Not a super-friendly grid today, but a sound enough Quiptic from Pan.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
5 Work in place for experiments by old university research leader
LABOUR
A charade of LAB, O, U and R for the first letter of ‘research’.
6 Moved swiftly to suppress source of tension and hostility
HATRED
An insertion of T in HARED.
9 What to do before you 7 peacekeepers visit part of Ireland
UNCORK
You need to UNCORK a bottle of wine before you DECANT it. A charade of UN and CORK. Although these days you’re more likely just to open the screw cap.
10 Crude oil given to government by principal member of ruling elite
OLIGARCH
A charade of (OIL)* G and ARCH.
11 Lake is insignificant
MERE
A dd. MERE as an adjective is slightly strange. You can say ‘it was a mere scratch’; but you can’t say ‘the scratch was mere’.
12 Thinking seriously about intervening in dispute involving Tory leader
MEDITATING
An insertion of T in MEDIATING. Nice surface.
13 Devil treats suspect to show
DEMONSTRATE
A charade of DEMON and (TREATS)* with ‘suspect’ as the anagrind.
18 Butcher could be adulterating pork with European sheep
SHOPKEEPER
(PORK E SHEEP)*
21 Ship over a vegetable
LEEK
A reversal of KEEL.
22 Flexible growth found in cattle ranging freely over space
TENTACLE
Slightly strange definition, but it’s an insertion of EN for the printers’ ‘space’ in (CATTLE)*
23 Rushed back to join queue to get slim
NARROW
A reversal of RAN followed by ROW.
24 Red is fermented with last bit of yeast to become the most sec
DRIEST
A charade of (RED IS)* and T.
25 Went crazy working with physicist
NEWTON
A charade of (WENT)* and ON for ‘working’.
Down
1 Lose old bet newly regarded as invalid
OBSOLETE
(LOSE O BET)*
2 Hairdo worn by king beheading mother making meaningless speech
BUNKUM
A charade of BUN, K and [M]UM.
3 Preserve headless nun in storage box
CANISTER
A charade of CAN and [S]ISTER.
4 Animal clutching right bosom
BREAST
An insertion of R in BEAST.
5 Loved to keep end of chain joined up
LINKED
An insertion of N in LIKED.
7 Ant and Dec swapping places to prepare a drink
DECANT
Well, if ANT and DEC swapped places …
8 Holy communion for cricketers?
LORDS SUPPER
Holy communion is also known as the LORD’S SUPPER, so Pan is whimsically suggesting that cricketers playing at Lord’s might have something similar.
14 It’s about actors being dull
OVERCAST
A charade of OVER and CAST.
15 Put up with engineering role in gallery
TOLERATE
An insertion of (ROLE)* in TATE.
16 Step round hot filament
THREAD
Plenty of insertions this morning: this one is H in TREAD.
17 Bird ingesting a dangerous substance
HEROIN
Another: of I for ‘one’ or ‘a’ in HERON.
19 Posit a new variety of language
PATOIS
(POSIT A)*
20 Send up note to get ingredient for cheesemaking
RENNET
A reversal of TENNER.
Many thanks to Pan for this week’s Quiptic.
I thought this OK but LINKED and DECANT incredibly weak -dont Quiptics get edited?
Otherwise better than Pan’s last Cryptic attempt.
Thanks both. Tried to shoehorn in OKRA for 21a!
I suppose in these days of floodlit cricket matches 8d might be possible.
Thanks Pan and Pierre
Someone’s got to say it – harder than today’s Rufus. Nice puzzle, though.
It wasn’t difficult to get, but isn’t the clue for OBSOLETE a bit “ghostish”? “Newly”, the anagram indicator, has “lose old bet” as its fodder, strictly speaking, so O has to be substituted for “old” before doing the anagram.
Thank you Pan and Pierre.
I found this puzzle fine for the Quiptic slot and, unlike muffin, easier than RUFUS.
DRIEST, UNCORK and DECANT were fun – I guess the wine in bottles with screw caps rarely needs decanting (hardly ever see these here in France). The clue for MEDITATING was great and I also liked that for RENNET.
I thought it was a good cryptic. I haven’t looked at today’s Rufus yet so I can’t compare them. I agree that DECANT is a bit weak, but I also agree with Cookie @4 that it was fun. I too liked the clue for MEDITATING.
Thanks, Pan and Pierre
I reckon the best wines still need uncorking but affording them is a distant memory.
[copmus @6, you can get a pleasant red wine here in France for 2 euros – with a cork, admittedly often made with bits pressed together!]
I enjoyed this a lot. There were a mixture of very easy clues (I’m looking at you, DECANT) and some harder but still fair for Quiptic. A slight quibble with LINKED – loved and liked aren’t close enough synonyms in my book. Thanks to Pan and Pierre.
Thanks Pan and Pierre
Favourite RENNET