Sunday Toughie No 119 by
Robyn
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 5th of May 2024
Across
1a Sudden ace – Becker’s first game point (6)
ABRUPT: Four little bits of Lego™ to start, the letter on an ace A, the initial of Becker B, the game for 15 men with odd-shaped balls RU,and a printers point PT ABRUPT suddenly came to mind
4a Continue to row about this person, an old servant (8)
SCULLION: A rowing stroke where each rower has a pair of oars would be a SCULL, and to continue to row in this manner would be SCULL ON, goes about the first-person pronoun I, SCULLION an archaic servant employed for rough work
9a Put down wine that’s filled with crumbs (6)
RECORD: A hue of wine RED, filled with a synonym of crumbs or crikey! COR!
10a Old fashion label getting into fleece hosiery (8)
STOCKING: O for old and the fashion label Calvin Klein or CK, are inserted into to fleece or con STING ST(O)(CK)ING or hosiery
11a Awful couple keeping son in neglected state (9)
DISREPAIR: synonyms of awful DIRE, and couple PAIR, contain a genealogical son S
13a Group‘s reason surfing couldn’t take place? (5)
NONET: Split 2-3 This could be the reason why you are unable to surf the interwebs, as (5) it is a specific group of nine musicians
14a Try to win round media dealing with the royals (5,8)
COURT CIRCULAR: To try to win the affections of a romantic partner COURT, and a what round defines CIRCULAR. A small part of the newspaper or other media that tells you what the Royals are up to
17a Say wrongly subtitled film managed to get panned (13)
MISTRANSLATED: Three bits of Lego™ here, A film of light fog or MIST, and synonyms of managed RAN, and panned SLATED
21a Weathermen showing an amount of heat (5)
THERM: A lurker hidden in the first word The THERM (symbol, thm) is a non-SI unit of heat energy
23a Wingers of amateur FC – they provide the score (9)
ARRANGERS: Those who adapt musical scores, the winging letters of amateur AR, and a specific Scottish Football Club RANGERS
24a Child, say, welcomes jollies behind a seaside town (8)
YARMOUTH: A child approaching adulthood YOUTH, welcomes A from the clue and jollies is a slang term for Royal Marines or RM, loved by all the nice girls Y(A)(RM)OUTH an East Anglian seaside town
25a Men abandoning opera love to follow American singer (6)
CARUSO: Men should abandon a Georges Bizet opera CARmen, add one of usual Americans US, and the letter that love suggests O, to define an Italian singer Enrico CARUSO
26a Oedipus maybe hiding base love, which is comic (3,5)
THE BEANO: How the Greek king (who loved his Mama a bit too much) may be defined by the city of his birth, He was born in Thebes and therefore THEBAN, hiding the letter that is the base of natural logarithms E, and the letter that love suggests O THE B(E)AN(O) a much loved comic of my youth
27a Perhaps mind setter‘s bad temper – it’s terrible (3-3)
PET-SIT: Robyn is not the setter here; more likely we are invited to mind his dog. A bad temper or PET, and an anagram of its SIT
Down
1d Scour area, ordered to capture rook (6)
ABRADE: An abbreviation of area A, and a poetic past tense of ordered BADE, capturing the chess notation for a rook R to scour or (A)B(R)ADE
2d Mobbed by crowds, let go of bags (9)
RUCKSACKS: To dismiss from employment let go or SACK, is mobbed by crowds of men fighting for a rugby ball RUCKS
3d Criticise climbing site left by European climber (7)
PARVENU: A social climber or upstart, a reversal (climbing) of to criticise RAP becomes PAR, and a site where an event takes place VENUE, from which E for Europe has left
5d Two queens maybe support youthful monarch? (11)
CATERPILLAR: Two queens (A domestic pet CAT, and a regnal cipher ER) and the support that holds a building up PILLAR, give us the youthful form of a migratory Monarch Butterfly
6d Terse Spanish article coming to a point at the end? (7)
LACONIC: A Spanish article LA, and a trigonometric shape that comes to a point CONIC. LACONIC means expressing or expressed in few words (in reference to the succinct style of Spartan speech, Sparta being the capital of the Greek region of Laconia)
7d Disgraced president loses head around current Greek king (5)
IXION: Never heard of him! But the construction was clear, The physical symbol for current I, surrounded by the President who was disgraced by the Watergate crisis NIXON, without his first letter
8d Arm raised by a politician of little importance (8)
NUGATORY: A firearm is reversed (raised in a down clue) GUN becomes NUG, followed by a politician of a blue hue A TORY
12d Tarantino’s working to secure part for Ralph Fiennes and transport for Daniel Craig? (5,6)
ASTON MARTIN: An anagram (working) of TARANTINOS with the part that Ralph Fiennes played in recent Bond films M gives us ASTON MARTIN the main means of transport for Daniel Craig and other actors who played James Bond
15d Spooner’s amounts of liquid fuel, with litres carried by kids (9)
LADLEFULS: Much grief here, My last one in by a country mile. Robyn is very naughty here, it took me ages to realise that this clue has nothing to do with the Reverend Doctor Spooner. An anagram (liquid) of fuel, and the abbreviation for litres are carried by young male children – The amount (of soup perhaps) carried by a specific type of spoon
16d Crystal clear contents from AphorisM EssayisT HastilY SenT (8)
AMETHYST: The last four words of the clue clear their contents
18d Upper-class politician in part that’s brief on TV (7)
RUMPOLE: Upper class as a vowel U,and a politician MP, carried in the part that an actor may portray ROLE,give us a brief or solicitor played on TV by Leo McKern R(U)(MP)OLE of the Bailey
19d Weight of jade, in a manner of speaking (7)
TONNAGE: A manner of speaking TONE, contains a synonym of jade as a pitiful worn-out horse NAG
20d Key soldiers close to President Ford, once (6)
ESCORT: A computer key (top left here) ESC,and the closing letter of President T, around soldiers of Other Ranks OR. I think the Ford company owned Aston Martin as well as producing the Ford Escort
22d Governess protects one place to keep eggs (5)
EYRIE: A fictional Governess who cared for the ward of Edward Rochester at Thornfield House Jane EYRE, contains the letter that looks like one I EYR(I)E a place Where Eagles Dare to keep their eggs
Broadsword Calling Danny Boy…