Toughie No 3149 by Donnybrook
Hints and tips by StephenL
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***/****
Hello everyone from a blustery but very mild South Devon coast
Fan favourite and Tuesday stalwart Donnybrook gets things underway this week with a typically clever and fun puzzle that I filled in relatively quickly but as ever the whys and wherefores weren’t as straightforward.
Please leave a comment telling us what you
thought.
Across
1a Beauty enthralling feeble husband and Republican 27 (10)
BELLWETHER: Place a beautiful girl or woman (“of the ball” maybe) around a three-letter synonym of feeble and the abbreviation for Husband and add the abbreviation for Republican.
6a Start to eat crackers passed round with this? (4)
EDAM: The initial letter of Eat plus a synonym of crackers reversed (passed round) for a clever clue as definition.
10a One going down who might be saved by the bell? (5)
DIVER: Cryptic definition. The bell refers to the rigid chamber used to transport the solution to the deep and back to the surface.
11a Something to sustain enthusiast: old poetry books? (9)
NUTRIMENT: I think this is a three-letter synonym of an enthusiast plus an archaic spelling of a piece of verse and the abbreviation for some biblical books.
12a My lovely ornamental moulding (7)
CORNICE: An exclamation meaning my or goodness and a synonym of lovely.
13a Androcles at the outset is drawn into big cat relationship (7)
LIAISON: An insertion of the initial letter of Androcles and IS from the clue into an apex predator of the feline family. Always forget how to spell this!
14a Address those present perhaps in troop ship with sea raging (12)
APOSTROPHISE: Anagram (raging) of TROOP SHIP plus SEA.
18a Ancestor, strait-laced, reversed disintegration Self embodies? (12)
PRIMOGENITOR: Start with a synonym of strait-laced or proper. Then reverse a phrase (3,2,3) that could mean a disintegration of one’s self-esteem.
21a Clique outrageously erotic — bed needs stripping (7)
COTERIE: Anagram (outrageously) of EROTIC plus bEd (needs stripping)
23a King among monied people with time to reap benefits? (7)
HARVEST: Insert a single-letter Latin abbreviation for king into an informal description of people who own a lot and append the abbreviation for Time.
24a Switch must be installed in jet? Spare no expense (6,3)
SPLASH OUT: Insert a synonym of switch in the sense of whisk or jerk into a jet or stream.
25a Fabulist initially adopted revolutionary attitude (5)
AESOP: The initial letter of Adopted and the reversal (revolutionary) of an attitude or position.
26a Long to have pressure in tyre at last (4)
PINE: Put together the abbreviation for Pressure, IN from the clue and the final letter of tyrE
27a Band’s number one songs broadcast with operatic work (10)
RINGLEADER: A homophone (broadcast) of some German songs follow an epic operatic work by Wagner. This went straight in as I’d recently clued it in one of my puzzles with the same definition. The benefit of setting! Here’s a great band.
Down
1d Figure cool in tight garment (6)
BODICE: An informal synonym of a figure or person and a synonym of cool maybe as a verb?
2d Send back your wicked servant’s uniform! (6)
LIVERY: A reversal (send back) of an abbreviated YouR and a synonym of wicked.
3d Project unfinished: have publicity job with Princess Fiona? (4,2,8)
WORK IN PROGRESS: The wordplay depends upon you knowing who or what Princess Fiona is…a synonym of a monster, which follows a phrase (4,2,2) which means “have publicity job” Great clue.
4d Gathering news, driving supporters meet in state (9)
TENNESSEE: Start with some “driving” supporters found on a golf course and insert the abbreviation for News twice. Append a synonym of meet to the result.
5d Highly commend reduction of previous charge? (5)
EXTOL: The usual two-letter preposition meaning previous or former and a charge or fee with the last letter missing.
7d Red Ken is let loose? Hide! (8)
DEERSKIN: Anagram (let loose) of the preceding three words
8d Revolting person misrepresented term in EU (8)
MUTINEER: Anagram (misrepresented) of the following three words
9d Phone card returned fitting in pocket (14)
MISAPPROPRIATE: Reverse (returned) a phone card and add a synonym of suitable or fitting
15d Affluent speculator acquiring East German house (9)
REICHSTAG: Put together synonyms of affluent or wealthy, and a financial or stock-market speculator and insert the abbreviation for East in the appropriate position.
