A brisk and enjoyable solve, at the easier end for a Quiptic. Thanks to Provis. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1 Require left-winger to return after organised resistance starts (5)
ORDER : Reversal of(… to return) RED(a left-winger, by association with the colour) placed after(after) the 1st letters, respectively, of(… starts) “organised resistance“.
4 Anonymous appearance by the French secret police (8)
FACELESS : FACE(the outward appearance, as in “put on a bold face”) plus(by) LE(French for “the”) + SS(abbrev. for the Schutzstaffel, the secret police in Nazi Germany).
8 Police officer’s position causes frustration (14)
DISAPPOINTMENT : DI(abbrev. for “detective inspector”, a police officer rank)‘S + APPOINTMENT(a position of employment).
10 Antagonise by spreading a neat lie (8)
ALIENATE : Anagram of(spreading) A NEAT LIE.
11 PM’s not working with a film producer (6)
CAMERA : Cameron(David, PM of the UK) minus(not) “on”(working;operating, as with an electrical appliance, say) plus(with) A.
12 Family provided accommodation for taking in harmless old ladies, initially (9)
HOUSEHOLD : HOUSED(provided accommodation for, say, someone) containing(taking in) the 1st letters, respectively, of(…, initially) “harmless old ladies“.
15 Could be a test of judgement (5)
TASTE : Anagram of(Could be) A TEST.
17 Abnormally large award gets extremely sensitive (5)
OBESE : OBE(abbrev. for , in full, an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, an honour awarded by the UK Sovereign) plus(gets) the 1st and last letters of(extremely) “sensitive“.
18 Home team appears during second half of conference (9)
RESIDENCE : SIDE(a team in, say, a competition) contained in(appears during) the last 5 letters of(second half of) “conference“.
19 Being included in document I type (6)
ENTITY : Hidden in(included in) “document I type“.
21 At the outset, runner has trouble with techniques for tracks (8)
RAILWAYS : The 1st letter of(At the outset) “runner ” plus(has) AIL(to trouble, as in “what ails you?”) plus(with) WAYS(techniques for peforming particular activities)
24 Typical politician (14)
REPRESENTATIVE : Double defn: 2nd: … representing a constituency in government.
25 Announced race led surprisingly by Democrat (8)
DECLARED : Anagram of(… surprisingly) RACE LED plus(by) D(abbrev. for a member of the Democratic Party).
26 Forwards son’s aims (5)
SENDS : S(abbrev. for “son”) plus(…’s) ENDS(aims;objectives).
Down
1 Out-of-date food I lend has gone rotten (3-9)
OLD-FASHIONED : Anagram of(… gone rotten) FOOD I LEND HAS.
2 Spoil girl’s appearance (9)
DISFIGURE : DI(a girl’s name)‘S + FIGURE(an appearance or impression made, as in “she cut a fine figure at the ball”).
3 Develop some Maori penfriends (5)
RIPEN : Hidden in(some) “Maori penfriends“.
4 Disguise cross put up at the main entrance (5,4)
FRONT DOOR : FRONT(a disguise, as in “to put up a bold front”) + reversal of(… put up) ROOD(a cross, like one found at a church chancel).
5 Hypocrisy about social worker (4)
CANT : C(abbrev. for “circa”, approximate;about in reference to dates) + ANT(a social insect, one caste of which is the worker).
6 Strongly criticised meat roasted without radicchio trimmings (9)
LAMBASTED : LAMB(meat) + “roasted ” minus(without) the 1st and last letters of(… trimmings) “radicchio“.
7 Immoral act supported by the church from that time on (5)
SINCE : SIN(an immoral act) placed above(supported by, in a down clue) CE(abbrev. for the Church of England).
9 Lack of attention in vehicle leading to senseless crash (12)
CARELESSNESS : CAR(a motorized vehicle) plus(leading to) anagram of(… crash) SENSELESS.
A wordplay intertwined with the definition.
13 Unhappy at EEC roll of voters (9)
ELECTORAL : Anagram of(Unhappy) AT EEC ROLL.
14 I notice Sid turning up with Ned to be sneered at (9)
DISDAINED : Reversal of(… turning up) [I + AD(short for “advertisement”, a promotional notice) + SID] plus(with) NED.
16 Ending of hangings in small Eastern country causes a thrill (9)
SENSATION : The last letter of(Ending of) “hangings ” contained in(in) [ S(abbrev. for “small”) + E(abbrev. for “Eastern”) + NATION(a country) ].
20 Subject of article by setter (5)
THEME : THE(an article in grammar) plus(by) ME(pronoun used by setter self-referentially).
22 Lots of young men hide love (5)
LOADS : LADS(young men) containing(hide) O(letter representing 0;love in tennis scrores).
23 Ruler is found in and about Sarajevo (4)
TSAR : Hidden in(found in) “about Sarajevo“.
The “and”, though required grammatically, is superfluous to the wordplay, and a bit misleading as a result.
Thanks both.
For 15ac I had confidently put in TRIAL.
Thanks Provis and scchua. Seemed ideal for a Quiptic to me, the right level of difficulty.
Bracoman @1 – me too!
And me – I thought it was rather a good clue, too!
Thanks Provis and scchua – yes, good Quiptic.
And me – I also thought it was a good clue along with CAMERA, LAMBASTED, FRONT DOOR, ALIENATE and ELECTORAL.
Thanks Provis and scchua.
Another here who fell for TRIAL.
Thanks, Provis and scchoa.
Cookie @4
Are we agreeing that it was a good clue for TRIAL? That’s what I meant!
muffin @6, I took it as a double definition to begin with, rather good, but then there were the crossers…
I am still working my way through last week’s Quiptic (Beale).
Not at all Quiptic, in my opinion – haven’t seen the blog.
However, this (for more experienced solvers) undemanding crossword was absolutely perfect for the Quiptic slot.
Hardly any tricky things, no iffiness, just a source of joy for those who are new to the world of crosswords.
That’s what it should be all about.
Viva Provis.
Many thanks scchua.
Sil @8, there was iffiness, but rather fun, in the TRIAL/TASTE clue, but with Magwitch/Provis that is to be expected…
Not my definition of iffiness.
And as to ‘but with Magwitch/Provis that is to be expected’, I do not agree.
In the past, I was not always happy with the use of some of her devices but she clearly did something with the criticism, mine and several others’.
I’m afraid, I’ll keep to my verdict: this was a really good Quiptic.
Much more straightforward than the average Magwitch (I admit, not the hardest of setters either).
But it’s clear, at least to me, that this setter exactly knows what she has to do when asked to set a Quiptic.
That is what she has in common with the incomparable Orlando.
Downgrading to please the target audience.
I would like to repeat: Viva Provis.
Sil @10, agreed, it was a very good Quiptic, but without the help of the check button some solvers might have gone astray at 15a, especially if they came to this after Rufus. My comment was only playing on the TRIAL/TASTE connection with the Magwitch/Provis Dickens character, not on the setter herself! I apologise for not expressing myself more clearly.
To be specific, the iffy clue has two answers and the iffy character has two names and jinxes the clues at times. Margaret Pedler chose the name Magwitch in all innocence to bewitch her solvers, but the Dickens’ character came to their minds, so she was virtually forced into using his pseudonym, Provis, when searching for one for herself.
P.S. Margaret Pedler could not use Magwitch’s other pseudonym, Campbell, since Allan Scott already uses that name for the Telegraph Toughie.