Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31113
Hints and tips by Shabbo
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning, fellow puzzlers, and season’s greetings to you all.
I found this very straightforward, slowing only slightly in the SE corner. I even began to wonder whether it might not be RayT, but then the sweetheart appeared at 18d and a quick word count revealed a word/clue ratio of just a fraction over five, so all was well with the world.
Blogging is never a chore and when it is a choice between writing hints or watching the Test Match in Adelaide, it is a real joy!
Many thanks to RayT and to the DT Crossword Team.
Across
1a Head man dirties pants (10)
ADMINISTER: anagram (pants) of MAN DIRTIES. The solution is a verb – think manage.
6a Strong beer, holding opener of bottle (4)
ABLE: synonym of beer outside (holding) first letter of Bottle.
10a Passed water following tributary’s first river (5)
TWEED: synonym of passed water (sorry, Jane) after the first letter of Tributary.
11a Heavy charge lit to explode (9)
LETHARGIC: anagram (to explode) of CHARGE LIT.
12a Increase facing working doctor (7)
SURGEON: synonyms of increase + working.
13a State of Georgia trailing fashion (5)
TONGA: abbreviation for GeorgiA after a regency word meaning fashion. Readers of Jane Austen (which includes the current Mrs Shabbo) will have no problem with this.
15a Animosity’s overwhelming queen in fairies (7)
SPRITES: abbreviation for queen (or king) inside synonym of animosity + s.
17a Fire was one water heater (7)
ELEMENT: double definition.
19a Stranger spirit medium specifically right (7)
RUMMIER: a spirit distilled from sugar + abbreviation for Medium + two letters signifying “specifically” (or that is) + abbreviation for Right.
21a Live with zero lapse reflecting blessing (7)
BENISON: synonym of live (as in exist) + two words meaning zero lapse (or without wrongdoing) reversed (reflecting).
22a Republic of north-east China? (5)
NEPAL: abbreviation for North East + synonym of china in Cockney Rhyming Slang.
24a Heavyweight reportedly getting cramp (7)
TIGHTEN: homophone (reportedly) of a synonym of heavyweight or giant.
27a Dear former partner brooding (9)
EXPENSIVE: two-letter word meaning former partner + synonym of brooding.
28a Couple in posh evening picked up (5)
UNITE: another word (or rather a letter) meaning posh (this one is from the 1950s) + homophone (picked up) of a synonym of evening.
29a Conservative is occasionally too grey (4)
TORY: every other letter (occasionally) of ToO gReY.
30a City of Rome spoilt in ruins (10)
METROPOLIS: anagram (in ruins) of ROME SPOILT. Apparently it wasn’t built in a day.
Down
1d Drink since before time, half-cut (4)
ASTI: synonym of since + the first half of TIme.
2d Disorder of realm most disordered (9)
MAELSTROM: anagram (disordered) of REALM MOST.
3d New look clothing daughter’s bottom (5)
NADIR: abbreviation for New + synonym of look outside (clothing) abbreviation for Daughter.
4d Joins Marines, possibly losing unit (7)
SOLDERS: synonym of Marines without I (losing unit). Are Marines soldiers, sailors or marines? Discuss.
5d Agreement entered securing agreement (7)
ENTENTE: hidden word (securing) inside words 1&2.
7d Started pulse taking drug, ultimately (5)
BEGAN: synonym of pulse (think vegetables) outside the final letter of druG.
8d Some penchant, in general, is attractive (10)
ENCHANTING: another hidden word (some). This time, our solution can be found lurking in plain sight within words 2-4.
9d Greek god later takes over temple (8)
PANTHEON: Greek god + synonym of later outside abbreviation for Over (don’t mention the cricket).
14d Cutting line in a hospital department (10)
ASTRINGENT: synonym of line inside A + our usual hospital department.
16d Petty theft finally followed by sacking (8)
TRIFLING: final letter of thefT + synonym of sacking.
18d Sweetheart steals in turning key (9)
ESSENTIAL: anagram of STEALS IN + E (swEetheart).
20d English love sailor going up rope (7)
RATLINE: abbreviation for English + word meaning nothing (love in tennis) + informal term for sailor. Join them all together and turn the whole thing upside down (going up).
21d Insect on animal creates annoyance (7)
BUGBEAR: join together a small insect and a large animal.
