Toughie 614

Toughie No 614 by Micawber

Dear Telegraph Crossword Editor…..

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

Dear Phil

I know I haven’t been kind to you in the past with one or two less than positive reviews, but I speak from the heart as a passionate solver and try to let you know how I feel about my experiences. I don’t see the point in being untrue about a puzzle I can’t get on with. This week I was nearly sticking pins in a doll of you, when access to the site has been all over the place but ultimately it isn’t your fault, so the pins were returned to the sewing box (my modelling skills produced a doll that looked more like Mick Hucknall than you anyway!).

But I am being spoiled something rotten on a Friday. Elgar is a regular and the last two Friday slots have been Notabilis and today Micawber, three of the finest setters around and they have all produced wonderful amazing puzzles. Today’s Micawber gets a five star rating all-round. A puzzle full of stunning invention, wit and topical stuff. Bravo and it is great to see you encourage this younger talent that makes me feel the future of the black and white grid is in very safe hands. This week’s Dada was a fine puzzle too.

Now if you can just make the site behave……

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. Favourite clues are highlighted in blue……..

Across

1a    Foreman resurrecting concealed back access route to site? (8)
{USERNAME} I spent ages trying to work this out, eventually getting it on intersecting letters. It’s a splendidly clever hidden answer! Hidden backwards (Concealed back – duh!) inside “Foreman resurrecting” is a way of getting access to a website.

5a    Figure in live TV event, perhaps marathon (6)
{OBLONG} The name for a quadrilateral can be found by taking the abbreviation for a TV event that is live, such as a football match or horse race and adding to it a description of a race such as a marathon.

9a    Virtuous sailor wouldn’t do this (8)
{PIRATING} A charade of a two-letter word meaning virtuous of religious and a non-commissioned sailor in the navy gives an act that a virtuous sailor wouldn’t be responsible for, i.e. what a bad sailor who flies under a skull and crossbones does.

10a    Prince, half-gone, wearing child’s T-shirt? (4-2)
{SLIP-ON} A word for a type of garment that is easy to wear (I usually associate it with shoes without laces). You can find this by taking the name of the Queen’s husband and removing half, putting it inside a word meaning a child.

12a    Try to land (9)
{TOUCHDOWN} A double definition. A score in an oval-ball game played across the pond (a poor-man’s rugby!) is the same as one which means to land.

13a    He refuses to comment on parking — press seen as anti-motorist (5)
{CLAMP} The name of a creature that’s a synonym for someone who keeps shtumm has P (for parking) added to produce a device (nicely defined) that is deeply unpopular with drivers.

14a    Like pride? (2,2)
{AS IN) Another double definition (one part cryptic, hence the question mark) an expression that means like when split (1,3) is the same as what pride (and gluttony, lust, envy etc.) is.

16a    Mix in lead with old inactive ingredient (7)
{PLACEBO} Inside the chemical symbol for lead, you should put a word meaning to mix, often used in a context of spiking drinks. Add O (for old) and you have a word meaning a medication that has no physical curative effect.

19a    Call outside own area may principally rely on this (7)
{ROAMING) A nice surface reading here. A method of forwarding telephone calls outside one’s own area is found by taking a word meaning to telephone and inserting the initial letters of (principally) O(wn) A(rea) M(ay).

21a    Thick crusts from Native-American bread (4)
{NAAN} A type of bread is found by taking the ends of the words Native-American. Here Micawber uses “thick crusts” to mean not just the first and last letter, but the first and last couple.

24a    Dismiss English judge in front of European court (5)
{EJECT} A wordsum made up of abbreviations for English, Judge, European and CourT when put together give a word meaning dismiss or throw-out.

25a    Possessing mines, perhaps, or pits? (5,4)
{UNDER ARMS} An expression for bodily ‘pits’ is found by taking a word meaning “possessing” as in belonging to a country, etc. Add to this a word that describes weapons such as mines, guns, etc.

27a    Cut to mature better? (6)
{OUTAGE} A newish word that relates to when mobile cell sites (such as my own at the moment – please sort out Vodafone!) are not working. This is cryptically defined in the same way that if you perform a task better than someone you outdo them, and so if you mature better than something you…..

