Sunday Toughie 74 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 74

by Zandio

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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Zandio brings us a fine toughie that amused and confused in equal measure.

I have hinted half of 16a and 14d clues with a few bonus pics to help.

I am off to Whitby for a paddle with Mama Bee, Have fun and I’ll catch up with comments later

 

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. Dont forget the Mine of useful information that Big Dave and his son Richard so meticulously prepared for us.

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 Bit of bridge that’s stretchy (6)
Part of a cardgame rather than a span

10a Consider odds for duo’s win maybe ten to one — blast! (9)
A synonym of consider and odd letters of two words in the clue
Zandio has only given you ten but I’ll give you 30 seconds to find the answer, here’s a timer

12a Finger sandwiches reverted to whatever’s available (3,4)
To finger the strings on a musical instrument sandwiches a reversal of to

14a Times invested in electronic skill from the East particularly (5)
A reversal (from the east) in an across clue of a skill follows an abbreviation of electronic and the letter that signifies the mathematical Times. a particularly superior commodity

18a Change a bit of English fruitcake, sent back after superior starter (4-4)
To alter slightly, E for English and a slightly mad fruitcake are reversed after another superior commodity

23a Lack of water in diet — that is becoming unhealthy (7)
Swap the Latin Id Est from diet with an unsmooth feeling of being unhealthy

25a People boarding, tricksters giving a tenth of the amount upfront (7)
A trickster swaps its first (upfront) Roman numeral for another a tenth of the amount

29a Swears about missing a highlight (6)
Swears or declares positively is reversed and loses an initial letter

Down

1d Went over and put a new top on (8)
Summarised a story or put another lid on a biro perhaps

2d

5d Evil ruler believing in fear (7,7)
An evil, a monarch and a sense of believing

8d Statuesque woman takes drive, welcoming husband with kiss (6)
A jaunt in a car or bike welcomes H for husband and the letter you use for a kiss on romantic correspondence

9d There could be no tsunami here in America! (5,9)
This area in America is at an altitude where no tsunami can reach,  it is also an anagram of no tsunami that follows the anagram indicator absent from the clue

16d Cheers up, inserting old penny in gents, twice getting change (9)
A short thank you or Cheers is reversed (up) and contains two gents and a pre-decimal penny

17d Unusual arrangements to cure loss? (8)
An anagram of two words in the clue, I can’t see a separate definition so it may be an all-in-one/&lit What happens to businesses if losses persist

21d

24d Walk ended with heavens opening (3,2)
We want a synonym of Heavens as an expression of surprise and a synonym of ended or over, the whole being what you may say to a horse to make it move from standstill to a walk 

 

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One for 28A – I hope I picked your favourite…

That’s All Folks!