Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31155
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***
I don’t think that there’s much to frighten the horses in this enjoyable puzzle. Thanks to our 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.
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Across
1a Vehicle in which Cabinet position is secured after seat’s safe? (9,3)
FURNITURE VAN: the surface here is trying to make us think of a political vehicle but the answer is an actual vehicle in which, if you’re lucky, your belongings are safely secured whilst being transported.
9a Stifling hot, sews a top, working for exploitative factory (5,4)
SWEAT SHOP: an anagram (working) of SEWS A TOP contains (stifling) the tap abbreviation for hot.
10a Clubs screen lecture (5)
CHIDE: the cards abbreviation for clubs and a verb to screen or conceal.
11a One who covers winners now and then outside stable (7)
INSURER: regular letters (now and then) from ‘winners’ contain (outside) an adjective meaning stable or steady.
12a Former lover criticises English sweep (7)
EXPANSE: assemble the 2-letter word for a former lover, an informal verb meaning criticises and an abbreviation for English.
13a Can’t sneer when fighting Gates? (9)
ENTRANCES: gates here is falsely capitalised in an attempt to make you think of the entrepreneur. We need an anagram (when fighting) of CAN’T SNEER. The question mark indicates that gates is just an example of the answer.
16a International abandoned in obvious scheme (4)
PLAN: start with an adjective meaning obvious or clear and remove the abbreviation for international.
18a Men’s armour delivered (4)
MALE: a homophone (delivered) of a type of bodily armour made from overlapping steel rings.
19a Keeping an eye on yobs, essentially waiting (9)
OBSERVING: the central (essentially) letters of yobs followed by a synonym of waiting (at table, for example).
22a Suspicious evidence of debts in the wake of backsliding pal (7)
DUBIOUS: written acknowledgements of debts follow (in the wake of) the reversal (backsliding) of an informal, mainly North American, term for a pal.
23a Seconds before noon, a trainee reporter returns for liqueur (7)
SAMBUCA: start with abbreviations for seconds and ‘before noon’ then reverse (returns) A and a trainee reporter.
25a Major-domo chats drinking coffee (5)
MOCHA: hidden (indicated by drinking) in the clue.
26a Rarities at sea will keep heading for The Needles (9)
IRRITATES: needles is falsely capitalised and is a verb here. We need an anagram (at sea) of RARITIES containing the heading letter of ‘The’.
27a Nervous feeling when twerp mends shoes for Spooner (12)
COLLYWOBBLES: the Rev. Spooner might turn the answer into Wally cobbles.
Down
1d Joyful Parisian is entertained by quintet (7)
FESTIVE: the French (Parisian) word for ‘is’ is contained (entertained) by the number in a quintet.
2d 20 oboes? (5)
REEDS: double definition, the first being a type of 20d.
3d Rest in travel breaks (8)
INTERVAL: an anagram (breaks) of IN TRAVEL.
4d Escort drug dealer, avoiding leader of posse (5)
USHER: an informal word for a drug dealer loses the leading letter of posse.
5d Peer misses out, ignored by current rulers (9)
EMPRESSES: an anagram (out) of PEER M[i]SSES after removing the symbol for electric current.
6d Recognise start of Coldplay record during function (6)
ACCEPT: the starting letter of Coldplay and an abbreviated type of record go inside a verb to function or behave.
7d Cabaret star Gwyn perhaps in small car (8)
MINNELLI: the forename of Ms. Gwyn (one of the many mistresses of Charles II) goes inside a small car to make the name of the star of the 1972 film Cabaret.
8d Hack on northern river (6)
SEVERN: a verb to hack or amputate precedes (on, in a down clue) the abbreviation for northern.
14d Be cheeky and give the game away, undermined by defender (4,4)
TALK BACK: a verb meaning to give the game away or spill the beans is followed (undermined by, in a down clue) by a football defender.
15d Winger angry over charge (9)
CROSSBILL: a synonym of angry precedes (over, in a down clue) a word for a charge or amount due.
17d Estate should get you this money upfront for boat journeys (4,1,2,1)
FROM A TO B: estate here is a type of vehicle. We need an anagram (journeys) of the letter at the front of M[oney] and FOR BOAT.
