Toughie 3038 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Toughie 3038

by crypticsue  

Toughie No 3038 by Django

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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

Another fine, not too tricky, Toughie from Django – I love the way everything you need to solve a clue is contained within a fine bit of storytelling, particularly evident in the clues for the linked solutions round the edge of the grid

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought

Across

1a    & 5 Opening of Clapham Junction after a container crane incident ultimately leads to gathering at Number Ten? (7,7)
CABINET MEETING The opening letter of Clapham and a junction between which (the junction going after) a container and the ultimate letters of cranE and incidenT

5a    See 1 Across

9a    New edition‘s more detailed about wanting feminine energy (7)
REISSUE A reversal of a word meaning more detailed in the sense of ostentatious without the F (wanting Feminine), the result followed by the abbreviation or energy

10a    Change course of attack on Indian State (2,5)
GO ABOUT Change course of a ship – an attack follows (on or after) an Indian State

11a    Drink of Cognac, say — maintaining temperature — with soft finish (3,2)
EAT UP  Thanks to Gazza I’ve now amended my hint to say that the drink is a non-alcoholic thirst quencher from France (where the people from Cognac reside). The abbreviation for temperature should be inserted into this French word, the result finished with the abbreviated musical instruction to play softly

12a    Sausages provided energy before exercise class with cycling club (9)
PEPPERONI Some informal energy goes before an abbreviated school exercise class and a type of golf club with the first letter ‘cycling’ to the end

13a    Other tune’s composed in addition (9)
THEREUNTO An anagram (composed) of OTHER TUNE

15a    Dictator’s investment cut (5)
STEAK A homophone (dictator’s) of an investment

16a    To some extent Asda is leading supermarket sector (5)
AISLE Hidden (to some extent) in asdA IS Leading

18a    Pretend to consume loads before a drink (5,4)
CREAM SODA An informal term for a large quantity (loads) is inserted into (to consume) an adjective meaning mock, sham (pretend), the result followed by A (from the clue)

21a    Doctor cures cat and a group of lobsters? (9)
CRUSTACEA An anagram (doctor) of CURES CAT  and A (from the clue)

24a    French poet’s always bolder (5)
FREER The abbreviation for French and a word a poet might use to mean always

25a    Open to take in some work experience (7)
UNDERGO A verb meaning to open ‘takes in’ the CGS Unit of Work

26a    Regularly using train set — fine but not King’s Cross (7)
TANGELO The regular letters of TrAiN, a verb meaning to set and an informal interjection of agreement without (not) the chess abbreviation for King, the result being a cross (with a small C!) between a tangerine and a pomelo (a type of grapefruit)

27a    & 28 Ski yoghurt with the lid broken — missing half your sweet (7,7)
TURKISH DELIGHT An anagram (broken) of SKI yoGHURT THE LID without the YO (missing half YOur)

28a    See 27 Across

Down

1d    & 16 Down I value what bank offers (7,7)
CURRENT ACCOUNT The word for which I is used as an abbreviation in physics, followed by a synonym for value as used in a phrase meaning worthless

2d    Hair cutting ceremony with, say, knight shaving it (7)
BRISTLE The ceremony in which a Jewish baby boy is circumcised (cutting ceremony) with a rank or distinction such as a knight without (shaving) the IT

3d    Reportedly understands truce is something that can protect bridge (9)
NOSEPIECE A homophone (reportedly) of synonyms for understands and truce

4d    Dope mostly affected way of speaking (5)
TWERP Most of an informal adjective meaning affected and the abbreviation for a particular way of speaking

5d    It gives speaker a boost having name included in redesigned home page (9)
MEGAPHONE The abbreviation for name ‘included’ in an anagram (redesigned) of HOME PAGE

6d    Cancel Caesarean section on reflection (5)
ERASE Hidden in reverse (on reflection) in a section of caESAREan

7d    Press release primarily covers old English heavy metal producer? (4,3)
IRON ORE To press clothes and the primary letter of Release, the latter ‘covered’ by the abbreviations for Old and English. For me anyway, the word ‘covers’ doesn’t work for what has to happen with the bits of wordplay

8d    & 20 Down Trouble I got with car park after scratching front of hatchback arriving at transport hub (7,7)
GATWICK AIRPORT An anagram (trouble) of I GOT WITh CAR PARK, ‘scratching front of Hatchback’ telling you to omit the H

14d    Reorder hot drink with mug as accessory (9)
NECKCLOTH Reorder or put the abbreviation for Hot after an informal verb meaning to drink and a fool (mug)

15d    Important motorsport’s boring round of competition (9)
SEMIFINAL An adjective meaning notably important or influential into which is inserted (boring) the abbreviation for the highest class of motor racing

16d    See 1 Down

17d    Quiet source for milk shake (7)
SHUDDER An instruction to be quiet and a source of milk

19d    Exaggerate too much on the subject of, say, golf (7)
OVEREGG A preposition meaning concerning, the abbreviation meaning for example (say) and the letter represented by Golf in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

20d    See 8 Down

22d    Sailors discovered hip bones (5)
TARSI Some informal sailors and the inside (discovered) letter of hIp

23d    A court journalist had an effect (5)
ACTED A (from the clue), the abbreviation for court and crosswordland’s favourite abbreviated journalist

 

21 comments on “Toughie 3038”

  1. Good fun – thanks to Django and CS.
    I took the 11a drink to be the non-alcoholic variety available from the tap for the natives of Cognac.
    My laurels went to 26a, 1d and 17d.

