Toughie 991

Toughie No 991 by Dada

A Bit More Paulish?

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

I (and other bloggers) have mentioned in the past that Dada’s puzzles seem a bit anodyne compared to those of his alter ego Paul. This one is however, IMHO, a step in the right direction. I certainly enjoyed it – what did you think?

Across Clues

1a  Mole sees ape trapping ‘awks, perhaps? (10)
{COUNTERSPY} – a verb meaning to ape or imitate with what (h)awks are examples of inside (trapping).

6a  Bull’s first charge knocked over cow (4)
{BEEF} – the first letter of B(ull) followed by a reversal (knocked over) of a monetary charge.

9a  Merciless message by the devil, heart of clay (10)
{IMPLACABLE} – an outmoded type of message is preceded by a small devil and the central letters of (c)LA(y).

10a  Note a passage from some movement (4)
{MEMO} – hidden in the clue.

12a  One into social correspondence (6)
{PARITY} – insert I (one) into a social gathering.

13a  Take off a member, put in a friend (8)
{AMPUTATE} – insert PUT into A and a friend or colleague.

15a  Excessive — so expensive? (12)
{UNREASONABLE} – double definition.

18a  When one may seek the other? (3,2,7)
{AGE OF CONSENT} – I twigged the informal meaning of ‘the other’ straight away but my first thought, that this was ‘out of wedlock’, had to be revised to mean the significant milestone of one’s sixteenth (in the UK) birthday.

21a  Monroe is recollected as a phenomenon at the end of the day (8)
{MOONRISE} – an anagram (recollected) of MONROE IS.

22a  Get home by boat when on a trip (6)
{OBTAIN} – an adverb meaning at home is preceded by an anagram (when on a trip) of BOAT.

24a  Diamonds, perhaps, in case (4)
{SUIT} – double definition, the case being a legal one.

25a  Good-humoured remark ultimately distasteful among simple folk (10)
{PLEASANTRY} – insert the ultimate letter of (distastefu)L into simple rural folk.

26a  Old habit past, time to make a comeback (4)
{TOGA} – an adverb meaning past followed by T(ime), then all reversed.

27a  President waving red flag, or leader of democracy? (6,4)
{GERALD FORD} – this is an old US President, reportedly unable to walk and chew gum at the same time. It’s an anagram (waving) of RED FLAG followed by OR and the leading letter of D(emocracy).

Down Clues

1d  Free spirit after cannabis primarily, joints his speciality? (6)
{CHIPPY} – the sort of joints that this person specialises in are dovetails for example. A free spirit (someone renouncing conventional values and embracing love and peace, especially in the 1960s) follows the primary letter of C(annabis).

2d  Bird catching tear standing for the judge (6)
{UMPIRE} – a flightless bird contains (catching) a tear or rent then it’s all stood on its head.

3d  Forge taking sort of implement to be held over the fire (8,4)
{TOASTING FORK} – an anagram (forge) of TAKING SORT OF.

4d  True length of film broadcast (4)
{REAL} – this sounds like (broadcast) a length of film from the pre-digital age.

5d  Reused manuscript, as father misspelt ‘misspelt’! (10)
{PALIMPSEST} – I vaguely knew this word for a manuscript on which old writing has been rubbed out to make room for new, but I had to check its spelling (otherwise there might have been a third ‘misspelt’!). Start with an affectionate term for father and add an anagram (misspelt) of MISSPELT.

7d  Sheep initially born masculine, we brought up those of another gender? (3-5)
{EWE-LAMBS} – string together a) the initial letter of S(heep), b) B(orn), c) a synonym for masculine and d) WE (from the clue), then reverse it all (brought up).

8d  Third of gifts brought down is opened (8)
{FLOWERED} – the definition here is what should have happened in the garden in Spring (if we’d had a Spring!). The third letter of (gi)F(ts) is followed by a past participle meaning brought or let down.

11d  Managing directors step on old vehicle (7,5)
{RUNNING BOARD} – a present participle meaning managing or controlling followed by the collective term for the directors of a company.

14d  Battered eel I seldom miss! (10)
{DEMOISELLE} – this is an anagram (battered) of EEL I SELDOM. It’s an old word, derived from French, meaning a young unmarried lady (it’s also a dragonfly so Libellule might have chosen it as his nom-de-plume).

16d  Rodent collecting skin of snake for monkey (8)
{MARMOSET} – start with a burrowing rodent from North America also known as a woodchuck and insert (collecting) the outer covering (skin) of S(nak)E.

17d  Growing  beautiful (8)
{BECOMING} – double definition.

19d  Parade  a design that’s personal (6)
{TATTOO} – another double definition.

20d  Half of red wine red? That’s not right — is it white? (6)
{UNDYED} – start with the second half of a red wine from France then add (r)ED.

23d  Article inferior to joke that’s cracked (4)
{GAGA} – the indefinite article follows (inferior to, in a down clue) a joke or funny story.

I’d pick out 13a, 21a and 11d today but my favourite clue has to be 18a. Let us know your selection.