Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3299 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where more fluffy white stuff has been falling from the sky – it must have warmed up somewhat.
For me, and I stress for me, quite a challenge from Dada this week. Four longish ‘uns, only four anagrams (two partials), two lurkers, and no homophones, but, although I didn’t count them, there seemed to be plenty of double definitions, all in a symmetric 32 clues; with 16 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 – 1a, 18a, 21a, 24a, 25a, 30a, 3d, 15d, 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 Maybe test jumper with suit (7,5)
An insect jumper and (with) a synonym of suit.
9a Sanctuary oft empty, poor chap? (4-3)
A synonym of sanctuary and OfT with the interior letter deleted (empty).
12a First of actors in hit series (5)
The first letter of Actors inserted into (in) a slang synonym of hit (on part of the face).
17a Large empty tray shaken a lot (7)
An anagram (shaken) of LARGE and TraY with then interior letters deleted (empty).
18a Vegetable entirely visible in photo (7)
A three letter synonym of entirely inserted into (visible in) a synonym of photo.
25a World is hurting (4)
A double definition – the first is (another) world in our solar system.
28a Border crossed by wagon for designs available online (7)
A synonym of border contained by (crossed by) a type of (horse drawn?) wagon.
30a To whom it may concern, perhaps – is that a knife? (6,6)
A double definition – the first could be (perhaps) the opening to a generic item of correspondence.
Down
1d Deception at an end in competition (5-2)
A single word equivalent to at an end inserted into a three letter type of competition (based on its trophy?).
3d Knowledge about long room (7)
A three letter synonym of knowledge containing (about) a synonym of long (as in desire).
6d Pleased material included (7)
A double definition – the first is pleased as in satisfied?
7d Taken by surprise when crash hit (13)
A meteorological crash and a synonym of hit (in the past tense).
15d Open bin bags say (5)
BIN from the clue contains (bags) the two letter Latin based abbreviation equivalent to say.
20d Something in the 3 Down has to flower (7)
So assuming that you have solved 3 Down, TO from the clue and guess a flower – the illustration should help.
26d 19 Down plan, right to pull out (4)
A synonym of plan (as in prepare a document?) with the single letter for Right deleted (pull out).
27d Flatten element (4)
A double definition to finish with – the first might involve the use of 26 Across in DT 30818!
Quick Crossword Pun:
JUAN + TOO + FREE = ONE TWO THREE
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Musician and actor John William ‘Long John’ Baldry was born on this day in 1941; his earned his nickname as a result of his height of 6 feet 7 inches. He was one of the first British vocalists to sing the blues in clubs and shared the stage with many British musicians including the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. He enjoyed pop success in 1967 when Let the Heartaches Begin, written by Tony Macaulay and John Macleod, reached number one for two weeks in November of that year:
Largely gentle Sunday fare, no great need for specialist GK, good variety of clue types, equines still at rest, a few old friends, eg 30a. Podium places today to some short answers – 13a, 15d – and the amusing 21a.
Many thanks to Setter and Senf
Very enjoyable start to Sunday. Little assistance needed.
Dada on good form today if a tad towards his tougher side. I took ages to get 8d despite knowing what was wanted. It’s a term I don’t come across that often so it didn’t immediately come to mind. I did like the usual thing at 11a and the something in 3d at 20d but my COTD is the knife at 30a.
Thank you, Dada for the fun challenge. Thank you, Mr. Mustard for the hint.
It’s starting to thaw in The Marches, which means back to muddy feet and paws.
A couple of silly blips on my part, such as trying to squeeze an extra consonant into the spelling of 19d, and thinking of a different border for 28a.
My last one in was a long anagram.
Favourite clue – 30a.
Many thanks to Dada for the gentle and enjoyable puzzle.
A little tougher than normal for Sunday I thought
3*/3*
21a and d my favourites
Thanks to Senf and Dada
Took me a bit longer than usual for a Sunday Cryptic.
Last one in was 25a which I was not too happy about but the hint suggests that I am correct.
Clue of the day for me was the clever 15d.
The 5 inches of snow which we have had here to the north of Aberdeen for the last week is still showing no signs of melting. Not good news for those seaching for the missing sisters along the Dee.
Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Still no sign of the sisters, DaveP.
As you say, not good news.
3*/3*
A little tougher than recent Sundays. NW stubbornly held out as it took me an age to parse the silly number.
21a and 21d my favourites today.
Thanks to Dada and Senf.
If the silly number was in your NW, then you might have been holding your newspaper sideways? No wonder it seemed tougher …
This was spot on for a Sunday and should please most punters.
I always twitch when I see five letter clues with the checkers being the even-numbered letters but I managed to get through them with alacrity.
10a, at the moment, is like Dopey queuing up for another kiss: it won’t go away.
My podium is 12a, 21a and 8d.
