Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3345 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Wincanton in Somerset. I am here for the wedding of one of my four nieces, the last of the four to ‘tie the knot.’ Wincanton used to be an important stop on the coaching route from London to Plymouth and there were a number of Coaching Inns in the town, some of which are still in existence as pubs and hotels. One of them, now an art gallery, has an ‘unofficial’ blue plaque on the exterior wall stating that Queen Victoria stayed there, in 1825, as a six year old Princess.
My ‘in flight’ reading for my Eastbound flights, courtesy of the Winnipeg Library – the fourth novel in the Marlow Murder Club series.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quite friendly, with three long ‘uns, five anagrams (two partial), two lurkers, and one homophone in a very asymmetric 29 clues; with 15 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid 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 – 8a. 12a, 15a, 27a, 2d, 6d, 16d, and 24d.
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
8a Vicar’s ciggy? Good Lord! (4,5)
A double definition? The second is an interjection of surprise.
11a Transformation of said zoo, fetching bull or lion, say? (4,2,3,6)
An anagram (transformation) of SAID ZOO, FETCHING.
15a Vacate castle in the air – and land? (4,4,2,5)
Another double definition, I think – the first might relate to giving up on ‘dreamy’ ambitions.
22a A Spanish gentleman passing outlaw in desert (7)
One of those dependent on pronunciation – A from the clue, and the term for a Spanish gentleman placed after (passing) a verbal synonym of outlaw.
24a Sports field where card shown after poor quality delivery (8,7)
The name of one of thirteen cards in a pack of fifty-two placed (shown) after all of a single word for poor quality and a crickety delivery – this could probably be considered an Americanism but I suppose there might be some in the UK these days (besides those on US military bases).
27a Small vehicle rotates, we being turned (3-6)
An anagram (being turned) of ROTATES, WE.
Down
1d A little cloth used like that (4)
A lurker (a little) found in two words in the clue.
3d Leader with the right to push a revolutionary west (8)
An anagram (revolutionary) of TO PUSH A followed by the single letter for West.
7d Smart nestling brushing off tail (4)
A synonym of nestling with the last letter deleted (brushing off tail)
12d Streaky painter? (5)
Probably another double definition – the second was a twentieth century Irish-born British figurative painter known for his raw, unsettling imagery.
14d A small chicken pasty (5)
This is a very recent repeat that I hinted, I am not sure if it it was a Wednesday back-pager or a Sunday Dada, but if you don’t remember it, another one of those dependent on pronunciation – A from the clue, the single letter for Small, and a female chicken.
16d Slobbering football player? (8)
I am not sure that the term is used any more, but a term for a round ball player who could, it seemed, progress down the field with the ball ‘stuck’ to a boot.
18d Soldier once feeding duck to ginger tom (7)
The letter that represents a crickety duck inserted into (feeding) a synonym of ginger and what tom is the male of.
20d Less cautious 12 Down? (6)
A synonym for the first half of the double definition in 12 Down.
25d Miserable sovereign I had flipped over (4)
The reversal (flipped over) of all of the regnal cipher of two female and eight male sovereigns and the contraction of I had.
Quick Crossword Pun:
PORTER + BELLOW + MUSHROOM = PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM – somewhat ‘weak’ on the second word in the pun.
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More music for dancing round the kitchen while preparing the Sunday roast? 1980s pop duo Wham! achieved their third number one on this day in 1985 with I’m Your Man; which held that position for two weeks:
2*/4*. The “synonym” needed for drip in 12a is not a synonym in my book, and the answer to 5d is an American term. Apart from those two points, this was a very enjoyable Sunday puzzle.
8a, 15a & 3d make up my podium.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.
.. aye .. maybe but if you’ve ever done any diy plumbing one always results from the other!
The vicar’s ciggy held me up in Sutherland today but answer eventually flashed up. 4d was last in.
A very gentle workout today, though that’s not to detract from some fine surfaces in an enjoyable solve.
The posh nosh in 6d, the soldier in 18d and the prison breakout described in 23a were my top three.
My thanks to Dada and Senf.
Dada being quirky, I thought, with his personal thesaurus by his side. I got the vicar’s ciggy at 8a straight away but then only a couple more on the first pass. However, one of those was the long 15a, which gave me a few checkers to make progress. One of these days I’ll remember the soldier at 18d. I liked the streaky painter at 12d and his companion at 20d. My COTD is the aforementioned ciggy at 8a.
Thank you, Dada for the puzzle, which was an enjoyable solve. Thank you, Colonel Mustard for the hints.
Happy St. Andrew’s Day to all our Caledonian friends. 🏴
An enjoyable puzzle – thanks to Dada (Quickie pun not brilliant) and to Senf.
For my podium I selected 8a, 10a and 23d.
I thought it was agreed that 18d was to be 22a ed.
I enjoyed this puzzle with clues 8a, 11a , 15a and 24a in particular.
Much thanks to Dada and Senf.
