Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31164
Hints and tips by Falcon
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BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Ottawa, where today is Family Day – a mid-winter public holiday in Canada (what those of you on the other side of the pond would call a bank holiday). It is also the final day of Winterlude, Ottawa’s annual winter festival. On my last appearance here, which coincided with the first weekend of Winterlude, I rather unsuccessfully attempted to include a video showing some of the early stages of the event. At that time, the ice sculptors were just beginning work on their creations. Today’s video shows them well on the way to completion. The video concludes with a cute little parable that a few world leaders would do well to take to heart!
I spent some interesting time researching today’s musical dive into history. It dates to a period shortly before my time (which means it will be almost prehistoric for those who reported Karen Carpenter was before their time) and it may not even be too modern for Daisygirl!
I thought the puzzle was well suited to the Monday slot – a gentle but fun start to the week. For me, it was borderline one or two star difficulty.
In the hints below, underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions, FODDER is capitalized, and indicators are italicized. The answers will be revealed by clicking on the ANSWER buttons.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought of the puzzle.
Across
1a Viv’s clarinet distracted government official (5,7)
CIVIL SERVANT — an anagram (distracted) of the first two words of the clue
9a Letter from delivery service originally intrigued half the capital (7)
UPSILON — string together the abbreviated name of an American multinational parcel delivery service, the initial letter of (originally) INTRIGUED, and half the name of the UK capital city
10a Broadcast on air to province (7)
ONTARIO — an anagram (broadcast) of ON AIR TO; it would certainly be embarrassing if I were to miss this one
11a Cold weather heading for Sweden at present (4)
SNOW — the initial letter of (heading for) SWEDEN and another word for at present; this is frequently the forecast here
12a Kind of race Ivy League university runs the wrong way (5)
RELAY — start by locking together an Ivy League university and the cricket symbol for runs; then reverse the lot (the wrong way)
13a Bank initially trades in European reserves (4)
TIER — the initial letters of the final four words in the clue
16a Once more organises holiday destinations (7)
RESORTS — double definition
17a Puts forward quiet desires (7)
PITCHES — the abbreviated musical direction to play quietly and desires that require scratching
18a Exalted Green after return of public transport (7)
SUBLIME — a shade of green (ignore the capitalization) following the reversal (return) of a mode of public transport
21a Replace box holding inactive substance (7)
PLACEBO — the first two words of the clue are concealing (holding) a lurker
23a Ring Winnie back? (4)
HOOP — reverse the missing part of the name of A. A. Milne’s classic teddy bear
24a Pale-looking pie (5)
PASTY — double definition
25a Music group forbidden on the radio (4)
BAND — sounds like (on the radio) a term meaning forbidden
28a Stern of scow in rocky lagoon blunder (3,4)
OWN GOAL — place the final letter (stern) of SCOW in an anagram (rocky) of LAGOON
29a Son possibly losing head in euphoria (7)
ELATION — remove the initial letter (losing head) from what son is an example of (possibly)
30a Speaking on behalf of Republican bearing a grudge (12)
REPRESENTING — the three-letter abbreviation for Republican and a word denoting “bearing a grudge”; cue video of Karoline Leavitt
Down
1d Die-cast or solder round wheels (7)
CASTORS — the first three words of the clue contain (round) the second lurker of the day
2d Love curious little creature (4)
VOLE — an anagram (curious) of LOVE
3d Somersaulting duck catches songbirds (7)
LINNETS — reverse (somersaulting) the cricket score denoted by duck and append another word for catches (fish perhaps)
4d Outer layer of old old fish (7)
EXOCARP — line up the usual old or former, the single letter for old, and the common name for numerous species of freshwater fish
5d Check centre of tow bar (4)
VETO — check or inspect followed by the centre [letter] of TOW
6d Rich now developing city (7)
NORWICH — an anagram (developing) of the first two words of the clue
7d Where you’ll see little learners drive around south-eastern railway train (7,6)
NURSERY SCHOOL — link together a reversal (around) of drive or operate, abbreviations for southeastern and railway, and train or educate
8d Maybe hack crops on rented ground (13)
CORRESPONDENT — an anagram (ground) of the three words preceding the indicator
14d Sewer starts to design Royal Academy’s intricate needlework (5)
DRAIN — the initial letters of (starts to) the final five words of the clue
15d Book finally abridged (5)
ATLAS — a (2,4) term meaning finally with its final letter removed (abridged)
19d Fairy cake (7)
BROWNIE — double definition
20d English seize the French permits (7)
ENABLES — a charade of the single letter for English, seize or arrest, and a French plural definite article
21d Model salesman’s talk beginning to nark (7)
PATTERN — salesman’s talk and the initial letter of (beginning to) NARK
22d Removing section of operas in Glyndebourne (7)
ERASING — our third lurker, this one forming a section of the final three words of the clue
26d Picked up weary animal (4)
BOAR — sounds like (picked up [by the ear]) a verbal synonym of weary (by uninteresting discourse perhaps)
27d Levy on one vehicle (4)
TAXI — levy or impose a government mandated charge precedes (on in a down clue) the Roman numeral for one
I thought there were some clever touches in today’s puzzle, especially the crafty misdirection in 14d. I also got a chuckle from the apt image conjured up by 30a. What stood out for you today?
