Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31163 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
(hosted by crypticsue)
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
Another grey and cold morning brings what I thought was a slightly trickier than ‘normal’ Saturday Prize Puzzle, with a bit of a theme relating to today’s date. Which of the four ear worms stayed with you the longest?
Please ask for help if you are stuck on clues I haven’t hinted, but before doing so, please read the comments that appear before yours, so that you are not duplicating questions, and make sure you obey both THE INSTRUCTIONS IN RED at the end of the Hints and the blog’s Comment Etiquette – Big Dave’s Crossword Blog)
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also”. Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.
Across
1a Very attentive humorist visiting too briefly (3,4)
A humorist and poet ‘visiting’ or being inserted into almost all (briefly) of an adverb meaning too
9a Confidence in being tied up, do we hear? (5)
A homophone (do we hear) of tied up tightly
11a Composer worried about case of Icelandic instrument (10)
An anagram (worried) of COMPOSER goes about the outside letters (case) of IcelandiC
14a Possibly follow Karen with song she recorded? (3,3,2,4)
An anagram (possibly) of FOLLOW KAREN and W (with) produces both an expression meaning possibly and the title of a song recorded by Karen Carpenter
22a City a study in distressed stone (10)
A (from the clue) and a verb meaning to study intensively inserted into an anagram (distressed) of STONE
25a Duke retaining soldier as space cadet? (9)
A clenched hand (slang being a duke word for this) ‘retaining’ one of crosswordland’s soldiers and AS (from the clue)
28a Year-end frolics in clergyman’s office (7)
An anagram (frolics) of YEAR END
Down
1d/20d Bogie’s mate’s playing unknown song (2,4,4,2)
An anagram (playing) of BOGIES MATE followed by a mathematical unknown
4d Tree French Nobelist Albert climbs (5)
A tree, the dried berries of which are used as a spice in Middle Eastern cookery is a reversal (climbs) of the surname of the French Nobel Prize-winning author Albert
5d Without piano, a top jazz singer unaccompanied (1,8)
A (from the clue), a verb meaning to top and the forename of a jazz singer go outside (without) the musical abbreviation Piano
7d Redesigned Armenian national symbol (8)
An anagram (redesigned) of ARMENIAN produces the national symbol of France, representing liberty, equality and fraternity
8d Song writer initially lodged with the Crawleys? (8)
The initial letter of Writer inserted into (lodged with) the fictional country estate of the Crawley family
17d Clear detective set task to protect copyright (8)
An abbreviated detective and a set task into which is inserted (to protect) the symbol for copyright
24d Asian location covered in cruciverbalists (4)
An Indonesian island is hidden in (covered by) the final word of the clue
As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out
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The Quick Crossword pun: MILL + WAR + QUAY = MILWAUKEE
I found today’s puzzle to be a tough solve attended by a lot of head scratching. Not a walk in the park by any means but no complaints because it is a prize puzzle after all. There is a bit of a musical theme to it all with four songs included. My ear worm is 14a. Anyway, my first pass produced only six answers and the first of those was the Indian saying farewell at 21a. I have never heard of 4d but a quick check with electrons soon identified it. Fortunately, I knew Albert. Difficult to pick a favourite but, on reflection, I will go with the writer staying with the Crawleys at 8d.
Thank you, NYDK for a bit of brain mangler. Thank you, CS for the hints.
Sunny, cold and crisp in The Marches today. A joy not to wake up to yet more Stygian gloom.
I tried to edit my post in order to answer Sue’s question but it vanished into thin air. Anyway, my ear worm is 14a.
Now I see the edit has mysteriously appeared. 🤔
After making an edit, Steve, you need to refresh the page before you can see it.
I did, RD. Two or three times but nothing appeared and the edit function had disappeared even though it told me before I refreshed that I had three minutes left.
Definitely my ear worm too,14a most beautiful words and melody. I can hear my mother singing it now.
I am talking about the older version, DG not that by The Carpenters. 😊
I knew the song but not that Carpenters had sung it – hardly surprising given the same title but entirely different songs. Give me the Nat King Cole song any day.
Totally agree, Hintsman.
You forget, Steve, I AM old. Who are the carpenters?
Joseph was one of ‘em
2*/3.5*. A quirky and enjoyable SPP as we have come to expect from NYDK. Today’s offering contains an eclectic and somewhat historic music selection.
The surface of 28a made me smile and 5d was my favourite.
Many thanks to Donny and to CS.
I didn’t make the connection with the date today ♥ – Doh!
I loved in though. Some really witty clues. Lot’s of satisfaction. I did get stuck on the last few, so appreciated the hints.
