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Toughie 3006

Toughie No 3006 by Hudson

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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

Another splendid crossword from Hudson, with an unmissable theme 

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought

Across

1a    Upset — the result of being caught out? (5,4)
KNOCK OVER This phrase meaning to overturn (upset) could also be an informal way of saying a 22d’s innings was over (the result of being caught out)

9a    Backsliding students make an error (4,2)
SLIP UP A reversal (backsliding) of some students

10a    Military order concerning spin (5-4)
ABOUT TURN A preposition meaning concerning and a spin

11a    Old member of the Lords welcoming new No.1 at Lord’s? (6)
OPENER The abbreviation for old and a member of the House of Lords, the latter ‘welcoming’ the abbreviation for new

12a    Solid tent flaps fitted well (7,2)
SLOTTED IN An anagram (flaps) of SOLID TENT

13a    Quiet challenge to Macduff: continue sporting behaviour (4,2)
PLAY ON The musical abbreviation for quiet and the challenge to given to Macduff by Macbeth in the Shakespeare play

17a    Discover charred remains in this? (3)
URN Remove (dis-cover) the outside letters of a synonym for charred or baked with great heat

19a    Money from bookie wife lost which could be declared (7)
INNINGS Remove the abbreviation for wife from some money you’d get from a bookie if a bet was successful

20a    Men in white coats fill upper-class parliamentarians with rage (7)
UMPIRES The letter used to indicate upper-class and some members of parliament, some rage being inserted into the latter

21a    Decline romantic poet initially? (3)
EBB The initials of a Victorian romantic poet which she apparently often used when signing things

23a    Ladies’ family getting brief visit? (4-2)
LOOK-IN An informal term for a WC (ladies) and another word for family

27a    It compensates one for being out (6,3)
STRIKE PAY A cryptic definition of an allowance paid to union members to compensate them for being ‘out’

28a    Copyright interior from Ikea seen in comic strip (6)
WICKET The abbreviation for copyright and the interior letters of iKEa inserted into (seen in) a comic person, this strip being the central part of a cricket pitch

29a    Half a trifle? (5,4)
SMALL BEER What you’d get if you asked a bartender for a half can also mean something trifling or unimportant

30a    Dismissed peacekeeping force captured in heavy defeat (3,3)
RUN OUT The abbreviated peacekeeping force ‘captured’ or inserted into a heavy defeat

31a    Studious bod rejected firm’s book missing right information (9)
KNOWLEDGE A reversal (rejected) of a (usually derogatory) slang term for a serious or studious person followed by a book containing the financial records of a company without (missing) the R (right) at the end

Down

2d    Problem with delivery of brief message to say dance called off (2-4)
NO-BALL This themed delivery problem sounds like it could be a brief message to say that a dance wouldn’t be happening (called off)

3d    Administrative area runs out of land (6)
COUNTY Remove the cricket abbreviation for runs from a state or nation (land)

4d    Free cycling store (6)
OUTLET Take a two-word phrase meaning to free and ‘cycle’ or move the last three letters to the front

5d    Older nobleman that is king (7)
EARLIER A nobleman, the abbreviation for that is, and the Latin abbreviation for king

6d    Rolling spliff, rising politician enters in casual footwear (4-5)
FLIP-FLOPS A reversal (rolling of SPLIFF into which is inserted (enters) a reversal of an informal abbreviation for a politician

7d    Pan-Syrian manoeuvres tell a story (4,1,4)
SPIN A YARN An anagram (manoeuvres) of PAN SYRIAN

8d    The economy of second cut over point? (9)
SPARENESS The abbreviation for Second and a verb meaning to cut go over (in a Down solution) a point of land

14d    After swapping tips, use pronged tool for task on the farm (9)
FIELDWORK Swap the first letters (tips) of a way of saying use a pronged tool

15d    Compelling points in favour of Conservative elected head of government (9)
ENFORCING Two compass points, a preposition meaning in favour of, the abbreviation for Conservative, a simple way of saying elected, and the head or first letter of Government

16d    Nature is adapting, beginning to make medicinal fluid (9)
ANTISERUM An anagram (adapting) of NATURE IS followed by the ‘beginning’ to Make

17d    Exploit Aussies regularly (3)
USE The regular letters of aUsSiEs

18d    Lop top off slight protuberance (3)
NUB Remove the first letter (lop top off) of a rebuff (slight)

22d    He’ll drive Sierra garaged by superhero (7)
BATSMAN The letter represented by Sierra in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet inserted into (garaged by) a superhero

24d    Tree which has a sweet spot in the middle? (6)
WILLOW I have just been out specially to photograph the trees which one of our local farmers has planted, and which my friend and I call the ‘cricket bat trees’ as that is what they will be turned into in due course. The name of the tree is also given to a bat made of this wood which has a ‘sweet spot’ in the middle where the ball should, ideally, make contact

25d    Extra feature of novel, e.g. by Eliot (3,3)
LEG BYE Featured I noveL EG BY Eliot

26d    Rotter ordered out of date goods (3,3)
BAD EGG An archaic (out of date) word meaning ordered and two abbreviations for Good

Lots to enjoy.  I particularly liked the way some of the clues without a themed solution still managed to reference the theme, eg 17a and 17d

27 comments on “Toughie 3006

  1. Brilliantly themed puzzle; loved it! Favourite was the very clever 28A. **/***** for me Many thanks to setter :)

  2. A superb puzzle with an excellent theme – many thanks to Hudson and CS.
    It’s difficult to pick highlights because all the clues are great – I’ll just mention 1a, 14d, 25d and 26d.

