Thank you to Pangakupu (whose Cryptic, by the way, I blogged last Thursday). Definitions are underlined in the clues.
Across
1. One revealing a secret story of archery and apple? (8)
TELLTALE : [ TELL TALE](a story/tale of William Tell, the legendary Swiss expert with a crossbow/an archer who shot an apple off his son’s head).
5. College grounds affected our group (6)
CAMPUS : CAMP(affected/put on) + US(pronoun for “our group”, in contrast to “them”).
9. Rugby player with three legs? (3,4)
FLY HALF : Cryptic defn: A fly with three out of the usual six legs, may be so described.
10. OAP, perhaps, regarding one in tree (7)
RETIREE : RE(regarding/about) + [ I(Roman numeral for “one”) contained in(in) TREE].
Defn: An Old Age Pensioner/… could be one.
11. Still time for an occasion (5)
EVENT : EVEN(still, when used to emphasise, as in “he’s better even than his teacher”) + T(abbrev. for “time”).
12. Royal Household drugged? That’s where judges will be needed (4,5)
HIGH COURT : [ HIGH COURT ](possibly, a royal household/court that is on drugs/high).
13. Stop – when the pepper runs out? (5,2,1,4)
GRIND TO A HALT : Cryptic defn: What happens when the pepper mill runs out of peppercorns to grind.
17. Long sentence with full stop? It’s critical (4-3-5)
LIFE-AND-DEATH : LIFE(a long prison sentence) AND(with) DEATH(a full stop/absolute end).
Defn: …/vitally important.
20. Explosive set to catch fire (9)
GELIGNITE : GE(of a liquid or semi-liquid substance, to set/to become more solid) + IGNITE(to catch fire/to set alight).
22. Church in America or another country (5)
CHINA : CH(abbrev. for “church”) + IN + A(abbrev. for “America”).
23. Excessively quote old poetry about Unionist (7)
OVERUSE : O(abbrev. for “old”) + VERSE(poetry) containing(about) U(abbrev. for “Unionist”).
24. Recalled uproar about limits to our coastal decline? (7)
EROSION : Reversal of(Recalled) NOISE(uproar/din) containing(about) 1st and last letters of(limits to) “our”.
Defn: Action of wearing away/decline, in this case of the coast.
25. What helps to regulate the Rottweiler? (6)
TETHER : Hidden in(What helps to) “regulate the Rottweiler”.
Defn: Chain or rope to restrict/regulate an animal’s movement, in this case a Rottweiler dog, reputedly an aggressive breed.
Not sure of the indicator for “hidden”.
26. Man and dude confused about Democrat’s extra comment (8)
ADDENDUM : Anagram of(… confused) [MAN plus(and) DUDE] containing(about) D(abbrev. for a member of the Democratic Party).
Down
1. Not working to block part of golf-course? That’s sweet (6)
TOFFEE : OFF(not working/having a rest day) contained in(to block) TEE(part of a golf-course at the start of each hole).
2. Bet list of options getting reduced for ordinary fellows (6)
LAYMEN : LAY(to bet/to stake money in a bet) + “menu”(a list of options, for food in a restaurant, say) minus its last letter(getting reduced).
Defn: … without professional or specialised knowledge in a particular subject.
3. Italian restaurant dessert overturned and a riot breaks out (9)
TRATTORIA : Reversal of(… overturned, in a down clue) TART(a dessert/sweet course at the end of a meal) plus(and) anagram of(… breaks out) A RIOT.
4. Sinister ambition as seen in US auto industry products? (4-4,5)
LEFT-HAND DRIVE : LEFT–HAND(sinister/to the left side) DRIVE(ambition/determination to achieve).
Defn: …, ie. cars with the steering wheel on the left side for driving in countries, the US included, where traffic flows on the right hand side of the road.
6. High level to be attained in Greek? (5)
ATTIC : Double defn: 1st: The highest space or room of a house, located immediately under its roof; and 2nd: The dialect of Ancient Greece/Attica.
7. Left capital of Uruguay with girl, coming to European country (8)
PORTUGAL : PORT(the left side of a ship or aircraft facing forward) + 1st letter of(capital of) “Uruguay” plus(with) GAL(an informal American term for a girl).
8. Watch indecent tapes etc. (8)
SPECTATE : Anagram of(indecent/improper) TAPES ETC.
