Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31109 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by Gazza)
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No prizes for guessing who today’s setter is. He’s given us a very enjoyable puzzle.
I’m providing hints for a few of what I consider to be the harder clues. If you’re really stuck on one of the clues I haven’t hinted I may provide a bit more help.
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.
Please ensure that you do not run foul of the instructions in red below and also take care to abide by the comment etiquette.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.
Across
1a Whence man about town? (7)
Cryptic definition of the residential areas surrounding a town.
5a See 22 Across
11a From book will learn about long division? (6,4)
The abbreviation for book followed by an anagram (about) of WILL LEARN. This ‘long division’ came to an end in 1989.
12a Order to have noticeable effect (4)
Double definition, the first an order from an interrogator to reveal a secret, say.
14a Question friend answers? (3,4,5)
The question that a sentry traditionally asks when an unknown person approaches, usually followed, in fiction at least, by ‘Friend or foe?’.
22a/5a Stop twice: fool crossing (10,7)
Assemble a verb to stop or curb, the stop found at the end of a sentence and the fool who represents C in the Nato Phonetic Alphabet. This was the most famous crossing in 11a.
Down
1d Quiet cat, dropping head, old and worn out (6)
An instruction to be quiet is followed by a type of greyish/brownish domestic cat without its first letter (dropping head).
2d Ringing up here hardly toll-free? (6)
Cryptic definition of the elevated part of a building where ringing, tolling and pealing can be heard.
13d Mood cheers up with doctor on department (10)
Reverse a short word of thanks (cheers!) and add one of the usual abbreviations for a doctor and a synonym of department or area.
16d Parrot to delight in being caged? (8)
A verb to delight in or cherish and a slang term for serving time in prison.
17d Disparage French peach, one dry inside (8)
A word, from French, for a peach or attractive girl has inside it the Roman numeral for one and the abbreviation meaning dry or ‘off the booze’.
19d Racing ahead of a second business failure (6)
The abbreviation for racing (with a powerful engine rather than a horse) precedes A (from the clue) and abbreviations for second and business.
20d Leader abandoning fight with European PM (6)
Drop the leading letter of an armed fight and add an abbreviation for European to get a post-war Prime Minister.
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The Quick Crossword pun: WARDER + BUFF + HELLO = WATER BUFFALO
Good fun, with a couple of cold war clues. What is he telling us?
A very decent standard for a SPP, with the SW being last to fall.
Some fine surfaces and a good amount of humour, the rabbit chaser in 15d is my COTD.
My thanks to our setter and Gazza.
Still got 2 to go but will get there I hope. Very enjoyable start to a busy weekend and the sun is up as well in East Grinstead. Loved 14 across and with 17 down tried so hard to use ***** but to no avail. The hardest clues to crack often come out as favourites. Really do not get 1 across but perhaps it is because I have the wrong answer.
Many thanks to our cunning setter and Gazza
Glad someone else doesn’t understand the wordplay for 1a.
Whence means from where, so the clue is asking where does a man come from if he is about (meaning outside) a town.
… good job Sue isn’t on duty today that’s almost naughty step material! 😊 .. but thanks for explaining. This was a “bung in” for me.
All in all not a bad Saturday back page and my solution is now winging it’s way to Telegraph Towers in search of the Holy Grail (that’s for the clip🤣).
Why the Cold War references though .. is there something I’ve missed about today?
Thanks – needed that as well!
Cheers!
Isn’t this an “alternative clue”?
Me neither and I have another answer that fits better imho!
You’ve expanded your alias so this sent you into moderation. Both versions will work from now on.
I hope that you’ll explain your other answer on the full review blog which will be published tomorrow.
Me too- I went down the route of synonym for man about town and ended up in Ancient Greece…
Home and dry. Again it is those pesky 4 letter clues that prove so hard. One of the advantages of our daily crossword is that is can help with working out the jokes in Christmas crackers.
