Toughie No 3212 by Sparks
Hints and tips by Dutch
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
We have a bingo-related Nina today. Apologies for no pics, running late.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
1a Bump off prison guards and abscond from security (4,4)
JUMP BAIL: An anagram (off) of BUMP that a 4-letter prison contains (guards)
5a Figure nothing’s left in hookah (6)
OBLONG: The letter that looks like nothing, then L in a word for hookah
9a Capital question announced to which “No, she walked” is an answer (8)
DJAKARTA: A capital city which sounds like (announced) “Did you carry her?”
10a Major service provider immediately stops gas (6)
ETHENE: A mobile service provider that a word meaning’ immediately’ plus or stops
12a Volunteers terribly maudlin state (5,4)
TAMIL NADU: The old abbreviation for a volunteer army plus an anagram (terribly) of MAUDLIN
13a Bring into operation deal, perhaps accepting unknown backing (5)
EXERT: The reversal (backing) of some wood around (accepting) an algebraic unknown
14a Novel sea mammal regularly fished out (4)
EMMA: Regular letters
16a Slit got repositioned in vocal opening (7)
GLOTTIS: An anagram (repositioned) of SLIT GOT
19a American soldier’s holding back Australian female troops (7)
AMAZONS: The abbreviation for American, then a 3-letter word for a soldier plus the ‘S contains a reversal (back) of a 2-letter Australian
21a Clever defence disheartened newspaper (4)
DEFT: ‘Defence’ without the inner letters plus a newspaper
24a Grill lawyers, bishop and queen (3-1-1)
BAR-B-Q: A collective word for lawyers and the abbreviations for bishop and queen
25a Angry civil riot expressing intense ill-will (9)
VITRIOLIC: An anagram (angry) of CIVIL RIOT
27a Brandy receptacle returned by unimportant employee (6)
COGNAC: An employee who is just a small part of the machine plus the reversal (returned) of a vessel or receptacle
28a US marshal’s perfect listening device (8)
EARPHONE: A 4-letter wild west US marshal plus word meaning to perfect
29a Pitched until tedium’s set in (6)
TILTED: Hidden
30a David, maybe taking time, ending off suss laws (8)
STATUTES: David is an example of a piece of art, insert the abbreviation for time and add the last letter of susss
Down
1d Half of sentences on crux of pithy Apocryphal book (6)
JUDITH: Half of a 6-letter word meaning sentences, then the middle letters of PITHY
2d Whiff of purpose lifting son and mother (6)
MIASMA: The reversal (lifting of a word for purpose, plus the abbreviation for son and another word for mother
3d Shout about Republican punch-up (5)
BRAWL: Shout or cry about the abbreviation for republican
4d Played radiant prelude (7)
INTRADA: An anagram (played) of RADIANT
6d Richer gambler right on track? (6,3)
BETTER OFF: A gambler and the right side (towards middle of road) of a vehicle or horse
7d Excessive amps smothering piano before Die Fledermaus, say (8)
OPERETTA: The abbreviations of excessive and amps containing the abbreviation for piano and a word meaning before
8d On radio, possibly Old Man River is most sublime (8)
GREATEST: A homophone (on the radio) of an old man, plus a river
11d Fault insulating new plug (4)
BUNG: A computer fault containing the abbreviation for new
15d This may give Maria quite a shock (9)
MOONQUAKE: Cryptic definition – maria are plains on earth’s satellite
17d Bill hit pinching skirts of curvy, round old maid (5,3)
TABBY CAT: A bill as in a restaurant, then a word for hit contains a reversal (round) of the outer letters of curvy
18d Dingo ultimately hiding in retreat, sore from the bottom up (8)
WARRIGAL: A reversal (from the bottom up) of the last letter of hiding inside a retreat or den and a word for sore
20d Rescue from scrape that’s hard going (4)
SAVE: A 5-letter word for scrape that loses the abbreviation for hard
21d Take away, divide on both sides, carry over, start to total (7)
DETRACT: The letters either side of ‘divide’, a reversal of a 4-letter word for carry, and the first letter of total
22d Very nearly skinned fish and gutted smelt (6)
ALMOST: A 6-letter fish without the outer letters and ‘smelt’ without the inner letters
23d Approach experts intermittently pairing up? (6)
ACCESS: A 4-letter word for experts where the even letters are doubled up
26d Contribution made by home university in past (5)
INPUT: A word meaning home, then the abbreviation for university goes inside a 2-letter abbreviation for past
Which clues did you like most?
