Toughie 1091

Toughie No 1091 by Beam

Jaunty Jolly Japes

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

Beam is continuing with his no-anagram policy (that’s fine as far as I’m concerned). We’re treated to some entertaining clues, although some of the surface readings are not terribly smooth.

Do provide a comment telling us how you got on with the puzzle and please use the star system below to record your enjoyment factor.

Across Clues

1a  Abroad, country fare without starter’s foreign (10)
{OUTLANDISH} – string together words for abroad, country and fare (in the culinary sense) without its starting letter.

6a  For instance, sitting in gallery to see star (4)
{VEGA} – insert the abbreviation meaning for instance inside the abbreviation for the museum/gallery in South Kensington.

ARVE Error: need id and provider

9a  Laying bare girl, so convinced about heartless cock-and-bull (10)
{DISCLOSURE} – start with the abbreviated name of a popular girl in Crosswordland, then add SO and a synonym for convinced or certain. Finally insert the outer (heartless) letters of cock-and-bull.

10a  Turn’s comeback, time to finish impromptu singing … (4)
{SCAT} – reverse (comeback) a turn on stage and the ‘S, then move the T(ime) to the end.

12a  … join together to play back, missing Queen (4)
{KNIT} – reverse (back) a verb to play or dabble without the Queen’s cipher.

13a  Slave’s behind back in arena for flogging (9)
{RETAILING} – the rearmost (behind) letter of (slav)E and a word meaning back or rear end go inside an arena.

15a  Prop strained audibly getting control (8)
{RESTRICT} – a prop or support is followed by what sounds like a verb meaning strained or sprained.

16a  Reportedly touchin’ maiden … (6)
{VIRGIN} – this sounds like a present participle meaning touching or bordering without the final G.

18a  … untouched by Catholic aversion about start of sex (6)
{CHASTE} – C(atholic) and a word meaning aversion or dislike contain the starting letter of S(ex).

20a  Dresses for bashes ignoring husband, holding in stomach (8)
{COSTUMES} – remove the H (ignoring husband) from a verb meaning bashes with a thick heavy stick, then insert (holding in) a childish word for stomach.

23a  Get excited about run in empty carnival ride, US style (9)
{CARROUSEL} – the significance of ‘US style’ is that this is the American spelling of the fairground ride. A verb to get excited or stimulate contains R(un), then all that goes inside the outer (empty) letters of C(arniva)L.

24a  Beginning of refinement in pearl? (4)
{GERM} – this is an all-in-one clue. Put the first letter of R(efinement) inside what a pearl is an example of.

26a  Starts to obsess horribly, in obsessive state (4)
{OHIO} – pick out the starting letters.

27a  Crush civil disobedience effect? Not English (10)
{DEMORALISE} – an abbreviation for a public protest (which does not necessarily involve civil disobedience) is followed by a verb to effect or bring about without the first occurrence of E(nglish).

28a  Rag week finally ruined? (4)
{SUNK} – one of Murdoch’s rags precedes the final letter of (wee)K.

29a  Ace marijuana the man’s absorbing, enormous high (10)
{APOTHEOSIS} – a charade of A(ce), another word for marijuana and “the man’s” (2,2) containing (absorbing) the abbreviation for enormous in clothing sizes.

Down Clues

1d  Supposedly ancient past (4)
{OLDE} – cryptic definition of an adjective (often seen together with Ye and Shoppe) intended to deceive you into thinking that something has historical significance.

2d  Brews teas, say, keeping one sober? (7)
{TISANES} – these brews are fragrant infusions (much loved by Hercule Poirot). What sounds like teas contain I (one) and an adjective meaning sober or level-headed.

3d  It’s seen in some Shakespeare sonnets (12)
{ALLITERATION} – … and in other sayings such as ‘Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers’.

4d  Sidetrack overturned truck blocking half of neighbourhood (8)
{DISTRACT} – reverse (overturned) a wheeled vehicle inside the first half of a word meaning neighbourhood.

5d  Canvas hoisted on board to get fish (6)
{SPRATS} – reverse (hoisted) the abbreviation for a piece of waterproofed canvas inside the usual abbreviation for a ship.

7d  Attractive female’s taken off to create impression (7)
{ETCHING} – a word meaning attractive without its leading F(emale).

8d  Shakespeare character almost accepting silver, good man’s enemy (10)
{ANTAGONIST} – the name of the Merchant of Venice without his final O (almost) has the chemical symbol for silver inserted. Finally we need to add the abbreviation for a good and holy man.

11d  Oddly, drip’s fiancée grabbing butt returned separate (12)
{DISINTEGRATE} – the odd letters of “drip’s fiancée” contain (grabbing) a butt (as used in archery or shooting) reversed.

14d  Forward darling’s once unevenly embraced (10)
{PRECOCIOUS} – an endearment such as darling containing the odd (unevenly) letters of once.

17d  One stops scoring and is upright in game (8)
{GOALPOST} – fairly gentle cryptic definition of what there are four of on the pitch in many team games.

19d  Charge raised in hearing I arranged (7)
{ARRAIGN} – hidden and reversed (raised) in the clue.

21d  Birds roost free among power lines (7)
{MARTINS} – put the outer (free, i.e. vacant) letters of roost inside the system of power distribution.

22d  Out when the French exercise is turned over (6)
{ASLEEP} – a charade of a) another word for when, b) ‘the’ in French and c) the reversal (turned over) of the abbreviation for exercise.

25d  Flashes, we hear, ‘it’! (4)
{SECS} – the abbreviation for short periods of time sounds like (we hear) ‘it’ or rumpy-pumpy.

The clues that I liked best were 28a, 3d and 21d. How about you?