I’m usually a big fan of her Quiptics, but Hectence has given us an over-complicated one here, I fancy. The grid didn’t help. Anyway, over to you.
Abbreviations
cd cryptic definition
dd double definition
(xxxx)* anagram
anagrind = anagram indicator
[x] letter(s) removed
definitions are underlined
Across
5 Good man’s ready behind bar
STRIPE
ST for saint or ‘good man’ followed by RIPE.
6 Strike legislation is about to get chop
WALLOP
I put in OUTLAW first (well, it kind of works) but then had to correct it when I didn’t have the correct crossing letters. A reversal of LAW and LOP.
9 No cop can be hot in a cape!
PONCHO
An insertion of H in (NO COP)* with ‘can be’ as the anagrind and ‘in’ as the insertion indicator.
10 Story of an East London love
ANECDOTE
Ah, the double bluff. ‘East London’ would have most solvers ‘oping for the removal of an aitch. But no: it’s AN, EC (an East London postcode) and DOTE. Are DOTE and ‘love’ synonyms? You love someone, but you dote on them.
11 Cast vote to reject a proposal
VETO
Nice surface. (VETO)*
12 Even well-fed Conservative has to respect voters
ELECTORATE
Not necessarily, in some cases. ELE for the even letters of ‘well-fed’, C, TO and RATE. Easier to solve than parse.
13 Flyover etiquette in guide for road users?
HIGHWAY CODE
A cd cum dd.
18 Annual pest problem is disgusting
UNPLEASANT
(ANNUAL PEST)*
21 Hard to leave county and old address
SIRE
S[H]IRE. ‘Fare thee well, sire!’
22 Fellow sailor takes drink aboard for bar
FLAPJACK
An insertion of LAP in F and JACK. Is ‘bar’ a fair definition of FLAPJACK? You decide.
23 Enlightened, thanks to reformed thug
TAUGHT
A charade of TA and (THUG)*
24 Provide calming influence so others are content
SOOTHE
Hidden in SO OTHers.
25 Carried on with FBI agent guarding American warship
FUSSED
An insertion of USS in FED. As in USS Abraham Lincoln, on board which George Dubya gave his infamous ‘Mission Accomplished’ speech in 2003. ‘United States Ship.’ Or if you are a Trekkie, you could have USS Enterprise, but nobody’s sure what that stands for.
Down
1 Back in olden times, Corinthians added fishy oil to greens
BROCCOLI
Good grief, this is getting convoluted for a Quiptic. ‘Olden times’ are BC; put COR for the biblical abbreviation for ‘Corinthians’ reversed in that; then add (OIL)* with ‘fishy’ as the anagrind.
2 Disagree with Post Offices breaking public contract
OPPOSE
See my comment on 1dn. An insertion of POS for ‘Post Offices’ in OPE[N] which is ‘public’ shortened or ‘contracted’. But where and by how much do you want me to contract it?
3 Royal wine merchants?
MAJESTIC
A dd. MAJESTIC is a UK chain of wine merchants.
4 Flier using thermals gets good cover above East River
GLIDER
Since it’s a down clue, it’s G plus LID plus E plus R.
5 Spade thus overtakes hearts and victory with one point left
SHOVEL
See my comment at 1dn. An insertion of H in SO followed by V (as in VE day, I suppose), E (one of the four ‘points’ of the compass) and L.
7 Little bird’s in wee box
PETITE
An insertion of TIT in PEE for an adjective that we’ve nicked from French that can only be applied to women.
8 Cook’s sending a boy up to ask about dessert
BAKED ALASKA
See my comment at 1dn. A charade. It’s BAKE for ‘cook’, and you have to read the apostrophe S as ‘has’; then a reversal (‘sending up’ since it’s a down clue of A LAD for ‘a boy’; then (ASK)* with ‘about’ as the anagrind.
14 Chaps restrain a rampant rogue being a pain
HEADACHE
An insertion of A CAD in HE and HE. The reversal indicator for CAD is something to do with flags or heraldry, I think, but I can’t be arsed to look it up. Or perhaps it’s an anagrind.
15 Issued GI going abroad with camouflage
DISGUISE
(ISSUED GI)*
16 Annoy right away, getting son to make joints
ANKLES
[R]ANKLE plus S.
17 Flower child’s immersed in love and free
ORCHID
An insertion of CH in O and RID. The colours, man, the colours …
19 Kitty’s friend set up computer
LAPTOP
A reversal of POT and PAL.
20 Works out total for two drinks
TOTS UP
A charade of TOT and SUP, making use of the fact that many words in English can be both nouns and verbs. Which is a gift to setters. And talking of setters, thanks to Hectence for this one.
Thanks Hectence and Pierre
As there was no chance of me having to blog this puzzle, I must admit that I entered BROCCOLI unparsed, and OPPOSE only partly so. I did eventually work out how BAKED ALASKA worked though.
It’s not uncommon for the Quiptic to be harder than the Monday Rufus, but it’s not often that it’s less enjoyable too.
(Incidentally, one of the solutions also appears in the Independent today, similarly clued.)
I agree that this was trickier than the main puzzle, and several of the constructions certainly wouldn’t have been out of place elsewhere. Having said that, I quite enjoyed it. HEADACHE was my LOI after FLAPJACK.
Thanks Hectence and Pierre.
Needed help with parsing OPPOSE and BROCCOLI. East London did not fool me, but had trouble with DOTE. Never heard of the MAJESTIC wine merchants, and could not think of a wine -A-E-T-C.
I liked VETO, SHIRE and FUSSED.
I found this quite difficult for a Quiptic.
Needed help to parse 2d, 20d, 12a and 1d, and failed to solve MAJESTIC and HIGHWAY CODE.
Thanks Pierre.