Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31169 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
(hosted by crypticsue)
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The sun is shining and the temperature has reached the dizzy heights of 12 degrees – let’s hope it lasts
I will be interested to learn what others thought about this Saturday Prize Puzzle and who they think might have set it. My favourite clue was the smile-inducing 25a and I am already thinking I might have to make some 17d before the day is out
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 You and I maybe shaking home with passion (4,7)
An anagram (shaking) of HOME with PASSION
10a Charge for perhaps stopping support (8)
A preposition meaning for and the usual abbreviated for example (perhaps) inserted into (stopping) a support used in a game of golf
16a Old room for monk in Parisian church? Goodness! (10)
Old or former, a monk’s room, the French (as used in Paris) word for in and the abbreviation for the Church of England
21a … next to Belgium and Spain, right? (6)
The IVR codes for Belgium and Spain and part of a boundary, eg right
22a Through prayer, god provides large amount (8)
A Scandinavian god inserted into (through) a prayer or entreaty
26a Broadcast inside team’s ground (11)
An anagram (ground) of INSIDE TEAMS
Down
1d Drinking bad wine? One’s quite high (7)
A type of wine ‘drinking’ bad or evil
5d Brussels tracks detectives turning up with English woman trapped in hell (8)
The abbreviation for the group of countries informally known as Brussels, an abbreviated railway (tracks), a reversal of the abbreviation relating to detectives and the abbreviation for English
9d Ventures sadly to back and arm deserted city (3,2,6)
Risks or ventures, a reversal (to back) of an expression of grief or misfortune (sadly) and the outside (deserted) letters of ArM
15d Jokes about boy beginning to race in Top Gear? (4,4)
Informal jokes go ‘about’ a boy and the ‘beginning’ to Race
19d Men in field getting somewhere to keep stuff (7)
The abbreviation for ordinary ranks of soldiers (men) inserted into a field of action
23d Ambassador leading decentralised rule in this place (4)
The abbreviated title of an ambassador and the outside (decentralised) letters of RulE
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: HALF A + RANSOM = ARTHUR RANSOME
Quite a tough challenge but no complaints from me. It is, after all, a prize puzzle. I have never heard of 5d and wonder if it might make The List. I started to put the wrong answer in at 7d until I found I had one letter too many. That messed up the left hand side for a while. I did like the praying god at 22a but my COTD, because it made me laugh, is Shakespeare at 7a.
Thank you, setter (not sure it is NYDK but I’m often wrong) for the puzzle. Thank you, CS for the hints.
Somehow this didn’t feel like an NYDK production to me. So, as I’m useless at spot the compiler, it probably is. Whilst I had an answer for 9d, I needed CS’ guidance on the parsing. 25a was a hoot and I liked 12 and 17d, but my cotd is the cracked patio at 20d. Thanks to compiler and CS.
A step up in difficulty compared with recent SPP’s, but manageable unaided Plenty of ticks and podium places for 23a, 14a, 9d, but COTD goes to the woman in hell at 5d. LOI was 4d as 1a was the penultimate solve and I needed the checkers to find the answer.
Thanks to the setter and CS
Quite tough today and I was defeated by 10a not being able to think of all the meanings of charge. Still not sure of the spelling for 5d. Thank you CS for explaining both clues. Lots of choice but I liked 26a for the confusion of broadcast being the definition not the word play indicator. 2d also clever I thought and it took a long time to spot what type of clue it is. Thank you setter too.
Me too with 10a, just wouldn’t click.
Me too with 10a I had an alternative which I held onto until it’s absence in any dictionary caused a rethink
10a also defeated me, had an alternative answer which I convinced myself was correct!
I only got 10a after going through every possible likely permutation of letters and wasn’t even sure then but nothing else would fit so it had to be the answer!
An unteresting, quite tricky guzzle with a nice variety of clues. I liked the General Knowledge component. Iliked the geographical clue at 9d and the Classics refereence at 5d,the anagram at 1a, the Lego clue at 1d and the double definition at 2d.nit was a challenge but a most enjoyable one. Thanks to the compiler and to CS for the hints
An enjoyable tussle for me this morning after a very draining day yesterday when I did the crossword but then got tied up in a 12 hour wait for a non-urgent ambulance for someone so didn’t commenton it.. 5d was new to me.
Top picks for me were 25a, 20d and 22a.
Thanks to CrypticSue and the setter.
This was very challenging, and took far too long. 5d is doable but the clue does not belong in the Prize Puzzle. It is for the Sunday Toughie in my opinion. 6d is my favourite clue but, all in all, I did not enjoy the solve. Many thanks to setter and hinter. Hope the rugby will provide more entertainment.
Quite a few smiles today as I worked slowly through the crossword. 7, 14, 16 and 23a together with 1, 5 and 7d all well worth a solid mention so no podium.
Thanks to the mystery setter and good wishes to CS with hopes that your problems are now behind you.
This was an enjoyable tussle with a DNF due to 10a which I wouldn’t’ve got in a million years. Great clue but way beyond me.
I didn’t know the original meaning of 20d and the truck in 6d needs an Anzac indicator. 11a has had a good run out over the last few months, it can’t get enough!
22a is so satisfying to say like throng, halcyon, schadenfreude, smorgasbord, fiddlesticks and other beauts.
My pody picks are 13a, 25a and 2d.
MTT to, I’m guessing, not NYPD Blue and she of the crypt.
