Sunday Toughie 67 by Robyn
Full review by Gazza
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This puzzle was published on the 7th of May 2023.
Across Clues
1a Don’t retire having got heavier, we hear? (4,2)
WAIT UP: this sounds like (6,2) having put on a few pounds.
Thi5a Suffer embarrassment? If Bill will, he’ll become ill! (4,4)
LOSE FACE: if the answer is applied to Bill we end up with ‘ill’.
9a Flip out, having captured nothing on a chessboard (2,2,6)
GO TO PIECES: split your answer 3,1,6 and it could mean that you’ve captured nothing in a game of chess.
10a War poet‘s opening words of Ode to London? (4)
OWEN: this is a famous WWI poet who was killed in action just before hostilities ceased. If you split his name 1,3 it looks like the start of an ode dedicated to (an archaic word for) a congested city, especially the great city of London.
11a Test party drinks husband put on ice (8)
MOTHBALL: a test for your car and a formal party involving dancing contain the genealogical abbreviation for husband.
12a Fire pair of reporters lacking aspiration (3-3)
ACK-ACK: a pejorative term for a journalist loses its aspiration (i.e. the letter H). Add the same again.
13a Female ruler sought office in America and India (4)
RANI: a verb meaning was a candidate for political office (the BRB says it is American) and the letter that India represents in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet give us an Indian queen.
15a Suggestion made by public figure (8)
OVERTONE: an adjective meaning public and the perpendicular number.
18a What team’s supporter will do in seat (8)
BACKSIDE: split the answer 4,4 to see what a team’s supporter will do.
19a Ken from Edinburgh, say, uttered refusal (4)
KNOW: what the Scottish verb to ken means sounds like a refusal.
21a My hands holding a pen (6)
CORRAL: an exclamation meaning ‘my!’ followed by abbreviations for right and left (hands) containing A.
23a One dislikes the new mobile phone given royal honour (8)
NEOPHOBE: an anagram (mobile) of PHONE and an honour often referred to disparagingly as “other bu**ers’ efforts”.
25a Grand purplish colour, not soft blue (4)
GLUM: the abbreviation for grand and a purplish colour without the musical abbreviation for soft.
26a Drivel included in more naive policy proposal (5,5)
GREEN PAPER: insert a word meaning drivel or rubbish into a comparative meaning more naïve to get a government-produced document describing prospective policies.
27a Red head welcoming way to become a darker colour (8)
CHESTNUT: a South American red (i.e. a Communist) and an informal word for the human head contain the abbreviation for a way.
28a Prune from France is sweeter than the others (6)
CUTEST: a verb to prune or trim and the French word ‘is’.
Down Clues
2d American tries as much as one wants (1,4)
A GOGO: an abbreviation for American followed by a try or attempt duplicated.
3d Lacking the brains to seize power, getting a little stick (9)
TOOTHPICK: a phrase meaning lacking the brains or overly dense(3,5) contains the physics abbreviation for power.
4d China protecting border lacking civilisation (6)
PRIMAL: what china is rhyming slang for contains a border.
5d Pub man defends around outskirts of Nottingham, showing who’s in charge here (5,10)
LOCAL GOVERNMENT: a nearby pub and a posh man contain a preposition meaning around and the outer letters of Nottingham.
6d Moved confidently running dash, say, saving energy (8)
SASHAYED: an anagram (running) of DASH SAY containing the physics abbreviation for energy.
7d Loud music is something put on for a party? (5)
FROCK: the musical abbreviation for loud and a type of music with a loud beat.
8d Instruction for players playing soccer, letting in goal (9)
CRESCENDO: an anagram (playing) of SOCCER containing a synonym of goal or aim.
14d One commanding the faithful nanny to accept a charge (9)
AYATOLLAH: a nanny employed during the Raj contains A and a charge (to cross a bridge, say).
16d Get a boost from Spooner’s fish dish involving pastry (4,5)
TAKE HEART: the reverend chappie would rehash the answer into ‘hake tart’.
17d Irish comic works gain ground (8)
MILLIGAN: A synonym of works or factory and an anagram (ground) of GAIN produce a spiky comic.
20d Tipping over receptacle, leave cold drink (6)
COGNAC: assemble a metal receptacle, a verb to leave and the tap abbreviation for cold. Now reverse it all.
22d City founder dealing with problem arising (5)
REMUS: one of the mythological twins who supposedly founded the city of Rome comes from a preposition meaning ‘dealing with’ and the reversal of a problem.
24d Officially sanction the grade below A minus (5)
BLESS: the grade below A in an exam and a synonym of minus.