Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie No 531 by Kcit

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

I enjoyed this puzzle from Kcit although it didn’t take up much of my morning!

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Across

1a    Being thus makes the GP calm, I fancy (10)
{PHLEGMATIC} – a word meaning calm is an anagram (fancy) of THE GP CALM I

6a    A repeated action, though it’s not apparent in obsessive seaman (4)
{AHAB} – a charade of A and a repeated action without the final IT (it’s not apparent) gives the obsessive seaman who relentlessly pursued Moby Dick

9a    Pass to the side — that’s a pledge (10)
{COLLATERAL} – a charade of a mountain pass and an adjective meaning to the side gives an asset that is used as security for a loan

10a    Tiresome business accommodating new part of denture (4)
{FANG} – put this tiresome business around (accommodating) N(ew) to get a type of tooth

12a    Chaotic sea, mostly coming in weak, without power (6)
{UNTIDY} – to get a word meaning chaotic put most of the ebb and flow of the sea inside a word meaning weak without its initial P(ower)

13a    A floundering enterprise? (4,4)
{FISH FARM} – a cryptic definition of an enterprise that could be rearing flounders

15a    Seduced cashier led astray, ignoring one’s flat feet (6,6)
{FALLEN ARCHES} – a word meaning seduced or disgraced is followed by an anagram (led astray) of CASH(I)ER without the I (ignoring one’s) to get a cause of flat feet

18a    My kitchen’s hazy with a bit of cooking — it needs this! (7-5)
{CHIMNEY-STACK} – an anagram (hazy) of MY KITCHEN’S with A and C (bit of cooking) gives something that might reduce the haze – both Chambers and the OED give this as two words without the hyphen

21a    Wager a lot of reserve covers everyone involved in dance (8)
{BALLETIC} – a wager and most of a word meaning reserve or coolness around everyone to get an adjective meaning involved in dance

22a    Attitude observed in a Southern French city (6)
{AMIENS} – put an attitude or air between A and S(outhern) to get a French city

24a    Uncapped wine is satisfactory (4)
{OKAY} – drop the initial capital letter (uncapped) from a sweetish and heavy Hungarian wine with an aromatic flavour to get a word meaning satisfactory

25a    Layabout (4-2-4)
{NE’ER-DO-WELL} – this layabout comes from an anagram (injured) of DEER ON followed by a spring

26a    Difficult situation in spades opening for troubled bridge team (4)
{STEW} – this difficult situation is a charade of S(pades), T (opening for Troubled) and a pair of partners in the game of bridge

27a    Keenness that could bring about haste, in sum (10)
{ENTHUSIASM} – this keenness is an anagram (could bring about) of HASTE IN SUM

Down

1d    Select elevated answer (4,2)
{PICK UP} – a words meaning to select and elevated are combined into a phrasal verb meaning to answer a phone

2d    Female demon left one in flames (hot) (6)
{LILITH} – this female demon of Jewish folklore, who tries to kill newborn children, is a charade of L(eft), I (one), a word meaning in flames and H(ot) – this name was appropriately chosen for Frasier’s wife in Cheers

3d    Excellent sailor’s turned in some booze (5,7)
{GRAND MARNIER} – a word meaning excellent is followed by a sailor with the internal letters IN reversed to get a liqueur

4d    Top primate seen with cross (4)
{APEX} – this word meaning top is a charade of a primate and a letter shaped like a cross

5d    One article in Latin (translated) worried about the local architecture? (10)
{ITALIANATE} – start with I (one) and then put an indefinite article inside an anagram (translated) of Latin and end with a verb meaning worried or aggravated to get a word meaning about the architecture local to where Latin was spoken

7d    Notice Bill seized by two men? That’s a problem (8)
{HEADACHE] – put a notice and a bill between two male pronouns to get a problem

8d    Good British novelist probing little marital offender (8)
{BIGAMIST} – put G(ood) and a British novelist (father or son) inside a small piece to get someone foolish enough to get married twice (concurrently)

11d    Not much to sustain a hung parliament? (5,7)
{SHORT COMMONS} – a part-cryptic double definition – an insufficient allocation of food and a suggestion that a hung parliament would not last long

14d    One’s brought down in sport? Bet the swine will come in running once (4,6)
{CLAY PIGEON} – a saucer-shaped disc thrown from a spring-loaded trap and shot at as a substitute for various types of game bird is created by putting a word meaning to place a bet and a swine inside an anagram (running) of ONCE

16d    Man still working is holding out, after reduction in plant (8)
{SCABIOUS} – start with a strike-breaker and then put IS around (holding) OU (out, after reduction) to get a plant of the teasel family, long thought efficacious in treating skin diseases

17d    Wrong to interrupt man that’s expert in water flow (8)
{MILLRACE} – put a word meaning wrong or bad inside the title used when writing to a man and then add an expert to get this channel carrying a swift current of water

19d    City information was elusive? Not half (6)
{GENEVA} – this Swiss city is a charade of some information and the first half of a word meaning was elusive

20d    Safety’s unknown in a down-at-heel area (6)
{ASYLUM} – a place of refuge or protection is built up by putting an algebraic unknown inside A down-at-heel area

23d    Demo heading off for prominent edifice (4)
{ARCH} – drop the initial letter (heading off) from a demo to get this prominent edifice

A pleasant puzzle, about the level of difficulty that we have become accustomed to on a Tuesday.