ST 3284 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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ST 3284 (Hints)

by Senf  

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3284 (Hints)

Hints and tips by Senf

A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg, where, after a couple of Autumnal days, Summer ‘returned’ with days of sunshine and temperatures in the middle/high 20s but it looks like Autumn will ‘regain control’ starting tomorrow!

For me, and I stress for me, Dada better than last week – there was only one of him – completed at a steady pace – six anagrams (two partials), two lurkers, and no homophones all in a slightly asymmetric 30 clues; with 15 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 – 11a, 15a, 28a, 7d, 24d, 25d, and the Pun.

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 Monkeying around with cryptic, ape is understanding! (12)
An anagram (monkeying around with) of CRYPTIC, APE IS.

9a A godsend iron, it feeding vital organ (4-5)
The chemical symbol for Iron and the abbreviation of the (3,6) term that IT can be a synonym of all inserted into (feeding) one of the vital organs in our bodies.

11a Bird of Eurasia? (6)
Brilliant – a bird which is also a country in Europe and Asia.

15a Over 50 per cent, old PM has it with backing of constituency (8)
An old PM (well 1990s), IT from the clue, and the last letter (backing) of constituencY.

23a Dunce or idiot finally put in correct class (6)
A three letter synonym of dunce, OR from the clue, and the last letter (finally) of idioT.

26a As the night sky is initially unseen, wait (5)
As the night sky is (when there is no cloud cover) with the first letter deleted (initially unseen).

28a Where batsman tucks box – not cricket! (5,3,4)
Brilliant – where on his body a crickety batsman will position the protective item known as box in terms of vertical location!

Down

1d Expression of taste in range of colours (7)
A double definition – the answer can also be an item used by an artist.

3d Ruth saves refurbished store for future generations (9)
A synonym of the archaic term ruth, that we have seen before, contains (saves) an anagram (refurbished) of STORE.

5d Character upon horse I brought over, jumper (8)
A synonym of character (as in comical or eccentric) placed before (upon) the reversal (brought over) of all of an informal synonym of horse and I from the clue.

7d Hypnotic sound into which I check (8)
All of I from the clue and a synonym of check inserted into (into which) guess a sound (associated with a bell)  – <em>the insertion indicator – into which – is somewhat clumsy</em>.

17d Drink squash in tea shop, discarding odd bits (8)
A synonym of squash (as in pack together?) inserted into (in) what is left when you discard the odd letters (bits) of tEa ShOp.

20d Back home (7)
A double definition the second might be a place to get away from the rat race.

24d Tree fiendish duck has climbed! (5)
The reversal (has climbed) of all of a four letter synonym of fiendish and the letter that represents a crickety duck.

25d Help a Yankee, say (4)
A from the clue and what a yankee is an example of (say) (at the turf accountants?).

Quick Crossword Pun:

DOG + TERSE + USE = DOCTOR SEUSS

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Originally recorded by the Simon Park Orchestra for the De Wolfe Music Library ( www.dewolfemusic.com ) in 1972, Eye Level was selected by Thames Television to be the theme music for its Netherlands-based detective series Van der Valk and entered the charts for two weeks. The record was re-issued in 1973 and on this day in that year it began four weeks at Number One. Perhaps ideal to accompany relaxing in a comfortable chair after ‘tangling’ with Dada:

68 comments on “ST 3284 (Hints)”

  1. I think only one Dada makes him half as difficult to deal with – very friendly today IMHO. I liked the fiendish duck, and 28a made me smile too. COTD 11a, simple, elegant and took far too long for the penny to drop!
    Thanks to Dada and Senf

  2. I found Dada to be a bit quirky today but still enjoyable. I was annoyed that I could not work out 1a because I could see what was needed but just couldn’t work it out. Plenty of others to like such as the chocolate coated man on the street at 19a and the character on the horse at 5d. However, my COTD is the laugh out loud 28a.

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

    The Quickie pun was very groan worthy! 🤣

  3. I found Dada to be a bit quirky today but still enjoyable. I was annoyed that I could not work out 1a because I could see what was needed but just couldn’t work it out. Plenty of others to like such as the chocolate coated man on the street at 19a and the character on the horse at 5d. However, my COTD is the laugh out loud 28a.

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

    The Quickie pun was very groan worthy!

      1. I posted the first comment and my laptop froze. I shut down and rebooted and when I opened Big Dave my comment was not present so I repeated it. When I posted, the original post appeared out of nowhere! 😳

        2. That’s happened to me before Steve. Disappears into the ether and when you look it’s not there. Repost, and now it’s there twice.

  5. I, too, found this high on the Dada quirkometer. It took a fair few visits to the thesaurus to get to completion but enjoyable all the same. Desperately wanted 28a to be a more risqué idea I had in kind, but fearing the naughty step I had better keep mum. Even so the answer is classier. My podium comprises 11a, 24d and the aforesaid 28a in top spot. Thanks to Dada and Senf.

