Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31166
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Wednesday back-pager blog. I found today’s crossword to be a notch or two more difficult than yesterday’s, with the NW corner being the last to fall. There was much to enjoy and admire, with my favourites being 2d, 8d and 24a. There is also an excellent six-word pun in the Quick crossword. 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 How to begin to spell Assyrian ancient capital (6)
ATHENS: Split */****/*, the answer tells you how to write the first two letters of “Assyrian”.
5a Mum punches vulgar knight, an awful bully (8)
FLASHMAN: A two-letter informal word for a mother is inserted into (punches) a synonym of ‘vulgar’ and the letter representing a knight in chess. (The novels by George MacDonald Fraser featuring this character are beautifully written and well worth reading, in my opinion.)
9a Witches go bareback riding here, famously (8)
COVENTRY: A word for a group of witches is followed by a synonym of ‘go’ or ‘attempt’.
10a German prince‘s alarm, ringing bells at the front (6)
ALBERT: A synonym of ‘alarm’ is placed around (ringing) the first letter of ‘bells’.
11a Grand, flowery sprays, 22 Across in a pack (4,4)
GREY WOLF: The letter representing ‘Grand’ is followed by an anagram (sprays) of FLOWERY.
12a Strict exactitude chap fitting out ship discussed (6)
RIGOUR: A homophone (discussed) of someone who fits out a ship.
13a Very small business of Conan the Barbaric? (8)
NANOTECH: An anagram (barbaric) of CONAN THE.
15a Seaport cleared out by you once, an eyesore (4)
STYE: The first and last letters of ‘Seaport’ (cleared out) are followed by an archaic form of ‘you’ (you once).
17a Fiddle starts to sound clearer after maintenance (4)
SCAM: The initial letters of (starts to) the last four words of the clue.
19a Council skilfully collecting litter sent round (8)
ASSEMBLY: A synonym of ‘skilfully’ is placed round (collecting) a word for litter or untidiness spelt backwards (sent round).
20a Perhaps Greystoke title dad rejected? (3,3)
APE MAN: A synonym of ‘title’ and a two-letter informal word for a father are reversed (rejected), giving a term that could be used as a description of the Earl of Greystoke in a novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
21a Mole unfinished, temperature 1 Celsius in the sea at Rimini (8)
ADRIATIC: Take the first name of a fictional teenage diarist without its final letter (unfinished), and add the letter representing temperature, the letter that looks like a 1 and the symbol for Celsius.
22a Being uptight, this compiler’s taken inside (6)
ANIMAL: The abbreviation of “I am” (this compiler is) is placed inside a word that can mean uptight or obsessive.
23a Heard terrible record in conversation (8)
DIALOGUE: Homophones (heard) of a synonym of ‘terrible’ and a word for a record or diary.
24a Toothless former Tory PM, rubbish leader of Empire (8)
EDENTATE: The name of a 1950s prime minister is followed by a word for rubbish or cheap goods and the first letter (leader) of ‘Empire’.
25a Leaders of English League, smooth football team? (6)
ELEVEN: The initial letters (leaders) of English and League are followed by a synonym of ‘smooth’.
Down Clues
2d Picked Yorkshire’s best batsman, settled in (4,4)
TOOK ROOT: A synonym of ‘picked’ is followed by the surname of England’s leading run-scorer.
3d All European, so united (8)
EVERYONE: The letter representing ‘European’ is followed by a synonym of ‘so’ and a word that can mean ‘united’ or undivided.
4d Key moments in court proceedings, job of signalman? (3,6)
SET POINTS: A double definition. The ‘court proceedings’ here have nothing to do with the legal system.
5d Leave by plane … its name? “Go Ballistic” (3,3,3,6)
FLY OFF THE HANDLE: A two-word term that can mean to leave by air is followed by the definite article and an informal word for ‘name’.