Thank you to the setter and thank you crypticsue.
An enjoyable, romantic romp through Crossyland that went swimmingly.
Nice to see one of my four favourite singers in 14a to go with Barbara, Nat and Frank. What a voice!
The outhouse is getting a serious run out at the moment and I don’t understand the choice of ‘enjoy’ in 6d?
The misspelling of install in 27a is interesting as instill is the usual mistake people make though I’m sure it’s a typo.
I don’t recall seeing the abbreviation for American before though I’m sure it’s popped up here and there.
I didn’t know the national symbol which has been duly noted.
My podium is 14a, 13d and the oh so brilliant 1d/20d comby. That film will forever be on my all-time podium.
MTT NYPD Blue and she of the crypt.
2*/4*
‘enjoy’ and the last three letters of the answer are (rather stretched in my view) synonyms for something you’d do with a word in the clue. This was too difficult for me and I gave up with 5 clues remaining after double my normal time. I like the theme and some excellent clues. Thank you Sue and setter
What a great puzzle today. The musical link was appreciated, although I was misdirected to look for a musical instrument with the Icelandic composer.
Plenty of likes with 8d, 14a, 1a/20d and 10a vying for a podium place with 18a my COSVD.
My thanks to NYDK and crypticsue
2*/4*🩷
I play online – I believe there was a typo in the definition of 27a
?
Welcome to the blog.
Instal is spelt the same way in the newspaper, so I checked in the BRB and it is shown as an alternative spelling
What did you think of the crossword?
Hi, thanks for the welcome. Had I bothered to click on ‘install’ in my electronic dictionary, it would have confirm instal as an alternative. Also, I noted that the (not actually a) typo had been mentioned previously in the comments, so sorry for the repetition.
In answer to your question, I really enjoyed the crossword, I always do. I work for xxxx xxxxx in the UK, so enjoyed 21a! I don’t consider myself to be such a connoisseur of crosswords as to be able to separate bad ones from good ones – I just enjoy when I complete them
Including the name of your employer does give away the solution, so had to be redacted
Oops. Maybe I’ll stay away from the comments.
You don’t need to stay away, but it might help if you read the instructions in red at the bottom of the hints before commenting on a Prize Puzzle
I did! I’ve visited here several times and read them – just didn’t think.
We’ve all done it, CP. Unfortunately, there’s no cake on the naughty step these days. 😊
Welcome to the blog and please don’t stay away from the comments because it would be great to hear from you again. 👍
CeeSue is very gentle with miscreants – don’t be frightened by her! You go on the naughty step. I was always put in the corner and allegedly there was a tear stain down the wallpaper!
An alternative spelling?
Be strong, Tom. Be strong…
Not an average SPP by any means – ***/****
Candidates for favourite – 25a, 2d, and 8d – and the winner is 8d.
Thanks to NYDK, or whomsoever if it is not he, and to CS.
Happy Valentine’s Day to Daisy
Terrific guzzle. The committee is in a warm and forgiving mood today, so 4d was merely issued with a yellow card and warned about its future conduct.
‘From February 13th to the 15th, the Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. The men sacrificed a goat and a dog, then whipped women with the hides of the animals they had just slain.’
This seems rather excessive, and terribly exhausting.
Thanks to New York Entryway Opener and PC Security (anag). Love to Jane
Be still my beating heart. Thank you kind sir. (Not a word to H or G).
Great stuff. Nice theme, well executed. The musical clues will probably bamboozle anyone under the age of fifty, as I am often bamboozled by music of the last twenty years, so fair’s fair. Plenty of choice for a favourite, with my winner being 5d.
My thanks to Donny for a fun challenge, and to Sue.
I was about to object to your comment about people under fifty until I remembered that I am in fact over sixty!
Lovely theme, I thought at first we were doing Dench sitcoms, but Leonard Cohen, Petula Clark, Dooley Wilson and Billy Holliday added earworms. If you include the singing style and a couple of choral pieces and maybe even Middle of the Road, I had plenty to sing along with.
Thanks to Sue and Donny
*** / ****
Didn’t seem like an NYDK production so probably is! Didn’t know the tree or the French nobelist and thought it was a typo for novelist until M. Google came to the rescue – my spellchecker thinks it’s a typo! Also didn’t know the national symbol. Also thought ‘instal’ was a typo but noted comment above. Having said all that, got there in the end. COTD went to the 22a city.
Many thanks to the setter and CS
Loved every minute of this, especially the musical ones, and the misdirection of 11a. Sadly, it didn’t take the whole journey to Birmingham so I was reduced to watching for potholes and middle-lane-hoggers. I wasn’t driving!
