Toughie No 3521 by Dada
Hints and tips by Whybird
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Welcome, one and all. Something new for me today – my first Blog “on the road” – temporarily relocated to the quiet Shropshire village of Shrawardine to celebrate a Significant Birthday for the present Lady Whybird. We’ve been exploring the delights of the River Severn and the splendid town that is Shrewsbury. And the soggy, morning weather is perfect for sitting and typing down my thoughts on today’s Toughie.
Dada has given us a real treat with this one. I thought this was very much more Tuesday-ish than many of late, which was very welcome, although I feared the worst when I saw the grid – not so many “Gimme” first letters. Nevertheless, there’s enough chewy bits to get your teeth into. Definitely a Puzzle of Two Halves for me; the South went in relatively easily, but the North was quite a bit more troublesome. There’s very concise clueing, with smooth surfaces throughout, so there is a lot to like here. 6d is very clever, and I love everything about 28a, but I’ve decided to give my prize to 10a. I also love the 15d historian/shed imagery. Thank you very much to Dada for the abundant entertainment.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Across Clues
7 Just beat, scrape – and squirt! (9)
PIPSQUEAK A charade of a three-letter term meaning “just beat” (to the post, perhaps?) and a synonym of “scrape”, in the sense of a tricky situation (but I suppose could be the sound made by a scrape) to get a synonym of “squirt” (or weakling)
8 US city where fiddle heard? (5)
TAMPA A city in Florida is a phononym of a word meaning “fiddle” (with)
10 Paper on the news-stands makes the French stew! (6)
RAGOUT A type of French stew is also how you may describe the publication/availability (“on the news-stands”) of a newspaper using a three-letter, informal and disparaging term
11 Relic in granddad originally occupying house (8)
HANGOVER Insert the initial letter of “grandad” (originally) into a British Royal house of German origin to get a synonym of “relic”
12 Skewer in pastry, cereal not needing one (6)
PIERCE A verb meaning “skewer” is formed from a type of (filled) pastry followed by a cereal crop, associated with 17a, lacking the letter that looks like the number one.
14 Suspicion surrounds new dance music (6)
TRANCE Insert the usual letter for “new” into a synonym for “suspicion” in the sense of a small amount to get a type of dance music. Or the state I would have to be put into (at least) before I entertained listening….
16 Shortage of English money in US university (4)
PENN An Ivy League University (in abbreviated form) is formed by removing the final letter from the present, lowest value coin in English currency
17 Wet field, place dry when drained (5)
PADDY A three-letter “place” where a bachelor, for example, may live, followed by “dry” lacking its middle letter (when drained) gets a type of wet field used to cultivate a staple cereal crop
18 Nonsense artist discussed? (4)
BOSH A word meaning “nonsense” is a phononym of a well-known artist (well, at least I’d heard of him) from the Early Netherlandish school of art
19 Relax with books after gentle murmur (4,2)
COOL IT An instruction to “relax” is formed from a three letter “murmur” often associated with doves and an abbreviated term for books
21 Sweetheart bowled over, temperature rising (6)
REVOLT Reverse (bowled over) a five-letter term that a “sweetheart” may be, followed by the letter indicating “temperature” to get a synonym for “rising” in the sense of “rebellion”
24 Legs also untangled – without netting? (8)
GOALLESS An anagram (untangled) of “legs also” gets an absence of a target in football. The definition doesn’t quite work for me, although the “?” does perhaps suggest “something a little stretched”. As a kid, I don’t recall ever playing football with the luxury of nets (usually no posts either), but we definitely had “xxxxs”. *** But See Gazza’s Comment #2 below, which is a much better parsing, thanks Gazza. It’s not an absence of a target in football – it’s a failure to score! ***
26 Ace, for example: that is top (6)
CARDIE An abbreviated, informal name for type of clothing is formed from a word of which an “ace” is an example, and the two-letter abbreviation for “that is”
27 Blow being served with zero relish (5)
GUSTO A synonym for “blow” in the weather sense, followed by the letter that resembles “zero” give a term meaning “relish” (or enthusiasm)
28 Right filling needing a sticky syrup (9)
GRENADINE Insert the letter for “right” into an anagram (sticky) of “needing a” to get a type of syrup often used in cocktails
Down Clues
1 White-collar worker sent north in war, a civilian (5)
VICAR A “worker” known for wearing a white collar to indicate their profession/calling is found lurking in reverse (“north” in a down clue) in “war a civilian”
2 European student cramming in last of facts (8)
ESTONIAN Insert the final letter of “facts” into a student at a public school “down near Slough” to get a national of a Baltic nation
3 Dude, vandal? (6)
BUSTER An alternative way of saying “Dude” (in the general sense of how you might address a man) is also a way you could describe a vandal or someone else causing damage. The synonym doesn’t quite work with the more modern sense of “surfing, eating pizzas and casual coolness” for “dude” but that doesn’t make it incorrect, just harder to work out. This could also have been presented as a double definition, with the second being a cryptic, single-word definition.
