Toughie No 3347 by Serpent
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Serpent is being uncharacteristically gentle today but as enjoyable as ever with some cracking clues. I was only really held up by my mathematical ignorance in 27a. Serpent often hides something in the grid but I can’t spot anything today.
Thanks to Serpent.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Across Clues
1a One who controls moles with steps army developed (9)
SPYMASTER: an anagram (developed) of STEPS ARMY.
8a Boat chasing large wave provides thrilling experience (13)
ROLLERCOASTER: a type of boat which doesn’t venture too far into the ocean follows a large wave.
11a Split pea is brownish colour (5)
SEPIA: an anagram (split) of PEA IS.
12a Sheltered child who can be very clingy? (5)
LEECH: an adjective meaning sheltered and an abbreviated child.
13a Partners occupying elevated position in building (5)
TOWER: bridge partners go inside an elevated position (on Dartmoor perhaps).
16a Vulnerable group that shouldn’t be left in street (6)
LITTER: double definition, the vulnerable group being recently born.
17a Spread of social media site severely criticised on radio (6)
EXPAND: homophones of Mr Musk’s baby and a verb meaning severely criticised.
18a Shift work in subject related to faculty (5)
OPTIC: shift our usual abbreviated work in a synonym of subject.
19a Plant pot found in rubbish dump (6)
TURNIP: a type of pot goes inside another word for a rubbish dump.
20a Ruse in novel characteristic of Winnie-the-Pooh perhaps (6)
URSINE: an anagram (novel) of RUSE IN.
21a One subtracted from one or the other number (5)
ETHER: start with a word meaning ‘one or the other’ and subtract the Roman one.
24a Sheepish individual lifting veil occasionally (5)
OVINE: a synonym of individual contains (lifting, in the sense of stealing) occasional letters from veil.
26a Tube fare in Rome? (5)
PENNE: cryptic definition of some Italian food.
27a Question a Scottish landowner about limiting recent introduction of red kite? (13)
QUADRILATERAL: assemble an abbreviation for question, A and the reversal of a Scottish landowner containing a synonym of recent and the first letter of red. I needed some help to understand how kite relates to the answer and I found it here – I hope you understand it better than I do.
28a Chosen match official made a mistake after start of play (9)
PREFERRED: an abbreviated match official and a verb meaning ‘made a mistake’ follow the starting letter of play.
Down Clues
2d Steps taken by Central European radicalised crew leaving chaotic workplace (5)
POLKA: an anagram (chaotic) of WORKPLACE minus the jumbled (radicalised) letters of CREW.
3d Source of wool supplied by some farmer in Oxford (6)
MERINO: hidden.
4d Union member‘s awkward position abruptly terminated employment (6)
SPOUSE: a word for an awkward position or fix without its last letter and a synonym of employment.
5d Loan’s reduced student support (5)
EASEL: a synonym of loan with the abbreviation for student lowered.
6d What may corrupt sum I’ve processed? (8,5)
COMPUTER VIRUS: a semi-all-in-one requiring an anagram (processed) of CORRUPT SUM I’VE.
7d Helping to stop information sheet, withdrawing source of misunderstanding (10,3)
GENERATION GAP: a helping goes inside an informal word for information and the reversal of a sheet or leaf.
9d Great Britain abandoning obligations dismantled single state (9)
ISOLATION: our second subtractive anagram – remove the abbreviation for Great Britain from an anagram (dismantled) of OBLIGATIONS.
10d According to locals, group of paps stuck in Slough shivered with horror (9)
SHUDDERED: paps here are not paparazzi but a dialect word (according to locals) for teats. Insert a group of them in a verb to slough.
13d Figure of speech recalled statement lacking an opening (5)
TROPE: reverse a statement or account without its opening letter.
14d Intently observe device with minute display (5)
WATCH: double definition. Minute here is a noun, not an adjective.
15d Urge actuary ignoring the odds to come back again (5)
RECUR: even letters from two words in the clue.
22d What covers roads providing capital from Fuel Duty? (6)
TARIFF: string together a road covering, a conjunction meaning providing and the capital letter in Fuel.
23d The French tucked into cereal after returning cake (6)
ÉCLAIR: one of the French definite articles is inserted into the reversal of a cereal crop.
