Sunday Toughie No 120
by Zandio
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 12th of May 2024
Across
1a Annie Oakley‘s heavenly body? (8,4)
SHOOTING STAR: A nice double-definition to begin with, Annie Oakley was the “Shooting Star” of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show
8a “Shut up!” interrupts love song under the stars? (4-3)
OPEN-AIR: To shut up an animal PEN, goes between (interrupts) the letter that love represents O, and a song or tune AIR
9a Heath, perhaps, where precipitation is checked as directed (7)
TRAINED: The shortened forename of both a band-leader and former prime minister, both known as TED Heath, goes around some precipitation RAIN T(RAIN)ED or directed as a weapon in the hands of Annie Oakley may be trained on a target
11a Ridicule the French politician with nothing on (7)
LAMPOON: One of the French definite articles LA, a politician MP, the letter that looks like nothing O, and ON from the clue LAMPOON or ridicule those who deserve it
12a Worker and lad getting engaged (5-2)
HANDS-ON: A manual worker HAND, and a lad SON, are HANDS-ON and getting engaged in a task
13a Bug in line returned – royalty discontented (5)
WORRY: A line ROW, is reversed to become WOR, followed by what remains of royalty when discontented RY WORRY to bug or pester
14a Capital success in every trial (5-4)
UPPER-CASE: A success reflected in the scoreline UP, followed by a preposition for each or every PER, and a criminal trial CASE UPPER-CASE or capital letters
16a Degree to be given by 23rd Oct or at Easter (9)
DOCTORATE: A very well-hidden lurker (to be given by)
19a Deposits found in oceans, with tons gathered up (5)
SEATS: Deposits on your bottom, the seven “oceans” or SEAS, gather up the abbreviation of tons T
The data mining sites (Danword and Wordplays.com) both suggest that the answer should be (in their opinion) SEAMS but Zandio came to the hints blog in a reply to Jane, to say that –
‘Tons’ = M (mass or millions) would be a secondary abbreviation, which we don’t allow except in a very few instances. The main exception is ‘student’ = L, although Brian Greer (who used to set the Sunday Telegraph Cryptic and was crossword editor of two newspapers) would never use that. I think it’s justifiable because an L-plate is a commonplace sight. We accept ‘business’ = ‘co’, but that’s a common part of English. I can’t think of others right now. So we wouldn’t accept ‘tons’ = M. All the best.
Although this prize puzzle is now closed to entries, The answers and winners aren’t published until Sunday so we will have to wait until next Sunday’s puzzle supplement to find out, but fingers crossed that your stab at the prize will be accepted
21a Trapped by beast from the East, died after minute – or 1,440 of them? (7)
WEEKDAY: How are you at dividing by 60? A species of ox found in Tibet YAK, is reversed (from the East)
around the genealogical died D, goes after a Scots synonym of small WEE A WEE(K(D)AY (and all other days) last 24 hours or 1,440 minutes
23a Top minister retiring before linking up with company offering present (7)
COMPERE: We have a reversal of the most senior member of government PM becomes MP and a poetic synonym of before ERE, after an abbreviated company CO. Offering appears to be misdirecting us towards present as a gift rather than present as the host we need (thanks Colin and Gazza)
24a Roll back stand before mass ceremony in church (7)
BAPTISM: Reverse to stand as a politician (and therefore be allowed to take to the benches in Parliament) or a reversal of Edinburgh’s relationship to the Forth (Edinburgh stands before or SITs on the Forth) SIT becomes TIS, goes after a large flat, elliptical breakfast roll BAP, and abbreviated mass M, (Thanks Gazza)
BAP(TIS)M
25a Driven out with incursion of a raiding party (7)
INVADER: An anagram of DRIVEN and A from the clue
26a Tragic cases that could become haters? (6,6)
BROKEN HEARTS: A reverse anagram where the anagram indicator is in the solution BROKEN, and HATERS is the fodder to be broken
Down
1d A load of taste – American cook uses it (7)
STEAMER: A lurker (a load of) hidden in the next two words
2d Speaking in Parliament, for instance could be a Lab, a Lib-Dem, an SNP …? (7)
ORATORY: A manner of speaking. A conditional for instance OR, A from the clue and another group of speakers in Parliament OR A TORY could be the fourth in the …? list
3d Ultra revolting eating insect, a scary creature (9)
TARANTULA: An anagram of ULTRA around an insect ANT, and followed by A from the clue
4d Score century, stacking up boundaries in Christchurch (5)
NOTCH: To score on a bedpost perhaps, a crickety century TON, is reversed NOT, and adds the boundaries of Christchurch CH
5d One’s taken in hand for going round getting tight (7)
SPANNER: Something you take in hand, it goes round and things get tight
6d Medical condition troubled men in the East (7)
AMNESIA: An anagram (troubled) of MEN in the Eastern continent ASIA
7d Your treble whiskey period could get you admitted here (5,4,3)
WORLD WIDE WEB: Three instances of the letter that whiskey represents in the phonetic alphabet when followed by a period WWW. Would be the start of an address that gets you into this blog or similar pages
10d Say Trump’s winning Yale? Maybe 2024’s a great time (7,5)
DONKEYS YEARS: An informal name for Mr Trump DON, and his ‘S contains (winning) the device to open a Yale KEY, followed by 2024’s as an example of the time period YEAR, one of a great many
15d Before bed, keeping son with energy in order (9)
PRESCRIBE: What the doctor may order. A synonym of before PRE, a genealogical son S, and his bed when an infant CRIB, go before an abbreviation of energy E
17d Heard bird a few days old or less (7)
CHEAPER: A homophone (heard) of the noise a young bird may make CHEEPER becomes CHEAPER or less monetarily
18d Underworld boss in the Marshalsea? (3,4)
OLD NICK: Students of Dickens or Southwark history will know that Marshalsea was, formally a debtors prison, synonyms of formally OLD, and prison NICK, define an informal boss of the Underworld OLD NICK
19d Mould aroma’s cut by initialisation of Vladimir Putin’s boiler? (7)
SAMOVAR: An anagram (mould) of AROMAS and Vladimir’s initial V – a boiler used to prepare Russian tea
20d Lists intelligence gathered by a wretched revolutionary (7)
AGENDAS: A from the clue and a reversal (revolutionary) of a synonym of wretched SAD becomes DAS gather some abbreviated intelligence GEN A(GEN)DAS the lists of business that a meeting may have
22d Yours truly’s smuggled in foreign currency – which country? (5)
YEMEN: How yours truly addresses himself ME, in the currency of Japan YEN gives us another country YE(ME)N
That’s All Folks!