Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2487 – Hints
Selected hints by Big Dave
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Two weeks ago I wrote “I do prefer my puzzles to be a bit harder than this was”. Well, you can blame me for this one! A good Sunday challenge, with a good mix of clues.
For the weekend prize crosswords I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them. A full analysis of this puzzle will be available at 12.00 next Friday, 12th June.
Some hints to get you started:
Across
1a They mimic arty types (14)
A delightful double definition of those who mimic on the one hand and the group of painters that included Manet, Monet and Renoir, to name but a few
9a Trail-blazer I found in harbour area (7)
It’s not immediately obvious that you need to place ONE, not I, inside a structure that extends into the sea to get this trail-blazer
12a Top spots for players as championship moves along, we hear (5,5)
The players to whom these top spots are available are actors, not footballers!
15a Soldiers in cooler, subject to legal process (8)
These soldiers are a charade of IN, something that cools and subject to a legal process
17a Steer very erratically around old carrier (8)
A word meaning to steer, as used in conning-tower, is followed by an anagram (erratically) of VERY around O(ld) to give a carrier
21a Poisonous plant girls collected (10)
Strange that this poisonous plant should be named after two girls – perhaps someone had it in for them!
25a Metal used in rake, as usual (7)
The metal is used for making cans – put it inside a name for a rake, a debauched or lecherous person, to get a regular course of action
26a With doctor’s help, he expertly handled many cases (8,6)
A cryptic definition of the world’s most famous detective!
Down
1d Time’s up, oddly, for incentive (7)
Here oddly signals an anagram, not the alternate letters, of TIME’S UP to get an incentive
2d Food that’s never free for worker having share? (10,5)
There’s no such thing as a free one of these – and the worker it belongs to makes furrows or ridges with his share!
3d Vessel starting in one direction, then reversing course twice on river (4)
this vessel goes East, West and East again on the River
4d Order that is producing attack out of defence (6)
What you do to put things in alphabetical order is followed by the abbreviation for “that is” to give a sally from a besieged party to attack their besiegers
6d Person who splits diamonds? It’s a specialized craft (10)
My favourite clue of the day is a cryptic definition that leads you to a ship for making channels through frozen water!
8d Lower or upper garment (6)
It’s funny how crosswords make you think immediately of cattle when you see low or lower in the clue
17d Painter using black is in fashion (6)
A painter from the school led by Picasso comes from putting B(lack) IS inside a word meaning fashion in the sense of the way an item of clothing is styled
20d Person having unexciting pursuit in top gear (6)
A trainspotter by any chance?
I hope you find the hints helpful – they look a little bit different this week!
Don’t blame yourself for this excellent Sunday crossword Dave, lets have more of its ilk. Loved the return of the oldies in 2d and 4d, bet Little Dave won’t have any moans about this one. Oh by the way yes the new style hints are great .
Glad you like the new format Kram but I can’t promise to do it every week – it depends on there being interesting answers in the puzzles.
Did you see the video I put up especially for you on DT 25945?
No sorry missed it Dave,
Cheers, don’t make them like that any more
Sorry Dave but I just can’t see a 4* difficulty rating on this, as you well know I’m not the brightest solver of Telegraph crosswords but I really thought this one ( and yesterdays) were the easiest for many weeks. Still love this new format by the way!
You’re getting too good at them BigBoab.
Rightly or wrongly I felt that some solvers would experience a few problems. As I mentioned in the hints with regard to low / lower, regular solving means that you find yourself reading the clues differently.
Two ladies, one plant: there’s at least rosemary which fits the same pattern. Didn’t think it was terribly hard, but helped along by a very similar clue to 2D in the Times recently.
Minor point: At 15A you need “subject (vb.) to legal process”, not “a legal process” (which must indicate a noun).
Peter
15a – point taken, but Chambers does give the word in question as a noun with the appropriate meaning.