Toughie 3240 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Toughie 3240

by Dutch  

Toughie No 3240 by Elgar

Hints and tips by Dutch

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****

A fun puzzle – enjoy.  Problems with uploading the blog, had to copy and paste, then lost all pics, sorry.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a           Medal winner here (8,5)
VICTORIA CROSS: A winner plus the location of this clue

9a           Just this trio of numbers, one pair blending (4,5)
NONE OTHER: Two abbreviations for number and an anaesthetic, which is interleaving (blending) with the second abbreviation

10a        What may be beaten by bodyworker or poser from the audience (5)
PANEL: Something a bodyworker might beat, or a question from the audience might beat as in Question Time

11/12/13a   Sharing jam, soup, stew or — most likely — deep water? (2,3,4,4)
IN THE SAME BOAT: Food shared in the same container, or trouble in deep water

 

15a        Making fast reaction to red rag waving? (7)
MOORAGE: Split (3,4), the answer suggests an angry bovine

17a        Marshal called in live (7)
ARRANGE: A verb meaning called in a verb meaning live or exist

18a        After barrel-rolling I think we should do some fruit (7)

NUTLETS: The reversal (rolling) of a 3-letter barrel, then a contracted phrase meaning ‘I think we should do’

20a        Sanctimonious cardinal has just the thing for repelling wave (4,3)
TIDE RIP: A reversal of a 2-letter word for sanctimonious, the colour cardinal, and a pronoun meaning ‘just the thing’

21/22/23a  A pound trousered by Labour source and I didn’t intervene (4,4,5)
LEFT WELL ALONE: A from the clue and the abbreviation for pound (money) are contained in (trousered by) the political side of Labour, a water source, and the number I

26a        String of 7-8 horses will do (5)
NEIGH: Hidden! (string of … )

27a        Expresses curiosity about group’s retiring minister (9)
PRIESTESS: A verb meaning ‘expresses curiosity’, often impertinently, goes about the reversal of a word meaning group’s (including ’S)

28a        An absolute state, what’s 21 of Daley (has nights out with ‘Er Indoors) (13)
DOWNRIGHTNESS: The first letter (21) of Daley and a 4-letter word meaning has with an anagram (out) of NIGHTS+ER inside (indoors)

Down

 

1d           Contend ships (second line) must control one and then another colony (3,7,4)
VAN DIEMEN’S LAND: A 3-letter word for contend, a word for ships (as in ***-of-war), the abbreviations of second and line, must contain one AND from the clue, and then finish with another

2d           Could this possibly hold your tongue!? (3,2)
CAN IT: Two meanings, the second colloquial

3d           Australia: a better protection for us (5,5)
OZONE LAYER: The short word for Australia, then a better or gambler

4d           Isn’t he a punk with a wiggle on? (2,5)
IN HASTE: An anagram (punk)of ISN’T HE A

5d           Ahead of a taxi carrying stuff that’s amazing to Villa? (7)
CARAMBA: Before A from the clue, we have a taxi carrying a verb meaning to stuff

6d           My mistake: 007’s not even involving Q’s predecessor (4)
OOPS:  Remove EVEN from the 00‘7’ and insert the letter that precedes Q

7d           Drink to our setter? (9)
SUNDOWNER:  A drink before the hour of setting

8d           Closets here ordered vests primarily, socks and pants close to hangers? (7-7)
CLOTHES PRESSES: An anagram (ordered) of CLOSETS HERE contains (vests) the first letters of socks and pants and the last letter of hangers

14d        Heralding whiffs of early tea, king given fish to eat has drawn dog (4,6)
FRED BASSET: Before (heralding) the first letters (whiffs) of early tea, a (3,4) phrase meaning ‘given fish to eat’ contains (has) the abbreviation for king

16d        Crackers? Not one’s forgotten (3,2,4)
OUT OF MIND: A 4-word expression for ‘crackers’ from which “one’s” is omitted

19d        Someone who’s got off on strips to the north (7)
SLEEPER: A reversal (to the north) of a short word meaning on or concerning and another word for strips

20d        Significant job in bank (7)
TELLING: Two meanings

24d        Work with blade cutting down timber (5)
OPEPE: An abbreviation for work plus a fencing blade without the last letter (cutting down)

25d        Initially concerned, the way dog eats (4)
CHOW: Two definitions – the first letter (initially) of concerned plus a word meaning ‘the way’ or ‘in what manner’

I thought 1a and 26a were original, I laughed at 15a, and plenty more great clues. Which were you favourites?

 

10 comments on “Toughie 3240”

  1. One of the most enjoyable Elgar Toughies I can recall – and either he was in a somewhat benign mood or somehow after a relatively slow start I suddenly tuned in to his end of the wavelength and they all started rattling in, because I’ve never previously come close to completing an Elgar this quickly!

    I’ve only ever been aware of 20a the other way around, got hung up at 28a with Tess, Arthur & Tom (initially trying to figure out an anagram of Arthur and nights to come up with a totalitarian state ending with “….istan”!), and kept trying to use v for vests in the second half of the 8d anagram before 20a convinced me I was wrong.

    Ticks all over the place – the lateral-thinking 26a & 6d, with the 7d drink to our setter chasing hard on the heels of a photo-finish for COTD between the quite brilliant 15a and 3d.

    4* / 5*

    Many thanks indeed to Elgar and to Dutch – commiserations on all the problems but at least the important bits arrived!

  2. I thought this at the easier end of Elgar’s setting spectrum, which although still pretty testing, was not impenetrable. For once I had very few unparsed bung-ins, and my time taken was a tad quicker than normal for a Friday. Even the interlocking or linked clues were relatively straightforward. It was, however, as entertaining and enjoyable as ever, and a terrific and fun challenge. As for a favourite, 15a gets the nod ahead of 3d.

    My thanks to Elgar and Dutch.

  3. I’m getting worried that I’m starting to think like Elgar. Either that or his puzzles really are starting to get “easier”. Except I failed on 18a, spending a while trying to parse “nutters” [some fruit], then settling, in desperation, for “nutmegs” and trying to find “megs” as some new-fangled slang. 1a is a wonderful clue and I laughed out loud at 15a.
    Thanks to Elgar [more like this please] and Dutch.

  4. I wasn’t going to tackle this today, having neither the strength nor the talent and time for an Elgar, but having read the above comments, I am sufficiently cheered to give it a crack. Cheers, chaps.

  5. Happy(ish) chappie here, as all solved and parsed but for 24d. No opepes in my garden, alas. Thanks Elgar ‘n’ Dutch.

  6. I struggled with this one today and clearly in no danger of thinking like Elgar (unlike Halcyon 😁). Persevering paid off and I eventually got there but needed Dutch to bail me out again with some parsings. 15a cheered me right up though!

    Cheers Dutch and Elgar.

  8. Must have been a benign one as I got there apart from the last P in opePe. Not sure if 1A is a chestnut, but I hadn’t seen it before and LOLed anyway. ****/*****

    Thanks

  9. At last I’ve finished an Elgar fully parsed and no help, although it’s taken a couple of days. I never thought knowing of the opepe tree would be of any use in a toughie crossword.
    Thanks

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