Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31122
Hints and tips by Smylers
I find it hard to keep track of the days of the week at this time of year, but apparently it’s Monday and today’s Telegraph Crossword is at the gentler end of the range.
Welcome to all our readers, and especially anybody new to cryptic crosswords or who is only here because they found a newspaper while staying with relatives for Christmas (or discarded on a train back home). Do please leave a comment, especially if you made use of the hints or explanations — there’s no need to lurk until you complete a crossword without the hints! Big Dave’s etiquette guide covers how we do things round here.
Across
1a The Met Office? (8,4)
SCOTLAND YARD: A cryptic definition leading to where the office is of an organization known as The Met.
9a Witnessing American teetotal rock star taking drug (9)
ATTESTING: A usual drug is inserted into abbreviations for American and teetotal and the name of a rock star. Doing the other bits first narrows down how long the musician’s name can be.
10a Board‘s agreements from Paris and Berlin (5)
OUIJA: The words for indicating agreement in each of the mentioned places when put together form the trademark of a particular board. Indeed, that’s the likely etymology of how the product got its name.
11a Threaten chaps and chapesses equally at first (6)
MENACE: Start with another word for ‘chaps’, then follow with the first letters of the other words in the clue.
12a Theoretical pamphlet written by able seamen (8)
ABSTRACT: A pamphlet, often one pushing a particular viewpoint, is written next to the plural of usual abbreviation for an able seaman (listed under ‘sailor’).
13a Briefly talk about Olympic event (6)
DISCUS: Make a word meaning ‘talk about’ brief by removing its final letter.
15a Satirises the French politician over statistical organisation (8)
LAMPOONS: Concatenate: one of the French words for ‘the’; a short term for type of politician; the cricket abbreviation for ‘over’; and the abbreviated name of a UK statistical body.
18a Get rid of wicked, spiteful woman (3-5)
SHE-DEVIL: We need synonyms for ‘get rid of’ and ‘evil’. The word-break between those doesn’t line up with the word-break in the answer.
19a Politicians confused genres (6)
GREENS: Confuse the spelling of ‘genres’ to get the name of a particular group of politicians.
21a Perhaps gorilla seen in reportedly dull video (5,3)
GREAT APE: Think of synonyms for ‘dull’ and ‘video’ (the latter perhaps as a verb); when reported aloud, they sound like the answer.
23a Delayed assistance protects leader of Dundee United (4,2)
HELD UP: Make a word for ‘assistance’ protect both the leading letter of ‘Dundee’ and one of the abbreviations for ‘united’, by wrapping itself around the outside of them.
26a Answer second query, oddly missing affair (5)
AMOUR: Concatenate: the abbreviation for ‘answer’; another term for ‘second’ (as in the phrase “Just a second.”); and the word ‘query’ with the letters in the odd positions missing. I only knew this word as the person (mainly from the Stevie Wonder song), but it can be the affair itself.
27a Best fruit for boss (3,6)
TOP BANANA: An informal term for a boss is made from a word meaning ‘best’ (which makes sense) plus a fruit (which really doesn’t).
28a Renaissance man and logical men he upset (12)
MICHELANGELO: Upset the preceding words in the clue to spell out the name of this Renaissance man. Or turtle.
Down
1d Criticised medium supporting religion? Not I! (7)
SLAMMED: A shortening of ‘medium’ supports (by going under) the name of a religion from which the letter I has been removed.
2d Regularly relent after losing head (5)
OFTEN: ‘Regularly’ here isn’t an instruction to take alternating letters. Instead we need to think of a word that can mean ‘relent’ or ‘be less severe’ and remove its head letter. Or think of a word that can mean ‘regularly’ and check that there is a letter that could be added to make a word meaning ‘relent’.
3d Cassoulet cooked in hopeless endeavour (4,5)
LOST CAUSE: Cook the letters of ‘cassoulet’ until they spell the answer.
Thank you to Kath for uploading the photo for these hints in 2016, saving me from having to find one.
4d Catch part of finger (4)
NAIL: There are a lot of words for ‘catch’, so the second of these double definitions is likely the way into this one.
5d Brie and yoga excited Jellystone Park resident (4,4)
YOGI BEAR: Think of the most famous resident of (the fictional) Jellystone park and note that their name can be made by exciting the letters of ‘brie’ and ‘yoga’.
