Toughie 486

The 2010 Toughie by Micawber: No 486

Not so much a crossword puzzle, more a topical news quiz!

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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****

A candidate for, or possibly the, Crossword of the Year. Micawber has managed to cram a number of topical news references into this superb puzzle. The blue highlighter has been used extensively today!

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.

Across

1a    Shake one’s booty in place where miners were confined? The lowest of the low (4,6)
{ROCK BOTTOM} – three definitions for the price of two! – synonyms for to shake and booty, as demonstrated by Beyoncé, a description of where the Chilean miners were confined and the main definition “the lowest of the low”

6a    Head of Wikileaks in examination of strike on Pakistani valley (4)
{SWAT} – put W (head of Wikileaks) inside one of those much-maligned Standard Assessment Tests to get a valley in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan, (or a team of American law enforcement officers who might be attacking said valley)

10a    Member in (primarily) Conservative Government… (5)
{CLEGG} – put a member, or limb, inside C(onservative) G(overnment) to get a member of the Coalition Government

11a    …which follows party holding power making heavy weather of things (9)
{LABOURING} – a charade of the previous party in power, IN and G(overnment) gives a word that describes their term in office

12a    Spill affecting oil sector — nothing’s going to be more damaging (8)
{COSTLIER} – an anagram (spill affecting) of (O)IL SECTOR without one O (nothing’s going) gives an adjective meaning more damaging

13a    Ignoring inner circle, Pope gets into second half of tour — it’s stimulating! (5)
{UPPER} – put PPE (P(O)PE, ignoring inner circle) inside UR (second half of toUR) to get a stimulating drug

15a    Alternative Vote caused trouble but proved useful (7)
{AVAILED} – a charade of AV (Alternative Vote) and a verb meaning caused trouble gives a different verb meaning proved useful

17a    Copy voter’s final switch to bring in right (7)
{ELECTRO} – the abbreviated form of a copy made by coating a mould with copper is constructed by taking another word for a voter and bringing the final R(ight) in one position

18a    G Brown endlessly left to get embarrassed (4,3)
{GROW RED} – start with G and (B)ROW(N) (Brown endlessly) and then add a term for the political left to derive a phrase meaning to get embarrassed

21a    Cheryl, as far as Ashley’s concerned, was being dramatic and made demands (7)
{EXACTED} – a former partner is followed by a verb meaning was being dramatic to give a different verb meaning made demands

23a    Obama’s right-hand man rejected, butt of electorate’s anger (5)
{PEEVE} – reverse (rejected) a typical Americanism for the Vice President and add E (butt of electoratE) to get a word meaning to anger

24a    It’s as designed — Brown trapped in ‘I agree with Nick’ (8)
{SATANIST} – put an anagram (designed) of IT’S AS around (trapped in) a type of brown to get someone who is a follower of Old Nick

27a    It’s inevitable Mumsnet loses head, going mad about Miliband and Balls? (5,4)
{NEEDS MUST} – a short phrase meaning “it’s inevitable) is constructed by putting an anagram (going mad) of (M)UMSNET without the initial M (loses head) around the plural of the forenames of Miliband and Balls – living proof that two ‘Eds are not better than one!

28a    United no good after Wayne Rooney’s initials extracted with difficulty (5)
{WRUNG} – put U(nited) N(o) and G(ood) after WR (Wayne Rooney’s initials) to get a word meaning extracted with difficulty

29a    Band of volcanic matter going past Sweden (4)
{SASH} – this band is created by putting volcanic matter after S(weden)

30a    In revolt about student debts, Liberal’s surrounded: ‘Rotten liar out!’ (10)
{REBELLIOUS} – an adjective meaning In revolt is built up from RE (about), L (student) and some debts around (surrounded) (LI)BE(RA)L after removing, separately, the letters of LIAR (rotten liar out) – note the anagram indicator rotten being used to show that the letters of liar are not contiguous in Liberal

Down

1d    Form of torture reported in three quarters of Iraq, according to Americans (4)
{RACK} – a medieval form of torture sounds like (reported) RAQ (three quarters of IRAQ), when pronounced by Americans

2d    Cameron reformed expensive fiddle (7)
{CREMONA} – an anagram (reformed) of CAMERON gives an expensive violin

3d    Leads from broadcaster inadvertently picked up someone expressing prejudiced views (5)
{BIGOT} – the initial letters of (leads from) Broadcaster and Inadvertently followed by a word meaning picked up or understood gives someone expressing prejudiced views

4d    Counted cost of big bomb (7)
{TALLIED} – a word meaning counted the cost is a charade of big, as in high, and the kind of bomb found in Afghanistan

5d    Chief taxman robs one outrageously (7)
{OSBORNE} – the head of the Treasury is an anagram (outrageously) of ROBS ONE

7d    Mistreat cat, say, and we’ll get kind of cross (7)
{WHIPPET} – split as (4,3) this could mean to mistreat a cat, the whole is a breed of dog developed from a cross between a greyhound and a spaniel or a terrier

8d    Man putting golf, during row, before wife’s love leads to overblown divorce settlement (5,5)
{TIGER WOODS} – this man putting a golf ball is created by putting G(olf) inside (during) a row and then following it with W(ife), O (love) and the initial letters of (leads) to Overblown Divorce Settlement

9d    Instrument with very easy sound (for some) rising in the back of the throat? (8)
{VUVUZELA} – this very unmusical instrument, popularised during the 2010 World Cup, is created from V(ery) followed by a homophone (sound) of easy reversed (rising in a down clue) inside the fleshy conical body suspended from the palate over the back part of the tongue

14d    Bags with lots of pockets mean more than one place for al-Qaeda to conceal bomb (5,5)
{CARGO PANTS} – the definition is trousers (bags) with lots of pockets – thanks to Qix for pointing out that terrorists have used each word in the answer in order to smuggle explosives!

16d    ‘Big Society’, for starters, should entail generosity (8)
{LARGESSE} – a charade of a word meaning big, S(ociety) and the initial letters (for starters) of Should Entail gives a word meaning generosity

19d    Second of overs thrown — penalty introduced for pair of cricketers (7)
{OPENERS} – drop the second letter of O(V)ERS and replace it with PEN(alty) to get a pair of cricketers

20d    Opposition from French surrounding important Sarkozy plan starts trade union rising (7)
{DISPUTE} – to get a word meaning opposition put the French for from around (surrounding) the initial letters (starts) of Important Sarkozy Plan and TU (Trade Union) reversed (rising)

21d    Give peerage to John Prescott finally — it’ll mostly, primarially exemplificate upholding of English? (7)
{ENTITLE} – a word meaning to give a peerage to is built up from NT (JohN PrescotT finally). Most of IT’L(L) and E (primarially Exemplificate) all preceded by (up holding) E(nglish) – is primarially a mispelling of primarily, or is it deliberate?

22d    Rome’s defence in trial over party in which minors are admitted (7)
{TESTUDO} – a wheeled shelter used by Roman soldiers under attack from above (or a similar shelter made by joining shields) is created by putting a trial and a party around a certificate given to a film that people of any age are allowed to see

25d    Post union strike row — compromise deal terms (5)
{NEWEL} – the definition is an upright post at the end or corner of a stair handrail – thanks to honestjohn for pointing out that the answer is derived from the final letters (terms) of the middle five words in the clue

26d    Odds on Afghans in firing ranges? (4)
{AGAS} – the odd letters of AfGhAnS give these cooking ranges

Thanks to all for their help in completing the wordplays that I missed. What a puzzle to wind-up the Toughie year!