Sunday Toughie 110 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 110

by Zandio

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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I fairly rattled through this last night – getting the grid filled well under the hour but parsing a couple took me as long again. Presidents and King’s of various sorts almost beat me but I think I have captured the gist

It seemed like a lot of reversals and lurkers last night but I rather enjoyed it when 3d revealed the king

We have 14a and 14d clues and I have hinted half If in doubt and I haven’t hinted it look for a lurker or a reversal or both

Here we go…

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 be back just after the closing date with the full blog. 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           They cower in subway evacuated by officer stationed with county (10)
A subway is evacuated, it goes by an informal police officer followed by an abbreviated county

6a           What mayor returned regularly must take? (4)
Alternate letters (regularly) of two words, when read backwards (returned) give the pledge that a mayor or similar public servant must make before taking office

12a        Doing article connected with Lilliputian novel (2-2-3-6)
A phrase for what you are doing, a definite article and a synonym of Lilliputian give us something 19a

14a        Manchester in need of graduate to regenerate waterways (8)
Remove the higher arts graduate from Manchester and “regenerate” what remains. Not just for water but the First World War was renowned for them being very damp!

19a        Logo used by lecturer’s distinguished contemporary (5-3)
A logo that identifies a company or product and a homophone (lecturer’s) of distinguished or recognised leads us to something that is 12a

25a        Street in Brussels with a railway opening (7)
Brussels is the governmental seat of the organisation we need, it contains an abbreviated street, followed by a from the clue and a railway

27a        Perfect end or absurd end to episode? (6-4)
To fit to perfection, from the end of an animal, or from the clue, a synonym of absurd and the end of episode

 

                Down

1d          Demanding to reveal insiders one’s covering (4)
A synonym of demanding reveals its inside letters to be one’s covering

2d          Livery company attached to corporation in Kent area (7)
An abbreviated company and the area where Kent is located containing one’s “corporation”

3d          King’s taken in by virtual US president — it’s funny for some (9,4)
I spent longer parsing this than the rest of the crossword, as usual just after I hit the panic button to ask for help the answer came to mind. A synonym of virtual – for all intents and purposes, and the forename of the current US president which contains the Chess notation for King

8d          Job done for Stubbs, with a certain power (5-5)
What Stubbs has done when a sketch is finished or the motive power of a cart or similar vehicle

11d        MLK eats in — cafe guy doesn’t have one clean glass? (8,5)
The title he earned with his Ph.D. and the surname of the civil-rights campaigner, eats in from the clue and adds the guy who serves you at a café without the letter that looks like one, a glass of something clean enough to consume safely

16d        Woodland pig half falling down on concrete (8)
A wild or male pig allows its first half to fall down the order and goes on a synonym of concrete

23d        Turner in the ascendant, everything’s exhibited (4)
Something that turns, A lurker (exhibited) that is reversed (in the ascendant in a down clue) hidden in everything’

                

   

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A song about 3d’s perhaps

That’s All Folks…