A nice gentle solve from Radio that didn’t cause too many problems.
Putting the anagram fodder for 11a into a sentence was a fine effort.
5d has been on a hell of a journey, beginning as a highly disputed trademark in the Emerald Isle in the 19th century.
My podium is 8a, 9d (neat) and 23d.
MT to the aforementioned and our Manitoban mountie.
I liked your post about Wincanton, S, though I’m surprised the colour blue is allowed for an unofficial plaque. Most of them tend to be other colours.
I’ve never seen a pun in the quickie where there is no wordplay in part of it. It does seem a tad lazy of the setter.
2*/4*
Nothing too difficult but good fun nonetheless, with 8a getting my vote for top clue. I would also mention the nice combo at 12/20d.
My thanks as always to Dada and Senf.
For me, and I stress for me (© Senf), this was great fun to unravel. I enjoyed it particularly as I had the luxury of a lie-in this morning. All week we have been rising at 7.00am because we have builders here. They like to start before daylight and finish early. In my younger years I would think nothing of getting up at 5.30am and driving into London. Now… well it’s draining (the word I have been using all week when suggesting the reason for our mental raggedness to H).
Great guzzle. Off to Stamford Bridge in a while, to watch The Mighty Chelsea take on The Gooners From North London.
Thanks to Da-doo-ron-ron and The Wise Man From Wincanton.
What a lovely puzzle for a Sunday. I struggled with yesterday’s prize puzzle even with the hints but found myself on the same wavelength as today’s setter.
Fun and very entertaining, 6d taking longest to crack. I enjoyed all the long clues and the linked ones.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints.
Thanks to Dada and Senf. Seemed to be going so well! Then we ground to a halt. Resorted to the Thesaurus. LOI 4d. COTD 11a.
Welcome back to the ‘old country’ Senf and many thanks for fitting the Sunday hinting into your tight schedule – I do hope your pay cheque reflects such dedication to duty!
I thought our setter was in quite a benign mood today and his 8a certainly put a smile on my face at the start of the solve. That one wins today’s award with the animal-loving soldier coasting into the reserve spot.
Thanks to Dada and to Senf – nice memory of WHAM – I always thought it was a dreadful loss to the fair sex that he ‘batted for the other side’.
Like Steve, I rapodly caught on to the vicar’s, cigarette at 8a, a great cryptic definition , which made me chuckle. Rhe geographical lurker at 8a was another favourite as the clue haf a clever surface read. The lwgo clue at 14a was the fhird clue on my podium. Finally, I hd soft spot for the sloppy footballer at 6d. Dada was mostly benign and I enjoyed the guzzle, although I had to teverse engineer some of parsing.welcome back to Blighty, Senf and thanks for taking thectime out of the social round to draft the hints.
A lovely crossword with a good deal of humour. Favourites were 6a, 24a and 3d
Thanks to the setter and to Senf. I wonder if you will be as cross as I was at the ludicrous solution to the book you featured. I know there has to be some suspension of disbelief – but this book takes it to the extreme.
Needless to say no more Marlow murders for me!!
Your comment makes me glad that I abandoned the series after the first book.
A wise choice Gazza. This one is utterly preposterous. If Senf knows whats good for him he’ll switch to reading the in flight magazine or even the safety card!
Well, the ending certainly wasn’t something I predicted! I was quite intrigued by the bit after the ending though — enough that I want to read book 5, published in January (in the UK; July in Canada and the USA).
But for a better modern mystery novel, see the review at the end of tomorrow’s hints …
Hope the wedding goes well, Senf.
Never read the books, but enjoy the tv series occasionally shown on public television over here. Probably mostly for nostalgia, as our first house as newly weds was in Moulsford and we often traveled over to Marlow. Love visiting Marlow on visits to the old country too.
Quite how it made it on tv is beyond me – but that probably says a fair bit about commissioning editors of early evening entertainment. There is scarcely a book in the crime fiction section of my local library that hasn’t been transferred into our Sunday evening viewing. Cosy crime being the worst offender (closely followed by scandi noir)
Look – I’m not a snob but if the author in question hadn’t written death in paradise this rubbish wouldn’t have been published.
I love the golden age of detective novels but also appreciate modern classics like ‘the twyford code’ and ‘seven deaths of Evelyn hardcastle’
But no body should have to read garbage like.tbis!
At first pass the N yielded nothing but luckily I gained traction in the S , so completed that first , then the N fell into place quite easily after. I had seen 3d in recent ish , puzzle but I still laboured over it as my last one in. Definitely gentle for Dada , especially after yesterday’s. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Unlike in Senf’s comment, I personally found this Dada puzzle at the tougher end of his spectrum, with personal thesaurus present and some quirkiness too.
I filled the grid more-or-less bottom to top with NW the last in
2.5*/3.5*
Favourites include 8a, 27a, 9d, 14d, 18d & 20d — with winner 8a as t made me laugh.
