Sunday Toughie No 109 by
Robyn
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 25th of February 2024
Across
8a Dip bagel in starchy food (4)
SAGO: A dip in a mattress that is overdue for replacement SAG, and the letter that looks like a bagel O, IMO an inedible substance better suited to hanging wallpaper SAGO Contains the board game GO
9a Move on tide at sea in Atlantic port (10)
MONTEVIDEO: An anagram (at sea in) of MOVE ON TIDE gives us MONTEVIDEO the Atlantic port capital of Uruguay Contains the (three-card) game MONTE
10a Shakespeare role, sweet one, seized by returning star (8)
POLONIUS: The minty sweet that looks like a bagel POLO, and a reversal of our star SUN becomes NUS, that contains the letter that looks like one I POLO-N(I)US Contains POLO the ball game played on horseback or in swimming pools
11a Bewail gutless German chap getting under the table (6)
BLOTTO: Gut bewail B_L, and insert a German chaps name OTTO, The condition one may be in after his Oktoberfest BLOTTO Contains LOTTO a game of chance
12a Car lover follows motorists round cliff, occasionally (4,5)
ALFA ROMEO: A motorists rescue organisation AA, around occasional letters of cliff LF, followed by a Shakespearean lover ROMEO A(LF)A ROMEO Contains FARO A card game of chance played by betting on the order of appearance of certain cards – new to me but it rang a faint bell
13a Thin and delicate current agent put on weight (5)
WISPY: A single-letter abbreviation for current I, and a secret agent SPY, follow another single-letter abbreviation for weight W Thin and delicate or WISPY Contains I SPY a wordgame in which one guesses objects in view, whose name begins with a certain letter of the alphabet
15a Crew that’s second-class getting teased (7)
BRAGGED: A synonym of getting teased RAGGED, follows the letter that second-class celebs are listed with B- The definition Crew is the past tense of crow as in to crow or brag, and bragged is the past tense Contains BRAG a card game like poker
17a Make musicartist from America run off (7)
WHISTLE: A well-known American artist (who painted his Mama) loses his terminal r for run WHISTLER becomes WHISTLE Contains WHIST another card game
20a Snappy leader of business venture (5)
BRISK: The leader of business B, and a mildly perilous venture or RISK are snappy or BRISK Contains the board game RISK
22a E.g. Othello, in vessel going west, potters here? (9)
POOLROOMS: More Shakespeare, The North African origin of a Venetian general Othello the MOOR of Venice, with my favourite seagoing vessel SLOOP, around it are reversed (going west in an across clue) S(MOOR)LOOP becomes POOL(ROOM)S the place where POOL players go to pot balls Contains POOL the various games played on a table smaller than a billiard table
25a Journalist’s copy probing case of sabotage? (6)
SCRIBE: The case letters of S(abotag)E, contain a synonym of copy or plagiarize CRIB, SCRIBE an informal term for a journalist Contains CRIB an abbreviation of the card game CRIBbage
26a Mussolini pinching that man’s small table cover (8)
DUCHESSE: Mussolini’s title Il DUCE around a contraction of something that man has HE’S, and an abbreviation of small S, give us a fancy lace table cover DUCHESSE Contains CHESS the boardgame
27a Look around with queen, following willing worker on estate (or any across answer here?) (10)
GAMEKEEPER: Ignore the bit in parentheses for the moment and solve the clue on its own. Start with a synonym of look and reverse it (around) PEEK becomes KEEP, add our late queen’s regnal cipher ER, and that follows a synonym of willing GAME, to give us an estate-worker or GAMEKEEPER. Now check what the parentheses is telling us and admire the skill of Robyn in getting thematic elements within all the across clues without making the gridfill impossibly obscure – only one of the thematic elements was hard to see and I can’t give hints to all but they are mostly indoor activities or ball sports Each across answer KEEPS a GAME within
28a Glaswegian’s opposed to single drink (4)
AGIN: Split (1,3) we have a single drink A GIN, (4) would be how a Glaswegian would describe someone who is an anti or against something AGIN Contains GIN a variant of the card game rummy
Down
1d Singer in clubs given a wave (8)
CAROLLER: An abbreviation of the playing card suit of clubs C, A from the clue and a large crested wave ROLLER, give us a seasonal singer CAROLLER
2d Stole bags obtained in Hispanic capital (6)
BOGOTA: A stole usually made of feathers resembling a snake BOA, around (bags) a synonym of obtained GOT BO(GOT)A The hispanic capital of Columbia
3d Unfussy consumers of old French wine upset going through customs (9)
OMNIVORES: An abbreviation of old O, and some customs or manners MORES, around a reversal (upset) of some French wine VIN becomes NIV, OM(NIV)ORES will eat anything
4d With drinks I notice flavouring of absinthe (7)
ANISEED: A conjunction for with AND, contains (drinks) I from the clue and a synonym of notice SEE. AN(I)(SEE)D the flavouring of Absinthe
5d Liverpool fan, say, put up times for crucial match (5)
DERBY: The colour by which the Anfield half of Liverpool identify themselves RED is reversed (put up) DER, followed by mathematical times BY. No more crucial than other matches but the DERBY when Liverpool play Everton becomes much more crucial in the eyes of the fans
6d Amounts of data from alumnus, one clad in skirts (8)
KILOBITS: An alumnus from Gordonstoun perhaps An Old Boy or OB, the letter that looks like one I, clad in the skirts popular in that part of Scotland KIL(OB)(I)TS in computing the amount of data equivalent to 1000 bits
7d Attend university party, initially the worse for wear (4-2)
BEAT-UP: A two-word phrase for attend BE AT, and initials of university and party U and P, when one feels as though one has been in a fist-fight BEAT-UP
14d Criminal circle had system for dealing with issue (9)
CHILDCARE: An anagram (criminal) of CIRCLE HAD, a system for dealing with the fruit of one’s loins
16d Chatterbox’s viable plan to ingest second drink (8)
GOSSIPER: A viable plan GOER, ingests an abbreviation of second S, and a small drink SIP A Chatterbox or GO(S)(SIP)ER
18d Hide from essayist’s family (8)
LAMBSKIN: The brother and sister essayists, the LAMB’S Charles and Mary, who wrote the Tales from Shakespeare and their family or KIN define a soft supple hide LAMBSKIN
19d Delays criminal activities (4-3)
HOLD-UPS: A double definition, delays in travel perhaps or to be robberies at weapon-point
21d Ethnic American spies infiltrating opposing sides (6)
RACIAL: Abbreviations for both sides or hands contain R and L one of our usual Americanisms A, and the organisation that spies for them CIA, for ones ethnicity R(A)(CIA)L
23d Works of Engels are potentially revolutionary (6)
OPERAS: Engels was a revolutionary who worked with Karl Marx not a writer of musical theatre, here he is just part of a reverse (revolutionary) lurker (of) that contains the works of classical musical dramatics OPERAS
24d Number six minus nine, divisible by two? (5)
SEVEN: Take the number six as written and subtract a Roman nine (IX), add the property of numbers that are divisible by two EVEN for another number S(EVEN)