Toughie 3768

Toughie No 3768 by Elgar

Hints and Tips by crypticsue

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

Anyone else solve the first two clues straight away and hope that we might have Elgar wearing his pink fluffy slippers this week?   No such luck – this Friday Toughie was as diabolically tough as ever!

The parsing of two clues took both the hanging out of the washing and the cleaning of the bathroom, muttering to myself all the while,  until eventually the pennies clanged loudly to the floor.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought

Across

1a           Left with a oner, one might be solvent (6)
LIQUID The abbreviation for Left, the Roman numeral for one and an informal name for a Pound Sterling (oner)

4a           Where royal retreats, dog retreats – right? (8)
BALMORAL A reversal (retreats) of an abbreviated dog breed and right or ethical

10a         Formally conditioned dogs expect it from bell in Pavlovian dissertations (5)
VIAND Pavlov conducted experiments on dogs where they received food once they did an action that rang a bell.  A more formal word for food is hidden in the last two words of the clue

11a         Go bottling wine in retirement, and have cover for just that (9)
EIDERDOWN Insert a type of wine into go or lose life and then reverse (in retirement) and follow with have or possess

12a         Japanese healing dog with new heart (7)
SHIATZU A type of small dog with the letter in the middle replaced with an A (new heart)

13a         In Commission, America’s no honour (7)
ENNOBLE While I quite like my theory – a homophone (in commission) of an American phrase meaning no nonsense, I think Odrum, Gazza and Grandpa have parsed it correctly – a verb meaning to commission where the abbreviation for America is replaced by NO (from the clue)

14a         In dispute, our game, over grass (8,6)
CROSSING SWORDS The thing we do for pleasure (our game) into which is inserted an informal way of saying grass or inform on

17a         Wino? With this, one might get protection (4-3-7)
GOOD-FOR-NOTHING  Without the hyphens, this solution could be telling what would happen if  you replaced the letter representing nothing at the end of winO with the abbreviation for Good, to get a word meaning protection, as in under one’s xxxx

21a         Amenities involved bar in Glasgow wash-house (7)
STEAMIE An anagram (involved) of AMEniTIES without (bar) IN

23a         Scheme the majority follow after trading boundaries (7)
NOSTRUM A phrase meaning the majority follow with the ‘boundaries’ or outside letters of each word swapped (trading boundaries)

24a         Light of day aboard bark (3,6)
BOW WINDOW A childish name for a dog’s bark into which is inserted IN (of) and the abbreviation for Day

25a         Affect western part of capital (5)
ACTON Part of West London could if split 3,2 mean to exert an influence on (affect)

26a         Become exhausted, beaten by one at Lord’s? (3,5)
RUN SHORT A cricket score that is one less than the total required to win

27a         My mum is meeting her mum in Madrid tomorrow (6)
MANANA An informal mother meeting an informal name you might call your grandmother (her mum)

Down

1d           Fed up with being bagelled, longing to be fit for match? (8)
LOVESICK Bagelled being tennis slang for losing a set 6 – 0, so a player might be thoroughly wearied of only scoring what a tennis umpire would call a score of nil

2d           One Sunday when one’s in prison, head for oblation (9)
QUASIMODO The first Sunday after Easter – Slang for a prison into which is inserted a conjunction meaning and an abbreviated way of saying I am (one’s), followed by the ‘head’ of Oblation

3d           I’ll make them do it, as in a storm energy may be harnessed (7)
IODATES Something made by Iodine as in I (the chemical symbol for Iodine) will make them.  An anagram (in a storm) of DO IT AS into which is inserted (may be harnessed) the symbol for Energy

5d           What follows 9 + x for one below is still minus t (7,7)
ADDRESS UNKNOWN The next line of the song in 9d – the action used in mathematics when you see the sign +, REStS (still without minus T) and what X represents in algebra

6d           Skewering fruit with care’s half the battle (7)
MARENGO The second half of caRE inserted into (skewering) a type of fruit

7d           Mass maintained by quantum physicist spinning figure (5)
RHOMB The abbreviation for Mass inserted into the reversed (spinning) surname of a quantum physicist

8d           With parts taken down? (6)
LANDED A conjunction meaning with inserted into (parts) guided or directed (taken)

9d           The King’s hit grog-blossomed Tyneside toper with this order? (6,2,6)
RETURN TO SENDER The first word in the solution is an order telling you to reverse the colour of a grog-blossomed nose, the abbreviation for the area of England where Tyneside can be found and a heavy drinker (toper)

15d         If He blesses us with calm, digital camera might be repaired (3,6)
DEI GRATIA DIGITAl camERA is an anagram (might be repaired) of phrase meaning if He blesses us and CALM

16d         A “mega” No. 1 raving! (8)
EGOMANIA An anagram (raving) of A MEGA NO I

18d         Femme fatale perhaps, tying up what may be a Tory wet (7)
DAMPISH An informal good looking or attractive woman (femme fatale perhaps) into which is inserted (tying up) someone who might be a Tory

19d         What Mexican chef makes for son … and here it is! (7)
TOSTADA A preposition meaning in the direction of (for), the abbreviation for Son and an interjection used to introduce something surprising or impressive (here it is!)

20d         Independent Pub Cellars provided pressure line, … (6)
ISOBAR The abbreviation for Independent and a pub or drinking establishment, between which is inserted (cellars) an adverb meaning provided

22d         .. man discovered something stocked there (5)
EDWIN The inside letters (discovered) of something stocked in a pub or the aforementioned drinking establishment