Toughie No 3785 by Beam
Hints and tips by Whybird
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from the Wirral. The Criminal Justice system has decided it does not need my services today, at least, so you are sentenced to receive my ramblings. Many thanks to ALP for covering last week.
I found it difficult to rate today’s puzzle for difficulty. Everything apart from one clue flew in, to the extent I was contemplating the strange oxymoronic concept of a Beam Floughie. And then there was 14a. This took me significantly more than double the time for the rest of the clues put together, but which was entirely down to my failure to detach myself from one feature of the clue and which was actually a lot more straightforward than I made it. However, no such difficulties with the Enjoyment – this was great fun to solve, full of clever distractions, all of Beam’s usual trademark features and a little, mild, sauciness. No surprise that the schoolboy in me includes 1d on the podium, just pipped by 12d and 14a. Thanks to Beam for a splendid start to the Toughie week.
Please let us know how you fared and what you thought of the puzzle.
Across Clues
7a Submarine, partially filling, founders easily (8)
UNDERSEA The solution is lurking amongst the letters of “founders easily”
8a Lose track of dispatch on motorway (6)
MISLAY A synonym of “dispatch” (as in kill) follows the letters that resemble the identifier of the London-to-Leeds motorway
9a Rise in open tumult, initially (4)
RIOT Use the initial letters of “Rise in open tumult”
10a Vague intuition grips criminal investigator (10)
INDISTINCT A synonym of “intuition” surrounds (grips) a two-letter abbreviation for a member of the CID
11a Yank tap? (6)
FAUCET A cryptic definition of what an American call a tap
13a Hardship of endless hail in track (7)
TRAVAIL Take a three-letter Latin greeting, remove the final letter (endless hail) and then insert the remainder into a synonym of “track”
14a This describes female with pride? (7)
LEONINE The solution is an adjective which could be applied to the female (or male) of the type of animal that is collectively known as a “pride”. I got completely bogged down trying to come up with something based on trying out elements meaning “female” with either synonyms of “pride” to generate an alternative to “adjective” or “perimeter”, or inserted into something to make a synonym of “with pride”. The clunk when the solution emerged could have been measured on the Richter scale.
16a Playing when before time around net (7)
AGAINST A two letter synonym of “when” precede the usual letter indicating “time” and also has a synonym of “net” (or profit) inserted (around)
19a One favours best English literature first (7)
ELITIST A charade of the letter indicating “English”, the abbreviation for “Literature” and the letters that resemble “first” written out with an initial number
20a Better swallowing grand dram (6)
FINGER A synonym of “Better” has a letter indicating “grand” inserted (swallowing) to get a small measure of drink (although not so small if you employ a very wide glass)
21a Feline selfishness increase showing class (10)
CATEGORISE A charade of synonyms for “Feline” (as a noun), “selfishness” and “increase”
22a Bank actually deducting a pound (4)
RELY Remove (deducting) “a” from the clue and the letter indicating “pound” from a synonym of “actually”
23a Go back westward in Pembrokeshire, generally (6)
RENEGE The answer is found, in reverse (“westward” in an across clue) amongst the letters of “Pembrokeshire generally”
24a Going outside, catching cold, causing fever (8)
EXCITING Take a synonym of “Going outside” (or leaving) and insert (catching) the abbreviation for “cold”
Down Clues
1d Bosom oddly is not firm, partner! (8)
INTIMATE Use the odd-numbered letters (oddly) of “is not firm, partner”
2d Cult group includes cult’s leader (4)
SECT A synonym of “group” surrounds (includes) the initial letter (leader) of “cult”
3d Support fool in situ, occasionally (6)
ASSIST A synonym of “fool” followed by the alternating, odd-numbered letters (occasionally) of “in situ”
4d Command bloke on romantic meeting (7)
MANDATE A synonym of “bloke” followed by (“on” in a Down clue) another name for a “romantic meeting”
5d Breathing in desire (10)
ASPIRATION A double-definition
6d Church section dropping hard ban (6)
CANCEL Remove (dropping) the abbreviation for “hard” from part of a Church
8d Horse fly, then result is rearing (7)
MUSTANG Take a type of small, biting “fly” and a synonym of “result” (or total) and reverse them (“rearing” in a Down clue)
12d One opposes cracking cunning Beam? (10)
CANTILEVER A four-letter term for someone who is said to oppose something is inserted (cracking) into a synonym of “cunning”. Ignore the capitalisation for this one.
