Clue Challenge: THOUGH

Several of the definitions used (such as “when”) needed some thought to find a context in which they could be substituted for “though”. I found most of them satisfactory, but a couple failed to convince me: “allowing” and “granted”. Neither official dictionary (nor Chambers) defines “allowing” as a conjunction or adverb, so it’s difficult to justify its equivalence to “though”. For “granted”, the Concise Oxford gives “even assuming [that]” (conjunction) and “admittedly; it is true” (adverb), which have a kind of reverse of the sense of “despite the fact that”.

This month’s £50 prize goes to Gordon Wassermann for a simple but flawless clue.

1st
Gordon Wassermann
Conceived, but not completed yet (6)
This is straightforward but naturally described: it’s THOUGHT without its last letter. The choice of “yet” as the definition fits naturally with the theme of temporal progress, making a very convincing surface sense.

2nd
Frank Williams
Despite being difficult he’s beginning to fit in (6)
The wordplay here is H(E) (ie, the beginning of HE) in TOUGH. It’s slightly stilted in the cryptic reading (“X Y to fit in”), but the surface reading is utterly convincing.

3rd
Callum Robertson
Idea to finish early at the same time (6)
The wordplay here is THOUGHT without its last letter, with the definition “at the same time” used in the sense of “on the other hand”. The surface reading takes the definition literally to present a scheduling suggestion.

Runners-up: Stephen Clarke, John Harding, Michael Kennedy, Timothy McDermott, Terry Sale, Andy Stewart

Comments on individual clues (runner-up clues marked with [R]):

Albeit Scottish tolerate having disgust for the French (6)
The wordplay is THOLE with LE replaced by UGH. “Thole”, a northern or archaic word for “tolerate”, is in both the official dictionaries but an editor might feel it’s not mainstream enough to use in wordplay like this. “Ugh” is a word that expresses disgust; it doesn’t mean “disgust”. Without a comma, it’s not clear what “albeit” refers to in the surface reading.

Albeit terribly hot it’s disgusting! (6)
The wordplay is a jumble of HOT + UGH. The wordplay is smooth but would be more convincing if the adverb applied to “hot” were something positive, so that the disgustingness would be a contrast to justify the use of “albeit”.

All-out or out after all? (6)
The wordplay is THOROUGH (all-out) minus OR, though “X Y out” isn’t a very natural way of saying “X with Y out”. The definition is “after all”, in the sense of “despite everything”. The surface reading has a nice parallelism, even if it doesn’t have much meaning.

Allowing over without run (6)
“Allowing” as the definition may be a bit of a stretch for The Times, as neither of the official dictionaries gives it (or something similar) for “though”, and they don’t list “allowing” as a conjunction. The wordplay is THROUGH (over) minus R. The surface reading uses “over” and “run” to give a convincing cricketing image.

Allowing that “hot” dancing? That’s disgusting! (6)
The wordplay here is a jumble of HOT + UGH. “Allowing that” as the definition may be a bit of a stretch for The Times, as neither of the official dictionaries gives it (or something similar) for “though”, and they don’t list “allowing” as a conjunction.

Allowing unqualified men to leave (6)
“Allowing” as the definition may be a bit of a stretch for The Times, as neither of the official dictionaries gives it (or something similar) for “though”, and they don’t list “allowing” as a conjunction. The wordplay is THOROUGH (unqualified, utter) minus OR (other ranks, ie, serving men), but it would be more natural to say “X with Y leaving” than “X Y to leave”.

And yet, because of the loss of final sponsor the idea is not seen to completion (6)
This consists of a definition (“and yet”) and two instances of wordplay. The first is THROUGH (because of) minus (SPONSO)R, but “final X” means the last in a series of Xes, not the last part of X, and “X the loss of Y” doesn’t work grammatically to say “X without Y”. The second wordplay is a natural description of the incompleteness of THOUGH(T).

“But enough is too much, it’s directionless. Ditto the substitution” (6)
The definition is “but”; the rest is the wordplay, rather complicated for The Times. It’s ENOUGH minus E and N (directions), with THE minus E being substituted for the removed letters. There are, in effect, three ways in which the removal of EN is implied: that ENOUGH is “too much”, that it’s directionless, and that TH replaces those letters; this feels like overkill. Accepting the descriptions of the removals, we’re still left with “X minus Y. Z substitution”, which doesn’t really tell the solver what to do with Z.

