Our friend who complains every time an obscure bird turns up in the 15×15 wouldn’t have had much fun with this puzzle, with a veritable flock of ’em at 1dn, 4dn and 6dn. COD to 24ac, who would have imagined that you could make a “hidden” of such a Latin phrase with a surface that broadly makes sense, to boot! (In the Latin dub of The (American) Office, does Michael say “ipsa dixit” a lot?) Many thanks to the setter for another bona fide monthly highlight.
1 Struck by church turning sophisticated (2-3)
HI-TEC – HIT by reversed CE
4 In times long ago, recalled Cockney singer gaping (9)
XEROCHASY – in X [times] + reversed YORE [long ago], CHAS [Cockney singer and accomplice of Dave]
9 Belligerent cries from attention seeker getting in the way of large meeting earlier (9)
ALALAGMOI – OI! [attention seeker], after À LA | L | A.G.M.
10 Quote theory that’s been oddly overlooked, say (5)
UTTER – {q}U{o}T{e} T{h}E{o}R{y}
11 Tango: dance seen in Tibetan balls? (6)
TSAMBA – T + SAMBA. This is a foodstuff that you can eat by rolling into balls… probably
12 Home-brew passes around group of drinkers in the family (8)
SKOKIAAN – reversed OK’S [passes] + A.A. in KIN
14 Drug, one drunk, dealing with onset of tetanus in one breaking leg (12)
ISOTRETINOIN – I SOT RE T{etanus} IN + ON “broken” by I
17 Content of alpha rays dispersing across power line (5,2,5)
HAPPY AS LARRY – (ALPHA RAYS*) “across” P + RY
20 Short break in a type of film showing an anteater (8)
TAMANOIR – TAM{e} [break in] + A NOIR
21 Dreams of Scottish women’s charity chasing pennies no longer (6)
DWALMS – W ALMS after D
23 Flooded out after cutting pipe down (5)
AWASH – AWA{y} + SH!
24 Saw centre from Kuwaiti XI despicably pulled back (4,5)
IPSE DIXIT – hidden reversed in {kuwai}TI XI DESPI{cably}
25 Folding altarpiece cloth, twice partially at the edges wrinkled (9)
POLYPTYCH – (CLOTH P{artiall}Y P{artiall}Y*)
26 Weaver attaching arrangement of hair on to which end? (5)
WHYDA – D.A. [arrangement of hair] attached onto WHY? [to which end?]
DOWN
1 Tropical bird with hard, round bill that was unknown at home (8)
HOACTZIN – H O ACT [“bill that was”] Z IN
2 Death of military alliance, seconds after which base abandoned (8)
THANATOS – NATO S, after THA{t}
3 Dictionary happening to contain note in post for steward (15)
CHAMBERLAINSHIP – CHAMBERS HIP, “containing” LA IN
4 Test, cycling up to find seabirds (4)
XEMA – reverse and cycle EXAM
5 Walter’s charming fellow miner Karen’s crazy for (4-6)
REIM-KENNAR – (MINER KAREN*)
6 Shy woman left behind absorbing legal documents and flyer (5-5-5)
CHUCK-WILLS-WIDOW – CHUCK WIDOW [shy | woman left behind] “absorbing” WILLS
7 European magistrate’s time in ME capital (6)
AMTMAN – T in AMMAN [capital of Jordan]
8 After year book, torn and no longer used, incinerated (6)
YBRENT – after Y B, RENT
13 Tip on training one football team’s ability to tighten things up (10)
STYPTICITY – STY on PT + I + CITY
15 Savage, maybe cross at heart with expert using long words so? (8)
PROLIXLY – LILY [Savage], taking X to “heart”, with PRO
16 Spartan meal, never filling, scarcely satisfies: inept idea! (8)
SYSSITIA – S{carcel}Y S{atisfie}S I{nep}T I{de}A
18 Cease taking public transport, not to walk around Glasgow (6)
STRAMP – S{to->TRAM}P
19 Once used to talk over one’s friend at first, rudely interrupting (6)
IMPARL – I’M [one’s] + PAL “interrupted” by R{udely}
22 Job following this native from Tartu via Lahti? (4)
ESTH – double def with the book of the Bible that precedes Job, Esth.
Edited at 2021-06-01 08:06 am (UTC)