Sunday Toughie No 200
by proXimal
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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It seems to me that we have been treated to a quite tricky weekend of puzzles from Telegraph Towers. Maybe it is just me being worn out by double duty. For this 200th Sunday Toughie proXimal has started with a Spoonerism and plenty of compound/subtractive anagrams.
16a and 14d clues, and I have hinted at half. As ever, some quite tricky constructions remain beware of lurkers, anagrams and “cycling” of letters. I will try and provide a nudge or two if you get stuck. I ask you (21d) to be aware I may be taking Mama Bee out for coffee and cakes (NOT at Greggs)
Here we go, Folks…
As it is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll return with the full review blog just after the closing date. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!
I hope I don’t have to redact any comments, but you have all been so well-behaved that the red pencil is likely to remain in retirement.
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious. Don’t forget the Mine of Useful information that Big Dave and his son Richard so meticulously prepared for us.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely.
Across
1a Spooner’s reason for leaving Greggs empty-handed is utter tosh (4,2,4)
A complete dearth of pastry-based products may cause you to leave Greggs empty-handed, but it becomes utter tosh when treated by Reverend Spooner.
10a Obscure band (4)
A double definition.
13a Uncouth sort in the background shot, suspect bandit edited out (9)
An anagram (shot) of IN THE BACKGROUND, after another anagram (suspect) of BANDIT has been edited out.
15a Metal vehicle beside arena aside from street (8)
A small commercial vehicle and a synonym of an arena from which the abbreviation of street has been removed.
20a Supply tends to run out of special Middle-Eastern curative (8)
I was fooled by this one. In this case, supply does not mean to replenish, but is the adverb form of pliant or yielding (that I may have seen if rendered supp’ly). It is therefore an anagram indicator and instructs us to remove an anagram of tends from Middle-Eastern. Another anagram indicator (special) allows us to re-order the letters that remain to reveal the curative. (Thanks Lie-in-King)
23a Testing fixed retaining wall having rejected a new alternative (9)
Our third compound/subtractive anagram. An anagram (fixed) of retaining wall from which an anagram (alternative) of a new has been removed.
27a Award cats pieces of meat (10)
An award for gallantry, perhaps and plural big cats.
29a Page is separated in cell, part of church (10)
An abbreviation of page and is from the clue are separately housed in a cell used to power devices. Not the spelling with which I am familiar, but of course, the BRB approves of either.
Down
2d Leader is third person to control school organisation (7)
The firstborn son of Adam and Eve contains a school organisation.
As Senf started off with the earworms in t’other place here is another.
3d Former PC, duck farmer (3,9)
A synonym of former, a personal computer from the Apple Corporation and a cartoon duck combine to be a farmer… E.I.E.I.O.
7d Playwright is one I’m unsure should be taken on by agent (7)
Two late nights on the trot appear to have broken my parsing engine. This took forever to drop. A secret agent who successfully infiltrates a rival organisation contains the letter that Romans use for one and an interjection said when unsure.
8d Remarkably rigorous leaving court before royal (10)
A rigorous dance competition, which last night came from the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, swaps its abbreviation of court for a senior male royal. More accurately a six-letter synonym of rigorous swaps its abbreviation of court for a six-letter adjective for royal. Thanks Spartacus
11d Fungi merchant with mount starts to hand ceps over (12)
Start with a merchant, add a volcanic mount in Italy and the starts of hand and ceps. Finally, turn the lot over for a type of fungi
14d Equal leader in table demoted in heptathlon final (4-6)
How many different “parts” are there in the Heptathlon? A phrase for the final “part” demotes the leading letter of table down the order to be equal in score.
22d Such pictures hung up the wall could show machinegun (6)
An anagram (up the wall) of hung when removed from machinegun reveals another anagram (could show) of such pictures.
Compiler
proXimal
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I started and finished with ‘pesky 4-letter clues’, 1d going in straight away but 24a stubbornly holding out to be my LOI. Given the first letter of 1a, the excellent Spoonerism quickly followed, together with a double tick – making it my clue of the day. Runners-up in the across clues were 6, 20 & 23. The Down clues also had a clear winner – in the 14d ‘heptathlon final’. Runners-up there were 8, 11 & 17. For 8d, my parsing had a 6-letter word for ‘royal’ (as an adjective) – so slightly different to the parsing put forward by SJB.
My thanks to proXimal for yet another fine Sunday Toughie, and to SJB for his Hints and Tips.
You are probably right, I stretched things a bit to get Blackpool in
A good excuse to see that brilliant Charleston again
(the emoticons don’t include a ’10 paddle’, so a rose will have to do).
I found that really tough but eventually got there. I struggled with some of the parsings. I’m not always a fan of Spoonerisms but thought 1a was an absolute hoot and my first one in. I looked at 3d for ages and then the penny dropped, closely followed by a good chuckle!