28a    Way for French to reverse possibly toxic atmosphere in troubled grouping (8)
{EUROZONE} A terrific topical clue, one of my favourites of today’s great bunch. Reverse the word for a way or street in French and add the name for a type of gas. This gives you a newish word for a group of financially connected nations.

29a    It sounds easy in Hollywood to take in foolish star with fake (6)
{ERSATZ} Inside the way a young American may spell “easy” goes an anagram of STAR. This produces a German word that means substitute or fake, such as beer.

30a    Get into difficulties with compound of nitrates (8)
{STRAITEN} And here’s the other one. An anagram of NITRATES gives a word meaning to get into difficulties.

Down

1d Bolshie rising at top of colliery yard (6)
{UPPITY} The downs start with a word meaning bolshie or troublesome, which is found by taking a word meaning rising or standing and adding to it one meaning a colliery and Y for yard.

2d Blast coming up from Scots University lecturer (6)
{EARFUL} A word for a blast of something (usually a sound) can be found by reversing the word for “FROM” in Scottish and then adding U (for University) and L (for Lecturer)

3d Level unconsecrated building? (5)
{NOTCH} A lovely clue. A word for a level, for example a mark in a measuring device, is cryptically defined as a non-holy place or in short…..

4d Sun now? Not so much this season! (7)
{MONSOON} Another dose of lateral thinking needed. If it’s Sun (day) now, what’s in the immediate future? This cryptic was of saying the next day is imminent is also a rainy season.

6d Headgear needed when tipping a canine toilet into lake (9)
{BALACLAVA} A sadly rather topical clue! The headgear of choice of many looters and rioters is found by taking A, C (Canine in the dental world) and a short word for a toilet and putting it all inside a rather beautiful lake in N Wales

7d Red top involved in hacking phone data heartlessly — this issue taken on by Guardian? (8)
{ORPHANED} Another storming clue! R (the top of “red”) goes inside an anagram of PHONE DA (DATA heartlessly, i.e. minus TA) and gives a word meaning a type of child taken on by a Guardian, i.e. not a parent.

8d Collective inheritance goes regularly on pole dancing (4,4)
{GENE POOL} The alternative letters of goes (indicated by ‘regularly’) plus an anagram (indicated by ‘dancing’) of ON POLE will lead you to the source of collective inheritance….

11d Cut dressmaker’s essentials up (4)
{SNIP} Reverse what a dressmaker needs, along with needles, to get a word meaning cut.

15d Clingy relatives tending at first to stay within vision (4-5)
{SKIN-TIGHT} A phrase meaning clingy or close-fitting is found by taking a word for family or relatives, adding T (Tending at first) and put inside a word meaning vision.

17d Ghastly, cultivated-sounding tones (8)
{GRUESOME} A word for ghastly, horrible is found by taking a homophone for cultivated and adding an obscure way of saying SOME (see “tone” in Chambers)

18d Petites amies perhaps — they may provide assistance to artists (8)
{PALETTES} What’s used by an artist to hold paints is a cryptic way of saying “little French chums”.

20d Grassed mounts for herd animals (4)
{GNUS} African mammals are found by reversing what a stool pigeon once did.

21d Agreement on nothing but breaking with certainty (2,5)
{NO DOUBT} What is used to show an agreement is added to an anagram of O BUT to give an expression meaning certainly.

22d About to go for drop of rum during excursion? Stop drinking (3,3)
{DRY OUT} A phrase meaning to stop drinking (usually of an alcoholic) is found by swapping R for A in the name of a trip, for example a coach one.

23d A southern bird following trawler? (6)
{ASTERN} A word sum. A + S (SOUTHERN) + TERN (bird) gives a word meaning behind on a ship.

26d Less than half punch left, containing orange juice and wine (5)
{RIOJA} Inside the last three letters of a Spanish wine punch with fruit and soda water goes OJ (orange juice) to give the name of famous wine.

Once again, thanks to Micawber for a breath-taking puzzle and I’ll see you next week!