ST 3059 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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ST 3059 (Hints)

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3059 (Hints)

Hints and tips by Senf

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg, where, after 10 weeks of solving and hinting complete puzzles, I am quite relieved to get back to only having to solve half of the clues to be able to do the hints.

Keep staying safe everyone. 

Dada at the extreme of benevolence with a few Hmms – I counted four anagrams (one partial), one lurker, and one homophone – all in a symmetric 28 clues, with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should be able to get the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues.

Candidates for favourite – 13a, 16a, 23a, 2d, and 4d.

As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, a number of the more difficult clues have been selected and hints provided for them.

Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in red at the bottom of the hints!

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”. Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.

A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.

Some hints follow:

Across

1a Where ham etc kept, mum eats a few sandwiches (4,4)
We start with the lurker (sandwiches) found in four words in the clue.

9a Order as purist on another level? (8)
An anagram (order) of AS PURIST.

12a Stop actors cut from the same mould? (3-4)
Synonyms of stop and actors.

16a Where plane in Hampshire might fly, repeatedly (4,3,4)
Written as (4,7) this describes an aircraft flying above a Hampshire town.

22a Baroque art, pure joy (7)
An anagram (baroque) of ART, PURE – I am still trying to fathom how baroque becomes an anagram indicator, this is probably the first time I have seen it.

23a Artist isn’t out to show fruit (6)
The usual two letters for artist and a (2,2) phrase that might be an easier way of saying isn’t out.

25a Weight of material one refuses to acknowledge (6)
A double definition that depends on pronunciation – the first typically relates to silk or nylon as used in ladies’ hosiery.

26a What listeners in religious education practise (8)
A two letter interjection that is equivalent to what and what we use for listening, all inserted into (in) the two letters that indicate religious education.

Down

1d Sweet deer, by the sound of it? (6)
The homophone (by the sound of it) of the illustration below.

2d Ridiculous way to stop leaders in union ruining deal (6)
The three letters used for the ‘stopping assistance’ system found on most/all cars nowadays followed by the initial letters (leaders in) of Union Ruining Deal.

4d Long spanner right for bed needing adjustment (5,6)
An anagram (needing adjustment) of RIGHT FOR BED.

7d Polite gathering still up drinking a bit (3,5)
A three letter synonym of still reversed (up) containing (drinking) A from the clue and a synonym of bit.

12d Release energy on organ in mazurka, perhaps? (11)
The single letter for energy placed before (on) the (bodily) organ that secretes bile all inserted into (in) what mazurka is a type of (perhaps).

15d Italian native travelling around outskirts of Nice (8)
An anagram (travelling) of NATIVE containing (around) the first and last letters (outskirts) of NicE.

19d Shake one of those in a bar? (6)
A (sort of) double definition – the second the second is illustrated below.

20d Weapon deposited in river, alas (4,2)
A three letter term for a weapon inserted into (in) a three letter river of which there are at least two in GB.


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Sir Thomas John Woodward OBE, a.k.a. Tom Jones, is 80 today. Here he is, a few months ago, discussing and singing his first record which got to number one for one week on March 11, 1965. Interesting that, as a ‘newcomer’, he sang it to create a demonstration record for Sandie Shaw to consider recording it:


 

108 comments on “ST 3059 (Hints)

  1. I really enjoyed this puzzle, although I wish it hadn’t been all over so quickly(**/****). Favourite clues were 13a, 16a, 4d and 12d. Thanks to Senf for the hints and to Dada. Keep safe and well everyone.

  2. I agree with Senf that this was one of the more benevolent Sundays, but fun nevertheless.

    I’m embarrassed to admit that I needed Senf’s explanation for the last four letters of 23a – so obvious now, but I just couldn’t see it and I thought the anagram had gone wrong.

    No particular favourite.

    Many thanks to Dada and Senf.

  3. 16 10 and 25a and 4 and 19d favourites. Enjoyed this one. 4d was my last one is by a long way. I guess this is one you either get straightaway or not. This increased my solving time to over 2*. Thanks Dada and you also Senf. I admit that 2d was a bung in as I did not understand the first three letters.

