Took me a while to get started with this one, but that could just be me in lazy Bank Holiday mood. It all fell out steadily in the end, with some clues I particularly enjoyed. Pan is a really sound setter in the Quiptic slot.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
1 Hand father wife’s fruit
PAWPAW
A charade of PAW, PA and W for ‘wife’.
Now when you pick a pawpaw
Or a prickly pear
And you prick a raw paw
Next time beware
… as Baloo sang in Bare Necessities.
5 Fine male member captivating a large European
PENALISE
This is funny, if slightly rude. An insertion of A and L in PENIS followed by E. Not often that the membrum virile gets an outing in a Quiptic.
9 Art nouveau associated with old commercial centre is an abomination
ATROCITY
A charade of (ART)* O and CITY. The anagrind is ‘nouveau’, which is French for ‘new’.
10 Think about a relative
REASON
A charade of RE, A and SON.
11 Head off common ailment with view shaped by outdated example of folk wisdom
OLD WIVES TALE
[C]OLD plus (VIEW)* plus STALE with ‘shaped’ as the anagrind.
13 Body part trapped in machine
CHIN
Hidden in maCHINe.
14 Time passed with group, including priest in part of church
TRANSEPT
T plus RAN plus P for ‘priest’ in SET.
17 Simplest unit in compound found by spy with cryptic clue
MOLECULE
A charade of MOLE and (CLUE)*
18 Global food giant spoils planet
MARS
Not a dd, but a td – a triple definition.
20 Company outlet released designer’s first range in part of central London
COVENT GARDEN
A charade of CO, VENT and (D RANGE)* with ‘released’ as the anagrind. Bit convoluted, but a fine surface; and the answer couldn’t be much else once you’d got some crossers.
23 Win over maids prepared to capture king
DISARM
An insertion of R for Rex or ‘king’ in (MAIDS)*
24 Sin (pride) beaten with divine intervention
INSPIRED
(SIN PRIDE)* Not sure that you’d need the intervention of a deity to become INSPIRED, but I won’t be picky.
25 Appear to backtrack during expression of annoyance with Obama?
DEMOCRAT
A reversal (‘to backtrack’) of COME in DRAT.
26 Sailor told to go away
ABSENT
A charade of AB and SENT. ‘Mourinho was told to go/sent to the stands by the referee.’
Down
2 Start off national agreements with decrees
ACTS
[P]ACTS
3 I say, civil engineer is articulate!
PRONOUNCE
One of my favourites this morning. PRONOUN plus CE. ‘I’ is an example of a personal PRONOUN.
4 Strange character differently wired to ordinary
WEIRDO
A charade of (WIRED)* and O.
5 Health professional advocating exercises for hysteria post hip fracture?
PHYSIOTHERAPIST
(HYSTERIA POST HIP)*
6 Mounted soldier’s chief replaced by new Scandinavian invader
NORSEMAN
This is HORSEMAN with the initial letter, H, replaced by N. You need to read it as ‘soldier has’ and some folk won’t like ‘chief’ as a first letter indication. The language that the NORSEMEN brought with them had an often underestimated influence on Anglo-Saxon, and consequently on what has become modern English. If you’ve got freckles on your leg from spending too much time under the sky, you can thank the invaders. And it’s funny how beck, tarn, gill and fell are mainly confined to the north of what is now England. I’ll shut up now.
7 Had an inclination for asparagus tip during period of fasting
LEANT
An insertion of A for the first letter of ‘asparagus’ in LENT.
8 One ruining the enjoyment of others overindulges on drink
SPOILSPORT
A charade of SPOILS and PORT.
12 Chap to study fragments of tile with instrument for measuring angles
THEODOLITE
Very specific definition allows for a complicated parsing: a charade of THEO, DO (‘I’m doing business studies at college’) and (TILE)*
15 Reputations built up on signs of approval heard for study of meaning
SEMANTICS
Since it’s a down clue, it’s a reversal of NAMES followed by a homophone (‘heard’) of TICKS.
16 More cuts baffled one paying for services
CUSTOMER
(MORE CUTS)*
19 Poems associated with South American port
ODESSA
A charade of ODES and SA for the port not in South America, but in troubled Ukraine.
21 Lover at Olympus embracing Greek muse
ERATO
The setters’ favourite muse is hidden in lovER AT Olympus.
22 Prohibit importing English vegetable
BEAN
An insertion of E in BAN.
Many thanks to Pan for today’s Quiptic.
Thanks, Pan – like you, Pierre, I thought this a model Quiptic: great fun, precise and not too obscure.
Thanks Pan and Pierre.
Yes, this was just right for a cryptic, and most enjoyable. Last finished was the NW corner.
A very enjoyable puzzle, with too many good clues to choose favourites. Thanks, Pan and Pierre!
I couldn’ parse 5a – I was looking at male and member in isolation, not together!
Thanks Pierre,
A superb puzzle from Pan and definitely a benchmark for a Quiptic setter. She really is very good and this crossword was a delight. So many great clues but I must mention PENALISE which Paul would have loved; the great simple surfaces for REASON and BEAN; and the liberal sprinkling of misdirection.
Took me a little while to figure out where GARDEN came from and too long to see DEMOCRAT which was my last one in.
A millinillion thanks to Pan.
See http://www.millinillion.eu/
Thanks, Pan and Pierre.
I thought 5a had a phallus somewhere. 😉 Largely fine for a Quiptic although THEO isn’t necessarily the first ‘chap’ that you might think of.
I liked ATROCITY & COVENT GARDEN
Perfect !!
Thanks Pan and Pierre
I failed to solve 25a and needed help to parse 3d.
New word for me was THEODOLITE.
My favourites were 18a, 5d, 5a and 9a.
Stunning!
Not only Quiptic perfection, but a lovely crossword to solve.
Thanks to both.
Like others, I thought this one was very satisfying. 5A is a particularly amusing double-bluff: I was sure that “male member” would turn out to be a misleading surface reading, so it took me a long time to figure out that it meant exactly what it said.
I’m a bit proud of myself because I actually understood the parsing of all the clues before I came here. I know, it’s just a quiptic, and more experienced solvers do this all the time, but in my case, there’s almost always at least one clue I don’t understand.