I thought this was going to be a piece of cake but that was just the NW corner. The bottom half was trickier and the NE a killer. Overall 3* maybe 4. I liked the US marshall in 28, maria in 15 and the novel pairing-up device in 23. Unusually for me, spotted the NINA.
Thanks to Sparks and Dutch.
Didn’t spot the Nina & still haven’t. Unfamiliar words at 4&18d + 10a though I think I recall the last one. Needed to reveal the 1d/9a checker to crack 1d but couldn’t for the life of me come up with the capital city even after checking the hint which confirmed my parsing thoughts – who knew the old spelling? Still I’ll settle for one shy after my abject surrender with yesterday’s Toughie late last night.
An enjoyable puzzle with 14&28a my top two.
Thanks to Sparks & Dutch.
Ps see that river cropped up again for the 3rd time this week.
Liked this enormously. 1a reads brilliantly; 9a is funny and clever. And while 1d and 18d won’t please everybody they’re very typical toughie clues. This actually took less time to crack than the back-pager but I did have to bung in 23d unparsed (though Dutch, of course, makes it look pathetically easy) before seeking help from my youngers and betters. I didn’t clock the Nina, but then I never do. I can but applaud the engineering required. Many thanks to Sparks and Dutch.
Loved this. Just right for me on a Friday. Loved 14a and 38c. Had to have several sittings but that’s ok. Not spotted the Nina but I can see one word beginning with L. It would be appreciated if some Nina help could be provided for myself, ALP and Huntsman. I like to appreciate the cleverness of the Nina’s even if they remain hidden for some of us.
Thanks to Sparks and Dutch
Ps. Just spotted the rest of the Nina.
Tis two fat ladies, I believe. That’s all I (belatedly) spotted anyway!
Yes Thanks ALP. After seeing the L word and as Dutch said it was bingo related I found it. 88
A ghastly 4-puzzle grid that could only have been less user-friendly had there not been checking clues along the top and down the left! Completed NE, NW, SE and then after much head-scratching and a hint from here with four clues left, the SW. A good & very satisfying puzzle but slightly more educational than enjoyable, and even had I spotted the Nina I’m not sure the T & W would have helped me – I’d never heard of 18d, and why is a 17d “old maid”? My other NHO was 4d, but the unusual spelling of 9a was dredged from the depths, which helped immensely with the book.
Many thanks to Sparks & Dutch – without whom etc etc!
Got there eventually with Dutch’s help
I had to research Australian dogs and not sure spotting the Nina would have helped. I wonder if this is perhaps Sparks’ eighty eighth toughie
Thanks to Sparks and Dutch whose hints were well-thumbed today
Light for a Friday although I did need to check my Dingos. Thanks to Sparks and Dutch.
A few new words for us including 18d but all worked out or guessed and then checked.
Totally missed the Nina.
Enjoyable solve.
Thanks Sparks and Dutch.
Jamaica? No, she went of her own accord.
Any more?
This didn’t melt my brain as much as a Friday Toughie usually does. I had to look up the dingo and check that Tabby is an infomal term for an unmarried woman (who knew?).
My favourite was the maths puzzle at 21d 😁
… and no, I didn’t spot the Nina, but apparently that’s offensive now so callers use ‘Wills and Kate’… woke nonsense!
Wow well above my pay grade but I worked through it with help from the blog
Very pleased to get 1d unaided and boasted to my wife named 1d.
Really enjoyed the struggle and the learning experience.
Thanks to all
After a bit of investigoogling the list of Toughie compilers (and filling gaps where the Telegraph lost a few setters – 2701 to 2704 were missing but Big Dave’s search filled the gaps) Sparks first set the Toughie with 1065 and his eighty-eighth Toughie is indeed today
Fine work Sleuth John Bee! You’re suspicions we’re correct 😁
Also a pangram
Noticed the pangram but not the Nina.
Failed on 10a.
Thanks to Sparks for the fun and to Dutch for the review.