6d Son, mischievous, inconsiderate (7)
SELFISH: The letter representing ‘son’ is followed by a synonym of ‘mischievous’.
7d Pacino: men massively upset suppressing reminder (8)
MNEMONIC: A lurker, reversed (upset, in a down clue) that the first three words of the clue are hiding (suppressing).
8d North American travel industry striking over practice denying coverage (8)
NATURISM: The single letters representing North and American are followed by a synonym for travel or the travel industry after removing (striking) the letter representing ‘over’ in cricket.
14d Free baccy, rum, somewhere to go surfing? (9)
CYBERCAFE: An anagram (rum) of FREE BACCY.
15d Discrete part (8)
SEPARATE: A double definition.
16d A bit of spare time so Yank goes round national park (8)
YOSEMITE: A lurker, that forms part of the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh words, and is reversed (goes round).
17d Scottish plane tree said to be less healthy again (8)
SYCAMORE: A homophone (said to be) of a word meaning ‘less healthy’, and a word that can mean ‘again’.
18d Bird in a duel changing height (8)
ALTITUDE: A word for a type of garden songbird is placed inside an anagram (changing) of A DUEL.
19d Bill, adult chap, tense, unyielding (7)
ADAMANT: A two-character abbreviation for a bill or poster is followed by the letter representing ‘adult’, a synonym of ‘chap’ and the abbreviation of ‘tense’.
Which clues did you like best? Please let us know in the comments section below.
The Quick Crossword pun: SEW + SHAH + LIST + TWERKERS + PARR +TEE = SOCIALIST WORKERS PARTY
Good morning. I found this reasonably straightforward but I only got going from 12a. The first pass allowed for a speedy fill of the South. But, the North took more time: Nevertheless it was a fun and swift fill. Top picks include 17, 19, 20, 21 and 23 from the across clues, 5, 7, 8, and 17 from the downs with 17d being my COTD. Many thanks to the setter and hinter
Elegant and great fun. 1a was the last to fall and was one of those “doh” moments when the answer dawned. Smiles were raised by 2d, 5d and 9a, but my podium comprises 12a, 7d and 21a in top spot. Thanks to compiler and Deansleigh.
Like our blogger, I found this a tricky little beast with the NW the last to yield. Certainly a step up in difficulty but all the more rewarding as a result. The reversed lurker at 7d was my top clue.
Many thanks to our midweek setter and Deansleigh.
I think you have said everything I would want to say! 2d was a completed guess being a non- crickety type. Thank you Setter & Deansleigh
Well, I found this tricky and on the limit of my general knowledge. Very few answers were ‘read and write’.
i enjoyed 9a, 13a and 21a.
Thanks Deansleigh, and our setter.
Not so much as a teaser, but a full wrench was needed to prise this out. SE went in quite quickly followed by NW, but the other corners kept me thinking before it fell into place. I needed to confirm that the answer for 24a is indeed a word; new to me.
Best clues for me are 13a, 8d, 16d and the other reverse lurker at 7d.
Thanks to the setter and DL
4*/3*
1a is hilarious! (Though I needed some crossing letters to get it.) I found few answers on the first pass, but then I sped up as crossing letters appeared and finished in a fairly typical time. Other highlights were the 7d reminder and 8d denying coverage.
Thank you to the setter, and to Deansleigh for confirming 24a (a new word to me) and unravelling 5a (where I had ‘mum’ being the ‘sh’ then got in a muddle).
I did the same for 5A , and I thought ‘an’ was the ending of the definition , so I eventually got the answer – by process of elimination but could not parse it for the life of me
Made hard work of this – too much Rioja with my paella last night methinks. Even 9a didn’t immediately yield. All very enjoyable with 1a my fav.
Thanks to the setter & to Deansleigh.
Just done the Quickie – excellent pun
Tiz a belter and is one of the reasons I think this is the work of Mr Tumble as he often goes to town with puns.
