Toughie No 3654 by Django
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***/**** – Enjoyment ****
As usual, Django provides another very entertaining mid-week level Toughie. Some lovely story-telling in the clues (the fifteen-word 9d for example) but at least it all fitted on one sheet of paper this time!
Please let us know what you thought
Across
1a Sir is almost beastly about antioxidants? (11)
STABILISERS An anagram (about) of SIR IS and almost all of BEASTLy
10a Before taking seconds to guess one’s star sign cleverly (5)
UNTIL The second letters in gUess oNes sTar sIgn cLeverly
11a Go too far up waterslide by the sound of it (9)
OVERSHOOT Above or up and a homophone (by the sound of it) of a waterslide or sloping trough for sending down water
12a Distress of soldier wanting electronic one that’s charged (9)
PRIVATION An ordinary soldier without (wanting) the abbreviation for electronic and an electrically charged particle
13a Expert caddies putt regularly (5)
ADEPT The even (regularly) letters of words two and three in the clue
14a/16a Management removed first and second TV directors? (6,8)
REMOTE CONTROLS Far removed in place goes first before command or authority (management), the abbreviation for Second being added at the end
16a See 14 Across
18a/20a Strangely they all hated cover of biggest song (4’2,2,3,3)
THAT’LL BE THE DAY An anagram (strangely) of THEY ALL HATED and the outside letters (cover) of BiggesT The punctuation police will have been happy to see the inclusion of the apostrophe in the enumeration
20a See 18 Across
23a Schoolboy oddly ignored new feature of digital clock display (5)
COLON The even (oddly ignored) letters of sChOoLbOy and the abbreviation for New
24a Perhaps sewing mailbags as a result of this crime? (6,3)
INSIDE JOB Some work you might do in prison as a result of being convicted of this particular crime
26a Coming from chap devouring sandwiches (9)
EMANATING A synonym for devouring ‘sandwiching’ a chap
27a Gold that is left in bay window (5)
ORIEL The heraldic term for gold, the Latin abbreviation meaning that is and the abbreviation for Left
28a Music equipment‘s somehow messy in studio after cutting two singles (5,6)
SOUND SYSTEM An anagram (somehow) of MESSY iN STUDiO without the two Is (cutting two singles)
Down
2d Everyone tour operator’s taking to Turin initially (5)
TUTTI A leisure, holiday and tourism company ‘taking’ the initial letters of To and Turin
3d Heavy material in what could be Shirley Temple’s biggest feature? (7)
BALLAST The surname of Shirley the Strictly judge and the capital letter (biggest feature) of Temple
4d Somewhere to go with family by chance (4-2)
LOOK-IN An informal name for a toilet (somewhere to go) and people belonging to the same family
5d Batter Ben Stokes snubbed is South African (8)
STEENBOK An anagram (batter) of BEN STOKEs (‘snubbed’ telling you to omit the S)
6d Break sculpture, say and kick off once more (7)
RESTART A break and a work of skill (sculpture say)
7d One’s message can be driven home (6,7)
BUMPER STICKER If it were attached to the back of a vehicle
8d Nottingham side convinced Saints must withdraw as predicted (8)
FORETOLD The name of a Nottingham football team and convinced or enthusiastic about, both words omitting (must withdraw) the abbreviation for Saint
9d Standing next to Mark Gatiss for the finale in Calvin Klein briefs & a Rolex?! (6,7)
STATUS SYMBOLS Standing, position or importance, a mark or sign and the final letter of gatisS
15d Mould of a metal dish (4,4)
MEAT LOAF An anagram (mould) of OF A METAL
17d Insensibility leads to orchestra’s bassoonist trashing violin (8)
OBLIVION The ‘leads’ to Orchestra’s Bassoonist and an anagram (trashing) of VIOLIN
19d Record including name put on silver ring in the distant past (4-3)
LONG AGO A record into which is inserted (including) the abbreviation for Name, put on or followed by the chemical symbol for silver and the ring-shaped letter
21d Hospital doctor stopping you having a little something containing water (7)
HYDROUS The abbreviation for Hospital and the abbreviation for doctor ‘stopping’ or inserted into YOU (from the clue), the first letter (a little) of Something being added at the end
22d Traditions of America for example brought up by son (6)
USAGES A three-letter abbreviation for American, a reversed (brought up) abbreviation meaning for example, followed by the abbreviation for Son
25d Energy drink for one (5
JUICE An informal word meaning energy or source of power or an example (for one) of a drink
Thank you, Django. I found this suited me more than today’s backpager, with everything completed and parsed satisfactorily. Highlights were the 23a digital clock display, management removing TV directors in 14a, Shirley Temple in 3d (which had me wondering what the biggest ingredient in a Shirley Temple mocktail is; having just looked it up, it’s ginger beer), breaking 6d’s sculpture, and the 7d message driven home.
