Toughie No 1234 by Excalibur

A Shirley Temple or something a little stronger??

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

A Tuesday level Toughie from Excalibur with several  opportunities to type ‘from the clue’ as I prepared the blog.  The difficulty rating is 2.5 because parsing some of the clues did take slightly longer than usual

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Across Clues

1a           It stops us being led astray when in right (3,5)
RED LIGHT   An anagram (astray) of LED inserted into the last word of the clue.

5a           Scribble ‘Half of screws to be removed by metal instrument’ (6)
SCRAWL   The second half of SCRews is removed so that  the first half can be followed by a pointed metal instrument used for boring holes.

9a           Charge with breaking rules. Have little hesitation (4,4)
FEEL SURE Insert an anagram (breaking) of RULES into a small monetary charge.

10a         Put seeds round it for birds (6)
PIPITS   Members of a lark-like genus of birds – Insert IT from the clue into some seeds found in oranges, for example.

12a         Taking ill, concerned with flu, sent off (9)
RESENTFUL   The two letters meaning about, concerned with, followed by an anagram (off) of FLU SENT. I tried to find a way in which the clue would be telling me to insert SENT but it would appear that it is a not very anagrammy anagram.

13a         Duck weed, small, removed with garden tool (5)
DRAKE     Remove the word meaning small from WEED and follow with a garden tool.

14a         How it conveys surprise? (4)
WELL   A cryptic definition of how successful an interjection expressing surprise might be.

16a         She names South African province, to get one point (7)
NATALIE     A girl’s name is obtained by following a South African province with I (one) and a compass point.

19a         Ebbing river that floods over tours passed by (7)
ELAPSED     A reversal (ebbing) of a river (there’s one in Scotland and one in Wales) into which is inserted a verb meaning tours or goes round a circuit.

21a         Stab and stab again (4)
GORE   To stab with something pointed like a spear.   A verb meaning to have a stab at or attempt followed by the two letters we met earlier meaning ‘concerning’ but here meaning ‘again’.

24a         One hears a sadly-spoken remark in an undertone (5)
ASIDE     A from the clue followed by a homophone of a sadly-spoken audible remark.

25a         All by myself, eating therefore is salutary (9)
WHOLESOME   An adjective meaning all, the total amount, followed by a way of saying therefore, in that manner, and the personal objective pronoun (myself).

27a         In this way, fractions will be produced (6)
THIRDS   Insert the abbreviation for a thoroughfare (way) into THIS from the clue.

28a         You should get through it, if first you’re given a drink (8)
APERITIF        Start with A (first you’re given A) follow with a word meaning through, by means of, and then both IT and IF from the clue.

29a         Are assembled inside, thirsty and miserable (6)
DREARY     An anagram (assembled) of ARE inside how your mouth might feel if you were thirsty.

30a         Bound to be in that place with old rocker hanging around (8)
TETHERED   An old rocker from the 50s and 60s is put round an adverb meaning in that place.

Down

1d           Offers direction — would rather have no parking (6)
REFERS   To direct for information – simply remove the P (no parking) from a verb meaning would rather have.

2d           Smart, as jeans for women are not? (6)
DRESSY   A cryptic definition of smart or formally elegant clothing.   I would disagree with our setter as I have some jeans that are very smart.

3d           Nibs and pen, first off, are required by writer (5)
IBSEN   Remove the first letters from NIBS and PEN.

4d           Cockney might give you load you can just carry — it’s injurious (7)
HARMFUL      Removing the first letter from the solution would give you the way a Cockney (who doesn’t use this letter at the start of some words) would refer to an amount being as much as you could carry unaided.

6d           An early lead? (5,4)
CHILD STAR A cryptic definition of a young leading  actor.

7d           A freeing of lab mice is pleasant (8)
AMICABLE   A (from the clue) followed by an  anagram (freeing ) of LAB MICE.

8d           One hears ship is about set for casting off (8)
LISTENER Insert an anagram (casting off) of SET into a large passenger-carrying vessel.

11d         Strategy of squad, besides leaving? (4)
PLAN    Remove a word meaning besides, also, from a military squad.

15d         Londoner sea-sick on little boat (4-5)
EAST ENDER   An anagram (sick) of SEA followed by a small boat.

17d         Some, caught in act, took to their heels (8)
DEPARTED   A word meaning some inserted (caught in) an act.

18d         Sea horse has eaten that article the writer’s put together (8)
MARITIME   A female horse ‘eats’ the pronoun meaning ‘that article’  and I[‘}M (the writer is )

20d         Be out of bed, now, tottery and depressed (4)
DOWN   Take the BE ‘out of bed’ BED and follow with an anagram (tottery) of NOW.

21d         Idol worshipper: converted rogue that good has been instilled into (7)
GROUPIE     A worshipper of pop idols, perhaps. An anagram (converted) of ROGUE with the two letters meaning good (the word that blog commenters always say ‘why does that mean good?’!)

22d         Drink little drink — about to fall over! (6)
PORTER   Dark beer – a drink of fortified wine followed by another appearance of the two letter word meaning about, this time reversed (to fall over)

23d         Complained as insect had a bite (6)
BEEFED   Split 3, 3 this might mean that a small buzzing insect had eaten something.

26d         What was that you said about painting our home? (5)
EARTH     An interjection expressing failure to hear with a word meaning painting or drawing inserted.

Thanks to Toro for letting me have a chance at an on-the-day blog to keep me occupied while waiting for our grandson and his entourage to arrive (there’s a limit to how much house cleaning I can do when I am on my holidays!!)