Sunday Toughie No 175
by Robyn
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Ooh a Robyn – We haven’t seen a Sunday Toughie from him since #153 on the 29th December last year. I have missed his style and have got a bit rusty as I found this quite tricky. I hope you find enough checkers to finish this, although I bet 24d is going straight into Terence’s LIST™
Gazza will be bringing you the hints next Sunday as I am away to the Springsteen concert at Anfield. I will be home earlyish on Sunday and look forward to solving that puzzle with Gazza’s hints to help
A late revision has sent Harry, Graham and Dennis to the cutting room floor as I have doubts about the Kingdom of Jordan. Is it a school subject after the definite article or the abbreviation of the location of Jordan. I have plumped for the latter, but in the absence of the old check facility I may be wrong (again)
Here we go…
As it is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll be back just after the closing date with the full blog. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!
I hope I don’t have to redact any comments but I am new at this and don’t want to rock the boat. If in doubt, I’ll rub it out! I think that sentence is a bit redundant. You have all been so helpful in sorting out prior parsing failures, and I am sure I will need similar help again.
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious. Don’t forget the Mine of useful information that Big Dave and his son Richard so meticulously prepared for us.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely
Across
1a Fewer than 1,000 instruments will enthral Mozart? (10)
Instruments that make music by being blown contain a synonym of fewer than and the letter that indicates 1,000. The question mark tells us that Mozart? Is a definition by example of an accomplished performer at a very young age
10a Leading figure in country cuts agricultural output (4,5)
One of the leading figures in country music, and a synonym of cuts
13a Dare maybe to back firm exposed in worst moment (5)
A reversal of the Dare, who was the Pilot of the Future, and what remains of firm when it is exposed
16a US capital payment banked in great quantity (7)
An informal great quantity contains a regular payment for a US state capital
21a Say where to find Kingdom of Jordan’s subject (5)
A synonym of subject, how you would say where The Kingdom of Jordan is located if you abbreviated its location
23a Group providing deliveries entertaining cricketer pulls out of the ground (7)
An acronym of a group that provides parcel deliveries, containing an English cricketer
25a Dawn running behind Henry (4-5)
Henry V’s princely name and a synonym of running or escape
28a Politician’s demise over singular remark drawing a conclusion (3,2,5)
A blue politician’s demise around a singular abbreviation. What you may say when drawing a conclusion
Down
1d and 22d Buzz is started by internet game inventor (4,5)
A synonym of the internet, something that may buzz when you call and is from the clue. He invented a game when he picked up the ball and ran with it
3d Crew on a certain film that involves skirted, cavorting men (9,4)
The number of crew in a rowing boat, an undefined but certain number and part of a film defined by the canister it is stored in. A dance for a certain number of kilted Scotsmen
7d Like an egg adult removed from two different ducks (5)
A duck as a cricket score and to duck out of an obligation without the abbreviation of adult
8d Republican outrage led by president who’s a criminal? (10)
A surname shared by two Presidents, the abbreviation of Republican, and to outrage. A lawless person who takes to the remote parts of Australia and lives by robbery
14d Little boxer who fails to box sulks? Punch may be seen here (6,4)
A young boxer dog, an anagram (fails) of who, around (to box) of some sulks
20d Play courtier in half hour before five to ten, say (7)
The relationship between five to ten (or other numbers (say)) follows half of hour. A courtier to Shakespeare’s Hamlet
24d Renaissance writer‘s repeated adverbial addition (4)
A suffix used to form adverbs from adjectives and nouns is repeated. An irretrievably obscure Renaissance writer who required much investigoogling investigoogling, although he has been credited by some scholars with writing the first English novel, and as being ‘the father of English comedy’.
Compiler
Robyn
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Thanks to Gazza, I won’t be here next Sunday. I am going to Anfield to see Bruce Springsteen on Saturday and wont be home until the wee small hours of Sunday. (You may have gathered that from some of the tenuous musical links above) Here is another bit of Bruce, performed by Sting (The adjective form of his name would be the conned you need for 19d, but that hint hit the cutting room floor.
That’s All Folks…
It was a wonderful surprise to find Robyn’s name against the Toughie this morning – I do hope that this is not just a one-off and that he’s able to combine Toughie setting with his editing duties.
The puzzle is brilliant – thanks to Robyn and to SJB for the hints.
I ticked 1a, 9a, 10a, 13a, 15a, 20a and 26a (and those are just the acrosses).
I hope that they can bring us many more of these toughies and CL’s double punned tributes to Mr Scott. It was quite tricky to curtail hints to about half
I was so thrilled to see a Robyn crossword again that there could have been more than one clue on the second page and I wouldn’t have been at all grumpy
As Gazza says there was so much to enjoy, I hope we don’t have to wait to long for another one
So delighted to see Robyn’s name there that I deliberately did not moan about the second page, nor grizzle about the 1d/22d split clue!
