Toughie 2826 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Toughie 2826

Toughie No 2826 by Logman

Hints and tips by crypticsue

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

Logman’s turn to provide the Wednesday Toughie 

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a & 6 Ice age shows old, originally pointless intention (4,5,5)
WILD GOOSE CHASE A search doomed to be unsuccessful – an anagram (originally) of ICE AGE SHOWS OLD

6a    See 1

9a    Cardinal must be fixed in firm belief (5)
CREDO A deep scarlet colour (cardinal) fixed in an abbreviated firm

10a    Strip after swim — hot feature of 28! (9)
DIPHTHONG A thin strip goes after a short swim and the abbreviation for Hot. After much muttering and thought, I’ve concluded that this combination of two vowel sounds pronounced as one syllable can be found both in the solution to 28a and in “twenty-eight”

11a    Not willing to compromise en route, absorbing information (12)
INTRANSIGENT A way of saying en route ‘absorbing’ a slang word for information

14a    Medical speciality I’m not sure I caught — this is to do with the guts (7)
ENTERIC An abbreviated medical speciality, an interjection expressing hesitation (I’m not sure), I (from the clue) and the cricket abbreviation for Caught

16a    Such a person won’t welcome home fire here! (7)
INGRATE The ‘usual’ home and a place where a fire is found

17a    Local that you’ll find in frenzy online (3)
YON A poetic, dialect or Scottish (local) adjective meaning ‘that’ is found in frenzY ONline

18a    One who might scoff being infected, catching cold (7)
SCEPTIC Affected by bacteria (being infected) ‘catching’ the abbreviation for Cold

20a    Hostile American agents left after golf, oddly (7)
GLACIAL The abbreviated American ‘agents’ and the abbreviation for Left go after the odd letters of GoLf

22a   Greatest point of degradation in raw metalwork, possibly (3-5,4)
LOW-WATER MARK: An anagram (possibly) of RAW METALWORK – the little black ‘dots’ in the water are over-wintering Brent Geese

26a    Endlessly drying clutch valve in engine (3-6)
AIR-INTAKE Remove the final letter (endlessly) from a synonym for drying and add a verb meaning to clutch

27a    Once more a short answer must be accepted (5)
AGAIN A (from the clue) and one type of an alcoholic drink informally known as a short, into which is inserted (must be accepted) the abbreviation for Answer

28a    Senior member will need one for large flier (5)
EIDER To get a type of ‘flier’ you will need to change the L (large) in a senior member) for the letter representing one

29a    Imposing a penalty, having dropped starter in a rush (9)
HASTENING Drop the first letter (starter) from part of a verb meaning imposing a penalty

Down

1d    My boss comes from fantastic town in Scotland (4)
WICK Remove our setter’s (abbreviated) boss from a slang word meaning fantastic

2d    Strange being without a legal right to hold property (4)
LIEN A strange being without the A

3d    Horse in German producing dad joke! (7)
GROANER A type of horse inserted into the abbreviation for German

4d    Adored rocking up, grasping instruction (5)
ORDER Hidden in reverse (up … grasping) in adoRED ROcking

5d    Using European vote yet to be decided (9)
EXPENDING The abbreviation for European, the letter used when voting and an adjective meaning yet to be decided

6d    Hurtful piece taken out of paper (7)
CUTTING A double definition

7d    A model felt in charge, having a tone likely to scare many off (10)
APOSEMATIC Who knew there was an adjective to describe animal colouration serving to warn other animals off? A fairly clued word – A (from the clue), a verb meaning to model, felt in the sense of fabric and the abbreviation for In Charge

8d    Watch at an end then — till he begs for a change (5,5)
EIGHT BELLS An anagram (for a change) of TILL HE BEGS – a nautical expression for the end of a watch, also used when a mariner has died

12d    Redesigned estate surrounding market to fit together perfectly (10)
TESSELLATE An anagram (redesigned) of ESTATE ‘surrounding’ a verb meaning to market

13d    Strange promise, keeping left for a better place than ours (10)
OTHERWORLD An adjective meaning strange or different and a promise, the latter ‘keeping’ the abbreviation for Left

15d    Conservative moving cheaply saving time for this way! (5,4)
CYCLE PATH The abbreviation for Conservative and an anagram (moving) of CHEAPLY, into which is inserted (saving) the abbreviation for Time

19d    Instructor‘s riddle with no end of stress (7)
TRAINER A riddle without its first letter, which just happens to also be the end of stresS

21d    Amount of land and time needed to billet most of elite (7)
ACREAGE A period of time to ‘billet’ most of the pick of a group of people (elite)

23d    Comes across suitable applicants at last (5)
MEETS An archaic or formal adjective meaning suitable and the last letter of applicantS

24d    Independent party lifted holiday island (4)
BALI A reversal (lifted) of an abbreviated political party and the abbreviation for Independent

25d    Comfortable with arms raised (4)
SNUG A reversal (raised) of some weapons (arms)

22 comments on “Toughie 2826

  1. Whew! Came close to a dnf but, with an electron’s help to sort 7d, managed it in under 3* time (just). A great work out, thanks Logman and CS, whose help I needed not.

