Guardian Quiptic 823 with Picture Quiz

(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow.  To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.)  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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The following pictures have unidentified links to the puzzle.  (Sorry for the delay.)

    

(Please post comments on ONLY the picture quiz hereinbelow. To post comments on the crossword puzzle, please click here.)