Toughie 3073 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
View closed comments 

Toughie 3073

by StephenL  

Toughie No 3073 by Donnybrook

Hints and tips by StephenL

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****

Hello everyone from a blustery but gloriously sunny South Devon coast.

I have the great pleasure of blogging two Donny puzzles on the bounce after last Thursday’s excellent NYDK offering. This was great too and just about perfect for the Tuesday spot.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a Oil producer has girl ferrying river sprite around (5,5)
LEMON GRASS: Start with an informal word for a girl and insert (ferrying) a reversal of the abbreviation for River and a sprite or elf.

6a Republican bundled into taxi that moves sideways (4)
CRAB: Insert the abbreviation for Republican into another name for a taxi.

9a 15 spiking a Spanish red? That’s the principle (5)
TENET: Insert (spiking) the single letter abbreviation for 15a into a Spanish red wine.

10a Old school graduates change trousers (4,5)
ALMA MATER: Insert two “Master of Arts” into a a synonym of change or modify. The containment indicator is “trousers”.

12a Trader being in no hurry to plug pink publication? (7)
FLORIST: An insertion (to plug) of a slow-moving primate (being) into the abbreviated name for a pink-coloured newspaper.

13a Valediction cut short for Athenian statesman (5)
SOLON: A valediction (2,4) loses its last letter (cut short)

15a Yes! Cats can produce bliss! (7)
ECSTASY: Anagram (can produce) of the preceding two words.

16a Fit ace rugby forwards carrying ball (7)
APROPOS: Put together the abbreviation for Ace and some (usually very chunky) rugby forwards into which is inserted the letter that looks like a ball (more a football than a rugby ball though)

18a Chicken and egg in roll? (7)
ROOSTER: Insert the letter that could represent an egg into a roll in the sense of a register.

20a Girl who’s promised cake? (7)
BROWNIE: Double/cryptic definition, the girl being one who promises to “do my best”…etc

21a Died in South American country once placed in ambush (5)
PERDU: Place the abbreviation for Died inside a South American country. The “once” indicates that the solution is obsolete.

23a Panda car crashing blocks route taken by police (7)
BEARCAT: Insert (blocks) an anagram (crashing) of CAR into the route that was once taken by the police when they actually patrolled the streets. You can see how it gets its name!

25a Lust, vice and crime essentially written about in old law book (9)
LEVITICUS: Anagram (written about) of LUST VICE and the essential letter of crIme.

26a Initially obstructive wife to enable young head-turner (5)
OWLET: Put together the initial letter of Obstruction, the abbreviation for Wife and a synonym of enable or allow.

27a For pot, go to pot? (4)
SINK: A word that could mean go to pot or fail is a type of pot used for washing etc so I guess a double/cryptic definition.

28a Say Van Gogh’s content with chronicle being scandalous? (10)
INCENDIARY: Remove the outer letters (content) of the Christian name of Van Gogh and follow with a chronicle.

Down

1d Reluctant auctioneer’s eighth item? (4)
LOTH: Split 3,1 this could describe an auctioneer’s eighth item.

2d Policy statement complicated by means of it? (9)
MANIFESTO: Anagram (complicated by) of the following three words. Usually not worth the paper it’s written on.

3d Conservationists in state bound to be heard (8,5)
NATIONAL TRUST: Follow a word relating to a country or state with a homophone (to be heard) of bound in the sense of tied.

4d One should occupy immovable property in fact (7)
REALITY: Insert the letter representing one as a number into some “immovable” property in the sense that it’s land or buildings upon it.

5d Island man not completely absorbed in Sanskrit works (7)
SUMATRA: Insert a shortened MAn into a collection of aphorisms or sayings in Indian literature.

7d Length adding to value in clawed animal (5)
RATEL: A synonym of value or assess plus the abbreviation for Length.

8d Wearing nothing fantastic asset round north ocean region (7,3)
BARENTS SEA: Start with an adjective meaning naked and append an anagram (fantastic) of ASSET placed around the abbreviation for North.

11d Space probes face constant thundering in explosive aftermath (8,5)
MUSHROOM CLOUD: Insert (probes) a synonym of space between an informal word for one’s face and the abbreviation for a mathematical constant and add a synonym of thundering or noisy.

14d See time in Rome spoiled by Scots rozzers (10)
METROPOLIS: Insert the abbreviation for Time into an anagram (spoiled) of ROME and add an informal Scottish word for the “rozzers”. The solution is of course a noun.

17d Leaving starter, insect dives into dish that’s smoked (9)
PANATELLA: Remove the initial letter of a 4-letter insect and insert the result into a Spanish rice-based dish.

19d Polish trick to get across international boundary (7)
RUBICON: Synonyms of polish as a verb and trick go around the abbreviation for International.

