Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3337
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 5th October 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A very pleasant and gentle puzzle from Dada this Sunday that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review of his puzzle for your kind perusal and valuable feedback.
This time, after finishing the puzzle, I became inquisitive to know about the etymology of storyteller, part of the wordplay to the clue of 5d and hence explored the net to have some information regarding the same. In general, a storyteller is a person who tells stories, either orally or in writing. Storyteller is a compound word formed from (1) story and (2) teller. I learnt that the word ‘story’ originated from Middle English ‘storie’ and Old French ‘estorie’ and ‘estoire’, from Latin ‘historia’ meaning ‘a narrative, account or history’. The Latin word was borrowed from Ancient Greek ‘historia’, meaning ‘inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation; narrative, history’. Over time, story in English evolved to mean both a factual account and a fictional narrative. The word ‘teller’ descended from Old English ‘tellan’, meaning ‘to count, recount, relate, narrate’. The word originally had senses of counting or enumerating, as in ‘tally’, before evolving into the meaning ‘to narrate or say’. So, put together, story and teller combined to form ‘storyteller’, literally meaning ‘one who tells stories’ or ‘someone who relates narratives, whether orally or in writing’0000000. The term ‘storyteller’ has been in recorded use in English since at least the 1700s, though oral storytelling as a tradition is, of course, ancient and cross-cultural. In 1709, storyteller was used in a neutral or positive sense, someone who writes or recounts stories, possibly historical ones. By 1748, it had acquired a secondary, pejorative sense, someone who tells untruth, a liar. This likely evolved from the idiomatic use of ‘telling stories’ to mean lying, particularly in British English. The phrase ‘to tell stories’ began to be used euphemistically to mean lying, particularly in reference to children. For example, ‘Don’t tell stories!’ meaning ‘Don’t lie!’. This usage likely developed because fictional stories were associated with exaggeration or imagination that overlapped with deception, especially in moral or parental contexts. The pejorative or ironic sense began to emerge by the 19th century, likely building on the idiom ‘telling stories’. This use was, and still is, context-dependent, often humorous or sarcastic, rather than literal accusation. For instance, ‘He’s a bit of a storyteller’ might imply that someone makes things up, but not necessarily with malicious intent. Today, the primary definition of storyteller is still positive, someone skilled in narration. But the secondary, ironic sense, as one who fabricates or exaggerates, is now well established, especially in informal or humorous contexts.
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Across
8a Talk about small herb (7)
PARSLEY: PARLEY (talk) as to talk with an enemy one disagrees with especially in order to end a conflict placed around (about) S (small) as the abbreviation for small takes to the definition of a bright-green umbelliferous herb with finely divided, strongly scented leaves, used in cookery
10a Roll filled with a chicken from the oven, say (7)
ROASTER: ROSTER (roll) as a roll or list showing the tasks that different people have to do at different times within an organisation containing or having inside (filled with) A from the clue leads to the definition of a foodstuff that is particularly suitable for cooking by prolonged exposure to heat in an oven, an example of which is chicken
11a Thinking reviewed later, touring Scottish island (9)
RATIONALE: The definition of a set of reasons or a logical basis for a course of action or belief, an example of which is thinking i.e. the process of considering or reasoning about something is arrived at from an anagram (reviewed) of LATER going around or surrounding (touring) IONA (Scottish island) as an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland
12a Pinkish ring returned, one kept (5)
LILAC: The definition of a pale pinkish-violet colour is got from CALL (ring) as to ring or telephone someone that came from the other side (returned) as a reversal in the across clue taking inside (kept) I (one) as the Roman numeral for one
13a Mammoth screened by molecular geneticist (5)
LARGE: The definition of an adjective meaning of considerable or relatively great size, extent or capacity, an example of which is mammoth i.e. huge, gigantic or exceedingly large is part of or hidden inside (screened by) [MOLECU]LAR GE[NETICS]
