Toughie No 3010 by Musaeus
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
It has been just over a year since we had a Toughie from Musaeus – judging by my experience this morning, he’s spent quite a lot of the intervening time looking in the BRB for lesser-known definitions of everyday words!
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought
Across
1a Relatively simple tip to make moonshine (10)
BALDERDASH Relatively simple or unadorned plus a verb meaning to tip or throw down
6a After head of garlic peeled, old lamb is next item in rogan josh recipe (4)
GHEE The inside letters (peeled) of a grown-up (old) lamb follow the ‘head’ of Garlic
9a Trick is not commonly behind straight embarrassment (10)
CONSTRAINT A slang term for a trick and a ‘common’ way of saying is not, the latter going behind the abbreviation for straight
10a Hand gin back? (4)
PART A reversal back of a device for catching animals (gin) produces a synonym for a hand or side
13a This will presumably preclude profit (7)
BARGAIN A verb meaning to preclude and a profit
15a Swears about replacing opener in pockets (6)
CURSES The Latin abbreviation for about replaces the first letter in some bags for money (pockets)
16a What gets Tarka going? He is one who is into upcycling? (6)
TOTTER The next two words in the title of the Henry Williamson book about an animal called Tarka, the HE in the first word ‘going’ or being omitted
17a When rude theatre plays becoming seedy (5,3,7)
UNDER THE WEATHER An anagram (plays) of WHEN RUDE THEATRE
18a People who are valuable when facing exclusive groups (6)
ASSETS A conjunction meaning when goes before (facing) some exclusive groups
20a Rotating bobbins for light boats (6)
SLOOPS A reversal (rotating) of some reels for winding yarn (bobbins)
21a Lobby every wife in home of literary festival (7)
HALLWAY Another word for every and the abbreviation for wife inserted into the home of a famous literary festival
22a Bitter end of uncoated tablet (4)
iPAD The initials by which a particular type of beer (bitter) is known and the ‘end’ of uncoated
25a Iffy skirt preceding row (10)
BORDERLINE A skirt or edge of something preceding a row
26a On ice, finally, slip carelessly, causing swelling (4)
NODE Make a careless mistake (slip) goes on the final letter of ice
27a Happily Peru will adopt new cut in crude (10)
UNPREPARED An anagram (happily, perhaps) of PERU will ‘adopt’ the abbreviation for new, the result then followed by a synonym for cut
Down
1d Biden’s necessary male (4)
BUCK A slang term for the money (necessary) used by the POTUS or a male animal
2d Way back in penalty (4)
LANE Hidden in reverse (back) in pENALty
3d Former southern facility set up spear carriers? (6)
EXTRAS The usual two-letter former followed by a reversal (set up) of the abbreviation for southern and a synonym for facility in the sense of skill These spear carriers are actors with a minor, non-speaking, role
4d Pull that counts out the sine qua non of chilling drum? (7,8)
DRAUGHT EXCLUDER A pull and something which ‘counts out’ or prevents from entering combine to produce something indispensable to keep your house from chilling (drum being a slang term for a house)
5d Primarily shady and dingy? No, the reverse (6)
SUNLIT The primary letter of shady and a synonym for dingy or dark
7d Mad Hatter husband to hijack hunk? (5-5)
HEART-THROB An anagram (mad) of HATTER, the abbreviation for husband and a verb meaning to hijack
8d Pop in power hike? It’s a concern (10)
ENTERPRISE A more formal way of saying ‘pop in’, the abbreviation for power and a hike or increase
11d Line in which cop moves with caution (10)
OCCUPATION An anagram (moves) of COP with CAUTION
12d Bravo! In attack Caesar’s killing time with male attendant (10)
BRIDESMAID The letter represented by Bravo in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet and an attack, between which is inserted the time when Julius Caesar was killed and the abbreviation for male
13d Promise to take the plunge with girl gathering rhubarb (7)
BETROTH A girl’s name ‘gathering’ some nonsense (rhubarb)
14d In particular in a maladroit fashion? (7)
NOTABLY Doing something in a maladroit or unskilful fashion could be written xxx xxxx
19d PDQ closing, e.g., Murray’s bar (6)
SALOON Without delay (Pretty Damn Quick) ‘closing’ or going round the name of the comedian, Mr Murray, known for being a pub landlord
20d Viceroy posed with charge (6)
SATRAP Posed for an artist with a slang word for charge
23d Ascot, say, covering onset of racing row (4)
TIER Neckwear of which an Ascot, say, is an example ‘covering’ the first letter (onset) of Racing
24d Give in and hit the hay around noon (4)
BEND A verb meaning to hit the hay goes ‘around’ the abbreviation for noon
I was well and truly defeated by this, which was far too tough for me. I never felt I was anywhere close to being on the right wavelength. Thanks to CS for explaining everything that I didn’t understand.
