Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31142
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***
Good morning from a wet and windy Hampshire, where I think someone must have been performing a 17d with spectacular success. I found today’s puzzle to be suitably challenging for a Wednesday back-pager, with a couple of clues in the NE corner taking a while to fall, pushing my solving time into 2* territory. I thought there were many concise and elegant clues today; I particularly liked the match official in 10a and the ebullient Mr Cantona in 21a, but my favourite is the cryptic definition in 3d. Many thanks to today’s setter.
In the hints below the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and indicator words (e.g. anagram indicators) are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the Click Here buttons.
Across Clues
1a Townie and I will travel across the country (10)
NATIONWIDE: An anagram (will travel) of TOWNIE AND I.
6a Animal occasionally calm in pound (4)
LAMB: The alternate letters (occasionally) of ‘calm’ are placed inside the international symbol for the avoirdupois pound, from the Latin libra.
9a Fixed name tag on doctor (5)
RIGID: The two-character abbreviation for a form of identification is appended to a synonym for to ‘doctor’ or influence something, such as an election.
10a Dash before try? Match official … (4,5)
LINE JUDGE: The first word can describe a punctuation mark, and the second can mean to preside over a court of law.
12a … rose and left … (4,3)
TOOK OFF: A double definition.
13a … game, seconds left (5)
SPORT: The abbreviation for ‘seconds’ is followed by the nautical term for the left-hand side of a ship.
15a I must dodge pine cane deployed as punishment (7)
PENANCE: An anagram (deployed) of PINE CANE with the ‘I’ removed (I must dodge).
16a Play guitar following men around stage (7)
ROSTRUM: A verb that describes a way of playing the guitar follows the abbreviation for ‘other ranks’ reversed (men around).
18a Free this bird trapped by small bricks (3,2,2)
LET IT GO: A common British garden bird is placed inside (trapped by) a well-known Danish construction set.
20a McCartney perhaps needing help with book (7)
BASSIST: A synonym for ‘help’ follows the abbreviation for ‘book’ to give us an instrumentalist of which Sir Paul is a famous example.
21a Party entertained by Cantona, ebulliently making a comeback (5)
BEANO: A reverse lurker, hidden (entertained by) ‘Cantona ebulliently’ and read backwards (making a comeback).
23a Extremely tense learner driver cross in Shropshire town (7)
TELFORD: The first and last letters (extremely) of ‘tense’ are followed by the abbreviation for a learner driver, and a word that describes how you might cross a stream without a bridge.
25a Drunk in bulk, ale is not nice (9)
UNLIKABLE: An anagram (drunk) of IN BULK ALE. A lovely surface reading.
26a Middle son escaping from offender (5)
INNER: A word for an offender or transgressor without the letter S (son escaping).
27a Noisy commotion before end of college feast (4)
DINE: A synonym of ‘noisy commotion’ is placed before the last letter (end) of ‘college’.
28a 13 Across trees chopped up? These people object (10)
PROTESTERS: An anagram (chopped up) of the solution to 13a and TREES.
Down Clues
1d Anorak 50 per cent of flipping children discarded (4)
NERD: The word ‘children’ is reversed (flipping) and half of it is removed (50 per cent discarded).
2d Closely integrated firm, outfit with knight on board (5-4)
TIGHT-KNIT: An adjective that is a synonym of ‘firm’ is followed by a three-letter word for an outfit or set, into which the letter representing the knight in chess has been inserted. ‘On board’ is doing double duty here.
3d School ties securing a post? (3,3,7)
OLD BOY NETWORK: A cryptic definition.
4d The compilers will turn up, putting away litres in reception (7)
WELCOME: How the compilers (as opposed to “you”, the solvers) might say that they are going to attend an event, with one of the Ls removed (putting away litres).
5d Ruined amusing entrance for Spooner (4,3)
DONE FOR: Take a three-letter synonym of ‘amusing’ and a four-letter synonym of ‘entrance’ ‘or ‘way in’, and transpose their initial letters (for Spooner), giving a homophone of the solution.
7d Sound of ball stuck under car (5)
AUDIO: The letter that looks like a ball goes beneath (stuck under) a brand of German car.
8d Fete a mob spoils, beginning to throw old fruit (4,6)
BEEF TOMATO: An anagram (spoils) of FETE A MOB, followed by the first letter (beginning to) of ‘throw’ and the abbreviation for ‘old’.
11d Book fair thus succeeded, supported by politicians (4,2,7)
JUST SO STORIES: An adjective that is a synonym for ‘fair’ is followed by a two-letter word for ‘thus’, the abbreviation for ‘succeeded’, and an informal name for supporters of one of our political parties.
