ST 2535 – Hints – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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ST 2535 – Hints

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2535 – Hints

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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I really enjoyed yesterday, and it was great to meet three cyberfriends for the first time.  I have a few pictures to put up on the blog soon (unless the people concerned send money in a plain brown envelope!).

A few hints to get you started.

Don’t forget that you can give your assessment of the puzzle. Five stars if you thought it was great, one if you hated it, four, three or two if it was somewhere in between.

As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them.

Peter Biddlecombe’s full review of this puzzle will be published at 12.00 on Friday, 14th May.


Across

1a    Make intelligible point , after censure (7)
To make intelligible, in the sense of to unscramble a code, is a charade of a two-letter abbreviation for a point after a word meaning to censure or disparage

5a    Error that’s dangerous on flight (7)
… of stairs

11a    Monies distributed, including record coinage (9)
Put an anagram (distributed) of MONIES around a record or journal to get a word meaning coinage, in the sense of a new word

28a    In a suit, oddly, in African country (7)
An anagram (oddly) of IN A SUIT gives this North African country

Down

1    Diabolical arrest shortly after protest (7)
A synonym for diabolical is built up from a colloquial term for an arrest without its last letter (shortly) after the kind of protest that might be attended by 9 across

6    E.g. bloody weapon hidden in clothes? Just the opposite (5-4)
Clever surface reading can send you off in the wrong direction here – bloody is an example (e.g.) of this, as are many other words I can’t use here! – then you have to reverse the wordplay (just the opposite) and, instead of putting a weapon inside clothes, put clothes inside a weapon

7    One vehicle or another heading North on peak (7)
To get this farm vehicle put a horse-drawn vehicle reversed (heading North, a down-clue only construct) before (on, again a down-clue construct) a mountain peak

18    Be in supervisory role, as bishop is (7)
A bishop supervises a diocese – which in Crosswordland is a three-letter word

24    Stop working for nobleman (5)
A charade of to stop, as in to block, and a synonym for working gives this nobleman

If you need further help then please ask and I will see what I can do.

Please don’t put whole or partial answers in your comment, else they may be censored!

30 comments on “ST 2535 – Hints

  1. An excellent puzzle with some testing clues.

    The enjoyment level was high as the mixture of clues allowed for various approaches to thinking.

    As of late the standard on a Sunday is solid.

  2. lovely to meet you and all the others yesterday, Dave.
    Another excellent puzzle today from Virgilius. There are some thoroughly misleading wordplay and definitions which made this hard but scrupulously fair.
    6d, 11a and 12a were among many favourites.
    My thanks to BD and BG.

  3. Hi Dave – thanks for the hints – helped me with a few, although I was doing pretty well already.

  4. Ploughed through this one and finally finished it with a little help from our friends on 6d. Did enjoy it though and think it may have more to do with an addled brain than the puzzle! Excellent challenge!

    Anyway, great to hear you had a good time yesterday -one of these days, who knows, we may even make it!

  5. Another brilliant puzzle abounding with niceness. Many thanks to Virgilius for the crossword.

    Can’t possibly think what BD means about money in brown paper envelopes. ;)

  6. I needed the hint for 6d – one of those ‘kick myself’ moments when I saw what a great clue it was. That sorted out north-east and brought my Sunday afternoon to a happy conclusion.

  7. Phew, finally got there, after struggling with 4 in the SE corner! 20d was one of the 4 and I only got that after giving up the conviction it began with MO. As usual, I look forward to PB’s review, to explain the constructs that baffle me – and there are quite a few.

    This one involved some blood, sweat, tears and red wine, but was most enjoyable. Thanks to setter and BD.

  8. Struggling with 19a. I am thinking that it is the singular of a word that’s more often used in the plural meaning information and therefore “fact”. Am I barking mad?
    mark

  9. Sorry to be a bit negative here. But despite the help I can’t decipher most of the clues,even those that Dave has given help on. Past record is finished every Sunday Telegraph puzzle for the last six months or so.
    Whats wrong with me?
    N

    1. Hi Nigel – welcome to the blog.
      It happens! Is there a clue that you’re having special problems with?

    2. errrrrrrrr quite a few. Very unusual……..Managed 10 clues only. Damn…… can’t understand why. I’ll look at it tomorrow and see if it clicks.

      Nigel

  10. Nothing wrong with you. This ( and the last few Sundays) have not been easy.
    The setter spears to be on the top of his game!

  11. Completely stuck with 16d & 20d. All done bar these two. Toughie though today.

    1. Hi Theunisse – welcome to the blog.
      16d Doctor settled if check needed in operating area (5,4)
      It’s an anagram (doctor) of SETTLED IF to make a type of check on how something is operating.

    2. 20d. Moves with pained expressions after short time (7)
      The definition is moves (in an emotional way). Put expressions of pain after an abbreviation of Time.

  12. Finally got there but needed all the help I could get so thanks BD, Mark, Gazza etc for pointing me in the right direction – definitely a toughie for me but particularly liked 23a, 6d, 18d :-)

  13. ST 2535 was very enjoyable – a shade harder than usual.
    The very best clues for me were 11a & 6d.
    I also liked 17d, 21d & 23d. 5a, 12a & 15a.

    1. Hi Judith – welcome to the blog.
      19a Cause current stoppage without union, in fact (5)
      You want a verb meaning to stop up a stretch of water (current) and inside put the abbreviation for Trades Union, to get a piece of information (fact), which is normally seen in the plural.

    2. 21d. Famous singer to perform in unexpected benefit (7)
      The answer is a singer and actress. Put a verb meaning to perform inside a benefit which is normally seen in the phrase “***** from heaven”.

    1. 23a Conservative has to keep secret before spring (9)

      The definition is conservative, and it’s a charade of to keep secret or conceal and a spring or leap

      1. For some crazy unknown reason I had decided the answer was two words 3-6 god knows why I have had the answer for ages written down but ignored it doh!!!!!!

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