ST 3283 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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ST 3283 (Hints)

by Senf  

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3283 (Hints)

Hints and tips by Senf

A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg – Autumn has begun but not before we had some late Summer Prairie Thunderstorms with a Tornado here and there!

For me, and I stress for me, Dada somewhat Jekyll and Hyde, off to a flying start and then I came to an almost dead stop – four long ‘uns, three anagrams (two partials), two lurkers, and no homophones all in an 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!

Candidates for favourite – 10a, 26a, 28a, 6d, 22d.

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

8a Cheese in salty water, name forgotten (4)
A term for salty water with the single letter for Name deleted (forgotten).

11a Ludicrously fun broadcast, outrageous! (6)
Oh dear, a three letter anagram (ludicrously) of FUN and a synonym of broadcast (on TV?).

13a You’re joking, please stop it! (4,4,2,5)
A double definition – dare I say that the first word is really a (3’1) contraction – the whole is a request to not cause explosive inarticulate sounds from my voice.

23a Stamped rubbish bags in courtyard identified, initially (8)
A synonym of rubbish, more usually associated with ‘poor quality’ edibles, contains (bags) the first letters (initially) of In Courtyard Identified.

25a Brief document on batting (6)
A type of document placed after (on) for the two letter term for crickety batting.

27a 16 Down turns out to be female relative (3)
The single letter that can represent 16 Down and a synonym of be.

28a Potato wedge used for this? (4)
Perhaps incorrectly, I have opted for a double definition – the second is what Huntsman, and others, would use a wedge for.

Down

1d Old Spanish commander in chief ran corporation (6)
A lurker (in) found in three words in the clue.

3d Standard beach costume, looks to cover it (5,3,7)
A synonym of looks (with a fixed gaze) contains (to cover) all of a synonym of beach and a synonym of costume.

5d King in CRIB, briefly? (7,3,5)
The objective is to decode the brief CRIB – CR is a regnal cipher; my interpretation is that I should be considered as 1, and B is a genealogical abbreviation and together they indicate which CR is required.

6d Country going to one’s head? (6)
A country which can also be on one’s head.

16d Relative numbers on the rise (3)
The reversal (on the rise) of an abbreviation for numbers.

18d One suit with king turned up in card trick (8)
The reversal of all of the Roman numeral for one, a verbal synonym of suit, and the single letter for King inserted into (in) a (playing) card.

24d Boring place to live (4)
A double definition – the second is a single storey.

Quick Crossword Pun:

FANCY + ATTACKER + WEIGH = FANCY A TAKE AWAY

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Blind Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli is 66 today. He started out by performing evenings in piano bars and competing in local singing contests and his big breakthrough came in 1994 when he won the newcomers’ section of the 44th San Remo Music Festival performing Il Mare Calmo Della Sera (The Calm Evening Sea) specially written for him by Zucchero Fornaciari, Gian Pietro Felisatti, and Gloria Nuti for the music festival:

48 comments on “ST 3283 (Hints)”

  1. Thought at first this might turn out to be quite a challenge, but in turned out to be a playful gentle kitten in wolf’s clothing.

    Surprised to see 5d the day after a strikingly similar answer and device was used in a prize puzzle elsewhere. The same setter, perhaps?

    Lovely & clever clueing throughout, plenty of smiles. COTD 3d, joined on the podium by 12a and 1d.

    Many thanks presumably to Dada, and to Senf

  2. Unusually for Dada, I set off at a cracking pace only to come to a rapid stop. it’s usually the other way round. The rest needed to be teased out so it went to another coffee. All fairly clued, though with some smiles along the way. My COTD is 12a.

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

  3. This was a mixed bag for me. Needed Senf’s hint to be able to parse 27a as it couldn’t be anything else but I didn’t have the foggiest as to why it was what it is.

    Lots of smiles when pennies dropped.
    Top picks for me were 28a, 22d, 12a and 14d.

    Thanks to Senf and Dada.

  4. Great stuff from Dada this morning – lots of pleasing clues, so many that it was hard to select COTD, but I finally settled on 18d – very clever.
    I wondered if the capitalised CRIB might signify a basket in which the king’s head may – very briefly – have lain! Though perhaps that’s just our friends over the channel…
    Thanks to Dada for the challenge, and Senf for the hints.

    1. Very much like our blogger the first few were read and write – and then ground to a complete halt. Found the rest rather tricky!
      I will go with 2 and 18d as favourites. Not a big fan of the linked clues.
      3*/4* overall
      Thanks to Dada and Senf

  5. 2.5*/4*. This was a mixed bag in terms of difficulty but good fun all the way.

    5d seemed a little strange. I don’t know what Senf is referring to as the genealogical abbreviation B. I wondered if “briefly” simply meant to remove the final letter of CRIB.

