Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3292 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where I nearly missed the fact that we are now in the seventh year of Dada on a Sunday – doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun!
For me, and I stress for me, Dada not very friendly – five anagrams (two partials), one lurker, and no homophones all in a symmetric 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 – 7a, 12a, 24a, 3d, 13d, and 15d.
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
7a Officer still tailing criminal (9)
A synonym of still following (tailing) a three letter criminal.
11a Extract read in Xhosa, then I analyse Greek (8)
The lurker (extract read in) found in four words of the clue.
12a Travel with princess, lady exposed (6)
A two letter synonym of travel and a synonym of princess (with a lower case p?).
17a Idiotic – like a window ledge? (5)
A single word (noun) for a window ledge with an added letter to turn it into an adjective.
19a Powder and rock on the beach? (6)
A three letter powder (residue from a fire?) and a type of rock from which elements can be extracted.
24a Bar pulled back round say, flatter (6,2)
The reversal (pulled back) of a three letter synonym of bar (that is a source of libations) contains (round) a synonym of say.
26a Vale very extensive (2,4)
I wonder how many of our company passed O-Level Latin – one of the translations of Vale can also mean very extensive or is it a double definition?
28a Country importing fish labouring here and there? (9)
Guess a country (one of the UK’s near neighbours) containing (importing) a three letter fish.
Down
1d Note, that has a restorative effect (5)
A double definition – the first relates to being the first note of a scale (so says the BRB).
3d Middle Eastern country holds Territorial Army up (6)
The reversal (up) of all of guess another country (this one happens to be in the Middle East but is not the answer) which contains (holds) the abbreviation of Territorial Army.
9d Lid on putrid garbage – yuk! (6)
The first letter (lid on) of Putrid and a synonym of garbage (as in nonsense).
15d Signal, high-pitched sound, insignificant type (9)
A type of signal (there used to be a ‘string’ of these on the Home Service and then Radio 4 at certain times of the day, does Auntie still do that?) and a high-pitched sound (such as that which can be made by a small rodent).
17d Vulgar shaman’s head whacked (6)
This required some lateral thinking from me and the answer is in the BRB – the first letter of Shaman (‘s head) and a synonym of whacked (as in exhausted).
18d Skip something heavy for a starter? (4,4)
One of these won’t be much help – a synonym of skip and something that is heavy (and metallic).
25d Drink left on ship (4)
A straightforward double definition to finish – I don’t think that I have to ‘say’ more than that!
Quick Crossword Pun:
EGG CELLS + BREAD + CHEAT = EXCEL SPREADSHEET
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American composer and pianist Scott Joplin was born on this day in 1868. One of his first and most popular pieces, the Maple Leaf Rag, composed in 1899, became the genre’s first and most influential hit, later being recognized as the quintessential rag – better than The Entertainer in my opinion which came to be well known after being used in the film The Sting. Here is the Maple Leaf Rag being played by Toms Mucenieks with an ‘electronic piano roll’ to assist budding pianists (Note(!) that there is a note ‘count’ and a note ‘velocity’ in the bottom LH corner):
An enjoyable early morning mental pick-me-up following a gale-disturbed night. The grid is somewhat unfriendly but it largely fell into place quite smoothly. Was delayed at 18a wanting the answer to be ‘xxxx’ (it parses) until 6d forced me to see the error of my ways. COTD 26a, joined on the podium by 7a and 19a.
Thank you to Dada and of course also to Senf – good to hear the Scott Joplin again.
Dada being a bit quirky as far as I am concerned and tending towards the difficult end of his oeuvre. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable and provided some smiles along the way. The lurker was well hidden and travelling with the princess at 12a was neat. To me, 25d was not that cryptic and more a case of GK. My COTD is the powder and rock at 19a.
I did like the Quickie pun.
Thank you, Dada for the challenge. Thank you, Senf for the hints.
Not particularly friendly for me either. A number of reluctant(ish) penny drops took me over my usual solve time. Interesting to see 15d again, (redacted – see Comment Etiquette no 7) .Fav for me was 12a with podium spots for 3&9d.
Thanks to D&S.
Forgot to say great music clip – thanks
This took a bit of head-scratching to get finished. Lots of ticks, especially in the bottom half. (I suppose that is where most of us find ticks on ourselves and the dog 😀).