18d Married Frenchwoman‘s setter biting Sandler? (6)
MADAME: the objective pronoun that the setter would use for himself contains (biting) the forename of actor Sandler.
20d Ultimately burgeoning Resistance fools informers (7)
GRASSES: string together the ultimate letter of burgeoning, the abbreviation for electrical resistance and a synonym of fools or twerps.
21d Caribbean island yoga Botham takes up (6)
TOBAGO: hidden in reverse (takes up) in the clue.
23d Prison officer and con (5)
SCREW: double definition, the first a noun and the second a verb to con or cheat.
24d Up to Aunty Jill when outsiders go (5)
UNTIL: remove the outer letters from the two words following the definition.
The clues which I liked best were 11a, 27a and 14d. Which one(s) made your list?
The Quick Crossword pun: CAW + FIT + ABEL = COFFEE TABLE
A tad easier than usual for a Thursday puzzle, I thought with plenty to like. I liked the topical 1a and the joyful Parisian at 1d but my COTD is, rather unusually for me, the Spoonerism at 27a.
Thank you, setter for the fun. Thank you, Gazza for the hints.
Blowing a hoolie here in The Marches with a yellow warning for rain. 🙁
I didn’t understand the pun because I had “apt” as the second word.
For the pun I got fit but just didn’t get it, I had cawfit able!
With apt I tried for co-optable. 😊
It’s not often that we like the same clues, but glad to see you liked 1a and 1d.
Good morning. This was very enjoyable and easy from the outset. The spoonerism is a new word for me and is complete gobbledegook! 1a and 1d share top honours today with 23a a close second. There are too many to like so I will leave it at that. Many thanks to Gazza for the review and hints which were not needed and the setter for the puzzle
Wally cobbles. A wally is a stupid person. (Corruption of Walter according to my dictionary. Was there a silly Walter?)
Walter I the Bash Street Kids wad a softy
Walter is Dennis the Menace’s nemesis, and was a softy (though these days he acts superior, takes advantage of his dad being both Mayor of Beanotown and a major employer, and tries to spoil others fun — making him a more acceptable target for Dennis).
The Bash Street Kids have Cuthbert, the teacher’s pet.
I bow to your superior knowledge, Torchy the Battery boy and Joe 90 were more my era
Thank you Daisy. I have met a few Wollies in my time; I think we all have!
1* / 3.5* Gentle and enjoyable fun for a miserable Thursday.
My favourites include 7d (the only musical I like), a bird I’d like to see at 15d and the clever 17d
Thanks to setter and Gaza for explaining the quickie pun
Not intended as a reply!
Very enjoyable, a gentle accompaniment for the morning coffee. Have never heard of the Sandler chap but that didn’t matter – and on looking at his Wiki entry I recognise neither him nor any of the various films he’s been in. My ignorance can remain in a state of bliss.
Honours to 1a and 27a – though having tackled the puzzle clockwise I had most of the checkers before reading the clue, so the answer was clear on reading the definition alone.
Many thanks indeed to the setter (Twm?) and Gazza
He is terrific in Uncut Gems & not bad in his most recent film, Jay Kelly
He was excellent in Uncut Gems. But, as a rule, he’s rubbish.
Thanks both – not films that I know, sorry. Then again we’re not really film people, which explains quite a lot!
We used to have a local Optician called R Sandler.
Would have been even better had he been a proctologist. 😀
A surprisingly pain-free challenge for the business end of the week with my LOI being 1a as I was trying to parse the bejesus out of it.
I’ve never heard of major-domo. So, that’s been added to the crib sheet.
Funny to see yesterday’s Wordle making an appearance. Talking of which…I was extremely pleased to hear this week’s announcement that they’re going to repeat words because some recent ones were, it’s safe to say, not-oft used words!
My podium is 23a, 27a (splendid word) and 5d.
MTT….um….Klara (?) and Gazza.
2*/3*
Great puzzle which as Gazza said, shouldn’t scare the horses. Everytime I type that phrase YouTube sends me to one of these;
The Spooner my favourite too, amongst any that Gazza illustrated with his tip-top tools.
Feels like a wrong envelope day as this one went in pretty quickly. As our blogger says says, nothing particularly difficult, but it was nicely clued and fun while it lasted. I did enjoy the Spoonerism, but my favourite was 14d.
Many thanks to both setter and Gazza.
