Toughie No 3625 by Hudson
Hints and tips by Whybird
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from a grey, wet, windy Wirral. It is only two weeks since we had a Tuesday Hudson, so I was pleasantly surprised to see his name appear when I opened my slightly damp Dead Tree this morning. However, we have a very different beast today compared with the previous one – still a lot of fun, but a puzzle that I felt would not have been out of place later in the week (not that I am complaining). There are a couple of gimmes to get the ball rolling, but then it is into full-on Toughie territory, with a smattering of GK that needed to be checked. The clues are all fair and clear, even if some of the parsing took a bit of effort (I’m looking at you, 1d and 12a…) and are combined with Hudson’s smooth, narrative (often deceptively so) surfaces. With Honourable Mentions for the Italian hothead, and 17d and 20d, my podium places go to the 14a/18a double act, with 11a on the top step by a nose.
Thank you, Hudson, for a comprehensive, but tasty, stiffener to start the week!
Please let us know how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.