Toughie No 3647 by Beam
Hints and tips by ALP
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BD Rating – Toughie difficulty * – Enjoyment ***/****
It’s Beam, so you know what to expect – sweethearts, a Queen, a flurry of imaginative synonyms and no anagrams. Over to you.
Across
1a Incompetent with US agency in clear (10)
NOTICEABLE: “incompetent” (3,4), with (controversial) “US agency” in(side).
6a Issue from old man’s son (4)
PASS: old man’s/father’s + abbreviated “son”.
10a Spoil one purchasing can for drink (7)
MARTINI: spoil/ruin + the usual “one”, purchasing/containing “can” (container).
11a Fires back lacking energy and strength (7)
STAMINA: fires/kindles, lacking/minus abbreviated “energy”.
12a Very high plunge nearly leading contest (8)
FALSETTO: plunge/drop, minus its last letter, plus contest/dispute (3-2).
13a End of Scrubs’ prison time done (5)
SPENT: [Scrub]S + prison/cage + abbreviated “time”.
15a Beds sweethearts accepting everything (7)
PALLETS: sweethearts/darlings, accepting/containing the usual “everything”.
17a More like dressing, or less dressed? (7)
SAUCIER: a double definition that certainly needs its question mark!
19a Soundly beats children’s game (7)
CONKERS: homophone (soundly) of “beats”.
21a Degrade Church name taking Mass (7)
CHEAPEN: abbreviated “church” and “name” taking/containing mass/load.
22a Check trailer’s front behind car (5)
AUDIT: T[railer] behind/after (German) “car”.
24a Left inside, grass grassed? (8)
REPORTED: (nautical) “left” inside (botanical) “grass”.
27a Fancy one finding silver in excavation! (7)
IMAGINE: “one”, plus symbolised “silver” in excavation/pit.
28a Vague relative warm at heart (7)
UNCLEAR: (male) “relative” + [w]AR[m].
29a Constraint with run on bank (4)
TIER: constraint/impediment + abbreviated “run”.
30a United from inside target niftily turned (10)
INTEGRATED: lurker, reversed in the third, fourth and fifth words.
Down
1d English gent elevated getting title (4)
NAME: abbreviated “English”, plus gent/bloke, reversed.
2d Sailor quietly stripped heaving canvas sheet (9)
TARPAULIN: three-letter sailor + (musical) “quietly” + “heaving”, minus its first and last letters.
3d Cots required in babies’ sleep, initially (5)
CRIBS: acrostic.
4d American, through experiment, almost flies (7)
AVIATES: abbreviated “American” + through/by way of + experiment/trial, minus its last letter.
5d In speech, moderates lectures (7)
LESSONS: homophone of moderates/reduces.
7d Fleet US soldier found in drink (5)
AGILE: the usual “US soldier” in(side) drink (beer).
8d Counting following small, small amount (10)
SMATTERING: counting/carrying weight, following/after abbreviated “small”.
9d She reportedly needs others to work (8)
MASSEUSE: Straightforward but slightly unusual – you’re looking for a woman who “homophone-of-needs” others to (for) work.
14d Authority oddly sapped US agency record (10)
SPECIALIST: S[a]P[p]E[d] + the usual “US agency” + record/index.
16d Shocking vote for costly cut (8)
ELECTRIC: vote for/choose + costly/splendid, minus its last letter.
18d Simple men tempted to acquire gadget (9)
IMPLEMENT: lurker, hidden in the first three words.
20d Doctor fish discharging last of milt (7)
SURGEON: (caviar) “fish” discharging/minus [mil]T.
21d Fitting wearing correct collar (7)
CAPTURE: fitting/suitable, wearing/inside correct/fix.
23d Bird beginning to display comb (5)
DRAKE: d[isplay] + comb/scrape.
25d Fast driver reversing vehicle over Queen! (5)
RACER: “vehicle”, reversed, plus the usual “Queen”.
26d Endlessly disgusting filth (4)
CRUD: disgusting/coarse, minus its last letter.
We’ve got three homophones, two lurkers and an acrostic, etc. I rather liked 1a, 11a and 24a. How did you get on?
Lovely puzzle, clockwise from NW and finishing in the NE, which I though slightly the more testing corner. Very Beam-ish and so many great clues and surfaces, though surprising to see three uses of US including two US agencies. Good lurkers. For me the honours go to 21a, 1a & 17a.
Many thanks to Beam and of course also to ALP
Hope Jane is on the road to recovery and able to enjoy her dream team of setters today.
On a par with the Cryptic today
2.5*/4*
2d very similar to a recent cryptic clue – eavin was used instead of stripped in that instance for the last 5 letters.
1a LOI and COTD, followed by 11a and 17a for podium spots.
Thanks to ALP and Beam
Very enjoyable.
The one I liked the most was 11a.
Many thanks to Beam and to ALP.
I always enjoy a Beam toughie and this was no exception. Parsing a few was challenging to say the least but I got there. Numerous candidates for favourite but I’ll go with 11a. Thanks to the aforementioned and ALP.
A very benign Beam this afternoon which nevertheless proved to be a most enjoyable and fun solve. Beautifully concise with some wonderfully stretched synonyms, I had 21a as a particular favourite.
Many thanks to the aforementioned and ALP.
For a Thursday Toughie, I found this to be very approachable. The W went in fairly easily and then step by step the SE came together leaving 3 in the NE to succumb to electronic treatment and reverse parsing. The synonym for ‘counting’ in 8d is a new variant for me and required post solve confirmation.
Overall, I am well chuffed with myself and finally feel I can look Toughies in the eye with confidence…..that is until tomorrow!
My thanks to Beam and ALP
3*/3*
Just asking … but why is there an exclamation mark (!) at the end 27a?
I think it’s just because the surface reads as something that should be said with a sense of surprise or wonderment.
Evening all. Many thanks to ALP for the analysis and to all for your comments.
RayT
Best thanks for popping in – and for the fun.
Many thanks for a splendid puzzle which was a real pleasure to solve. Thanks too to ALP.
I hope our reviewer is seated when he reads that for once I’m in complete agreement with his difficulty rating having found this one marginally the easier of today’s puzzles & a very enjoyable solve. Can’t recall wordplay using Immigration & Customs Enforcement before & it made a refreshing change from the CIA. No particular favourite but as ever beautifully clued throughout.
Thanks to Beam & to ALP – nice to hear the Fenton Robinson original & felt sure we’d have got some Mississippi John Hurt (Make Me A Pallet on Your Floor).
1*/4* …
liked 17A “More like dressing, or less dressed ? (7)”