Toughie 623

Toughie No 623 by Petitjean

Infamy, infamy – they’ve all got it in for me!

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

Petitjean entertains with a puzzle that has a number of cleverly worked clues – and a few old chestnuts thrown in to help you to get started!

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Across

1a    Heart gauge can be a welcome feature (6,4)
{TICKER TAPE} – a slang word for the heart is followed by gauge or measure to get a feature of a type of welcome that used to be seen in New York

6a    There are no limits to nasty, essentially acidy wine (4)
{ASTI} – a charade of the inside letters (no limits / outside letters) of (N)AST(Y) and the middle letter (essentially) of (AC)I(DY) gives an Italian sparkling wine – I guess our setter doesn’t like this poor substitute for Champagne!

9a    Caught by Luton supporter with corporate seating one can’t shut up (10)
{CHATTERBOX} – a charade of C(aught), the nickname for the Luton supporter and the place where corporate seating can be found at a sports event gives a talkative person who can’t be shut up

10a & 7d    Snub leftover joint (4-8)
{COLD-SHOULDER} – a word meaning to snub could describe a joint of meat when it is leftover – regulars will have already seen this old chestnut many times

12a    Culminating in a humourless expression of surprise (6)
{APOGEE} – this culmination or highest point is a charade of A, humourless (this two-letter word is often followed by -faced), and an expression of surprise

13a    Lustrous academic ill at embassy, insiders recalled (8)
{METALLIC} – an adjective meaning lustrous is hidden (insiders) and reversed (recalled) in four of the words in the clue

15a    No going back after mastermind confronts strong desire for doctor (5,7)
{BRAIN SURGEON} – NO is reversed after a mastermind, like the one in Thunderbirds, and a strong desire to give a doctor

18a    False insinuation containing zero evidence of workplace activism (12)
{UNIONISATION} – put an anagram (false) of INSINUATION around O (zero) to get this evidence of workplace activism

21a    Head garcon annoyed about posh individual’s original 10% tip (8)
{GRATUITY} – the initial letter (head) of Garçon is followed by a word meaning annoyed around the usual abbreviation for posh and the first (original) of the ten letters in Individual to get a tip, perhaps for the garçon

22a    Completion of sentence after appropriate extension (6)
{ANNEXE} – put the final letter (completion) of sentencE after a word meaning to appropriate to get an extension

24a    ‘Current recession’ put into different words (4)
{EDIT} – take a current of water, reverse it (recession) and the result is a word meaning to put into different words – a variation on an old chestnut!

25a    Doctor deals with peril that is casual footwear (10)
{ESPADRILLE} – an anagram (doctor) of DEALS with PERIL gives this rope-soled shoe

26a    Unconnected characters with same urge to become holier-than-thou (4)
{SMUG} – the odd letters (unconnected characters) of SaMe UrGe give an adjective meaning holier-than-thou or self-satisfied

27a    Former Fleet Street stalwart is kind to me (10)
{TYPESETTER} – this former Fleet Street stalwart, from the days of hot metal, is a charade of a kind and the person compiling this crossword

Down

1d    Catch it over hour wasted with symbolism of ‘The Ring’ (3-3)
{TIC-TAC} – reverse (over) CATC(H) IT and drop the H(our) to get the telegraphy used by “The Ring” of bookies

2d    Artificial silk previously chosen primarily for colour (6)
{CRAYON} – an artificial silk is preceded by (previously) the initial letter (primarily) of Chosen to get a word meaning to colour with chalk or wax pencils

3d    Publicist attending course with semi-neurotic Branson type (12)
{ENTREPRENEUR} – put a publicist or agent inside (attending) a course of a meal and follow it with the first half (semi) of NEUR(otic) to get someone like Richard Branson

4d    Performance delivers emotional shock (4)
{TURN} – a double definition

5d    Writer getting tucked into toast surmounting unknown weakness (10)
{PROPENSITY} – put a writing implement inside a good-luck toast and add an algebraic unknown to get a weakness or susceptibility

7d    See 10 across

8d    Gross home sales heading out of decline (8)
{INDECENT} – an adjective meaning gross or offensive is a charade of a two-letter word meaning home and a decline without the initial letter (heading) of Sales

11d    Bring up fuss over low-budget comedy (5,2,5)
{CARRY ON NURSE} – a word meaning to bring up or care for is preceded by a fuss to get a low-budget comedy film, one of a long series

14d    Regular in the above series put up with remark about fist thrown in anger (10)
{DISSATISFY} – reverse (put up) the first name of an actor who was a regular in the above series of low-budget comedies and then put a word meaning to remark around an anagram (thrown) of FIST to get a word meaning to anger or vex

16d    Make a more accurate conjecture than where French gusset is undone (8)
{OUTGUESS} – to get a word meaning to make a more accurate conjecture the French for where is followed by an anagram (undone) of GUSSET

17d    A truism about Italy’s cooked food (8)
{TIRAMISU} – an anagram (cooked) of A TRUISM around I(taly) gives some food for which there is a recipe in Big Dave’s Kitchen

19d    Fanatic unlikely to laze (6)
{ZEALOT} – this fanatic is an anagram (unlikely) of TO LAZE

20d    Illusion of competence perhaps in the case of newbie halfway through shift (6)
{VENEER} – to get an illusion of competence put the outside letters (case) of N(ewbi)E halfway through a word meaning to shift or swerve

23d    Take care in underground passage (4)
{CAVE} – the Latin word for take care or beware is also an underground passage

A good start to the Toughie week.