Toughie No 3392
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
Elgar set us another brain-mangler of a Toughie where I had quite a few clues where I knew I had the correct solution (as usual, I’d checked by filling in the on-line Puzzles Site grid and after a couple of letter changes, finally got the flag-waving lady) but had no idea how to parse the clues
Please let us know what you thought
Across
1a Lease, for four seasons, a supplier to the dairy (8)
AYRSHIRE Split this supplier of ‘dairy’ 1,2’1,5 and you should see an abbreviated way of writing a lease for a period of four seasons
6a Expert leaves plant in East London? (6)
PROTEA An abbreviated expert and some leaves used to make a particular drink combine to give a plant found in East London, South Africa
9a Little soul from old Egyptian times (4)
BABY An old Egyptian word for the soul and a word used in multiplication sums to mean times
10a East End rogue put textile mill heist into action? (4,6)
NICK COTTON One of the rogues in EastEnders whose name could be used in a phrase meaning to steal from a textile mill
11a One ball ideally struck, eclipsing another missing the whole court (3,6)
OLD BAILEY One ball-shaped letter followed by an anagram (struck) of IDEALLY which then goes around (eclipsing) another Ball missing the synonym for whole I will admit to ‘phoning’ two friends to finally sort out the parsing of this one
12a A visual sign medium is entranced? (5)
COMMA The abbreviation for Medium is inserted into a deep trance (en tranced)
14a Vessel switching government flag to port? (3,3)
GAS JAR A reversal (to port) of a government and a verb meaning to flag or droop
16a We’re going to receive them from our friends at the Elysee Palace (6)
ADIEUX Goodbyes received from our friends in France (at the Elysee Palace)
19a Uneasy, we go to get surgeons? (6)
NURSES The members of medical staff who might go and get a surgeon if they were uneasy about a patient – an anagram (uneasy) of SURgEoNS without the GO
20a Extras later! (3-3)
BYE-BYE Two lots of a particular cricketing extra – the definition being an informal interjection of farewell
22a Form you poetically may frame in reflective mode? (5)
ELEGY A reversal (in reflective mode) of a verb meaning to form inserted into a poetic or archaic word meaning you
24a Song intoned by Norman Stanley Fletcher? (9)
BARCAROLE This gondolier’s song sounds like (intoned by) a way of describing the part played by the actor who portrayed the habitual criminal, Norman Stanley Fletcher It is always good in a very difficult crossword to have at least one clue that makes the solver smile!
27a Some music fans cool it after contretemps (5,3-2)
TONIC SOL-FA An anagram (after contretemps) of FANS COOL IT
28a Out for love, this relative would be a source of joy for sailor (4)
AUNT Remove the ‘source’ of Joy from an outing for pleasure to get this relative. Adding the source of Joy would give another word for a naval master-at-arms (sailor)
29a Sometime during June 7, 1944? (3,3)
ONE DAY A synonym for during and a name one might give to the 7th June 1944, the day after D-Day
30a Brit’s means to reach Sorbonne after solving Fermat’s Last Theorem? (3,5)
THE METRO An anagram (after solving) of T (the last letter of FermaT and THEOREM
Down
2d Back to reality too soon, pa (6)
YEARLY The clue that caught my eye as I was taking the piece of paper from the printer, if only some of the rest of them had been as straightforward! The ‘back’ to realitY and an adverb meaning before the appointed time (too soon)
3d Younger men touring a modern marketplace picking up sauce ingredients (4,5)
SOYA BEANS Some younger men ‘touring’ A (from the clue) and a modern, on line, way of marketing items for sale
4d Indeed, and then some doubts expressed about the legal system? (4,2,4)
ISNT IT JUST This informal expression meaning indeed could also read as a question doubting the legal system
5d This person‘s delivered from mic when speaking (5)
EMCEE Homophones (when speaking) of the letter represented by Mike in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet and the letter C
6d The best start (4)
PICK The best or choicest; a verb meaning to start
7d This picnic could be better (5)
OUTDO An informal way (3,2) of describing a picnic
8d Unrestrained voice, little being large (8)
ENORMOUS Unrestrained is the instruction to take a male voice without its first letter and a little being without its last letter
13d A bar set high when entering sports event across country (5,5)
PAPER CHASE A high bar and a conjunction meaning when inserted into the abbreviation for school sports
15d Tease wife (3)
RIB A verb meaning to tease or a Biblical word for a wife
17d Provocative, one’s put on vulgar finery (2-3-4)
IN-YER-FACE A unit or one in dice, cards or dominoes is put on, or after) an anagram (vulgar) of FINERY
18d Fitting phase in play at the start, lycanthropes lying low (4,4)
FULL MOON The starts of Lycanthropes and Lying and a noise made by cattle (low) inserted into a synonym of play
21d Flat race pro knocked off after climbing a mountain (6)
PLANAR Remove the ‘pro’ from Race and put the remaining letter after a reversal (climbing) of A (from the clue) and a mountain
23d Bother, one’s discovered in crossword pattern (5)
GRIND The inside (dis covered) letter of oNe inserted into a crossword pattern
25d Make distribution of shares, Genesis to Malachi inclusive (5)
ALLOT An abbreviated way (3,2) of describing the part of the Bible comprising all the books from Genesis to Malachi
26d Goodness goes on for ever (1,3)
I SAY Goes is on an archaic word meaning ever
A brain-mangler indeed. Thanks to Elgar for the enjoyable challenge and to CS for the explanations.
There is wordplay in the ‘fitting phase’ clue (18d); two starting letters and a verb to low go inside a synonym of play.
I have loads of ticks including 1a, 19a, 29a, 13d and 18d.
Thank you – I think my brain had almost completely seized up by that point
I thought this was Elgar almost at his most impenetrable. If the weather hadn’t been so lousy I would have probably given up and gone out for a walk, but it wasn’t so I didn’t. And I was glad I persevered, as this was a real cracker, with some truly brilliant clues, misdirections aplenty and neat humour.
For a favourite I think I shall pick 19a.
Thanks to Elgar for what became a monumental challenge, and to Sue for the parsing checks.
Yes a real challenge. 6* / 3* from me today. He clearly has a bone to pick and an axe to grind if I read the Nina correctly but my brain is too tired after that workout to keep looking.
Thanks to Elgar, and to CS for the more obscure parsing.
Good spot re the Nina, A bone to pick and an axe to grind too, several au revoirs too. I wonder who has been sent to Coventry
I think 5d was my favourite, despite being one of the easier clues, as I liked the way the definition was also used to remove the middle letter of mic.
Definitely a six star job. Thought I would never get started then got 14a and started to make a bit of progress in the lower half. Top left proved most recalcitrant and 2d and 9a were last in. Spent a while looking for wordplay to distinguish between the 2 possible endings for 16a then spotted the NINA, which fixes it. Didn’t parse the last bit of 28a – the sailor’s a new one for me. Not entirely convinced by 29a unless there’s more to it. Some super clues, as ever:- 19a is so simple [once you see it] and fits the surface perfectly. Ditto 30, which is similar. Given that I didn’t twig “pa” until the very end 2d deserves a gong and the “little being” at 8d is a masterstroke. Great fun and a sense of achievement at the end.
Thanks to Elgar and CS.
Hi CS. Apart from it being the usual Elgar ‘enigma’, how do you know it’s him? Not content with ruining it for print-version solvers, which they did some months ago, it seems they’ve now stopped naming the setter. I can’t find any reference to him/her in the on-line or print version.