ST 3333 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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ST 3333 (Hints)

by Senf  

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3333 (Hints)

Hints and tips by Senf

A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg with a perfectly palindromic puzzle number (very Mary Poppins) – I wonder if we have any Numerologists in our company who can offer any wisdom that may exist on such a number/string of numbers.

I hope that Daisygirl is sitting down when she reads this – on Thursday, it was so cold (high temperature of 8.9 degrees), wet, and miserable that I had to give the Red Scarf an early outing!

For me, and I stress for me,© Dada very friendly, but with a couple of clues along with the number of anagrams that might raise some ire,  8 anagrams (5 partials), 2 lurkers, and no homophones all in symmetric 28; 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, my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!

Candidates for favourite – 15a, 24a, 2d, 8d, 11d, and 21d.

As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, a number of the what I very subjectively perceive to be 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 Mention with care parlous seat of an empire (7,4)
The first clue that might raise some ire for the anagram indicator – An anagram (parlous) of MENTION and (with) CARE.

10a Toothed wheel has vessel reversing – that’s the spirit! (6)
A toothed wheel (in a gear train?) and the reversal (has . . . reversing) of a type of (metal) vessel (found on a grocery store shelf?).

12a Again send off for instrument that doesn’t show Celsius (7)
A wind instrument (that may be popular with children) with the single letter for Celsius deleted (that doesn’t show).

15a English city freshman? (9)
The second clue that might raise some ire – divide freshman as (5,3) then find a synonym of fresh and add the childish name for a man (of which there are four in a set of 32 men used in a board game).

22a Stop – being very loyal? (7)
A double definition – the first might relate to blood.

24a Smooth skin on animal, old bovine beast (7)
A synonym of smooth, the outer letters of (skin on) AnimaL, and the single letter for Old.

27a High, when one over the eight? (2,5,4)
Probably nothing to do with excess consumption of alcoholic beverages more like being in a euphoric state because of, for example, a remarkable achievement.

Down

2d Do any changes after number twelve (7)
An anagram (changes) of DO ANY placed after a two letter abbreviation for number.

7d Free swimming in French sea (11)
An anagram (swimming) of IN FRENCH SEA.

8d Wife getting love when squeezed by children, faints (6)
All of the single letter for Wife and (getting) the letter that represents the score of love in a racquet game contained (squeezed) by male children.

11d Dog given little drinks pants (5,6)
Guess a breed of dog and (given) a term for little drinks (such as wee drams?).

18d Animation in a boy with racket (7)
A from the clue, a synonym of boy, and (with) a synonym of racket (nothing to do with SW19).

19d Metal sheet in fact’s opening, work to secure it (7)
All of IN from the clue and the first letter (opening) of Fact inserted into (to secure it) a synonym of work.

23d Indian dish in Dundee’s eaten (5)
One of the lurkers (eaten) found in three words in the clue.

Quick Crossword Pun:

NEVER + TEA + TEE = NEFERTITI

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American singer, songwriter, musician, and a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll, Charles Hardin Holley, known professionally as Buddy Holly, was born on this day in 1936. His life was cut short by a tragic aircraft accident in February 1959. With his band The Crickets there were two number ones in the UK, this is the first from 1957:

61 comments on “ST 3333 (Hints)”

  1. Not the easiest end of Dada’s spectrum, I thought. 7d took some unravelling and I still can’t parse it. I spelt the animation at 18d incorrectly so that messed up 22a for a time. The freshman at 15a raised a smile as did Bill and Josephine getting in touch at 25a. My COTD is the instrument that doesn’t show Celcius at 12a. It had me going through as many thermometers I could think of.

    Thank you, Dada for the challenge. Thank you, Colonel for the hints and Buddy. I missed the anagram at 7d – doh!

  2. I found this chewy but looking back I can’t see why. Perhaps it’s the thunderstorm putting me off and upsetting my gardening plans.
    Lots to like though with my top picks being 15a, 24a and 9a.

    Thanks to Senf and Dada.

  3. I thought this was an excellent Sunday puzzle. A bit more gentle than yesterday with lots of PDM clues. I liked 15a (though I didn’t fully parse always forgetting the game reference to man), 24a, 25a and 7d which was a great anagram and my LOI. Thanks as always to Dada and Senf PS I like the anagram indicator in 1a!

  4. For me, and I stress for me (© Senf), this started out as a ‘Waaaahhh!’ guzzle, but such often turn out to be the most enjoyable to solve, as was the case here. I had to whittle away at it glue by glue (the abundance of anagrams helped).

    Whooshing orf now as we have a family luncheon/get together today, in a new venue (to us). I hope they have a vegan roast.

    Thanks to Da-doo-ron-ron and The Man From Manitoba, with his colourful neckwear.

  5. I thought this was quite a friendly offering from Dada today. 7D gave me some pause for thought but became my favourite when the penny dropped.

    It’s just started raining again here, but my, don’t the lawns need it.

