Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31154
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment *****
Good morning from a chilly but sunny south Hampshire. Today we have another excellent back-pager, with so many fine clues it was hard to choose a favourite. I especially liked 1a, 9a, 19a, 2d and 3d, but topping the podium for me today is the tipsy clergyman in 8d. 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 It involves quickly lapping baby milk before lunchtime (7,3)
FORMULA ONE: A word for a dried milk substitute is followed by the time at which you might have your lunch.
6a Possesses hard drug (4)
HASH: A synonym of ‘possesses’ is followed by the single letter for ‘hard’.
9a Tired, retreating Yankee leaves D-Day beach (5)
SWORD: A synonym of ‘tired’ without the letter represented by Yankee in the Nato phonetic alphabet (Yankee leaves) is reversed (retreating).
10a Activity yielding ginger and nuts? (9)
GARDENING: A cryptic all-in-one definition. An anagram (nuts) of GINGER AND gives us a pastime that could produce the foodstuffs mentioned in the clue.
12a Starter home built for flighty character, very excited (5-4,4)
BIRDS-NEST SOUP: The home of a winged creature (****’* ****) is followed by another word for ‘very’ and a word that can mean ‘excited’.
14a Sweet soul music played with Mike unplugged (8)
LUSCIOUS: An anagram (played) of SOUL [m]USIC. The letter represented by Mike in the Nato phonetic alphabet is removed (unplugged) from the anagram fodder.
15a South American returning service – I watch big game here (6)
SAFARI: Take the abbreviation for South American, append the reversed (returning) abbreviation for one of the armed forces, and add ‘I’ from the clue.
17a Unfortunately kinda empty region (6)
ALASKA: A synonym of ‘unfortunately’ is followed by the outer letters only (empty) of ‘kinda’.
19a This compiler, flipping angry, first to sue airline (8)
EMIRATES: The pronoun that this puzzle’s compiler would use to refer to him/herself is reversed (flipping), and followed by a synonym of ‘angry’ and the initial letter (first to) of ‘sue’.
21a Boy’s plum put on cooker? Take it or leave it (7,6)
HOBSONS CHOICE: An informal word for a boy, the possessive S from the clue, and a word that can mean ‘plum’ or of superior quality are placed after (put on) a cooking surface.
24a Least well organised? It’s United, sadly (9)
UNTIDIEST: An anagram (sadly) of ITS UNITED.
25a Stroll bet loses grand (5)
AMBLE: A synonym of ‘bet’ is missing (loses) the single letter for ‘grand’.
26a Noble, tragic King left at the back (4)
EARL: the name of a tragic Shakespearian king with the single letter for ‘left’ moved to the end (at the back).
27a Very white, Cliff has pain in the noggin after draining bottle (6,4)
BEACHY HEAD: A synonym of painful and the body part for which ‘noggin’ is slang follow the first and last letters (draining) of ‘bottle’.
Down Clues
1d Duke in good health embracing son (4)
FIST: A synonym of ‘in good health’ is placed round (embracing) the single letter for ‘son’. (‘Duke’ here has nothing to do with nobility, but is a slang word for a part of the body.)
2d Substitute Salah on hour completely upset shape (7)
RHOMBUS: The three-letter abbreviation for ‘substitute’ is followed by the shortened first name of a famous footballer and the abbreviation for ‘hour’, then the whole expression is reversed (completely upset).
3d Upper-class wrinkled mod lazily covering old Dylan classic (5,4,4)
UNDER MILK WOOD: The letter indicating ‘upper-class’ is followed by an anagram (lazily) of WRINKLED MOD into which the single letter for ‘old’ has been inserted (covering). (‘Dylan’ here refers to the first name of a Welsh author, not the gravel-voiced singer-songwriter.)
4d Gloop one famously served in Rome? (8)
AUGUSTUS: A double definition. The first name of a greedy child in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is also the name of a Roman emperor.
5d Tender dogfish (5)
NURSE: A cryptic double definition: the first word in the clue, if you read it as ‘one who tends’, could describe the answer.