    1. I hope someone can help. I have never done crossword on-line until recently and I use it as a subscriber to the newspaper and not the Puzzles website. Yesterday, on completion, I was invited to submit, which I did. I wondered about the prize (an Amazon token). It was only upon reading John Bee and others yesterday that I realised this is a separate prize draw as an Amazon advertisement. There is nothing to suggest this on the page, and had I not read this blog I would have assumed I had entered the for the DT prize. On reading the instructions under the puzzle now I note that currently the only way to submit is by email. I also note there is only one prize and no runners up which is a shame as it is satisfying to see your name in the paper. Thank you.

      1. I wrote about this yesterday. I was submitting on line thinking I was entering the proper competition, I’ve done this for about a year. Now I take a screen shot and email it in. Good Luck! Yes, its nice seeing ones name in print – I’ve had a few letters published usually on bonkers subjects. Years ago I was furious as I found I was inadvertently looking at a picture of Lilian Bellamy and Matt Crawford from the Archers. They looked absolutely nothing like that in my head! It started a whole chain of letters in agreement. Since lockdown I’ve stopped listening now.

        1. I think it was your comment that set me off. There is absolutely nothing to tell you that you are not entering the DT competition. I had never done the crossword on-line before lockdown so this was my first one completing a prize one and just assumed it was normal. I did wonder about the prize of an Amazon voucher. I am not surprised you thought you were entering the proper competition. I have rarely submitted by post – in fact not since I won a notebook and pen (which I regard as the crossword prize equivalent of the Blankety Blank cheque and pen). I do occasionally write a letter to the DT and they are mostly published. I now forget what I have written about, however! I do remember a chain of correspondence about the Archers” actors not looking like their characters. I am still mourning Nigel and follow Graham Seed on Twitter.

  4. Dada on good form this morning producing an enjoyable and rewarding puzzle. 4d was my favourite although 16a came a close second.

    Many thanks to the aforementioned and to Senf.

    1. If it doesn’t earn me a spell on the naughty step, the town mentioned in 16a reminds me of a Ken Dodd one-liner about that place being the HQ of the Inland Revenue.

  5. Greetings from the Meon Valley,the sun is out,the golf course beckons and as Senf says,Dada in a very benevolent mood.Over all too quick I’m afraid,will now have to go for a walk.Favourite for a Hampshire man was 16a.Take care everybody.

    1. The last time I played that track Yarpy was the Sunday that Tom Watson lost in the Open play off to Stuart Cink.

  6. 1.5*/4*. As Chriscross says, it was very enjoyable but over rather quickly.

    16a was my favourite, joined on the podium by 4d & 12d.

    I did ponder on the use of “baroque” as an anagram indicator and just about justified it to myself as it can mean “complicated” as an adjective, and to complicate something can be to muddle it up.

    Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.

    1. As a solver with an actual newspaper, can you please confirm that we are back to an 11 day entry period with the closing date being 18 June? Many thanks

  7. Quite agree that Dada went easy on us this morning which is just as well as I still made heavy weather of it. The NW corner was the issue for me. Never heard of 1a (fridge good enough for me) & after a pretty fair run of lurker spotting (front & reversed) this one needed all the checkers in place & that took a while as 1,2 & 3d didn’t come easily despite being pretty straightforward clues. The hosiery meaning of 25a was also new to me but the answer couldn’t be anything else & Mr G confirmed. Good fun as always with my podium consisting of 4d, 13a & 16a with the long spanner winning it by a neck.
    With thanks to Dada & to Senf.
    Ps see that after yesterday’s surprising ability to submit on the iPad normal service has resumed today.

    1. You have to be a certain age to remember 1a. We had them before fridges (or refrigerators as they were known then!). With regard to 25a I have only known this apply to tights and stockings and thought it referred to how fine they are which perhaps equates to the same thing as weight. I have just checked on a packet of tights and find it is still used although just as a number eg 30.