Quickie pun:: CHER + LOCKE + HOMES = SHERLOCK HOLMES
On This Day In Music …
… in 1957, disc jockey Pete Murray became the host of the BBC’s first rock‘n’roll TV show, The Six-Five Special. The show’s format involved the presentation of “live” music in the studio with around 100-150 teenagers dancing. Named after the show’s start time, five minutes after six, the program was launched after the elimination of the “Toddlers’ Truce,” a pause in television programming between 6 and 7 pm to put children to bed. Originally intended as a temporary six week filler until something more appropriate could be produced, the show proved so popular it survived for nearly two years (despite meddling by BBC brass). Murray’s catchphrase was “Time to jive on the old six-five,” and the program’s resident band was Don Lang and His Frantic Five.
While recordings of the early episodes do not exist (in fact, video recording technology itself scarcely existed at the time), the show was characterized by its skiffle, jazz, and rock ‘n’ roll performances. In addition to Lang and his band, performers such as Lonnie Donegan, Tommy Steele, The King Brothers. Chris Barber’s Jazz Band (with Ottilie Patterson) and Jim Dale were staples of the very first, 1957, shows.
While the playlist of the first show appears to have been lost in time, the following song which topped the British charts in January 1957 is a likely candidate to have been included.
Good morning from snow filled Bayern. I found this reasonably straightforward this morning, but it was by no means a read and write. The grid made for a friendly fill but 9a held me up for a while as it`s spelt differently in this part of the world; that`s my excuse and I am sticking to I t! I liked the clues on the perimeter, 12, 17 and 23 across, 5, 15 and 21d. I did not enjoy the rugby, but a wins a win. The Observer`s Everyman was good fun and surprisingly gentle; just in case anybody does it! Many thanks to the setter and hinter for their efforts
Hi C.
I’m curious to know the alternative spelling for 9. The first letter is different in other languages but I’m not aware of a variant on these shores.
I was confused but on Google found another Greek letter that was not the one beginning with E and it fitted the grid.
I am based in Zurich, so I use German and French. Had Y in my head as per the German spelling….
Ah, gotcha.
As far as I can see (or search), there’s no variant in The UK but there are two or three overseas that the Telegraph would of course not use, unless specified.
The variant is in the Crimson Tome and the OED on-line.
( https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=ypsilon )
Thank you, S. It’s been duly noted.
It would be good to know if it has ever been used in a DT crossy. My money is on ‘No’.
I miss having access to the Everyman puzzle now that it’s no longer available in the free to access Graun
Another great start to the cruciverbal week with 1a going in immediately, which is always a good sign. I had about half solved on the first pass and this gave the checkers needed to solve the rest. Getting a couple of the long ones on the perimeter helped. Mind you, putting “braid” in at 14d didn’t help matters. I was thinking of needle and thread only and not the alternative sewer. I haven’t heard of 4d but the clue gave straightforward instructions. My COTD is the somersaulting duck at 3d.
Thank you, setter for getting the week off to a cracking start. Thank you, Falcon for the hints.
