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Toughie 3406

by crypticsue  

Toughie  No 3406 by Hudson

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****

A lovely start of the week Toughie, just as we have come to expect from Hudson.

Please let us know what you thought

Across

1a           Senior detective policeman, old copper, MPS’s last dinosaur (10)
DIPLODOCUS An abbreviated senior detective, a slang word for a policeman, the abbreviation for Old, the chemical symbol for copper and the last letter of mpS

6a           One not out to provide cover for injury (4)
SCAB An informal name for a person not joining in with industrial action or a cover for an injury

9a           Execute collaborator Connery reported (10)
ACCOMPLISH A homophone (reported) of a Scotsman like Sean Connery might call a collaborator

10a         Zeus’s missus glimpsed in the raw (4)
HERA Hidden (glimpsed) in the last two words of the clue

12a         Repellent stuff that’s left after the grapes have been trampled? (4)
MARC A reversal (repellent) of a verb meaning to stuff

13a         Wanton damage after museum starts to let in some mods (9)
VANDALISM The informal way of referring to one of London’s museums followed by the ‘starts’ to Let In Some Mods

15a         Game dad suppressing alarmed cry, then alarming cry (8)
PEEKABOO An informal father  ‘suppressing’ a cry of alarm, the result followed by an exclamation used to startle (alarming cry)

16a         Fine shellfish from the old days (6)
FORMER The abbreviation for Fine and an edible shellfish, common in the Channel Islands

18a         Passion seen in the outlines of Lippi, Botticelli and Donatello (6)
LIBIDO The ‘outlines’ of LippI, BotticellI and DonatellO

20a         Introduction paper put in lead article in Paris Match (8)
PREAMBLE A quantity of paper inserted into the chemical symbol for lead, the French definite article (as used in Paris Match)

23a         Retired coach finding work in the Mediterranean as a scuba instructor? (9)
SUBMERGED A reversed (retired) coach and the CGS unit of work, the latter inserted into the abbreviated Mediterranean

24a         A violent blow – an element of Morse? (4)
DASH A violent blow or an element of Morse Code

26a         Uplifting, lovely on the outside? Not really … (4)
UGLY The outsides of UpliftinG and LovelY

27a         Some Jamaicans here turn to bogeyman? (7,3)
MONTEGO BAY An anagram (turn) of TO BOGEYMAN

28a         Italian hothead occasionally lent an ear (4)
ETNA The occasional letters of lEnT aN eAr

29a         Review reports etc for broadcasting (10)
RETROSPECT An anagram (for broadcasting) of REPORTS ETC

Down

1d           Compiler shuns lower status clergyman (4)
DEAN  A verb meaning to lower in status without the way our compiler might refer to himself

2d           Bundle of several wolves held in captivity freed (7)
PACKAGE A collective noun for wolves and the inside (freed) letters of part of a verb meaning held in captivity

3d           Commend a fine, troubled account of a time of depression (2,4,3,3)
OF MICE AND MEN An anagram (troubled) of COMMEND A FINE produces the name of one of John Steinbeck’s most well-known novels

4d           Disrobed peer furious over new forgetfulness (8)
OBLIVION Remove the outside letters (disrobed) of a peer or someone of social rank and a synonym for furious and then add the cricket abbreviation for Over and the abbreviation for New

5d           Beginning to swim in water like a bear (6)
URSINE The first letter of Swim inserted in water produced by the kidneys

7d           Composed music featuring A, E and Cs (7)
CAESIUM An anagram (composed) of MUSIC into which is inserted (featuring) A and E (from the clue)

8d           When prices drop during Feb, earmark ETFs (4,6)
BEAR MARKET Hidden in feB EARMARK ETfs

11d         Loudly implores Sherlock writer somewhat briefly to pop in for breakfast (5,3,4)
BACON AND EGGS A homophone (loudly) of a synonym for implores into which is inserted a brief way of referring to the author of Sherlock Holmes (1,5,1)

14d         IT firm’s outstanding upgrade initially included a dish thrown in for free (5,5)
APPLE SAUCE An IT firm’s (don’t forget the S!) and an informal way of saying outstanding into which is ‘included’ the initial letter of Upgrade

