Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31072
Hints and tips by Mr K
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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to a solid Friday puzzle.
In the hints below most indicators are italicized, and underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions. Clicking on the answer buttons will reveal the answers. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
1a New insight he develops about something King wrote (3,7)
THE SHINING: An anagram (develops) of the single letter for new with INSIGHT containing (about) HE. The King here is author Stephen
6a Tooth grinding initially on nut (4)
FANG: The first letter (initially)of GRINDING comes after (on, in an across clue) a nut or enthusiast
10a Around a month to gather very fleshy fruit (5)
GUAVA: A from the clue and an abbreviated month are all reversed (around) containing (to gather) the single letter for very
11a Club, maybe twenty pounds originally, that golfer keeps (9)
SCORECARD: What a club defines by example (maybe) is preceded by (… originally) another word for twenty pounds
12a Sick nan Reece visits endlessly in hospital ward (9,4)
INTENSIVE CARE: An anagram (sick) of NAN REECE VISIT[s] (endlessly)
14a Last object, present Spooner delivered (8)
HINDMOST: Give the Spooner treatment to the fusion of object or resent and present or compère
16a More suitable person installing heating system? (6)
FITTER: A person who might install a heating system or some other machinery is also a word meaning more suitable
18a Unnerve Republican, withdrawing billion from campaign (6)
RATTLE: The single letter for Republican with a serious military campaign minus (withdrawing) the single letter for billion
20a Make light of not working after operation (4,4)
PLAY DOWN: A synonym of “not working”, often applied to computer systems, comes after another word for operation
22a Rub lousy bonce vigorously and everything'll be fine! (4,4,5)
BOBS YOUR UNCLE: An anagram (vigorously) of RUB LOUSY BONCE
26a Removed from court, outwardly enraged by additional charge (9)
EXTRACTED: The map abbreviation for court and the outer letters (outwardly) of ENRAGED come after a word for an additional charge
27a Part of airport, area for expansion finally (5)
APRON: Join together the single letter for area, for or in favour of, and the final letter of expansion
28a Fully cooked, it's a brownish colour reportedly (4)
DONE: A homophone (reportedly) of a brownish colour
29a Untouchable actors abroad hosting small party in Africa (10)
SACROSANCT: An anagram (abroad) of ACTORS containing (hosting) both the single letter for small and the abbreviation for an African political party
Down
1d Having week away couple leave country (4)
TOGO: Another word for couple minus the single letter for week (having week away) with leave or depart
2d Discovered family members in high spirits (7)
ELATION: Another word for family members minus its outer letters (dis-covered)
3d Following try Gloucester's Number Eight gets red card (5)
HEART: Following try in a court of law comes the eighth letter of GLOUCESTER
4d Inquisitive nature of some Filipinos in essence (8)
NOSINESS: The answer is hidden in (some …) FILIPINOS IN ESSENCE
5d Ruth's mother-in-law, one with complaint returning (5)
NAOMI: The Roman one with a complaint or gripe, all reversed (returning)
7d Resolute, formidable woman heading off to meet social worker (7)
ADAMANT: Another word for a formidable woman with its first letter deleted (heading off) is followed by a usual social worker insect
8d Religious friend, agog when converted (3-7)
GOD-FEARING: An anagram (when converted) of FRIEND AGOG
9d Big name releases book in haste (8)
CELERITY: A big name or star minus (releases) the single letter for book
13d Little prepared almost to eat baker's first biscuit (10)
SHORTBREAD: The fusion of little in height and all but the last letter (almost) of prepared or completed is containing (to eat) the first letter of BAKER
15d Bar where innumerable stars can be seen? (5,3)
MILKY WAY: A chocolate bar shares its name with a place where innumerable stars can be seen
17d Fail to net large fish (8)
FLOUNDER: Fail or break down containing (to net) the single letter for large
19d Element defending Greek character's language (7)
TIBETAN: A metallic element containing (defending) a character in the Greek alphabet
21d Make mistake boarding old vehicle that's occupied (7)
OVERRAN: “Make mistake” or stray inserted in (boarding) the fusion of the single letter for old and a vehicle for transporting stuff
23d Extremist braggart lunatic claims is revolutionary (5)
ULTRA: BRAGGART LUNATIC hides the reversal (… claims is revolutionary) of the answer
24d Polish lesson (5)
CLASS: A double definition. Polish as in elegance
25d Join outspoken nincompoop (4)
KNIT: A homophone (outspoken) of a short word for nincompoop
Thanks to today’s setter. Which clues did you like best?
