Toughie 3358

Toughie  No 3358 by Robyn

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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

The sun is shining, the temperature unseasonably warm and there’s a Robyn Toughie to solve, what more could anyone want?  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a clue quite like 10d so that has to be my favourite (from quite a long list of contenders for the title)

Please let us know what you thought

Across

1a           Pick fertile quantity of land? It’s seen when going to the dogs (8,4)
ELECTRIC HARE Pick for office, a synonym for fertile and the unit of the metric land measurement, 1000 square metres

8a           Calm piano étude’s ending with A minor triad (5)
PEACE The musical abbreviation meaning to play softly (piano), the end of etudE and a triad of notes in the key of A Minor

9a           Somebody who’s loaded dog cart that’s rickety (9)
PLUTOCRAT A Disney dog and an anagram (rickety) of CART

11a         Wild trio of Reds with love for one Democrat given a new command (9)
REORDERED An anagram (wild) [although only the middle one is rearranged] of three lots (a trio) of RED where the letter representing the score of love replaces one of the abbreviations for Democrat

12a         Bish made by bishop breaking eggs on the counter (5)
ERROR An abbreviated bishop ‘breaking’ a reversal (on the counter) of fish eggs

13a         Joy when puzzling sign is grasped by an amateur cryptologist finally (3,6)
AHA MOMENT A sign of a future event is ‘grasped’ by an indefinite article (an), an amateur and the final letter of cryptologisT

16a         Leader in daily paper showing aspiration (5)
DREAM The ‘leader’ in Daily and a quantity of paper

18a         One known for laughing long and hard, at first, given answer (5)
HYENA The abbreviation for Hard goes first before a verb meaning to long, the abbreviation for Answer being added at the end)

19a         Shorelines possibly drawn, we hear, with 1,000 boats (9)
TIDEMARKS A homophone (we hear) of drawn (in a race perhaps) with the Roman numeral for 1,000 and some boats

20a         Writer of comic books that Lady Georgette’s covering (5)
HERGE That lady and the ‘covering’ of GeorgettE

22a         What drives works of philosopher suppressing large, gleeful cry (9)
MILLWHEEL An English philosopher ‘suppressing’ the abbreviation for Large and a gleeful cry

25a         Vessel to pick up adeptly, filled with whiskey (3-6)
TWO-MASTER TO (from the clue) and acquire a good knowledge of (pick up adeptly) ‘filled’ with the letter represented by Whiskey in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

 

26a         Group books tours and so on from the east (5)
OCTET The books of the first part of the Bible ‘tours’ a reversal (from the east) of the abbreviation for the Latin ‘and so on’

27a         Maverick canonised, say, in religious festival (9,3)
ASCENSION DAY An anagram (maverick) of CANONISED SAY

Down

1d           Involved in European party, participate in hustings? (9)
ELABORATE The abbreviation for European, an abbreviated political party and a verb meaning to harangue or hold forth at an event such as a hustings

2d           Correct pieces received by person making corrections (5)
EMEND Some chess pieces ‘received’ by an abbreviated person making corrections

3d           Often intoxicated person on drug goes the wrong way (5)
TOPER A reversal (goes the wrong way) of the usual on the subject of, and a type of drug

4d           Overwhelmed at one’s residence, with no indication of time (9)
INUNDATED At home (at one’s residence) and a way of saying with no indication of time

5d           Dotty clergyman loves hotel around US landmark (6,3)
HOOVER DAM A reversal (around) of eccentric (dotty), an abbreviated clergyman, two lots of the letter representing love and the letter represented by Hotel in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

6d           Harder to get a drug separately packaged by rights? (5)
RARER A (from the clue) and a drug often known by its initial are ‘separately’ inserted (packaged by) into three lots of the abbreviation for Right

7d           A very soft fish with small, spicy chip, maybe (8,4)
APPROACH SHOT This chip would be found on a golf course rather than a food shop – A (from the clue) the musical abbreviation for ‘very soft’, a type of fish, the abbreviation for Small and an adjective often applied to spicy food

10d         Tips for the rich making some lucrative trades, each one followed by a dip (12)
TARAMASALATA The ‘tips’ of The Rich Making Some Lucrative Trades, each one followed by an A

14d         Short ass hosting dissolute rave, typically (2,7)
ON AVERAGE A Central Asian wild ass without its final letter (short) ‘hosting’ an anagram (dissolute) of RAVE

15d         Rough figures in cars taking big road northwards (9)
ESTIMATES Some cars ‘taking’ a reversal  (northwards) of a big road that goes  from London to Leeds

17d         Seriously upset artillerymen retreat through part of Cambridgeshire (9)
EARNESTLY Some reversed (upset) Royal Artillerymen and a retreat inserted into (through) part of Cambridgeshire

21d         Cons about to leave cons (5)
ROOKS Cons or fleeces – the Latin abbreviation for about ‘leaves’ some criminals (cons)

23d         Leicester’s wingers receiving a pass, getting instruction for players (5)
LARGO The ‘wingers’ of LeicesteR ‘receiving’ A (from the clue), the result followed by a synonym for pass

24d         Perhaps pine to hold on to last of love, as a suitor did (5)
WOOED The type of material that pine is an example of  holds on to or has inserted the last letter of lovE