Sunday Toughie 173 (Review)

Sunday Toughie No 173 by Light

Review by Sloop John Bee

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This puzzle was published on the 18th of May 2025

 

Across

1a          Evian’s my unfinished still drink (6)
MESCAL: How someone from Evian says my ME’S, and all bar the last letter of a synonym of still CAL(m). MESCAL, a Mexican drink made from the leaves of the mescal plant

4a          Trespasses over railings, receiving fine (8)
OFFENCES: An abbreviation of fine F, separates a cricket scorers over O, and some railings FENCES

9a          Former party leader who’s associated with a hammer and sharp sickle, ultimately? (6)
THORPE: A superhero who is associated with a hammer THOR, and the ultimate letters of the last two words PE, leads to a former Liberal leader Jeremy THORPE, more likely to be associated with an unfortunate relationship with Norman Scott

10a       Injury cover is cheap, yet complicated (8)
EYEPATCH: An anagram (complicated) of CHEAP YET

11a       Fire rifle at home? It’s a bloomer (4-5)
WAKE-ROBIN: A synonym of fire, as in to fire with enthusiasm in the morning WAKE, is joined by to rifle or steal ROB, and our usual at home IN. A bloomer new to me, the WAKE ROBIN, takes its common name by analogy with the European bird, which has a red breast heralding spring

13a       Spin round parking and drive back (5)
REPEL: A synonym of spin REEL, around a parking symbol P

14a       Operative checking trap’s set? (6,7)
DENTAL SURGEON: A cryptic all-in-one of someone who may operate on the set of canines, incisors and molars you keep in your trap

17a       Hornist possibly hard to find (2,5,6)
IN SHORT SUPPLY: The first word of the clue “provides” the fodder for the first two words of the answer HORNIST becomes IN SHORT, and a synonym of provide is our anagram indicator and third word of the answer HORNIST supplies the fodder for IN SHORT SUPPLY I think this relies on the close similarity in pronunciation of SUPPLY and the adjective supplely

21a       Used gestures to indicate setter’s in the sea (5)
MIMED: A contraction the setter uses when referring to himself I’M is inserted into an abbreviated sea MED

23a       Dissident publication curtailed in South America (9)
SEDITIOUS: A shortened synonym of publication EDITIO(n), goes between an abbreviation of South S, and one of the usual Americas US. Dissident or S-EDITIO-US

24a       Hot-looking drink the German overturned (3-5)
RED-FACED: The German definite article DER is reversed RED, over a reversal of the drink DECAF coffee 

25a       Large adult about to squeeze into my protective boot (6)
GALOSH: Abbreviations of large and adult L & A, but put them about AL, before you squeeze them into an exclamatory synonym of My! GOSH. A protective boot like a low-cut Wellington boot GALOSH

26a       Maybe Springbok striking head is unable to run off (8)
ANTELOPE: A phrase for being unable to run off secretly with one’s beloved CAN’T ELOPE, loses its first letter

27a       Song boring a musician (6)
PLAYER: A narrative song with a recurrent refrain LAY, bores into a preposition of each or a PER

 

Down

1d         Pull in flash new label (6)
MOTOWN: Flash or an informal short time MO, to pull TOW, and N for new give us an American record label MOTOWN

2d         When farmer’s van drops off pales to support e.g. cattle enclosures (9)
STOCKADES: To pale or lose colour FADES, without the leading letter of farmer’s (van drops off) ADES, supports the collective term that cattle are an example of STOCK

3d         One third of GPs avoiding ambitious pain relief (7)
ASPIRIN: A synonym of ambitious ASPIRING, loses one of the three letters of GPs

5d         Police careful in court after gangsters discharged (6,5)
FLYING SQUAD: A synonym of careful in the sense of not to be deceived or hoodwinked FLY, IN from the clue and an abbreviated four-sided court QUAD, contains what remains of gangsters when the contents have been discharged G S. FLY-IN -G S-QUAD

6d         English politician starts to rant over rubbish outside the back of Caffè Nero? (7)
EMPEROR: E for English and an abbreviated elected politician MP, the back letter of Caffe E, and the starts to Rant Over Rubbish lead us to Nero’s unelected title EMPEROR

7d         Very distressed in revolutionary set with Corfu’s extremists (3,2)
CUT UP: A synonym of set or place PUT is reversed TUP and follows the extreme letters of Corfu CU

8d         Somewhere in Lancashire street, glass broken by a man (2,6)
ST. HELENS: An abbreviation of street and an optical glass are broken by an objective male pronoun. Aptly, I think this place in the SW of the historical county of Lancashire is known for glass production. It has been in “Merseyside” since 1972

12d       In which dish is out, presumably? (6,5)
BEAUTY SLEEP: An all-in-one of the regular naps needed to remain dishy

15d       Source of fancy Met logo seen around Yard unknown (9)
ETYMOLOGY: The study of the sources and development of words, an anagram (fancy) of MET LOGO Y for Yard and one of the algebraic unknowns (another Y)

16d       I can be seen in river area following one liqueur (3,5)
TIA MARIA: A river that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall TAMAR, in which I can be seen T-I-AMAR. Followed by a Roman one I, and an abbreviated area A. The liqueur is named for someone’s Italian Aunt Mary, who was rather secretive with the original recipe. The main ingredients are Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans, South Jamaican rum, vanilla, and sugar, blended to an alcoholic content of 20%. Given the price of Jamaican Blue Mountain, I bet a cheaper coffee has replaced it

18d       Eccentric old bishop drinking Double Diamonds – every one! (7)
ODDBALL: Abbreviations of old O, bishop B, diamonds (doubled) DD, and a synonym of every one ALL, are eccentric or ODDBALL

19d       In good form, become tired, swapped at the front for Hazard (7)
PITFALL: A synonym of to become tired or to drop off PALL, follows something at the peak of form FIT, but swap the first letters of each word, FIT becomes PIT – PALL becomes FALL. A PITFALL or Hazard

20d       There’s cycling book … (6)
ESTHER: “cycle “two letters of there’s for a book of the bible ESTHER

22d       … on the counter, its dimensions somewhat thick (5)
MIDST: A lurker (somewhat) that is reversed (on the counter), hidden between the indicators. In the thick of it

 

Compiler

Light

 

That’s all Folks…