The Quick Crossword pun: SIN + HUG + HOCK = SYNAGOGUE
Never heard of the word at 9d, but couldn’t really be much else.
Puzzled by a couple of answers, why particularly ‘heating system’ in 16a, when there are many occupations to which the answer can apply, engine, tyre, pipe, etc.
Also I’ve never thought of operation to mean the first part of 20a, which held me up for a bit.
Apart from these minor points it was a really great puzzle, pitched at just the right level for a Friday, and I especially liked 22a as it contains my Christian name.
My two of the day were the aforementioned 22a, and the tricky 10a.
Many thanks to our setter today, a real belter.
16a – you are right it could have been one of many which prompted a Definition By Example indicated by the ‘?’.
A-ha, ta for that Senf.
T, 9d. Just as a matter of interest, the answer comes from the Latin celeritas meaning swiftness. As C it represents the speed of light in Einstein’s famous equation e = mc2 (that’s squared, I don’t no how to do the elevated little 2 symbol). Not being a clever dick but it’s surprising how many people don’t know.
Reminds me of a brilliant T-shirt which said ‘YOU MATTER, but if you multiply yourself by the speed of light squared, YOU ENERGY’
Nice one! Mass and energy are really two sides of the same coin. Mass is concentrated/compressed energy and energy is evaporated/released mass.
Tough but doable and that is no bad thing for a Friday. I solved 1a immediately, which is always good but then nothing until the downs. Unusually, when looking at the across clues again, it was the good Reverend who came to my rescue. I did not know the word at 9d but it was gettable from the clue. My COTD is the bar with stars 15d simply because I liked its simplicity.
Thank you, setter for the Friday fun. Thank you, Mr. K for the hints.
I agree with MrK’s assessment. Two quite tough puzzles – for me at any rate – to end the week. I laughed at 5d and thought the King misdirect in 1a was excellent and my COTD. 3d was very good as well. Thanks Mr K and our setter. Maybe our Editor? Not sure and usually incorrect on that front…..
1a is spookily appropriate to Halloween I suppose. The book still gives me the willies! Much to like in today’s puzzle including the lego 29a and the nincompoop in 25d. Podium places go to 13d, 5d and 15d. (Prefer my 15d after they have been in the fridge). Thanks to compiler and Mr K.
I found this extremely hard to get into and only had half a dozen after the first pass. Very slowly it revealed itself and became most enjoyable. No particular favourites so thanks to the setter and Mr K. What has happened to Brian these days? I love his stroppy comments!
Today’s guzzle was more approachable than yesterday’s for me. There was a number of good anagrams and 12a, 22a and 8d were particularly good. The lurkers at 4d and 22dalso appealed to me. An enjoyable puzzle with juat enough challenge to send me searching through Mr K’s hints for some elusive parsing. Thank you sir and thanks also to today’s compiler.
An excellent finish to the week that brought many smiles.
Lots of great surfaces, a rekrul and the 8th letter of a word (great clue) smacks of Silvanus.
I’ve never heard of the brown colour and I didn’t know the Reggie Perrin relation in 5d.
Not easy to pick a pody but I’ll go with 1d, 3d and 15d.
MT to S & K.
3*/5*
Never seen a pub called the Dun Cow Tom? quite common in my youth…..
A new one on me, TC. But, I will now look out for it.
I’ve just looked up its etymology and saw that Duncan has the same root, i.e brown head.
We love it!
Good luck in the pub hunt as many pubs are closing each week, and even more are changing their traditional names to ludicrous new ones, such as ‘The Goat And Tricycle’ or ‘The Monkey And Helicopter’
I agree. It is so sad to see the old pub signs going. Our Dolphin pub has been refurbished and we’ve lost the lovely leaping out of the water fish sign. I remember years ago when I was on the PC challenging the brewery when they gave us a circus dolphin with a ball on its nose. To their credit they refurbished the old one but now we just have the written word, no sign. Progress.