16d Seller’s initial costs having risen not right for seasons (6,2)
SPICES UP: Start with the initial letter Seller, add a synonym of costs without the abbreviation for Right and append a two-letter synonym of risen.
17d Rotten hobnail boot finally chucked in the event (8)
BIATHLON: Anagram (rotten) of HOBNAIL plus (chucked in) the final letter of booT.
19d Let out and glad to go topless (6)
LEASED: A synonym of glad or happy without its initial letter (to go topless)
20d Accommodates, as it were, men in drunken state? (6)
STUPOR: A possible reversal indicator of the first four letters of the solution would be a synonym of accommodates. Add some lowly military men. Very smart indeed and worth the admission fee alone.
22d Bug found in green sauce Penny refused (1,4)
E COLI: A three letter word associated with green in an ECOlogy sense and a synonym of sauce in the sense of cheek with the abbreviation for Penny removed.
Very enjoyable, thanks Donny, my top three were 5a plus 3&20d. Which ones made the grade for you?
Lovely, perfect for a Tuesday, Toughie. I particularly liked 6a, 10a and 13a, the latter because it reminded me of the studying the George Bernard Shaw play based on the Greek tale about Androcles and his relationship with the big cat
Many thanks to Donnybrook and StephenL
A classy puzzle which I enjoyed a lot – many thanks to Donnybrook and SL.
I ticked 27a, 3d and 15d with my favourite being 20d because I love that type of clue.
Deservedly a Toughie, certainly no backpager, and what a great puzzle this was – chewy, testing, witty, intelligent and above all, scrupulously fair. I must admit to being somewhat chuffed on working out what 14a had to be, which in turn gave me 3d & 4d, and then the final hold-outs in the NW.
Ticks everywhere, so will confine the Hon Mentions to 13a (superb surface & answer), 23a, 3d (a laugh-out-loud moment), 8d & 20d (genius).
Many thanks indeed to Donnybrook, and of course also to Stephen.
I’d sort of justified all my answers, at least to myself, and there were a couple of new meanings to me but I got there. As for favourite there were lots to choose from but I’ll go with 9d. Thanks to Donnybrook for the mental workout and SL.
Toughies for me are largely guessing the answer and then working out how the rest of the clue fits in – and no less enjoyable for that. Parsing 3 and 20d was a joy and showed me why I could never be a setter. Genius!
More difficult for me than our blogger it would seem and I did need recourse to the BRB at times to check on unfamiliar definitions – 14a for one.
Several of my ticks went, as usual, to the amusing clues and the completed leader-board comprises 12&24a along with 2,3,7&9d.
Thanks to Donnybrook for the challenge and to Stephen for the review.
Straight out of the top drawer, this one, a puzzle that kept on giving from first the excellent clue to the last. 27a and 3d emerged as my favourites from a long list of possibles. Highly enjoyable.
Many thanks to Donny and SL.
Tough for Tuesday – especially the NW corner. I had to work all the way around and come back to it. 3d caused a bit of head scratching – I was aware of the context but didn’t realise her precise species, but it had to be, good clue. Other faves were 12a, 4d [driving supporters is clever] and the winner 20d.
Thanks to Stephen and DBk.
Thanks Stephen and Donny. Too many good ones to list. Great puzzle.
Hello all, many thanks for your comments, and thanks too to StephenL for his great blog.
Cheers
Donny
Thanks for popping in and for another great puzzle, both much appreciated.
Lots of penny-drop moments and chuckles with this one.
1a and 27a get our votes.
Thanks Donnybrook and SL.
A surprisingly swift grid fill at silly o’clock early this morning but as Stephen says the whys another matter entirely. Shrek not my bag so had to check who Fiona was to parse it. 4d was a struggle too but the penny dropped – think the hint needs a slight tweak (new twice?). Picks for me the 1&27a + 9&15d.
Thanks to Donny for a thoroughly entertaining puzzle & to Stephen – liked The Killers vid
As one who is fairly new to Toughies, I found this a challenge and a half. But it was entirely doable and satisfying, too. ***/****.