ST 3218 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
View closed comments 

ST 3218 (Hints)

by Senf  

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3218 (Hints)

Hints and tips by Senf

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg, where on the last day of Spring the temperature reached 36 degrees (felt like 43) and, 24 hours later, on the first day of Summer the temperature could only reach 26 degrees (felt like 33).

For me, etc, Dada quite friendly with five anagrams (one partial), two lurkers (one reversed), and one homophone, but, assuming that I have got it correct, a Hmm for the Pun – all in a slightly asymmetric 29 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, you should be able to get the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues.

Candidates for favourite – 9a, 21a, 28a, 3d, and 8d.

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 Very cold metal in jumbo (6)
A three letter metal inserted into (in) an adjectival synonym of jumbo.

9a Charge I had on running water meter reader found? (4-6)
A type of charge (to raise money for the government) and the contracted form of I HAD placed before (on) running water (as a geographical feature).

10a Sleeping accommodation that’s choice on the outskirts of Durham? (4)
Written as (1,2,1) a choice of the outer letters (outskirts) of DurhaM?

15a Honestly three sheets to the wind, under the table (2,3,3)
An anagram (three sheets to the wind) of HONESTLY.

19a Place of refuge where some industrialist retired (4)
The reversed lurker (where some . . . retired) found in a word in the clue.

21a Hand round last of wine before a party (6)
A term for a (closed) hand containing (round) the last letter of winE all placed before A from the clue.

26a Alcohol on the house for bohemian (4,6)
Back to front – a single word term for on the house and a synonym of alcohol.

28a Put off gobbling last of spaghetti — might one be? (6)
A term for put off (as in prevent) containing (gobbling) the last letter of spaghetti.

Down

2d Adult picture cut, offensive originally (5)
A type of picture with the last letter deleted (cut) and the first letter (originally) of Offensive.

4d Not entirely appropriate language (6)
A synonym of appropriate (as in relevant) with the last letter deleted (not entirely).

7d Individuals leaving Jakarta’s country — for another? (5)
The country of which Jakarta is the capital with a four letter synonym of individuals deleted (leaving).

14d Having vandalised loo, inmate charged (9)
An anagram (having vandalised) LOO, INMATE.

17d Fuel: scent a strike coming up (8)
The reversal (coming up) of all of a slang synonym of scent, A from the clue, and a synonym of strike.

24d Sound, one coming through feature with two holes (5)
The Roman numeral for one contained by (coming through) a (facial) feature with two holes.

Quick Crossword Pun:

AISLE + A FEW = I LOVE YOU – Hmm

Could new readers please read the Welcome post and the FAQ before posting comments or asking questions about the site.

As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES OR HINTS in your comment.

Please read these instructions carefully – they are not subject to debate or discussion. Offending comments may be redacted or, in extreme cases, deleted. In all cases the administrator’s decision is final.

If you don’t understand, or don’t wish to comply with, the conventions for commenting on weekend prize puzzles then save yourself a lot of trouble and don’t leave a comment.

Roy Orbison, with an impressive group of friends including Bruce Springsteen, k.d. lang, and Elvis Costello, performing It’s Over which originally went to number one for two weeks on this day in 1964:

56 comments on “ST 3218 (Hints)”

  1. Very enjoyable indeed.
    Although 9a is very clever and a great clue, the question mark at the end is certainly doing a lot of heavy lifting!
    Lots of clever wordplay construction and smiles including the aforementioned 9a along with 10&21a plus 3&17d.
    Many thanks to Dada and Senf.

  2. 2*/4*. Good Sunday fun with 4a, 26a & 2d making it onto my podium.

    Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.

  3. I really enjoyed this. I thought there were lots of clever and amusing clues. Out of many candidates my cotd has to be 18a.
    My LOI was 28a and I’m still not convinced I’ve got it right, even looking at the hint.
    Many thanks to the setter for the enjoyment and Senf for the hints

  4. An e enjoyable SPP, with a variety of clue types, well jusged in terms ofsuiting back page solvers but with enough head-scratching to make a prize puzzle a bit challenging. I liked 5a, 3d, 8a and my COTD 15a (a loud clang being heard as the penny dropped for the latter). There were so many great clues that it was difficult to pick a few. Thanks to Senf for the hints your weather in Canada sounds very unpredictable at the moment!). Thanks to Dada for another winner of a SPP

  5. This is so far out of my reach as to be insolvable. For me the most difficult Sunday puzzle for a very long time.
    Zero fun, an absolute slog.
    *****/0
    Thx for the hints

  6. Very enjoyable with Dada’s full quota of quirkiness – thanks to him and Senf.
    My ticks went to 21a, 26a, 5d and 17d.

