Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3293 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where the mercury is staying below zero and ice is forming on the rivers!
For me, and I stress for me, Dada reasonably friendly, and we must have seen this grid before – four long ‘uns, eight anagrams (three partials), 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!
Candidates for favourite – 8a, 15a, 25a, 26a, 5d, 6d, and 19d.
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 Hour squeezed into minute – woohoo! (4)
The single letter for Hour inserted (squeezed) into a synonym of minute (as in size).
12a Fox, don’t be so tame? (8)
Written as (2,6) a phrase that is the opposite of be so tame.
13a Continually, one thing following another anagrammatically? (5,5,5)
Successive anagrams of thing separated by a synonym of following (one . . . following another anagrammatically).
20a Error from Hogwarts student? (8,7)
An error in the main activity learned and practised by Hogwarts students.
25a A king engaged by princess in martial art (6)
A from the clue and the single Latin-based letter for king inserted into (engaged by) the abbreviated name of the illustrated princess.
26a Homer, say, Greek character gone travelling (6)
A two letter character in the Greek alphabet and an anagram (travelling) of GONE.
28a Middle torn from book for Christmas (4)
The middle letter deleted (torn) from a type of book.
Down
1d Look ridiculous if thus (6)
An anagram (ridiculous) of IF THUS.
3d Where American game played, party cutting bottom card (8,7)
A (very formal) party inserted between a synonym of bottom and one of thirteen playing cards.
5d Rugby player, skinny man advanced (7-8)
One of eight players in a rugby union team, a synonym of skinny, and one of sixteen men on a board with 64 squares on it.
6d Spice that’s crisp, by the sound of it? (6)
The homophone (by the sound of it) of a synonym of crisp (in relation to temperature).
19d Worry if cricket side is in time (7)
All of the two letter cricket side (of the pitch) and IS from the clue inserted into (in) a synonym of (a long) time.
22d Stuff figure, something small and furry (6)
A synonym of stuff and guess a figure (as in a number).
I sometimes know the feeling!
24d Charity after little money – given it? (4)
A three letter synonym of charity placed after the single letter for little money.
Quick Crossword Pun:
DUE TO + ROMNEY = DEUTERONOMY
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Former bus driver Terence Parsons, better known as singer Matt Munro, was born on this day in 1930. In 1963, he was chosen to sing the theme song, composed by Lionel Bart, for Bond film From Russia With Love – the second film in the series but the first to have a dedicated theme song. His vocals were not used in the opening titles, as became the standard for the series, they were heard on a radio during the film and over the final credits:
After the madness of yesterday, today’s offering was an absolute classic. I thought this was one of the best puzzles I have encountered. Lots of humour and some very inventive clues. Top spot goes to 20a which I can’t believe hasn’t appeared before, but I’ve never seen it previously.
Thanks to the setter and for the hints.
A lovely puzzle which was a slow but steady solve for me in the middle of the night. Loads of satisfying clues. 25a with the ancient civilisation misdirection was a favourite as was 13a for its unusual construction. The synonym for expert in 4d was new to me and felt a bit of a stretch but is in the dictionaries. Sadly defeated by the second word of 3d despite looking for the correct definition, all the crossers and the fair clueing. I guess without the frustration of not seeing what should be obvious there would be less pleasure in all tricky answers that one’s mind pulls from seemingly nowhere… Thanks to setter and blogger as always.
I found this puzzle hard work with very few bung-ins. Checked a couple of times that I hadn’t printed out the Toughie. A real feeling of achievement when the last one went in.
Another vote for the 20a error for COTD.
Thanks to Dada for the meticulous clueing and Senf if I had needed any hints.
What an absolute corker! One of those where I was despairing for a while, then it all slowly came together, one piece at a time. Too many excellent clues to pick from, though the last ones in were the pair crossing at 2d and 11a. ***/*****
I’ve only recently started buying the Sunday Telegraph as we’ve been a Sunday Times household for yonks, primarily, because my far better half likes the magazines that the Telegraph don’t supply on a Sunday.
Also, the Sunday Times is riddled with adverts, meanings it takes about 20 minutes to read. The Telegraph has its fair share, which I appreciate they need to survive, but nowhere near as much as Murdoch’s rag.
This was a hoot and I like Dada’s style. Lots of classic constructions on a very friendly grid.