It’s such a shame as I love pouring a sherbet down my Gregory in the local battleship cruiser.
On the subject of pub names, I have another scintillating anecdote to regale you and the other readers with.
When a young man, I used to frequent a pub called The Jolly Roger in my (small) home town. Some years later it changed hands and was renamed The New Inn. Then, a few years later it inexplicably became The Jolly Roger again! For the last 30 years or so it has been a rather large antiques shop.
Beat that!
That is a goodie. Thank you.
The New Inn is such a dull name for a pub. The committee obviously thought long and hard about that one.
Anyone fancy having a stab at the three most popular names for pubs?
There is a theme.
Cross Keys
King’s Head
Queen’s Arms?
Red Lion?
One for TC and zip for SC though the King’s Nut is in the top 10.
There are various sources so the list isn’t undisputed.
I’m guessing that The Fickle Mermaid (I mentioned below) isn’t one?
Funnily enough….
Royal Oak?
Correctamundo, J.
Numero dos on most lists with the Red Lion sitting atop.
I’m guessing the theme is “royalty”?
That, it is, comrade.
Indeed. Some years ago a brand-new pub/eatery called The Fallow Deer opened on the outskirts of my small town. It lasted a fair few years then shut down, was sold, refurbished and opened up as the same thing with a new name: The Fickle Mermaid. That lasted only a few years and was recenlty demolished and is now a petrol station.
The third one is The Crown.
The King should write a book about his relationship with his brother, Andrew, calling it….wait for it, wait for it….The Crown and The Clown.
There are not enough enjoyment stars to do justice to this magnificent puzzle so I’ll settle for 2*/5*+.
Super-smooth, with ticks galore this must surely be Silvanus’ handiwork. Many thanks to him or whomsoever if it’s an imposter. at work.
Thanks too to Mr K.
Good morning. This was on the easier side for a Friday back pager. The south went in quickly enough with the North requiring a little more effort, especially with the parsing. Stand out clues are 1a,16a, 22a, but my podium is 5d, 8d and 13d. All in all very enjoyable and nice quick fill, which I wasn`t expecting! Many thanks to Mr K and setter for your efforts.
I found this Friday puzzle quite pleasant today, but considering the shambles I had from Thursday’s puzzle, for me, it couldn’t possibly have been worse.
Overall this went in relatively easily with a couple or three head scratchers in the mix.
2.5*/4*
Favourites 11a, 14a, 7d, 15d & 17d – with winner 15d
Smiles for 6a, 22a, 15d & 17d
Thanks to setter & Mr K
After yesterday’s disastrous DNF, this was like a breath of fresh air smoothly wafting over me – ***/*****
Candidates for favourite – 6a, 16a, 3d, and 21d – and the winner is 6a.
Thanks to, I suspect, Silvanus, or whomsoever if it is not he, and to Mr K – kitties in 24d!
I can’t really add to the previous comments. Relative to yesterday’s brainteaser it all came together fairly smoothly with minimal head scratching. 22a and the Spoonerism at 14a are my favourites .
2.5*/4*
A fairly gentle Friday puzzle once I got into it but very enjoyable – even didn’t grumble too much about the spoonerism!! Lots of lovely surfaces throughout. Thank you to the setter and to MrK who’s review I shall now read
A superb Friday puzzle that just kept on giving. The Spoonerism was my final entry, and my absolute favourite for a rugby nut was 3d. Just fantastic entertainment.
Thanks to our setter (Silvanus?) and Mr K.
I don’t know if anyone else is having this problem with the puzzles website on their laptop, but the cryptic, and occasionally the Toughie, keep locking up. Today it happened after just three clues. I can then no longer go back into it, meaning I have to finish on my phone. Not the end of the world, but very frustrating. I don’t think it is sticky keys or mistyping. Any ideas?
I’ve had the same problem. It’s not the computer, as the same thing has happened on my notebook. I now print a copy before I start and take regular screen shots.
