Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2582 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Big Dave
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As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
Across
1a The PM is perturbed about a fellow on board (8)
Put an anagram (perturbed) of THE PM IS around A to get a fellow seaman
9a I put in short pieces on a page (8)
the whole of this all-in-one clue provides the definition – put I inside an anagram (pieces) of SHORT and precede it with A P(age)
20a Don, for example, follows his lead in club (6)
Put the geographic feature of which the Don is an example after the first letter od Don to get a golf club
28a Religious sailor’s evil acts at sea (8)
A two-letter word meaning religious is followed by yet another word for a sailor to give performing evil acts at sea
Down
2d Principal policy that gets first reading? (8)
A charade of a principal, in a school perhaps, and a policy gives the first thing that you read in a newspaper srticle
3d Coward’s acts soldier survives (7,5)
This famous play by Sir Noël Coward is a charade of a soldier and a verb meaning survives
7d A certain amount of mass attack’s ending, as heard on radio (4)
This amount of mass is the NATO phonetic alphabet’s representation of the last (ending) letter of attacK
19d Exhibitionist’s call to new security personnel (8)
What an exhibitionist might say (5,2) followed by N(ew) gives these security personnel
25d Game with call deciding winner at match point (4)
A cryptic definition of a card game where the first person to call when a match is made is the winner
If you need further help then please ask and I will see what I can do.
As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put whole or partial answers or alternative clues in your comment, else they may be censored!
Another very satifying Sunday puzzle from Virgilius. Favourites were21a as it took me ages to see it and the marvellous All-in-one at 9a.
Thanks to BD and to Mr Greer.
Done in quick time today. Favourite was 21a for great misleading. All other clues were Ok but I am sure weekend puzzles are made easy to boost income from entries, as mentioned yesterday.
Yep – The smoothness of the surface on 21a had me confused for ages.
It was my last in and a real pennydrop moment.
Ditto!
Help, I still cannot get 21a. It is very frustrating.
21a Functions to promote business in bars (8)
Functions to promote business (2,6) is one definition. The other is a verb meaning bars or precludes.
Thanks for the hint. Everybody was saying ´what a great clue´and I was feeling a numbskull.
Nora, don’t be disheartened or feel like a numbskull. It was last in for me, UTC and probably crypticsue and it was tough because it was a really good surface reading that disguised the answer.
Nora – it was the last one in for me too and it took ages for the penny to drop. Despite what a lot of people are saying, I did think this crossword was at the hard end of the Virgilius spectrum.
Sue,
Ditto!
I am still finding it absolutely impossible – will carry on reading through the comments hoping to find a bit more help ..
Kath – think of the first 2 letters as something we are being asked to vote on soon, then a word for functions (noun, not verb) and the whole word is to stop, or bar.
Patsyann – please confine your hints to interpretation of the clue. The first two letters are an abbreviation, not for a voting system but for business promotion.
D’oh to 21a! Unlike UTC, I found this really difficult and it’s taken me the longest time to solve. For that reason, I didn’t really enjoy it, but will see if I change my mind when I sort out the review later on today. Thanks to Virgilius and BD. Off for a little lie down now to recharge the cryptic cells.
Its funny how sometimes things fall into place and other times they don’t. I am still racking my brain on Friday’s Toughie!
Just had a quick look through the wordplay pre-review and it’s growing on me!
Lots of lovely clues to enjoy today: 17d possibly my favourite. Or 22d, which was my last one in. It often happens that the one I work hardest for is the one I end liking most. 22a was a new word to me, and all those GCSEs and A levels and degrees finally came in useful for 26a (I did English Lit which is why I have a made up job). I was half expecting a Mothers’ Day theme but didn’t really mind not having one. Health, happiness and Happy Mothers’ Day to all.
We can still not see 9a – help anyone?
On 9a, Mrs T says it ends in T (but surely M).
Mrs T is right. There isn’t an M in the anagram fodder and it wouldn’t work with 8d.
The person who does the M’s ends in the T.
Cracking crossword from Virgilius. Solving started slowly and then the grid was filled jigsaw like as the pieces slowly fell into place. Some excellent clues like 9a and 21a.
Thanks to Virgilius for the crossword and to BD for the hints.
well I have just looked at this and after looking a t the comments decided to start with 9a, now come on! even if it is a really clever clue who has ever heard of one of them? please life is difficult enough as it is :)
A battle for me today – I tried to do this in the garden with a pre-lunch tipple, a screaming infant, and a hyperactive 5-year old.
That aside… most enjoyable; thanks to Virgilius, and to BD.
Happy Mothers Day to all the mums out there! :)
Thanks for the good wishes Jezza, my lot don’t arrive til this evening but I am trying to do this in the office, with the kitchen floor being mercilessly drilled nearby to lay new pipes to the bathroom! Happy Mothers Day indeed, I think I will pack up the crossword and my Kindle and head to the beach with them, I am finding this really tough today without all the noise :)
Hope the day improves for you Mary. Mrs J and I are off to a nice quiet Italian this evening without the Rugrats :)
What’s more, the family has just decided to go shopping this afternoon, and so I have a few hours peace and quiet. Bliss!!