All very jolly – a real Thursday romp. 1a, 27a and 17d for me. Best thanks to setter and Gazza.
Quickest solve of the week but fun while it lasted. Wouldn’t bet against a 1a rocking up at a Whitehall address in the very near future so the topicality of that one secured a podium spot along with 17d & with another vote for the Rev at 27a as COTD. Like others the pun was a crumpet scratch but eventually pegged it.
Thanks to the setter & to Gazza – great cartoons as per & particularly the one at 4d.
Ps the Beamer over in t’other place is fun too & well worth a look at.
Another gentle but very enjoyable backpager – 27a was my favourite
Thanks to the setter and Gazza
Me too with trying to find a clever way why 1a worked, should have just accepted my own guess from the checkers and moved on….
A gentle and enjoyable solve for a Thursday as others have said. I always groan when I see a spoonerism but I got this one straightaway and it made me laugh as it’s such a childish word. Thanks to the setter and Gazza .
Very enjoyable. The spoonerism takes the plaudits for cotd. Thanks to compiler and Gazza.
That was an enjoyable puzzle today; all wrapped up before Dark Side of Moon had finished 🎸
Nothing too taxing today.
I’ve never heard of Sandler, but the married French woman was a giveaway to his first name.
Thanks to the setter and to Gazza.
A lovely puzzle although 2d caused me some issues as I’ve never heard that term for an oboe and I used to play one. Yes it’s a double-reeded instrument but I’ve never heard it be called anything else except when I was cursing it!
Top picks for me were 27a, 15d and 7d.
Thanks to Gazza and the setter.
* / *****
Surprisingly gentle for a Thursday, I thought. Liked the cabaret star at 7d and the 27a spoonerism was my COTD, perhaps earning 4 of the 5*’s for enjoyment on its own. Love the word in the answer and the Spooner construction.
Many thanks to the setter and Gazza.
A Request: yesterday evening I looked at crossword 30,163 from 6th December 2022 (I do old puzzles in the evening when I’ve completed that day’s) and several clues (perhaps 5 or 6, I’ve not finished it yet) felt like I had done them verbatim very recently. E.g. 2d Pure, say = Utter. If anyone has a couple of minutes would they mind glancing at that puzzle and see if any clues are recently familiar. I may be going mad but I felt some of them were. Others definitely were not. So I wonder whether the repetition across years is deliberate, an accident or I’m in the final throes of madness ☺!
We all know what’s favourite, A-Pop…..
Tried this once but stayed in “awaiting moderation” so this time slightly redacted:
AP – Type the crossword number in the search field on this site to find the review. I’ve been working my way through 2017 in the archive – came across 28,613 18 Dec 2017 which was Rufus’s last one! Greatly missed by many as well as the reviewer I suspect!
Very enjoyable and relatively straightforward. It normally takes me a while to work out the spoonerisms but this one came to me right away and once I fully parsed 17d (thanks to Gazza) I appreciated how clever the clue was.
Thanks again to Gazza and setter
Every one has said it I think. Great guzzle, lousy weather, huge thanks to Benevolent Setter and to Gazza for hinting. I also had to say the pun several times before the penny dropped.
I had more difficulty in making out today’s pun than I did solving the cryptic puzzle. Like the previous three days it was very acessible and most enjoyable. Having taken a guess at 1a, all the top half of the grid went in pretty swiftly, with the bottom half almost as rapid. 27a was my favourite clue, just because I like the word and hadn’t heard or used it in years. I always enjoy Gazza’s choice of cartoons and today’s selection were as amusing as ever. My thanks to him and to the setter
As this puzzle is not a RayT offering this week, I have no idea of the setter. Some interesting clues along with some smiles and also a bit of head scratching too.
2.5*/4* for me
Favourite candidates include 1a, 19a, 23a, 27a, 6d & 8d — with winner 27a that was almost last in, but it made me chuckle though.
Also smiles for 1a, 13a, 8d & 24d
Thanks to setter & Gazza
Even if this had been a very poor puzzle (it wasn’t I hasten to add) the superb 27a would have lifted it to new heights. A word often used by my late father and one I haven’t heard in years. Thanks to our setter for the immense smile and Gazza for the enjoyable blog.
