Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3336 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where Summer is refusing to go quietly as we have a forecast of four of five sunny days with temperatures in the ‘middle 20s’.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quirkily friendly – four long ‘uns, only one of them an anagram, 5 anagrams (no partials), 2 lurkers, and no homophones all in a symmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, you should/might 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 – 1a, 27a, 7d, 8d, 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 Vicissitudes – of a rollercoaster ride? (3,3,5)
A phrase to describe the vertical motions of a rollercoaster ride?
9a Various lines with a tag put in binder (10,4)
An anagram (various) of LINES and (with) A TAG PUT IN.
17a Note – one’s played (6)
A double definition – the second was originally made from shellac.
19a Storm – is that electrical? (6)
A double definition – the first is nothing to do with the illustration.
22a Tongue rolling over universal medicine briefly (4)
The reversal (rolling over) of all of the single letter for Universal and a synonym of medicine with the last letter removed (briefly).
27a Unstable nation, something of a split country? (6,8)
Part of a dessert named a split and a country not ruled by a monarch.
28a Spotlight something to spend on the theatre (6,5)
The lowest denomination coin (something to spend) in most European countries, the two letter Latin based synonym of on, and a synonym of the theatre.
Down
2d Result of flipping ungainly drop? (7,7)
A double definition (I think) – the first might relate to part of a cooking process especially on Shrove Tuesday.
5d Birth at home after transfer set up (6)
The usual two letter synonym for at home placed after the reversal (set up) of a term for (automatic?) transfer of money.
7d Average boy after song enters playing instrument (4,2,8)
All of guess a three letter boy placed after a three letter song is inserted into (enters) a term for playing a stringed instrument.
10d Money I say remains on the table? (11)
A slang synonym of money and a (school slang) term for expressing surprise equivalent to I say.
15d Five entertained by dance party (5)
The Roman numeral for five contained (entertained) by a lively dance.
21d Bird surviving wife, both with wings clipped (6)
The surviving wife, the last of six, and bOTh with the outer letters removed (wings clipped).
26d Article though for neighbour (4)
One of the indefinite articles and a synonym of though.
Quick Crossword Pun:
MEATY + HORROR + LOGICAL = METEOROLOGICAL
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Former French actress, singer, model, and animal rights activist Mme. Brigitte Bardot is 91 years young today. She acted in 47 films, performed in several musicals, and recorded more than 60 songs. In 1965 she co-starred with Jeanne Moreau in an adventure comedy film Viva Maria! as two women both named Maria who meet and become revolutionaries in the early 20th century. This an extract from the film which I have to say was suggested to me by a friend:
I found Dada a bit tough today and it took a long while to get into it. The various lines at 9a threw me completely as did the average boy at 8d. So, all in all, a bit quirky but still enjoyable. My COTD is the unstable nation at 27a.
Thank you, Dada for what proved, for me, to be quite a challenge. Thank you, Colonel for the hints.
I even found the quickie difficult – must be having an off day.
Not just you, I found this tricky in places and Peter struggled with the Quickie.
I thought this was a lovely puzzle with some clues that felt cleverly quirky but were very satisfying. After writing in 1a I thought it was going to be straightforward solve but in fact I found it quite difficult overall. Annoyingly I was defeated by 12a despite having the crossers and working out the clue structure. Favourites were 10d, 21d (for the surviving wife) and 28a Thank you Dada and Senf
2.5*/2.5*. A mixed bag for me today with some good clues, some iffy surfaces and a few hmms. A handful of clues on the LHS took me considerably longer than the rest of the puzzle.
My podium comprises 27a, 10d & 21d.
Thanks to Dada and to Senf.
This is as good a Sunday Puzzle as Dada has given us for some time – thanks to him and Senf.
I particularly liked 28a, 2d, 7d, 10d and (my favourite) 21d.
Agreed. Great puzzle, and I concur with the choices. Looks like 27a might be the blog favourite.
Thanks to all.
