The scheduled blogger is still in York so I am covering for him. This is Matilda’s third appearance in the Quiptic slot but the first one I have solved so I didn’t know what to expect.
Whilst progress was reasonably steady (my main delay was in the SW quadrant), I felt that some of the clues were a little tricky for a Quiptic (though my experience of this series is very limited so I may be misjudging the normal level of difficulty).
If I wasn’t wanting to go and cook breakfast, I could mention a few quibbles (eg the anagram indicator in 12ac), but hunger is getting the better of me.
Across
1 Drug / memorial (6)
TABLET – double def.
4 Stop sign, change sides (6)
CANCEL – CANCEr (sign) with the ‘r’ replaced with L (change sides)
9 Where stations are / throughout (3,5,3,4)
ALL ALONG THE LINE – double def.
10 More ferocious male reptile (6)
MADDER – M (male) ADDER (reptile)
11 Bats, beaver or badger (8)
OVERBEAR – an anagram (bats) of BEAVER OR
12 Please Mr Turner, try again (8)
RESAMPLE – an anagram (turner) of PLEASE MR
14 Call in the Spanish to do some painting (6)
ENAMEL – NAME (call) in EL (the Spanish)
15 The British nasty bug (6)
WEEVIL – WE (the British) EVIL (nasty)
18 Height of skill, if learner shifts quietly (8)
ALTITUDE – ApTITUDE (skill) with L (learner) replacing (if … shifts) the ‘p’ (quietly)
21 Arrival of servicewoman with no visa, curiously (8)
NEWCOMER – an anagram (curiously) of [s]ER[vi]CEWOM[a]N (servicewoman with no visa)
22 Strength of one pursued by the beast (6)
BEAUTY – double def. – the second referring to the fairy tale
24 “Leave note yonder … “. Poetry? On the contrary (5,3,7)
QUITE THE REVERSE – QUIT (leave) E (note) THERE (yonder) VERSE (poetry)
25 Stay affected under drug (6)
ENDURE – an anagram (affected) of UNDER followed by E (drug)
26 Candy listened to music by Bach and Handel? (6)
SUITES – sounds like (listened to) ‘sweets’ (candy)
Down
1 Culture makes it legal (7)
TILLAGE – an anagram (makes) of IT LEGAL
2 Boring student bores group (5)
BLAND – L (student) in (bores) BAND (group)
3 Bloke got ripped off to some extent but it made him feel important (3,4)
EGO TRIP – contained in (to some extent) ‘blokE GOT RIPped’
5 Thrash the late competitor (7)
ATHLETE – an anagram (thrash) of THE LATE
6 Someone to get mad with priest (9)
CELEBRANT – CELEB (someone) RANT (get mad)
7 Family wrinkle and what causes it (7)
LINEAGE – LINE (wrinkle) AGE (what causes it)
8 Disregard crazy Ringo — Beatle’s number two (6)
IGNORE – an anagram (crazy) of RINGO followed by [b]E[atle] (Beatle’s number two)
13 Backed bill, left with nothing to replace the first article (9)
ADVOCATED – AD (bill) plus VaCATED (left) with O (nothing) replacing the ‘a’ (the first article)
16 Hang by river — delightful! (7)
EXECUTE – EXE (river) CUTE (delightful)
17 Climb with hero uncovered part of a circuit (7)
LIMITER – [c]LIM[b] [w]IT[h] [h]ER[o] (climb with hero uncovered)
18 Settled on a good pipe (6)
AGREED – A G (good) REED (pipe)
19 Picture 1 across trimmed with gold (7)
TABLEAU – TABLE[t] (1 across trimmed) plus AU (gold)
20 Hates being put back into slowest set educationally (7)
DETESTS – hidden (being … into) reversal (put back) in ‘sloweST SET EDucationally’
23 Not a female spy (5)
AGENT – A GENT (not a female)