Toughie No 3550 by Prime
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ***
A proper mid-week Toughie where the solving of some of the clues was harder than parsing them!
Please let us know what you thought
Across
9a New pin goes here (5)
GREEN An adjective meaning new or part of a golf course where the pin goes
10a Prevail late, as England stays anxious (3,2,4)
ILL AT EASE Very well hidden in the first four words of the clue
11a Not tearing up grass you once found breaching banks of duck-pond (3-4)
DRY-EYED A type of grass and an archaic word meaning you ‘breaching’ or going inside the outside letters (banks) of Duck-ponD
12a A lot of nemeses possibly surrounding one? (7)
ENEMIES An anagram (possibly) of a lot of NEMESEs ‘surrounding’ I (one)
13a A point about storing hot curry (5)
BHUNA A (from the clue) and a reversed (about) point [of something] ‘storing’ the abbreviation for Hot
14a First person opening perfect amplifier (9)
MEGAPHONE The pronoun form of I (first person) a gap and a verb meaning to perfect
16a Accumulate wealth in safe here, not sent out (7,4,4)
FEATHER ONES NEST An anagram (out) of SAFE HERE NOT SENT
19a Rising toll, something charged by engineers (9)
REBELLION A synonym for toll (sound) and an electrically charged particle go after (by) the abbreviated Royal Engineers
21a Small retrospective on cutting edge (5)
MINOR A reversal (retrospective) of ON (from the clue) inserted into (cutting) an edge
23a Bing not initially showing Crufts participant? (7)
HANDLER The forename of the Friends character Bing without its first letter (not initially showing)
25a It primarily stores stuff about to be eaten by soldiers? (4-3)
MESS-TIN A reversal (about) of IT (from the clue) and the primary letters of Stores Stuff inserted into (to be eaten by) some soldiers
27a Two US cities around since America’s beginning, before North Dakota replaced name of state (9)
NYASALAND The former name of Malawi – Two abbreviated American cities go ‘around’ a conjunction meaning since and the beginning of America, the result followed by the abbreviation for the State of North Dakota
28a Result of poet’s night without fish (5)
EVENT A poetic word for evening without a type of freshwater fish often found in crosswords
Down
1d Old painter not quite making comeback (4)
AGED Almost all (not quite) of the name of a French painter reversed (making comeback)
2d How Christian Union might be shortened, to audience cheers (3,3)
SEE YOU An informal way of saying goodbye (cheers) if said out loud (to audience) could sound like the abbreviation for the Christian Union
3d Can picture producer also cast holy war? (4,6)
ANDY WARHOL A conjunction meaning also and an anagram (cast) of HOLY WAR
4d Northern girl stealing my boss’s crown (6)
DIADEM A reversed (going to the North) of a young girl ‘stealing’ the setter’s boss
5d Completely chewed 9 peanuts? (8)
ALLERGEN An adjective meaning completely and an anagram (chewed) of the solution to 9a
6d Stock market that one may play under the table, we hear (4)
FTSE The abbreviated Financial Times Stock Market Share Index is pronounced in a way that sounds like an informal expression meaning to rub one’s foot against another person’s, usually with amorous intentions
7d Singer in Italian city from south-west (8)
BARITONE A Southern Italian city and the direction you would be going if travelling in a straight line from the south-west
8d Update trestle, potentially (10)
NEWSLETTER An anagram indicator (3) (potentially) telling the solver what to do with TRESTLE
13d Previously live tennis action (10)
BEFOREHAND Live or exist and a tennis stroke
15d Someone going by outside has to do, apparently (4,6)
PASS MUSTER Someone going by put outside a verb meaning has to
17d Priest’s covering two articles about India for Mother Teresa? (8)
ALBANIAN A priest’s vestment and two indefinite articles into which is inserted the letter represented by India in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
18d Texan tracks Shanghai (8)
RAILROAD A North American railway or a verb meaning to force someone into a particular course of action or trick into performing an unpleasant task (shanghai)
20d Dan Moss nearly played for Rovers (6)
NOMADS An anagram (played) of nearly all of DAN MOSs
22d Lower indefinite number and another number (6)
NETHER An abbreviated indefinite number and something that numbs or anaesthetises
24d Onion with veg (4)
LOAF Both onion and the solution are slang names for the head; veg and the solution are informal ways of saying pass time idly
26d Nothing beat upcoming security group (4)
NATO A reversal (upcoming) of the letter representing nothing and a verb meaning to beat
Good afternoon. The Eastern side was easy enough but the Western side took some time. The NE corner was the last to be filled save for 27a, which is new to me. Like the back pager o can’t pick a COTD but 4d was a guess, and had to be checked. Many thanks for the review and to the setter.
