Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3344 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg from where I am happy to report that I have booked my flights for attendance at BB17, a.k.a. my semisesquicentennial plus one year and six days, and some family visiting – I am not sure which is more important – but no more date changes SJB.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quirkily friendly, with his own thesaurus in evidence, with six anagrams (four partial), two lurkers, and one homophone in a very asymmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, which I am reasonably certain are below, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues.
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Candidates for favourite – 14a, 15a, 27a, 1d, 24d, and the Pun.
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.
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
6a Stop after minor blow for building unit (11)
A synonym of stop placed after a minor (meteorological) blow.
9a Ship crossing river in English county (6)
The (abbreviated) name of an English county from the usual two letters for a ship containing (crossing) a river which is not in England but it is in the next-door Principality.
11a Party suffered by doctor came together (10)
The usual two letter party, and a synonym of suffered placed after (by) the abbreviated form of a doctor (who does not treat people).
22a Irritating little thing predicting antisocial behaviour (3-7)
A three letter irritating (winged) little thing and a synonym of predicting (the outcome of an event for wagering purposes?).
27a Partners packing in tale, fake news (6)
The inner letters (packing) of tALe and a (simple) term for fake news.
28a Drink got emptied when full? (3,3,5)
The expansion (when full) of what is left when GoT is emptied (with an implied conjunction).
Down
1d Small beer for pudding? (6)
A double definition – the first is something that might be unimportant.
5d Most bloodcurdling performance of actress, yours truly getting bitten! (8)
An anagram (performance) of ACTRESS containing (getting bitten) yours truly represented by the nominative singular of the first person pronoun.
7d Seat thieves lifted (5)
Who thought of looking for a double definition? The reversal (lifted) of a verbal synonym of thieves.
8d Malfunctioning vehicle (5)
This is a double definition – the first might refer to a computer program.
17d A lot has changed, with one month to invest – for saver? (8)
All of the Roman numeral for one and the abbreviated form of a month of the year (named after the Latin for purification) inserted in (to invest) an anagram (oh dear four letters – has changed) of A LOT.
20d Touching, ready for birth (5)
Another ‘not a double definition’ – this one was problematic. Having decided that ‘it has to be’ the parsing took a while. A two letter synonym of touching and a synonym of ready.
24d Herb and a pickle initially turned up in pasty (6)
It’s all in the pronunciation of the definition! The reversal (turned up) of all of a herb (related to the parsnip), A from the clue, and the first letter (initially) of Pickle.
26d Game Leeds United drew, oddly with four headers? (4)
The first letters (headers) of four words in the clue.
Quick Crossword Pun:
BAUBLE + LAND + SQUEAK = BUBBLE AND SQUEAK
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This comes straight out of the file marked Entertain and Annoy in Equal Measure but in the absence of anything else here it is. On Friday morning when I was being treated/tortured by my Dental Hygienist this Golden Oldie came on as the ‘backing’ to a TV commercial – yes my Dentist’s practice has TVs everywhere. Anyway, I ended up with an earworm so I thought I would share it with you, enjoy:
I thought this was more difficult than average for a weekend prize puzzle. Some very enjoyable clues cleverly written with great economy. I was defeated by 20d but got all the others in the end. Couldn’t parse 28a without the hint. I think my favourites were 10a, 11a and 22a but there were lot of excellent clues to choosw from. Thanks as always Dada and Senf
3*/3*. I found this quite tough for a Sunday prize puzzle but, apart from the vague girl, I enjoyed the challenge.
17d was my favourite.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.
Add me to those who found this a good bit tougher than the average Dada prize offering. For whatever reason just couldn’t see either 24d or 27a. They took twice as long as the rest of the puzzle & the pennies only dropped once I stopped salivating at the thought of a good steak & ale with buttery mash & veg + a quality pint to wash it down. I did twig the wordplay at 28a but wouldn’t have been able to explain it anyway near as succinctly as Senf has done. Podium spots for 17d + 11&28a.
Thanks to D&S.
Wow, CS would have put you on the naughty step!!!
Perhaps the route to succinctness in writing hints is the same route that a musician has to take to get to Carnegie Hall – practice, practice, practice
Dada being pretty tough I thought – I did enjoy the struggle. Thanks to him and Senf.
I ticked 6a, 22a and 12d with my runaway favourite being 28a.
Morning all
Is there any news about the irritating error message that still appears when submitting prize puzzle solutions ? I have my doubts that they ever reach Telegraph Towers. Have had zero response from them; oh, and no pen either!!
Great puzzle, although slightly harder than of late. Thanks
I actually won a runner up prize 3 weeks ago despite the error message still coming up so don’t worry. I have always doubted my entries ever arriving too so was very surprised.
