Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3250 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where, across the country, the unseasonably warm weather conditions mean that many of the outdoor winter activities that rely on sufficient snow and ice are being curtailed or cancelled. For example, no skating or cross-country skiing on the Nestaweya River Trail on the Red and Assiniboine Rivers here in Winnipeg and no skating on the Rideau Canal in Ottawa.
A day early, but close enough for government work, this is the seventh anniversary of my taking over occupancy of the ‘Sunday Seat’ from our beloved and always remembered dear leader. 365 Sunday blogs completed, the equivalent of 182.5 puzzles solved; not the perfect record I was aiming for because of an unexplained lurgy in July of last year which laid me low for several days but I am happy to be here.
For me, and I stress for me, Dada very friendly again, but, oh dear, we need to submit a petition to our esteemed editor to get 16d banned. An overdose of anagrams – eleven (five partials), one lurker (reversed), and no homophones, all in a slightly asymmetric 30 clues; with 15 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, you should be able to get the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. And, remember, the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Candidates for favourite – 18a, 23a, 27a, 5d, 18d, and 25d.
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 the 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 Drink stirred up, taste is drawing chap in (4,8)
An anagram (stirred) of UP, TASTE IS containing (drawing . . . in) a synonym of chap – the full name of a drink we frequently see in its four letter abbreviated form.
9a Extravagant player in a female performer (9)
A term for an extravagant player (not in the BRB that I could see) and IN A from the clue.
15a Fabulous overhead skill? (8)
A double definition – the second can usually be seen in SW19.
18a Care shown welcoming ’em, serve tea (2,6)
A single word term equivalent to care shown containing (welcoming) ‘EM from the clue.
21a Capital that man links, strangely, with capital in Iceland (8)
That man represented by the third person masculine singular pronoun, an anagram (strangely) of LINKS, and (with) the first letter (capital) in Iceland.
27a Slices of meat, vegetable upon one (9)
A type of vegetable (that can be red, yellow, or green), a two letter synonym of upon, and the Roman numeral for one.
28a It’s titanic, as complicated for data analyst (12)
An anagram (complicated) of IT’S TITANIC, AS.
Down
1d Judge runs into a vicious dog, perhaps? (7)
The crickety letter for runs inserted into A from the clue and (a habit of) a vicious dog, perhaps?
3d Rough estimates, most arousing (9)
An anagram (rough) of ESTIMATES.
4d Some digit I nudged up, whole number (4)
The reversed lurker (some . . . up) found in the words ‘sandwiched’ by the indicator.
5d A horse drives characters mixed up with those? (8)
A from the clue, a type of (inferior?) horse, and a synonym of drives.
8d Commanding figure, champion boxer, say? (3,3)
A double definition – the second is four legged.
18d What is secured by strap at the back (6)
A two letter synonym of what (as an interjection) contained (secured) by a verbal synonym of strap.
22d Inappropriate forty winks in it (5)
A three letter term for forty winks inserted into (in) IT from the clue.
25d Work on painting initially, American (4)
The first letters (initially) of On Painting and the familiar two letters for American.
Quick Crossword Pun:
ANGERS + TOURER + BITTERS = ANGOSTURA BITTERS
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This is probably a ‘what were we thinking?’ but it is definitely a ‘one hit wonder.’ Althea & Donna were a Jamaican reggae vocal duo, consisting of Althea Forrest and Donna Reid. Apparently, they are best known for their 1977 single Uptown Top Ranking which reached number one for one week on this day in 1978. Personally, I have no recollection of them:
Good fun – though was 16d not in yesterday’s as well
It certainly was!
I cannot believe this was from Dada. Chris Lancaster needed to exercise considerably more editorial guidance.
This puzzle felt as though it were written by a rookie who had discovered anagrams for the first time, with over one third of the clues being of the same type. Sadly this made the puzzle feel dull, and detracted from remaining clues. The horse in 5d was more a one-trick pony.
1* / 0*
Sorry setter, but as a teacher might say, ‘could do better’. Thank you to Senf.
As ever with Dada, a slow start then gathering pace. How many more times are we going to get 16d? Quite a few answers ending in vowels, which – for some reason – causes me anguish. I think 12a is a lovely word and I can recall aged aunts at 18a asking the question. My COTD is the one with the slices of meat at 27a.
Thank you, Dada for making the morning coffee most enjoyable. Thank you, Senf for the hints.
A bit blustery in The Marches today but the rain is holding off. For the moment.
Glad you seem to have enjoyed it too Steve. We here in “sunny South Florida” are under warnings of “sever impact weather”, meaning wet and windy thunderstorms. Our forecasters do seem to relish trying to whip us all up into a frenzy as they wait for the hurricane season to arrive.