  6. 11d. So I combined the generic name for an extra- terrestrial planet surface explorer, also what most dogs in the 60s were called, with the small drinks, and the internet confirmed the result is a thing. Pressed ‘submit’. Am now considering my membership of the RCVS. Unless VAR or popular opinion come to my aid, I can write off all hope of a pen.
    Many thanks Senf and Dada.
    COTD 1a or 7d made me smile most.

    1. I know exactly what you mean with 11d. I wondered if the answer referred to those multi-pocketed thingies or had I just made it up. Decided I’d just made it up, so thought about it for ages until the obvious punched me on the nose like a, well…
      Top three are 9a, 24a and 19d.
      Thanks to Dada and Senf.

    2. Well GD. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one re 11d, as I think I put the same . Submitted mine too, so no pen for me either.

  7. I thought this an excellent puzzle, initially seeming tricky but slowly becoming possible with some excellent clues. 7d was my favourite and I thought a brilliant clue.

    Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints.

  8. A fairly benign Dada that was a breath of fresh air after the recent string of excellent but brain manglers. The answer to 8d is such a great word but my podium comprises the iffy swamp at 20a, 16d and 21d in top spot. Thanks to Dada and Senf.

  9. Didn’t find this quite as friendly as our reviewer seems to have done but perhaps that’s just my sluggish weekend brain – who am I kidding, doesn’t make a jot of difference which day of the week it is! Finally beat all the clues into submission and arrived at a top three of 24a plus 11&21d.

    Thanks to Dada for the Sunday work-out and to the razor-sharp Senf for the hints – think I’ll leave the Buddy Holly track alone, thank you…..

  10. Thanks to Dada and Senf. Fairly easy for a Sunday with a relatively quick solve. LOI 22a COTD 11d.

  11. This wasn’t too bad compared to last Sundays. It took some and spelling mistakes didn’t help either. The anagrams were fun but. Thank you Senf and to the setter.

  12. An entertaining Sunday puzzle with plenty of anagrams especially in the top half of the grid. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
    I’m waiting for the apoplectic response to 15a from the rabbit hutch.
    The clues making my podium were 25a, 8d and 11d.

  13. Thanks, Senf for your analysis. I researched your Mary Poppins observation. Unfortunately, I could not find the original grid from 1965. Perhaps someone has a copy? Maybe one of the setters could produce a full blown version, with both grid and answers being truly palindromic.

    1. Being blissfully unaware of said puzzle, I was merely referring to the alliteration, a technique often used by Mary Poppins, in ‘perfectly palindromic puzzle.’

    2. Rossophile, Sounds like it was an extremely clever crossword. If chatGPT cannot find it … what hope for us mere mortals?

      I was expecting a few humorous palindromes in reply, but just these stupid ones from me … Hic!

      Wow! Madam, was it a cat I saw? Refer to the level on your radar

  14. A great Sunday challenge, 1.5*/ 4*, plenty of wit, misdirection and devious anagrams.
    Favourites today include English city at 15a, cracking anagram at 7d and the stones at 21d
    Thanks to setter and Senf

  16. That was definitely a curate’s egg for me and comprised mostly solvable goodies but also several troublesome numbers e.g. parlous is a bit iffy in 1a and 24a is obtuse. 11d Fav but was fed to me by MrG. Thank you Dada and Senf.

  17. Nope.
    Completely unable to finish this, even with Senf’s excellent hints. This is absolutely no fault of the setter – the clues simply did not “click” with me.
    I had to resort to nefarious means in order to complete the puzzle (something I have not had to do of late), which did not make me feel good about myself.
    I’m glad so many others enjoyed it. I hope I will get back in the groove for next week’s puzzles.
    Many thanks to the setter and to Senf.

  18. This was my first puzzle in over two weeks away so I was glad it wasn’t overly testing. Good fun, though, with a dead heat for favourite between 7 and 11d, with 19d my final entry.

    My thanks to Dada and Senf.

  19. Like Senf says in his intro I thought this Dada puzzle was again this week at the easier end of his spectrum. A couple of quirky bits in there but his personal thesaurus appeared to be collecting dust this week.

    2*/4.5* for me

    Favourites 9a, 10a, 25a, 27a, 11d & 16d — with winner 11d
    Smiles for 10a 12a, 25a & the winner of course.

    Thanks to Dada & Senf

    1. Many — if not all — of the automatically generated avatars changed following a major update to the WordPress software performed by Mr K recently. See FAQ #22 to learn how to create your own personal avatar that would not be subject to the whims of the system software.

    2. They all have, and I plan to change mine – when I pluck up courage as anything technical I touch seems to go wrong.

        1. Avatars based on personal photos seem to have ‘survived’ the WP update. As Falcon says, it was the ‘system generated’ ones that were impacted.

  21. For me too and I stress for me .. I thought this to be on the easy side for a prize crossword, but making it an enjoyable solve. No hair tearing out moments and with the big lad sleeping at my feet 11d couldn’t have been easier😊. Cotd the smooth bovine at 24a. Made me smile. Thanks to setter and senf.
    Incidentally, can anyone tell me what the picture in today’s Griddler represents .. I’m all to pot and in the dark with it!

