Sunday Toughie 226 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 226

by Silvanus

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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Silvanus was last here on Easter Sunday and seems to becoming the regular bank holiday substitute.

Good fun until I made a mess of parsing some of the south. I was sailing along smoothly until a bad night for Mama Bee somewhat messed up my thinking.

She seems a bit more compos mentis this morning, so we are going out for the day. I have hinted at (just about) half of a slightly unbalanced 16a and 13d clues. Some tricky bits have hit the cutting room floor, so I’ll nudge if needed (and can).

 

 

Here we go, Folks…

As it is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll return with the full review blog just after the closing date. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!

Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious. Don’t forget the Mine of Useful information or the Big Dave’s Little Guide to Cryptic Crosswords that Big Dave and his son Richard so meticulously prepared for us.

A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely.   

Across

1a          Speaker in court upset judge (6)

To court in a romantic sense and a reversal (upset) of a football judge

5a          Hiss and abuse boxing team across Belgium (8)

A team of eleven players around the IVR code for Belgium, are boxed in by a transitive verb to abuse or reprimand

9a          Insect Australian sheep tolerate (6,4)

An Australian term for a sheep due for shearing and a synonym of tolerate

15a        Object found in transport café, traditionally on the counter (8)

A lurker (found in) that is reversed (on the counter) in the rest of the clue

21a        Mind whisper principal murmured (6)

Two homophones (murmured) of a whisper and the principal stone in an arch. In Greek mythology she was a mortal princess who became the wife of Cupid and was later made immortal; she personified the human soul or mind

23a        Diamond, say, extra pay at intervals secures, reversing transfer (8)

Once you find the right Diamond, he is inserted between alternate letters (at intervals) of extra pay. Make sure you are reversing the order before putting them into the grid. The music should help…

26a        Limits wearing old DJ and possibly tangerine jacket (6,4)

A limit or scope goes in (wearing) o for old and an old DJ, whose favourite song was “Teenage Kicks”

27a        Wanting golf game, ambassador succeeded to tour islands (8)

A card game without G for golf is surrounded by how you should address an ambassador and the genealogical abbreviation of succeeded

Down

2d          Humpty Dumpty figure, typically round and hollow (5)

The round letter and a hollow or absence, is egg-shaped like Humpty Dumpty

6d          Time Bill lifted hearts in place where Robin drinks? (8)

An informal term for time in prison, a reversal (lifted) of a bar-bill and an abbreviation for the card suit

7d          Pressure group left flyer, hard to ignore (5)

L for left and an “avian” of prey, but ignore a hard pencil

14d       Rock ace not “semi-literate”, revolutionary claims (9)

A lurker (claims) that is reversed (revolutionary) between the definition and (indicators)

16d       Spooner’s curious electrical device that’s used in the kitchen (6,3)

To be curious or nosey and an electrical device for cooling are given Spooner’s treatment

 

20d       Root striking ball matching Pope’s last run (6)

I am not sure I have totally parsed this.  Matching or ***** together strikes the ball-shaped letter, followed by Pope’s last and a cricket abbreviation

 

24d       Military volunteers once getting letter from Crete? (5) or (3,1,1)

Compiler

Silvanus

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