Sunday Toughie 52 (Review)

Sunday Toughie No 52 by Robyn

Review by Sloop John Bee

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This puzzle was published on the 22nd of January 2023

 

Across

1a Am I going to reveal information about live opera? (7,4)
WILLIAM TELL: The first word AM, goes into a phrase that asks if one is going to reveal information WILL I TELL, for an opera.

7a Unpleasantly posh food in meal reduced by half (5-2)
STUCK UP: The TUCK you may take to school to eat goes in the first half of SUPper.

8a It’s impossible, note, to invest in new food e-tailer (2,3,2)
NO CAN DO: N for note and an online grocery seller OCADO, containing (invests) another N for new.

10a Nearly burning forest in play (5)
ARDEN: Almost all of a synonym of burning ARDENt, is a forest in Shakespeare’s play As You Like It.

11a Awfully nice, saving character dropped in EastEnders car fare (9)
ENCHILADA: The letter that people from the East End of London may drop H, goes in an anagram of NICE, followed by a cheap Russian brand of car LADA, becoming some tasty Mexican fare.

12a Knocking on wood, extremely lucky (7)
ELDERLY: A shrub or tree Papa Bee used to harvest for flowers and berries for his rather potent home made wine ELDER, and the outer or extreme letters of LuckY. to ber ELDERLY or knocking on in years

14a Inspiration to adopt Democrat’s liberal attitude (7)
BREADTH: The air you inspire BREATH, around D for Democrat to indicate the BREADTH of ones liberal attitude.

15a Reasonable person who serves in pub (7)
LOGICAL: The public house you frequent LOCAL, contains someone who serves in the American Military GI.

 

18a Flogs paper at first showing what beach bodies have? (7)
SUNTANS: Flogs or TANS follows the SUN newspaper

20a Gillingham’s number one fan imbibing drinks and snack (9)
GROUNDNUT: G the number one letter of Gillingham, a ROUND of drinks and a fan or NUT, any snack such as peanuts that grow in the ground rather than above.

21a Musicians carefully inspect disc (5)
COMBO: To carefully inspect or COMB, followed by the letter that looks like a disc O. A beat combo of musicians perhaps

22a Jaunt round Llanelli, ignoring the whole centre in port (7)
TRIPOLI: A jaunt TRIP, the letter that is round O, and what is left of LanellI after it has been disheartened, give us a North African port TRIPOLI.

23a Problem with cored soft fruit being tough to eat (7)
RUBBERY: To sleep – perchance to dream: ay there’s the RUB (A synonym of problem in Shakespeare – Hamlet’s soliloquy) and a soft fruit or BERRY that has been cored of its central R

24a Cry in agony with son going after comic books (6-5)
YELLOW CARDS: A cry YELL, and an interjection made when in agony OW, followed by a comical or eccentric person CARD, and S for son. The books that happen after minor transgressions on the football pitch.

Down

1d Wife husband’s left harassed and offended (7)
WOUNDED: A synonym for harassed HOUNDED, loses the H for husband and follows W for wife.

2d Compare president with Lincoln, utterly heartless about it (5)
LIKEN: President Eisenhower AKA  IKE has the outer letters of LincolN about it

3d The writer’s shame, concealing base wickedness (7)
IMPIETY: A contraction of how Robyn may refer to himself I’M, and a synonym of shame PITY, around the base letter of the natural system of logarithms E. IMPIETY A wicked act.

4d Transport home welcomed by Mike and Jack (7)
MINICAB: Home or IN is welcomed in to an abbreviated Microphone/Mike/MIC followed by one of our usual Able Seamen AB. MINICAB an unlicensed taxicab that must be ordered by phone rather than hailed in the street

5d Cryptic clue by one academic using traditional maths (9)
EUCLIDEAN: An anagram of CLUE, the letter that looks like 1 and a senior academic or DEAN. EUCLIDEAN a branch of mathematics is a geometry based on the theories and assumptions of EUCLID

6d Piece of rope left on an overturned cart (7)
LANYARD: My 6d with BD’s handwritten name card, (and Elgar’s from the York S&B). We would normally have had a get-together for the blog’s 14th birthday but hopefully someday… L for left on AN from the clue and the reversal (overturned) of a cart or DRAY. LANYARD A short rope used as a fastening or handle (nautical) appropriated for ID’s and nametags

7d Voyager undertook this small step before many steps (11)
SPACEFLIGHT: Lots of steps here, S for small, a step or PACE, and a whole bunch of them together FLIGHT of stairs

9d Test this funky old track in record we hear (4,7)
ORAL HISTORY: A verbal test ORAL, an anagram (funky) of this HIST, O for old and some abbreviated RailwaY tracks RY. A spoken record of times past.

13d Items sold in sweet shop and bakery around northern province of The King? (4,1,4)
ROCK N’ ROLL: Items sold in seaside sweet shops ROCK, and those sold in bakery ROLL, around N for northern  you have the province of the King of Rock n’ Roll Elvis Presley

16d Good parrot cages provided, getting praise (7)
GLORIFY: G for good, a type of parrot LORY, goes around (cages) provided or IF. To praise or GLORIFY

17d Time to forego pleasures? I try, in a dark patch (7)
LENTIGO: A period of forgoing that runs from Ash Wednesday to Easter LENT, I from the clue and an attempt or try GO. LENTIGO is a dark patch of skin larger than a freckle.

18d Taking off Asian dress, caught holding the thing up (7)
SATIRIC: An Asian dress or SARI holds a reversal (up) of a thing or IT and C for caught. SATIRIC relating to, or conveying satire by imitation or taking off

19d Like to keep running miles, wanting direction (7)
AIMLESS: Like or AS contains an anagram (running) of MILES, to lack direction or be AIMLESS

21d Pole in Scotland metres away from curve in road (5)
CABER: A curve across the surface of a road CAMBERloses a metric metre.