7d Tombstone found in this state? (7)
ARIZONA: The US state in which the city of Tombstone is situated.
8d Churchman who’s had too much communion wine? (4,6)
HIGH PRIEST: A cryptic definition. The term for this senior clergyman could also describe a cleric who is ‘under the influence’.
11d Broadcast on air X-rated track, remarkable (13)
EXTRAORDINARY: An anagram (broadcast) of ON AIR X RATED, followed by the two-letter abbreviation for ‘railway’ (track).
13d Fresh hake wrapped in shirt? That’s novel! (5,5)
BLEAK HOUSE: An anagram (fresh) of HAKE is placed inside (wrapped in) a word for a shirt worn by women, giving us a work by Charles Dickens.
16d Forceful English parliamentarian in charge introducing cap? (8)
EMPHATIC: Take the single letter for ‘English’, add the abbreviations for a Member of Parliament and ‘in charge’, and insert a garment of which ‘cap’ is an example.
18d Ref somewhat irregular, bit erratic (7)
ARBITER: Hidden in the last three words of the clue.
20d Quiver male soprano carries (7)
TREMBLE: A synonym of ‘soprano’ contains (carries) the single letter for ‘male’.
22d Prosecuted electronic Britpop band (5)
SUEDE: A synonym of ‘prosecuted’ is followed by the single letter for ‘electronic’.
23d Force Germany to engage European Union in bitter battle (4)
FEUD: Take the single letter for ‘force’ and the International Vehicle Registration letter for Germany and insert (engage) the abbreviation for the European Union.
Which clues did you like best? Please let us know in the comments section below.
The Quick Crossword pun: BORE + DOUGH = BORDEAUX
There are a couple I solved by the checkers because the parsing eluded me so I will need the hints for explanations. Otherwise, it was a steady solve with plenty to like. The pain in the head after draining the bottle at 27a raised a smile. So did the over imbibing churchman at 8d. My COTD is the very excited starter home at 12a but there were other contenders such as the hake in the shirt at 13d.
Thank you, setter for a great puzzle. Thank you, Deansleigh for the hints.
There was a light dusting of snow overnight in The Marches, which came as a surprise.
Good morning. I found the Southern half much easier than the Northern half. It was fairly clued through out but I am not a Bob D fan, so 3d was a guess. 27a is my COTD and 12a was my LOI. But 1a, 15a, 19a,1d, 2d and 8d are worthy podium contenders. Many thanks to Deansleigh for the review and the hints which were not needed and to the setter for the puzzle
3d is not Bob Dylan, Conor — you’ve fallen into the setter’s trap! As did I, for ages, until I had every crossing letter and finally saw it … then it still took me a few moments to realize which Dylan it was.
Thanks for that! It was all I could think of.
I loved this puzzle. It was difficult to get started but once I had a foothold… I don’t agree with the defination of 21ac, to me, it means no option at all. The horse nearest the door.
I think that’s the same thing, Lynne. If you want a horse, you have to take the one nearest the door, and if you aren’t happy with that, you don’t get a horse at all — so equivalent to “This is your horse, take it or leave it”?
Mr Hobson was a native of Cambridge in the late 1500’s – he famously also arranged for a twice daily flow of water to wash out the gutters along Kings Parade, hence Hobsons Pump and a good way of getting your mudguards scraped.
Gentler than a lot of Wednesday, but some delightful clues. 1A favourite.
Not the trickiest Wednesday backpager but a delight to solve while it lasted
Thanks to the setter and Deansleigh
This is my favourite crossword of recent weeks, with so many clues that made me smile. Thank you to the setter for their humour and ingenuity. My shortlist of top clues is long, so I’ll stick to mentioning the highlights of the shortlist: the 12a starter home, the 3d Dylan classic, and the 4d Gloop.
Took me a while though, the top half holding out until the timer was on something more like a Friday or an easier Toughie. Though admittedly Spouse asked me to change the ink in the printer, and I got back from that to find the timer still ticking, so it wasn’t all down to the crossword.
