Toughie 207

Toughie No 207 by Elgar

The Toughest Toughie yet?

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty *****+ – Enjoyment ****

I always look forward to a puzzle when I see that Elgar is the setter.  This one was extremely tough and maybe, for some of you, too tough.  I did manage to complete all but the 20a/23d clues in the printed version but needed trial and error on CluedUp to complete the job.  The review will take a little while to prepare (and a gallon of coffee as well!) so I have provided all of the answers in the interim.

Feel free to discuss, via the comments, your views on this puzzle.  Unlike a certain other website, (did I say what when multiplied by itself gives 225?) we are happy to take all of your comments, on or off topic, as we regard this as a forum not an academy for the elite.  You don’t need a degree in gobbledygook here!

Across
1a Knock back a shot with backspin, achieving a curve (8)
{PARABOLA} – RAP (knock) reversed (back) with A LOB (a shot) also reversed (with backspin) around (achieving) A gives one of the conic sections (curve) – the others being ellipses and hyperbolae, the circle being a special case of the ellipse

5a The Messiah at first reluctant to engage cleaner (1-5)
{J-CLOTH} – J(esus) C(hrist) (the Messiah, at first) is followed by LOTH (reluctant) – the first time I have seen this cleaning cloth in a crossword!

9a Square x (5)
{TIMES} – a double definition – note how being put first disguises the fact that Times Square needs capitalisation!

10a R. Smythe’s baby Fitzgerald performed without accompaniment (1,8)
{A CAPPELLA} – Reg Smythe created A(ndy) CAPP; follow this with ELLA Fitzgerald

12a Class ‘A’: good parts — and bad (10)
{GASTROPODA} – an anagram of A GOOD PARTS gives this class of molluscs – to find out more follow the link to gastropods.com, a site run by fellow Bristol Mathematics graduate Ed Hardy, in the sidebar

13a & 6d This criminal can’t argue with getting year: I’ll come back clean and corrected (4,4)
{FAIR COPY} – take FAIR COP (this criminal can’t argue) and add Y(ear)

15a Poor dad’s so broke it might come in useful (7,4)
{ADDRESS BOOK} – the anagram indicator here is poor (not broke) and the fodder is DAD’S SO BROKE

16a Strike’s success (3)
{HIT} – a double definition which is one of the key clues for getting into this puzzle

17a Patient’s conclusion following City ‘treatment’? (3)
(ECT} – put T (patienT‘s conclusion) after EC (the post code of the City of London) to get ElectroConvulsive Therapy

18a Polygraph’s electrode might need tightening with it (3,8)
{LIE DETECTOR} – an anagram of ELECTRODE and IT – the anagram indicator is buried in the fodder!

20a & 23d Nanny’s quickly turned over Viz feature about foremost of sexists (4,4)
{SPIT SPOT} – the expression used by Mary Poppins to mean quickly comes from TOP TIPS (Viz feature) reversed (turned over) around S (foremost of Sexists – itself an allusion to Sid the Sexist from Viz) – not being a fan of either Mary Poppins or Viz put me at somewhat of a disadvantage here and I needed Tilsit to bail me out!

“Well, don’t stand there staring. Best foot forward. Spit spot!”

21a We maidens love scheming (5,5)
{IDEAS WOMEN} – this all-in-one clue is an anagram (scheming) of WE MAIDENS O (love)

24a Unscrupulously put forward and back, I left secure banks (7-2)
{TRUMPED UP} – a rather awkward sequence of wordplay has T(I)ED UP (secure) without the I (I left) around (banks) RUMP (back)

26a Just like the Piggy-wig, the Turkey tied it! (5)
{NOOSE} – put the ring (O) in the NOSE – I thought it had to be at the end rather than the middle!

I

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea In a beautiful pea green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money, Wrapped up in a five pound note. The Owl looked up to the stars above, And sang to a small guitar, ‘O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love, What a beautiful Pussy you are, You are, You are! What a beautiful Pussy you are!’

II

Pussy said to the Owl, ‘You elegant fowl! How charmingly sweet you sing! O let us be married! too long we have tarried: But what shall we do for a ring?’ They sailed away, for a year and a day, To the land where the Bong-tree grows And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood With a ring at the end of his nose, His nose, His nose, With a ring at the end of his nose.

III

‘Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling Your ring?’ Said the Piggy, ‘I will.’ So they took it away, and were married next day By the Turkey who lives on the hill. They dined on mince, and slices of quince, Which they ate with a runcible spoon; And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, They danced by the light of the moon, The moon, The moon, They danced by the light of the moon.

27a Quite 13 (6)
{PRETTY} – read this as “quite fair” and then it’s a single or a double definition

28a Heinz’s bar order is ‘Genius’? (8)
{EINSTEIN} – Elgar may think he has invented this clue, but EIN STEIN has been used before!

Down
1d Throw up, perhaps, after having two thirds of spud soup (6)
{POTAGE} – EG (for example / perhaps) reversed (throw up as it’s a down clue) after POTA(TO) (having two thirds of spud) makes this thick soup

2d Legendary twin birds grounded after first shot of rifleman (5)
{REMUS} – Romulus’s legendary twin brother is derived from EMUS after R(ifleman)

3d First past the post would surely have been this! (10)
{BESTRIDDEN} – the past tense of to bestride looks a lot like BEST RIDDEN

4d Discharge the Pope? (3)
{ARC} – an electrical discharge or A Roman Catholic

6d See 13 across (4)

7d Craft of court organisation a pig to swallow? (3,6)
{OIL TANKER} – this large floating craft comes from the odd combination of LTA (Lawn Tennis Association / court organisation) inside (to swallow) OINKER (a pig)

8d Help to Miss Whiplash’s excitement getting out of short one-piece (8)
{HEADREST} – don’t be fooled by the capital letters! – read the definition as “a help to miss whiplash injury” and the wordplay as HEAT (excitement) getting outside of DRES(S) (short one-piece)

10d Got caught (11)
{APPREHENDED} – a double definition

11d PAs having a bad day leave without giving notice (5-2-4)
{AIDES-DE-CAMP} – these Personal Assistants are a charade of A then IDES (bad day – beware the Ides of March!) and DECAMP

14d Openers batting after lunch? Supporting the flipping game, one had Duckworth-Lewis discounted (5,5)
{FORTY WINKS} – to get this after-lunch snooze it looks like FOR (supporting) and T(IDDL)Y WINKS (the flipping game) without (discounted) the I’D (I had) and DL (Duckworth-Lewis) – but is there something else missing from the clue or am I missing something? Thanks for filling in the gaps, iSkiapod (the last three words of the clue were missing from the online version)

I represented Bristol University in two different ganes.  Not cricket and Rugby, but Bridge and Tiddly Winks.  Not a lot of people knew that!

15d In my own time, I adapted this for retail use (2,7)
{AT LEISURE} – an anagram of RETAIL USE

16d Ring around to engage thatcher to write off Teri’s roof (8)
{HOUSETOP} – here you need to put a HOOP (ring) around USE (to engage) and T (thatcher without Teri Hatcher) to get a roof

19d Confine broadcasts sequentially (6)
{INTERN} – sounds like (broadcast) in turn (sequentially)

22d Love in extra’s heart for actress (5)
{MOORE} – O (love) inside MORE (extra) – the extra has nothing whatsoever to do with cricket this time!

23d See 20 across (4)

25d Yorkshire banker going after 4dn 16ac 17ac in buildings? (3)
{URE} – ARC HIT ECT URE – Gazza said today that if a river wasn’t the Dee then it was the Exe, but he forgot this one which is particularly popular with Telegraph setters!