Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3344
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 23rd November 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A truly tough yet entertaining puzzle from Dada this Sunday that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review of the same for your kind perusal and valuable feedback.
During my childhood, I understood a cannibal, the answer to the clue at 21a, to mean a human who eats another human to survive. Over time, thanks to zoology, I came to learn a broader definition that a cannibal is an organism that eats others of its own species. This time, after solving the puzzle, I explored the internet, having become interested in learning more about the practice of cannibalism. I learnt that cannibalism has long occupied a peculiar place in human imagination, straddling the lines between horror, fascination, taboo and scientific curiosity. It has been practised by various human species and cultures throughout history, although its forms and meanings have varied widely. In the natural world, cannibalism is far from rare. Numerous species, including insects, fish, amphibians and mammals, engage in cannibalistic behaviour as part of their ecological strategies. For example, spiders may consume mates; certain fish will eat weaker offspring and lions occasionally kill and consume cubs that are not their own. In these contexts, cannibalism is a mechanism for survival, resource competition, population regulation or reproductive advantage. It is not regarded as deviant within those species but rather as an evolved behaviour shaped by environmental pressures. This biological perspective demonstrates that cannibalism, at its most basic level, is a natural phenomenon rather than an inherent moral aberration. However, human societies have framed cannibalism very differently. Across cultures, cannibalism is typically associated with profound taboo. Most societies have historically condemned anthropophagy on moral, spiritual or legal grounds. Yet cannibalism has also existed within certain ritual, survival and socio-political contexts. Evidence shows that anatomically modern humans, Neanderthals, and ‘Homo antecessor’ engaged in cannibalism during the Pleistocene. In later periods, it appeared occasionally in ancient Egypt and Rome, particularly during severe famines. The Island Caribs of the Lesser Antilles, whose name gave rise to the word ‘cannibal’, were long reputed to eat human flesh, though the accuracy of these legends remains debated, as many such accounts were recorded by outsiders and often used during the colonial era to justify domination of non-European peoples. Because of this, such sources require careful scrutiny. Despite some scholars arguing that there is no firm evidence for socially acceptable cannibalism anywhere, this view is largely rejected. Cannibalism has been documented in regions such as Fiji, the Amazon Basin, the Congo and among the Māori of New Zealand. It was also reported in New Guinea and parts of the Solomon Islands, where human flesh was at times sold in markets. In early modern Europe, medicinal cannibalism, the consumption of human body parts or blood for supposed health benefits, was widely practised, reaching its peak in the seventeenth century and persisting in some forms into the nineteenth. Cannibalism has also occurred in extreme survival situations, including the Donner Party, the Holodomor, and the 1972 Andes plane crash. Additionally, rare individuals have engaged in cannibalism for sexual gratification. In modern times, it has appeared in conflicts in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was still reported in parts of Papua New Guinea as recently as 2012. Cannibalism continues to challenge anthropologists as a test of cultural relativism. The term carries centuries of cultural baggage, yet beneath that weight lies a phenomenon that reflects both our biological roots and our moral evolution. Cannibalism, then, is not merely an act but a lens through which we examine what it means to be human; our fears, our boundaries and the fragile structures that separate civilisation from instinct.