Spouse is a big fan of the 22d band, so I checked whether they count as Britpop. They predate Britpop being a thing, and Spouse reckons they’d probably claim not to be Britpop, but they were around in that era and playing that kind of music, so says it’s fair enough to label them as such. We went to see them for our 3rd wedding anniversary, because that’s supposed to be leather, so that seemed close enough …
I have learnt a D-Day beach. Thank you to Deansleigh for explaining Tombstone in 7d, which had me beaten.
I’m just curious Smylers. Do you do the Tuesday backpager?
I try the Tuesday backpager about twice a year, to confirm that it’s still beyond me! On one occasion I was lured into it by so many commenters saying they’d found it simple (and specifically, easier than the previous day’s, which I’d solved without any problems), only for me to find I couldn’t finish it — there were a few clues which the hints (thank you!) confirmed I’d parsed correctly, but I still couldn’t think of the right synonyms. So I tend to stay clear.
But that isn’t a complaint! I am very much in favour of the Telegraph providing a range of crosswords to suit different solvers, and I believe others when they say they find Tuesdays straightforward; I just wish those who complain on, say, Zandio Fridays that the crossword was too hard for them (and therefore shouldn’t have been published) would believe me! Difficulty isn’t linear.
What made you ask?
I’m with you Smylers. I do the Tuesday cryptics but I seldom find them easy and not that enjoyable either. Yesterday was a good example, I solved Dada’s Toughie and really enjoyed the tussle but struggled with the backpager and only finished with a couple of ‘free’ letters.
As you say, it’s not a grumble, there’s usually something for everyone to enjoy through the week.
That’s very interesting. Shabbo & I had a discussion about the range of puzzles en route to The Bridge. I certainly wouldn’t say I don’t enjoy or rate Tuesday’s puzzles but often don’t find them as enjoyable as others evidently do. Guess it’s just taste. Saw you commented on the Dada Toughie which I found extremely difficult. Today’s is a cracker
22d was lurking at the back of my mind along with Blur and Pulp so I would say they are a Britpop band.
Difficult to get a start in the NW but the bottom half of the guzzle went in relatively straightforwardly. The Dylan clue, 3d,with its clever misdirection, was my COTD followed closely by the drunken deacon at 8d. Ialso liked the 13d anagram . Thanks to the compiler and to Deansleigh for the hints
2*/4.5*. I really enjoyed this and it would have earned 5* but for the non-anagram indicator “lazily” in 3d.
With plenty of ticks to choose from, 1a gets my vote as favourite.
Many thanks to the setter (Hudson?) and to Deansleigh.
I found this very tricky. Got there in the end but the upper west corner held out. Got the wrong Dylan and as a folk song enthusiast it was irritating until the penny dropped. Having a football clue in that same corner was horrid and I obviously was not up to date on characters in children’s classics. I have dissected many a dogfish and I was not impressed with the answer to 5 down. A stretch too far.
What an old grouch I sound when in fact there was so much to enjoy in this puzzle. I see ticks aplenty and favourite was 13 down.
Thank you everyone for today’s offering. I might not sound it but am really grateful for the tussle.
Dear Dyslex, I read the “nurse” to be the nurse shark, the dogfish being a member of the shark family!
Bit tenuous I agree.
We went with nurse shark as well.
I am being a geek on this one – sorry.
I’ve just had a quick look at Chambers – one definition of ‘nurse’ is “a shark; a dogfish”. So I think the clue is fair, although rather obscure.
An enjoyable mid-week challenge solved before I left the former Staines, Middlesex and being commented on while I await my flight in the wonderful edifice known as Terminal Four, drinking a pint of Genius, I mean Guinness, at the end of a most enjoyable visit to family and friends (that includes you TDS, don’t forget the obligation with the beer) – 2.5*/3.5*
It took a while for the PDM on which Dylan in 3d!
Candidates for favourite – 12a, 21a, and 2d – and the winner is 21a.