6d Perch in river loves deserted spot (5)
ROOST: This starts with the abbreviation for ‘River’, used in the names of rivers on maps, and the dictionaries I checked only have it meaning ‘River’ with a capital R; can anybody find a use of it to mean lower-case ‘river’? Anyway, concatenate that with multiple instances of the letter that looks like the number called ‘love’ in some sports and the word ‘spot’ after its inner letters have deserted it.
7d Some chump in a foreign garment (8)
PINAFORE: Find the answer lurking among some of the following words in the clue.
8d Grandma determined to head north for French city (6)
NANTES: The first part of the name of this French city is another name for a grandma; the second is a word that can mean ‘determined’ turned around so it’s heading north up the grid.
14d Half of sketch revealed framework (8)
SKELETON: Start with half of the word ‘sketch’ from the clue. Follow with a (3,2) phrase which can mean ‘revealed’.
16d Smashed no replica china (9)
PORCELAIN: Smash the letters of the next two words till they make the answer.
Pic credit: © Damien Walmsley, CC BY-NC 2.0
17d Quickly send away detectives before parking at church (8)
DISPATCH: Concatenate: the plural of a usual detective; the road-sign letter that indicates parking; the ‘at’ from the clue; and the abbreviation for ‘church’.
18d Badly aligns railway component (6)
SIGNAL: Spell ‘aligns’ so badly that it becomes an entirely different word.
20d Singer very expert, holding a note (7)
SOPRANO: Here we need words for ‘very’ and ‘expert’, the latter of which holds the A from the clue and the abbreviation for ‘note’.
22d Is rodent turning up bones? (5)
TARSI: Join ‘is’ from the clue to a rodent who fits in the remaining number of letters, then turn the combination up the grid.
24d Hang the pardoned revolutionary guards (5)
DRAPE: Two words in the clue when revolved can be found guarding the answer.
25d Stone or pearl, evenly cut (4)
OPAL: Cut out the letters in the even positions from ‘or pearl’, and what’s left is the answer.
Quickie Pun
Today’s Quick Crossword was the fastest I’ve ever got the pun: only the first 2 clues are italicized (indicating their answers can be spoken aloud to sound like another word or phrase) and for once the answers came straight away:
MINTS + SPIES = MINCE PIES
Recent Reading
Anybody get any books for Christmas? What are you reading, or looking forward to reading? Spouse and I got several, of which The Last of Alex 2025 is the one I’ve chosen to read first. I was disappointed when the daily Alex cartoon was dropped from The Daily Telegraph earlier this year, having been a fan of it since it first appeared, when I was a teenager.
I don’t own all the annual collections (usually named The Best of Alex plus a year), but this one seemed good to have for posterity: the slightly renamed The Last of Alex 2025 by Charles Peattie and Russell Taylor includes the final strips (in a larger-than-usual and hardback book) plus with additional material.
There’s a ‘Where are they now?’ section covering what happens to the other characters after Alex’s disappearance — including his wife, Penny, and colleague Clive, along with those who appeared less frequently such as trader Vince, northern industrialist Sir Stewart Hardcastle, and some we hadn’t seen in years. The book finishes with an entertaining multi-page comic strip of Alex trying to get his old life back, which turned out to be my favourite part of it. Nice to have if you’ve been missing Alex.
A gentle offering today, 5D brought a smile.
Good morning. I enjoyed this for the incredibly brief time that it took. I was only a few seconds away from a new record. It was a read and fill from the outset with no hold ups. 15a is my CoTD and 22d was my LOI. Many thanks to the setter and for the hints.
The Spirit of Rufus returns! An absolute delight after the brain mangling of the last three or four days – */****
Candidates for favourite – 1a, 27a, 6d, and 8d – and the winner is 1a.
Thanks to whomsoever, X-Type perhaps, and Smylers.
Very gentle offering (quite welcome after the weekend’s rigors). Lots of excellent clues and I particularly liked 24d, 8d and 7d (for the surface and well hidden lurker) amongst many. Thank you setter and Smylers.
Virtually a read and fill, only delayed by my own handwriting causing confusion; trying to start 6d with an E, which was my LOI.
I liked the anagrams at 28a and 3d.
* / ***
A very gentle offering to start the week, thankfully non-working for me!