Course of Meditation - not Transcendental to begin with, however (6)
This uses THOUGHT minus T(RANSCENDENTAL), but “course of Meditation” feels a bit clunky for “thought”, when just “Meditation” would do. The surface sense succeeds in providing the contrast necessary to justify the use of “however”.

Crack this: it’s hard outside and hard inside, however (6)
The wordplay has H in TOUGH, nicely using “hard” to define both parts. The initial “crack this” is supposed to be an instruction to the solver, but it’s cryptically redundant (what else was a solver intending to do?) and probably goes beyond an acceptable level of padding for The Times. “However” doesn’t fit particularly well in the surface sense, as having a hard interior isn’t at odds with a hard exterior.

Despite being thorough, initially losing one’s resolve (6)
The wordplay is THOROUGH minus the initial letters of O(NE’S) R(ESOLVE), but to express that, “initially” needs to be adjacent to “one’s resolve”. Putting “losing” in between is like saying “I am scrambled eating eggs.”

Despite leading, two hundred others usually get home, nonetheless (6)
This has two definitions, one at each end, but the first one doesn’t really work: “though” means “despite the fact that”, not just “despite”. The wordplay takes the initial letters of T(WO) H(UNDRED) O(THERS) U(SUALLY) G(ET) H(OME), with “leading” being read as “providing the front parts of”. The surface sense is a bit elusive: it could be about a race, but why would it be a surprise that the 200 leaders get home?

Despite the fact it’s hard to crack, the kernel gets eaten (6)
The wordplay is (T)H(E) in TOUGH (hard to crack), though “X’s kernel” would be more welcome than “X kernel” to indicate the central letter. The wording “it’s X, Y gets eaten” is a bit awkward, when “it’s X with Y getting eaten” is meant. The surface reading has a consistent image of a nut, but without any other context, “it” seems to refer to the kernel, which is the soft part of a nut, not the hard-to-crack shell.

Despite the fact that the usual spelling is twice as long, expressed disgust after writing the shortened form (6)
The wordplay is THO + UGH; “expressed disgust” is a bit fanciful for an expression of disgust, but defensible. Using a short form of the answer in the wordplay is somewhat unfair, as it deprives the solver of a chance to deduce the word from a different angle.

Difficult yet with hope (6)
The wordplay is H in TOUGH, but H isn’t an abbreviation or symbol for “hope”. The word order is wrong, having the definition interrupting the wordplay, and The Times doesn’t use “X with Y” to mean “X containing Y”.

Don’t bother showing “T” in reflection – it turns out just the same (6)
[R] The surface sense is natural, describing how the letter T looks the same when reflected in a mirror. The cryptic reading is about omitting the final T in THOUGHT (reflection), with “just the same” as the tricky definition. The ideas are good and the wording is clever, even if it seems to imply that all Ts should be removed.

Elizabeth ought to be included, however (6)
The answer is hidden in (ELIZABE)TH OUGH(T), but the construction “X to be included” doesn’t say that. In the absence of any context, “Elizabeth” can be assumed to refer to a British queen, but the surface reading is still rather vague.

“Even, if considered to lose time ultimately” (6)
The explanation with this clue said the comma was optional, inviting me to ignore it if I prefer. I’m afraid that’s not on: it’s tantamount to submitting two versions of the clue and hoping I’ll choose the better one. As it happens, the comma does sabotage the definition - “even, if” doesn’t mean “though”. The wordplay helpfully indicates which of the Ts is to be removed from THOUGH(T). The surface reading doesn’t give a clear image.

From outright, or, from complete and endless consideration, you have all the same answers! (6)
It’s some achievement to pack so much into a clue with a fairly reasonable surface sense. There are three instances of wordplay: THROUGH minus R, THOROUGH minus OR, and THOUGH(T). “From” can be interchangeable with “through” in phrases like “exhausted through lack of sleep”, but it may be too subtle for an intermediate part of the wordplay. “X out Y” isn’t a natural way of saying “X without Y”, and The Times style doesn’t allow joining two words into one (as “outright”). For the second construction, “X, from Y” (especially with the comma) focuses on X as the subject, whereas it’s the residue when X is removed that we want. The definition is “all the same”, so the overall structure is “[wordplays], you have [definition] answers”, which is a bit stretched.

