Sunday Toughie No 166
by proXimal
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee
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It appears that getting a midweek toughie slot precedes an appearance here, instead of an X’less pangram proXimal is using Sunday Toughies to demonstrate a Spoonerism to start and compound anagrams. It took me right to the LOI to find the compound.
The topicality of the wordplay for 23d should get an award, but for childhood holidays, the 24a island gets my prize.
14a and 14d clues today, and I have hinted half. A bonus nudge or two may be available if Mother’s Day trips for Mama Bee allow.
Here we go, Folks…
As it is a Prize puzzle I can only hint at a few and hope that will give you the checkers and inspiration to go further. I’ll return with the full review blog just after the closing date. Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!
I hope I don’t have to redact any comments but I am new at this and don’t want to rock the boat. If in doubt, I’ll rub it out! I think that sentence is a bit redundant. You have all been so helpful in sorting out prior parsing failures, and I am sure I will need similar help again.
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also” Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious. Don’t forget the Mine of Useful information that Big Dave and his son Richard so meticulously prepared for us.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions. Some hints follow: Remember the site rules and play nicely.
Across
1a Spooner’s comment about cart: it is a slow means of transport (10)
A cart with handles and one or more wheels and a written comment are given the Spooner treatment
I wouldn’t watch it all but bits of Little Venice (and plenty of 1a’s) can be seen at about 3:50
12a Grant perhaps advanced using brain, in essence (13)
A sum of money given as a grant and an advanced level abbreviation precede using your brain
14a Painting reportedly shameful property (8)
Homophones (reportedly) of the last two words in the clue – not quite right to this ear – it sounds more like a dog’s foot to me
19a Very cold one along with others of community (8)
A synonym of very, an abbreviation of cold, a Roman one and an abbreviation of the Latin phrase for along with others
20a Regularly counsel duo seen in bars – they never found fame again (3-3,7)
Regular letters of counsel and a synonym of bars contain a duo
24a Walk around in island church displaying haughtiness (9)
A synonym of walk is reversed (around), it is inserted (in) a delightful Scottish island I had many childhood holidays in, and is followed by a church abbreviation
27a Ski jumping with this former PM could be sportsmanlike (10)
My last one in today, and although I should have been expecting a compound anagram, it took me an embarrassingly long time to spot that a former (19th century) PM was hidden in what remains of sportsmanlike when ski has been removed
Down
3d Progressing well, Anglo-Saxon king discharged dominion to turn back current (3,3,7)
An Anglo-Saxon king (who built a dyke between Mercia and Powys), a reversal (to turn back) of what remains of dominion when the central letters have been discharged and a synonym of current
4d Asian people shortly drive away to receive shelter (8)
To drive away, loses its last letter and inserts a small shelter for a people known for their Index of Gross National Happiness
8d Brother completely topped singer (5,5)
A brother or close pal and a synonym of completely that has been “topped” of its first letter
I better use a cover version of one of his hits
13d Exposed team hiding shooter with lines found in letters (10)
What remains of team when exposed hides a small firearm or shooter, followed by the abbreviation of lines or tracks. Written in the form of or carried on by letters or correspondence
16d Witness attending trial, six-footer (9)
To attend, a trial and one of our usual six footed creatures
17d Hardwood toy maker cut put on each model’s top (8)
A toy maker (of model trains) loses its last letter (cut) and adds an abbreviation of each and the top of model
23d Duchess giving out tips for good housekeeping of little value (4)
Specifically, the Duchess of Sussex loses the tips of good housekeeping from her forename. The topicality of this scathing review of her new Netflix series deserves an award, but probably not from Prince Harry
Compiler
proXimal
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Kept me occupied for quite a while after only getting a few answers on my first pass.
Thanks for the 27a hint – obvious now!
I have a 7d cousin so that was relatively straightforward for me. Spent many happy weekends circumnavigating the 24a island on another cousin’s boat.
Thanks to the setter and SJB.
Around the island on bike and CalMac, a holiday cottage on The String Road and taught our puppy to swim at Blackwaterfoot. Goat Fell was my first hill walk aged 8 and they do a rather nice whisky now too!
Fun Spooner to start, 11d ‘s a lovely spot and 22d’s fizzy. 25a’s “professor” foxed me for a bit but the answer was clear and, actually, it’s a cracking indicator. Many thanks to proXimal and Sloop.
I hope the presenter is well enough remembered here and abroad or I might have had to hint him
Very entertaining stuff – thanks to proXimal and SJB.
I’d never heard of the 5d snow queen so I needed to verify her (it turns out that she’s not a downhill skiing champion which was my first thought).
I liked 20a, 27a and 3d with 23d being on the top step of the rostrum.
I think proXimal has referred to the daughter of King Agnarr and Queen Iduna before. One for the younger audience (or their grand parents)
proXimal’s trademark 1a Spoonerism is usually the clue I like to unravel first, but today’s ended up being LOI. Unusually, 1a did not make it onto my favourites list but the 27a compound anagram did make the podium, alongside 10a and 18a. 23a might have received a tick if I had been alert to (or at all interested in) the Netflix series SJB has referred to, but I wasn’t so it didn’t! On the other hand, as the film and the song were great hits with my grandchildren, I was well alert to the 5d ‘Snow Queen’. To avoid the potential ear-worm resulting from 5d I’ve been reminiscing about 8d and enjoying memories of so many great songs.