      1. I can remember, as a child, there being a 1a in a holiday cottage we’d rented. I could swear that the pesky flies lay in wait for the moment when the door was opened!

      2. I remember my parents having one in the 50s. It stood in splendour in the middle of a fairly empty cellar. I was fascinated by it. It only had one cabinet though.

      3. I remember, although ours wasn’t that grand. It was on the wall right outside the kitchen and quite small. We thought we were quite posh as my Dad had built a room with a toilet onto the end of the kitchen (no outside loo for us!) and he installed a full sized bath in the kitchen, next to the oven. It was a small terrace house in Twickenham, and walking distance to the River Thames. Sells for a fortune these days.

    2. I fear I too have to admit to remembering the 1a in the larder in my childhood home.

      1. When I was growing up we only had a tiny fridge that ran on kerosine oil, can’t remember what you call that in England. We only had a 12V Delco engine for lights. We had a 1a, looked just like that but painted green. The mesh was a sheet of very thin metal with millions of tiny holes punched in it. Oh, that takes me back a long, long time!

        1. Paraffin – most popular brand name when I was young was Esso Blue

          This was a telly ad sung to the tune of the Platters hit, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes. It went something like this…

          They asked me how I knew It was Esso Blue,
          I of course replied With lower grades one buys,
          Smoke gets in your eyes.

          1. Paraffin, couldn’t remember it. In Jam we call it “kersin ayl”. Totally irrelevant.

          2. I had a paraffin heater in my bedroom as a kid and, to be honest, it was useless. It burned Esso Blue and this is the ad I remember.

  8. Quite enjoyed this one although, like others, I did query ‘baroque’ as an anagram indicator. RD’s explanation seems quite plausible.
    Podium places went to 16,24&25a along with 2d because it took me far too long to register how the first three letters of the answer fitted in – a ‘dim’ moment as Kath would say!

    Thanks to Dada and to Senf for his ‘half a job’! Can’t say that I’ve ever been a Tom Jones fan but that rendition was one of the best I’ve heard from him – perhaps his voice has mellowed with age?

    1. Hi Jane
      Speaking of Kath she came immediately to mind when I put in 20d. So typical that I hope the comment doesn’t get me on the naughty step.

      1. Had a long chat with my chum in Balloch yesterday, she says it’s quite wintry!

        1. It is VERY wintry here, we are about 8F lower than Balloch. Motto to keep in shorts to end of September at least severely tested on beach at 7.15 this morning !

  9. Fun! Fun! Fun!
    Liked nearly all of them, especially the 4d/13a combo.

    3D clue wording made me laugh … we once went to Cape Canaveral, where could see the Shuttle on the launch pad and the bus, on which we were approaching the site, had to stop, so that an armadillo could cross the road. I don’t suppose that is classed as vermin, but anyway.

  10. Very enjoyable with lots of clever clues as in 1d and 16a and my fav 2d. Got held a little by 19d, I wanted to xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    Thx to all
    ***/*****
    PS Nice to be able to use the keyboard accessory for my iPad rather than the clumsy screen keyboard.

  11. Super offering thank you Dada. Just enough head scratching to keep my hair on. 23a brilliant & COTD. Answer was obvious but parsing not so. Very clever when you saw it. 16a close second.
    Thanks Senf, 5 furlongs gallop today / yesterday.
    Thank you for the Tom Jones. Our laboratory was in Ponty(pridd) so he was very much a “local” to me. Amazing longevity, perhaps it was being brought up on Brains SA.

  12. Considering that ‘baroque’ styles are heavily ornamented and full of contrasting, cluttered elements, I suspect that the term works fairly well as an anagram indicator. Works for me anyway. I mostly enjoyed today’s Dada, though I needed Senf’s help in parsing 2d since we over here don’t have such signals (we could use them, however). Podium winners today: 16a, 4d, 19d, with a special mention to 21a and 25a. Very nice puzzle. Thanks to Senf and Dada. *** / ***

    1. I am slightly curious about your comment on 2d. If you are referring to the first part of the answer, it is not a signal. It is the design feature on a vehicle that does not stop you crashing (e.g. on slippery roads), it just ensures that you crash in a straight line.