No read through necessary with only 2 clues not being written in immediately as I built out from 1a. Those were 1d and 20d, both of which I had the answer in mind but couldn’t parse until I had enough checkers to write them in and see them in black and white. After the difficulty of the weekend puzzles; having completed NYDK’s yesterday and still having dada’s to go back to, this was a very enjoyable romp. Ticks went to the 18a spiteful woman and the 14d framework.
Many thanks to the setter and Smylers.
A nice way to kick off the week’s proceedings that will please most punters.
The second letter of 14d is a goodie but I tend to go with today’s choice.
My podium is 1a (nicely done), 9a and 18a.
MT to the setter and Smylers.
1*/3*
Much to enjoy on a dull, chilly day. 1a and 21a raised smiles and my cotd is a toss up between 8d and 27a. The latter wins it on best out of three. Thanks to compiler and Smylers.
The CH is as 18 C so a hot cuppa was needed for the crossword. Didn’t need to sit about too long for this and was able to generate some heat by getting up and about quite smartly. Top spot was 10 across. Thank you Smilers and our setter.
That was a lot of undemanding entertainment in spite of the usual collection of anagrams which I personally can do without in favour of alternative truly cryptic clues. 24d unparsed so tvm Smylers. 10a is fun. Thank you setter and Smylers..
0.5*/3*. Light and fun – perfect for a Monday.
1a was my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Smylers.
A gehtle outing today but nonetheless enjoyable for that. I liked the cryptic definition at 1a, the Renaissance Man anagram at 28a and the geographical lego clue at 8d. Many thanks to the compiler and to Smylers for the hints. I love 5he relaxed atmosphere of this post- Christmas period, with time to chill out and dnjoy a few extra puzzles. Might try the Toughie next.
Straightforward enough (indeed a PB by some margin), but good fun nevertheless and quite a confidence booster having moonlighted in Guardian crossword country on Boxing Day and spent several times as long completing the grid with family. 1a kicked things off in style, with ticks also for 15a and 21a. Thanks very much to the setter and to Smylers. I am currently reading too many books simultaneously, including Michel Houllebecq’s The Possibility of an Island (clever but perhaps unnecessarily provocative and hard going), Will Hodgkinson on the musician Lawrence from Felt (deserves its accolades and has made me delve into the Cherry Red and Creation catalogues again) and an Inspector Rebus novel (I’ve rarely read crime fiction but Rankin is always very readable, if maybe inevitably thematically repetitive and not terribly plausible).
Thanks. I don’t think that’s “too many”: I often have different types of books on the go, to allow for different themes and moods, how heavy they are for lugging around, and when they’re due back to the library.
I hadn’t heard of Felt, but I remember Denim, and that sounds like our kind of music book.
A pleasant puzzle just over far too quickly. At least on a Tuesday there’s a Toughie for those seeking a further challenge but for whatever reason still not today. Given the array of games on the puzzles app I reckon it’s high time one was introduced since it’s surely not a case of a shortage of setters.
Thanks to the setter & to Smylers
Wise words.
My preamble for the next review is as follows;
Nothing against the crossword; it was a good exercise for the brain cells, but I am not a fan of Dada getting both Prize Puzzles on the same day. As Huntsman said about the absence of a Toughie on a Monday, Telegraph Towers have a large enough roster of setters to share them out a bit more or even give a Rookie (or Shabbo) a shot!.
A light follow up to the final fight with Elgar’s Christmas Toughie.
Your (and Kath’s) cassoulet actually looks nice. I have nightmares about a grey gristly version served from a tin many years ago.
18a reminded me of Julie T Wallace. Nothing as good as that on telly this year.
Thanks to Setter and Smylers and a Happy Twixmas to all.
Cassoulet has the opposite connotations for me, reminding me of our honeymoon where we spent a night in Grasmere. We ate at The Jumble Room, where the food and service was excellent, but our (young) server pronounced introduced one of the dishes as its spelt ‘kass-o-lette’. Spouse ordered ‘kass-o-lay’. Server brought ‘kass-o-lette’. But then, very sweetly, when clearing the dishes, apologised for having earlier mispronounced it — apparently having checked with the kitchen in between.
The server in question would now be older than we were at the time, so has quite possibly been on their own honeymoon by now, and presumably (hopefully) has entirely forgotten about the evening of serving us cassoulet. But we still think of both them and our honeymoon whenever we encounter cassoulet.
I am pleased your experience was better than mine, entrail sausages on grey gristle sounds much nicer when called andouillette au un lit de cassoulette.