Thanks to proXimal for soggy Sunday entertainment. And special thanks to SJB for blogging number 200….have you blogged them all?
I missed the first couple blogged by Senf and BD and Gazza and Stephen L have subbed for hols and booze ups. I am on 396 blogs as we speak so with reviews as well as hints I have done the big cats share.
400 by the end of the year then! That’s more than England are likely to score in an Ashes match if the recent performance is anything to go by.
Thanks for all the blogs, I’m a relative newcomer to the Toughies, so the occasional nudge and explanation is much appreciated.
When the reviews of this and 199 go live I will be on 398, so 201 and its review should hit the magic figure next weekend.
A cracking puzzle befitting the bicentenary of the Sunday Toughie. Thanks to proXimal with his now customary compound anagram and SJB.
I didn’t know the 15a metal but the wordplay is very fair.
Highlights for me were 1a, 2d, 14d and 22d with my favourite being 3d.
I liked 14d too as the proXimal (the other SJB) gave himself a namecheck.
Great challenge. Loved the trademark ™ Spoonerism. Getting used to these compound anagrams.
Wasn’t sure about 16a.
Great work , both SJB’s, if I understand the above
🙏 to all
You’re welcome, my blogging initials are shared with proXimal’s real initials.
16a is a lofty location where, the camel like creatures referred to (as a homophone) in 12a, roam. It just seems odd putting that indefinite article in front of a word that doesn’t start with a vowel sound. The adjective for someone from the lofty location became clearer to me when I included in in the definition.
Doesn’t time fly – seems like no time since the introduction of the Sun Toughie. Am I remembering correctly thinking the original triumvirate of setters were Zandio, Robyn & proXimal? Thought this one a belter to bring up the 200 kicking off with a top notch Spoonerism & followed by a host of ticks elsewhere. Particularly enjoyed the compound anagrams (half of ‘em twigged much quicker than usual so that’s progress) & the hidden ones good too. I’m sure I’ve Pointless to thank for having heard of 15a. Tough to pick a podium but if pressed it’d have to be 1&23a + 14d.
Thanks to proXimal & to John – esp for why at 11d where I completely missed over as the indicator
Indeed, Robyn has made an occasional appearance since “moving upstairs” replaced by Light and Beam. I think Dada had a go once during the transition too.
15a is written all over my 🔧 and after I saw the first five letters of 11d in plain sight I almost missed the over too.
Glad you enjoyed the earworm, plenty of choices who covered that so I thought I should play the original.
Blimey, that was as hard a Sunday Toughie as I can recall.
Had to park it up for a couple of hours to watch the rugby and came back to it better for the break.
COTD is 14d for its construction and the fact that I like the term.
Thanks to proXimal and John.
I have just asked Mr Google if a heptathlon ever ended in a tie…
The most recent and prominent example occurred at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where Great Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson and America’s Taliyah Brooks both finished with an identical total of 6,581 points and shared the bronze medal. This was a historic moment, the first time two athletes had split a world medal in the women’s heptathlon.
This was extremely tough for me and plenty of parsing arrived on a much later bus. Thought I was off to such a good start when 9a fell easily and I thought it would give me plenty of checkers to work with – much use they turned out to be at that stage in the game….
All was forgiven when I unearthed the glorious Spoonerism (never thought I’d be saying that) and I was rather partial to the duck farmer as well. They can share the top prizes and are followed in true carnivore style by 27a &19d.
Thanks to proXimal for a challenge that befits the 200th celebration and thanks to SJB for the hints.
We have just had a nice couple of lamb chops, maybe I should have had offal served with Fava Beans and a Nice Chianti
Blimey from me as well. I struggled for ages on most of this one, looking at Sloop’s hints which still didn’t help, but whatever eventually I have managed to fill all the squares and just about to submit but guess I won’t qualify for (another) pen! Good these toughies and congrats on number 200.
I’m not sure if this is my first post. I started this with a flourish. I always go across then down, and I filled several on my first pass, compared with the Sunday prize where unusually I was at 2d before I filled a square. I felt quite smug and then, after completing half of it, l ground to a halt. I wasn’t familiar with the subtraction anagrams so the hints were essential for completion.
Thank you proXimal and Sloop John Bee.
I just loved 1a 15a and 14d. I think 14d just pinched top spot for me.
I don’t get 26a and wonder if I’m astray with my answer.
I also have a (possibly dumb) question. People refer to an error message when submitting. I’ve never come across that. Is that on the app or the web page? I always play on the app.
I get this all the time….
Or similar pop-ups that declare an error in JSON, whatever that may be.
Others who have got the message have also won prizes (comments passim). I am assured that entries are still submitted and Telegraph Towers are working on it.