Toughie 439

Toughie No 439 by Cephas

Smooth progress

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

An easy puzzle today – many have already said easier than today’s regular cryptic.

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Across

1a    Former pupil, legal scholar, in the side moving unsteadily (8)
{WOBBLING} – put a former pupil and a Bachelor of Law (legal scholar) inside a side or flank to vet a verb meaning moving unsteadily

5a    Rotten place, one getting in the way (6)
{PUTRID} – a word meaning rotten is built up from a verb meaning to place followed by I (one) inside an abbreviated way

8a    Three notes, one repeated before one has to rub out (6)
{EFFACE} – three notes of the diatonic scale of C major are followed by a playing card with a single spot on it to get a word meaning to rub out or remove

9a    Starting proceedings without American, taking food (8)
{LUNCHING} – take a word meaning starting proceedings and remove the A(merican) and you get taking food at midday

10a    Set out and returned relaxed (4-4)
{LAID-BACK} – a charade of set out (the table perhaps) and returned gives relaxed or at ease

11a    Plant carrier inside spy organisation (6)
{CASSIA} – this genus of leguminous shrubs whose pods yield senna is derived by putting a beast of burden inside the American spy organisation

12a    Coasting casually as a ‘don’t know’ (8)
{AGNOSTIC} – an anagram (casually) of COASTING gives a religious ‘don’t know’

13a    Add a couple of pages with piece left over (6)
{APPEND} – a word meaning to add is a charade of A, P(age) repeated and the piece that’s left over

15a    One imagining diamonds dropped tool (6)
{REAMER} – take someone who is imagining and drop the D(iamonds) from the front to get a tool for enlarging, shaping or finishing a bore

18a    Wrong being dishonest away from the centre (8)
{OUTLYING} – a charade of wrong, as in a total not balancing, and being dishonest gives an adjective meaning away from the centre

20a    Copper to play very loudly and end abruptly (3,3)
{CUT OFF} – combine the chemical symbol for copper with TO and the musical instruction to play very loudly and you get a phrasal verb meaning to end abruptly

21a    Thousand joining, most dark and most twisted (8)
{KINKIEST} – combine the letter used to indicate a thousand in the metric system with a word meaning most dark to get the most twisted or perverted

23a    Leaving New Zealand horizontal, excitable libertine (8)
{LOTHARIO} – an anagram (excitable) of HORI(Z)O(N)TAL without the letters of N(ew) Z(ealand) gives a libertine – I’m never happy about removing disconnected letters from the anagram fodder without due indication

24a    Said to be path of woman on way to union (6)
{BRIDAL} – what sounds like a path for those riding horses is actually an adjective meaning relating to a woman who is getting married

25a    Withdraw engineers’ flag (6)
{RECEDE} – a word meaning to withdraw is a charade of the Royal Engineers and to flag or give up – I’m not too sure that flag is a suitable synonym for the last part of the wordplay

26a    Professional wailer’s eagerness? (8)
{KEENNESS} – this eagerness could possibly be that of a professional wailer but isn’t (hence the ?)

Down

1d    Now he elopes, pocketing ring (5)
{WHEEL} – hidden inside the clue is a ring

2d    Coming from Broadmoor to place where decisions are made (9)
{BOARDROOM} – an anagram (coming from?) of BROADMOOR gives a place where decisions are made

3d    I name old work that’s rough (7)
{INEXACT} – a charade of I, N(ame), old, as in old flame, and a word meaning work, as in the tablets will work soon, gives an adjective meaning rough or approximate

4d    Progress smoothly on tick? (2,4,9)
{GO LIKE CLOCKWORK} – a phrase meaning to progress smoothly could mean to tick (or tock!)

5d    Criticise expert with a universal medicine (7)
{PANACEA} – a charade of a verb meaning to criticise, an expert and A gives a universal medicine

6d    Reprint acceptable in different series (7)
{REISSUE} – a reprint of a book or magazine is derived by putting acceptable inside an anagram (different) of SERIES

7d    Cannibalistic competition? (3-3-3)
{DOG-EAT-DOG} – a ruthless pursuit of one’s own interests could be a domestic pet devouring one of its own kind – according to Chambers the words are hyphenated for the adjective but not the noun

12d    Cur Laura and I stupidly told privately (9)
{AURICULAR} – an anagram (stupidly) of CUR LAURA and I gives a word meaning told privately

14d    No end of science in a new form for doctor (9)
{PHYSICIAN} – take all bar the final S (no end) of a science subject and add an anagram (new form) of IN A to get a doctor

16d    One still without polarity (7)
{ASTATIC} – combine A (one) with a synonym of still to get an adjective meaning without polarity, as a pair of magnetic needles set in opposite directions

17d    Pitched battle arbitrator? (7)
{REFEREE} – a cryptic definition of the arbitrator of a football match

19d    Number having the necessary power can be defended (7)
{TENABLE} – a number is followed by having the necessary power to get a word meaning can be defended

22d    Part of body to inhibit a lustfulness inside (5)
{TALUS} – the ankle-bone is hidden inside the clue

A fairly easy one from Cephas today – I bet he wished he’d had three like this in the Times Championship on Sunday!