Toughie 2942 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Toughie 2942

by crypticsue  

Toughie No 2942 by Logman

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

On a Wednesday morning, I always solve the cryptic crossword first to ‘warm up’ my brain before tackling the Toughie. Today was one of those days when I should have solved the other way round as this Jay crossword masquerading as a Logman took less than a third of the time I spent on the cryptic.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought

Across

1a    To be fair, I must wear women’s pants (7)
WINSOME An anagram (pants) of WOMENS into which is inserted (must wear) I (from the clue)

9a    Dance music having hard time about a veto (8)
HABANERA The abbreviation for hard and a period of time goes ‘about’ A (from the clue) and a veto

10a    & 11 Sort of music Kentucky supremo keeps spare to get creative inspiration (4-3,8)
BLUE-SKY THINKING A type of music, the abbreviation for the State of Kentucky and a supreme head into which is inserted (keeps) an adjective meaning spare in the sense of scanty or meagre

11a    See 10 Across

12a    Mysterious person imagined being lost without identification (6)
ENIGMA An anagram (being lost) of iMAGINEd without the abbreviation for identification

13a    Recall missing engineers given transport union’s request of workers (10)
MEMBERSHIP Remove the abbreviation for the Royal Engineers from a synonym for recall and add a form of transport

15a    Bottle essential for life without heart (4)
VIAL Remove the middle letter (heart) from a word meaning essential for life

16a    Stock held by private landlord (9)
INNKEEPER A verb meaning to stock ‘held’ by a synonym for private

21a    Issue as the hour goes back (4)
EMIT A reversal (goes back) of what an hour represents

22a    Doctor struggles with sailors and actors (5,5)
MOVIE STARS An abbreviated doctor, part of a verb meaning struggles and some sailors

24a    Plan after all for Yorkshiremen (6)
INTEND An expression meaning after all, where the first two words are changed to the way Yorkshiremen would say them

25a    This may be dangerous anytime being disturbed by day (8)
DYNAMITE An anagram (being disturbed) of ANYTIME goes by or after the abbreviation for day

27a    Corporation taken in by good French pitch (7)
BITUMEN The informal name of that part of your body known as a corporation ‘taken in’ by the French word for good

28a    Scientist from site oddly held by a German repeatedly (8)
EINSTEIN The odd letters of SiTe ‘held’ or put inside a repetition of the German word for a

29a    Understand refusal must mean hell (7)
INFERNO A verb meaning to understand and a word of refusal

Down

2d    Laid up at home, love one’s place in the USA (8)
ILLINOIS Unwell (laid up), the ‘usual’ at home’, the letter representing love and a way of writing one’s

3d    Regularly save genial criminal influencer (8)
SVENGALI The regular letters of SaVe and an anagram (criminal) of GENIAL

4d    Brand guarantees ultimately must include a repair or provide compensation (4,6)
MAKE AMENDS A brand of something and the ultimate letter of guaranteeS into which is inserted (must include) A (from the clue) and a verb meaning to repair

5d    Coat artist puts on lap (4)
WASH A thin layer of colour an artist puts on a canvas, or to sound like water breaking on the shore

6d    A person who shows affection to all animals on the radio? (6)
FAWNER A person who flatters to gain favour is a homophone (on the radio) of the assemblage of all forms of animal life

7d    Joshua originally ruining heroic old city (7)
JERICHO The original letter of Joshua and an anagram (ruining) of HEROIC

8d    Suspend courier showing obsessions (4-3)
HANG-UPS A verb meaning to suspend and the name by which a courier company is known

11d    Fair time invested in medium wave, ultimately (9)
TEMPERATE The abbreviation for time ‘invested’ between an artist’s medium and the ultimate letter of wavE

14d    Show occupation that’s no longer available? (10)
EXPOSITION A way of saying (with a hyphen) that an occupation or job is no longer available

17d    Curry occasionally used in organising secret aid to recovery (4,4)
REST CURE The occasional letters of cUrRy inserted into an anagram (organising) of SECRET

18d    Bit of leg put on, reportedly for a party (4,4)
SINN FEIN Part of a leg and a homophone of a verb meaning to put on or pretend