LOI was 9d which I was not too sure about but the hint suggests I was correct. I was one of those who was helped by schooldays Latin for 26a.
Weather a bit more benign here in NE Scotland at the moment. Hope it is the same elsewhere.
Thanks to the setter for exercising my remaining brain cells and Senf for the hints.
Yes definitely somewhat quirky but nevertheless a satisfying solve – not helped by my having a different name for the first note of a chord in mind for 1d!
Many thanks to Dada and Senf
Not the easiest of Dadas puzzles but as always everything makes sense when you find the answer (which is more than can be said of some offerings!). An elegant and enjoyable puzzle. My fav is def is 2d and at last my O level Latin came in handy!
Thx to all
****/****
Beaten by two clues in this one, 3 & 17d, ah well, roll on Monday…….
I found this at the unfriendly end of the Dada spectrum. Took a couple of visits and a glance or two at the hints to confirm parsings to complete. Still not sure I have the correct answer to 27a, but never mind. I would have given cotd to 28a but for the guess a country element so the award goes to 11a instead. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Dada being even quirkier than usual but a good laugh – thanks to him and Senf.
For today’s podium I’ve selected 26a, 28a and 18d.
I looked at this early morning, at the same time as watching the Las Vegas F1; it took me ages to complete… I seem to have lost my mojo when it comes to solving puzzles this last week!
Anyway, many thanks to Dada.
Rugby later today – surely we can’t lose another one in succession!!
Typical Dada fare I thought – perhaps even more quirky than usual(?), but a good bit of fun to relieve a cold November morning. Very enjoyable (apart from the Latin reference!) with some clever clues. I liked 12a,14a and 3d, but my COTD is 9d as it took a while for the penny to drop.
Thanks to Dada for the challenge and Senf for the blog
I must be having a lucky day as this fell into place quite rapidly and provided much to smile about. A large queue for podium places including 17a (Kath will love that one!) 19&28a plus 15&18d.
Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints – always nice to hear a piece penned by Scott Joplin.
Hello Jane,
Yes – you’re right – I loved 17a! That kind of answer always makes me laugh – don’t know why – just does!!
Found this trick and will beed the blog to finish the last 6 mainly in the SW. Re 26a It’s just a double definition isn’t it?. As in an English translation of the Latin vale could also mean very extensive.
3*/3.5*. The last few scattered across the grid took my time up from par 2* to 3*, but it was all good fun with 19a my favourite.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.
On 26a I read the Latin as the definition (I dont think it means what the hint says). Each word of the answer comes from the next two words sequentially. Apologies if this comment breaks the rules, but just think the hint is wrong!
My Latin is from Google, fwiw.
.. I agree, double definition for me (see BRB definition for Vale).
Apart from that a bit of a challenge today. Cotd 24a after I’d read the hints!
Thanks to setter and Senf
I don’t believe Anorak is calling the clue a double definition but rather a definition and wordplay (a charade), which is how I parsed it. It could also be considered a double definition where the second definition is a two-word phrase leading to a two-word answer. However, in cases such as this, where two explanations are possible, I tend to favour the one involving wordplay. But that is merely a personal bias.
That’s exactly what conclusion I came to – but you explained it far better than I would have done.
Dada decidedly difficult…and the grid added to the difficulty
4*/4*
17 and 19a my favourites today.
Here in Spain, the word vale is used in everyday conversations to mean “ok” “alright” “yeah sure” “understood” etc etc. While typing I just heard my wife use the word at least 5 times on a telephone call.
This took me a while, as I think my brain was still focused on driving home from Worcester through some of the worst flooding and surface water I can remember. it wasn’t helped by idiots driving too fast into corners and hitting said hazards at speed. Really scary. Anyway, I found this quite tricky, especially about a third of the downs, and that pushed out my solving time. If pushed for a favourite, I would select 19a.
My thanks to Dada for the workout, and to Senf.
Idroce off in deivingcraunvand strong winds only to encounter anitwit doing 35vmph ina 20 mph zone and going straught across a double mini roundabout without realising that it’s customary to give way to teaffic ( me!) Coming from the right. Grrrr
I found this tricky. Needed electronic help for 26a as I have no Latin education (or French for that matter, another language which often pops up).
Top picks for me were 15d, 17a, 4d and 12a.
Thanks to Senf and Dada.