‘Mr Tumble Goes to Town’….sounds like a sequel to Capra’s ‘Mr Deeds Goes To Town’ or even a Noddy episode.
‘Why do elephants have big ears? Because Noddy wouldn’t pay the ransom’.
To quote the brush that is Basil…..boom, boom! (I loved that guy)
Excellent puzzle, but not mine! I loved the extended pun too.
Aha! It must be The Hud then.
Hope all’s well in Cymru where you…
C
Young
Men play
Rugby
Union
We
Always
Laud
England’s
Successes
😇
Nice.
Warburton controversially getting the red card in 2011 must rankle as you could have so easily won it that year.
I’m gutted for you as you had an excellent team.
We’re being spoilt today – as well as this excellent puzzle we have a cracking Toughie from a brand-new setter.
Apart from the homophones which don’t work for me this puzzle is full of top-notch clues. I particularly liked 5a, 9a, 21a and 8d.
Many thanks to our setter and Deansleigh.
I found that really quite tricky in places but so so rewarding once the answers were teased out.
24a was a new word for me.
Top picks for me were 1a, 10a, 9a, 21a, 4d, 7d and 8d.
Thanks to Deansleigh and the setter.
I found the top half much trickier than the bottom, which went in without much difficulty.
A very entertaining puzzle. 3*/4*
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh.
Good exercise for the LGCs, a very satisfying challenge and as others have said, a step up from the last couple of days. Some good red herrings and cleverly disguised clues. I too finished in the NW. Honours to 1a, 8d & 4d.
Many thanks to the setter (Twm possibly, but I’m not putting money on it!) and to Deansleigh
Cor! This was hard work and therefore enjoyable to solve with my LOI being the ‘oh so tricky to parse’ 1a.
I can’t imagine many setters have used a rekrul to parse 7d before. A fine effort. Flowery in 11a reminds me of Fawlty Towers.
15d is a tricky one to spell as it’s a homophone. My 7d for it is that the 2 Es are 15d.
My pody picks are 5a, 9a and 3d.
MTT Single head and, I reckon, Mr Tumble as 1a is right up his street.
4*/4*
TDS, educate me (I need it), what’s a rekrul?
A reverse lurker.
It’s a belter.
Sigh, it’s late, really should have clocked that 🙈
I too found this on the tricky side for a Wednesday but I did enjoy the battle
Thanks to the setter and Deansleigh
Tricky today. However, it is Ash Wednesday. I note reference to anxious states of mind in various clues.
Got fixated on 5d – I remember a horse with this name in a past Grand National. Red herring!
Spring must be on its way.
Tricky little blighter. Enormously satisfying to resolve this guzzle.
‘Some things hurt more, much more than cars and girls’ (Paddy Mcaloon)
H’s car needs a new clutch. Took it in to the dealership garage last week. Predicted to be a couple of days as they had to order a new clutch. A week later, no contact. This is a ‘proper’ dealership. I phoned them this morning – nobody answers; can’t leave a message as the inbox is full. I called another department which is, I was told, fifty miles from the garage. They sent an email to the dealership. ‘L’ phoned me and advised that as so many technicians are absent this week, the car won’t be looked at until next Monday.
Welcome to the modern world. (1,200 quid, by the way)
Thank you for letting me release my rant here.
Hooray for the setter and Single Head. Love to Jane.
Tricky today. However, it is Ash Wednesday. I note reference to anxious states of mind in various clues.
Got fixated on 5d – I remember a horse with this name in a past Grand National. Red herring!
Spring must be on its way.
Really enjoyed this, although found it much trickier in the W than the E. 1a is excellent, but I’m going to award 9a my COTD, not least because it was my LOI despite having lived and worked there for some years. Perhaps that’s because I was in a rush as I need to be in my CV postcode hometown of Stratford-on-Avon this afternoon. Thanks very much to the setter and to Deansleigh.
