Toughie No 3612 by Osmosis
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ****
There are a few gimmes here but in the main this required a fair bit of work. There are no anagrams (that’s fine by me) and I enjoyed the challenge a lot. Thanks to Osmosis.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Across Clues
1a Postgraduate initially missed UK island’s ceremony (6)
MAUNDY: a postgraduate and an island off the North Devon coast without its initial letter.
4a Sprinkler used after match confirmed? (8)
CONFETTI: cryptic definition – the match being a wedding.
9a They close minor garage and only work on pumps? (6)
RESOLE: the closing letters of ‘minor garage’ and a synonym of only.
10a Training crewman drops dipstick (3-5)
PEA-BRAIN: string together abbreviations for physical training and a crewman then add drops from the sky.
12a Food minute with much acidity, say, in review of Times (8)
SAMPHIRE: insert the abbreviation for minute and a measurement of high acidity (2,1) into the reversal of times or epochs.
13a Relative with bit of needle animated Jack (6)
POPEYE: an informal word for father and the bit at one end of a needle.
15a Actress‘s range shown by period piece that’s minimal (4,9)
JUNE WHITFIELD: a synonym of range or sphere follows a period of Summer and a very small part.
18a Writer‘s immaculate stuff, reporting about Ibiza’s periphery (8,5)
VIRGINIA WOOLF: an adjective meaning immaculate or pure and what sounds like a verb to stuff oneself or gulp down bracket the peripheral letters of Ibiza.
22a Poser in aqua MG inexpertly reversed (6)
ENIGMA: hidden in reverse.
24a Quiet snake, one having extensive jaw (8)
PRATTLER: the abbreviation for quiet and an informal word for a noisy type of snake.
26 River banks tilt shrub (8)
OLEANDER: a river of central Europe contains a verb to tilt.
27a Festival‘s tail-enders leaving did walk it (6)
DIWALI: drop the final letters of the last three words.
28a Arsenal focus, wanting first trophy (8)
ENTREPOT: a word for focus or heart without its first letter and a synonym of trophy. Both arsenal and the answer can mean a storehouse.
29a Teacher’s stern in secondary somewhat (6)
PRETTY: insert the rearmost letter of teacher in an adjective meaning secondary or minor.
Down Clues
1d Bland lemon jam (6)
MORASS: an abbreviation meaning bland (usually referring to a type of music) and a lemon or foolish person.
2d Posh Kimberley’s here meeting e.g. Wimbledon stars (4,5)
URSA MAJOR: assemble the letter used to mean posh, a 3-letter abbreviation for the country where Kimberley is found and what Wimbledon is an example of (one of four per year).
3d Setting up PC hard in school unit? (7)
DOLPHIN: reverse a derogatory slang term for a police officer and add the abbreviation for hard and IN.
5d One cooks, having changed five to ten meat suppliers (4)
OXEN: start with an inanimate thing that cooks and change the Roman numeral for five to that of ten.
6d Maybe fools thus breaking chain very loudly (4,3)
FOBS OFF: a synonym of thus goes between a (watch) chain and the abbreviation for very loudly.
7d Fly half crushing each rib (5)
TEASE: the first (or second) half of a bloodsucking fly contains the abbreviation for each. I spent some time trying to make ‘fly half’ be the shirt number in rugby union.
8d Pub open, accommodating developer’s second suggestion (8)
INNUENDO: a synonym of pub and a verb to open containing the second letter of developer.
11d Old photographer requires “Cheese” capturing individual (7)
BROWNIE: a popular French cheese containing an adjective meaning individual or personal.
14d Speed over Lancashire river, audibly using this? (7)
ZIPWIRE: a verb to speed followed by a homophone of river which flows into the Irish Sea at Fleetwood.
16d Divorcee, exuding age, leaves area, books skin treatment (9)
EXFOLIANT: start with our usual short word for a divorcee, add a word for leaves (of the green kind) without the word ‘age’ and finish with the abbreviation for some Biblical books.
17d A contest with extra runners common here (8)
AVIEMORE: glue together A, a verb to contest and a synonym of extra. Runners here are those found on winter sports equipment.
19d Boffins mostly cracking endless Times Jumbo (7)
IMMENSE: the organisation to which may boffins belong without its final letter goes inside the word ‘times’ without its outer letters.
