Sunday Toughie 182 (Review)

Sunday Toughie No 182 by Zandio

Review by

Sloop John Bee

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

This puzzle was published on the 20th July 2025

 

Across

1a          Some Christians stoned going to Charlotte? (4,6)
HIGH CHURCH: A synonym of stoned on intoxicating substances HIGH, and a well-known singer called Charlotte CHURCH.

6a          Fashionable greetings cards originally posted by Charlie (4)
CHIC: An informal greeting HI, is posted between the original letter of cards C, and the code letter Charlie -also C.

9a          Alice detailed 20 changes for tube fare (10)
CANNELLONI: An anagram of the answer to 20d LENNON and ALICe, but de-tail Alice first. Not used for travel on the underground, more like the tube-shaped pasta served in an Italian restaurant.

10a       Rejected or covered by popular press (4)
IRON: A reversal (rejected) of OR becomes RO covered by a popular synonym IN.

12a       Urge former partner to go with trunks, not smalls (6)
EXHORT: Our usual former partner EX, and what remains of truncated trousers sHORTs without both S for Smalls.

13a       Draw has clubs involved in spicy derbies (8)
DESCRIBE: An anagram (spicy) of C for clubs and DERBIES.

15a       Spotting what flies try, circling river bank, to conceal hatch, heading off (12)
BIRDWATCHING: To try to buy at auction perhaps BID, around a river abbreviation R, a synonym of bank WING, around (h)ATCH from the clue but take the heading off first.

18a       Indiscreet book put in shopping bag – it’s a safeguard by the way (5,7)
CRASH BARRIER: An indiscreet synonym RASH, and a book abbreviation B, are put in a shopping bag CARRIER.

21a       Breathe in oxygen repeatedly – one litre, healthy stuff! (5,3)
OLIVE OIL: Without the ability to breathe you would be dead, if you are with breath or LIVE goes between repeated chemical symbols of oxygen O-O, followed by a Roman one I and an abbreviated litre L. O LIVE O IL.

22a       Conservative MP I reported is circumventing rule (6)
EMPIRE: A lurker (is circumventing) in the first four words of the clue.

24a       Trouble following knight’s arrest (4)
NAIL: A synonym of trouble AIL, follows the chess notation for a knight N.

25a       Rubbish catches all round – Botham maybe getting thunderous (10)
STENTORIAN: A synonym of rubbish ROT, and catches fish perhaps NETS, both reversed (all round) STEN TOR and finish with Mr Botham’s forename IAN.

26a       Articles Spanish and English put together in style (4)
ELAN: Definite and indefinite articles from Spanish and English EL and AN, when put together give us something showing style ELAN.

27a       Random way to encounter gnu? (7-3)
SCATTER-GUN: An anagram of the wildebeest GNU becomes GUN, with the anagram indicator SCATTER, going into the grid giving us a random SCATTER-GUN way.

Down

1d         Game where every player gets stick (6)
HOCKEY: An all-in-one – &lit. A game where every player has a stick.

2d         Gnu put up with hog running outside, excited (4-2)
GUNG-HO:  A reversal (put up in a down clue) of GNU becomes UNG, and an anagram (running) of HOG, goes outside.

3d         Perceptive about Bard’s King Edward hiding sad expression (5-7)
CLEAR-SIGHTED: Lego™ time. One of our usual abouts C, a Shakespearean King LEAR, an expression made when sad SIGH, and an informal Edward TED.

4d         Regularly avoiding nyala, gnu’s going over plain (4)
UGLY: Regular letters of nYaLa GnU’s are avoided YLGU, then reverse (going over) what remains for a plain that thankfully wasn’t the Serengeti UGLY.

5d         May in Paris: from the feminine attire, things brightening up (10)
CANDELABRA: A synonym of may CAN, the French (in Paris) for from the DE LA, and a feminine item of attire BRA, may be found brightening up many of Liberace’s pianos.

7d         Personnel smuggling gold – if caught around Italy, that’s scary (8)
HORRIFIC: The personnel department HR, around heraldic gold OR, IF from the clue, the IVR code for Italy I, and a cricket scorers caught C. Scary or H OR R IF I C

8d         Come Together using fiddle? Extreme! (8)
CONVERGE: A fiddle or deception CON, and the extreme sides of a road perhaps  VERGE, come together or CONVERGE.

11d       Decorate with sugar paste before cake topped – it looks tasty! (3-5,4)
ICE-CREAM CONE: To decorate with sugar ICE, a synonym of paste – to thrash or defeat soundly CREAM, and what remains of a small cake  (s)CONE, without its topmost letter.

14d       Decide a list I compiled is somewhat impractical (10)
IDEALISTIC: A lurker (is somewhat) hidden in the first five words of the clue.

16d       Roughly scour gnu’s midsection and head with bottom of coarse sponge (8)
SCROUNGE: An anagram (roughly) of SCOUR becomes SCROU, the middle N, and head of the GNu G, and the bottom letter of coarse E.

17d       Perhaps 1 across Central Chicago has herb topping? (8)
BASILICA: More than one letter in the centre of Chicago ICA, follows a herb BASIL.

19d       Plummeting income initially needs to be 10 times as much (6)
DIVING: After Friday’s backpage reduction of one Roman numeral by 50%, It is fast becoming a Zandio™ to swap Roman numerals in this way. Here a synonym of income LIVING, becomes a synonym of plummeting DIVING, by swapping one Roman numeral L for fifty for one 10 times bigger D for five hundred.

20d       Christmas with breaking news about singer (6)
LENNON: The Christmas period NOEL, is broken by two items of news NN, NO NN EL, then reversed (about) for a singer John LENNON.

23d       Wildebeest with no tail, aged one taking little bites (4)
GNAT: The final wildebeest loses his tail GN(u), I can’t find a definitive source for aged equalling AT, but I think the saying “Show me the boy AT seven, and I will show you the man” is the best I can do, but of course Zandio can. He came to the hints blog with this;

I haven’t got the physical BRB to hand, but Chambers online defines the two-letter word AT, as “having reached the age of”. As in “I joined the army AT eighteen”. 

Compiler

Zandio

That’s All Folks…