Sunday Toughie No 68 by Zandio
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 14th of May 2023
Across
1a Matador’s covering head (4)
CAPE: Start with a double definition, something a Matador wears and also a geographical headland
3a Sensitive types, woolly woke fans, including student censors at heart (10)
SNOWFLAKES: An anagram (woolly) of WOKE FANS including L for students and S as the heart of cenSors
9a Careless wave (4)
RASH: Another double-definition, a wave as a “RASH” of a Measles outbreak
10a Celebs refuse to get into golf in India (10)
GLITTERATI: A NATO code letter G for Golf, some refuse LITTER, a preposition for in AT, and another NATO code letter I for India
11a Twisted love — French sea dog’s ultimate flaw (7)
GREMLIN: Love as a tennis score NIL, the French for sea MER and the ultimate letter of dog G, all reversed (twisted)
13a Essential items for degree lecturers keep in office (2-5)
RE-ELECT: A lurker (essential items for) hidden in two words of the clue
14a Group with independent album, taking ecstasy, develop moving way to communicate (6,5)
MOBILE PHONE: A group or gang MOB, an abbreviation for independent I, a Long Playing album of vinyl recordings LP around E for ecstasy, and a synonym of develop an edge on a blade perhaps HONE
18a Rumoured deposit scam split City — what’s in banks? (4,7)
LAKE ONTARIO: The banks contain a large body of water, lots of homophones to start, to deposit on the ground LAY, to scam CON, and to split TEAR, precede an abbreviated South American city RIO De Janeiro, homophones of LAY, CON,TEAR precede an abbreviated RIO
21a Changes direction, as we have to keep right aboard ship (7)
SWERVES: A contraction of we have around r for right WE(R)’VE is kept aboard the letters that designate a steam ship SS
22a In US, regular service going by ‘iron horse’? No, something bigger (7)
GIRAFFE: A US regular soldier or GI, the UK military airborne service RAF and the chemical symbol for Iron FE combine to be an animal somewhat bigger than a horse
23a One selects winner of rebate Keir developed (10)
TIEBREAKER: An anagram (developed) of REBATE KIER to be the means of selecting a winner in a drawn game
24a Strip without energy and nothing for bottom covering (4)
LINO: A strip or LINE without E for energy and the letter that looks like nothing gives us an abbreviated floor covering LINO(leum)
25a Comic idolised, if having joined in set (10)
SOLIDIFIED: An anagram (comic) of IDOLISED IF, what happens to a Jelly when set
26a Phrase we often hear from Republican heading off argument (4)
RIFF: A repeated musical phrase from R for Republican and an argument or (T)IFF without the heading letter T
Down
1d Patience maybe required, seeing comedian snipe? (4,4)
CARD GAME: A comical or eccentric person CARD, and the question mark? tells us that snipe is an example of a type of GAME bird that may be the target of hunters
2d Witness has reward after framing south Belgrade resident? (6-2)
PASSER-BY: The reward for employment PAY, around an abbreviated south S, and a member of the people that reside in Belgrade – a SERB
4d Cities in US and UK banning academic material (5)
NYLON: An abbreviated New York, and LONdon when the academic DON has been banned give us the material NYLON.
A persistent urban legend exists that the name is derived from “New York” and “London”; however, no organisation in London was ever involved in the research and production of nylon
5d Game of pool … left early after drink (5,4)
WATER POLO: A rather plain drink WATER, followed by a word that some (for some read me) may think is in the definition POOL, but the L for left is moved up the order POLO. As SL pointed out in the hints pool should not be doing double-duty as part of the definition and wordplay, so I have UN-underlined it
6d Sensitivity reader for fiction? (3,8)
LIE DETECTOR: An all-in-one – they indicate if you are telling porkie pies or LIES by measuring the sensitivity of skin when the subject isn’t telling the truth
7d Villains, four in a pack (6)
KNAVES: There are four Jacks or KNAVES in a pack of cards
8d Like a garment that’s a bit prickly (6)
SHIRTY: Something that is like a SHIRT is also an adjective for a prickly person who is ill-tempered or annoyed
12d On stage in kind of white, red and yellow (4-7)
LILY-LIVERED: On stage or LIVE, goes in between a kind of white that is named for the pale white flower the LILY, followed by RED from the clue
15d Man with fish on long stick (9)
PIKESTAFF: A type of freshwater fish PIKE,goes on a transitive verb to provide with a man or men STAFF, to be the long stick I used to wield in the English Civil War re-enactment society the Sealed Knot
16d Making RAF fit into absorbing outdoor display (8)
GRAFFITI: Another lurker (absorbing) into the first four words of the clue
17d Unsociable type making advance reportedly put away (4,4)
LONE WOLF: A homophone of a financial advance LOAN becomes LONE, and one who puts away food like a carnivorous animal WOLF
19d Idiot’s bagged time in football team already (2,2,2)
AS IT IS: A football team often clues in crosswords as the Roman Numeral XI but here we want the letters that look like 11 being the Arabic number that are in a football team. I I have bagged a T for time and go in an idiot or ASS to be AS IT IS, a phrasal synonym of already
20d Cancel show lacking volume for piano (6)
REPEAL: To show or REVEAL lacks V for volume and replaces it with P for Piano
22d They often honk when passing my area of the capital (5)
GEESE: An interjection, like my, expressing surprise GEE, and the point of the compass that our capital city is in SE