Sunday Toughie No 221
by Beam
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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I found this Toughie from Beam at the easier end of difficulty, but your experience may vary. I got an early start, as this was available at 23:18 last night, and although most of his trademark clues are here, we again have a slightly unusual Queen in 20d.
A generous 32 clues today and I have hinted half. I will try and give an extra nudge or two if required and able to do so.
Here we go, Folks…
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 return with the full review blog just after the closing date. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!
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 Bar supporters and opponents regularly railed (9)
Beam with his usual chest supporters, two Bridge opponents and regular letters of railed
10a Bracing air over particular area (5)
A crickety over and a particular area
12a Support section of church backing gospel (7)
A support for a table and a section of a church are reversed (backing)
13a Gathers energy carrying large sink back (7)
Gathers a crop, carries a large abbreviation and ends with an energy abbreviation
We’re gonna have to “gather” from some seed that’s been sowed…
14a Choosing, after a daughter perhaps? (8)
A synonym of choosing goes after a from the clue and d for daughter
24a Grazing land is beyond river (7)
Beyond or over, and a northern river. A tributary of the Ouse, which doesn’t give its name to the Wensleydale valley it runs through
27a Doctor part, keeping mum for performance (9)
To doctor or fix a game of chance, and a dramatic part around an informal mother
30a Check mistake in endless international relief? (9)
The easing of tension in international relations loses its end and contains a mistake
Down
1d Backfire blast echoed round exhaust’s opening (9)
A blast or explosion, and echoed like a bell around an opening letter
2d Square as expressed by Euclid? (5)
Nothing to do with Euclidean geometry, how Euclid or other Greek people may refer to a square or marketplace
4d Come round accepting affair is suggestive (8)
To come round to seeing another point of view contains an affair, party, or social event
9d Slug one’s used to kill slugs? (6)
A double definition
17d Change last word, hollow taking Mass (9)
The last word of a prayer and a hollow that has taken a mass abbreviation
Andy H may have preferred some golf from holes 11-13 at The Masters Augusta here, or maybe the band that Andy F.L. founded
18d Blatant bloke provided Ecstasy on street (8)
A bloke, the introduction to a conditional clause, and abbreviations of Ecstasy and street
22d Comparatively mad plunge over jetty (7)
A brief plunge into water over a jetty or dock
24d Possible target of fisherman‘s rod (5)
A double definition 
Compiler
Beam
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A lovely puzzle, which I enjoyed far more than today’s backpager. I put the wrong answer in at 20d and that held me up in Devon and Cornwall for a while. It was the divine man at 19a who put me right. We seem to have had 10a quite frequently of late. My COTT is the blatant bloke at 18d.
Thank you, Beam for a satisfying puzzle. Thank you, SJB for the hints.
From comments in t’other place, my difficulties at accessing the Dada will delay my comparison between this and the backpager
Listening to one of my favourite Billy Joel tracks as I write this comment – good choice, SJB…
Felt like I was on familiar ground with the ‘supporters’ and ‘sweetheart’, I always enjoy a Beam puzzle! I hadn’t come across the 12a word for ‘gospel’ before but it was very accessible from the wordplay. As SJB noted, this was at the easier end of the Toughie spectrum, with the greatest difficulty coming from having to choose my podium positions from the many clues I ticked. After much soul searching I went for the two all-in-ones, 14 & 28, from the across direction, alongside the amusing surface of 21a; and from the downs I opted for 2, 15 & 23 – which evoked the broadest smiles.
Many thanks to Beam for the Sunday morning entertainment, and to SJB for his post.
Struggling to reply, as the cafe where I am entertaining Mama Bee has no WiFi. Beam fooled me with a slightly different two lettered Queen
Very gentle with fewer stretched synonyms than usual – thanks to Beam and SJB.
i liked 21a, 23d and (my favourite) the clever 14a.