Sunday Toughie No 217
by Zandio
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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We haven’t had Zandio here since #207, and judging by some of his recent backpagers, I expected a tougher time. This went smoothly with only a few 2d’s or quid pro quo’s for parsing.
16a and 14d clues and I have hinted half. In order to sprinkle them evenly around the grid I have left a few of the trickier clues unhinted. I will try and give a nudge or two if you ask.
Here We Go…
As it is a Prize puzzle, I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll be back just after the closing date with the full blog. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!
I hope I don’t have to redact any comments, but I am not so new at this and don’t want to rock the boat. If in doubt, I’ll rub it out! I think that sentence is a bit redundant. You have all been so helpful in sorting out prior parsing failures, and I am sure I will need similar help again.
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious. Don’t forget the Mine of useful information that Big Dave and his son Richard so meticulously prepared for us.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely
Across
1a Pop round with ring, or call? (6)
Another affectionate term for your father is reversed, it goes with a campanologists ring of bells. The answer is slightly crickety as it is a call for a wicket perhaps?
10a Septuagenarian maybe called up to avoid second Republican bounce back (9)
A person who is a septuagenarian today was likely born during the post-war period of population growth. Add the term for such people to called on the phone, but avoid the second R for Republican before putting your answer in
11a A musical interlude;
That also serves as a hint to 22d
12a Coming down or stepping up, changing direction halfway (7)
The letter we need to change is an “unch” so I may have this bass ackwards. Assuming the definition comes first, a synonym of stepping up swaps its halfway letter for the polar opposite direction
14a Savour a city with Italian styling … (5)
A from the clue and a city styled as the Italians would
20a Music from South America echoed around Lima (5)
A South American abbreviation is echoed, and goes around the letter that Lima suggests
23a Turning 22 shortly, a friend in France – wave from afar? (7)
Your answer for 22d is turned and shortened, followed by how someone from France would refer to a friend
27a US city politician I saved in overdose took off (9)
An abbreviated US city, a British politician and an overdose, that contains the number that I would represent to Romans
28a Grow sad, decline (4,4)
I thought at first we had synonyms of the first two words, but I couldn’t get grow to equal ****. I have decided it must be a double definition. To grow or become sad as a two-word phrase or to decline “on account of the economy”
Down
1d Cutting from cedar bore a leaf like this? (8)
This is a lurker (cutting from), but a definition is hard to find, unless you consider it an all-in-one lurker, as Cedar trees do indeed bear leaves of this nature
5d Murderous milieu of “Mr Ice”? (9,5)
A reverse anagram, where the indicator and fodder go into the grid and “Mr Ice” could be generated from the second word
8d Initially yarn’s twisted trying out needle-less knitting – flipping puzzling! (6)
Without the hyphen in needle-less the reverse (flipping) initial letters wouldn’t work
9d These newly spliced girls, wed, haunt Ma if short of capital? (9-2-3)
A relationship between girls who have recently married. An anagram (newly spliced) of the following four words, but as the fodder contains 15 letters and we only need (9-2-3) remove the only capital letter
16d So Anna makes naan (6,3)
What you have to do to Anna to make naan
19d Bedroom in Brazilian city – couple bowled over (7)
Crossworders favourite Brazilian city, a couple and a cricket scorers abbreviation are reversed (over)
22d Second time in Paris, and carrying on in road (6)
Abbreviations of second and time, a Parisians and, contain a usual on or about
Compiler
Zandio
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4a 
sent me to listen to this again
That’s All Folks…
Very approachable for a Sunday prize toughie with no real hold ups or head scratchers, except for 1a, my LOI. I call for calm as an example convinced me the answer was correct.
5d favourite today
2*/4*
Thanks to Z and SJB
I almost missed the 🏏 🔔 ringing in 1a too. Not quite the LOI, but certainly after 1 and 3d
Most enjoyable puzzle with 5d and 16d as my favourites.
Off to Murcar Links for a few holes of golf in the spring sunshine.
Thanks to Zandio and SJB.
Enjoy chasing the little pill around Murcar
As straightforward a Toughie as I can remember from Zandio but his puzzles are never less than enjoyable. Thanks to him and SJB.
28a e.g. They grow pale at the thought of giving blood.
I’ve plumped for a podium of 10a, 5d and 16d.
I am glad you said that, I was expecting something a bit more murderous.
5d and 16d deservedly get a mention by everyone so far. 10a was a bit trickier as I am still a few years short
Now I am really confused! Everything was going well until I got to the south west. Corner and 28a was my LOI. Now you are confusing me with disliking giving blood? Oh dear.
I think Gazza is saying that grow/**** can be synonymous and that sad is synonymous with the second word. Put them together and they mean an economic decline
Does it need to be an economic decline?
How about just a decline as not wanting to do something, as in he asked her out on a date, but she declined… in other words she blah him blah
Of course, I just used the economic decline as an excuse to play The River
A perfectly pitched puzzle from Zandio to welcome my return from a 3 week crossword-free cycle tour / holiday, with just the right level of difficulty to kick start the puzzle-solving brain cells without overstretching them!
Lots of smooth surfaces and nicely crafted wordplay as is usual with this setter, with my favourite clues today being 10, 12 & 20 in the Across direction and 5, 19 & 22 in the Downs. 11a and 8d were just pipped to the podium places.
We have family living in Canada, nearby to Vancouver, and it amused / pleased us to discover that, as a result of tariff wrangles, the locals there no longer list the 3d drink on their menus, but have patriotically renamed it a C********
My thanks to Zandio and to SJB. I’ll catch up on the previous 3 Prize Toughies after I have caught up on neglected-garden chores!
Well done Canada, I am a little surprised anyone else drinks clsalfhipt
A very gentle puzzle that I completed sat outside in the midday sun in Valencia.
