Toughie No 3726 by Potoroo
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ***** – Enjoyment ***
Potoroos second Toughie was definitely a proper Toughie with lots to think about and quite a bit of brow-furrowing parsing to sort out so it was a good job I got up extremely early this morning as I had to solve the crossword, prepare and schedule the blog and feed Tim the Tortoise, before having to dash out for an eye screening appointment.
Like their first Toughie, I definitely think you can tell this is the work of two setters – I’d be particularly interested to know if the friendliest part of the grid – the SW corner – was the work of just one of them. The repetition radar did beep at the repeated use of tail. When they next collaborate on a crossword, out setters might like to consider how many times they use insertions, and the use or removal of first or final letters.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought
Across
1a Split inspires female, transformed (7)
RENEWED A verb meaning to split ‘inspires’ a female animal
5a A container filled with a lot of sumptuous fruit (7)
APRICOT A (from the clue) and a container into which is inserted (filled with) most of a synonym for sumptuous
9a Bat possibly in awful fervour biting American soldier (9)
FRUGIVORE An anagram (awful) of FERVOUR ‘biting’ an American soldier
10a Heard horses eat grass (5)
GRAZE A homophone (heard) of horses of a particular colour
11a Suddenly sees judges backing defendant in the end (5)
TWIGS There was a lot of ‘suddenly seeing’ going on when trying to parse this crossword! An informal name for judges goes after (backing) the end letter of defendanT
12a Upset bandaging artillerymen’s wound (9)
SPIRALLED Upset or wasted ‘bandaging’ the abbreviation for the Royal Artillery
13a Show off skinned fish stuffed with essential piece of peppery rocket prepared here (6,3)
LAUNCH PAD Display ostentatiously (show off) without the outside letters (skinned) and a type of fish ‘stuffed’ with the essential piece of papPery
16a Pass curious monkey driving out east (5)
GORGE The name of a curious monkey in a series of children’s picture books without ‘driving out’ the first appearance of the abbreviation for East
17a Students outside prying around, ignoring new cleaner (5)
LYSOL Two abbreviations for student go outside a reversal (around) of a synonym for prying without (ignoring) the abbreviation for New
18a Record holder drawing crowds around made to stand out (9)
ARCHIVIST A work of creative imagination (drawing) goes round (crowds) the Latin abbreviation for about and something made to stand out
20a Support part of foot cut by machete’s tip, vital body part (9)
BRAINSTEM A piece of ‘support’ clothing and a truncated part of the foot followed by the ‘tip’ of Machete
23a Catch ship having boarded one from Asia (5)
LASSO An abbreviated steamship inserted into (having boarded) someone from a particular Asian country
25a Examination of cavity without anaesthetic at first (5)
TRIAL Of a particular cavity without the first letter of Anaesthetic
26a Fellow nearly jamming vehicle’s wheel? (9)
CAMEMBERT Almost all of a fellow ‘jamming’ a type of vehicle
27a Temporary rule in developing Green city’s borders (7)
REGENCY An anagram (developing) of GREEN and the ‘borders’ of CitY
28a After some time leaderless, group of countries quietly gaining more power (2,3,2)
ON THE UP A period of time without its first letter (leaderless), an abbreviated group of countries and the musical abbreviation meaning quietly
Down
1d Denial after returning clothes mostly made of divisive material (7)
REFUTAL A reversal (returning) of a synonym for after ‘clothes’ most of a piece of divisive material
2d African gnu moved back home (5)
NGUNI An anagram (moved) of GNU and a reversal (back) of the usual ‘home’. A member of a group of Bantu-speaking African peoples
3d Cats perhaps united to leave Manx cat on top being playful (9)
WHIMSICAL A lash used for punishment (cat) without its ‘tail’ (just like a Manx cat) goes on top of a performance of singing (Cats perhaps) without (to leave) the abbreviation for United
4d Refuse to go to bed, clutching mother’s backside (5)
DROSS A verb meaning to sleep ‘clutching’ the backside of motheR
5d Mock funny houses old and irregular (9)
APERIODIC A verb meaning to mock or imitate and a slang abbreviation for funny which ‘houses’ the abbreviation for Old
6d Digital 1980s style newspaper has repeated good article (5)
RAGGA An informal name for a newspaper with the abbreviation for Good ‘repeated’ followed by an indefinite article
