Sunday Toughie No 72 by proXimal
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 11th of June 2023
Across
1a Charge to store little case (9)
CARTOUCHE: A little smidgen of something TOUCH, inside a charge to look after something CARE, gives us the case for a bullet and its gunpowder CARTOUCHE. Woe betide anyone who puts a smidgen too much milk in Mama Bee’s tea!
6a City found west of Lima (5)
BASEL: To found or BASE to the west of L the letter that Lima represents in the NATO phonetics code
9a Overlooked in old jacket, the French suspect (5)
DOUBT: An old jacket or DOUBLET. with the French for the LE, overlooked
10a Trap sovereign’s followers on a battlefield (9)
AGINCOURT: An illegal trap goes after A from the clue (on a) A GIN and the retinue that follows a sovereign COURT
11a Toy with box that’s provided for casual consumers (6,6)
FINGER BUFFET: To toy with or FINGER, and to box or BUFFET become the fare for casual diners
14a Numbers one and four selected in explaining squares (7)
ELEVENS: The first and fourth letters of ExpLaining in the clue and a synonym of squares or balances EVENS
16a Police work catching ambassador with billion (3,4)
THE BILL: To work or cultivate the land TILL, around (catching) abbreviations for the title of His Excellency the Ambassador HE, and billion B, give us a slang term for the police THE BILL
17a Empty apple cases by fire (3)
AXE: The outer letters of apple A E, case the multiplication symbol suggested by by, to fire or AXE
18a Returning shot, see rotary motion (7)
TOPSPIN: A shot of whisky NIP and to see or SPOT are reversed (returning) to give us the rotary motion TOPSPIN
20a Put out — is standing in for Oscar being idle (7)
DISUSED: To put out fire DOUSED swaps the Nato phonetic code for Oscar and IS replaces it (standing in for)
22a Mediation with aim to hold review regularly (12)
INTERVENTION: A synonym of an aim or objective INTENTION, contains alternate letters of review RVE
26a First home? Predict everything to be unfinished (9)
INAUGURAL: The letters that define being at home IN, to predict like a diviner or soothsayer AUGUR, and most of a word for everything ALL
27a Organism used by parasites, a plant (5)
HOSTA: The organism that welcomes a parasite HOST, and A from the clue lead us to the garden plant HOSTA
28a Pick up article shifted back in corner (5)
GLEAN: A corner or ANGLE shifts the article AN to the back. To GLEAN some info or misplaced corn perhaps
29a Road sign that’s annoying outside work (2,7)
NO PARKING: An annoying, unpleasant or baffling circumstance NARKING, around a shortened piece of work OP
Down
1d Passage a miner goes up (4)
CODA: I wasted a lot of last night researching mining when I should have been checking one of Snow Whites’s Dwarf miners DOC, he is reversed on A from the clue. A passage of music
2d Licking from mutt shunned by all outsiders (4)
ROUT: Remove the outside letters fROm mUTt for a severe licking, beating or ROUT
3d Unpopular business profile (7)
OUTLINE: Unpopular or OUT And ones business or LINE
4d Sound inherent to Nordic languages (5)
CLANG: a lurker (inherent to)
5d Label on ground moved to elsewhere (9)
EMIGRATED: A record label known by its initials and now part of Universal Music Group EMI, and ground like cheese perhaps GRATED
6d He’d messed with this since finding debauchees (7)
BECAUSE: A conjunction of since BECAUSE. can be found in an anagram (messed with) of deBAUChEES after he’d is removed
7d Most tiddly, small tuft of hair that is on good person (10)
SQUIFFIEST: S for small, a tuft of hair QUIFF, a Latin that is IE, and an abbreviated good person ST. become the most tiddly person
8d Take no action having birds taking cover in shelter (3,2,5)
LET IT SLIDE: The sheltered side LEE, contains small songbirds of the family Paridae TITS, and a cover LID
12d Top equestrian might display such straddling (10)
BESTRIDING: A top equestrian may display the BEST RIDING, remove the 4,6 split and we have bestriding a synonym of straddling
13d Do keep up, run to take over lead in ultramarathon (10)
PERPETRATE: A synonym of keep up in the sense of cause to last forever PERPETUATE, swaps the leading letter of ultramarathon U, for an abbreviation for a run at cricket R, to become PERPETRATE to do, commit or execute a crime perhaps
15d Ancient council had sinner reformed (9)
SANHEDRIN: An anagram (reformed) of HAD SINNER, SANHEDRIN an ancient Jewish council or court
19d Soldier lost, not totally ideal (7)
PARAGON: This shortened soldier carried by air PARA, and most of a synonym of lost GONe become an ideal model of perfection PARAGON
21d Very different being calmer (7)
SOOTHER: That which calms when SO very different OTHER remove the divide
23d Upset eating middle of mouldy bloomer (5)
TULIP: to upset or TIP contains the middle letters of moULdy
24d Most palatable: result of such drink taken in test (4)
ASTI: this drink when inserted into TEST would be the most palatable TASTIEST
25d Beat with good point (4)
TANG: To beat like leather TAN, and an abbreviation for good G, become the point that holds a fret into a fretboard for example TANG