Toughie No 3403 by Silvanus
Hints and tips by Gazza
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Thanks to Silvanus for this very enjoyable puzzle which sets a high standard for Toughies in 2025 without being overly tough.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Across Clues
1a Lament plot about a heartless Australian crook? (6)
BEWAIL: reverse a plot or snare and add A and what the informal adjective crook means in Australia without its central letter.
4a Almost nobody is attracted to violent film (4,4)
HIGH NOON: a truncated synonym of nobody follows an adjective meaning violent or stormy (winds, for example).
9a Around so many devotees welcoming energetic individual (6)
DYNAMO: hidden in reverse.
10a Expert model, one going down on bended knee? (8)
PROPOSER: charade of an expert and a model.
11a Vince regularly enters club containing very noxious element (9)
ARSENICAL: regular letters from Vince go inside a London football club.
13a Abuse when cycling for inventor (5)
TESLA: cycle the letters of a verb to abuse or criticize severely.
14a Hire-purchase scheme deposit in place that’s perfect (5-5,4)
NEVER-NEVER LAND: an informal term for a hire-purchase scheme and a verb to deposit or plant.
17a Intense natter about embracing male pastimes (14)
ENTERTAINMENTS: an anagram (about) of INTENSE NATTER containing the abbreviation for male.
21a Conservative minister interrupted by Posh Spice (5)
CUMIN: abbreviations for Conservative and minister with the letter used to mean posh inserted between them.
23a Star heard occasionally ringing American firm for fund manager (9)
TREASURER: occasional letters from the first two words contain an abbreviation for American and a synonym of firm or stable.
24a Tabloid journalist reflected (8)
MIRRORED: the name of a UK tabloid newspaper and our usual senior journalist.
25a Poles needing nap in Glasgow nod off (6)
SNOOZE: the abbreviations for our geographic poles and a Scottish dialect word (new to me) meaning nap or fluff.
26a Mistakenly start uni as someone who’ll reveal all? (8)
NATURIST: an anagram (mistakenly) of START UNI.
27a Hat that is placed on head (6)
BEANIE: the abbreviation for ‘that is’ follows a dated informal word for a person’s head.
Down Clues
1d Part of formal debate raised uproar (6)
BEDLAM: hidden in reverse.
2d Discovered outstanding detective shed tears, being exposed (9)
WINDSWEPT: assemble an adjective meaning outstanding or not paid without its covering letters, the abbreviation for a police detective and a verb meaning shed tears.
3d Vast space store vacated, one two miles to the north (7)
IMMENSE: a printer’s space and the outer letters of store are preceded by the Roman one and two abbreviations for mile.
5d Evil career developed smuggling gin, ultimately something unimportant (11)
IRRELEVANCE: an anagram (developed) of EVIL CAREER with the ultimate letter of gin smuggled in.
6d Modern jazz fan in short trousers (7)
HIPSTER: a type of trousers without the final letter.
7d Whatever they recorded from disc remaining unaltered (5)
OASIS: the disc-shaped letter and ‘remaining unaltered’ (2,2).
8d Name 9 swimming across river somewhere in France (8)
NORMANDY: start with the abbreviation for name and add an anagram (swimming) of the 9a answer containing the abbreviation for river.
12d Payment method succeeded for any number accessing item from Specsavers? (11)
CONTACTLESS: start with what you might be prescribed at Specsavers (7,4) and replace the letter standing for any number with the genealogical abbreviation for succeeded.
15d PM abroad often or visiting land’s interior? (9)
AFTERNOON: an anagram (abroad) of OFTEN OR goes inside the interior letters of land.
16d Supporter of tennis player formerly adopting coach’s tips (8)
HENCHMAN: the surname of a British male tennis player of the past contains the outer letters of coach.
18d Managed Palace, with no time for acrimony (7)
RANCOUR: a verb meaning managed and a word for a palace or royal residence without the physics abbreviation for time.
19d Ascetic purchases Charlie perfume (7)
ESSENCE: a member of a Jewish ascetic sect from long ago contains the letter that Charlie represents in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet.
