Toughie 869

Toughie No 869 by Shamus

Hints and tips by Bufo

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

A steady solve with no hold-ups. The only minor problem I had was in getting my head round and unravelling some of the longer clues. The setter gets low marks for conciseness

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Across

7a    Is our pub’s reason for disorder showing no end of hubbub this? (14)
{UPROARIOUSNESS} An anagram (for disorder) of IS OUR PUB’S REASON with the letter B (end of hubbub) omitted. The whole clue acts as a definition of sorts

9a    Segmented item shot on grass from the east surrounding island (10)
{GRAPEFRUIT} A fruit consisting of segments = clustered iron shot that scatters when fired + a reversal of ‘grass’ round I (island)

11a    Club protected by pair once (4)
{IRON} Hidden in pair once

12a    Complete
division in court? (3)
{END} 2 meanings: to complete/one of the two halves of a tennis court

13a    Turn to take in food say held back — this food? (10)
{VEGEBURGER} ‘To turn’ round a reversal of ‘food’ and EG (say) gives food for the non-carnivores

16a    Catch special insight by unknown character (4)
{ESPY} ‘To catch sight of’ = an abbreviation for a special insight + Y (unknown character)

17a    At college, charges will be higher (7)
{UPWARDS} ‘At college’ + charges (children you have care of)

18a    Fool perhaps putting hand in front of tailless dog (7)
{PUDDING} An informal word for a hand + a wild dog with the last letter removed. The word for a hand was new to me

20a    Pooch severing leg from meat (4)
{MUTT} Remove an alternative word for leg (in cricket) from meat from a sheep

21a    Efficiency shown by favourite replacing male in start (10)
{COMPETENCE} Take a word meaning ‘to start’ and replace M (male) by PET

23a    Misfortune in work after time is wasted (3)
{ILL} Remove T (time) from ‘to work (on the land)’

24a    Correct legislative body relocating 50% of its membership eastwards (4)
{EDIT} ‘To correct’ = a legislative body with the first two letters moved one position to the right (eastwards)

25a    A new detective with net spread about media boss’s past (10)
{ANTECEDENT} A + N (new) + detective + an anagram (spread) of NET round ED (media boss)

28a    A lecher getting excited with scant hint of right embracing daughter? (6-8)
{CRADLE-SNATCHER} An anagram (excited) of A LECHER SCANT round D (daughter). Again the whole clue provides a definition of sorts

Down

1d    Doubt mostly about a European broadcaster with power gained in series of calls? It’s consumed by loads (7-7)
{QUARTER-POUNDER} Take a 5-letter word for ‘doubt’ and remove the last letter. Inside this you put A + an Irish broadcasting service + P (power) inside a series of calls made by a doctor, postman, etc. This gives you a food item sold by Macdonald’s and thus eaten by loads of people (but not by me)

2d    Mastery in set employee (4)
{GRIP} 2 meanings: mastery/an employee on a film set

3d    Neglected issue with a celebrated poem (4)
{WAIF} W (with) + A + the title of the poem once voted Britain’s favourite in a nationwide poll

4d    Reveal disreputable resort concealing a lot of ugly ground (7)
{DIVULGE} A disreputable resort goes round an anagram (ground) of UGL (a lot of ugly)

5d    Newsroom employee brought up worry over unionist linked to extremely grotesque and evasive conduct (10)
{SUBTERFUGE} A newspaper employee + a reversal (brought up) of ‘to worry’ + U (unionist) + GE (first and last letters of grotesque)

6d    How one might describe lag before advantage in batsman’s unintended shot? (6,4)
{INSIDE EDGE} A word describing a lag (prisoner) + advantage

8d    Retail location providing criminal information on rugby player (8,6)
{SHOPPING CENTRE} ‘Providing information about a fellow criminal’ + a rugby player from the back division

10d    Old Fabian overlooking Western decline (3)
{EBB} Remove W (Western) from the surname of a founder of the Fabian Society

14d    EU tax cited in corrupt form? No scope for uncertainty with it (10)
{EXACTITUDE} An anagram (in corrupt form) of EU TAX CITED

15d    Director confronted by broken rule and going round city describing blackmarket activity? (10)
{UNDECLARED} An anagram (broken) of RULE AND + D (Director) goes round the first part of the postcode for the City of London. The answer describes income that you don’t tell the taxman about. I don’t like D for Director!

19d    Bar creator encountered in hospital with touch of alcoholism (7)
{SMETANA} The name of a composer (bar creator) = ‘encountered’ in a hospital + A (first letter of alcoholism)

22d    Restrict Asian by the sound of it (3)
{TIE} A homophone of a native of the country that once was called Siam

26d    Attractive order to reduce taking of a drug? (4)
{CUTE} When split (3,1) it could be an order to reduce intake of a particular drug

27d    Writer in death all oddly discovered (4)
{DAHL} The odd letters of DeAtH aLl

Writing the report took far longer and much more thought than solving the puzzle