Sunday Toughie No 173 by Light
Review by Sloop John Bee
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This puzzle was published on the 18th of May 2025
Across
1a Evian’s my unfinished still drink (6)
MESCAL: How someone from Evian says my ME’S, and all bar the last letter of a synonym of still CAL(m). MESCAL, a Mexican drink made from the leaves of the mescal plant
4a Trespasses over railings, receiving fine (8)
OFFENCES: An abbreviation of fine F, separates a cricket scorers over O, and some railings FENCES
9a Former party leader who’s associated with a hammer and sharp sickle, ultimately? (6)
THORPE: A superhero who is associated with a hammer THOR, and the ultimate letters of the last two words PE, leads to a former Liberal leader Jeremy THORPE, more likely to be associated with an unfortunate relationship with Norman Scott
10a Injury cover is cheap, yet complicated (8)
EYEPATCH: An anagram (complicated) of CHEAP YET
11a Fire rifle at home? It’s a bloomer (4-5)
WAKE-ROBIN: A synonym of fire, as in to fire with enthusiasm in the morning WAKE, is joined by to rifle or steal ROB, and our usual at home IN. A bloomer new to me, the WAKE ROBIN, takes its common name by analogy with the European bird, which has a red breast heralding spring
13a Spin round parking and drive back (5)
REPEL: A synonym of spin REEL, around a parking symbol P
14a Operative checking trap’s set? (6,7)
DENTAL SURGEON: A cryptic all-in-one of someone who may operate on the set of canines, incisors and molars you keep in your trap
17a Hornist possibly hard to find (2,5,6)
IN SHORT SUPPLY: The first word of the clue “provides” the fodder for the first two words of the answer HORNIST becomes IN SHORT, and a synonym of provide is our anagram indicator and third word of the answer HORNIST supplies the fodder for IN SHORT SUPPLY I think this relies on the close similarity in pronunciation of SUPPLY and the adjective supplely
21a Used gestures to indicate setter’s in the sea (5)
MIMED: A contraction the setter uses when referring to himself I’M is inserted into an abbreviated sea MED
23a Dissident publication curtailed in South America (9)
SEDITIOUS: A shortened synonym of publication EDITIO(n), goes between an abbreviation of South S, and one of the usual Americas US. Dissident or S-EDITIO-US
24a Hot-looking drink the German overturned (3-5)
RED-FACED: The German definite article DER is reversed RED, over a reversal of the drink DECAF coffee
25a Large adult about to squeeze into my protective boot (6)
GALOSH: Abbreviations of large and adult L & A, but put them about AL, before you squeeze them into an exclamatory synonym of My! GOSH. A protective boot like a low-cut Wellington boot GALOSH
26a Maybe Springbok striking head is unable to run off (8)
ANTELOPE: A phrase for being unable to run off secretly with one’s beloved CAN’T ELOPE, loses its first letter
27a Song boring a musician (6)
PLAYER: A narrative song with a recurrent refrain LAY, bores into a preposition of each or a PER
Down
1d Pull in flash new label (6)
MOTOWN: Flash or an informal short time MO, to pull TOW, and N for new give us an American record label MOTOWN
2d When farmer’s van drops off pales to support e.g. cattle enclosures (9)
STOCKADES: To pale or lose colour FADES, without the leading letter of farmer’s (van drops off) ADES, supports the collective term that cattle are an example of STOCK
3d One third of GPs avoiding ambitious pain relief (7)
ASPIRIN: A synonym of ambitious ASPIRING, loses one of the three letters of GPs
5d Police careful in court after gangsters discharged (6,5)
FLYING SQUAD: A synonym of careful in the sense of not to be deceived or hoodwinked FLY, IN from the clue and an abbreviated four-sided court QUAD, contains what remains of gangsters when the contents have been discharged G S. FLY-IN -G S-QUAD
6d English politician starts to rant over rubbish outside the back of Caffè Nero? (7)
EMPEROR: E for English and an abbreviated elected politician MP, the back letter of Caffe E, and the starts to Rant Over Rubbish lead us to Nero’s unelected title EMPEROR
7d Very distressed in revolutionary set with Corfu’s extremists (3,2)
CUT UP: A synonym of set or place PUT is reversed TUP and follows the extreme letters of Corfu CU
8d Somewhere in Lancashire street, glass broken by a man (2,6)
ST. HELENS: An abbreviation of street and an optical glass are broken by an objective male pronoun. Aptly, I think this place in the SW of the historical county of Lancashire is known for glass production. It has been in “Merseyside” since 1972
12d In which dish is out, presumably? (6,5)
BEAUTY SLEEP: An all-in-one of the regular naps needed to remain dishy
15d Source of fancy Met logo seen around Yard unknown (9)
ETYMOLOGY: The study of the sources and development of words, an anagram (fancy) of MET LOGO Y for Yard and one of the algebraic unknowns (another Y)
16d I can be seen in river area following one liqueur (3,5)
TIA MARIA: A river that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall TAMAR, in which I can be seen T-I-AMAR. Followed by a Roman one I, and an abbreviated area A. The liqueur is named for someone’s Italian Aunt Mary, who was rather secretive with the original recipe. The main ingredients are Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans, South Jamaican rum, vanilla, and sugar, blended to an alcoholic content of 20%. Given the price of Jamaican Blue Mountain, I bet a cheaper coffee has replaced it
18d Eccentric old bishop drinking Double Diamonds – every one! (7)
ODDBALL: Abbreviations of old O, bishop B, diamonds (doubled) DD, and a synonym of every one ALL, are eccentric or ODDBALL
19d In good form, become tired, swapped at the front for Hazard (7)
PITFALL: A synonym of to become tired or to drop off PALL, follows something at the peak of form FIT, but swap the first letters of each word, FIT becomes PIT – PALL becomes FALL. A PITFALL or Hazard
20d There’s cycling book … (6)
ESTHER: “cycle “two letters of there’s for a book of the bible ESTHER
22d … on the counter, its dimensions somewhat thick (5)
MIDST: A lurker (somewhat) that is reversed (on the counter), hidden between the indicators. In the thick of it
Compiler
Light
That’s all Folks…
Thanks for the write-up, John. The puzzle number is wrong in the title (the perils of copy&paste?).
I had ‘red-faced’ for 24a.
Not copy and paste but clone and edit, I forgot to change the text.
I didn’t have a good day when I did this, hope you have a better run than me on Sunday 8th