This one took me 6 minutes so I would rate it on the easy side. I have one or two minor quibbles which I shall mention along the way but generally this was an excellent Quickie.
As usual definitions are underlined in bold italics, {deletions are in curly brackets} and [anagrinds, containment, reversal and other indicators in square ones]
| Across | |
| 1 | Boxer beaten up, so what! (8) |
| SOUTHPAW - Anagram [beaten] of UP SO WHAT. | |
| 6 | Brood accommodated in Palermo, perhaps (4) |
| MOPE - Hidden [accommodated] in {Paler}MO PE{rhaps} | |
| 8 | Guy getting kiss from Douglas? (4) |
| MANX - MAN (guy), X (kiss). Douglas as the capital of the Isle of Man has come up very recently but possibly in the main puzzle rather than the QC. | |
| 9 | Punch repeatedly, bringing cheers! (4-4) |
| CHIN-CHIN - CHIN (punch) CHIN [repeatedly]. A rather dated expression perhaps. It can be a greeting, farewell or toast. Goodbye-ee, goodbye-ee, Wipe the tear, baby dear, from your eye-ee, Tho' it's hard to part I know, I'll be tickled to death to go. Don't cry-ee, don't sigh-ee, There's a silver lining in the sky-ee, Bonsoir, old thing, cheer-i-o, chin chin, Nah-poo, toodle-oo, Goodbye-ee. | |
| 10 | Development of San Diego struggled (8) |
| AGONISED - Anagram [development] of SAN DIEGO | |
| 11 | Sunday meal doesn't start in oven (4) |
| OAST - {r}OAST (Sunday meal) [doesn't start]. A kiln for drying hops. | |
| 13 | Modern country, hot after storms (5-2-3-3) |
| STATE-OF-THE-ART - STATE (country) anagram [storms] of HOT AFTER. I think this is more than modern; it's the most modern and best available. | |
| 16 | Old Peruvian in outskirts of Canberra (4) |
| INCA - IN, C{anberr}A [outskirts]. | |
| 17 | Family in flashy clothing, damned (8) |
| BLINKING - KIN (family) contained by [in] BLING (flashy clothing). 'Blinking' and 'damned' can both be used as intensifiers and in that sense may be interchangeable. Not a blinking good clue perhaps, but a perfectly acceptable one. | |
| 19 | Exceptional / money (8) |
| STERLING - Two meanings. I have slight misgivings about the first definition. To my mind, 'sterling (as in 'sterling work' for example) means solid, reliable, worthy and possibly even very good, but not exceptional. | |
| 21 | Look to hold back (4) |
| PEEK - KEEP (hold) reversed [back]. Something of a chestnut, but some newbies may not have seen it before. | |
| 22 | Don't go south before Scottish river (4) |
| STAY - S (south), TAY (Scottish river). As mentioned in William McGonagall's poem "The Tay Bridge Disaster" : "Beautiful railway bridge of the silv'ry Tay Alas! I am very sorry to say That ninety lives have been taken away On the last sabbath day of 1879 Which will be remember'd for a very long time." I'll spare you the rest of it! | |
| 23 | Tree needing serious treatment, initially (5,3) |
| FIRST AID - FIR (tree), STAID (serious) | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Ape having nougat ran off (5-4) |
| ORANG-UTAN - Anagram [off] of NOUGAT RAN | |
| 3 | In bronze, former citizen of Dallas, say? (5) |
| TEXAN - EX (former) contained by [in] TAN (bronze) | |
| 4 | Artist— image like so (7) |
| PICASSO - PIC (image), AS (like), SO | |
| 5 | Strange forms I drew (5) |
| WEIRD - Anagram [forms] of I DREW. | |
| 6 | Laboratory animals about to take bug (7) |
| MICROBE - MICE (laboratory animals) containing [about] ROB (take) | |
| 7 | Appearing in cap, sizeable Greek character (3) |
| PSI - Hidden [appearing in] {ca}P SI{zeable} | |
| 12 | National Park where tiger seen, surprisingly (9) |
| SERENGETI - Anagram [surprisingly] of TIGER SEEN. And it would indeed be surpising to see a tiger there! | |
| 14 | A treaty in motion that carries (3,4) |
| TEA TRAY - Anagram [in motion] of A TREATY. Lewis Carroll wrote: Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you're at! Up above the world you fly, Like a tea tray in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you're at! | |
| 15 | One attempting to collect goods for trip (7) |
| TRIGGER - TRIER (one attempting) contains [to collect] GG (goods). I think this is 'trip / trigger' as in switches or other mechanisms that set something off. | |
| 17 | Crisp, cheese flavour, originally (5) |
| BRIEF - BRIE (cheese), F{lavour} [originally]. Crisp, clear, brief and to the point. | |
| 18 | End for stick, a stick broken! (5) |
| KAPUT - {stic}K, A, PUT (stick) as in 'Stick it yer fam'ly alBUM!' | |
| 20 | Bird rising just the same? (3) |
| TIT - Palindrome [just the same rising] | |