Toughie No 3399 by Karla
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
Karla has given us a really gentle Toughie today, perhaps taking into account our possibly fragile condition after yesterday’s excesses. In his first Toughie he incorporated a very subtle Nina which nobody (including the blogger) spotted. I can’t see any Nina or theme today – can you?
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Across Clues
1a Dish British helper overturned aboard vessel (8)
SYLLABUB: stick together an abbreviation for British and a helper, reverse that and insert it into a seagoing vessel.
5a Reportedly sign piece of kit (6)
CYMBAL: a homophone of a word meaning sign.
9a Bring back controls at front of gallery (9)
REINSTATE: controls (for a horse or toddler) and our usual gallery.
11a Escaped children in facility where stock is kept (5)
RANCH: escaped and the abbreviation for children.
12a Endure vacuous levity in conclusion (6)
LASTLY: a verb to endure and the outer letters of levity.
13a More hot drink drunk by drunk emirs (8)
STEAMIER: a non-alcoholic drink is contained in an anagram (drunk) of EMIRS.
15a Reporter right in centre posted crossing water (13)
CORRESPONDENT: insert the abbreviation for right into a synonym of centre and add a verb meaning posted containing a small body of water.
18a Bravo magazine’s allowed very French writing from 15? (6-7)
BELLES-LETTRES: assemble the letter that bravo represents in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet, a fashion magazine and its ‘S, a past participle meaning allowed and the French word for ‘very’.
22a Wrongly direct lost GIs due east of main road (8)
MISGUIDE: an anagram (lost) of GIS DUE follows the main road from Leeds to London.
23a Coat covers left half of male bird (6)
FULMAR: an animal’s coat contains the abbreviation for left and half of the word ‘male’.
26a Shy Charlie needs wife around (5)
TIMID: reverse a word for a Charlie or silly person without the genealogical abbreviation for wife.
27a Complete shot after copper introduces a TV film? (9)
DOCUDRAMA: a verb to complete is followed by a shot of alcohol after the chemical symbol for copper. Follow that with A.
28a Ex-president Chuck eviscerated Greek character (6)
CASTRO: a verb to chuck and the seventeenth letter of the Greek alphabet without its middle letter.
29a Fool repelled bugs in wood that’s out of bounds (8)
IMBECILE: reverse some parasitic insects inside a word for prepared wood without its limiting letters.
Down Clues
1d Cut across ancient city with papa’s vestment (8)
SURPLICE: a verb to cut contains our usual old Biblical city and the letter that papa is used for in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet.
2d The Parisian tax collector retreats (5)
LAIRS: one of the French definite articles and the abbreviation for the federal tax collector in the USA.
3d Excuse from sailor on crack (7)
ABSOLVE: an abbreviation for sailor and a verb to crack or decipher.
4d Flower Mike erased from artwork (4)
URAL: drop the letter that Mike represents in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet from a work of art.
6d Measurement of garden over time (7)
YARDAGE: synonyms for garden (especially in the USA) and time.
7d Support on flight first adopted by Jack? (9)
BANNISTER: a shorthand way of writing ‘first’ goes inside what jack may be a flying example of.
8d City old Henry erected with engineers (6)
LAHORE: reverse the abbreviation for old and Henry’s nickname (as used by Shakespeare) and add the abbreviation for one of our engineering regiments.
10d Naked figures twist together (8)
ENTANGLE: figures used as mystic symbols without their outer letters.
14d Fine SNP lied about before closure of Holyrood (8)
SPLENDID: an anagram (about) of SNP LIED and the closing letter of Holyrood.
16d Different bones containing several cellular particles (9)
RIBOSOMES: an anagram (different) of BONES two different bones (the first a specific one, the second generic) contain a word meaning several. The answer is not a word I knew.
17d Not all recalled the man resubmitting log-in? (8)
USERNAME: hidden in reverse.
19d Clean cloak periodically taken below (7)
LAUNDER: regular letters taken from cloak and a preposition meaning below.
20d Roll short chest at first down long esplanade (7)
TRUNDLE: a type of chest gets truncated and is followed by the initial letters of three words in the clue.
21d Drug quote setter’s returned (6)
EMETIC: reverse a verb to quote and the objective pronoun the setter would use for himself.
24d End up essentially arming city (5)
MIAMI: reverse an end or goal and add the essential letters of arming.
25d Rascal leaving Piano & Fiddle (4)
SCAM: a word for a rascal loses the abbreviation for the musical abbreviation piano.
For my rostrum I’ve picked 3d, 10d and 25d. Which one(s) made it onto yours?
A very enjoyable puzzle, solved by lunchtime, which has allowed me to turn my attention to the Times Jumbo, to while away a miserable drizzly afternoon.
1a, 15 and 18a, and 27a at the top of the list, just pipped, for me, by 17d
Happy New Year everyone, and thanks to Karla and Gazza
I found it a bit tougher than you did Gazza, mainly because I had “pullet” at 23a [picked the wrong half of “male”] which rather slowed down the SE. Top clues were 26a and 16d – which I parsed as “rib” plus”os” containing “some”. It can’t be an anagram of “bones” – there’s no N.
Thanks for the blog and thanks Karla for the puzzle.
Thanks, halycon. I parsed 16d correctly when I solved it but obviously had a brainfart when writing the hints,
I made the same pullet mistake, which turned the bottom half into a mess, This imbecile/dimwit needed Gazza’s hints a lot to finish
Thanks to Karla and Gazza
Good fun and quite gentle for a Thursday Toughie, with the excellent reverse lurker at 17d coming top of the pile.
My thanks to Karla and Gazza.
As for a Nina, there is something in the SW corner, two or three reversals that might indicate the need for some sort of soothing balm, but I may be over-reaching and searching for something that is there by accident.
Been away visiting family for a few days so a break from puzzles. This was a good one to get us back in the solving groove and enjoyable all the way. Favourite was 16d.
Thanks Karla and Gazza.
Mrs. Skeeter came up with the alternative to pullet, fortunately.
A wee bit tougher for me than our reviewer found it (no surprise there) but solved in shorter time than T’s back pager. 16d&18a needed post solve checks with Mr G but otherwise pleasingly free of obscurities. 1a was my pick the clues.
Thanks to Prime & to Gazza.
Apologies Karla not Prime