  6. 2.5*/4.5*. I really enjoyed this – for me, Dada at his very best apart (perhaps from the slightly clunky surface of 9a).

    I had a plethora of ticks with 1a, 12a, 19a and, my favourite, 28a making up my podium.

    Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.

  7. Brilliant, tricky in places with a few synonyms I needed to check but overall great fun. The anagrams were also excellent and quite hard to spell in places (for me anyway). 28a was my favourite.

    Thanks to a hit and run driver taking out the broadband box in the road we are without internet and landline, thank goodness for mobile phones with data! They have warned us it will take longer than usual to fix due to health and safety.

    Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints

  9. I thought our setter had pushed rather too many boundaries today but a prize puzzle day isn’t the time or place for discussion.
    My selection from those I was happy with would be 11a plus 3,7 &24d.

    Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints and music – I remember that week’s TOTP very well, those matching polo-necks made me smile then and still do now!

    1. Like you Jane I enjoyed hearing Simon Park but do have to say I find the polo necks of those days eminently preferable to today’s messy open-necked shirts without cravat.

      1. It must be something to do with my 24 years serving HM but I cringe every time I see someone, especially a well known politician or TV presenter, wearing a jacket and what we call a dress shirt over here without neckwear – cravat minimum preferably a tie.

        1. Ha! Wasn’t it Paxman who said that only politicians, reporters and estate agents wore ties these days? Stuff and nonsense. Nowt wrong with a tie. It just makes sense. But a cravat? That’s going too far!

    2. Polo necks apart, when the tune Eye Level was popular, my wife (also a Jane) and I were running a church youth club in Market Harborough and we were given the freedom to organise one of the Christmas carol services that year in our own way – one of ‘changes’ we made was to sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” to Eye Level – I remember quite clearly how well it was received at the time, but it did take a little bit of shoe-horning in though. Enjoyed the crossword – all good fun.

  10. After commenting yesterday that the puzzles this week had not kept me occupied for long enough that problem was certainly remedied today. (I’m still in hospital but had the pacemaker fitted yesterday so should be home later today) I really enjoyed this Dada challenge and without recourse to a dictionary or thesaurus it exercised my grey matter. I took a long time to get started but finally got a foothold in the SW corner. Had I entered the correct first word at 28a, I may have been speedier! Lots of choice for favourite but I’ll go for 12a with podium places for 9a and 3d. Of course I loved 28a, and the quickie pun is worthy of mention. Thanks to Dada and Senf.

    2. I’m glad you had it done. Yesterday I thought they’d sent you home with a heart missing beats all over the place! You’ll feel so much better.

  11. I found this to be excellent. My favs 11a and 23a but many other were equally as good. My solve wasn’t helped by having the wrong first word in 28a.

  12. I can’t play the Simon Park video because I get a message asking me to sign in to prove I’m not a bot.
    I’m not a robot but that’s what a robot would say.

    1. I’ve been getting that for a few days now. I’m so stupid, I don’t dare mess around with it, can anyone here help?

    2. I do have my music videos ‘tested’ by a very friendly and reliable individual but I suspect that we both rely on Bill Gates. So, I can’t guarantee success for anyone being controlled by Steve Jobs from beyond the grave.

  13. That was rather lovely. 12a’s a cracker. 28a’s great fun too and 21a is very elegant. Many thanks to Dada and Senf.

  14. These days it seems to take me an increasingly long time to get on wavelength (A D catching up?!) which was the case today however once underway it all evolved nicely. My last in was 7d ‘cos I stupidly failed to parse the answer which I had eventually bunged in. I suppose an 18a writes odes? Chocolate component of 19a a bit iffy as IMHO are 24d as tree and 20d. I’m obviously not alone in finding 26a an amusing Fav. Thank you Dada and Senf.

  15. Dada feeling quite friendly today. Still can’t parse 2d or see how chocolate fits in on 19a.
    My favs were 28a (no surprise) and 14 d which is very clever.
    Thx to all
    ***/****

  16. Typically Dadaish and very enjoyable – thanks to our setter and Senf.
    The pick of the clues for me were 9a, 11a, 12a and 19a.