4 Try sock (4)
BASH A double definition, the “sock” being in realm of physical contact
5 Island nation fed southern Indian food (6)
SAMOSA Insert the letter for “southern” into a Pacific Island nation to get a type of food stuff eaten in India and more widely over South and East Asia. My last one in – the reference to India had me looking for things more specific to that nation.
6 Lima is out of place with Peru’s other capital (5-4)
UPPER-CASE This is an anagram (other) of “place” with the letter “Lima” in the NATO phonetic alphabet removed (“is out of”) and “Peru’s” to get a description of “capital” as a letter. This is wonderfully clever.
9 Only a little pompous, not typically stuck-up (6)
SNOTTY A term for “stuck up” is lurking (only a little) in “pompous, not typically”
13 Source of berries – or more sage? (5)
ELDER A tree that yields berries is also a way you could describe someone who had accumulated years of wisdom. This just about works, but I’m not sure that the “more” is helping, and for me is actually redundant.
15 Old historian relocated to our shed (9)
HERODOTUS A Greek historian and geographer is an anagram (relocated) of “to our shed”
17 Brief put in pocket (6)
POTTED A double definition, the first sense being “short history”, the second, snooker or billiards
18 Large bed sent abroad, somewhere in Europe (8)
BELGRADE A European capital city is an anagram (abroad) of “Large bed”
20 Lots of love and sex appeal with a book (6)
LOLITA A famous, controversial novel is formed from how “lots of love” may be abbreviated (generally amongst those of an older disposition – it is normally “laugh out loud” these days) a two-letter synonym “sex appeal” (always confuses me) and “a” from the clue.
22 Free preserve in tub (6)
VACANT Insert a verb meaning “preserve” (think pilchards etc) into a synonym of “tub” to get a word meaning “free” (or available)
23 Demon providing, when upset, death (5)
FIEND Invert a two-letter conditional word meaning “providing” before what death represents to get a type of demon.
25 Really concerned with inflamed area (4)
SORE A charade of a two letter term for “really” (or very) and the abbreviation for “concerned with” to get something that may be an inflamed area.
For me, this was a curate’s egg blend of some good clues and some hmms.
The less said about 16a the better. I didn’t finish courtesy of 3d, which I still don’t understand even with Whybird’s explanation, and I can’t see how “other” is an acceptable anagram indicator in 6d.
On the plus side, I really liked 10a, 21a & 17d.
Thanks to Dada and to Whybird.
I was expecting to quibble about 16a, but that form seems to be how that Uni is commonly known, so it passes muster for me.
In 3d, “vandal?” could be “someone who breaks something” and by extrapolation, a cryptic definition of the synonym for “dude”, in the same style as eg “field” and “fielder”. You just need a 4 letter synonym for “broken”
Thanks, Whybird, for the clarifications. However, I’m sorry to say that I really don’t like either clue.
An enjoyable ‘start of week’ Toughie – thanks to Dada and Whybird.
I carelessly wrote in ‘Dodge’ for 8a which held me up in the NE before sanity prevailed.
I think that ‘netting’ in 24a is a present participle rather than a noun.
Talking of football did you know that an anagram of Sarina Wiegman is ‘As manager I win’?
My ticks went to 10a, 1d and 22d.
Thanks Gazza. As ever, you are correct on 24a. I’m glad Dodge didn’t occur to me for 8a – it’s a pretty good fit, even if the “heard?” would be superfluous, but I’ve seen worse,
What a fantastic anagram for a very successful football manager.
I have to stress that I didn’t work it out myself; I heard it on the radio.
I really enjoyed this. I solved it in the small hours of another sleepless night and it cheered me up no end.
My CoD is the very clever 6d. I understand RD’s concern regarding the anagram indicator, but having just checked, I note that it is in the Chambers Crossword Dictionary list of acceptable anagram indicators. It must have sneaked into the list when nobody was looking.
I read 3d as a double definition.
A good puzzle. Thanks to Dada and the migrating Whybird.