It was a dnf for me too RD and in fact I didn’t come anywhere near so sought assistance to complete which reassured me that it was a collection of inscrutable clues. Not a lot of fun to be had! Sort of thanks to Musaeus but definite thanks to CS for helping me to see the wood for the trees after the event.
No obscurities here with the main problems coming from ‘Well the answer has to be that, but in what context does x = y?’. I enjoyed unravelling it – thanks to Musaeus and CS.
The clues making my podium were 6a, 16a and 12d.
A number of good clues , but overall let down a bit , for me , by one or two dodgy ones , eg 1a , 1d and 4d . Thanks to all .
It took all I had, plus 5 letter reveals, to finish this very demanding Toughie last night. I was unfamiliar with 16a (and still do not understand the reference to upcycling, even with CS’s explanation), nor did I have a clue about Murray in 19d. So bung-ins for both of those. Lots to like otherwise, however, with 21a a surprise favourite for me: the more I think of it, the better I like it, especially if I’m a bookseller hoping to bully up my sales in Hay-on-Wye. Thanks to CS and Musaeus.
A 16a or rag and bone man used to tour the streets with his horse and cart to collect unwanted things which could then be sold for a profit – something these days known as upcycling
As young children we used to have to rush out with a bucket to collect the horse manure from the road so our father could use it in the garden
Thank you, CS. I am familiar with the rag-and-bone men but didn’t know they were called totters. I found no enlightenment in Google or Bing either.
You can find the derivation of totter here.
Many thanks, Gazza. Most interesting. All day, since CS’s comment above, I’ve had Yeats’s “foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart” running through my mind.
I had two goes at this before the final clues fell into place. Looking back through the answers, it wasn’t as hard as I at first thought it was, just tough to unravel and, at times, justify. 12 and 19d were my particular favourites. This was a proper challenge and I am glad I persevered.
My thanks to Musaeus and CS.
Finished in reasonable time but with two unexplained … like Robert I had not come across that definition of the answer for 16a, but you live and learn. Neither had I encountered the definition of ‘drum’ in 4d. But I very much enjoyed this challenge – thank you both.
This was well above my pay grade! I did eventually fill all the lights but in far too many instances without understanding why or even if my answers were correct.
Particular favourites here were 13&21a.
Thanks to Musaeus and even more so to CS for all the explanations.
Can’t decide whether this one floated my boat or not. Very much a case of identify the context of the definition bung in something plausible & then try & figure out the parsing. Chuffed to complete without a letter reveal though it took 3 bashes & I did make 2 corrections en route courtesy of the reveal mistakes function so by no means unaided. Thought I was going to be 1 shy – 22a was last in & initially thought bitter the def but the penny thankfully dropped which was just as well as I’m fond of a pint of the stuff & was completing the puzzle on one. All parsed with the annoying exception of the peeled old lamb & the pub landlord both of which I ought to have pegged. 13d my fav but reading back through it again there are some very clever clues – 6,21,25&27a plus 4,5,8&11d stood out.
Thanks to Musaeus & CS
1a gave the tone and I safely kept my thesaurus close to me.
Almost made me think that RayT was an angel compared to this setter.
Didn’t get 16a though and didn’t understand 4d which I bunged in as my last entry.
Thanks to CS for the explanation.
Favourite is the very silly 13d.
Thanks to Museaus.
Didn’t really take to this one, just a bit too convoluted everywhere. Several hints needed for which thanks CS.
I completed this earlier on but have been out all afternoon/early evening so was unable to comment. I thought it was rather good though I did have a number of entries where it was a stab at the definition that got me there rather than the wordplay. I eventually needed help parsing/fully understanding 16&26a plus 4d.
I wasn’t keen on 17a, seedy is never used in that context these days but I did like the super 13a plus 6&22a along with 5&12d.
Many thanks to Musaeus and Cryptic Sue.
The phrase that sprang to my mind was that this really didn’t float my boat, so I was amused to read Huntsman’s opening line. Not a lot of pleasure gained, and if it’s another year before we have another Toughie from this setter it will not be too soon for me. It didn’t feel like a Telegraph puzzle, either, for some reason. Thanks nonetheless to Musaeus, and to Cryptic Sue
Having read the above I decided to put in the across answers and then look at the downs,I needn’t have bothered. It was still way beyond me!
Congratulations to those who finished it.
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Hard work for me but got there with some help in greater than 2* time. Raised some smiles especially 12d and 8d. Thanks to Musaeus and CS
Late as usual with toughies. This is one of those that you spend an inordinate amount of time just staring at, getting nowhere, thinking about throwing in the towel with an empty grid, then something clicks and several answers jump out. Once I had a start, this turned out well worth the effort as I completed the grid without the hints (though electronics were necessary) and in hindsight I thought this a fair toughie.
The anagram at 17a was a good-un and the four 7-letter clues in the centre square were what gave me the kick to get started.
Thanks to Musaeus for the action and CS for the review.
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