A puzzle made much easier by the number of anagrams/partial anagreams (7) and double definitions (6). Thanks to Pasquale who makes a rare appearance in this slot. Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
7 Bash attended by little woman somewhere south of the Thames (7)
LAMBETH : LAM(to bash;to hit hard) plus(attended by) BETH(one of the sisters in “Little Women” by American author Louisa May Alcott).
Defn: …, specifically a borough of London.
8 Competent father entertained by 14 (7)
CAPABLE : PA(a familiar name for one’s father) contained in(entertained by) CABLE(answer to 14 down).
9 Something growing in street (4)
TREE : Hidden in(in) “street“.
10 Move against enemy is causing resentment (9)
OFFENSIVE : Double defn.
12 Coffee provided by hotel at ten (5)
LATTE : Hidden in(provided by) “hotel at ten“.
13 Charm of performer’s first appearance (8)
ENTRANCE : Double defn: 1st: To cast a spell on; and 2nd: … in a stage play, say.
15 Chemical help to limit cold (4)
ACID : AID(help) containing(to limit) C(abbrev. for “cold”).
16 Artist died, wise person falling over (5)
DEGAS : D(abbrev. for “died”) + reversal of(… falling over) SAGE(a wise person).
Answer: Edgar, French artist.
17 Model hugging British mug (4)
TOBY : TOY(a model of something for a child to play with) containing(hugging) B(abbrev. for “British”).
18 Notice in this location holy books for disciple (8)
ADHERENT : AD(short for “advertisement”, a promotional notice) + HERE(in this, not that, location) + NT(abbrev. for the New Testament, holy books in the Bible).
20 Visionary born by stretch of water (5)
BLAKE : B(abbrev. for “born”) plus(by) LAKE(a stretch of water).
Answer: William, English visionary.
21 Eatery that could provide a sir with beers (9)
BRASSERIE : Anagram of(could provide) [A SIR plus(with) BEERS].
22 Small room‘s source of electric power (4)
CELL : Double defn: 2nd: A device for generating electricity.
24 Young lady, one no good, unable to be found (7)
MISSING : MISS(a young lady) + I(Roman numeral for “one”) + NG(abbrev. for “no good”).
25 His team may be troubled by such lack of belief (7)
ATHEISM : Anagram of(… may be troubled) HIS TEAM.
Down
1 Den of Scottish landlord unfinished (4)
LAIR : “laird”(a Scottish landlord) minus its last letter(unfinished).
2 Editor with superior purpose expressed disapproval (8)
OBJECTED : ED(abbrev. for “editor”) placed below(with superior, in a down clue) OBJECT(a purpose;an end to strive for).
3 Endeavoured to change voters (6)
STROVE : Anagram of(to change) VOTERS.
4 Powerful people in business given special name tags (8)
MAGNATES : Anagram of(special) NAME TAGS.
5 Madness with Left invading capital city (6)
MANILA : MANIA(a madness;an obsession for something) containing(with … invading) L(abbrev. for “left”).
6 Sad member of Boat Race crew? (4)
BLUE : Double defn: 2nd: A member of the Oxford or Cambridge rowing crew in the Boat Race.
11 Engineers aboard aircraft or ship (9)
FREIGHTER : RE(abbrev. for the Royal Engineers, a corps in the British Army) contained in(aboard) FIGHTER(a military aircraft).
12 Like an Oxford boy seen outside church (5)
LACED : LAD(a boy) containing(seen outside) CE(abbrev. for the Church of England).
Defn: … shoe.
14 Urgent message for prominent LibDem (5)
CABLE : Double defn: 1st: … sent via telegraphy; and 2nd: Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the UK.
16 Wild Reds celebrate, putting on special attire? (8)
DRESSING : Anagram of(Wild) REDS + SING(to celebrate;to praise the excellence of someone or something).
I guess “special” is there for the surface.
17 Yon Conservative, the female PM once (8)
THATCHER : THAT(yon;referring to the more distant of two things) + C(abbrev. for “Conservative”, a member of the British Conservative Party) + HER(pronoun for a female).
Defn: … of the UK, who was also a female Conservative.
19 See pal, after an upset, go by (6)
ELAPSE : Anagram of(…, after an upset) SEE PAL.
20 Animal noises that could come from stable (6)
BLEATS : Anagram of(could come from) STABLE.
21 Black liquid to turn into vapour (4)
BOIL : B(abbrev. for “black”) + OIL(a liquid).
23 Final thing for a cobbler to work on (4)
LAST : Double defn: 2: A tool that a cobbler works on.
Thanks Pasquale and scchua
I was surprised to see who today’s complier was, but this was great. I particularly liked ENTRANCE, MAGNATES and BLEATS.
I wonder if the puzzle had been intended for the Cryptic, whether he would have linked the LAKE in 20a with the ERIE in 21a?
I only knew of “Toby jugs”, but I suppose they are mugs.
Thanks Pasquale and scchua.
Good Quiptic, ‘it does what it says on the tin.’
LOI was LAMBETH, where I was thinking that little woman was las(s).
Thats how a quiptic should be.
This is my first post here. I am a Canadian trying to get back into the British cryptics. I could do fairly well with Rufus’ puzzles but most of the other daily ones I could only get a few words. So I moved on to the Quiptics. There were many times I could not even get close to completing the puzzle. But I have been working through the earlier puzzles and today I was able to parse and solve this puzzle. Many thanks to the setters, bloggers, and contributors on this site who have helped me immensely over the past few months. It is so wonderful, and unfortunately unusual, to see such a respectful and knowledgeable group in an Internet setting! Last one in today was 7a.
Thanks scchua. I share your concern about ‘special in 16 down, but apart from that we have The Don showing us his range, and setting a quiptic that is pitched perfectly. I think he concentrated on proper surfaces. They don’t look like they would have to be crossword clues. Respect maestro.
And a warm welcome to CalmTom – you have picked up the vibe of this place very well. We hope to see you again often.
Thanks Pasquale for a spot on Quiptic. Lovely surfaces and double definitions worthy of much missed Rufus. More please!
Thanks, scchua. I think with 16d Pasquale might be thinking of a phrase like “dressing for dinner”. If a host said “You don’t need to dress for dinner”, only a very literal minded person would think they could turn up naked.
An enjoyable outing from the Don. I struggled a little at the close with 7ac and 2d in the NW corner, and 17ac further down the grid, but the rest went in without too much bother.
I agree with many of the above: this was an enjoyable solve, especially 1D and 8A. And like various others my LOI was 7A – which is daft, since we live in Lambeth!
Thank you Pasquale and scchua for a master class for Quiptic setters and solvers
Yes – quite well pitched for the Quiptic slot.
16d “special” is fine.
Obviously “dressing” can mean putting on any old clothes but it can also mean putting on special ones as in “dressing for dinner”.
That’s the meaning you need for the wordplay of this clue.
Oops – the def – not the WP.
Oops – sorry B-with-an-E – you already said that.
Truly, your community lends a wee bit of hope to this pretty sorry world! My husband and I drive about the countryside of Victoria, Australia, and have a lot of fun being dreadful at your cryptic, even the Quiptic. But we’ll get there.
Congratulations to you all for the absence of online snark, as noted by others.
Thanks,
Angie