Sunday Toughie No 46 by Robyn
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 11th of December 2022
Across
1a One’s incandescent with rage after kind of blue film’s opening (8,4)
ELECTRIC FIRE: The opening letter of film F, and a synonym of rage IRE follow a vivid shade of blue ELECTRIC.
9a Result of check after losing rook (5)
ENSUE: To check or ENSURE loses the R for rook. The result or ENSUE.
10a Help figure out cryptic instruction for player (9)
SOSTENUTO: A call for help S.O.S., a figure between nine and eleven TEN, and an anagram (cryptic) of OUT. An instruction to a musician to play in a prolonged manner.
11a Tourists scrubbing olid farmhands (9)
HAYMAKERS: HolidAYMAKERS scrubs the letters of olid to be the farmhands that make hay.
12a Day at the start of Long Depression (5)
DITCH: D for day and to long for or ITCH is the shallow depression DITCH.
13a Blue fruit around one’s drink (9)
DISSIPATE: The fruit of a palm tree that is unaccountably popular at this time of year DATE, go around the letters that look like one’s I’S, and a small drink SIP, to be a synonym of blue in the sense of fritter away or squander
(D(I’S)(SIP)ATE).
16a Swear to follow Republican Party regular (5)
RAVER: To swear or AVER follows R for Republican to be a regular at Party’s or a RAVER.
18a Incline to listen to virtuoso musician (5)
LISZT: A homophone of (to listen to) to incline or lean LIST, becomes the virtuoso musician LISZT.
19a Article with advice concerning European food (9)
ANTIPASTO: The indefinite article that precedes a vowel sound AN, a small bit of advice TIP, and two little words that mean concerning AS TO, combine to give us an Italian appetizer ANTIPASTO.
20a This person’s toast about drink being knocked back (5)
GONER: One of crosswords regular abouts RE, and a christmassy drink NOG are revesed (knocked back) The definition and answer being informal synonyms of one who has or is about to die.
22a One offers drive in car, maintaining current duty (9)
MOTIVATOR: The physics symbol for current I and the duty or levy on purchases VAT, go in an informal term for a car MOTOR. MOT((I)VAT)OR.
You probably have to be British and of a certain age to remember Mr Motivator.
25a Maybe Egyptian head’s fine conditions (9)
SUNNINESS: A Scottish headland or NESS follows the Muslim sect that is the predominant religion of Egypt SUNNI.
26a Prevent eavesdropping in case of dire complaint (5)
DEBUG: The case letters of dire D E, and a sickness or complaint BUG. DEBUG to scanfor and remove listening devices that may be eavesdropping on private conversations.
27a Much less entertaining setters are going to avoid interfering (3,4,5)
LET WELL ALONE: How Robyn our setter would promise to do something on behalf of himself and other setters is WE WILL contracts to WE‘LL, which is inserted into a two-word phrase that means much less LET ALONE.
Down
1d Lamb etc? It’s cooked in more than one attempt (9)
ESSAYISTS: A brother and sister writing team, known for Tales from Shakespeare, Tales from Shakespeare is an English children’s book written by the siblings Charles and Mary Lamb in 1807.It is a definition by example of the type of writers we seek. It is an anagram of IT’S in a synonym of several tries or attempts ESSAYS.
2d Evacuation of troops in a base to the north (5)
ENEMA: A from the clue, some troops or MEN and the base of the natural logarithm E all reversed (to the north in a down clue) ENEMA a cleansing wash for evacuation of the bowels.
3d Country bringing down Truss finally shows sense (5)
TASTE: A country or STATE brings down the final letter of TrusS to show some sense or TASTE.
4d Urging group with intelligence to stop camping? (9)
INSISTENT: The Secret Intelligence Service goes inside (to stop) those who are camping IN TENT, to be urging or IN SIS TENT.
MI5 and MI6 (SIS, the Secret Intelligence Service) are both intelligence agencies, but they do different things. The following provides a brief summary:
MI5 is responsible for protecting the UK, its citizens and interests, at home and overseas, against threats to national security
SIS is responsible for gathering intelligence outside the UK in support of the government’s security, defence, foreign and economic policies.
5d Outing competitors with result of drug-taking (5,4)
FIELD TRIP: Competitors in a sporting event, the FIELD and the result of taking a hallucinogenic drug TRIP, gives us an outing or FIELD TRIP. One of my earliest school geography field trips was to study the fossils of Whitby, the most memorable thing though was the Khyber Pass cafe where I first heard Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits.
6d Corruption keeps cruciverbalists in stir (5)
ROUST: How we as cruciverbalists may collectively refer to our fellow devotees US, goes in a 3 letter synonym of corruption ROT. to ROUST or stir
7d Christian pens old record, a follower of the Way (13)
METHODOLOGIST: I am fairly sure that Brian would hate this clue but I don’t think he appears in the Toughie blogs. I got in a bit of a muddle with religious sects here. I thought first of followers of Mary Baker Eddy (Christian Scientists) and stuck O for old and a record in to get to a follower of L. Ron Hubbard SCIENT(OLOG)ISTS. but the religious movement we seek here is a follower of the teachings of John and Charles Wesley METHODIST, penning O for old and a record. Giving us METHODOLOGISTS those who follow the way or METHOD.
8d Host welcomes different period we live in, a dramatic figure (6,7)
MOTHER COURAGE: A host or Master of Ceremonies M.C., contains a synonym of different OTHER, followed by two words that indicate the period we live in OUR AGE, (M(OTHER)C)(OUR AGE) A leading character in a Berthold Brecht play.
14d Team contend with quiz (9)
INTERVIEW: An abbreviation of a Milanese Football team INTER Milan, and a synonym of contend VIEW, with is a inquisition about ones suitability for a job perhaps.
15d Warning marble bust will break completely (5-4)
ALARM BELL: A synonym of completely ALL, is broken up around an anagram (bust) of MARBLE.
17d Model realistic tours fit for tourists (9)
VISITABLE: To model or pose SIT, goes in a synonym of realistic VIABLE.
21d Without Anglican affiliation for the time being (5)
NONCE: A prefix for without NON- and an abbreviation for the Anglican C of E. NONCE for the moment, or time being.
23d Adult learner determined to reverse car (5)
TESLA: A reversal of A for adult, L for a learner and determined or SET, gives us a TESLA car.
24d Record of Latin American’s capital cut by 50% (5)
VIDEO: The second half of a Latin American capital city Monte VIDEO.