Youve changed your alias from PJ so this needed moderation. Both will work from now on.
Back from book club and 6 more to fill in. Thought I might finish unaided but it was not to be. Had to checkout re. twenty pounds so that got me 11 across but finally and almost there I failed with the Spoonerism. Agree about 16 across . Heating system was too far up the garden path. However there was a great deal to enjoy. 15 down and 6 across.Thanks all round.
Great puzzle pitched just right for Friday – thanks to our setter and Mr K.
I liked 6a, 9d and 15d with my outstanding favourite being 3d.
Certainly a lot less taxing than yesterday’s, I was expecting a stiffer test for a Friday. Not complaining though, as this was enjoyable nonetheless.
I’ve always liked the saying at 22a. It sits nicely alongside ‘Charlie’s your aunt’ and ‘How’s your father?’, alright! (Probably a South London thing).
Thumbs up also to the golf clue at 11a and the rugby one at 3d.
28a’s acting pariahs having a get-together in the dark continent read well too.
My thanks to our setter and Mr K.
I think this was very tricky and there were some answers I didn’t twig until I’d either seen the hints or used AI . The annoying thing for me was having seen the answers , they were so obvious , except perhaps 9d and 14. Great clues favourites 10,11and 27 . Thanks to all.
An enjoyable puzzle for a wet and windy day.
I actually did have an Uncle Bob although I never met him.
Top picks for me were 29a, 1a, 22a, 3d and 19d.
Thanks to Mr K and the setter.
I had an Aunty Bob. She didn’t like Roberta!
I thought this was just right for a Friday, initially I was stumped and slowly but surely a few went in and then it came together. The spooner was last in for me. I thought it was a great example of a puzzle you could easily give up on if you had limited time but by coming back to it after a break suddenly it all becomes clear. I had 22a as my favourite because of the word play and I like the saying.
Many thanks to the setter and to Mr k for the hints
A lovely puzzle to go with the morning coffee earlier today, just right for a Friday. Very amusing. Honours to 11a, 22a, 3d & 9d, though to be honest I could put most of the clues on the podium.
Many thanks Setter (Silvanus is my call, too) and of course to MrK as well.
Apart from creating all manner of problems for myself when it came to parsing 11a, this delightfully smooth production fell into place very neatly. 7d made me smile when I thought back to the days of the TV series but then I realised how long ago that was and the smile abruptly faded!
Top clues for me were 22&29a plus 17d with an hon. mention for the TV series.
Many thanks to our smooth setter and to Mr K for the review.
PS Just asked No.1 daughter to pick up a 15d for me whilst she’s out shopping – years since I last tasted one of those!
Sadly you’ll find that your 15d is about half the size it used to be.
And is chocolate flavoured rather than real chocolate. 😳
Indeed. Same with the Penguin bar – they’ve reduced the chocolate covering so much that they can only describe it as chocolate flavoured now. Flaming country’s gone t’ dogs! Grrrrr …
Another dreadful portmanteau word but sadly appropriate – shrinkflation!
Hi S
I’m a fan of portmanteau words though they can be overused. I actually don’t mind anagrind because I like that a crossword can be a grind though it clearly goes down like a bag of sick with the punters on this blog.
Do you like them?
I recently received an emailed invitation to take part in a “webinar”. Took a while to realise it was a portmanteau word. Have you come across that one?
I have and I like it.
Portmanteau, a travelling bag that opens into two equal parts, is aptly a portmanteau word: porter (carry) & manteau (mantle or cloak).
Excellent! Great clues, a decent challenge and much enjoyment. Plenty of ticks and I’ll have to go for 3d as my favourite – a sublime clue with “rugby” themed misdirection throughout the surface, including the definition. Possibly back-page clue of the year? 3*/4.5*.
Thanks to the Setter and Mr K. We got off to a flying start but stumbled towards the end and resorted to a couple of hints. COTD choice between 22a and 15d. LOI 25d. 9d we have added to our vocabulary.
