Toughie 3490 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Toughie 3490

by crypticsue  

Toughie  No 3490 by Kcit

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

 

I understand that today’s Kcit Toughie is his 200th, the third setter to reach that landmark after Elgar and Osmosis.   Many congratulations to him on reaching this landmark

I am not sure what is happening with Toughies lately, but this crossword is another of those ‘would have done nicely on the Wednesday back page’ crosswords.  A set of clues where, if we weren’t inserting something into something else, we were probably removing a letter!

Please let us know what you thought

Across

1a           Insubstantial wages, limiting for each (6)
PAPERY Wages ‘limiting’ or going round a preposition meaning for each

4a           State, very American? Two, encompassing Connecticut and Oregon, included in that (8)
VICTORIA The abbreviations for Very and American into which is inserted two lots of the Roman numeral for one  ‘encompassing’ the abbreviations for the US States of Connecticut and Oregon.

9a           Criticise the writer’s joke about golf (6)
IMPUGN  How Kcit would say he, the writer, was going to followed by a pun into which is inserted (about) the letter represented by Golf in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

10a         I’d performed in choir, retaining energy, returning after a part of the Mass (5,3)
AGNUS DEI ID (from the clue), a simple way of saying performed in choir, into which is inserted (retaining) the abbreviation for Energy, all reversed and put after A (from the clue)

11a         Pressing item: closure of outrageous couple of clubs (5,4)
STEAM IRON The ‘closure’ of outrageouS and two sorts of club

13a         Area of supermarket is covered in beer (5)
AISLE IS (from the clue) ‘covered’ in beer

14a         Who’d be excited by latest glimpse of owl or its hooting? (13)
ORNITHOLOGIST An anagram (excited) of the latest ‘glimpse’ of owL OR ITS HOOTING

17a         Worsening situation a must for 24 events? (8,5)
SLIPPERY SLOPE Something you might encounter when skiing 24a

21a         System of behaviour and so forth limiting welcome (5)
ETHIC An abbreviated way of saying and so forth ‘limiting’ an informal welcome

23a         Decent standards I abandoned accepting a year in council office (9)
MAYORALTY The practice of decent standards without (abandoned) the I, into which is inserted (accepting) A (from the clue) and the abbreviation for Year

24a         Son invested in mine, blocking most of proposal not following standard route (3-5)
OFF-PISTE Insert the abbreviation for Son into a mine and then insert into (blocking) most of a proposal

25a         Character from Greece concealing source of this mark of disgrace (6)
STIGMA A Greek letter ‘concealing’ the source of This

26a         Clear space is not needed by flower without much substance (8)
DAYLIGHT A type of flower without the IS (not needed) followed by an adjective meaning without much substance

27a         A Democrat now to remain faithful (6)
ADHERE A (from the clue), the abbreviation for Democrat and now or in the present place or time

Down

1d           Proper media work exists, e.g. knocking out article (6)
PRISSY  Some abbreviated media work, a simple way of saying exists and for example without (knocking out) the indefinite article

2d           Sausage: energy needed by individual dispatching second one (9)
PEPPERONI Some exergy, an individual without (despatching) the abbreviation for Second, followed by the Roman numeral for one

3d           Government area yielding nothing for me (7)
REGIMEN Replace the O (nothing) in an area with ME

5d           Cocktail of gin? Grudgingly dispenses volume with skill (11)
INGENIOUSLY An anagram (cocktail) of GIN and a synonym for grudgingly without the abbreviation for Volume

6d           Type of holiday company to take in a bird in Africa (7)
TOURACO A type of holiday and an abbreviated company take in A (from the clue)

7d           Bits of uneven ground – not good – trips up? (5)
RIDES Bits of uneven ground without the abbreviation for Good

8d           It’s drunk and it’s eaten at sea (8)
ANISETTE An anagram (at sea) of ITS EATEN

12d         Soldiers agree to restrict crisis in later engagement (6,5)
RETURN MATCH The abbreviated Royal Engineers (soldiers)and a verb meaning to agree ‘restrict’ a crisis

15d         Idea from Paris about record held by Oxford University dogmatist (9)
IDEOLOGUE The French (from Paris) word for idea goes ‘about’ a record which itself is ‘held’ by the abbreviation for Oxford University

16d         Help to secure stone and mineral turning up in orbiting body (8)
ASTEROID A synonym for help ‘secures’ the abbreviation for Stone and a reversed (turning up) mineral

