What one would expect of a Quiptic, maybe slightly easier than most. Thanks to Pan. Definitions are underlined in the clues. [[The pictures at the bottom have unidentified links to the puzzle. Please enclose any comments on them in double brackets. Thank you.]]
Across
1 Writer from home counties admitting plagiarism (6)
SCRIBE : SE(abbrev. for the Southeast of England, the home counties) containing(admitting) CRIB(to steal, say, someone else’s writings or thoughts;plagiarism).
4 A Welsh lecturer visiting senior common room produces illegible writing (6)
SCRAWL : [A + W(abbrev. for “Welsh”) + L(abbrev. for “lecturer”) ] placed after(visiting, in an across clue) SCR(abbrev. for “Senior Common Room”, in British universities).
9 Setter fled Middle Eastern country (4)
IRAN : I(the self-referential pronoun for this crossword’s setter) + RAN(fled).
10 Get adopted by founder, St Andrew (10)
UNDERSTAND : Hidden in(adopted by) “founder, St Andrew “.
Answer: To get the meaning of.
11 Go with diamonds, after a two initially precedes card below jack (6)
ATTEND : D(abbrev. for the suit of diamonds, in card games) placed after(after) [A + 1st letter of(initially) “two” placed before(precedes) TEN(the next playing card, in descending order, to a jack) ].
Answer: To accompany or escort, eg. a servant to the master.
12 Junior members of ambassador’s staff have adolescents’ first, initially ticklish, facial hair (8)
ATTACHES : 1st letter of(…s’ first) “adolescent ” + 1st letter of(initially) “ticklish” + TACHES(short for “moustaches”).
13 Made smart move into European capital (9)
AMSTERDAM : Anagram of(move) MADE SMART.
Answer: The Dutch capital.
15 Be vocal in opposition to new benefit (4)
BOON : BOO(to vocalise your opposition) plus(to) N(abbrev. for “new”).
16 Urinated in dock, say (4)
WEED : Double defn: 2nd: An example of which;say is the dock, any of the genus Rumex of weedy plants used in salads and sauces, aka, sorrel.
17 Let sir collapse in the flowers, having the after-effects of sunburn? (9)
BLISTERED : Anagram of(collapse) LET SIR contained in(in the) BED(spot where you’d find flowers).
21 Everything green made troublesome pollen, say (8)
ALLERGEN : ALL(everything) + anagram of(made troublesome) GREEN.
Answer: Substance that causes an allergy, an example of which;say is pollen.
22 Source of protein in excellent meal (6)
SUPPER : 1st letter of(Source of) “protein ” contained in(in) SUPER(a description of something excellent).
24 Hull City’s after trendy theatre (10)
HIPPODROME : [ POD(a streamlined casing or housing for engines, say;a hull) + ROME(the Italian capital city) ] placed after(after) HIP(trendy;in fashion;cool).
Answer: A music hall or variety theatre.
25 Foolish character appearing in episode of Silent Witness (4)
TWIT : Hidden in(appearing in) “Silent Witness “.
26 More than one way to preserve a tomato (6)
SUNDRY : Double defn: 1st: Several or various;miscellaneous; and 2nd: With a hyphen, how you would get, say, sun-dried tomatoes.
27 A Spanish nobleman is a handsome young chap (6)
ADONIS : A + DON(a Spanish nobleman) + IS.
Answer: With a capital, the mythological handsome youth loved by Aphrodite; without, any handsome young man.
Down
1 Occupational therapist surrounded by bunch of rugby players uncovers something found in jockstrap (7)
SCROTUM : OT(abbrev. for “occupational therapist”) contained in(surrounded by) SCRUM(the group formation of rugby players during a game). Hopefully the therapist is not a she.
Answer: What rugby players might have in their jockstraps.
Jockstraps?
2 Where to practise shooting top off fruit (5)
RANGE : “orange”(the fruit) minus its initial letter(top off).
Answer: As in a rifle range, for example.
3 Large rock making more noticeable sound (7)
BOULDER : Homophone of(sound) “bolder”(more noticeable, as with type fonts, for example).