Well I thought that was jolly hard work and we were ecstatic when we finished it without recourse to the hints. I thought 1a was a good start for Halloween and savoured the penny drop moments for 5d, 8 &9d, 28a etc. George and I work together supposedly but he gets distracted by other pages of the paper so it is mostly down to me – he comes in handy for Rugby, Rowing or Fencing! Many thanks to the Smart Setter and the lovely Feline Friend. (Or should I say Feline Fiend today?)
Surprisingly gentle for a Friday & a very enjoyable puzzle. After successive dud punts on guess the setter my dosh is staying firmly in the pocket & anyway suspect the odds on Silvanus will be prohibitively short. Ticks aplenty – 10,11,20&26a plus 3,9&15d particular likes.
Thanks to the setter & to Mr K
***/***
Typically Friday-ish for me © etc. Had to dive around bit to keep going but everything yielded in time. Ticks to the 2d high spirits, the 14a spooner, the lovely anagram at 22a and 1a where I didn’t think of the author until almost my LOI. All in all, a very pleasurable end to the cruciverbal week.
Thanks to the setter and Mr K
20a and 22d were bung ins and hadn’t heard of 9d. I still don’t really see operation or occupied. Apart from those about right for a Friday especially after yesterday’s dnf. Favourite was 27a. Thanks to the setter and Mr. K.
Setter here, many thanks as ever to Mr K and to all those solving and commenting.
The discussion on chocolate bars/biscuits prompts me to give a little plug to a biscuit brand that a good friend recommended to me recently, Tim Tams. They’re Australian in origin, but now sold in the UK. Whilst similar to Penguins, they have a superior taste, in my opinion
May I wish everyone a good weekend.
Thank you for a great puzzle, silvanus. My daughter, who lives in Melbourne, introduced me to Tim Tams while we were over there. I agree they are a very superior chocolate biscuit and I keep a regular supply.
Where can you buy ’em?
Certainly Sainsbury’s stock them, not sure about other supermarkets.
They have them in my local Tesco and I think I’ve seen them in Morrisons. I haven’t tried them though.
Waitrose seem to have the whole range – milk chocolate, dark chocolate, double chocolate, salted caramel, white chocolate etc..
Thanks for dropping in and thanks for an excellent puzzle to solve and to hint.
Thanks also to everyone who has contributed comments today.
Can I recommend the Tim-Tam Slam.
Nibble off opposite corners and use it like a straw to suck up your tea (or other beverage) don’t wait too long before consuming the biscuit, as terminal degradation is imminent.
Thought I was in with a chance when 1a went on, but probably only because we have visited the hotel in the film. Not stayed there, too creepy for us, but Estes Park is a lovely town in the Colorado Rockies. The drive there from nearby Fort Collins was so terrific, we went back and did it again there the following year. Beautiful scenery. Sadly after that it was all downhill, with just a few more answers at first pass. Most of the remaining answers came from checkers or hints. Not my best effort. Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.
I hope you played the creepy score on the drive up. It’s such a terrifically atmospheric opening to the film
Stephen King didn’t like Kubrick’s version so he made his own for television that was truer to the book.
Enjoyable …28a made me laugh! Thank you Silvanus and MrK and after reading this blog am thinking of pub names, this will inevitably inspire a visit to my local Three Horseshoes at 6 pm
15D an absolute classic, and loved 29A. VMT to Silvanus for a great puzzle, and of course to Mr K too.
Late on parade. Walking/birding along the North Norfolk coast to Stiffkey, where we enjoyed a couple of pints before heading back to Wells.
Probably three thousand starlings and a thousand pink-foot geese. Very few harriers, sadly.
This puzzle had to be Silvanus. It was so much fun!
Like Gazza, I loved the rugby clue at 3d. Brilliant.
Home tomorrow in time to watch England v Australia.
Thank you Silvanus and Mr K.
Quite a beastie today but managed to solve unaided. Very pleased considering it was a silvanus offering.
14a LOI. I normally do much better with spoonerisms.
Thanks to all.
Being a retired solicitor, a native of Gloucester and Rugby Union enthusiast, I have to give 3d my vote as COTD.
4*/3* Everyday of the week
3*/3* ….
liked 9D “Big name releases book in haste (8)”