Toughie No 3679 by Karla
Hints and tips by ALP
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Toughie difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****/*****
Great fun from Karla today. Pretty friendly, I’d say, for a Thursday and no harm in that on a beautifully sunny day. Nowt that’s remotely obscure – the only arguably less-than-everyday 5d is served up on a plate. Smart, gettable wordplay and some well-worked, credible surfaces. Very enjoyable. All yours.
Across
1a Adjustable spanner in raffle before game (10)
DRAWBRIDGE: raffle/lottery + game (cards).
6a Dig tropical island, troubles being forgotten (4)
BARB: (Caribbean) island, with troubles/difficulties forgotten/omitted.
10a Note short line in card for Mr Cage? (5)
TONIC: how one might briefly address a note to the said actor (2,3).
11a Tie unnamed student loosely on the rocks (9)
DESTITUTE: TIE+STUDE[n]T, loosely.
12a Flush edges clamped by one inside (7)
CRIMSON: edges/lips, clamped/contained by “one inside” (jail).
13a A1 work starts to trouble irritable relative (7)
OPTIMUM: usual “work” + T+I + relative (3).
14a Two alcoholic drinks keeping cool for orchestra member (4,8)
BASS CLARINET: two drinks (specific beer and generic wine), keeping cool/fashionable.
18a Blue couch covers label next to European hamper (12)
DISADVANTAGE: blue/down, covered/contained by couch/bed + label/ticket + abbreviated “European”.
21a Break producing nine pots partly recalled (7)
OPENING: lurker, recalled/reversed in the second, third and fourth words.
23a Least credible stories essentially duplicated given time (7)
TALLEST: stories/yarns with its “essential” (i.e. central) letter duplicated/doubled, plus abbreviated “time”.
24a Kinky pic sent before journalist checked out (9)
INSPECTED: PICSENT, kinky, plus (senior) “journalist”.
25a Plant flower facing west, cut by doctor (5)
EMBED: flower/river, reversed (facing west), cut by/containing one of the usual abbreviations for “doctor”.
26a Spoil a bunch of sultanas Spain’s exported (4)
HARM: “bunch of sultanas” (as in Sultan’s concubines), with “Spain” (IVR) exported/deleted.
27a Most of crowd near Tyre rebuilt part of church (10)
PRESBYTERY: (to) crowd/surge, minus its last letter, plus near/beside + TYRE, rebuilt.
Down
1d Spot meathead periodically avoided over on court (6)
DETECT: alternate letters of “meathead”, reversed/over, plus abbreviated “court”.
2d Release introduced by American broadcaster (6)
AUNTIE: release/loosen, introduced by/after abbreviated “American”.
3d Second car finally honked runner annoying passenger (4-4,6)
BACK-SEAT DRIVER: (to) second/support + (brand of) “car” + [honke]D + runner (as per 25a’s “flower”).
4d Country pub hosting party with Tess and Sian ejecting outsiders (9)
INDONESIA: pub/bar, hosting/containing “party”, plus the inside letters of “Tess” and “Sian”.
5d Painter’s primer camouflages soiled screens (5)
GESSO: lurker, screened/covered by the third and fourth words.
7d Guys propping up a bar close to street junction (8)
ABUTMENT: guys/blokes, propping up/following A + bar/except, plus [stree]T.
8d Stingy thing organised smart disposable coasters (4-4)
BEER MATS: “stingy thing” (insect) + SMART, organised.
9d Old Briton with River Boat grabbing king in art display (7,7)
PICTURE GALLERY: old/ancient Briton + (Yorkshire) river + (Roman?) boat, grabbing/containing abbreviated “king”.
15d Trite remarks when Penny’s missed lines on map (9)
LATITUDES: trite remarks/truisms, missing/omitting abbreviated “penny”.
16d Fit youth carrying top end of massive hotel carpet (8)
ADMONISH: fit youth/handsome young man, carrying/containing M[assive], plus abbreviated “hotel”.
17d Wally and Charlie mostly upset judge (8)
ASSESSOR: wally and Charlie (two fools) + upset/irritated, minus its last letter (mostly).
19d Lame complaint raised outside of lodge (6)
FEEBLE: complaint/moan, raised/reversed, plus L[odg]E.
20d Filling hot dogs at intervals within filthy premises (6)
STODGY: [h]O[t]D[o]G[s] within/inside filthy (piggy?) premises.
22d Swimmer storing books about danger in Tampa Bay? (5)
GATOR: swimmer/fish, storing/containing (biblical) “books”, reversed/about.
We’ve got four anagrams and two lurkers, plus an assortment of reversal, deletion and Lego. 10a was gently amusing but I especially liked 12a’s “one inside”, 23a’s “essentially duplicated” and 26a’s “bunch of sultanas”. What did you think?
Not particularly tricky, but packed with surfaces smoother than a baby’s bum.
The easily spotted undercoat at 5d was new to me, though the bunch of sultanas in 26a and the guys propping up a bar in 7d raised a smile, as did 16d’s fit youth and Wally and Charlie in 17d.
My thanks to Karla and ALP, whose star ratings are bang on the money.
Superb puzzle, the most enjoyable for quite some time even if not overly Tough for a Thursday. Laugh-out-loud humour throughout, witty clueing and plenty of variety, with all GK accessible for me or (in the case of 5d) quite clear from the very fair instructions.
1a’s “adjustable spanner” set the tone, and with the “Blue couch”, “Stingy thing”, “Wally” and “Old Briton” would have been on the podium without rivals on any other day. But then came the brilliant “bunch of sultanas” and “stingy thing”, with the 16d “Fit youth” taking the COTD spot.
Thank you Karla for the excellent lunchtime solve, and thanks also to ALP.
A cracking puzzle with wit galore – thanks to Karla and ALP.
I particularly enjoyed the adjustable spanner, the bunch of sultanas, the fit youth and the Tampa Bay danger.
What Gazza said