Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3342
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 9th November 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A straightforward 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.
Mantra, the definition to the clue at 4d, has come from Sanskrit, one of the classical languages of India. The word is a combination of two words viz. ‘man’ meaning to think or to mind and ‘tra’ a suffix meaning instrument or tool respectively. So mantra literally means ‘instrument of thought’ or ‘tool of the mind’. In the Vedas, the ancient Hindu scriptures, a mantra was originally a sacred utterance or hymn used in rituals. The sense is that speaking, chanting or meditating on these words produces a spiritual or mental effect, hence the idea of a ‘mind tool’. It is used to focus the mind, alter consciousness and achieve a deeper state of meditation. Over time, mantra came to mean any sacred phrase, chant or incantation used for meditation, prayer or ritual. In modern English, it has also taken on the figurative sense of a repeated slogan or guiding principle, e.g., “The company’s mantra is ‘customer first’.”
Woolly mammoth, as I got to learn from the internet and serving in the puzzle as the definition to the clue at 7d, was the only species that was well adapted for cold Ice Age climates. They were the best-known and last-surviving species of mammoth. They had a long shaggy hair and a dense undercoat, smaller ears and tail to reduce heat loss and a hump of fat for insulation and energy storage. Their curved tusks were up to four metres long. There were also several species of mammoth over time and across continents, among them, to name a few, were ‘Mammuthus meridionalis’ or the warm-adapted southern mammoth and ‘Mammuthus trigontherii’ or steppe mammoth. They were also known as the non-woolly mammoths who had little or no fur and obviously lived in warmer regions. They tended to be larger than the woolly mammoth, especially the steppe mammoth, possibly the biggest elephantid ever.
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Across
7a Ring in miniature? Yes! (7)
WHOOPEE: HOOP (ring) as the metal ring from which a basketball net is suspended or a large ring through which performers or animals jump placed inside (in) WEE (miniature) as an adjective denoting very small, diminutive or miniature takes to the definition of an informal interjection denoting an exclamation of excitement or used as a shout of exuberant joy, an example of which is yes i.e. an interjection used to express great satisfaction, approval or happiness
8a Cold, like cola I suspect (7)
ASOCIAL: The definition of an adjective meaning avoiding social interaction or not considerate of other people or of the laws and customs of society, an example of which is cold i.e. unfriendly or unsociable is obtained from AS (like) as a conjunction denoting ‘like’ that is used to indicate by comparison the way that something happens or is done followed by an anagram (suspect) of COLA I
10a Heart for example left, regularly, in part of church (5,4)
ORGAN LOFT: ORGAN (heart for example) as a part of the body of an animal or plant that has a particular purpose or function, an example of which is a heart i.e. a hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation followed by L (left) as an abbreviation for left and OFT (regularly) as a poetic synonym for often, an adverb denoting frequently, repeatedly or regularly guides to the definition of a gallery or raised platform within a church or hall from which an organ is played
11a Rule hard to erase from the web (5)
TENET: The definition of a principle, rule or belief, especially one of the main principles of a religion or philosophy is reached from T[H]E of which H (hard) as the symbol for hard in lead pencils has to come out (erase) followed by NET (web) as a mesh or web
12a Principally leviathans, and regular giants, evidently – so? (5)
LARGE: The principal or primary letters (principally) of L[EVIATHANS,] A[ND] R[EGULAR] G[IANTS,] E[VIDENTLY] takes to the definition of an adjective denoting of considerable or relatively great size, extent or capacity in this all-in-one clue
13a Passage from short story about dancers (9)
TRAVERSAL: The definition of a passage or the act or process of passing through, along, or across something, for example ‘The hikers’ traversal of the ridge’ can mean ‘The hikers’ passage across the ridge’ is fetched from TAL[E] (story) as a narrative or story having most of the letters or shortened by removing its last letter (short) placed around (about) RAVERS (dancers) as the ones who go to a rave i.e. an event where young people dance to modern electronic music and sometimes take illegal drugs
15a Men’s title inspires a little old bullfighter (7)
MATADOR: MR (men’s title) as the normal form of title prefixed to a man’s name breathes or takes in (inspires) A TAD (little) as a noun meaning slightly or a little followed by O (old) as the abbreviation for old provides the definition of a bullfighter or the man who kills the bull in bullfights
17a After a little time I see a black taxi (7)
MINICAB: MIN (a little time) as an informal term for a minute that denotes a very little time followed by a combo of IC (I see) as the abbreviated online version of the phrase or used by social media in text messages, A from the clue and B (black) as the abbreviation of black on lead pencils to indicate softness takes to the definition of a taxi that can only be ordered by phone and does not stop to collect passengers in the street
18a It’s normal to screw up vice (6,3)
MORTAL SIN: An anagram (to screw up) of IT’S NORMAL guides to the definition of a sin that incur the punishment of spiritual death, as opposed to venial or a sin wilfully committed and serious enough to deprive the soul of divine grace
20a Splendid characters bordering on dishonesty? (5)
DANDY: The definition of an informal term for an adjective meaning excellent, first-rate or splendid is arrived at from D AND Y (characters bordering on dishonesty) as the two letters or characters that are the outermost letters of or bordering on D[ISHONEST]Y
21a Unpopular party in defeat (5)
OUTDO: A charade of OUT (unpopular) as not in vogue or fashion or as not popular and DO (party) as an informal term for a party or other social event takes to the definition of a verb meaning to surpass or defeat someone