Granted suit in difficult case (6)
The wordplay is H (hearts, a suit) in TOUGH (difficult). For the definition, it’s difficult to see “granted” (“even assuming that”) as a synonym for “though” (“despite the fact that”). The surface reading gives a convincing description of progress in a legal or administrative proceeding.

Granted wish finally in firm (6)
The wordplay is (WIS)H in TOUGH. For the definition, it’s difficult to see “granted” (“even assuming that”) as a synonym for “though” (“despite the fact that”).

Hard capital in harsh setting, nevertheless (6)
The wordplay is H in TOUGH, but it would be less contentious to say “Hard’s capital” for the H. For the surface reading, “nevertheless” seems to be arbitrarily tacked on, as the “hard” and “harsh” themes don’t make a contrast.

Hardy’s characters, including Henchard at the outset, are all the same (6)
[R] This uses H(ENCHARD) (the mayor of Casterbridge in Thomas Hardy’s novel) in TOUGH. Using “hardy” for “tough” enables a plausible comment in the surface reading about the author’s characterisation (whether one agrees with it or not), but saying “Hardy’s characters” (ie, the letters of a word that means “hardy”), instead of just “Hardy”, may be a misdirection too far.

Hock accompanying claret, finally; in the right order, however (6)
The wordplay puts together HOUGH (variant of “hock”) and (CLARE)T, but not in the order they’re mentioned. The surface reading uses another sense of “hock” to refer to white and red wines.

However, extra time (and space!) would be needed to get idea across here (6)
[R] The wordplay is expressed in a nicely original way, saying that adding T (in an extra square) to the answer would give THOUGHT here (across) in the grid. However, the surface reading doesn’t suggest a contrast, so “However” seems arbitrarily bolted on.

However tough and initially hard, given order the answer will emerge (6)
The wordplay is a jumble of TOUGH and H(ARD), though since it consists of putting one inside the other, it’s not very jumbled. “Initially” isn’t needed, as H is the abbreviation for “hard” on pencils. The surface sense is reasonable.

If it’s hard to cut, bad luck (6)
The definition is just “if”, in the sense of “despite being”. The wordplay is H (hard) in TOUGH (bad luck!), which is fine except that the comma gets in the way. “X to cut, Y” doesn’t quite mean “X to cut Y”.

In depression, with the heart not right still (6)
The wordplay is TROUGH (depression) with R replaced by (T)H(E), though “X’s heart” would be more welcome than “X heart” to indicate the central letter. The cryptic wording would be a bit more natural with another comma: “X, with Y, not Z”. Similarly, the overall structure would be better with a comma (“in [wordplay], [definition]”) or reversed (“[definition] in [wordplay]”).

It is complete without gold, nevertheless (6)
This is cryptically sound, describing THOROUGH (complete) minus OR, even if the heraldic term “or” for the colour gold isn’t really an everyday word. The surface sense does manage a bit of contradiction (completeness versus being without something) to justify the “nevertheless”, but there’s no clear idea of what the subject matter is.

Meditation - ultimately time doesn’t stay still (6)
[R] The wordplay describes the departure of the final T (time) from THOUGHT; “still” is the definition. The surface reading makes a sensible, quasi-philosophical observation that’s well suited to the subject of meditation.

Nevertheless an incomplete reflection (6)
This is straightforward but naturally described: it’s THOUGHT without its last letter. The only weakness is that the surface reading doesn’t suggest a contrast, so “nevertheless” seems arbitrarily bolted on.

‘Nevertheless hard drug is injected’ (6)
The wordplay is H (heroin) in TOUGH (hard). The phrase “hard drug” reads well, but it makes the cryptic wording a bit stilted: “X Y is injected” instead of “X in which Y is injected”. The surface reading doesn’t suggest a contrast, so “Nevertheless” seems arbitrarily bolted on.

Nevertheless, the Head of History’s good reflecting on the subject of art (6)
[R] The wordplay here is THOU (the subject of the verb “art” - nice) + H(ISTORY’S) G reversed. The apostrophe-S could be read as “has”, but for elements that are simply adjacent, “X Y” is better than “X has Y” (unless one specifies the relationship, eg, “X has Y adjacent”).

Nevertheless, the idea is not quite complete (6)
This is straightforward but naturally described: it’s THOUGHT without its last letter. The only weakness is that the surface reading doesn’t suggest a contrast, so “nevertheless” seems arbitrarily bolted on.

