Toughie No 1193 by Elgar
Hints and tips by Batman and Robin
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****
Greetings from the Bat Cave. There’s been a loud sound of hobnailed boots in the distance all week, and it’s heralded the return of Toughie-land’s resident Tormentor in residence, Elgar. It’s been three months since we were given a Friday mauling, but’s he’s back and in ferocious mood.
A lovely puzzle that represents the Toughie at its best. Plenty of fiendish clues and explanations of which 27 across is the star.
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.
Robin does the Acrosses
1a Thick clients OK to fiddle? (5-4)
{CLOSE-KNIT} – We start with an anagram today. Something that means thick or grouped tightly together is an anagram (to fiddle) of CLIENTS OK.
8a Folly, in essence, with intricately remastered edging, overwhelmed (5-8)
{STEAM-ROLLERED} – Take the essence, i.e. innards of fOLLy and insert them inside (edging) an anagram (intricately) of REMASTERED to give an expression that means overwhelmed.
11a Atoms of hydrogen peroxide need a stir (3-2)
{HOO-HA} – Take two H (hydrogen), two O (oxygen) (H2O2 is the chemical formula for hydrogen peroxide), mix them up, and add an A to give an expression meaning stir or uproar.
12a Irish county in which you might catch surreptitious work (5)
{SLIGO} – The name of a county in Eire is a homophone for secret and work or an attempt at something.
13a See rules from the East expelling Europeans as aspersions (5)
{SLURS} – Remove all the E(uropean)s from SEE RULES and reverse (from the East) what remains to get something that means aspersions or harangues.
16a & 19a Preoccupied with truant’s plan? (6-6)
{ABSENT-MINDED} – If someone decided to stay away from school, it could be cryptically described as this, which also means preoccupied with something.
17a & 20a Indulges in wife‑swapping activities in working men’s clubs? (6,6)
{TRADES UNIONS} – Runner-up for clue of the day. The name for groups for the working could cryptically be described as swapping wives, or marriages!
18a Cautionary light check — what’s missing from front of room (5)
{AMBER} – If you remove CH (check) from a word meaning room, you’ll get the colour of the traffic light that represents caution.
19a See 16 Across
20a See 17 Across
21a Dadaist sailor’s back cycling! (5)
{ERNST} – The name for a famous artist is the word for the rear of a ship with some of the letters shifted to the end (cycled).
24a Ruin suit (2,3)
{DO FOR} – two definitions
26a For pursuing purchase at auction house? (5)
{LOTTO} – A word that can be shouted instead of “House!” in the game of bingo (it’s also a name for the game or draws in general) is the name for an item on sale at an auction, plus TO (for).
27a So galleon comes to me soon enough (3,2,4,4)
{ALL IN GOOD TIME} – Clue of the day! It’s a rebus clue. The word GALLEON could be seen to represent an expression that means soon enough. If you view it as a word meaning everything concealed by G (good) and EON (time), all may become clear.
28a Dyslexic Spooner’s indistinct, warped condition (4-5)
{WORD-BLIND} – A description of someone who is dyslexic could, according to Reverend Spooner, be said to have a warped or confused consequence of indigestion?
Thanks to Elgar, welcome back and here’s to the next one. Now back to my OU exam revision! If you are still in need of a crossword fix, there are a couple of corkers in today’s Times, Guardian and FT, and I commend them all to the House.