14a is my earworm – will have to listen to more of hers now.
I found this tough going today for some reason and as such, I didn`t particularly enjoy it. Nevertheless, many thanks to the setter and hinter. Now it`s time for a pint of G and rugby
Thoroughly enjoyed this, just the right level of ‘struggle’ for me. Some very clever clues, have to pick 14a as my favourite.
Many thanks to Sue and setter
There was a real Golden Oldies theme going on roday and it took a while for me to get the solutions. I liked the Lego clue at 13d, the song at 8d and the two geographical clues at 12a and 24d. Thanks to the compiler and to CS for the hints.
A lovely puzzle. I had to check my guess at 8d as to who or what the Crawleys were and didn’t know the national symbol but both were gettable once some checkers were in place.
Top picks for me were 25a, 10a, 6d and 14a.
Thanks to CrypticSue and NYDK.
Testing but very enjoyable and worth the effort to get to completion. My cotd is the French Nobelist which I see drew a warning from the List committee. Thanks to NYDK and CS.
Lovely puzzle ❤️. I always enjoy coming to bigdave to check my answers, and read everyone’s thoughts, but decided to post today.
In spite of it being the only song released after I was born, I’d never heard of 14a. I adore the artist though, so it was findable after a little research. My favourite clue, but my earworm is 8d.
For those who haven’t tried 5d, I can thoroughly recommend it.
Thanks to the setter, and to crypticsue for the hints.
Welcome, Nanabot. Please do keep on posting now you have delurked. 👍😊
Thank you. The welcome is appreciated.
It would appear we have another NYDK puzzle again this Saturday and that is always a delight to tackle. I liked the multi word clue (1d/20d) this week, but I must say that it and 10a, 14a & 1d clues brought up four female names from the past from screen and/or radio moments. Very well integrated I thought. Made for a great puzzle.
3*/4.5* for me today
Favourites other than the four already listed are 21a & 27a
Can’t pick a single winner this week … it was just a great puzzle overall.
Thanks to NYDK & CS for blog.
Absolutely loved that, particularly the many musical references. 14a was excellent. I’d never heard of the Crawleys so was looking for an insect reference until the checkers led me to Pet. Thanks very much to the setter and to Cryptic Sue.
Chris your street cred has just taken a hit – surely those checkers led you to Tom (off Heartattack & Vine) rather than Pet 😀
I had forgotten all about that song. It was overindulgence in Embassy/Chivas Regal that contributed to Papa Bee’s demise many years ago, and I haven’t consciously listened to that from TW since
Well allow me to tarnish it further by admitting that I’ve never really got into TW and that a scan of my vinyl collection reveals that I only own a copy of Frank’s Wild Years, bought from a Leicester library clearance sale in 1989ish. Indeed, I nearly mentioned the B-52s rather than PC, but their cover is frankly a bit rubbish. I did however greatly enjoy the conversation between Waits and Iggy Pop on 6 Music a couple of years ago and was grateful that my in-car speakers were of sufficient quality to deal with the very low frequencies involved.
Found this more difficult than usual. Could I get some help with 12a and 13d? I also thought thay the quickie pun might be “malarkey”
Thanks to setter and CS.
12a the last two words are the definition. The abbreviation for seconds inserted into a word meaning large
13d Sweet is the definition. Starmer’s role ’embraces’ every one, a Mediterranean island then being added
Thanks. Kept trying to work Keir and/or all into 13d
Felt a little bit too young to do this crossword as all the songs were released before my time!! Was able to work them out fair and square tho. Only heard of the spice / seasoning in 4d – I have some in a cupboard along with zatar that I purchased during an ottolenghi cookery phase!
Didn’t know 7d was a national symbol – school day and all that! Thanks to the setter and to CS for the hints which I didn’t need but still enjoyed reading.
1d and 13a defined my childhood. Father was driving a tank in Africa and Italy and my mother, who had a beautiful voice, was always singing to keep our spirits up. I think of them especially today as they adored each other and it is quite special to grow up in such a happy home. Ah me. I was delighted to get a Valentine from Terence as George was quite surprised when I told him the date. I suppose after almost 69 years (I was two when we were wed) the romance might have worn off a bit. But what a huge smile I got from the guzzle! A cracker, loved it all, though was somewhat flummoxed by the definition of a space cadet. 14a has to be my favourite, I know all the words though cannot remember what I had for dinner last night! Huge thanks to the very Smart Setter and to CeeSue for being there.
Thanks CS et al. It’s not actually raining here in the South Midlands today, how about you? And happy Valentine’s Day!