Thanks to whomsoever, a toss-up between Hudson and Twmbarlwm I should imagine, and Deansleigh
It was great to see you again, S. I love that you arrange your trips to Old Blighty around this hooly.
Very commendable.
A cracking midweek puzzle – many thanks to our setter and Deansleigh.
There’s quite a bit of GK here – I’d never heard of Gloop so that needed a bit of investigoogling.
I have masses of ticks including 1a, 12a, 21a, 27a and 8d.
Not one of my quicker solves, but I got there in the end. My top three were 1a, 12a, and 8d.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh.
This was outstanding by The Hud (it’s got to be).
He’s accumulated enough brownie points for me to let him off: 1) ‘lazily’ as an anagram indicator 2) the truly awful ‘kinda’. I don’t mind people saying gonna, gotta and kinda. But, in print? No.
In 8d, I’d’ve left out ‘communion’ just to make it flow more…so to speak.
In 2d, I’d have gone with Mr Farah as more of this audience would have heard of him than the Egyptian superstar. We loved Master Gloop. Depp and Chalamet gave it their best but were never going to match our Gene….
What a talent Bricusse was.
My picks for the pody are 1a, 27a and 11d.
MTTTA and Singlehead (El Tel ©)
2*/5*
An irate phone call from Brett Anderson. He tells me he is suing the compiler and refers me to an interview he gave to the BBC’s ‘HARDtalk’ in which he said, “I disassociated myself from that very early on, as soon as I saw what I saw as becoming this kind of laddish, jingoistic, cartoon happening, which became Britpop, I very quickly distanced (name of group) from that.”
Enjoyable guzzle to unravel.
Thanks to the setter, and Single Head.
Safe flight to The Man In Terminal Four, and love to Jane.
A lovely puzzle with lots of smiles. I had to confirm that Gloop was who I thought he was.
Top picks for me were 1a, 12a, 21a, 27a and 13d.
Thanks to Deansleigh and the setter.
The following was ready before 10.00 to be copied into the blog as soon as it appeared. Having been dragged out to go shopping just before 11.00 I think, I am only able to do it now.
‘Finished all with a little help from Chambers and seeing words that would fit the checkers but the relation to the the clue seemingly non-existent. So obviously until I read the hints no thoughts favourable or not.’
Obviously not worth much now but does suggest the worthlessness of TDS keeping a score of who posts first. I know that I will never waste my time on such a bootless effort.
A fair comment, Cons is giving it his best and hanging in there but we all know the outcome for 2026.
A really enjoyable mid-weeker with some lovely surfaces. Took a little while to get started, but the South and most of the downs went in one after another. I am a BD fan so that was my first thought for 3d, but with the checkers I realised it was the other Dylan’s famous work. 4d was LOI as I saw the Roman connection but not up on chocolate factories, so needed to check. Also unfamiliar with Britpop although the band was lurking in the grey matter, but needed confirming post solve.
Ticks for 1a, 12a, 27a, 11d, 13d with 14a being my COTD.
Thanks to the setter and NigelShade and his alter ego, GeldaShein.
2*/4*
* / *****
A super puzzle over fairly quickly with several clues that made no sense to me until the after the answer became apparent whereupon they made superb sense! Not a fan of the story so had to double check on Gloop and didn’t know that D-Day beach. Going to use Gazza’s new word: ‘investigoogling’ in future – love it!
Lots to admire, biggest ticks went to 1a baby milk, the 12a starter home and 27a Very white, Cliff.
Thanks to the setter and Single Head (easier to spell than Deansleigh).
Safe travels, great to have met you and apologies on behalf of the nation for Heathrow to Senf!
I agree with the */**** rating where the answer appears obvious after the explanation. A mixture of very easy with very hard.
Must be losing my grip.
Nicely testing for a Wednesday with the south falling first. Took too long trying to find a Dylan track before a couple of checkers pushed me in the right direction. The tiddly church man raised a smile as did 13d, but cotd has to go to 3d. Thanks to compiler and Deansleigh.
