Toughie No 3696 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *****+ – Enjoyment *****
There is one thing the solver can be certain about when it is Elgar Friday is that there will be no doubt whatsoever that we will have a properly tough Toughie to solve
The crossword has a theme relating to something observed annually on the 29th May – 13a/10a 26a and 28a with another connection to 18d – something that had been lost at the 21d of 29a. As pointed out by earlier commenters, there is also a Nina running diagonally from the top left to bottom right of the grid where CHARLES is repeating history and ‘hiding’ in the OAK TREE
I spent quite a long while thinking that I wasn’t going to get very far at all, but slowly and surely, the grid was filled in. If you are stuck on some of the parsing, I highly recommend going to clean the bathroom where the wordplay of 1d suddenly came into my mind, closely followed by that for 7d
Please let us know what you thought
Across
9a After withdrawal of meat, you finally reduce sugar (9)
LAEVULOSE After a reversal (withdrawal) of a type of meat, add the final letter of yoU and a verb meaning to reduce
10a Primate outside public library forbidden fruit (5)
APPLE A type of primate goes ‘outside’ the abbreviation for Public Library
11a Tom’s children disturbing promotional material: some of them spotted? (11)
FLYCATCHERS A feline (tom) and the abbreviation for children ‘disturbing’ some promotional leaflets
12a Head teachers, now retired (3)
NUT An informal name for the head or a union of teachers which has now formed a new union with another body, hence the ‘now retired’
13a Sore neck (4)
GALL A painful swelling or impudence or audacity (neck). Another name for this sore gives its name to the anniversary celebrated today
14a Misguidedly agree with one about part of flying machine (4-6)
AERO-ENGINE An anagram (misguidedly) of AGREE IN (with) ONE
17a With a wrench vote against revolutionary leader (7)
YANKING A reversal (revolutionary) of a vote against followed by a leader
19a Diversion for two pairs in pursuit of a contract (7)
ABRIDGE A card game (diversion) for two pairs of players goes after (in pursuit of) A (from the clue)
21a Deed from lawyer, turning out to be so fallible (4,2,4)
BILL OF SALE An anagram (turning out) of SO FALLIBLE
22a Letters restaurant’s clientele delivered (4)
ETAS Letters of the Greek alphabet sound like (delivered) the clientele of a restaurant consuming food
25a Day of the German game (3)
TAG The German word for day or a playground game
26a Making good speech following a snooze? (11)
RESTORATION A speech following a period of inactivity (snooze?)
28a True of the king, changing sides (5)
LOYAL Change the first ‘side’ in an adjective meaning relating to or befitting a king
29a City brawl about secret bonkers (9)
WORCESTER A reversed (about) brawl and an anagram (bonkers) of SECRET
Down
1d Stuffed shirt for one of 550 opening present from GI up (3,5)
OLD FOGEY The abbreviation meaning for example, OF (from the clue) and the Roman numerals for 550 inserted into (opening) an American soldier’s informal interjection used to indicate presence at a roll call, all reversed (up)
2d Doctor snubbed sweet food to save vital missing energy (6)
JEKYLL Almost all (snubbed) of a sweet food into which is inserted (to save) a synonym for vital without (missing) the symbol for Energy
3d Tribe given lift united during pilgrimage (5)
JUDAH A reversal (given lift) of the abbreviation for United inserted into (during) the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca
4d Florida Keys residents grasping I work for hospital porters (10)
CONCIERGES Replace the H (hospital) with I (from the clue) and the CGS unit of work in the name given to poor white residents of the Florida Keys, named because of their eating of particular marine molluscs
5d Radio’s top dog (4)
PEKE A homophone (radio’s) of a top or highest point
6d Folk didn’t believe her Señor’s limits within his own house (9)
CASSANDRA A prophetess of Greek legend, whose prophecies were not believed even though they were invariably correct. The outside letters (limits) of SenoR could be described as x xxx x and this phrase should be inserted in the Spanish word for house
7d Opinionated men sadly won’t have it, one attitude primarily (4,4)