23d Press addressing, perhaps, Express readers, initially (5)
PAPER: assemble the initial letters of the first 5 words of the clue.
25d President is behind after Democrat’s back (5)
TRUMP: synonym of behind following the last letter of democraT.
26d The lady’s man’s embracing Romeo (4)
HERS: synonym “man is” outside (embracing) NATO phonetic alphabet letter represented by Romeo.
Quickie Pun: CHAP + UNEASE = JAPANESE
This was a fun and fast fill, but not a read and write, throughout. The across clues were straightforward save for 21 which was the LOI. The down clues required more thought, but with the letters from the across clues, the solutions came quickly. 10a;s lavatorial humour raised a smirk, 12a is powerful and 19a, 3, 4, 20 and 21 down are all worthy podium contenders. Hard to pick a CoTD so it will be shared between 19a and 20d. Many thanks to the setter and Shabbo for the hints, which were not needed.
For me TM Ray T has surpassed himself with this terrific puzzle. I loved it from the head man dirtying his pants at 1a to the cutting line at 14d, my last one. Plenty of amusement and I have ticks all over the paper. I thought the Republic of north-east China at 22a was a belter of a clue and 25d has made me see the president in a new light and I will be calling him by a different name now. My COTD because it made me laugh out load is the first river at 10a.
Thank you, Ray T for a terrific guzzle. Thank you, Shabbo for the hints.
I liked the Quickie pun today, as well.
Obviously suprascript doesn’t work in comments, which is why the trademark is normal size.
You have competition for being the first post, SC!
I occasionally sneak past you but Cons is a serious threat.
Nah! My laptop played up this morning, TDS65. I will see you off, Conor! 🤣
In the red corner, we have the undisputed champion ‘No flies on me Stevie C’ and, in the blue corner, challenger ‘King Con’….
Ding ding!
Oooo er, fisticuffs? I’m running away!
Very good!
I do the crossword between 0545 and X . The comment is written in Microsoft Word immediately after the post mortem. Then it`s simply a case of Copy and Paste to the blog at noon, when the bloggers have provided their hints. I like structure!
I’m looking forward immensely to watching if SC gets toppled in 2026.
I, of course, will be keeping score.
Conor doesn’t have my secret weapon, TDS65. If I’m not first, there’s a good reason behind it. 😊
I do the same, Conor but I have a trick that gives me the edge. 😊
Bring it on!
(I am so excited which is really quite sad. Get a life, Tom)
My competition days are over, but as this is a non contact pastime, I`ll happily take you on!
Challenge accepted! 😊
Marvy parvy
Noon? Do you live in the next door time zone?
Central European Time….GMT + 1
Excellent fare from the master. 25d was amusing I thought. 17a good and 21a my COTD. Needed the hints to fully comprehend 13a thanks Shabbo. 20d was a new one on me but gettable. Thanks to RayT.
The Master of Brevity at his very best and very friendly – 1.5*/4.5*
Standout favourite, Shabbo apologised to jane so I suppose I must as well, it just appealed to the remnants of my schoolboy sense of humour, 10a!
Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo.
For no good reason this took me a little longer than average, but it was a very worthwhile exercise, full of great clueing and gentle humour. I’m afraid I have to join those with a childish sense of humour and nominate 10a as my favourite. Terrific entertainment from one of our very best setters.
My thanks to Ray T and Shabbo.
A very enjoyable stroll through Crosswordland with RayT in fine form. 1a kicked things off very nicely. *
I’ve never heard of the adjective ‘rummy’ for odd. I thought that its comparative had to be the answer but the ‘i’ threw me. It’s a word that we will never see in life that is obviously useful for setters to fill a gap.
21a was extremely satisfying as I worked it out through the parsing thinking….could that be the answer? I thought it had a chance because of the prefix ‘ben’ (bene) meaning good/well. We love crossies.
My podium is 22a (v neat), 9d and 21d.
MT to the ‘Master of Brevit’ and Shabberoony.
2*/4*
* ‘pants’ is a truly dreadful, modern expression but it’s great to see setters having so much fun with it.
2*/5*. Oh joy! Last Thursday it was Silvanus and RayT with his Beam hat on. This week it is RayT with Silvanus Toughie to follow. Despite the woeful cricket, I am one happy bunny today!