  7. I don’t know about the ? in 9a but I was certainly doing a lot of heavy lifting this morning as we moved furniture around to make way for a carpet to be fitted tomorrow. This SPP was a much more enjoyable and far less sweaty exercise on such a gloriously hot day. I enjoyed the whole puzzle and particularly the aforementioned 9a and 15a – very clever. Thanks to the setter and to Senf for the hints – my Amazon voucher surely awaits.

  8. Steady, unaided progress
    With just 1a and 4d to go.
    Stalled!
    Went away, came back,
    Bingo!
    All round enjoyment.
    Loved, especially, 9 and 26a.
    Thanks to Dada and
    Senf.

  9. Delightful puzzle. The perfect complement to tea and toast (if only someone hadn’t scarfed all the Dundee marmy).

    Grateful Dead Fans
    Mr & Mrs T

    1. Understand about the marmy. The US stuff is loaded with sugar, but thankfully we can get Chivers on Amazon.

      1. I buy Smucker’s ‘No Sugar Added Oranges’ – 5gm of sugar per tbsp (tablespoon?) compared to 10gm or more in their Marmys.

        Presumably it can’t be called Marmy because it doesn’t meet the specification but, to my untrained eye and palate, it is quite acceptable.

        1. Used to buy that and loved it, but no longer carried here in South Florida. Quite happy with the Chivers Old English, despite the price.

  10. Happy day! Fairly straightforward and quite fun -I started with 5 across!
    Thanks to the setter.

  11. Enjoyably challenging. 2d clue is unspecific and not sure about 14d alone and charged? SW brought up the rear. Thank you Dada and Senf.

    1. Am I the only one for whom 5a bung-in didn’t ring a bell? I was never a fan of that solver.

  12. Slightly harder than usual but enjoyable for all that. I spent far too long on 5a where I tried to put the letters “BRB” into a fight until I saw the true definition. Both 8d and 16d are frequent visitors to crossword land but my COTD is the couple on the grass.

    Thank you Dada for the fun guzzle and you, Senf for the hints.

      1. I should have known it wouldn’t be BRB, Mustafa. The letters are only used on this blog (as far as I’m aware).

      2. I’ve read the books yonks ago & seen the film/tv adaptations but had long forgotten Arthur.

  13. Made heavy weather of that, I blame this mornings long run in the 24c of sunshine 🥵. Usual mixture of chewy and straightforward clueing with plenty of anagrams to help you along.

    2*/3.5*

    Fav 8d LOI 15a

    Thanks to Dada and Senf.

  14. A terrific and highly enjoyable Sunday puzzle that had a great clue mix. My favourite, as picked by earlier commenters, was 26a.

    Thanks Dada for fun, and to Senf.

  15. Had a lot of trouble with 9a but now, of course, I can’t understand why! Think I sorted out the second word and decided it was going to be something to do with computers which has me running for the hills in the same way as those ‘cycling’ clues and the words of the Rev Spooner! Thought the use of ‘filthy’ in 8d was a little OTT but no doubt the BRB can justify it – haven’t bothered to ask its opinion.
    Top three here were 10&26a plus 4d.

    Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints and pics – must look up that rather splendid moth.

    1. My unimpeachable(?) source (a.k.a Wikipedia) says that it is a butterfly but not found in the UK – Parnassius Apollo.

  16. Found this Sunday Dada puzzle to be at the easier end of his spectrum this week. Lots of great clues along the usual head scratchers thrown in. Nothing quirky as far as I am concerned.

    1.5*/3.5* for me

    Favourites this week include 1a, 15a, 25a, 3d & 5d — with winner 5d

    Thanks to Dada and Senf for blog/hints

  17. Very gentle, possibly better suited to a Monday or Tuesday. Having said that it was great fun while it lasted, no “strange words”, just clever clueing, a generous dollop of anagrams to assist the momentum, and plenty of amusement throughout. Ticks all over the place – 9a, 10a, 18a, 18d – but for me COTD to 5a.