  17. Gosh, talk about curate’s eggs, a real mixture of write-ins and brain teasers. Still puzzled by the covering of the Easter item, a big stretch for me and not keen on 8d, but other than that a lot of fun to be had.
    25d taught me something I didn’t know – and will probably avoid for ever more! But I think I’ll go for the easy-peasy 11a as fave, though the fiendish duck amused too!
    As to the quickie pun, which accent would make the last word rhyme with ‘voice’, which is how he should be pronounced…(says he pedantically…)

  18. Im in the quirkier rhan usual camp and like others, I could see what the answers to some clues were but didn’t immediately llunderstand the parsing . I liked the 1a anagram and rhe 11a Eurasian plus the crickety clue at 28a. Thanks to Senf foe the hints and to Dada for a testing guzzle

  19. I showed this one to the cat at breakfast time, and he took one look at it and ran away making a noise which sounded very much like ‘Bastardos’, so I knew it was going to be very tough, and yes folks, it was.

    This took me well [redacted – Comment Etiquette Item 6 – that’s what Star Ratings are for], with a trip to the shops inbetween, got there in the finish though, with 7d being the last one in.

    My two of the day have to be the clever 28a, and the at one stage baffling 1a (not a word I think I’ve ever used in speech)

    Off for a lie down now in a darkened room, roll on Monday……

  20. Well, for me, this offering from Dada today is way up the spectrum for him … almost into toughie territory. Plenty of personal thesaurus use again this week as well as more than a soupçon of quirkiness thrown in.

    3.5*/3.5* for me

    Favourites 12a, 28a, 5d, 8d & 17d — with winner 28a
    Smiles/chuckles for 11a, 15a & 27a

    Thanks to Dada & Senf for hints/blog

  21. Like RD, I thought this was Dada at his best. Some definitions a little quirky perhaps but all fair enough. Interested to see a couple of people also found the parsing of 19a difficult. I did wonder about it until I remembered that punctuation should be ignored (except in the case of proper nouns).

  23. A bit chewy in places but I got there in the end.
    Top picks for me were 28a, 26a and 15a.

    Thanks to Senf and Dada.

    1. I finished reading The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers last night. Thank you so much for mentioning it, a very enjoyable read.

      2. So glad you enjoyed it. It’s always nerve-wracking making recommendations in case people don’t feel the same way about them.

  24. I agree with Paul – 16d was my last one in and I don’t fully understand the second half , but otherwise it mostly fell into place. I liked the bird and the old PM, we knew him slightly, nice man and charming wife. That’s not worthy of the naughty step is it , surely? The crickety one was amusing and it is odd the way a word will pop up several times in a row as 21a. I think 9a is favourite. On the subject of ties and open neck shirts etc, you just want to sit next to George watching the news and weather. He waxes somewhat more than lyrical on tight trousers, too short trousers, trainers, lapels too long/narrow/gaping, stand off collars – oh, need I go on? He is Mr. Beau Brummel. Many thanks to Messrs Setter and Senf. A dullish, cold day here in Cambridge but at least it is not raining and we have mussels for supper,

    cold day in Cambridge but at least it is not raining!

  25. A quirky Dada but very entertaining. It’s extremely worrisome that I understood most of the parsing, surely I’m not getting as bonkers as Dada? I had to go for a hint at 7d, still didn’t get it, then came my road to Damascus moment! The bird of Eurasia was a winner, but the best was 28a, worthy of giggles galore. .
    Thank you Dada for the fun, and to Senf for his help.

  26. As someone else said , a bit chewy in places , but on the whole enjoyable as Dada usually is. I actually have one clue left 7d , so just took a quick peek at the hint to confirm what the definition is so I ll give it some more thought. Thanks Dada and Senf.

  27. Quick, quick, slow, slow and then quick. All went well until NWcorner – got 1d wrong and took a while to sort out.

  28. There were a few that didn’t quite pass muster but disregarding those the rest of them were quite enjoyable. Favourite was 7d. Thanks to Dada and Senf.

  29. Top drawer Dada in my view. Off to a great start at 1a with the anagram indicator & fodder & some fine clues followed – 12,15&28a my pick of ‘em.
    Thanks to D&S

  30. Thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. Contrarily I didn’t find this as difficult as most of Dada’s puzzles, and definitely more fun than yesterday. 1a went straight in, and it was a steady solve across the board. LOL at 11a, but should have been quicker off the mark with 12a. Not sure that 5d is truly a jumper, but I’m sure it is per the BRB. Thanks to Dada and Senf.

      1. The BRB does not describe 5d as a jumper either but what we don’t know, and never will know, is what does Dada’s personal thesaurus say!

  31. I did enjoy this! Got a little bit stuck in the SE corner but eventually it all came together. Much appreciated.

  32. 3*/4* I enjoyed it so much. I really struggled on several clues that most seemingly found easy and sailed through the challenging ones. Really pleasing because I rarely complete the Sunday prize crossword.

    1. Your comment went into moderation as it’s quite a while since you last commented and it seems that you have used your name instead of the alias you used previously. Both should work from now on.

  33. A mixed bag, brilliant in parts, others a bit stretched AND like DG and others, I can’t understand 16d…

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