Toughie 645

Toughie No 645 by Dada

Hints and tips by Bufo

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

When I started I thought this was going provide a struggle. In fact I found it very straightforward but, just in case I was having a good morning and was on the setter’s wavelength, I have left the difficulty rating at 3* after toying with 2*

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Across

1a    Insultingly, Irishman not entirely behind European argument (7)
{POLEMIC} A term for an Irishman (which is offensive slang according to Chambers) with the last letter missing goes after a native of a European country to give an argument, especially over a doctrine, belief, etc.

5a    Two males in cotton (7)
[BUCKRAM} A male deer or rabbit + a male sheep = a coarse open-weave fabric possibly of cotton

9a    Red number fifty backed (5)
{LENIN} A red (communist) Russian statesman is made up of a reversal of a number and L (fifty)

10a    Reportedly, arrested character is the king, perhaps? (5,4)
{COURT CARD} A homophone to many (though not to me) of “arrested character” is one of a pack of 52 (a king, queen or jack)

11a    Mutual friend’s second police car wrecked (10)
{RECIPROCAL} “Mutual” = the second letter of friend + an anagram (wrecked) of POLICE CAR

12a    Round circuit, reversing is something precious (4)
{OPAL} A reversal of O (round) circuit = a gemstone

14a    Down mountain, daredevils struggling to hold on (6,6)
{SLIEVE DONARD} A mountain in County Down (the highest in Northern Ireland) is an anagram (struggling) of DAREDEVILS round ON

18a    Time passed by without leadership — that’s doubly clear (6-6)
{TWENTY-TWENTY} Take T (time) + “passed” + Y (by without its first letter) and repeat it to give clear (of vision)

21a    Extraordinary red (4)
{RARE} 2 meanings: extraordinary/red (as underdone meat)

22a    Hot as Jerusalem, head bandages! (10)
{PASSIONATE} AS + a name for Jerusalem (which is not usually spelt this way) goes inside another word for the head to give “hot”

25a    Scent wonder about entering list (9)
{ROSEWATER} A scent = a reversal of reverential wonder inside a list of employees, etc., with assigned duties

26a    Flower bud’s centre, something drawn round it (5)
{LOTUS} An Egyptian or Indian water lily is formed from U (middle letter of bud) inside what two or more people draw as a means of choosing one person

27a    Disputed region remains marginalised, initially in the drink (7)
{KASHMIR} A disputed region in the Indian subcontinent = remains + M (first letter of marginalised) inside a drink made of white wine and blackcurrant liqueur

28a    Where one might yawn in boredom, restlessly (7)
{BEDROOM} An anagram (restlessly) of BOREDOM gives somewhere you retire to when you’re tired

Down

1d    Buddy shot Mickey Mouse (6)
{PALTRY} A buddy (friend) + a shot (attempt) = “Micky Mouse” when used as an adjective

2d    Tranquillity, for example, roughly speaking, madness! (6)
{LUNACY} This word for “madness” roughly sounds like what Tranquillity (where Apollo 11 landed) is an example of

3d    Doctor seeing bloke out of bed, one heaven-bound, dead (10)
{MANIPULATE} “To doctor” = bloke + “out of bed” and one reversed (heaven-bound) + dead

4d    Firm burying half of acacia tree (5)
{CACAO} A 2-letter abbreviation for a firm goes round the first half of acacia = a tropical American tree with seeds from which chocolate is made

5d    Asian winds beneath us (9)
{BHUTANESE} An anagram (winds) of BENEATH US gives an inhabitant of a Himalayan kingdom

6d    Resting place required, dove’s ending — here? (4)
{COTE} A resting place for a baby + E (last letter of dove) = a place of shelter for doves

7d    Cut fruit, so crop up again? (8)
{REAPPEAR} Cut (4) + fruit (4) = “crop up again”

8d    Middle stump firstly taken out, unfortunate opener trapped — a worrying collapse? (8)
{MUDSLIDE} An anagram (taken out) of MIDDLE S (first letter of stump) goes round U (first letter of unfortunate) to give a slippage of a mass of wet earth down a hillside

13d    Egg may be dirty, sandwiches of disease? (4-6)
{SOFT-BOILED} How you might like your egg at breakfast time = “dirty” containing (sandwiches) OF and a disease affecting the lungs

15d    Device for removing old vehicle (9)
{EXTRACTOR} A device for removing = old + a farm vehicle. This is today’s old chestnut.

16d    Cult show’s launch concerning Kirk, primarily (4,4)
{STAR TREK} A cult TV show with a character called Kirk = launch + “concerning” + K (first letter of Kirk)

17d    Possible obsession in euros I sadly admitted (8)
{NEUROSIS} A possible obsession is hidden (admitted) in iN EUROS I Sadly

19d    Where drums employed, trash on top (6)
{TATTOO} The beating of a drum = trash + “on top” (or “in addition”)

20d    Abroad, I raised support for discarded goods (6)
{JETSAM} The French word for “I” + a reversal of a support (for sails) = goods thrown from a ship and washed up on shore

23d    Brush switched for broom, perhaps (5)
{SHRUB} An anagram (switched) of BRUSH gives something of which broom is an example

24d    Dip some wafers, imagining moist surfaces (4)
{SWIM} A dip (in the sea, possibly) is formed from the first letters (surfaces) of Some Wafers Imagining Moist

A enjoyable puzzle but the enjoyment was over far too quickly