Toughie 447

Toughie No 447 by Beam

I did it My Way!

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

Ray T’s second outing as a Toughie setter was quite enjoyable. Once you get used to the stretched definitions, the clues are straightforward if a bit tough.

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Across

7a    Spitfire say, producing trail following turn (8)
{WARPLANE} – a Spitfire. or a Hurricane, is constructed by putting a country trail after a turn or twist

9a    Onset of sudden agony gripping radius (6)
{SPRAIN} – in this all-in-one clue S (onset of Sudden) and agony are placed around (gripping) R(adius)

10a    Picture villain following triad’s central character (4)
{ICON} – a religious picture is derived by putting a villain after I (trIad’s central character)

11a    Giving a hand around the house? (10)
{APPLAUDING} – clapping hands in the auditorium

12a    Sport includes each player’s opening stand (6)
{TEAPOY} – a word meaning to sport is placed around EA(ch) and P (Player’s opening) to get a small three-legged table or stand, especially one that holds a caddy.

14a    Reportedly much used by sailor as a guide (8)
{LODESTAR} – what sounds like {reportedly) much is followed by a sailor to get something much used by a sailor as a guide – “used” appears to be there only to improve the surface reading

15a    Trails from snails’ ends reduced inside (6)
{SPOORS} – these trails are created by starting with SS (SnailS’ ends) with reduced, as in reduced quality, inside

17a    Gold and oil supplier for Blair, originally (6)
{ORWELL} – combine the heraldic term for gold with an oil producer to get the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair, author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four

20a    Second shot after warning shout clearing woods? (8)
{FORESTRY} – put S(econd) and a shot or attempt after a warning shout on the golf course to get the task of clearing woods

22a    Lets out lunatics losing head (6)
{UTTERS} – a verb meaning lets out or declares is created by removing the initial N (losing head) from some lunatics

23a    Feller left Brown with nothing! (10)
{LUMBERJACK} – this feller of trees is a charade of L(eft), a shade of brown and a word meaning nothing at all

Cue the Monty Python team:

ARVE Error: need id and provider

24a    Broadcast contains hot performance (4)
{SHOW} – a verb meaning to broadcast seed is placed around (contains) H(ot) to get a performance

25a    Created by Dior, dainty frock (6)
{ORDAIN} – hidden inside (created by – I’m not sure about that as a hidden indicator) the clue is a verb meaning to frock or invest with priestly office

26a    Medicine can treat start of typhoid internally (8)
{TINCTURE} – in this semi-all-in-one clue, a medicine is built up from a can followed by a verb meaning to treat around T (start of typhoid)

Down

1d    Organ on endless groove (8)
{PANCREAS} – an organ of the body is a charade of a the Greek god of pastures, flocks, and woods (pipe player) and a groove without its final letter (endless)

2d    Bridge player with slam in bridge (4)
{SPAN} – one of the four bridge players is followed by a verb meaning to slam or criticise to get a bridge

3d    In the morning, rising with ‘female complaint’ (6)
{MALADY} – the abbreviation for morning is reversed (rising) and is followed by a female with refined manners and instincts to get a complaint

4d    Man’s man? (8)
{ISLANDER} – someone from the Isle of Man, or Skye, or ……

5d    Shot one steer on trail (10)
{IRIDESCENT} – this one gave me more trouble than most – an adjective meaning shot or rainbow-coloured, as in shot silk, is a charade of I(one), to steer and a trail ;left by an animal – stretching the meanings of the definition and some of the wordplay made this more difficult

6d    Girl one’s turned over to get brown (6)
{SIENNA} – take a girl’s name and I’S (one’s) and reverse all to get a fine pigment made from ferruginous ochreous earth, originally browny-yellow but warm reddish-brown when roasted

8d    Bans lovemaking exercise left top to tail! (6)
{EXPELS} – a word meaning bans is derived by taking a word meaning lovemaking, some physical exercise L(eft) then moving the first letter to the end (top to tail)

13d    Notorious document Blair modified (10)
{PROVERBIAL} – a valid synonym for notorious, but not one that came readily to mind, is built from a verb meaning to document and an anagram (modified} of BLAIR

16d    Coy going to bed (8)
{RETIRING} – a double definition

18d    Old port for sailors (8)
{LARBOARD} – the word that sailors used to use for the left

19d    Dictator typically ends by shouting (6)
{TYRANT} – a dictator or oppressive ruler is constructed from the ends of TypicallY and a word meaning shouting

21d    Gallery not opening holding Braque’s final work (6)
{OEUVRE} – knowing that Ray T lives in Paris is a help in finding the gallery – it’s the one that houses the Mona Lisa – lose its first letter (not opening) and then insert E (BraquE‘s final) to get an artist’s work – does anyone know Braque’s final work and where it is housed?

22d    Rotten boxed by punk in Damned (6)
{UNKIND} – a word meaning rotten or callous is hidden inside (boxed by) the rest of the clue – allusions here to Johnny Rotten, the Sex Pistols (who considered calling themselves The Damned) and The Damned (who did)

ARVE Error: need id and provider

24d    For the audience, horror scene (4)
{SITE} – a homophone (for the audience) of a horror gives the scene of an event

Ray T’s transition into a Toughie setter has allowed him to push the boundaries of his definitions even more than in his daily puzzles.