Sunday Toughie 112 (Review) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Sunday Toughie 112 (Review)

Sunday Toughie No 112 by proXimal

Review by Sloop John Bee

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This puzzle was published on the 17th of March 2024

 

Across

1a           Major defeat embarrassed winger, according to Spooner (8,4)
CRUSHING BLOW: A red-faced corvid A BLUSHING CROW, according to Spooner suffers a major defeat A CRUSHING BLOW

9a           Disturb bats in allegedly empty folly (9)
ABSURDITY: An anagram (bats) of DISTURB and what is left of AllegedlY when empty

10a        Cycling photograph showing hilarious people (5)
HOOTS: To take a photograph in a repetitive gun-like manner SHOOT, cycles one letter to be hilarious people or HOOTS

11a        Real power after changing sides (6)
PROPER: To move under power PROPEL, changes its last letter from  L for left to R for right PROPER

12a        Account about heartless mediator being untroubled (8)
CAREFREE: An abbreviation for Account AC, is reversed (about) CA, followed by the mediator in many sports  REF(e)REE without its central letter (heartless) to be untroubled or CAREFREE

13a        Row hard in extremely grimy boat (6)
DINGHY: An unpleasant row or noise DIN, a hard pencil grade H, in the extreme letters of GrimY GY, a boat or DIN[G(H)Y]

14a        Maybe Poirot’s man set tasks (8)
HERCULES: The Belgian detectives’ forename and the plural ‘s  HERCULE’S, give us a man set several tasks as the Roman name of a Greek divine hero HERCULES

17a        Game beginning in meadow or in the ballpark by college (8)
MONOPOLY: The initial letter of meadow M, and abbreviations for a price requested “in the ballpark”  or nearest offer abbreviated to ONO, and a former name of the type of  college that taught up to degree level before they were upgraded to university status a POLY(technic) the board game MONOPOLY

19a        Narrow lead of doobrey stopped operating (6)
CLOSED: A synonym of narrow CLOSE, and the leading letter of Doobrey D, that has stopped operating or is CLOSED

22a        Poem’s protracted and bad on reflection; see no good (8)
LIVELONG: A poetic synonym of protracted the LIVELONG day, from a reversal (on reflection) of a synonym of bad EVIL becomes LIVE, an archaic word for see LO and an abbreviation of no good NG

24a        Reluctantly admitting father dipped into a monetary donation (6)
AFRAID: I am reluctantly admitting that this is an abbreviation of a religious Father FR, dipped into A from the clue and some monetary assistance or AID  –  A(FR)AID

26a        Donatello’s carved captivating statuette (5)
OSCAR: A lurker (captivating) hidden in the first two words of the clue The statuette given to winners of Academy Awards

27a        Mad Hatter this writer might give cigarette holder (9)
COLERIDGE: We are looking for a writer, but not the one who wrote about the Mad Hatter, rather we should take the hatter from cig(ARETT)e (H)older and seek a romantic poet in the fodder that remains CIGEOLDER becomes COLERIDGE

28a        Waver when ridiculous excursion involves two hours separated (6-6)
SHILLY-SHALLY: Synonyms of ridiculous SILLY,  and a (military?) excursion SALLY, both separately contain an H for hour. To Waver or SHILLY-SHALLY

 

 

 

                Down

1d          Bit hot in erected shelter (7)
CHAMPED: Having erected a temporary shelter CAMPED contains H for hot, CHAMPED at the bit

2d          Suspect wrong’uns after Golf gets trashed? It’s not confirmed (7)
UNSWORN: An anagram (suspect) of WRON(G)’UNS after G for Golf gets trashed

3d          Rider uses one husky, picked up wife with it (9)
HORSEWHIP: A homophone (picked up) of a voice that is husky HOARSE becomes HORSE, followed by the abbreviation for Wife W, and a cool with it HIP

4d          Recalled right name of chap (4)
NEIL: A legal right of posession LIEN is reversed (recalled) to give us a chaps name NEIL

5d          On vehicle, lout heading north is speedy type (3,5)
BOY RACER: One of our usual on’s RE, a vehicle CAR, and a lout YOB, head north in a down clue to be a BOY RACER

6d          Dismissing exteriors, mock the grey paint (5)
OCHRE: A colour of paint hidden in m(OC)k t(H)e g(RE)y,  that have had their exteriors dismissed

7d          Romeo’s written in orange-pink pen (6)
CORRAL: An orange-pink colour CORAL and R for Romeo provide a pen for livestock a CORRAL

8d          Plants to the rear — south rather than north (6)
ASTERS: A nautical to the rear ASTERN, swaps its North to South

15d        Summon everyone and keep inside church (4,5)
CALL FORTH: A synonym of everyone ALL, and a keep FORT, are contained in a church CH – C(ALL) (FORT)H

16d        Simple enough to withdraw from hallucinogenic after being wasted (8)
CLINICAL: Another proXimal trademark extraction anagram (after being wasted) remove enough from (h)all(u)cin(ogen)ic for a surgically simple anagram of ALLCINIC becomes CLINICAL

17d        Married man with fine shed relaxed (6)
MELLOW: The genealogical abbreviation for married M and a fine (F)ELLOW of a man shedding F for fine along the way MELLOW or relaxed

18d        Amateur kind penning love verse (6)
NOVICE: A synonym of kind NICE, pens the letters that love and verse suggest O and V

20d        Short pair that Georgia separates causing outrage (7)
SCANDAL: A conjunction AND, between abbreviations of the two States that are separated by Georgia South Carolina or SC and Alabama or AL. As a resident of one of the states in question, the much-missed Robert C would have loved this SC(AND)AL

21d        Unsteady stranger in yard toppled over (7)
DODDERY: A synonym of the comparative stranger ODDER, goes in an abbreviated yard YD, that has been toppled over DY Unsteady or D(ODDER)Y

23d        Bend below large tree (5)
LARCH: A bend in a doorway, window or bridge ARCH, goes below L for large for a type of tree LARCH

25d        Fold covering over device (4)
PLOY: A fold of multi-layered paper PLY, covers a crickety over O A PLOY or device

That’s all Folks…