Toughie 3630

Toughie  No 3630 by Donnybrook

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****

A fine mid-week Toughie from Donnybrook; although I will admit that this collection of linked clues did take a bit of careful consider heation to make sure I was looking at, and entering into the grid, the correct words in the right places.   I’ve also increased my knowledge of the origins of the name of that part of a church known as a nave.

Please let us know what you thought

Across

1a           Soldiers make off with church fund (8)
RESOURCE An abbreviated regiment (soldiers), a verb meaning to make off or turned, and the abbreviation for the Church of England

5a/12a  Sexual attractiveness 14 24 possibly possesses? (6,9)
ANIMAL MAGNETISM Were the solution to 14 24 a creature, it might have the property to attract another

9a           See 26 Down

10a         What one sees before eruption back in legendary isle? (6)
AVALON A reversal (back) of what one sees (or doesn’t see!) on a volcano before it erupts

12a         See 5 Across

13a         Strengthened 14 24’s left for delta (5)
STEEL A name for 14 24 where the abbreviation for Left replaces the letter represented by Delta in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

14a/24a    Train once in club and run in socks (4,5)
IRON HORSE A golf club and the cricket abbreviation for Run inserted into covering for the feet (socks)

16a         Mozart’s name produced down under? (7)
AMADEUS Mozart’s middle name – part of a verb meaning produced inserted into the abbreviation, and IVR code, for Australia (down under)

19a         Vocabulary in student person once revered? (7)
LEXICON The usual abbreviation for student or learner, a preposition meaning former (once) and someone venerated or admired

21a         Attack pacifist leading appeal for peace (4)
COSH An abbreviated pacifist followed by (leading) an interjection appealing for peace and quiet

24a         See 14 Across

25a         What church nave has is neat (9)
SHIPSHAPE The nave of a church takes its name from the Latin word for ship (navis) so might be described as having the form of this vessel.  In some countries, for instance Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain, the vessel and the part of the church have the same name

27a         Fresh item about to be tried with fruit (6)
UPDATE In court, waiting to be tried, with a type of fruit

28a         Something that might destroy bog plant? (8)
LAVENDER Split the name of this plant 3,5 and you will find a description of something that might destroy an informal name for a toilet (bog)

29a         Erstwhile editor meeting painter: room for discussion? (6)
EXEDRA Former or erstwhile, an abbreviated editor and the usual abbreviated Royal Academician or painter

30a         Freud in bits about worry prominently presented (8)
FEATURED An anagram (in bits) of FREUD goes ‘about’ an informal verb meaning to worry or upset

Down

1d           Invitation to compete against setter in flower arrangement (6)
RACEME  Split 4,2 our setter might be asking you to compete in a trial of speed

2d           Move slowly after first couple in slips distract batter (6)
SLEDGE A verb meaning to move slowly goes after the first two letters in SLips

3d           BBC having no answer, remove constraints (5)
UNTIE Remove the abbreviation for Answer from an informal name for the BBC

4d           Warn amusing person (7)
CAUTION A verb meaning to warn or an informal name for an amusing person

6d           Victor brought in analyses rogue military unit (4,5)
NAVY SEALS The letter represented by Victor in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet inserted into an anagram (rogue) of ANALSES.   Before RD starts, I had better tell you that this special forces unit is American so the clue needs an indicator of some sort

7d           Albert Camus’s deep discomfort? (3,2,3)
MAL DE MER  What was that Camus book I studied in A-Level French?   I didn’t need to try and remember L’Etranger, just to remember Albert’s nationality and thus the French expression for discomfort when travelling on the sea (deep)

8d           Making Fellow of poet absent for extended period (4-4)
LONG-LOST The FELLOW part of a poet’s surname is taken away or missing (absent).  I did wonder whether ‘absent’ was doing double-duty here as it is needed to indicate that the fellow is missing, but having checked in various sources, I think it also applies to the definition

11d         Heroine Pip deserts in the afternoon (4)
EMMA The eponymous heroine of a Jane Austen novel is obtained by removing PIP from a military slang term for pm or afternoon

15d         Fish eggs adorning box on river in Kentish Town (9)
ROCHESTER Some fish eggs go round (adorning) a type of box, the result followed with the abbreviation for River

17d         What a contemptible person swallows in boozer (8)
ALEHOUSE An interjection of slight surprise (what) inserted in A (from the clue) and an informal name for a contemptible person

18d         Beast with new wife inspires good university pairing (8)
OXBRIDGE A general name applied to domestic cattle and a new wife ‘inspiring’ the abbreviation or Good

20d         Ham producer brings seconds in for a feed (4)
NOSH Ham being the second son of the Old Testament ark builder, we need to replace the A in the latter’s name with the abbreviation for Seconds

21d         Roman here breaking stick in bend (7)
CHICANE The Latin (Roman) word for here ‘breaking’ a type of stick

22d         Perhaps 9 24 turns up in butcher’s (6)
GANDER A slang name for a glance (butcher’s being Cockney Rhyming Slang for the same thing) is a reversal (turned up) of the colour in 9a and an informal name for a 24a

23d         Part in suite traditional for quartet (6)
TETRAD Hidden in part of suiTE TRADitional

26d/9a  Good person covering little body parts in wood (5,8)
SWEET CHESTNUT An abbreviated good person ‘covering’ a Scots or Irish word for little, followed by some parts of the body, the second one being an informal name for the head