15d Offensive sound ringing gong (7)
NOISOME A synonym of “sound” surrounds (ringing) a two-letter abbreviation for an honour (gong)
17d Raising head of whip in flogging (8)
SWELLING Insert the initial letter (head) of “whip” into a synonym of “flogging” in the mercantile sense
18d Undressed, dropping one quietly, and streaked (7)
STRIPED Take a synonym of “Undressed” and remove one of the two letters that are commonly used as an abbreviation for “quietly”
19d Ecstatic sweetheart recently given diamonds (6)
ELATED A charade of the central letter (heart) of “sweet” and a synonym of “recently” (often preceded by “of”) to which is added (given) the letter indicating “diamonds”
20d Painting fancier exteriors, Canaletto exteriors (6)
FRESCO Use the first and last letters (the second “exteriors”) of each of “fancier”, “exteriors” and “Canaletto”
22d Queen embracing cheers raised esteem (4)
RATE The letters in the regnal signature of one of two English queens surrounds (embracing) an informal synonym of “cheers”, both reversed (“raised” in a Down clue)
Despite the unfriendly grid layout, this was a particularly gentle toughie which would have been more suited to an end-of-week backpager slot.
The best clue for me was Beam’s beam at 12d.
My thanks to the afore(twice)mentioned and Whybird.
This was very enjoyable but very light. It took me a similar amount of time to today’s back-pager.
At first I couldn’t see anything cryptic about 11a as my immediate thought when I read the clue was that it was simply a straight definition of the American word for tap. It didn’t occur to me until I finished the puzzle that there was another way to read the clue making it a cryptic definition.
I also originally thought that Beam had made a mistake with 1d. As if! Silly me … I had parsed it as the odd letters of “is not firm” followed by a four letter synonym for “partner”, which leads to an extra M. Then the penny dropped that it was me not Beam who had made the mistake
and that became my favourite.
Many thanks to Beam and to Whybird.
You are not alone with 1d. The answer was so obvious that I jumped at partner=mate, and assumed there was a surplus m.
Me too with the surplus ‘m’
A lite Beam Toughie which presented few problems. I hamshackled myself by initially bunging in the female at 14a rather than the required adjective; this was not spotted until I came to 1d but quickly resolved. My picks of many possibles are breathing in desire at 5d, the classy feline at 21a and my COTT is the cunning Beam at 12d.
Many thanks to Beam and Whybird
1*/3*
14a, I did the same, then used the tippex later.
Always good to see a Beam toughie and this was a most enjoyable solve. I liked the slightly cheeky 1d and put me down for Beam’s beam too!
Thanks to Beam and Whybird.
Apart from a couple, which I have mentioned above, a fairly straightforward puzzle.
12d gets my vote along with other posters before me.
Many thanks to Beam and to Whybird.
I enjoyed this. I parsed 13a differently (and erroneously) as hail = wave so without the letters on it’s ends it became av. I also started with the female lion for 14a.
Top picks for me were 12d, 8d, 22a and 17d.
Thanks to Whybird and Beam.
Given that the grid fill was three seconds quicker than the back-pager I thought the puzzle pretty ‘floughie’ but very enjoyable. I too was briefly a member of the extra M club & also took a moment to cotton onto the homophonic element to 11a.
Lots to like as per but 12d gets my vote for fav.
Thanks to Ray & to Whybird – the tunes will have to wait until back home.
I needed the hint to parse 13a as I was using the wrong ‘hail’ entirely. My initial thought for 14a was the same as others but I didn’t like the ‘I’ at the end of 1d so I elected for the correct answer. Lots of cracking clues and some schoolboy humour at 1d. It took me as long to parse some of the clues as to solve them. Favourite was the aforementioned 1d. Thanks to Beam and Whybird.