Toughie 507

Toughie No 507 by Beam

A lesson in English

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

Beam (aka Ray T) lives in Paris, where he teaches the finer points of the English language to French journalists. This is evident in the two long answers in today’s excellent puzzle.

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Across

1a    Naughty setter’s rubbish! (6)
{IMPISH} – a word meaning naughty is a charade of the setter is, in the first person, and a synonym for rubbish

4a    Abandon Circle Line train (8)
(DISCLAIM} – a word meaning to abandon or renounce is a charade of a circle (4), L(ine) and to train or point a rifle

10a    Right old tantrum, taken in by fellow extortionist (9)
{PROFITEER) – put R(ight), O(ld) and a tantrum inside a fellow who is one’s equal to get an extortionist who takes advantage of an emergency – the answer can be a noun, as here, or a verb

11a    Bikini perhaps everybody takes to! (5)
{ATOLL} – the site, in the Marshall Islands, used by the US between 1946 and 1958 for testing nuclear weapons, is an example of this – put a word meaning everybody around TO

12a    Doctor’s aid for depression? (7)
{SPATULA} – a cryptic definition of a thin flat instrument used by a doctor to depress the tongue

13a    Strong support for capital punishment (7)
{GALLOWS} – a cryptic definition of a structure, typically of two uprights and a crosspiece, for the hanging of criminals

14a    Found in tome, Galileo’s last letter (5)
{OMEGA} – hidden (found) inside the clue is the last letter of the Greek alphabet

15a    Italy, Germany and the French head for stagnation (8)
{IDLENESS} – a charade of the IVR codes for Italy and Germany, the French definite article and a headland gives a word meaning stagnation

18a    Wellington say, left from Waterloo, destroyed France first (8)
{FOOTWEAR} – a wellington boot is an example of this – an anagram (destroyed) of WATER(L)OO without the L(eft) is preceded by the IVR code for France

20a    Bounder embracing yours truly, Casanova (5)
{ROMEO} – put this Australian bounder around a pronoun which means the same as yours truly to get a Casanova

23a    Fellow useless in physical denial (7)
{REFUSAL} – put F(ellow) and useless or unserviceable inside a word meaning physical or actual to get a denial

25a    Timeless Queen number in overdue return (7)
(ETERNAL} – a word meaning timeless is created by putting Elizabeth Regina and N(umber) inside a reversal of a word meaning overdue

26a    ‘Super’ in Police Department patrolled (5)
{PACED} – put an exclamation similar to “super” inside the P(olice) D(epartment) to get a word meaning patrolled

27a    Wild new wife embracing left in semi-nude (9)
{UNBRIDLED} – an adjective meaning wild or unrestrained is built from N(ew) and a (new) wife around (embracing) L(eft) all inside the middle half (semi) of nUDe – I suppose there is no reason why half of a word can’t be the middle half, but usually there is an indication of this

28a    Lunatic escaped before midnight, caught in act (8)
{DERANGED} – an adjective meaning lunatic is derived by putting escaped or fled (3) and G (mid niGht) inside (caught in) an act

29a    Heard when approaching time to kill Caesar? (6)
{ASIDES} – to get these words spoken by an actor which the other persons on the stage are supposed not to hear combine a synonym for when with time in March to kill Julius Caesar

Down

1d    Cheat one married, after gold (8)
{IMPOSTOR} – this cheat is a charade of I (one), M(arried), a word meaning after and the heraldic term for gold

2d    Lay horizontal covering half of sofa (7)
{PROFANE} – a word meaning lay or secular is derived by putting a word meaning horizontal or prostrate around (covering) the second half of soFA

3d    Drug for man with lust, it turned out (9)
{STIMULANT} – this drug or tonic is an anagram (turned out) of MAN with LUST IT

5d    Eat, drink and be…? (9,5)
{IRREGULAR VERBS} – these three are examples that fall outside the standard patterns of conjugation

6d    Writhe naked in club, half gone (5)
{CRAWL} – a word meaning to writhe or squirm is created by putting a word meaning naked inside the first half of CLub

7d    Almost get up after a flash of love (7)
{AMOROUS} – almost all of a word meaning to get up in the morning follows A and a flash or instant to get an adjective meaning of love

8d    Harry, good man to follow spy (6)
{MOLEST} – a word meaning to harry or annoy is constructed by putting Crosswordland’s usual good man after a spy who infiltrates a rival organization

9d    Who could possibly open this? (8,6)
{RELATIVE CLAUSE} – our English lesson continues with a cryptic definition of a part of a sentence introduced by the pronoun “who”

16d    Where issue may be raised (9)
{NURSERIES} – issue here means children – think where they might be raised

17d    Pass disinformation about Democrat creating conflicts (8)
{COLLIDES} – start with a mountain pass and follow it with disinformation or untruths placed around D(emocrat) to get a verb meaning conflicts or clashes

19d    Policeman providing back-up in new force (7)
{OFFICER} – this policeman is built by reversing (back-up) a word meaning providing or on condition (2) inside an anagram (new) of FORCE

21d    Guy George initially governed and falsified (7)
{MANGLED} – a charade of a guy, G (George initially) and governed or commanded gives a word meaning falsified or distorted

22d    Stand and fall with endless rum (6)
{TRIPOD} – a stand used with, for example, a camera is a charade of a fall and most of a synonym for rum or strange

24d    Education in hospital to produce litter (5)
{SEDAN} – put ED(ucation) inside a shortened form of an isolation hospital to get a litter or covered chair for one person

A thoroughly enjoyable puzzle, my only complaint being the paucity of scope for illustration!