This was testing from the outset. And, it took some time to get into. I can’t say if I enjoyed it but I was happy to finish it. The not warm war clues were bung ins as was 20d. Parsing took some time for quite a few clues and there a couple that I still need to reckon with. Thanks to Gazza for the hints, which I will read shortly and thanks to the setter for a very testing yet doable x word.
Thank you to NYDK for another enjoyable Saturday Prize Puzzle. Hard to pick just one favourite so I won’t
Thanks to Gazza for the hints. I still can’t sit at the computer for long enough to prepare a blog post, but I’m hoping that my rate of recovery will soon make this a possibility
It’s good to see you, CS and we are all looking forward to your return. Great to hear you say that your recovery is going well but don’t rush it – we will wait until you are fully better.
Make the most of your convalescence and enjoy your sick pay!
2.5*/4*. This was a typically enjoyable NYDK compilation. Just right for a SPP.
Shouldn’t 15d be a hare chaser?
With lots of ticked clues to pick from, 22/5 gets my vote as favourite.
Many thanks to Donny and to Gazza.
Or should I say “… for an SPP”?
Mine always chases rabbits but she has yet to catch one!
Is this Our Brian ? Hallo stranger.
Yes DG, it is “Our Brian”.
Hares are pretty rare in USA – perhaps NYDK was being gracious since “jackrabbit” would likely have ignited the Anglophile blue touch paper.
Mr & Mrs T
Boston
Tank you for the hints. I definitely needed them. Embarrassingly, I struggled with some of them, even with the hints. The has been slow this morning.
I found this a tad harder than recent Saturday puzzles but it was worth the struggle. For me, it was the SE that took longest to give up its secrets, and for favourites I went for 11a and 15d. Great fun all round.
My thanks to Donny and Gazza.
Lack of knowledge about Tarantino films and German newspapers held me back for a while as did being ‘too clever’ about French peaches! Trailed across the line eventually but was certainly grateful for a few checkers to clear the way. Think my favourite was the business failure.
Thanks to NYDK for the puzzlement and to Gazza for the hints and cartoons which brightened a chilly day.
Another top notch SPP from Donny. Loved the linked clues & particularly liked 5&15d. Was very slow to twig 2d then the penny finally dropped at 1a with the help of the additional checker so by no means a brisk completion.
Thanks to NYDK & Gazza
I found this harder than expected today, but enjoyable all the same.
Enjoyed the couple of “Cold War” clues (Thanks David Caldicutt!) and would give 11a my COTD award.
1a was my LOI and I have to admit I found the clueing for this a bit vague.
Thanks NYDK for the mental workout and Gazza for the very helpful hints!
NB The error message on posting the Prize Puzzle seems to have disappeared at long last, well done the Telegraph Tech Team.
Lucky you. Still happened on the Android pad this morning. Maybe you’ve got an iPad!
I found this quite hard going and resorted to the hints for a couple to keep me going or else I think I may have thrown in the towel having other things to be getting on with. For me, it just didn’t seem to have the usual Saturday NYDK sparkle, but maybe that’s just me being in a contrary mood. Cotd is 2d which made me smile. Hats off to NYDK for the challenge which beat me and to Gazza for the hints.
Much like yesterday’s, a bit of a slog and some of the definitions felt a bit of a stretch. Possibly more a case of my brain not being on the right wavelength. That said, some nice moments and got there in the end.
I found this to be quite tough with thought being required for some of the clues. I don’t understand 1a but, as usual, I am probably missing the obvious. Fortunately, I got the linked clue at 10a and 5a immediately and that led me into the rest of the puzzle. I liked the old computer equipment at 21a and the no two ways at 18a. However, I loved the friend who answers the question at 14a, which becomes my COTD.
Thank you, New York door furniture for a challenging but enjoyable puzzle. Thank you, Gazza for the hints.
I’m late on parade because of having to go and buy the tree. I now have to decorate it when it will become something of a family history. Wherever we went, we would buy a Christmas tree decoration so they would remind us of the good times we had.