19d    Trace biting fly confined to the borders of Spain (7)
SMIDGEN A small biting fly ‘confined’ in the borders of SpaiN

20d    Perhaps today’s close competition not tense (7)
EVENING A riding competition without the abbreviation for tense

23d    Hate outrage when soldiers dispatched (6)
ENMITY A great outrage without (dispatched) the abbreviation for Ordinary Ranks of soldiers

26d    Follow Indian language millions ignored (4)
TAIL An Indian language ‘ignoring’ the abbreviation for millions

16 comments on “Toughie 2942”

  1. Struggled a bit with 18d but eventually the penny dropped, failed to parse 11d and had to look up 9a but it was fairly clued. Apart from those no major difficulties. A good workout. Favourite was 14d. Thanks to Logman and CS

  2. A disappointing DNF for me – needed the hint for 5d not really being familiar with the painting technique & failing to twig the correct context of lap. Otherwise pretty straightforward but very enjoyable & certainly easier than the backpager though I’d give it another * in the difficulty rating. Wasn’t familiar with the dance at 9a but the wordplay was clear & Mr G confirmed. Top clue for me the double homophone at 18d with10/11a in the runner up spot.
    Thanks to Logman & CS

    1. Just read the review & see I didn’t parse 11d correctly either – clearly art isn’t my forte.

  3. Our equine friends were completely untroubled by this gentle offering, which was well-clued throughout, with the excellent 18d taking my top spot.

    Thanks to Logman and CS.

  4. So refreshing after the dismal backpager. Fairly clued, plenty of good clues – 10a,1a,14d. Only failed on 18d but what a good clue! **/**** for me . Good old Logman!

  5. An enjoyable, if not overly tricky, puzzle – thanks to Logman and CS.
    The 1a surface was amusing but my ticks went to 24a,5d and 18d.

  6. Biggest problem I have with Jay in his Logman guise is that whilst he brings us good surface reads and excellent definitions we tend to get one or the other in any particular clue!
    Held up today by 5&6d which took some thought but everything else flowed quite well.

    Thanks to Logman/Jay and to CS for the review – rather liked that measuring device, could do with one of those for No.2 daughter’s Christmas stocking!

      1. I’ve just managed to order one on Amazon – it will hopefully make her smile and come into good use with all those fancy recipes she keeps trying out!

  7. I really enjoyed this, seemed to have the fun the back-pager perhaps lacked.
    I liked the 10/11a linked clues and 8d, probably because it reminded me of Django’s “Upsy-daisy”, one of the finest clues I’ve ever seen, but my favourite was 24a as those types of clues always make me smile.
    Many thanks to Logman and Cryptic Sue for the entertainment.

  8. Thanks Logman & CS.
    I don’t often tackle the Toughie but felt the need for more today.
    I was happy enough to get 99% done and happier still with the hints for swift resolution.
    I loved 3d (great word) and 6d (it’s an animal thing).

  9. 5d trailed well behind the rest of the field in the canter to the finishing line for us.
    Still chuckling over the surface reading for 1a.
    Good fun to solve.
    Thanks Logman and CS.

  10. Well, by my lights, I DID finish, but not according to CS’s or the correct solution to 5d, so technically a DNF, but Logman’s Toughie today is, for me, everything that today’s cryptic is not: elegant, smoothly surfaced, and solvable, and I did enjoy it very much. I knew the dance of course from ‘Carmen’ (the opera, and Rise Stevens’s great rendition thereof), loved 11a and the moment when I finally parsed it correctly, but most of all I felt inspired by 10 & 11a because I have just endured one of my most difficult days in some time and I needed that little bluebird of happiness to cheer me up so that I could return to the blog and make this comment. Thanks to CS and Logman.

    1. Those bluebirds of happiness seem to be in short supply these days, Robert, but I’m very pleased to hear that you found one in the nick of time. I think Ms Truss could do with one if you happen to find another!

  11. Proper job. Good Wednesday Toughie, decent evening challenge. Hon Mentions to 1a, 6, 8, & 18d, with 24a taking the top step on the podium.

    Many thanks to Logman and CS

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