Tell me about it, BL! Over here an eighth of an inch of snow is a national disaster according to the press. I have no idea how the British press would describe a hurricane! They would probably run out of superlatives!
As someone who likes to accentuate the positive and keep away from criticising too harshly, I find myself for once unable to comment without breaking my own rules, as this was an anagramfest interspersed with fairly joyless tedium.
Thanks anyway to Dada and of course to Senf.
Straightforward but a bit unsatisfying. As noted by others, seeing 16d *yet again* caused quite the eye-roll.
No real faves, all a bit ‘meh’. **/**
2*/2*. A curate’s egg for me with too many anagrams, a vague girl, and yet another outing for the tiresome 16d.
I don’t understand how the first six letters of 9a are derived and the BRB doesn’t help, nor how “swine” means the answer to 13a.
Thanks to Dada. Many thanks too to Senf with best wishes on his seventh anniversary.
For 9a, if you look up those 6 letters in the Urban Dictionary it will explain. At least that was how I interpreted it. Not too common this side of the pond.
Not sure how to approach ‘swine’ without breaking weekend rules!
Thanks, Anorak. Another Americanism! 👎
What has happened to the Telegraph’s editorial standards for crosswords? Almost anything seems to be accepted now.
One on-line dictionary suggests the etymology includes ‘late 17th century, historically associated with a group of libertines during the English Restoration.’ This seems to be supported by the on-line OED.
No, not an Americanism at all but British slang. On the Collins website, the word does not appear in the American dictionaries, but in Collins English Dictionary it is listed with the first two meanings being:
in British English
noun
1. slang
a ball-game player, esp in basketball
2. slang
someone, usually a man, who lives in an extravagant and materialistic manner, tending to be something of a socialite
From this, it would appear that Dada may have melded two definitions into one.
Not an Americanism.
I finally found that the swine mentioned in 13a was introduced by the name of the answer in The Beano of 1920. Despite having been a Beano reader, cannot remember that character.
I knew I remembered it from somewhere
Ah, memories! Really disappointed that I can’t remember much!
13a belonged to Dennis for (at least) most of the 1980s.
You’ve said it all for me RD.
I could hear the collective groan across this blog as I read 16d.
Very light for a Sunday.
Thanks to all.
I can’t help but join the not again groan with 16d, is it now obligatory in every crossword?
Not a very quick solve for me today and I still can’t parse 9a. I also feel that the plural of puddings in 14d was a bit of an uncomfortable addition.
There were a good number that I did enjoy though with 18a and 21a being beaten by 5D for my fotd.
Thanks to Senf (though he failed to illuminate my darkness with 9a today) and to the setter.
I can’t help feeling that Dada is getting bored with producing the Sunday prize puzzles.
Eleven anagrams and not a lot of amusement!!!
Thanks to him and to Senf for the hints.
You may be right – I stopped going to his Zoom chats as he never wants to talk about his Telegraph puzzles which have such a long “pipeline” that he can’t recall them
16d needs to be out of circulation for awhile,iit’s getting repetitive. However, I really enjoyed the 1a and 28a anagrams. Not one of Dada’s more sparkling puzzles but it certainly was more enjoyable than the long-winded alog on Friday. Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints
Found this much harder going than it should have been when it was completed. The only 6d I knew was part of a dessert and 18d was a real struggle.
All in all a pleasant puzzle esp when compared to yesterday’s ghastly offering.
Thx to all
***/***
6d has appeared in another crossword here within the past few weeks. The naughty step dissuades me from saying any more right now. (Maybe I’ll remember a week on Thursday?)
You will have to come with a list – 6d is an Oldie but Goodie.
I deducted 2* from the enjoyment for the so tedious repetition of 16d, which unfortunately put the puzzle at 0.5* for enjoyment.
Thanks to the setter and to Senf.
Don’t think this is destined to go down as one of our setter’s finest offerings but I suppose all of us have ‘off’ days which we’d rather forget.
No favourite to mention today but thanks to Dada for his efforts and to Senf for his anniversary hints – I wonder who actually bought that record featured in the video clip?!!
I think Gazza may have a point. Not one of his finest by any means. A virtual read & write though never heard of the first bit of 9a meaning an extravagant player. Yesterday’s prize puzzle was so much better.
Thanks anyway to D & to S.
Spent all my time trying to figure out 13a (Beano 1920) so not many marks on my paper today. (Apart from the ‘what’ in 18d, always a penny drop moment!)
I wonder if there’s a 16d challenge among setters, perhaps for the first to get it twice into the same crossie, or is that against the rules?
Anyway thanks to Dada and Happy Blogday to Senf!
