Sunday Toughie No 191
by Zandio
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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A very clever Sunday Toughie I really enjoyed solving last night, some typical Zandio Roman numbers and some great PDMs. The linked 14a and 18a are a particular favourite, along with 27a, but 24a gets the gold today. What were your favourites?
14a and 14d clues today, and I have hinted at half. I hope you find the checkers to fill the grid, and I will give a nudge or two if required, and entertaining Mama Bee permits.
Here We Go…
As it is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll be back just after the closing date with the full blog. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!
I hope I don’t have to redact any comments but I am not so new at this and don’t want to rock the boat. If in doubt, I’ll rub it out! I think that sentence is a bit redundant. You have all been so helpful in sorting out prior parsing failures, and I am sure I will need similar help again.
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious. Don’t forget the Mine of useful information that Big Dave and his son Richard so meticulously prepared for us.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely
Across
1a Student laboratories in clear over little thing getting hit repeatedly (6,4)
Our usual student, the abbreviated laboratories they may study in, in from the clue and the clear profit made are all reversed (over).
6a Five in the morning, softly one makes come-to-bed eyes? (4)
A Roman five, the time before noon and a musical softly.
13a Digital coverage – air intoxicating stuff for the audience (7)
A couple of homophones here: the character of a sound or air, and an intoxicating beverage. They protect half of your digits.
14a Moth-eaten clothes worn by former editor (3-9)
A usual former and abbreviated editor contains some clothes.
18a Vision about happening in the Bible you record (14) (7-5)
I wondered if the (14) in the puzzle was a boob, being the previous clue number, but it is an important part of the definition. Your vision involves a happening and an archaic form of you used in the Bible.
A rare Philippine pressing.24a On paper, one may have an all-star substitute (5-4)
**** me! this was a clever &lit.
27a It appears self-evident – as we also see it in Amritsar (4,6)
The metropolitan status of large places like Amritsar, and Amritsar itself both contain IT where?
Down
1d Repeatedly held up test for vehicle that makes a knocking sound (3-3)
Repeated tests for motor vehicles are reversed.
2d 
3d Italian club jet, maybe try to secure a space? (14)
Lego™ time- A prefix for an Italian football club, a jet aircraft and try from the clue, into which a has been secured.
There is a better Carpenters song to link to this, but it would have had to be spoilered, and the Tony Peluso guitar solo in this is one of my favourites.
5d Loaded originally with one ton in Rome – one ton is permissible (5)
The original letter of loaded, the letters that Romans use for one, one hundred, and one and the abbreviation of a ton.
8d Rule out hearing set by yours truly in advance? (8)
Yours truly is Zandio, a homophone of a phrase that indicates that Zandio had written parts of this crossword before filling the grid.
9d El Bar Ehpicedni? That’s flipping well disguised (14)
A very well disguised reversal (that’s flipping), I can’t call it a lurker as it is not concealed within a longer group of words. I did wonder if Ehpicedni was related to epicene – those who have their sexual characteristics disguised, but alas, not as far as I can tell.
16d Insurance official double-crosses salesman, raising a certain amount (8)
This is a reverse (raising) lurker (a certain amount) in double-crosses salesman. I think the hyphen is there to avoid double being an extraneous word in the fodder.
22d Legendary Red Ian Rush initially swapped for one down under (5)
The legendary leader who led China to communism, and a reversal (swapped) of Ian Rush’s initials.
Compiler
Zandio
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One for the Kiwis,
While researching 22d I found this. I couldn’t usurp Mr Rush from the image up there, so I brought it here instead.
That’s All Folks…
Great fun. I enjoyed 10a’s misdirect, 18a and 2d (cute). 24a’s smart and I really liked 8d. Very generous to give us that “yours truly”. Best thanks to Zandio and Sloop. That’s a bold illustration at 2d! Haha.
I tried to find a pair of those used by a cyclist on the naked bike ride but too much was “exposed”
It took me an embarrassingly long time to work that out. I’ve never been privileged to see this decoration. Now I know!
I had originally decided that as an anagram I wouldn’t hint 2d, but finding a suitably oblique reference to a state of undress that wasn’t too graphic I left it in.
Thank you Sloop John Bee !
You came to my aid for 13a and 24a.
Lots of favourites including 3d, 15d and 14a.
Thanks to all involved for a not too obscure Toughie.
I did enjoy hinting 24a!
Good heavens….maybe a double first….first time I’ve finished a Zandio toughie and first comment too!
I was inspired to give it a go after finishing Friday’s cryptic and glad I did. Lots of clever clues, of course, but I liked the Italian club and the Indian conurbation.
