ST 3278 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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ST 3278 (Hints)

by Senf  

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3278 (Hints)

Hints and tips by Senf

A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where, on Friday, during the ‘highlight of my week’ a.k.a. the trip to the supermarket, I acquired my first King Charles coins.  Both are Loonies – one the ‘regular’ one with the eponymous Loon on the reverse and the other a commemorative coin marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of authoress L M Montgomery the creator of Anne of Green Gables – likenesses of both are shown on the reverse.

For me, and I stress for me, Dada quite quirky – six anagrams (one partial), one lurker, and one homophone all in a symmetric 28 clues; with 14 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!

Speaking of the Naughty Step, there were some who got very close to it last week. I will not be so lenient this week!

Candidates for favourite – 12a, 27a, 3d, 4d, 7d, 16d, and 20d.

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 Mark on bill, figure applied to various grains (6,4)
A type of figure (in the form of a person?) placed before (applied to) an anagram (various) GRAINS.

12a Small unnamed object, eh? Anything but! (7)
A synonym of eh? (as an interjection expressing inquiry) and a single three letter term equivalent to anything but.

13a Men, determined soldiers from the East (7)
The reversal (from the East) of all of a four letter synonym (probably from Dada’s personal thesaurus) of determined and the abbreviation for some soldiers (from across the pond for most of you).

18a Stop game for ball hitter (6,6)
A verbal synonym of stop and a synonym of game (as in something that might not be legal?).

23a Artist on for a second time recalled in Monroe film? (7)
The two letters for a ‘recognised’ artist placed after (on) the reversal (recalled) of a term for a second time – for a film made in 1953!

24a Girl behind male in vegetation (9)
Guessing time – a girl’s name (one was wife of a US President in the 80s) placed after behind a term for a male animal.

27a Star element in US agent (7,3)
A (metallic) element, IN from the clue, and a US agent commonly written (1-3).

Down

1d Drop pig amid much squealing? (6)
A (female) pig inserted into (amid) a three letter term for the result of much squealing.

3d A tired sport? (3-2,9)
Start with a (3,2) term for tired, bung in a hyphen, then add a ‘ring’ sport.

7d Constant written in code is inconstant in parts (8)
A constant which is also a Greek letter inserted into (written in) an anagram (inconstant) of CODE IS.

15d Pedestrian, cheeky and naughty (9)
An anagram (naughty) of CHEEKY AND.

17d Fine material deleted, good girl! (3,5)
A three letter synonym of deleted, the single letter for Good, and a synonym of girl.

20d Pasty on heap, loose (6)
A synonym of pasty (in appearance) placed before (on) a synonym of heap (as in a lot of, not a pile of).

22d Top of oar in stick for boat (5)
The first letter (top) of Oar inserted into a type of stick (that a gentleman might carry).

Quick Crossword Pun:

SPILL + LICK + INNS = SPILLIKINS – a game that Jane Austen reportedly played with her nieces and nephews more commonly known as Pick-Up-Sticks.

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.

Released as a Double A-side, with Yellow Submarine, Eleanor Rigby reached the number one spot on this day in 1966 and stayed there for four weeks. Here is Paul McCartney with a live performance in 2007:

50 comments on “ST 3278 (Hints)”

  3. */**** Excellent throughout. 20d last one in. I could pick any one of seven for favourite, so I won’t. Thanks setter and Senf.

  4. Probably the hardest Sunday puzzle I can remember for several years, or at least it was for me. It was also my longest back-page solving time for a while too.
    I enjoyed it though, so thanks to Dada for the mental workout…. it’s a little early for an alcoholic beverage!

  5. I found Dada very quirky today and a bit of a struggle. I have never associated 5d with weight and I did not know the film at 25a. There are a couple I just don’t understand, such as 9d, so will need to read the review. I did like 14a so that is my COTD.

    Thank you, Dada but my brain must have gone the way of our internet. Thank you, Senf for the hints.

    Internet still down most of the time but it occasionally returns with very low speed – less than 1MBps. I must turn everything else off in order to post when the connection is up. That’s why my name changed yesterday. zB is the TextExpander code for my name but as there was no internet it didn’t work. My apologies to all and I hope this gets through.

