Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31150
Hints and tips by Mr K
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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday.
In the hints below most indicators are italicized, and underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions. Clicking on the answer buttons will reveal the answers. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
1a I'm sorry fine soldiers could get severe reprimand (4,3)
WHAT FOR: “I’m sorry” or “come again?” with the single letter for fine and some usual abbreviated soldiers
5a Trawl around gents, perhaps on reflection it's unwise (7)
FOOLISH: Another word for trawl with a net containing (around) the reversal (on reflection) of what “Gents” defines by example (perhaps)
9a Tops Mike repeatedly included in outfits (7)
SUMMITS: Two copies (repeatedly) of the letter represented in the NATO phonetic alphebt by Mike are inserted in (included in) some fairly formal outfits
10a Blackburn, for one, without wingers manage attack (7)
OVERRUN: What Blackburn football team define by example (for one) minus its outer letters (without wingers) is followed by manage or operate
11a Daniel ran badly, which increases the heart rate (9)
ADRENALIN: An anagram (badly) of DANIEL RAN
12a Exhaust pipe's initially carried by post (5)
SPEND: The first letter (…’s initially) of PIPE inserted in (carried by) post or mail
13a Belgium's out of ale, that is frightening (5)
EERIE: Another word for ale minus the IVR code for Belgium, all followed by the Latin abbreviation for “that is”
15a Tolerant of one wearing medal after each case of superiority (4-5)
EASY-GOING: The Roman one inserted in (wearing) an informal word for medal comes after both the abbreviation for each and the outer letters of (case of) SUPERIORITY
17a Eleventh-hour note by daughter beset by sharp side pain (4-5)
LAST-DITCH: A note on the so-fa scale is followed by the single letter for daughter inserted in (beset by) a sharp side pain
19a Banned cheers, I don't like that (5)
TABOO: Cheers or thanks with an exclamation of disapproval
22a Judge city in Germany (5)
TRIER: A city on the river Mosel could also be a judge in a court of law
23a Cupboard love accepted by sad bride in a mess (9)
SIDEBOARD: The letter representing a lover score in tennis inserted in (accepted by) an anagram (in a mess) of SAD BRIDE
25a Entourage regret taking European money (7)
RETINUE: A verb synonym of regret containing (taking) both the single letter for European and an informal word for money
26a Flyer in open grassy area left abandoned (7)
LEAFLET: An open grassy area or meadow with an anagram (abandoned) of LEFT
27a Clement Attlee's term embraced by old red back in parliament (7)
LENIENT: The final letter (..’s term) of ATLEE inserted in (embraced by) Vladimir the Russian politician (old red) is followed by the last letter of (back in) PARLIAMENT
28a Slight slur making American butt of joke (7)
SLENDER: In another word for a spoken slur the single letter for American is replaced by (making American …) the last letter of (butt of) JOKE
Down
1d Wife with a leg that's showing degeneration (7)
WASTAGE: Link together the single letter for wife, A from the clue, and another word for leg (of a competition, perhaps)
2d Model married fan (7)
ADMIRER: An anagram (model) of MARRIED
3d Fake news primarily follows Spain plugging fruit (5)
FEIGN: The first letter (primarily) of NEWS follows the IVR code for Spain inserted in (plugging) a fruit that’s eaten fresh or dried
4d Hardy novel in Leicester church banned (9)
RESILIENT: An anagram (novel) of IN LEICESTER minus the abbreviation for the Church of England (church banned)
5d Refs regularly put up with individual's dirty look (5)
FROWN: The reversal (put up) of alternate letters (regularly) of REFS is followed by another word for “individual’s”
6d Exhale deeply in public showing boob (9)
OVERSIGHT: A word meaning “exhale deeply” inserted in public or not hidden
7d National statesman of old, but no leading character (7)
ISRAELI: A British conservative statesman minus his first letter (but no leading character)
8d Guilty-looking, hover over man's best friend (7)
HANGDOG: Another word for hover is followed by the creature known as “man’s best friend”
14d Runner's strength running nude dash around North (9)
ENDURANCE: An anagram (running) of NUDE with a synonym of dash containing (around) the single letter for north
16d Diaries and school uniform in Leeds damaged (9)
SCHEDULES: An abbreviation for school is followed by single letter for uniform inserted in an anagram (damaged) of LEEDS
17d Not yet advanced student's kind of thinking (7)
LATERAL: A word meaning “not yet” with the single letter for advanced and the letter indicating a student or learner driver
18d Fond of warm clothing getting recycled (7)
SMITTEN: Some warm clothing for hands with the letters cycles one place to the right (getting recycled)
20d Scrapped plot to pinch green lobbyist's crown (7)
BRAWLED: A garden plot containing (to pinch) both green or unripe and the first letter of (…’s crown) LOBBYIST
21d Veteran undersold sterling pounds (7)
OLDSTER: UNDERSOLD STERLING hides (pounds) the answer
23d Broadcast picked up in Cologne, say (5)
SCENT: A homophone (picked up) of broadcast or distributed
24d Cleared out bar propped up by one or two (5)
BRACE: The outer letters (cleared out) of BAR is followed by (propped up by, in a down clue) a playing card with one pip
Thanks to today’s setter. Which clues did you like best?