Vrai cassoulet dans un restaurant à Toulouse, vraiment très très bon!
I wonder if it is on the menu at Le Jardin In Hyéres, and also if Jean-Luc has had a good Christmas.
many years ago, I took a young lady to lunch at a rather nice restaurant. This was by way of courtship, I didn’t know her very well.
There was plenty of fish on the menu, including turbot. Imagine my surprise when she ordered something called turb-o. (think motor car). I managed to A: not to correct her and B: not laugh.
I also ignored the quizzical look on the face of waiter. I say quizzical, it was a bit more snooty, down his nose, look really.
What can you do?
I think you were wise not to comment. You mention cars but did you check that Madam was not an expert on early automobiles? If so, you may have discovered that there was a French manufacturer called Talbot, which was naturally pronounced ‘Talbo’. When the company set up a UK subsidiary, it was pronounced Talbot.
So clearly, she was indicating that she wanted her fish cooked in the French manner. She was right!
This gentle puzzle is an excellent start to the week and, like Senf, I was reminded of the much-missed Rufus.
I particularly liked 18a, 21a and 7d but my runaway favourite was the excellent 1a.
Thanks to our setter and Smylers.
PS The 18a hint needs a tweak.
That was so much fun, just what the doctor ordered to counter the post-Christmas flagging spirits. 1&9a got me off to a flying start and, despite many other worthy winners peppered throughout the grid, they remained firm favourites.
Many thanks to our setter for the enjoyment and to Smylers for the review – enjoy reading your latest assortment of books.
A festive */**** treat with 10a being my favourite and COTD.The 7 anagrams and various lurkers assisted in a smooth solve. Thanks Smylers and the setter👍👍
Thankfully gentle fare after the brain workout of the last 2 days. I always worry I’m losing it when that happens so it is a relief to be back on track. Thanks so much to the setter and to Smylers.
Really enjoyed today’s puzzle. LOI 10a which made me smile when the penny dropped. Happy Monday one and all, whatever your day holds.
Finished this one quickly and without assistance but needed the hints afterwards to parse 2d and 20d. Wondered if I completed because I started much earlier than usual but suspect it was just an easy one – and still enjoyable. COTD for its brevity and subtlety. Thanks to setter and Smylers. */***
A lovely fun puzzle with lots of smiles.
Top picks for me were 18a, 21a, 14d and 15a.
Thanks to Smylers and the setter.
1* / 3.5* A nice gentle start to the week with no hold ups . Favourites today are 9a witnessing, 22d bones and the excellent 1a
Thanks to the setter and Smylers
A lovely entertaining puzzle which was most welcome after the brain twisters of the last few days.
My favourite was 1a, that brought a smile to my face, but the whole puzzle was full of crackers!
Thanks to Setter and Smylers
Should have stated earlier COTD 1a for its brevity and subtlety.
Light perfection for a Monday. I will willingly add my name to the bandwagon that is rolling for 1a as the favourite.
Thanks to our setter and Smylers.
After the rather tricky weekend puzzles, this was a puzzle one might expect to start up the last non-work week of the year. Fun with lots of smiles throughout.
1*/4* for me
Favourites include 1a, 10a, 18a, 23a, 14d & 22d — with winner 1a
Smiles for 13a, 27a, 5d & 18d
Thanks to X-Type(?) & Smylers
For some inexplicable reason my solving skills seem to have been a bit impaired these last few days. Something to do with a red liquid perhaps! So this gentle teaser was just what the doctor ordered, a completion without need for any reference and in a quite respectable time.
Even though I got it straight away, COTD for me was 1a, which brought a smile.
Thank you to the setter and to Smylers for the hints, which I will now peruse.
A pleasure completed at a canter but just right in the T’wixmas interlude. Clever clues abound but 27a my favourite as the phrase not often heard these days. Too much brain rot on television so thanks to crossword/puzzle/quiz setters in general !
Like others, I was relieved by today’s gentle offering after the last few days of head manglers!
Bursting with wit and charm – it was a joy. Super smooth surfaces and some laugh out loud moments. Brilliant stuff – thank you to the setter. Favourite was 1a – such an elegant clue.
Thanks also to Smylers – who’s words of wisdom I shall now.enjoy.
Late on parade because of another trip to the QE in Birmingham with my kidney transplant client.