Fly-tipping, the definition to the clue at 22a, is perhaps an example of antisocial behaviour.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
6a Stop after minor blow for building unit (11)
BREEZEBLOCK: BLOCK (stop) as to stop something from moving or flowing through a pipe, a passage, a road etc by putting something in it or across it placed after (after) BREEZE (minor blow) as a gentle, light wind and, in meteorological terms, as a minor or weak blow of wind due to its low wind speed guides to the definition of a lightweight building brick made from small cinders mixed with sand and cement
9a Ship crossing river in English county (6)
STAFFS: SS (ship) as the abbreviation for steamship extending or cutting across (crossing) TAFF (river) as a river in Wales that rises in the Brecon Beacons and empties into the Briston Channel takes to the definition of the abbreviated version of Staffordshire, a county in central England
10a Conservative, higher pay! (6,2)
SQUARE UP: A charade of SQUARE (conservative) as a conservative or a person considered to be old-fashioned or boringly conventional in attitude and behaviour and UP (higher) as an adjective denoting at or to a considerable or specified height or having a greater level or degree in position, value, rank, importance or quality, for example, to go up is to go higher leads to the definition of a verb meaning to pay or settle bills, debts etc
11a Party suffered by doctor came together (10)
DOVETAILED: DO (party) as an informal term for a party or other social event and AILED (suffered) as suffered bad health preceded by or coming after (by) VET (doctor) as a veterinary surgeon or a person trained in the treatment of diseases of domestic animals takes to the definition of a verb in the past tense meaning joined or fit together compactly or harmoniously or came together or went along nicely with something
14a Thus brute retreats (4)
ERGO: The definition of an adverb meaning thus, hence, consequently or therefore is arrived at from OGRE (brute) as a person who is considered particularly cruel, brutish or ugly coming from the other end (retreats) as a reversal in the across clue
15a Mushroom bad for a reptile (11)
PROLIFERATE: The definition of a verb meaning to breed, mushroom or to multiply, grow or expand rapidly is reached from an anagram (bad) of FOR A REPTILE
21a Piece I force back (4)
ITEM: The definition of a piece of information in a newspaper or magazine is obtained from I from the clue and MET (force) as referring to the Metropolitan Police that serves as the main police force in London in a returned fashion (back) as a reversal in the across clue
22a Irritating little thing predicting antisocial behaviour (3-7)
FLY-TIPPING: A charade of FLY (irritating little thing) as a small two-winged insect considered to be highly irritating due to its persistent buzzing and TIPPING (predicting) as a verb in the continuous form denoting predicting as likely to win or achieve something takes to the definition of the deliberate and illegal dumping of rubbish in an unauthorised place that is considered an act of antisocial behaviour
25a Girl after first of conquests gets Bali dancing – fellow man-eater? (8)
CANNIBAL: ANN (girl) as a popular name for a girl placed after (after) the first or initial letter (first) of C[ONQUESTS] and to which is added (gets) an anagram (dancing) of BALI produces the definition of a person who eats the flesh of other human beings
27a Partners packing in tale, fake news (6)
ALLIES: The definition of the plural version of a partner, friend, confederate or one associated with another for a common cause is attained from the inner letters (packing) in [T]AL[E] followed by LIES (fake news) as false statements or fake news deliberately presented as being true
28a Drink got emptied when full? (3,3,5)
GIN AND TONIC: The definition of a highball cocktail made with gin and tonic water poured over ice is reached from G[O]T devoid of its inner letter (emptied) pointing to what is left, G&T, the abbreviated version of the definition and contributing to the cryptic definition of one who may be on the G&T when they are drunk (when full)
Down
1d Small beer for pudding? (6)
TRIFLE: Double nounal definition; the second referring to a cold dessert typically consisting of plain or sponge cake soaked in sherry, rum or brandy and topped with layers of jam or jelly, custard and whipped cream that takes to the first meaning anything that is trivial or insignificant, an example of which is the idiom small beer i.e. a thing that is considered unimportant
2d Body of water erased after wind? (3,3)
RED SEA: The definition of the narrow strip of water extending south-eastward from Suez, Egypt for about 1,200 miles to the Bal-el-Mandeb Strait, which connects with the Gulf of Aden and thence with the Arabian Sea is reached when ERASED from the clue is subject to an anagram (after wind)
