Sunday Toughie No 220 by proXimal
Review by
Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 12th April 2026
Across
1a One holding groceries and dancing lively dance for Spooner (8,3)
SHOPPING BAG: Two dance synonyms BOPPING and SHAG (the State Dance of South Carolina), are given the Spooner treatment
7a Brother on vacation had tanned (7)
BROWNED: What remains of brother when vacated B-R, and a synonym of had OWNED
8a Dick hurt back getting edible tubers (7)
PIGNUTS: Dick is an informal term for a detective, a more formal abbreviation for a detective for hire PI, is followed by a reversal (back) of hurt by a wasp perhaps STUNG becomes GNUTS
10a Break down about this novel’s bleak end, perhaps (4,4)
FISH TAIL: A break-down FAIL around an anagram (novel) of THIS becomes ISHT. I couldn’t decide which end of the clue was the definition until I remembered A Bleak is a type of European freshwater fish
11a Jacket having bad smell worn by character cycling (6)
BOLERO: A particularly pungent smell of body ofour or BO, followed by a character in a dramatic part that cycles two letters from front to back ROLE becomes LERO
13a Picked up routine flier (4)
TERN: A homophone of a routine as performed on stage A TURN becomes TERN
14a Extraordinary mega-fast gains primarily escalated over industrialisation period (3,2,5)
AGE OF STEAM: An anagram (extraordinary) of MEGA-FAST and the primary letters of escalated over EO
16a Shrimpers on a lagoon somewhat cold (10)
IMPERSONAL: A lurker (somewhat) hidden in the first four words
18a Layer bearing wide cut (4)
HEWN: The layer of a breakfast staple HEN, around a cricket scorers wide W
21a Assemble gun beside that woman (6)
GATHER: A mobster’s gun GAT, beside that pronoun of a woman HER
22a Rustic wooden frame is found in middle of wheelhouse (8)
YOKELISH: A wooden frame for carrying buckets across the shoulders YOKE, and IS from the clue found in the middle letters of wheelhouse LH
24a Concocted porky pies after losing both leads for dogs (7)
YORKIES: The leading letters of pORKY pIES are removed before the first of them is anagrammed to YORKIES
25a Maybe future ahead makes us become anxious (5,2)
TENSE UP: Future is an example of a grammatical nature – A TENSE, it is followed by a synonym of ahead UP
26a Novelist‘s wife makes changes to yarn – not on! (6,5)
WALTER SCOTT: A synonym of makes changes ALTERS, goes between a wifely abbreviation W, and a type of yarn COTTON, but drop the ON. The novelist W-ALTER S-COTT
Down
1d Silverware half-heartedly put on gold support (7)
SPONSOR: Silverware used for stirring SPOONS, loses one of the letters at its heart SPONS, and adds some heraldic gold OR
2d Now and again, go wrong as trek is not simple (6)
ORNATE: Alternate letters (now and again) of the following four words gO wRoNg As TrEk, ORNATE or not simple
3d Parking supplementing new train station (10)
PADDINGTON: A parking sign P, a two-word phrase for supplementing ADDING TO and a new abbreviation N, lead to a train station familiar to Peruvian marmalade sandwich-eating bears
4d Question ultimately raised in public denial (4)
NOPE: The ultimate letter of question is raised in a down clue, a synonym of public OPEN becomes NOPE
5d Prominence of Cyrano de Bergerac with involvement of one VIP (3,5)
BIG NOISE: Cyrano de Bergerac’s prominence, his BIG NOSE, around a Roman one I
6d Fellow eats last of Cheddar before Swiss cheese (7)
GRUYERE: A chap or fellow GUY, around the last of Cheddar R, and a literary before ERE. The Swiss cheese G R UY ERE
7d Life begins at forty: resolved to leave for sea organised appropriately (11)
BEFITTINGLY: We have had to wait a while for the proXimal™ compound anagram, but appropriately, here it is now. An anagram (resolved) of LIFE BEGINS AT FORTY but another anagram (organised) of FOR SEA is left out
9d What salesperson at marina might do displays theatricality (11)
SHOWMANSHIP: Split (4,3,4) SHOW MAN SHIP, and this may be what a salesperson at a marina might do to sell a yacht
12d Scan a photo possibly showing Native American woman (10)
POCAHONTAS: An anagram (possibly) of SCAN A PHOTO
15d On high netting starts to rig tackle of vessel (8)
ARTERIAL: Starting letters of rig tackle RT, are netted by a synonym of on high AERIAL, of is included in the definition as we need an adjective relating to a vessel in the body ARTERIAL
17d Mechanics stripped fasteners beneath sump (3,4)
PIT CREW: Threaded fasteners SCREWS, are stripped of their outer letters CREW, and go beneath a sump or depression PIT
19d Plain papers kept in case (7)
EVIDENT: Abbreviated papers ID, kept in case of necessity EVENT
20d Sign that insect’s entered outhouse (4-2)
LEAN-TO: One of our usual insects ANT, enters into an astrological sign LEO
23d Man is one heard somewhere in supermarket (4)
ISLE: A homophone of one of the locations of commodities in a supermarket, AISLE becomes ISLE
Compiler
proXimal
That’s All Folks…