20a is excellent though I would have changed one of the letters in Hogwarts, say, the a to an o.
My podium is the aforementioned, 12a and the absolutely superb 26a, my LOI and COTD.
Many thanks to Dada and The Big S
2*/4*
A very entertaining puzzle from Dada this morning – thanks to him and Senf.
My ticks include 12a, 13a, 20a, 26a and 5d.
How nice to have a different Homer! Rather enjoyed this despite 24d being slow to dawn, and the awards are shared between 12,20&26a plus 5d.
Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints and music – I can quite envisage Mr Monro driving a bus and entertaining the passengers with his singing!
This was undoubtedly a clever and at times distinctly devious puzzle that I also found more than a tad unfriendly. After a few weeks of being on Dada’s wavelength, today I was nowhere near tuned in and needed hints and e-help to complete. Whilst a dnf given the aforementioned help, my cotd is the wittily constructed Homer at 26a. Thanks to Dada for the beating and Senf for the hints I relied on to finish.
Despite a scattering of stretched synonyms along the way, I thought this was light and enjoyable. I can’t do better than copy Jane’s top picks of 12a, 20a, 26a & 5d.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.
A gentle Sunday morning solve but can someone offer a parsing of 4D? I have the answer – by process of elimination and confirmed a quick Google search – but how to get there is eluding me!
Welcome to the blog.
4d – a synonym for expert (frequently encountered in crosswords, if nowhere else), BY from from the clue containing (admitting) IT from the clue.
Aha!
I (and Google!) had entirely the wrong answer! All is now clear.
Thank you sir!
Aha,
as did I. Thanks for asking the question and to Senf for clearing up the confusion.
My three – doh! Thanks Senf for the extra hint!
Thanks Senf. I had the wrong answer and knew it had to be wrong, got it now!
I came near to doing the same for 4d but couldn’t parse it.
I thought this was one of the best from Dada.
Light, entertaining, a breath of fresh air…
Many thanks to him for a most enjoyable puzzle!
Very enjoyable Dada this week that was a puzzle of two halves. The bottom was not a great problem but the top took some unravelling. Best clues for me were 3d and 5d but 4d was a bit of a pig which I still don’t understand fully. My last in was 2d which annoyed me as the anagram indicator was obvious but I missed it!!
Thx to all
****/*****
For 4d, see my response to Duckboy at Comment 10.
Thx for that, never sits comfortably with me that definition, look at the average xxx footballer for instance!
5d was my top selection from this highly entertaining grid. I thought our regular Sunday setter was on fine form, with a good mix of clues and some nice humour. Great stuff.
My thanks to Dada and Senf.
Enjoyable puzzle from Dada – an unexpected 2*/4* for us.
We have an answer for 14d but can’t parse the 2nd half of the clue.
Thanks Senf for the hints
Double definition
As in Valencia was severely affected by the bad weather
Think of how a success might be described in a few specific contexts.
What Jezza said
Hard to pick just one favourite so I won’t
Thanks to Dada and Senf
Delightful synaptic romp with tea and toast crumbs in bed. Winningest clue was certainly 3 Down, glad you Brits follow the sport to see how cricket could evolve.
Grateful dead fans somehow.
Mr & Mrs T
Boston
.
And, I am sure that you recognised the location I used for the illustration for 3d.
Good to see you. I hope you’re safely tucked up indoors and don’t have to go anywhere today!
Thank you both. Yep: ice on the pond today but barely supports the ducks (or the wannabe Bruins).
Mr T
Once again this week Dada has excelled himself with the use of his personal thesaurus, as well as there being quirkiness throughout the grid to my way of thinking.
2.5*/4.5* however for me.
Favourites 12a, 13a, 25a, 2d & 7d — with winner 13a, but honestly could have been any of my picks.
Laughs from 8a, 12a, 13a & 15a
Was a slow start but gradually got a hold of it.
Thanks to Dada & Senf
I enjoyed today’s puzzle despite it taking me as long to get 2 clues as it did the rest of the puzzle.
Top picks for me were 26a, 12a and 5d.
Thanks to Senf and the setter.
Great Puzzle but I still don’t get 4d even with Senf’s hint at #10. I will have to await the review for that one. Assuming I have it correct, of course but I can’t see it being anything else given the checkers. My COTD is the Hogwarts error at 20a.
