Toughie 677

Toughie No 677 by Giovanni

Hints and tips by Bufo

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

An enjoyable puzzle from Giovanni that caused me no major problems. That now makes eight Thursday Toughies in succession that I have described as non-too-taxing, fairly gentle, benign, very straightforward, etc. I’ll run out of synonyms if this run continues

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Across

1a    Modern culture born to accommodate comedian (3,3)
{NEW AGE} A cultural trend that emerged in the late 1980s is given by ‘born’ containing a comedian

4a    Beat the heartless lads up cruelly (8)
{PULSATED} Beat (as a past tense) is an anagram (cruelly) of T(H)E LADS UP

9a    Greek academic with stifled expression looking back (6)
{DORIAN} A member of a Hellenic people who invaded Greece around 1100 BC is made up of an academic containing (stifling) an expression(manner) in reversed form

10a    Author not in the ‘in’ team (8)
{FIELDING} The author of Tom Jones = not in the batting (in) team

11a    Crossword finished? Eight letters missing here and there — I’m at sea! (9)
{SWORDFISH} Use nine letters (or remove eight letters) from crossword finished to get a marine creature

13a    Singer giving a sign that something has to go (5)
{ADELE} One of the best-selling singers of 2011 = A + a proofreading sign indicating that something must be removed

14a    One going around with big speakers? (6,7)
{GHETTO BLASTER} A cryptic definition for a large portable hi-fi with built-in speakers

17a    He and I will certainly contribute to it (8,5)
{PERIODIC TABLE} He (helium) and I (iodine) can be found in this arrangement of chemical elements

21a    In diplomacy Italy must be understood (5)
{TACIT} Diplomacy goes round I (Italy) to give ‘understood’

23a    After snide remark in pub see worker in high dudgeon (9)
{INDIGNANT} A snide remark (3) goes inside a pub (3). This is followed by a worker (3) to give ‘in high dudgeon’

24a    Coming out with new regimen — grams reduced (8)
{EMERGING} ‘Coming out’ is an anagram (new) of REGIMEN + G (abbreviation for grams)

25a    Delight in one being released by liberator (6)
{SAVOUR} ‘Delight’ is obtained by removing I from a word meaning liberator

26a    Newspaper (not Independent) has phone interception, taking chances (8)
{DARINGLY} Remove I (Independent) from a newspaper published on weekdays. Then put ‘to phone’ inside it to get ‘taking chances’

27a    Just bank on yours truly (6)
{MERELY} ‘Just’ = ‘to bank’ after ME (yours truly)

Down

1d    Lacking school uniform (and worse!), daughter is kept in by group of teachers (6)
{NUDIST} A person who goes naked = D (daughter) IS inside the National Union of Teachers

2d    Fighting force getting forward into hazard — I wouldn’t mind that? (9)
{WARMONGER} A fighting force (i.e. the Royal Marines) and ON (forward) goes inside ‘hazard’ to give someone who encourages conflict

3d    Characters in garden about to meet English bigwig (7)
{GRANDEE} An anagram (about) of GARDEN + E (English) is a bigwig

5d    Unsettled? Has change of heart, becoming carefree (11)
{UNINHIBITED} Change the middle letter of a word meaning ‘unsettled’ to get ‘carefree’

6d    Wife of despot? One is ‘without seed’ (7)
{SULTANA} The wife of a despot = a seedless raisin

7d    Dull time before formal ceremony (5)
{TRITE} ‘Dull’ = T (time) + a formal ceremony

8d    Constable from old country brought into Ulster city (8)
{DOGBERRY} A constable in Much Ado About Nothing = O GB (country) inside a city in Ulster

12d    When given coaching, a learner is using sixth sense (11)
{INTUITIONAL} ‘When given coaching (2,7) + A L (learner) = ‘using sixth sense’

15d    Sort of parasite damaging to red meat (9)
{TREMATODE} A parasitic flatworm is an anagram (damaging) of TO RED MEAT

16d    What’s put down in a sequence of letters for Spooner to join (4-4)
{SPOT-WELD) ‘What’ + ‘put down in a sequence of letters’ sounds like the way Spooner would have said ‘to join metal’

18d    Circle somehow can’t go into figure with straight sides (7)
{OCTAGON} O (circle) + an anagram (somehow) of CAN’T GO gives a figure with straight sides

19d    Emotional cases proving to be burdensome? (7)
{BAGGAGE} A word for travellers’ luggage that is sometimes preceded by ’emotional’

20d    Wild rumour Mirror’s leader’s quashed (6)
{STORMY} ‘Wild’ = a rumour containing M (first letter of Mirror)

22d    Give immunity to Conservative oldie losing it tragically (5)
{CLEAR} ‘To give immunity to’ = C (Conservative) + an old character in a Shakespeare tragedy

Here’s to the real Toughie that I’m going to get next week. One can but live in hope.