Big Dave's Crossword Blog

Toughie No 921 by Elkamere

Exit the King!

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

An excellent Toughie from Elkamere, although a little on the easy side for the Friday slot

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Across

1a    Paid to sell brick swimming pool (6,9)
{POCKET BILLIARDS} – an anagram (swimming) of PAID TO SELL BRICK gives a North American type of the game pool

9a    Sweat, as runner struggling to secure victory (9)
{SKIVVYING} – a long narrow runner which enables the wearer to slide across snow followed by a verb meaning struggling or contending around V(ictory}

10a    Running short? (5)
{ADMIN} – a shortened form of a word meaning running or management

11a    Perhaps Norman church abandons collections (5)
{BATES} – we had Norman Wisdom only yesterday, but this time it is the fictional character from Psycho – drop the CH(urch) from some collections or accumulations

12a    Dare to bathe mole, little boy (9)
{DANDIPRAT} – The first name of Eagle comic’s astronaut followed by a verb meaning to bathe and a mole or traitor gives an obscure word for a little boy

13a    Actor hugs leading lady (8)
{GERMAINE} – the name of a ferret-loving American actor around (hugs) an adjective meaning leading or chief gives a lady’s name

14a    What close attention may do? (6)
{ENDEAR} – a charade of a verb meaning to close and a word meaning attention or notice – semi-&Lit, the whole clue is the definition

16a    Row of dates surrounded by fence (6)
{PADDLE} – a verb meaning to row a boat is derived by putting two D(ate)s inside (surrounded by) a fence made up of sticks

18a    Tennis player‘s blind date with runner (8)
{RUSEDSKI} – a British Canadian former tennis player comes from a charade of a blind or trick, D(ate) and the same runner used in 9 across – a pity that the wordplay elements date and runner should have been used in earlier clues

22a    Lack of warmth of seals on rocks (9)
{ALOOFNESS} – an anagram (rocks) of OF SEALS ON

23a    See that workers gather fruit (5)
{MELON} – an interjection meaning see inside some workers

24a    Stiff  neck and neck  well-oiled (5)
{TIGHT} – a triple definition

25a    Riot for union (9)
{PROFUSION} – a riot or abundance comes from a three-letter word meaning for followed by a union or merger

26a    Queen? She is protecting unfamiliar dog from fireworks (9,6)
{CATHERINE WHEELS} – an animal whose females are known as queens followed by the female possessive pronoun which can be used as a noun and the IS from the clue around a word meaning unfamiliar and a verb meaning to dog or follow – thanks to Gazza for unravelling that one

Down

1d    Recalled gossip after office received letters (7)
{POSTBAG} – reverse a verb meaning to gossip after an office or position

2d    Animal, one proclaims, keeps dry (7)
{CRITTER} – a person employed to make public proclamations around (keeps) the two-letter abbreviation for dry or free of alcohol

3d & 4d    The King checked out fast, huh? Tell disbelieving fan (5,3,4,3,8)
{ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING] – a well-known phrase meaning that the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was no longer inside – an anagram (fan) of FAST HUH TELL DISBELIEVING

4d    See 3 down

5d    Achilles, or his heel? (6)
{LEGEND} – a new twist on an old chestnut – split as (3,3) this could describe the heel

6d    One against opening a latrine nervously opening it (7,8)
{ITALIAN VERMOUTH} – I (one) followed by a single-letter abbreviation for against inside (opening) an anagram (nervously) of A LATRINE and finally an opening – the definition means it, as in gin & it

7d    Shame about the walrus (7)
{REMORSE} – a two-letter word meaning about followed by a name for a walrus

8d    Politician, new in constituency, given endless work (7)
{SENATOR} – N(ew) inside another word for a parliamentary constituency followed by wORk without its outer letters (endless)

15d    United chasing ball, thus badly beaten (8)
{OUTSHONE} – a three-letter word meaning united precede by that letter that is shaped like a ball (I still think this is a dreadful construct, this two-dimensional letter is not a three-dimensional ball) and an anagram (badly) of THUS

16d    Most unlikely to block shot that’s soft (7)
{PLASTIC} – a word meaning most unlikely inside (to block) a shot or photo

17d    Small bones should desiccate in this? (7)
{DROUGHT} – an abbreviation (small) of a bones or medic followed by a word meaning should

19d    Sailor’s fury, being cross (7)
{SALTIRE} – an old word for a sailor followed by fury or rage

20d    Committing crime? Initially sent down for life (7)
{INNINGS} – start with a verb meaning committing a crime or moral offence and send the initial letter down to the end

21d    Old city shop with integral pub (6)
{DELPHI} – a shop which sells high quality prepared foods around (with integral) the abbreviation for a pub

Elgar next Friday? Wait and see!