    1. If I tell you that the definition of 9d is the last four words of the clue, does that help?

  6. Found this decidedly tough and had to resort to electronic help to finish. Still a great tussle. At risk of the naughty step, I believe Oscar Wilde defined 23a as the second biggest disappointment to married life. On that note I’m not giving it cotd but the award goes to 1a. Thanks to a very quirky Dada and Senf.

  7. Oh, so close! Needed help with 24a but managed, at *very* long last, to get the rest into place. (Does looking up M. Monroe on Wikipedia count as ‘assistance’?)

    COTD for 2d, as the only one to generate a smile. ****/****

  8. This was a 2*/2.5* for me with a few dodgy synonyms along the way.

    That’s an antique 18a you’ve pictured there, Senf. They don’t look anything like that now.

    Thanks to Dada and to Senf

  9. A very good prize puzzle – thanks to Dada and Senf.
    I’ve never heard of the 23a film but the wordplay was clear.
    I awarded my laurels to 12a, 27a, 3d and 16d.

  10. Thoroughly enjoyable SPP from Dada today. A good challenge with the morning cuppa IMHO, littered with some cracking clues, but with enough easy picks to get started, once I remembered the Monroe film. A bigger challenge is trying to pick a COTD, with so many candidates… 12a and 26a both made me smile, but my COTD is a toss-up between 7d (appeals to the engineer in me!) and 2d for the PDM.
    Thanks to Dada – more of the same please! And thanks for the Eleanor Rigby track, Senf – after all these years I am still a beatles fan.

  11. No favourites, just a tedious slog. For me one of the poorest puzzles I have seen from Dada esp 24a and 13d which were appalling.
    Not up to his usual standard at all.
    *****/*
    Thx for the hints

    2. Definitely tough today! 😏
      There’s no 13D…perhaps you mean 13A which was my least favourite today.
      Thanks to Dads for the ‘workout’ and of course to Senf for the blog ‘n hints.
      Cheers!

  12. Slippery Sunday puzzle which for me was harder than many recently. Several synonyms which did not spring to mind eg 24a which was my last in. I did not know the film. That said I managed the majority and there were some cracking clues amongst the head scratchers.

    Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints.

  13. I didn’t enjoy this at all sorry and gave up half way. Maybe because I woke with a screaming sore throat and feel lousy. We are off the Cornish coast heading for Belfast, a City I’ve never visited, arriving tomorrow. I’ll read the full review in due course as the hints didn’t help !much. Didn’t help either 20 stone of husband sitting on my arm as I tried to keep his seat in the theatre from popping up, thought it was about to break. Anyway thanks to all. PS tried a Blue Lagoon cocktail last night – verdict, disgusting!

  14. A memorable puzzle in that I’ve awarded ‘hmms’ to more clues than ever before on a Sunday!
    Clues I found worthy of ticks included 3,4&20d.

    Thanks to Dada nevertheless and to Senf for the hints and music.

  15. Back from California.

    For me, and I stress for me (™ Senf) this is a puzzle that requires the delightfully polite Steve Cowling response, “thanks to the setter for the challenge.”
    I think it is jet lag but the crossword today and yesterday (since returning) – the letters swirl before me like hazy grains of sand on the beach at Malibu. What time is it? Who am I? I feel I would fail to solve: ‘domestic feline (3)’ c_t
    Me: “is it ‘dog’?

    My sense of disorientation will continue this afternoon. Perhaps foolishly, we have returned in time to attend Stamford Bridge, where the Mighty Chelsea take on the rather too formidable Manchester City. What could possibly go wrong?

    Thanks to Da-doo-ron-ron and The Man From Manitoba

    3. Yes, indeed, welcome back, Terence.

      My stepson is an avid Chelsea supporter, but it’s fair to say he is not looking forward to this season with much confidence.

  16. I struggled with today’s Dada offering and had to break off halfway through to see to friends pets and then make our weekly pilgrimage to Waitrose.

    The second session proved more productive and I’m just waiting for the prize now. :-)

    Lots of clever clues to pick from but I’ll plump for 24A.
    ****/**** Thanks to Dada and Senf.

  17. I have to agree with the many who found this the trickiest Sunday in an age but ‘twas hugely enjoyable. I thought 3d was slightly pushing it, myself, but it’s very Dada. Yes, 16d’s definition rather gives the game away but the WP is whip-smart. 12a’s hilarious and 27a’s very pleasing. Many thanks to Dada and Senf.