    1* / 3.5*

    Many thanks to Dada, and of course to Senf.

  18. Generally plain sailing but made heavy weather of a couple we shouldn’t have. Good fun with 5a being favourite. Thanks to Dada and Senf.

  19. Enjoyed this on a very rainy morning. Right-hand side went in faster then needed to check hints and slowly got the rest. Favourite was 9a today.
    Thanks to Dada and Senf.

      1. We’ve had daily deluges here since the beginning of June. It is the rainy season but this is far above normal and the lake behind our house is full to the brim. Don’t see that often as the sun usually burns it off quickly. Last summer we had barely a drop until late August, so enjoying seeing our lawns flourish this year.

        1. For me rain turned into thunderstorms this afternoon. First significant break in the sunny weather we have had in a while so the garden really needed it!

  20. What fun, I often struggle to get on wavelength but I did eventually and completed it, which I am pleased with. I really liked 9a, 15a and 28a with 15a my favourite as it took a while to work out what was being asked for.

    Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the explanations.

  21. I did this in the back of the car this morning on the way to visit DD1. Dirty Daughter II driving. Oh dear, thank goodness for the crossword. I liked 15a, 28a and 5d made me laugh but 9a is the favourite. I had a lovely day yesterday culminating in an exceptionally good meal at Provenance and then having to do the splits for the staff – thanks DD 11. Thanks for all your good wishes and no, Angelov, the dress is not finished yet. CS, I hope you have recovered from the Fete, I remember how exhausting those events can be. How did that photograph have less than 2 gigga things? We have just passed a sign saying 45 minute delay on the M40 so frantic map consultations are taking place. I’m going to find the toughie. Many thanks to Dada & Senf.

      3. Most impressive DG; and I love listening to all you cram into your life every day. You put the country to shame. Well done, you.

      5. Well done. I can just about get down on to the floor and up again after doing yoga to alleviate sciatica.

        Peter is thrilled to watch the Duxford air display on his iPad today…

        1. I have just had a text from DD2 to say it took her over an hour to do a 15 minute journey home because of the Duxford traffic. That was on top of the horrendous journey back here and the distressing visit. Poor girl! It is lovely to see the Duxford planes overhead but it plays havoc with our traffic.

  22. 4/2. I found this a real challenge and not especially enjoyable. 18a is still a mystery to me although as it’s a bung in maybe I’m wrong. 5a was my favourite. Thanks to Dada and Senf.

    1. Grass being used in 18a in its widest possible sense (but not as wide as recreational pharmaceuticals).

  23. I know the answer to 5a, but I haven’t got a clue why other than
    the last word in the clue?

    2. There’s a famous “solver” you need to find. Very famous, although not, perhaps, as famous as xxxxxxxx [redacted – you are getting very close to the naughty step].

  24. Not doing too well with this one so far, but I am still riding on the waves of euphoria from yesterday. I e got a few more answers in the margin, but I cannot yet parse. I’ll set it aside for later. We’re having extreme temperatures for June, and decided my walk this morning was probably not a good idea. Thanks to Dada and Senf. Think I’m going to need your hints today.

    1. Had another stab but decided it is above my pay grade after going for help on 1d and 18a and making sense of neither. I’ll have a go at the NTSPP instead.

  25. Imagine, I completed a Dada with a little help and some bung ins. Fave 5a.
    Thanks Dada, I needed your parsing today Senf.

  26. Had a look at this on the phone in between teeing golfers off on their last day of play before closure in prep for the 2 upcoming pro tournaments. Must have been the heat because I couldn’t do it justice so left it for Ron (later on). Can’t say the pennies dropped overly quickly but no issues later & a typically quirky guzzle that was as enjoyable as ever. Plenty of ticks – 1,9,11,18&26a plus 3,5,7,8&17d my top 10 with 5d (I have ‘em sadly) my fav
    Thanks to D&S

  27. Needed the hint for 28a to confirm our answer otherwise relatively straightforward. Especially liked 4d, which was appropriate for where we live!

  28. 3*/5* …
    liked 15A ” Honestly three sheets to the wind, under the table (2,3,3)”

Comments are closed.