizabeth) ‘S.
2 Heroin bug destroyed the man just up the road (9)
NEIGHBOUR : Anagram of(… destroyed) HEROIN BUG.
3 Parting remark from a daughter that is universal (5)
ADIEU : A + D(abbrev. for “daughter”) + I.E.(abbrev. for “id est”;that it) + U(abbrev. for “universal”).
4 Positions of tents initially situated all over the place (9)
ATTITUDES : Anagram of(… all over the place) [ the 1st letter of(… initially) “tents ” + SITUATED].
5 Some grab ready money (5)
BREAD : Hidden in(Some) “grab ready “.
Defn: …, in slang.
6 Bury reported panic and poke your nose in (9)
INTERFERE : INTER(to bury) + homophone of(reported) “fear”(panic).
7 Skilled in one small area of work (5)
ADEPT : A(one) + DEPT.(abbrev. for “department”;an area of work).
8 Unpretentious old city in former South African province (7)
NATURAL : UR(Biblical city) contained in(in) NATAL(former South African province).
14 Around here maple is short-lived (9)
EPHEMERAL : Anagram of(Around) HERE MAPLE.
16 French singer’s claim made without compunction (2,7)
NO REGRETS : Cryptic defn: Title of song by Edith Piaf, French songstress.
17 Gave up on a journalist covering the group live (9)
ABANDONED : [ A + ED(abbrev. for “editor”;a journalist)] containing(covering) [BAND(group of musicians, say) + ON(live, as with an electrical appliance)].
18 Opted for fruit pud with a different filling (7)
PLUMPED : PLUM(a fruit) + “pud” with its central letter of
replaced by(with a different filling) “e”.
20 I used to be terribly boring (7)
TEDIOUS : Anagram of(… be terribly) I USED TO.
22 A drug-free European capital has a peculiar charm (5)
AROMA : A + “Rome”(European capital) minus(…-free) “e”(abbrev. for “ecstasy”, the drug) plus(has) A.
23 Be extremely restricted behind a face covering (5)
BEARD : BE + the 1st and the last letters of(extremely) “restricted ” placed below(behind, in a down clue) A.
24 Come in from garden terrace (5)
ENTER : Hidden in(from) “garden terrace “.
Thanks Provis, a little tricky in parts for a Quiptic.
Thanks scchua; typo in 13, sp for special.
I think STRIDES is ST(way)/to deliver (RID)/oddly easy (ES) with ‘progress’ as the definition.
I liked BOATERS & ATTITUDES.
Thanks Provis and scchua
I couldn’t see where the T in BOATERS came from, and you seem to have omitted it too, scchua – is it from Top?
In Italia, ROME is ROMA – this could have been used to make a neater clue?
Thanks scchua.
muffin @2. I agree about 1D. I parsed it as BOA on T (top) + ER’S (of the the Queen’s).
I parsed STRIDES as Robi did.
I had the T of BOATERS as the top of ‘the’.
Thanks all, the blog has been appropriately amended.
P.S. As you might have guessed, I was in a bit of a hurry today.
Thanks Provis and scchua.
This was a pleasant solve after struggling with yesterday’s Everyman. I liked the Edith Piaf clue.
Thanks, scchua – it must be a rush sometimes to get a Quiptic blog out in decent time.
I liked this one. Just about right for ‘beginners and those in a hurry’, although when I checked the Guardian site a few days ago it had gone back to ‘part quick, part cryptic’, which it clearly never has been.
The blogger’s choice of ED BALLS rather than ED MILIBAND as the ‘Labour politician’ in 23ac probably tells us all we need to know about Labour’s chances of forming the next government on Friday. Still, don’t forget to vote, please.
Boaters held me for a while, great misdirection. Attitude took a while to spot. Not much here to stop provis being a full time guardian crossword proper setter. Thanks both
In the past, I may have been critical about some aspects of Provis’ style (who also sets as Magwitch in the FT).
And, in my opinion, for a valid reason.
However, this crossword was perfect, a fine example of a good Quiptic.
Did I say Quiptic?
I think I’ll have to agree with flashling.
Just like Nutmeg she deserves to be promoted!
Immaculate crossword.
This is definitely getting closer to what most of us feel the Quiptic should be – even if the Guardian themselves don’t seem to be able to settle on what that should be!
Ideally it would be even easier than this though. Clues like BRITAIN, ADIEU, ENTER, EPHEMERAL, DIALLED and so on seem exactly the right level to me.
The slightly harder ones make it more fun for experienced solvers, but I suspect a beginner would prefer the whole crossword to be of the standard of those more accessible clues.
Anyway, it’s close – thanks both.