Gentle start to the week with a couple requiring some thought, but for the most part a read and write. I parsed 4d but needed to confirm post-solve that it was indeed correct. My favourite was the south east railway train (7d).
MT to the setter and Falcon
1*/3*
Definitely a ** for me with 4d being a new one. My favourite was 20d and the 5 anagrams and 3 lurkers assisted greatly. Thanks Falcon and the setter.
Thank you Falcon. I needed a couple of those hints. But I’m curious. What time in Ottawa do you start the crossword? Even if (unlike me) you are a quick solver. It must take a while to write and format the hints.
Whatever time in the Canadian night that is, you really are going beyond the call of duty. Thank you
Given the time zone difference, the puzzle (which is officially posted to the Telegraph Puzzles website at midnight in the UK) appears here at 7:00 pm on Sunday evening (and if one digs deep enough through the menus, it can usually be found about a half hour before that). The music feature and some of the intro are researched and prepared in advance. It generally takes three to four hours to solve the puzzle and prepare the review (in addition to that preparatory work). Two weeks ago, I encountered technical issues with the video I was attempting to include and it was well after 2:00 am when I finally put the review (and myself) to bed — only to discover when I awoke the next morning that the video which seemed to work perfectly well the night before was no longer doing so.
From memory….’Happy Family Day’, Falcon, or are you in a non-‘Family Day’ province?
.
Thank you, Tom, for the holiday wishes. Yes, it is Family Day in Ontario. It is a provincial (rather than federal) statutory holiday observed under that name in five provinces and under other names in three provinces. It is not observed in the remaining twp provinces and three territories. As a provincial holiday, it does not apply to employees of the federal government so I never got it as a holiday when I was working.
Gosh! What a tangled web that is.
Today has been a very educational day for Tom.
Wow. That is a labour of love! Thank you again.
A nice start to the week that took a tad longer than normal, threatening three territory.
I’m amazed I’ve never come across 4d before, a truly superb word and I didn’t know that 19d was a fairy. There are some fat old gaps in my knowledge, that’s for sure.
Spooky to see 18a so quickly after The Hud last week both using a lurker with bottles being replaced by box.
My pody picks are 12a, 3d and 21d.
MTT the setter (no ideas) and Falcs.
2*/4*
One of my aunts was a Brown Owl (Brownie leader for those without daughters) and she had several large toadstools which the Brownies sat on or around at story time, or maybe for some other fey reason. Brownies are definitely sprites or pixies.
Thank you, DG.
I’ve never heard of fey nor, indeed, fay which are linked….of sorts. I’m learning so much today!
Love the ‘Tales on a toadstools’ story.
A brownie is a house elf that comes out at night and does necessary chores around the house. Harry Potter’s Dobbie is a Brownie.
And these titbits just keep on coming.
Thank you, SC.
I found out the origin of ”Dib, dib, dib”, or should that be ”Dyb, dyb, dyb”, only about five years ago.
Scottish I believe, my grandmother used it and often said she thought my mother. ( her daughter in law) was fey.
Thanking you, once more.
I thought Fey meant “fated to die” while Fay means a fairy or sprite. We were going to name our daughter Fey until we saw the meaning. We changed it rather rapidly to Faye. 😊
A good solid start to the week. Needed to check 4d as it was a new word to me but easily arrived at from the clues.
I wanted to put a different Greek letter for 9a but it didn’t parse so then remembered the other one.
Top picks for me were 3d, 15d, 20d and 18a.
Thanks to Falcon and the setter.
Loved the ice sculptures. Thank you for sharing ! Sure looks cold though !
Got going early and because it is Monday finished early. Liked 19 down just because our 2 girls and their friends would eat at our house after 19 down meeting at the village hall. I did not feed them cake but it made me laugh that they had to loosen their brown belts after the dinner.
Thank you Falcon and setter. Off to Zumba now.
Nice easy start to the week – slight hitch with 9a until I realised EPS wasn’t a delivery service.
Thanks to the Setter, and thanks to Falcon for hints, videos and music – I do remember six five special – being very young I did wonder how the cameraman survived being run over weekly by the train!
This was a very pleasant and straightforward introduction to a week of crosswords, with very few delays in completion. There was plenty to enjoy along the way, and I had several ticks, from which I selected the neat 15d as my favourite.
