Toughie 1071

Toughie No 1071 by Giovanni

A Lot of Different Notes but No Dohs

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **

I thought that this was pretty straightforward with not a lot of laughs. Do let us know how you fared.

Across Clues

5a  Catholic about to be presented with willow staff for bishop (7)
{CROSIER} – reverse the abbreviation for a Roman Catholic and add a small willow tree. I’m more used to seeing the answer spelt with a ‘z’.

7a  Endorse party that gets stuck in ready to learn (5)
{ADOPT} – a party (the festive sort) goes inside an adjective meaning ready to learn or smart.

9a  Minister clever but not always? Fine! (6)
{CLERIC} – take the synonym for always away from clever, then add an old Irish word for a blood-fine paid by a murderer to the family of his victim.

10a  Academic garaging old car in Canada once? (8)
{DOMINION} – this was the status of Canada between 1867 and 1982. A member of the teaching staff at a university contains (garaging) O(ld) and a model of car.

11a  Like style of art somehow so clean and so ‘Latin’? (10)
{NEOCLASSIC} – an anagram (somehow) of SO CLEAN followed by the Latin word for so or thus.

13a  Type born at the outset to be cheat (4)
{BILK} – a verb to cheat by obtaining or withholding money fraudulently comes from an old-fashioned word for type or sort with B(orn) preceding it.

14a  Shame impostor is wicked — complete conversion needed (13)
{METAMORPHOSIS} – an anagram (is wicked) of SHAME IMPOSTOR makes a word that I always have difficulty in spelling.

16a  Note, note, note (4)
{FAME} – I’ve underlined the third word here, but the definition could equally well be the first. Put together two notes from tonic sol-fa.

17a  Officers change name in requirement for membership (10)
{SUBALTERNS} – a verb to change and N(ame) go inside what you need to cough up to renew your membership.

19a  Legal petitioner‘s humbug, left with ambition squashed (8)
{CLAIMANT} – a word for humbug or hypocrisy with L(eft) and an ambition or target contained (squashed) inside it.

20a  Diverted at Oxford? The reverse by Bullingdon Club type! (3,3)
{PUT OFF} – reverse an adverb meaning at university (Oxford being an example) and add the type of person allowed to join the Bullingdon Club.

22a  Son — someone funny or a pain? (5)
{SHOOT} – S(on) followed by an informal word for an hilarious person. I didn’t know that this word could be used as a noun for a type of pain but it’s there in the BRB.

23a  Operations in sudden move forward, taking line (7)
{SURGERY} – a sudden move forward or upswing is followed by a two-character abbreviation for line.

Down Clues

1d  Square or circle concealed in coat (4)
{FOUR} – conceal the circular letter inside an animal’s coat.

2d  Reject recording, having left before end (8)
{DISCLAIM} – a medium for recording followed by L(eft) and an end or target. ‘Left before end’ is virtually the same as the ‘left with ambition’ of 19a.

3d  River animal surfacing, finishing on the road? (6)
{TARMAC} – a charade of a river in East Anglia and a smallish animal with the whole lot reversed (surfacing, in a down clue).

4d  Jazz musician renders number with one in support (5,5)
{COUNT BASIE} – start with a word meaning number or tally and add a support or foundation with I (one) inside it.

ARVE Error: need id and provider

5d  Lady‘s companion with affection not very little (5)
{CHLOE} – the abbreviation for an honoured companion followed by a word meaning affection without the abbreviation for V(ery).

6d  Leftie is given commendations for what he does in Robin-Hood act? (13)
{REDISTRIBUTES} – the colourful description of a leftie followed by IS and commendations or testimonials.

8d  Cut charge for framing painting showing prince (7)
{TROILUS} – this is a mythological Greek prince. A word meaning charge or responsibility without its final T (cut) goes round (framing) a type of painting.

12d  Journalist, I cited Tory being corrupt (4,6)
{CITY EDITOR} – an anagram (being corrupt) of I CITED TORY.

14d  Disease that could create lameness, knocking out any number (7)
{MEASLES} – knock out the letter standing for an unspecified number from lameness and make an anagram (could create) of what’s left.

15d  Front of hotel priest has left — place to fly away from (8)
{HELIPORT} – string together the front letter of H(otel), an Old Testament priest and left on a ship.

17d  In short second year gets lean, thin (6)
{SCANTY} – a verb to lean or tilt goes between the abbreviations for second and year.

18d  Quick half-century, new opener (5)
{NIFTY} – start with a half-century and change the opening letter to N(ew).

21d  Be fruitful as side, according to report (4)
{TEEM} – this sounds like (according to report) a sporting side.

My favourite clue was 3d. How about you?

If you want a lot of laughs I recommend Paul’s puzzle in the Grauniad.