Toughie No 3242 by Serpent
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
I noticed the Nina fairly early in the solving process which did help a lot, but I still thought this was a properly fiendish Toughie, particularly as it is only Wednesday. I await the thoughts of those who disagree with me!
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought
Across
4a Scene is mistakenly introducing 100 subjects (8)
SCIENCES An anagram (mistakenly) of SCENE IS into which is introduced the Roman numeral for 100
8a Boil lanced by doctor is serious (6)
SOMBRE A boil or other painful spot ‘lanced’ by one of the abbreviations for doctor
9a Enduring word for hunger? (4-4)
LONG-TERM Without the hyphen, this could read as a word understood to mean a hunger or yearning for something
10a Put the finishing touches to Evita’s representation on flier (8)
TITIVATE An anagram (representation) of EVITA goes on or after a type of bird (flier)
11a Haitian cooking doesn’t use one bit of anchovy paste (6)
TAHINI An anagram (cooking) of HAITiaN without (doesn’t use) the Roman numeral for one and the first ‘bit’ of Anchovy
12a Reluctant to talk about appeal returning money (8)
RETICENT The usual ‘about, on the subject of’, a reversal of one of the words meaning sexual attraction (appeal) and a coin (money)
13a Transmission time chosen to accommodate constraints of audiences (8)
TELECAST The abbreviation for Time and an adjective meaning chose ‘accommodates’ the outside letters (constraints) of AudienceS
16a Boldly face challenging aspect of departing flight’s announcement? (8)
OUTSTARE A synonym for departing and a homophone (announcement) of a set of steps (flight)
19a Stock characters appearing in every novel? (8)
ALPHABET A cryptic definition of letters (characters) appearing in every novel or other piece of writing
21a Part of range found in North American prayers (6)
NOVENA Part of a range cooker ‘found’ in the abbreviation for North American
23a Lecture on ethics is inspired by state of mind (8)
MORALISE IS (from the clue) ‘inspired’ by a degree of optimism (state of mind)
24a Revolutionary means of extracting oil with a single stone (8)
GIRASOLE A fire opal (stone). A reversal (revolutionary) of something used in the process of extracting oil and A (from the clue) followed by an adjective meaning singly
25a Manager repeatedly uses such language! (6)
GERMAN Write down the first word of the clue twice (repeatedly) and you’ll find the required language in the middle
26a Lay to rest start of appeal by court and work together? (8)
INTERACT A verb meaning to lay to rest, the ‘start’ of Appeal and an abbreviated court
Down
1d Have a discussion about introduction of invasive plant (7)
CONIFER Talk or consult together goes ‘about’ the introduction of Invasive
2d Apt to forget half of list in manifest (9)
OBLIVIOUS The first half of LIst inserted into manifest in the sense of easily seen
3d Counteract the effect of secret agent’s return somewhat (6)
NEGATE Hidden in reverse (return… somewhat) in secrET AGENts
4d Withdrawal of speech that could escalate conflict (6,9)
SILENT TREATMENT An absence of discussion could well escalate conflict
5d Hotel near Cambridge with no vacancies, naturally (8)
INNATELY Run together (with no vacancies) a hotel AT a place near Cambridge
6d This score explicitly excludes choir (5)
NOTCH A simple way saying explicitly excludes and an abbreviated choir
7d Monarch once did career officer’s commissions (7)
ERRANDS The regnal cipher of several former (once) monarchs including our late Queen, part of a verb meaning to career or rush and an abbreviated Detective Sergeant (officer)
14d Intriguing woman supported by old Spanish gentleman (9)
CABALLERO A member of a group united for a secret purpose (intrigue) ‘supported by’ the abbreviation for Old
15d Ladies’ man from California briefly dated star (8)
CASANOVA The abbreviation for the State of California, the first two letters of a synonym for dated and a star
17d Idealistic individual, up to a point, surprisingly ignores “opt out” (7)
UTOPIAN An anagram (surprisingly) of UP to A pOINT without (ignores) OPT (out telling you that they aren’t in that order)
18d Banishes changes omitting book’s coarse material (7)
HESSIAN An anagram (changes) of bANISHES omitting the abbreviation for Book
20d I try and rush back for Polish food (6)
PIROGI A reversal (back) of I (from the clue) a synonym for try and a verb meaning to rush
22d Remove backing for subsistence level (5)
ERASE The ‘backing’ for subsistencE and a verb meaning to level to the ground
Crikey **** from Sue – I’m afraid to even look….
