Sunday Toughie 91 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 91

by proXimal

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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I am taking a couple of weeks off blogging the Sunday Toughie as next weekend I am attending the Sloggers and Betters in York for the occasion of John (Elgar) Henderson’s 39th 21st birthday. I believe that the other SJB (proXimal) will be in attendance so I will have to ask him what he thinks of my blogging efforts since Sunday Toughie 2. I have just realised that Sunday Toughie 100 should fall on the 24th of December If Chris Lancaster or proXimal are there I will ask if anything special is planned. Come next Sunday morning I expect to be somewhat hungover but will pop in to see what StephenL makes of Sunday Toughie 92.

The following Sunday (Bonfire Night) I am away with Mama Bee and my Niece and her partner (and dogs plural) for a few days in the Dales where we plan on visiting a new Cheese themed restaurant opening at my favourite turophile emporium in Settle. They are opening a restaurant called Rind in partnership with the people behind The Cheese Barge in Paddington, where I had a fine Poutine before the last Big Dave’s Birthday bash, Gazza I believe will be bringing you Sunday Toughie 93 and I expect to be home sometime on Sunday 5th and am looking forward to solving along with everyone else
15a and 16d clues today, and I have hinted half(ish) If any troublesome ones have hit the cutting room floor just ask and a nudge may help. We start with The Reverend Doctor Spooner but he was quite benign today

Here we go, Folks…

As it is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll return with the full review blog just after the closing date. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!

I hope I don’t have to redact any comments but I am new at this and don’t want to rock the boat. If in doubt, I’ll rub it out! I think that sentence is a bit redundant. You have all been so helpful in sorting out prior parsing failures, and I am sure I will need similar help again.

Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious. Don’t forget the Mine of Useful information that Big Dave and his son Richard so meticulously prepared for us.

A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely.

Across

1a             Spooner’s limited sleep for romance (9)
Synonyms of limited and informal sleep are treated by The Reverend Spooner to become a romantic wooing

10a           Cross taken off when bishop comes in for mass (9)
A synonym of taken off or copied replaces m for mass with a Right Reverend Bishop

11a  Also 1d     

14a           One tests aluminium buried in some stone (7)
The chemical symbol of aluminium is interred in a synonym of some and followed by an abbreviation of stone in weight

16a           Satellite boxes close to telly push the boundaries (3,2,2)
The largest natural satellite of Neptune contains a closing letter, split according to the enumeration

20a           Turned more elitist rejecting European bands (7)
A synonym of more elitist is reversed (turned) without the E for European

22a           Agent at home with Word and electronic log (12)
A short synonym of at home, a word in a defined sense, the letter for all things electronic and a log of events you may fill in daily, when assembled becomes an agent or Go-Between

29a           Inactive marine tracks gathering depression (9)
The place where all things marine take place contains (gathering) a depression, followed by an abbreviated track

               

Down

1d             Bird hit leaving lake (4)
An informal hit to the face leaves behind the map abbreviation of lake
Also 11a

3d             Finally issue blame in your former treatment (7)
The final letter of issue and the blame usually administered across the knuckles go into a word for your used formerly

5d             Soldier gathered with troops over boundary (9)
I bunged in the wrong boundary at first but when you sort out some airborne troops, a synonym of gathered and a reversal (over) of some Royal Engineers you have a boundary or limit to the scope of something

6d             Group of cells round the bend I’m uncertain to enter (7)
An informal round the bend contains an interjection expressing uncertainty

8d             See Prohibition man supporting case for some sobriety (10)
I needed a “short kip” (1a)  to parse this one, to see in a romantic sense, the Prohibition man known as untouchable for his incorruptibility, supports the case letters of some. The connection between the definition and what the Prohibition man was trying to achieve may make this an all-in-one or &lit or at least a very good surface

12d           Activist group in rage being disruptive (10)
A group that supports a certain set of beliefs or doctrine and an anagram (being disruptive) of IN RAGE
Another fine surface that could be an all-in-one

19d           Vessels advanced on France in midst of troubles (7)
An advanced level exam and the IVR code for France go in the midst of the troubles that concern us

25d           Reject hollow ruby lacking polish (4)
I first thought of the depression we have in 29a but couldn’t explain away the terminal t, eventually, I realised the hollow we require is the lair of an animal, and then we require what remains of ruby when it is lacking polish

 

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