For me a difficult solve especially in the north west . Couldn’t figure out 1a , after that fell , it flew in , except for the band and 5d ( a stretch for a cartilaginous fish ) ok I guess . Some really outstanding clues 3,12 and 24 podium.Thanks to all .ps Yesterday’s toughie not as easy as the last couple of Tuesdays .
Is 10a really an all in one clue? I certainly wouldn’t be yielding ginger and nuts from my garden!
I agree – perhaps that’s why the clue ends with a question mark.
I found this Wednesday puzzle on the norm with the last few Wednesday offerings. No idea of the setter, but a wild guess at Hudson, perhaps. Some very tricky clueing along with thparsing for them too.
2*/3.5* today
Favourites 1a, 14a, 21a, 11d & 13d — with winner 13d for me.
Lots of smiles through the grid too … 17a, 24a, 25a & 8d
Thanks to Hudson(?) & Deansleigh
Absolutely brilliant. Definitely my cup of Quickie Pun. It took me a long time to fall into the baby milk, a lovely clue and although I got the D-Day beach I had to resort to the hints to parse it, also for 27a and of course, being a dinosaur I had never heard of that (or any other) Britpop band. Although 15a is an old friend I think it was a slightly different way of indicating it. 12a made me laugh but I have to go with our local hero Hobson as my favourite. Many thanks to Mr Setter and to Deansleigh and Bon Voyage to the man in the red 🧣. See you next time🥰🤞
I started really slowly, with only a couple of hits on the first pass, then suddenly it all fell into place and I shot through the grid in good time. This was a genuine delight, with so many excellent clues. I think first place on the honours board has to go to a tie, 12 and 21a.
Many thanks to our Wednesday setter and Deansleigh.
12a is such a good clue, the NW corner took me into *** territory – thank you Deansleigh for explaining things
Very enjoyable solve even though there were a couple I had to guess I thoroughly enjoyed completing it. I did not know 4d or 9a and they need confirmation from the hints. 27a was my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints
What a great puzzle full of excellent clues some of which needed a bit of teasing out. Thought 2d an absolute cracker- and very true of late!
I took was stuck on the wrong Dylan for far too long, good to know I am not alone.
Was very interested to read the views with regards to Tuesday’s back pager – just goes to prove you can’t please all the people all the time. Many thanks to the setter and to D for the hints which I shall now read
2* / 4* A definite step up, especially in the north. Very enjoyable with great misdirection and wit.
Lots of favourites including 1a boring car race, Master Gloop at 4d, not Bob at 3d and the white cliff at 27a
Thanks to setter and Deansleigh
For the last couple of weeks I’ve done my money – if I say Hudson it’s the Twm & vice versa. Common sense says keep your folding in your wallet however I agree with Tom so will go all in that it’s a Hudson puzzle & it was a belter. Film knowledge helped with Tombstone (O.K Corral) – the George Cosmatos version with Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer & Bill Paxton is a great watch. Hadn’t a scooby about Gloop (watched the Gene Wilder version eons ago though not the remake) + I’d have only have been able to name 2 of 5 landing beaches in a quiz. Fortunately the answers to both weren’t difficult then over to Mr G. Though I twigged the right Dylan straight off seeing ilk & thinking it was synonymous with class meant I was a little slow to see the correct parse.
Ticks galore – 1,12,14&27a + 2,3&11d the standouts for me with the flighty starter my pick of ‘em.
Thanks to the setter & to Deansleigh for another fine review.
Hi Hoots.
Here’s a way to remember the beaches’ initials: USJOG (Utah, Sword, Juno, Omaha, Gold)….
‘Did the soldiers from the US JOG down the beach every morning?’
If you don’t know the names then this is absolutely useless. It happening in June helps to remember Juno.
could only remember Omaha & Juno.
Just been for a long walk this afternoon with my golfing buddy who is a fit as a fiddle 88 years young. I reckon if between it was a tenner every time either one of said what’s his or her name we’d have done a few quid.
Forgot to say 14a prompted the playing of Arthur Conley’s classic then a few covers of it. Sam & Dave’s version takes some beating
Tune!
