Toughie 218

Toughie No 218 by Giovanni

Hints and tips by Big Dave

+ – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****

Tilsit has had to go to the clinic, so I have produced this review at short notice.

A tough but, as you might expect from Giovanni, extremely fair puzzle that surprised me by including my local town among the answers.

Across
1a Sank back having grabbed book offering puzzles (8)
{DILEMMAS} – SLID reversed around Jane Austen’s EMMA – Emma Woodhouse is my favourite Austen character, far more interesting than Elizabeth Bennet

6a Sparring mammal falls into river (6)
{DEBATE} – BAT inside River DEE

9a Knife puts a king in pain (6)
{PARANG} – put A R inside PANG to get a knife that we last saw in DT 25954

10a Try very hard to emulate the over-energetic violinist? (4,1,3)
{BUST A GUT} – a part-cryptic double definition

11a Possibly any quarter of Chicago? (8)
{WINDWARD} – I think this is a cryptic definition of any part of the Windy City – let me know if you can see more in this than I have

ARVE Error: need id and provider

12a Heavenly messenger’s turn of phrase (6)
{SERAPH} – this messenger is an anagram (turn of) PHRASE

13a German travel inappropriate for this town (5,7)
{GREAT MALVERN} – the first clue that I got today was this anagram (inappropriate) of GERMAN TRAVEL which gives the town four miles from where I live

16a How to get erring member of church team? (6-6)
{CHANGE RINGER} – to get erring you change ringer, and he rings one of the church bells

19a Around the end of summer wore something very tiny (6)
{HADRON} – around R (the end of summeR) put HAD ON (wore) to get one of a class of subatomic particles, including baryons and mesons

21a Responsive sailor following chaps into the drink (8)
{AMENABLE} – AB following MEN into ALE

23a See vehicle left where there’s water all around (8)
{CARLISLE} – this diocese (see) is a charade of CAR (vehicle) L(eft) and ISLE (where there’s water all around)

24a Tailor working in old mercantile quarter of city (6)
{RIALTO} – an anagram of TAILOR gives the district of Venice which contains the old mercantile quarter and the famous bridge

25a Stuck as stick-in-the-mud? Not I but the old-fashioned you! (6)
{STAYED} – a synonym for stuck is derived by taking STAID (stick-in-the-mud) and changing the I into YE

26a Light paper cut with edge of knife (8)
{SUNSHINE} – this light is a charade of SUN (paper) SHIN (cut of meat) and E (edge of knifE)

Down
2d I will have to get hold of modern technology shortly (2,1,3)
{IN A BIT} – a charade of I NAB (to get hold of) and IT (Information Technology) makes a phrase meaning shortly

3d Animal with little energy, light (5)
{ELAND} – this animal comes from E(nergy) and LAND, as in alight

4d Holy woman’s depression over name being assumed by wise man? (9)
{MAGDALENE} – take DALE (depression) over(this is a down clue) N(ame) and put it all inside (being assumed by) MAGE (magus or wise man)

5d Somehow change clothes acting as blanket? (7)
{SUBEDIT} – to somehow change is derived by putting SUIT (clothes) on BED (acting as blanket)

6d Records of East Anglian town about to be stored (5)
{DISCS} – C (circa / about) is to be stored in DISS (East Anglian town)

7d Come as American flower! (4,5)
{BEAR RIVER} – to come as is to BE an ARRIVER which put together gives an American river – Big Dave’s law is that every good puzzle is allowed one naff clue!

8d Victor on the cricket field with little yen for rubbish (8)
{TRUMPERY} – combine old cricketer Victor Thomas TRUMPER and Y(en)

13d Kelly will go to meeting as a rule (9)
{GENERALLY} – combine GENE Kelly with a RALLY

14d Metal bracket leaning or broken (5,4)
{ANGLE IRON} – this metal bracket is an anagram of LEANING OR

15d Game that’s agreeable but hard for learner (8)
{PHEASANT} – a game bird (the feathered kind!) is constructed by taking PLEASANT (agreeable) and putting H(ard) instead of L(earner)

17d Confused labels getting in the way of information science (2,1,4)
{IN A MESS} – a phrase meaning confused is created by putting NAMES (labels) inside IS (information science)

18d Distant world has nuclear rock below the surface (6)
{PLUTON} – combine PLUTO (distant world) and N(uclear) to get a mass of rock which has solidified below the earth’s surface

20d Final three avoiding sudden plunge moved slowly (5)
{NOSED} – remove the final three letters from NOSED(IVE) (sudden plunge) to get a word meaning moved slowly

22d A party’s shame (5)
{ABASH} – A and BASH (party)

Tilsit has just emailed me (via Blackbery) to say that his BT Home Hub has expired, but he hopes to be getting a replacement tomorrow.

Here are the answers:

Feel free to leave a comment.