I am glad you don’t “get” 1a. I don’t either despite the explanations given above. Enjoy dressing the tree, we also bought decorations when we were away and putting each item in the tree brought back a memory. Especially the things the children made. Beats a co- ordinated colour coded tree every time. Daisygirl
Me too with 1a. In fact, a lot of it was a mystery to me to be honest. Our tree is also full of memories, with one of my favourites being a bauble we picked up in Budapest.
I am forbidden to display the “El Cagener” nativity scene I picked up in Barcelona
Jeez that was tough, but got there in the finish.
22a reminded me of an Elvis Costello song that sadly we’ll never hear on the radio again, snowflake generation strikes again!
Costello himself asked radio stations to stop playing it because bleeping the offensive word only drew more attention to it. And he’s rewritten that verse for when he performs it live. Does that make him a snowflake?
God help us if his lyrics are described as double plus good speak!
Just to be clear, I was being rhetorical with my Costello question. It’s nothing to with a snowflake generation or Nineteen Eighty-Four, more to do with it being a horrible word and people listening to it casually on the radio not understanding the context. Same reason you won’t hear Rednecks by Randy Newman on Radio 2. No one’s actually banning the sale of Armed Forces and Good Old Boys.
After hitting the buffers yesterday with Elgar’s Toughie, it was gratifying that I finished this, albeit with difficulty in coming to terms with 1a; but thanks to Frankiemillwall for the explanation.
Otherwise a fair plod for a SPP.
Plenty of enjoyable clues with my favourite being 14a.
3*/3*
Another gem from NYDK. A pleasure from start to finish. 3 in the NW took it into 2* time but 5* for enjoyment despite the continued brain fog I have going on. Too many ticks but the misdirection of the Franchise peach at 17d got my COTD.
Thanks to NYDk and Gazza for standing in and for the parsing explanations/confirmations for 1a and 2d
Got there in the end, except for 21across! Can someone drop a subtle hint?
Split the 4 letter to to a 2,2.
Isn’t this an “alternative clue”?
Richard, the definition is “leave” and a two letter word meaning “old” is followed by a two letter abbreviation for “computer equipment”. I think the latter is a bit of a stretch as it really refers to the use of the equipment not the equipment itself.
Ah! Thank you. It didn’t help that I’d got 16 down half wrong!
If anyone is looking for another excellent puzzle to solve, today’s NTSPP from duncanjwitham is well worth a try.
I’ll second that – didn’t find it easy but a very rewarding tussle
Once again this Saturday puzzle has lots to like from this NYDK production. Completed mostly top to bottom with SE last to surrender. I liked the multi-word clues, especially the 22a/5a that linked nicely with 11a.
2*/4.5* for me today
Favourites include 11a, 22/5a, 2d, 3d & 15d — with winner 11a
Smiles also for 26a, 2d & 3d
Thanks to NYDK & Gazza
Another Saturday, another fine guzzle you got me into. I liked the linked clues and was pleased when, having trawled through all the European PMs the penny suddenly dropped. I love those moments! I also surprised myself by knowing the pop sensation. Many thanks to NYDJ and to Gazza for taking over
Not for me today even with the hints.
One less in competition for the mythical.
Thanks to the setter and to Gazza.
All the best to crypticsue. Get well soon.
Gosh that was tricky! Held myself up for a bit by merrily whacking in a hospital department at the end of 13d until I read the hint and realised my mistake.
Can anyone explain what function the word “fuss” provides in 23d, other than helping the surface read?
Thanks to the setter for a real challenge today, and to Gazza for the much-needed hints!
Heather, as well as its more common meaning of “make”, “xxxxxx” can mean “make a fuss”. Either meaning would work for the wordplay but as you rightly say, “make a fuss” makes the surface much better. It is not surface padding in this instance as it is a valid meaning in its own right.
Rum and pumpkin scones on the naughty step for you my lad. Take him down!
You can go off people you know. Were you a sneak at school?
In actual fact, I forgot it was Saturday …
I too am very surprised it hasn’t been redacted, Tants.
For 23d we need a verb meaning ‘make a fuss’ or complain noisily from which A is removed to make the answer.
