Toughie No 3294 by Hudson
Hints and Tips by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Toughie Difficulty * – Enjoyment *****
Another splendid crossword from Hudson, full of smile-inducing clues right from the very start
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Across
1a Twerk in deepest Slough? (4,6)
ROCK BOTTOM An instruction to twerk could also describe the depths of despondency (slough)
6a An element of the unknown elected head of committee (4)
ZINC A mathematical unknown, the usual ‘elected’ and the head of Committee
9a Charlie, Charlie & Ivor, Piet, Ivan oddly formed a group of stars (10)
CASSIOPEIA The letter represented by Charlie in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, an idiot (Charlie) and the odd letters of IvOr PiEt, followed by A (from the clue)
10a Food store I ran after retiring (4)
DELI A reversal (after retiring) of I (from the clue) and a synonym for ran
12a Mine host’s principal point of substance (4)
PITH A mine and the principal letter of Host
13d Court enclosure for accused holding small time accomplice of Joe Cool? (9)
WOODSTOCK Try to win the affection of (court), an enclosure for an accused person, the latter ‘holding’ the abbreviations for Small and Time
15a Pig fat sandwiches left for sailors once (8)
LARBOARD A type of fat ‘sandwiches’ a male pig to produce an old nautical word for left
16a In Calais, the port is dull (6)
LEADEN The French definite article and a Middle Eastern port
18a Big game here – listing starters, Sir Alex Ferguson announces Ronaldo, inevitably (6)
SAFARI The starters of Sir Alex Ferguson Announces Ronaldo Inevitably
20a Jobless youngster embraces vicar’s kindness? (5,3)
BLESS YOU Hidden (embraces) in the first two words of the clue
23a Beginning to draw pie chart, freely available for next to nothing (4,5)
DIRT CHEAP The beginning to Draw and an anagram (freely) of PIE CHART
24a Having taste of the barrel right after stomach upset? (4)
OAKY Upset or reverse the order of the middle two letters (stomach) of an informal way of saying all right
26a Setter’s entertaining extremely tactile couple (4)
ITEM How our setter would say he would (setter’s) ‘entertaining’ the extreme letters of TactilE
27a A ringer for Reggie Kray? (3,3,4)
DOG AND BONE Reggie Kray was a co*ckney so the solution is what he’d call a telephone (ringer)
28a Has DeSantis regularly lost? (4)
EATS The even (regularly lost) letters of dEsAnTiS
29a Labour perform vital task, stealing focus from Sunak (6-4)
DONKEY WORK A simple way of saying perform, a synonym for vital an a task ‘stealing’ or taking in the ‘focus’ or middle letter of suNak
Down
1d Risqué introduction to column in issue of The Sun (4)
RACY The ‘introduction’ to Column inserted into something that issues from the sun (the star not the newspaper)
2d Dismiss bank employee (7)
CASHIER Dismiss from a post (especially in the armed forces) or a bank employee
3d Badger to acquire trendy novel (8,4)
BRIGHTON ROCK Another name for a badger into which is inserted (to acquire) an adjective meaning trendy
4d Corrupt MP wrote about a parasite (8)
TAPEWORM An anagram (corrupt) of MP WROTE goes ‘about’ A (from the clue)
5d Oscar certainly not turning up for prayer (6)
ORISON The letter represented by Oscar in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet and a reversal (turning up) of an informal way of saying certainly not
7d Current Conservative, Green and Liberal Democrat at zero? (3-4)
ICE-COLD The symbol for electrical current, the abbreviation for Conservative, a combining form indicating that something is environmentally friendly (green) and the abbreviation for Liberal Democrat
8d Film stylish toy boy Bruno getting undressed (7,3)
CHICKEN RUN A synonym for stylish, a male toy doll and the inside (getting undressed) letters of bRUNo
11d Deny a casino’s organised special occasion (9,3)
ASCENSION DAY An anagram (organised) of DENY A CASINO
14d Quick shot through the covers that sticks in the memory? (5,5)
FLASH DRIVE A synonym for quick and a cricket shot through the covers
17d Alf turned up on deck eating a bit of jammy pancake (8)
FLAPJACK A reversal (turned up) of ALF on a verb meaning to deck ‘eating’ the first letter (a bit of) Jammy
19d Some suffer mental agitation (7)
FERMENT Hidden in some of sufFER MENTal
21d Famous artist: variable, niche, upwardly mobile, bespectacled (4,3)
YOKO ONO A mathematical variable and a reversed (upwardly mobile) of a niche, the latter inserted between two Os (bespectacled)
22d Study old verse – the first from Ovid – afresh (2,4)
DE NOVO A study, the abbreviations for Old and Verse and the first letter of Ovid
25d A short distance down (4)
NECK A short distance used to measure the lead in a horse race or a slang word meaning to drink (down)