Batman does the Downs
2d Walk over a pack animal (5)
{LLAMA} – reverse (over) a sheltered walk or promenade and follow it with the A from the clue
3d & 4d Regular butcher supplies breakfast, one on wrap being announced differently? (6,6)
{SERIAL KILLER} – something eaten for breakfast followed by someone on a charge or rap (breakfast, one on wrap being announced differently)
5d A nasty gut feeling, this one’s conserving a little money in Bucharest (5)
{ILEUS} – I (one) and the S from ‘S around the Rumanian (in Bucharest) currency
6d Not quite at home with religious family in masses? (1,12)
{A THOUSANDFOLD} – AT followed by most of (not quite) a home, a word meaning with and a church congregation (religious family)
7d Love dressing in newly computerised outfits from the year dot? (6,7)
{PERIOD COSTUME} – O (love) inside (dressing in) an anagram (newly) of COMPUTERISED
9d Spanish visitors I’m very grateful to pick up bananas for boxing (3,6)
{THE ARMADA} – a two-letter word meaning I’m very grateful around (for boxing) a verb meaning to pick up or perceive and an adjective meaning bananas or stupid
10d Various heroes include mum, with love, which may prove lucky (9)
{HORSESHOE} – an anagram (various) of HEROES around a two-letter exhortation to keep mum or quiet and O (love)
13d Emirates, say, remained sober, according to reports (5)
{STADE} – a sports ground, of which the Emirates, where a certain North London football club (I won’t tell you by what name they are known in the BD household!) is an example (say) sounds like (according to reports) an adjective meaning sober
14d City’s entrepreneur bankrolls jails (5)
{URBAN} – an adjective meaning of the city is hidden (jails) inside the clue
15d Charge advancing the end of Miss Peacock (5)
{STRUT} – start with a word meaning charge or safekeeping and move the final letter (end) of misS to the front (advancing)
22d & 23d Ridiculed group swimming where urchins were formed? (6,6)
{RAGGED SCHOOL} – a verb meaning ridiculed followed by a group of fish
25d Personnel given a raise in old, old money (5)
{RHINO} – reverse (given a raise) the two-letter abbreviation for the department that looks after personnel and follow it with IN O(ld) to get an archaic (old) word for money
26d Tell me what’s essential for muscle tone! (3,2)
{LET ON} – hidden (what’s essential for) inside the clue
While Batman very much enjoyed this puzzle, he thought that Robin stole all the best clues!
Welcome back Elgar – a proper toughie to get one’s solving teeth into – not the toughest Elgar ever but such good fun. I liked it all even the dreaded Spoonerism so won’t pick just one favourite. Thanks to Elgar and the deadly Duo too.
I think the hob-nails were rather worn down,not Elgars toughest of challenges,but most enjoyable
nevertheless. My only quibble is the clue to 3/4 dn- I don’t see where ‘announced differently’ comes into it?When I say ‘serial/cereal’ or’ wrap/rap’– they sound the same to me,unless ‘announced’ means ‘introduced’? Anyhow, many thanks to the dynamic duo and Elgar.
Does anyone have a better explanation?
When I did the puzzle this morning I was quite happy with my explanation that killer precedes app in the phrase ‘killer app’ and if you say them quickly enough ‘killer app’ sounds similar to ‘killer wrap’. However, the more I think about it the less confident I am.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one, I thought 27a was brilliant thanks to Elgar and to the twosome for the review.
I finished it … so it cannot have been that difficult.
Liked 27a.
(Still looking for a Nina?)
I saw your comment in the 1192 blog so I was intrigued that an Elgar would be as easy as yesterday ‘s Dada. I must confess, though I did finish this one eventually, it was by no means as easy for me.
I’m a bit more than halfway through, so not looking at the hints. It may take me all weekend but I’m nowhere near ready to give up yet!
I’m behind you – not quite half way but not giving in or looking at hints yet although I rather suspect that I may have got about as far as I’m going to.
Jolly good – just check that 6d ends in th , whereas you meant fold.
Thanks to setter and revue
Thanks – now sorted.
First toughie that I actually did OK in – forced myself into attempting it this morning before hints published. Managed to get most of the answers but needed help parsing a few. Thanks to Elgar and the dynamic duo for the helpful hints.
Still looking to see what if anything is going with the double unches, knowing Elgars dislike of them……
We are prepared to forgive the double unches as a trade-off for there being absolutely NO pesky four-letter answers.
By no means the toughest Elgar toughie but thoroughly enjoyable, many thanks to the Maestro and to the Dynamic Duo for a terrific review.
Found this relatively straightforward [for Elgar] except for the four 13 letter clues.
Agree with The Dodger that 3/4d doesn’t work perfectly [but it’s Elgar so we forgive].
Am I alone in thinking that Spoonerisms [28a] should have vowel harmony? If so “wind” meaning gut-rot doesn’t really work. I think it’s meant to be “wind” as in warp, twist or coil – a “warped condition” being a wind [noun] see BRB.
