Toughie 1182

Toughie No 1182 by Kcit

Mistresses

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

You can no longer expect an easy ride with a Kcit puzzle. This one was very enjoyable and at the upper level of the difficulty we have come to expect on a Tuesday.

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Across

1a/5a    US money entirely invested in disrupting security system (7,7)
{CENTRAL LOCKING} – some US money followed by a three-letter word meaning entirely inside a verb meaning disrupting

5a    See 1 Across

9a    Most appropriate work: I’m employed in corporation (7)
{OPTIMUM} – a musical work followed by I’M inside a corporation or belly

10a    One blocks sun hat (7)
{STOPPER} – S(un) followed by a type of hat

11a    The main thing keeping you stuck in the current situation? (3,6)
{SEA ANCHOR} – a cryptic definition of an object dragged in the water behind a boat in order to keep its bows pointing into the waves

12a    Bath Abbey’s opening featured in Sunday article (5)
{SAUNA} – the initial letter (opening) of Abbey inside SUN(day) and the indefinite article

13a    Be very averse to study after start of degree (5)
{DREAD} – a verb meaning to study preceded by the initial letter (start) of Degree

15a    Reprimanded dodgy pub subjected to police attention? (9)
{UPBRAIDED} – an anagram (dodgy) of PUB followed by a verb meaning subjected to police attention

17a    That woman in tub with graduate — female partner in affair (9)
{BATHSHEBA} – the female pronoun inside a tub and a graduate gives the biblical woman who had an affair with, and later married, King David

19a    Closed opera house twice cancelling the French opera (5)
{TOSCA} – the two-letter usual suspect for closed followed by an opera house in Milan from which the French definite article has been removed (cancelling) not once but twice

22a    Little sleep, initially nodding off (5)
{TRACE} – start with a sleep or daze and drop (off) the initial letter of Nodding

23a    Recent fiddle ending in change in paperwork? (9)
{NEWSTRADE} – an adjective meaning recent followed by a very expensive fiddle or violin and the final letter (ending) of changE

25a    Good argument divides pub regarding misplaced nail (7)
{INGROWN} – G(ood) and an argument inside (divides) a pub

26a    Composer annoyed with contralto dropping out in Italy (7)
{ROSSINI} – start with an adjective meaning annoyed, drop the C(ontralto) and add IN and the IVR code for Italy

27a/28a    Telegraph mixed up with ‘tasty’ description of psychological treatment (7,7)
{GESTALT THERAPY} – an anagram (mixed up) of TELEGRAPH with TASTY

28a    See 27 Across

Down

1d    Passed and scored fluidly, bagging second (7)
{CROSSED} – an anagram (fluidly) of SCORED around (bagging) S(econd)

2d    What could be e.g. T Henman’s core skill on court? (3,4)
{NET GAME} – an anagram (what could be) of EG T and the inner letters (core) of (H)ENMA(N)

3d    French story  of foreign city (5)
{ROMAN} – two definitions – an originally French word for a novel (story) and an adjective meaning from a foreign city

4d    British expatriate reduced property holding in London area (9)
{LIMEHOUSE} – most of (reduced) a slang word for a British expatriate followed by a property or residence

5d    Increasingly profligate, abandoned by one love, is a failure (5)
{LOSER} – drop (abandoned) one of the Os (love) from an adjective meaning increasingly profligate

6d    Breakfast item is found by son in crumpled carton (9)
{CROISSANT} – IS and S(on) inside an anagram (crumpled) of CARTON

7d    Road up? Use pile driver and put cordon round (7)
{IMPOUND} – reverse (up in a down clue) the country’s main motorway and follow it with a verb meaning to use a pile driver

8d    Cultivated area, with 50 per cent less ground, producing flowers (7)
{GARLAND} – start with a cultivated area around a house, drop the second half (with 50 per cent less) and follow what is left with some ground

14d    Damage to dame’s done — this dame? (9)
{DESDEMONA} – an anagram (damage) of DAME’S DONE gives Othello’s squeeze

16d    Popped round end of street, tucking into uncooked sausage (9)
{BRATWURST} – a verb meaning popped or exploded around the final letter (end) of street itself inside an adjective meaning uncooked

17d    In line to avoid fighting (7)
{BATTING} – this cricketing term meaning “in” is derived by dropping (to avoid) the L(ine) from a verb meaning fighting

18d    Only one of two rents reduced? Irritating stuff (4,3)
{TEAR GAS} – a word meaning a rent or cut followed by most of (reduced) another one

20d    A rug’s taken up when holding in grit (7)
{STAMINA} – the reversal (taken up) of the A from the clue, a rug and the S from ‘S around (holding) IN

21d    A point cropping up in my facility (7)
{AMENITY} – the A from the clue followed by a point, like the one on a fork, reversed (cropping up) inside MY

23d    Group not heartless, embracing individual (5)
{NONET} – N(O)T without its middle letter (heartless) around (embracing) an individual

24d    Cheers soldiers out of condition, in preference (5)
{TASTE} – a two-letter word meaning cheers or thanks followed by a condition without TA (volunteer soldiers)

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