Toughie 3258 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Toughie 3258

by crypticsue  

Toughie  No 3258 by Serpent

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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

Serpent (and his alter egos in other places) usually sets much trickier crosswords than this nice ‘start of the week’ Toughie,  but this one was both friendly (for a Toughie) and enjoyable from start to finish, particularly the sneaky punctuation mark in 16a

He usually hides a Nina in his grids but at the time of typing I can’t see one.  I looked at the solved grid on and off all morning but was still none the wiser.  Thank you to Gazza who looked more carefully at the actual solutions and found something that might indicate a landmark Toughie total for Serpent.  Update: if you read Serpent’s comment @12, it was only his 36th Toughie, and the Ls in the solution linked to those appearing in the black squares in the grid

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought

Across

1a           Low cloud allowed silence to envelop river bird (6,6)
MISTLE THRUSH Some thin cloud in contact with the ground, hence the ‘low’, a synonym for allowed, and some silence, the latter ‘enveloping’ the abbreviation for River

8a           Quash flawed conclusion of treaty in full (7)
NULLIFY An anagram (flawed) of the ‘conclusion’ of treatY  and IN FULL

9a           Drunk for example sells off clothes (7)
LEGLESS An anagram (off) of SELLS ‘clothes’ the abbreviation meaning for example

11a         One penned no more, leaving sentence unfinished (7)
PAROLEE Someone conditionally released (penned no more) from prison before the end of their sentence

12a         Heraldic device‘s alternate elements in small flag (7)
SALTIRE A heraldic term for an armorial emblem in the form of a St Andrew’s cross – the alternate ‘elements’ in SmAlL and flag as a verb

13a         Did list compile antisocial cases? (5)
LEANT Cased in the third and fourth word of the clue

14a         What can be used to fix plug and re-use fitting? (9)
SUPERGLUE An anagram (fitting) of PLUG and REUSE

16a         Tin containing new filling: potato and cabbage (9)
COLCANNON  Clues with sneaky punctuation marks catch me out every time.   Insert into the punctuation mark in the clue a tin and the abbreviation for New

19a         Summer’s end is complete (5)
TOTAL The entire amount at the end of a sum or an adjective meaning complete

21a         Is taken aback by plastic leg found in toilets (7)
BOGGLES An anagram (plastic) of LEG inserted in some [slang] toilets

23a         Supply of food providing assistance (7)
HELPING – Double definition

24a         Log almost everything to do with food processing facilities (7)
ENTERAL To log or record and a synonym for everything without its last letter (almost)

25a         Fancy ladies room expels raving mad, flighty creatures (7)
ORIOLES An anagram (fancy) of LadIES ROOm without (expels) MAD (raving telling you that they aren’t in that order)

26a         Reveal cartel originally took over to stop corruption (5,2,5)
BRING TO LIGHT A cartel, the original letter of Took and the cricket abbreviation for Over are inserted (to stop) into some corruption or decay

Down

1d           Graduate reduced means of catching animal disease (7)
MALARIA An abbreviated graduate and a means of catching an animal without its final letter (reduced)

2d           Pan group concealing murder (7)
SKILLET  A group ‘concealing’ a verb meaning to murder

3d           Provides checks for each non-expert (9)
LAYPERSON Provides (4,2) ‘checks’ or takes inside the preposition meaning for each

4d           Stories become hackneyed when lead character appears last (5)
TALES Move the lead character from an adjective meaning hackneyed to the end of the word (appears last)

5d           Valued customer according to standard practice (7)
REGULAR A valued customer or an adjective meaning according to established practice

6d           Foreign place is distinctive (7)
SPECIAL An anagram (foreign) of PLACE IS

7d           Unsuitable, popular program likely to entertain Conservative (12)
INAPPLICABLE The usual two-letter popular, a computer program and a synonym for likely to, the latter ‘entertaining’ the abbreviation for Conservative

10d         Loose piglets startled caveman? (12)
SPELEOLOGIST Even knowing the word and that it is an anagram (startled) of LOOSE PIGLETS, you do have to think hard how to spell this person interested in the scientific study of caves.  Lovely surface reading!

