Toughie 663

Toughie No 663 by Messinae

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment **

I didn’t find this as easy as Prolixic suggested elsewhere – it was more of a steady slog and would have merited four stars for difficulty had it been on the back page.

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.

Across

1a    Leader of legion, I am receiving wound, being unarmed? (8)
{LIMBLESS} – start with the initial letter (leader) of Legion, add the abbreviation of I am and finally add a word which can mean to wound to get a word meaning without arms and/or legs – it’s a good job there is a question mark at the end of this clue!

5a    To get beaten breaking record (6)
{CLOSED} – to get a word meaning to or shut, as of a door, put a word meaning to get beaten inside a Compact Disc [Thanks for that Gazza – I’ve seen it several times before and still forgot!]

10a    Credit entire Greek city with neat contents to have everything one wants (4,3,3,5)
{TICK ALL THE BOXES} – a slang word for credit is followed by a word meaning entire and a Greek city with that two letter neat, in the cattle sense, inside (contents) to get a phrase meaning to have everything one wants or to fulfil all the necessary requirements

11a    Shaw finds hotel in great place for fishing (7)
{SPINNEY} – a shaw here is a small group of trees, neatly disguised by being capitalised as the first word of the clue – to get it put a three-letter word for a hotel inside a Scottish river renowned for its fishing (and its whisky production!)

12a    American sportsman in jug (7)
{PITCHER} – a double definition – an American baseball player and a jug or ewer

13a    Good-looking husband getting extra (8)
{HANDSOME} – to get this adjective meaning good-looking start with H(usband) and add a two-word phrase meaning extra

15a    Rough film followed by several more (5)
{ROCKY} – this adjective meaning rough is also the title of a Sylvester Stallone film and numerous sequels – heaven forfend, rumour has it that there might be another in the pipeline

18a    Get close to a sense organ (5)
{ANEAR} – if a word meaning to get close is split (2,3) the result is a sense organ

20a    Fine print is attractive (8)
{FETCHING} – a charade of F(ine) and a print of the that young ladies are allegedly invited to come up and see gives an adjective meaning attractive

23a    Material light blue, almost sumptuous (7)
{CAMBRIC} – this fine white linen material is derived from an abbreviation of the university associated with light blue together with most of a word meaning sumptuous

25a    Quarrel leads to undergraduate lopping adversary’s blade (7)
{SPATULA} – start with a petty quarrel and add the initial letters of (leads to) three of the words in the clue to get a broad flexible blade

26a    Rough plan fixes boat after hitch (9,6)
{THUMBNAIL SKETCH} – this rough plan is created from a word meaning fixes with a hammer and a small two-masted sailing boat preceded by a word meaning to hitch a ride

27a    Having bust scythe needing repair (6)
{CHESTY} – this adjective meaning having a large bust is an anagram (needing repair) of SCYTHE

28a    Mean to collect Rear Admiral in danger at sea (8)
{STINGRAY} – put a word meaning mean or tight-fisted around the abbreviation of Rear Admiral to get a danger at sea, as Steve Irwin discovered to his cost five years ago

Down

1d           Note international breaking news (6)
{LATEST} – start with “a note to follow so” and add an international sporting match to get the breaking news

2d           Plot with one friend to involve another (9)
{MACHINATE} – a verb meaning to plot is derived by putting a Cockney friend inside (to involve) another friend

3d           Clever humorist, Sherrin perhaps (7)
{LEARNED} – this adjective meaning clever is a charade of the humourist best known for his limericks and the first name of Mr Sherrin, the English broadcaster, author and stage director

4d           Girl’s witty remark (5)
{SALLY} – a double definition – a girl’s name and a witty remark or riposte

6d           Throws up three items of terrible seafood (7)
{LOBSTER} – combine a verb meaning throws up in the air with the first three letters (items) of TERrible to get this seafood

7d           Smash hits including ‘Kiss’ providing musical interval (5)
{SIXTH} – put an anagram (smash) of HITS around (including) the letter that represents a kiss to get a  musical interval spanning a number of consecutive notes in a diatonic major or minor scale

8d           Members of lower classes go over ancient city’s ruins (8)
{DESTROYS} – a charade of the two lower two socio-economic classifications, the S as it’s plural, an ancient city that didn’t know to beware of Greeks bearing gifts and the ‘S to get a verb meaning ruins or wrecks

9d           Cargo dispatched around 13.00 hours first (8)
{SHIPMENT} – this cargo is derived by putting a word meaning dispatched around 13.00 in the twelve-hour clock itself preceded by the initial letter (first) of Hours

14d         Authorised chemical company beset by waste (8)
{OFFICIAL} – an adjective meaning authorised is derived by putting a famous chemical company inside the waste parts of a carcase

16d         Leader cut out to be protected by high flier (9)
{CONDUCTOR} – the leader of an orchestra is created by putting an anagram (out) of CUT inside (to be protected by) a high flying vulture

17d         Drug puts spark into fizzy tonic (8)
{NARCOTIC} – this drug is manufactured by putting a spark or luminous electrical discharge inside an anagram (fizzy) of TONIC

19d         Snack that would get numismatist excited (7)
{RAREBIT} – this Welsh snack could just about conceivably, if split (4,3), get a coin collector excited

21d         Pay attention to history — try Livingstone? (7)
{HEARKEN} – this verb meaning to pay attention to something from the past is a charade of a verb meaning to try in court  and the first name of the newt-fancying Mr Livingstone

22d         Old country dance with jazz fan taking lead (6)
{CATHAY} – this old name for China, still seen in the Hong Kong based airline, is comes from a country dance preceded by an old-fashioned word for a jazz fan

24d         Handy device needing little time to apply (5)
{MOUSE} – this handy device for a computer is a charade of a small amount of time and a word meaning to apply

25d         Leave Adriatic port (5)
{SPLIT} – a double definition – to leave or separate and an Adriatic port, formerly in Yugoslavia but now in southern Croatia

See you again Saturday morning – Libellule will be reviewing the back-page cryptic this Thursday.