Sunday Toughie No 240 by Light
Full Review by Gazza
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This puzzle was published on 30/08/26
A very enjoyable puzzle from Light this week.
Across Clues
1a Loud claps accompanying flashes of brilliance? (12)
THUNDERBOLTS: cryptic definition of the sounds accompanying lightning.
8a Short English goalie, clumsy type that’s used to dull racket (7)
EARPLUG: the truncated (short) surname of Mary Earps the English goalkeeper and a word for a clumsy person.
9a Surely caught part of plant’s stem in bloom (2,5)
NO DOUBT: homophones (caught, i.e. heard) of a) the place where a leaf is attached to a plant’s stem and b)
an adverb meaning ‘in bloom’.
11a Trick involving bounce finally leads to Hampshire opener’s dismissal (5-2)
HEAVE-HO: a verb to trick or deceive containing (involving) the final letter of bounce and the leading letters of Hampshire Opener.
12a Work wherever you find room in hotel, day in Stoke wasted (3-4)
HOT-DESK: start with the letter that hotel represents in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet then insert the abbreviation for day into an anagram (wasted) of STOKE.
13a US president leaving Knievel’s overnight accommodation (5)
ROOST: start with the surname of a US President (you have two to choose from and it’s not Bush) then remove the forename of Mr Knievel the stunt rider.
14a Porky American band pass the time lazily (3,6)
LIE AROUND: assemble what a porky is in London’s East End, an abbreviation for American and a synonym of band or circle.
16a See mistake old exhausted porter in charge makes (9)
BISHOPRIC: stick together an informal word for a blunder, the abbreviation for old, the outer letters (exhausted) of PorteR and the abbreviation for ‘in charge’.
19a Hand grabbing second husband, express contempt (5)
PSHAW: a word for a hand contains (grabbing) abbreviations for second and husband.
21a Drugs ring with criminals in the main defying resistance (7)
OPIATES: the ring-shaped letter followed by a word for seagoing (in the main) criminals without the abbreviation for electrical resistance.
23a State‘s land associated with nationalists essentially (7)
INDIANA: an Asian country followed by the central (essentially) letters of natioNAlists.
24a Family’s keeping broken LED lights (7)
KINDLES: a word for family plus it’s ‘S contains an anagram (broken) of LED.
25a Store‘s stop-and-search: I vetted bags (7)
ARCHIVE: hidden in the clue, indicated by bags (as a verb).
26a Prince Charming? Standard cheer for the audience (9,3)
PRINCIPAL BOY: homophones (for the audience) of a word meaning standard or tenet and a verb to cheer (BUOY).
Down Clues
1d 17 Down divided a party (7)
TORNADO: weld together a past participle meaning divided or rent, A and a festive party.
2d Most unpleasant guilt sadly overwhelms eastern saint (7)
UGLIEST: an anagram (sadly) of GUILT contains (overwhelms) abbreviations for eastern and saint.
3d Trouble Nick for Reverend Spooner’s accessory? (3,6)
DOG COLLAR: a verb to trouble or worry and an informal verb to nick or arrest.
4d River rising, periodically check near cattle farm (5)
RANCH: the abbreviation for river followed by regular letters reversed (rising, in a down clue) from ‘cHeCk NeAr’.
5d One getting on nerves ultimately told off with little hesitation (7)
OLDSTER: an anagram (off) of [nerve]S TOLD followed by a small word expressing hesitation.
6d Canadian PM once insulting boring Greek character (7)
TRUDEAU: an adjective meaning insulting or impolite goes inside (boring) the nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet.
7d Wild cheers after black bear goes under fence (7,5)
BECHER’S BROOK: an anagram (wild) of CHEERS follows the abbreviation of black. Add a verb to bear or endure.
10d Transcribe copy, grand or humble (4,4,1,3)
TAKE DOWN A PEG: charade of a phrasal verb to transcribe (4,4), a verb to copy or imitate and the abbreviation for grand.
15d Opening late, seat one youngster given ace spicy treat (9)
ENCHILADA: a type of seat (as seen in the House of Commons) without its first letter (opening late) followed by the Roman one, a male youngster and the cards abbreviation for ace.
17d Top bowler? (7)
SPINNER: a double definition, top being a children’s toy.
18d Aviator to land, holding another flyer (7)
ORTOLAN: hidden (holding) in the clue.
19d Vehicle cops record going the wrong way over lay-by regularly (7)
PEDICAB: reverse (going the wrong way) the detective branch of a police force and a musical record. Append regular letters of lAy-By.
20d Sacked, Ivy and Hazel losing heart slowly (7)
HEAVILY: an anagram (sacked) of IVY and HA[z]EL (losing central letter).
22d Quiet island adopting this side dish (5)
SUSHI: an instruction to be quiet and an abbreviation for island containing (adopting) a pronoun identifying this side (as opposed to ‘them’).
I think 1a should be thunderbolts otherwise we have the wrong letters for the 5d and 6d clues. When I was solving this I also had thunderclaps to begin with.
Thanks Gazza for confirming my other solutions were correct.
Thanks for that, Madflower, now corrected. I’d like to be able to say that the error was deliberate in an attempt to inspire some comments but I’d be lying.