Elgar’s certainly used “other” before. So that surely gives it the royal seal, no?!
“Other” doesn’t trouble me in 6d. I think if something is described as being “other” it can mean “different”. And we do seem to be a bit “down with the kids” these days…
3d I’d have put as a double definition without the question mark, but it’s not “classical” as per 4d.
3d’s an interesting one. Chambers does lend the second definition some credence but it’s still verging towards a definition by example as a vandal is a subset of a ******. That said, there is precedence for adding a QM to a double definition even when one is not strictly required. So, I think one could happily take it either way.
A pleasingly gentle little teaser. I very much liked 1a’s “just beat”, 10a’s “on the news-stands” and the cleverly-worked 6d. Best thanks to Dada and Whybird. Also to Gazza – I’m pretty sure we’ll be seeing that (excellent) anagram in print at some point!
I’d never heard of that dance music and now, having read a bit about it, I’m happy to remain in ignorance! Really wanted 9d to have a double O rather than a double T but ’twas not to be and the answer to 24a didn’t feel quite right but was all that would fit with the checkers.
Those that I really did enjoy were 10&19a plus 17d with a mention for 1a just because I like the word when applied to a small child.
Thanks to Dada and to Whybird for the review – hope you’re treating Lady Whybird to a delicious meal this evening!
Thanks Jane. The Big Day was yesterday, but I’ll be slaving over a hot AirBnB stove today too! It’ll be a dining experience, for sure, but “delicious” may be an adjective too far!
You’re about six miles away from me, WB.
It’s a wonderful part of the world. Having lived in the “Greater Liverpool” area all my life, I really should know the area much better than I do. It’s just in the funny space between “too far for a day trip” but “not far enough for a long stay”. However, that’s going to change, so you can’t say you haven’t been warned!
The kettle will be on! Or the corkscrew ready. ????(That is supposed to be a wine glass but emoji’s don’t work anymore).
Must be really good wine… ????
I confidently scribbled in two thirds of this at a rate of knots, before hitting a brick wall with the rest.
I’d never heard of lol used in the way it was at 20d, and my last in was 17d (I had the snooker part but had a blind spot with the first definition)
7a made me smile and gets my vote.
Many thanks to Dada and to Whybird
Famously former prime minister David Cameron used lol thinking it meant “lots of love” and was rapidly put straight
Thanks Pilum. That’s all the validation I need! Let’s not speculate on all the other issues he might have been “otherwise advised” about…
Found this a bit more difficult than others, it would seem.
I had two or three longish periods of flitting around the grid with nothing much giving, but when one clue fell, it was quickly followed by several more. Solved in fits and starts, I guess.
No problems for me with the word other as an AI in 6d, I thought it was a great clue.
I like a bit of trance, 14a, though I’d need to be off my face to dance to it nowadays .That one gets a tick as does the bowled over sweetheart in 21a and the book in 20d which was actually banned as being obscene, back in the day.
As Whybird mentioned, this was a tricky grid with few first letter intersections.
Thanks to him, good effort to blog while still spoiling Mrs W on her big day, have fun, and to Dada.
That was fun. I needed the hints for a few but I was quite pleased with my effort. I’ve never used the expression at 9d always having two “Os” and one “T”. 5d reminded I haven’t had any for ages and Having always been fascinated with Hieronymus so 18a came easily. My favourite clue was the paper on the news-stands at 10a.
Thank you, Dada for offering a Toughie that a mere mortal such as I can have a decent stab at. Thank you, Whybird for the hints, which were a great help. A very Happy Birthday to your good lady.
Usually get on well with Dada Toughies & find them comparatively gentle compared to many of the other setters. Not so today unfortunately. Struggled for whatever reason from almost the off but somehow got to within 17d of completion then kicked myself for losing patience & sneaking a peek at the hint – ought to have twigged the pocket if not the brief. An early entry was 15d which prompted the playing of a fair bit of the wonderful soundtrack to The English Patient during the solve. 7,8,11&19a plus 6d particular likes.
Thanks to Dada & to Whybird
Really good fun with a generous scattering of “chewy” bits to keep us on our toes. Last in and favourite when the penny eventually dropped was 6d.
Thanks Dada and Whybird.
I came up with a different answer to 10 across, ‘latest’ as in ‘the’ (French) followed by ‘test’ being in a stew ( contentious I know) but the answer seemed relevant at the time. This delayed me solving 2 down so Whybirds hints helped me out a lot to get there.
Enjoyable way to spend time waiting for my van to be serviced ????