Didn’t know what to make of this, the south went in relatively quickly except for 24 and didn’t parse 5d until well underway .Last one in 1a and I still don’t get it ? Why ancient. ? Quite a bit of general knowledge in this methinks ? DNF without help .Thanks to all .If my brain is incapable of solving this I might give the toughie a miss. Favourites 7d and 20a .
1a A then S
Hi FW
I think ‘ancient’ is there as Assyria doesn’t exist anymore. It’s defined as an ancient city.
If it said just ‘Assyrian capital’ some solvers may think it’s still around though, admittedly, it probably doesn’t need to be there.
I think ancient as part of the definition is quite acceptable, Tom – Athens is, after all, an ancient capital. It also acts as a bit of a red herring, as we might think we are looking for (a) an ancient capital of Assyria (I recognised the names of two), or (b) an ancient currency used in Assyria (not a scooby, old chap).
Hi MG
I’m cool with it being there too though you’re one ahead of me with the cities. The one I know, Nineveh, is very lurkable.
The female name Nevaeh has taken off this century though it ain’t for me. Who’s going to be the first to tell me its origin?
On your marks…..
I’ll have to get back to you on that one.
Is it more than just a simple reversal?
Nope. That’s the one.
Heaven backwards.
Like others the south fell much more easily than the north. I thought I was making up a word in 24d but indeed it exists! In 5a I used the SH for the Mum and then wondered what Flayman meant as my device accepted my answer. These days I am having awful trouble logging on. I can access the paper OK but when I get to Explore the Puzzles it asks me to accept the offer so I try doing that and then it says ‘You’re already a subscriber’ and then asks me how I wish to pay. This goes on for hours going in ever more exasperating circles. I then turn everything off and on again and hope for the best. Anyone else having this problem? Thanks to the setter ? and Deansleigh.
Exactly my experience of accessing the puzzle on my iPad. It seems to work fine for several days either through the Newspaper app or the Puzzles app – but seemingly never simultaneously! My actions vary. I often switch my iPad off completely which usually works. I think the other day I had to delete one of the apps and reinstall it and there may have been a password reset involved. It makes one weep….😤
Not a fan of this puzzle today. To many clues I could not parse and even with what had to be the correct answer, many made no flippin’ sense to me at all.
3.5*/1* for me
Favourites few and far between today … 9a, 17a, 4d & 5d — with winner 5d
Thanks to setter & Deansleigh
*** / *****
Glad most people are using the word “tricky” for this one. I agree! Very nearly 4* difficulty. 24a was a new word for me and the NE trio of 10a, 12a and 8d took forever. My ticking regime had to be extended into using two ticks again as there was so much to like. My 4 favourites were 13a’s Conan the barbaric, 4d’s signalman’s duties, the aforementioned 8d and the superb (but awful place) in 14d.
Many thanks to the setter and Deansleigh
I posted quite a long comment, which seems to have disappeared. I haven’t got time to redo it
I will just say, I thought this was a curate’s egg for me today. Ancient in 1a and Across in 11a are unnecessary, and leader(s) appeared in successive clues as a first letter indicator.
I found this too tricky to complete unaided, I needed a couple of hints and then wondered why I couldn’t manage on my own. I also had 4 where I could not see the parsing. All that said I still enjoyed the challenge and 7d was an excellent clue and my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints.
2.5* / 4* Tricksy but very enjoyable, loved the misdirection and wit.
For favourites today I’ll go for two places I’ve been lucky enough to visit, 1a the ancient capital (brilliant), the beautiful national park at 16d and also the German prince at 20a
Thanks to Deansleigh and setter
Ps didn’t spot the 6 word quickie pun just the 3
Difficult but fair with the homophones in 23a getting my vote for best clue – and a terrific quickie pun. Thank you compiler and Deansleigh
Too difficult! Six clues was all I managed.