Thank you, Dada for the fun. Thank you, Senf for the hints.
4d has just clicked – I did have it wrong.
I know exactly what you did, so did I.
I still can’t see a synonym for expert!
Your comment, both of them, went into moderation because you introduced a space, after the first D, in your alias. Now fixed and the duplicate comment deleted.
As I wrote in Comment 10, the required 3 letter synonym of expert is frequently encountered in crosswords, if nowhere else.
I have no doubt you know, Merusa and I think there will be others who have done the same. Daft really because the first answer didn’t parse at all. 😊😊
Mainly straightforward with a couple of head scratchers with a lot of good clues, so hard to pick a favourite but we’ll go with 26a. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Another great puzzle from Mr D!
Annoyed at myself for getting 4D wrong but otherwise it was a very enjoyable challenge. Thanks also to Senf for the blog ‘n hints (including the needed extra one!)👍
Cheers!
My brain has been turned to mush, but there are ticks all over the shop, nearly every answer a giggle! I was DNF with 23a and 24d, but with the hint for 24d I think I’ve got it now. How corny is 8a, but still a laugh. Yes, I use 1d myself, but isn’t that slang? Lovely word. Natch, I went reading everything I could find about rugby, even looked in BD’s “Mine”, I must learn not to follow these red herrings. So much to like, 20a is a winner, but 12a, 13a, 25a … no, I give up, too many to mention. Loved it all.
Thank you Dada, but a little bit foot off the pedal next time please. Thank you Senf, I needed you today!
Enjoyable but no stand out clues for me today. Thank you Dada and Senf
Done over about 300 miles in the back of the car (ugh) whilst DD1 drove us up to visit DD1 on her birthday. A welcome distraction – not a good day. I wish I had my own helicopter. However, what a great guzzle – I thought 13a was brilliant, a real gem. It took a long time to get the second word in 3d so thanks for your help, Senf. It is suddenly getting dark so just as well I have finished it. Many thanks to Setter and Senf.
Looked a horror at first but eventually everything fell into place.
I give in – I STILL haven’t got 4d – dim or what? Please . . . .
Today’s is considerably easier than the last few weeks Sundays, in my opinion anyway.
My favourite was the very simple 22d.
Thanks to Dada for the crossword and to Senf for the hints – and to anyone who’s going to sort out my 4d problem.
Kath – as it is a prize puzzle, all I can suggest is that you read my response to Duckboy. in Comment 10, a few times. The last four letters are reasonably straightforward.
Thanks, but I’ve just seen the light, at last!!
I had 3 possibilities for 24d so of course I picked the wrong one, which made my Homer somewhat elusive
I got it sorted with Senf’s help. I shall plump for 5d as favourite today
Thanks to Dada and Senf
Good Sunday Fare
3*/3* although I also fell into the 4d trap.
26a my favourites clue today
I got there in the end after a bit of a scuffle, some excellent clues which were enjoyable to crack. My favourite was Homer once I got it. I needed help with the second word in 3d from the hints
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints
Another instance when I worked on this challenge over the course of the day. North was most pliant half. Second word in 3d escaped me as stupidly did 26d. “Man” for 5d is a bit of an understatement! Thought around the wrong side for 19d. More novel anagram indicators. Thank you Dada and Senf.
Very enjoyable puzzle. Not the quickest solve but a relatively problem free solve. Am intrigued as to what the wrong answer to 4d is.
Thanks to D&S.
Ps my golf buddy forgot to check us in online so despite arriving 2hrs before the flight home from Faro Ryanair charged us €55 each to board. It’ll be the last business they get from us.
So am I intrigued on what the ‘wrong’ 4d might be. If 8a has not been solved there is one other word that might meet the definition of 4d, but once 8a is solved . . .
There’s no embargo on printing *wrong* answers, right???
I believe a lot of us plumped for xxxxxxx- which aligns with “honour” from the clue but doesn’t really fit with the rest of it!
Wrong! The red instructions clearly ask that you don’t include incorrect answers in comments
Ah, my apologies. Thanks for redacting my answer. Rookie error.
Sailed through this till I was left with 4d and 12a which took me ages. So many people say they got the wrong word for 4d which makes me wonder if I have! Thanks to setter and Senf.