    My top picks were 12a, 25a 3d & 14d.

    Many thanks to Dada and Senf.

        1. I’m glad I’m not alone in finding 5d a tad odd. MG rather wobbled me! I do vaguely remember the other clue but I recall it being tighter. The B could, of course, as Senf suggests, be a genealogical abbreviation. But it could also be geographical, couldn’t it? Or even a brief deletion, as has been said. And that brings me back to RD’s v good point. Yes, the first two/three letters should ideally be capped up but, when you’re taking some liberties with a clue anyway, why not go the whole hog and put them in lower? The relevant abbreviations would still work and it would read so much better. But ’twas very enjoyable. Very Sunday morning. Ta lots to Dada and Senf.

          1. CRIB briefly = CRI and CRI (or 1) is [redacted – the problem is that you gave the answer – it’s a prize puzzle]. What’s the problem??

            1. Um, Dada?! I don’t think he would, to be fair, but I wouldn’t put much past him! And you could, just about, use the Nato C/c. Just …

        1. Briefly can also be an abbreviation or acronym indicator. CRI is, of course, what you suggest. But the B just seems odd. To add a random letter and then have to delete it is somewhat unsatisfying, no? We’re meant, presumably, to think of the card game but the caps make that an odd read as well. However, the possible B abbreviations are rather unconvincing too! Not that it matters much. it could only have been what it is. Itt would have been nice to know, definitively, the intended parsing. I guess we’ll never know for sure, eh?

          1. I can see your point, but we are in the rather surreal world of cryptic clue-writing here. My guess is that the setter decided to be a bit unconventional/mischievous (fine by me) and used CRIB as misdirection. Without the B and briefly the clue would basically comprise King plus his royal cypher – and there’s nothing really cryptic about that. I could be wrong, maybe the B does have some other significance – hopefully the setter/someone else can confirm?

    3. If B is genealogical, then CRID was a brutal fate, happily resolved 11years later by CR2B, with the present incumbent CR3, s/o ER2

  6. Started quickly and then came to a stop. Took quite some time to complete the last dozen or so. Favorites 12a and 28a

  7. Jekyll and Hyde is a perfect description of our setter today and I’m still not persuaded by the CRIB. Shame that Dada never pops in so we can’t ask him. I was certainly glad of some of the checkers that appeared during the solve! Top honours going to the macabre 12a with 28a & 14d as supporters.

    Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the review – very pleasant to hear Mr Bocelli’s voice again.

  8. Having an off day. Didn’t parse 3d & even the straightforward 6d was a head scratch. It wasn’t my favourite Dada puzzle (& I’m still licking my wounds from his Venice themed Graun puzzle on Thursday) but still plenty to like. The simpler 6 letter ones at 10,11,25&26a + 22d were all likes.
    Thanks as ever to D&S

  9. Like those who have gone before I was lulled into a false sense of brilliance as I got several clues immediately. I then ground to a halt with a couple in the lower half holding out for ages. I also struggled to explain 5d fully. There were a couple of synonyms which I needed to check after I had entered them. That said I have finished before noon so that is definitely something to celebrate, although the weather is so awful here today I actually wish it had taken longer.

    Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints

  10. For me, and I stress for me, (™ Senf) I followed the same path as those above. I zoomed along and then stumbled a bit for the last few.
    I did go a bit wrong when I saw ‘Those hung and drawn in death’, as I tried to squeeze in ‘crossword compilers who introduce ‘rheostat’, ‘The Hanseatic League’, and ‘a bootless errand’ into puzzles’. However, try as I might, I couldn’t get the letters to fit into eight spaces.
    Our leisurely Sunday morning was thrown aside when the supermarket delivery man telephoned to ask if he could arrive an hour and fifteen minutes early. “Yes”, I said without consulting H or The Youngster.
    “Great! I’m outside already!” he replied.
    All of this led to H making splendid vegan bacon rolls for breakfast, so no gruel for me today. I did, however, enjoy the standard orange juice with no bits.

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

  11. An entertaining puzzle from Dada – thanks to him and Senf.
    Like others I’m not sure about CRIB – my take would be that briefly just means losing the last letter (but it’s not a great clue).
    Top clues for me are 12a, 28a and 3d.

  12. Great fun today. Needed a little AI help from Ross for 2d and 11a, but this unlocked the grid. I enjoyed the humour in the multi word clues. Also, the clever interplay between the three letter relatives and perhaps unintentional link between fate of 5d and 12a.

    Now much easier to submit iPad solved puzzle, just one click.

    Appreciation to all here. As ever.

