Toughie No 3775 by Django
Hints and tips by ALP
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Toughie difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
Typically elegant, albeit über-gentle for a Thursday Django. Not that I’m complaining as I have about a million way trickier fish to fry today! I enjoyed it. Over to you.
Across
1a Inspect underground lab equipment (4,4)
TEST TUBE: inspect/examine + (the) “underground”.
5a Leave centre of town to get wood (6)
WILLOW: “leave” (inheritance) + [t]OW[n].
9a Turn in after 10 for example without being strict (8)
EXACTING: turn/performance + IN, after (Roman) “ten”, with the usual “for example” without, i.e. on the outside.
10a Fruit compote less filling – one of five to start (6)
QUINCE: C[ompot]E after “one of five” (babies, etc).
12a Very adult books inside saw profit (9)
ADVANTAGE: abbreviated “very” and “adult” + (holy) books, inside saw/saying.
13a Geek virtually infiltrating computer department still (5)
INERT: geek/anorak, minus its last letter, infiltrating/inside the usual “computer department”.
14a/16a Well-known drunk joining Cameo (4,7)
HIGH PROFILE: “drunk” (as a kite) + “cameo” (as in what one typically portrays).
16a See 14a
19a/21a Race official in first place? (7,4)
STARTER HOME: (introductory) “race official” + the usual “in”.
21a See 19a
24a Rinse out plastic component (5)
RESIN: RINSE, out.
25a Car put to work, assuming 6 is show time (7,2)
CURTAIN UP: CAR+PUT, working, assuming/containing (the abridged form of) 6d.
27a Sharp police unit stopping spies from the East (6)
ACIDIC: police unit/detectives stopping/inside (US) “spies”, reversed (from the East).
28a Singer from Tosca discovered Elvis rocks (8)
VOCALIST: TOSCA+[e]LVI[s], rocked.
29a Put some ginseng in everything as source of power (6)
ENGINE: lurker, hidden in the third, fourth and fifth words.
30a Plant drug in back of Tom Clancy novel (8)
CYCLAMEN: the usual “drug” inside [to]M+CLANCY, novel.
Down
1d New parent? One could be boring (6)
TREPAN: PARENT, new.
2d Fast run breaks Rod (6)
STARVE: abbreviated “run” breaking/inside rod/staff.
3d Taking just seconds for Steel, Nitro, Athena, Sabre and Giant (5)
TITAN: second letters of “Steel … Sabre”.
4d Crook passing on 500 diamonds to be cut below (7)
BENEATH: Crook/curve + “passing on” minus, cutting (Roman) “500” and abbreviated “diamonds”.
6d A member of military popular with college class (2,7)
IN UNIFORM: popular/fashionable + (truncated) “college” + “class” (of students).
7d Occasionally recalling Eric Idle’s first undergarments (8)
LINGERIE: E[r]I[c], reversed after the (to) “idle” that comes first.
8d Wife scanned around the wound (8)
WREATHED: abbreviated “wife”, plus scanned/perused around/containing THE.
11d Look up and down? (4)
PEEP: palindromic look/glance.
15d Goal of pub stocking red wine I love (9)
INTENTION: pub/tavern, stocking/containing (Spanish) “red wine” + I + the usual “love”.
17d Practise with drone armies regularly handle on site? (8)
USERNAME: practise/employ + [d]R[o]N[e]A[r]M[i]E[s].
18d Heather carrying Jenny round as part of rodeo display (8)
LASSOING: “heather” (not “erica”, t’other one), carrying/containing (beastly) “jenny” and the usual “round”.
20d Zip line (4)
RACE: double definition, verb plus noun (the latter being people-related).
21d Keeping house, holding weapon extremely nervously (7)
HARMONY: abbreviated “house”, holding/containing the usual “weapon”, plus N[ervousl]Y.
22d I note business is unstable (6)
INFIRM: I + abbreviated “note” + business/company.
23d No heads rolled – perfect (4-2)
SPOT-ON: NO + heads/lids, all rolled/reversed.
26d Answer unlikely in any circumstances (2,3)
AT ALL: abbreviated “answer” + “unlikely” (as per such a tale).
We’ve got five anagrams, a double definition and a lurker, etc. I liked 19/21a, 25a and 7d. How did you get on?
For me, much easier than the puzzle on the other channel, and very enjoyable.
19/21a, 1d, and 15d get my votes.
Many thanks to Django and to ALP.
1*/4.5*
A friendly offering from Django, but entertaining nonetheless.
The 500 diamonds being cut in 4d and Eric Idle with his underwear at 7d were my top two .
My thanks to Django and ALP.
I recall a song by Loudon Wainwright lll about a dead skunk in the middle of the road, stinking to high heaven. They don’t write ’em like that anymore..
Gently entertaining
Many thanks to Django and ALP
Always love a Django puzzle & this one no exception though I’d give his Tues puzzle in the Graun the edge over this one. As ever neat wordplay & I’m with Frankie for the picks.
Thanks both – will read the review & listen to the tunes later as the 18th green has now cleared
Surprisingly gentle for a Django production – thanks to him for the entertainment and to ALP for the review.
I liked 7d and 21d but my outstanding favourite was 19/21a.
This was very enjoyable and imo much better than the back pager today.
Some very nice clues, going to vote for 10a as Mr SC is a fifth child (known as the DIY grandchild in his family) anyway as no 5 he is blessed with the middle name of Quentin. there was lots of spluttering from the audience when we married and it became known.
At the more gentle end of the spectrum but still still needed some careful thinking about, high on the enjoyment factor though. Favourite was 15d. Thanks to Django and ALP.