Checked the blog expecting to see a much higher difficulty rating and lots of comments about ‘the wrong envelope’ and ‘toughie mix up’ – but alas most people found it ok. Feel slightly crestfallen now! I really struggled to complete but well into***** time (for me). Had to check 24a and 5a. Did enjoy 1a so it is my cotd. As for value for money I give it 5 stars – but much less for enjoyment.
Thanks to the setter and to the hinter.
No incentive to perseverre with this tricky devil so dnf. Thank you setter but not my scene even with some cribbing. Thanks also Deansleigh for your backup.
Thanks to the Setter and Deansleigh for the hints. Like most before us we found it “tricky” but nevertheless doable with persistence. COTD 1a. LOI 12a.
A brain mangler for me which was not very enjoyable which I thought might be the work of Twmbarlwm but I see that he has said, in Comment 7, that it is not one of his.
Smiles for 21a, 24a, and 7d.
Thanks to whomsoever and Deansleigh.
I struggled with today’s offering but my goodness with the explanations from Deansleigh it became obvious that it was a quality puzzle. 9 across was brilliant and must confess I did not crack it. Since I never mind going down in a good contest all is well and gratitude all round.
I’m wrestling with essays produced by AI at the moment so have little time to comment.
A bit of beast today as others have said. !a is an old chestnut but what a brilliant new way to clue it. My COTD is “Leaving on a Jet Plane” at 5d.
Thank you, setter. I originally thought it was Tumbledown Mountain but I see he has announced it is not his work. Thank you, Deansleigh for the hints.
Superb Quickie pun!
A DNF for me today – 3 across clues held out despite all checkers in place.
1a and 5d favourites, although I was unsure by the ancient in 1a.
Thanks to Dean and ?setter
4*/4*
24A wins it for historical accuracy. VMT Setter & Deansleigh n
I meant 24A – but really like 21A also
Daily I think ‘thank **** for Big Dave’ sometimes I get most of the clues & that day is marked **** sometimes I get half or three quarters & that day is **. Wavelengths eh? This is my daily U3A & I am totally grateful for the expansion of my brain… Love it!
You’ve shortened your alias so this needed moderation. Both versions will work in future.
I’m sorry if this puzzle has proved to be a bit too hard for the slot. It’s always tricky trying to assess the strength of one’s own work.
Thanks to Deansleigh for the blog anyhow and thanks to those who have left a comment, especially through gritted teeth…
Best wishes to all, Rob/Hudson
Hi Hudson, I thought it was great! The difficulty was a welcome surprise, I personally like things not being routine – even if it kept me from some work (ssshhhh…) .
I’m glad to see this was challenging for many others too 🙂 From my first run-through this afternoon I had holes all over the grid, not just in a troublesome corner, overall it was certainly the North holding me up. Easily one of my longest solves of the year, and once again it showed my GK to be lacking. LOI was 5A, I hadn’t heard of this term.
Pody picks – so many to choose from, will limit it to a tied bronze – I couldn’t help liking the homophonic challenge of 23A, tied with the toothless new word to me of 24A – then the (Sky Blue?) horsebackers of 9A, and – best of all – 1A, I have not seen this wordplay on the famous city’s name before, so I enjoyed the penny-drop exclamation that came with it.
Thank you Deansleigh and to setter for a thoroughly entertaining and challenging puzzle ⭐
Crikey that was hard but thanks to Hudson for the apology. I did enjoy the challenge but not the brain manging. Favourite was 5a when the penny dropped. Thanks to the aforementioned and DL. I agree with DL’s comment on the book. I’ve done exactly half of the toughie – the top half. Nothing in the south, it will have to wait until tomorrow now.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one to find this quite tough . I’ve just slotted in the last couple to finish , but it was a slog. There were a quite a few GK references including cricket …hmm ! Anyway I got there in the end , learning a few things along the way. Thanks to Hudson and Deansleigh.
Very arduous and chewy. ****/*
3*/4* …
liked 14D “Free baccy, rum, somewhere to go surfing? (9)”