Sunday Toughie No 127
by proXimal
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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The app and website credit this to proXimal’s “real” name but the print version restores his pseudonym so I will stick with that, Thanks to the ever-busy Super Sue for bringing this to my attention.
Full of proXimal trademarks (Start with the Reverend Spooner and reverse anagrams with hidden definitions)
14a and 14d clues today and I have hinted half(ish) There are some tricky parsings but with help from Sue and AnswerBank I think I have got there eventually
Here we go, Folks…
As it is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll return with the full review blog just after the closing date. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!
I hope I don’t have to redact any comments but I am new at this and don’t want to rock the boat. If in doubt, I’ll rub it out! I think that sentence is a bit redundant. You have all been so helpful in sorting out prior parsing failures, and I am sure I will need similar help again.
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious. Don’t forget the Mine of Useful information that Big Dave and his son Richard so meticulously prepared for us.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely.
Across
1a Spooner’s jittery poor style of swimming (12)
Synonyms of jittery and poor swap their starting sounds
9a Poet’s in Italy in church (7)
Our usual in followed by an abbreviation for the predominant religion in Italy around the IVR code for Italy an adjective for in the style of a certain Greek poet
12a Mixing this sauce, son and I might supply soup kitchen (7)
proXimal hiding those definitions in the middle again. The sauce can be found in an anagram (mixing this) of soup kitchen after son and I are extracted
14a Direction of return for Phoenix, a state capital (5-4)
That Phoenix is the State Capital of Arizona is a clever deception. You want the direction the fabled Phoenix rose from the flames, a preposition for each or a and a synonym of state in a court of law
21a This dull dorm converted could be ultramodern (7)
A reverse anagram (converted) of ultramodern but remove the dorm first
25a Polish hosts ultimately offering full board (7)
A synonym of polish until glowing contains the last letters of offering full
26a Office accessory needs returning, object chewed by pet (4,8)
Lots to do here, a synonym of pet as a term of affection, contains (chewed by) a reversal (returning) of needs or wants and an objective or aim
Down
1d Happen upon sources of inspiration for puzzles (7)
To happen or occur and the sources of inspiration of the Greek liberal arts
3d Regret splitting stone with one’s turning bladed tool (9)
Cards with one “pip” then an abbreviation for a stone that has been split by to regret then reverse (turning) the lot
A Non-Sequitur is something you don’t prune the roses with?
6d One worshipped rakish rogue tackling knight (7)
This God is an anagram (rogue) of rakish along with the notation of a knight in a certain board game that cropped up in 16a
7d
8d Plants perhaps beneath tender meaty fare (9,4)
Plants secret agents beneath the tender of ovine livestock
Starting Sunday Dinner
17d Cold scrap for American’s pudding (7)
An abbreviation for cold and the American “scrap” such as that fought by George Foreman and Muhammad Ali in Kinshasa in 1974
Completing Sunday dinner – I particularly like the sticky burnt bits that ooze out
20d Adapting plans, this figure might be single parent (7)
Another reverse anagram with a middle definition, (adapting) single parent without plans to find this figure or number
22d Woman partial to sparkly diamonds (5)
A lurker (partial to) end with, she is hidden in the last two words
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A bonus hint for 23a
Blimey, I had no idea that Steve = proXimal. I thought the style seemed familiar. All those subtractive/indirect anagrams (perhaps just one too many as one can have too much of a good thing) should have given the game away. Fine, fine fare today. 14a was especially cunning. What a surface! 25a was beautifully simple, yet chewy. And 26a’s brilliant. Masterful stuff. Huge thanks to proXimal/Steve and Sloop. Lovely little ditty at the end. But no Stranglers? Tsk! And what about one of the downs?! Hope I’m not straying into naughty step territory with the obvious (and no, Huntsman, the original wasn’t better!)
Ah, the Stranglers got a late reprieve, I see. Good man!
Agreed. There are some great version of it out there though – Sam Cooke & Peter Green to name but two. Wonder if Willie Dixon is the most covered blues songwriter?
That is a much better choice than the Atomic farm animal I had – I never did like them that much (although I was only 10 when big sis introduced me)
Another enjoyable puzzle from proXimal – thanks to him and SJB.
Today proXimal has given us no less than three of his favourite compound anagrams (all of which contain, as is normally the case, the word ‘this’).
Top clues for me were 9a, 23a, 2d and 8d (although the latter two would perhaps get a black mark if they appeared in Rookie Corner for the repetition of ‘beneath’).
“Compound” of course – THAT is the word I was searching for! I do love ’em but three did seem over-generous.
I did like 8d as it is the first course of a rather tasty Sunday Lunch
And I will try and remember “this” as the indicator too
Another enjoyable Sunday Toughie! Thank you to Proximal and SJB
I think proXimal’s Toughies are something of an acquired taste, rather like most of SJB’s music choices, and I’m not sure that I’ve totally tuned in to either! Not to worry, I did get letters in all the white spaces and the resulting words do seem to make a kind of sense so I’m happy enough. Ticks went to 9&23a plus 2&8d.
Thanks to proXimal and to SJB for the hints.
For me, this was a Goldilocks of a Sunday Toughie – a lovely balance of clue styles, guiles and smiles. I enjoy a good Spoonerism so 1a makes it onto my across podium alongside 23 & 25. My down podium places go to 7, 8 & 19. Last to fall was 14a, and it took me a while to unravel the wordplay, an element of which I’ve come across many times before but always requires a renewed PDM! 10a wordplay introduced me to a synonym that I hadn’t come across before, the word used in the clue being familiar to me, but not the one in the answer – perhaps it is a regional thing?
Many thanks to proXimal and to SJB.
I did have to consult the thesaurus for the reversed lump synonym but I don’t think it a regional thing, hurried emails and questions of Answer bank were required for 14a
Another laboured solve & that’s before I got round to trying to make sense of the whys. Pleased to clock the compound anagrams for a change (20d took longest) but the plants (8d), the scrap over the pond (17d) & the pet (26a) were most reluctant penny drops. Despite recently visiting the Elgar museum I didn’t know the piece at 7d & needed Mr G to confirm my answer – The Manhattan Transfer song instantly became an earworm. The foodie ones were my favs (Kath won’t read this) & I also particularly liked 2d& 23a.
Thanks to proXimal/Steve & to John for the explanations – needed for 3d (the returning ones – d’oh) & 14a where I was nowhere near.
It often takes me two or three days to worry at the Sunday toughie but, oh the joy when I break through! Thanks for the ‘this’ tip off. And thanks also to Setter and Hinter for keeping my brain occupied and working!
It is always a bit tricky to guzzle midweek what with work and things but comments are always read. I certainly worried at it in the wee small hours of Sunday. I think your thanks for “this” are directed at Gazza who brought it to my attention.
The other SJB (proXimal)has been in touch from his holiday and put the mis-credit down to an admin cock up
If the answer in a compound anagram is plural the word to look out for might be ‘these’ for example and if the answer is an uncountable noun then you might see something like ‘such’.