17d         Discontented Courier newspaper boss who’s owed money (8)
CREDITOR The outside (dis contented) letters of CourieR followed by a newspaper boss

19d         Taking day off, Bob Dylan goes round the old city (7)
BABYLON An anagram (goes round) of BOB dYLAN without the D (taking Day off)

21d         One’s life really is a hive of activity! (4,3)
BUSY BEE A description of an insect whose life is really a hive of activity

22d         Disregard Italian chap, no saint (6)
IGNORE An Italian man without (no) an abbreviation for Saint

25d         Potentially suspect structure – Carnaby Street evacuated (4)
CYST A structure that might be normal or diseased (potentially suspect) is found in the outside (evacuated) letters of CarnabY StreeT

 

 

26 comments on “Toughie 3406”

  1. Most of this fell into place surprisingly easily, although I slowed down in the SE corner and have since found myself in a rabbit hole exploring the derivation of the term at 14d (other than in its most obvious and literal sense, which may be all that’s implied here). I liked 15a, although that took me a while too. 12a was a new word. Anyway, another enjoyable puzzle for a dull Herts Wednesday and thanks to Hudson and to CS for some elucidation and a reminder at 11d that I’m quite hungry.

  2. I really enjoyed this, although some of the complex parsing increased the difficulty level greatly. Seeing CS’s 1* for difficulty made me smile wryly. I never usually attempt to assign BD ratings to Toughies but this one was more like 4* or 5* for me for both difficulty and enjoyment.

    I got off to a bad start. For some reason my eyes alit on 12a and I confidently wrote in “must”, which made 2d & 3d impossible until I realised that the latter must be an anagram. After that I made slow but steady progress.

    7d particularly appealed to the chemist in me, and the cunning use of an atomic symbol. 11d was devious, and probably my favourite.

    Many thanks to Hudson for the fun and CS for the review.

  3. Loved this, although I thought a wee bit harder than Sue’s 1*, slowed down a lot in the NW. 2d last to fully parse, and a clever use of freed. 9a my favourite today, with 7d close runner-up.
    Thanks Hudson, and I’ll now read through the hints, thanks for them too CS

  4. I really struggled to cross the line with this one because I couldn’t get onto Hudson’s wavelength for too long. It was one of those that once completed, I couldn’t understand why I found it so difficult.
    Many thanks to CS for the blog and Hudson for the battle.

  5. Lots to enjoy on this, but I just couldn’t see OBLIVION even though the parsiing (nOB + LIVId +O + N) is straightforward enough. Ho-hum.. Thanks H and CS

  6. Goes without saying that I found this more difficult than our reviewer did but I certainly enjoyed unpicking it. Took ages for me to see the glaringly obvious in 7d and I wasn’t keen on 5d but I did find several clues to admire, amongst them being 6,9&13a plus 17d.

    Thanks to Hudson and also to CS for the review.

  7. The sight of Hudson’s name on a Toughie is a guarantee that we have some fun in store. Thanks to him and CS.
    I don’t really get the definition in 14d – in what sense is the dish free?
    Top clues for me were 6a, 9a, 7d, 8d and 11d.

    1. Gazza, I took it that restaurants do not charge for serving 14d with a meal, but I may well be missing something.

        1. Lucky you! Round here they produce it in a deceptively large but actually minuscule, um, container with about a thimbleful in it!
          Would object to any charge for it, so thrown in free fits the bill!

      2. You’re probably right but I just had visions of someone going into a greengrocer’s shop and saying ‘May I have a kilo of free apples to make sauce with?’

    2. I couldn’t see why apple sauce was a free dish either, which caused me to do some online digging. Apparently seaside boarding houses used to apply lots of it to bulk up otherwise meagre mealtime offerings, so it may be something to do with that. I’m not entirely convinced though.

