Toughie 3312

Toughie  No 3312 by Elgar

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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

When Elgar sets a Friday Toughie, you get exactly what it says on the tin.  The usual stretching of the cryptic grey matter followed by a lot of smiles as I worked out exactly what was going on in the clues

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought

Across

1a           Kind pro offers to screen compound I’d best not reveal (7,7)
MODESTY FORBIDS A kind or way of acting, in favour of (pro) and some offers ‘screen’ a compound for pigs

9a           Food wrapper can frustrate (7)
TINFOIL A can and a verb meaning to frustrate

10a         It will reverse consumption with its choice selection (7)
TITBITS A reversal of IT, the abbreviation for the disease also known as consumption and ITS (from the clue)

11a         Island having power and resources left (4)
ELBA A reversal (to the left) of an adjective meaning having the power and resources to do something

12a         Red meat is not generally well done (4,3,3)
GOOD FOR YOU An expression meaning well done can make a sensible sentence when added to the first five words of the clue

14a         Main route down to Kent on holiday? (6)
SEAWAY The abbreviation for the part of the country where Kent can be found and another way of saying ‘on holiday’

15a         Leave crust after boiling a lot of water (8)
FURLOUGH A crust left in a kettle after boiling hard water and a large expanse of water – there’s a lovely one near where Son No1 lives in Co Fermanagh

17a         French art retrospective: assess it among displays (8)
MATISSES Hidden (displays) in reverse (retrospective) in asSESS IT AMong

18a         With evacuation, American guests truly distressed (6)
ANGSTY The outside letters (with evacuation) of AmericaN GuestS TrulY

21a         It could be worth noticing walk breaking into run (5,5)
SMALL PRINT A public walk inserted (breaking) into a verb meaning to run

22a         Plant stone marker to indicate decline (4)
FLAG Five separate definitions of one small word – a plant, a paving stone, a marker, a verb meaning to indicate and another meaning to decline in the sense of droop

24a         You’ll have this on when receiving a delivery (7)
LEGSIDE The half of the cricket field on the side on which the batsman stands when waiting to receive the ball

25a         Cameo even greater in recital (7)
MORCEAU A very small part of something sounds like (in recital) a way of saying even greater

26a         Couple who had pianos well oiled (6,3,5)
BRAHMS AND LISZT Two composers who were also virtuoso pianists give their names to a slang expression meaning very drunk (well oiled)

Down

1d           In stalag with perhaps twenty or thirty prisoner restraints (7)
MITTENS A slang name for handcuffs (prisoner restraints) – Stalags were German prisoner of war camps so you need the German word for with and numbers of which twenty and thirty (perhaps) are multiples

2d           Fellow Animal Guide has brief to come back soon! (4,2,1,8)
DON’T BE A STRANGER A university fellow, an animal,  and a member of a senior branch of the Guides Movement, which has a T (brief or truncated TO) inserted between the fellow and the animal)

3d           Have room for five letters or ninety degrees? (4)
STOW Five letters of the alphabet or ninety degrees on a compass – both 1,2,1 and then merged

4d           React to sharp bite of lemon chicken? (6)
YELLOW Merge a way of reacting to a sharp bit to get a lemon colour or a colour associated with cowardice (chicken) would if split 4,2 would be a way of reacting to a sharp bite

5d           Ill due to repeatedly absorbing pressure, chose Exit (5,3)
OPTED OUT An anagram (ill) of DUE TO TO (to repeatedly) ‘absorbing’ the symbol for Pressure

6d           Say “… this is to make an ass of me …” the upshot? (6,4)
BOTTOM LINE The way one might describe the first part of the clue which is part of a speech by a character in Midsummer Night’s Dream or the essential factor in a situation

7d           Fashion bar in our style for inside? (2-2-11)
DO-IT-YOURSELFERS An anagram (fashion) of OUR STYLE FOR inSIDE (bar in telling you to omit the IN)

8d           The same answer, so minute’s saved (2,4)
AS MUCH The abbreviation for Answer and an adverb meaning so, into which is inserted (saved) the abbreviation for Minute

13d         So sire can’t have any bright individuals in school? (10)
DAMSELFISH It took me a while to see the bright individual in the school, and then split it 3,7 to see why the mother wouldn’t let the sire have any!  I

16d         Bold, fine characteristic of Van Gogh (8)
FEARLESS The abbreviation for Fine and a characteristic of Vincent Van Gogh

17d         A taste of Madras when after spicy dish (6)
MASALA The first letter (a taste) of Madras, a conjunction meaning when and a preposition meaning in the manner of (after)

19d         Nursery’s last howler damaged pot culture (7)
YOGHURT The last letter of nurserY, a football ‘howler’ and a simple way of saying damaged

20d         Individual identifiers given up (3-3)
ONE-MAN A reversal (given up) of two means of identification, the second one abbreviated

23d         The country’s history’s omitted from exam (4)
ORAL Remove everything that has passed before (history) from an adjective meaning related to country life