Sunday Toughie 203 (Review)

Sunday Toughie No 203 by Zandio

Review by

Sloop John Bee

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This puzzle was published on the 14th December 2025

I hope this isn’t out a day early – Gazza has assured me that this puzzle closed for entries at 9:00am.

 

Across

1a          Force in uniform, wearing female garb? (6)

DURESS:            The letter that uniform represents U, wearing a (usually) female-specific item of clothing DRESS.

4a          Do LSD lab cooking? That’s nuts (8)

ODDBALLS:      An anagram (cooking) of DO LSD LAB.

10a       Dawn’s twisted jokes going round university (5)

SUNUP:             A reversal of jokes (that are indicated by italics in the Quick Crossword) PUNS becomes S NUP, around the abbreviation of university U. I was expecting two words or at least a hyphen, but the BRB goes with just a ‘.  SUN’UP

11a       Actors exit after the writer offers rebuke (9)

CASTIGATE:      A group of actors CAST, and an exit from a garden or field, GATE that goes after the letter that the writer uses in mentioning himself I.

12a       Rub flanks of animal, old beast of burden (7)

BUFFALO:          To rub or polish BUFF, the flanking letters of animal AL, and an old abbreviation O.

13a       Deviant leapt to interrupt vacuous punk rallying cry (3,4)

PEP TALK:          An anagram (deviant) of LEAPT becomes EP TAL, it interrupts what remains of punk when vacuous P_K.

14a       Checking out without paying? (6-8)

WINDOW-SHOPPING:               What you may do when planning, but not when following through on purchases.

17a       People rarely call in these places now (9,5)

TELEPHONE BOXES:                   Nowadays, rarely used for their original purpose, the rise of the mobile has turned most of these into defibrillators, libraries or similar local amenities.

21a       Fly-by-night sort, husband yet to return – will it hold water? (7)

BATHTUB:         A mammal that flies by night BAT, the abbreviation of husband H, and a reversal (to return) of a conjunction that can swap with yet/BUT becomes TUB.

23a       Could European stick with dancing? (7)

MAYPOLE:         A synonym of could MAY, and an Eastern European POLE. A large “stick” around which dancing may occur.

24a       In which urbanite travels, saving time? (4,5)

TUBE TRAIN:     A cryptic all-in-one. An anagram (travels) of URBANITE, into which T for time has been saved.

25a       Exposed college official over framing king (5)

NAKED:              A college official DEAN is reversed (over) NA_ED, it frames the chess notation for the King K.

26a       There’s only one way to depart from these exact conclusions (4,4)

DEAD ENDS:     Synonyms of exact DEAD on,  and conclusions ENDS, are routes from which there is only one way in or out.

27a       Street in Rome, I start to drive out of it (6)

STONED:           An abbreviated street ST, what a Roman I indicates ONE, and the start to drive D.

Down

1d         Broadcast doubts over wicket with large dry area (4,4)

DUST BOWL:    An anagram (broadcast) of DOUBTS goes before (over in a down clue) abbreviations of wicket and large DUSTBO W L.

2d         Phone dodgy seller set aside (4-5)

RING-FENCE:   To phone someone RING and a seller of dodgy or stolen goods FENCE.

3d         Highly noted surgeon’s op ran overtime somewhat (7)

SOPRANO:        A lurker (somewhat) hidden in the preceding four words.

5d         Regret meeting with detectives (14)

DISAPPOINTMENT:       Some plural detective inspectors DIS and a meeting at a predetermined time APPOINTMENT.

6d         Improvised trip inspired by New York-style jazz music of the 1990s (7)

BRITPOP:           New York-style jazz of the 1940s BOP, containing an anagram (improvised) of TRIP, becomes a style of music of the 1990s BRITPOP.

7d         Hold up a shopping centre, being from South America? (5)

LLAMA:                             The indefinite article A, and a shopping centre MALL, are reversed (held up) LLAM A

8d         What optician flogs on radio spots (6)

SPECKS:            A homophone (on radio) of what an optician “flogs” Spectacles or informally SPECS becomes SPECKS.

9d         Two articles about bad-tempered management everywhere (6,3,5)

ACROSS THE BOARD:  Two articles (indefinite and definite) A and THE, around a synonym of bad-tempered CROSS, and the group of senior management BOARD.

15d       Son maybe injured fox in Kent (4,2,3)

NEXT OF KIN:   An anagram (injured) of FOX IN KENT.

16d       Rose, seeing that Conservative, ran out (8)

ASCENDED:      A conjunction for seeing that AS, an abbreviation of Conservative C, and a synonym of ran out ENDED.

18d       Permit partly misspelt – it never gets raised (7)

ENTITLE:            A lurker (partly) that is reversed (gets raised in a down clue) between the (indicators)

19d       Howl over web item increasing gun danger? (7)

BAYONET:          The howl of a wolf BAY, a crickety over O, and the WWW NET. BAY O NET An item that increases the length and danger of a gun

20d       Old rocker supporting Swedish group half-heartedly slowed down (6)

ABATED:            Either Bjorn or Benny is removed from the Swedish group ABBA, followed by an old rocker TED. Slowed down or ABATED

22d       Body part coming from revolutionary artificial intelligence section (5)

TIBIA:                 Artificial Intelligence AI,  and a small section BIT, are reversed (revolutionary) for the bone in the body TIBIA.

Compiler

Zandio

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