          1. Just as well some people still buy the real paper .. if it wasn’t for going to the newsagent in the morning there would be little point in getting out of bed🤣 . I’m still in the dark with the griddler though!

      1. Have you tried doing the EV with the help of the hints on here, Steve ?
        Worth a go….

        I stared at it in incomprehension for decades, then found that with the help of the hinters I could do bits of most puzzles and actually complete a few.

        If I can …..etc etc

        1. Good point, OM. I saw an acquaintance of mine in the village shop one Sunday and he bought the Telegraph. I asked if he did the crossword (no body does around here) and he said he most certainly did. Thinking I’d found a crossword pal, I asked what he thought of Dada. He told me he didn’t bother with it and only did the EV every Sunday. When I said it was beyond me he said it was for him to begin with but he gradually saw how it worked.

          I think you suggestion has a lot of merit and I might give it a go.

          1. Steve – I’d start with a Chalicea EV. I generally succeed with those, in the end, sometimes finishing on Tuesday or even Wednesday, but having enjoyed the marathon. I rarely finish, nay barely start, some other compilers’ offerings. Today, I ground to a halt with Charybdis. Chalicea’s last EV was 1709.

            1. That’s a good idea because Chalicea is my favourite setter. I’ll have a look at 1709 to see if I can make sense of it.

  23. 15a was a bit of a no no especially as it could have been split 5 and 3 and still have made sense sort of, I’m surprised it got past the editor. The rest was fairly straightforward. Favourite was 11d. Thanks to Dada and Senf.

  24. Definitely not my day today…needed several of Senf’s excellent hints and then still needed to electronic gizmo to help me finish.
    Cannot seem to get anything done today…..so am going to stop trying.

    Many thanks to Senf and to the setter.

  25. This fell into place quite nicely with my LOI being 11d which put a smile on my face when I put down the pen.

    I don’t understand RD’s issue with the informal term for rook as it’s been around for centuries. There must be more to it.

    My podium is 25a, 27a and 11d.

    Mt to Radio and the Manitoban mountie.

    2*/4*

  26. What a perfect puzzle today from Dada, thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. I don’t think I’ve ever said 2d, with 25a being my LI as I still don’t see how that works. Plus I groaned when I saw “pants” in 11d as I have a brain block when it comes to the newer UK meaning, but fortunately didn’t impact this one. Joint COTD to 27a and 21d, both great. Thanks to Dada and Senf, dream team 😊.

    1. :smile:

      Your comment went into moderation as you missed ‘The Battle of Hastings’ out of your e-mail address which I have added back in.

    2. Re 25a think [redacted –it’s a prize puzzle]. Hope this helps and I don’t get banished !

      2. You should know that when you write that you hope you don’t get banished that it is exactly what will happen!

  27. A nice puzzle for a Sunday , not too easy, not too hard. As GD above though I had the wrong word for the ‘thing’ in 11d having checked the hint . An enjoyable solve so thanks to Dada and Senf

  28. Breezed through this one after a couple of truly miserable efforts at the end of last week which dented my confidence somewhat. The mythical is winging my way, I can feel it.

    Getting 1a and the down clues descending from it got me to a flier, and though the SW was a tad trickier than the rest, I seemed to be exactly on the right wavelength. LOI were the canine pants at 11d. */****

  29. Terrific as always with Dada, the English city and stones as my favourite clues. Thank you Senf but I failed miserably with the quickie pun

  30. Late on parade roday, which has been a busy one (mowed borh lawns, ,picked quinces, courgettes, toematoes and an aubergine from my veggie plot, made ratatouille to freeze) with my son visiting. Unusually, this SPP was practically a ‘read and write’. I don’t think I’ve ever finished a SPP that quickly! I loved rhe Lego clue at 11d and the cryptic definition at 27a and the 7d anagram. Thnks to Dada for a very fine puzzle and to Senf for the hints.

  31. So very late today no one will read this, loved the challenge. 11d was last one in, I was thinking of Baden Powell, my father was one of those. I’m most disappointed as I didn’t see the lunar eclipse. I jumped in my car and drove out of the village to a spot in open fields with a good skyscape. Clouds. Rather boldly got talking to a man in a car also parked up there who turned out to be a professional photographer! He was also moon watching. He gave me his card so I might see if I can use him for the village magazine. George said I was mad. Of course by 9.30 the sky was clear but the drama was all over. I’d love to see the palindromic guzzle! Many thanks to the setter and to Senf – I’m tickled pink that you think of me when toy wear the red scarf!🧣

  32. Thanks to X-type for a fun solve (falsetto clue as my favourite) and to Smylers for terrific illustrations

  33. Answered about 90% of this puzzle on the internet, upon which the website most frustratingly refused to bring up the part completed puzzle … Monday’s puzzle came up fine … something dodgy going on I think !

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