14d Transported piano bagged by auction before spring (10)
SPELLBOUND: The abbreviation for ‘piano’ in music is placed inside (bagged by) a verb that can be a synonym of ‘auction’, and before a synonym of ‘spring’ or ‘jump’.
17d Cannier broadcast includes publicity about religious ceremony (4,5)
RAIN DANCE: An anagram (broadcast) of CANNIER into which an abbreviation for a type of publicity has been inserted (includes).
19d Bet crook, mostly corrupt, will get time in autumn (7)
OCTOBER: An anagram (corrupt) of BET CROOK without its last letter (mostly).
20d Getting on in first class, most impudent (7)
BOLDEST: A word for ‘getting on’ (in the sense of ‘ageing’) is inserted into a synonym for ‘first class’.
22d Maybe singer Lily means now and then to go after everybody! (5)
ALLEN: The alternate letters (now and then) of ‘means’ are placed after a synonym of ‘everybody’.
24d Ordnance farmstead stocks (4)
ARMS: Hidden (stocks) in ‘farmstead’.
Which clues did you like best? Please let us know in the comments section below.
The Quick Crossword pun: MEET + ARSON = ME TARZAN
What a delightful puzzle for a Wednesday. I was on wavelength from the off and it became a steady solve. However, putting “Lion” in at 6a held up Northumberland for a while. Well, it does appear occasionally in “Calm in pound”. Yet another puzzle that has ticks all over it from the name tag at 9a to the most impudent at 20d. It’s difficult to pick a favourite but I will go for the dash before try at 10a as my COTD.
Thank you, setter for a great start to the day. Thank you, Deansleigh for the hints.
I looked for a middle or bottom pun in the Quickie to go with the top one.
All well in The Marches apart from the fact that a local pub, The Old Three Pigeons, which has been trading for six hundred years, is closing.
After a slow start this puzzle progressed fairly rapidly with a little head scratching between the bung-ins. Plenty of ticks to keep me smiling, to wit 10a,18a,20a, 3d, 8d, but COTD for me is the Spoonerism at 5d.
My thanks to the setter and Deansleigh (from the same wet and windy Hampshire).
1*/4*
Gentle, but very enjoyable.
18a made me smile, and hence gets my vote.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for the write-up.
A very enjoyable puzzle.I wanted 3D to have an S after the Y but I realised that didn’t fit. COTD 18A Genius. Thanks to the setter and for the hints.
With regard to 8d, it reminds me of a great saying….
‘What’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom?’
‘Knowledge tells us that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom tells us not to put it in the fruit salad!’
Like it, TC. Like it.
A very enjoyable midweek puzzle – thanks to our setter and Deansleigh.
I did wonder whether there was some more to find for the Quickie pun.
Ticks from me for 9a, 10a and 11d with my favourite being 3d.
It was a delightful surprise to find a Robyn puzzle in the Toughie slot and very entertaining it is.
I did try to find room for EWE CHAIN too but, as you know, we’re limited to the Telegraph’s selection of grids, so quite a few pun ideas never reach fruition!
What a belter! The Hud has kicked off the year in fine form.
Thank goodness for the word ebullient as it’s the only adjective/adverb beginning eb. When I saw it, my lurker/rekrul antenna bleeped like a good’un. Great clue.
I liked the sentence in 10a/12a/13a
My pody plucks (go Wriggles) are 18a (everyone’s favourite), 23a and 3d.
MTTTA (many thanks to the aforementioned – only because ‘aforementioned’ is so long to type every time) and Deano.
2*/5*
eburnean?
Good old Senf.
I should have said an adjective/adverb that would be used in a DT crossword.
I am sure that at least one or two of the DT setters could work it into a puzzle as an answer.
These wordy wizards can do anything. But they won’t put that freak of a word into a DT crossy, that’s for sure.
…..Terence would start twitching like Herbert Lom in the Clouseau films if he saw that word as an answer.
I can think of one DT setter who can’t resist a challenge but, then of course, he has to have read today’s blog!
Hoo dat bee….Mr Smooth?
Nope! My tongue might be loosened by a beer or two on the 31st!
Ooo, you tease.
I’ll make sure to mention it next time we meet 😉
I know something special is coming for #300
ebbing?
Welcome to the blog
What did you think of the crossword?
Now we’re getting there, gents.
It’s nowhere near the high-frequency of ebullient but it may appear in a crossy one day but it’s highly unlikely.
Nice word, though!
Not sure why but somewhat of a head scratcher for me which reflected on the enjoyment – 3*/2.5*
Smiles for 13a, 18a, 7d, and 14d.