I used INSTALL as the BRB (as installed on my pooter) lists the entry as INSTALL or INSTAL, whichever of the two you type into the search. I wondered if I might get some comments on it
Cheers
NYDK
Happy Valentine’s Day to you too
We actually have sunshine and blue sky today. All we need is someone to turn the blooming freezing wind off
Thank you for a great puzzle, NYDK. I didn’t even notice “instal”, which shows how awake I was this morning.
Hi NYDK
Thank you for another very enjoyable crossy; 1d/20d was sublime.
May I ask why you chose one L not two?
(you knew I’d mention it)
Struggled to start, then it all opened up once the coffee had soaked in! All except for 18a, my LOI which I didn’t know, but with the checkers in place it has to be what I entered (hopefully!).
Anyway, thanks to the setter and CS.
Thanks to CS and NYDK. It took a while but we got there in the end. COTD 10a. LOI 7d. Lit the fire and going to settle down to watch the rugby.
A lovely puzzle which I thoroughly enjoyed but needed to check on a few answers after as they were new to me eg 7d and although I knew the answer in 4d I needed to confirm the Albert. So a lot learnt today and then because it was not raining and the sun was out I managed a lot of gardening which I am very pleased about.
Many thanks to NYDK and to CS for the hints.
Doable with a bit of head scratching but enjoyable all the same. Didn’t know 4d or 7d. Favourite was 17a. Thanks to NYDK and CS.
Super puzzle as we’ve come to expect as standard for a Donny prize production. Knew all of the songs apart from the Carpenters 14a title & had fun afterwards playing different versions/covers of all of ‘em. Too many ticks to list but my fav had to be 13d (& particularly as Chagossian is 10 letters) with podium spots for 5d & 14a. Didn’t know that 7d was a national symbol but do now – well until I forget it.
Thanks to Donny & Sue
Don’t understand 25a, can’t see that any of the clue is the answer, which I have got?
Thanks
Welcome to the blog
Did my hint for 25a not help?
What did you think of the crossword?
Thanks, I get the parsing, but how does the answer as a whole fit?
An informal meaning of the underlined definition is a person out of touch with reality
Hi Duggyson,
Crosswordland’s favourite insect soldier joins with a preposition from the clue and both are surrounded by an unusual synonym of duke.
4* / 3.5* Found this very tricky but some very clever clues and all fair. Didn’t know the national symbol, the song at 14a and no clue who the Crawleys are.
Favourites include the star student at 3d, the sweet at 13d and the instrument at 11a
Thanks to Sue and NYDK
Enjoyable but not straightforward, only really twigged the romantic theme about three quarters of the way through daaaa . Favourite 1 and 20 , followed by 8d Thanks to all .
I do enjoy an NYDK Saturday , sometimes I find them quite tough. but today’s I didn’t find too bad ..don’t get me wrong , not at all easy , but nice and chewy,with some great clues. I did spend far too long thinking about motorboats , my last one in ! Thanks to NYDK and CS.
Lovely crossword. Karen at 14A my favourite. VMT to NYDK & Sue.
Superb crossie…a few head scratchers but the answers all made sense…nice one setter….
Thoroughly enjoyed this one, as did last week’s puzzle. It’s so rewarding (if too rare) to find you are on the same wavelength as the setter. Many thanks to CS for enabling us to check we’d got 25a and 17d apparently right!
Enjoyed the song clues very much. I recall buying the 8D ‘88 Remix. LOI was 17D once I l’d got 25A.
Pody picks – 1D’s song, 10A’s actress and 25A’s space cadet.
Thanks to CS and setter ⭐️
Have to admit to being old enough to be au fait with most of the musical clues. Otherwise a bit of a slog. Took a while to fathom 13d as always forget that meaning of sweet. I’m hoping for possibility of an anagram-free crozzy for a change after daily more obtuse ai’s. I suppose 16d is pleasing and 6d component is to enjoy. Thank you NYDK and CS.
I found this a bit of a slog with the musical clues, except for 1d, all way before my time. 1d is also way way way before my time but even I have seen the movie many times over the years.
2*/2*
Thanks to Sue and NYDK
I am in a minority. Disliked it entirely. I don’t resort to hints but made an exception. Unfortunately they did not unlock many doors. Oddly I knew the Nobelist and the European fixer. The farewell was a giveaway however.
Did majority in good time but a few foxed me🤷♂️
Still top of the league 👍
Only just around to looking at this on Sunday night as it was a busy weekend.
It feels as if I was doing a different crossword to everyone else. A very very hard solve of which I only managed 8 clues before calling it a day.
Thanks to all.