Toughie No 3260 by Osmosis
Hints and tips by Dutch
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****
Some easy clues, but also a few new words for me – 7d was the last one in!
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
1a Marathon followed by top athlete (4,6)
LONG JUMPER: An adjective meaning marathon plus a top or garment
6a American fish food supplement (4)
AGAR: The abbreviation for American plus a 3-letter fish
9a Supervised flier across gulf briefly (4-3)
BABY-SAT: A flying mammal contains a 5-letter word for gulf without the last letter
10a KFC in rotation disrupts Paul the postie’s original weight? (7)
SACKFUL: A cycling (in rotation) of KFC goes inside (disrupts) the Hebrew name for Paul. Or maybe the definition is just ‘weight’ and “Paul the postie’s original” means Paul’s first name in the bible, though I’ve never heard “postie” used to mean apostle
12a Chilled home brew before unknown film (3,4,2,4)
ICE COLD IN ALEX: A (3,4) phrase for chilled, a preposition meaning home, an alcoholic brew and an algebraic unknown. I didn’t know the film but word play clear enough
14a Like wearing interwoven hand-me-down? (6)
LEGACY: A Latin abbreviation meaning like or for instance is contained in (wearing) a word meaning interwoven
15a Pro engineers, unoccupied in back when flying, develop planes? (8)
AFFOREST: Planes are trees here. A word meaning pro or ‘in favour of’ plus EngineerS without the inner letters (unoccupied) go inside a word meaning back in an aircraft (or boat)
17a Store‘s retired madame checking juniors regularly work (8)
EMPORIUM: A reversal of the 3-letter abbreviation for madame containing (checking) the even letters in juniors and the abbreviation for work
19a Repellent wound covered by small firm plaster (6)
STUCCO: A reversal (repellent) of a 3-letter wound goes inside (covered by) the abbreviations for small and company
22a Observer section‘s watered-down jokes? (7,6)
AQUEOUS HUMOUR: The answer is a fluid in the eye, which could whimsically be described as watered-down jokes
24a Sort of road fragment used in test (7)
ORBITAL: A fragment or part goes inside a type of test
25a Curse foul rupturing organ (4,3)
EVIL EYE: A word for foul inside (rupturing) a visual organ
26a Ass that’s new joining group of ‘orses (4)
NERD: The abbreviation for new and a group of horses without the initial H
27a Polish supermarket, empty during hail, that writers frequented? (4,6)
GRUB STREET: A word meaning to polish plus SupermarkeT without the inner letters (empty) inside (during) a word meaning hail as in welcome
Down
1d Greasy stuff served up in The Bull (4)
LUBE: Reverse hidden (served up in ..)
2d Blood identified on chest — no good going outside, it’s catching (7)
NABBING: A blood type and a chest or container with the abbreviation for no good around the outside
3d Jack, typically with enticement, when barking, producing wag (6,7)
JASPER CARROTT: The abbreviation for Jack, a (2,3) phrase for typically, and a homophone (when barking) of an enticement, the opposite of a stick.
4d Male couple leaving topside of pig meat (6)
MUTTON: The abbreviation for male then a 7-letter word for pig or big eater without the first two letters (couple leaving topside of ..)
5d Each shed occasionally/completely moderated (5,3)
EASED OFF: The abbreviation for each, the odd letters of shed, and a word meaning shed or remove
7d Fish dish, prepared around lake, coated in crumbs (7)
GEFILTE: a 3-letter verb than can mean prepared around the abbreviation for lake, all inside an exclamation meaning ‘crumbs!’
8d Amp going above 10, enriching maybe son’s pleasure? (10)
RELAXATION: The abbreviation for amp above the Roman numeral for 10, inside (enriching) someone like a son or aunt
11d Criminal wrongdoing upset boss on first bender (13)
CONTORTIONIST: A criminal, a legal wrong, reversal of the top man, then a 3-letter way of representing ‘first’
13d The Spanish, under shade, continue cocktail (4,6)
BLUE LAGOON: A colour, Spanish for the, and a (2,2) phrase meaning continue
16d Sandwich left, nibbled by fly directly beneath sun (8)
SUBSOLAR: A 3-letter sandwich, then the abbreviation for left goes inside a word meaning to fly
18d Cowboy perhaps getting foot in stirrup on saddle (7)
PLUMBER: The last letter (foot) in stirrup, then a word meaning to saddle or burden
20d Travelling back into centre, catch train (7)
CORTEGE: A 3-letter word for catch is reversed (travelling back) inside a word for centre
21d Lifted in European champion (6)
SUPERB: A preposition meaning lifted goes inside a European
23d Band with Rocket Man not performing (4)
WELT: The abbreviation for with, then the Rocket Man singer/pianist but without the preposition that means performing
My favourite was the reference to Spinal Tap in 8d. Which clues did you like?
I suppose i’d say it was a “manageable” degree of toughness, particularly because of a few easy ones in each quadrant. Needed assistance for 7d and 22a neither of which i can recall ever hearing.
For 10a, I did wonder whether Osmosis was making a very oblique reference to St Paul, who did of course write a lot of letters (epistles) which he may have “posted”! Bonkers I know but it is very hot and sunny today.
Thanks to Osmosis for a great puzzle and to Dutch for the review.
yes, maybe postie in that sense
Like our blogger says, a few gimmes and a couple of really testing parsings to get me over the line. Trying to pick a winner is hard with so many excellent clues, but I did enjoy 12 and 27a so I will select them. I found this a properly tough end to the Toughie week.
Thanks to Osmosis for the challenge and to Dutch.
After missing most of the references to Elgar’s 250th I was pretty sure there would be something to signify Osmosis’ 200th Toughie, but in order to get to this being 200 I have had to include an Ozymandias from the early days that BD credits to Osmosis, Maybe Osmosis himself will be celebrating 200 next time.
Now to this one, as others have said a few gimmes and some that still defy parsing (7d) I would have taken a month of Sundays to come up with that
Thanks to Osmosis and Dutch for explaining the crumbs (Gee!)
Thanks for the heads up!
LOI was 15a, once I realised the kind of planes. Very enjoyable and not too hard for a Friday.
An Osmosis of the middling sort, for me. I take issue with the definition in 6a, altho I guess an additive is a supplement. But some excellent and very typical Osmosis clues, of which my faves were 10a, 15a and the winner [crumbs indeed] 7d. Failed to parse 5d as I was convinced the slash had more significance, like yesterday’s colon.
Thanks to Osmosis and Dutch.
We got a completed grid but there were a couple where we had missed some of the elements of the wordplay (4d for example).
Enjoyed the solve.
Thanks Osmosis and Dutch.
Quite a mellow week for toughies, including this (unusually) doable gem from this setter. Everything gettable from the wordplay, including the unknown (to me) 7d. Thought 22a superb, my COTD.
Thanks to Osmosis and Dutch for confirming my parsing.