Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27325 (Hints)
Big Dave’s Crossword Club
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There’s a new Monthly Prize Puzzle available today.
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, have been selected and hints provided for them.
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.
Could new readers please read the Welcome post and the FAQ before asking questions about the site.
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also”.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.
Across
1a Final stage of house extension (4,7)
A charade of a house and an extension
8a Don’t go on to break one’s journey (4,3)
The opposite (don’t) of go and on
16a Making one more time for fun (10)
This verb meaning making again (one more time) also means fun or entertainment
21a Mark‘s kind of music? (6)
St Mark’s contribution to the bible is also a kind of music
24a Person seeking fur — salesman getting some returned (7)
A salesman and a word meaning some all reversed (returned)
25a Shark needs to follow trawl (7)
A three-letter verb meaning to follow followed by a verb meaning to trawl
26a Risk capital (6,5)
A cryptic definition which is also a charade of risk and capital or funds
Down
1d Receiver‘s needed for dates he organised (7)
An anagram (organised) of DATES HE
2d Mongrel will get no flipping meat (6)
A mongrel followed by the reversal )flipping) of NO
3d Mediocre time comes with cost (6-4)
A period of time followed by a cost
4d Run on the bank, that’s growing (4)
This verb meaning to run fast is also a plant that grows on the riverbank
5d Current flowing across river near equator (8)
An old chestnut, but if you haven’t seen it before put an adjective meaning current or up-to-date around (flowing across) R(iver)
12d Brief note written out in full (10)
The full word for a brief note, rather than the usual four-letter abbreviated form
19d Hun cut short invading borders of Cathay, with a show of spite (7)
Most of (cut short) the name of a famous Hun inside (invading) the outer letters (borders) of CathaY
20d Ice in French or Norwegian port (6)
A huge mass of ice, floating in the sea, followed by the French for in
23d Real torture at intervals (4)
The odd (at intervals) letters of a word in the clue
The Crossword Club is now open. Feel free to leave comments.
As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out!
Please read these instructions carefully. Offending comments may be redacted or, in extreme cases, deleted.
The Quick crossword pun: (pant} + {tea} + {hose} = {pantyhose}
This is the first time that I have finished before BD publishes so either this crossword is easy or I am getting better – or both
… or I’m publishing very late! Seriously, well done.
I knew that you would say that BD but I had it finished by 12.00 my time but thanks for the encouragement
You’re getting better!
Thanks Kath
Rating – 1.5*/3*
A nice, gentle but very enjoyable puzzle for a Saturday morning. My only difficulty was of my own making, spelling 19d with the wrong double letter
which rendered 25a impossible until I realised my error.
My favourite was 21a.
Many thanks to Mr. Ron and to BD
Yes, I did the same with 19d…
ditto
Me too, bar 22a for which there would seem to be only one simple solution but I don’t get significance and sadly BD doesn’t help!
An anagram (fiddle) of GAS METER gives the name of someone who is a better or gambler.
Sadly he thought it was too easy to include in the hints!
A good start to the weekend all safely installed in their little boxes.Just waiting for the virgin man to arrive & install a new tv/broadband package to replace an unreliable sky system, and if southampton get a result at Stoke happiness all round. Thanks to the setter & BD for the review.
I started off really well and thought it was going to be a doddle but changed my mind about half way through.
That’s us with red faces!
I completely screwed up the top by getting a really badly wrong answer for 1a. Oh dear! It took me quite a long time to sort that out.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen 13a spelt that way but the answer was obvious. Spent too long trying to make 18a an anagram of clear without the ‘R’. 19d took me ages and was my last one.
I enjoyed this. I liked 1 (eventually) 21 and 22a and 2 and 17d.
With thanks to Mr Ron and BD.
Stuff to do now – NTSPP and MPP later. Picked another 3 kg of tomatoes – we’re beginning to look like them.
I also started with a completely incorrect 1 across, but I soon realized that none of the down clues were working! But then it was easy as I proceeded through the puzzle. Finished early and thanks to BD for correcting 4d for me. 21a , a five star clue!!!
Doh! That kind of better!
Yes, it took some time for the bettor’s penny to drop into the One-Armed Bandit of Truth for me too!
Had two-thirds of this done quickly and thought I’d got it beaten. As is my wont in these circumstances I started to get careless and had to resort to the Tippex at one stage. All done without the need for BD’s erudite directions, though I admit to dipping into the iPhone’s Big Red Book for assistance on a couple. **/*** for me.
The quickie’s a bit racy today.
It’s raining again so I guess I’ll break the habit of a lifetime and read what’s in between the front page and the crossword.
Many thanks to the setter and BD.
Very pleasant puzzle , no great problems but very enjoyable nonetheless.
