Toughie 355

Toughie No 355 by Campbell

A Festival of Fire and Vampyres!

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

A entertaining, if straightforward, puzzle from Campbell. A certain amount of General Knowledge is required, but most of this will be familiar to regular solvers.

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Across

7a    Circle deadheaded rose, thorny (7)
{SPINOSE} – to turn round in a circle together with (R)OSE (deadheaded rose) gives a synonym for thorny

8a    Orderly’s codeword (7)
{UNIFORM} – a word meaning orderly is also a code word from the NATO phonetic alphabet that is also used in radio communication

10a    Bar, place abroad stocking soft fruit (4-5)
{CRAB-APPLE} – an anagram (abroad) of BAR PLACE placed around P (piano, soft) gives a wild fruit – we have a tree full of these in our front garden

11a    Grandma’s sculpture? (5)
{MOSES} – a double definition – this Grandma was a renowned American folk artist or a sculpture by Michelangelo

12a    Oceanic bird’s occasional visit to New York (5)
{NODDY} – to get this oceanic bird of the tern family put a word meaning occasional inside (visit) New York

13a    Film of a lake in European country (9)
{AUSTRALIA} – actually two different films, made in 1989 and 2008 – you find the name by inserting A L(ake) inside a European country

15a    Body of troops ordered to carry equipment (7)
{BRIGADE} – a body of troops is constructed from a word meaning ordered placed around (carry) equipment

17a    Novelist and daughter ahead of disorderly crowd (7)
{DRABBLE} – to get this novelist put D(aughter) in front of a disorderly crowd – possibly Gooners!

18a    A fortune’s blown exposing vampire (9)
{NOSFERATU} – an anagram (blown) of A FORTUNE’S gives this film about vampires (or even vampyres)

20a    King’s ambassador and staff (5)
{HEROD} – this reviled biblical king is a charade of a title given to an ambassador and a staff

21a    A symbol of fertility in the outskirts of Nairobi? (5)
{NANDI} – to get this Hindu bull which symbolizes fertility simply spell out the letters at each end (outskirts) of NairobI

23a    Paul and Hayley, mostly, organised a festival (2-5-2)
{UP-HELLY-AA} – an anagram (organised) of PAUL and most of HAYLE(Y) gives this annual festival held at Lerwick in the Shetland Islands – I might have struggled with this if I hadn’t seen it before; we must be due a return visit from the (unrelated) Britannia Coconutters!

24a    Small surviving navigational instrument (7)
{SEXTANT} – combine S(mall) and a word meaning surviving to get this navigational instrument

25a    Doorkeeper flying to Syria (7)
{OSTIARY} – this church doorkeeper is an anagram (flying?) of TO SYRIA

Down

1d           Random strikes around newly-constructed NI dams (3-3-4)
{HIT-AND-MISS} – a hyphenated word meaning random is built up from strikes around an anagram (newly-constructed) of NI DAMS

2d           Ring after noon and attempt to engage a public official (6)
{NOTARY} – put O (ring) after N(oon) and follow it with an attempt around (to engage) A to get a public official

3d           What restaurants in Tokyo do as a memento? (8)
{KEEPSAKE} – split this memento as (4,4) and it could be what restaurants in Tokyo do

4d           Imprisonment of the Parisian on ship (6)
{DURESS} – a charade of DU (of, French / Parisian) RE (on, concerning) and the ubiquitous Steam Ship

5d           Upset Italian girl locking up a liqueur (3,5)
{TIA MARIA} – reverse (upset) IT(alian) then follow it with a girl’s name with A in between (locking up) to get this liqueur

6d           Waterloo Station’s architect (4)
{LOOS} – the name of a Czech-born Austrian architect is hidden inside the first two words

7d           Back crazy supporting acts in vaudeville (6,7)
{SECOND BANANAS} – combine synonyms for to back and mad to get these vaudeville support acts

9d           Married lady’s worried about son in old soap (3,5,5)
{MRS DALE’S DIARY} – an anagram (worried) of MARRIED LADY’S is placed around S(on) to get this old radio soap about the life of a married lady – excellent surface reading, but probably a bit difficult for younger solvers

14d         Disrespect shown over international symbol of freedom (7,3)
{LIBERTY CAP} – combine disrespect, in the sense of familiarity, with (over, as this is a down clue) the trophy awarded to an international sportsman to get this symbol of freedom – Marianne, the emblem of the French Republic, is often shown wearing one

16d         Cinerama developed in US (8)
{AMERICAN} – an anagram (developed) of CINERAMA gives someone who lives in the US

17d         Infantryman’s son after money (8)
{DOUGHBOY} – this United States infantryman, especially one in the First World War, is built up from a lad (son) after a colloquial term for money

19d         Perception shown by university in a large town (6)
{ACUITY} – a word meaning perception, or sharpness of mind, is built up by putting U(niversity) in A and a large town

20d         Healthy drinking it, a mineral (6)
{HALITE} – put a word often associated with being healthy around IT to get rock salt

22d         Ten falling into trap immediately after (4)
{NEXT} – put the Roman numeral for ten inside a trap to catch butterflies or fish to get a word meaning immediately after

As Digby mentions below, this is a toughie with a small t – unless the films, festivals or radio soaps were unfamiliar to you.