Nevertheless, this is tough if you leave out the wife of Osiris to begin with (6)
The wordplay is THIS IS TOUGH minus ISIS and T(O), but “X begin with” doesn’t work to indicate the first letter of X (“X to begin with” would be OK). The surface sense seems rather arbitrary, with little connection among the elements.

Nevertheless, which wit withdraws with ought? Why, the wit without (6)
The idea of the wordplay is that WITH OUGHT has two occurrences of WIT, one at the start and one using outer letters, and removing the outer one leaves the answer. However, it needs to say “which WIT withdraws from WITH OUGHT”; “which X withdraws Y” doesn’t say what’s meant. The archaistic uses of “ought” (nothing) and “without” (outside) give the alliterative surface reading a consistent tone, though it leaves one wondering what was the Jacobean joke that led to this punchline.

Nevertheless you dated Gerard Hoffnung initially (6)
The wordplay is THOU (“you”, dated) + G(ERARD) H(OFFNUNG). The surface sense is reasonable, and it’s nice to see a mention of the musician and humorist Hoffnung, who seems to be virtually forgotten today, but he has no strong association with dating and there’s no explanation for the use of “nevertheless”.

Pondering - inconclusively, however (6)
[R] The wordplay is THOUGHT without its last letter. The punctuation helps the natural surface reading (about failing to reach a conclusion despite deep thinking) without harming the cryptic sense.

Start with video menu, programming Baywatch endings. (They appear to be all the same!) (6)
The adverbial definition “all the same” allows some nice misdirection in the surface reading. The wordplay takes the final letters of (STAR)T (WIT)H (VIDE)O (MEN)U (PROGRAMMIN)G (BAYWATC)H, though it would be better to say “X’s endings” than “X endings” for that. The clue is rather long; it could easily lose a few words to become snappier.

Still searching where gold’s hidden (6)
The wordplay is THOROUGH (“searching”, a usage not really supported by the two official dictionaries) minus OR, the heraldic term for the colour gold - not really an everyday word. The surface sense is very natural.

Still using hot mash? That’s disgusting! (6)
The wordplay is a jumble of HOT + UGH, though using nouns to indicate anagrams in the form “X mash” is unpopular among some solvers. The surface sense is reasonable, but it’s not clear why using hot mash should be disgusting (without knowing what it’s being used for).

Tom at first has a bit of a laugh but expresses disgust nevertheless (6)
The wordplay here is T(OM) + HO + UGH. “A bit of a laugh” is OK for HO (as in “ho ho”), but “expresses disgust” doesn’t mean “ugh” or define its function (an expression of disgust). The surface sense is weakened by the use of an arbitrary name; it better to refer to specific individuals (real or fictional).

Turned hot, horrible, still (6)
The wordplay here is a jumble of HOT + UGH. “Turned” is defensible as an anagram indicator (in the sense of having gone off), but that’s usually avoided because it so often indicates reversal. Though any word could be exclaimed, “horrible” isn’t really an exclamation like “ugh”. The surface reading gives a reasonable description of weather.

What’s that? Still warm between the sheets? (6)
This kind of construction is tempting but hard to pull off. The idea is that the letters of TOG and HUH (“what’s that?”) are written alternately to give the answer, but the wording here doesn’t make that clear: “X [definition] Y between the sheets” doesn’t say that X and Y are interleaved. “Warm” (or “warm between the sheets”) isn’t a fair definition of “tog”, the unit of thermal resistance.

When the bough breaks, third and first get taken out (6)
“When” is tricky as the definition but it can be justified, eg “He works as a baker when he’s just won the lottery”. The wordplay is THE BOUGH minus E and B, being the third and first letters of the respective words. It’s nice to use the phrase from Rock-a-bye Baby, but “breaks” isn’t really incorporated into the wordplay and the rest of the clue doesn’t tie in with the lullaby.

While trough runs out it’s refilled with hoses primarily (6)
The idea here, TROUGH with R removed and replaced by H(OSES), is promising for a coherent surface reading. The wording “X Y out it’s refilled with Z” is a bit stilted, though; there must be more natural ways of putting it, eg, “X has [run] out, refill it with Z”.

Yet it’s good in you, old Henry (6)
The wordplay is G (good) in THOU + H (henry). The surface reading doesn’t give a clear idea of the subject matter (what’s good? why is it contrary to expectation? who’s Henry?).