  13. I could not click with this puzzle at all. Struggled with parsing a fair few and had to resort to the hints and e-help. Completion was with a sense of relief rather than pleasure. Sorry Dada, not one for me today, but thank you. Also thanks to Senf for the much needed hints.

  14. It’s Sunday and it’s Dada so it’s always going to be a fun one with some clever clues and parsings. A steady solve for me today with a few at the end that gave me a bit of a head scratch. My last one in was 25a which I knew but could not parse for the life of me , but when I realised it had to be what I thought, I finally worked it out – cricket terms always catch me out 🤨 . Thanks so much Dada and Senf.

  15. Dada seems to have moved the difficulty up a notch for this Sunday puzzle along with the use of his personal thesaurus, as well as some quirkiness thrown in.

    2.5*/4.5*

    I liked the four 3 letter clues/answers as well as the two across long ‘uns. Smiles and/or groans for 1a, 26a & 6d
    However the favourite and winner today was 5d.

    I had a couple of answers that I could not reverse engineer for parsing.

    Thanks to Dada & Senf for hints/blog

  16. Lots of tricky bits today – some easier ones too which just about kept me going but not enough to finish it.
    Quite a few of the ”yes, but why” and they always drive me mad – never mind, I’ll keep trying!
    I liked 20 and 28a and 4 and 14d. I think my favourite was probably 19d.
    Thanks to Dada and to Senf.

    1. Fortunately my two “yes but why?”s were ones Send had chosen to hint for which I’m grateful! And I enjoyed the puzzle 6d the favourite.

  17. Like many I started well then ground to a halt…..well, not entirely a halt as I figured them out eventually all but 4d and 12a which held out for ages until the pennies dropped with resounding clangs.
    Needed Senf’s help to parse 27a , 3d and 5d.
    Not my favourite puzzle, but I got there in the end.
    Didn’t like the ones I couldn’t parse , favourite 12a when I got there.

    Thanks to Senf and to Dada

    Distinctly chilly here today..Autumn is here….

  18. Not entirely convinced by a number of clues but they were what they were with most of the enjoyment gained from actually finishing it. Favourite was 12a. Thanks to Dada and Senf.

  19. What a mixture of gimmes and struggles! Lots to like, giggles at 13a and 3d. I, frankly, didn’t understand most of the SE, but I presume they’re right as the bung ins fit, sorta! I’m sorry, Senf, but I don’t see what the “B” means at 5d, and I’m sure no one can tell me without being excommunicated. Fave has to be 12a, but lots of contenders.
    Thank you Dada for the fun, and Senf for the explanations … don’t know what “use a bug” means at 22d, but no hint!

    1. Merusa, no-one apart from Dada can tell you for sure what role the B is playing in 5d and sadly he never pops in to enlighten us.

      Regarding 22d, look up “bug” in Chambers. There are a lot of definitions for that word, and the one you need is a bit of a way down the list.

  20. Dada in a friendly mode today that I managed with only the briefest of glimpses at the hints
    Thanks to Senf and Dada
    Lots to like but most amused by the fact that the first across clue in this and the Toughie today are a turophilists delight

  21. This has been very much an on/off exercise as I have spent most of the weekend watching Laver Cup tennis from Berlin and there’s still more to come before final result – come on Team Europe! Anyway I enjoyed the cruciverbal challenge in spite of some sticky patches but 3d/15a long’uns eventually got things moving although I’m not sure I fully parsed the former. 27a is a bit unimaginative. 21d ‘faked’ is yet another indicator. Back to the box. Thank you to the well-known pairing of Dada and Senf

    1. Your comment went into moderation as you missed the last three letters off your alias which I have fixed.

  22. I’m with Steve et al who said this one was a pleasure to start and then detoured into tricky, and for me, sometimes unfathomable. 5d being the prime example of one where I could scratch my head until it bled and I still would have been none the wiser. A shame, as some great clues including 8a, 12a and 20a. Not being a golfer I was quite chuffed at getting 28a, except I later realised I had the wrong type of potato. Did also love 19d for the nostalgia of the second part of the clue. If I said that over here I would be met with a very puzzled look. Thanks to Dada, too clever by half for this old lady, and to Senf.

  23. Late in the day but I agree with many of the comments so far. Doable and then tricky. 2d was last one in and 3d favourite – a very smart clue. Many thanks to Messrs Setter and Senf.

  24. Even later, Daisy, due to a visit from my son, daughter-in-law, grandson and granddaughter and alively game of Nrwmarket with bets from nanna’s penny piggy bank. Unlike others, I took a long while getting ia start in this guzzle at the bottom before tthings fell into place. I liked the cryptic 13a and 2d but like others, couldn’t fathom the B in CRIB in 5d although the answer was clear. Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints.

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