And thanks as ever to CrypticSue for being a safety net, since I’m apparently incapable of picking in advance which crosswords I’m capable of so never know when I’ll need you!
The bottom half was really straightforward but I really struggled with the top half especially 1a because I would never regard stabilisers as anti oxidants even though I could see it was anagram material.I’ve no idea who the female judge was although I guessed the answer and could only work out the second part of the 7d clue. I should have got the rather clever 14a grrr. DNF but still enjoyed most of it . Thanks to all.
Perfect for a midweek Toughie that was reasonably testing but very fairly clued. Our setter seems to have reverted to his more wordy phase, but I do like his style and sense of humour. For favourites I went for 24 and 28a.
My thanks to Django and Sue.
This was a fun puzzle, especially with the song from my teens when I was a big BH fan.
Needed a bit of help with an electronic gizmo to get over the line, but in retrospect everything fairly clued. I didn’t have a clue who Mark Gattis is, but with the checkers was able to tease out the answer which has to be my COTT.
Thanks to Django and to CS for filling in the gaps.
3*/4*
Some wickedly misleading definitions made this slightly more difficult than usual for a Wednesday toughie.
The clock display in 23a, the African in 5d and the car label in 7d were highlights, though the CK undercrackers and designer kettle made 9d my COTD.
Not sure 25d needed the last two words, though.
My thanks to Django for another cracking challenge and to CS for the excellent blog.
Django is as entertaining as ever – thanks to him and CS.
My ticks went to 14/16a, 24a and 7d.
Not surprisingly we struggled to parse 3d despite having the correct answer. Plenty of others though to keep us amused. Favourite was the 14/16 combo.
Thanks Django and CS.
Super puzzle and tremendous fun. Wouldn’t have recalled Shirley’s surname in a month of Sundays, so that answer went in with a shrug. Knew 14a was correct from the definition, but likewise couldn’t parse. Some cracking surfaces and plenty of humour.
COTD 9d, joined by 21d, 8d & 5d
Many thanks to Django and CS
Didn’t know the Shirley as I’ve never seen the programme and I’m not going to start now so I’ll be bamboozled by the next reference to it, also 5d was new to me. Last in was the NW. Favourite was 17d. Thanks to Django and CS.
Found that a fair bit tougher than usual for a Django production & especially so in the NW. As ever lots of clever clues & ticks aplenty – 14/16, 24&28a + 5,7&9d particular likes.
Thanks to Django & to Sue – was playing the right notes for the 14/16a why but unfortunately not quite in the right order.
Very enjoyable stuff from Django, and I’m with CS on the ratings. I often find Django’s puzzles look incomprehensible at first, and then gradually reveal themselves to be not so horrendous, especially when you tune into the narrative flow. I failed to twig the Shirley – not a piece of knowledge I regret lacking, but I did parse the rest of 3d – not that there was much left!
Thanks to Django for the challenge and to CS for more enlightenment.
Finished another Toughie, hope I get time to do more in the future! Thanks to Django for a great puzzle and thanks to CS for parsing or confirmation of parsing for 7 clues!
We saw 3down quite differently. Shirley Temple’s biggest feature (film) was Bright Eyes and featured her iconic performance of “On the Goodship Lollipop”. Heavy material in a ship is called b*****t.
Welcome to the blog, Almo.