25d Character who appeared first in Daniel Deronda? (5)
ELDER: hidden.
26d Eastern church supports religious work (5)
PIECE: abbreviations for eastern and church follow a short informal adjective meaning smarmily religious.
The clues which appealed most to me were 16a, 17a, 26a and 10d. Which one(s) did the job for you?
I found this doable, yet still tough. I filled the grid without hints but needed Gazza to explain the 10d paps and the 5d reduced loan — thank you for that.
And I was the opposite to you on 27a: after the first three letters, I immediately jumped to the kite, then struggled to work out where the Scottish landowner was, without it being an indirect anagram (I was starting from the wrong L!).
A kite is simply a 4-sided shape that looks like the stereotypical kite: 🪁 — the left and right halves are reflections of each other, but the bottom is longer and pointier than the top. That was in my top few clues, along with 17a’s criticism of Elon Musk’s service, 26a’s Tube fare, and 4d’s union member Thank you to Serpent for the entertainment.
I found this the easiest so far this week; perhaps the grid helped. My top clues were 21a [which looked a bit surreal but was completely logical once one identified the definition correctly] and 25d [where the first in Daniel was nicely misleading].
Thanks to Serpent and Gazza.
Thanks to a heads up from the DT page crew on here I gave this a go and so glad I did! Loved it! Really stretched my thinking and had a few forehead slapper and laugh out loud clues … could kick myself re 27A – I hadn’t read the “kite” bit or I would have had it way sooner!!
26a and 6d my faves …. In the great words or arnie … “I’ll be back” ( to try another )
What an absolute cracker! Wonderful fun, great clues, hugely enjoyable. Hopefully people will see your comment on the other blog, Gazza, and flock to this one, where they should find great and satisfying rewards for their efforts.
I had ticks everywhere, from the wry 17a to the very clever 27a, 4d – which when I first glanced at it thought “oh, wonder if it’s something to do with marriage”, but waited for checkers), 6d (brilliant and a well-spotted anagram), and 7d – COTD and possibly COTM.
Thank you so much Serpent, and also Gazza (super cartoons!)
Another great mid-week Toughie
My favourite was the small but perfectly formed 14d
Thanks to Serpent and Gazza
A really enjoyable challenge which I completed in a reasonable time, but I needed help from Gazza on the parsing of 10d.
The mole in question at 1a was the third one I wrestled with, after wasting too much time on the small furry animal and the brown spot.
27a is my favourite. Such a smooth surface for a tricky word to clue. Genius.
Thank you Serpent and Gazza.
This was a real pleasure to solve. So many very well constructed clues. I had ticks all over the place but for me 21A was the favourite…so neat and clever.
Thank you Gazza, favourite cartoon 16A, and Serpent for the enjoyment.
A really enjoyable and accessible crossword. I hadn’t realised that the ‘paps’ in 10d was a dielectric word so I needed the hint to sort that one out. Favourite was 27a. Thanks to Serpent and Gazza.
Superb entertainment this afternoon with 27a my top clue. I found the puzzle fairly tough but very doable with a bit of application.
Many thanks to Serpent and Gazza.
For me the pick of the two puzzles today. Very enjoyable indeed. Kite (doubt I understood it any better than you did) & paps were unfamiliar but otherwise reasonably straightforward. Ticks aplenty: 16,17,20,24&26a together with 4&14d particular likes.
Thanks to Serpent & to Gazza for the review & cartoons
nothing but praise for this excellent puzzle a real pleasure from start to finish. Well done to all concerned!
It all flowed smoothly for us with smiles all the way through.
Thanks Serpent and Gazza.
Many thanks to Gazza for the excellent blog. And thanks to everyone who has taken the time to solve the puzzle and leave a comment.
Thanks for popping in, Serpent, and thanks for the top-notch puzzle.
Really enjoyed solving this one this evening Serpent – thank you. And thanks to Gazza for unraveling some of my bung-ins
Did this late last night in the bath! What a great guzzle, so clever. I absolutely loved 2d, many many thanks – if you get to read this!
As previously, many thanks for the tip Gazza.
I don’t often finish Toughies but managed this, albeit with a struggle