Guardian Quiptic 1119 Carpathian

Thank you to Carpathian. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1. Wrote about love master arranged (8)

COMPOSED : C(abbrev. for “circa”/about when refering to years or periods of time) + O(letter representing 0/love in tennis scores) + M(abbrev. for “master”) + POSED(arranged/positioned someone in order to be, say, painted).

5. Wrecks booty (6)

SPOILS : Double defn: 2nd: Plundered valuables.

9. Stake cut head of elegant creature (8)

ANTELOPE : ANTE(stake/money put up by a player in, say, a poker game before cards are dealt) + LOP(to cut off parts from a tree or body, say) + 1st letter of(head of) “elegant“.

10. Lightweight without substance (6)

NOBODY : [NO BODY](without substance/material/firmness).

Defn: …/an insignificant person.

12. Prune option sadly unsuitable (11)

INOPPORTUNE : Anagram of(… sadly) PRUNE OPTION.

Defn: Happening at an inappropriate/unsuitable time.

15. Maturing alcohol in silver (5)

AGING : GIN(an alcoholic drink) contained in(in) AG(symbol for the chemical element, silver).

17. Mediterranean elite embracing liberal prize winner (9)

MEDALLIST : MED(abbrev. for the Mediterranean Sea) + A-LIST(the elite/the top celebrities) containing(embracing) L(abbrev. for “Liberal’, in politics).

18. People in suits settled distressed giants (9)

LITIGANTS : LIT(settled/landed on after flight, as with a bee on a flower, say) + anagram of(distressed) GIANTS.

Defn: …, that is, the parties in lawsuits heard in court.

19. Leaders of race, exhausted, stop exercising when getting stitch again (5)

RESEW : 1st letters, respectively, of(Leaders of) “race, exhausted, stop exercising when“.

20. River with drop showing signs of use (4,3,4)

WEAR AND TEAR : WEAR(the river in NE England) AND(with) TEAR(a teardrop).

24. Hot soil in fireplace (6)

HEARTH : H(abbrev. for “hot”) + EARTH(soil/the upper layer of earth).

25. School videoconferencing platform returning electronic chat (8)

SCHMOOZE : SCH(abbrev. for “school”) + reversal of(… returning) ZOOM(the videoconferencing platform which gained popularity during the current pandemic) + E(abbrev. for “electronic”, in terms such as “e-mail”).

Defn: A lively and friendly chat, especially one conducted in order to impress or manipulate

26. Scattered boxes with energy (6)

SPARSE : SPARS(boxes without landing heavy blows as training) plus(with) E(symbol for “energy” in physics).

27. Rum parties for weirdos (8)

ODDBALLS : ODD(rum/peculiar) + BALLS(parties/social gatherings involving dancing).

Down

1. Benevolent domestic and international board (10)

CHARITABLE : CHAR(short for a charwoman/a domestic employed to clean house) plus(and) I(abbrev. for “international”) + TABLE(board/food provided in a household).

2. Way one saint initially supplied worshippers (10)

METHODISTS : METHOD(a way/a procedure for accomplishing something) + I(Roman numeral for “one”) + ST(abbrev. for “saint”) + 1st letter of(initially) “supplied“.

3. Forty-one caught by Operation Flower (5)

OXLIP : [XL(Roman numeral for “forty”) + I(Roman numeral for “one”)] contained in(caught by) OP(abbrev. for “Operation”).

4. Trial of old fairy getting ridiculous (12)

EXPERIMENTAL : EX-(prefix signifying “old”/former) + PERI(in Persian mythology, a good fairy) plus(getting) MENTAL(ridiculous/irrational).

Defn: …, as an adjective.

6. Support magazine with right driving mechanism (9)

PROPELLER : PROP(to support/to keep something in position/steady) + ELLE(a lifestyle magazine) plus(with) R(abbrev. for “right”).

7. Coin newly minted for revered figure (4)

ICON : Anagram of(… newly minted) COIN.

8. Old yard in South Africa producing plant (4)

SOYA : [O(abbrev. for “old”) + Y(abbrev. for “yard”, the unit of measurement of length)] contained in(in) SA(abbrev. for South Africa).

11. Left far behind in position covered by beat (12)

OUTDISTANCED : STANCE(one’s position/attitude or viewpoint towards a particular matter) contained in(covered by) OUTDID(beat/did better than/surpassed).

13. Oldie’s line upset for natural preservative (7,3)

LINSEED OIL : Anagram of(… upset) OLDIE’S LINE.

14. Attendant turned over south-east attraction in places (10)

STEWARDESS : Reversal of(turned over) {[SE(abbrev. for “south-east”) + DRAW(an attraction/someone or something interesting)] contained in(in) SETS(places/puts in position)}.

16. Live performances involving Australian women at top of two large power units (9)

GIGAWATTS : GIGS(live music performances) containing(involving) [A(abbrev. for “Australian”) + W(abbrev. for “women”) + AT + 1st letter of(top of, in a down clue) “two“].

Defn: …, units of measurement of power, that is.

21. Retire after serving protest by bishop (5)

DEMOB : DEMO(short for “demonstration”/a public meeting or march to express protest against something) plus(by) B(abbrev. for “bishop”, in chess notation).

Defn: … in the military, say.

22. Pronoun featuring in short history (4)

THIS : Hidden in(featuring in) “short history“.

23. Spanish wine — it’s fine in France (4)

CAVA : ÇA VA(French expression meaning “Fine” in response to “Ça va?”/”How are things?”).

Defn: Bubbly …