Toughie 3670

Toughie  No 3670  by Weatherman

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ***

I was wondering whether Weatherman would be setting our mid-week Toughie and it is indeed his turn to test our cryptic brainpower.  Early visitors to the online puzzles site did have to play guess the setter, as the setter’s name did not appear when the puzzle was first published.

I awarded an extra half a star to the difficulty rating as there were a couple of things including the  (clearly clued)  unknown dogs that delayed me a little.  We did seem to spend some time going in ‘reverse’ and there was also a beep or two from the repetition radar.

Please let us know what you thought

Across

1a           People indebted after singer books theme park (5,6)
ALTON TOWERS People who are in debt go after a singer and the abbreviation for the books in the second part of the Bible

7a           Withdraw over President Trump, primarily (7)
RETRACT A reversal of the surname of the 39^th President of the United States, followed by the ‘primary’ letter of Trump

8a           Creation appropriate to merciless emperor (7)
FORMING Appropriate or adapted to the name of the merciless emperor in the Flash Gordon comic strip

10a         Runs away from drug-taking writer from the east (5)
FLEES The surname of an English writer and journalist ‘taking’ in the abbreviation for the drug Ecstasy and then reversed (from the east in an Across solution)

11a         Married love in perfect harmony, finally on this? (9)
HONEYMOON  The abbreviation for Married and the letter indicating a score of love inserted between a verb meaning to perfect and the final letter of harmonY, ON (from the clue) being added at the end

12a         Backtracking, somewhat lacking aptitude, so PM is burdened (7)
IMPOSED Hidden in reverse (backtracking somewhat) in aptituDE SO PM IS

14a         Against abandoning rock and roll star, in hiding over loss (7)
ELISION The loss or suppression of a vowel or syllable.  The abbreviation meaning against (often used in games matches) from the ‘king’ of rock and roll; IN (from the clue) then ‘hiding’ the cricket abbreviation for Over

15a         Seeing especially universal principle, understanding at last (7)
ESPYING The abbreviation for especially, one of the two opposing and complementary principles of Chinese philosophy and the last letter of understandinG

18a         Most wild snakes, having left river, eaten by empty meerkat? (7)
MADDEST Some snakes without (having left) the abbreviation for River ‘eaten’ by the outside (empty) letters of MeerkaT

20a         Was teetotal sailor spotted? (9)
ABSTAINED An abbreviated sailor and spotted or marked with (usually dirty) spots

21a         Willingly accepting quiet cuddle (5)
SPOON An adjective meaning willingly ‘accepting’ the musical abbreviation meaning quiet

22a         Exceptionally vivid festival name rejected (7)
EIDETIC Of a clear and exceptionally vivid image as though actually visible.  A Muslim festival and a verb meaning to name ‘rejected’ or reversed

23a         Don’t actually sing spicy line, occasionally jiggling (3-4)
LIP-SYNC  An anagram (jiggling) of SPICY and the odd (occasionally) letters of LiNe

24a         Hand horrible creep laptop (11)
COPPERPLATE An anagram (horrible) of CREEP LAPTOP

Down

1d           Social worker with posh accent drinking English port (7)
ANTWERP One of crosswordland’s ‘social’ workers, the abbreviation for With, the abbreviation for Received Pronunciation (posh accent) ‘drinking’ the abbreviation for English

2d           Some agents regularly set up collaborative platform (5)
TEAMS A reversal (set up in a Down solution) of the regular letters of SoMe AgEnTs

3d           Recorded children visiting revolutionary day school (7)
NOTCHED The abbreviation for children ‘visiting’ a reversal (revolutionary) of the abbreviation for Day and a well-known public school

4d           Crime characterised by one receiving stolen goods (7)
OFFENCE  Relating to (characterised by) and a person receiving stolen goods

5d           She doesn’t sleep in bed, cavorting with lairy Romeo (5,4)
EARLY BIRD An anagram (cavorting) of BED LAIRY and R (Romeo in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet)

6d           Italian dogs turn on the setter (7)
SPINONI Italian family and hunting dogs.  A verb meaning to turn, the second appearance of ON from the clue, and how Weatherman would refer to himself (the setter)

7d           Chill on ship, grabbing second half of beer (11)
REFRIGERATE On (the subject of) and a type of ship, the latter ‘grabbing’ the second half of beER

9d           Drink containing rum daughter gets stuck into (3,3,5)
GIN AND TONIC An anagram (rum) of CONTAINING into which is inserted (gets stuck into) the abbreviation for Daughter

13d         Medical procedure involved plant sap coating yours truly (6,3)
SPINAL TAP An anagram involved) of PLANT SAP ‘coating’ or going round the same way our setter (yours truly) would refer to himself as he did in the solution to 6d

16d         Send party Conservative researcher (7)
POSTDOC Send by mail, a party and the abbreviation for Conservative

17d         Not entirely vegan, a cheese filling (7)
GANACHE Hidden in part of (not entirely) veGAN A CHEese.  However, if offered a cake with this  filling made from chocolate and cream mixed together, I know my favourite vegan would not turn it down!

18d         Spooner’s natural disaster plan that protects car (7)
MUDFLAP How the Reverend would refer to a plan of a disastrous inundation of water.

19d         Group that’s adapted extremely eccentric poetry losing right to work (7)
ECOTYPE A group of organisms which have adapted to a particular environment and so have become different from other groups within the species.  The ‘extreme’ letters of EccentriC and an anagram (to work) of POETrY without (losing) the abbreviation for Right

21d         Ink more likely to leak, some say (5)
SEPIA A type of ink sounds like a homophone (some say) of more likely to leak