Sunday Toughie 38 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 38 by Zandio

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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For me, the trickier end of Zandio’s spectrum but I got there eventually. I understand that some of you may have not got the correct enumeration for 1 across, on the new site it was initially (15) when it should have been (4,3,3,5) It has been corrected now and should be an easyish start and doesn’t cause you to 27a.

14 across and 16 down clues today and I have hinted half. If you require extra hints or have alternative parsings (1d and 5d in particular) I am open to help and advice if required.

Here we go…

 

As it is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll be back just after the closing date with the full blog. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!

I hope I don’t have to redact any comments but I am new at this and don’t want to rock the boat. If in doubt, I’ll rub it out! – I think that sentence is a bit redundant. You have all been so helpful in sorting out prior parsing failures, and I am sure I will need similar help again.

Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.

A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely.

 

Across

1a Finally we can’t forget ‘Carry On’ with aunt’s bottle exploding (4,3,3,5)
A synonym of ‘Carry on’ or endure and an anagram of aunt’s bottle to start with. The correct enumeration makes this easier.

10a Ticket for Versailles, the water spectacle (7)
A small bit of a ticket to admit the bearer and how someone from Versailles may say the water.

12a Truss, optionally reversible, used by runner to tighten belt (5)
Topically political from Zandio. The runner that slides across snow and the position held by our current premier. Optionally reversible because the two letters required can be used either way to indicate her elected status in parliament or the leadership role that she currently holds. How much longer she keeps either title is open to debate but not here.

13a Establish fact number one should be rebutted (7)
To establish at a post is an abbreviated numerical fact and a reversal (rebutted) of an abbreviated number one.

21a One’s turned or will turn 5 (5)
Something that turns is palindromic, a conditional conjunction and the sort of hill or rocky height that 5d signifies.
I have used a picture of this height in a Zandio puzzle before. A familiar sight to one from the SW I expect.

25a Person waiting in front of prison cheers when one is incarcerated (7)
The person who may prepare and serve your 7d. The character that looks like one goes in the metal poles that a prison defines followed by a cheerful thank you.

27a Give up article going into some football draw with the Spanish (5,2,3,5)
How a footballer may get the ball back into play, a definite article, to draw or drag and how someone Spanish would say the same article.

 

Down

1d What has five or two more itself? (7)
Not entirely sure I have got this, I was expecting the first word to have more characters but if you think of ‘what has’ as a definition by example we have seven characters but only five different ones. The term for those characters similarly has seven characters but only five different ones.

2d Special unit’s OK intervening splitting up boozers (5)
A special military unit known by its initials intervenes around OK. Boozers who drink to excess.

5d Unpopular group rocks, not all appearing for show (7)
Unpopular or not ‘in’ and a plural collection of rocks then drops the plural, to show itself.

7d Black resident of Martha’s Vineyard maybe needs love (9)
A resident of Martha’s Vineyard and the character that love represents in a tennis score. A long over-diluted (IMO) milk-free beverage served by a 25a.

14d Member of union that’s moonlighting? (9)
Moonlighting is a job outside the norm. If a member of the union of marriage has a bit on the side he (or she) would be committing this sin.

19d Fly-by-night getting married in the morning — first whopper! (7)
the letter that indicates marriage, and the morning or ante meridian are followed by something that flies at night for something extremely large.

20d Outline of Elvis Concerto’s uplifting but hit-and-miss (7)
A reversal (uplifting in a down clue) and alternating letters (hit-and-miss) outline to aid the reproduction of a design.

24d … and more than half of that’s wrapped in tissue (5)
Three-fifths of the previous solution wrapped around in from the clue would give this connective tissue that joins muscle to bone.

 

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This cropped up in a random playlist while I was touring around Yorkshire looking at the glorious autumnal colours. I had forgotten all about Snowy White and bring this rather pleasant piece for your delectation.