14a Football team attacking reserves (7)
ARSENAL: Double nounal definition; the second denoting a collection of weapons or a store or reserve of weapons, often used in the context of military attack or defence that takes to the first referring to the famous professional football club in the English Premier League based in Islington, North London, England, the full name of which is Arsenal Football Club
17a Prediction of the war creates wound (7,8)
WEATHER FORECAST: The definition of the prediction of the conditions of the atmosphere of a given location based on meteorological observations is reached when OF THE WAR CREATES from the clue is subject to an anagram (wound)
19a Halls bordering American country (7)
AUSTRIA: ATRIA (halls) as the plural term for ‘atrium’, the entrance hall of an ancient Roman house surrounding or encircling (bordering) US (American) as the adjectival abbreviation for the United States or belonging to the United States leads to the definition of a landlocked country in Central Europe located in the Eastern Alps
21a Grating last of cheddar, chopped food surrounding it (5)
HARSH: The definition of an adjective meaning rough or grating to the senses is obtained from the final or terminal letter (last) of [CHEDDA]R and having HASH (chopped food) as a dish consisting of chopped meat, potatoes, and fried onions covering or encircling it (surrounding it)
24a Finished, something for breakfast … (5)
TOAST: Double definition; the second being sliced bread browned on both sides by exposure to radiant heat, such as a grill or fire that is something commonly eaten in breakfast that takes to the first used especially in the informal phrase ‘to be toast’ meaning to be finished, ruined or doomed
26a … one of those with last drink (7,2)
BOTTOMS UP: The definition of an informal idiom used as one of the toasts or to tell people to finish their drinks, encouraging everyone to raise their glasses and drink and often signalling that the drink should be consumed until the glass is empty; hence the ‘bottoms up’ of the glass indicating that no more drinks are left is cryptically arrived at from a charade of BOTTOM (last) as meaning last or hindmost, used adjectivally to denote the final or lowest part of something and SUP (drink) as a verb meaning to drink it, especially by taking small amounts
27a State in a doubly awful housing development, originally (7)
INDIANA: The definition of a state in the Midwestern region of the United States is reached from an anagram (awful) of IN A and IN A (doubly) as IN A from the clue taken twice keeping inside (housing) the original or beginning letter (originally) of D[EVELOPMENT]
28a Jazz great playing, yours truly’s inspired (7)
RAGTIME: The definition of a form of jazz music of Black American origin with highly syncopated melody is reached from an anagram (playing) of GREAT having I’M (yours truly’s) as the setter of this clue referring to himself put inside or breathed into it (inspired)
Down
1d Note tears arising in wind (6)
SPIRAL: A charade of LA (note) as the sixth note of the scale in sol-fa notation and RIPS (tears) as a verb in the third person singular form denoting tears, rends or rives in an upward direction as reversals in the down clue guides to the definition of a verb meaning to wind, mount or proceed on a repeatedly curving course
2d Airport built around capital of Ethiopia, African city (8)
PRETORIA: An anagram (built) of AIRPORT placed about (around) the capital or head letter (capital) of E[THIOPIA] in the down clue takes to the definition of a city in and the administrative capital city of South Africa that is in the African continent
3d Singer: understand her completely (10)
ALTOGETHER: ALTO (singer) as a male singer with the highest voice, followed by GET (understand) as to understand, comprehend or grasp something and HER from the clue takes to the definition of an adverb meaning in total or completely
4d Member of secret society for seamen at sea (9)
FREEMASON: The definition of a member of a widespread secret fraternal order pledged to mutual assistance and brotherly love is reached from an anagram (at sea) of FOR SEAMEN
5d Bar where storyteller turned up (4)
RAIL: The definition of a horizontal bar extending from one post or support to another and serving as a guard or barrier is reached from LIAR (storyteller) as a person who tells lies, similar to a storyteller i.e. a person who tells more or less trivial falsehoods seen going upwards (turned up) as a reversal in the down clue