Thanks to Dada & Senf for blog/hints
A couple of iffy synonyms but apart those as straightforward as they come but enjoyable. No standout favourite but if pushed we’d go for 23d. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Dada being kind today with some clever misdirections and the usual smooth clueing. I assumed initially that the answer to the lion clue was ‘king of the jungle’, 😥 can’t think why and that’s what slowed things up a little! Thank you Senf as always
You weren’t alone with the king of the jungle – I spent quite a while trying to justify his appearance!
Me too with rhe king of the jungle!
And me!
I seemingly arrived at an impasse in this puzzle with several clues remaining to be solved. Eventually one fell and then the rest tumbled like dominoes. Thank you to Dada for the puzzle and the sojourning Senf for the hints.
Whenever terms like 5d and 24a appear, I sit back and await the fireworks that are sure to ensue. I must say I was a bit disappointed today at the subdued response.
With regard to 24a, few people on this side of the pond (especially our southern neighbours) realize that this game was first played in England and was brought to North America (specifically Canada) by English immigrants. The Americans may have perfected the game as we know it today but they did not invent it. According to Wikipedia, “the first recorded game of what was then numerated as (4,4) took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player. This early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants. … The first recorded game in North America was played in Beachville, Ontario, Canada, on June 4, 1838. … While there are reports that the New York Knickerbockers played games in 1845, the contest long recognized as the first recorded game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey.”
The game was initially played under a variety of local rules, most notably the New York rules and the Massachusetts rules with the former eventually prevailing. In early versions of the Ontario game, in addition to being tagged out when running the bases, players could be dismissed by being struck by a thrown ball — a rather painful method to say the least. Thankfully, this practice has long since been discontinued.
Thank you for that, Falcs, veryinteresting, especially players having balls thrown at them!
Having got 8a straight away, the rest seemed to take an age to fall. Just me being dense. However once 15a and 24a fell steady progress was made. I’ll give cotd to the streaky painter simply because it made me smile. Thanks to Dada and to Senf.
Almost finished and thoroughly enjoyed after being stumped on Friday and challenged yesterday. Smiley faces in the margins at 8a, 14d and 20d. Thanks to Dada for being reliably entertaining, and to Senf going above and beyond for posting these hints while on a family visit home. Mouth watering at your picture for 20d – we never see it like that here in the US, just streaky sold for some unknown reason. You can get the so called “Canadian” version, but they are just tough little circles, not tasty looking like your picture. Saving last few clues for lunchtime as I really must get on with the Christmas decorating now.
The vicar’s ciggy & the 3 long ‘uns going straight in helped to make this a brisk solve & very enjoyable it was too. The Alcatraz breakout was my pick of the clues but had ticks against 8,10&15a + 3&18d.
Thanks to D & dedicated to duty S – enjoy your visit.
Completed in the interminable wait between doors and the band coming on. I too enjoyed the Reverend’s fag break, and the 12d 20d sandwich which causes CL to leave the room. (See the article in Saturday’s Paper)
Thanks to Dada and Senf
Do I have another overpriced yet nigh on unalcoholic beer?
1.5* / 3.5*A good Sunday challenge with plenty of humour. Favourites today include the big anagram at 11a and the two pig meat clues at 12d and 20d
Thanks to setter and Senf
Ps Homophone at 2d doesn’t work for me
Good Sunday evening fun, and the Chicken Pasty at 14D wins it for me, VMT Dada & Senf.
I found this a rather dry challenge. A tendency towards ever-iincreasing number of anagrams in DT puzzles is not really my cup of tea but do have to admit solving 11a got me off to a good start today. Needed MrG’s help with 24a even though I did live across the Atlantic many moons ago. Thank you Dada and Monsieur Moutarde.
Monsieur Moutarde is far better than my Colonel Mustard. 😊
Just finished this in bed with my cup of hot water. DD2 drive us up to visit DD2 and we had to leave before our village shop opened, meaning I didn’t get the paper until we had a comfort stop. It is her birthday today, 66, and the last 10 years spent locked up so to speak. After two agonising hours with her we drive home in the dark so it was good to bury myself in the guzzle when we got home. With a very large drink at my elbow! Great workout as usual and of course I read my friend’s hints (hope your visit went well) which have me 5d LOI. 8a was my favourite, 24a was a complete guess and good to read the history of it. Many thanks to Dada and TMITRS. (Only wrote all that about my beloved daughter as I know it is too late for anyone to read it. She doesn’t know who I am any more, but still recognises her sister. There is an old man we see when we visit, who goes into the home every day to sit with his wife. He is so cheerful and jolly, talks to everyone and helps the carers. The wife just sits and stares ahead. Such devotion is very moving.
Hi Day Zee
I’m so sorry to hear about your daughter, at such a young age.
There are no words but my thoughts are, of course L, with you.
Remind who DD2 is again?
As you know, I love playing with names etc but this one has escaped me.