Completion failed to give me the usual feel good factor. Whilst it may have given me little enjoyment, I have to remember that I couldn’t compile one puzzle, let alone one each week! So thanks Dada and Senf and I’m looking forward to next week, when I expect we’ll be well and truly mangled.
That is so true. I have done little crosswords several times for the children and it really is not easy, let alone at cryptic level.
I actually groaned out loud at 16d.
I found this a gentle puzzle with just the parsing of the first part of 9a eluding me. I see from the comments that I’m not alone there.
No real favourites for me today.
Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Enjoyable in that I finished it undaided, rather then because of its inherent qualities. Conicidentally I did a puzzle from an old book of DT crosswords yesterday, and lo and behold the 16d word was in there too! **/** Thanks to Dad and Senf.
A bit of a perfunctary solve today, I thought. I’m totally fed up with seeing 16d, despite the many different ways it’s clued – it has become almost as boring as seeing the appearances of ‘nevertheless’ so often. Even for me, an anagram fan, there were too many of them today. I rarely, if ever carp about a puzzle, but sorry Dada you have set far better challenges. 18 and 21 did raise a couple of chuckles though, so I’m not going to be a complete miserable old bu**er today.
Thank to both D and S.
Seems to me that Dada upped the difficulty spectrum this week … and used his own thesaurus too. Took a lot of head scratching to get through this one on my Saturday evening.
Some clever clues and some that took a while to suss out.
2.5*/3.5*
Favourites include 11a, 24a, 26a, 1d, 7d & 17d — with winner 11a
Thanks to Dada & Senf for blog/hints
In 13a if you found one of these on your plate wouldn’t its origin help with parsing the clue?
OK, OK, we have seen 16d a lot recently but I bet these puzzles are sent in weeks apart. The poor setters don’t seem to get it right do they? Too hard, too many anagrams, too many religious clues, and on and on it goes. I’m just grateful that I wake up to a daily fix of a DT crossword. So thanks to all our setters and hinters from a grateful Manders. Also thanks to the RAC who came to our rescue on Friday, what a lovely man!
I can’t comment on your RAC rescue but in all other respects I agree with your comments…
Too easy to forget how much effort must go into creating our amusement.
It’s a fair point, for every puzzle with eleven anagrams there will be another with just two. The editor will have other views and preferences to take into account than people here, many of whom are seasoned solvers. The duplication of 16d (three times this week!) does look bad on the sub-ed as these things should be spotted. If it’s an editorial in-joke we’d have laughed more with:
Ancient tree on the [16d]? (3,8)
(👴🏻🌰)
Exactly, setters have commented here that they have no control of when or where their product is published. So rather unfair to blame them for repetition.
Hear, hear … and the tiger! You said it all Manders.
I’m standing firmly in line with Manders and Prawn ( well known firm of solicitors). It is very unfortunate about 16d but heyho- if this is all you have to moan about today, lucky old you. 18a is a lovely phrase, hardly ever used these days I suspect as it seems to be a teabag society and a pot is only seen now at my Book Group, where we are very proper! Nice to see 2d. Many thanks to our beleaguered Setter and Hinter par excellence.
You could alway join the. Big Dave/Private Eye Solicitors
CrypticSue, Grabbitt and Run
I’ve often used the services of Bodgett and Hinter…
We always use a teapot Daisy, even if it just a pot for one. Prepared and topped up, the second cuppa is reading and waiting 😊.
I’m proud of you! We drink very little tea, and that’s Earl Grey which I put in a little pierced spoon. I don’t like the sound of your bad weather, a hurricane must be terrifying. Good luck.
I agree, a bit of a Victor Meldrew moment with 16d – “I don’t believe it” not again. My COTD 2d, a lovely word. It puts me in mind of a question from a french lady who wanted to know what word we English speakers used for the @ symbol. I just replied ‘at’ but she told me that the french call it ‘arobase’ which I think is much more lyrical. She pronounced it arobas. So arobase it has been for me since then.
I tend to agree that this has a hint of being “phoned in” but I am sure Dada will spring back with a belter soon
Thanks to Dada and Senf, I think you can easily claim better than 50% solved in seven years as I don’t believe you could pick the tougher clues to hint without solving them all first, Congrats on the anniversary anyway
Maybe, maybe not – my military training and experience continues to serve me well –
We agree that this was very straightforward but there were enough head scratchers to make it interesting. Obviously not heard of the ‘player’ in 9a so looked it up in an on-line dictionary which called it African American vernacular English, not a word I’ll be using in the near future or beyond. No clue really stood out but perhaps 27a was the best of the bunch. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
15a feeblest clue by any
Stretch.
Please, please, could we
Have a week-free 16d.
Big smile at 18a.
Brilliant 9a.
In summary, 2*/4*
Many thanks to the
Setter and Senf.
