Toughie No 3456 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *****++ – Enjoyment ****
Another exercise in extreme brain-mangling – at least this week the ‘thing’ we had to find in the grid was clearly signposted!
Please let us know what you thought
Across
8a Impossible to describe other Across answers (or words in Down clues)? (2,2)
NO GO The second word of this phrase meaning impossible can precede the Across solutions to make recognisable phrases. This word can also be added to words in the Down clues, eg xx halves; xx on strike and so on
9a Soft-spoken journo pursuing crackpot perhaps with a cutting (4-6)
PEAR-SHAPED The musical abbreviation for soft and an abbreviated journalist, the latter pursuing an anagram (crackpot) of PERHAPS into which is inserted (cutting) A (from the clue)
10a Soldier Bill’s partner punched by chap visiting medic (8)
COMMANDO The partner to Bill in an informal expression meaning to talk intimately and romantically is ‘punched’’ by a chap who in turn is inserted (visiting) an abbreviated doctor
11a Guy (or lady) finally selected after assorted dates? (6)
STEADY The final letter of ladY goes after an anagram (assorted) of DATES
12a Projected flight‘s line initially includes southern parts of Latvia? (9)
BALLISTIC The abbreviation for Line, the initial letter of Includes and the abbreviation for Southern inserted into parts of Latvia
13a Lean over (5)
SPARE Just when you think your brain can’t cope with any more complications, he gives you a simple double definition
15a Crazy fool cracks down in Marseille (7)
BANANAS A slang word for a fool ‘cracks’ the French (as used in Marseille) word for down
17a Binder much further up, according to Spooner (7)
HAYWIRE A binder for a grass crop would, if Reverend Spooner to say it, mean much further up
20a Wife of King Willem-Alexander? (5)
DUTCH A Cockney wife or the nationality of King Willem-Alexander
22a Royal PR exercise OK, but a law gets broken (9)
WALKABOUT An anagram (gets broken) of OK BUT A LAW
25a Think Formula One drive’s good now leading (6)
FIGURE The abbreviation for Formula One and a strong desire (drive) where the abbreviation for Good is moved to the start of the word (now leading)
26a Great many taking pictures back in hand (8)
STRAIGHT An informal word meaning a great many into which is inserted a reversal (back) of some pictures
27a With current trends having fluctuated before noon, it pained me to butt in (10)
DOWNSTREAM An anagram (having fluctuated) of TRENDS goes before the abbreviation for morning (before noon), an interjection of pain being inserted into the result
28a This exhibit in church would represent transition (4)
HANG If you were to put this verb meaning to exhibit pictures etc into the abbreviation for the Church of England you would get a synonym for transition
Down
1d Other halves dropping by, look to have made port (8)
YOKOHAMA ‘Drop’ the halves of bY loOK tO HAve MAde
2d Pro on strike picked up regular (6)
FORMAL Pro or in favour of followed by a reversal (picked up) of a verb meaning to beat (strike)
3d Old sacred book in residence gets conned by man without cap (9)
UPANISHAD I knew the Sanskrit book which fitted the checking letters, but parsing the clue took a fair bit of muttering – in residence at a school or college (2), mAN (from the clue) without the first letter (without cap) and a two-word phrase meaning gets conned
4d Dominican horse accommodated by fine German home (7)
JACOBIN A French Dominican monk – the German word for yes (fine in the sense of agreement) a short-legged strong horse and the usual two-letter home
5d Bust Assam plant (5)
MSASA It was obvious that an anagram (bust) of ASSAM was required but it needed the checking letters to work out what went where – apparently it is a medium-sized African tree commonly known as Zebrawood
6d Rambling around at East Peak with West Park behind (4,1,3)
TAKE A PEW An anagram (rambling) of AT PEAK with the abbreviations for East and West
7d Himalayan native was transmitting about leaving India (6)
DEODAR A Himalayan cedar tree – a reversal (about) of was transmitting through the airwaves without (leaving) the letter represented by India in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
14d Foolishly compare KFC with a losing company, loads attached to it? (9)
PACKFRAME An anagram (foolishly) of coMPARE KFC A without (losing) the abbreviation for company
16d Naturally resulting current bankrupt charges wound golf clubs (8)
ACCRUING Alternating Current and a verb meaning to bankrupt ‘charges’ or inserted between the card abbreviation for Clubs and the letter represented by Golf in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet (wound indicating that the clubs go before the golf)
18d Such dishevelment may put out hungry amigo (8)
ROUGHING An anagram (dishevelment) of HUNGRy amIGO (the letters MAY being ‘put out’)
19d Eccentric participants in chess, players who may be out on a limb? (7)
BATSMEN Informally eccentric and the pieces in a game of chess – a refence to being out ‘leg before wicket????
21d Agreement is not acceptable, having to round it up (6)
UNISON A reversal (up) of an adjective meaning not socially acceptable into which is inserted IS from the clue
23d Happy books at introduction Harriett dips into live (6)
BLITHE An abbreviation for literature (books) and the ‘introduction’ to Harriett inserted into (dips) into a verb meaning to live
24d Muscular chef’s left cold turkey with no stuffing (5)
HEFTY cHEF without the C (left cold) and the outside letters (with no stuffing) of TurkeY
Usual challenge but enjoyable. 3d last in from the checkers as never heard of it.
Saw the Nina for the across answers but not the down clues; very clever. Thanks for that CS.
Thanks Elgar.
Beaten today, 3, 4, 7 and 19d being the culprits. Naturally I missed the Nina as per, but the rest of the puzzle was excellent and mightily tough. Having read the hints, I have to pick said 19d as my favourite.
Thanks to Elgar for the thrashing, and to Sue for sorting out my missing answers.
Thanks to the fiendish Elgar and CS for the explanations.
As well as having to verify the old sacred book (4d) and the Himalayan native (7d) I didn’t know (until I checked the BRB) that the 9a answer can mean soft-spoken.
I don’t think there’s any rumpy-pumpy in 21d – it’s IS (from the clue) that’s contained in the reversed ‘not acceptable’.
My selections for the podium were 10a, 1d, 6d (park behind – brilliant!) and 24d.
Thank you. There comes a time with every blog of an Elgar Toughie where eventually if one wants to do anything else in the morning, one just has to clutch at straws
I agree that 6d was brilliant but there is a minor glitch in the fodder I think it is an anagram of AT PEAK with abbreviations of West and East
Thanks to Sue and Elgar
Eventually limped across the line, bloodied and wounded, even with a few of CS’s parsings.
I normally only refer to the hints and comments after I have solved a puzzle, but with solutions like 3d, 5d and 7d, I feel Elgar is being overly obtuse.
I remember decades ago when entering The Thunderer’s annual competition, I solved the qualifier, only to be entered into an extra filtering round because the South East had a limit on finalist participants. We were instructed to submit entries even partially solved. It turned out a large number of the solutions were Welsh language words!
I needed to crack open a second bottle of decent French red (hence the rambling) to finish this one and have concluded that this compiler is detrimental to my health.
CS has my eternal respect for sorting this one out.
Until next time, Mr. H…
Sometimes I wonder if I am the only person using the print version.
5dn in my copy had “Asssam” so I wasted several minutes of my precious time on earth trying to read significance into the third sibilant!