Toughie 1162

Toughie No 1162 by Giovanni

Religious Instruction

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

Giovanni provides some religious knowledge in today’s puzzle – a minor hold-up in the north east corner was my only problem.

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Across

1a    A third identity concealed by syndicate (6)
{RIDING} – a former administrative division of Yorkshire, of which there were three, is derived from ID(entity) inside (concealed by) a syndicate or cartel

4a    Familiar OT book returning saint carried around Surrey town (3,5)
{TWO KINGS} – this “familiar” form of a book in the Old testament is almost invariably written with a number rather than the word for that number, as here, – S(ain)T is reversed (returning) around a town in Surrey

9a    Pulpy stuff available from flower club (6)
{POMACE} – an Italian river (flower) followed by a club of the kind once wielded by Michael Heseltine

10a    Stage show about one of the 4 in building (8)
{STACKING} – reverse a famous Lloyd Webber musical and follow it with just one of the answer to 4 across

11a    One condemns squalid quarters used by wild cat, right? (9)
{DENOUNCER} – squalid quarters followed by a wild cat and R(ight)

13a    Is it not common, the thing behind the bar? (5)
{INNIT} – a common way of saying “is it not” is derived by putting a two-letter word for a thing after a bar or hostelry

14a    Two Conservatives worried by country — it’s one thing after the other (13)
{CONCATENATION} – a three-letter abbreviation for Conservative followed by a single-letter one, a verb meaning worried and a country

17a    Possibility of thin gnu where pursuers operate (7-6)
{HUNTING GROUND} – the second word could be an instruction to generate THIN GNU as an anagram of the first word

21a    Guile about a lot of things? (5)
{CRAFT} – the single-letter abbreviation of the Latin for about followed by a word meaning a whole lot of things

23a    Ambassador trounced article opposing the official line (9)
{HERETICAL} – the usual abbreviation for an ambassador followed by an anagram (trounced) of ARTICLE

24a    Writer needing time, keeping on after work from rival (8)
{OPPONENT} – a writing implement and T(ime) around (keeping) ON and preceded by the usual two-letter word for a musical work

25a    Quarrel about unethical use of animal material? It’s groovy! (6)
{FURROW} – split as (3,3) this could be a quarrel about the unethical use of animal material

26a    Very hard one to complete, outwardly brill? (8)
{FIENDISH} – I (one) and a verb meaning to complete inside the type of creature of which a brill is an example

27a    Bad spell that’s reduced London football team? Gosh! (6)
{WHAMMY} – reduce the name of a London football team from (4,3) to (1,3) and add an interjection meaning gosh

Down

1d    A spider in trouble — ‘e disappears in fast flowing water (6)
{RAPIDS} – an anagram (in trouble) of A SPID(E)R without (disappears) the E

2d    Religious person  in the WI (9)
{DOMINICAN} – two definitions – a religious or person bound by monastic vows (thanks Prolixic) and a native of a republic in the West Indies (not the Women’s Institute!)

3d    With absence of churchgoers initially change part of service (7)
{NOCTURN} – a two-letter word meaning “with absence of” followed by the initial letter of Churchgoers and a verb meaning to change direction

5d    Fatwa, terrible, may be seen as such a sign (5,6)
{WATER BEARER} – fatWA TERrible could be described as this, giving a sign of the zodiac

6d    One of the ancestral spirits, thousand over a huge country (7)
{KACHINA} – the metric abbreviation for a thousand followed by the A from the clue and a huge country – easy enough to follow the wordplay once a few checking letters are in place, Chambers does the rest

7d    Name given to Scottish child not born in a Scottish town (5)
{NAIRN} – N(ame) followed by a Scottish child without (not) the initial B(orn)

8d    Audibly making reference to an observation (8)
{SIGHTING} – sounds like (audibly) a verb meaning making reference to

12d    Work leaders may have gone out with hard cash but no love (6-5)
{CHARGE HANDS} – an anagram (out) of G(O)NE with HARD CASH without (no) the O (love)

15d    Impropriety around Christmas time? Nothing odd! (9)
{INDECORUM} – a phrase that could mean around Christmas time (2,3) followed by O (nothing) and an adjective meaning odd

16d    Maybe put a tick against what playwright sounds like? (5,3)
{CHECK OFF} – sounds like a Russian playwright

18d    Making some complaint, one definitely sounded like the vicar? (7)
{INTONED} – hidden (making some) inside the clue is this verb meaning reciting with little rise and fall of the pitch of the voice, just like the vicar

19d    Story book under domestic fixture I pulled out (7)
{UNTRUTH} – a book of the Old testament preceded by a domestic fixture, of the kind often found in the kitchen, without (pulled out) the I

20d    Coarse times full of beastly sounds (6)
{BLOWSY} – a two-letter word meaning times, as in 2 times 3 equals 6, around the beastly sounds made by cattle

22d    Wood that’s mottled first to be discarded (5)
{APPLE} – this type of wood is derived from an adjective meaning mottled or marked with spots by dropping (to be discarded) its initial (first) letter

Not a bad start to the Toughie week.