Guardian Quiptic 767 Pan

(Please click here for this same blog but with a picture quiz added. Please do NOT post hereinbelow any comment relating to the picture quiz. Thank you.)  I think this was of the right difficulty for a Quiptic, though 12 across is ambiguous until you get the checking letter. Still, no major problem. Thanks to Pan. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

There appear to be some answers/clues which are linked to one another. Thus, Anthony Trollope/Barchester Towers, toga/Pisa/stucco, agate/emerald, chromosome/transmute, and ginseng/South Korean. I don’t think there’s anything more to it. Perhaps it’s just the way a setter’s mind works when selecting entries to fill the grid with.

Across

1    For a change, recite the end of Rubaiyat as three lines of verse (7)

TIERCET : Anagram of(For a change) [RECITE + the last letter of(the end of) “Rubaiyat “].

5,16    Writer‘s only other plot reworked after article (7,8)

ANTHONY TROLLOPE : Anagram of(… reworked) ONLY OTHER PLOT placed after(after, in an across clue) AN(an article in grammar).

9    Queen meeting footballer’s partner for a bet (5)

WAGER : ER(abbrev. from Latin for the current Queen of England) placed after(meeting, in an across clue) WAG(footballer’s partner, from the acronym WAGs, for “wives and girlfriends” of high-profile sportsmen, originally, of English footballers).

10    Pain relief for sale again in new formula (9)

ANALGESIA : Anagram of(… in new formula) SALE AGAIN.

11    Call mates juggling in front of Russia’s foremost circus performer (10)

RINGMASTER : RING(call on the phone) + anagram of(… juggling) MATES placed before(in front of, in an across clue) the 1st letter of(…’s foremost) “Russia“.

12    Bird said to change direction (4)

TURN : Homophone of(… said) “tern”(a sea bird).

14    From Seoul, perhaps, take honours in translation (5,6)

SOUTH KOREAN : Anagram of(… in translation) TAKE HONOURS.

18    Not forgetting about me, bring me pants! (11)

REMEMBERING : RE(about;with reference to) + ME + anagram of(… pants;pulsates) BRING ME.

21    Girl getting rid of a collection of bloodsuckers (4)

LICE : “Alice”(a girl’s name) minus(getting rid of) “a “.

22,1down    Novel places to drink in which we, the rectors, get drunk (10,6)

BARCHESTER TOWERS : BARS(places to drink) containing(in which) anagram of(…, get drunk) WE, THE RECTORS.

Defn: … written by 5,16.

25    Bob upset foreign alto holding one note in essential part of the score (9)

OBBLIGATO : Anagram of(… upset) BOB + anagram of(foreign) ALTO containing(holding) [I(Roman numeral for “one”) + G(a note in the musical scale) ].

Defn: A musical direction not to omit a certain part of a score during performance.

26    Megalomaniac craftily captures African capital (5)

ACCRA : Hidden in(… captures) “Megalomaniac craftily “.

Defn: … city of Ghana

27    Hugo’s gypsy girl loses shilling and a jewel (7)

EMERALD : “Esmeralda”(the gypsy girl in Victor Hugo’s novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame) minus(loses) [ “s”(abbrev. for a shilling of the former British currency) and “a“].

28    Child’s second dictionary now with new spelling for “dance” (7)

HOEDOWN : The 2nd letter of(…’s second) “Child” + OED(abbrev. for the Oxford English Dictionary) + anagram of(… with new spelling) NOW.

Down

1    See 22

2    Ginseng inevitably contains something to get one going (6)

ENGINE : Hidden in(… contains) “Ginseng inevitably “.

3    Child with room to manoeuvre over any part of DNA (10)

CHROMOSOME : CH(abbrev. for “child”) plus(with) anagram of(… to manoeuvre) ROOM placed above(over, in a down clue) SOME(any;an unspecified quantity).

4    To change the nature of time, managed to gain seconds saying nothing (9)

TRANSMUTE : T(abbrev. for “time”) + RAN(managed, as in “ran the company”) plus(to gain) S(abbrev. for “seconds” in time notation) + MUTE(saying nothing).

5    Stone set in silver put away (5)

AGATE : AG(chemical symbol for the element, silver) + ATE(put away, in particular, food into you).

6    Classical garment originally tested on Giorgio Armani (4)

TOGA : The 1st letters, respectively, of(originally) “tested on Giorgio Armani “.

7    Obsolete remedies found in shrouds (8)

OBSCURES : OBS(abbrev. for “obsolete”) + CURES(remedies).

8    Longing for unknown way of making money (8)

YEARNING : Y(mathematical symbol for an unknown quantity) + EARNING(making money).

13    Get together with Tory boy before Basque activists turn up (10)

CONGREGATE : CON(abbrev. for a member of the British Conservative Party;a Tory) + GREG(a boy’s name) placed above(before, in a down clue) reversal of(… turn up, in a down clue) ETA(abbrev. for the Basque separatist organisation).

15    Ventilate fool admitted to hospital twice in coarse material (9)

HAIRCLOTH : [ AIR(to ventilate;to open to the atmosphere) + CLOT(a fool) ] contained in(admitted to) [ 2 x(… twice) H(abbrev. for “hospital”) ].

Defn:  … made from horse or camel’s hair, and perhaps human hair – the latter from India:

16    See 5 across

17    Is setter getting telegram friendly? (8)

AMICABLE : AM I?(self-referential equivalent of “is setter?”) plus(getting) CABLE(short for a cablegram;a telegram – remember those?).

19    Economies looking up? Get company to make decorative plaster (6)

STUCCO : Reversal of(… looking up, in a down clue) CUTS(economies;measures to economise) plus(Get) CO(abbrev. for “company”;a commercial firm).

20    Confer holy orders on alternative Scandinavian, say (6)

ORDAIN : OR(introducing an alternative) + homophone of(…, say) “Dane”(a Scandinavian national).

23    Honour gained in a battle Germany (5)

AWARD : A + WAR(a battle, or a series of battles) plus(with) D(International Vehicle Registration code for Germany).

24    Father is found in Italian city (4)

PISA : PA(informal term for one’s father) containing(… found in) IS.

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