20d Non-member cycling, beating rest (7)
OUTLIER: stick together a decisive beating or defeat and a verb to rest or recline then cycle the first letter to the end.
21d Lustful date for one Yankee (6)
FRUITY: what a date is an edible example of and the abbreviation for Yankee.
23d North-facing corral owned by Italian cowboy? (5)
INEPT: reverse a verb to corral inside an abbreviation for Italian.
25d Regulars in press box ready (4)
PESO: regular letters from ‘press box’.
Lots to like here – I’ll just mention 9a, 10a, 2d and 3d. Which clue(s) did the job for you?
Slowish start but then reasonable progress. Didn’t quite get the parsing of the 1st half of 1d. 4a, 9a and 13a made me smile.
Thanks to Gazza and Osmosis.
Certainly a Friday-level toughie, I reckon our blogger is spot on in his star ratings.
I spent too long thinking 1d was a triple definition and 28a is a new word for me.
Some fine deceptions to send us up the garden path, I’ve ticked the animated Jack in 13a, posh Kimberly’s here in 2d and the Italian cowboy in 23d. Clever stuff.
My thanks to Osmosis and Gazza, some cracking cartoons as per.
Well I couldn’t even find any of the gimmes so after 10 mins I scurried off to Fed (Django) over at the Graun.
May return & have a bash at completing with Gazza to guide me 🤔
Two of the gimmes are 22a and 25d.
I think I’d lost the will by that point – yeah got ‘em immediately 😃
Fed was fun in the Graun.
A slightly different feel to this top-of-the-range Osmosis, with cunning definitions emphasised more than tricky wordplay. Google was needed a few times including Lancashire rivers and actresses named *u** W or *a** W but eventually it all fell into place, the SW corner seeming much easier than the rest. Today’s awards go to “much acidity” at 12a, the “school unit” at 3d and the “lustful date” at 21d.
Thanks to Osmosis and Gazza [laughed out loud at the 16d pic].
Every Friday I ask myself why – why put yourself through the brain-mashing, self-flagellating torture that is the toughie? And then you get animated Jacks, common runners and lustful dates and you know why. Excellent mental workout from Osmosis and thanks to Gazza for explanations and splendid cartoons.
Top post, Scotty, you put it so well!
A great puzzle and a proper Toughie. While 3/4 fell remarkably swiftly (for an Osmosis puzzle) the last few, in the NW, slowed me to a crawl. The parsing of 1d escaped me and even on reading the hints I needed to read Gazza’s explanation twice!
Honours to 2d, 18a and 28a (I just had to select that one).
Many thanks indeed to Osmosis and Gazza
Fiendish, but enjoyable. Only managed just over half unaided and needed 5 of Gazza’s hints to unlock another 9, but still had to reveal the last 4. Favourite is 2d.
At least for me this is progress after Elgar’s puzzle last Friday.
Thanks to Osmosis and Gazza.
Much to my surprise I managed to complete the grid. Certainly not unaided – needed two letter checker reveals in the NW, one embarrassing correction en route (bunged in Jane Mansfield which isn’t even the correct spelling of her first name) & most annoyingly used the hint for last in 21d having exhausted every synonym I could think of for lustful & not twigging that kind of date.
Above my pay grade really but not as impenetrable as I feared though needed the review to explain 3 of the whys. A very enjoyable/rewarding challenge with plenty of great clues.
Thanks to Osmosis & to Gazza – 16d cartoon brilliant.
Had to cheat a little to get this finished off in the NW. Definitely a full-on Toughie. Starting with dislikes, I don’t think much of the postgrad in (many Masters are simply graduates) nor the bland lemon synonyms. However, 3d is great, even if very deceptively phrased, and 13a (which started my cheating) is also very clever. I spent too long trying include an anagram of “much”.
Thanks to Osmosis for the brain mangling, and Gazza as ever for enlightenment and amusement.
As a fairly new crossword solver and especially to the Toughie, I have a question on 21d as it really foxed me.
I fixated on the “one” so thought an “i” or “a” would be before the “y”.
Should the clue have read without the “one” as it had no bearing on the answer?
‘for one’ here means ‘for example’ so we need what a date is an example of followed by the abbreviation for Yankee.
Ah thanks, will remember that next time.