It’s a term for make a fuss with a subtraction
So many people on the naughty step today!
I found this very difficult and threw in the towel with 3 left.
4*/2*
Not my cup of T today although i did like 11a
Thank you for the help
You can’t have a single letter as your alias so I’ve changed it to your usual’Gill’.
Maybe G is no longer poorly?
G for groan…!
Droll, very droll. 🤭
Yes I found with others that this was too difficult for me without consulting the hints. I also agree with the queries raised about certain clues but thank Gazza for his sterling effort as the Saturday blogger. Best wishes to CS for continuing recovery.
Despite not finishing it I found some of the clues excellent and will mention 22 and 5a as an exemplar.
My thanks to NYDK for the crossword and to Brian a very welcome return. Good to see you in the blog again.
As today is busy I did not have time to spend too long on this and rapidly realised it was a puzzle that needed more time than I had. I therefore completed it with help from the hints. It seemed a fun puzzle which I wish I could have spent longer on. I would not have managed to parse 1a.
Many thanks to the setter and to Gazza for the hints.
This was great fun that took a bit of teasing out which works for me. My LOI was 1a that took me forever.
Some of you may not know that a 6d is a chain * (22yds) x a furlong (220 yds).
I think Mr Costello was right to change the lyric as I was surprised when I heard it in the 70s.
I didn’t know what an actual 16d was and, thanks to Google me Doogles I now do and they are beautiful. I need to get my act together and become a twitcher. I often go to The IOW and stay near Newton Creek which is a great place to twitch.
10a is Tarantino’s best even though many people prefer Pulp Fiction. It’s probably because it was my first insight into the bonkers mind of this excellent director. It’s why I prefer Toy Story to Shrek as it was my introduction to Pixar.
My podium is 10a/24d, 11a (love ‘long division’) and 15d (great anagram)
MT to NYPD Blue and Gazzeroony.
3*/5*
* Cricketers felt it was a convenient length to give the batsman and bowler an equal chance and they were absolutely right.
Isn’t “Some of you may not know that a 6d is a chain * (22yds) x a furlong (220 yds).” an “alternative clue”?
Absolutely!
As are most of the blogger’s tips.
It’s all very grey and, let’s be honest, not that important.
I’ve never seen anyone complain though it may have happened.
Remember seeing the Tarantino film on successive nights & being blown away by the style of it. Not quite so keen now – is it a homage or simply a rip off of Kubrick’s The Killing. Reckon Pulp Fiction far superior – Jackie Brown is my fav of his though.
Meant as a reply to Tom
Hi Hoots
Directors, singers, artists etc rip off/plagiarise/get inspired by others all the time. I appreciate that may not work for you but I’m fine with it.
He has done enough with his body of work for his surname to be used as an adjective when describing other films, ie Tarantinoesque.
I saw The Hateful Eight on a flight to Australia. What a mad film that was!
Completely bonkers.
Goodness knows what goes through his head.
Excellent stuff. Favourite was 22/5a. Thanks to NYD and Gazza.
I enjoyed this a lot , and am glad that I wasn’t the only one to find it hard going. Pleased to have finished , and having looked at the hints I think I got my last one in 16d wrong 🙄. Damn …definitely no pen for me again this week ! Thanks so much to NYDK for the fun and great clues and Gazza.
Another Toughie (for me) standard Saturday offering.
Solved with a couple of visits to the Thesaurus and also needed the hint for 16d.
Thanks to all.
Cracking puzzle. Plenty of grit that needed thinking about, but very clever stuff too.
Thanks to NYDK (someday I’ll learn the indicators for setters other than Ray T) and to Gazza – especially for the Bridge of Death. The present Lady W will be bombarded with “facts” about swallows and the importance of monarchs having knowledge…
3* / 4* A cracking puzzle, especially enjoyable having just returned from the German capital.
Thanks to setter and Gazza
Thanks all. Thanks Gazza.
Sorry I didn’t get in yesterday.
Cheers
NYDK.