Toughie 3241 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Toughie 3241

Toughie No 3241 by Dada
Hints and tips by ALP

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****

I’ve just been tutted in the street. Tutted! For cheerily whistling to myself. Was it you, Jane?! Now, I’m far from perfect (you’ll all be astonished to hear this, I know). I can’t reverse park to save my life, I will never understand the offside rule and it takes me about a week to put a duvet cover on. But one thing I can certainly do is (tunefully) whistle. If it was good enough for Lauren Bacall it’s more than good enough for me. Why then the tutting from this scowling lady in a Hermès gilet? Surely a jaunty rendition of Colonel Bogey is preferable to a burst of ghastly French rap leaking from some teenager’s headphones, no? Tsk. So this crossword was the perfect resource to soothe my jangled nerves. It looked deceptively simple at first glance – very tight, lean clueing. I actually found myself looking halfway through to check that it was, in fact, a Dada and not a Beam! But there’s definitely some bite here (mostly involving the hunt for the right synonym) which took a little thought: it had me reaching for my coffee pot a couple of times. This, along with some generous gimmes to get going, made for a nice mix. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I hope you did too.

Across 

1a Readily available: married, it’s inferred? (3,3,5)
OFF THE SHELF: What you might be if you’re not on the market (ie, wed) as it were. Does this really needs the “it’s inferred”? A question mark would suffice, I reckon. Fun.

9a Reportedly far-reaching part of a plant (7)
RADICLE: Homophone, of far-reaching, as in thorough/great in degree, etc.

10a Pick up synopsis (6)
RESUME: Double definition. Pick up (again) and/or (with one, arguably two, acute accents) a summary.

12a The same lecturer’s class? (7)
UNIFORM: Not a homophone, as I initially thought. But a whimsical allusion to a don’s group of students. I don’t think they’d ever actually call them this though!

13a Interval where sea god gains energy (7)
TRITONE: A classic example of the many simple clues here that require a brain trawl for the right word. I was wrongly stuck on Neptune. It’s not him! Or Poseidon. Keep going, and then add an E(nergy).

14a Door where walls in extension go (5)
ENTRY: The two “walls” of extension + go/turn. Very neat.

15a With two wings I sprouted, flying! (9)
DIPTEROUS: ISPROUTED, flying. Not a word I was familiar with but it’s very fairly – and nicely – clued.

17a A hideous argument on small London street (6,3)
SAVILE ROW: A + hideous/nasty + argument on/after S(mall). Suitably elegant, this.

20a Float past lawman (5)
BOBBY: Float (like a cork?) + past (2).

22a Gambling gains skimmed for life? (7)
INNINGS: What you might take home from a casino, if you’re lucky, loses its first letter (skimmed). The definition usually comes after a “he/she’s had a good”. I liked this.

24a Person taking stock – as walker through woods in autumn? (7)
RUSTLER: A play on the meaning of stock (animals), relating to the sounds one might make walking through autumn leaves, etc.

25a Still cold in twilled cloth (6)
PLACID: C(old) inside the material that dead men don’t wear!

26a I briefly discuss backing Queen and country (7)
ERITREA: I + discuss/deal with (Chambers actually has discuss has the third definition) minus its last letter – after (backing) our late Queen.

27a Last word in hairstyles, fashionable (7,4)
PARTING SHOT: A “hairstyle(s)” that I’ve never had – much to my father’s disapproval! – plus the fashionable that’s not in, hip or vogue. I made this hard for myself by trying to shoehorn in amen for last word. Tip to the wise – this doesn’t help.

 Down 

2d Element unknown in plant (7)
FACTORY: Element (of the whole) + one of the usual unknowns. Another one which I made an absolute meal of initially, stupidly trawling through the bloomin’ periodic table and thinking of odd exotics. Er, no. Important memo to self: don’t try and complicate everything!

3d Month of heat, third more windy (9)
THERMIDOR: THIRDMORE, windy. I didn’t know (fascinating) this was a month (July 20 –August 18) in the French revolutionary calendar as I’ve only come across this as a delicious (is there any other sort of lobster?) way to prepare seafood. So, is this a single definition or a double? I’ve gone with single but I’m not entirely sure. July into August, at least in France, is generally hot. But the word springs from the Greek for heat and you’ve got the lobster process (it refers more to the preparation than the heating, but it does involve the “heat” of brandy and mustard) to boot. Also, revolutions invariably involve pretty hot feelings. I think you could probably read it as single, double or multiple! I’m making this much more complicated than it needs to be. Thoughts?

