Toughie No 3648 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty **** – Enjoyment *****
There is always an element of trepidation involved when printing off the fortnightly Elgar Toughie – for a start, will I be able to solve it, let alone parse the clues and prepare the blog. This week I didn’t need to worry quite as much as usual. I enjoyed this, slightly friendlier than usual for an Elgar, crossword from start to finish; I’ll even forgive him for the ear worm inducing 6d!
Please let us know what you thought
Across
1a About whom PM needs to learn! (5,9)
PETER MANDELSON An anagram (about) of PM NEEDS TO LEARN
8a Regretful of downfall brought to leader of government (5)
RUING Downfall followed by (brought to) the ‘leader’ of Government
9a Review endlessly of assistance to fixer (5,3)
PANEL PIN An informal verb meaning to review or criticise harshly and a synonym for assistance without the outside letters (endlessly)
11a/12a Invitation accepted: Odin, “timid” barking dog, bites postman’s rear! (1,4,4,2,1,2)
I DON’T MIND IF I DO An anagram (barking) of ODIN TIMID, followed by a generic dog’s name, into which is inserted (bites) the letter at the rear of postmaN
12a See 11 Across
13a Rubbish flat, hooked stick (4)
GAFF A slang term for rubbish, another for a building, or a hooked stick used for landing fish
14a Going the right way towards the nineteenth hole? (2,6)
ON COURSE Playing a game of golf ending up with a drink at the ‘nineteenth hole’
17a Lima perhaps – very like, say, the world’s entertainment capital (3,5)
LAS VEGAS The letter represented by Lima in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, an adverb meaning perhaps, the abbreviation for Very, the abbreviated way of saying for example (like) and the same adverb, this time meaning say
19a Too technical, some cases (4)
ALSO Hidden (cased by) the second and third words of the clue
23a/24a Check marshy inlet – one’s means to an end, very obligingly (5,9)
CHARM OFFENSIVE The abbreviation for check, a marshy inlet (3,2,3), a way of saying I have (one’s) into which is inserted the end of meanS
24a See 23 Across
25a Outside bishop is drinking Berlusconi’s last toast to Renzi? (8)
BRINDISI Matteo Renzi is a former Prime Minister of Italy – the solution is an Italian drinking song (toast). The outside or peel of something is inserted between (drinking) the chess abbreviation for Bishop, IS (from the clue) and the last letter of berlusconI
26a Soil enricher that additionally protects large cutting to a great extent (5)
MULCH The abbreviation for Large ‘cutting’ an adverb meaning to a great extent
27a Broadcaster’s closing argument against Defence Act (5-9)
SWORD-SWALLOWER A broadcaster of seed into which is inserted (closing) an argument and a defence around a property
Down
1d Doctors, supporting chest secured by rod, stop motor at this point (7,5)
PARKING PLACE An abbreviated doctor and a verb meaning to doctor or tamper with, go after (supporting) a chest, the whole then being inserted (secured by) a type of rod
2d Fade, Eeyore-style? (4,3)
TAIL OFF Eeyore was without this part of his body until Christopher Robin and Winnie thePooh ‘fixed it’
3d I agree this is 7’s city centre (6)
RIGHTO The centre (or inside letters) of the city where the solution to 7d lived for many years
4d Foreign lodger reported O2? (2,4)
AU PAIR A homophone (reported) of O and two things (2)
5d In musical gathering, sons and daughters exchange blows (4-4)
DING-DONG Replace the abbreviations for Son in a musical gathering with the abbreviation for Daughter
6d Millie’s Boy raised game, potting ball (8)
LOLLIPOP A 1964 hit for Millie Small – a reversal (raised) of a game into which is inserted (potting) a little ball of medicine
7d Would it periodically rival The Entertainer? (7)
OLIVIER The actor starring in the 1960 film The Entertainer. The even (periodically) letters of wOuLd It and someone who contends in rivalry
10d Hit total … good number (4,8)
COME TOGETHER The opening track on the Beatles’ hit album, Abbey Road. Total (4,2), the abbreviation for Good and a gas used as an anaesthetic (number)
15d Stars – Miller, most frequently – breaking the heart of Marilyn Monroe (3,5)
LEO MINOR The letter found most frequently in the word miLLer inserted into (breaking) an anagram of I (the heart of mMarIlyn) and MONROE
16d Heat Units look into degeneration of bones (8)
CALORIES A poetic word meaning look inserted into decay of bones or teeth
18d Bird Box 5 (7)
SPARROW A verb meaning to box and a more formal name for the solution to 5d
20d Rolling tract of country yours truly almost completely destroyed (4,3)
LAID LOW A reversal (rolling) of an open tract of upland country, I (yours truly) and the first two letters of ALmost, the synonym for completely being removed
21d In which three Guineas pay for his coat in seconds (6)
AFRICA The continent where there are three countries with the word Guinea in their name. Found in alternate letters in pAy FoR hIs CoAt
22d Online handle attached to Louvre’s principal work of art (6)
ENAMEL The letter used to indicate that something is online, the non-slang word for a handle and the principal letter of Louvre
Apart from a couple of hold ups this went rather smoothly for an Elgar (or perhaps it was the back page warm up). Thanks to CS amd Elgar.
