Toughie No 2052 by MynoT

Hints and tips by Kitty

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

 

Warm hellos to you all, and welcome to the start of another week of Toughies.  I found this very gentle with some nice touches.

Definitions are underlined in the clues below and indicators are italicised when quoted in the hints.  You’ll find the answers inside the buttons.  The exclamation mark is not an imperative — click only if you wish to reveal all.

As usual you may click on pictures to enlarge them or uncover hidden extras.

 

Across

1a    Flirt terribly with employees on vacation — perhaps they’re full of sherry? (7)
TRIFLES:  Make an anagram (… terribly) of FLIRT and add the outer letters (… on vacation) of employees to make some desserts which are a good way of getting rid of sherry

5a    Apply to have fresh Scots Own (7)
PERTAIN:  Fresh in the sense of a bit cheeky followed by a Scottish word meaning own

9a    Papers backed writing of poetry that offers variety (15)
DIVERSIFICATION:  The reversal (… backed) of some documents plus “writing of poetry”

10a   Unpleasant area holy person’s seen in big city (5)
NASTY:  Abbreviations for area and a canonised person inside a big US city

11a   Pain suffered in extra time initially by Scots and other countrymen (9)
EGYPTIANS:  Pain (3) inside the abbreviation (… initially) for extra time by some people with our usual Scottish forename.  I was surprised that the initially needed to be included as it’s such a widely-used abbreviation, but when I looked in the major dictionaries, was surprised to find it absent from them

12a   Whole armies unexpectedly present, briefly (9)
SUMMARISE:  Whole or total followed by an anagram (… unexpectedly) of ARMIES

14a   Ancient Greek  pigeon (5)
HOMER:  Two definitions, one literary and one flighty

15a   Burn record that’s got left out (5)
SINGE:  A music recording missing L(eft)

16a   Charity given to canine artist put over as sweetener (4,5)
PALM SUGAR:  Some charity (4) inserted into (given to) a breed of dog and the reversal (… put over) of a royal academician

18a   After a time payment made for property (9)
ATTRIBUTE:  After A (from the clue) and T(ime) goes a payment.  The property is not somewhere to live but a feature

21a   What property is supposed to be in the paper? (5)
THEFT:  The answer split (3,2) is the pink newspaper

22a   You can’t enter this time (6,9)
FOURTH DIMENSION:  I think this is a cryptic definition, but not one I’m convinced by.  You can’t enter this as such, but we are moving through it at a rate of one second per second.  I’ve just underlined the precise definition therein as I think that’s more helpful hintwise.  Please tell me if I’ve missed something

23a   Left race and repaired wheels in America (7)
RETIRED:  Split (2-5) this would mean, in N American English, to replace the bit that goes around the rim of a wheel

24a   Measurements of heat with nothing in container (7)
THERMOS:  A unit of heat containing (with … in) O (nothing) gives the brand name (derived from the same root) of an insulating container

 

Down

1d    News three times a day in grammar school (7)
TIDINGS:  A charade of a Latin-derived abbreviation (used in prescriptions) for three times a day, IN (from the clue) and the abbreviation for grammar school.  I had to look up the first three letters of the answer to see what that was about, but guessed it might be a prescriptions thing, like our r = take

2d    How priest’s arrayed with faith — one that’s saved may have this? (10,5)
INVESTMENT TRUST:  How a priest may be clad (2,8) with faith or confidence.  Not one whose soul is saved, but one who has saved, in more earthly ways

3d    Bread-like composition made by distressed lackey in a way? On the contrary (5,4)
LARDY CAKE:  An anagram (distressed) of LACKEY is surrounding (in … On the contrary) A (from the clue) and the abbreviation for road (way)

4d    Goon makes point (5)
SPIKE:  One of The Goons (the chief creator and main writer) has a name which is also a word for a hard pointy thing

5d    What could follow Lord putting lock on lavatory? (5,4)
PRIVY SEAL:  Lock or fasten, with wax perhaps, follows an old word for a lavatory

6d    About turn to perform again (5)
REACT:  About (2) and a turn or performance.  This definition of the answer (unhyphenated) surprised me a little but is in the book

7d    Mammals eating in broadcast may reveal it (6,9)
ANIMAL MAGNETISM:  A nice anagram of (… broadcast) MAMMALS EATING IN

8d    One that abstains from exercising neurons (3-4)
NON-USER:  An anagram (exercising) of NEURONS

13d   This person is beaten up and and confined (9)
IMPOUNDED:  The contracted form of “this person is” in the first person plus beaten up or pummelled (and and a bonus “and”)

14d   Delay is nice — haste foolish (9)
HESITANCE:  An anagram (… foolish) of NICE HASTE

15d   Employee with rod in front of Queen (7)
STAFFER:  A stick or pole followed by two letters which stand for our queen

17d   Seamen in tatty clothes collecting money (7)
RATINGS:  No, the seamen are not any of our usual wordplay components.  Find them by putting a slang term for money inside some tatty clothes

19d   Bury together (5)
INTER:  This word meaning bury is also a prefix meaning together

20d   Gathered to follow space tourist visiting Cornwall (5)
EMMET:  A printer’s space followed by gathered together or assembled.  Tourists visiting Cornwall absolutely must visit this wonderful beach, which I learned of in this blog (see 26a and Gazza’s comment @2)

 

Thanks to MynoT.  I liked 1a, 12a, 18a, 2d, 8d, 13d, 14d and 17d.  What did you enjoy?

 

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These hints and tips are for anyone who might find them of use (and who doesn’t need help now and then?).  The asides and illustrations are to add a personal perspective and some colour.  The comments section is — or should be — for everyone.  Please do ask if you need anything clarified, have any suggestions as to how the blogs could be improved, or have anything else you’d like to say.

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