4d Bird in scoter getting to soar? (5)
EGRET: Lurker, reversed/soaring, hidden in the third and fourth words.

5d Shabby hotel is unfriendly (7)
HOSTILE: HOTELIS, shabbily.

6d African runner‘s dad taken by car (7)
LIMPOPO: An (American?) dad is absorbed by a (posh) car. You’re looking for a river not, as I initially suspected, a sort of antelope, etc.

7d Steal hearts, say, in smart outfit (7,4)
TROUSER SUIT: Steal/pinch + hearts, as in cards. So simple, so satisfying!

8d Poster on gulf, floating away (6)
ADRIFT: Poster/bill + gulf/gap.

11d Top, top, dairy product (6,5)
JERSEY CREAM: A top you wear plus top as in elite.

16d Impotent, imotent? (9)
POWERLESS: What does impotent have that imotent (and no, it’s not a word, even though it really should be – a bodged shelter, perhaps!) lacks? And what does that letter represent? Yes, it’s very simple but it’s very funny and very Dada.

18d Plain in-house article? (7)
VANILLA: Um. This parsing took a little thought. But I think in-house article just means household item – hence the question mark. I’m bracing myself to be corrected by my (many) betters! Actually this is – of course – one of the usual articles inside a (posh) house. Thanks Gazza.

19d Print short clue on it that’s cryptic (7)
LINOCUT: CLU(e)ONIT, cryptic.

20d Coach covered old warrior’s code (7)
BUSHIDO: Coach/vehicle + covered/concealed + O(ld). If you’ve been watching the new Shogun on Disney (free with Lloyds, who knew?) this will help enormously!

21d Dance jacket (6)
BOLERO: Double definition.

23d South of France leads a northern country (5)
SUDAN: The French “south” + A + N.

Very entertaining, I thought. I’m sure the peerless CS would give it just one star for difficulty but, for me, there was just enough head-scratching to warrant a two. A charming mix of clues and only four (just one in the top) anagrams. What’s going on, Dada?! Hard to pick a favourite. I especially liked 1a, 14a, 17a, 22a and 3d. But I think 7d gets my vote – I’m a sucker for a smart surface and I don’t even mind a 7d! As the great John Fuller unashamedly wrote:

I like it when you tilt your cheek up.
I like the way you nod and hold a teacup.
I like your legs when you unwind them.
Even in trousers I don’t mind them.
I like each softly-moulded kneecap.

What did you make of it?

33 comments on “Toughie 3241

  1. Dada at his most entertaining with clever clues galore – thanks to him and ALP for the very amusing review.
    18d is just one of our indefinite articles inside a posh house.
    My ticks went to 1a, 12a, 17a, 20a and 7d.

  2. A nice Tuesday style toughie. No issues there. Hats off to bloggers who can parse the clues amusingly, put in lots of video clips….and whistle! Thx to Dada and ALP

    1. Thank you, Margaret. What a lovely thing to say. But I’m already bracing myself for a volley of disapproval re Iron Maiden!

      1. Iron Maiden 👍

        A few years’ ago , Mrs RD and I flew to Tenerife on a plane flown by Bruce Dickinson. A great singer and an excellent pilot.

          1. Bruce Dickinson must have been an interesting person to know, SJB – not only a phenomenally successful rock singer with Maiden, but commercial pilot and international fencer (sword rather than stake) too. I see that not content with piloting Mr & Mrs RD’s flight, he’s also flown Liverpool and Arsenal football teams!

            1. His autobiography “What does this button do?” is a very interesting read.

              1. I’m tempted to reply “It plays Run To The Hills, very loudly!” – but thank you for the recommendation, I’ll look out for it.

  3. I don’t often attempt the Toughie but am glad that I did so today as I thoroughly enjoyed this.
    Top picks for me were 20a, 27a, 7d and16d.
    Thanks to Dada and ALP.

  4. Why ruin such a good puzzle with such a ghastly, contrived clue as 16d? If it wasn’t for the equally dreadful “Film mee” from a few weeks ago, this would be unchallenged for the title of Worst Clue Of The Year.

    That and the slightly strange reference to the “month of heat” in 3d apart, this was a pleasure to solve. The clueing was notably brief and my top picks were identical to Gazza’s ticks.

    Thanks to Dada and to ALP.

    1. Ah, it was all worth it for that comment alone, RD! Priceless. 16d was a real Christmas Cracker joke – so hilariously bad as to almost be good. As for “Film mee?” I LOVED that! Have you no heart, man?!

