Toughie No 3040 by Elgar
Hints and tips by Dutch
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
Much of this went in steadily, but I got struggled towards the end
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
9a Fly solo over diminishing country steeped in history (2,2,5)
GO IT ALONE: The abbreviation for over plus a 5-letter European country without the last letter (diminishing) are inserted (steeped in) a word that can mean history (as in, ‘it’s history’)
10a Reviving air mail area code for the Emerald City? (5)
OZONE: Split (2,3), the answer could be the mail area code for the Emerald City
11a Mick, call Ms Hillary? Friends again? (2,8,5)
ON SPEAKING TERMS: The answer suggests a homophone (indicated by first two words) of academic periods. Thus, ‘Mick, call Ms Hillary?’ is a homophone of the autumn and spring academic periods at Oxbridge
12a/13a Prize-fighters as title contenders will punch but finish last (5,2,3,4)
BRING UP THE REAR: A 4-letter word meaning prize-fighter collectively plus a (2,5) phrase suggesting they are at the peak of their career (‘as title contenders’) all goes inside (will punch) a word meaning but or except
15a Sequence in which five notes becomes four imbues new Michael Tippett work (1,5,2,3,4)
A CHILD OF OUR TIME: A scale of 2-letter notes in which the central 5 notes become ‘FOUR’ from the clue – goes inside (imbues) an anagram (new) of MICHAEL
19a/22a Old two-piece settee grandly unveiled repeatedly then chosen for similar (7,3,4)
DOUBLET AND HOSE: Remove the outer letters twice (unveiled repeatedly) from ‘settee’ and ‘grandly’. The first gives you a (6,1) and the second a conjunction. Then, remove outer letters (for similar) from ‘chosen’
24a Position: kilometre between; hence zero – then eventually in boundless supply! (4,6,5)
LIKE LONDON BUSES: A 3-letter word meaning position contains (between) the abbreviation for kilometre – next, the letter that looks like zero and the last (eventually) letter of ‘then’ go inside an anagram (supply) of BOUNDLESS
26a Doctor Zhivago author held this back (5)
STERN: Hidden ( … held this) in the name of the author of Doctor Zhivago
27a Warm and affectionate nurses upset Charlie? (4,5)
TAIL-ENDER: A 6-letter word meaning warm and affectionate contains (nurses) a word for upset
Down
1d Money-changing villain suffers current depreciation? (4)
AGIO: A Shakespearean villain in which the physics abbreviation for current is shifted down two places (suffering …
depreciation)
2d Metalworker is in time to work with this medium (8)
TINSMITH: An anagram (to work) of IN T(ime) + THIS M(edium)
3d Ne’er-do-well asked for disused goods? (3,3)
BAD EGG: An old-fashioned way (disused) of saying ‘asked for’ plus twice the abbreviation for good
4d Cross palm with investment of a sub-£1000 postal order (8)
COCKAPOO: A species of palm tree contains (with investment of) A from the clue underneath (sub) the abbreviation for a thousand ponds plus the abbreviation for postal order. Here are my two reprobates:
5d Nitrogen cycle of 26 chemist (6)
NERNST: The chemical symbol for nitrogen plus the answer to 26 in which the first two letters have been cycled to the rear
6d Order two of each in the end, clever clogs? (8)
FOOTWEAR: An anagram (order) of TWO OF, the abbreviation for each, and the last letter (in the end) of clever
7d ‘A little cryptic’, our setters’ line (6)
COURSE: Hidden (A little …)
8d A way to escape the Yard (4)
MEWS: Two meanings, the second a street or yard of housing or stables
12d In proposal, one’s managed to make mark (5)
BRAND: Take a 3-letter proposal, and covert the Roman numeral for one to a word meaning ‘managed’
14d Official subject line, Adam emailing back to the Almighty? (5)
REEVE: Split (2: 3), the answer reads as the subject line of an email Adam might send to the Almighty!
