Sunday Toughie No 60
by Zandio
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Zandio gets to set the 60th Sunday Toughie today, I hope that it doesn’t keep me up all night as by the time you get to read this I will be out to Mother’s Day Lunch with Mama Bee (it didn’t- crossword solved before 01:00 7 hrs beauty sleep and hints done before 10:00). I hope that the brevity of hints is sufficient to get you close to the end and that you can help each other with any unhinted gaps without triggering the red pencil of doom from the powers that be.
A couple of parsings elude me (19d and the second word of 3d see bonus pic for the pad in question)
14a and 14d today and I have hinted half
Here we go…
As it is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll be back just after the closing date with the full blog. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!
I hope I don’t have to redact any comments but I am new at this and don’t want to rock the boat. If in doubt, I’ll rub it out! – I think that sentence is a bit redundant. You have all been so helpful in sorting out prior parsing failures, and I am sure I will need similar help again.
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely.
Across
1a Just short of a maximum break, say something unrepeatable (3-3)
To miss a snooker score by the smallest possible margin or something never to be repeated
10a Choose to eat before ‘Cheers’ that’s staged in theatre (8)
A synonym of choose around a poetic before, followed by a small thank you
12a Penny is so treacherous (3-5)
More than one side to every coin, The very old pennies I used to see in my youth had the monarch on one side and Brittania with shield and occasionally a lighthouse so they could be said to have representations of visages on both sides
15a Obnoxious friend interrupting over you once (6,3,4)
Something over there “at the rear of” and an archaic form of you interrupted by a friend.
Originally the district in Ireland within which the English held power, protected by a fence and ditch, to travel over the fence was unacceptable or obnoxious. Quite apt after the Irish Grand Slam yesterday
18a Some MPs had to be in broadcast, with nice tab for travelling (6,7)
Had goes in to broadcast seeds, followed by an anagram (for travelling) of the preceding two words
22a Storms following pound hitting lower amounts (8)
Storms out in a camp or affected manner, abbreviations for following and the pound before decimalisation are followed by smaller divisions of the pound weight
27a Solved my clue? It’s old but could be enlightening (6)
An anagram (solved) Once in days of old, a gymnasium and grove beside the temple of Apollo at Athens, in whose walks Aristotle enlightened others, now used for schools and colleges where enlightenment or learning can be found
Down
1d Soporific work in theatre I took in (6)
The work that happens in a surgical theatre and I took in sustenance as I will be doing later this afternoon with Mama Bee
2d Growth of intoxication with British coming aboard (9)
A synonym of intoxication (from taking an 1d perhaps) around B for British gives a plant of the spurge genus
3d
6d Advertising, say, ‘Fashionable woolly, sturdy with navy top’? (7,8)
Say tells us that Advertising is a definition by example. a usual fashionable synonym, an anagram of sturdy and put the oldest military force on top
Other cigarette brands are available but give too much away for a prize guzzle
8d Mathematician’s ring spanner (8)
A mathematical term for the span across a ring
16d Plant Italy sited north of dam needs painting over? (9)
Spring has sprung in the Zandio garden as we have another plant. Some creative work that painting is an example of over the IVR code for Italy and a synonym of dam in the sense of to block, clog or obstruct
17d Climbing frame used by playmate’s pal I erected (8)
More gardening I thought this may a rekrul (erected in a down clue) but erected is just part of the concealing phrase of a normal lurker
23d Four coming from Motown, 5 turned up (4)
Numerals in crossword clues usually refer to other clues but numbers when written don’t. A synonym of 5d is reversed to give a group of four coming from Motown
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I always said that Runrig could sing the Skye phone book and move me and that is essentially what we have in Siol Ghoraidh
Siol Ghoraidh The descendants of Goraid
Mac Ruairidh The sons of Ruairi
Clann Raghnaill The children of Ranald
Clann Dhomhaill The children of Donald
Another super Zandio puzzle that took me a little while to sort out but well worth the effort with clever wordplay and smiles throughout the grid.
My podium contenders are 1,10&20a plus 3,14&23d.
Many thanks to Zandio and John.
For 19d you need to split the solution 2,4 to see the wordplay and homophones.
No real smiles for me but I did quite like 8&14d.
Thanks to Zandio and to SJB – hope Mama Bee enjoyed her special lunch.
Just had to smile at the cliché-packed 5d, which broke the ice today. Another fun crossword from Zandio, my favourites being 20a, 2d and 8d. I also enjoyed the clever 19d, once I had figured it out!
Thanks to Zandio and SJB.
Good stuff – thanks to Zandio and SJB.
My ticks went to 1a, 12a, 8d and 19d.
Hello, compiler here. Thanks very much for taking the time to solve, analyse and discuss. Have a good week.
Thanks for a great puzzle today, 6d was a gem but not a dud anywhere. Tyvm
So refreshing following the poor backpager today . Fair , and just the right amount of difficulty for me at least . More a sense of achievement than smiles , so ***/*** for me . Many thanks to Setter and Parser .
A walk in the park after the blistering Dada SPP today (actually, I finished it long before I hit the wall over there). And I loved this jewel by Zandio so much that I just want to break out in song, so here goes: “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch”–I just can’t help myself, y’know? And so, yes, 23d is my COTD, with 15a a close second and 22a just edging out many others for third. But there’s not really a dud in the grid. Thanks to John and Zandio.
I think I have parsed 19d correctly but I could be off in the North Sea for all I know. I see that Gazza has picked it as one of his favourites and I wonder how close I am…or indeed lost at sea.
One for Robert
Thanks to everyone for being here while I was out with Mama Bee. We had a great lunch with granddaughter and her bf too.
Full of Roast Beef and Rhubarb crumble now so I will lie groaning on the sofa now and have a go at the Dada that has troubled many of you more than this
Oh, thank you so very much, John! “S.P.H.B.”: that’s what I call Jimmy when I just can’t help myself. [Blush]
What a great record.
Great puzzle, as gentle as they come for a Sunday Toughie. So much wit and polish, liberal dollops of humour throughout.
Special mentions to 25a, 6, 9 & 23d.
Many thanks to Zandio and SJB
I have still got a few to finish, just popped in to read SJB’s hints to see if they would help. I’ll plod on! Many thanks to Mr B although you didn’t pick my problem clues and salutations to Zandio for another cracker.
Delightful & a stroll in the park compared to Dada – I was all puzzled out after completing that one so left this for today. Tackled it after the Campbell back-pager & coincidentally both featured Motown & a plant unfamiliar to me so requiring confirmation – just wish I could remember them when they crop up but in one ear & straight out the other. Like Robert 23d my fav & my last in too but lots of ticks elsewhere.
Thanks to Z&J
But did you burst into song as I, giddy and doting in my 3rd childhood, did?!
No but I did play some Four Tops oldies
Lovely harmonies, I too had a rather long playlist and quite surprised by the fact that S.P.H.B. was #1 on my 3rd Birthday😋