      1. Senf / Robert
        According to Mr Wiki the feature was first developed for cars in the US by Chrysler and Bendix & introduced on the Imperial model in 1971. It was used on aircraft before that.

        1. In the days before I had a car with particular invention fitted on it I used cadence br*king, which involved repeatedly stamping ones foot on the the br*ke. Same principal.

      2. Thank you for your clarification, Senf. I didn’t mean ‘signal’ in the kinetic sense of something that moves perhaps; I meant a ‘sign’, I guess. Probably thought it was a decal pasted on! At any rate, it all just shows what I didn’t know. Down here in the Terra Incognita of automotive knowledge.

  13. Dada was definitely in a more benign mood today so I found his wavelength with no hasslle and enjoyed the challenge. I agree with Senf on several counts including re 25a (which only works in writing) and his Fav candidates except 2d since I am no mechanic so failed to parse it. Sweet for 1d is out as far as Nancy Mitford was concerned and I would query effect in 14d. Thank you Dada and Senf.

  14. I agree, a benevolent Sunday offering easing us back into the prize mentality. I keep slapping my typing fingers when I want to transgress the rules but a few 8d synonyms apart I didn’t find much to complain about.
    Liked 2d 16a 12d equally. In attempting to parse before bunging in I have had to write in the margin a lot of answers before I fully understood them so I have used approximately 50% more pencil lead than strictly necessary.

    1. I dashed out for a socially distanced visit with Niece, to deliver some nice cheese, and forgot to thank Senf and Dada.
      4d Usually comes with a qualifier to indicate the type of traffic but fair enough I think only one of the three is special enough.

        1. Yes that was what I meant to say only the illustrated one is worthy of the unqualified name.

  15. A great puzzle from Dada and a joy to solve. I did need a couple of the hints but the majority yielded albeit slowly. Candidates for favourites are 13a, 23a with 23a taking the COTD spot.

    We had a 1a when I was a kid.

    Grateful thanks to Dada for the challenge and to Senf for the hints.

  16. On the easy side for a Sunday but very enjoyable with some nifty clues. I agree with Senf’s COTD candidates. Mine is 16a as it has an aviation theme. XXXXXXXXXXX Thanks Dada and Senf for the extras🦇

    1. I had to remove your complete sentence referring to 16a – we are back to prize puzzle rules.

  17. Very enjoyable puzzle today so thank you. 16a – I kept saying the 3 words over and over again, then that lightbulb moment! I love puzzles like this. A Morrisons delivery tomorrow WOW, the new highlight of the week. Queued for an hour and a half on line to get a parking space at Felbrigg Hall (NT) for Friday and I’m a volunteer there.

  18. That was great fun – needed thought and brain work but wasn’t impossible.
    My favourites are 4d and 16a, both of which feature delicious wordplay.

    I see Tom Jones is in the charts again!
    Is he?
    Yes, it’s not unusual.

    1. Doctor, I can’t stop singing Delilah – what’s wrong with me? Woe oh woe oh woe oh
      I see… ‘Tom Jones Syndrome’ I suspect
      Why, why, why? Is that rare?
      It’s not unusual

        1. Hey, if you want to play nasty – a weasel walks into a pub. Well I never, said the landlord. I’ve been behind the bar for thirty years and never served a weasel before , it’s on the house. What will you have?
          Pop, goes the weasel.

                  1. I have always tried to use amusing answering machine messages. The one that attracted most comment was attributed to Tommy Cooper
                    “You have reached the cannabis store. For sales press the hash key”

                    1. The best answering machine recording I remember was … ring, ring, “wadaya want?” Ping.

  19. Wonderful fun!! A few blank minutes to start
    – couldn’t get traction- then got it. Followed by shouts of laughter and groans at the puns and word plays 🤗. First time I’ve commented on BD, after 10 years of lurking in the shadows! Take care

    1. Welcome to the blog. Ten years of lurking – I wonder if that is a record. Don’t retreat into the shadows for a similar period.

