Sunday Toughie No 239 by proXimal
Full Review by Gazza
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This puzzle was published on 23/08/26
A delightful and fairly gentle puzzle from proXimal this week.
Across Clues
9a There are no people in this brown dress, according to Spooner (5,4)
GHOST TOWN: Rev. Spooner’s take on the answer would be ‘Toast Gown’.
10a Dance crew performing out of abandoned workplace (5)
POLKA: a subtractive anagram – remove (out) the jumbled (performing) letters of CREW from [w]O[r]KPLA[ce] and make an anagram (abandoned) of what remains.
11a Watch old boy start tennis match (7)
OBSERVE: the abbreviation for old boy and a verb to start a tennis match.
12a State border guards backing rule (7)
PREVAIL: a verb to state or assert has a synonym of border or rim containing (guards) it. Now reverse (backing) the lot.
13a Charmed with change of demeanour (9)
ENAMOURED: a straightforward anagram (change) of DEMEANOUR.
15a Reviewed some fines irritatingly increased (5)
RISEN: hidden (some) in reverse.
17a Take up little room after turning in bed (7)
COLLECT: reverse (after turning) a little room (in a prison or monastery, say) inside a baby’s bed.
19a True friends in ceremonial clothes (7)
SINCERE: hidden (indicated by clothes) in the clue.
20a French article long, abridged for release (5)
UNPIN: a French indefinite article followed by a verb to long or yearn without its last letter.
21a Service industry employee receiving tip in exchange (9)
BARTENDER: a synonym of tip or extremity goes inside a verb to exchange or haggle.
24a Seeing bears run moving quickly (7)
DARTING: a present participle meaning seeing romantically contains (bears) the cricket abbreviation for run.
26a Herald left Spain and heads for New Delhi (7)
PORTEND: assemble the left side of a ship, the IVR code for Spain and the heading letters of New Delhi.
28a Fruit son peeled, flipping bad (5)
OLIVE: remove the peel (outer bits) from [s]O[n] and then reverse (flipping) an adjective meaning bad or wicked.
29a Preacher’s source of antagonistic mail law enforcers uncovered (9)
APOSTOLIC: string together the first (source) letter of antagonistic, a synonym of mail and our law enforcers without their outer letters (uncovered).
Down Clues
1d Don’t look at topless foreign rogue (6)
IGNORE: drop the top letter of foreign and make an anagram (rogue) of what remains.
2d Swimmer’s clobber is rubbish (10)
CODSWALLOP: a fish (swimmer) that’s popular down the chippy with it’s ‘S and a verb to clobber or thump.
3d Cycling surfaces with dark material for VIP (4)
STAR: surfaces here is a verb; we want a verb which means ‘surfaces (roads) with black stuff’ then cycle its last letter to the front.
4d Egotistical person starts to splash everyone in stream (6)
POSEUR: the starting letters of Splash Everyone go inside a verb to stream or flow.
5d Extremely trendy black suit (2,6)
IN SPADES: a word meaning trendy or popular and one of the two black suits in a pack of cards.
6d Upset father managed to put on calm air (10)
APPEARANCE: reverse an affectionate word for father then put a verb meaning managed into a synonym of calm.
7d Insect fine climbing in bit of foliage (4)
FLEA: start with a bit of foliage (they have already started falling from the trees round here) and move the abbreviation for fine right to the top (climbing, in a down clue).
8d Manner of speaking is standard way around Charlie (8)
PARLANCE: a word meaning standard (especially on a golf course) is followed by a narrow way or road containing the letter that Charlie represents in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet.
14d Bit drunk leaving celebration in stupidly big boat (5,5)
OCEAN LINER: our second subtractive anagram. Remove the jumbled (drunk) letters of BIT from CELE[b]RA[ti]ON IN and make an anagram (stupidly) of what’s left over.
16d Rate water sources for plants (10)
SPEEDWELLS: a synonym of rate or pace and sources of drinking water.
17d Rain-cloud at sea overlooking one large vessel (8)
CAULDRON: an anagram (at sea) of RA[i]N-CLOUD after we’ve removed (overlooking) the Roman numeral for one.
18d Ride conveyance to marsh with horse going north (8)
TOBOGGAN: glue together TO, a synonym of marsh or swamp and the reversal (going north in a down clue) of a worn-out horse.
22d Rook likely eviscerated other bird (6)
RAPTOR: charade of the chess abbreviation for rook, a synonym of an adjective meaning likely or inclined and the outer letters (eviscerated) of O[the]R.
23d Cut beetroot quiche in regular parts (6)
REDUCE: beetroot as a colour and regular letters from ‘quiche’.
25d Power to avoid fast attack (4)
RAID: remove (to avoid) the physics abbreviation for power from a synonym of fast or speedy.
27d Having advanced to the south, go off course (4)
ROTA: the abbreviation for advanced follows (to the south, in a down clue) of a verb to go off or putrefy.