15d         Depression hit British member of parliament (9)
PUNCHBOWL Strike with fist (hit) the abbreviation for British and an avian member of parliament

17d         Unloading vessel carrying less weight (7)
LIGHTER A type of flat-bottomed barge used to unload and transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships or a way of saying not so heavy

18d         Flap about supporting one who bemoans losing wife (7)
AILERON A synonym for about going after (supporting in a Down solution) someone who bemoans without (losing) the abbreviation for Wife

19d         Effective narration (7)
TELLING Another double definition clue

20d         Little outing possibly for group in bar (7)
TRIPLET This musical term for a group of three notes does sound like it could describe a little outing

22d         Upset after Liberal’s heightened division (5)
SPLIT Move the abbreviation for Liberal up one letter(heightened)  in a synonym for upset

 

17 comments on “Toughie 3258”

  1. Our second top-notch puzzle of the day. Thanks to Serpent and CS.
    I noticed that one specific letter appears in every solution which presumably signifies that Serpent has reached a milestone in his Toughie-setting career. Congratulations to him if that is the case.
    I liked 19a, 1d and 18d but my favourite has to be 16a for the penny-drop moment.

    1. I was too busy trying to find a message in the grid – I didn’t notice the one hiding in plain sight in the solutions

    2. Well spotted on the letter repetition! Quite an achievement to get that letter into every solution and congratulations to Serpent if Gazza’s assumption is correct.

      1. According to the list of toughie setters I lifted from the old site this is Serpent’s 36th Toughie,
        Of course there may be some elsewhere that Serpent has counted but either way it is a fine puzzle that I am still working on

  2. Another lovely puzzle to follow on from today’s back pager.
    Thank you CS for parsing 16a. I just couldn’t see it, but now that I can, it is very clever and has to be my CoD.
    Thanks to Serpent and CS.

  3. Didn’t think it was that easy, but fun nonetheless. Favourites were the sneaky 16a and the equally sneaky 19a. I couldn’t see a NINA either, but I miss ’em as often as not.
    Thanks to Serpent and CS.

  4. Super puzzle, a cracking Toughie if happily somewhat benign. As to what the L was going on, that escaped me entirely! Very well done to Serpent if that’s the case.

    Having got 11a I was looking for something more complex in the parsing until concluding it was ‘just’ a cryptic definition; 16a was a write-in once the checkers were there, but the clever punctuation escaped me entirely; 4d was one of the first to be entered but it reads strangely to me – surely hackneyed becomes the answer, stories, when first moved to last? But otherwise, wot larks. The external framework was very helpful and happily I dragged the caveman from somewhere. As with the back pager many clues could lay claim to the podium places but will go for 25a, 18d & 10d.

    Many thanks indeed to Serpent, and also to CS

  5. I had to battle with this one and found it more difficult than *. I finished, but often got the answers and then tried to parse them. Now I’ve seen your parsing Sue, all is bright and clear and leaves me in admiration of the wordplay. Lots to like, in particular 11A 16A 23A and 29A and podium goes to 19A.
    Many thanks to Sue for the clarification and to Serpent for the excellent workout.

  6. I found this a little harder than our esteemed blogger but not by much. After a slow start it all came together in a rush, with the outstanding 16a taking the honours. Naturally I missed the common letter ‘cos I always forget to look for Ninas, hidden messages et al.

    Thanks to Serpent and Sue.

  7. Enjoyed this one a lot.
    The letter repetition is so obvious AFTER you have been told about it!
    Very minor nit-picking, Sue: In your hint for 3d, provides should be (4,2).
    Thank you and Serpent, and presumably congratulations to him.

  9. Delightful, as ever. Gentle yet smart ain’t an easy combo, I’m sure. And a hidden message to boot. Marvellous. Many thanks to Serpent (congrats, too) and CS.

  10. This was one of those puzzles I appreciated rather more after reading back through it post completion than during the solve. Found it a good deal harder than yesterday though I did finish without using a letter reveal, unlike then. Got the 1a bird from the wordplay & 10d from the fodder but was unfamiliar with both. Missed the L in each answer needless to say. Top 3 for me were 11,16&1a & also rather liked 14a&15d. First answer in was 2d which prompted me to play Jason Isbell’s latest album, Weathervanes, during the solve.
    Many thanks to Serpent & congrats on the milestone & to Sue.

  11. Add us to the list of those who missed the L thing. Quite challenging in places for us as there were some things like the bird in 1a and the answer to 24a that were new to us. An enjoyable solve.
    Thanks Serpent and CS.

  12. Many thanks to crypticsue for the excellent blog. And thanks to everyone who has taken the time to leave a comment.

    The Ls in each answer merely reflect the fact that the grid itself contains L-shaped blocks of black squares. As Sloop John Bee says, this is only my 36th Toughie. (The 37th is a work in progress!)

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