Sunday Toughie 92 by Robyn
Full Review by Gazza
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The Puzzle was published on 29th October 2023
Thanks to Robyn for a thoroughly enjoyable puzzle (I don’t think that he’s capable of producing a dull one).
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.
Across Clues
1a The French with money put up a bit of their capital (5,7)
LATIN QUARTER: assemble a French definite article, a slang word for money and a verb to put up or billet.
9a Legally prevent stimulants and cannabis going around (5)
ESTOP: the abbreviation for multiple Ecstasy pills and the reversal of an informal word for cannabis.
10a Energy-filled, rich pals dancing round (9)
SPHERICAL: an anagram (dancing) of RICH PALS containing the abbreviation for energy.
11a City‘s fabulous deliveryman with case of Rioja for us (5,5)
SANTA CLARA: start with the fabulous deliveryman at Christmas and replace the ‘us’ with the outer letters of Rioja.
12a See 21a
13a Casual labourer not at work, initially (7)
OFFHAND: a synonym of labourer preceded by an adverb meaning ‘not at work’.
15a Wretched Democrat was a turncoat (7)
DRATTED: the abbreviation for Democrat and a verb meaning ‘was a turncoat’.
17a Hunt down and eat foie gras, say, drinking Bordeaux? (7)
PREDATE: what foie gras is a repugnant example of contains what Bordeaux is an example of in the wine aisle.
19a When schools work, engaging current caretaker (7)
INTERIM: when schools work (2,4) containing the symbol for electric current.
21a/12a Park in Jersey (4,4)
PULL OVER: if you remove the space between the two words you have a type of jersey.
22a Protection for sportsperson playing home cup tie (10)
MOUTHPIECE: an anagram (playing) of HOME CUP TIE.
25a Like an automatic response from setter tucking into dessert before noon (9)
PAVLOVIAN: insert the subjective pronoun the setter uses for himself into the name of a dessert named after a Russian ballerina. Finally append the abbreviation for noon.
26a Dabbler following Saint Nick (5)
STEAL: a dabbler (a type of duck which feeds by moving its bill around below the water – thanks BRB) follows the single-letter abbreviation for saint.
27a Heroic sailor one pushed back in the drink (5,7)
GRAND MARNIER: an adjective meaning heroic or monumental and a synonym for sailor with the Roman numeral for one moved towards the rear.
Down Clues
1d Zonked out in empty London airport (5)
LUTON: an anagram (zonked) of OUT inside the outer letters of London.
2d Big cheese and better crackers, mostly (3,6)
TOP BANANA: a verb to better and an informal adjective meaning crackers (in the sense of crazy) without its final letter.
3d Settled comfortably in finest lederhosen (7)
NESTLED: hidden.
4d Showed that lady second-hand clothes (7)
USHERED: an adjective meaning second-hand contains a pronoun meaning ‘that lady’.
5d Run twice round area close to village common? Far from it (4)
RARE: two occurrences of the cricket abbreviation for run contain the abbreviation for area. Finish with the closing letter of village.
6d One might dig up old wine, then go off climbing (9)
EXCAVATOR: string together a prefix meaning old, a type of Spanish wine and the reversal (climbing in a down clue) of a verb to go off or go bad.
7d Encouragement to set off fires (4,2)
LETS GO: the introduction of an apostrophe would make the answer a phrase encouraging one’s companions to set off.
8d Ruddy American abandoning part of his country (6)
FLORID: remove an abbreviation for American from a US state.
14d Meat that’s given away for a glutton (4-5)
FREE-LIVER: cryptically, with a space replacing the hyphen, this could mean a type of meat that’s given away.
16d Fresh paint, kind of white for starters (9)
ANTIPASTI: an anagram (fresh) of PAINT followed by a kind of white wine.
17d Work to cut litter, perhaps unwanted ads (3-3)
POP-UPS: our usual abbreviation for an artistic work gets inserted into what could be a litter.
18d Some git potentially displaying character flaw (7)
EGOTISM: an anagram (potentially) of SOME GIT.
19d Someone chanting right behind a fan of Newcastle that’s gutted (7)
INTONER: the abbreviation for right follows a preposition meaning ‘a fan of’ and the outer letters of Newcastle.
20d Like a little lamb Mary heartlessly fed cooked leek (6)
MEEKLY: the outer letters of Mary contain an anagram (cooked) of LEEK.
23d Chieftain in Middle East stopping revelry, periodically (5)
EMEER: insert the abbreviation for Middle East into the even letters of revelry.
24d Rent in which side of town? (4)
TORN: split your answer 1,2,1 to get the choice of which side of TowN.
Thanks for the review Gazza