5 Clergyman‘s signal to begin interrupted by flipping sailor (6)
CURATE : CUE(a signal to begin doing or saying something) containing(interrupted by) reversal of(flipping, in a down clue) TAR(informal term for a sailor).
6 Inquisitor’s head put on block after painting plant (9)
ARTICHOKE : [ 1st letter of(…’s head) “Inquisitor” plus(put on, in a down clue) CHOKE(to block the flow of, eg. in pipes) ] placed after(after) ART(a form of which is painting).
7 Learnt in a disorganised fashion before Newton sees the light (7)
LANTERN : Anagram of(in a disorganised fashion) LEARNT placed above(before, in a down clue) N(abbrev. for the Newton, unit of force in physics).
8 Writer has deranged general elope with daughter (5,5,3)
EDGAR ALLAN POE : Anagram of(deranged) [GENERAL ELOPE + D(abbrev. for “daughter”) ]. Edit.note: As Big Dave@1 pointed out, the fodder would instead make “Edgar Ellen Poe”, perhaps.
14 Order punt over here, immediately! (9)
THEREUPON : Anagram of(Order) [PUNT + O(abbrev. for “over”, in cricket) + HERE].
16 What to wear, that is, in holes likely to contain water (7)
WELLIES : IE(abbrev. of “id est”;that is) contained in(in) WELLS(holes likely to contain water).
Answer: Waterproof boots to wear in wet or muddy conditions found in, eg. a waterfilled hole. A nice WIWD (wordplay intertwined with defn.) clue.
18 Hang American upside down next to shed (7)
SUSPEND : Reversal of(upside down, in a down clue) US(abbrev. for things American) placed above(next to, in a down clue) SPEND(to consume;to give out or up;to shed, as in “to spend/shed one’s goodwill on …” – though I’m a little uncertain about “spend”=”shed”).
19 Foes see mine exploding (7)
ENEMIES : Anagram of(exploding) SEE MINE.
20 A German raid destroyed Moroccan city (6)
AGADIR : Anagram of(destroyed) [A + G(abbrev. for “German”) + RAID].
Answer: In 1911, during the power struggle for Morocco, Germany did send a gunboat to Agadir, but only as a demonstration of power.
23 Elect president? (5)
PUTIN : Double defn: 1st: To elect into office (3,2); and 2nd: Vladimir, current president of Russia.
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For answer to pic7, please click here.
Scchua
The anagram in 8 down doesn’t work. The fodder has four Es and one A instead of two Es and three As.
Thanks Big Dave, well spotted! (Goes to show, setters, too, like bloggers, do make the occasional error.)
Enjoyable enough with the obvious exception of the incorrect anagram fodder at 8dn. That sort of error should be picked up at the editing stage, especially as it is two letters wrong. I kept looking for another way of reading the clue.
Spot on for a Quiptic, despite the anagram error, which I didn’t notice.
Thanks scchua; fairly horrific picture to illustrate 1d!
[[#1 Morey AMSTERDAM was in the Dick Van Dyke Show
#2 ‘Raise the Red LANTERN’
#3 Commander Riker’s beard – facial hair??
#4 Chinese LANTERN plant
#5 HIPPODROME of Lyon
#6 Chinese ARTICHOKE
#7 Anderson bowling a wide??
#8 AGADIR earthquake
#9 Hoover Dam, which used to be called BOULDER Dam]]
#7
That’s where it pays to be the class dummy! It looks like Edgar Allan Poe fits so you just put it in without solving the anagram and so don’t get held up. Apathy rules!
Hi Robi,
1d: Shocking? Perhaps a little, but it did illustrate rugby players, scrum, uncovers, jockstraps (or lack of) and the answer (left to the imagination). I’d be hard put to find something to show all of that. And that actually is a team from New Zealand.
[[Nice work. Re pic3, it’s Riker being called Number One/WEED; and pic7’s answer is in the link under the pics.]]
I entered EDGAR ALLEN POE and was surprised that “check” showed it to be wrong. I hadn’t noticed that even “Allen” stilled lacked an A!