  2. Managed OK but was a bit uncertain on a couple of parsings. 9d was new to me. 12d made me smile as I first came across this term many years ago in a report from my son’s nursery. It turns out he was good at jigsaws. Thanks to Logman and CS.

  3. I needed the hint to parse 10a plus 7d and 12d were new to me. Apart from those for once I was on Logman’s wavelength. Favourite was 5d. Thanks to Logman and CS.

  4. Not a puzzle that will remain long in the memory – thanks to Logman and CS.
    7d is a new word for me.
    The clues I liked best were 27a and 3d.

  5. The smile inducing 1a set the tone for this enjoyable offering from one of my favourite setters. A couple subsequently went in on a “wing and a prayer” and needed confirmation (10a&7d).
    My ticks go to 11a plus 1,3&5d.
    Many thanks to Logman and CS for a top puzzle and review

  6. I found this a fairly comfortable solve with just 7d a sticking point, although the wordplay got me there. That aside, no real dramas and all done and dusted in good time. 3d was my favourite.

    Thanks to Logman and to CS.

  7. Some clever misdirections produced time wasting head scratching.
    Still it all fell into place satisfyingly.
    7d was new and as I’m on a brain go slow ( flow test negative Covid) it seemed more of a tussle than it should.
    Thanks to Logman and CS.
    **/***

  8. Lovely puzzle. 7d was certainly new to me but very fairly clued (and googled to confirm). 10a, 11a, & 15d my top picks but many contenders. The ‘dad joke’ made me laugh. Thanks to CS and Logman.

  9. Thanks so much for putting me out of my misery re 10a, CS. (It might have helped if I’d remembered that the word has two aitches, of course … Gets me every time!)

    1. When my youngest sister did a degree in ophthalmic optics, I typed her dissertation for her and as a result, I’ve never forgotten the phth combination

  10. So much more enjoyable than yesterday’s rather dull and unremarkable Toughie. 7d new to me but otherwise all pretty straightforward for a Wednesday Toughie.

    Hon Mention to 10a, and COTD to 3d for the resulting chuckle.

    Many thanks to Logman and CS

  11. A very nice, relatively gentle workout. Like most of you, 7d was a new word for me, but it was possible to work it out from the cluing.

    10a made it to the top of my list today, with 3d close behind.

  12. Really? **/*** difficulty and I finished it unaided? Admittedly in **** time. Well, that’s either a one off, or I am actually improving.

    Thanks to Logman and CS.

  13. As usual I seem to have found it a fair bit harder than everyone else but at least finished without a letter reveal. A pedestrian solve from the bottom up & with a nice walk in between. Never heard of 7d & also needed to check both 10a & 12d meant what I thought they did – thankfully the wordplay got me to all 3. Reckon I have them all parsed but no doubt the review will disabuse me of that notion. 3d probably my pick of the bunch but I can’t say I found this one anywhere near as enjoyable as I normally find this setter’s puzzles.
    Thanks to Logman & to CS.

  14. 7d was new to us but we got it from wordplay and then checked in BRB. One to remember.
    Enjoyable solve as ever.
    Thanks Logman and CS.

  15. If anyone’s interested, the black and yellow caterpillars pictured at 7d produce the cinnabar moth. They only live on the ragwort plant that’s poisonous enough to kill cattle and horses, although sheep are more tolerant of it. It can damage our livers if handled too much without gloves. Not having tried one, I assume the caterpillars are poisonous to birds etc!
    That said, I enjoyed this puzzle more than yesterday’s, with 10a favourite.
    Thanks CS and Logman

  16. I really enjoyed this but struggled in the NW corner. Does anyone else get irritated with the use of street slang? Wicked as fantastic? This vernacular should be confined to inner London school yards where it belongs.

    1. I embrace and applaud the constantly changing use of the English Language. The language would be poorer without it. I don’t embrace and applaud your final sentence though.

    2. According to the OED, “wicked” has been used in a positive sense since the 1920s.

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