I thought Val Kilmer was terrific in Tombstone. I wonder how long it took him to master the coin trick.
Another film I need to add to the list of classics to watch.
I won tickets to the film on Radio Shropshire, Tom. The question was “What was Doc Holliday’s profession?” Well! I couldn’t lose could I?
I knew the story so was just expecting another rerun of the tale but no way was it that. It explored the legend in greater depth and I found it fascinating. As I say, Val Kilmer was superb. In fact, you can almost see his fellow actors in awe of him in each scene, which he always stole.
We love VK.
So sad to lose him.
Rewatched Heat for the umpteenth time a couple of weeks ago having only intended to dip into it for an hour – he’s great in that
One of my top 10. A superb film.
Now I’m off to bed!
Full of superb clues – it involves quickly lapping, starter home, force Germany to engage EU – all absolutely hilarious.
VMT Setter and Deansleigh.
I found this very amusing in places and then quite tricky in others, but very clever 😳 ****/****
Favourites were 1a, 12a & 8d 🤗 Thank you to Deansleigh and to the Compiler 🤔
About right for a Wednesday with the south in before the north. Didn’t know the Gloop which required a visit to Google. Nothing else obscure (to me). Several contenders for favourite but I’ll go with 21a. Thanks to the setter and DL.
This was a great puzzle however I came to a halt in the NW earlier and had to go out , so have resumed this evening. Got a bit of help to get it over the line. The Gloop clue was a gem once I had solved it , one of my last in though. Thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh.
A better performance today over a bit of Brighton breakfast *before* work, maybe I should try to get these done early, more often. I was a little hung up in the NW, got there in the end. 3D’s Dylan soon looked like it would not be Bob, but I also didn’t quickly spot ‘lazily’ to be an anagram indicator – is there strong support for this? I’d heard of 4D’s Gloop but couldn’t place it, and I banged in the dogfish, care of ‘tender’, with confident ignorance! Thanks for the hints to clear these up.
Pody faves – plenty of contenders – 12A’s starter, 27A’s sneaky, comma, noggin pain, and best of all, one of my hold-ups, 1A’s quick-lapper which, on first reading I’d decided was going to be ‘Morning tea’ and then a couple of down clues later realised it wasn’t. Satisfying when it dropped.
Thanks to Setter for a very enojyable grid, and to Deansleigh – I am originally from south Hampshire too, though I’ve moved eastward along the coast now.
I take it the Brighton reference means you live there, Simon? I go there once a year to attend a book launch of a friend of mine, usually in September. Be good to meet and have a catch up? 👍
Hi Steve, I’ll happily take you up on that, I’d gladly attend a book launch too 🙂 and I live a bit west of Brighton. How do people share details here?
Great. 👍 However, unless you like crime novels, the book launch might not be your scene. Mind you, it usually takes place on Brighton Pier and there’s free food!
As for sharing details you need to email the blog. The guardians will then forward your email to me.
Wriggles and I talked about meeting up in Peter Jamesland as l live nearby. So, count me in!
I’ve got his number.
Sounds good. I’ve known Peter for over thirty years and you will find me mentioned in his books.
Sounds like this could be a great get together! 😀
U betcha!
A prolific writer.
Right. Another fabulous day in Crossyland hits the back of the net. I’m off to the Land of Nodski.
Sweet dreams.
That’s good to know, and I do like crime novels! That was a bit of a covid revolution. I’ve said hello to PJ at park run in Worthing before. I’ve enjoyed the TV shows with John Simms too.
Let’s do the Sussex meetup indeed 🙂
I found this quite a beastie. Almost threw in the towel with a few solved around the edges.
A dnf due to 3d. Aware of a Bob Dylan but no idea what he did. The other Dylan is unknown to me. I do know of a young female singer called Dylan though.
The first part of 21a as a name for a boy is new to me and was a bung in.
Thanks to all.
Hob – cooker
Son’s – boys
Plum – choice
3*/4* …
liked 19A “This compiler, flipping angry, first to sue airline (8)”