Toughie 3368

Toughie  No 3366 by Elgar

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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

Lulled into a false sense of security by being able to solve three clues while walking downstairs from the printer, I sorted out my breakfast cereal and cup of tea, looked to see if there was anything cheerful in the headlines on the BBC News page (a hopeless quest), admired a new photograph of my lovely grandchildren, and then returned to the crossword where I soon discovered that this was typical Elgar – very tough but with lots to make the solver smile (which is exactly how a Friday Toughie should be)

Please let us know what you thought

Across

1a           Host withdraws an employee from the creamery (8)
DAIRYMAN  A reversal (withdraws) of any immense number (host) followed by AN (from the clue)

5a           European city felt harsh winds (6)
WARSAW A reversal (winds) of a phrase meaning felt harsh

9a           Taken unawares by fraud at work, grand swiped (3,5)
OFF GUARD A preposition meaning by, an anagram (at work) of FRAUD into which is inserted (swiped) the abbreviation for 1000 Dollars (grand)

10a         CV updated with this ingredient for coq au vin? (6)
QUINOA Not sure why you would want to add this ingredient to coq au vin or any other dish, but that could be just me.  A compound anagram of CV and this ingredient would produce cOQ AU vIN

12/13a General dealing with company’s administrators (6,3,5)
ACROSS THE BOARD Applying in all cases – dealing with and a company’s administrators

13a         See 12 Across

14a         Was exploiting chief at the Washington Post? (4)
USED The chief person at the Washington Post might be described as an American editor

16a         The way to follow pro ultimately remains to be seen (3,4)
FOR SHOW The way to do something follows pro or in favour of and the ultimate letter of remainS

19a         Going forward from rear secured RAF officer’s admiration at the outset (2,2,3)
AS OF NOW A reversal (from rear) of secured or gained, belonging to an abbreviated RAF officer’s and the letter at the outset of Admiration

21a         Ideal facility in back of digestive factory! (4)
CAFÉ Hidden in reverse (back) in the last two words of the clue

24/25a Misquoting the Bible? Just its last, staggering, revelation! (5,9)
QUITE SOMETHING An anagram (staggering) of MISQUOTING THE and the last letter of biblE

25a         See 24 Across

27a         Classical painter right to make an entrance? Not entirely (6)
INGRES A right or means of entrance without its final letter (not entirely)

28a         Meat Loaf entertains party in Maine? (8)
CLAMBAKE A small loaf of fine bread ‘entertains’ a type of meat

29a         Could this be Jane Eyre writer’s emphatic refusal to retire? (6)
EPONYM A reversal (to retire) of the way a writer would refer to themselves and a slang interjection of refusal

30a         Key item old man takes on the piste? (8)
PASSWORD An informal father’s item to take on a fencing piste

Down

1d           Himalayan native called toward peak after dropping one (6)
DEODAR  A reversal (toward peak) of called using a particular type of equipment without (dropping) the Roman numeral for one

2d           Due to receive male rat (6)
INFORM Due to receive (2,3) and the abbreviation for Male

3/15d    I’m formally going, out of misguided courtesy etc, past bank (5,9)
YOURS SINCERELY A formal way of concluding a letter (if you are addressing it Dear Mr or Mrs rather than Dear Sir) is an anagram (misguided) of cOURteSY without (out of) ETC followed by an adverb meaning past and a verb meaning to bank or count on

4d           Highly-thought-of base fills with gas (7)
AERATED Highly thought of (1-5) into which is inserted (fills) the letter that is the base of the natural system of logarithms

6/26d  Multiplied by x on occasion (1,6,2,5)
A NUMBER OF TIMES Multiplied by followed by what X represents in a multiplication sum

7d           In it, you finally note the tan? (8)
SUNBATHE One of a couple of clues where I had to write the solution on a piece of paper and then cross off the various bits of wordplay until I had sorted out the parsing.  The final letter of yoU and the Latin abbreviation meaning to note well inserted in some sex appeal (it), the result followed by THE (from the clue)

8d           Hold crutches close to face in hospital-room fray (4,4)
WEAR DOWN A verb meaning to possess (hold) crutches or supports in a Down solution the ‘close’ to facE inserted into a hospital room

11d         Ace admitted to the same hearing? No (4)
DEAF The abbreviation for Ace, which when not a playing card can informally mean brilliant, inserted (admitted) into a slang adjective also meaning brilliant or excellent

15d         See 3 Down

17d         Noblewoman is confined within tent, exit barred (8)
MARQUISE IS (from the clue) ‘confined’ within a large tent without its final letter (exit barred)

18d         On the way out of Nod, all told (6,2)
COMING TO Waking up (on the way out of the Land of Nod) or amounting to (all told)

20d         With surfing facilitator it lacks substance (4)
WISP The abbreviation for With and an abbreviated company that provides access to the internet (surfing facilitator)

21d         A Knight lost, a man pinned by one Black Queen? (7)
CAMILLA  Lose A and N (chess abbreviation for knight)  from A Man and then insert into the forename of a 1960s singer who later became a television presenter (Black)

22d         Work round the ticket with a northern traveller (6)
GITANO Work goes round pronoun meaning the very thing one is looking for (the ticket) with A (from the clue) and the abbreviation for Northern

23d         I’m with you on historical tours (6)
AGREED Old or historical ‘tours’ the usual on the subject of

26d         See 6 Down