My top three are 12a, 20a and 8d (nice initial reversal).
Many thanks to Zandio and to SJB.
I listened to the music track at 20a, but struggled to understand all the non-peninsular Spanish.
Me too but the BVSC was a pretty good watch/listen even if the language went over my Ness
Quite approachable for Zandio, but still stretched the grey matter. I liked 10a and 16d. I admired 11a too although we’ve seen a few of them lately.
Thanks to Zandio and the Yottie.
Hopefully thawing fast now
Just popped in here to say 16d was my clue of the week a proper chortler
Made me want to go to the nearest curry house for the 14a of the 15a Chicken Chana Massala with a Garlic Naan
The photo you put at 16d is making me salivate. I skipped lunch today and I am Lee Marvin !
If you are feeling a bit Bruce Welch or Jet Harris you better have a Reg Varney
Starving here too, I have been to many local curry houses in Leeds and Bradford and I am looking forward to see what Birmingham’s Balti houses can offer after the Mid-year blog bash…
I always remember the Two Ronnies rhyming slang sermon by Mr Barker.
If I knew how to add a youtube link I would, as it is a work of art (imo).
It is quite easy from you tube you go share, copy link then paste the link here
As long as it is on a separate line a gizmo that Mr K set up will insert it for you
Thanks for that! It always makes me laugh…
Oh dear, we have just been chuckling over that sermon! You don’t get ‘em like that any more. Anyway, Zandio gave us a fun guzzle today with 16d being my favourite. So clever. You’ve given me doubts about 28a but hey ho. Many thanks to Mr Setter and to SJB ( what a good thing you were not called George Keith) and I am reminded that I have to answer the Mid term Bash email.
Oh dammit. I mean Keith George of course -KGB. I’ll just shut up, shall I? And no, I am not Brahms and Liszt.
Yeah yeah yeah… I don’t Adam and Eve it!
You’ve spent the afternoon in the battle cruiser at the end of your frog and toad.
It wasn’t until I had finished it, unaided, in 2* time, that I realised I had just done the toughie and not the back pager! So yes for a toughie it was very straightforward. A few made me smile and when I finally got 16d I realised I had spent my efforts in totally the wrong direction and failed to see the obvious. Enough of that, must get the back page sorted out now, two chances for the proverbial.
Hello, compiler here. Thanks very much for taking the time to solve, hint and discuss.
Thanks for the interest in 16d. It is a unique clue! I say that, not to show off, but because I think it is the only pair of four-letter words that could work. I did find one other possibility (toot) but I couldn’t see how to use that in a clue. So I was relieved that ‘Anna’ works. Sometimes I decide the type of clue I want to write and then spend hours trying to make it work, without success. This could easily have been one of those.
By the way, SJB, you mentioned my recent back-pagers. Actually, there haven’t been any — or at least, only two this year. I’ve been very slow in compiling because I was away for two months (in lovely Colombia). I always say hello on this blog, so if I didn’t pop in here, it wasn’t mine.
On Friday someone kindly thanked me for the back-page puzzle after liking a topical clue that had to have been written by Dharma.
Many thanks again. Have a good week.
Thanks for popping in and explaining Anna. The anonymity of backpack puzzles is always going to lead to those kind of errors. Thanks for your 61st Sunday Toughie – proXimal is pulling away on 65
An accessible ST with great cluing. The NE held me up for a while, but it all fell into place eventually. I can’t improve on the universal choice of 5d & 16d as being my favourites.
For 28a surely an economic decline would be a reversal of the two halves?
Thanks to Zandio and SLB.
Perhaps Zandio could use ‘toot’ with a German gentleman?…. but I’m sure he’s already thought of that.
Thanks Zandio for a cracking puzzle, not too strenuous but still had it’s moments .I found this easier than the SPP .4, 16 ,17 my podium spots . Thanks also to Sloop J B .
A day late as per. Struggling to recall completing a Zandio Toughie (or back-pager for that matter) quicker than this one but fun all the same. That said not sure I quite get the 1st bit of 28a. Lots to like but 5&16d the standouts for me.
Thanks to Z&J
Three more votes for 16d, it was a clever way to clue. Let’s hope Zandio doesn’t take another 10 week break
Loved the puzzle. Solved and submitted and then came here in hope of validation. I will probably be unpopular for saying I found many of the hints more confusing than the answers themselves. I’m surprised as I have previously found the opposite from SLB.
In particular 10a feels unnecessarily wordy in its definition of people who I fear make up the majority of the people on this page, I have no idea what UNCH has to do with 12a and the term feels quite cliquey and off-putting to a newbie, and the relationship at 9d is not quite correctly described.
My christian name is Anna, so 16d is quite obviously the best clue in history, though in spite of his protestations, I”m sure Zandio could have made Otto work.
Thank you to the setter and hunter, and apologies if my comments are off piste.
Sorry, it is me who should apologise. As this is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few. With 10a I was trying to avoid using the required term for people in their seventies. With Unch I was guilty of using a bit of “crosswordese” an unch is an unchecked letter, and although in single form they are found in every crossword, double or triple “unches” are best avoided, as they can be unfair on solvers. I will ask Falcon if he could add this to the FAQ page. Thank you Anna, I am pleased you enjoyed the puzzle and it is always a good one when you get a “namecheck”
Thank you for your reply. And the explanation of unch. Just spotted my typo, and clearly meant hinter not hunter. Now I know what an unch is, I agree that it is likely definition first, but slightly ambiguous.
I see what you mean about 9d too, only one girl needs to be married, and not necessarily newly.
Perhaps newly spliced is just an anagram indicator and these is enough of definition.
If I get cliquey again, please pull me up for it, we are here to help.
Thank you. I most certainly will.