Carpathian has a tersely clued Quiptic for us, so the blog is similarly terse. Good puzzle.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
cad clue as definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Ghastly female catching taxi
MACABRE
An insertion of CAB in MARE.
5 Permit I have is not active
PASSIVE
A charade of PASS and IVE for ‘I have’.
9 Feel trapped in chosen setting
SENSE
Hidden in choSEN SEtting.
10 Pure space around capital
UPPERCASE
(PURE SPACE)*
11 Opposed to party prepared to return remedies
ANTIDOTES
A charade of ANTI, DO and SET reversed.
12 A great amount of love is able to enthral Echo
OCEAN
A charade of O and E for the phonetic alphabet ‘Echo’ in CAN.
13 Correct old law
EXACT
A charade of EX and ACT.
15 Reserves lofty retail outlet
BOOKSTALL
A charade of BOOKS and TALL.
18 Temperate landmass
CONTINENT
A dd.
19 Carriage flipped over by top of Sloane Gardens
YARDS
A charade of DRAY reversed and S for the first letter of ‘Sloane’. It’s an American English definition, of course. Moan about the fact that it wasn’t indicated as such if you want, but both I and the setter have our hands over our ears and are singing loudly.
21 Quietly overwhelmed by assault like lightning
RAPID
An insertion of P for the musical ‘quietly’ in RAID.
23 Plan alternative cinema equipment
PROJECTOR
A charade of PROJECT and OR.
25 Love a democratic speech
ADORATION
A charade of A, D and ORATION.
26 Cook heads of groupers raised in local lake
GRILL
The first letters of the last five words of the clue.
27 Second and first queen’s relatives
SISTERS
A charade of S, IST and ERS. The first element is a simple abbreviation; the second relies on the fact that ‘first’ in some fonts can be rendered as IST; the third element is referring to the possessive form of our gracious queen, Elizabeth Regina.
28 Upsets leader of department involved in IT studies
SADDENS
An insertion of D for the first letter of ‘department’ in SA for sex appeal (synonymous with IT in crosswordland) and DENS for ‘studies’ in the nounal sense.
Down
1 Alter service time
MASSAGE
A charade of MASS and AGE. The usage is as in ‘massage the figures’.
2 Force prisoners on transport
CONSTRAIN
A charade of CONS and TRAIN.
3 British study food
BREAD
A charade of B and READ.
4 European skilled at keeping left is fair
EQUITABLE
An insertion of QUIT in E and ABLE.
5 Parts of organ Penny put into food
PIPES
An insertion of P in PIES.
6 Extremely sour lies spread by unknown
SERIOUSLY
A charade of (SOUR LIES)* and Y for the mathematical ‘unknown’. ‘She’s extremely/seriously good, that Vigo/Carpathian woman.’
7 Mad son, lost and empty
INANE
IN[S]ANE. It wasn’t IRATE after all, was it? Read the instructions.
8 Timeless terrace in rising road
ETERNAL
An insertion of TER in LANE reversed. ‘Rising’ works as the reversal indicator because it’s a down clue.
14 That rider tumbling is mediocre
THIRD-RATE
(THAT RIDER)*
16 Expenses break down during trips
OUTGOINGS
It’s clearly an insertion of GO in OUTINGS, but I’m not certain how we get from ‘break down’ to GO. In an emotional sense, mebbes?
18 Attack appearances on cycle
AIR STRIKE
A charade of AIRS and TRIKE.
20 Body of vehicle about to be put on ship
CARCASS
A charade of CAR, CA for circa or ‘about’ and SS for the crossword ‘ship’.
20 Ministerial garb said to be redundant
SURPLUS
A homophone of SURPLICE. Referring to a minister of god rather than a government minister.
22 Devout priest promises to pay
PIOUS
A charade of P and IOUS.
23 Trouble in European country when leader goes south
PAINS
Carpathian is inviting you to move the first letter of SPAIN southwards, in other words towards the bottom.
24 Threw food at, for example, German journalist
EGGED
A charade of EG, G and ED. Not seen Farage in public much recently, have we?
Many thanks to Carpathian for this morning’s Quiptic. I have been out on a crossword date with the same woman twice in the same morning. I swiped right on both occasions.
Many thanks to Carpathian, and to Pierre. A fun solve and a tad harder than the cryptic today I felt. All in good order with a lovely variety of clue types – often the Quiptic falls prey to a bit of repetition but I thought this brought in a wide range of ideas for new solvers.
I also struggled with “go” for “break down” and assumed it was some funny slang like “turn” I was not familiar with.
When something breaks down, you might say “it’s gone” (probably with a choice expletive) so that could justify that sense of ‘go’.
Yes, I was a bit puzzled by break down = go, but it’s in the Chambers Crossword Dictionary and I think PeterM @2 probably has the right sense.
Nice balance of clues to provide a good Quiptic.
Thanks Carpathian and Pierre.
Thanks to Pierre and Carpathian
I might take issue with MEDIOCRE = THIRD RATE ( as opposed to second ), but other than those a very fine Quiptic.
Thanks C and P both. I was fine with “go” for “break down” – the big end has gone, your ballcock’s gone, that battery’s gone etc – these all feel like common usage to me but maybe there’s a regional or class element? I struggled with Pains and although I got it in I still failed to understand the clue till I came here. Sheesh.
Couldn’t parse 28A, maybe I’m being dense, but how is STUDIES meaning DENS?
Interesting and enjoyable crossword.
Some comments: I found the NE corner the hardest, especially 7, 12 and 19. I did not realise that EMPTY could mean INANE (forced by the crossers). The only five-letter word I could think of for O-E-N turned out to be the right one, the definition being tenuous I thought. Likewise for a word fitting Y—S, after which I understood the rest of the clue; DRAY is not a word that comes up often. The misdirections in 20 and 28 took me a while to dismiss with the crossers forcing the answers. 14 puzzled me until I saw a hidden anagram. I did not get hung up on ‘breakdown’ as I concentrated on ‘expenses’ with a guess that the word started as OUT (from the crossers).
[When the encryption defeats me, I try to tune it out and focus on the definition and crossers. Then an answer usually surfaces, eventually.]
Thanks to Carpathian and to Pierre for the explications.
PS I do not understand where QUIT comes from in 4 [TABLE (from crossers and adjacent letter probabilities) and FAIR suggested the answer to me].