The Quick Crossword pun: TOIL + LETS + EAT = TOILET SEAT
Good morning. I thought this was going to be tough as I only got 8 on the first pass, three from the across clues and 5 from the downs. The East went in first, followed by the SE corner and finally the NE.
Every clue caught my attention. As such, there will be no podium or COTD. The anagram at 11, the desperate pain at 17a, forbidden pleasures at 19a, 26a, 1d, 3d, 5d, 7d, 8d, 14d and 17d. I enjoyed every moment of this and was surprised at how quickly the grid seemed to fill up especially after a slowish start. Many thanks to the setter for the puzzle and the reviewer for the hints which were not needed
That should read, the West went in first
I found this hard but immensely enjoyable. Lots of ticks on my page. I needed Mr K’s help to parse 27a and had to check that the German city exists.
Top picks for me were 2d, 18d, 17d, 17a, 1a and 5a.
Thanks to Mr K and the setter.
I hope all who are attending the Birthday Bash tomorrow have a lovely time.
Tricky Friday and I agree with Mr K’s assessment. A bit of a struggle but pleased to finish and I did enjoy it in retrospect! Thank you Mr K and our illustrious setter.
Apart from a brief pause to check the alternative spelling of 11a, no significant hold-ups.
Many thanks to the setter, and to Mr K.
I’m in the tricky but rewarding camp. Many excellent clues including the misdirection in 4d and Belgium being out of ale. Whilst many contenders battle it out, 22a gets the nod for cotd. Thanks to compiler and Mr K.
Tricky for me but very enjoyable. I needed the hints to parse 27a. I enjoyed too many clues to pick one, I am just pleased to have completed a Friday puzzle that initially seemed impossible to break into.
Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K for the hints.
One or two answers required revisiting after completion to tease out parsing subtleties, though all were squared eventually.
I particularly liked Clement Atlee and the old red in 27a, 28a’s butt of joke transposition and the Yorkshire school vandalism in 16d.
My thanks to our setter and Mr K.
I found this to be 15a for a Friday, only held up by the parsing of 28a, thanks Mr K. LOI was 4d which followed 1a.
Ticks for 22a, the aforementioned 4d and 27a, but COTD goes to the eleventh hour 17a.
Thanks to the setter and Mr K.
**/****
Well for a Friday this was for me a tricky puzzle and took some time to get a hold on it. Filled bottom to top more-or-less.
Some clues had difficult parsing and some I could not suss out at all.
3*/3* for me
Favourites include 11a, 12a, 13a, 22a, 7d & 23d — with winner 7d and 12a the runner-up
Thanks to setter & Mr K.
Just arrived in the Great Wen, neither this nor Karla’s excellent toughie lasted through the train journey, but they were equally fun. I agree with Croye Dave, they were pretty much all podium worthy so I will leave it at that. I hope to see some of you tomorrow and if not consider joining the teams link;
https://teams.live.com/meet/9364709408706?p=jxqSsCNaPbQ87Pvvo3
It should be open from about noon til 4pm GMT, but bear in mind it can be a bit noisy in the Bridge House.
Thanks for the link, John. I’ll try to remember to connect at some point tomorrow and experience the pub hubbub.
An enjoyable and not too tricky puzzle – thanks to our setter and Mr K.
For my podium I plumped for 17a, 19a and 28a.
If you’re someone who usually avoids the Friday Toughies because you think that they’re too difficult then today would be an ideal day to have a go. Karla has given us an enjoyable puzzle that’s fairly straightforward.
Thanks for the nudge! Got a night in, I’ll give it a go.
I’m on the bus on the way to London so having to do the puzzle in fits and starts. I’ve got about a quarter left to do but thoroughly enjoying it.
Thank you, setter for the challenge, which I hope to complete before arriving in The Smoke. Thank you, Mr K for the hints.
A surprisingly quick start for a Friday, with the top two across answers going straight in … then slowing down and finishing in a middling sort-of time. Thank you to the setter (Zandio?). Lots of good clues, with 19a making me laugh the most.
I didn’t know the German city (another 5-letter German city occurs so frequently in crosswords that I did spend a little time wondering if there was a Judge Essen I hadn’t heard of!) and needed Mr K to explain 28a — thank you.
Jane, we’re missing you. Bash attendees: have fun!
An enjoyable and surprisingly swift Friday solve. COTD 27a.
Many thanks to setter and Mr K alike, and best wishes to Jane for both a speedy recovery and return to the board.
** / ****
Found this much easier than yesterday probably confirming that my head was fried yesterday. Loved the misdirection in 3d and 4d. Ticks went to the 1a reprimand, the 15a Tolerance, the 6d boob and the 17d kind of thinking – quite apt in the context of a cryptic crossword! Had to look up the German city.
Many thanks to setter and Mr K and I hope to see some of you tomorrow!!!!!!
Thanks to the Setter and Mr K (for the hints). We struggled but got there eventually. Didn’t quite get on the setters wavelength today. COTD 18d. LOI 27a. Those going to the “Bash” have a great time. We are staying put in North Devon!