      1. I can’t beat the ten years of lurking. I was hovering for eight years only…

    2. I know a John Atkinson, although I guess it is a not uncommon name. It has, however, got me thinking that we could all be replying on here to people without realising that we know, or know of, them.

  20. Filled the time nicely whilst waiting for a Sunday lunch to come from the Pig and Abbott (at Abington Piggots of course). We had one last week and it was delicious. I didn’t understand 2d even with your hints Senf but I am just a girl. I liked 15d – oh to be there right now! But I would miss my lunch. We have much needed rain right now in Cambridge thank goodness. Many thanks.

    1. Tie a knot in your handkerchief, I am sure CS (I believe) will give a full explanation of 2d in the full review in 10 days (plus or minus) time.

  21. A nice way to spend a morning, I really enjoyed solving this, my own COTD was 16a and when the penny finally dropped it was to quote Homer Simpson a “Doh” moment.

    TTFN

  22. As so often happens with me, I found the crossword the opposite to everyone else. Much the hardest Dada puzzle I have see for a long time.
    The NW corner was my undoing, the rest was fine. I still have no idea why 2d and 3d are correct, I just hope there are hints.
    Many thanks all.

    1. We agree with you, this was hard. We needed the hints to get 19d, the last one in. Very good crossword, though, thanks to setter and Senf.

    2. Thanks for the hint for 2d, finally worked out 3d.
      Super crossword.

  23. Superb post lunch puzzle that really entertained me. I thought there were some great clues..
    2.5*/5*
    Benevolence always accepted!
    Many thanks to Dada & Senf for review

  24. ***/****. Enjoyable with a few pen sucking moments. I had to write many of the answers in the margin to work out why my solution was right. I struggled for ages with 13a because I had a totally different hue in mind. The checkers eventually made this clear. COTD for me was 16a. Thanks to Dada and Senf.

  25. Not as tricky as Sundays sometimes are but not a doddle either – well, not for me anyway – I enjoyed it very much.
    I got completely stuck with my last two – 26a and 14d and they took ages, not that I’m ever in a hurry at the moment.
    Had to have several goes at the first word of 24a – the first two were wrong and then third time lucky. :roll:
    I’m guessing that 11a is a ‘golfy’ clue or another of the sports that I can’t do.
    I think 15d is probably my favourite but I thought there were lots of good clues today.
    Thanks to Dad and Senf.

    1. Kath,
      20d brought you to mind.
      Yes 11a nowadays mostly associated with golf. For the vast majority, like Senf I suspect, it is an elusive goal. It is associated with other sports too though

  26. A pleasant Dada puzzle for this Sunday morning with the sun trying to peek out through the clouds. Enjoyed this one and some good clues to work with along with several head scratchers. **/*** My candidates for favourite are 5a, 13a, 16a, 1d & 4d with the winner 16a.

    Thanks to Dada and Senf.

  27. I certainly did not find this one easy.
    Needed electronic help and some of Senf’s hints to complete it.
    I am not familiar with the phrase at 13a, didn’t like the effect at 14d and now, as if sports were not bad enough, we have to acquaint ourselves with car mechanics ! When will we get knitting clues, I want to know ?

    Thanks to Senf and to Dada.
    Keep safe everyone and best wishes to all who are unwell.

  28. For the first time, I completed a Dada puzzle. I used a different method of solving today, I read all the clues and the ones I could solve were written in, then tried to solve with the checking letters, not spending any time in unravelling, and it worked. I had no idea why, for instance, 16a was right, but I just bunged it in. I always have trouble parsing Dada’s clues, so just ignore the dross and get to the meat!
    Fave was 13a with 4d close behind.
    Thanks to Dada, I enjoyed this, and to Senf for doing the unravelling for me.