It’s all been said, really and I can only echo the comments of those above. I thought 1a was neat, compact and great so becomes my COTD.
Thank you, setter for a great start to the week. Thank you, Smylers for the hints.
I thought this was a perfect start to the week, entertaining and not too taxing. I particularly liked 1a.
Many thanks to the setter and to Smylers for the hints.
Great start to the week which will probably be the only crossword I finish without help of some kind. I liked so many of the clues I will only mention 1, 9, 18 and 27a.
My thanks to Smyler and the setter for such a great start to the week.
Ignore the subsequent comment please. But a pox on the system anyway.
I am tired of this site telling me I have made a duplicate comment and leaving me without a comment. A pox on whoever’s house it is.
Refresh the page before reposting…
It varies depending on browser but three dots and the circle thingy here.
I often get the same and no matter how often I refresh the page the comment doesn’t appear. I write another comment and post it only to find I have now posted twice.
There must be some sort of electronic purgatory, where they sit until allowed through the pearly gates.
Weird — that’s never happened to me.
Weird — that never happens to me.
Droll, very droll. 🤣🤣
Ignore the subsequent comment please. But a pox on the system anyway.
A nice proper Monday crossword on a cold and gloomy (auffy dreek) day 😃 **/**** Favourites 1 & 10 across and 8 down. And a bonus I now know how to spell 28a 🤗 Thanks to Smylers for the blog and the associated videos. A Happy New Year one and all 🥂
Auffy Dreek?
Is that the Met Office report for The Broons in the But ‘n’ Ben?
After a good start I was aiming for an unaided completion but in the event I needed 4 of Smylers hints. I particularly liked 1,18 and 28a. Thank you setter and Smylers.
Hi, Debonair. Thanks for posting — it’s good to hear of people using the hints, because that makes writing them seem worthwhile!
A very gentle post-Christmas puzzle.
1a my CoD.
Thank you setter and Smylers.
Thanks to the Setter and Smylers for the hints. Very gentle start to the week. COTD 1a (predictable but we liked it). LOI 10a. Dark outside but a blazing wood burner to keep us warm.
All good fun. 1A’s got lots of votes so I’ll go for 18A. VMT Setter & Smylers.
Just what I needed after the last few days of brain-wrangling. Many thanks to the setter and Smylers. I may be retired but I shall be glad to get back to some form of routine! Loved catching up with most of the comments and do hope Cryptic Sue’s knee is recovering well. I expect you have many exercises to do Sue before a complete recovery also mustn’t forget Daisygirl’s, George and his head surgery. I do hope it is healing well.
Great guzzle to round off Christmas, not too difficult but some great clues and very smooth surface reading. I thought 10a particularly good. I am a bit late to comment as I do not start to solve until the evening but I would like to thank all connected with this wonderful site and today to Smylers and the setter. We are not quite there yet but may I wish everybody a very Happy 2026 when it arrives. Douglas.
Just goes to show that a puzzle doesn’t have to be convoluted and tricky to be enjoyable. A great start to the week, especially after the last 3 daily tussles. A nice steady plod from start to finish and just what I needed after doing some gardening this morning (it’s peak gardening season down here in the sub tropics). Thanks to setter and Smylers.
As others have said – very much read and write. 1a and 10a favourites today.
1*/4*
Thanks to setter and smylers.
I agree a pleasant respite from the recent dnf’s although a couple needed a bit of thinking about. Favourite was 14d. Thanks to the setter and Smylers.
Nice and light after a testy weekend. Nothing stood out so plaudits today to Smylers for the illustration for 5d and his x2 posts comment 34
Thanks to all.
Thank you — glad somebody recognized who that was!
I clocked it, Smylers. 😊
Mr Berra was known to me, but 23a prompted a search for this clip from QI;
That’s brilliant! I definitely would’ve included that had I been aware of it.
I’ve got behind with watching QI, but it sounds like I should make an effort to catch up.
I burst out laughing when VCM said
“Just wait till you hear about the cake”
Just to update you all on Chris Lancaster’s fund raising page. Keep it going, my friends. We all owe him a great deal.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/chris-lancaster?utm_medium=CF&utm_source=CL
Thanks for the reminder Steve.
2*/4* ….
liked 10A “Board’s agreements from Paris and Berlin (5)”
I always look forward to reading your ‘picks’ from the puzzles – hope you have a very Happy New Year.
Happy New Year, Jane !