Sunday Toughie No 249 by Zandio
Full Review by Gazza
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This puzzle was published on 01/11/26
We have a very enjoyable Zandio puzzle this week.
Across Clues
1a Hollywood icon Bogart rages, endlessly agitated (5,5)
GRETA GARBO: an anagram (agitated) of BOGART RAGE[s].
6a Fake computer hardware on the counter (4)
SCAM: reverse (on the counter) some Apple computers.
9a Separate pop style northern clubs brought in overall (10)
DISCONNECT: start with a style of pop music (disco), add the abbreviation for northern then insert the cards abbreviation for clubs into an adjective meaning overall or final (net).
10a Flier maybe about retiring I’m in (4)
AMID: an abbreviation for a flier or leaflet (ad) contains the reversal (retiring) of I’M.
12a One has struggle to eat chicken product? (6)
VEGGIE: a verb to struggle (vie) contains a chicken product (egg). Apparently some vegetarians eat eggs and others don’t.
13a Overflowing roll desperate fellow’s cutting at (8)
ABUNDANT: a type of roll (bun) and the Desperate character from the Dandy comic (Dan) go inside (cutting) AT.
15a Record of you once wearing small uniform, close-fitting (7-5)
SEVENTY-EIGHT: an old word for ‘you’ (ye) is contained in (wearing) the abbreviation for small and adjectives meaning uniform (even) and close-fitting (tight).
18a Two women joined by a family man? (7-2-3)
SISTERS-IN-LAW: cryptic definition of the wife and sister of the same man.
21a Cable return of Mrs Simpson authorised (8)
TELEGRAM: reverse (return) the forename of Mrs Simpson (not Wallis, but cartoon character Marge) and a verb meaning authorised (let).
22a Romeo, entering stage, offers few words (6)
PHRASE: the letter that Romeo represents in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet is inserted in a synonym of stage (phase).
24a Not very well, avoiding loud bar (4)
RAIL: an adjective meaning not very well (frail) loses the musical abbreviation for loud.
25a Bend over hammer, we must crush some glass (10)
WINDOWPANE: assemble a verb to bend or weave (wind), the cricket abbreviation for over and WE containing (must crush) a verb to hammer or criticize severely (pan).
26a Quote reporter’s view (4)
CITE: a homophone (indicated by reporter’s) of a view or scene (sight).
27a Indelicate of Germany, muscling in on France’s one amateur prize (10)
UNLADYLIKE: the IVR code for Germany (D) is inserted (muscling in) into the French word for the number one, an adjective meaning amateur (lay) and a verb to prize or esteem (like).
Down Clues
1d Famous rider wanting coverage, 27 Across ironically? (6)
GODIVA: a famous horserider who bared all could be 27a in two ways – a) indecorous and b) without her usual title (Lady).
2d Standard of new-look Penguin bar up, loosely accommodating seconds (6)
ENSIGN: an anagram (new-look) of [p]ENG[u]IN without (bar) the letters UP (loosely indicating that they are not in that order) contains the abbreviation for seconds.
3d Art poems? I screen weird guy’s oddities, product of a generation (6,6)
ATOMIC ENERGY: the odd letters (oddities) from the first six words. The ‘a’ in the definition is the abbreviation for atomic.
4d Poke fun at topless relative (4)
AUNT: a verb to poke fun at (taunt) without its top letter.
5d Gossip‘s drop in support (10)
BACKBITING: a drop or small amount (bit) is inserted in a synonym of support (backing).
7d Cold in the morning, hurt hooking golf drive (8)
CAMPAIGN: start with abbreviations for ‘cold’ and ‘in the morning’ then add a synonym of hurt (pain) containing (hooking) the letter that golf represents in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet.
8d Muse named it “a Teignmouth gathering” (8)
MEDITATE: hidden in words 2-4 (indicated by gathering).
11d Writer’s wife, banned when nude in the past, has a plan (4,8)
ANNE HATHAWAY: the inner letters (when nude, i.e. unclothed) of [b]ANNE[d] followed by an old way of saying (in the past) ‘has a plan’ (hath a way). This is the wife of Will Shakespeare.
14d Classic novel from Poe with Russian broadcast (10)
PERSUASION: an anagram (broadcast) of POE RUSSIAN produces the title of a Jane Austen novel.
16d Uncanny burst of civic ire to senators getting a raise (8)
ESOTERIC: hidden (burst of) and reversed (getting a raise, in a down clue) in words 7-4.
17d Person offering a handy fortune to engage singular songwriter (8)
PSALMIST: someone who tells your fortune by inspecting your hand (palmist) contains the abbreviation for singular.
19d Bit of a laugh, artificial intelligence being located in Soho or tropical archipelago (6)
HAWAII: start with either half of a laugh (ha ha) then insert the abbreviation for artificial intelligence (AI) into the postal area of Soho in London (WI).
20d Detailed action to hold rent strike (6)
DELETE: an action (deed) without its last letter (de-tailed) contains a verb to rent or lease (let).
23d The compiler had settled on each clue (4)
IDEA: the contracted form of ‘the compiler had’ from his viewpoint (I’d) followed by (settled on, in a down clue) the abbreviation for ‘each’.