3d Bit of a looker in woollen sweater (4)
LENS: The definition of a part of something that looks such as a component of an eye or a camera is part of or hiding inside (in) [WOOL]LEN S[WEATER]
4d Fish thrash about helplessly (8)
FLOUNDER: Double definition; the second being a verb meaning to thrash about or struggle clumsily or helplessly that takes to the first a noun referring to a European, marine flatfish, Platichthys flesus, used for food
5d Most bloodcurdling performance of actress, yours truly getting bitten! (8)
SCARIEST: The definition of a superlative adjective denoting most bloodcurdling, terrifying or frightening is got from an anagram (performance) of ACTRESS and I (yours truly) as the setter of this clue referring to himself going inside (getting bitten)
7d Seat thieves lifted (5)
STOOL: The definition of a backless and armless single seat supported on legs or a pedestal is got from LOOTS (thieves) as a verb in the third person present tense singular form meaning takes goods from a place by force or through lawless behaviour going in an upward direction (lifted) as a reversal in the down clue
8d Malfunctioning vehicle (5)
BUGGY: Double definition; the second being a noun referring to a small motor vehicle, typically with an open top that takes to the first an adjective denoting malfunctioning or faulty in operation, especially of a computer programme or system
12d Stoop, being shaved on top (3)
TOO: [S]TOO[P] subject to the removal of the outer letters (being shaved) takes to the definition of an adverb meaning also, as well, in addition or on top, for example. “I’ll have an ice cream and cake on top” meaning ‘as well’ or ‘also’ i.e. too
13d Length of fingernail of typical giant (5)
LOFTY: Part of or hidden inside (length of) [FINGERNAI]L OF TY[PICAL] guides to the definition of an adjective denoting tall, towering or elevated, an example of which is giant, another adjective meaning gigantic or of very great size, tall stature or gigantic
16d Intimate time in Minorca, ruined (8)
ROMANTIC: The definition of an adjective meaning relating to love or to sexual relationships, an example of which is intimate i.e. euphemistically denoting having a sexual relationship is reached from T (time) as a symbol for time as in physics placed inside (in) an anagram (ruined) of MINORCA
17d A lot has changed, with one month to invest – for saver? (8)
LIFEBOAT: A LOT from the clue subject to an anagram (has changed) having a combo of I (one) as the Roman numeral for one and FEB (month) as the second month of the year yields the definition of a specially constructed boat launched from land to rescue people in distress at sea and hence deemed as a saver
18d Snake equally poisonous originally (3)
ASP: The definition of any of several venomous snakes, especially the viper Vipera aspis of southern Europe, the cobra Naja haje of Africa and the Middle East or the horned viper is deduced from AS (equally) as similarly or equally and the original or initial letter (originally) of P[OISONOUS]
19d Post read out – might that be rare? (5)
STEAK: A homophone heard by the audience (read out) of STAKE (post) as a post driven into the ground takes to the definition of a slice of beef, usually cut thick and across the muscle grain that might be rare i.e. served partly raw or not completely cooked, so that the inside is still red
20d Touching, ready for birth (5)
ONSET: A charade of ON (touching) as a preposition meaning concerning, about or touching i.e. resting on, e.g. the cup is on the table and SET (ready) as an adjective meaning completely prepared or ready leads to the definition of the beginning, arrival or birth of something
23d Running air, now circulating (2,1,3)
IN A ROW: The definition of an informal phrase meaning running, consecutive or in succession is fetched from an anagram (circulating) of AIR, NOW
24d Herb and a pickle initially turned up in pasty (6)
PALLID: A combination of DILL (herb) as an aromatic herb from the celery family, used as a flavouring in cooking and in dishes like pickles, soups etc, particularly for its feathery leaves and seeds and A from the clue and the initial or starting letter (initially) of P[ICKLE] all in an upward direction (turned up) as reversals in the down clue guides to the definition of an adjective meaning pasty or unhealthily pale, especially of a person’s face and typically because of poor health
26d Game Leeds United drew, oddly with four headers? (4)
LUDO: The definition of a strategy-based board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens from start to finish according to the rolls of a single die is arrived at from the head or topmost letters each of (with four headers) of L[EEDS] U[NITED] D[REW,] O[DDLY]
There were many clues that I liked in this puzzle such as 6a, 11a, 15a, 22a, 25a, 27a, 28a, 17d, 20d, 24d and 26d; 6a 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.