Toughie 968

Toughie No 968 by Busman

Hints and tips by Bufo

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

It’s typical, isn’t it? You wait ages for a Busman to turn up and then two come along in quick succession. This one provided the usual smooth comfortable ride with no hold-ups en route.

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Across

1a    Go via Rye, opening trivial charge (10,4)
{PEPPERCORN RENT} Go (energy) (3) + via (3) + rye (4) + an opening (4)

9a    On the way back, once more, some rain falls (7)
{NIAGARA} A reversal of ‘once more’ + the first two letters of RAin

10a    Southern Spain — travel through Spanish city (7)
{SEGOVIA} S (Southern) + the IVR for Spain + ‘travel’ (2) + ‘through’ (3)

11a    Haul made by New Yorker? (4)
{YANK} 2 meanings: to haul/someone from New York possibly

12a    Winds pick up vessel headed by master making peculiar signs (10)
{TRADEMARKS} Winds (which blow towards the thermal equator and are deflected westward by the eastward rotation of the earth) go round Noah’s vessel preceded by M (master)

14a    Arrive mob-handed — getting very drunk, almost (4,2)
{ROLL IN} Remove the last letter from ‘very drunk’

15a    It’s not easy to shake off this goose? (8)
{BARNACLE} 2 meanings: a companion not easily shaken off (or a clinging crustacean)/a type of wild goose

17a    African runner‘s bounding run by stake (8)
{ANTELOPE} A bounding run follows a stake in poker

18a    Make good press following wreck being discovered (6)
{RECOUP} A press (publisher) based in a university city follows the middle three letters of wRECk (dis-covered = having had the covers taken off)

20a    Quick to accept one old coin for collectors’ fair (4,6)
{FLEA MARKET} ‘Quick’ goes round A and an old German coin

21a    It will attract attention from posh set’s regulars (4)
{PSST} Alternate letters of PoSh SeT

23a    Restricted cover hides very little (7)
{LIMITED} A cover goes round a very small amount

24a    Sight the compiler viewed, he said (7)
{EYESORE} A sight (in the sense of something unsightly) is a homophone of ‘the compiler viewed’

25a    Capital thoroughfare where ‘orse has nothing to show, returning between haunts (5,3,6)
{UNTER DEN LINDEN} A boulevard in Berlin = an ‘orse + ‘nothing’ reversed (returning ) placed between two occurrences of a word meaning ‘haunt’

Down

1d    Dreyfus planned new magazines (5,9)
{PENNY DREADFULS} An anagram (new) of DREYFUS PLANNED = cheap sensational serial publications

2d    Nothing less than compensation he’ll set for secret police (12,3)
{PLAINCLOTHES MEN} An anagram (set) of COMPENSATION HE’LL with the letter O (nothing) omitted give police who are not in uniform

3d    Oath exemplified by commercial (4)
{EGAD} ‘Exemplified by’ + commercial

4d    Presides over church broadcasts (6)
{CHAIRS} An abbreviation denoting ‘church’ + ‘broadcasts’

5d    Unstable lira used in payment to film actor (8)
{RESIDUAL} An anagram (unstable) of LIRA USED = a payment to an actor for later use of a film in which he or she appears

6d    Classified course note receiving degree (10)
{REGIMENTED} A course (of treatment) + the seventh note of the scale + D (degree)

7d    You’ll need it to win the Dunmow flitch and certainly not this? (5,1,5,4)
{NEVER A CROSS WORD} To win the Dunmow flitch a couple must convince a jury that, for a year and a day’ they have never regretted being wed. They must swear that there have been no ‘household brawls or contentious strife’. The answer to the clue shows there has been no contentious strife. But when split (5,1,9) it cannot be true or I wouldn’t be writing this blog.

8d    Clydeside sales talk with name for fabric (7,7)
{PAISLEY PATTERN} A Clydeside town + sales talk + N (name) = fabric with an ornamental device known as a ‘cone’

13d    Short distance in borders of Timor — two miles off, about (10)
{MILLIMETRE} TR (first and last letters of TimoR) inside an anagram (off) of MILE MILE

16d    Given higher award — possibly DD (Prague) (8)
{UPGRADED} An anagram (possibly) of DD PRAGUE

19d    Whither Einstein? The answer’s there (6)
{HEREIN} The answer is hidden in WhitHER EINstein

22d    Singular trousers, apparently, for Jacob’s son (4)
{LEVI} Remove the S from the end of a brand of denim trousers

The journey was over far too quickly