Sunday Toughie No 159 by Beam
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 9th of February 2025
Across
1a Plan scheme to import European drink (10)
CHARTREUSE: A plan or map CHART, and a scheme, usually devious, RUSE, containing the abbreviation for European E. CHART R E USE
6a Shortened county borders (4)
BEDS: A double definition, where plants are grown in the Luton area BEDFORDSHIRE shortened to BEDS for flowers
10a Received Queen, say, with gold reflected (5)
ROGER: A Latin queenly abbreviation R, say as an example EG, and the heraldic gold OR, are then reversed (reflected) ROGER over and out
11a A vacuous rotter in domestic tale (9)
NARRATIVE: A term for domestic or home grown NATIVE, contains A from the clue and what remains of rotter when vacuous RR. A tale or N(ARR)ATIVE
12a Backing electronically controlled vehicles (5)
TRAMS: A term for supposedly clever electronically controlled devices SMART, is reversed (backing) to be the vehicles TRAMS
13a Of late, unwilling person? (9)
INTESTATE: An all-in-one &lit, an adjective of someone who becomes “late” without making a Will
14a Sailor travelling without right bearing (7)
ABIDING: An abbreviation for an able-bodied seaman AB, and a mode of travel RIDING, without r for right
16a Someone acutely dull, deeply ordinary initially (5)
SADDO: Another &lit, initial letters spell out a slang term for a dull or unsociable person
19a President famously honest on cut tree (5)
ABELE: A familiar term for an American President (not the one who was honest about cutting down a cherry tree) ABE Lincoln, and most of the “on” side on a cricket pitch LE(g) – ABELE A noun for the white poplar tree
20a Missiles pounding hollow in boats (7)
SAMPANS: An acronym for Surface to Air Missiles S.A.M.S, contains (pounding) a hollow in the ground for salt evaporation PAN
22a Held by chains, is tentatively pressing (9)
INSISTENT: A lurker – hidden in words three to five
26a Trump’s leader and isn’t commonly corrupt (5)
TAINT: The leading letter of Trump T, and a common way of saying isn’t AINT, TAINT is to corrupt or spoil
27a Paw sweetheart in advance for congress (9)
COMMITTEE: The paw (of a cat perhaps) MITT and Beam’s ™ swEet-heart E, in a synonym of to advance COME. COM MITT E E
28a Suspend process consuming energy (5)
CEASE: A legal process CASE, consumes E for energy
29a Speaker’s difficulty getting mouth around sibilant? (4)
LISP: Part of the mouth (that stop the mouth from fraying?) LIP contain a sibilant letter S
30a Bias of papers covering young gang (10)
PREPOSSESS: A term for newspapers PRESS, contains a slang term for a gang of youths POSSE. Bias in the way of coming to an opinion beforehand PRE-POSSE-SS. I thought Beam was wasting a word here but the BRB supports the view that young is not redundant.
Down
1d Mongrel exhausted one with dog collar? (6)
CURATE: A dog of low breeding CUR, and exhausted or consumed ATE, CURATE one who wears a “dog-collar”
2d Intensify a volume inside silver jar (9)
AGGRAVATE: The chemical abbreviation for silver AG, and a synonym of jar GRATE, contain A from the clue and the abbreviation of volume V. To intensify or AG GR(A V)ATE
3d Rotating mechanism for fans? (9)
TURNSTILES: Another &lit. I bet Terence didn’t have to use these while watching Chelsea crash out of the FA Cup
4d Tedium being trapped by drunken nuisance (5)
ENNUI: A lurker, hidden in the last two words
5d Trick flipping huge flans (9)
STRATAGEM: Extremely large MEGA, flans or pastries TARTS, are reversed (flipping) for a trick or ruse STRATAGEM
7d Flower single caught in important date (5)
ERICA: An important date ERA, contains letters for a single I, and caught T. ERICA A heathland flower
8d Small key almost revealed key type (8)
SKELETON: Revealed or disclosed LET ON, follows S for small and almost all of key KE. A S KE LET ON key
9d Stand declared, changing ends (4)
DAIS: A synonym of declared SAID swaps first for last letters for a stand or DAIS
15d Bug alternatively catching police’s first officer (9)
INSPECTOR: A small invertebrate creature INSECT, and a conjunction for alternatively OR, contain the first letter of police P. An officer or INS P ECT OR
16d Net’s over a damn short gladiator! (9)
SPARTACUS: A synonym of net’s or catches is reversed over a from the clue and shortened to damn or swear at
17d Spend romantic meeting holding one’s drink (9)
DISSIPATE: A romantic meeting contains the Roman one(and its apostrophe ess) and a small drink. To spend or squander
18d Violent revolting hit involves a killer (8)
MANIACAL: A hit contains a from the clue and the first person to commit murder all reversed (revolting)
21d Force opening of safe lock (6)
STRESS: The opening of safe and a lock of hair
23d Receptacles of drinks taking Mass (5)
SUMPS: Drinks contains (taking) M for mass. A receptacle for liquid (especially oil) in an engine
24d Turn using second gear (4)
SKIT: Take care here, I almost fell into the trap. The obvious answer for a turn or revolution is probably wrong. I couldn’t make the last three letters I had at first fit gear without looking at rack & ***ion steering. The website no longer confirms the correctness of answers, but I am almost sure the turn we seek is a satirical sketch in dramatic or literary form, the last three letters of which is a much better synonym of gear. My parsing notes last night contain Phew! When this penny dropped
25d Idiot with sparser wit regularly upset (5)
TWERP: A reversal (upset) of alternate letters (regularly) of sparser wit
Compiler
Beam
That’s all Folks…