Shouldn’t you be taking the offspring shopping and leaving Mrs J in peace and bliss?
Shopping is Mrs J’s idea of bliss :)
Really struggling … have done all but 21a and 22d Can you help!!
Cracked it!!!!!!
Like some I found this difficult. Favourite 21a when I eventually twigged.
Least favourite 27a, can anyone explain why ‘playing’ is in the clue for other than for misdirection/surface?
I don’t understand that clue really… but there again I didn’t understand the wordplay of a lot of them!
“Playing” provides the aecond and third letters of the answer.
Thanks I get it now. I mistakenly thought that clad defined the second and third letters.
Oh boy, that was a struggle – didn’t help that I had “cotton” for 15a which I thought was a great answer and referred to the old band leader Billy!! Had to finally convince myself of 12d before I actually saw 15a in the clue – doh! Have only just justified 17d even though I put it in – never heard of 9a (thanks for hints BD) and resorted to Chambers for 26a. Can’t fully explain 13a either – perhaps someone can spell it out for me?
Turned round tells you that its a reversal of all the separate parts of the clue. Work them out in the order they are in the clue and then reverse them.
13a – T (first of two) + vehicles + “I had” abbreviated – all reversed.
Thank you! It was another “couldn’t see what was staring me in the face” moment – perhaps I should go to Specsavers??
Half a dozen gaps, but I’ll ponder a while longer .. and see if someone else asks my questions first!
Did they ‘teach’ you that approach at the course? :)
No CS, I learned that here! Doesn’t always work, alas.
Am REALLY struggling today – have only managed about six clues and needed the hints for about half of them!! Rather feel like giving up – perhaps another hour or two in the garden and then another look to see if it’s worth perservating any more. Maybe back later so please don’t all go away – will almost certainly need help!!
:sad:
Keep going Kath. I assure you its well worth the effort. Could do with a hoover for all these pennies!
The pondering has helped, down to just one now, the dreaded 21a! I have a small choice of words that fit and none seem to fit any part of the clue. Will come back later.
Hooray, the penny has dropped at last!
More good Sunday fare from Virgilius! A shade harder than usual this time.
9a, 11a, 21a, 3d, 12d & 24d were best for me.
This was a real struggle. I had 9a ending in M like a previous poster. That one now sorted out. Cannot see 21a for the life of me and consequently can’t get 22d. Just those two left. Can anyone help with some lovely lovely hints please? Mind you, I’m not convinced I’ve got 14d correct which is causing havoc. Help!!!!!
22d Anger raised about team’s performance-enhancing medication (6)
Reverse (raised) a verb meaning to make someone annoyed (anger) and inside this put the number in a football or cricket team (in Roman numerals).
14d A club that can win if player’s heartless, say? Blast (5)
If one of your opponents leads a heart and you haven’t got any (i.e. you’re heartless) and play a club and that wins the trick, what does that make the club?
Thanks Gazza, got 14d correct. Still stumped on the 21a/22d axis. Regardless of your previous clue still can’t get 22d!
Ok, now got 22d. Doh. I’m still concerned about 21a. I have an answer but can’t make it work with the clue. A last hint, please!!!!
21a is a verb meaning bars, hinders, thwarts, makes impossible.
For 21a I can’t do much better than my hint at comment #2 above.
In 22d the performance-enhancing medication (the definition) is a preparation once supposed to have the power to invigorate or prolong life.
Thanks again Gazza. I have now figured out why it’s the answer. I appreciate your help and patience. All done now. Fave was 16d which I thought was v. clever.
Ta
Don
Totally sunk – REALLY can’t do this one even with all the helpful stuff in all the comments – I don’t remember when I last gave in with so many gaps! I’ve done most (but not by any means all) of the top half and it would be easier to say what I HAVE done in the bottom half than what I have not. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!! Can’t even explain some of the very few that I have an answer for. I admit defeat and am now retiring to bed to sulk – can’t even go to sleep yet as husband is on call tonight and still in the hospital so might as well stay awake until he gets home. Grump, grump, grump ….
:sad:
In spite of all the above moans, thanks to Virgilius, to Big Dave, and to all the people who have commented today – am so glad that I’m not the only one who thought that this was quite tricky.
Dear Kath,
Quite! T’was a pig. But, Nil Desperandum. I spent a disproportionate amount of time on this and only help from Gazza helped me finish. However, take solace in the fact that I used to find every Sunday like this. :-)
You’re quite right – I also used to find all the Sunday crosswords completely impossible. I’ve learnt SO much from this great blog that I can now quite often finish them – but NOT today! Thanks for the sympathy/encouragement.
:smile:
What a great crossword! Tricky or what? Took 2 glasses of the pre-prandials today and I still had to look up to confirm 9a when we came home! Heard of the ‘ism’ but never thought of the ‘ist’, doh!
Strange how people’s minds work though – 21a across seems to have caused problems for some but pommette got it instantly, and then I took a while to work out where the answer came from! I’m supposed to be a blogger?
Thanks for the usual Sunday fun to Virgilius and to Dave for the hints.