Sunday Toughie No 93 by ProXimal
Full review by Stephen L
This puzzle was first published on Sunday 5th November. Many thanks to ProXimal for a very enjoyable effort.
Across
1a Painstaking concern over dons by head (12)
THOROUGHNESS: The abbreviation for Over is inserted (dons) into a preposition meaning ‘by’ and a head or cape.
9a Big delay with soldiers crossing the eastern border (5)
LARGE: A synonym of delay or linger with the abbreviation for Royal Engineers around its last (eastern border) letter.
10a Wood pieces in floor covering heavenly vault (9)
FIRMAMENT: A three-letter wood plus an insertion of some chess pieces into a floor covering.
11a Commanded after inspectors messed up (10)
DISORDERED: Some abbreviated (police) inspectors followed by a simple synonym of commanded.
12a Musical character article fully embraces (4)
CLEF: Hidden (embraces)
13a Part of story having two vessels crossing lake (7)
SUBPLOT: An abbreviated sea-going vessel and a domestic vessel perhaps into which is inserted the single letter abbreviation for Lake.
15a Barrow‘s built-up, regularly cramped by corporations (7)
TUMULUS; An insertion of alternate letters from built-up inside an informal word for stomachs (corporations)
17a Tweet letter from Greek bishop in revolt (6)
CHIRUP: A Greek letter, the single-letter abbreviation for Bishop and a two-letter word that could mean in revolt.
19a Striking stranger blocking way (7)
SALIENT: An insertion (blocking) of a stranger or foreigner into an abbreviated way in the sense of a road.
21a Oxygen required to get back in raucous game (4)
LUDO: Move the abbreviation for Oxygen in a synonym of raucous or noisy to the back of the word.
22a See disturbance in which one males lacking power to move (10)
LOCOMOTION: An archaic exclamation used to draw attention to something and a disturbance or rumpus lacking one of the abbreviations for Male. Good clue.
25a First rate illumination for landing (9)
ALIGHTING: Split the solution, a synonym of landing as a verb 1,8 to see the wordplay.
26a Old council worker that’s 51 ignored in break (5)
REEVE: Remove the Roman numeral for 51 from a verb to break or ease.
27a Descended shaft and came up with the goods (4,4,4)
WENT DOWN WELL: A simple two-word synonym of descended and a shaft or bore. Clever
Down.
1d Figure out limitations in snooker shot (5)
TORUS: An anagram (shot) of OUT and the outer letters of SnookeR
2d One changing decision about measuring device (9)
OVERRULER: A preposition that could mean about and a simple device for measuring relatively short lengths.
3d Unusual, like copper having rest day? (7)
OFFBEAT: If a policeman wasn’t working or having a rest day he could be described as the solution, a synonym of unusual, if split 3,4. Lol.
4d Flipped this covering vial for malt vinegar (7)
GARMENT: If we make an anagram (flipped) of the solution plus VIAL we have malt vinegar. A compound or composite anagram.
5d Close net bringing up last of sturgeon (4)
NEAR: A synonym of net in the sense of clear or realise with the final letter of sturgeon moved to the front.
6d Tone that’s appropriate sounded vocal (5,4)
STEEL BLUE: Homophones (vocal) of a synonym of appropriate in the sense of thieve and one of a synonym of sounded (a foghorn maybe).
7d They’re used to cut grass perhaps (6)
BLADES; Double/cryptic definition, the latter a definition by example.
8d Supports region renowned for pottery (6)
STAFFS: Another double definition, the former in the sense of a crutch
14d Bend I slid around is vulnerable point (9)
BLINDSIDE: Anagram (around) of the preceding three words.
16d Short run conveyed around university city (9)
MELBOURNE: A synonym of run in the sense of dissolve minus its last letter plus one of conveyed or carried into which is inserted the abbreviation for University, giving one of the finest cities in the world….I was fortunate to live there in the nineties.
17d Picked up merchant’s stock of wine (6)
CELLAR: A homophone (picked up) of a synonym of merchant or retailer
18d Bakery without leader in ace condition (7)
PROVISO: A well known bakery loses its first letter and is inserted into an informal ace or expert lol and very clever.
19d Work of Ezra received snub, so Spooner says (7)
SHOTGUN: The title of a song by George Ezra if given the Spooner treatment would be a common way of saying received or obtained and a synonym of snub or ignore.
20d Hollow egg turned up in container (6)
TINNED: Synonyms of a hollow in the sense of a hole or cave and an unpleasant egg are reversed.
23d Model cooked feast without starters (5)
IDEAL: Synonyms of cooked in the sense of falsified or cheated and something of which dinner say is an example lose their starting letters.
24d Songbird and chum releasing inarticulate sound on tile (4)
CHAT: Tile here is in the sense of headwear and it follows what’s left of the word chum after “hum” (inarticulate sound) has been removed.