Toughie No 3684 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
For a Friday Toughie Sparks is being quite gentle with us today. Thanks to him. He often gives a Nina in the grid and today we have a Dylan Thomas play as well as a phrase which is used backwards in 3d.
Please leave a comment telling us how you fared and what you liked about the puzzle.
Across Clues
1a Desperate lag doesn’t steal small cases (9,4)
GLADSTONE BAGS: an anagram (desperate) of LAG DOESN’T, a verb to steal or snaffle and the abbreviation for small.
9a One that quantifies potential output (9)
VOLTMETER: a cryptic definition where potential relates to electricity.
10a Solver and setter keeping cool about chaos (5)
SNAFU: a pronoun identifying solver and setter containing a verb to cool all reversed.
11a Short of financial backers, saving skin (5)
UNDER: a word for financial backers without their outer letters.
12a Exploit revolutionary national airline one boards (4)
MILK: reverse the national airline of the Netherlands and insert the Roman one.
13a Cover of Wexford grabs focus of book club (4)
WOOD: the outer letters of Wexford contain the central letters of book.
15a Ground paprika finally put in reduced casserole (7)
TERRAIN: insert the final letter of paprika into a type of casserole (or the dish that it’s cooked in) without its last letter.
17a Give warning of Irish channel when in Atlantic? (7)
PORTEND: the Irish national TV channel goes inside a facetious term for the Atlantic Ocean.
18a Hide French bike in cycling enclosure (7)
ENVELOP: insert the French word for a bicycle into an animal enclosure with its final two letters cycled to the front.
20a Indian wordplay with punch and hint of irony (7)
PUNJABI: string together a type of joke involving wordplay, a verb to punch and the first letter of irony.
21a Pressure wave’s ending in bore (4)
HEAD: the last letter of wave goes inside a verb meaning bore or gave birth to.
22a Several deliveries of unopened port (4)
OVER: a channel port without its opening letter.
23a Rakes arms with spurs (5)
HEELS: double definition, the first meaning slopes and the second lifted directly from the BRB.
26a Frustrate discharged stuck-up general (5)
SPIKE: the outer letters of stuck-up and the nickname of a WWII US general.
27a Controls high load on PC once more (9)
REINSTALL: controls (for a horse or small child) and a synonym of high.
28a Garden, for one week initially, soothes worried virtuous type (5,3-5)
GOODY TWO-SHOES: assemble what Graeme Garden was (as one member of a comedy trio) and an anagram (worried) of W[eek] SOOTHES. If you’re interested in finding out where the saying comes from see here.
Down Clues
1d Fickle high-up vets, e.g., to stop working (4,2,3,5)
GIVE UP THE GHOST: an anagram (fickle) of HIGH-UP VETS E.G. TO.
2d Troubled celebrity cook’s been set up (5)
AILED: reverse the forename of a female celebrity cook.
3d Several cast slur at what would have you 23 22 21 (10)
SOMERSAULT: a word meaning several followed by an anagram (cast) of SLUR AT.
4d Old cat occupying brown padded seat (7)
OTTOMAN: start with the abbreviation for old then insert a male cat into a synonym of brown.
5d US marshal carrying exhausted foal – a bit of a lug (7)
EARFLAP: the surname of a famous US marshal and gunfighter contains the outer letters of ‘foal’ and A.
6d Hassled on and off outside quiet church recess (4)’
APSE: regular letters of ‘hassled’ contain our usual abbreviation for quiet.
7d Neighbours maybe upset a poor 6 (4,5)
SOAP OPERA: an anagram (upset) of A POOR and the answer to 6d.
8d Weapons manuals incorporating slides I’m altering (6,8)
GUIDED MISSILES: another word for manuals or handbooks contains an anagram (altering) of SLIDES I’M.
14d That chap’s invading country’s liberties (10)
FRANCHISES: a possessive pronoun (that chap’s) invades a European country with its ‘S.
16d Displaying bust, perhaps artist Heather hosts First Lady (9)
REVEALING: our usual abbreviated artist and a heather plant contain the Biblical first lady.
19d Deficiency evident in Paraguay (7)
POVERTY: a synonym of evident or unconcealed inside the IVR code for Paraguay.
20d Under pressure, struggle in climbing sport with competence (7)
PURVIEW: start with the abbreviation for pressure then insert a verb to struggle between the reversal of an abbreviated sport and the abbreviation for ‘with’.
24d Muse’s quota record-makers partly raised (5)
ERATO: hidden in reverse.
25d Unknown champ blowing top for nothing (4)
ZERO: a mathematical unknown followed by a champ or brave man without his top letter.
My ticks went to 17a, 22a and 27a. How does your list compare?
Managed to knock this out early doors before starting a busy day of travelling. Happily, I got a good foothold from the start and managed to complete it in reasonable time.
It helped I’ve got a couple of leather 1as indoors.
1d is a cracking turn of phrase which certainly did not apply today, as this was fairly painless for a Friday Toughie.
The chaos at 10a was remembered from previous puzzles as well as being the name of a rock band from the 70s.
My pick is 20d, a fine word, and the clue acknowledges the female sport which I shall endeavour to keep up with tomorrow.
My thanks to Sparks and Gazza.
Like the back pager, I found t this extremely benign for a Toughie, especially on a Friday; is it my birthday? Nothing to scare the horses, except I needed to confirm post solve the Garden connection with 28a and the acronym at 10a, a word I have come across before, but could not remember the meaning.
I didn’t see the Nina, not that I was looking.
Many thanks to Sparks and Gazza.
1.5*/3*
Definitely Friendly Friday today and the second enjoyable puzzle of the day.
I saw the Nina and was delighted to spot the Garden in 28a
Thanks very much to Sparks and Gazza
Thanks to Django for an approachable Friday work out whose completion felt to me like a great achievement. The long’uns and anagrams made it accessible.
I only know 10a as an acronym so am surprised, eventually, to find it here.
Best clue? 18d
Thanks Gazza
It’s Sparks not Django who’s the setter.
Was held up by a final couple in what was otherwise a speedy solve (for a Friday). I didn’t notice the nina. 18a was my favourite.
Thanks to Gazza and Sparks.
Rain stopped play at New Road so I nipped back to base to do this excellent Toughie. As per, I didn’t spot the Nina until I came on the blog. 20a was my favourite.
Many thanks to Sparks and Gazza.