Many thanks to our Monday setter and to Falcon.
Nice Monday offering. I see the 9d in Falcon’s country follows the revolted colonials in pronouncing the word as it is spelled, which amuses us from the original place – would you pronounce a English word of two syllables as it is written!!
Thanks to the setter and to Falcon for the explanations
Don
A couple took a bit of a crumpet scratch, and 4d was a new word for me. Cotd for me was 7d as it raised a smile. Thanks to compiler and Falcon.
2*/3*. A pleasant puzzle with nothing either to frighten or excite the horses.
Thanks to the setter and to Falcon.
Another Monday going easy on the grey matter and with some amusement. 4d together with parsing of 29a caused hiccups. TVM setter and Falcon.
Not sure why but somewhat of a curate’s egg for me.
Candidates for favourite – 9a, 24a, 25a, 3d, and 15d – and the winner is 3d.
Thanks to whomsoever and Falcon.
That took a bit longer than I’d expected, particularly in the S, with 19d last in (I’d clearly forgotten my early grounding in the works of Blyton). 4d was a new word, although couldn’t be anything else. The tome at 15d was my COTD. Thanks very much to the setter and to Falcon. Your video made me want to see Canada in the winter, although I think I said something similar last winter and did nothing about it, as per.
Really enjoyed this. I was a bit flummoxed by 4 down, though; wirked out the answer from the clue, but I’ve never heard the word!
Welcome to the blog, Gerry.
Welcome, Gerry! Please keep commenting. 👍
I really liked the last clue I got:- 15 down.
Very accurate and very funny, thank you
I agree, 15d was my favourite although there were other contenders. As we sat down to our bowl of salad in the conservatory it began to bucket down with rain, so noisy. Five minutes ago it suddenly stopped and the sun is hot on my back. I wrote an odd ode years ago about the English weather I shall have to see if I can find it. Many thanks to the Benign Setter (a great start to the cruciverbal week) and to Falcon for the hints – I hope I am not quite the dinosaur he makes me out to be – I did have two daughters who were avid watchers of Top of the Pops so I did absorb some music in the sixties and seventies. I just don’t have room in my memory box for extraneous matter!
Thinking of the girls and their music I remember Noel Edmunds came to do something in Cambridge on Parker’s Piece. Sarah bunked of school to see him and managed to get called into the stage. She went off him somewhat when she realised that at 14 she was quite a bit taller than him! I learned this many years later of course. I didn’t know half of what went on with DD 2.
Hi DG. No offence intended. Your knowledge of music from the 60s and 70s is likely on a par with mine of music from the 80s and 90s. I was just struck by the juxtaposition of your comment about the Carpenters with all the other comments about Karen being before the commenter’s time. For me, she sits squarely in the centre of “my time”.
❤️
I thoroughly enjoyed this and thought it an excellent start to the week, 4d was a new word to me but the rest went in relatively smoothly. I liked 1a best.
Many thanks to the setter and to Falcon for the hints.
Start of the non-work week is made better with a holiday in Canada (Family Day) and on top of that a very nice Monday cryptic puzzle. A fun solve with a lot of smiles throughout. X-Type, maybe??
1.5*/4* for me
Favourite candidates include 10a, 12a, 28a, 6d & 7d — with winner by a country mile being my birth place … 6d
Smiles for many including 23a, 24a, 25a, 15d & 27d
Thanks to X-Type (?) & Falcon
Happy Family Day, PCBC, and happy Louis Riel Day, Senf.
What a great idea to have a day off from the winter blues, sensibly coinciding with Presidents’ Day south of the border.
I remember the provinces capital by putting Tor at the start, making a nice portmanteau.
*** / ***
I’m pretty sure it’s just down to me as I have big Microsoft Outlook problems, project at work problems and Bowling Club problems all rolled into a Monday! Don’t think this would normally be a *** difficulty for me but today, it was. An example would be the 2,4 phrase for 15d losing a letter to give the 5 letter solution. I just couldn’t think of it! Favourite was 7d Little Learners.