I found this pretty tricky and I took an age to get motoring.
My last answer was 24d which looked as if it should be ‘leak’ but I couldn’t parse it – eventually there was what pommers used to call a ‘tea tray moment’ as I realised that veg was a verb.
I liked 10a (an excellent hidden), 11a, 19a, 25a, 8d and 15d with my favourite being 3d for the ‘can picture producer’.
It was all very enjoyable – thanks to Prime and CS.
I too found this very slow to get into this lunchtime, taking probably as long over the first 8 or so clues as for the rest combined. Afterwards I couldn’t really see why I’d had so many problems! Very clever clueing, all scrupulously fair, but stupidly I could not parse my answer to 28a (my LOI) so thank you CS for lifting that veil and helping me see the light. Agree with Gazza that the 10a lurker was superbly concealed. Honours also to 14a, 3d, 4d, 8d.
Many thanks to Prime and CS
I may have to revise my antipathy to Proper Name clues because 3d was the star of this excellent puzzle. I also admired the 2 all-in -ones [12 and 25d] plus the 5 part tour de force at 27a.
Thanks to Prime and CS.
A toughie for sure.
Many superbly constructed clues, my page has plenty of ticks.
Hard therefore to pick just a few, but I particularly liked the tomato soup artist at 3d, and the scenario conjoured up by 5d of what should not be eaten on a plane.
The dreaded additional information sheet which increasingly comes with Christmas cards at 8d also gets my vote.
Excellent puzzle, thanks to Prime and to CS.
That was spot on for a Wednesday. Clever clueing and a satisfying solve. I also found it slow to get going, starting in the south and moving slowly north. Special mention for 11 and 28A, 2,13 and 22D with favourite and lol 5D
Thanks to CS for the blog and Prime for the enjoyment.
Very tough for the likes of me but like yesterday somehow managed to eke out a finish without resorting to a letter reveal. Having just checked the review chuffed to have parsed ‘em all ok bar last in 28a though a fair few some time after the grid entry. NTS Mr G required to confirm a couple of things – had heard of 27a but didn’t know it’s now Malawi or where Mother Teresa was born. Picks from a fine collection of clues for me were 9,10&19a + 3,8,13&15d.
Many thanks to Prime & CS
Although it is often assumed Mother Teresa was born in Albania, she was actually born in Skopje, North Macedonia,. she regarded her ethnicity as Albanian-Indian.
Good to hear from you Tilsit. Hope all’s well with you
Very enjoyable, some great clues with 25a and 24d being my favourites. Thanks to Prime and CS.
Certainly a high level of trickiness but lots of chuckles and smiles so a fun solve. 5d gets our vote for top clue.
Thanks Prime and CS.
Wow, this was good and tough. The NE was beyond me last night, but fell to my refreshed efforts this morning. Lots of excellent clues, but having twigged what was going on eventually, I’m giving my prize to 24d for its surface irrelevance to the answer. Deception at a higher level!
Thanks to Prime for a fantastic puzzle, and to CS for the blog, especially completing the parsing of 25a that I was too fatigued to nail fully.