Sunday Toughie 228 (Hints)

Sunday Toughie No 228

by Light

 

Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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I found Light at the trickier end of the spectrum last night and quite difficult to select hints.

I have hinted half of 28 clues, with a bonus pic at the end.

I hope you find the checkers to solve this puzzle, but I am going out for lunch to celebrate the eve of a significant date for Nick Rhodes
and myself, and nudges will be sparse until later this evening.

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 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 Pep at fault and opposite number brilliant, drop off sharply (2,3,4,1,5) 

A synonym of pep, the condition of a lamp when at fault, an adjective for things shared with an opposite number, and finally a brilliant source of illumination come together to be the ability to drop off to sleep promptly

11a One of 50 fooled when overthrown ball goes past infielder’s head (5) 

The ball-shaped letter. A synonym of fooled and the head letter of infielder are reversed (when overthrown) 

13a Drinks slings, bored by goof (8) 

To sling at a coconut in a fair contains (bored by) a goof or mistake

14a Perhaps once leaving mass, angry over losing face with bishop (6) 

A definition by example (perhaps) A synonym of angry loses the mass abbreviation, over from the clue loses its face letter and goes along with the chess notation for a bishop 

22a Mark’s hair recedes at the front (9) 

A small hair around the eye has a synonym of recedes at the front for a punctuation mark

23a Gesture, very pronounced kind of wave (1-4) 

An abbreviation and a homophone (pronounced) of one of the trigonometric waves

25a Stock cut back, say, at noon (9) 

A synonym of cut, followed by an abbreviated synonym of say, at from the clue and a noon abbreviation that are all reversed (back)  

 

Down 

1d Despicable people bounding round delta with waders (7) 

One for the birdwatchers, the round letter, the letter that delta is to Greeks and a with abbreviation are bound by some despicable people

3d Cardinal nailed by two articles, say journalists (3,6,6) 

A cardinal number goes between two definite articles and a synonym of say 

4d One put inside abbey opening late, extremely effusive (8) 

An abbey on the Welsh borders without its opening letter, followed by the extreme letters of effusive

5d What’s chewed by cattle in Spain, note – and old rhino in Portugal! (6) 

The IVR code for Spanish cars and one of the notes of the tonic scale that contains what cattle chew. Rhino is an archaic slang for money possibly because they are thick skinned and charge a lot!

15d … and trace repair (8)

Ignore the elision… a synonym of and, and to trace with a pencil perhaps, before repairing to another place 

16d Academician probing malign Canadian politician, maybe (7) 

A member of the Royal Academy probes to malign by written accusation

19d Folding paper inside of comic, drinking port (7) 

The inside letters of comic contain (drinking) a Baltic port 

21d

Compiler 

Light 

 

 

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