Toughie 1135

Toughie No 1135 by Sparks

Grey-We(a)ther?

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

Thanks to Sparks for a very enjoyable Toughie which, for me, was a bit less tricky than yesterday’s. I didn’t know what grey-wether was but it certainly sounds like what we’re getting throughout the south of the UK at the moment. Your views, as always, are more than welcome.

Across Clues

8a/9a  Section madman, one that can easily be turned loose (4,3)
{WING NUT} – a charade of a section (of a large building or a political party, for example) and an informal word for a madman.

9a  See 8a

10a  Foreign assembly of European heads in The Hague, nothing in common (6)
{ETHNIC} – assembly tells us to bring together E(uropean) and the starting letters (heads) of five words in the clue.

11a  I see endless life around an Italian town (6)
{TIVOLI} – this is an ancient town in Italy, about 30 kilometres from Rome. String together I, a word meaning see or behold and the Latin word for life without its final A, then reverse the lot (around).

12a  Brilliant old general introduced line similar to Polaris (8)
{STARLIKE} – an adjective meaning brilliant is followed by the nickname of an old US general (later a successful politician) with L(ine) being introduced.

13a  Signs of future union battle with self-interest groups (10,5)
{ENGAGEMENT RINGS} – this is a charade of a military battle and cliques or self-interest groups.

15a  One male deserting in army uniform (7)
{UNITARY} – a word meaning one (a single thing) is followed by army after you’ve taken away the M(ale). I’m not totally convinced that the answer can mean uniform.

17a  Deliver  gift  here (7)
{PRESENT} – triple definition.

20a  Fringe acts start to steal lyrics — they do indulge themselves (5-10)
{SWORD SWALLOWERS} – these are speciality acts not likely to top the bill. String together the starting letter of S(teal), another term for lyrics and people who indulge themselves (in luxury or self-pity, for example).

23a  One who leaves record company funding from the public (8)
{EMIGRANT} – a charade of a record company and a sum of money (often from a public body) awarded to an individual or group for a specific purpose.

25a  Perfect state of excellent dope you mentioned, passing it round (6)
{UTOPIA} – string together what looks like a 2-letter abbreviation meaning excellent, an informal word for cannabis and what sounds like (mentioned) you. Finally reverse it all.

26a  Powerful businessman? (6)
{COGENT} – split as 2,4 this could be a businessman.

27a/28a  Snap warning that a cuppa might scald? (3,4)
{MUG SHOT} – configure the answer as (3’1,3) to get the warning.

28a  See 27a

Down Clues

1d  Views unlimited gear (6)
{PINION} – gear here is a mechanism for transmitting motion. Remove both ends (unlimited) from views or assessments.

2d  Not getting going, failing to start drunken tirade (8)
{IGNORANT} – an anagram (drunken) of (g)OING without its starting letter followed by a tirade.

3d  One trapped in sadness pattern, turning to these (15)
{ANTIDEPRESSANTS} – a semi-all-in-one. It’s our second (and last of the day) anagram (turning) of SADNESS PATTERN with I (one) trapped inside it.

4d  Stored unfinished piece of work in hut (7)
{STASHED} – a piece of work without its final letter is inserted in a hut.

5d  Those on the way out frequently go through it (9,6)
{DEPARTURE LOUNGE} – a gentle cryptic definition of what those leaving by air will normally pass through.

6d  Shivering with cold, I get hot dish (6)
{CHILLI} – an attack of shivering brought on by the cold is followed by I to produce a hot dish (and an old chestnut).

7d/14d  Knocking back slightly raised drink (4,3)
{PINK GIN} – we start with a term for a knocking noise (very prevalent in motor vehicles years ago) brought on by over-rapid combustion in the engine. Then we have to move the last letter up a bit (back slightly raised, in a down clue).

14d  See 7d

16d/24d  Celestial event with peak on Mars having oxygen gas enshrouding it (3,4)
{NEW MOON} – one of the noble gases contains (enshrouding) W(ith), the first (peak) letter of Mars and the chemical symbol for oxygen.

18d  On which one may log which people will crack short grey-wether (3-5)
{SAW-HORSE} – log here is a verb meaning to cut wood into sections. Insert (will crack) a pronoun meaning ‘which people’ into another word for a grey-wether without its final N. What’s a grey-wether I hear you cry – well, it’s not, as I would have guessed, a dirty male sheep, but a grey-coloured sandstone boulder of the type used to construct Stonehenge. The BRB has the answer as a single word with no hyphen.

19d  Pursuit of what’s done by current setter (7)
{PASTIME} – what’s done and over is followed by the symbol for electric current and the objective pronoun that the setter would use of himself.

21d  Game run by thief when cover has been blown (6)
{RUGGER} – the abbreviation (in cricket) for run is followed by a thief (one operating in a public place) without the first letter (cover has been blown).

22d  They may charge you old money (shillings) (6)
{RHINOS} – an archaic slang term for money followed by S(hillings).

24d  See 16d

The clues I favoured today were 27/28a and 7/14d. How about you?