  18. Phew – definitely at the tougher end of Dada puzzles for us – but enjoyable in a sadistic sort of way 😅 😄 so 4*/4*
    Thanks to both Dada and Senf.
    You can tell summer is drawing to an end here in Spain now. No longer that searing heat – cooler in the early morning and almost sleepable at night. Still quite hot mind.

  19. For Dada puzzles, his was definitely at the harder end of his spectrum this week. Lots of lateral thinking in this one. Almost into toughie territory with plenty of use of his personal thesaurus as well as quirkiness thrown in.

    3*/4* for me

    Favourites include 6a, 18a, 1d, 9d & 22d — with winner 1d.

    Thanks to Dada & Senf

  20. Hard to nominate a COTD amongst this cryptic-fest. I thought 14a would have made more sense if the term nationality was included in the clue. Can only see a very tenuous link between vegetation and the solution in 24a, not in the BRB, but I suppose they are both nouns.
    Keep up the great work, Setter, Senf, and Subscibers

    1. Enough of a link between vegetation and the 24a answer to feature in Dada’s personal thesaurus!

  21. This was a proper prize puzzle that required a fair amount of time and a lot of lateral thinking and head-scratching. I wasn’t sure upon completion whether to feel elated or relieved, but I was certainly happy to get across the line. As for a favourite, 3d gets the nod.

    Thanks to Dada for the challenge and to Senf.

  22. Oh dear, Dada with his foot flat on the pedal again, I needed waaay too much ehelp. I had 20d wrong, a bung in that made no sense, so DNF; got it with your hint, Senf, muchas gracias as we say in Miami. I’m not unhappy, lots of good stuff along the way, the shiner and the ball hitter are two, and how nice to see a different clue for 16d.
    Thank you Dada, though you made me work hard, and Senf for his much-needed help. Pool and routine now!

  23. Unlike Brian, I’m with Gazza, ALP & others in finding this really enjoyable. One of Dada’s best recent prize puzzles in my view. 3,7&20d particular likes.
    Thanks as ever to D&S

  24. Must have my contrary head on today. Dswpitr being awake for three hours night (someone please tell my brain it’s time to sleep 😴 ). I thought this was one of Dada’s friendlier offerings, although I cannot claim to have finished unaided. Five years ago I never would have thought I would find Dada one of the most enjoyable of the week. LOL at 14a and 12a was a word from the past. Much enjoyed, thanks Dada and Senf.

  25. The hardest since his first couple of Sunday offerings which I think were just renamed toughies. I didn’t like 13a or 18a, although there some really good clues to be fair, the best of which was perhaps 24a. Thanks to Dada anyway and Senf.

  26. I couldn’t do this at all – I’ve always found Dada’s Sunday crosswords pretty difficult but there are limits and this one seems to have crossed it, I think.
    With thanks to Dada and to Senf.

  27. 12A definitely the funniest today, with 1D and 9D my other favourites.

    Many thanks Dada and Senf.

  28. Well I could have sworn I put something in about 2pm but maybe I was dreaming. I did the guzzle ‘all by my own’ as George was sleeping off a rather boozy morning with friends. He is now delightedly reading a piece by Sir Tim Martin, in yesterday’s DT, who went to Campbell College like George and he is vociferously agreeing with all Tim’s comments and threatening to write a letter to the editor! Liked the puzzle, all fell into place nicely – cannot remember a particular favourite but thanks to Dada & Tim.

    1. For once, ‘the little grey cells’ were firing on all four cylinders. How’s that for a mixed metaphor. The clues were Dadaesque in their wiliness and occasionally required a leap of faith but the film leapt to mind and after a few checkers went in, I quite enjoyed this guzzle. I liked the wordplay in 23a, the long anagram at 9d, the double definition at 4d and the cryptic definition at 3d. Thanks to Dada for a quirky but very entertaining guzzle and to Senf for the hints.

  29. Too hard for me even with the clues. Clever though. We were given a greenhouse so have been playing Meccano in the garden. In ‘on and off’ sunshine and torrents of rain.

  31. Phew, can’t believe I actually made it. Have looked at it on and off all day getting nowhere fast but, as is often my case, the evening brought inspiration (assisted by no alc sparkling vino – don’t drink any more) and hey presto. South came on board first. Fav was 2d. Thank you Dada for eventual fun and Senf for faithfully being there for us.

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