Toughie 1864

Toughie No 1864 by MynoT

Hints and tips by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment **

MynoT starts off the Toughie week – the difficulty rating being  a reflection of the fact that some of the clues definitely fell into the ‘took longer to explain than solve’ category

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Across

1a    Charm to change direction and become visible (6)
APPEAR Take another word for charm and change the letter at the end that indicates direction or side

5a    What is needed for spoilt wee runts? (3,5)
WET NURSE An anagram (spoilt) of WEE RUNTS

 

9a    Beginning and end of a new cupola welcomed by official beside sacred river (5,3,5)
ALPHA AND OMEGA The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet form part of a description in Jesus found in the Book of Revelations: “I am [the solution] the first and the last” – A (from the clue) N (new) and a cupola are welcomed by or inserted into a Turkish chief officer and then put beside or after the sacred river in Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (as opposed to the real river in Antarctica)

10a    Story set to music of old gunmen in honour of city (8)
ORATORIO The abbreviations for Old and the Royal Artillery (gunmen), a preposition with many definitions, one of them being ‘in honour of’ and, finally, a South American city

11a    Open with good mimicry (6)
GAPING The abbreviation for good and some mimicry

12a    Force unit‘s amphibian forward (6)
NEWTON An amphibian and a preposition meaning forward

14a    Revelation of public display on southern river (8)
EXPOSURE An exhibition or public display, the abbreviation for Southern and a river in North Yorkshire

16a    A wearing song — a curse (8)
ANATHEMA A (from the clue) inserted into (wearing) an official recognized song, and then the second A in the clue is added at the end

19a    Jones, perhaps, died entering deep blue (6)
INDIGO Insert D (died entering) into the Christian name of Mr Jones, a famous early architect

21a    Stone tree revealed by story-teller I ignored (6)
ASHLAR A dressed stone used in buildings – a type of tree and a synonym for a story-teller without (ignored) the I

23a    Prestigious French art abounded (8)
ESTEEMED I hope everyone remembered the ‘French art’ from yesterday’s back pager. The same word should be followed by another way of saying abounded

25a    Maybe me being found next to yours truly is mad (6,7)
BESIDE ONESELF A clue a bit like an old-fashioned riddle – basically what our setter is saying is that if he (me) sat next to himself (yours truly) he’d end up being like  a phrase that might  indicate being  very angry

26a    Men in Customs remove spirits (8)
EXORCISE – The two letters used to indicate ordinary ranks of soldiers inserted into customs duty

27a    Land area out of American city (6)
SETTLE A verb meaning to land is obtained by removing A for area from a seaport city on the West of America

Down

2d    Plain song that is to pursue publicity (7)
PRAIRIE A type of song and the abbreviation for ‘that is’ pursue the abbreviation for public relations (publicity)

3d    Former wife Patricia is resident abroad (5)
EXPAT A former wife and the informal way we might refer to a lady called Patricia

4d    Again work out in back row (9)
REARRANGE – Synonyms for back and row

5d    Pleasant not to lose everything (7)
WINSOME If you split your solution 3,4 you’ll see that you didn’t lose everything

6d    Strip, though in New York no good (5)
THONG An American (in New York) or poetic way of saying though followed by the abbreviation for No Good

7d    Hidden film not used (9)
UNEXPOSED If a film in a camera hadn’t been used it would be said to be this. I wonder what the younger generation who’ve probably never used a camera with film in it made of this one?

8d    It’s a wrench for salesmen to return having embraced girl (7)
SPANNER A reversal (to return) of some abbreviated salesmen into which is inserted (embraced) a girl’s name

13d    Summer is late, irregular boarding fell (9)
TOTALISER An anagram (irregular) of IS LATE ‘boarding’ an upland tract of moor

15d    Futile love, overcome by not having beer? (9)
POINTLESS The letter that looks like a nought (love) ‘overcome by’ a way of saying that you hadn’t a beer (4,4)

17d    Boston Red Sox playing to provide this home for high-fliers with doors (4,3)
NEST BOX An anagram (playing) of BOSTON RED SOX will produce both a home for high-fliers and the word DOORS

18d    One to initially smell execrable is sour (7)
ACETOSE One in cards, TO (from the clue) and the initial letters of Smell Execrable go together to produce a sour smell like vinegar

20d    Cheerful atmosphere when rising in most of Gulf (7)
GLEEFUL A four-letter word meaning a general atmosphere or something is reversed (rising) and inserted into most of GULf

22d    Call to get one for nothing — more than one spoke (5)
RADII Replace the O (nothing) at the end of a way to communicate a message (call) with an I (get 1 for nothing)

24d    Upright before court (5)
ERECT An ‘old friend’ to finish – another way of saying before and the abbreviation for court

I’m not sure yet what I’m doing on the second Tuesday of my holiday, but if next Tuesday’s Toughie setter is someone I haven’t blogged before, Kitty (who had an appointment today and is standing in for Dutch on Friday) should prepare herself for a bit of arm-wrestling