Sunday Toughie No 47 by proXimal
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Welcome from a frosty Yorkshire, but far from the Canadian level of cold Senf is enduring.
I could have saved myself from the final tricky solves last night if I had noticed the view answers button that was available on the old website, but when I got to the tricky ones and saw it I was determined to not succumb to the temptation. This morning the new website seems to be behaving itself and I have submitted my answers as normal. I think I will revert to scanning and emailing my entry until they sort out the websites
Not a lot of Christmas in today’s clues, those Christmas fruits I don’t like make a reappearance in 27a, but the holly that lurks in 5d is not the lurker (or direction) you seek.
I guess that next weeks online toughie will be a little bit more Christmassy (and tougher) I wonder who will be setting that?
Anyway this isn’t getting the baby bathed
Here we go, Folks…
As it is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll be back just after the closing date with the full review blog. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!
I hope I don’t have to redact any comments but I am new at this and don’t want to rock the boat. If in doubt, I’ll rub it out! I think that sentence is a bit redundant. You have all been so helpful in sorting out prior parsing failures, and I am sure I will need similar help again.
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely.
Across
1a Twisting arm, student changed to another form (10)
Nice easy anagram (twisting) to start, the answer is also an anagram indicator.
6a Resent crossing this body of water and we find someone to give answers (4)
Find a word that means someone to give answers. When you have the correct word you should be able to see that resent crosses the body of water we seek.
Big Dave’s local and Big Dave’s local body of water Merry Christmas Dave!
11a Hazards close by French city (9)
To close or finish, goes by the French city that was the cradle of the Plantagenet dynasty.
12a Root around area in wood, part of London (7)
A reversal of a root vegetable and a species of evergreen coniferous tree (probably decorated at this time of year) around a for area.
14a Male enters carrying spare IT equipment (12)
M for male and a synonym of enters (a ship perhaps) goes around a synonym of spare.
18a Where to see people training with runners? (7,5)
Where people who slide down snowy hills with runners on their feet go to practice.
24a This writer if poorly might get sick benefit (9)
Remove IF from sick benefit and you get the fodder for an anagram of one of the great American writers and an ideal opportunity for me to play this…
26a
27a Preserve with fruit covering papers for applicants (10)
Applicants for a job. A means of preservation by sealing in a tin, the Christmas fruit that I don’t like around one’s important papers.
Down
1d Anguish when ex-President shortly gains lead in America (6)
Not the most recent ex-president, but the first five letters of the president that served between 1945 and 1953, gains the lead letter of America.
3d In auditorium, performer serves Heather cocktail (9,5)
A couple of homophones (in auditorium) of a vocal performer, and serves a drink, and another word for Heather that crops up a lot in crosswords.
15d Startled about reversal of evil being reprimanded (9)
A synonym of startled and a reversal of an evil feeling.
16d Was keen eccentric then exploited? (8)
A synonym of was is anagrammed (eccentric) followed by another word for exploited.
19d
22d Kingdom investing billion in source of oil (5)
A biblical Hebrew Kingdom is comprised of a source of cosmetic oil or fat around B for billion.
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I have indulged myself with a bit of Bruce above so here is a more Christmassy piece
I loved this super offering from the master of misdirection with PDMs and smiles throughout the grid brightening a mercifully mild yet wet day on the South Devon coast.
In a strong field my World Cup winners are 6,10&24a plus 1,3 (lol)&17d.
Many thanks to ProXimal and John….isn’t 24a an anagram (poorly) of IF plus the solution giving “sick benefit”?
Sorry my hint should have been clearer. What remains of Sick Benefit after IF is removed can be anagrammed to be the writer.
No apologies necessary, just wanted to make sure I’d interpreted the wordplay correctly.
The NE corner held me up for some time but eventually, once the cricket finished for the day and I was less distracted, the pennies began to drop. I was slow to correctly parse 1d as well, initially being misled by proXimal toward the wrong ex-President by an apropos surface reading. Nevertheless, my podium places went elsewhere in the grid; I picked out 24a, 3d (I really enjoyed the homophone) and 16d.
My thanks to both proXimal and SJB. Now on to the next sporting distraction…
He was a gift to cruciverbalists, I too spent some time trying to justify putting two leading A’s in a shortened Donald.
Well I’ve got a correctly completed grid without using any letter reveals but still at least half a dozen to satisfactorily parse so work to do before reading the review. Excellent puzzle & very entertaining. Of those where I’m happy that I’ve fully understood the wordplay first in 3d was my favourite ahead of ticks elsewhere at 14,18&24a along with 1,4&16d.
Thanks to proXimal & SJB.
Always enjoy one of this setter’s Sunday Toughies, find it hard to get my head round those from one of his cohorts!
Tick list here contained 6&24a along with the succinct 4&8d plus 19d.
Thanks to proXimal and to SJB for the hints.
A very good puzzle from one of my favourite setters – thanks to proXimal and SJB.
From a slew of possibilities I’ve selected 21a, 24a and 1d for my podium.
Terrific puzzle…finished it last night without any aids in great spirits since I have a proXimal Achilles Heel usually (is that a transferred epithet?). Loved 24a, one of my favourite writers (Jimmy and I have become addicted to The Wayward Bus, which one of our ‘oldie’ channels delights in showing over and over again, not quite the book the Nobel Laureate wrote, but still…), and I could wax rhapsodic about my days with him in the classroom (“Chrysanthemums” especially comes to mind). But the World Cup is on now and Messi is taking a beating (they’re ahead, though, 2:0!). Thanks to SJB and proXimal. [I may be back…more to add.]
Nearly managed to finish this last night, needed a few helpful hints from SJB for the NE corner. Impressed to see the pic for 6a… :-)…having grown up with that view and the “local” from my youth, it was a very pleasant surprise!
Thanks to SJB and the setter!
Glad you spotted it, you will find more of Hanley Swan in the gallery as it is Big Dave’s local too.