20d Cool releases on the radio (6)
FREEZE: a homophone of a verb meaning releases.
22d Worth being married prior to tax going up? (5)
MERIT: the genealogical abbreviation for married is followed by the reversal of a verb to tax or exhaust.
The clues I liked best were 1a, 21a, 7d, 12d and 15d. Which one(s) did you appreciate?
Loved this. Disappointed when I’d finished. Lots of smiles. Thanks to Silvanus and Gazza
Good one. Nice to learn a new Scottish word.
You’ve used a different alias so this needed moderation. All the aliases you’ve used will work in future.
This was my third absolutely brilliant puzzle of the day to go with the RayT back-pager and an Eccles puzzle in another place. Talk about spoilt – three stellar setters on the same day!
I didn’t know the Australian crook in 1a but the BRB came to my rescue, and I don’t really understand the definition for 7d.
My page is covered in ticks with 12d in first place just nosing ahead of 21a.
Many thanks to Silvanus and to Gazza.
7d Whatever is the name of an Oasis record.
Thanks, Gazza. That’s brilliant, and lifts that clue into the photo-finish for the top three!
I see it was released on 18th December 1994 so its 30th anniversary would have been two weeks ago. I wonder if Silvanus was hoping for this puzzle to be published that week?
As soon as I printed off this morning and saw the compiler I knew it was going to be a good day…and it certainly was.
So much to enjoy from so many clever clues.
Picked out 14A, 7,12,15D with 2D taking the podium.
Many thanks to Gazza ( Wishing Well was favourite) and to Sylvanus for the enjoyment
Dream Team part two and what a delightful puzzle this is. The clue for 22d made me smile as I remember my mum telling me years ago that she and my dad had chosen the specific date for their wedding to take full advantage of the regulations at the time governing married women’s tax allowance. Strange how the oddest nuggets of info stick in one’s mind!
Favourite clue for me was 14a with 16d coming up on the rails.
Many thanks to Silvanus for a most enjoyable solve and to Gazza for the review and cartoons – I was rather taken with your festive headwear!
I found this the gentlest of the week so far but just as enjoyable as the previous two. My picks are 15d [I spent a while with Prime Ministers and post-mortem, completely overlooking the well disguised obvious] 12d and 7d [very similar to a clue in yesterday’s Django Toughie but better music].
Thanks to Silvanus and Gazza.
Another great puzzle to enjoy today. We are truly spoilt.
I made fairly brisk progress but slowed down to a dawdle in the Tyne & Wear area of the puzzle. Not knowing the artist’s record at 7d didn’t help, although the parsing meant that it couldn’t be anything else. Like Gazza, I also did not know the Scottish nap at 25a, but again, the answer was fairly evident from the wordplay. 21a and 22d shared my gold medal today.
Thank you Silvanus for a lovely puzzle and thank you Gazza for the blog and the wonderful cartoons.
One of our favourite setters has indeed set the Toughie bar pretty high this early in the year, with a highly enjoyable and very accessible puzzle that oozed class from top to bottom. I will pick 22d as my top clue.
Thanks to Silvanus for the fun and to Gazza.
‘Wot’ YS said other than 4a my would be my pick & substitute my for one of our.
Thanks to Silvanus & Gazza – great cartoons.
I made harder work of this than most, but don’t I always. Still a most enjoyable solve, I also didn’t know the Scottish word. Favourite was 16d. Thanks to Silvanus and Gazza.
Many thanks to everyone commenting and to Gazza for his usual excellent blog and choice of cartoons. I hope that everyone has a healthy and successful 2025.
To answer RD’s enquiry, it’s pure coincidence that the puzzle’s publication date was so close to the thirtieth anniversary of the song’s release, but that’s good research!
I’m glad that 22d was picked out by some as a favourite, as the original clue had to be changed at very short notice yesterday morning, when I realised it was faulty. I’m very grateful to Chris Lancaster for acting so promptly, especially on a Bank Holiday, to make the necessary tweaks and include my revised version.