Thanks Pan for a Quiptic that’s just at the right level. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
8 Not old enough to destroy deer with a gun (8)
UNDERAGE : Anagram of(to destroy) [DEER plus(with) A GUN].
9 Devastating impediment for prince (6)
LETHAL : LET(an impediment/a hindrance) plus(for) HAL(the diminutive used to refer to Prince Henry, the future King Henry V, in Shakespeare’s plays).
10 Apprentice saving money for accommodation (4)
RENT : Hidden in(… saving) “Apprentice“.
11 Goes off to catch fish with smart retired PR person (4,6)
SPIN DOCTOR : Reversal of(… retired) {ROTS(goes off/goes bad) containing(to catch) [COD(a food fish) plus(with) NIP(a sharp pain/a smart, as might be felt with “a nip in the air”)]}.
12 Sailor in trouble changing course (6)
CRUSOE : Anagram of(changing) COURSE.
Defn: …, the main character in Daniel Defoe’s novel about a shipwrecked sailor.
14 Designs alternative wrapper for right material to apply to a wound (8)
DRESSING : Anagram of(… alternative) DESIGNS containing(wrapper for) R(abbrev. for “right”).
15 Wash poor saint found in church (7)
CLEANSE : [LEAN(poor/with little substance/meagre) + S(abbrev. for “Saint”)] contained in(found in) CE(abbrev. for the Church of England).
17 Money won from bet after wicket falls in spell at the crease (7)
INNINGS : “winnings”(money won from betting) minus(after … falls) “w”(abbrev. for “wicket” in cricket scores).
Defn: A cricketer’s turn at batting/a spell at the crease, as in “he had a good innings”.
20 Veto token circulating as legal tender (8)
BANKNOTE : BAN(to veto/prohibit) + anagram of(… circulating) TOKEN.
22 Cat first found by English river thrown back (6)
FELINE : 1st letter of(first) “found” plus(by) reversal of(… thrown back) [E(abbrev. for “English”) + NILE(the river in north-eastern Africa)].
23 Mobility aid for part of foot toilet lock? (10)
WHEELCHAIR : HEEL(the back part of a human foot) contained in(caught in) [WC(abbrev. for “water closet”/the toilet) + HAIR(which can be in a lock, coiled or hanging together)].
24 Starts to prune around large mulberry tree (4)
PALM : 1st letters, respectively, of(Starts to) “prune around large mulberry“.
25 Transaction, involving award for woman getting head on a plate (6)
SALOME : SALE(a transaction where money is exchanged for goods or services) containing(involving) OM(abbrev. for “Order of Merit”, an honorary award conferred by the UK sovereign).
Defn: …, per the New Testament.
A head for dancing:
26 Pulling vehicle back into complex (8)
TRACTION : Reversal of(… back) CART(an open vehicle usually pulled by a horse or ox) + anagram of(… complex) INTO.
Defn: …, as a noun.
Down
1 Basic triangle redrawn (8)
INTEGRAL : Anagram of(… redrawn) TRIANGLE.
2 Man with inside information close to government (4)
GENT : GEN(inside information/dope) + last letter of(close to) “government“.
3 Analyse grammar written by English Zoroastrian (6)
PARSEE : PARSE(to analyse grammar in a written sentence, breaking it into its components) plus(by) E(abbrev. for “English”).
A Parsee wedding:
And a Parsee youngster – guess who? 
4 Good little fairies getting hold of old Dutch spells (7)
PERIODS : PERIS(good little fairies in Persian mythology) containing(getting hold of) [O(abbrev. for “old”) + D(abbrev. for “Dutch”)].
Defn: …/time intervals.
5 Working after shift carrying large club (8)
BLUDGEON : ON(working/functioning, as with an electrical appliance or machine) placed after(after) BUDGE(to shift/to make space for something or someone) containing(carrying) L(abbrev. for “large”).
6 Keeps plough stationary (10)
STOCKSTILL : STOCKS(keeps supplies of, in a shop, say) + TILL(to plough land for cultivation).
