Toughie 413

Toughie No 413 by Shamus

Hints and tips by Bufo

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

I’m fairly neutral about this one. It was a competent enough puzzle and the clues were perfectly fair. But there was nothing about it that got me excited.

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Across

1a    Artist, a guy not unknown in a plug broadcast around university (4,7)
{PAUL GAUGUIN} A French postimpressionist who went to the South Pacific is an anagram (broadcast) of A GU(Y) IN A PLUG around U (University)

7a    Lower reputation of church primate in start of notice? (7)
{CHEAPEN} CH (church) + primate (animal) in EN (first letter of notice) gives a word meaning “lower reputation”

8a    One examining car by hill (7)
{AUDITOR} A German car manufacturer + a hill gives someone who examines the accounts

10a    Derision that’s clear in much of republic on reflection (8)
{RIDICULE} Put a 5-letter word meaning clear inside the Irish Republic with the last letter removed and reverse it all

11a    A writer entertaining artist from the Gulf? (6)
{ARABIC} RA (artist) goes inside A brand of mass-produced ballpoint pen

13a    In revolution, proud Russian defended language (4)
{URDU} A language is hidden in the reverse of “proud Russian”

14a    Royal woman? Representation of lean bony one losing head (4,6)
{ANNE BOLEYN} An anagram (representation) of LEAN BONY (O)NE gives a queen consort who was beheaded

16a    Outline is backed by character right away safeguarding a lot of time (10)
{SILHOUETTE} An outline usually done in solid black on white is made up of SI (is backed) + a character missing an R (right away) round 60 minutes without its last letter (a lot of time)

18a    Sacred feature in Hebrew greeting excluding outsiders (4)
{HALO} Something that may surround the head of a sacred person is formed by the middle 4 letters of a 6-letter Hebrew greeting

21a    Pull back when entering obscure fen and swamp (6)
{ENGULF} A reversal of a word for “pull” inside an anagram (obscure) of FEN gives a word meaning “to swamp”

22a    Exhausted down-and-out (8)
{DEADBEAT} 2 meanings: (i) a down-and-out and (ii) exhausted in which case the enumeration should (4,4) or (4-4)
[Chambers, in its great wisdom, gives (4-4) for the first definition and (8) for the second! BD]

24a    Measure the strength of Asian attribute by the sound of it (7)
{TITRATE} A word meaning “measure the strength of” sounds like Thai trait (Asian attribute)

25a    Country lane fringing college beginning to exhibit fabric (7)
{BROCADE} A numbered local route (having a lower traffic density than a main trunk road) goes round C (college) and is followed by E (beginning to exhibit) to give a rich fabric

26a    Nice purpose? (6,5)
{RAISON D’ETRE} Once again Nice refers to the place and the answer is merely a French term for purpose (6,1’4)

Down

1d    Element in exercise by department put forward in case? (7)
{PLEADED} A metallic element is put inside PE (exercise) + D (department)

2d    Open group of peacekeepers? (6)
{UNPACK} What you do when you reach your holiday destination could be a United Nations group of people

3d    James, maybe, making tight turn before delay (10)
{GUNSLINGER} The James in question is Jesse James. Take the reverse a word for tight (or cosy) + to delay (tarry)

4d    Tree with dark substance, we hear, in a state (4)
{UTAH} Homophones of a tree (one letter) and dark substance (3-letters) give a US state

5d    David, perhaps, grounded sadly (8)
{UNDERDOG} The David is the one who fought Goliath. The answer is an anagram (sadly) of GROUNDED

6d    Famous army retained by aristocrat (7)
{NOTABLE} TA (army) goes inside an aristocrat

7d    Cautious male trapped in place of entertainment favoured round clubs (11)
{CIRCUMSPECT} A word meaning “cautious” is derived form M (male) inside a place of entertainment (with clowns) + a word meaning “favoured” round C (clubs)

9d    Survey one client left out or mixed up after start of review (11)
{RECONNOITRE} An anagram (mixed up) of ONE C(L)IENT OR follows R (start of review) to give “to survey”

12d    Indulge old man taking in English part of garden (10)
{FEATHERBED} Your old man surrounds E (English) before part of the garden to give a word meaning “indulge” (or something you might sleep on)

15d    Old Chancellor with puzzled air consuming black vegetable (8)
{KOHLRABI} A variety of cabbage is given by a former German chancellor (Helmut) and B (black) inside an anagram (puzzled) of AIR

17d    Wretch ignoring British boat used in unloading? (7)
{LIGHTER} Another word for wretch loses its initial B (British) to give a large open boat used in loading and unloading ships

19d    Mean adult with a lot of words lacking heart (7)
{AVERAGE} The mean value is derived form A (adult) + an 8-letter word for a superfluity of words from which the middle 2 letters have been removed

20d    Ingenious medic featuring in a final article book left out (6)
{ADROIT} DR (medic) is put inside A + a short form of an account of a deceased person lacking B (book)

23d    Cheaply constructed sign containing German (4)
{LEGO} G (German) goes inside a sign of the zodiac to give a toy