Toughie 1062 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Toughie 1062

by Big Dave  

Toughie No 1062 by Warbler

You’re my favourite

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

There are two things that you can guarantee with a Warbler Toughie 1) it won’t be particularly difficult and 2) it will be very enjoyable. This one is no exception.

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    Club field unevenly spoilt (5-3)
{SPOON-FED} – an old-fashioned golf club followed by the odd letters (un-evenly) of FiElD

9a    Scoundrel and weed touring America in this — that’s out of favour (8)
{DOGHOUSE} – a scoundrel followed by a verb meaning to weed the garden around the two-letter abbreviation for America gives something that when you are in it you are metaphorically out of favour

10a    Government’s free network (4)
{GRID} – G(overnment) followed by a verb meaning to free or unburden

11a    No gory murder is resolved in a whirl of activity (5-2-5)
{MERRY-GO-ROUND} – an anagram (resolved) of NO GORY MURDER

13a    Parking in front of pub, have drink around Canadian capital’s highest point (8)
{PINNACLE} – P(arking) followed by a pub and an alcoholic drink, the latter around the initial letter (capital) of Canadian

15a    Up north veg is cheap reportedly (6)
{TATTIE} – this vegetable, often eaten with haggis and neeps, sounds like (reportedly) an adjective meaning cheap

16a    Handle king and jack (4)
{KNOB} – K(ing) followed by the jack of the suit turned up by the dealer in cribbage, worth an extra point

17a    East-ender’s kept most of wine for a special purpose (2,3)
{AD HOC} – how an East-ender might say a word meaning kept followed by most of a white Rhine wine gives a Latin phrase meaning for this special purpose

18a    10 has time for date showing pluck (4)
{GRIT} – start with the answer to 10 across and insert a T(ime) in place of the D(ate)

20a    Mathematician’s sign for peers (6)
{EQUALS} – two definitions

21a    Bank securing bit of money not long ago (8)
{RECENTLY} – a verb meaning to bank or depend around a bit of foreign money

23a    One tootles along and is very rude briefly in a careless way (6,6)
{SUNDAY DRIVER} – an anagram (in a careless way) of AND IS VERY with most of (briefly) RUD(E)

26a    Crikey! Hebridean location with no loch (1,3)
{I SAY} – start with the Hebridean location where my favourite malt whiskies are distilled and drop (with no) the L(och)

27a    Cured by nap through to end of troublesome day (8)
{KIPPERED} – how my favourite breakfast is cured is derived from a short nap followed by a three-letter word meaning through, the final letter (end) of troublesomE and D(ay)

28a    Tease Ben for playing truant (8)
{ABSENTEE} – an anagram (playing) of TEASE BEN

Down

2d    Capital chap! (8)
{PARISIAN} – someone who lives in the capital of France

3d    Ground almonds carry a touch of dill plant (3,4,5)
{OLD MAN’S BEARD} – an anagram (ground) of ALMONDS followed by a verb meaning to carry or support and the initial letter (touch) of Dill

4d    It’s essential to waterproof a bricklaying material (6)
{FABRIC} – hidden (essential) inside the clue

5d    Sum up year as time of critical action (1-3)
{D-DAY} – reverse (up in a down clue) a verb meaning to sum and follow it with Y(ear)

6d    Sceptic a good Catholic’s entertaining is not after conversion (8)
{AGNOSTIC} – the A from the clue, G(ood) and C(atholic) around an anagram (after conversion) of IS NOT

7d    Voice disapproval over posh short skirt (4)
{TUTU} – a verb meaning to voice disapproval followed by the letter that represents posh

8d    Ambassador’s notice announced force in support (8)
{HEADREST} – the abbreviation for the form of address for an ambassador followed by a two-letter word for a notice and what sounds like (announced) a verb meaning to force or seize

12d    New coronation age deprived of old Queen? She is such a one (12)
{OCTOGENARIAN} – an anagram (new of ) of C(O)RONATION AGE from which one of the O(ld)s has been removed (deprived)

14d    Heavens above! There’s no beginning to restraint (5)
{ETHER} – drop the initial letter (beginning) from a restraint

16d    It acts as a reminder to store alcoholic drink (8)
{KEEPSAKE} – split as (4,4) this could mean to store some rice wine

17d    When, for example, leaders in exam results surprise, they test (8)
{ASSAYERS} – a two-letter word meaning when followed by a three-letter word meaning for example and the initial letters (leaders) of three words in the clue

19d    University besieged by liberated Allies, implicating group of harsh treatment (3-5)
{ILL-USAGE} – U(niversity) inside (besieged by) an anagram (liberated) of ALLIES all around G(group)

22d    Quibbles about nearly all of mean society (6)
{CAVILS} – the two-letter Latin abbreviation for about followed by most of an adjective meaning mean or evil and S(ociety)

24d    Turn up shorts (4)
{NIPS} – reverse (up in a down clue) a verb meaning to turn

25d    Excellent area for aspiring thespians? (1,1,1,1)
{RADA} – to get the abbreviation of this excellent drama school, a colloquial word for excellent is followed by A(rea)

They may get tougher during the week, but they won’t get much more enjoyable!

19 comments on “Toughie 1062”

  3. I thought this would be rated a * for difficulty since I fairly raced through it, which is rare for me. Liked 16A and 26A particulalry. Altogether a lovely puzzle, lots of fun and for me easier than the cryptic today. Many thanks to BD and to the setter.

  4. A really enjoyable crossword but if it were on the backpage I would only give it 1* for difficulty so I am not sure what to award it as it is supposed to be a Toughie. Thanks to Warbler and BD

    Both of today’s puzzles combined took less time than yesterday’s Rufus and I wasn’t alone in finding this the case!

  5. I still do not understand why this lady’s Toughies are considered to be “very enjoyable” whereas the other lady’s Toughie puzzles are treated with utter contempt?

    What’s the difference?

  7. The only problem i had with this puzzle was my fat fingers clicking yes to submit, when i had misspelt one of the answers; and that is not the first time i’ve done that!
    Thanks to Warbler and to BD.
    I am also in the crypticsue club of solving both of today’s puzzles in a quicker time that i spent with Rufus yesterday.

      1. I really hope so gazza. I was about to make a comment about whether these Telegraph toughies are really toughies, but I think i’ll wimp out and go back to my beer!

  8. I had an interesting delay with 16a. I had put in ‘GRAB’ with the parsing being GR for the king and AB for jack tar. Seemed good until nothing else would fit. No other delaying challenges and good chuckle fun.
    Thanks Warbler and BD.

  9. An enjoyably gentle “toughie”, which was a real pleasure after what I found to be a disappointing back-pager this morning. For me this was 1* for difficulty and 3* for enjoyment, the inverse of my rating for the normal cryptic!

    My only difficulties were with parsing 19d and 25d, even though I got both answers quickly. It didn’t occur to me that “implicating group” meant incorporating a G until I checked BD’s hints; and I must have led a sheltered life never to have heard of the expression used for the first three letters of 25d.

    Many thanks to Warbler and to BD.

  10. Thanks to Warbler and to Big Dave for the review and hints. Easier than the back pager, butmmuch more fun. My first clue in was 2d, and I put Londoner, but couldn’t get anything from the checkers, so looked at the hints to continue. Then went straight through until the last one left was 22d, which I got from the hints, a new word for me. Great fun. Was 1*/4* for me.

  11. Finished it, so definitely easier than the usual Toughie.

    Given that the whole premise of this puzzle is to be the hardest of all the dailies, I can only think that the Times, Grauniad and Indy must have been completely trivial today…

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