Toughie No 3706 by Prime
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Prime has set us a Toughie which I thought was just right for a Wednesday apart from the age it took me to parse 1d which added an extra star to the difficulty rating
Please let us know what you thought
Across
3a Destroy United before playing Porto (6)
UPROOT The abbreviation for United goes before an anagram (playing) of PORTO
6a Lounge‘s book quiz (4)
BASK The abbreviation for Book and a verb meaning to quiz combine to give a verb meaning top lie in warmth or sunshine (lounge)
8a Royal Navy with commotion on deck (5)
ADORN A very old friend of the seasoned cryptic crossword solver. The abbreviation for the Royal Navy goes after a commotion
9a Hostile staff decide to riot (11)
DISAFFECTED An anagram (to riot) of STAFF DECIDE
10a Dish that is to the side of meat (5)
CUTIE The abbreviation for that is goes after (to the side of) a piece of meat
11a Supply personnel to limit short-term pain for Conservative donor, possibly (5-6)
RIGHT-WINGER Supply or fit out and the abbreviation for the department that used to be known as ‘Personnel’ into which is inserted a momentary pain
16a Want author to lead leaderless panel (6)
PENURY A verb meaning to write (author) goes before (to lead) a panel of people sworn to reach a verdict without its first letter (leaderless)
17a Peers with difficulty keeping base awake (3,5)
AGE GROUP Problems or difficulties ‘keeping’ or having inserted the letter that is the base of the natural system of logarithms, followed by awake or out of bed
19a Trite poetry around university restricted by excessive drug-taking (8)
OVERUSED The abbreviation for taking too many drugs ‘restricts’ some poetry into which is inserted the abbreviation for University
20a Make approach to have control over P&L (6)
COMPEL Arrive at a certain place (approach) into which is inserted (to have control over) P (from the clue); L (from the clue) being added at the end
22a By mistake, kiss arm (11)
BLUNDERBUSS A gross mistake and a playful kiss
25a Old scoundrel’s means of giving many women a raise? (5)
HEELS It is a shame that the wordplay needs the ‘S because the first definition is ‘old scoundrels’ and the second something worn by many women to make them taller
27a CIA made over criminal shooter (5,6)
VIDEO CAMERA An anagram (over) of CIA MADE OVER
28a Fiction with little space to accommodate Romeo (5)
PORKY Rhyming slang for a lie (fiction) – the letter represented by Romeo in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet inserted into an adjective meaning with little room or space
29a Descartes’s theory, “I think …”, cut short (4)
IDEE The French (as used by Descartes) word for a theory – I (from the clue) and a verb meaning to think or judge without its final letter (cut short)
30a City almost sell reserve (6)
VENICE Almost all of sell or deal in followed by coldness of manner (reserve)
Down
1d Brandy snaps losing half mass when rising (4)
MARC Reverse (when rising) of a synonym for fractures or breaks (snaps) without the second half, followed by the abbreviation for Mass
2d Natalie who won an Oscar ahead of meal with Universal – brunch? (11)
PORTMANTEAU The actress who won an Oscar for Black Swan goes before a meal and the abbreviation for Universal
3d Hidden, like unwanted lumps of beef? (11)
UNDERGROUND With a hyphen 5-6 this might refer to lumps of beef that haven’t been minced enough
4d Give up golf, overwhelmed by lapse yet again (6)
RESIGN The letter represented by Golf in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet ‘overwhelmed’ by lapse or offend yet again
5d Unwatched 18 perhaps cut by hurriedly leaving adult (3-5)
OFF-STAGE A phrase indicating that 18 is old enough to be considered legally mature into which is inserted (cut by) a synonym for hurriedly without (leaving) the abbreviation for Adult
6d It may sizzle in fire when energy escapes (5)
BACON A fire lit as a signal without (escapes) the symbol for Energy
7d Vegetable‘s moisture used up in middle of desert (5)