Once again, this Sunday Dada puzzle was definitely toward the harder end of his spectrum with lots of quirkiness. Clearly, his personal thesaurus was well thumbed this week too!
2.5*/4*
Favourites for me 12a, 14a, 17a, 19a & 15d — with winner 15d …I just like the word!
Smiles for 12a, 17a, 19a & 9d
Thanks to Dada & Senf
Very enjoyable solve for a dismal day in the Vale of Belvoir. I managed somehow to get a Latin Grade 1 O level back in 1972. Shame I didn’t get the same in Maths!
Oh well – the usual Sunday trouble – yes, I can see the answer, it’s “why” I don’t get!
I enjoyed lots of the ones that I could sort out and ignored the rest of ’em!
I particularly liked 26 and 28a and 15 and 18d. My favourite by a long way was 17a.
With thanks to Dada for the crossword and to Senf.
I can’t say we enjoyed this that much with the last few taking as long as the rest and some of those we weren’t keen on at all. No real favourite bit we’ll go with 28a. Thanks to Dada anyway and Senf.
Good fun. I liked the Latin clue, and the window ledge homophone.
Had to confirm my answer to the middle eastern country by identifying Senf’s helpful flag clue with Google lens. Not a perfect clue, as the answer is a person, not really hinted.
Cannot believe seven years has passed by since the previous setter hung up his BRB and Thesaurus
Keep up the good work 🙏 all
I got there in the end but agree this was very tricky in places, although about 2/3 went in smoothly. It was a great feeling to have completed it even with needing a couple of hints to help.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints.
I usually enjoy Dada’s puzzles but this one didnt appeal much and there were afew somewhat unusual words like 9d and 17d. My favourites werw the lego clues at 15d and 7a. Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the much needed hints
This was the Dada of old, the one I always had trouble understanding. 7a went straight in, followed by a few others and I thought I was in with a chance. Then I wasn’t, and wouldn’t have got much further without the hints from Senf. If I am understanding 17d, I just have to say “really”? So I echo Senf’s assessment of not very friendly today. Thanks anyway to Dada, and especially to Senf.
I really struggled with this in parts and resorted to the hints to help me finish. I also found some of the quick crossword tricky. No wonder I couldn’t get the pun. Having put ’emcee’ for toastmaster I then had ‘cheat’ for 8a. As some say ‘tomorrow is another day’! Many thanks to the setter and Senf. I enjoyed the music. It brightened up a dull afternoon!
Agree re the Quickie – those 2 answers correct incidentally but I still couldn’t peg the pun.
As with some comments above a tricky grid and some difficult clues really slowed me down; the ‘insignificant type’ being my favourite of the day
Unfortunately I couldn’t access puzzle 3292 today, no matter what I tried it kept giving me yesterday’s puzzle, so I gave up and printed last week’s 3291 which I never did. I remember looking up the answer to “Tal?” so that helped. I hope tomorrow behaves,
Senf, I love Scott Joplin, honkytonk, what does that say about my musical appreciation, but I like it, so there!
Reading the comments, maybe I’m glad I didn’t get to print off 3292! In any case, I love you Senf and if’s a real treat having you here twice a week. Has anyone written such a long comment without having done the crossword?
Others have referred to this as quirky but I might be slightly less reserved! – I have reservations about 17a, 21a, 3d, 13d and 17d. I was unfamiliar with the double entente (or should it now be double entendre?) of 1d but bunged in. 26a was my Fav. Congrats and thanks Dada for 7 years of unstinting work on our behalf (hope there’s no 7-year itch!) and TVM Senf too (loved the Scott Joplin lead-in – he always lifts the spirits).
I have just thrashed out the Quickie admittedly with much help from MrG, etc. but have to say that for me the solve really was a thankless task. Dada altogether you did give us a hard time today – here’s to better things next week.
Have just thrashed out the Quickie with much help from MrG et al and what a thankless task that was. Can’t even identify the pun. Apologies to Dada for my grumpiness and here’s to more fun next week –
Vale? That brings back not so happy memories of life in a cold Victorian boarding school. For my sins, I did achieve Latin A-Level (apologies for showing off). That didn’t do much for me, apart from helping understand the various inscriptions of Hadrian’s Wall; heigh-ho. A great puzzle, thank you to all.
Pun last clue should read cheat not sheet.
Slow but steady solve.