Sunday Toughie No 223
by Zandio
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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Zandio brings us a flough(ier) toughie than some. I rattled this off after an exciting (semi) finale to the Snooker last night. I hope the final today and tomorrow is as good.
21a and 11d stood out for me but I am sure you will like most of these fine clues
14a and 14d clues and I have hinted half. 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 Film music titan’s entrance after solid support (10)
Synonyms of solid and support are separated by the initial (entrance) of titan
10a … pile attaching on family Sierra’s wipers (7)
The pile of a cloth, such as that used at The Crucible Theatre today, a synonym of family and the letter that Sierra suggests
12a A musical interlude
15a When seabird shows behind at sea (6)
A conjunction for when and a seabird
17a Prompt comprehension, audibly stressed later (6)
A homophone (audibly stressed) of comprehension or understanding
21a Pay author?! I go off to tackle book writing (13)
An all-in-one anagram (off) of pay author I go and B for book. Nice surface. Why pay for an author to ghostwrite your story when you could write it yourself
25a Monthly rate I dropped round bottles of vitamins etc? (7)
A lurker (bottles) that is hidden in reverse (round) in the first four words
26a Another musical interlude
27a Novel direction taken by duo, playing one with horns (10)
A direction or compass point, in an anagram (playing) of duo, finish with a horned animal
Down
1d Petition bishop’s department to meet king (4)
The area or department under a bishop’s control meets a King abbreviation
3d Mayonnaise possibly where you need it? (It’s usually in the bedroom) (8-5)
An emulsion of oil, vinegar and egg and the place it is served. Or, more reasonably, the area of the bedroom where one prepares for the day
4d Camp types and rogues keeping my boss company (8)
Zandio’s abbreviated boss and an abbreviation of company go in some rogues
7d Sign to collect one’s hot food (7)
An actor’s line that serves as a sign for some following action or speech, contains a Roman one its plural ess, and a synonym of hot or popular
11d Opening (adj.), focus (verb), peroration (noun)? (5,2,6)
I was once told the ideal way to give an address.
Introduction; tell them what you are going to tell them.
Main body; tell them.
Summary; tell them what you have told them.
Zandio has summarised this in an even more succinct all-in-one, where each word of the answer has its own definition
13d Resignation from a job in the end supported by words from the boss? High time to leave! (10)
Put together the following, A from the clue, the end of job and words said by a boss to a secretary, but the first (highest in a down clue) T for time is leaving
22d Something stopped one’s heart (5)
A double definition
Compiler
Zandio
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Most of my musical links today have been 1a’s and here is another favourite
That’s All Folks…
Per SJB’s comments, this was certainly on the Floughie side and not very more onerous than today’s SPP, indeed I completed it in a faster time. However I had trouble ratifying 27a, I could see the direction and duo playing but didn’t think of the animal, so thank you SJB for unravelling it for me. Everything else was straightforward without straining the grey cells.
Thanks to Zandio and SJB
A good, solid, Sunday Toughie.
Plenty to admire, especially the unconventional 27a, the grammar lesson in 11d and the resignation in 13d.
Best of all is the passage in 16d, which no doubt intentionally reads like the demand from the king printed inside a passport.
My thanks to Zandio and SJB.
I started the puzzle thinking the same as SJB about the level of difficulty, but then I came to a screeching halt in the SE corner. I was sorely mislead by Zandio’s deft wordplay and it took me quite some time to realise that there was a lurker in 25a, to piece together ‘the attraction going up’ in 20d, unravel the wordplay of 27a and then (LOI) identify the required ‘Creature’ in 23d. Once solved, I included 27a and 20d in my favourites, and I wouldn’t disagree with SJB about 21a and 11d. With its clever construction and smooth surface reading I am also adding 13d to my list.
My thanks to Zandio, who never fails to both please and amuse; and to SJB for his entertaining blog post.
Thanks for explaining the parsing of 25a and 7d.
Clue of the day for me – 27a.
Trying to motivate myself to go to the Driving Range as I have a game of golf tomorrow but there is a bitterly cold wind here.
Thanks to Zandio and SJB.
I haven’t quite finished it but feeling confident. I just dropped by to read the hints.
Zandio is not too tough and very entertaining today – thanks to him and SJB.
My picks were 4d, 11d, 13d and 16d.
Poor connectivity at my local Caffè Nero (with Mama Bee) necessitates a general reply. I am glad this puzzle 19a none of you. I would welcome many more from Zandio when they are as good as this
A flat white for Mama, and an Americano for me with a couple of slices of apple crumble 🎂
Yea! Done. Very satisfying, many thanks to Zandio for another find guzzle you got me into – 16d was my last one in and I spent a lot of time musing on a book for 27a. And thanks to SJB of course. For the Summer Meet I shall stay with my grandson in Market Drayton from Friday and he will deliver me to the venue. Very excited!
Hello, compiler here. Thanks very much for taking the time to solve, hint and discuss. Always appreciated.
For no particular reason, here’s a video of Carlos Vives doing ‘La Gota Fria’ on 12 April 1994. In Colombia, Carlos Vives fills stadiums with his exhilarating updating of vallenato folk music. This song is known as the one that really launched the genre, being an old vallenato song from 1938 which Carlos Vives reinvented in 1993.
Thanks again, and have a great week.