    2. It is a month of extreme heat for a lobster I’d imagine. I’ve seen it clued as that revolutionary month here and there I think. The other RD-contentious item is very Grauniadesque, to my way of thinking. Clues such as ‘G?’ for MIDNIGHT, and ‘441?’ for GROSS RETURN spring to mind, unfortunately. Nonetheless a nice puzzle. I like Dada a lot in his various guises around Crosswordsville.

      Thanks he, and The Joycean.

      1. Thanks, Smylers. In that case, they could be lining up for a head-to-head battle for Worst Clue Of The Decade.

        Since I retired I have struggled to know what day of the week it is, let alone what year a specific crossword clue appeared. :wink:

  5. A light but very enjoyable crossword which would have fitted in nicely on the back page of the paper on a Thursday

    Thanks to Dada and ALP – keep whistling 😙

    1. Thank you Sue, and I will! There are, of course, many far worse things to do in public..

  6. A very pleasant and not too tricky start to the Toughie week that was enjoyable and entertaining, first clue to last. Very Dadaesque, with 17 and 20a co-favourites.

    Thanks to him and ALP.

  7. I know a little bit of music theory even though I can’t read it but I didn’t know 13a, but it had to be what it was. The same applied to 3d which I’d never heard of so I had to look it up. Didn’t know 15a either but fairly clued. I also fell into the amen trap. Apart from those I had no real problems in this enjoyable solve. Favourite was 27a. Thanks to Dada and ALP.

  8. Was all set to say found this a lot easier than the back-pager then stalled with a few to go. Crossword brain, such as it is, just not in gear today – took an embarrassingly long time to peg the cover synonym for the samurai code (which I knew but had temporarily forgotten) & the sea god for the music interval (which I didn’t). 9&15a were also both new to me but the wordplay was clear & I only knew of 3d when lobster preceded it (had no idea it was a revolutionary month) so Mr G called upon for more post solve enlightenment. Unlike this morning all parsed eventually though. Like RD I’d go along with Gazza’s 5 picks.
    Thanks to Dada & ALP

  9. A nice Toughie from Dada for this Tuesday. A tad harder today versus Sunday’s offering, but just required persistence. Two words I did not know were in 15a & 26a, but with the cross checking letters they revealed themselves.

    2.5*/3*

    Favourites include 1a, 12a, 17a, 5d, 6d & 11d — with winner 11d

    Thanks to Dada & ALP for hints/blog

  10. Not guilty of tutting at you, ALP, but do tell me – was the Hermes clad lady tutting at your whistling or your attempt to reverse park whilst doing it?
    I much preferred this puzzle to the back-pager despite having a couple of reservations concerning 27a & 16d. In the former, I find it hard to equate partings with hairstyles and the latter relies on the use of a non-word which I think is simply cheating.
    Plenty that I did enjoy and rosettes handed out to 1,17&20a plus 7d. Have to admit to spending a while in the wrong London row – ‘rotten’ seemed to fit quite well!

    Thanks to Dada and to ALP for the review – you do earn a ‘tut’ for cutting short the clip of Jane & Chris, you wouldn’t have done that to an Iron Maiden track……….

    1. No, I’d have been the one tutting myself if I’d been reverse parking. And I certainly wouldn’t have been whistling whilst attempting to do it. As for T and D, it was either one minute or eight. ‘Twas a very easy choice to make! And Iron Maiden was especially for you, obviously.

        1. 8 mins would break the <4 mins rule! I’ll have to see what I can do. But I reckon the Iron Maiden clip’s worth it for the absurd Farrah Fawcett hairdos alone!

  11. An enjoyable solve for us that all went together smoothly for us with lots of smiles along the way. Just what we like to get from a puzzle.
    Thanks Dada and ALP.

  12. 6d very clever use of a river as a runner
    Reminded me of Norman Maclean’s memoir
    A River Runs Through It
    They made a passable film of it too – with a young Brad Pitt also Tom Skerritt and Brenda Blethyn

    “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.

    I am haunted by waters.”

    ― Norman Maclean

    1. Passable? It was better than passable!

      Particularly the ending where Norman MacLean can be seen fishing

      1. I’d say definitely better than passable & wonderful cinematography. Had quite forgotten it was directed by Redford & had to check upon hearing his closing narration.

        1. I will watch it again this weekend and see if I can dig out my copy of the book too, I think it won an Oscar for cinematography too.
          I too had forgotten Robert Redford spoke at the end, but yes it was much better than passable, I guess my bias towards books over films was showing a bit

          1. Just realised that this was Dada’s 150th toughie, but he is so prolific I doubt he is counting anymore

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