Toughie No 3504 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment *****
Elgar’s hob-nailed boots are obviously back from the menders as it took quite a time before I had a completed grid. My favourite clues were 16a and 14d
Please let us know what you thought
Across
1a Jackets no longer available, so quits city (7)
CARDIFF Informal woollen jackets and an adverb meaning no longer available
9a Second rather than first speaker’s identity? (8)
MONOTONE A short period of time (second) and a two-word phrase meaning rather than first
10a At last, a proper curry with nan bread (7)
GRANARY The mother of one of your parents (nan), A (from the clue) and the last letters of propeR and currY
11a Mind place for resident who uses it when wife’s away (5-3)
HOUSE-SIT Words 5-7 of the clue without (when .. away) the abbreviation for Wife
12a Fraud investigator grilled individuals brought in on trawler? (6)
SCAMPI A fraud and an abbreviated private investigator
13a Waste of a night in this revamped Macbeth, nothing short of poor (10)
CHAMBERPOT An anagram (revamped) of MACBETH and POoR without one of the Os (nothing short)
15a Not entirely luxurious addition (4)
PLUS Almost all of an adjective meaning luxurious
16a Fools appearing with this parade? (5,4)
MARCH PAST If this month was ended, the first day of the next one would be when fools appear
21a Hospital, with assistance (4)
HAND The abbreviation for Hospital and a conjunction meaning with
22a Collected others, then delivered cats and dogs! (10)
RESTRAINED The others and what the weather did sometimes referred to as cats and dogs
24a Sections of cellar underneath food store (6)
LARDER Parts of celLAR and unDERneath
25a Just so, not half as lean (8)
SQUARELY The first half of So, an adverb meaning as, in the capacity of, and a verb meaning to rely
27a Appropriate, recalling university in Brighton? (7)
TROUSER A reversal (recalling) of the abbreviation for University inserted into a much-frequented place such as Brighton
28a Bucks bet on run (8)
ANTELOPE A fixed bet and run with a long stride
29a Sapphire about to leave India, possibly? (7)
PERHAPS An anagram (about) of SAPPHiRE without (to leave) the letter represented by India in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
Down
2d General gloomy after a top spy goes pop (8)
AGRICOLA Gloomy or dismal without the M (top spy ‘goes’) goes after A (from the clue), a type of fizzy drink (pop) being added at the end
3d Friendless sadly, with lots having turned up in spirit (8)
DYNAMISM A synonym for sadly without the ALLY (friendless) into which is inserted a reversal (having turned up) of numerous, lots
4d To me, clubs strain worker collectives (10)
FORMICARIA Homes for some of crosswordland’s workers – a preposition meaning for, an alternative spelling for the musical note me, the abbreviation for the card suit of Clubs and an air or melody (strain)
5d Single performer that will do bass in auditorium (4)
SOLO A simply way of saying that will do and a homophone (in auditorium) of bass as an adjective
6d Sweet little creature, doubly small (6)
MOUSSE A little creature with two lots (doubly) of the abbreviation for Small
7d Dr X’s neighbour, taking over, is so prone to tittle-tattle (7)
GOSSIPY An abbreviated doctor and the letter that ‘neighbours’ Y ‘taking’ a reversal (over) of IS SO
8d Willed husband out of the country (7)
TESTATE ThE (from the clue) without the abbreviation for Husband and a country
11d Energy transfer and inductance where paganism prevails (9)
HEATHENRY A transfer of Energy and the SI Unit of Inductance
14d The fabric for XL overall? (2,3,5)
BY AND LARGE X as used in multiplication sums and measurements and the size abbreviated as L, between which is inserted a ‘combining word’
17d Scrupulously done, despite that hazard of course (8)
THOROUGH A poetic way of saying despite that and a hazard on a golf course
18d Totally mixed up call for food packages (4-4)
KNEE-DEEP Require, call for, ‘packaged’ by food or means of subsistence
19d Guarded in the beginning about phoney financier (7)
GRESHAM The financier for Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I – the beginning letter of Guarded, about or on the subject of and counterfeit or phoney
20d PM in a spin has resigned (7)
ASQUITH Spin or cycle HAS and insert a synonym for resigned
23d Little area below river actually overlooking a lake (6)
RARELY Put the abbreviation for Area below that for River and then add a synonym for actually without (overlooking) A (from the clue) and one instance of the abbreviation for Lake
26d A “lift” op designed to remove fat (4)
LIPO An anagram (designed) of a LIft OP without (to remove) the letters FAT
What an absolute belter of a puzzle, just what a proper Toughie should be.
Elgar really is a master of his art.
I do like to be provoked into researching deeper as a result of a solve and now I know a bit about Gresham’s Law.
So many brilliant clues and after much deliberating, all my loose ends are now tied up.
Particularly impressive are 10, 12, 13 and 27 across and 2, 7 and 11 down.
The subtraction part of 3d took a bit of working out and my LOI was 26d, a lot going on there for a four letter answer.
I have commented previously regarding Elgar using extremely obscure words but there was none of that here and this was all the more enjoyable for it. Chapeau, sir!
Thanks also to CS for her typically top notch blog. What a great way to end the week.
A brilliant puzzle with penny-drop moments all over the place. Many thanks to Elgar and CS.
As Frankie says Elgar is at his most enjoyable when he eschews obscurities as here.
I have loads of ticks on my printout including 10a, 11a, 12a, 13a, 16a, 2d and 14d.
I’m with Frankiem and Gazza regarding Elgar getting better when he resists some of the temptation to use various jeux d’esprit. This was straightforwardly brilliant; virtually every clue a cracker. With some difficulty I nominate 11a, 13a[what a definition] 22a, 25a and 3d.
Thanks to Elgar and CS.
Sometimes you’re on the same wavelength as the settee, sometimes not. Today, probably due to a minimum of obscurity, I found myself on Elgar’s wavelength almost from the off and (with a few checks in Chambers) finished this in a very good time for me. Lots of fun, but the four letter answer already referenced maybe edged it.
Thanks to both setter and blogger.
CW,
After that, I too am on the same level as the settee.
Anyone who cracked this one definitely deserves a lie down on the sofa!
A proper Friday Toughie and no mistake. A DNF as I had to come here for a clue with 18d to finish. Also needed quite a few post-solve parsings, for which many thanks to Sue. So many great clues. Honours for me went to 7d, 8d & 16a.
Thanks to Elgar & Sue
Superb, from start to slow finish. Thanks to Elgar and CS.
An absolute cracker. I thought this was going to be a 7* or more difficulty on first review, but it resolved itself eventually. Finishing an on a Sunday morning is a pretty rapid solve. The “me” in 4d is a bit iffy, as is the food synonym in 18d, but it’s a Friday Toughie, so what do I expect….? So many excellent clues, it’s hard to pick favourites, but I’ll go with 13a, 16a and 26d.
Thanks to Elgar for a superb puzzle, and to CS for resolving my doubts about 4d and 18d.