  29. Very enjoyable.
    Dada seems to be much more comfortable and equally appreciated in the Sunday slot. That really pleases me.
    Favourite 16a. Made me laugh.
    Thanks to Dada and to Senf.

  30. A very enjoyable puzzle, thanks to Dada. As someone born and brought up in Wiltshire, but a few miles from the Hampshire place, 16a gets my vote as clue of the day. Thanks to Senf for the hints although not needed today.

  31. Wood
    Mike
    Hants

    A Mr M. Underwood of the proscribed place was pleased to get his mail addressed thus.

    1. I used to be a church bell ringer (not a campanologist – they study bells) and a good friend of mine was a well known bell ringer in Wales. So well known that a letter addressed to

      Sheila
      Bell ringer
      Wales

      Was delivered to her.

  32. I’m in the “straightforward but enjoyable” camp today. A 1a is very useful even these days for hanging game in to stop it getting fly blown. Re the anagram indicator in 22a it is Dada after all. Favourite was 16a even though I got it straight away it still made me laugh. Many thanks to Dada and Senf.

    1. How long do you hang it for? I leave mine for only two days so no time to get fly blown.

  33. A thoroughly enjoyable Sunday puzzle, thanks to Dada and Senf. I was quite silly with 16a, solving it immediately, and then couldn’t understand how it fit the clue, as I kept focusing on the last 5 letters, which is in Kent, not Hampshire. Then the penny finally dropped, duh. Not heard of 13a. And 25a took me back to when we used to wear actual stockings. Oh dear, what with 1a and 25a, the age is showing today.

  34. I have only just started this puzzle, but I have to say, before finishing and before reading any other comment that 1 across is probably the best clue of its kind that I have ever come across – absolutely superb. Made my evening. :-)

  35. Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints. A very enjoyable puzzle, seemed a bit tricky as I was doing it, but I finished it quickly, so was 2*/4* for me. A real penny drop moment in 25a. Superb lurker in 1a, but my favourite was 16a, so inventive. Great fun.

  36. I found a lack of crispness on wordplay/clue distinctions here, unusually for the Telegraph. 21 Across in particular, and 26 Across I couldn’t quite match up either. Although the answer was pretty obvious in both cases.

  37. I’m probably too late for anyone to help now but, if there is anybody out there, please could you explain the effect part of 14d? I know several other people have queried it but I can’t understand it at all. I have an answer, which covers the rest of the clue but don’t understand how the remaining letters can equal affect. Hope this doesn’t put me on the naughty step. Thanks to Dada for an enjoyable puzzle and Senf for the hints, a couple of which I needed.

    1. Never too late! A two letter synonym of effect as a verb. Probably the weakest part of the whole puzzle.

      1. Thank you, Senf. Having spent another age struggling to work it out, I’ve just realized I had a spelling mistake. Doh!

  38. After a slow start accelerated rapidly to the end.

    Brian enjoyed a Dada puzzle? Wonders will never cease!

  39. Apologies for entering into the discussion 18 days late !
    22a and use of ‘baroque’ as an anagram indicator. Like you, I was unsatisfied with the clue. I consulted a dictionary for an obscure meaning but just got plain old ornate, not jumbled. Then the penny dropped as I consulted the dictionary for about the 4th time and noticed the phonetic pronunciation hints. There were 2 with either a long or a short o. I am a short o man and, try as I might, the clue was beyond me. Is Dada a long o man ? Yes, he must be. The a is usually pronounced very short as to be barely present so that one gets to broque or broke, past tense of break. Yes, Dada must be playing a homophonic game with us. Aarrgghh, followed by a There are commonly 2 ways of pronouncing it, with either a long or a short o, following a very short a. I am a short o man and, try as I night, of rapture (!!) as the clue at last made sense.

    PS Thanks for all your hints. There are occasions when you save the day for us lesser mortals.

    1. Whoops. I had a cut and paste problem editing what I had submitted. It should say at the end :-
      Aarrgghh, followed by a feeling of rapture (!!) as the clue at last made sense.

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