7 Distress signal to leave ashore? (6)
MAROON : Double defn: 1st: A firework/rocket that makes a loud noise and bright flash used as a distress signal.
13 Hamper not going north with polar explorer (10)
SHACKLETON : SHACKLE(to hamper/to restrict someone or something) + reversal of(… going north, in a down clue) NOT.
Answer: Ernest, Irish Antarctic explorer.
16 Extremely hot day finds recorder in church? On the contrary! (8)
SCORCHER : SCORER(one who records scores in, say, a competition) containing(in …? On the contrary!) CH(abbrev. for “church”).
18 Group meeting brave man with a swelling (8)
GANGLION : GANG(a group of, say, workers or criminals) plus(meeting) LION(a brave man/a lionheart).
Defn: … on a tendon sheath.
19 Swimming at great event on the water (7)
REGATTA : Anagram of(Swimming) AT GREAT.
21 A king’s taken in by charlatan’s religious retreat (6)
ASHRAM : A + [R(abbrev. for “Rex”, the reigning king) contained in(…’s taken in by) SHAM(a charlatan/a person faking special knowledge or skill)].
22 Serious little creature swallowing soldier at sea (6)
FORMAL : FOAL(a young horse, a little creature) containing(swallowing) RM(abbrev. for “Royal Marine”, a soldier in one of the fighting forces of the Royal Navy).
24 Place tee for golf shot (4)
PUTT : PUT(to place in a particular position) + T(the shape denoted by “tee”; also an alternative to “tee” in “to a t/tee”.
Defn: … with, well, a putter.
Thanks Pan and scchua
A very satisfying crossword, but was it a Quiptic?
Some of these were very easy from the definition and some really tricky. Perhaps on average a Quiptic, but more challenging than the brief asks for? Having said that I thought it a lovely puzzle with some great surfaces. I also liked the way the whole clue stuck to a theme e.g. for “wheelchair”, “innings”, “rent” and so on. By contrast “spin doctor” has the feels of a few random bits thrown together. Many carefully thought-out clues and I suspect Pan went back over these refining the language and improving it all. Nicely done and thank you scchua for the illustrated blog.
I like the fact that you felt the need to define ‘parse’ for all us crossword addicts. 🙂
Pan made up for the underwhelming Chifonie today
Excellent cluing throughout
Thanks all.
As TheZed says, a mix of easy and tough clues. About a dozen went in right away, but most of the rest took quite a while to tease out. For the second week in a row, a nice puzzle that seemed a bit more challenging than a Quiptic should be. Fun nonetheless, so thanks to Pan and to scchua for the interesting Parsee photos.
I didn’t know the distress signal and wonder how many did.
Good puzzle, a little tricky in parts but well clued overall.
Thanks Pan and scchua.
Robi@6 … I also didn’t know it, but I think it has come up before in a puzzle somehow – so the reminder felt familiar. Like Deja Vu all over again.
Like copmus, I was less-than-whelmed by today’s cryptic, and found this far more satisfying. A pleasing mix of write-ins and clues with a bit more bite. Some of which I couldn’t completely parse – so thanks to scchua for the clear explanations. (btw would the young Parsee be Freddy Mercury? He’s the only Zoroastrian I can think of. Or is this one of those blindingly obvious things that one isn’t supposed to actually answer?)
I grinned at INNINGS. Thanks to Pan for a fun solve.
I found this quite difficult for a Quiptic, but very satisfying in the end. I’m another who didn’t know MAROON, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I failed to see the hidden word in appRENTice (although I got the clues from the definitions). Among many good clues, I particularly liked the simple, elegant construction of 12a (CRUSOE)
My favourites were WHEELCHAIR + SPIN DOCTOR.
Thanks Pan and scchua.
Wellback@10, answer to a: yes, b: no.
Thanks scchua! I generally get to this blog so late in the day that all the obvious points have already been made, so I was a little surprised that no-one else had mentioned Freddy Q – hence my uncertainty about raising the matter…
Whilst it was amusing to see that ‘integral’ is an anagram of ‘triangle’, I don’t think that ‘integral’ and ‘basic’ are at all the same thing.