Toughie No 3432 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****
A fine Friday Toughie from Elgar – not as brain-mangling as many of his crosswords, but a fun solve from start to finish.
Please let us know what you thought
Across
1a Evidently substandard establishment engaging with social worker? (5,7)
FOUND WANTING The establishment of something into which is inserted (engaging) the abbreviation for With and one of crosswordland’s social workers
8a Savoury rum’s dispensed with a dash of relish by friend in estaminet? (5)
UMAMI Dispense with the ‘dash’ or first letter of relish in rUM and add a French friend (someone you might meet in an estaminet)
9a Did some eggs maybe get lost, 50 concealed in sack? (9)
SCRAMBLED An informal instruction to get lost and the Roman numeral for 50 ‘concealed’ in somewhere to sleep, the slang name for which is a sack
11a Official takes ball on as a result (9)
THEREFORE An informal way of referring to a match official (3,3), the ball-shaped letter and the usual two-letter on the subject of
12a Can it be used for lingerie as well as gowns? It can (5)
SATIN The abbreviation for Sex Appeal (it) and another word for a can
13a Pub purchase exploits solicitor (4,5)
MILK STOUT Manipulates or exploits and someone who solicits for custom
16a Use subterfuge to get old German viewpoint (5)
ANGLE A triple definition clue
18a This student band plays for debutante (5)
TUTEE A compound anagram (plays) of dEbUTanTE gives you the word BAND and a student
19a Protect against combustibles whenever rolling back carpeting (9)
FIREPROOF A reversal (rolling back) of a conjunction meaning whenever followed by a telling off (carpeting)
20a Directors get on (5)
BOARD A formal group of directors or a verb meaning to get on
22a Driver must manage his surplus cattle (9)
OVERSTEER A driver must manage his steering wheel to avoid this – an adjective meaning surplus
25a East to west, reputation precedes Mr Lancaster in love (9)
ENAMOURED Move the abbreviation for East to the west side of a synonym for reputation and follow with an informal way the Telegraph setters might refer to Mr Lancaster
26a No Messiah: newborn in bothy has contrary manner! (5)
BRIAN “He’s not the Messiah…” – a Scottish word for a newborn (as used by someone living in a bothy) with the middle three letters (manner) reversed (contrary)
27a That is what’s left from visiting Mars and Venus? (2,5,5)
IN OTHER WORDS Remove the abbreviation for Left from a phrase that might describe visiting Mars and Venus
Down
1d Pipe of sorts, one of many introduced to cassoulet? (9)
FLAGEOLET A small, high-pitched flute (pipe of sorts) or a type of bean used in a cassoulet
2d Join train heading north, having blown cover (5)
UNITE A reversal (heading north in a Down solution) of a body of people accompanying an important person (train) without the outside letters (having blown cover)
3d Finding not particularly “dancy” party (5)
DISCO A finding without (not) a synonym for particularly
4d Estate agent with higher voice that’s posted overseas (3,6)
AIR LETTER A verb meaning to voice goes above (higher than) an estate agent
5d Lots of compact event recording (9)
TIMESTAMP Multiples of (lots of) and a verb meaning to ram down or consolidate (compact)
6d East African guide quietly departs after noon (5)
NILOT An inhabitant of East Africa, especially the Upper Nile region. The abbreviation for Noon followed by a guide without the musical abbreviation for quietly
7d Organised item at stops doddery old bubs periodically use? (3,9)
BUS TIMETABLE An anagram (organised) of ITEM AT ‘stops’ or is inserted into an anagram (doddery) of the periodic letters of oLd BuBs and USE (from the clue)
10d The 90th Birthday racket-maker, say? (6,3,3)
DINNER FOR ONE The solution is an alternative name for a comedy sketch – which is apparently very popular in German-speaking countries where it is still shown every New Year’s Eve. Apart from referring to a meal, the first one could also be an informal way of describing someone making a loud noise (racket) and the rest of the solution being another way of giving an example (say)
14d Nifty mover went and stole stone walls (9)
SPEEDBOAT The abbreviation for stone ‘walls’ a informal word meaning urinated (went) and a long stole worn round the neck
15d Lost, naturally, without female (3,6)
OFF COURSE A phrase meaning naturally goes outside (without) the abbreviation for Female
17d Folk might get a gander at these shows with episodes overladen with sentiment (9)
GOOSERIES A run of episodes goes after (overladen) with a slang word for sentiment
21d Further tip from attorney intercepts battle before court? (5)
AGAIN The first letter (tip) from Attorney inserted into (intercepts) part of the name of a battle in the Hundred Years War which appears before ‘court’
23d Provide support for one’s first wife after death (5)
ENDOW The first letter of One and the abbreviation for wife go after a synonym for death
24d Thus, when taking booze half-heartedly? (5)
SOBER A synonym for thus and a type of booze without one of its middle letters (half-heartedl
I did have more pictures to add to the post, but for some reason the system has turned against me and wanted to insert an URL instead of an image
As our reviewer says this is marginally less tough than the usual Elgar puzzle but very enjoyable.