This time I agree with the CS rating – a “not all that hard” Elgar. I failed to untangle all the elements of 17a and it was a while before the “Doctors” penny dropped at 1d but otherwise it all made some kind of sense. 1a is political clue of the year [so far] and I was also amused by 5d.
Thanks to Elgar and Sue [particularly for untangling 17d].
Not as frisky as he can be – though he did have me going with 6d’s Millie’s Boy. Thank goodness for wordplay. Hugely enjoyable and typically smart. 27a, 1d & 4d all tickled me, 15d reads beautifully and 21d’s sharp too. I had 13a as a triple and 23a/24a as a six-word definition … but I could easily be wrong! Best thanks to Elgar and Sue.
As our reviewer and those commenting above have said this is not Elgar at his most ferocious but it’s still tricky enough and it’s very enjoyable.
I really liked the excellent 1a, 27a, 1d and 7d.
Thanks to Elgar and CS.
Definitely a Friday-level Toughie for me, and while the top two-thirds went in relatively quickly, the bottom third was another matter entirely, the key to it being the 23a/24a combo – the “marshy inlet” synonym being very cryptic indeed (though I parsed it as 3,2,4 to account for the s before ive). A couple where I parsed the answer but could not understand the definition (25a, 6d), but one where I was on the wrong track entirely, not knowing where Olivier had lived nor looking it up.
1a one of the best and most topical anagrams evah, joined on the podium by my FOI, 4d, and 15d.
Many thanks to Elgar and Sue
“Beery yobbo Elgar sozzled, left unconscious (5,4)”
That clue from earlier in the week prompted me to have a go today, and I am glad I did.
Maybe the Lager Lout did have his foot off the pedal a little today, but perhaps he is saving his best for his 300th Toughie next time round.
Thanks to Sue and Elgar
Great entertainment as always from this setter, with fewer than usual unparsed bung-ins for Sue to unravel. I particularly liked 1a and 1d. I see from SJB above that Elgar has his 300 up in a fortnight. Bound to be a brain-mangler.
Many thanks to himself and CS.
Well I suppose it is Elgar and to date I have never been able to enter his cerebral domain, but today I managed about 25% unaided, so can only agree that today he is at his most benign. Everything is relative. With crypticsue’s excellent explanations I managed to finish using her hints alone.
1a is a classic and I liked Millie’s boy, but my COTD is 14a for no other reason than that is where I was today.
Thanks to Elgar and crypticsue.
I didn’t find this as easy as advertised, but got most of it in the end with a small amount of assistance. Finally stymied by the Italian Toast and location of Guineas. 1A was very topical indeed.
Thanks.
I always like to take on an Elgar puzzle, although I do not expect to complete it unaided. This was no exception and this time there were a larger number of unparsed bung-ins. I sometimes think that one has to be of a certain age to complete some Toughies. Here we had a Beatles number I did not know (I parted company with pop music when the Beatles grew moustaches), ‘My Boy Lollipop’ (I had forgotten Millie’s surname, if I ever knew it) and, going even further back, Colonel Chinstrap.
Thanks to Elgar for the challenge and to Sue for helping with the parsing.
Just plain hard for me, with a couple of gimmes (eg 8a, so much so I worried they couldn’t be correct in an Elgar!) and many that were “ok, that fits the slit, now what’s it got to do with the clue?” eg 27a. Failed to parse 10d and 23/24a, so thanks to CS for sorting those.
I think the hint for 1d isn’t quite right. Having seen CS’s suggestion about the two types of Doctor, I think the chest is inserted in a three-letter “rod” followed by the two doctors. But I’d never have come to that view without the hint!
Thanks to Elgar for the usual brain mangling.