Thanks anyway to the setter and Falcon
As usual, when others find it straightforward I have a battle but I did eventually finish this crozzie without any assistance, even though I had never heard of 4d. COTD 15d for the construction. Thanks to setter and Falcon. **/****
Nice Monday puzzle with one or two head scratchers 🤔 ***/*** Favourites were 5d, 15d & 22d 🤗 Big thanks to the Falcon, the early bird 😬 and to the Compiler, whoever he or she maybe 👍
A few clues held me up but not 4d or 9a , I just couldn’t parse 15d grrr and I don’t really think a pie is a pasty ? Not in Wigan and district!! For me following on from the pastries theme this was rather stodgy , just joshing . Favourite with points 19d . Thanks to all .
I opened this blog earlier then got side tracked on Karoline Leavitt , having clicked Falcon’s link above. I do find her fascinating (that’s certainly one word to describe her ) given her age and Trumpist rhetoric , how she can take down anyone who asks her a challenging question. Anyway … to digress. This was a straightforward solve , although confess a bit of a slow start , getting traction in the East initially. 4d was a new word for me. Enjoyable . Thanks to the setter and Falcon.
Thanks to the Setter and Falcon (for the hints). Now the days are getting longer we have tackled and finished the puzzle in daylight! Lurkers are always useful! COTD 19d. LOI 15d.
Not on the wavelength today. Needed the hint to parse 3d and the hints to solve several others. They weren’t even difficult, my brain simply refused to brain.
Thanks to all.
Found that a mixed bag today but enjoyed it listening to the Ramones 🎸
An enjoyable start to the cryptic week. I made an early error with the initial letter of 9a but soon realised my mistake. 4d was a new word to me but so glad I persevered with my search and was duly rewarded. I wonder whether Terence will put it on the list? LOI was 8d as I spent some time looking for a kind of land holding! Forgot the word ground can be an anagram indicator. Many thanks to the setter and Senf. I shall now have a look at your video!
1*/ 3.5* A very enjoyable and gentle start to the week made for a steady solve.
My favourites are the 12a race, the 28a blunder and the 1d lurking wheels
Thanks to Falcon and compiler
A new word at 4d and 15d/20d were tricky, taking me into 2.5* time with 3.5* for enjoyment.
Is a pasty a pie?
Thanks to Mr K and setter.
This was a nice Monday treat on a morning break.
Is 26D’s weary (LOI) a well-known word to folks here? No comments about it, other than mine 🙂
Pody picks – I wouldn’t often choose an anagram but I found the 1A opener ‘Viv’s clarinet’ irresistible, 28A’s back of the (wrong) net, and I shall try to use 4D in a sentence tomorrow, what a quirky word.
Thanks Falcon and setter ⭐️
Straightforward until it wasn’t and when it wasn’t it wasn’t. Never heard of 4d and won’t be using it in conversation in the near future or ever come to that, no-one I know would have a clue what I was talking about. No outstanding favourite but if pushed I’d go with 7d. Thanks to the setter and Falcon.
A lovely relaxing puzzle … just as well as I feel a headache coming on …. 🥲. Very enjoyable … and better now. Glad that someone once told me “when all else fails, look for lurkers”. 😊😊
Thank you and setter!
For 15D I think you meant final letter removed!
Yes, of course. Now amended.
A pedestrian solve. The 1st round in over 3 months on a very pleasant & not particularly demanding course was predictably underwhelming but the weather was great. Too many beers tonight watching Coventry regain the top of the Championship. Total brain fog with the synonym for desires at 16d & the abridged finally at 15d.
A tad tougher than the norm for a Monday I thought though I managed to turn a tad into a helluva lot.
Thanks to the setter & to Falcon
Well done Sky Blues, such a big win, hope they keep it up now ⚽️
I enjoyed this yesterday lunchtime, but ran out of time (or hands) to leave a comment. So a belated thank you to Falcon for hinting and Heron for setting. It was a third bird that stumped me: I didn’t know 3d, so needed Falcon’s hint to get a full grid (as well as to explain ‘drive’ in 7d).
My top few were 9a’s letter from delivery service, ringing Winnie in 23a, 19d’s fairy cake, and the abridged book in 15d. Thank you to all, especially those still reading this.
3*/3* …
liked 23A ” Ring Winnie back ? (4) “