I hope the second page doesn’t cause Prawn to revive his plan to give his printer flying lessons
Good puzzle, just the right amount of ‘Tough’ for a Sunday lunchtime. Was delighted to pull some of the answers from the recesses, eg 3d, but needed the web to confirm 24d and 16a were what they needed to be.
Honours to 9a, 15a & 8d. Many could have joined them.
Many thanks to Sloop and Robyn – did I read some time ago that he has taken over as Ed. following Chris L’s sad and awful illness?
I believe they are sharing editorial duties, but as Gazza said I hope they can both bring us many more toughies and gentle double punned backpagers as possible
Hear, hear!
I won’t say how few answers I had before the hints appeared. Used to be able to get on Robyn’s wavelength fairly quickly but I must have drifted off frequency today.
As Scotsman, I must take exception to ‘cavorting’ in 3d!
Too many clever clues to pick a favourite.
Driven into the house by ominous thundery rumbles to the north so the garden can wait.
Thanks to Robyn (more please) and SJB as always.
Me too with the wavelength issue, I was up much longer than usual last night getting a full grid. The parsing of several (21a – 26a and 24d in particular needed sleeping on)
The arrival of my latest Fèis-ìle bottle of Laphroaig helped with the cavorting here
Enjoy your dram – it was my stepfather’s favourite. He bought me a square foot of Islay. I have a certificate somewhere.
I don’t have a Laphroaig in my cupboard right now, but to celebrate Fèis Ìle this year I treated myself to a Stillwater / Caol Ila limited release which I have yet to try…
Probably above my pay grade but sheer b. mindedness, the hints and Mr G propelled me over the finish line. Favourites came from those I managed all by myself – 18&25a plus 2&14d.
Thanks to Robyn – so pleased that you found the time to compile this – and to SJB for the hints. Enjoy the concert!
The Dawn French/Lenny Henry surface of 25a was very nice, and 2d triggered a nice memory of Mama Bee’s button box, which provided the betting tokens for our games of 2d
I hadn’t realised it was so long since we enjoyed a Robyn puzzle, but what a Sunday treat this was! By the time I finished, my pencil was blunted by making so many tick marks! There were too many to list, except to say there were double ticks for 1a, 15a and 11d. I had to smile at 3d (sorry, DaveP) and happy to recognise 1/22 – I’m looking forward to the upcoming Premiership play-offs. I didn’t recognise 24d, but the wordplay and checkers led to the correct solution; ditto 9d.
My thanks to Robyn and to SJB. Your comments regarding our setter also explains why I haven’t come across a Picaroon crossword since January. I always keep an eye out for any Picaroon, Boatman (having attended his ‘Masterclass’), Paul and Enigmatist puzzles appearing in ‘another place’…
You are in good company with lots of setters in having attended a Boatman masterclass, Dutch spoke highly of his.
Robyn is probably tied to the DT now and his Picaroon/Rodriguez aliases are unlikely to reappear, but I hope this isn’t a one-off return
Talk about a Boatman masterclass – I have just been watching a Batsman masterclass from our hero in 23a!
It was a fine knock. I was wary of going too OTT in praise of him, in case I put the blogging equivalent of the commentators curse on his shoulders
Sometimes life gets in the way of solving crosswords but eventually I found some time late in the day.
So glad I did, this was a cracker, I do enjoy Robyn’s cleverly humorous and stylish challenges.
Plenty of ticks, can’t pick a top three, so I’ll go for a top four consisting of 9a, 18a, 23a and 1&22d.
Enjoy The Boss on a well earned day off, John and many thanks to Robyn.
The Boss will be fine, as long as it isn’t a torrential downpour like it was in Sunderland
I am, yet again, even later in still struggling with Robyn. I find it much easier to connect with the small feathered one which comes to my kitchen door! I know I shall not finish it, but oh, the joy of suddenly getting an answer! I shall struggle on. Hats off to you clever ones who seem to sail through the Sunday Toughie each week 🥂👏
I think we all found the surprise return of Robyn tougher than before, but as ever always worth the effort
20 answers in & my brain hurts. Great to have Robyn back but don’t remember his Sun Toughies being this tough. The eyelids say enough now so cruciverbal hostilities halted but to be continued.
Thanks to Robyn & John – enjoy Bruce
Good to see that Daisy and your good self are battling on. I certainly found it tough, with a very late night before I clicked
What a difference a day makes! Not an entirely unaided finish as I looked up a list of state capitals last night.
Finally pegging the renounce synonym set the NW dominos a tumbling & similarly the little boxer in the SW.
Ticks galore – 15,18&28 for the across podium & 8,11&14 for the downs