Toughie No 3744 by Elgar
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty ****** – Enjoyment *****
Elgar in blooming tough mode – not helped by all those linked clues scattered around the grid. When I had battled my way to a full grid I couldn’t parse five of the clues but after considerable muttering (and a break to clean the bathroom), I think I have finally understood all Elgar’s attempts to complete befuddle his poor solvers
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought
Across
1a I don’t believe this solver’s MO! (4,4,3)
AWAY WITH YOU A phrase meaning a Modus Operandi and how Elgar would refer to us, the solver
9a/29a Daughter’s face when leaving old man animated is a picture (4,4)
MONA LISA An anagram (animated) of OLd MAN (the ‘face’ of Daughter leaving or omitted) and IS A (from the clue)
10a Large church seizes a note to Italian group (5,6)
CLEAN BANDIT The abbreviated for Large ‘seized’ by the abbreviated Church of England, A (from the clue), an abbreviation meaning note well, a conjunction used to join words and the abbreviation for Italian produces the name of an English electronic music group
11a See 24 Across
14a Including everyone in alert, Queen’s intro to Lady Gaga? (3,4)
ALL TOLD Replace the regnal cipher of our late Queen in ALerT with the intro to Lady and then add a slang word meaning old or in senile dotage
16a Cockney shouldn’t credit 26 3 Down’s forgotten snack (4,3)
PORK PIE This snack is Cockney Rhyming Slang for a lie, something a Cockney shouldn’t credit. The solution to 26a is part of the wordplay; the linked solution to 3d being forgotten
17a Course regularly followed around home city (5)
TURIN Reverse (around) a fixed, often tedious course and then add the usual two-letter home
18a/25d Make random selection, as does recruiter of extras for crowd scenes? (4,4)
CAST LOTS A recruiter for extras in crowd scenes would give roles to a large number of people
19a See 5 Down
20a Retired Communist probed by British maybe packing on board (5)
OAKUM A reversal (retired) of a Chinese Communist leader into which is inserted an abbreviation for British
22a Wise guy repealing criminal law on knife cases (4-3)
KNOW-ALL Hidden in reverse (repealing) in criminaL LAW ON Knife
23a Range being talked about? (7)
EARSHOT The distance within which a sound can be heard
24a/11a Clean up after flying kite during bad weather (4,2,2)
RAKE IT IN An anagram (flying) of KITE inserted into some bad weather (which has this week finally returned to East Kent)
28a Excited about delivery of welcome money (2,2,4,3)
UP TO HIGH DOH An informal expression referring to being in a state of great excitement. Ready for a homophone of an informal welcome and some slang money
29a See 9 Across
30a More than one bulk SMS interpreted by cruciverbalists? (11)
MASSINESSES If you look at this for a very long time and then go and clean the bath (it honestly helped) then eventually you see that this is one of his ‘lettery’ clues where a cruciverbalist might interpret SMS as one of many words that can be abbreviated to M and a phrase meaning in some Ss
Down
2d/27d Overcooked congratulations? (4,4)
WELL DONE A very welcome straightforward double definition
3d See 26 Down
4d Implicating publication left by cop with a constituent (2-5)
IN-BUILT An anagram (implicating) of pUBLIcaTIoN without (left by) COP and A
5d/19a Delay part of costume rental for Spooner’s Dracula? (4,4)
HANG FIRE What the Reverend Spooner might ask for as part of his rental requirements for a Dracula costume
6d The head holds obtrusively religious view (7)
OPINION Obtrusively religious inserted into a slang name for the head
7d Responding to call for attention, secure building properly? (4,7)
BOLT UPRIGHT Secure with a particular type of fastening and a synonym for properly
8d Influenced by space invader entering former washroom? (11)
LAUNDERETTE Within the influence of and Mr Spielberg’s space invader entering former or not long past
12d Starter pack on all alloys containing erbium (7,4)
PANCAKE ROLL An anagram (alloys) of PACK ON ALL into which is inserted the chemical symbol for erbium
13d Village idiot is smashing alternative to Perspex butt (7,4)
GLASGOW KISS A Scottish or NE dialect name for a village idiot ‘smashes’ or goes inside a substance which is an alternative to Perspex (I would have said Perspex was used as an alternative to this!)
15d Capital “acquired” by elevating son of nobleman … (5)
DUCAL The abbreviated way of referring to a capital letter ‘acquired’ by a reversed (elevating) young boy (son)
16d … Crown reported offence (5)
PIQUE Animosity or ill-feeling is a homophone (reported) of crown or top of something
20d In one’s first article naughtily imply Games were held here (7)
OLYMPIA An anagram (naughtily) of IMPLY inserted between the first letter of One and an indefinite article
21d Mate of a man in green keeps this chap out of the Green Man (7)
MARTIAN The mate of Robin Hood (man in green) into which is inserted The once you have removed the reference to ‘this chap’
25d See 18 Across
26d/3d One form hysteria may take nowadays (4,4)
THIS YEAR An anagram (one form … may take) of HYSTERIA
27d See 2 Down
I finished this in record [Elgar] time, helped by the 4 4+4 clues, then spent half as long again trying to parse everything. 16a and 23a held out the longest before I realised that the wordplay I was looking for just wasn’t there. Overall a mix of his kindest and maddest clues. Favourites were the daft Spoonerism at 5/19, “influenced by space-invader” at 8d, the green man at 21d [tho’ I think it needs a ?] and the perfect 26/3d.
Thanks to Elgar and CSue. {Doing the veg-prep for supper usually works for me}
Having quickly found a couple of gimmes I thought that this might be a relatively gentle Elgar – how wrong that turned out to be. I crawled through it at a snail’s pace until I got to my last clue,10a, where I eventually lost patience and revealed the answer. I’ve never heard of the group and I still can’t understand where the ‘and’ comes from.
Ticks from me for 16a, 23a, the clever 30a, 5d/19a and 13d.
Thanks for the brain-stretching to Elgar and thanks to CS for the review.,
I’m not sure I like old being equated with gaga!
DNF, 10a and 28a got the better of me & having seen the answers I am rather content to have thrown in the towel. Thanks to CS and Elgar.
I thought this was going to be an unusually quick finish for an Elgar, having got almost all of the linked clues early doors and being familiar with the group in 10a.
One or two typically questionable parsings aside, I was quite happy.
Then I got to my last two, the long ‘uns at the bottom.
Never heard of the expression at 28a and although I deduced 30a was something to do with heaviness, the solution sounds made-up.
Shame about those two as there were some crackers in there: the picture at 9&29a, the slang for head in 6d and the starter in 12d.
My favourite was 13d, which was a very amusing construction. Imagine my delight when an online check confirmed the existence of the four-letter word for village idiot I’d guessed at!
Typically Elgar, never straightforward.
My thanks to him and CS.
Not for me and not enjoyable just too convoluted although I did get about 40% before giving up and revealing the answers one by one. Some of them I didn’t have a hope in hell of getting as never heard of them like 28a.
Apologies for sounding grumpy
At least I knew and got the band in 10a and was very happy to get 1a which fell into place immediately so not a total distaste.