Yahoo News Today's Toughie crossword was written by comedian Dave Gorman – but the clues are no joke
It’s likely that you’ve seen comedian Dave Gorman on a television screen near you, whether hosting his own Modern Life Is Goodish, or as a contestant in the early days of Taskmaster. Given Dave’s penchant for words and wordplay, it should come as no surprise that, unable to perform live during the Covid-19 pandemic, he began a side-hustle as a crossword compiler, born of many years spent solving cryptic puzzles.
For the last couple of years, Gorman has set Toughie Crosswords for us under the pseudonym of Django, a contraction of his full name, David James (and) Gorman. It’s a sideline that has unexpected synergies with his day job. Dead time in a dressing-room before a performance is an ideal time to write cryptic clues, and his current live show includes a segment poking fun at the comments solvers leave about his puzzles on crossword blogs.
Yes, there really are many fervent online communities which dissect the ins and outs of every clue in every cryptic crossword. A word of warning to any prospective compiler: bloggers and commenters alike can be, well, brutal in their criticism. As I know only too well from reviews of my own puzzles.
Today’s Toughie 3,002 is the 23rd Django outing, and is chock-full of entertaining clues, many of which reflect the storyteller’s persona that Gorman brings to his comedy act. Take this clue, which reflects on how one of the world’s favourite actors might wind down; whether we would describe him as being old and mostly aching to his face is a moot point:
Old and mostly aching – initially Tom Hanks enjoyed time off over the holidays (4,2,3,5)
Or the following, which (rightly) makes one think of the Marvel Comics or DC Universe:
Villain's power generator cut off without uranium (7)
Given that Gorman’s performances tend to be free of controversy, it would be interesting to know who he had in mind when concocting this:
Entertainer's opening jokes providing issues (6)
You can play today’s Toughie on our brilliant new puzzles website; the answers to today’s picks are at the bottom of this page.
Today’s other puzzles
As well as the Toughie, there are plenty more challenges and teasers to play online. Can you beat our team’s average solving times?
PlusWord 255 Can you beat our unique blend of crossword and word-finding game? Today’s par solving time: 3 minutes
Cryptic Crossword 30,212 The long-running Telegraph Crossword is one of the most famous tests of problem-solving and vocabulary in the world. Today’s par solving time: 25 minutes
Quick Crossword 30,212 The Quick Crossword provides five or 10 minutes of solving action that avoids obscurities while still challenging your knowledge of words. Can you find the pun formed by the first across answers? Today’s par solving time: 7 minutes
Cross Atlantic 73 Each puzzle in our newest crossword series is a unique test of British-based words and trivia which can be solved by anyone. Today’s par solving time: 22 minutes
Mini Crossword 73 Ten clues and one small grid: what could be easier? Can you join the select band of solvers who can crack a Mini in under a minute? Today’s par solving time: 90 seconds
Toughie 3002 clue answers:
LONG IN THE TOOTH: LONGIN(g) + initial letters Tom Hanks enjoyed time off over the holidays
PENGUIN: P (=power) + U (=uranium) in ENGIN(e)
EQUIP: E (=entertainer’s opening) + QUIP
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