Toughie 3570 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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Toughie 3570

by crypticsue  

Toughie  No 3570 by Stick Insect

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

I found this to be quite a friendly Toughie, but will others agree?

Please let us know what you thought

Across

9a           Bones occasionally try and dig in (5)
RADII The occasional letters of tRy AnD dIg In

10a         A panel met in resort, one bearing a handle (9)
NAMEPLATE An anagram (in resort) of A PANEL MET

11a         Dawn remembering the late broadcast (7)
MORNING A homophone (broadcast) of the act of grieving for the departed

12a         Continuous drama partners transcend (3-4)
NON-STOP The traditional Japanese drama, two bridge partners and a verb meaning to transcend

13a         With a stent nurses hurry (5)
HASTE Hidden in (nursed by) the first three words of the clue

14a         Way to season latte labs manufactured (5,4)
TABLE SALT An anagram (manufactured) of LATTE LABS

16a         Trump’s way of speaking about race means hiding Democrat becomes Liberal (8,7)
AMERICAN ENGLISH An anagram (about) of RACE MEANS HIdING once you have replaced the abbreviation for Democrat with that for Liberal

19a         Measure of quads, it’s about 100 kilograms (9)
YARDSTICK Enclosed places (quads) a reversal (about) of IT, the Latin numeral for 100 and the abbreviation for Kilograms

21a         Titanium light source arranged on computer (5)
TILED The chemical symbol for titanium and a light source – windows arranged on a computer screen so that they don’t overlap

23a         Cycling back around staff complaint (7)
AILMENT The back or end of something and some staff, cycling the first letter to the end of the resulting word

25a         Mark’s part in piano, negligible amount involving echo and two notes (7)
PFENNIG The musical abbreviation for soft (piano), a thing of little or no consequence (negligible amount) into which is inserted (involving) the letter represented by Echo in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet and two abbreviations for Note

27a         Moving around etc, travelled east of US railway terminal (9)
ELECTRODE An anagram (moving around) of ETC and a synonym for travelled go after (east of in an Across solution) an American elevated railway

28a         Track deal pushing Spain into third place (5)
TREAD Take a synonym for deal and move the IVR Code for Spain from the end of the word to third place

Down

1d           Terrible storyteller without an ending (4)
GRIM  Remove the final letter (without an ending) from the surname of the German storytelling brothers

2d           Loves commercial materials of value (6)
ADORES An abbreviated commercial and some valuable materials

3d           Train following car shows with limited run (10)
MINISERIES A set of things in line (train) follows a type of small car

4d           Equipment getting near for one horseman (6)
KNIGHT Replace the Roman numeral for one in some equipment with an adverb meaning near

5d           Compliant island returns after expression of agreement (8)
AMENABLE A reversal (returns) of a Mediterranean island goes after an expression of assent

6d           Lotto’s finale: unlimited expenditure is available to all (4)
OPEN The final letter of lottO and the inside letters (unlimited) a sum of money available (usually on a regular basis)  for expenditure

7d           Old butter beginning to infect sandwich ingredient, perhaps (8)
PASTRAMI Old or elapsed, an animal which buts and the ‘beginning’ of Infect

8d           Some French temporarily mended and sent on their way (10)
DESPATCHED The French word for some and temporarily mended

13d         New Haven (Yale) degree initially carrying a lot of weight (5-5)
HEAVY-LADEN An anagram (new) of HAVEN YALE and the initial letter of Degree

15d         Teeing the shot, hard last hole (10)
EIGHTEENTH An anagram (shot) of TEEING THE followed by the abbreviation for Hard

17d         Recorded desperate need to consume bread (8)
ENROLLED An anagram (desperate) of NEED ‘consumes’ an individually baked portion of bread

18d         A way into flying? (8)
AVIATION A (from the clue), a way or road and an anagram (flying) of INTO

20d         Prime minister has change of heart about very soft breakfast dish (6)
KIPPER Swap over (change of heart) the middle letters of the Prime Minister’s forename and insert the musical abbreviation meaning very soft

22d         Bird, large, caught? (6)
LINNET The abbreviation for Large and a two-word phrase meaning caught

24d         Food place succeeded moving south (4)
EATS  Oh dear, Stick Insect, you so nearly made it all the way to the end of the crossword without having a solution about which the usual suspects will complain!   Take a synonym for place and move the abbreviation for South to the end of the word

26d         Gallery patrons take nothing from property (4)
GODS Occupants of a gallery in a theatre – remove one of the letters indicating nothing from some property

 

 

14 comments on “Toughie 3570”

  1. Very gentle, but very enjoyable.
    My only question mark was against 19a; quads is plural and it’s about means an additional s?
    Unless it’s about can signify ti?
    Thanks to Stick Insect and to CS.

  2. In answer to the question posed by CS & judged by the fact that I completed it quicker than the Hudson puzzle then it must have been. Sailed along quite nicely until a bit of crumpet scratching in the SE but the pennies dropped. No real favourite but did enjoy the puzzle & agree with the ratings.
    Thanks to Sticky & Sue

  3. This was relatively mild for a Toughie but very enjoyable.

    The setter earned an extra brownie point for the American indicator in 27a and promptly lost it again with the ghastly answer to 24d. Yes, I know it’s in the BRB but that doesn’t make it any more palatable. :wink:

    Many thanks to Stick Insect send to CS.

  4. A pleasant but fairly undemanding puzzle – thanks to Stick Insect and CS.
    I had ticks for ‘remembering the late’ (11a) and ‘Mark’s part’ (25a).

  5. Enjoyed that, a nice accompaniment for my late – and delicious not mourned! – lunch. A generous dollop of anagrams, a broad smile at 24d knowing the reaction to which it would give rise from RD, and fair clueing throughout. Honours to COTD 22d with 25a & 26d joining it on the podium.

    Many thanks to Stick Insect and CS

  6. Stick Insect being fairly kind to us today, methinks.
    I liked the cycling going on at 23a and Mark’s part at 25a.
    Our indecisive PM dithering over his breakfast choice at 20d gets the extra rasher of bacon. 

    I mentioned a few days back that I’d been incommunicado and had to make do with some reserve puzzles I’d saved when I hadn’t the time to look at them live. 
    Here’s a clue I ticked by today’s setter  from nearly two years ago:

    Spreads denunciation, son demoted in investigation. (8)

    My thanks to SI and CS.

  7. A very enjoyable solve. I too smiled at the thought of Rabbit Dave’s reaction to 24d. I liked the very complicated 25a especially as the answer popped out of nowhere!
    Thanks to Stick Insect and Cryptic Sue

  8. Here’s another of the ‘usual suspects’ to second RD’s complaint over 24d, the answer is only a verb in my book and ever more shall be so! An enjoyable puzzle otherwise with the winner’s sash going to 15d and lesser awards to 1&22d.

    Thanks to Stick Insect and to CS for the review.

  9. Enjoyable solve that all went together smoothly for us. Favourite was 25a.
    Thanks Stick Insect and CS.

  10. I found this quite chewy, and needed CS’s help to deal with a couple of bung-ins. I really should remember 12a’s drama, and I can’t say I’ve come across the US railway before. Good fun, though. Thanks to Stick Insect and CS.

    1. I only know of EL from solving crosswords.
      I don’t remember seeing it for a few years though.

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