Guardian Quiptic 823 Hectence

(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.)  A nice Quiptic, perhaps a bit difficult (for a Quiptic) in a couple of places. Thanks to Hectence. Definitions are underlined in the clues.

Across

1    Pay homage with gold vessel (7)

WORSHIP : W(abbrev. for “with”) + OR(the colour, gold, in heraldry) + SHIP(a vessel at sea).

5    Started word game with daughter (7)

BOGGLED : BOGGLE(a word game where players try to find words in sequences of adjacent letters) + D(abbrev. for “daughter”).

Defn: Caused a person to be astonished;started;startled.

9    The Italian hospital’s containing new lethal sickness (3,6)

ILL HEALTH : [ IL(“the” in Italian)+ H(abbrev. for “hospital”) ] containing(…’s containing) anagram of(new) LETHAL.

10    Cleverly craft a piece of material for leotard (5)

LYCRA : Hidden in(… a piece of) “Cleverly craft “.

11    Understood modern pronunciation (4)

KNEW : Homophone of(… pronunciation) “new”(modern).

12    Card from best nightspot? (3,2,5)

ACE OF CLUBS : [ ACE OF ](the best of) CLUBS(nightspots).

14    Brave woman has stoical heart (6)

HEROIC : HER(pronoun for “woman”) plus(has) the central 3 letters of(… heart) “stoical “.

15    Get rich fast following work with upper class (7)

OPULENT : LENT(the fast observed by Christians before Easter) placed after(following, in an across clue) [ OP(abbrev. for “opus”, an artistic work, say, of music or literature) plus(with) U(characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes) ].  Got held up trying to fit “get” into the definition.

16    Reinforce positions backing on to wetland (7)

STIFFEN : Reversal of(… backing) FITS(positions, as in “position the answers in the grid”) plus(on to) FEN(wetland;a low and marshy area of land).

18    Enjoy the sun and empty excellent hamper (6)

BASKET : BASK(to enjoy the sun;to lie in the sunshine) plus(and) “excellent ” minus
all its inner lettesrs(empty …).

20    Sugar worker‘s cane tipper breaks down (10)

APPRENTICE : Anagram of(… breaks down) CANE TIPPER.

Defn: Cryptically, one who would work for Alan Sugar after being a winner in the UK reality game show, The Apprentice.

21    Finishes off last letter with a postscript (4)

ZAPS : Z(the last letter in the English alphabet) plus(with) A + PS(abbrev. for “postscript”;an afterfthought, say, in a letter).

24    Church material? (5)

CLOTH : Double defn: 1st: Collectively, the clergy.

25    Hit the roof about Boe’s awful review (4,1,4)

BLOW A FUSE : Anagram of(… review) BOE’S AWFUL.

26    Get soaked putting middle bell back on top of church (7)

STEEPLE : STEEP(to be soaked in water or other liquid) plus(putting … on) reversal of(… back) the 2 central letters of(middle) “bell “.

27    Most eager to see Kent regenerated (7)

KEENEST : Anagram of(… regenerated) SEE KENT.

Down

1    Beat by a tiny margin with no hesitation (5)

WHISK : “whisker”(a tiny margin, as in “he came in first by a whisker”) minus(with no) “er”(an uttered expression of hesitation).

Defn: …, say, cream, with a, well, whisk.

2    Take away anxiety about holiday, say (7)

RELIEVE : RE(with reference to;about) homophone of(…, say) “leave”(holiday from work).

3    We come out of dwellings with garden tools (4)

HOES : “houses”(dwellings) minus(… come out of) “us”(the objective case for the personal pronoun “we”).

4    Officer returned cut diamonds to firm after scam (6,9)

POLICE CONSTABLE : Reversal of(returned) LOP(to cut off from the main part of the body) + ICE(a slang for “diamonds”) plus(to) [ STABLE(firm;steady) placed after(after, in an across clue) CON(a scam) ].

5    Reportedly purchase tools for fisherman or shepherd in any way you can (2,4,2,2,5)

BY HOOK OR BY CROOK : Homophone of(Reportedly) [ “buy”(purchase) HOOK(a tool for a fisherman) OR “buy” CROOK(tool for a shepherd) ].

6    Oversell programme links maybe (4,6)

GOLF COURSE : Reversal of(Over…) FLOG(to sell) + COURSE(a programme;a series of, say, lectures).

Defn: …, especially, if near the sea.

7    Talk to the French about truce (7)

LECTURE : LE(“the” in French) + anagram of(about) TRUCE.

8    Absolutely finished with clique (4,3)

DEAD SET : DEAD(finished;no longer operating) o0(with) SET(a clique of people, eg. the jet set).

13    Cut squeezing of costs in cafe (6,4)

COFFEE SHOP : CHOP(to cut, with an axe, or a cut, as in “lamb chop”) containing(squeezing) [ OF + FEES(costs;charges) ].

16    Attempts to raise spirits can fail in religious areas (7)

SEANCES : Anagram of(… fail) CAN contained in(in) SEES(religious areas, each under the authority of a bishop or archbishop).

17    Plead for troublemaker to have new role (7)

IMPLORE : IMP(a troublemaker;a michievious person) plus(to have) anagram of(new) ROLE.

19    Deletion of recordings by ’80s’ band? (7)

ERASURE : Double defn: 2nd: English technopop duo.

22    Troublesome pest larvae beginning to penetrate wheat (5)

SPELT : Anagram of(Troublesome) PEST containing(…to penetrate) the 1st letter of(… beginning) “larvae“.

Defn: An old type of wheat.

23    Keep a journal recording set-up of prank (4)

JAPE : Reversal of(… set-up) hidden in(… recording) “Keep a journal “.

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