6d Hot line in forged notes (6)
STOLEN: The definition of a verb in participle form meaning taken another person’s property without permission or legal right and without intending to return it, an example of which is hot, a colloquial term denoting recently stolen or obtained dishonestly is reached from L (line) as the abbreviation for line placed inside (in) an anagram (forged) of NOTES
7d Allowed to support steel band (8)
BRACELET: LET (allowed) as a verb in the past tense meaning allowed to go or come preceded by or placed after (to support) BRACE (steel) as to prepare oneself for something difficult or unpleasant, an example of which is to steel i.e. to mentally prepare oneself to do or face something difficult takes to the definition of an ornamental band or chain worn around the wrist
9d Certainly ending in December – this period (4)
YEAR: YEA (certainly) as a formal term for an adverb denoting yes, indeed or truly followed by the end or terminal letter (ending) in [DECEMBE]R takes to the definition of a noun meaning a period of 365 or 366 days divided into 12 calendar months, an example of which is 2025, the current year
15d Revealing picture finished (3-7)
SEE-THROUGH: The definition of an adjective denoting something transparent or sheer, often used to describe revealing clothing is fetched from a charade of SEE (picture) as to look at, picture, view or visualise and THROUGH (finished) as denoting finished or arrived at completion or accomplishment
16d Array of stars, fabulous naked, by the sound of it? (5,4)
GREAT BEAR: The definition of a constellation or an array of stars on the celestial sphere perceived as a figure or design situated outside the zodiac and also known as Ursa Major is reached from GREAT (fabulous) as an informal term meaning fabulous, terrific or wonderful and a homophone heard by the audience (by the sound of it) of BARE (naked) as naked, nude or without covering or not wearing any clothes
17d Weaken soil breaking land (4,4)
WEAR THIN: The definition of a phrase meaning to diminish or weaken is arrived at from EARTH (soil) as soil and dirt, as distinguished from rock and sand partitioning or getting inside (breaking) WIN (land) as to attain or reach a goal or point, especially with difficulty, such as to ‘land a job’ or ‘land a deal’.
18d Croat is perplexed over first of clues in puzzle (8)
ACROSTIC: CROAT IS from the clue subject to an anagram (perplexed) and placed upon (over) the first or initial letter (first) of C[LUES] in the down clue takes to the definition of a poem or puzzle in which the first letters of each line spell a word or sentence
20d Modest bottles with drink (6)
SHANDY: SHY (modest) as an adjective meaning bashful, coy, diffident or modest preserves or stores inside (bottles) AND (with) as a conjunction denoting with, together with or along with guides to the definition of an alcoholic drink made of beer and ginger beer or lemonade
22d Result when computer program grasped by chicken (6)
HAPPEN: The definition of a verb meaning to occur, result, follow or take place as the consequence of something reaches when APP (computer program) as a computer program or short for application i.e. piece of software designed for a particular purpose that one can download onto a mobile phone or other mobile device is taken inside (grasped) by HEN (chicken) as a female domestic fowl
23d Spoon then is required, first of all – to do this? (4)
STIR: The initial or starting letters (first of all) of S[POON] T[HEN] I[S] R[EQUIRED] leads to the definition of a verb in the present indefinite tense meaning to move something, especially in liquid form in a container, around by continuous or repeated, usually circular movements of a spoon through it, in order the mix its constituents; the action implying by the clue’s surface involving a spoon
25d Transport exhibition set up (4)
TRAM: The definition of a passenger vehicle or rail transport powered by electricity conveyed by overhead cables and running on rails laid on a public road is arrived at from MART (exhibition) as a public marketplace where food and merchandise is sold or used for sale of goods by wholesalers to retailers, an example of which is an exhibition i.e. a large-scale public display of artistic works, crafts, farm or factory products, performance skills or objects of general interest seen in an upward direction (set up)
There were many clues that I liked in this puzzle such as 17a, 19a, 24a, 26a, 3d, 15d, 16d and 24d; 15d being the best of the lot. My prayers to the Almighty for the eternal rest and peace of BD and my thanks to Dada for the entertainment. Looking forward to being here again.