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.
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
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…
Thanks for the review John.