I, too, found this puzzle difficult. I found mysef wondering what was in the compiler’s mind and trying to guess so it was sloq progress. I got there inthe end but it was like wading through treacle. My COTD was 2d with the clever use of double meaning followed closely by the Lego clue at 4d, a favourite comment of mine. Third on the podium is, another clue with clever use of double meaning, 27a thanks to Dada for a rather intriguing guzzle and to Senf for the hints.
Pretty tricky and am not sure my 12a is right. Thanks to all
I checked my answer and realised I’d misspelt 4d!
The correct solution parses correctly for me.
The container word is in the BRB Have I said too much?
A bit clunky.
Great work as ever from the setter (first two notes of Beethoven’s 5th), and the Colonel
In my opinion, 12a involves a vulgar abbreviation. More than a bit clunky. Yuk!
Ditto!
Is it really that bad, gents?
You must hate nearly all modern slang and abbreviations, then.
How are you with, say, admin, pic and doc (short for document)?
I know it’s irrational but I don’t mind admin.
I abhor p** and d**. I can’t even bring myself to type them
Gosh.
I made my peace with all this stuff yonks ago. I even use some of them!
Fighting this constant tsunami of new lingo * will exhaust you, RD.
Embrace it!
* Does that one irk, too?
Some abbreviations are aggravating. A newish host on one of the quiz shows we like to watch over here has a first name of Ryan, but the announcer inevitably calls him “Ry” throughout the rest of the show – sets my teeth on edge.
Nearly all multi-syllable names get shortened. Like the Aussies, I do it a huge amount.
I would call Ryan Ry, for sure.
I am called disappointing for a reason, BL…..
Cor! This was tricky.
A DNF for me as I couldn’t get the second word of 2d (I’ve now looked it up)
I liked ‘surviving wife’ in 21d and am a huge fan of the expression in 7d. 19a and 28a both took far longer than they should have done.
Without giving too much away, can anyone tell me why ‘boy’ means the three letters in the answer? I get that he can be called that but is that it? Doesn’t it need more than that? Maybe not.
My podium is 19a, 27a and 10d.
MT to Radio and our Canadian comrade *
4*/4*
* I can’t tell you how many times I hear people mispronunce camaraderie saying the first a as an o.
The name you refer to, TDS, can also refer to the male of certain species. (That was a bit tricky).
Gosh. That’s pushing it.
I’ve seen male before but it’s accompanied by a reference to the animal kingdom….I think.
If that is correct * then it’s been duly noted.
* Or should that be ‘right’ after yesterday’s query by Mickey Dubs.
Look in the mirror!
I didn’t want to give it away, Day Zee.
From my perspective you are overthinking the use of ‘boy’ in 7d. A common usage of ‘boy’ (or ‘girl’) in a clue which I somewhat lazily hinted as a ‘guess a boy’ when perhaps it should have been ‘guess a boy’s name.’
Ah, okay,
So, it is just ‘Guess a name’.
I suppose just Radio used boy as opposed to man just to mix things up.
Thank you, S.
As this name is also a common noun, maybe Radio could have used the animal because it’s a term for a particular musician which fits nicely in the clue.
But, who I am, a mere mortal, to tell these behemoths what to do!
Toughest Sunday that I can remember, but I always struggle with the Dada ones.
A lot of these had to be reverse engineered, especially 7d.
Never heard of the term at 2d being used, but there’s always a first time for everything, last one in was the bird, took ages to fathom the wife bit.
Can’t say I really enjoyed it, but horses for courses and all that…..
Term first used in 1928…
Ta Rosso, I was riding a motocross bike (illegally) on military ground once when an A10 flew about 20 ft over my head, scared the life out of me!
I was on a pea harvester in Norwich area, many years ago, now and we were too tempting a “target” for the local A10’s. Scared the living daylights out of me. Great flying though!
Heard it a lot during WW2 but then you are too young ….,,.
Quirky – yes. Friendly? Not as far as I’m concerned! 1a slotted in nicely and then it became something of an uphill battle which I struggled to win. Ah well it’s done now and I did find a few that made me smile along the way. Top awards going to 28a plus 5&10d.
Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints. A very happy birthday to Ms Bardot – hope the old video clip makes her smile.
It certainly made me smile.
22a was my final entry in what was for me a fairly tricky but mainly enjoyable puzzle. I thought 21d was the standout clue by a mile, and that alone made the whole solve very worthwhile, along with 27a.
My thanks to Dada and Senf.
An enjoyable Sunday Cryptic, just about right for a prize puzzle.
Almost everything in film at 12a, spend on the theatre at 28a and the wings clipped in 21d were my top three.
My thanks to Dada and Senf.
A bit of a step up in difficulty (well for me anyway) took a couple of goes before it started to flow. Was held up by 9a and 21d for an age! Finally got there without peeking at the hints. Feel like I need a lie down after all that. Thanks to the setter and Senf for kindly dedicating some of their Sunday to helping those that struggled.
I’m with you in thinking this was a challenge, which is right and proper for a PP. I’m not sure about 22a – I haven’t committed the pen yet and the comments about vulgarity confuse me even more. I shall ponder for a while. 21d was brilliant and 8d a close second. Thank you so much Mr Setter and thanks also to the Man in the Red Scarf. Miserable sort of wettish day here, my father used to say ‘it’s not conducive ‘. We would ask ‘not conducive to what?’ And the answer was not conducive to doing anything! Sunday blues.
I found this tricky but enjoyable. LOI was 2d as it was new to me.
Top picks for me were 21d, 27a, 8d and 7d.
I also liked the Quickie pun.
Thanks to Senf and Dada.
Compared to last Sunday’s Dada puzzle, this one was quite at the other end of his spectrum … as in far more tricky.
Definite evidence of the use of his personal thesaurus this week as well as quirkiness all over the grid
2.5*/4* though, after all said and done.
Favourites 1a, 17a, 19a, 8d, 10d & 15d — with winner 17a
Smiles for 1a, 8d & 15d amongst others.
Thanks to Dada & Senf
A dnf from me today. If this is Dada being friendly I’m not looking forward to an unfriendly one. I’ve thrown in the towel with two to go that are holding out even with the checkers. My cotd from those I did solve is 27a as it raised a chuckle. Thanks to Dada and Senf. I’ll check the review later in the week for the two that held out.
1.5* / 4* well I really enjoyed this one, slightly held up in the west but no real problems. Some great misdirection and plenty of humour.
Favourites include table remains at 10d, average 7d and the abs manipulator at 8d.
Also an excellent quickie pun.
Many thanks to Senf and setter for a Sunday treat
Thanks to Dada for a very tricky puzzle but with perseverance doable. Thanks Senf for the hints which we didn’t need but helped clarify our thinking was correct. COTD 21d LOI 2d.
I was just composing this post to ask for help with 21d (I had the answer, but couldn’t – for the life of me – parse it) when there was an almighty clang, and I had to grudgingly admit to the superb cleverness of that clue.
That said, I did not particularly enjoy this puzzle. It’s just a wavelength thing on my part – but I did not like 2d – not a phrase I’ve ever heard (and can’t imagine ever hearing it or using it), and 12a (assuming I have it correct) I just thought “hmmm”.
Many good clues too, but overall it didn’t quite float my boat.
Many thanks to the setter and to Senf whose hints I needed today.
Quirky but doable for the most part but ended up with three bung ins in the south (all correct) but that rather took the gloss off this for us. A couple of candidates for favourite but we’ll go with 10d. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
A nice steady solve , held up a bit at the end with a couple of the longer clues . Last one in was 2d which took far too long in hindsight. My favourite clue was 7d. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Found this quite tricky on a grid that only has 2 crossers between the upper left half and the lower right half. The latter went in very easily, the upper left was far more difficult – for me © etc. 9a was my last one in as I transposed two letters when writing in 3d preventing me confirming 9a was an anagram – doh!!! Two big ticks today went to the 27a unstable nation and 8d clear bender.