SWEDE A reversal (used up) of moisture deposited from the air on cooling inserted into the letters in the middle of deSErt
12d Sought-after merchandise – hard copy is doing well (2,4,5)
IN GOOD SHAPE Sought-after or fashionable, some merchandise, the abbreviation for Hard and a verb meaning to copy
13d Rough poetry destroyed mathematical interest (5,6)
GROUP THEORY An anagram (destroyed) of ROUGH POETRY
14d Wish for grave request to drop a little applause? (6)
RIPPLE A wish written on a gravestone and a request without (to drop) the A
15d Self-assurance sadly improbable when vomiting spoilt Brie (6)
APLOMB An anagram (sadly) of iMPrOBAbLe without (when vomiting) the letters BRIE (spoilt telling you that they aren’t in that order)
18d Reduction in iron? (8)
DECREASE A reduction or perhaps a verb meaning to iron
21d Bones stink with bile tipped over (6)
HUMERI A slang word for a strong unpleasant smell (stick) with a reversal (tipped over) of anger or bile
23d Trip provider getting carriage for small estate owner in Fife (5)
LAIRD An abbreviated drug providing a ‘trip’ where the abbreviation for Small is replaced by bearing or manner
24d Family member, 30, topless and dropping ecstasy (5)
NIECE Take the solution to 30a, remove the first letter (topless) and ‘drop’ the first appearance of the abbreviation for the drug Ecstasy further down the word
26d Where Scots are caught in risky endeavour (4)
SKYE Hidden by (caught in) the last two words of the clue. Another example of a clue that goes onto the second page of the print-out but doesn’t need writing on the first page because the solution is obvious on reading the clue
A lot of fun, and completed a little faster than I had expected. Some cracking clueing and good exercise for the LGCs. Had vaguely heard of the actress, which helped, though could not tell you anything more about her without Googling.
Discovered after the event that it was a DNF: at 30a I went for the Slovkian municipality of Selice – SEL(L) ICE – of which I had heard though it turns out to be more of a village than a city. Unfortunately I had got 24d much earlier, and did not revisit it for a logic check, which would have highlighted my error. Honours could go to fully half the board but will limit to 19a, 22a, 29a & 4d.
Many thanks indeed to Prime and to CS
Cracking puzzle with plenty of humour and pleasingly testing, though I’m not so keen on using a French word as the answer to 29a.
The Tory donor in 11a, peers at 17a and trite at 19a were clever but my top three were what gives women a raise in 25a, the booze at 1a and best of all the construction of unmatched at 18d.
My thanks to Prime and CS.
Managed it just about with a little assistance from CS. The E held me up until the hints for 25a and 28a gave me the fillip I needed to roll up the remainder. The kiss synonym was new to me, but couldn’t be anything else, otherwise everything within my grasp.
Many thanks to Prime and CS
3*/3*
Fab puzzle completed without help albeit slowly.
I think 2d was my favourite of a good bunch, and 22a was also top top. I did have to google the meaning of the second half of the solution as I wasn’t aware of either the word or its meaning.
Also needed the parsing of 29a explaining
Thanks all
I thought this distinctly tricky so pleased to see it judged worthy of a 3* difficulty rating. A laboured grid fill with further time spent trying to figure out a few whys & the one at 1d defeated me. I also had no idea that the 22a weapon was spelt with 2 rather than a single S & if I ever knew I’d long forgotten the slang for a kiss so Mr G was needed to confirm.
Enjoyed the tussle. The clues that stood out for me were 11,16,17&19a + 2,12,14,15d. The surface at 4d read as sound advice after abject performances on the course over the last two days with more to follow tomorrow.
Thanks to Prime & to Sue.
Enjoyable puzzle – thanks to Prime and CS.
I didn’t know the 13d term and having asked Mrs Google about it I’m not really much wiser.
Ticks from me for 29a, 4d, 5d and 12d.
Glad it wasn’t just me with 13d though I had heard of it 🤔