I didn’t know 21a but it was easily solved by following the instructions in the wordplay.
Many thanks to RayT and to Shabbo.
I enjoyed this, even though a couple were too clever for me. Thank you for the hints. I learned a new word today
Head man dirties pants.
Absolutely hilarious, top, top clue.
When 1a is that brilliant, you know the rest will be up to scratch too.
The only question mark I’ve got concerns 19a, which I’m sure must be a real word but I can imagine it starting an argument if used in Scrabble.
Great fun, my thanks to Ray T and Shabbo.
Fun and kept my mind going! Thank you
I like many of the film/tv adaptations but the Austen books have never really been my bag (a hangover from Mansfield Park at A Level probably) so the Regency fashion at 13a was unfamiliar & needed a post solve check. Otherwise I thought this on a par with Tuesday in terms of difficulty. Pleasant enough though can’t say it particularly rocked my boat but that may have something to do with a grouchy mood with this thoroughly miserable weather. 10a raised a smile at the thought of the disapproving tut from Number 1 fan.
Thanks to Ray T & to Shabbo
RayT on top form today!
Many thanks to him for the entertainment and to Shabbo for the write-up.
5* for enjoyment from me.
Enjoyable solve with one glitch. Having put BEGAT at 7d (which still seems to me to fit both def and the wordplay), I got in dreadful tizzy over 13a.
I went for begat initially too!
Me too
And me. The old correction tape comes in handy now and then.
Me too!
And us – my wife and solving separately but making the same mistake 🙄
Much as I adore him, this wasn’t my favourite puzzle from Mr T. Probably down to the very odd 19a and his insistence on still using that lavatorial humour despite my previous ticking off – you’ll be heading for Santa’s naughty list at this rate, sir!
Top clues for me concerned the Chinese republic, the ruins of Rome and the lady’s man.
Devotions (with slight reservations) to Mr T and thanks to Shabbo for the review.
What can I say? Sometimes the temptation is irresistible! Maybe I should make a New Year’s resolution.
RayT
I reckon that’s one that you’d break within the first few weeks of 2026!
I don’t know if anyone else is having the same problem but, sometimes, when I try to post I’m told the website is not available.
Is this you getting your excuses ready for not being the first commenter tomorrow?
Moi? Resort to tactics? Never! 😊
** / ****
A great Ray Today that the solve flowed almost as smoothly as the clues. A set of 4 or 5, many in the SW took it into 2* time for me © etc.
Ticks went to the 1a dirty pants, the 10a water passing and the 3d daughter’s bottom.
No problem with the answers for 19a and 21a but I did need Shabbo to explain where the first three letters of 13a came from.
Many thanks for a superlative puzzle to RayT and to Shabbo for the blog.
PS: I’m intrigued by Steve C’s 11am “trick”; if it’s technical I shall ponder on it. I’d long thought of the preparation prior to 11am followed by a cut and paste but I don’t get the chance to even start early enough for that.
Pee, poo and posterior are your favourite clues, AP.
Right up my childish straße!
And Jane’s, of course.
Natürlich!!!
A fine puzzle which did involve referring to Chambers a few times to double check parsing, including 13A which was my last one in. Some particularly good anagrams today I thought. Thanks to Shabbo and Ray T.
An excellent and enjoyable Thursday puzzle from the ever-great Ray T. Fine clues provided a slightly easier challenge than his norm. I’ve never heard on 19a either. I have ticked several clues and will go for 30a as my favourite. 2.5*/4*.
Hey ho it’s Ray T Thursday and yet again I had my usual tussle. I think it’s now becoming psychological and on these days my brain decides to go into “limp home mode”. I wonder whether the Scottish medicine that Senf occasionally aludes to might help? Anyway tussle or not, another fine offering. Podium places go to 1a, 25d and 9d. Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo
Once again today, RayT shows up for his fortnightly backpager visit. As one might expect it is a nice puzzle with his usual succinct clueing and precise wording. Seems the queen showed up as well as his sweetheart.
2.5*/4* for me
Favourites include 6a, 10a, 12a, 4d & 5d — with top two being 10a & 12a
Smiles from 10a, 27a & 25d
Thanks to RayT & Shabbo
Thanks to RayT and Shabbo. We have not been on form lately. Resorted to a few hints rather than still be doing this at bedtime! COTD 21d. Loi 4d
I thought this was very entertaining and 1a and 13a made me laugh. I did need to check the answer in 21a.
