Toughie No 3264 by Elgar
Hints and tips by Dutch
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
Lots of very clever clues here
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across:
8a: Village maypole central to such cultivated movement? (5,10)
GREEN REVOLUTION: Where a maypole is centrally located in a village and how it works
9a/10a: Writer shifts bed, fracturing wrist badly (3,6,5)
SIR WALTER SCOTT: A word for shifts or changes and a bed go inside (fracturing) an anagram (badly) of WRIST
11a: Temper fraying if this? (5)
ANGRY: An anagram (temper) of FRAYING gives IF plus the answer
12a: I’m leaving a pointer from the Kennel Club for Spooner … (6-3)
TOODLE-PIP: A spoonerism of a type of dog (6) and a pointer (3)
15a: … this dog represented in ideographs (4-3)
SHAR-PEI: An anagram (represented) of the answer + DOG gives IDEOGRAPHS
17a: On cycle run, beginning a ferocious race? (7)
TARTARS: The abbreviation for run, a 5-letter word for beginning plus A from the clue: then cycle the first two letters to the back
19a: Double batting – following on (9)
INSINCERE: A word meaning batting, a 5 letter word for following and a short word meaning on or concerning
20a: Sort these Etonians will protect (3,2)
SEE TO: Hidden ( … will protect)
21a/24a: It’ll have landed with engineering trouble (3,5,3,3)
THE DEVIL AND ALL: An anagram (with engineering) of IT’LL HAVE LANDED
25a: A great deal or a bad egg? (9,6)
SOMETHING ROTTEN: Two meanings, the first as in ‘I love her …’
Down:
1d The end for Mrs T cuts her up well and good? (10)
TETRAGRAMS: A reversal (up) of the last letter of Mrs, then T cuts/is contained in her first name (a reference to Thatcher)
2d Yen to follow opsimath’s debut novel with a single (3-3)
ONE-WAY: The abbreviation for Yen comes after: the first letter (debut) off opsimath, another word for novel, plus A from the clue
3d/23d: Sadly little delight in “big” trip, so from time to time say so! (4,2,4,2,2)
TELL IT LIKE IT IS: An anagram (sadly) of LITTLE, a word meaning to delight in, then the regular letters (from time to time) in ‘big trip so’
4d/13d: Husband has gone to work to pen me another fancy song (4,2,3,5)
HOME ON THE RANGE: The abbreviation for husband, then an anagram (to work) of GONE contains (to pen) ME from the clue plus an anagram (fancy) of ANOTHER
5d: Equatorial finale of Love’s Labour’s Lost? (8)
SUBSOLAR: The last letter (finale) of Love’s then an anagram (lost) of LABOUR’S
6d: Called out where ship may secure small weight (4)
KILO: Homophones (called out) of a 4-letter shipping dock and a 3-letter word for small
7d: May record together (2,4)
IN STEP: An abbreviation for the present month plus a vinyl record
8d: In character of which bazoo’s opening will stop silences (7)
GASBAGS: A 2-letter word for ‘in character of which’ plus the first letter (opening) of bazoo goes inside (stops) a word that means silences
14d: Campaigners of course upstanding to welcome top constituent (5-5)
PEACE-PARTY: Reversal (upstanding) of an informal word meaning of course or sure contains (welcomes) a word for top or excellent and a word for constituent or bit
16d: Something Porky Pig’s originator curiously can’t eat (8)
PANCETTA: The first letter (originator) of pig plus an anagram (curiously) of CAN’T EAT
18d: Frankfurter might get stuck into this bread, hot large slices! (7)
STOLLEN: A 6-letter word meaning hot contains (slices) the abbreviation for large
19d: Quotients worked out by university on this? (2,4)
IQ TEST: QUOTIENTS is obtained from an anagram of U(niversity) + ON from the clue plus the answer
20d Remix is done like a shot in the studio (4-2)
SIDE-ON: An anagram (remix) of IS DONE
22d A boost for the compiler being presented with his award (4)
EMMY: A reversal (boost) of a pronoun which is a self-reference to the compiler, then similarly add the self-referential possessive pronoun
Lots of brilliant clues. I’ll just mention 19d which I quite liked (quotients). Which were your favourite clues?
Another doable Elgar and great fun it was, with some standout clues. Top picks for me were 11a, 17a, 19a, 1d [last in] and 7d [first in]. Even managed to parse em all. Can’t see a NINA.
Thanks to Elgar and Dutch.
The anagrams, plus the long non-anagrams helped me get a decent foothold in this one. I had a couple of bung-ins which worked out, and overall I was pleased with my time. This was not Elgar at his most fiendish, just properly tough as we would expect. Several standout clues, of which my favourite was, surprisingly, the Spoonerism.
Many thanks to Elgar for the workout, and to Dutch.
Quite proud of my finishing time today. I had even parsed them all without waiting for Dutch. The long ‘uns and anagrams helped make this an accessible Elgar. No shortage of creative and clever clues. I thought 11a & 15a weren’t very cryptic until I spotted the anagrams, I should’ve known better!
My thanks to Elgar and to Dutch.
Are 19d and 15a reverse anagrams as i am having trouble understanding them or am I missing the instruction to remove something, great crossword I always have trouble with Elgar but love seeing how the clue words, I regard it as educational!
Indeed they are. As is 11a. All seem to be indicated by the use of ‘this’ in the clue which gives a hint to include the answer in the fodder.
Elgar gave us a slightly easier puzzle today but I still needed some of the hints from Dutch R.A.?
I too will be plumping for 19d too it reminded me of one of my Sunday Toughie setters
I didn’t see a Nina either but most of Tom, Dick ‘nd Harry appear on a diagonal. Maybe a revised/edited grid fill
Splendid puzzle, very challenging and a fair number of “it must be that but why?” answers requiring parsing later, if ever! Very slow to start but gradually an idea here, a thought there, and it all came together.
A very typical Elgar to whom many thanks, likewise Dutch.