Well I heartily disagree with all negative comments above. I thoroughly enjoyed this one from Dada, and for me there never can be too many anagrams. Yes, that is the third time this week I have seen 16d, but so what? I challenge the moaners to come up with a word to fit in that space. I suspect there are many lurkers out there who also enjoyed this puzzle. It doesn’t have to be grueling to be enjoyable, especially when there is the Toughie on offer. Please don’t begrudge the rest of us the joy of solving unaided. My only dispute is with 23a, as I think something can be the answer without being cruel. Thank Dada for a very pleasant breakfast solve, and congratulations to Senf on your 7th anniversary. Thank you.
Well, Dada, I loved it, so there!!! I think the DT Xword editor is playing with us with 16d, so what? I love working out anagrams, I have circles all over my page, I suppose that’s why I like word puzzles like Wordle and Waffle. I’m really disappointed at all the negative comments, but I’m not really surprised. My fave was 18a, reminds me of my Mum, I love you Mum. I did need help to understand 18d, and I had to check the spelling of 24d.
Thank you Dada for all the fun, pay no attention to the naysayers. Congrats on your blogging milestone, Senf, you done good.
I’m alone today, no aide, I’m wallowing like a pig in mud at my aloneness! I have to be careful, go gently, gently. We started out this morning with a fierce storm with tornado warnings! The rain came down in stair rods!
Oh dear, I did go on a bit! Sorry.
I wonder whether you might like the codeword puzzle in the DT. Have you tried it?
I love Codewords, a friend sends me a book from time to time. I used to do the DT regularly but I thought they stopped their Codewords, how do I get them?
They’re available on the new puzzles website and in the Telegraph’s puzzles app.
Thanks, I’ll have a look.
Another one – like BL – with severe weather threatened. Keep safe all of you. Sorry you are all alone today – do you have neighbours you can call ?
I rather enjoyed this as I like anagrams and I can forgive some repetition in clues by setters given they will be set independently and have no control when they appear. It does seem odd that that the editorial team missed it but we all make mistakes. If any one does the Cross Atlantic there are a few words which frequently appear, often several days in a row.
Like others I could not parse 9a.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for consistently providing excellent hints and congratulations on your anniversary.
This was for me also a curate’s egg mix of good and iffy. In fact, as is often the case, I agree with all RD’s comments which were also seconded by GJR amongst others. Not sure 27a is necessarily slices. Ugh to 14d and its close frogspawn associate. Missed what strap is securing in 18d. Have had more fun than this with Dada’s offerings but thank you to him anyway and indeed to Senf.
What about 2d???
It’s the only one I still haven’t got (though I don’t really understand the thinking behind *********)
Watch it … you’re for the chop!
Welcome back to the blog. Your comment went into moderation as you used a different alias to the one you used a while ago. Both will work from now on. Please don’t stay away for so long this time.
2d – ebbing and flowing waves should, I hope, be obvious. Then, we are looking for a mark placed over a letter created by inserting a letter that looks like a line into said ebbing and flowing waves.
I thought the puzzle was fine, although I would prefer the DT to use less slang. I can see that setters can be forced into using certain words quite often and they have no control over when their puzzle is published. It’s a bit unfortunate that 16d has appeared 4 times between 18 January and today with all four clues using an anagram of the same word. In fact today’s and yesterday’s use the same two words. I think there must be other possibilities (apart from employing the oft used tiger). Maybe something like [redacted – alternative clue – it’s a prize puzzle – read the instructions in RED below the hints] I feel sure the editor could come up with something better than that. Perhaps he had a Homeric nod. But it’s not the end of the World.
Ernie works for me…
I didn’t find this as easy as most. I have a rheum so it must be down to that. I quite enjoyed today and frankly I don’t really care how many anagrams are on offer, they all have to be solved. A good anagram is worth it’s weight in leaded pencils!
Many thanks to all. I’m off for an early night to see if I can shake off the lurgy. A spoonful of Manuka may help.
Do you have a rheum?
I love Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther.
Congratulations on the anniversary, Senf — and thank you for the service you provide.
With so many anagrams, I struggled with this one and didn’t find it as fun as most Dada puzzles, but I got there in the end. As somebody who doesn’t fit in a crossword every day (and sometimes chooses the Toughie over the backpager, for instance for Dharma), I hadn’t seen any of the recent puzzles with 16d, and its innocuous-looking definition meant it made my top 3. (Sorry!) The others were 2d’s mark 23a’s theme park.
Fairly rattled in. With 16d, the answer might be the same but the clues were different, so where’s the beef?
Whatever!
I’ll always like Dada.
Such a prolific and entertaining setter.
Hope he remains a long time in the Sunday slot.
Thanks to him and to Send for the hints.