I did like the ‘Mr Lancaster’ in 25a though I’m not sure that it’s totally fair to all solvers. I needed a fair bit of Googling to understand 10d.
Ticks from me for 12a, 26a, 27a, 2d and 17d.
Thanks to Elgar and CS.
Really enjoyed this lunchtime challenge, and while it was a DNF for me (I failed on the compound anagram, getting it totally A about F and ‘unparsably’ wrong) agree that by and large it was relatively gentle for an Elgar. A slow start but quite rapid from the middle onwards once some checkers were in place.
Raised eyebrows at one or two clues – at 25a I thought of Burt and no other – but while I got the right answer and find I do know of the right Lancaster, requiring solvers in general to know the name, let alone the first name, of the DT’s crossword editor is 25a, is “a bit thick”. 27a was rather tenuous IMV, and while vaguely aware of the popular NYE film in Germany, but not its name, thank heavens for the wordplay!
But otherwise what a cracking crossword, very enjoyable. Highlights for me were 11a, 26a and 17d.
Many thanks to Elgar (and for being so benign) and also of course to CS – welcome back from your travels
Yes, a comparatively benign one today but no less enjoyable. Thanks to Elgar.
Like the above commentators I was able to answer 25a and 10d without fully solving them, so thanks also to crypticsue for clarifying (although to be pedantic, it is not a technically a reversal in 25a, more a move of east to west).
I knew CS would only give this one a 4 for difficulty after solving 5 or 6 clues very quickly.
Of course after that for me it was the usual failure to complete an Elgar and had to resort to our excellent blogger’s assistance.
A most enjoyable afternoon after a very had morning’s work on garden shed repairs.
Thanks all
A slightly speedier brain-mangling than I have come to expect from Elgar. I was content to get over the line with a couple of unparsed bung-ins, most notably the obscure 10d.
13a, 17 and 21d took the podium places.
Thanks to the aforementioned for a most engaging challenge, and to Sue.
An enjoyable puzzle. I was in Weimar on New Year’s Eve and witnessed at least eleven showings of versions of Dinner for One. Its been remade a couple of times and was even the subject of a game show. Its revered in Germany.
Fast (for me) although never heard of the 90th birthday so that was a half a bung in. 13a gets my vote. Thanks to CS and Elgar.
It’s rare for me to get around to Elgar on the day he actually appears, and this one was a bit easier than usual, finished with only minor assistance (and three sittings). I had no idea about the East African.
I guess I’ll put 26a as favourite.
Thanks.
Doable even after a long and liquid lunch so it must only be 4* – but still very Elgar. Failed to understand 10d and couldn’t be bothered with Google given it was obvious for the most part. Only the number of diners had to wait until the LOL 26a was solved. Also liked 27a and 14d. Not convinced by the definition at 13a – surely it ceased to be a pub drink decades ago after Ena Sharples shuffled off.
Thanks to Elgar and CS.
I’m curious as to what constitutes a difficult puzzle for those of you who found this on the gentler side? My mind was well and truly boggled, nevertheless I completed the puzzle, eventually, to my immense satisfaction. The parsing of several was beyond me so thanks to crypticsue for the explanations, and to Elgar for the enjoyable struggle. 26a made me laugh out loud when the penny dropped and I also thought 27a was very neat.
Today was a Telegraph milestone for me – 50 regular cryptics and 25 Toughies solved, so I’m off now to celebrate with a large Ledaig 10 and some relaxing music. Have a good evening all.
While I can’t speak for other people, TFC, the important bit of my “relatively gentle” remark is where I add “for an Elgar”! Certainly mind-bending and tough, no question about that. Nothing in the DT this week comes close, even Prime’s Tuesday Toughie.
Well done on your milestone, and enjoy the whisky!
Thanks MG, I get it now that the difficulty is relative. I checked back and see I only completed half of the Prime on Tuesday. The rest of the week has been ok though, so all is well.
Emboldened to have a bash trusting in Sue’s assurance that it wasn’t as ‘brain-mangling as usual’. Glad I took the plunge. Completed albeit with the aid of 3 letter reveals & rather enjoyed the solve. A couple of the whys escape me but I’ll call that a result especially after an eventually successful tussle with Paul in the Graun. The gentler ones at 1,9,13&27a plus 7&15d particular likes.
Thanks to Elgar & Sue.
Ps recall a boozy night playing music & comedy clips on You Tube during a golf trip in South Africa with a German chum. We didn’t think 10a particularly funny & he didn’t really get Pete & Dud.