Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31127
A full review by Rahmat Ali
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
This puzzle was published on 3rd January 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A nice, entertaining Saturday puzzle from NYDK that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback.
‘Les Misérables’, the answer to the clue at 1a, is a French epic historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862 and widely regarded as one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century. After solving the puzzle, I explored the internet to know more about the novel. It has achieved lasting popularity through numerous adaptations for film, television and the stage, including a well-known musical. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually known by its original French title, though it has appeared under several translated alternatives such as ‘The Miserables’, ‘The Wretched’, ‘The Miserable Ones’, ‘The Poor Ones’, ‘The Wretched Poor’, ‘The Victims’ and ‘The Dispossessed’. Set between 1815 and the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, the story follows the lives of several characters, especially ex-convict Jean Valjean, focusing on his struggle, moral transformation, and redemption. The novel explores themes of law and grace while also addressing French history, Parisian urban life, politics, justice, religion, moral philosophy and various forms of love. The novel contains various subplots, but the main thread is the story of the ex-convict Jean Valjean, who becomes a force for good in the world yet cannot escape his criminal past. The novel is divided into five volumes, each consisting of several books and subdivided into chapters, for a total of 48 books and 365 chapters. Each chapter is relatively short, commonly no longer than a few pages. The novel as a whole is one of the longest ever written, with 655,478 words in the original French. Upton Sinclair, the 1943 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction, described the novel as one of the half-dozen greatest novels of the world.
I liked the use of the French lexical and auxiliary verbs, EST as in 18d and particularly ES as in 6a that refreshes in our minds the old English ‘thou’.
I (one) as the Roman numeral for one has been used twice – one for addition as in 27a and one for subtraction as in 10a and mathematically, or jokingly, it amounts to nothing. But cruciverbally, it is a great learning for the tyros.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
6a Show book in Marseilles that’s revitalised art there? (3,10)
LES MISÉRABLES: The definition of a stage musical based on Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name by is reached from B (book) as the abbreviation for book put inside (in) an anagram (that’s revitalised) of MARSEILLES followed by ES (art) as the French word for ‘are’ as used with informal pronoun ‘thou’ as in old English meaning ‘you’ e.g. ‘thou art’ in French is ‘tu es’ that is obviously heard in Marseilles, a French city (there)
8a Reform character following a mania (6)
FARAGE: The definition of the surname of the British politician who is the leader of the political party Reform UK and whose full name is Nigel Paul Farage is reached from F (following) as the abbreviation for following, A from the clue and RAGE (mania) as a vehement desire or passion, an example of which is mania i.e. an obsession or an excessive enthusiasm or desire
9a Examine underground laboratory item (4,4)
TEST TUBE: A charade of TEST (examination) as a short written or spoken examination of a person’s proficiency or knowledge and TUBE (underground) as referring to the underground railway system in London leads to the definition of a thin glass tube closed at one end, used to hold small amounts of material for laboratory testing or experiments
10a Sun or Earth – one has to go! (3)
SOL: The definition of the sun personified, Helios or Phoebus is reached from SO[I]L (Earth) as the ground or earth from which I (one) as the Roman numeral for one needs to be eliminated or taken out (has to go)
11a Tell where hare might be? (6)
INFORM: The definition of a verb meaning to tell or give information is obtained from IN FORM (where hare might be) as fit or in good condition as a befitting reply to where a hare might be
12a Place gold in river – river one searches (8)
EXPLORER: A combo of PL (place) as the abbreviation for Place as in street names etc and OR (gold) as the tincture gold in heraldry taken inside (in) EXE (river) as a river in England that rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, with most of its length lying in Devon and followed by R (river) as the abbreviation for River, used especially for maps in an atlas or a geography book takes to the definition of a person who travels in search of geographical or scientific information
14a Deduce number in Dantean hell (7)
INFERNO: A charade of INFER (deduce) as to deduce or conclude by reasoning and NO (number) as the abbreviation for number guides to the definition of the first part of ‘The Divine Comedy’, an epic poem by Dante Alighieri, describing his imagined journey through Hell
16a Reddish-purple name tag redesigned (7)
MAGENTA: The definition of a reddish-purple colour is obtained when NAME TAG from the clue is subject to an anagram (redesigned)
20a Game son caught by the Mob (8)
SCRABBLE: The definition of a kind of word-building game is got from S (son) as the genealogical abbreviation for son and C (caught) as an abbreviation for caught by as in cricket having alongside (by) RABBLE (the Mob) as referring to a tumultuous crowd, i.e. the mob
23a Greek god inspiring island painter (6)
TITIAN: TITAN (Greek god) as any of the deities that preceded the Olympians in Greek mythology breathing in or taking inside (inspiring) I (island) as the abbreviation for island guides to the definition of the celebrated English name of Tiziano Vecellio, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting
24a Maybe caviare in bistro exquisite (3)
ROE: The definition of fish eggs eaten as food, an example of which maybe caviare i.e. the processed salted roe of sturgeon or other large fish, eaten as a delicacy is part of or hidden inside (in) [BIST]RO E[XQUISITE]
25a Escape Baker suggests? (8)
BREAKOUT: The definition of an escape, often by force, as from a prison is cryptically reached from what a baker would suggest to do with dough i.e. is to prepare or knead it or to break it out to work, or precisely, BREAK OUT
26a Restricted vermouth filling well (6)