7d Most of trinket left by noble discovered in Belgian city (9)
CHARLEROI Most of a trinket, the abbreviation for Left and noble or worthy without the outside letters (dis covered)
8d Let loose inhaling marijuana in pipe (7)
TWEEDLE The second three-letter anagram, this time of LET (loose) ‘inhaling’ the slang name for marijuana
14d Peculiar giant pugs stealing the show (9)
UPSTAGING An anagram (peculiar) of GIANT PUGS
15d Sport involving bat seemingly made of synthetic material (9)
PLASTICKY Take part in a game (sport) ‘involving’ another word for a bat
16d Diver found after craft crosses lake second time (9)
GUILLEMOT Cunning or deceit (craft) into which is inserted (crosses) the abbreviation for Lake, the result followed by a short period of time (second) and the abbreviation for Time
17d Seafood and chuck steak 40 per cent off at butcher finally (7)
LOBSTER A verb meaning to chuck, the first 60% of STEak and the final letter of butcheR
19d Mark and Rob sent back box with additional information (7)
TOOLTIP A reversal (sent back) of a mark and a verb meaning to rob
21d Stocking tiny London stores (5)
NYLON Hidden in (stores) the second and third words of the clue
22d Cuban steps over tailless snake up ahead (5)
MAMBO A snake without its final letter (tailless) goes ahead of the cricket abbreviation for Over
24d Monument we should put up on base (5)
STELE A reversal (put up) of how our setters might say ‘we should’ goes on the letter that is the base of the natural system of logarithms
Properly tough and very demanding. This wouldn’t have been out of place on a Friday to my mind. It was very rewarding to crawl across the finishing line, with 26a my favourite.
My thanks to Potoroo and Sue.
A Friday-level Toughie which required a lot of head-scratching especially on the right-hand side. I did enjoy the struggle to get a full grid – thanks to Potoroo and CS.
I’d not heard of the 8d pipe or the 16a curious monkey so I needed to check out the answers I’d come up with.
I liked 28a, 1d, 3d and 7d.
Hi Sue, you may want to edit your hint for 1d as you have given the required synonym rather than the given clue word.
Thank you for spotting my undeliberate error. I’m surprised there aren’t more given the speed at which I had to work this morning
I enjoyed this a lot. Plenty of cunning definitions and clever wordplay. Top Picks are 3d [cats perhaps] 16d [the craft misdirect] 24d [we should] and 28d.
Thanks to Potoroo and CSue.
This was one of those toughies where I crawled across the finish line wondering if I should have just accepted a DNF.
Took me ages to find a way in and then so many esoteric word choices. Too many for my taste. 9a, 17a, 1d, 2d, 5d, 6d, 8d??, 15d, and 19d
I did like 16d however I think this was a chore rather than fun and it felt more like a Friday challenge
I can only concur with most of the previous comments, this was hard going.
Can’t say I particularly enjoyed this one: too much of a slog, not enough humour and too many obscurities for me.
I also started off in the SW then gradually proceeded fairly randomly.
However, I did like the judges in 11a, made to stand out in 18a and the construction of the diver in 16d.
Apologies for being negative, but my thanks anyway to Potoroo and CS.
⁹Sue gave it 5* for difficulty and I’d add another if I could. This was hard going, although with perseverance I got all but the SE cornér. Reluctantly revealed the curious monkey which was enough to give a foothold to completion. I needed the parsing for the first 3 of 3d, Manx cat = brilliant, together with 13a to explain the first 4 letters and for 18a which I still don’t see. 9a, 2d and 17a were new to me. 7d and 26a were favourites.
My thanks to Potoroo and CS.
18a. ART (drawing) ‘crowds’ C (circa, around) and HI VIS (made to stand out)
Thanks Sue. Hi Vis obviously didn’t stand out enough for me.
Can’t say I enjoyed this, I’m afraid: a minor harrumph to start with because the verbosity pushed the puzzle on to two pages; did not find much humour but lots of repetitive clueing (especially of single but also of double letter removals), an unindicated American brand name, a very obscure anagram, a NHO African tribe, a NHO monkey, and the utterly bizarre definition at 6d.
While I welcome a proper Toughie in the Toughie slot, I finished with relief rather than any satisfaction or sense of accomplishment, and then discovered it was a DNF – tripping up at 19d with (yet) another NHO.
Thank you but sorry, Setter(s), not my cup of tea; thanks also to CS for those bits of post-completion parsing that I needed.
Never heard of the monkey.