Toughie No 3121 by Serpent
Hints and tips by StephenL
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Hello everyone from a cloudy South Devon coast.
Serpent kicks off the week’s exercise in lateral thinking with a typically clever puzzle full of guile and misdirection. One thing for sure about this compiler is that he doesn’t set “floughies”. I initially struggled to get on wavelength but persistence proved fruitful. There’s usually something going on in the grid with this setter but I’ll leave others to look for that.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought
Across
1a Lay to rest uninteresting cases (5)
INTER: Hidden (cases) in the fourth word of the clue.
4a Increase resistance in material for building houses (9)
INCREMENT: In from the clue followed by some building material into which is inserted the abbreviation for Resistance The indicator here is houses.
9a Suspect balls-up involving Italy and Spain is likely (9)
PLAUSIBLE: Anagram (suspect ) of balls-up including the IVR codes of Spain and Italy.
10a Fish catcher, empty at first (5)
CREEL: A slippery fish is preceded by (at first) the outer letters of CatcheR. The whole clue serves as wordplay and definition.
11a Bring back theatre promotion (7)
REPRISE: Put together a three-letter informal name for a theatre company and a synonym of promotion or advancement
12a Pictures of Germany taken by current prime minister (7)
IMAGERY: Start with a single-letter abbreviation for current then Insert a three-letter abbreviation for GERmany into a former prime minister. Cringeworthy
13a Transfer gains ground around start of season (6)
ASSIGN: Anagram (ground) of GAINS including the initial letter of Season.
15a Pays for beloved to come back for beginning of March? (8)
FOOTSTEP: Start with a synonym of pays for (often followed by the bill) and add a reversal of an informal name for someone treated with special affection. Ignore the false capitalisation of March.
18a Person betraying party from Ulster perhaps following revolution (8)
TURNCOAT: Ulster here is our old friend, the item of clothing. Precede it with a synonym of revolution or rotation.
20a Comic failing to begin relating to those watching? (6)
OCULAR: Remove the initial letter (failing to begin) from a synonym of comic or humourous. A very topical clue for me.
23a Part of vessel primarily underwater? Not when in high wind (7)
GUNWALE: An insertion of the initial letters (primarily) of underwater, not and when in a high or strong wind.
24a Form an unfavourable opinion of Conservative guarantee (7)
CENSURE: The abbreviation for Conservation plus a synonym of guarantee as a verb.
26a Having to acknowledge victory is secured by own goal (5)
OWING: Insert (is secured by) a synonym of victory into the abbreviation for Own Goal.
27a Encapsulate lives in abridged version of large-scale literary work (9)
EPITOMISE: A synonym of large-scale or huge without its last letter plus a long book into which is inserted a synonym of lives
28a Volunteer who helps arch-enemy around beginning of March? (9)
SAMARITAN: Place someone who could be described as an arch-enemy (in a biblical sense I guess) around an abbreviated way of writing the first day of March.
29a Cook starters of egg, cheese and mashed potato? (5)
DANCE: Anagram (cook) of AND plus the initial letters of Egg and Cheese. Took me a while to see this.
Down
1d Significant article from abroad about impact of The Sun? (9)
IMPORTANT: An article from abroad (in a non-grammatical sense) into which is inserted an impact of the sun (ignore the false capitalisation) on our skin.
2d Derelict housing close to slum in backward area (5)
TRAMP: The derelict here is a vagrant. Place the final letter of sluM in a reversal of a synonym of area. Slight repetition bleep on the containment indicator (housing).
3d Lying about fraudulent activity (7)
RESTING: A two-letter preposition meaning about and an operation typically involving deception.
4d Characteristic of issue in unhealthy family relationships? (6)
INBRED: Cryptic definition, the issue being a child.
5d Director wasted money due to this person (8)
CREDITOR: Anagram (wasted) of DIRECTOR. Very neat.
6d Spell “preference” without a P (7)
ENCHANT: Remove the P from the beginning of a rather nice word for a strong preference or habitual liking.
7d Basic replies regularly note being in lead? (9)
ELEMENTAL: Start with the regular letters of rEpLiEs then insert the single letter abbreviation for Note into something of which lead is an example
8d Agree with everything in terms of current theory (5)
TALLY: An insertion of a synonym of everything into the final letters of currenT and TheorY
14d Metal unit tossed around in freak storm (9)
STRONTIUM: Place an anagram (tossed around) of UNIT inside another (freak) of STORM.
16d Soldier on a separate base (9)
PERSEVERE: I clocked the definition of this immediately as I’d been working on something similar for my latest puzzle. A charade of a synonym of a or each, one of separate as a verb and a single-letter mathematical base.
