Sunday Toughie 81 (Review) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Sunday Toughie 81 (Review)

 Sunday Toughie No 81  by proXimal

Review by Sloop John Bee

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This puzzle was published on the 13th of August 2023

 

 

Across

1a Forest spirit is winged beast (5,10)
GREEN WOODPECKER; A leafy forest GREENWOOD, and ones spirit, resolve or humour PECKER, often used informally in the phrase “Keep your PECKER up”. split 5,10 and you have a winged beast

9a
 Debauched toymaker with head back consuming wine (9)
ORGIASTIC; A brand of die-cast toys CORGI, moves its head to the end ORGI – C, around an Italian white wine ASTI.
ORIGINAL 1965 1st ISSUE BOXED CORGI #261~JAMES BOND ASTON MARTIN DB5~GOLDFINGER - Picture 1 of 24
It took ages to find a pic without the brand plastered all over it, if you had one I bet you lost the little ejectee!

10a
Fully shelled crab with a condiment (5)
RAITA; Remove the shell from cRAb and wITh in the clue and add the A from the clue, for an Indian condiment of cucumber and mint in yoghurt RAITA

11a
Plant seed endlessly? Billion times (7)
GERBERA; Most of a seed from which the plant springs GERM, an abbreviation of Billion B, and a geological time period ERA. The Gerbera or Transvaal Daisy
Gerbera jamesonii Mega Revolution™ Series (Gerbera Daisy)There were plenty of these at Beninbrough Hall Gardens yesterday but I can’t filter them out from the riot of other plants so a generic google image will have to do

12a
 Got uneasy initially backing Mercury in Queen, perhaps (6)
CAUGHT; The initial letter of uneasy U and a reversal of the chemical symbol of Mercury Hg becomes GH. in the (female) pet that Queen suggests CA-T.  CA(U-GH)T or got a disease perhaps
A topical surface when they have just announced the sale of Freddie Mercury’s Art collection
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/2023/08/12/mary-austin-interview-freddie-mercury-home-auction-tour/

15a
Copper is one of those fellows accepted in European grants (8)
ELEMENTS; E for European, and grants permission LETS, around some fellows MEN, Copper is one (as is Mercury)

16a
City where we see ladies or gents cycling (4)
OSLO; Informal facilities for the easement of ladies or gents LOOS, cycle two letters from front to back to become the capital city of Norway OSLO

19a
Stray dog dropping tail (4)
ROVE; A common name for a pet dog ROVER, loses its tail to become to wander or stray

20a
Uncertainty aboard the French vessel for vital period (8)
LIFESPAN; One of the ways the French say the LE, and the vessel you use for cooking PAN, around conditional uncertainties (IFS and buts) being the period you remain vital LIFESPAN

23a
Poet penning piece in centre of Canberra (6)
BROOKE; A chess piece ROOK, penned by the central two letters of the Australian capital CanBErra

If I should die, think only this of me:

That there’s some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;



24a
Spooner’s swanky glove that’s found by stage (4,3)
MOSH PIT; A relatively easy spoonerism today. A place for energetic dancing close to the stage, How the Reverend Spooner may refer to a swanky (fingerless) glove  POSH MITT, and swap the initial sounds for the place closet to the stage where headbangers go crazy

26a
Struggles to contain constant sins (5)
VICES; To struggle in rivalry VIES contains the constant C in this equation E=MC2 Energy = Mass X The speed of Light Squared


28a
Counter back against family’s tirades (9)
DIATRIBES; To back or assist AID is reversed (counter) DIA against an aggregate of families forming a community TRIBES. Diatribes or tirades

29a
Overseers great in number having negative effects (15)
SUPERINTENDENTS; A synonym of great, smashing SUPER, IN from the clue, a specific number TEN, and the negative effects of hitting something with your car perhaps DENTS

 

Down

1d Musician composed zero reggae (6,4)
GEORGE EZRA; I am supposed to hint the first and last across and down but he is a straightforward anagram  of ZERO REGGAE, so I will settle for a link that doesn’t plaster the answer all over the place
https://youtube.com/shorts/YKRGgf8Db1M?feature=share


2d
Back in house, mature partygoer entertaining half-cut beer enthusiast (5,6)
EAGER BEAVER; The back letter of house E, to mature or get older AGE, and a partygoer who attends mass gatherings of people under the influence of bright flashing lights and Ecstasy RAVER, around the first half of BEer. Put all that Lego together and you should have an enthusiastic and industrious rodent EAGER BEAVER


3d
Made smart call circumventing a trap that’s set up (8)
NEATENED; To call for or require NEED, around (circumventing), A from the clue and a reversal (that’s set up) of a trap NET becomes TEN


4d
Rejects fast dismissed by talent scouts, unfortunately (8)
OUTCASTS; Dismiss the fast that Christians celebrate before Easter LENT, from TAlent SCOUTS and anagram the rest (unfortunately) for some rejects or OUTCASTS


5d
Boil green cabbage at start in school lesson (6)
DECOCT; A school lesson that we probably used to call wood or metalworking DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY, is abbreviated to two letters DT, it goes around a “green” prefix ECO, and the initial letter of cabbage C. DECOCT a transitive verb meaning To prepare by boiling


6d
Audio device connecting two parts of plant (6)
EARBUD; The useful part of wheat  the EAR, or similar plants and the rudimentary shoot of a plant BUD, combineto be the small audio devices that go in rather than over the ears


7d
Reportedly evasive fish (3)
KOI; A homophone (reportedly) of evasive or shy, COY becomes KOI a type of goldfish or carp found in ponds and aquaria


8d
Way bar area fills (4)
ROAD; A bar or pole ROD, contains A for area


13d
Bed-wetter’s denial? (8,3)
HOSEPIPE BAN; The denial of using copious amounts of water on flower or vegetable beds during a period of drought, A quite brilliant all-in-one.
I am sure that with our prevailing weather the water companies should do more to prevent the copious leaks that years of underinvestment have caused


14d
Contest is arranged to draw in right players (10)
CORNETISTS; An anagram (arranged)  of CONTEST IS and R for right for the Brass musicians who play Cornets


17d
Fervour around mass campaign for computer program (8)
FIRMWARE; An abbreviation of mass M, and a prolonged military campaign WAR, surrounded by some fervour or FIRE, gives us the software or similar program that is a more or less permanent and unerasable part of a computer’s memory FIRMWARE


18d
Revolutionary leader USA empowered — not totally deliberate (8)
MEASURED; (Revolutionary… not totally) indicate a reverse lurker hidden in three words of the clue


21d
Hunting beast exposed gruesome wound (6)
MOUSER; Remove the outer letters of g(RUESOM)e (exposed)  and anagram what remains (wound) for the hunting beast that helps control rodents


22d
Journalist back on port becomes numb (6)
DEADEN; A reversal (back) of our usual journalist ED becomes DE, and a port in Yemen ADEN


25d
Birds keep moving down south (4)
AVES; A synonym of keep SAVE, moves S for south down the order until you get the plural noun for birds as a class of vertebrates


27d
Catch duck missing from enclosure (3)
COP; An enclosure for hens perhaps COOP,  loses one of the letters that duck represents O a “fair COP” capture or catch

 

That’s all Folks…

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