OPEN MIND An anagram of OPINionateD MEN, once you have removed (won’t have) IT ONE and the primary letter of Attitude, sadly appearing to be both the anagram indicator and the thing that tells you the letters to be removed aren’t in that order
8d A little wound felt tender – it stings (6)
NETTLE Hidden in reverse (a little … wound) in fELT TENder
15d Not upright, Telegraph’s concealing refusal to admit fall in circulation (2,3,5)
ON ALL FOURS How someone at Telegraph Towers might refer to the publication, into which is inserted (concealing) a word of refusal and FALL (from the clue), in circulation indicating that the first letter should be moved to the end
16d Supernumerary bishop in upstairs WC is in charge (5,4)
MINOR ROLE The abbreviation for the title of a bishop inserted into a reversed (upstairs) of an informal WC; the result then inserted into an explosive charge
18d Source of oranges large Cornish town imports after sending whiskey south (4,4)
NELL GWYN A Cornish town ‘imports’ an abbreviation for Large after the letter represented by Whiskey in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet has been moved further down the word (sending south)
20d Maybe Jersey, former monarch’s location to the north, where king’s ghost walks? (8)
ELSINORE Where the ghost of Hamlet is said to walk – a reversal (to the north) of the regnal cipher of our late Queen (former monarch), a preposition describing a position or location, and a land mass of which Jersey is an example
21d Second-class PM in brief conflict (6)
BATTLE The letter indicating second-class and a former Prime Minister without the final letter (in brief)
23d A few dry leaves first to shrivel (6)
THIRTY In need of a drink (dry) without (leaves) the first letter of Shrivel
24d “Monotonous” perhaps encapsulates the compiler (5)
SAMEY Perhaps or for example ‘encapsulates’ how our compiler might refer to himself
27d Cut it with knight (4)
SAWN Sexual attraction (it), the abbreviation for With and the chess abbreviation for knight
Very enjoyable. Satisfying to eventually work all this out, though I had to come here to see the correct parsing of 2d, my last in. A very appropriate theme, most of which only materialised once the grid was filled. Spoilt for choice for good clues but I’ll go for 18d as my pick
Elgar has also given us a little theme-related present in the grid composed of a sequence of both checked and unchecked letters – I’ll say no more.
Thanks to Elgar and to crypticsue for such an excellent and clear blog.
Well spotted!
There’s also a nina. Look at a diagonal. Great crossword.
I made what I thought was good progress (for an Elgar) in three-quarters of the grid but the NW corner was a different kettle of fish and gave me real problems.
I missed the theme completely in spite of studying the relevant period for A-level history. I must remember to check the date of Elgar’s publications for anniversaries.
There are some great clues here – I particularly liked 12a, 19a, 25a, 26a and 18d.
Many thanks to Elgar and CS.
I had no idea regarding a theme, even on filling the grid. My enjoyment level of the puzzle increased on learning of today’s anniversary and a fair bit of reading about it afterwards.
Respect to everyone who spotted it and an extra nod to Tony Watson for spotting the Nina, I hadn’t thought to look for one.
I was delighted to find my answer to 9a was correct, I could parse it but doubted it was an actual word.
I have ticks against the doctor in 2d, the disbelieved 6d, the extra in 16d and best of all, the source of oranges at 18d.
My thanks to Elgar and to CS, whose assistance with a couple of my incomplete parsings was much appreciated.
Sue, you might like to look at 3d, the answer is not blanked out.
Sue is obviously out enjoying herself so I’ve blanked it for her.
Thank you – I was sitting in a chair under a shady tree ‘reading’ a book through my closed eyelids!
I thought this was relatively gentle for him with several gimmes down the bottom end. That said, there are a couple of those “Elgar only” clues [14a, 7d] the first of which I still can’t fully parse even after CSue’s analysis – where does the IN come from? If it’s from “part of” then that is on double duty [also part of the definition]. It sure aint in the anagram fodder. My faves were the source of oranges at 18d and the clever little 12a.
Thanks to Elgar and CSue.
The only way I can make 14a work is if the IN is part of flyINg and the definition is just machine.