Toughie No 3698 by Weatherman
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ***
I found this to be a properly tough Toughie and will be interested to learn whether other solvers agree with me. It may well be that it was because I am exhausted after we had a long journey to Banbury and back for a funeral yesterday – the M25 was doing its usual ‘car park’ impression on the way there, the journey taking over two and a half hours longer than normal, and that of a river on the way back, with torrential rain and thunderstorms – the lightning was most impressive – quite appropriate as Weatherman as our setter today
Please let us know what you thought
Across
1a Doomed, I’m going to meeting with thick editor (3-5)
ILL-FATED An abbreviated way of saying I’m going to, with an adjective meaning thick and an abbreviated editor
9a Very poor ending – it needs to change (8)
INDIGENT An anagram (needs to change) of ENDING IT
10a Barely too old for wine (4)
ASTI An informal expression meaning too old without the outside letters (barely)
11a Warning for those buying reproduction of Vincennes’s first cream teapot (6,6)
CAVEAT EMPTOR An anagram (reproduction) of V (the first letter of Vincennes) and CREAM TEAPOT
13a Box of wine Conservative sent back (8)
CANISTER A reversal (sent back) of a Greek wine and the abbreviation for Conservative
15a Current Moscow police chief somewhere in Europe (6)
IBERIA The symbol for electrical current and the surname of Stalin’s most influential police chief. I had never heard of him but know a lot more about him now!
16a Head started to lose heart (4)
BEAN An informal name for the head is obtained by removing the letter at the heart of a synonym for started
17a Party in bar going in the wrong direction (5)
REVEL A reversal (going in the wrong direction) of a bar
18a Circuits gradually decline, reportedly (4)
LAPS A homophone (reportedly) of gradually decline
20a Hurt, kill, and destroy (6)
OFFEND An unindicated American slang verb meaning to kill and destroy or finish off
21a Labour’s number one banker on record about Democrat (8)
EPIDURAL This ‘number’ isn’t just used in labour, I had one for my knee replacement operation – the Roman numeral for one and a Russian river (banker) go on or after an Extended Play record, the abbreviation for Democrat then being inserted into the result
23a Freely accuse rebel before European Court proceedings known to many (5,7)
CAUSE CELEBRE A very notable or famous trial. An anagram (freely) of ACCUSE REBEL goes before the abbreviation for European
26a Spots cases of academic negligence (4)
ACNE I’m slightly worried about the number of crossword setters who lately seem to be suffering from/obsessed with these spots. This time they are clued as the outside letters (cases) of AcademiC NegligencE
27a Spanish men scoffing at legislators (8)
SENATORS Some Spanish men ‘scoffing’ AT (from the clue)
28a Southern writer’s petition admits uncertainty (8)
SUSPENSE A verb meaning to petition for ‘admits’ the abbreviation for Southern and an author’s
Down
2d Tipping in inexpensive café, soldiers look silly (4,4)
LOSE FACE Hidden in reverse (tipping) in inexpensivE CAFÉ SOLdiers
3d Smooth lie taking in king? Not so much (12)
FRICTIONLESS An invented story (lie) ‘taking in’ the Latin abbreviation for king, followed by an adverb meaning not so much
4d Stand, primarily to recognise injured old US soldier (6)
TRIVET The primary letters of To Recognise Injured and a North American ex-serviceman or woman
5d Bed unnamed prima donna (4)
DIVA A type of bed without the abbreviation for Name (un named)
6d I held leg damaged in battle (8)
EDGEHILL An anagram (damaged) of I HELD LEG gives us a battle from the First English Civil War
7d Charge associated with essentially fetid plates of meat (4)
FEET Cockney Rhyming Slang – a charge or price paid for services followed by (associated with) the ‘essential’ letter of feTid
8d Film inexperienced singer boarding ship heading north (4,4)
STAR WARS Inserted into (boarding) an abbreviated ship are a synonym for experienced and an informant (singer) which have been reversed (heading north in a Down solution)
12d Simon Armitage‘s favourite line containing nothing florid (4,8)
POET LAUREATE A favourite and the abbreviation for Line into which is inserted (containing) the letter representing nothing, the result followed by an adjective meaning florid or bright and golden in colour
14d Show regret having made a case for Tesla? (5)
REVUE A verb meaning to regret ‘makes’ a case for an abbreviated type of transport made by Tesla
16d Rings barrister probing counterfeit item of furniture (8)
BOOKCASE Two ring-shaped letters and the abbreviation for the honorary rank of barristers ‘probing’ an adjective meaning counterfeit or worthless
17d Censor communist agent (8)
REDACTOR An informal name for a communist and an agent of another person
19d Game abandoned by hot agricultural workers (8)
PEASANTS A type of game bird ‘abandoned’ by the abbreviation for Hot
22d Inspires house erected around centre of Timbuktu (6)
IMBUES An informal name for a type of house is reversed (erected) ‘around’ the letters at the centre of timBUktu
24d Both having rejected wings, pull and snap bone (4)
ULNA ‘Reject’ or remove the letters on the outside (wings) of pULl and sNAp
25d Defeat left manager without job, ultimately (4)
LOSS The abbreviation for Left and a manager without the ‘ultimate’ letter of joB
Was a little surprised by your rating, I found it quite straightforward.
10a (barely too old), 21a (labour’s number) and 14d (case for Tesla) all raised smiles warranting podium places. I also enjoyed 3d.
Great fun.
Thanks to CS amd Weatherman.
For a Toughie this was equal to my pay grade. The SE filling fastest with the film and police chief who I had heard of, going in last. Many satisfying clues with 23a, 21a and 11a being my favourites in that order. Only assistance needed was to get to find out who Simon Armitage is and 3d from the checkers.
My thanks to Weatherman and crypticsue.
3*/4*
Yours truly, Pleased as Punch!
A welcome visit from one of my favourite toughie compilers, this puzzle was up there with his best.
Every clue was gettable from carefully breaking down the wordplay, with the Soviet-era police chief in 15a the sole confirmation needed.
Ticks all over the shop, including barely too old in 10a, the wine sent back in 13a and labour’s number in 21a. The inexperienced singer at 8d, 14d’s case made for Tesla and the house erected at 22d also got a nod.
I was surprised, however, that our blogger had the difficulty rating so high.
My thanks to Weatherman and CS.
I think your exhaustion has got the better of you today, CS, as I really had thought you would rate it as no more than 1* for difficulty, and had you the fortune to have had more rest before tackling the puzzle I think you would also have rated it higher for enjoyment!
For me this was a cracker, or I had the luck to tune-in to Weatherman’s wavelength from the very start, and this was a quite swift lunchtime solve – a puzzle that merits a wide audience. My ticks started with the laugh at 1a, the very clever 13a & 15a, and continued with smiles at 21a, 27a, 8d & 12d. I could have ticked many more.
My thanks to Weatherman for a splendid and well-crafted puzzle, and to CS – who I hope has been able to put her feet up for a bit today!
I’m quite used to CS giving difficulty ratings for Toughies at least one star fewer than I would have given, so, like other commentors above, I was very surprised to find this reasonably gentle puzzle given 5 stars. I thought it was great with smooth surfaces throughout – many thanks to Weatherman and CS.
I have lots of ticks on my printout including 10a, 13a, 16a, 21a, 14d and 16d.