      1. Possibly an unusually misleading clue, then, because while that’s quite correct, Cognac is an ‘eau de vie’ (eau de vie de vin), a distilled spirit, and highly unlikely to be drunk from the tap … unless you’re supping from the barrel, of course!

  2. This puzzle certainly didn’t need the name of the setter printed above it in the paper. The only candidate was obvious after solving the essay used to clue 1a & 5a.

    I enjoyed this and rate it as medium difficulty for a Toughie, probably just right for a Wednesday,

    I was unable to parse the obvious answer for 2d, and it took me a while to be able to equate “value” and “account” in 16d.

    Many thanks to Django and to CS.

  3. Delightful, just my level of Toughie. Some very elegant cleverness here: the brilliant 26A et al. Huge thanks, as ever, to CS – who, obviously, remains far too clever for me! – for explaining the parsing to 2D. It had to be what it is but that ceremony is a word I have happily never come across! 14D new to me too but very doable. Top notch stuff from Django.

  4. Very enjoyable with smiles throughout the grid as per with this setter.
    I had a full grid in good time but nailing the parsings took a while longer.
    My winners are 11a along with 8/20 &15d with my favourite is the super 12a
    Many thanks to Django and Sue.

  5. Once again I found this a lot more taxing than CS advertised. Some very clever clue constructions and one [14d] I found impossible to parse [interesting use of “reorder”]. Favourites were the straightforward 25a and the clever 5d.
    Thanks to Django and CS.

  6. Reasonably gentle for a Toughie, I thought, but a tremendous puzzle. The framework clues around the outside were a lot of fun, and I particularly liked 4d and 22d.

    1.5 / 4

    Many thanks to Django – a setter of whom we see far too little in my view – and to CS.

  7. Found the grid fill a wee bit easier than Chalicea’s puzzle yesterday (the 4 peripheral 7,7s went straight in which helped considerably) but as ever with DG the fun is in the parsing & fell short on 2&4d. I was far from convinced with 11a also but Gazza has confirmed my thinking. No particular favourites but always enjoy this setter’s Toughies & today no exception.
    Thanks to Django & to CS

  8. Even after joyfully solving the peripheral clues, which should have given me enough fodder for the rest of the fill, I still needed a bit of e-help here and there for a finish, which is really a DNF. And thanks to CS (and Gazza) also for helping me with the parsing in a number of places. That said, I must choose 11a as my favourite. Thanks to CS and Django. for a puzzle that has improved in quality the more I assess it–and after sleeping on it.

    1. Did one of DG’s puzzles in the Graun the other day & reckon this clue (assuming you know of her) would appeal – Writer to run away with Some Like It Hot actor (8,5)
      Saw Tar last night in the cinema & will certainly need to view it again. Haven’t seen the Oscar winner & probably won’t bother as not my bag but can’t imagine there could be a better performance than that of CB. Shame Todd Field so rarely makes a film.

      2. I have loved Cate Blanchett a long time, especially since her Hepburnesque performance in The Aviator. Haven’t seen Tar yet, though. I have tried to watch EEAAO three times and never make it through the first 30 minutes. Clearly, not my bag at all either. Hmm, still working on that clue….maybe someone I don’t know?

        Okay, once I ‘tried’ Googling ‘Penelope British actor’, that’s as far as I got. Is it Penelope Keith? And where does the ‘Keith’ come from? I totally missed the SLIH reference–not the movie, I take it? The play/musical?

        1. Some is the lurker indicator for Keith which I thought very clever – slightly spoilt as I suspected you probably weren’t familiar with her – she starred in a rather good if dated sitcom called The Good Life

  9. Django seems to have reverted to his wordier style of clueing with this one, which for me is a bit of a turn off. Yet I battled through and was pleased to finish it, with 25a and 17d my favourites, mainly for their brevity.

    Thanks to the aforementioned and CS.

  10. I am getting on “wavelength” with Django and really enjoyed this brain-stretching but ultimately solvable toughie.
    I had a Proustian moment with 18a as I remembered the pop van that came down our street in the endless summer of youth. You didn’t want to get the last swig of the 18a as by the time you got to drink it was usually full of biscuit and crisp crumbs!
    Thanks to Django and CS who helped with a few.

  11. A bit of work on the parsing for several clues which extended our time somewhat.
    Getting the long perimeter answers was certainly a help with checkers.
    Thanks Django and CS.

  13. I parsed 7d as press and release primarily covering old, followed by English.
    I’m late as I’ve built up a backlog since I graduated to Toughies, try not to use help, and hate to waste a crossword! Thanks to Django for an enjoyable puzzle, and to CS and all on the blog.

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