Off to make an apple meringue pie so at least there will be something in the Naughty corner
Thank you setter – easier than the last few days I thought, but good fun nevertheless. Time to get on with some stuff ! Thanks BD for your hints, I like the characters below – I have spotted the Wanderers fan !
Finished today quite quickly for us with a little help from BD. Husband is now doing the racy quickie…….he’ll enjoy that. Thank you BD & setter.
all finished except 9d and 11a. think surrounding one’s are correct but can’t get 9d or 11a. any help would be most welcome. Thanks
please help with 9d and 11a thanks Eileen
11a I had to break up row, being smarter (6)
The contracted form of ‘I had’ goes inside a row.
Thanks Gazza, I was stuck in this too!
9d One has to take hurried steps in it (6,5)
Cryptic definition – ‘one’ being a soldier.
For 11a, use a shorter form of ‘I had’ in the middle of (‘to break up’) a word meaning row (of the type you might find in a theatre, say), definition is ‘smarter’.
9d is a military quickstep – and not a dance, nor a walk in the park!
All done apart from this millitary quickstep thing. I guess it’s off to see Mr Google. Only three letters missing from the first word too. Hmm..
Welcome to the blog McMillibar
Thank you- Hope to be here regularly. Done Cryptics since 1988. Trying to get someone else in the family hooked but failing. Say, how do I get my own image next to my name?
Great site btw.
Welcome to the blog Ian
As you might easily guess, that’s a Frequently Asked Question!
These were my two final clues as well
This went very quickly, very enjoyable. My last one is was 4d, with a huge doh moment. Thanks to setter and BD for hints, not needed today but always like reading.
I found most of this quite gentle but slowed down at the end (as I often do), not helped by having the wrong ending for 16a. I struggled with 22a and 25a – no excuses, when these fell in I was able to get 12d and reveal my error at 16a. Last in was 4d and I was (and remain) rather unhappy with the answer though from BD’s hint I am sure it is right.
Last in for me too, caused by getting both words wrong in 8a! Pretty straightforward otherwise.
thanks for help. got it in one!
Where have all the new little faces come from? I haven’t seen any of them until today – I like the little chap with the rose best!
I added them earlier today when I couldn’t find one with thumbs up. If you like them I’ll keep them.
No wonder I hadn’t seen them before. Oh, yes please, keep them.
How do we do them, or is that yet another silly question? And what is the one in your comment doing? He looks as if he’s either blowing bubbles with bubble gum or sneezing, in which case he really should find his hanky!
When you are leaving a comment in the comment box, all you need to do is to click on the icon you want and it automatically adds the code in your comment.
For example, here is Kath solving todays NTSPP:
Thanks – I can’t quite work out what that one is saying – about to go down to the bottom and see if I can find one that accurately describes Kath trying, and failing, to solve todays NTSPP. Here I go – I could be some time
. Now to see if it works . . .
It does!
Does that mean that all the thingies that we’ve always used before go out of the window? Talk about teaching old dogs new tricks . . . ! Oh dear! Never mind – I’m not that much of an old dog!
I’ve just spent most of the evening copying any of the old ones that were missing across to the new system.
Why not try one of the old ones now.
I was just about to post “what little faces”, when I noticed them myself! Where have they been all this time!
They are all just below the comment box
Where?
Completed whilst on the 1A of a trip to Manchester on child care duty. Then finalised after an 8A.
Favourite was 2D. Haven’t we seen 1D recently?
Off now for a lie down in a darkened room, as 5 minutes after our return we received a text from child number 2 asking for child care on Sunday! Families, eh?
Actually managed 6 clues before resorting to the hints, for which many thanks, BD! However, I’m completely stumped by 17d and 21a. Wrong bit of bible for me, I’m afraid. Any help out there? Please!
I bet someone will beat me to it as that always happens whenever I try to help but I’ll have a go.
21a The definition is a kind of music. Mark is just an example – there were three others, I think! I’m not very good on bible either!
17d This is a sweet sauce that you probably associate with childhood – well, I do anyway. You need a four letter word which is a part of milk – that is the first two and last two letters of the answer and in the middle you want a two letter abbreviation for a way or a road followed by the usual abbreviation for amateur.
Naughty corner – here I come!
Blogging here you come…..
Thanks to the setter and to Big Dave for the hints. A fun puzzle with some good clues. Was beaten by 10&25a, needed one hint & a bit of electronic help to finish. Favourite was 19d. Was 2*/4* for me. Come on the Gooners!
How do you do that and what do they mean? Going from left to right I would probably interpret them as saying goodbye, thumbs up, thumbs down, then I don’t know about the next five, I think the little chap with the rose is probably saying sorry, then I don’t know the next couple, then he’s smiling and nodding followed by crying and wiping his poor little eyes then I don’t know the last four.
