Toughie 1022

Toughie No 1022 by Warbler

Makin’ Whoopee

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

Warbler gives us an easy but, as ever, enjoyable start to the Toughie week.

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Across

1a    Elton John, for example, gets a rousing hand back East (5,4)
{STAGE NAME} – an anagram (rousing) of GETS A followed by a hand or crew member reversed (back) and E(ast)

8a    Investigators should go through with it (4-5,4)
{FINE-TOOTH COMB} – investigators should go through a crime scene with this to try to find small shreds of evidence

It was all that Bill Bailey had when he was thrown out!

11a    Ultimately swindler employs tricks (5)
{RUSES} – the final letter (ultimately) of swindleR followed by a verb meaning employs

12a    Australian poll’s in the future (5)
{AHEAD} – A(ustralian) followed by a poll, in the sense of what is counted during a poll

13a    Hangman‘s craft? (5)
{KETCH} – the surname of Jack, the famous hangman and a small two-masted sailing vessel

16a    Northern Croat performing as singer (6)
{CANTOR} – an anagram (performing) of N(orthern) CROAT – as well as being the leader of the singing in a church, it’s the surname of Eddie, the singer who was famous for songs like “Makin’ Whoopee”, “If You Knew Susie” and “Ma! He’s Makin’ Eyes at Me”

17a    American riots disturbed Duke for one (6)
{ARISTO} – A(merican) followed by an anagram (disturbed) of RIOTS

18a    Private hotel on outskirts of Exeter (5)
{INNER} – a hotel followed by the outer letters (outskirts) of ExeteR

19a    Vocalist’s token instrument (6)
{CYMBAL} – sounds like (vocalist’s) a token

20a    Finally digested 18’s meal (6)
{DINNER) – the final letter of digesteD followed by the answer to 18 across

21a    John’s vacuous poetry, a bit crazy (5)
{LOOPY} – a slang word for a toilet or john followed by PoetrY without its inner letters (vacuous)

24a    Nearly naked ladette’s beginning to wreck joint (5)
{ANKLE} – an anagram (to wreck) of most of (nearly) NAKE(D) and the initial letter (beginning) of Ladette

26a    Carry money, a respected thing (5)
{TOTEM} – a verb meaning to carry followed by M(oney)

27a    Inquire as to name changes by electronic form for use in statistical comparison (13)
{QUESTIONNAIRE} – an anagram (changes) of INQUIRE AS TO N(ame) followed by E(lectronic)

28a    They remind one of some English men on tour around capital of Trinidad (9)
{MEMENTOES} – an anagram (on tour) of SOME E(nglish) MEN around the initial letter (capital) of Trinidad

Down

2d    Hardy girl, holding top of roan’s mane (5)
{TRESS} – the eponymous heroine of a novel by Thomas Hardy around (holding) the initial letter (top) of Roan

3d    Trees conceal old track (6)
{GROOVE} – a small group of trees around (conceal) O(ld)

4d    Egg with touches of red in centre becomes kind of acid (6)
{NITRIC} – the egg of a human head louse followed by the initial letters (touches) of Red In Centre

5d    A second tea or coffee (5)
{MOCHA} – a second or brief interval of time followed by some tea

6d    Bury the hatchet and skis splashed with paint (4,3,4,2)
{KISS AND MAKE UP} – an anagram (splashed) of AND SKIS followed by the kind of paint that is slapped on by many women (4-2)

7d    They take off more points as boxer finally reels (13)
{IMPERSONATORS} – an anagram (reels) of MORE POINTS AS and the final letter of boxeR

9d    Formal dress with fine diamond on film (5-4)
{FROCK-COAT} – F(ine) followed by a slang word for a large diamond and a film or layer

10d    Papers with small spread written up about ordinary characters with a message (9)
{IDEOGRAMS} – a two-letter word for papers or credentials followed by the reversal (written up in a down clue) of S(mall) and a product often spread on bread around O(rdinary)

13d    Marine creatures run into prey (5)
{KRILL} – R(un) inside some prey

14d    Armoured vehicle not quite ready that follows Sierra (5)
{TANGO} – most of (not quite) an armoured vehicle followed by an adjective meaning ready or functioning properly gives the letter that follows Sierrra in the NATO Phonetic alphabet

15d    Oliver, say, is brave (5)
{HARDY} – the surname of Oliver, Stan Laurel’s comedy partner, for example (say)

22d    Not on reserve duty (6)
{OFFICE} – the opposite of (not) ON followed by reserve or coolness

23d    Work out with energy, taking time to produce a heavenly body (6)
{PLANET} – a verb meaning to work out or design followed by E(nergy) and T(ime)

25d    Follow, without question, Queen as ruler on a regular basis (5)
{ENSUE} – the odd letters (on a regular basis) of three words in the clue, excluding (without) the Q(uestion)

26d    Swap diamonds for clubs in outline (5)
{TRADE] – exchange D(iamonds) for C(lubs) in a verb meaning to outline or sketch

I hope you enjoyed the specially selected recordings – one from 1902 and the other from 1962.