Toughie 1828

Toughie No 1828 by Giovanni

Hints and tips by Kitty

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

 

Hellooo, and a very Happy Tuesday to you all.  Your servant in all things hinty is as happy as one might expect of a kitty who recently caught a pigeon.  (Don’t be alarmed: the little creature flew in through the open door and found herself on the wrong side of the glass in a window display, and I simply wrapped her in a towel and saw her safely back out.  The poor thing probably flew in to escape the crowds of amorous males outside.)  I hope you are in good spirits also.

Today’s Giovanni did not at first grab me by the furballs with excitement, but it grew on me and I was purring by the end.  I’m not quite sure about difficulty: it took me less time than normal, but I was feeling unusually alert, able to concentrate and generally in the zone.  I think I shall leave the ratings at a bet-hedging average and let you have the final say.

The definitions are underlined in the clues below, and you’ll find the answers inside the PIGEON PIGEON PIGEON buttons.  The exclamation mark is not an imperative – click only if you wish to reveal all

 

Across

1a    Bit of fog around province to west of country hardly noticeable? (10)
MINIMALIST:  Some light fog surrounding a province of the UK and a country in West Africa, the former being to the left (west) of the latter

6a    The Parisian in charge of people in the pews? (4)
LAIC:  A French definite article and the usual abbreviation for in charge

9a    Transporter over sea, launch — yen in our country to board it (6,4)
FLYING BOAT:  Start with another word for launch (shares on the stock market, perhaps).  Inside this (to board it), insert the concatenation of Y(en), IN, and two letters for this country (unless you are in the province mentioned in 1a, in which case you might understandably be irked)

10a   AC/DC bishop is sound (4)
BIRR:  An abbreviation for something that AC/DC is slang for and the abbreviation for a bishop’s form of address

13a   Modern baddies about to achieve big-name status (7)
STARDOM:  A reversal (about) of an abbreviation of modern and some despicable people

15a   Tiny bit of food that has the same effect as onions? (6)
WEEPIE:  A Scottish word for small and some food (not usually pigeon these days) baked within (or under, according to Chambers, but I don’t wish to re-ignite what can be a heated debate) some pastry

16a   Edge shown by guitarist Brian in state of confusion (6)
MAYHEM:  Edge (noun or verb) follows the surname of a guitarist and defender of badgers

17a   We’re hit badly — distress possibly produced by fateful females (3,5,7)
THE WEIRD SISTERS:  Two adjacent anagrams, of WE’RE HIT (badly) and then of DISTRESS (possibly)

18a   Lout sank teeth into hairy little adventurer (6)
HOBBIT:  The first three letters of the answer are the lout (in a meaning that was new to me); they are followed by a verb to sink teeth into (like I didn’t do to the pigeon)

20a   Say ‘I’m so special’ to reveal it? (6)
EGOISM:  Say or for example, then an anagram (special) of I’M SO

21a   Encourage French art by French artist — no bad thing, English! (7)
ESPOUSE:  We start with a French word for are (art used in the archaic poetic sense – as in thou art – to mean are) and put this by a French artist (POUSsin) minus a transgression (3) (no bad thing), then add an abbreviation for English

22a   Challenge from the radicals rebuffed (4)
DARE:  This challenge is contained in (from) part of the clue reversed (rebuffed)

25a   Greeting given to Queen and a King — elegant, befitting class distinction (10)
HIERARCHIC:  Time for charades.  String together an informal greeting, the two letter abbreviation for our current queen, the A from the clue, an abbreviation for King, and finally elegant or stylish

26a   Refusal by someone with final decision about to make a point (4)
NODE:  A word of refusal and the reversal (about) of someone in charge of a newspaper or other media output

27a   Volunteers express disapproval in principality reversing legislation (7,3)
STATUTE LAW:  Our usual volunteers and a sound of disapproval in a principality of the UK backwards (reversing)

 

Down

1d    Condition keeping the sexes apart creates anger (4)
MIFF:  A condition inside abbreviations for the sexes

2d    More than one opponent makes horsy sound to be heard (4)
NAYS:  The plural of an opponent sounds like (to be heard) to make a sound of a horse

3d    Exact  record for meeting (6)
MINUTE:  Two definitions, the first an adjective meaning finely detailed

4d    Politician making electoral bid, arm having been twisted (7,8)
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT:  An anagram (having been twisted) of ELECTORAL BID ARM

5d    Look into disgrace that’s curtailed wish for peace (6)
SHALOM:  A word meaning look goes inside (into) a word meaning disgrace without its last letter (curtailed)

7d    Activity for summer? (10)
ARITHMETIC:  The summer might be adding up.  She might also subtract, multiply and divide

8d    Doctor thus placed in plate something conveying biological information (10)
CHROMOSOME:  One of the abbreviations for doctor and thus (2), all inside (placed in) a verb to plate with a particular metal

11d   Surprisingly disown tech that’s ‘with it‘ (8,2)
SWITCHED ON:  An anagram (surprisingly) of DISOWN TECH

12d   Celebrated, being given prosthetic limbs? (10)
REMEMBERED:  Enumerated (2-8) this could mean being given replacement limbs

13d   One in need is troubled indefinitely (4,3)
SINE DIE:  The Roman numeral one in an anagram (troubled) of NEED IS

14d   Tamper with religious worship over time (7)
MASSAGE:  A religious service comes before (over, in a down clue) a period of time

19d   Top hits played with skill apart from number one (1-5)
T-SHIRT:  An anagram (played) of HITS and then a word for skill missing its first letter (apart from number one)

20d   Musician’s slowing down after supposedly perceiving remarkable things in life (6)
ESPRIT:  The musical indication for slowing down comes after sixth sense, or supposedly perceiving remarkable things

23d   Pulse showing Roald’s upset inside? (4)
DHAL:  An edible pulse (also, rather pleasingly, called the pigeon pea).  The surname of author Roald with the internal letters switched (upset inside).  The Roald does rather gives the game away, but it’s nice to see him anyway

24d   Boat brings grimace with the bottom falling out (4)
SCOW:  Glower, glare or grimace without end (bottom – in a down clue – falling out)

 

Thanks to Giovanni.  My favourites today are 10a, 15a and 20a.  Which filled you with 20d and which left you with a re-bottomed 24d?

 

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