Sunday Toughie No 237 by Hudson
Full Review by Gazza
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This puzzle was published on 09/08/26
What a lovely surprise to find that Hudson has joined the ranks of the Sunday Toughie setters with this cracking puzzle.
Across Clues
1a Fish cut by sailor (8)
SKIPJACK: a verb to cut or skive off (school, say) and a common word (often followed by ‘tar’) for a sailor.
9a Overwhelm poor Aunt Enid (8)
INUNDATE: an anagram (poor) of AUNT ENID.
10a Chekhov, say, disheartened immediately (4)
ANON: the forename of the composer Chekhov without its middle letter.
11a Maybe Georgie Porgie, Merry Henry upset with us? (7,5)
NURSERY RHYME: an anagram (upset) of MERRY HENRY US.
13a Pacific location known for its controlled splashdowns? (8)
ACAPULCO: these splashdowns are not space vehicles returning to earth but divers performing from high cliffs. You can read about them here:
15a Leg stump crosspiece released after payment (2,4)
ON BAIL: stick together the alternative name for the leg (side) in cricket and one of a pair of bits of wood sitting atop the stumps.
16a That bloke recorded gospel song (4)
HYMN: a homophone of the pronoun used for ‘that bloke’.
17a Gangly boy taking day off – November 2 (5)
LANKY: string together a synonym of boy without the abbreviation for day, the letter that November represents in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet and the standard abbreviation for the state that’s the answer to 2d.
18a Promising Rovers’ striker nets second (4)
ROSY: the forename of the comic-strip footballer Roy of the Rovers (who had an incredibly long career) contains the abbreviation for second.
20a Arthur Ashe rarely conceals slice when serving (6)
RASHER: hidden in the clue is a slice which may be served as part of a full-English breakfast.
21a Endlessly provoke Sinatra when name dropping Sting? (8)
PIQUANCY: a truncated verb to provoke or stimulate and Ms. Sinatra’s forename without the (first) abbreviation for name.
23a Sip of Cornish rum, something a bit dangerous in the main (8,4)
SCORPION FISH: an anagram (rum) of SIP OF CORNISH.
26a When retired, be wicked (4)
EVIL: reverse a verb to be or exist.
27a That is about The Greatest Romantic? (8)
IDEALIST: the full form of the Latin for ‘that is’ (2,3) containing ‘the greatest’ boxer.
28a Delaying hearing after arresting leaders of armed robbery (8)
TARRYING: a synonym for hearing (the task of a judge in court) contains the leading letters of the last two words.
Down Clues
2d Where to see Derby County fortunate to miss kick-off? (8)
KENTUCKY: this is where you’d go to see a famous US horserace (Derby). A county in South-East England followed by a synonym of fortunate without its first letter (missing kick-off).
3d Prison on US state island bores a miser (5-7)
PENNY-PINCHER: start with the short form of a US word for a prison and add the abbreviation for a North-Eastern US state. Now insert a word for a small low-lying island into another term for the ‘a’ in a phrase such as “50p a kilo”.
4d Minerva St, Raleigh: Houses of the Stars (6)
ASTRAL: hidden in the clue.
5d One flies equipment over base (4)
KITE: a word for equipment (e.g. for military personnel or sportspeople) followed by the letter used for the base in logarithms.
6d Snoop Dogg initially detained by detective – wow! (8)
BUSYBODY: stick together an informal word for a police detective and an expression of excitement or admiration (wow!) then insert the initial letter of Dogg.
7d Bad-tempered wife always welcoming kiss (4)
WAXY: a rare informal adjective meaning irate comes from the abbreviation for wife and a Scottish word for always containing the letter used for a kiss.
8d Discussed thin strategy to send e.g. troops back to the front (8)
REDEPLOY: what sounds like an adjective meaning thin or piping (like a reed instrument) followed by a synonym of strategy or ruse.
12d Small business shot Hershey Bar ad (12)
HABERDASHERY: an anagram (shot) of HERSHEY BAR AD.
14d Confess that hurts – wordplay gag rejected (3,2)
OWN UP: an exclamation meaning ‘that hurts’ (not ‘ouch’, the other one) and the reversal of a type of joke involving wordplay (e.g. we’re attending a party in Norway in a Fjord Fiesta).
16d London landmark cool? According to Spooner, it’s suffering (8)
HARDSHIP: Spooner might turn this into the London landmark which is the tallest building in the UK and a dated informal adjective meaning cool or fashionable.
17d Rough Aussie poet eating ravioli on vacation (8)
LARRIKIN: the surname of the English poet who has a statue in his adopted city of Hull contains the outer letters of ravioli.
19d Italian corrupt politicians exercised opt out (8)
SICILIAN: remove (out) the letters of OPT (exercised i.e. moved around, because they are not in order) from the anagram (corrupt) of [po]LI[t]ICIANS.
22d Shake peeled seafood, upsetting the vicar? (6)
QUIVER: remove the outer letters (peeled) from a type of seafood similar to octopus and reverse the shortened title of a CoE vicar.
24d Outcry in court as Australia lets in rapper banned in the UK (4)
OYEZ: this is not the grunt of a tennis player but the call for attention made by a lawcourt officer. An informal word for Australia contains the adopted name of a US rapper banned here (about whom the least said the better).
25d Catch terrorist at last, clear of all charges (4)
NETT: a verb to catch or trap and the last letter of terrorist provide a description of earnings after all charges such as tax and NI have been deducted.