When I replied to Heno there was a little face there and now he’s gone so what I’ve just said doesn’t make sense!
If you put your mouse pointer over them, they tell you what they mean.
So it does – thanks! Still don’t know how to do them though . . .
I just hovered the cursor over them on my phone, and it copied the code into the comment box. I deleted it afterwards, as I was just experimenting. It was the emoticon who was using bubble gum.
I enjoyed this one. 22a was a new word for me and I kicked myself when i got 21a!
Good puzzle though!
Thank you, Kath. Can’t do the red face – but mine certainly was! Easy when you know how.
You can do the red face – anything that I can do so everyone else can. You need to have a space then it’s colon oops colon with no spaces in between those three then make sure you have a space afterwards. Clear as mud, as my Dad would have said!! Try it – no-one minds if it doesn’t work, but it will.
I diligently altered all my clocks and watches last weekend but my body clock is still on the wrong time! As a consequence, I picked up the paper earlier than I would normally do [because I saw little point in going back to sleep for an hour or so] and finished the puzzle before 9:00. This is possibly the latest that I’ve ever posted a comment but, at my age, I can find a number of excuses…
I did all but two without looking at the hints , thanks BD for sterling work as ever.
I have not always commented in the last few weeks but always enjoy the challenge of the Saturday crossword
Note to BD – I do like the easy-to-use emoticons!
Just testing here to see what happens if we automatically go back to what we’ve been doing for ages. My favourite for a long time has been
I wonder if it still works . . .
Oh ye of little faith!
Just about to decide which one to use in my reply – off I trot – back in a minute . . .
Enjoyed the puzzle today. Only needed 5 hints – must be a record for me. Still stuck on the first word of 26a another word for ‘*****’ seems to fit but that makes no sense. Ho hum :).
It’s another word for risk rather than your now deleted alternative.
Doh! Got it. Thanks.
This doesn’t seem to be the time and place to say that I dislike emoticons almost as much as I dislike LOL.
Agreed. Have posted incendiary remark in Sunday’s blog.
Thanks as always, still not managing these without help.
Carrie
Still a struggle on 1-> second word, would it be the same word that describes say a ***** ***** *****.
Welcome to the blog Stuart
Please read and comply with the instructions in red at the bottom of the hints before posting a comment.
The second word of 1 across is a synonym for extension.
That was enjoyable and not too taxing but I did not start until this morning as “Look for Longer 2” has distracted me for a couple of days. DO NOT google if you have something else you must be doing
Z.
Not THE zaphod, is it??
Very late posting this! The only problem was 21a where I needed a hint
Thanks to setter for an enjoyable crossword. Thanks to Big Dave for the hints and for these fun emoticons!
Despite all the help my son and i are stuck on 11a and 9d although have a possible answer for 11a which ends in letter G. Cant find a military term which fits in with 9d although i do have second half of word. Very frustrating!!
Bob,
11a – the abbreviated form of “I had” inside another word for “row” ===> gives a synonym for “smarter”.
Blimey, just realised that this is a Prize Crossword!
Hope I haven’t broken the Rules (again!)
Hi there
I am new to all of this and loving the journey or learning but it is taking hours of my time so the garden is still full of weeds and the boys have had baked beans on toast for tea all of this week! This blog has been awesome in unlocking the secret code. So thanks!
I think I have the answer to 17d but can’t work out where the R comes from. Can you help?
Also think I have the answer to 6d but only because of the last three words, have no idea how the first part contributed. Help again please if you can without giving too much away!
Thanks
E
Welcome to the blog Emma
Please don’t put parts of the solution in your comments for prize puzzles unless they are actually in the clue.
17d Way amateur infuses part of milk to produce sauce (7)
You need the two-letter abbreviation for a “way” and A(mateur) inside (infuses) part of milk
I tried hard not to give anything away.
Of course, I was nearly there on the sauce, just got the part of the milk wrong by one letter.
I am completely stuck on how model railways and gauges contribute to the answer. Is there some code behind this that only you people know?!
E
If there is a code I certainly don’t know it! If you’re talking about 6d it’s a seven letter word meaning sounding the horn – it’s an anagram of ‘thing’ which is indicated by the word ‘another’ around a couple of letters (numbers) which I can only assume is the gauge of a model railway – I’m a girl – I know nothing about them! Good luck.
Its to do with the most popular size of rails used on model railway tracks. I had a brother with a train set and my mum had brothers who had a huge train set that went all round the garden and even through tunnels dug into the sloping lawn. So I am a girl who had no excuse not to know such ‘stuff’.
“Its” should be “it’s”.
Greetings from Pedants’ Corner!
Indeed it should but it has more to do with the speed of answering rather than my lack of English grammar.
This is a form of pedantry up with which I shall not put…