Thanks to whomsoever and Deansleigh.
A slight notch up in difficulty but still on the gentle side though like our reviewer the solve just edged into 2* time. For me best of the week thus far, very entertaining & at least 4.5* enjoyment. My only complaint is that I’m of the firm opinion that the surface read at 25a is factually inaccurate though I will concede the results can be messy. ✅s aplenty & not a duffer in there but if pressed to pick a fav 11d gets my vote.
Thanks to the setter & to Deansleigh – can’t see how on board is doing double duty in 2d.
Ps I see there is a welcome reappearance of Robyn over in t’other place. Happy days
I just felt that ‘on board’ was an extra hint that the knight in question was the one found on a chessboard.
Got it (d’oh)
Really enjoyed that with the Spoonerism at 5d my favourite today, followed by the cryptic employment boost at 3d and Macca’s Hofner/Rickenbacker toting role at 20a. Thanks very much to the setter and to Deansleigh.
A very enjoyable distraction from the miserable weather, the 17d extended into the Chilterns. Lots to like but 10a was probably my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints.
It’s good to be back after a one day break following a freak accident on the squash court yesterday leading to a wait of several hours to get a gash in my hand stitched. The shaft of my opponent’s racket broke as he was playing his shot and his racket head with half of the shaft attached flew into the back of my hand. Being hit with the exposed end of the hollow metal shaft was akin to being slashed with a razor blade. Despite copious quantities of blood adoring the court floor, I was extremely lucky that all I needed was five stitches. I have been playing squash for over 60 years and have never seen anything like it (and hope never to again!) It’s tricky to do many mundane things left-handed including typing and filling in a crossword grid!
On to today’s puzzle, which I thoroughly enjoyed. My rating is 2*/4* with 9a, 18a & 3d my podium selection.
Many thanks to the setter (Hudson?) and to Deansleigh.
Wow, RD! What a freak accident. Lucky it was your hand and not your eye. Hope it all heals soon.
A metal shafted racket Dave? last time I played with one of those was about 1982, then got the first Dunlop Black Max, sounds like your mate was playing with an antique, hope your hand heals soon though.
Something was puzzling me about the incident yesterday, TC, but I was in a bit of a shock and couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Now you’ve said that, I realise that it was the fact that the head and shaft were metal. All my rackets since the early 80s have been graphite or graphite/titanium. I’ll check with my opponent to see how old his was.
Eeek — sorry to hear of that, and well done for considering yourself lucky.
And impressive wrong-handed typing, including capital letters (which I didn’t bother when blogging last week, even though I had my dominant hand available).
Oh dear, glad it was your hand and not your face. Get better soon. At least your opponent’s racquet is now well and truly retired.
Ouch!
That certainly was a freak accident – many sympathies. Hope you will be able to pick up your (non-metallic) racket again soon.
Blimey that is really something RD. I once got a racket’s follow-through whack me in the face (I knew I was too close and didn’t shout Let, I just wasn’t that good!), a lot of blood like your incident … I needed 5 stitches in my upper lip – for some reason they were bright blue. And it turns out my opponent was a doctor himself 😸
Wishing you a good recovery 🏸
Just the right amount of fun and difficulty, thank you
The west went in with little delay, but the east was a trickier nut to crack. Once 11d fell, all became clear. Loads of ticks on my page and whilst the spoonerism made me smile, I’ll give cotd to the one that held me up the most, 11d. Thanks to Hudson(?) and Deansleigh.
Twmbarlwm has now claimed this one.
I thought it was one of his; I should have had more confidence to publicly say so when commenting earlier …
90% of solvers hold back but it’s much more fun having a guess.
Be brave, S. Be brave.
When I say ‘hold back’, I mean they put a question mark next to their guess.
It was difficult to get a start but once I was away, got going like a ship on fire and finished more quickly. I loved the Spoonerism at 5d, the 11d lego clue, thec19d anagram and the geographical clue at 23a. Thanks to the compiler and to Deansleigh for the hints
An enjoyable solve and tricky in parts. 1a had me flummoxed for a while, trying to solve an anagram for the name of a country rather than a building society! Once that solved much else followed although I did not help myself by misspelling 28a which in turn confused me about 17d. A quick check back to the anagram fodder and all was revealed as well as my final entry.
COTD for me were 2d and 11d.
Thank you to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints.
An O instead of an E presumably – you weren’t alone there 🤔 but soon corrected.
Exactly the same. Trying to come up with some esoteric religious ceremony of which I had never heard.
Loved this puzzle. Smiling throughout although by no means an easy ride.