Loved 11a even tho”stir” seems to be both the anagrind and the def.
Thanks to Elgar and B&R.
Finished it apart from 26a and 26d (
) and needed hints to explain some of my answers.
I found it very difficult but enjoyed it very much.
My favourite was 17/20a.
With thanks to Elgar and Batman and Robin.
Having looked at the picture hint for 21a I’m quite glad that I haven’t heard of him – enough to give anyone nightmares.
Thanks to both bloggers, your help was required in turn for 28a and 6d otherwise managed to complete, albeit in three times the length it took to complete the also excellent offering from Tramp in the Guardian. 8a and 27a are absolute gems. On a technical note I also think the choice of grid was very fair given the difficulty of the clues. Thanks Elgar.
Almost! missed 5d. Liked 11a – if you write hydrogen peroxide as HOOH then you don’t need stir to be a anagrind. Didn’t pick up on “differently” in 3/4 down, just read it as homophones. Had state(!) for a while for 13d, thinking there were 4 dodgy homophones… Loved 27a.
Thanks Elgar and dynamic duo
Thanks Dutch. I should have remembered that -OOH is chemists’ shorthand for peroxide.
HOO -HA = stir !
While I understood that 1A was an anagram of ‘clients OK’, I just couldn’t unravel it, so had to take a peek at the hint. Once that was in place, I was able to finish off the last remaining three…8A, 3/4D and 5D. I found this very challenging and slow going but happy to have solved as much as I did unaided. Like Kath, I needed the Dynamic Duo’s explanations to fully understand a couple of clues. I also needed Google to confirm 25D, 22D and 5D. If I’ve had to work overtime to finish a puzzle, It takes the edge of the enjoyment factor a bit, but I will plump for 17/20A.
Hat’s off to Elgar, and grateful thanks to the D/D for helping me to the finishing post.
Vlad says there’s no Nina, so don’t get stressed looking for one.
I recommend the Ft puzzle from today by Rosa Klebb – now there’s a setting name!
http://www.ft.com/life-arts/crossword
Rosa was on excellent form, thanks for the pointer Tilsit
We needed Google to help us with Romanian currency, but apart from that everything went in smoothly albeit not swiftly. Just about the right difficulty for us to enjoy and feel adequately challenged. Thought 27a was just brilliant.
Thanks Elgar and The Team.
A superb Toughie from Elgar, after quite an absence. The 13-letter clues took me longest to solve. 8a and 7d were particular favourites. 26a reminds me of Paul Simon explaining the rules of Bingo to his cat. He tells it to shout ‘Lotto’ when it has a full house, whereupon the cat tells him it would sound silly doing this. “OK,” says Paul; “if I have a full house I’ll scream ‘Lotto,’ but you can call miaow !”
:) :)
Top notch puzzle and review so thanks to the twosome and Elgar .Personal favourite 11a after 27a which I was slow to parse .
Thanks yet again
Wow! what a struggle
, but totally worth it – 5* enjoyment. Many thanks Elgar and to B&R.
I found this hard, but very enjoyable. I spent a long time looking at about four completed answers, then got 9d and that seemed to be the domino needed to get the others all falling ! Did it without hints, and just using the dictionary to check a couple of unknown words.****/****
Great puzzle – and thanks for the brilliant blog B&R
Only complaint – why did we have to wait three months for it.
And thanks to all other bloggers – regular lurker so do appreciate them – mainly a G solver but always look out for the odd fave setter here – Elgar being one natch.
BTW we hardly get any Enigmatists on the G these days either.
Welcome to the blog JollySwagman.
After three days still can’t get 28 across!!! Help!!!!!
Elgar thinks that the Rev Spooner might have said “blurred wind”. Now you can see why so many Spoonerisms are disliked by solvers.
Thanks! Just saved my sanity!!!
I think very hard even though I managed it all except Rhino, never heard of it. But 3/4 D, and 28A were very poor, inaccurate contrived clues, that I only got as they fitted and could nt be anything else ! Poor way to get solution ! But DID ejoy as great challenge