Toughie 3572

Toughie No 3572 by Osmosis
Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****

A properly tough Friday-level puzzle with no anagrams which I enjoyed doing battle with. Thanks to Osmosis.

Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.

Across Clues

1a Loot put in a kitty for bender? (7)
ACROBAT: a verb to loot is put inside A and a grown-up kitty.
5a Old recording place of the Damned in fire shortened (7)
SHELLAC: the place of the damned according to religious fundamentalists is inserted in a verb to fire or dismiss without its last letter.

9a Some Greek spot, timeless? (5)
SIGMA: a spot or mark on the skin without the physics abbreviation for time.

10a Did hound, when trainer swapped sides, sort of talk? (9)
TORMENTED: swap the order of the two syllables of a trainer or counsellor and add the acronym of an educational talk by an expert.

11a Actor and guy embracing play golf (5,5)
CLARK GABLE: a synonym of a guy or rope contains a verb to play or frolic and the letter that golf represents in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet.
12a Durham’s opener, the greatest stroke-maker? (4)
DALI: the opening letter of Durham and the sportsman known as ‘the greatest’.

14a To be or not to be? Sentence for discussion on BBC (8,4)
QUESTION TIME: how ‘to be or not to be?’ is described by the bard and a judge’s sentence.
18a Novelist‘s list of demands pinched (5,7)
RIDER HAGGARD: a term for the list of demands (e.g. of food or drink) included in a performing artist’s contract and an adjective meaning pinched or gaunt.

21a City with beaches and rocks (4)
NICE: an abbreviated form of ‘and’ with an informal word for rocks or precious stones.

22a Particular drill, unstable, restricting craftsman’s finish (10)
PERNICKETY: the abbreviation for drill in school followed by an adjective meaning unstable containing the last letter of craftsman.
25a For one Ascot festival, paparazzo’s back – Georgia poses (5,4)
HATHA YOGA: assemble an item of clothing that may be called an ascot (not a tie!), the place of an annual literature festival in Wales, the last letter of paparazzo and the abbreviation used for Georgia (the state, not the country). A new term for me.
26a European guru, closer to front (5)
IRISH: a Hindu guru with his closing letter moved to the front.

27a Ideal chap runs river bathing in May (2,5)
MR RIGHT: the abbreviations for runs and river are contained in a verbal synonym of might.

28a Isn’t Hazel, say, sharing Tango? Beverley’s an alternative (7)
AINTREE: stick together a coarser way of saying “isn’t” and what hazel is an example of. Share the letter that tango represents in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet at their junction. Beverley here is the name of a racecourse.

Down Clues

1d Lifted Malbec, as label shows wine producer? (6)
ALSACE: hidden in reverse.

2d Kid with appropriate salad (6)
RAGBAG: weld together a verb to kid or tease and a verb to appropriate or obtain.

3d Possibly con dim newspaper, not The Scotsman (10)
BLACKGUARD: an adjective meaning dim or dark and a national newspaper without a usual Scottish forename.

4d School member leaves clutching first pair of trainers (5)
TETRA: leaves that make a hot drink containing the first two letters of trainers.

5d Taking a constitutional document occupies the Police chief (9)
STROLLING: a document or register is held inside the frontman of The Police.

6d Elements of potato famine finally understood (4)
EYES: the final letter of famine and a response meaning ‘understood!’.

7d Profligate group over confectionery company losing billion (8)
LOTHARIO: a word for a group or great quantity precedes the name of a German confectionery company (only known to me from their very annoying TV adverts) without the abbreviation for billion.
8d Helmsman, one who could be hooked on waterway (2-6)
CO-DRIVER: charade of a foodstuff that may be caught on a hook and a synonym of waterway.

13d Accepted two thirds maybe breaking a law (10)
INFRACTION: an adjective meaning accepted or popular and what ‘two thirds’ is an example of.

15d Patsy modelled clothing garment with vim (9)
SCAPEGOAT: a verb meaning modelled or posed contains a loose cloak and a synonym of vim or energy.
16d Town crier might thus overact: grand opening (8)
GRANTHAM: what someone crying or shouting might do and a verb to overact with the abbreviation for grand preceding it all.
17d Perhaps Don‘s English gold coin breaks (8)
EDUCATOR: an abbreviation for English and our usual tincture of gold with an old coin being inserted between them.

19d On counter, checked quality of stockings? (6)
DENIER: reverse a verb meaning checked or curbed.

20d Back in Lidl, you must grab red fruit (6)
LYCHEE: the last letter of Lidl and an old word meaning you contain our usual South American red or Communist.

23d Nearly dumping nobleman after horny bounder (5)
NYALA: remove the nobleman from the word nearly and add a preposition meaning after or ‘in the style of’.

24d Band‘s note filling silence (4)
GANG: the abbreviation for note goes inside a verb to silence.

The clues I liked best were 14a, 22a, 3d and 5d. Which one(s) grabbed you?