Toughie No 3497 by Stick Insect
Hints and tips by Whybird
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ***
Welcome to the Toughie week. And if this is meant to be the gentle end of the spectrum, we are going to be in for a real mangling this week. Perhaps this is just the Toughie Universe rebalancing after Friday’s unprecedentedly gentle Elgar. Stick Insect also seems to be delving into the Book of Obscure Spellings today, too, which is the main reason for the difficulty rating. Offset against that are some lovely surfaces. I love the way 4d hangs together and 15d reads beautifully, but the prize has to go to 22a…. …even if it is a challenge to illustrate that I’m going to duck! And we also have a double pangram, which is great work. Thanks Stick Insect for the Tuesday cobweb clear-out.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Across Clues
7 Radio West broadcast series about trial’s ending (8)
WIRELESS A single letter compass point followed by an anagram (broadcast) of “series” including the final letter of “trial” yields a now, sadly, slightly dated synonym of “Radio”
8 Cut up vehicle before its tax (6)
CARVED One of the usual vehicles followed by the initials of the formal name for the tax paid to keep the vehicle on the road gets “cut up” as commonly applied to roast meat
9 Subject of sermon is dry, tackling letter 24 (4)
TEXT What a vicar may recite during a sermon is formed from the two-letter abbreviation for one who does not drink alcohol around the spelled 24th letter
10 Possible scenario for 2-1 match in ‘60 (10)
THREESCORE An alternative, and perhaps old-style, statement of the number “60” is also what may happen in a football match when all of the goals are credited to different players. This took some working out, and is harder to explain without repeating the answer, hence the waffle.
11 Reportedly, one beating strong drink (6)
LIQUOR A phononym (reportedly) of someone who beats you eg with a cane (think old-style stamps or envelopes) gives a generic name for strong alcoholic beverages
13 Student is testing bottles one used to cure toothache (7)
DENTIST A professional who may cure toothache is lurking (bottles) in “Student is testing”
14 Follower reacts badly before unknown (7)
SECTARY A (religious or political) follower is formed from an anagram (badly) of “creates” followed by a common single algebraic unknown. A new word for me.
16 Study religious philosophy enthralling island inhabitant (7)
DENIZEN Alternatives for both of “Study” as a room and a Japanese religious philosophy surround the single letter meaning “island” gives a synonym for “inhabitant”
19 Ruled roof space, with centre hollowed out, to be turned into SA meeting place (7)
CITADEL Take a three-letter synonym of “ruled” and a room found in the roof, with its middle letter removed (centre hollowed out), reverse the lot, and you get the meeting place of a militarily-branded religious church
20 One spouting off, chap on the radio (6)
GEYSER A geothermal hot water spout is a phononym (on the radio) of in informal term for “chap” or “old man”
21 Around old quarters, reshaped Zulu stone (4,6)
ROSE QUARTZ An anagram (reshaped) of “quarters” surrounding the angle letter “old”, then followed with the phonetic letter “Zulu” gives a type of stone
22 Rod stripped her naked (4)
BARE A synonym for “Rod” followed by the middle letter (stripped) of “her” gives a synonym of “naked”. A lovely surface, if a little risque!
23 Worthless vowel shift in noun governed by verb (6)
ABJECT Take what in grammar terms is a noun governed by a verb and swap the first vowel to get a word meaning worthless.
24 Name bird in memorandum (8)
NOMINATE A bird noted for mimicry is inserted into a four-letter word for memorandum to give a synonym of “name”. This is another recent clue where the spelling of the bird doesn’t correspond to the ornithological norm (which has a “y” not an “i”) although I am assured it is a BRB-approved variant – thanks, Gazza.