First chance to look at the blog today. Surprisingly few comments thus far on what I thought was a reasonably straightforward puzzle for a Friday & very enjoyable it was too. 1,10,17,27&28a plus 4,6,17,18&24d particular likes with 27a my pick of ‘em.
Thanks to the setter (wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a Smooth production) & to Mr K.
Ps I’m relieved 5a didn’t feature in Hudson’s Wednesday puzzle.
2.5*/3*. This was surprisingly light for a Friday back-pager but generally food fun with 28a my favourite.
One or two surface reads seemed a bit strained.
Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K.
Feeling pretty pleased with myself at first, for a Friday, but the parsing of 28a and 20d had me beat.
My cotd was 13a and I am likewise 12a.
Thanks to setter and Mr K for the hints.
Agree with the rating, 2d is such a neat anagram, thank you compiler and Mr K
A very nice finish to what has been a hugely enjoyable week in CrissyCrossyland.
I am torn. So torn. But, I’m going to go with Zandio. Whoever it is has done a fine job.
I was surprised to see ‘banned’ twice and I’m not a fan of 11a having no e at the end but I understand why people drop it.
22a wasn’t the best as the answer is a clumsy word and I’ve never heard of the small German city. But, when you have t _ i _ r, the setter is left with no choice. A useful city to log for the future, though.
My picks for the pody are 27a (my LOI), 2d (superb) and 4d (nicely done)
MTTTA and Mr K.
3*/4*
I thought the top half had escaped from a Monday cage but really struggled with the south west especially 18 d which was the key to that segment because I had no idea about the German city ..Last ones in 20 and 24 . Favourite 15 a , just because it wasn’t ! Thanks to all
This did seem gentle for a Friday, but I was pleased after such a trial with yesterday’s backpager 😱
27A – how is ‘term’ an indicator for the last letter? I don’t recall seeing this before. Needed the hint to understand 18D’s ‘recycling’ and 17A’s ‘sharp side pain’ too.
Pody picks are 4D, 6D, and 1D, no runaway winners today.
Thanks to setter and Mr K … and I will meet some of you tomorrow, very exciting 🙂
Hi Simon
One of the many definitions of term is “end, conclusion or termination”
Very enjoyable puzzle, with 16D my favourite. 20D and 27A also excellent, but it took a while to work out why. VMT to Setter and Mr K.
A late start for me today and it took me ages to get to grips with today’s offering. I’m afraid I needed to look at too many hints to either confirm I was right in the first place or seek inspiration. 17d made me smile! Many thanks to the setter and Mr K.
Wishing all those that can attend tomorrow’s Birthday Bash a brilliant get together and please take some photos. Many thanks, in anticipation.
Late onparade, although I finished this xlever and absorbing crossword at 3.30 am, having been awoken by a truck and a crew ofckmen removing the signs and bollards from the road works that recently afflicted myself and my neighbours. It was hard to choose favourites but I liked rhe Lego diaries at 16d, the decapitated statesman at 7d, the little known German ciry at 22a and the lurker at 21d. Thanks to tthe compiler and to Mr K for the hints.
I am now ensconced in my lodgings for the weekend and have just dined. The worst part of the trip was getting from Victoria bus station to Green Park – I nearly fell on the escalator but a very kind and rather beautiful young lady prevented it.
Thoroughly enjoyed today’s crosswords even the Toughie but I did need the hints for a few on that one. No COTD or COTT because the paper has gone and I’m rather spent after the day’s exertions. I’m going to get an early night, eat a hearty breakfast in the morning and maybe go to F and M’s before setting off for Little Venice.
Just finished after a couple of goes. The answers were correct but took a while to parse the clues in the south.
3*/4.5*
20d, 28a and 7d as favourites
Thanks to Zandio and Mr K
I didn’t find this one too bad for a Friday. Some nice clues and I very much enjoyed it. I had to check the parsing of 28a. Clever clue I have to say. Home now (Somerset) after an excellent few days in Cornwall , despite the weather. My dear doggie is tired and emotional as she hates the car and I have a stinking cold – ah well . Thanks to the setter and Mr K.
A very enjoyable, not-too-demanding puzzle for me today. Lots of good clues, but I’m going with 13a as my favourite. Even if the prospect is really scary!
Thanks to our setter and Mr K
testing testing testing
aha! BD has not been posting my comments for a few days. Seems it now is. Hurrah! thought i’d been barred
I found that unusually tricky. My mind couldn’t bend the right way for some reason
3*/3* …
liked 19A “Banned cheers, I don’t like that (5)”
I completed this delightful puzzle two days ago but haven’t been able to comment until now, mea culpa.
Cleverly constructed and not too difficult, it is full of fun. I had many a chuckle. Definitely **** entertainment!
Suffice to say, my podium is overcrowded. A selection from it includes:
1, 10, 13, 17, 23, 27 and 28 across; 4, 6, 7, 8, 20 and 24 down.
Of these, my favourites are 27a and 4d.
Many appreciative thanks to the setter for a most entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable puzzle.
Many appreciative thanks to Mr K for the review which I value having but did not need on this occasion.