10. Senior cleric correct to turn back almost before conclusion (5,8)
RIGHT REVEREND : RIGHT(correct/true) + “revert”(to turn back/return to a former, say, state) minus its last letter(almost) placed above(before, in a down clue) END(conclusion/finish).
Defn: Form of address for a ….
14. Vegetable lorry that guy brought round OK (9)
ARTICHOKE : ARTIC(an articulated lorry) + HE(pronoun for “that guy”) containing(brought round) OK.
Raw:
and steamed: 
15. Initially locked in lavatory – situation displayed in online comment (8)
BLOGPOST : 1st letter of(Initially) “locked” contained in(in) BOG(slang for a lavatory) + POST(a job/situation, as in the “situations wanted” ads in newspapers).
16. Wealthy area heading off industrial waste (8)
AFFLUENT : A(abbrev. for “area”) + 1st letter deleted from(heading off) “effluent”(waste discharged, in this case, from industrial plants).
18. Felt sad for coalmine that is dead (6)
PITIED : PIT(a coalmine) + IE(abbrev. for “id est”/that is) + D(abbrev. for “dead”).
19. Magazine number showing quantity of champagne (6)
MAGNUM : MAG(short for “magazine”) + NUM(abbrev. for “number”).
Defn: … in a bottle of 1.5 litres capacity.
21. Assess Georgia – not initially vast (5)
GAUGE : GA(abbrev. for the US state of Georgia) + 1st letter deleted from(not initially) “huge”(vast/enormous).
A great quiptic, easy and yet thoroughly enjoyable; not too many anagrams and hilarious wordplay. I liked all the long entries, especially the reference to the Latin meaning of “sinister”. Also liked the rugby player with three legs. Thanks Pangakupu and scchua!
Thanks Pangakupu and scchua!
Nice quiptic. Great blog as usual.
TETHER
‘What helps’ seems to be the intended ‘hidden’ indicator.
Amazed at the skill of Pangakupu – beautiful quiptic today; almost bewildering cryptic earlier in the week. FLY HALF, TELL TALE and GRIND brought a smile and TETHER took a while to find – was the question mark enough to show it was embedded? (Typed same time as KVa @2)
Thank you scchua and Pangakupu
Quite tough for a Quiptic.
Favourites: GRIND TO A HALT, HIGH COURT.
I could not parse 25ac, 16d although I guessed something like that was going on between affluent/effluent.
New for me: 9ac FLY HALF ( I know zilch about rugby) and I could not parse it either.
A pleasant accompaniment to the morning coffee.
I especially liked FLY HALF and LEFT HAND DRIVE, but the whole puzzle was smooth and well balanced.
LOIs were CAMPUS, which for some reason took a while to snap in, and TETHER, where I (like others above) couldn’t see an indicator for “it’s in the clue!”, as we always exclaim in Chateau LeMouton when we see one – for some reason this clue type often finds a mental blind spot.
Thanks Pangakupu and scchua.
Thanks to P for the amusing clues and S for the explanations, plus, of course, the expected illustrations
Think you missed the “l” of GEL in the blog though
Sorry – that was I. 20a
Fly half – euw.
I also liked the two long down clues being LEFT-hand drive and RIGHT-reverend.
Thank you to scchua and Pangakupu.
A great quiptic! Gold stars for TETHER and SPECTATE, and most of all TELLTALE since I solved this over a coffee, up in the Swiss Alps 🙂
I struggled and failed to find the hidden word indicator in CHINA and to parse bRiNg TO A HALT — no wonder!
Shanne@9: oh, I missed that — excellent catch! A nod to the Everyman’s rhyming pair perhaps?
Thanks Pangakupu & scchua.
Very good QC from Pangakupu. Really liked FLY HALF, HIGH COURT and LEFT-HAND DRIVE, but all of it was good really. Just the right combination of easy to see and more tricky IMO. TETHER was my LOI and obviously helped by all the crossers, and then saw it hidden. Agree with everyone that it’s not a good ‘hidden’ signal – neither ‘what’ or ‘what helps to’ leap out as the indicator!
Thanks sschua for the blog, and Pangakupu for the morning’s challenge.