FINITE: The definition of an adjective meaning restrictive or limited in nature is got from IT (vermouth) as the abbreviation for Italian vermouth getting inside (filling) FINE (well) as healthy and well
27a Shocking killer one featured in thrilling daily? (8,5)
ELECTRIC CHAIR: The definition of a device used in the electrocution of a person sentenced to death, consisting of a chair in which the person is restrained and a means of applying a lethal, shocking electrical current to the body is reached from I (one) as the Roman numeral for one shown or displayed inside (featured in) a combo of ELECTRIC (thrilling) as an adjective denoting thrilling or emotionally exciting and CHAR (daily) as woman employed as a cleaner in a house or office, an example of which is a daily i.e. a non-resident servant, especially a cleaning woman
Down
1d Meat slice left over during flight (8)
ESCALOPE: The definition of a thin boneless slice of meat is got from a combo of L (left) as the abbreviation for Left and O (over) as the abbreviation for over or overs as denoted on cricket scorecards placed inside (during) ESCAPE (flight) as a flight from confinement
2d Student in Mensa confused football official (8)
LINESMAN: L (student) as appearing in an L-plate denoting a learner driver followed by an anagram (confused) of IN MENSA guides to the definition of an official who assists the referee in football, especially by signalling when the ball goes out of play or when a player is offside
3d Fabulous quartet not entirely without rhythm (7)
BEATLES: The definition of the fabulous British rock band of four musicians is deduced from most of the letters (not entirely) of BEATLES[S] (without rhythm) as without a beat, pulse or regular rhythm
4d Refuse amorous advance at university (4,2)
PASS UP: The definition of an informal phrase meaning to refuse to accept is got from PASS (amorous advance) as a colloquial term for an amorous advance or a sexual invitation and UP (university) as an adjective denoting at school, college or university
5d Drunk taking bottle-opener to bingo? (6)
BLOTTO: The definition of a slang adjective denoting intoxicated or drunk is arrived at from the opening or initial letter (opener) of B[OTTLE] followed by LOTTO (bingo) as a game played by covering on a card each number drawn till a line of numbers in completed, now usually bingo i.e. a game in which numbers are called at random which may then be covered on players’ cards, prizes being won by the first to cover all or certain of the numbers displayed on a card
6d Picking up speed, run in at an angle on camber (8,5)
LEARNING CURVE: The definition of a phrase denoting the rate of a person’s progress in gaining experience or new skills or picking up speed i.e. as one progresses, improvement accelerates is arrived at from R (run) as the abbreviation for run or runs scored in cricket put inside (in) LEANING (at an angle) as inclined or at an angle to the horizontal or vertical position placed upon in the down clue (on) CURVE (camber) as a continuously bending line that has no straight parts, an example of which is a camber i.e. a slight upward curve to the centre of the surface of a road, ship’s deck etc
7d Citizen, with hesitation, accepts dull discussion topic (7,6)
SUBJECT MATTER: A combo of SUBJECT (citizen) as a person who owes allegiance to a state or nation e.g. a citizen who is a subject of the state and (with) ER (hesitation) as an interjection used to express hesitation welcomes or takes in (accepts) MATT (dull) as dull and flat, especially of a colour, paint or surface, leading to the definition of the topic dealt with or discussed in a debate, exposition or work of art
13d Cricket’s on! (3)
LEG: A cryptic definition of the ‘on’ side of a cricket pitch, generally the batsman’s side opposite the off side
15d Polish gemstone lacking finish (3)
RUB: The definition of a verb meaning to polish, clean or smooth by the application of pressure and friction is got from RUB[Y] (gemstone) as a pinkish-red to blood-red gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum devoid of the last or terminal letter (lacking finish)
17d Object broken after performance (8)
ARTEFACT: The definition of an object made or modified by a human being, typically one of cultural or historical interest is reached from an anagram (broken) of AFTER followed by ACT (performance) as a performance usually forming part of a longer presentation
18d Parisian is running home to host a European (8)
ESTONIAN: EST (Parisian is) as the French word for ‘is’ that could be heard in Paris, the capital of France, followed by ON (running) as functioning or in operation, especially of an electrical appliance or power supply and IN (home) as at or inside one’s home to take inside (host) A from the clue guides to the definition of a native or inhabitant of Estonia that is in Europe and hence a European
19d Apply drug – right time to stop discomfort (7)
PERTAIN: The definition of a verb meaning to apply, go for or hold is got from a combo of E (drug) as the abbreviation for Ecstasy that is a drug taken for stimulant and hallucinogenic properties, R (right) as the abbreviation for right and T (time) as the symbol for time as in physics getting inside (to stop) PAIN (discomfort) as bodily discomfort or suffering due to injury or disease
21d Notice surrounding layout with hedges staggered (6)
AMAZED: AD (notice) as a notice or announcement in a public medium promoting a product, service or event covering or taking inside (surrounding) MAZE (layout) as an intricate, usually confusing layout or interconnecting pathways, as in a hedge maze i.e. an outdoor garden maze or labyrinth in which the walls or dividers between passages are made of vertical hedges that guides to the definition of an adjective denoting astounded, shocked, overwhelmed or staggered
22d Sulphur chemist stocks and promotes (6)
BOOSTS: S (sulphur) as the chemical symbol for sulphur taken inside (stocks) by BOOTS (chemist) as often referring to Boots the Chemist i.e. a well-known UK high street pharmacy that sells medicines and prescriptions, as well as health, beauty and personal care products, with many stores having in-store pharmacies that takes to the definition of a verb in the third person singular present tense meaning promotes vigorously
There were several clues that I liked in this puzzle such as 6a, 8a, 14a, 25a, 26a, 27a, 3d, 6d, 21d and 22d; 25a being the best of the lot. My prayers to the Almighty for the eternal rest and peace of BD and my thanks to NYDK for the entertainment. Looking forward to seeing you here again. Have a nice day.
3*/3* …
liked 27A “Shocking killer one featured in thrilling daily ? (8,5)”