Toughie 3715

Toughie No 3715 by Dharma
Hints and tips by ALP

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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****/*****

A rumbustious return from Dharma, full of his typical humour and honed surfaces, prompting a slow start but a quick finish. I found many of the downs marginally easier than the acrosses but that’s possibly because I had all the checkers by then – being pathetically English, I do like to doggedly work from top to bottom. Other methods are, of course, available. Hopefully, my 2.5 will find safer harbour than usual … the floor is yours to trumpet your agreement!

Across

1a Visiting from abroad, tons jamming pub that’s full (2-5)
IN-DEPTH: visiting/among + “from” (abroad, i.e. French) + abbreviated “tons” jamming/inside abbreviated “pub”.

5a Hit uniform speed on short journey (7)
TRIUMPH: NATO’s “uniform” + speed (car, etc) on/after journey/outing, minus its last letter.

9a Withdraws hint for tops? (4,3)
OPTS OUT: reverse anagram, i.e. how one might hint/clue “tops”.

10a Customer‘s tip ahead of cycling trick (3-4)
END-USER: tip/extremity + “trick”, with its letters cycled (first to last in this case).

11a Motor sport stops idle men moving around hazardous area (9)
MINEFIELD: the usual “motor sport” stops/goes inside IDLEMEN, moving around.

12a Row of ten heading west amongst other directions (5)
NOISE: ten/10 reversed (“heading west”) inside the other three, abbreviated directions, i.e. not W[est].

13a One in family dropping drug into cordial (5)
NIECE: the usual drug inside cordial/pleasant.

15a Stride carelessly around highly trained men coming to blows (9)
DISASTERS: STRIDE, carelessly, around highly-trained men/special forces.

17a Exposed Musk lying about profligate support (9)
SUSPENDER: [m]US[k], reversed (“lying about”) + “profligate” (as noun).

19a Courts having answer before hearing finishes prematurely (5)
ATRIA: abbreviated “answer” + (court) “hearing”, minus its last letter.

22a Charlie‘s turn of phrase making Mike tense (5)
IDIOT: turn of phrase/distinctive expression, with NATO’s “Mike” becoming abbreviated “tense”.

23a Operating without preparation, guilt evens out after victory drink (7,2)
WINGING IT: “victory”+ “drink”+ G[u]I[l]T.

25a Spice Girls finally accompanying retiring singer in 1970s glam-rock band (7)
MUSTARD: [girl]S and singer/informer, reversed, inside “1970s glam-rock band”.

26a Sets out award after advancement of English vessels (7)
EMBARKS: three-letter award/honour with its E[nglish] “advanced” (from third to first) + vessels/(life?)boats.

27a Spend penny, wipe surrounds (7)
DEPLETE: abbreviated “penny” surrounded by wipe/erase.

28a Closure of cricket grounds a serious offence (7)
TREASON: [cricke]T + grounds/motive.

Down

1d Crew covered by press in gruelling race (7)
IRONMAN: “crew” (as verb) after (“covered by” in a down) “press” (also as verb).

2d Easing of tensions as Harvey, jumping around, leaves three-day event freely (7)
DÉTENTE: subtractive anagram – THREEDAYEVENT, freely, minus HARVEY, jumping around.

3d Evidence in favour of Ofcom written up, oddly vanishing (5)
PROOF: in favour of/for, plus reversed, even letters of Ofcom. Somewhat of a double bluff this clue, as the required last two letters are staring at you right in the face – twice. ‘Twas  admirably restrained of Dharma not to put up summat like “Repellent Don sometimes pinches journo’s bottom”. But he is clearly, as we all know, a much better man than me!

4d Rash was at the front of hip to begin with (9)
HOTHEADED: was at the front of/led, after hip/all the rage.

5d Leaning right, nurse admits (5)
TREND: abbreviated “right” admitted by nurse/care for.

6d Reform is inane with party splitting country (9)
INDONESIA: ISINANE, reformed, with the usual two-letter “party” inside/splitting. Hard to disagree.

7d Mighty America yielding to international report (7)
MISSIVE: mighty/huge, with abbreviated “America” becoming abbreviated “international”.

8d Makes solid career collecting diamonds with turnover of tin (7)
HARDENS: career/race, collecting/containing abbreviated “diamonds”, plus tin’s symbol, reversed/turned over.

14d Function you reportedly had come about (9)
EVENTUATE: function/organised activity + homophone of “you” + “had” (food).

16d Tough call to insert medical splint? Quite the opposite (9)
STRINGENT: after switching the instructions (“quite the opposite”), “medical splint” (in artery, say) contains/inserts “call” (on phone).

17d Did some sport, taking two minutes and took top off (7)
SKIMMED: two abbreviated “minutes” inside “did some sport” (on the slopes, etc). Sounds reasonable!

18d Triggers purists when swinging (5,2)
STIRS UP: PURISTS, swinging. Comical!

20d Looking embarrassed carrying tabloid around, with Sun’s initial best wishes (7)
REGARDS: “looking embarrassed”, containing/carrying (generic) “tabloid” (reversed/around), plus S[un].

21d Drawer left incomplete, held up by a new carpenter? (7)
ARTISAN: (human) “drawer”, minus the last letter, before (“held up” in a down) ‘A’ and abbreviated “new”. Lovely surface.

23d Club with upper hand (5)
WEDGE: abbreviated “with” + “upper hand”.

24d Inspire Kemi’s possible statement of political allegiance, ignoring Liberal (5)
IMBUE: what Kemi Badenoch might indeed say re her allegiance (1’1, 4) minus abbreviated “Liberal”.

We have six anagrams (including one reversed and a subtractive), a cycling clue and a homophone, etc. I especially enjoyed 2d, 6d and 21d. 12a and 24d tickled me too. How did you get on?