A perfect QUIPTIC. It’s just a personal feeling, but this is what a Quiptic should be. Had never heard of Gelignite, but figured out that the last part must be ignite. Also, didn’t realize CAMP could mean affected. Always nice to learn new definitions. All in all, very logical, fair and satisfying cluses, my favourite being GRIND TO A HALT. The first Quiptic I have completed before the FS blog entry was posted in a long while. Thank you sschua and Pangakupu for the fun challenge.
In the defense of TETHER: while I agree there’s no proper indicator, which is not ideal, in my mind this is balanced by the answer being gettable from (a) the whole clue serving as the definition and (b) the overall playful spirit of the puzzle (hidden word being one of the more gettable types of clues anyway)…
Layman@13 – yes, and that’s how I solved it, having completely missed the hidden word !
A really great Quiptic, so many favourites which others have already mentioned.
Thanks Pangakupu and scchua
Well, that was fun, though I couldn’t quite work out if it was AFFLUENT or EFFLUENT or sort out the wordplay for TETHER (I didn’t even spot the hidden until some time after I put the answer in). But I’m still laughing at the FLY HALF.
Most enjoyable – just right for a quiptic. Thanks, Pangakupu and scchua.
I enjoyed that, although I struggled a bit with the bottom left corner. Last one in was “blogpost” which is ironic since immediately after entering it, I came over hear to read this blogpost!
I found this difficult for a Quiptic.
I was puzzled by 10dn, because I thought we were supposed to get REVER by taking the last two letters off of REVERSE, and I didn’t think that was adequately indicated, but REVER[T] makes perfect sense.
I wish that 25c (TETHER) had a better indicator, because it’s otherwise quite a nice clue.
ARTIC for a lorry was unfamiliar to me. I know the phrase “articulated lorry” but not the abbreviated form. But the clue was quite gettable, and now I know.
I only noticed Pangakupu’s playful grid placements on completion.
LEFT-HAND DRIVE and RIGHT REVEREND in symmetry going down the LHS and RHS in columns 7 and 9. (Perhaps FLY HALF was a nod to that.)
GRIND TO A HALT and LIFE-AND-DEATH also in symmetry in rows 7 and 9. (I wondered if P was saying something more there as well, ie LIFE is a GRIND until you come to a HALT or DEATH.)
I may be reading too much into this, but ATTIC and HIGH COURT were in the upper part of the grid, and ADDENDUM was the very last clue down at the bottom right.
I think 25ac might be an &lit, but I could be wrong.
An enjoyable puzzle, the “little grey cells” needed to be at maximum power for some of the clues, 6d almost did for me because I wasn’t aware of the second definition re. Greek. 7d was also a bit tricky but I got there in the end (just me not parsing the words properly!).
Many thanks to scchua and Pangakupu.
I thought this was perfectly pitched. Just enough to engage your braincells without it feeling impenetrable. A far few friendly clues without an over reliance on anagrams. The Quiptic a have seemed more like Quiptic a lately rather than something that could easily be printed on Monday or Tuesday. Not sure if somethings changed editorially.
Like LEFT-HAND DRIVE, TELLTALE, FLY HALF and many others.
Thanks Scchua and Pangakupu.
I completed the entire rest of the puzzle before getting a single clue in the SW. Eventually got LIFE-AND-DEATH and they then all fell into place quickly enough.
I knew that Attica was a word for ancient Greece, but didn’t know its language was ATTIC, so that’s a new one on me.
Really enjoyed SPECTATE as a very pure anagram and clean surface.
Lots of interesting/amusing stuff going on (e.g., TETHER and HALF FLY).
Thanks, S&B
Surprised myself with how these seemed to slot in with only a few sticking points, a sure sign of well constructed clues. And a pleasingly clear blog to mop up the few question marks I had.
Many thanks Scchua and Pangakupu
Very enjoyable – perhaps my favourite quiptic to date. Thanks P, and S for the blog.
Particularly enjoyed HIGH COURT, GRIND TO A HALT and LEFT-HAND DRIVE
Woops – I got Effluent instead of Affluent – and couldn’t figure where the E came from.
Great Quiptic that was just the right level. LOI was TETHER, solvable with the crossers but one of those that you are not certain to have got right as, as others have pointed out, there really isn’t a solid indicator that the answer is hidden in the clue.
I got 22 across because I took it as a read through at first – churCH IN America! I liked that coincidence.
Great Quiptic and blog. Thank you Pangakupu and scchua.