Toughie No 3682 by Django
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
I was hoping we’d get a Django Toughie today and I wasn’t disappointed. Took a while to write anything in the grid and it was one of those ‘brick wall’ puzzles where the solutions filled themselves in from the bottom to the top of the grid. My favourite clue was 19a as it reminded me of reading Jennings books when I was young!
Please let us know what you thought
Across
1a Be prepared for six-footer that is drinking beer in court (10)
ANTICIPATE An insect (six-footer) and the abbreviation meaning that is ‘drinking’ a type of beer known these days by its initials, which has been inserted into the abbreviation for court
6a Old policeman guards shop (2-2)
CO-OP A slang name for a policeman ‘guards’ the abbreviation for Old
9a Idleness after work – I earn it (7)
INERTIA An anagram (after work) of I EARN IT
10a With pound on the counter can I drink? (7)
MARTINI Pound in the sense of drive hard down is reversed (on the counter) and followed by a can and I (from the clue)
12a TV show and film you initially ignore (8,5)
BLANKETY BLANK A film or covering, the initial letter of You and an informal verb meaning to ignore or pretend not to see
14a Getting no love, reprobate Musk acquires X and I … (6)
ELEVEN Remove the letter representing love from the forename of Mr Musk and ‘acquire’ in its place the name of the first person in the Bible to be rejected by God (reprobate)
15a … I leave, displaying obstinacy (4-4)
SELF-WILL Pronoun meaning I and bequeath (leave)
17a Others in care facility (4,4)
REST HOME The others and where you are if you are ‘in’
19a Cunning plan – gasp! (6)
WHEEZE Cunning plan or gasp for breath
22a Low-footfall food outlets force personnel into difficult situations at the outset (13)
DRIVETHROUGHS Force or urge, followed by the abbreviation for the personnel department inserted into difficult (like this crossword?), the first letter (at the outset) of Situations being added at the end
24a Loves person hosting evensong (7)
VESPERS ‘Hosted’ by the first two words of the clue
25a Extra dish spies used to intercept signal virtually (7)
SPECIAL The American spies ‘intercept’ a homophone almost all (virtually) of signal or indicate
26a Oddly agree on Republican choice (4)
RARE The odd letters of AgReE go after the abbreviation for Republican
27a Job of librarian – essentially messing around with books (10)
ASSIGNMENT The ‘essential’ letter of librArian, an anagram (around) of MESSING and the abbreviation for the books of the second part of the Bible
Down
1d Dry run without help – quite the opposite (4)
ARID Do the opposite of what the clue says and put the help outside (without) the cricket abbreviation for Run
2d Vibration of mobile regularly going off on board plane, say (7)
TREMBLE The regular letters of MoBiLe inserted into (on board) into a large plant with a woody trunk (plane say)
3d Dairy product the grocer creates with no rights for distribution (7,6)
COTTAGE CHEESE An anagram (for distribution) of THE GrOCEr CrEATES without the three instances of the abbreviation for Right
4d Parts of manifesto – 11th idea succeeded! (6)
PLANKS A description of idea no 11 (alphabetically) and the abbreviation for Succeeded
5d Getting some fruit to friends gathering round (8)
TOMATOES TO (from the clue) and some friends, the latter ‘gathering’ the round letter
7d Unfinished fountain pens – a medium for art? (7)
ORIGAMI The source of something without its final letter (unfinished … fountain) into which is inserted (pens) A (from the clue) and the abbreviation for Medium
8d Constable maybe making addict finally put down e.g. morphine (10)
PAINKILLER An artist such as Constable replacing the T (addict finally) with a verb meaning to put down
11d Be fourth when Liberal politician gets luck (3,2,3,5)
RUB OF THE GREEN An expression originally used in golf but now used to mean a piece of good or ill fortune which is outside the competence of the individual. An anagram (when liberal) of BE FOURTH followed by a member of a particular political party
13d Cook prevailed upon waiter – at last someone who’ll get oysters (5,5)
PEARL DIVER An anagram (cook) of PREVAILED goes on top of (upon n a Down solution) the last letter of waiteR
16d Weight of drug – speed – unchanged (8)
EMPHASIS An abbreviated drug, an abbreviated speed and a phrase meaning unchanged
18d In retirement perhaps Diana is eating cold cut (7)
SCISSOR A reversal (in retirement) of the surname of the lead singer of the Supremes (perhaps Diana) and IS (from the clue) into which is inserted (eating) the abbreviation for Cold
20d Space on train for bathroom (2,5)
EN SUITE A printer’s space the width of the letter N and a train of followers or attendants
21d 007 stated two diamonds must be hidden in potted plant (6)
BONSAI The surname of Agent 007 and a synonym for stated without (must be hidden) the abbreviations for the card suit of Diamonds
23d Corporation handling large excess (4)
GUT Another word for the stomach (corporation) ‘handling’ the abbreviation for Large
At the floughie end of the spectrum, but enjoyable whilst it lasted. 27a was my favourite. Thanks to CS and Django.
ps I took virtually to be an instruction to shorten rather than a homophone indicator.
Another very worthwhile trip to Toughieland that was a slow start followed by a more speedy dash across the line. I liked 13d as my favourite this afternoon.
Many thanks to Django for the challenge and to Sue.
A very enjoyable mid week Toughie which, like CS, took a while to get into, but then developed relatively easily. Stumped for a while with the food outlet thinking initially ‘deli’ had some involvement, but got the answer when the checkers started to mount up, but still needed CS to disect the parsing
and also for explaining which reprobate 14a.
Thanks to Django for a Toughie on my wavelength.
3*/4*
Overall good fun but the Yodaesque syntax of 14a was a jarring note [otherwise it’s a clever clue]. I agree with Jonners re 25a; I took “virtually” to mean “very nearly”. Favourites were 27a, 3d and 18d.
Thanks to Django and CSue.
A pleasure to solve, full of smoothly flowing surfaces. Once again, a number of answers needed carefully unpicking after solving to fully appreciate the setter’s skill.
Amongst many super clues, the boozing six-footer up before the beak in 1a, the librarian with the cushy job in 27a, the vibes given off by ignoring flight mode in 2d and Bond up to his elbows in potting compost stashing the booty in 21d were my favourite scenarios.
Great fun, my thanks to Django and CS.
Always enjoy this setter’s Toughies & today no exception. Fairly gentle & a slightly quicker completion than Twm’s back-pager though I didn’t fully understand what reprobate had to do with Eve in the parse at 14a.
Ticks all over the shop – 1,12,22&27a plus 3,11,13,16&21d particular likes. 12a just pips 11&21d for top spot.
Thanks to Django & to Sue
A fun puzzle – thanks to Django and CS.
I liked 14a, 2d, 7d and 8d.
*** / ****
Another day, another Toughie, this is getting to be a habit. It does help when people ‘in the other place’ encourage a visit to Toughie-land. Glad I did. I think this is my first Django and enjoyed it immensely. Favourites were the XI in 14a, Be prepared in 1a and my favourite was the 15d Weight for its lovely surface, construction and misdirection of the definition.
Super stuff all round, thanks to Django and to Sue for helping confirm 5 parsings.