Thanks to SJB for the hints, I was stuck in the southwest but you hinted the ones that got me going again. And thanks to Zandio for the puzzle.
Ok not the first comment then! ALP and Una snuck in while I was typing!
It happens, even Steve C gets beaten to the drop occasionally.
I have taken the liberty of editing your Indian “place”
Zandio’s in a gentle mood today but as enjoyable as ever – thanks to him and SJB.
Rosettes to 24a, 27a, 2d, 8d and 17d.
The two ounces of plastic with a hole in the middle at 18a, the page 3 mistake at 21a and the antipodean who used to bang ’em in at 22d were the standouts for me.
Entertaining and enjoyable, thanks to Zandio and SJB, great blog as usual.
Are you a fan of The Man Band?
Love ’em John.
I saw them loads of times back in the 70s. Be Good To Youself At Least Once A Day was a great album and still holds up today.
Rhinos, Winos and Lunatics a fave too.
Yes, top stuff.
The sleeve of Be Good To Yourself is a fantastic piece of artwork. It shows a fold-out map of Wales with arrows and notes regarding the band members previous groups and locations etc.
I’ve still got it but don’t play it as I got shot of my hi-fi system yonks ago!
I remember the map and I think that gatefold image was one of Pete Frame’s earliest Rock Family Trees.
Keep on Crinting…
I like to eat bananas.
They’ve got no bones.
Hello, compiler here. Thanks very much for taking the time to solve, hint and discuss. Greatly appreciated. See you again soon (ish!).
The sooner the better, if they are all as good as this and last week’s.
Thanks a lot.
Very nice guzzle! Thank you so much, 9d was a real belter – is it real? I also really liked 24a and the misdirection at 10a.
I wrote most of the earlier replies at the local outlet mall known as MacArthur Glen. I always get the following earworm as I wander about with Mama Bee.
Late start on this and I didn’t find it quite as straightforward as others seem to have done. That said, it was an enjoyable struggle with a satisfying outcome. Podium places went to 11&18a plus 8d with the gold star pinned on 18a.
Thanks to Zandio for the work-out and to SJB for the review, The Carpenters clip and the choir from ‘down under’.
I am saving the choir from down under, the kiwi song is just one of many I listened to last night.
Golly. Cannot believe I am only commenter number eight! Where is everyone? Well, they’ve been missing a fine guzzle. I have already said what I like – am mildly surprised at the illustration for 2d, who makes these things? Who buys them? Funny old world. I must get out more. Thanks also to SJB
Americans mainly – where they are known as “Truck Nuts”
If you want to adorn your own car with some, Daisy, Amazon have a good selection.
Great fun, surprisingly gentle other than (for me) a few in the SW. Hummed over legendary for the required Red though would agree that status is merited for Ian Rush.
Honours to 18a, 2d and 9d, though many deserved equal billing.
Many thanks to Zandio and Sloop
I struggled with the SW too, and agree that legendary applies to Mr Rush more than Mr Zedong
Cracking puzzle every bit as good as Friday’s splendid back-pager. Game of 2 halves for me – no probs up north or in the SE really (other than a slow penny drop in Amritsar) but much like with Dada’s prize puzzle the SW was a struggle & had a letter reveal option been available I may well have succumbed. ✅s aplenty & if forced to pick a fav it’d be a coin toss between 24&27a with 8d on the podium.
Thanks to Zandio & to John – NTS I had to have a listen to calling occupants which then led to one or two others.
KC had one of the best voices, and a great drummer too if not quite in NP’s class
I solved this one yesterday morning before guests arrived for lunch. One drink led to another, and another, and another etc
I thought it wise not to post at midnight once they had left…. so.. many thanks to Zandio and to SJB. The only one I struggled to parse was 8d; I looked at all possibilities and still didn’t see it until this morning !
I was in the land of nod by then, I thought 8d a clever use of yours truly.
Yours truly was in the land of nod very shortly after I considered posting late last night.
Possibly the 7% beer I’d been quaffing most of the afternoon and evening mixed with the odd vase or 3 of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc had something to do with that……..
Ground to a halt on the crossing 22/27 late yesterday evening and needed a night’s sleep to get first 22d then 27a this morning. I had an answer for 16d but also failed to spot the well-hidden lurker until this am. And what a splendid ‘lurker’ 9d is, too!
9d is on my Down podium, along with 2 & 20. Across podium has 1, 12 & 21. Chuckles/groans of the day went to 13a and 8d.
Although I may be considered a tad 14, especially by my grandchildren, I’m not sure I would want to be described as ‘moth-eaten’…
Many thanks to Zandio and to SJB.