20d Cheese as seconds consumed in old club (7)
BRASSIE: One of crosswordland’s favourite (French) cheeses “consumes” AS from the clue and the abbreviation for Seconds.

22d Headless chicken or crow (5)
RAVEN: Remove the initial letter from a synonym of chicken in the sense of cowardly.

24d Those last in triremes at sea may remain behind (4)
STAY: The final letters (those last in) of the following four words. A great opportunity to play this.

Great fun, many thanks Donny. My picks are 10&28a plus 11&14d. Which ones rocked your boat?

 

24 comments on “Toughie 3073”

  1. Super puzzle. I have a lot of ticks against clues, 12a perhaps being my favourite.

    Thanks to SL and Donnybrook.

  2. A simply splendid puzzle, of a difficulty just right for a Tuesday, with so many clues it is hard to select which ones to list for favouritism. I’ll go for 12a as I did like the ‘being in no hurry’ and 20a

    Many thanks to Donnybrook and SL

  3. Great stuff – many thanks to Donnybrook and SL.
    I wasn’t sure about 27a and thought the second pot was perhaps a pocket on a snooker table.
    Amongst a whole load of ticks I had 10a, 12a, 20a and 19d.

    1. Collins has “go to pot” and the solution as synonyms but I guess the first pot could be a snooker reference Gazza.

      1. That makes sense. Both pot and the answer, as transitive verbs, mean to hit a snooker/billiard ball into a pocket.

  4. Great fun, super Tuesday Toughie. Spent too long with Veda/Vedic on my mind, so when the penny dropped on 5d it did so with a loud clang! Impeccable clueing throughout, plenty of smiles. Top two for me were the trader at 12a and the scandalous 28a.

    Many thanks to Donnybrook and Stephen.

  5. What an excellent Toughie! Nicely challenging and great fun with 10a, 12a & 20a making it onto my podium.

    Many thanks to Donnybrook and to SL.

  6. Rain stopped work today so I was able to solve this with a lie-in. A very good puzzle but I had to reveal a letter or two to solve 20 ac (couldn’t get the “promise” and don’t eat cake although I have heard of it) and 23 ac (never heard the term for panda, but only one letter showed me the way). But all good fun. I was particularly pleased to get 12ac, for me clue of the day.

    Thanks to Donnybrook and SL for the blog.

  7. 12a was my stand out favourite from this quite brilliant Toughie. I thought the level of difficulty was a bit harder than a regular Tuesday, but the quality of the wordplay was outstanding throughout the grid.

    Thanks and congratulations to Donnybrook for a great challenge, and to SL.

  8. Really enjoyed this one, particularly 12a’s ‘being in no hurry’ and 26a’s ‘young head-turner’. Smiled at 20a in light of yesterday’s blog discussion!
    I certainly went down the snooker route with 27a and have to admit that 13a was a ‘guess and look up’ based on the checkers.

    Thanks to Donnybrook for the fun and to Stephen for the review.

  9. A DNF for me but I enjoyed the clues I solved. A bit of gk needed. I liked 8d and 25a but surely the 18a rooster is not a chicken? Aren’t chickens always female?

    1. rooster
      (ruːstəʳ IPA Pronunciation Guide)
      Word forms: plural roosters
      COUNTABLE NOUN
      A rooster is an adult male chicken.
      Hi JB…the above is from Collins.

  10. Thanks for parsing 12a and 13d which I couldn’t quite do myself.
    Yes a lovely puzzle.
    Thanks to Donnybrook and Stephen L.

  11. I hadn’t heard of the Athenian statesman but fairly clued. I had heard of the slow moving primate though. Excellent puzzle throughout as we expect from this setter. Thanks to Donnybrook and SL.

  12. Very enjoyable for this toughie novice. I did need a couple of hints and the Athenian statesman was new to me but all were very fairly clued. Podium places for 16a, 25a, 14d, 19d and my favourite 12a. Thank you to Donnybrook and StephenL.

  14. Lots of good clues in this one making a really enjoyable solve.
    Thanks Donnybrook and SL.

  15. Challenging and very enjoyable except for 27A. A sink is a pot? I don’t think so!

  16. A day late to this but what a splendid puzzle & thankfully not a pithecanthropus in sight. Had the confirm the Athenian & the slow mover but otherwise fairly problem free other than a failure to parse 1a having missed my returning gnome. 27a certainly snooker related. Too many ticks to list.
    Thanks to Donny & Stephen – good music choice for 24d & far better than by the Hollies or FV & The Four Seasons

  17. Needed the hints for a few clues, for which Thanks …
    ref 26A .. cannot see how “young head-turner” is defined as an owlet ….
    liked 22D “Headless chicken or crow (5)”

    1. Hi Robin
      Re 26 …An owl can rotate its head 270 degrees so it’s a cryptic reference. Hope that helps.

Comments are closed.