Toughie 285

Toughie No 285 by Busman

Can you tell your Arias from your Elbows?

(thanks to Prolixic for the subheading)

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

This puzzle was only slightly spoiled by the serious error at 13 across – checking letters and the wordplay mean that the Verdi red herring shouldn’t hold you up for long. Busman’s previous Toughies have tended towards the easy side, this one is more difficult without being impenetrable.

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Across

1a    How to spend holiday in Italy that could be murder (3,6,3,3)
{SEE NAPLES AND DIE} – a faintly cryptic definition that gives you a good start to this puzzle

9a    Cowboy on board? (9)
{STEERSMAN} – the question mark tells you that the setter thinks the definition is dodgy – he’s right

10a    Tailless creature by eastern river (5)
{RHINE} – combine RHINO without the final O (tailless) with E(astern) to get this European river

11a    Hinder leading bridge opponents first (5)
{ESTOP} – a word meaning to hinder is built up from E(ast) and S(outh) (opponents at bridge – you have eight combinations to consider!) followed by a a synonym for first, as in first in the table

12a    Dallas, maybe, where small pensioner works (4,5)
{SOAP OPERA} – Dallas is just one example of the genre of TV shows – to get there run together S(mall) OAP (old age pensioner) and a word meaning musical works

13a    Spiv returning clutching money for Verdi composition (8)
{TURANDOT} – red faces at the Telegraph today! – take TOUT (spiv) reversed and put it around the South African currency to get this Puccini composition.

Tilsit will be pleased that I resisted the temptation to provide a link to the Paul Potts version: instead you will just have to put up with the Three Tenors singing Nessun Dorma

ARVE Error: need id and provider

14a    Boat’s first trip? (6)
{LAUNCH} – a double definition that also works as a triple definition!

16a    Dramatist’s true lines coming first (6)
{BRECHT} – I guessed the name of this dramatist from the BR (lines) at the beginning (the name was unlikely to start RY or LL) and then looked up ECHT to confirm that it meant true.

18a    Exotic divan by John Curry (8)
{VINDALOO} – An anagram (exotic) of DIVAN is followed by another informal word for a lavatory (john) to get this very hot curry

22a    Those holding forth about ten works (9)
{ORATORIOS} – put ORATORS (those holding forth) around IO (ten) to get these works – I don’t like ten = IO at all, 10 would have been much better

23a    Car plant (5)
{LOTUS} – a double definition

24a    Felt silly returning some fibre (5)
{ISTLE} – this valuable fibre obtained from Agave, Bromelia, and other plants is hidden reversed inside the first to words of the clue

25a    Vehicle holding a West End pamphleteer (9)
{TRACTATOR} – start with a farm vehicle and put A T (A WesT end) inside to get a word meaning a pamphleteer

26a    ‘London Taxi’, sorry horse, grey — in a race, nobbled (7,8)
{HACKNEY CARRIAGE} – the definition made this easy – you get there by taking a HACK (sorry-looking horse) and follow it with an anagram (nobbled) of GREY IN A RACE

Down

1d           Fishy group holding marketing feature (7)
{SUSPECT} – a synonym for fishy is generated by putting SECT (group) around USP (Unique Selling Point / marketing feature)

2d           Start of evensong with minor churchman and constituent (7)
{ELECTOR} – E (start of Evensong) is followed by LECTOR (minor churchman – I couldn’t resist this definition from Chambers: “an ecclesiastic in one of the minor orders, lowest in the Orthodox, second-lowest (next above doorkeeper) in the Roman Catholic”)  to get this member of a constituency

3d           Minimal amount for a watery touch-down (1,4,2,3,5)
{A DROP IN THE OCEAN} – a part-cryptic double definition alluding to the way American space missions used to return to earth

4d           Capital’s currency in Cyprus (8)
{LIMASSOL} – the capital of Peru is followed by S (from the ‘s) and SOL (the currency of Peru) to get a resort in Cyprus

5d           Sailor points out one German spa (6)
{SINBAD} – the famous sailor of ancient Middle Eastern origin is constructed by putting S(outh) and N(orth) around I (one) and adding the prefix of several German spas

6d           Tory lord earns UN review for King of Arms (6,3,6)
{NORROY AND ULSTER} – I had to look this one up – an anagram (review) of TORY LORD EARNS UN gives the junior King of Arms of the College of Arms

7d           Cinema showing medic (one with humour) (5-2)
{DRIVE-IN} – this type of cinema, more common in warmer climates, is built up from DR (medic) I (one) and VEIN (a mood or humour)

8d           Loop off Lincolnshire coast? Nonsense (7)
{EYEWASH} – combine an EYE (a wire loop or ring as used in a hook and eye fastening) with the area of sea off the Lincolnshire coast to get a word meaning nonsense

15d         Rough skin has a following in Africa (8)
{KINSHASA} – an anagram (rough) of SKIN is followed by HAS A to get the site of the Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman

16d         Uncivilised mayor clutching love hard (7)
{BOORISH} – a word meaning uncivilised is constructed from the first name of the current Mayor of London around (clutching) O (love) and followed by H (that Hard pencil again) – I trust this is not intended as a description of the said Mayor!

17d         Bouncy castle I demolished (7)
{ELASTIC} – a word meaning bouncy is an anagram (demolished) of CASTLE I – superb surface reading!

19d         Girl lifted top title, turning tail (7)
{LETITIA} – a girl’s name is generated from AI (top) and TITLE with the last two letters swapped and then all of it reversed (lifted, as it’s a down clue)

20d         Watch non-studio based programme for action at Wimbledon (7)
{OBSERVE} – a word meaning to watch is a charade of OB (Outside Broadcast) and how the ball is brought into play in tennis (at Wimbledon and elsewhere)

21d         Cheerless victory attempt (6)
{WINTRY} – a very appropriate word meaning cheerless is a charade of WIN (victory) and TRY (attempt)

Early comments seem to confirm that the incorrect information in 13 across had little impact on the puzzle as a whole.