  8. With the notable exception of last in & never heard of 7d, having taken an embarrassingly long time to clock both the indicator & definition, (surely pointless on that Beeb quiz show) this was a reasonably straightforward grid fill. Had a vague recollection of the 16a shellfish without really knowing what it was (no thanks) but had heard of the Michelin starred eatery in Mayfair so named. Once completed the process of properly parsing the blighters took a good while longer but got there in the end. With each new puzzle Hudson further cements his place in my dream team of setters. A pleasure to solve & with ✅s galore – 13,15&18a together with 3(great fodder & surface),4,8,11,14&19d particular likes. Not so sure about 9a unless Sean was a bit pished.
    Thanks to Hudson for the full ***** enjoyment & to Sue.

  9. I found this easier than yesterday’s, but I found yesterday’s a lot harder than most did. Some clever, inventive clueing – I particularly liked 1a [which made me chuckle] 23a [lovely surface and it all works really well] 7d [nice one] and 11d [very smart]. I’m a bit puzzled by 14d – there must be more to it than the obvious – is it a US idiom?

    Thanks to Hudson and CS.

  10. 9a’s hilarious. Hugely taken with 2d’s “freed”. 7d’s very clever and 11d’s nicely cheeky. I could go on. So much to love – studded with Hudson hallmarks. Like Gazza, I didn‘t and still don’t really get the “thrown in for free” bit in 14d. I take RD’s point but it’s not exactly the same as salt and pepper, is it? Some restaurants even charge extra for ketchup, etc. I thought along similar lines to halcyon but I couldn’t find any evidence of this additional “freebie” meaning, US or otherwise. Still, I was more than happy to roll with it. A hoot from start to finish. Many thanks to Hudson and CS.

  11. Wonderful puzzle and I hope it gets the wide audience it deserves. From the lego of 1a to the wonderful 9a, laugh-out-loud 10a, and very creative 4d & 7d, absolutely marvellous. And I was very relieved to remember the shellfish. On reading that “Recipes vary, but generally involve tenderising through beating, soaking for several hours, coating in flour and frying then placing the browned ormers in a casserole dish with onion, bacon and stock and cooking at a low heat for several hours.” one wonders why they are eaten at all!

    Many thanks indeed to Hudson and CS

  12. Thank you Huntsman and crypticsue. I’d rate it **/*** but then I’m new to the toughie, this being only Day 2, speed tortoise rather than hare. I got there in the end. Won’t say how long it took, but I i was happy with my time and the fact that I got all the answers without resorting to the hints, though admittedly some electronic assistance was employed. Looks like I’ll now be doing two daily crosswords.🤔

    1. Not sure why I merited any thanks but well done on the last 2 days completions. The Toughies are great fun even if a fair few of ‘em are well above my pay grade & the bloggers excellent.

      1. Ha, caught out! Hudson or Huntsman, no difference according to my spell checker, nor me apparently. Sorry 😂

  13. We were hoping to find out here why 14d was “complimentary” but seems like others are as confused as we are. Never mind, we got it anyway. A very enjoyable solving experience for us. Our favourite was the well disguised 7d.
    Thanks Hudson and CS.

  14. Fairly straightforward and some fun clues, I did feel there was rather a lot of taking outside letters off/using outside letters only though.

    Thanks.

  15. Thanks for the blog, dear crypticsue, and thanks to those who have left a comment. The idea with APPLE SAUCE defined as a “dish thrown in for free” was to suggest that a tech firm was including a free [satellite] dish as part of its outstanding upgrade offer but I do see this is more than a bit tenuous so sorry about that everybody…
    Best wishes to everyone at BD for 2025, Rob/Hudson

  16. I found this considerably harder than a 1*. Needed the hints to parse 20a (didn’t understand the match bit), 1d, 2d and 14d. Least favourite clue was 6a as I’ve got quite a large one developing on my arm after nodding off in the chair at the kitchen table and falling off last night, ouch. Favourite was 8d, great lurker. Thanks to Hudson and CS.

  17. I was wrongly convinced that 12a was TALC (perhaps not really a “repellent”, but reduces friction etc.) but then I was stuck on the grapes idea. If it had said “t’ grapes” then it could have been T’ALC (a northerner’s way of saying “the alcohol”). Oh my.

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