Toughie 687

Toughie No 687 by Warbler

A piece of 11 across!

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

Today Warbler presents us with a fairly easy Toughie, as has become the custom for the Tuesday slot. There is a tasty theme running through several of the across answers!

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Across

1a    Company charge includes fine for a kind of 11 (6)
{COFFEE} – between CO(mpany) and a charge put F(ine) to get a kind of 11 across

4a    Parasitic sort of 11? (6)
{SPONGE} – a word meaning parasitic is another sort of 11 across

8a    Indian fare spilled into road (8)
{TANDOORI} – this type of Indian cooking in which meat, vegetables, etc. are baked over charcoal in a clay oven is an anagram (spilled) of INTO ROAD

10a    11 variety’s weight announced (6)
{CARROT} – our 3^rd 11 across sounds like (announced) a unit of weight used for gems

11a    Hard mass crackled every now and then (4)
{CAKE} – it always helps when the clue which gives subject of a theme is easy to solve! – this hard mass comes from the alternate letters (every now and then) of a word in the clue

12a    Cunningly iterating answer to try to gain favour (10)
{INGRATIATE} – an anagram (Cunningly) of ITERATING A(nswer) gives a verb meaning to try to gain favour

13a    Exercises damaged special strobe — little luminance lost (4,8)
{STEP AEROBICS} – these exercises (specially designed for masochists!) are an anagram (damaged) of SPECIA(L) STROBE without the L (a little Luminance lost)

16a    Judge in new venue embroiled in revolt is feeling young again (12)
{REJUVENISING} – put J(udge) inside an anagram (new) of VENUE and then put the whole lot inside (embroiled in) a revolt to get a verb meaning feeling young again – I wondered what was the difference between the answer and the similar word spelt with “at” in the middle, and according to Chambers there is none!

20a    Nyctalopic’s near tight, finally drunk (5-5)
{NIGHT-BLIND} – this adjective meaning nyctalopic or suffering from a reduction or loss of vision in dim light is a charade of a word meaning near, the final letter of tighT and an adjective describing someone who is extremely drunk

21a    Laughter concealed depression (2-2)
{HA-HA} – a double definition – laughter and a concealed depression or ditch between a garden and surrounding parkland forming a barrier without interrupting the view

22a    Looking back some sullen misanthropes give an 11 (6)
{SIMNEL} – reversed (looking back) and hidden (some) inside two of the words in the clue is an 11 across which is traditionally eaten at Easter, or sometimes Christmas

23a    Houdini dropped round record for Walter Mitty, say (8)
{ESCAPIST} – take an adjective that describes Houdini and drop O (round) and a record or diary to get a different adjective, this one describing James Thurber’s famous dreamer

24a    Trap’s dangerous in the middle for a sort of 11 (6)
{GINGER} – a charade of a trap or snare and the middle letters of danGERous gives yet another sort of 11 across

25a    Large male working in a day makes another 11 (6)
{ALMOND} – put L(arge), M(ale) and a two-letter word meaning working between A, from the clue, and D(ay) to get my favourite 11 across

Down

1d           Spies check up on volunteers making bread (8)
{CIABATTA} – the US agency responsible for spying is followed by the restaurant check or bill reversed (up) and the army manned with volunteers to get this type of bread

2d           Fake sweet (5)
{FUDGE} – a double definition – a verb meaning to fake and a sticky sweet – and another type of 11 across!

3d           In the end pure reason can be moving (7)
{EMOTIVE} – the final letter (in the end) of purE is followed by a reason to get an adjective meaning moving or sensitive

5d           A politically correct vice translates as an admission of guilt (7)
{PECCAVI} – another one of those anagrams which contain an abbreviation in the fodder – indicated by translates, an anagram of A PC (politically correct) VICE gives an admission of guilt, derived from the Latin for “I have sinned”

6d           Drugs agent is suspicious — he’s obsessed with his image (9)
{NARCISSUS} – a charade of the US slang for an official narcotics agent, IS and a slang contraction of suspicious gives someone who is obsessed with his image

7d           In Egypt snake’s beginning to scuttle German craft (1-5)
{E-BOATS} – put the IVR code for Egypt around a snake that kills its prey by squeezing and add the initial letter of (beginning to) Scuttle to get these fast German warships which discharged torpedoes

9d           Playing video, cooing and singing well (2,4,5)
{IN GOOD VOICE} – an anagram (playing) of VIDEO COOING gives a phrase meaning singing well

14d         Ornate throne discovered in god’s temple (9)
{PARTHENON} – put an anagram (ornate) of THRONE inside (discovered in) the  Greek god of pastures, flocks, and woods to get the temple of Athene, on the Acropolis at Athens

15d         Waxed lyrical about the nudes newly displayed (8)
{ENTHUSED} – this verb meaning waxed lyrical about is an anagram (newly displayed) of THE NUDES

17d         First of all join us British in loyal expressive exuberance during this time of celebration (7)
{JUBILEE} – the initial letters (first of all) of seven words in the clue gives a time of celebration

18d         International professor returns to state of intersections of celestial bodies (7)
{NODICAL} – start with I(nternational) and a university professor, reverse the lot (returns) and then add the abbreviation of a US state to get an adjective meaning of intersections of celestial bodies

19d         Old county division is annoying (6)
{RIDING} – this old county division of Yorkshire is also a word meaning is annoying or grating

21d         African native — one very quiet in house (5)
{HIPPO} – this animal, native to Africa, is created by putting I (one) and the musical abbreviation for very quiet inside HO(use)

A very festive start– I wonder what else the week will bring!