23a With endless ham to cover, men melt processed cheese (9)
EMMENTHAL: With an anagram (processed) of MEN MELT to cover or go around HA[M] from the clue devoid of its end or last letter (endless) leads to the definition of a kind of hard Swiss cheese with many holes in it, similar to Gruyère, made in the Emmenthal or Emme valley
24a Person held as emcee, mature (7)
HOSTAGE: The definition of a person held captive is arrived at from a charade of HOST (emcee) as one who receives or entertains guests in a social capacity and AGE (mature) as to become mature or grow old
25a Certainly not for me, English candidate (7)
NOMINEE: It’s NO MINE (certainly not for me) as the phonetic or colloquial representation of the phrase ‘It’s not mine’ followed by E (English) as the abbreviation for English takes to the definition of a person who is nominated to an office or as a candidate
Down
1d Bush perhaps regrown, it’s wild (10)
SONGWRITER: The definition of a composer of words or music for popular songs or a person who writes the lyrics or music for songs, an example of which is Catherine Bush or Kate Bush, an English singer, songwriter, dancer and record producer noted for her eclectic musical style and unconventional lyrics, as well as her innovative dance performance is arrived at from an anagram (wild) of REGROWN, IT’S
2d Marine animal, parasite (6)
SPONGE: Double nounal definition; the second referring to a hanger-on or parasite as a colloquial term that takes to the first denoting any member of the phylum Porifera, sessile marine animals with a single cavity in the body, with numerous pores
3d Journalist on 1 Down (8)
REPORTER: A charade of RE (on) used in commercial jargon for the preposition ‘regarding’ or ‘with reference to’ and PORTER (1 Down) as referring to the American composer and songwriter Porter, whose full name was Cole Albert Porter, arriving at the definition of a person who reports, especially for a newspaper or legal proceedings, similar to a journalist who who commissions, writes and edits feature articles for a publication like a magazine or newspaper
4d Ray has penned end of prayer, sacred phrase (6)
MANTRA: MANTA (ray) as referring to manta ray, a specific, large type of ray i.e. a flat-bodied elasmobranch fish and a member of the genus ‘Mobula’ known for being filter feeders that consume plankton has enclosed (penned) the end or terminal letter (end) of [PRAYE]R, leading to the definition of a sacred utterance of a word or a group of words believed by practitioners to have religious, magical or spiritual powers
5d He tours, travelling north – from the opposite direction? (8)
SOUTHERN: An anagram (travelling) of HE TOURS followed by N (north) as the abbreviation for north guides to the definition of an adjective meaning coming from the south, as a wind or lying in, situated in or directed toward the south i.e. from the opposite direction to north
6d Symbol in computing, I see, inverted (4)
SIGN: The definition of a symbol or word used to represent an operation, instruction, concept or object in algebra, music or other subjects is part of or hidden inside (in) [COMPTI]NG, I S[EE] and coming from the other end (inverted) as a reversal in the down clue
7d Unspecific jumbo, old animal with tusks (6,7)
WOOLLY MAMMOTH: A charade of WOOLLY (unspecific) as vague or unspecific and MAMMOTH (jumbo) as an adjective meaning jumbo, gigantic, enormous or colossal takes to the definition of the species Mammuthus primigenius, the best-known and last-surviving species of mammoth with long shaggy hair, smaller ears and tail and a hump of fat and well adapted for cold Ice Age climate
9d You bet I’ll belt out song for young children! (6,3,4)
LITTLE BOY BLUE: An anagram (out) of YOU BET I’LL BELT guides to the definition of a song for young children that started as a nursery rhyme, first published in 1744 collection ‘Tommy Thumb’s Song Book’
14d Worn ticker? (6-4)
SECOND-HAND: SECOND HAND (ticker) as cryptically referring to the thing or the fastest moving hand on the watch or clock that ticks that takes to the definition of an adjective denoting derived from another or not original or already used by a previous owner
16d I’d a wound, a long wound – slash, say? (8)
DIAGONAL: An anagram (wound) of I’D A followed by another anagram (wound) of A LONG guides to the definition of a straight line joining two opposite corners of a square, rectangle or other straight-sided shape, an example of which is a slash i.e. a punctuation mark (/) used to separate related items of information
17d Greek character buried in flash mausoleum, for example (8)
MONUMENT: NU (Greek character) as the thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet placed inside (buried in) MOMENT (flash) as a very brief period of time, like a flash i.e. a very short time takes to the definition of a large stately tomb or a building housing such a tomb or several tombs, an example of which is a monument i.e. a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event
19d Player of music thus planting new tree (6)
STEREO: The definition of a stereophonic equipment, especially a record player is arrived at from SO (thus) as an adverb meaning thus or in a way described or demonstrated having inside (planting) an anagram (new) of TREE
20d Energetic type uplifting legion in effect (6)
DYNAMO: The definition of a noun denoting an extremely energetic, hardworking and forceful person is reached from MANY (legion) as amounting to or consisting of a large, indefinite number or legion, numerous, myriad or multitudinous being taken upwards (uplifting) as a reversal in the down clue placed inside (in) DO (effect) as a verb meaning to effect or to have a specified effect on
22d Probe quite stable, though not entirely (4)
TEST: The definition of a noun denoting something done to find out whether a thing is good, strong, efficient etc, an example of which is a probe i.e. an investigation into unfamiliar matters or questionable activities is part of or hidden inside (though not entirely) [QUI]TE ST[ABLE]
There were many clues that I liked in this puzzle such as 7a, 10a, 15a, 20a, 1d, 7d, 9d, 14d and 16d; 1d 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.
3*/3* …
liked 14D “Worn ticker ? (6-4)”