Toughie 2378

27 comments on “Toughie 2378”

1. It was just as easy as today’s 1* backpager but as usual with Donnybrook you can’t fail to end up smiling however short a time it takes to solve

   My particular Across favourite was 10a for the ‘apparently relaxed’ and 21d

   Thanks to Donnybrook and BD

2. I found this straightforward except for 27a. I tried every word I could think of given I had all the cross check letters but none seemed to be any better than any of the others! I have no idea what Headbanging music is!
   2*/3*

   1. Ditto 😀

3. I found this very straightforward for a Toughie with the only hold up due to 27a & 28a, my last two in. My problem with 27a is that I never refer to that genre of music without prefacing it with “heavy” and I spent some time trying to work out if “centre”, which fits the checkers and definition, could have been the answer.

   I can’t see that 5d is synonymous with “complete”.

   I did enjoy it and 10a was my favourite.

   Many thanks to Donnybrook and BD.

   1. Yes, I had ‘centre’ in for 27a for a while, but could not see that it really made enough sense.

4. Gentle and enjoyable but I did have to parse 10a after the event, for a “D’oh” moment. Nice one.

   Agree with RD re 5d (but no doubt those of you with a BRB will confirm it) and 27a usually/always? being preceded by heavy.

   I was tempted (for a moment) wondering if “a best end of meat” made any sense – until 25a went in quickly.

   Overall,I would have thought this a great Toughie for those that are sometimes not tempted to try one.

   Thanks to Donnybrook and BD.

   1. I checked my BRB before commenting about 5d, so there’s no enlightenment to be had from that source. However, I’ve just looked it up in Collins on-line and, lo and behold, “complete” is given there as one of the meanings.

      1. I checked it in Chambers Thesaurus:

         implicit
         adjective
         1 implied, inferred, deducible, insinuated, suggested, hinted, indirect, unsaid, unspoken, unexpressed, unstated, tacit, understood, inherent, hidden, latent
         2 implicit belief
         unquestioning, unhesitating, utter, total, full, entire, complete, absolute, perfect, sheer, positive, unqualified, unreserved, unconditional, steadfast, wholehearted

      2. And that’s the problem with (only) using the BRB, which is supposed to be the primary reference source for setting DT cryptics (but, thank goodness, the setters don’t always adhere to that stipulation). Quite often, definitions/synonyms used in the clues/answer are not listed in the BRB but can be found in other sources, usually the LRB or Collins online dictionary and thesaurus.

5. Definitely the soft pedal from our setter today but still a lot of fun.
   As RD already commented, I wasn’t very convinced by 5d.
   Podium places going for humour today – 9,12&17a plus 21d (with apologies to the great lady).

   Thanks to Donnybrook for the enjoyment and to BD for the review.

6. A couple of clues that should not appear in the Toughie!
   Fun though so thanks Donnybrook and BD

   PS – Death Metal, Folk Metal, Pop Metal, Glam Metal…

7. I, too, was defeated by 27a and wanted to put in “centre” . Very topical having a Canadian city for 28a if not a very well known one.
   Was very taken with 7a and I think that will be my COTD.

8. Having read BD’s remark “Donnybrook makes it simple today with a mix of easy clues with even easier ones” and being relatively new to the Toughie I approached this puzzle with relish.

   However I found it a bit of a plod with little to light up my afternoon. 12a was the only clue to raise a smile, 10a was the “Doh” moment.

   For me this was more **/**

   BTW Should the hint for 25a not be “Ho” for House rather than Fo or am I missing an even deeper meaning somewhere?

   As always, huge respect to the setters of this Toughie puzzle, best mental workout going!

   Thanks BD for the hints and also for the photos of the Birthday Bash – interesting to put faces to some well kent names.

   1. just a simple typo! Thanks for pointing it out.

9. My only hold-up was my last answer (27a) where the checkers were pointing to ‘centre’ and I wondered whether that was a homophone of something to do with headbanging. I eventually got it but, like RD, I’ve never heard of that type of music without it being prefixed by ‘heavy’ or similar.
   My favourite clue was 10a.
   Thanks to Donnybrook and BD.

   1. Looking at LbR’s comment at 6 above about various types of “metal” music, it doesn’t sound as if we have missed much.

      1. There is no genre of music I don’t like (*edit* ah, except plastic boy bands and such like, which isn’t even music – just a cash cow) and anyway, didn’t you say once that you liked the mighty Iron Maiden?

         1. I too very much like most types of music, definitely including Heavy Metal. I’ve never heard of the other types of Metal you refer to, it’s just that the names don’t sound particularly appealing.

10. There was I thinking how clever I was to solve a Donnybrook toughie only to find everyone else seemed to find really easy, hey ho I guess there’s a way for me to go yet. Obviously 10a was the outstanding clue. Many thanks to Donnybrook and BD.

11. Add me to those who expected ‘heavy’ to be involved in 27a in order to make it convincing. I was also held up in the NW corner – partly in that I was reluctant to enter 1d thinking it was more a piece of sports equipment rather than a sports event? However, I certainly did enjoy this and thank you to Donnybrook and Big Dave.

12. We also spend time on 27a where we equated HEART with CENTRE and then tried to justify the wordplay. Eventually the penny dropped.
    Good fun to solve.
    Thanks Donnybrook and BD.

13. Took me ages to get the Laid back in 10a.
    The vault in 22d slowed me down too.
    Apart from that, it was plain sailing.
    Thanks to Donnybrook and to BD.

14. Had HONEST for 25a, given that this is a Toughie (and the use of brands as a generic term without some proper indicator should be a no-no!) so messed the SE corner. Took a long time to parse 10a even with the hint, but it had to be. But good fun all the same!

15. Thanks to Donnybrook and to Big Dave for the review and hints. It’s been ages since I completed a Toughie. So hooray! But I thought there would be a “catch”. When I read the blog I saw it was one star difficulty, no matter, a completion is a completion! The whole puzzle was a joy. So much humour. Favourite was 9a. Needless to say, I needed the hints to parse 10a,even though I noticed that the last four letters were “laid” back, it went straight over my head. Was 1*/4* for me.

16. Well I am so thick that I didn’t realise Donnybrook was the name of the setter. I had Kappar from the middle if the first two words as the answer, thinking Donnybrook must be some strange product! It was the only clue that foiled me! Not epee, no pun intended!

17. Well I am so thick that I didn’t realise Donnybrook was the name of the setter. I had Kappar from the middle of the first two words as the answer, thinking Donnybrook must be some strange product! It was the only clue that foiled me! Not epee, no pun intended!

18. 2*/4*….
    liked 10A ” Donnybrook, apparently relaxed, situated in middle? (6) “

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