17d Cold floor without opening window frame (8)
CASEMENT: The abbreviation for Cold and the bottom floor of a building without its first letter.
19d Server that connects to mobile phone? (7)
CHARGER: Not 100% sure about this but it’s possibly a double/cryptic definition based upon a server being a waiter or someone who fills, tops up or the “solution as a verb” glasses? ….the other more obvious. Update. Gazza has pointed out that a server is also a large plate so that’s the probable interpretation.
21d Cable conveying officer’s agreement (7)
CONCORD: Place a type of cable around some abbreviated Non- Commissioned- Officers.
22d Carry out director’s instruction (6)
ACTION: Double definition.
23d Merchandise having desirable qualities succeeded (5)
GOODS: An adjective that could mean having desirable or positive qualities and the single-letter abbreviation for Succeeded.
25d Single person pretty much against marriage (5)
UNION: An individual thing or person loses its last letter (pretty much) and is followed by a two-letter preposition that could mean against in a positional sense.
Lots to like, thanks Serpent. My picks are 10,12&15a plus the succinct 5d. Which ones were your highlights?
I found the top half dead easy, the bottom a real challenge and the whole thing good fun. Favourites were 10a, 8d and 16d [“soldier on” took me a while to see]. The purist in me thinks there should be an “e.g”. or “say” in 29a. Can’t see any NINA [but I usually miss them].
Thanks to Serpent and SL
Re 29…I think the question mark does the job.
OK Stephen – fair cop.
Had the time to attempt the Toughie today. Quite pleased with my efforts, needed help to parse a couple in the SE corner otherwise hard but fair like a toughie is supposed to be, right? Thanks for the help. Is there something going on in the SW and Ne corner both the corners seem to have a connection on the down and across clues.
Also at 1a/3d and 21d/29a. Not sure what to make if it though 🤷🏻♀️
That’s a great spot Taking 5 and Celia 👍
This went swimmingly until I reached the SE corner where I spent some time trying to find an answer to 24a starting Con – D’oh! Thanks to Serpent for a very entertaining puzzle and to SL for the review.
I think the ‘houses’ in 4a is part of the phrase ‘material for building houses’ rather than an indicator.
For my podium I’ve selected 18a, 28a and 16d.
ps I think that 19d is a double definition with the answer being a large dish on which food is served.
Yes that would definitely work Gaza. I should have seen that when researching the solution for parsing purposes. I think my interpretation is also (just about) plausible.Thanks
Nice Wednesday-difficulty-level Toughie – I took looked in vain for something hidden in the grid
Many thanks to Serpent and Stephen
Pretty hard for a Tuesday, I thought, but all well clued with some clever misdirection thrown in for good measure. 16d was my favourite.
Nice one Serpent, and thanks to SL.
The parsing of a good number of the answers came on a later bus but got there in the end other than pegging Gazza’s helpful update for 19d. Very enjoyable indeed. 29a my clear fav with ticks for 12,15,20,24&28a plus 6,16&22d.
Many thanks to Serpent & to Stephen
I could not get anywhere with the SE corner so resorted to a couple of hints. Other than that, a good workout with plenty of head scratching needed but it was most satisfying when the answers came. My favourite and COTD is the mashed potato at 29a.
Thank you for the workout, Serpent. Thank you for the hints, SL.
Thank you Serpent for what took me an age to solve, apart from 29a and 25d for which I needed Stephen’s help. Enjoyed 12a, but Stephen’s pic reminded me of something I would rather had remained forgotten
I struggled to get a toe hold on this for ages but as the checkers came in my pace increased. If the first half was done in the same time as the second it would have close to a record for me, but of course it wasn’t and was one of my slowest completions. Still I got there eventually. Lots to like. Favourite was 28a. Thanks to Serpent for the first half beating and SL.
First crossword for two weeks, I couldn’t decide whether rust had set in or whether this was a a bit of a challenge for a Tuesday. I concluded both. 15a gets my vote. Thanks to Serpent and SL.
Quite a bit of head-scratching involved and good fun all the way.
Thanks Serpent and SL.
Many thanks to StephenL for the excellent blog and to everyone who has taken the time to leave a comment. Well done to Taking+5 and Celia for spotting the dog-leg entries!
Thanks for popping in Serpent and for another top-notch puzzle, which was great fun to both solve and hint.
Really good Tuesday Toughie – the first 3/4 fell into place deceptively quickly, making it feel more like an early week backpager, but then my tuning dial went wrong and I probably spent as long staring blankly at the last half-dozen or so in the SE corner as I had the rest of the puzzle. When I finally realised where 22d was going the final few clattered into place rapidly.
Excellent clueing throughout, plenty of smiles. Many thanks to Serpent and to Stephen