Well that was hard.
Four new words.
Missed the Nina even though it’s an obvious one.
Completed with electronic help.
Not as tough as Elgar so ****/***
Thanks to Serpent for the challenge and to CS.
I got on surprisingly well with this most enjoyable puzzle, though had need of recourse to the BRB on a number of occasions to see why the word play had lead me where I’d found myself. I found the east reasonably straightforward but the west took twice as long and finishing in the NW; having seen the right vertical nina I struggle(d) to understand the left and didn’t even notice the horizontals!
21a and 24a were new to me, and remain unclear as to the “intriguing woman” in 14d: caballer for intriguer, yes; but where does the woman come in? Does she serve the purpose of making the intriguing person a caballer?
Anyway, some cracking clues – for me highlights included 10a, 11a, 25a (COTD) & 1d.
Many thanks to Serpent for the super lunchtime challenge, and to CS for helping me understand most of it!
If Sue thought this was fiendish, the rest of us had better watch out. This felt more like a Friday Toughie, and my time certainly underlined that notion. All very clever and well-clued, though, with 25a my top pick.
Thanks to Serpent and Sue.
Had I not known the identity of the setter before starting this one I wouldn’t have guessed it was a Serpent production, although the Nina should have pushed me in that direction. It was certainly tricky – thanks to our setter and CS.
I spent some time trying to find something more in 4d – I thought the definition was a bit weak.
The top clues for me were 9a, 25a and 5d.
A toughie, for sure, but a curious mix of some gimmes and some real posers, eg 5d’s “no vacancies”. Really?! A couple of hmms but they may well be misplaced. Is 20d’s “back” an acceptable reversal indicator in a down clue? And isn’t 25a’s “lurker” a tad mean? Some new words, for me, in 21a, 24a and 20d but they’re all fairly clued. I did think 19a was oddly simple. But I always enjoy a Serpent and the Nina, once I’d finally twigged it, certainly helped me over the line. Lovely construction and surface in 13a, 2d’s cute, 9a is fun and, personally, I rather liked 4d! Many thanks to Serpent and CS.
Just indulging in a little “comment browsing”. 25a. Is that an “indirect lurker” – it isn’t actually visible in the clue?
That’s as good a term as any! It’s not summat I’ve come across before.
As a device it appears not infrequently in late-week Toughies, and I’ve seen it used in The Times, too. Their solutions tend to arrive with very heavy clanging noises!
What is a ” Nina ” Anybody.! Please.
Hi Fran – it’s the cruciverbal equivalent of an ‘Easter egg’ (and I don’t mean the chocolate ones!) – see FAQ 31: http://bigdave44.com/faq/#31
In this puzzle, have a look at the top, bottom, left & right edges …
A hidden feature in a crossword.
In this one, the top row and right hand column go together, as do the left hand column and bottom row
Frequently asked question 31 explains the origin of the Nina
CS, many thanks for explaining 25a. Danke schön!
Got there but not without looking up the gem and the prayers.
Missed the Nina, what’s new ?
Thanks to Serpent and CS.
After battling with the back pager and then encountering this one, we were seriously doubting our ability to solve puzzles any more. However persistence paid off and we eventually got everything sorted although we failed to spot the Nina as usual.
Thanks Serpent and CS.
Managed the north under my own steam but needed 3 letter reveals to stagger over the line down south having hit the wall with 6 to go in. Missed the Nina as per & needed Sue’s help to understand a few of the whys. Too tough for the likes of me really but enjoyed the unequal struggle – akin to me teeing it up off the back tees on a championship course knowing full well I won’t be able to reach the fairways.
Thanks to Serpent & to Sue.
Wish you could give us the Nina answer for those of us who never spot them!
As I said last night, look at the top row of your solved crossword. The S at the end is the start of a word going down the right side of the crossword. Starting with the first letter of 8a, go down the left side of the crossword and then along the bottom
I am confused with the solution for 11a. Haitian has 7 letters and taking out an “A” gives an anagram of the answer, so I was lost on taking out the roman I as well. . Also, for 14d, isn’t the answer the Spanish gentleman, rather than the intriguing woman.