Welcome to the blog. Good to hear that the error message does not stop entries getting through.
But, what did you think of the puzzle.
Found this one a bit trickier than a usual Sunday one but still enjoyable.
I had this reply from the Telegraph on 15th October:
“…we are aware of an issue regarding an error message appearing when submitting completed Prize Crosswords puzzle. This is currently being investigated by our technical support department. We do not have a fix for this at the moment. However, we aim to get this resolved as soon as possible. I apologise for any inconvenience caused by this.”
I’m getting the error message on my iPad and iPhone. I haven’t tried it on the PC yet.
Cor! That was tough but very enjoyable with lots to like.
6a was my LOI as I was thrown by minor blow (nice). 24d led me down a dark alley for a good while.
My podium is 6a, 28a (love those constructions) and 20d.
MT to Radio and Senf.
4*/4*
Car has finally been towed to the garage by the AA so 8d is appropriate.
Anyway, I’ve only just finished the guzzle and, like others, I found it tough but enjoyable. 1a went straight in, which gave me a false sense of security. I only managed the anagrams on the first pass and I found some of the parsing odd. I thought the packing in 27a was quite clever and it took a while to suss the doctor in 11a. My COTD is the aforementioned minor blow at 6a.
The Quickie pun reminded me I haven’t had any for ages so a raid on the fridge might be on the cards.
Thank you, Dada for the puzzlement. Thank you, Colonel Mustard for the hints.
At the risk of invoking the threatened woke blue pencil. I found this puzzle had many clues but also many oblique ones. I look forward to Monday.
For me, and I stress for me (© Senf) – and others it seems – this was a tricky guzzle but fun to unravel.
I have been ‘forced’ to move out of my study (building work, again) and thus the printer is out of reach. The consequence of this is that I now complete the guzzles online. Therefore I expect to be showered with prize pens. The postal service will need to arrange additional vans to deliver them all, no doubt.
Here I am, out on the tiles with my pal, on Friday night.
Oh for his comparative fiscal competence now……..
2nd in the league by golly & my mob atop the 2nd tier – don’t know about you but I’ve got vertigo
He’s a lovely fellow as well as supremely intelligent. We have Arsenal next week so our giddy heights may be of a temporary nature!
Ah, you are with the chap Nick Robinson rightly misnamed.
Nice one Corky
It was James Naughtie
Hard but fair. Needed help to finish. Thought 22a would have benefitted from a question mark (a ‘by example’ one). ****/***
Thanks to the Setter and Senf. COTD 6a. LOI 20d. Tough as we expect for a prize puzzle, nevertheless enjoyable. Needed help on a couple of clues otherwise fairly plain sailing.
Tricky, very tricky. This took some teasing out with the odd expletive (deleted so as to not offend Mrs P) when the answer dawned on me. Perseverance was rewarded in the end. I thought 6a and 22a were very clever, but my podium comprises 25a, 26d and 24d on top spot. Thanks to Dada and Senf
Our setter just a bit too quirky for my liking or perhaps his idea of ‘lateral thinking’ is just a bit ‘different’! Huffed and puffed my way through and did find enough goodies to populate the podium – honours going to 6,11&22a.
Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints and touch of Nancy – wretched earworm well and truly embedded……..
there’s a real earworm in the Toughie
Today I can’t say I agree with Senf’s assessment of this Dada puzzle.
For me this was a far cry from last week’s friendly puzzle and friendly is not what I would call this offering.
This had all the earmarks of being quirky with plentiful use of Dada’s personal thesaurus.
3*/3.5* for me
Favourites in this trying puzzle include 9a, 15a, 25a, 2d, 4d & 16d — with winner being my first in 9a
Got a smile from 15a, 2d & 4d
Thanks to Dada for the head scratcher & Senf for blog/hints
The unusual grid pattern added to the degree of difficulty of the puzzle itself.
LOI 20d which I’m still not particularly happy about.
Ticks for the coming together in 11a, the packing in 27a and the pasty in 24d.
The drink that got emptied in 28a was best of all though.
My thanks to Dada and Senf.
I did like 26d as I would settle for a draw for Leeds against Villa playing as I type. The underbaked pasty at 24d amused too. Three puzzles this weekend were all a bit tricky but I enjoyed the fight.
Thanks to Senf and Dada.
Definitely no more date changes, Senf – would Moutarde (or anyone else) like to bring a puzzle to the Birthday Bash?
I found this on the easier end of my personal Dada spectrum. 20d was LOI.