Overall very enjoyable, as usual, thanks Senf and dada.
4d held out to the end, and a great quickly pun. Thank you Dada and Senf
When submitting on line I get a message stating “the string doesn’t match the expected pattern”. If it means my submission is incorrect, I can’t see how because I triple check before submitting.
Anyone else getting this? 🤔
Hi Steve,
Yesterday and today I got something similar. It went off the screen too quickly for me to screenshot it but it seemed to have the word Jason in it! It wasn’t the same message as yours but did give me the feeling that something wasn’t correct. It did say ‘view submitted puzzle’ in the box though.
The string message and also if you saw a reference to JSON means the site or app has a problem or corruption. Think you’ll have to raise a ticket with DT IT
I got the JSON error message both days as well. Madflower, your comment reminded me to be poised to screenshot it!
JSON is a data format often used when transmitting data from one system to another. Hopefully our puzzles have submitted fine and the error was just in the server sending a message back acknowledging the submission. But I don’t suppose it matters much either way: not winning because of a JSON error is going to feel pretty much the same to not winning for not being that’s puzzle’s Chosen One!
I was almost at the half way mark, thinking “oh this is not so bad” – silly me. And then the rest was quite tricky. 22a was a bung in as I couldn’t reason it out even with the hint, I had forgotten the name of 9a (Peter came to my rescue), and LI was 5d as I failed to think of 5d “birth” in anything other than obstetrics. Hope that doesn’t get me in the naughty corner. Did love 17a and 7d. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
This puzzle beat me in my relaxed weekend mode however there were some fun clues which, after all, is what I’m looking for : cryptic fun
Not a lot of fun to be had today. I go along with comments above describing it variously as clunky, rough, quirky and yuk. Methinks I probably protest too much but I really don’t go to cryptic crosswords to have to identify ever-increasing ways to describe anagram prior to solving the clue. Still can’t work out where piece comes into 6d solution and similar problem with ‘I say’ in 10d. 21d was unparsed bung-in. North sleeker than bottom half. I am afraid I hadn’t previously come across 2d term. Thanks for the work-out Dada and also TVM Monsieur Moutarde for much needed help with several sticky patches.
Hi AV
Piece is [redacted –it’s a prize puzzle] and [redacted –it’s a prize puzzle] genius. It’s an [redacted –it’s a prize puzzle](great word)
More redactions than the Mueller Report – slapped wrist 😀
Good shout Hoots.
It’s an extremely fine line between the clues us solvers occasionally give and those of the blogger.
It’s all in the instructions in RED under the hints which have been included in Prize Puzzle blogs for almost the whole life of the blog.
I suggest that if you want to provide hints you contact Gazza and discuss becoming a blogger.
I suppose the best thing for solvers, who don’t want to wait a week or so for the answers, is to go to Danword as they have them 99% of the time.
21d think [redacted –it’s a prize puzzle] for first part
The penny has only just dropped (boing!) re parsing of 21d.
21d. So clever. A bit of a challenge for me (no change there). I enjoyed it, thank you both.
6d for [redacted –it’s a prize puzzle], 10d [redacted –it’s a prize puzzle] which equals ?
Hopefully sends you in the right direction
It’s a fair cop!
Tricky but I got there in the end. I am glad it wasn’t just me. I thought the long ones were entertaining particularly my favourite 27a.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints
Not sure I’m with Senf in finding this one at the friendlier end of the Dada spectrum but certainly agree with Gazza that it’s one of his best Sunday prize puzzles in a while. Liked all of the long ‘uns but if forced to pick a fav it’d have to be the parsing crumpet scratch that was the clever 21d.
Thanks to D&S
Mostly this felt easier-than-often … except for the two bunged-in answers, where the wordplay was beyond me. Thank to you Senf for explaining 21d and commenters above for triggering me to work out 12a.
My top few are 7d (instrument player), 10d (money on the table), and the Senf-assisted 21d. Thank you to Dada for the enjoyment.