18d         Composer raised trophy: first in competition in Italy (7)
PUCCINI A reversed (raised) trophy, the first letter of Competition, IN (from the clue) and the IVR Code for Italy

19d         Energy in poorly stored magnetic field is measured by this (7)
OERSTED The CGS Unit of Magnetic Field Strength – an anagram (poorly) of STORED into which is inserted the symbol for Energy

20d         Turn mouldy at last in jar (6)
GYRATE The last letter of mouldY inserted into a verb meaning to jar

22d         Substantial expression of surprise about newspaper (5)
HEFTY An interjection of surprise goes about the abbreviated pink newspaper

 

 

10 comments on “Toughie 3490”

  1. Surprisingly straightforward for kcit but a trademark “Sci/tech” clue is still included [19d]. My favourites were 4a, 26a and 17a.
    Thanks to kcit and CS.

  2. Somewhat deflating when our reviewer asserts that a Toughie would have been at home as a Wednesday back-pager! Be that as it may, I rather enjoyed it although freely admit that I had to check 19d and, to my shame, the African bird.
    Outstanding favourite was 17a with a contest for the lesser places between 1&26a plus 1&22d.

    Thanks and congratulations on the milestone to Kcit and also to CS for the review – think your answer for 23a needs a slight tweak.

  3. Just a little more difficult than today’s backpager I thought.
    Although 4a read rather clumsily, I liked it for the geographical trickery involved.
    26a, 1d and 20d were my smoothly worded top three.
    Congratulations on the double ton, Kcit, a great achievement.
    Thanks also to CS.

  4. A reasonably gentle puzzle which I completed from the bottom up – thanks to Kcit (and congratulations on reaching the double ton, a fair proportion of which I must have blogged) and to CS.
    I liked 11a, 17a and 7d (‘trips up’ – excellent).

  5. A good puzzle (not out of place as a mid-late week back page, though some would certainly have objected!) – we’ve had tougher on a Wednesday, just as we’ve had lighter, but this was very enjoyable. Much to applaud so will limit honours to 9a, 10a, 14a & 20d.

    Many thanks – and congratulations too – to Kcit, and also of course to CS

  6. Although there were lots of letters inserted or removed which made things a bit samey, there were also some enjoyable clues.
    I liked 14,17,26A and 7D.
    Thanks to CS and Kcit ( many congratulations on reaching such a fine milestone ).

  7. At the end, this out to be easier than I thought than it felt when I was working through it. The trickiest ones were the bird (nobody spells it like that in the birding world – the first “o” isn’t used). But it was clearly clued, and I see it exists as a variant. Never heard of the magnetic unit either, but again it was clear from the clue and the checkers. An odd experience for a birding scientist.

    Thanks to Kcit and to CS

  8. Had to confirm the bird & a bit of a crumpet scratch at last in 1d but otherwise pleasingly straightforward. An enjoyable puzzle – 14a, which made me think of Shabbo, was my pick of a fine assortment of clues.
    Thanks to Kcit & Sue

  9. Thank you, CrypticSue, for the rating and comment on its level, which encouraged me to give it a go and compare how I found it to the backpager. I failed to do this yesterday — nothing to do with the clues, but through some kind of mis-clicking on the Puzzles website, where I ended up inadvertently embarking on Chalicea’s Toughie from the day before, only spotting my mistake when I came here looking for help and found none of the clues matched!

    Anyway, having now done it a day late, this Toughie took me about the same time as Twmbarlwm’s Wednesday backpager, but it did feel tougher, not least for the electronic assistance I used, not knowing the 6d bird, the 19d non-SI unit, nor the 8d drink. I tried to look up how the latter differs from ouzo … but instead learnt that our office network blocks alcohol-related websites!

    My top clues include the 10a Mass part for its wordplay, and 17a’s situation for its 24a-related definition. My favourite was 15d, for reminding me of Asterix’s dog and the superb work Anthea Bell did, needing a translation for the ‘Idéfix’ that also ends in -ix, and coming up with ‘Dogmatix’, which not only works perfectly as a translation but also introduces a pun not in the original French.

    Thank you to Kcit for the puzzle and CrypticSue for the help.

  10. 1*/3* ….
    liked 14A “Who’d be excited by latest glimpse of owl or its hooting ? (13)”

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