Many thanks to RayT and to Shabbo for the hints.
Another Ray T and another ‘urghh’ from me – with this one featuring some very schoolboy ‘humour’.
Forgive the negativity – I blame this squarely on the atrocious weather and the even worse cricket!
Good sport today. 13a baffled me. As someone said in one episode of In The Loop – “this wasn’t within my purview”.
25d – sublime on so many levels but don’t expect an invite to the White House any time soon.
Once I accepted the unlikely prospect of the first syllable of 13A meaning what it did, this all fell nicely into place.
Well put. You are not alone.
Another gem from my favourite setter, thanks to RayT and to Shabbo for the hints – I too have learnt a new word today with 13a (I do like Jane Austen but don’t remember it – probably distracted by the thought of Colin Firth in a wet shirt which always comes to mind reading any of her books).
Started off like a train and had the top three across rows filled in no time; stalled in the middle and then picked up speed in the bottom 3 lines. The downs then fell into place. Completed but needed to look into Regency fashion to confirm 13a, but then used that fashion as the synonym of ‘heavyweight’ at 24a which delayed me until I read Shabbo’s hints for the correct parsing.
Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo for their sterling offerings.
2*/4*
Another enjoyable puzzle from Ray T. Just wish I didn’t have to see mention of 25d in the crossword, puts me off my breakfast. Thanks to RayT and Shabbo. My money’s on Steve for first past the post tomorrow.
If I lose, BL I will donate to Chris Lancaster’s appeal.
Likewise for me!
👍😊
A feel-good puzzle like this is perfect for a day of miserable Scottish weather when starting to wind down for the last weekend before the Festive Season.
Nothing to cause any real trouble although 1a caused both a laugh and raised eyebrows. I also wrestled with the correct spelling for 21a.
Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo
Pulse: Beat? Completely wiped me out!
Thanks Shabbo & RayT
Pulse: Beat? Completely wiped me out!
Thanks Shabbo & RayT
I cant remember Ray more benign than this!
1*/4*
Thanks to Shabbo and Ray.
Evening all. My thanks to Shabbo for the review and to everybody else for your comments. Much appreciated!
RayT
Thank you, for a great puzzle, RayT and a Merry Christmas to you.
A Merry Christmas to you too, and to one and all who visit the site.
RayT
Good evening, Mr T. Wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
And the same to you. I left a little message after your post above.
RayT
Well, I got there in the end, but I found it far from easy. Never heard of 21a, struggled with 9d and wasn’t sure that 11a meant heavy but I liked 3d and 22a
I was chuckling away to myself from the start but 19a and 21a soon wiped the smile off my face .19a never heard of such a word but 22a I followed the instructions then had to check it as i hadn’t heard of it before. I had come across the fashion in 13a in a crossword before, it was so unbelievable that it kind of stuck. Thanks to Rayt and Shabbo.
2* / 4* A definite step up from the last three days with plenty of humour and learnt some new words.
Favourites include 22a republic, 11a heavy and the excellent 1a
Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo
I feel the DT crosswords are becoming rather less tasteful but perhaps I’m being stuffy in my old age! Anyway I found this a curate’s egg with some plain-sailing but some rough going however softly, softly catchee monkey and I made it. Can’t say there was any Fav material. Thanks RayT and Shabbo.
A late finish for me as I did this in a few chunks and have been out this evening so only just finished . A wonderful puzzle with some great clues and a few head scratchers. Nice to see some toilet humour at 10a. I didn’t know the word meaning fashion at 13a, also have learnt a new word at 21a. I was also surprised that rummier was a word. It’s good to learn new stuff. Interested too in the challenge for pole position on the blog between SC and Conor. The idea of being awake at. 5.45am , let alone doing a crossword is frankly chilling. My dog and I are late risers, surfacing usually after 9am – I go to bed late too . Horses for courses 😀 Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo.
A wonderful puzzle! I always look forward to Ray T day and this didn’t disappoint. 1a is genius as is 22a. Wasn’t sure about the parsing of 19a but Shabbo sorted that for me. NHO 20d but checkers and the clueing made it clear. Thanks to Shabbo and the amazing Mr T.
3*/5* …
liked 18D “Sweetheart steals in turning key (9)” …
amongst others.