16d Romantic musical all about Sandi T’s right-hand man? (2,2,4)
LA LA LAND: An anagram (about) of ALL plus first name and initial (mimicking Sandi T) of the person sitting to the right of her in QI
17d Ordinary singer and ordinary song work together! (8)
ORATORIO: The abbreviation for ordinary, a singer or informer, the abbreviation for ordinary, and a song title
18d Puritan resistance quelled by one in fair position (8)
IRONSIDE: The abbreviation for resistance is squished between (quelled by) the Roman numeral for one and ‘in fair position’ in football
20d To avoid embarrassment, trouser-wearer braces himself for this maintenance bill! (6)
UPKEEP: The embarrassment-avoiding reason a trouser-wearer uses braces!
21d Sustained work done by fielding side, having dropped opposition’s opener (6)
TENUTO: A (3,3) achievement by a cricket fielding side (the whole team but the opener, say) – then lower (drop) the first letter (opener) of ‘opposition’ to the end
23d Like protagonists in Holy Grail, we assume with a new soundtrack (6)
DUBBED: We can assume the Knights of the Holy Grail have been ******
24d Fail to keep to having a shave (4)
LOSE: A 6-letter word meaning ‘to’ without the outer letters (having a shave)
25d “Class” or “type” nails it (4)
SORT: Hidden ( … nails)
I enjoyed clever clogs, and of course the cross, but my favourite (made me laugh out loud) is Adam’s email to the Almighty. Which clues did you like?
I needed to look up the author but otherwise this was steady if not speedy progress. I liked 11a and and 24a although the former required a bit of a head scratch to see the parsing.
Thanks to Dutch and Elgar.
Alternative parse of 24a (perhaps an Elgar variation ?) fail as the definition and then “to keep to” being a five letter verb with the first letter shaved.
This was a mighty struggle from start to finish but I got there. As usual for a Friday I needed our blogger’s help with some of the parsing that eluded me during the solve. My admiration for both setter and reviewer continue to grow each week. I have to agree that the email clue is quite brilliant and has to be my favourite.
Thanks to both Elgar and Dutch.
Some of the best of Elgar here. 15a must be one of the cleverest clues for years [even tho it’s a giveaway] and 14d one of the wittiest. 19/22 is also pretty damn clever and 12d shows he can do “normal” well, as well. But oh dear,11a – not for me. And as for Duran Duran…
Thanks to Elgar and Dutch for the blog.
Top half went rather well but the SE took ages.
Failed on 8d and 21d though.
As usual, very clever cluing from our master.
I saw Framboise and Fifi the 4d only yesterday.
Thanks to Elgar and to Dutch.
Sorry we don’t understand why Mews is a way to escape.
You’ve shortened your previous alias so this comment required moderation. Both versions will work from now on.
But what’s the answer?
According to Chambers as well as being a street or yard of stabling, mews is also a way of escape through a hedge, etc
mews1 see under mew3
meuse1, muse or mews /mūs or mūz/
noun
A way of escape through a hedge, etc
intransitive verb
To pass through a meuse
ORIGIN: OFr muce a place for hiding things
mew1 /mū/
intransitive verb
(esp of a cat, kitten, or gull) to make a thin, high-pitched cry
noun
This sound
interjection (obsolete)
Expressing derision
ORIGIN: Imit
mew2 /mū/
noun
A gull
ORIGIN: OE mǣw; Du meeuw, ON mār, Ger Möwe
mew3 /mū/
transitive verb
To shed, moult or cast
To change, as the covering or dress
To confine, as in a cage
intransitive verb
To shed antlers or feathers
To moult
noun
The process of moulting
A cage for hawks, esp while mewing
A coop
A place of confinement
A retreat
A hiding-place
ORIGIN: OFr muer, from L mūtāre to change
mews or meuse /mūz or mūs/ noun
(orig pl of mew, now commonly as sing with new pl mews’es) a street or yard of stabling (often converted into dwelling-houses or garages), so called from the king’s mews at Charing Cross when hawks were succeeded by horses