As lots have said already – super simple for a Thursday. Was trying to make more out of 1a than was there (as TDS has already written). Put a question mark next to 2d – has anyone seen an example of it being used as ‘oboe’? I actually laughed at the spoonerism – which I’m sure is a first for me!
Thanks to the setter and to Gazza for the words of wisdom
A really enjoyable treat for such a dreary cold day. I even got 27a and it will be my favourite as I usually make heavy weather of spooners. My last in was 1a as was struggling to find a clever way of working out the answer.
Many thanks to the setter and to Gazza for the hints.
What a super word 27a is, you don’t hear it often enough these days.
I had to to a bit of digging to find out more.
Evidently it was first recorded in a book called ‘A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue’ in 1785 and was considered rather a crude word.
I wonder what passed as a sense of humour in those days…
The racing deception in 11a was good too.
My thanks to our setter and Gazza, top cartoonage as per.
All good fun. I’ll vote 17D.
VMT to Setter & Gazza
Just back from playing 11 holes on a soggy golf course which is now getting soggier by the minute. My day has now been elevated by an unaided completion of this back-pager. Like others, the expectation is for meatier fare on a Thursday. However, I am glad that I am not the only one to not have heard of the Sandler chappie or his films, but the answer was a given from the rest of the clue. 27a is a lovely word which covers such a wide range of physical conditions that it should be used more. For me the COTD is the misdirected vehicle at 1a.
Many thanks to the setter and Gazza.
1*/4*
1.5*/4*. This was very light for a Thursday and, apart from a very mild twitch of the eyebrows at the American pal in 22d, this was a lot of fun with 7d and 27a fighting it out for top spot.
Many thanks to the setter and to Gazza.
Much easier than one would expect on a Thursday which was just as well because I had to get off to Knitter Natter and then on to Paracise. Enjoyed it from top to bottom meaning preferred clues were 1 across and 27 across. Didn’t know what Sadler could refer to but the answer was obvious enough for it not to matter thank goodness.
Thank you setter and Gazza.
That was a lot of fun and what a change to have all satisfactorily challenging clues devoid of cliches. Thank you very much setter and Gazza for being there for us in case of need.
Thank you all, and thanks to Gazza for the review and hints.
OED has Wally as ‘twerp’ originating around 1980, and being used in Only Fools and Horses in 1981.
Thank you, Tumbledown for a great puzzle and for popping in, which is always appreciated.
Great puzzle, Twmbarlwm – thanks for dropping in.
Thanks for popping in – a fun solve.
Accessible and fun — thank you to Twmbarlwm for the puzzle, and Gazza for confirming a couple of parsings. The 15d bird is new to me. My favourite was the shoe-mending twerp in 27a.
Greta puzzle today with the spoonerism as my favourite.
Thanks to Twmbarlwm for an entertaining puzzle, albeit a tad easier than normal for a Thursday.
Thanks to Gazza for the hints.
Jay Kelly is a good film to check out some of Adam Sandlers more nuanced work.
Either I’m getting on the same wavelength as Twm or I’m getting cleverer, I suspect neither are true, but I found this straightforward and enjoyable (not necessarily in that order). Favourite was unequivocally, no doubt about it and by far and away 27a. Thanks to Twmbarlwm and Gazza.
Normally I’d complain that a gentle puzzle wasn’t enjoyable but that’s not the case for me tonight. Some lovely clues, especially 13a and 27a. Thanks to the setter and Gazza for the hints.
Scraping in before midnight. Pretty smooth save for the NW, one of those occasions where I basically progressed from the bottom up. Still I am solving anagrams without pen and paper, and 3D was far harder for it!
Pody picks go to a brace in that peskier corner, 2D and 11A, and I can’t split the 7D Cabaret star (watched a great and touching doco recently) and the jittery 27A , splendid word.
Thanks to Twmbarlwm and to Gazza ⭐️
I rarely post as often a next day solver. However I must post here as I found this excellent. I think one person commented « wrong envelope day » which used to be a frequent response. Mention had been made of a previous setter whose like we may not see again. Also if a previous blogger who disappeared due to not sticking to the rules. However, humour is appreciated by me and I wish he would rejoin the fold. I look forward to seeing more newbies at next year’s gathering.
3*/3* …
liked 27A “Nervous feeling when twerp mends shoes for Spooner (12)”