My thanks to proXimal and to SJB. I did wonder if there might be a tribute to Eric Clapton on the occasion of his 80th birthday, but perhaps SJB’s preferences in music lie elsewhere.
Eric’ s birthday got a mention in Senf’s blog in the other place or it would have appeared here
Indeed it does. A fine song but also a reminder of Eric’s often troubled lifetime. Something from the Cream days might have been more celebratory. I don’t habitually frequent the day-by-day blogs as I find it more convenient to download and print ‘in bulk’ from the archive. I’m in May 2021 just now, still enjoying BD’s interventions and Dutch’s astute unraveling of the Elgar clues that I get stuck on.
I enjoyed your comment in 14a, by the way. My family roots belong in Lancashire and I always enjoyed my Auntie Clare’s pronunciation of ‘book’. Setters may take a risk when employing homophones!
A trawl through you tube comes up with some brilliant collaborations (Stevie Wonder, Phil Collins, Sting Knopfler and Pavarotti! amongst others) but few better than this
Happy Birthday Eric
Great choice! Now that really does takes me back to my teenage years – but I think I appreciate it even more now than I did then – it’s certainly stood the test of time.
Thanks, SJB
This collaboration ranks right up there for me – certainly in my top 10 on Later & there have been many contenders over the years
forgot to paste the clip
A belter indeed, I had forgotten that episode and a cracking group of backing musicians too.
Thanks Andy
I’m always nervous until I’ve got this setter’s ‘compound’ out of the way, fortunately today’s was relatively straightforward given that the PM had to be who he was! Liked the Spoonerism which earned a place on the leader-board, where it’s joined by 20a & 3d.
Thanks to proXimal and to SJB for the hints.
I was nervous right to the end, I should have remembered Gazza’s advice about “this” being proXimal’s usual compound indicator
Typically enjoyable fare from proXimal with all his usual trademarks.
3d and 23d get ticks from me but the clever construction of 19a is awarded today’s chocolate hobnob.
Thanks to the compiler and SJB.
Dark or milk choc on your hobnob?
Got to be dark.
Much appreciated that you take the time to respond to each contributor, John.
Top man!
Right answer, we can natter over a nicecupofteaandabiscuit again sometime
An invitation to bond over a chocolate hobnob…Oh! Suits me, sir!
Was that the partial eclipse of the sun in your saucer?!
Good spot but I think you want a Gold Digestives to play the part of the Sun, The Dark Hobnob to take the part of the moon
I’m about to dump the subscription to the paper version of the Telegraph. After 8 or 9 years, and at a cost of around £50 a month for Monday to Saturday, I’ve started getting used to doing the puzzles on this pad thing. The downside is that I can’t see, or remember, the clues you’re all talking about! So it’s a tenner a month now for digit version , and I’ve got the times puzzles for a fiver a month as well…
Rip paper version.
27a, 3, 4 and 8d down my favourites.
There is a button to toggle the hiding of clues and also the annoying skip the crossing letters you already have under the three dots thingy
I am thinking of going to a digital subscription too after 17 years after paying for 7 days as Mama Bee rarely reads the actual paper I think I will go to a weekend only paper as long as I can still get the digital version and puzzles the rest of the week
So I now have DT and ST news and puzzles, and all The Times puzzles for 15 quid a month. Quite a saving, bearing in mind I’ve been paying for the ST on top, separately to the subscription.
I now have to learn about printing on one sheet of paper. Our preferred loo roll boasts 200 sh**ts per unit. It about sums up my opinion of much of this digital malarkey!
Love chocolate but really dislike chocolate biscuits, cakes desserts etc so not tempted by the photograph. I’m throwing myself on your mercy for the announcer. I looked up slang words for money and got a fit but when I reversed it a great no only was no help to begin with. Any clues? Otherwise it was a brilliantly clever guzzle, very satisfying to ‘almost’ complete. Thanks to ProXimal and to you SJB. I hope Mama Bee enjoyed being spoiled yesterday – we were taken out to lunch but the level of noise in the restaurant with grandchildren racing around(not mine) was horrendous. Am I getting grumpy?
It’s not a reversal but N for north goes upwards. The well known (in UK and Ireland) TV and radio announcer had some old gits of his own😉his terminal n goes up to 3rd
Of course! Silly me. I saw him once in a restaurant in Henley. You are a darling.
Hopelessly late to this but popped in just to say how much I enjoyed the puzzle. There were one or two crumpet scratchers in there but reckon I got ‘em all parsed eventually. ✅s aplenty – 10,12,20&27a plus 3,4,11&17d particular likes.
Thanks to proXimal & to John – I’m a couple of listen throughs Arcadia & it doesn’t disappoint
Picking a picture for 4d was a challenge, 4d Architecture involves painting huge phalluses everywhere. Definitely NSFW
Reckoned I travelled round Asia a dozen times before I remembered them – am ashamed to say I wouldn’t have located it on a blank map