Toughie No 952 by Busman
Hints and tips by Bufo
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
It’s about 2½ years since I last blogged a Busman toughie but I could still remember that Busman toughies are normally pleasant enough to do but not overly difficult. Nothing has changed. This is the grid that is effectively four mini-puzzles connected at the centre. There’s always a danger with this grid that one of the corners might prove intractable but that didn’t happen here. I did the top two corners with ease but then had to think a little bit harder about the bottom two.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
Across
1a Smith’s girl deviously dumping lecturer’s wrong? Not her (4,5)
{MISS RIGHT} An anagram (deviously) of SMITH’S GIRL with the letter L (lecturer) removed (dumped)
9a Fabric problem’s nothing, on independent reflection (6)
{MUSLIN} A problem (3) and nothing (3) are reversed (reflected) independently
10a His Excellency says more about victory blows (9)
{HEADWINDS} HE (His Excellency) + ‘says more’ about victory
11a Seaman accepts novel with love and with open arms (6)
{AKIMBO} An abbreviation denoting a seaman goes round the title of a Rudyard Kipling novel. This is followed by O (love)
12a Vehicle giving way to another (9)
{STREETCAR} A way (road) + a vehicle = a North American tram
13a Mix us some dessert (6)
{MOUSSE} An anagram (mix) of US SOME
17a & 21a Poultry farmer / who took part in court action? (3,3)
{HEN MAN} 2 meanings: a poultry farmer/a tennis player
19a Poison yielding awful reaction. It’s not right (7)
{ACONITE} An anagram (awful) of REACTION with the letter R (right) removed
20a Harsh wind before end of cruise (7)
{AUSTERE} The south wind + the last letter of cruisE
21a See 17 Across
23a Aunt attacked in the French crescent? (6)
{LUNATE} An anagram (attacked) of AUNT inside a French word for ‘the’ = crescent-shaped
27a Persian prophet is cross on a very hot day (9)
{ZOROASTER} A Persian prophet who founded a religion = a kind of hybrid domestic cattle found in the Himalayas (a cross) (2) + a very hot day (7)
28a Conveyance / that will distract at the Gabba (6)
{SLEDGE} 2 meanings: a conveyance with runners/an offensive remark seeking to upset a batsman’s concentration (The Gabba is the cricket ground in Brisbane)
29a One trims half of street in time off work (4,5)
{SICK LEAVE} A tool for trimming (or cutting crops) + the first half of a street
30a We could have fifty animals with these in (6)
{LLAMAS} Sorting out the wordplay here required a bit of thought. An anagram of L (fifty) ANIMALS gives the answer (animals) + IN
31a Enlightening guide to landing in narrow semi round back (5,4)
{FLARE PATH} A reversal (back) of ‘to narrow’ inside ‘semi’ gives something lit up to enable an aircraft to land or take off when natural visibility is insufficient
Down
2d Conceptualise one meeting involving leader of executives (6)
{IDEATE} I (one) + a meeting (appointment) round the first letter of executives
3d Could be Sir Philip Denis out with Yorkshire opener (6)
{SIDNEY} The surname of Sir Philip (an Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier) is an anagram (out) of DENIS + the first letter (opener) of Yorkshire
4d Poor do. Is it they who are responsible? (6)
{IDIOTS} An anagram (poor) of DO IS IT. The whole clue provides the definition
5d The Yard’s tipsy soak (7)
{HYDRATE} An anagram (tipsy) of THE YARD
6d Palace casually giving foreign money audience (4,5)
{BUCK HOUSE} An informal name for a London palace = US money + audience
7d Worn-out tutor’s painting (3,6)
{OLD MASTER} ‘Worn-out’ + tutor
8d Thwarted Derek turning up, having cropped scarf on top (9)
{SNOOKERED} A reversal of DEREK follows a tubular neck scarf with the last letter removed (cropped)
14d Seasoning the bill — pound on slate, possibly (5,4)
{TABLE SALT} The bill + L (pound) + an anagram (possibly) of SLATE
15d Not where grub alone is served (6,3)
{LOUNGE BAR} An anagram of GRUB ALONE
16d Graph showing frequency of the chap’s girl mounting (9)
{HISTOGRAM} ‘The chap’s’ + a reversal of a girl’s name (e.g. Ms Fonteyn)
17d The Mendips’ edge (3)
{HEM} Hidden in The Mendips
18d Some banana bread (3)
{NAN} Hidden in banana
22d Rarely mixing, also involved with CIA internally (7)
{ASOCIAL} An anagram (involved) of ALSO goes round CIA
24d Stevedore seen in cutter? (6)
{DOCKER} A stevedore might also be someone who cuts something short
25d Inattentive when PM rises (6)
{ASLEEP} ‘When’ + a reversal of the surname of a 19th century prime minister
26d Monkey showing energy on tree-top (6)
{VERVET} Energy + the first letter of tree
Will there ever be a genuine toughie on a Thursday?
I was held up far too long with the SE corner which just nudged me into 3* difficulty. Thanks to Busman and Bufo – in answer to your question at the end ‘ I do hope so!’
Too many anagrams for my personal taste. Not really a toughie in my opinion. Thanks to Busman and to Bufo for the review.
A rare visit from todays setter, a tad on the gentle side but enjoyable. Favourites for me were 28a 29a and 31a thanks to Busman and to Bufo for the comments.
As you say upper half I found relatively straightforward but more challenging for me in the lower half to some degree self inflicted by an incorrect answer in the SW which had to be rectified .
Faves 11a,28a,29a and 30a .
Thanks very much .
Busman appears to have signed his work (row 9). I’m not sure if he always does it or this is the first time I’ve spotted it.
Thanks to him and Bufo for the review.
Well spotted that man! Do any of the other setters do likewise do you know?
My first puzzle by this setter, whilst enjoyable, a few too many anagrams for my personal taste. Loved the tennis player! Must admit found the cryptic more tricky today. Many thanks to setter and Bufo.
Don’t remember having tackled a Busman Toughie before, but looking back through the record see there was one of his just before last Christmas, so maybe we have. Found it really enjoyable. Failed to see the setter’s name because we had pictogram for 16d, planning to re-look at it, then forgot to do so. Bother!
Thanks for all the fun Busman and Bufo for the review.
Seemed a bit easy for a toughie, more like a back pager, but I got there without hints.
Thanks to your comments I have cut it out to do on holiday in June. Wish I had more time.