Down Clues
1 Fancy keeping tailless cat, which is natural (8)
LIFELIKE A synonym of “fancy” (or admire) surrounding the name of a cartoon cat lacking his final letter giving how you might describe an image that was “natural”
2 Partners with newspaper in cloud (4)
WEFT Two bridge partners are followed by an abbreviated newspaper to give a variant spelling of “cloud” in the sense of “a xxxx of scent”. I hadn’t previously encountered this spelling in this context
3 Fool to mock inspiring holy man (6)
JESTER A verb meaning “to mock” surrounds the usual abbreviated Christian holy man to given the kind of fool who used to entertain eg royal households
4 On each side of street during a trip (7)
ASTRIDE Insert the abbreviation for “Street” into what you went for if you took a trip on horseback, to describe how your legs may be (if you weren’t using a side saddle)
5 Inclination in favour of Birmingham, perhaps, giving most of undead accommodation (10)
PROCLIVITY The prefix meaning “in favour of” precedes the urban area of which Birmingham is an example, surrounding (giving… …accommodation) the antonym of “undead” lacking its final letter (most of) to yield a synonym of “inclination” or “tendency”
6 Fine mistake: alien hunt (6)
FERRET A synonym for “hunt” (around) formed from the abbreviation for “fine” a three-letter word for (to) mistake and the usual abbreviated non-earthling
8 Purify can, else made ill (7)
CLEANSE An anagram (made ill) of “can else”
12 Playing tune in that place, daughter is lacking restraint (10)
UNTETHERED Scramble (playing) the letters of “tune” followed by a term for “in that place” and the usual abbreviation for “daughter” to get a word meaning “lacking restraint” or “not tied “
15 Engineers are uncertain about stronghold (7)
REDOUBT A military stronghold is also how you may describe the uncertainty of the usual army engineers
17 Detest river transport that’s decrepit (8)
EXECRATE A Devon river followed by what you may call a clapped out old car (and not the sausage-like version) gives a synonym of “detest”
18 Flagrant prisoner cycling, on phone (7)
GLARING A three letter prisoner (the variant which can be associated with pipes) with the final letter moved to the front (cycling) followed by a synonym of “phone” to give a word meaning “flagrant” or “bright”
19 Old measures in valleys (6)
COOMBS A double definition, the former being an old measure of volume (who knew?), and the second one of several variants of valleys, commonly found in place names. My last one in, and which caused a lot of research and head scratching
20 What unscrupulous sellers do, extreme characters arrested by Hanks character (6)
GAZUMP An activity particularly associated with estate agents is formed from the surname of a Tom Hanks character into which are inserted the first and last letters of the English alphabet
22 Escape rubbish berth (4)
BUNK A triple definition. For the first, think “off” and for the third, “bed”
I am on Taxi Duty for the present Lady Whybird this afternoon, so I will be rather tardy responding to any Comments. Please bear with me!
Really enjoyed this one. Spotted the possible pangram early on which stood me in good stead.
Unfamiliar with my answer to 14a although it had to be correct, not so keen on 19d as a clue though.
Some great surfaces especially in 22a, 17d and 18d.
Wouldn’t be surprised if there was a Nina, although I’m rubbish at spotting ’em.
Many thanks to Stick Insect and Whybird.
I found this quite difficult for a Tuesday.
I struggled with 14a and 16a, and took a flier with 2d (which proved to be correct).
Thanks to Stick Insect and to Whybird.
Yep, spotting the 2Pangram was certainly a help with this enjoyable chewy Toughie. I do feel that there may be a deliberate editorial ploy to make the Monday back pager a bit more testing because it is on its own, then Tuesday’s back pager is usually a very straightforward Quick-tic because it is so often accompanied by a nicely testing Toughie.
Some quite odd surfaces, but some lovely ones too; shoals of red herrings; a few odd words which on each occasion I was delighted subsequently to find in the BRB (2d, 19d, 14a). Ticks all over the place, with leading honours to 5d (an early one in, great surface), 10a & 15d.
Thank you Stick Insect, a great puzzle. Thanks also to Whybird – you really have had a baptism of fire!
If this had cropped up when I was doing my trial blogs under Gazza’s expert tutelage, I might have given up! 5d was my first one in, too. I was starting to get twitchy by that point, as nothing had clicked. It’s a great word, too.
Excellent. Some lively touches – 22d’s triple, 23a’s “vowel shift”, 15d’s “are uncertain” and 20d’s “extreme characters”. 1d’s “tailless cat” tickled me too. Best thanks to Stick Insect and Whybird.
I was surprised to see Stick Insect on a Tuesday, particularly as the crossword was tough enough to have fitted in very nicely on a Thursday
I did enjoy the battle so thanks to him and Whybird
Although I enjoyed the struggle, this was far too tough for a Tuesday Toughie. Recognising that we were on track for a double pangram helped me through my last few in in the SW corner.
I was sorry to come across in 9a one of my bugbears which is the (unnecessary) use of words to describe letters. Other than in a cryptic crossword, when would you ever need to use “ex” instead of X?
14a was a new word for me but given the checking letters and the likelihood that the answer would end in a Y, there was nothing else it could be.
Many thanks to Stick Insect and to Whybird.
Not what I’d call a ‘Tuesdayish Toughie’ but an enjoyable puzzle to work through with the double pangram bonus making it all the more impressive – thanks to Stick Insect and Whybird.
Highlights for me were 10a, 22a, 23a and 15d.
I really enjoyed most of it , I struggled with 17 and 19d and 23a.
So thanks to Stick Insect and Whybird.
Also surprised to see SI on a Tuesday but I did enjoy it. Struggled with 19a looking for some sort of Kraal before the penny dropped. Admired 10a, 23a [the probability of a double pangram helped here], 5d and17d.
Thanks to Sticky and Whybird.
This had dnf written all over it for me but I persevered and stumbled over the line. Didn’t know 14a but at least it was anagram same with 21a, 23a was bung in, didn’t know the cloud in 2d as was 19d as I didn’t know the measures. Far too difficult to be enjoyable but a finished grid is something to be happy with. Favourite was 17d. Thanks to Stick Insect and Whybird.
Much harder than we were expecting for a Tuesday and very clever setting to get in a double pangram without recourse to too many obscure words.
Thanks Stick Insect and Whybird.