Top picks for me were 18a, 9a, 11d and 17d.
Thanks to Deansleigh and the compiler.
A fairly enjoyable solve but the paucity of decent surface reads made it hard to select the prize winners. The eventual nod went to 9&18a plus 17d.
Thanks to our setter and to Deansleigh for the review.
1* / 4* Possibly the most straightforward of the week, which means a real brain mangler is on the horizon.
Favourites from lots of witty and clever clues include 18a free, the 8d old fruit and Macca at 20a
Thanks to Setter and Deansleigh
Thanks to the Setter and Deansleigh. A quick solve for a Wednesday. Once we got going it 12a! Well it made Val laugh. COTD 16a. LOI 21a.
For me this week I found this Wednesday puzzle was easier than the Tuesday offering. Fell together quite nicely with some good clueing and smiles along the way.
2*/4* for me
Favourites include 6a, 13a, 18a, 20a & 5d — with winners 18a & 20a … and they both made me smile too.
Thanks to setter (Hudson, maybe?) & Deansleigh
Thank you to the setter and blogger. This wasn’t as straightforward as I often find Wednesday crosswords. I got 13a the wrong way, by solving 28a first then using that as a reverse-anagram (after correcting my 28a spelling — fortunately the ‘trees’ in the clue sorted that out without needing 13a).
My top few are 16a (small bricks), 14d (transported), and 24d (farmstead stocks).
All went well today with the Kipling book reminding me of good times reading to children. Thank you compiler and Deansleigh
Only just found the time to get to this fine and enjoyable puzzle.Well worth it though. Favourite was 18 across and 17 down felt as if it had been done for Ardingly Antiques Fair today with visitors like me dodging the bad weather. Our setter seems to be a mystery but many thanks for the entertainment. Well done Deansleigh
Greetings from La Croix Valmer where we dined alfresco for the second time this year; a balmy 15 degrees in the winter sun! Didn`t have much time so this was, thank God a read and fill especially the West side. 6, 9 and 18 across are blinders but 3 down is an absolute peach. Many thanks for the review and the hints which were not needed and to the setter for the puzzle.
Later than ever today thanks to lunch out and U3A lecture. Very doable satisfying guzzle, I didn’t mark any favourite but enjoyed the whole workout. Many thanks to Setter and Hinter.
Top quality puzzle. 3D and 18A absolute classics. VMT to Twmbarlwm and Deansleigh.
* / ****
Avanti West Coast and Southeastern would like to apologise for my late post today – I’m sure they care ☺. Congratulations to them for all 4 trains today running on time to the minute. But their lack of collective WiFi meant that even though this was completed on the train to London this morning, I only get to post now!!
Lovely puzzle, loved the 1d anorak, 5d spooner, 17d ceremony and 18a free bird. My COTD goes to the anorak!
Many thanks to Twmbarlwm and Deansleigh
I made hard work of this, but pleased to have solved unaided. Not heard of the books in 11d, so that was my LOI. Also had no idea that McCartney was a 20a.
Thanks to all.
This was a great puzzle that I largely cracked earlier but with 3 in the NW giving me grief. I just sat down and got them straightaway which I find often happens. Thanks to the setter and Deansleigh .
Last in was NW. I, always find Wednesday’s a bit of a trial, after the toughie and the mind numbing quiz I get brain fade, this evening was no exception. Still better late than never. A couple of candidates for favourite and it’s tails so 11d. Thanks to T and D.
I fear I’m getting slower in the uptake because once again it took me a while to get going but I did enjoy the challenge and got there in the end starting in the West. As the setter intended, I failed to realise doctor in 9a but bunged in. 22d singer unknown to me. Thank you Twmbarlwm (apparently) and Deansleigh?
Thoroughly enjoyable thank you to Deansleigh who I needed to check 16a – it looked right by I have never heard of the other ranks…
And 2d where I assumed the obvious for the good Sir, not a chess player so don’t realise it was the second that stood in for him.
Found today one of the easiest for a long time so thank you setter!
I was doing this while having a pint in Brighton out of the rain and the bar person blasting out Guns n Roses. I was the only person in the pub at the time, all a very pleasant way to spend half an hour!
I needed the hints to fully parse 9A (the doctor part) and 12A, wasn’t thinking clearly on how rose and left were particularly distinct
Pody, err, pinchers are 1A’s anagram, surface and the answer itself, the humorous-but-often true 26A, and similarly for 23D!
Thanks to setter and Deansleigh.
Thanks all, and thank you to Deansleigh for the blog.
3*/3* …
liked 25A “Drunk in bulk, ale is not nice (9)”