Many thanks to De Do Do Do De and Senf
2*/4*
Hi T
I saw the other day you mentioned to CS that you lived in Grand Drive.
I know your school and mine were roughly 500 yards apart, but I didn’t know we both lived on the same road…
I lived at 80 Grand Drive from 1968 until around 1980. My grandmother lived next door at number 78, where my aunt ran a dental practice, and my uncle also ran a dental practice at number 86 – 3 doors up from us.
In 1980, we moved from SW20 to SW19; now living in Valencia, Spain.
Aha! A crazily small world.
I lived at 124. My mother loved into
St Teresa’s care home off The Ridgway, having lived there with my father for 50 years!
You must know The Pages as they lived very near you. Richard was the year above me. I believe one of his relatives founded Pizza Express in 1965.
I went to St John Fisher Primary, at the wrong end of Grand Drive, followed by St Catherine’s Middle School (an excellent school that is no longer with us) finishing up at Wimbledon College.
Good, good times.
I was very lucky with my education.
Are you coming to the jolly on the 25th as it would be great meet you. Well, I hope so…
I’ve just seen that you reside in Spain.
So, I guess you won’t be gracing us with your presence.
No, I won’t be there.
I met a lot of the gang roughly 13 years ago in Putney; BD, CS, Elgar, Jetdoc, Cephas and also others whose names I didn’t know then. I believe there are photos in The Gallery of that particular day.
Putney 2011.. The Bricklayers Arms
I’ll raise a glass to your good health, sir.
Good gracious / is that Grand Drive which runs up to Rayne’s Park Station? I travelled that road to get to Grammar School in Wimbledon. My brother went to Rutlish. If it is the same, I remember shopping with my mother at The Beverley end of GD and being Strafed by German planes – we dived into Dorcas the Drapers but the bullet marks were in the pavement for years.
Blimey! What must it have been like for you. Grim, grim times.
Yep, it is the same Grand Drive.
Dorcas the Drapers is a most excellent name.
Oh my goodness! I read Grand Drive and I’m taken right back to childhood. I lived on Lynmouth Ave. Knew the Beverley pub and roundabout well. Got the bus there to Raynes Park and would walk to school, The Ursuline Convent. My sisters went to St Catherine’s.
I was there from 1966 till 1976 when I married and moved to Sutton.
Trickier than usual, but easier than yesterday!
I couldn’t fully explain parsing of 19d, nor could my AI assistant.
Congratulations on this anniversary month for the blog.
Grateful for continuing support
For me, and I stress for me (™ Senf), this was T-R-I-C-K-Y, but enjoyable to unravel. The long ones were amusing, and fun to solve.
We have to go and collect The Youngster, who is ‘a little the worse for wear’ after attending a pal’s birthday bash in London last night. She has sent a green emoji face as her current state of being, so the journey may be arduous.
Thanks to Da-Doo-Ron-Ron and The Man From Manitoba
This is my 3rd attempt to comment as the previous two gave an error about the site having a technical problem.
I found this tricky but hugely enjoyable with lots of ticks on my page. I’ve plumped for my top ones being 20d, 28a, 30a and 18a.
Thanks to Senf and Dada.
2.5*/4*. I thought this was nicely challenging and great fun with a crowded podium comprising 21a, 30a, 8d & 15d.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.
Enjoyed this a lot but I’m not entirely happy with my answer to 23a but can’t see what else it could be. Anyway thanks to all on a jolly chilly morning,
A bit more challenging than previous sundays, but a satisfying solve, nevertheless. It took me ages to work out 11a and 13a, the first I know not why, the second because I have not heard that word before. My top clues are 1a, 20d and 11a when I finally worked it out. Thanks to the setter and to senf for hints.
13a – an acronym that became a word in the 1940s, but it seems to have fallen out of use – the OED On-Line suggests ‘Fewer than 0.01 occurrences per million words in modern written English.’
After a few weeks of benign Dada, today he has upped the trickiness. I have a completed grid, but I’m not wholly convinced by a few, so will check the review mid-week. The number of vegetables I went through trying to solve 18a with a different photo means that I’ve had more than my five a day! Felt a right turnip. 30a made me smile and is my cotd. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Dada’s on top form today – thanks to him and Senf.
I ticked 12a, 21a, 15d and 21d.
Those pesky four letter fellas at 23&25a put paid to any notion of a fast finish – taking longer to figure out than the rest of it. Maybe a case of frustration with those two but can’t say it was my favourite Sunday puzzle. That said I did think 8d a good fodder spot &15d was very clever & my pick.
Thanks as ever to D&S
Fairly breezed through the northern half but there were a few in the south that pulled me up short and got the old cogs turning. Just as well that 8d involved an anagram, not familiar to me with that particular second word. Top three for me were 18a plus 7&20d.
Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints – don’t recall ever seeing a video of Long John Baldry before today.
That was fun, very enjoyable.
As Huntsman said the shorter answers of 23,24 and 25 across held me up for longer than they should have especially 24a which was glaringly obvious really. My favourite was the excellent 30a
Thanks to Senf and Dada
On the whole a good puzzle from Dada with a couple of outstanding clues in 1a and 21d. However, I thought it was a little marred with 2 extremely poor clues in 23a and 15d, neither up to his usual high standard.
Thx to all
***(*)/***
For me this Dada offering was at the harder end of his spectrum and not quite as friendly this week. Definitely quirky in spots and the use of his personal thesaurus is evident. SW last to go in.
2.5*/4*
Favourites 18a, 23a, 30a, 15d, 19d & 20d — with winner 19d when the PDM hit the floor with a THUD!
Smiles for 29a, 5d & 27d
Not sure I understand Brian’s comments on two poor clues. Not a darn thing wrong with them as far as my brain is concerned … they made my favourites list.
Thanks to Dada & Senf for blog/hints
Good afternoon
One of those crozzies where you find a way in, come to a dead stop, and say to yourself “put yer pen away, bonny lad, that’s yer whack for the day!”
However, persistence paid. Plus several cups of strong tea. My only quibble is that I thought 28a should have been split 4,3. COTD is the excellent 30a, with runners-up 9a, and my last to fall, 15d.
Many thanks to Dada and Senf.
28a being a single word surprised me (and it’s 2 words in some dictionaries), but there also citations of it as a single word. The online Chambers doesn’t have it at all, but presumably the BRB has it as one word, given the setter and editor have printed it as one.
One word in the BRB!
I struggled and persisted with this and finally got there but it was a lot of effort. The 4 letter clues caused most difficulty and I liked the long edge clues which were definitely needed.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints.
Quite a ‘head-scratcher’ at times but got there in the end!
Very pleased to solve the long 8D to kick off, so it’s my COTD.
Thanks to Mr D for the tough challenge and, as ever, to Senf for another excellent blog ‘n hints 👍
Cheers!
A little late for me to be commenting, but I wanted to add my thanks to Dada for a terrific and satisfying puzzle. Thanks, too, to Senf for the blog. Last in 28a, and favourite 8d.
I found it very difficult, sadly not on my wavelength this week unfortunately.
Nice penny drop moment with 15d and one or two others too. Thank you to Senf and Dada.
Such neat clueing especially those that are short and sharp eg 11 and 23a. Dada continues to be my favourite compiler and thats saying something! Thank you Senf for the blog
I’m in the trickier than usual camp, and didn’t have the usual Dada sparkle today, but I think I am not firing on all pistons so not unexpected. Took me ages to get 18a, although I use them at least once a week. Needed help for 21d and still don’t understand the answer. Not sure there is a 8d on the TV anymore. People seem to watch at any time (not us, can’t stay awake that late 😉). Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Just when I thought I was getting the hang of Dada, we get this one!
Took me ages and I needed the hints for a couple.
So, definitely tricky for me.
See what next week brings .
Thanks to Senf and to Dada.
Still very cold here …no sign of the promised rise in temperatures.
I enjoyed this one, despite DNF of 2 and shameless bung ins for five or so, but I think my 21d is right. Miss cricket-know-nothing wrote in 1a on reading the clue, maybe there’s hope for me yet. I missed 28a and 26d, not bad. I liked 9a and 30a, 1a earns honourable mention, but fave was. 20d. This was a tricky one for sure, better luck next week!
Thanks Dada, of course I needed Senf’s help to keep me rolling along, so thanks.
I too stumbled over the line, the pesky little 4 letter ones proving most troublesome (The gods in 23 and 25a particularly, much the same as Huntsman). Thanks to Dada and Senf
I found this more straightforward than many Dada puzzles — quite possibly because of the lack of anagrams, which I tend to struggle with — but just as enjoyable.
My favourite was the experienced writer in 21d.
I’ve never understood by 13a is the fuel rather than … well, that’s all I can say today.
I agree about 13a, Smylers. Never understood it either. 🤔
Late on parade again, DD2 came over with husband and dogs and we spent ages chewing over my computer problems. A trip to J L didn’t result in a purchase as what I needed was out of stock. Grrr. This was a struggle and even thought I have finished it I cannot send it off with my computer not cooperating! I think 30a is favourite Many thanks to Messrs Setter and Senf.
I ve found this tricky today , and I’m still musing over my last one in 15d which I ve just looked at the hint for. Largely fun , and enjoyable…. Just twigged 15d 🙄.Thanks Dada and Senf.
Can’t comment on this crossword yet, did the toughie by mistake and didn’t realise til the end!
If anyone fancies trying a toughie I’d recommend todays.
Good steady solve.