  3. Heaven! A theme near and dear to my heart. Roll on the cricket season.

    This was very light, much easier than yesterday’s Toughie and probably no harder than an average back-pager, but what a lot of fun!

    Many thanks to Hudson and to CS.

  4. I love a Hudson. Before you start you know there will be many smiles and admiration at his clever composition. It didn’t disappoint. Many thanks to him and CS

  5. This was a real laugh a minute and I fully concur with Sue’s enjoyment rating.
    I cottoned on to the theme almost immediately which was a big help towards a solve in about the same time as the back-pager.
    I think my favourite was 6d for the outrageous image the surface read conjures up with 1a and 14d making up the numbers. Great stuff.
    Many thanks to Hudson and Cryptic Sue.

  6. Brilliant, excellent – what more can I say? Thanks Hudson, that one was right up my street, most enjoyable.

  7. Must admit that my heart sank a bit when I realised what was going on in this puzzle but in the event I managed quite well with just a slight hiccough over the ‘strip’. It was actually the studious bod that proved to be my undoing – new word for me.
    Favourite clue for me was 23a.

    Thanks to Hudson and to CS for both the comprehensive review and the photo of the delightful trees.

  8. It is lovely to watch the trees grow, get cut down and sent off to make bats, and then new saplings planted to start the process all over again

  9. Great theme and great puzzle. As a long time cricket follower this was a bit of a free hit for me! Given I often pick favourites purely based on sporting themes I’m a bit stuck today – but 17d for it’s surface wins the test. Thanks to Hudson and CS

  10. We loved this puzzle – it took us back to sunny summer days watching cricket on the County Ground in Jesmond and listening to the thwack of leather on willow (or was it willow one leather?). Happy days, and so many thanks to Hudson for an entertaining puzzle. Rating? 2*/5* (2 because we did not quite finish it over coffee and so had to wait for lunch!). Thanks for the review CrypticSue…

  11. Blooming marvellous, what a super puzzle. An advantage of printing the Toughies from the old puzzles site – and not checking first in here – is not knowing who has set the challenge, but this could have come from few setters other than Hudson. I’m not usually a fan of themed puzzles but this was done with such fun and good humour that I really enjoyed it throughout. As noted somewhere above, this could almost have been a backpager, so I do hope others who would not ordinarily contemplate a Toughie give it a go.

    Thank you so much, Hudson, and thank you too, CS

  12. Theme, which was impossible to miss, came to my rescue on 24d. 29a was my favourite in an enjoyable puzzle. Thanks to Hudson and CS.

  13. When I realized the theme of today’s offering my heart sank. But I must have absorbed more of this sport over the years than I imagined as I managed to complete it.
    Marvellous! 🙂

  14. I must say that I have learned a great deal about cricket since I started doing these cryptics a little over three years ago, and now I wish I could actually apply the ‘language’ to an actual, real, live match! Using all 5 of my online letter-reveals, I actually managed to complete this excellent puzzle, realising nonetheless that what I ‘knew’ was paper knowledge and not the real thing. Still, I enjoyed the process immensely, with many thanks to CS, whose review I’ll read now, and to Hudson.

  15. Excellent puzzle, which I found harder than most comments as I had to dig deep for my half-forgotten cricket vocabulary.

    It also took me quite a while to get started and doing it on my phone meant I was unaware of the setter.

    Thanks to Hudson and CS for the blog.

  16. Crossword of the year for me, absolutely brilliant. The most fun I’ve had with my clothes on for some time. I couldn’t possibly pick a favourite, all superb. Hudson I take my hat off to you and thanks to CS.

  17. Like others, I absolutely loved this. I broke out in a huge grin and chuckled when I realised the theme. For me, like many others, a perfect theme – crossword and cricket, 2 of my favourite pastimes.
    19a was the clue where the theme Penny dropped for me, so that is my top choice
    I failed miserably with yesterday’s
    Toughie, but this has restored the faith
    Huge thanks to Hudson for a brilliant puzzle and to CS

  18. Hugely enjoyable & just the ticket for a post dinner pre lights out solve. Even I couldn’t miss that theme. Wonk unfamiliar & required confirmation but otherwise pretty straightforward other than 4d which I can’t see & will sleep on. 6d&20a joint favourites.
    Thanks to Hudson for top notch entertainment & to CS whose review I’ll read anon

  19. As is often my wont, I did most of this in the bath last night and just finished it at breakfast. Daunted by the sporty theme but thank goodness cricket about which I know a smidgeon thanks to John Morley who lived next door when I was young and who roped me into his team. I needed the hints for 24&25d which stumped me (get that?)
    But otherwise doable from the excellent clueing. Many thanks to Hudson and CS

  20. Despite the theme, about which I know very little, I managed to complete the grid. 1A was a bung-in, fortunately correct. Thanks to Hudson and CS.

  21. As Jane, the theme made me shudder at first but everything slotted in, as Hudson mentioned it, quite well.
    I must definitely watch a game one day.
    Wasn’t keen on the grid either but yet again, I managed to get a foothold in each separate corner.
    My love of crosswords makes me more and more mellow and appreciative of the efforts setters put into them.
    Thanks to Hudson and to CS for the review.

  22. Excellent puzzle! I noted the cricket theme from this blog, so had to have a go. I’m not normally a toughie solver but enjoyed this one. Thanks to Hudson and Cryptic Sue.

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