Toughie 466

Toughie No 466 by Osmosis

Something fishy!

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

This was a struggle – but well worth the effort.  A true Toughie from Osmosis with many of those penny-drop moments.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.

Across

1a    Tea without milk and sugar, reverend? (8)
{CHAPLAIN} – A charade of another word for tea with how that drink might be described if served without milk and sugar gives a reverend attached to a regiment or other organisation

6a    Medic’s overwhelmed by repeated morning theatre (2-4)
{AM-DRAM} – put a medic between (overwhelmed by) two instances of the abbreviation for morning to get this form of local theatre

9a    During 5 out of 6 deliveries, enclose batsman (6)
{OPENER} – inside (during) a set of six deliveries in cricket without the V (5 in Roman numerals) put a word meaning to enclose to get either of the first two batsmen

10a    Cases for transporting mirror and painting (8)
{SEASCAPE} – an anagram (transporting) of CASES is followed by a word meaning to mirror or copy to get this type of painting

11a    Energy used by medium in bar, regressing behaviour in US (8)
{DEMEANOR} – put E(nergy) and medium or average inside a bar which is reversed (regressing) to get the American (in US) spelling of a word meaning behaviour or conduct

12a    Old Vic actor (6)
{MATURE} – a word meaning old is the surname of actor Victor

13a    A dip around the Aegean islands? (12)
{TARAMASALATA} – a cryptic definition of a pink creamy Greek dip made of smoked cod’s roe with olive oil and garlic

16a    Roger’s in mess with almond, cooking meal (6,6)
{SMOKED SALMON} – put OK (Roger in signalling) inside an anagram (cooking) of MESS and ALMOND to get this fishy meal

19a    Inheritance netted nurses close to five grand (6)
{LEGACY} – an inheritance is constructed by putting a word meaning netted around (nurses) E (close to fivE) and G(rand)

21a    Lots of GB society bare torsos, some getting reaction (8)
{TERABYTE} – a unit of storage capacity equal to 1,024gb (lots) is hidden (some) and reversed (getting reaction) in the clue

23a    With tenor replacing contralto, camp pianist let loose (8)
{LIBERATE} – start with a camp pianist, the one who loved chandeliers, and replace the C (contralto) in his name with a T (tenor) to get a verb meaning to let loose

24a    Echo censors true German woman? (6)
{RENATE} – take a synonym for to echo and drop (censors) SO (true, as in “is that so?”) to get a German woman’s name

25a    Muscle Beach — regulars seen in endless strut, rippling (6)
{RECTUS} – a muscle is constructed by putting the even (regular) letters of bEaCh inside an anagram (rippling) of an endless STRU(T)

26a    Star Trek character heading off to obtain separate clothing — like this? (4,4)
{POLO NECK} – drop the initial letter (heading off) the Vulcan in Star Trek and then put it around (clothing) a word meaning separate or isolated to get an item of clothing with a particular collar

Down

2d    Endless publicity stunt by bird that’s in T-shirt and G-string (6)
{HYPHEN} – drop the last letter from a publicity stunt, add a bird and you get something that is common to T-shirt and G-string

3d    Food package peripherally bears E numbers (5)
{PENNE} – this pasta in the form of short thick tubes is built from PE (PackagE peripherally) around (bears) E and NN (Numbers)

4d    Lawrence’s work staff (6,3)
{AARON’S ROD} – a double definition – a book by DH Lawrence and a staff carried by Moses’ brother

5d    Drug break indicated to guitarist? (7)
{NOSTRUM} – a medicine prepared by an unqualified person, especially one that is not considered effective, if split (2,5) could indicate to a guitarist that he should take a break

6d    Panic like a seaman (5)
{ALARM} – this panic is a charade of an originally French word for like or “in the style of” and a Royal Marine

7d    Sports event proving men can multi-task? (9)
{DECATHLON} – a cryptic definition of a sporting contest that consists of ten different events

8d    It’s omitted by some Cockneys – like Jack Sparrow? (8)
{ASPIRATE} – the “H” sound, which is omitted by some Cockneys, when split as (2,6), could mean like Jack Sparrow, a character portrayed by Johnny Depp in a well-known series of movies

13d    Force retailer, not starting car, to recharge batteries? (4,1,4)
{TAKE A SEAT} – a charade of a volunteer force, a Swedish retailer without its first letter (not starting) and a Spanish make of car gives a word meaning to sit down in order to recharge one’s batteries

14d    Record company occupies banks of Stour river in Green Belt? (4-5)
{SEMI-RURAL} – put a record company inside SR (banks of StouR) and follow it with a river that flows through Kazakhstan to the Caspian Sea to get a word meaning in the Green Belt

15d    Cretin upset priest with a measure of obesity, after church (8)
{IMBECILE} – a cretin is constructed by reversing (upset) all of a priest and a measure of obesity with a church in the middle

17d    Port not available (flipping 15) (7)
{ANTWERP} – this port in northern Belgium is constructed by reversing () the abbreviation for Not Available and following it with yet another cretin (15 down)

18d    Still blissful, having abandoned the city (6)
{STATIC} – a word meaning still or motionless is a synonym for blissful without (having abandoned) EC (the postcode of the City of London)

20d    Old training scheme attracts each writer from Ireland (5)
{YEATS} – put an old training scheme for unemployed school-leavers around (attracts) the abbreviation for each to get an Irish poet and dramatist

22d    Shoe size perhaps rising here in Africa (5)
{BENIN} – reverse a possible shoe size (including the width) to get a country in West Africa

That makes it two Friday puzzles in a row for me – and both superb.  Tilsit hopes to be back next week (he was planning to escape from hospital today).