Thanks to Dada and Senf
2*/4*
Personally I thought the synonyms for 8d and 12d were stretched beyond breaking point and the clues for 13d and 18d equally bizarre so not one for me, although Mrs.TWLC liked it. If I had to pick a favourite I’d go with 28a. Thanks to Dada anyway and Senf.
A bit of a curate’s egg for me today. I got off to a flier but then got bogged down in the Borders (that’s the SE corner from my perspective). However, last in was 12d which I only realised hadn’t been completed when I was in the process of sending off my entry to Telegraph Towers. I still don’t get the full word play .. heigh ho! Cotd was 28a and I’ll be having a large one (or two) shortly. Cheers to setter and Senf.
Personally I thought the synonyms for 8d and 12d were stretched beyond breaking point and the clues for 13d and 18d were equally bizarre so not one for me, although Mrs. TWLC liked it. If I had to pick a favourite i would go with 28a. Thanks to Dada anyway and Senf. My original comment disappeared when I pressed send.
Nice and chewy for a Sunday, and pleased I didn’t need to check any hints. Some nice clues. Just realised I submitted with a typo , so definitely no pen for me this week – schucks ! Thanks so much Dada and Senf.
Definitely not the friendly Dada I was hoping to find today. Managed enough on my own for a modicum of satisfaction, but frustrated by many tricky clues. 8d and 13d seemed very odd and definitely would never have come up with those very strange answers. Thanks to Dada and Senf. Fingers crossed the crossword gods are kinder tomorrow.
Both weekend puzzles difficult this week with 20d requiring Senf’s assistance. Thank you Dada
One man’s quirks are another man’s artful evasions and this was packed tight with them. Favourable or amicable are part of the BRB’s definition of friendly which this set of clues most certainly not.
Nothing else to say as I am still recovering from Terence describing a politician as a good chap. I voted last in 1976 when the corruption of politicians was becoming more evident and now it is difficult to find one – impossible actually.
A good crossword to learn from and good analysis of the clues. So many thanks to Senf and Dada.
Please remember point 8 of the Comment Etiquette:
Don’t discuss sensitive subjects like Religion, Sex or Politics. This is a crossword site and there are other fora available if you do want to express your views on these subjects.
Hi G
Surely the finger needs to be pointed at ‘El Tel’?
Posting a picture of a politician, saying he’s a lovely fellow and extremely intelligent, when we didn’t ask, is point 8, i.e discussing politics.
But, Terence, and the follow-up comments, did not mention anything directly associated with politics. He just said that he was ‘his pal’ and ‘a lovely fellow as well as supremely intelligent.’
Personally, I have no idea nor do I wish to know who the individual is so let’s leave it there.
No, sorry, Senf. I don’t agree.
Posting a picture of a very well-known politician (at least, for us who live in The UK) always had a chance of evoking a response.
Why post it? It’s a crossword blog.
If Jezzer was a fellow cruciverbalist then maybe I would understand it. Maybe.
Corks is not at fault here.
Why do you ignore Corky and Imposter? We all know what vulgarity they want everyone to believe is an accurate description of Terence’s pal, with direct link to his role as a former chancellor via Nick Robinson’s misnaming (whereas Terence didn’t mention his former role). By your logic that is discussing politics. You can’t have it both ways.
1* / 4* I must be on a good run as I found this light and very enjoyable, possibly my favourite from the last 7 days.
Loads of wit, misdirection and I enjoy the stretched synonyms. Favourites include 6a building unit, 11a came together nicely and the malfunctioning vehicle at 8d
Many thanks to setter and Senf
Overall quite a challenge but I did eventually manage the North however South needed hints. IMHO some rather far-stretched clues e.g. 27a, 12d, 16d, 18d and 20d (or am I missing things?). Definitely a curate’s egg. Thank you Dada and Senf.
Oh dear, I should of course have said “far-fetched” rather than “far-stretched” !
I am in the tricky camp and I needed Senf to help me finish. I have struggled with a few puzzles in the last week and think I am in one of those spells where even the obvious is not leaping out, Hopefully I will reset my brain tomorrow. There were some excellent clues and I did have 6a as my favourite.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf to the helpful hints.
I get periods like that as well, MTF. They are frustrating but I console myself with the fact the ability to solve returns eventually.
Unlike Angelov I found the bottom half to be fairly straightforward, but the top half held me up until I took the hint for 6a and then it came together. Tougher than usual, but fair.
Favourites are the drink at 28a and the anti-social activity.
Took me ages to sort out 15a … I mean, how could it possibly be an anagram as I already had 18d as XXX [redacted –it’s a prize puzzle] (snake)? 🥵🥵😩
Because your answer for 18d is/was incorrect.
Despite the explanation (for which thank you very much), I do not understand 28a.