Toughie No 1024 by Shamus

Hints and tips by Bufo

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

I got the impression while solving this that every other clue contains an anagram. In fact there are only 9 anagrams though they are clustered in the first few across clues and the last few down clues. Still it made a change from the Thursday puzzle two weeks ago that contained no anagrams at all. I found it to be an enjoyable puzzle that caused no major problems.

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Across

1a    Noisy victor, one entering ground of course (10)
{VOCIFEROUS} V (victor) + I (one) in an anagram (ground) of OF COURSE

6a    Famous chanteuse hard for you to ignore? Correct (4)
{EDIT} Chanteuse is meant to suggest a French singer. Take the first name of a famous French singer (The Little Sparrow) and remove H (hard) to get ‘to correct’

9a    Avoid egg on muffin ultimately (5)
{SPURN} ‘To egg on’ + N (last letter of muffin)

10a    Design of MG is meant to show pulling power (9)
{MAGNETISM} An anagram (design of) MG IS MEANT

12a    Volatile paddy in spa produced by ordinary street regulation? (3,3,7)
{PAY AND DISPLAY} An anagram (volatile) of PADDY IN SPA + ordinary = a method of car parking

14a    I’d return possibly as unwelcome presence? (8)
(INTRUDER} An anagram (possibly) of I’D RETURN

15a    Military bigwig touring ship, dropping in to present minister (6)
{CLERIC} The military bigwig is a commander-in-chief. Put the appropriate abbreviation round a large passenger-carrying ship with the letters IN removed

17a    Praise journalist in short review (6)
{CREDIT} The top journalist goes inside an abbreviated form of a word meaning a review

19a    Standing source of litter around others close to house (8)
{PRESTIGE} An animal that produces a litter round ‘others’ + E (last letter of house)

21a    Bishop, say, reportedly getting share in benefit from tranquil conditions (5,8)
{PEACE DIVIDEND} A homophone (reportedly) of e.g. a bishop (in chess) + a share

24a    In Thai capital, political order’s lacking plan for the future? (9)
{INTESTATE} IN + T (first letter of Thai) + an order or class of people in the body politic

25a    Actress not married and being without appetite for work? (5)
{IDLER} Remove M (married) from the surname of an American actress to get a being (person) without appetite for work

26a    Cut in jacket championed (4)
{ETCH} Hidden in jackET CHampioned

27a    Scales perhaps supposed to be picked up for visitor (5,5)
{HOUSE GUEST} Another word for one of the 12 divisions of the Zodiac (e.g. the Scales) + a homophone (picked up) of ‘supposed’

Down

1d    Colossal change making vile tile? (4)
{VAST} Putting * ** * turns vile into tile

2d    Caught with alcohol, blue-eyed boy that’ll need a grilling (7)
{CRUMPET} C (caught) + an alcoholic drink + a blue-eyed boy = something you might toast under a grill

3d    Deception shown in the stand-up industry? (5,8)
{FUNNY BUSINESS} This might also describe the work of a stand-up comedian

4d    Prompt music group getting stop in the East End (8)
{REMINDER} An American rock band formed in 1980 + ‘to stop’ as an East-ender might say it

5d    Moved manufacture of drug, having imported one? (5)
{URGED} An anagram (manufacture of) of DRUG round E (Ecstasy)

7d    Initially delighted US writer marks down classic car (7)
{DAIMLER} D (first letter of delighted) + the surname of a US writer with M (marks) moved from the beginning to later on in the name

8d    Fancy a short game after rejecting mostly silent and uncomfortable conditions (5,5)
{TUMMY ACHES} ‘Fancy!’ + A + a board game with the last letter removed all follow a reversal of ‘silent’ with its last letter removed

11d    Litany Genesis played could be this? (4,9)
{EASY LISTENING} An anagram (played) of LITANY GENESIS gives a category of modern popular music

13d    Record work in pile in academic field (10)
{DISCIPLINE} A record + an anagram (work) of IN PILE

16d    What might be represented in RA’s set? (8)
{ARTINESS} An all-in-one clue. An anagram (represented) of IN RA’S SET

18d    Big band leader in French company promoted characteristic of some bands? (7)
{ELASTIC} The surname of a German big band leader goes inside a reversal of an abbreviation of the French word Compagnie (Company)

20d    Pet eluding eccentric (7)
{INDULGE} ‘To pet’ is an anagram (eccentric) of ELUDING

22d    By the sound of it, observed a place for bowls in part of US (5)
{IDAHO} A homophone (by the sound of it) of ‘observed a place where Drake played bowls’

23d    Ingenuity about lawyer’s latest legal action (4)
{WRIT} Ingenuity goes round R (last letter of lawyer)

I hope it’s not too warm for you