3*/4*
Hi TDS, you call for an Anzac indicator for 6d, but *** was also in common use for a pick-up in South Africa when I was there in the 70’s.
Hi CD
It says online (which means nuffin these days) that its an Aussie term that is called a bakkie (or bak) in SA.
But, if you called it *** then who am I to argue.
Either way, it needs, shall we say, a sourhern hemisphere indicator.
I agree with you, but I still enjoyed the clue……..and in haste to write my comment, I forgot to mention an Aussie indicator would have helped.
Hi again, yes bakkie was the most commonly used, but *** was used interchangeably by the guys I worked with, so maybe they picked it up, no pun intended, from some Aussies? Mind you we’re talking about 50 years ago.
So, a pimped-up truck in the Rainbow Nation could be called a wacky bakkie.
2*/3.5*. This was good fun and worth 4* except for the unindicated Antipodeanism in 6d.
My podium selection is 7a, 22a (lovely word!) and 25a.
Many thanks to the setter and to CS.
An early solve and an especially early comment from me, before a 13 mile run and a Suede gig in Brighton takes over the day.
All pretty sound save for a trio of connected clues in the NW – 1D, 13A and 10A that added about 25% to my solve time.
Pody picks – several candidates, and I actually said “lovely word” out loud to myself as I filled in 22A (it’s fine to talk to yourself, right?) but my top 3 are 15A’s top gear (COTD), 25A’s kissers and my LOI, 10A, because I resorted to my Crimson Tome for the right ‘support’, and I haven’t opened this wonderful book since my return to the blog, so that’s about 10 years!
Thanks to setter and CS ⭐️
Not your usual SPP means I haven’t a clue as to who the setter might be. If it is NYDK then it is somewhat of a departure from the norm for him. 2.5*/4*
Candidates for favourite – 7a, 18a, 2d, 5d (having most of the checkers was a great help), 9d, and 12d – and the winner is 2d.
Thanks to whomsoever and CS.
I do like the way that 18A gives two perfectly acceptable answers, and you cannot distinguish between them until you get 9D or 19D.
And Yes, of course I slammed in the first one that I saw and it was the wrong one!
Good fun but a tad tricky today. 9d was a new city. I knew the myth and the musician at 5d but could not recall the spelling of his beloved so thanks to NYDK for making that clearer. 12, 15 and 20d favourites today.
Thanks to Sue and NYDK if it is indeed he.
I found it tough today, but got there with a couple of hints. Clue of the day for me was the deceptively simple 2d…….it took a while for the penny to drop.
Thanks to setter and CS
I didn’t have much fun today but starting with a smooth run in the South did eventually make the grade. Judging by several previous appearances I should have remembered the 10a support. 3d is yet another strained ai. Fav 7a. Thank you setter and CS for your faithful Saturday back-up.
Quickie pun has just raised a giggle
I would have finished this a little quicker (redacted – too much information in a Prize Puzzle comment). One letter makes all the difference!
Late on parade today and I,too, found this a degree harder than recent Saturdays. It was a great challenge, though, with several outstanding clues, none better than 22a.
Thank you, mystery setter, for the fight. Thanks as always to Sue.
Not entirely straightforward with most of the enjoyment coming from actually finishing it. Favourite was 14a. Thanks to the setter and CS.
Add me to the strugglers at 10a – last in & it extended an already pedestrian solve time by at least another 25% despite pegging 2 of the 3 wordplay elements pretty quickly. Even once I twigged the definition context I had to check the required spelling – can’t say I recall the feminine noun. Plenty of ticks & very enjoyable. Pleased to remember the 20d author & even more so the Greek myth 5d.
Thanks to the setter (Donny methinks) & to Sue
This does make me feel better re 10A!
Found this to be rather on the tricky side but finished unaided – eventually! Having lived in Cape Town for 9 years didn’t have a problem with 6d. All in all good fun so thanks to the setter (?), I never know who it is and to Sue for the hints.
**** / ****
Firstly I have to declare that 3 grandchildren, daughter and son-in-law and bowls club shenanigans were not conducive to solving today! 4* difficulty might therefore be over-egging it a bit. For example, the time it took to get 1a and 2d (OMG I’ve played that game) was ridiculous. 5d was indeed a tough clue given the answer but I got there in the end whereas I needed the hint for 10a. Not sure I’d ever have got there without the hint. 6d I did get but had to google to confirm the lorry. The podium was 22a amount, 20d More work (I’ve seen that clues before but only this time did the very old penny drop) and the aforementioned 5d never heard of lady!!!
Many thanks to CS and the setter – if it’s NYDK, it’s a style step change!
A dnf for me, the dreaded 10a ! A proper challenge with some excellent clues.
Favourites include you and I at 1a, malice at 7a and the large amount at 22a
Thanks to Sue and setter
Loved More work on the cracked patio at 20D. VMT Setter & Sue.
I found this a tricky puzzle but I was distracted as I had visitors. With a hint or two I completed it, I would not have got 10a. I enjoyed many of the clues, 16a was my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to CS for the hints.
A delightful invitation to the principality stadium yesterday meant I didn’t look at this until today. Seemed very tricky for a Saturday prize puzzle. Lots of clues took far too long to click, including 1a, 8a,11a, 18a, 2d, and 12d. 12d being my favourite, as my dad’s is so good. 10a was last for me.
Thank you to the setter and to Sue.
That puzzle wasn’t to my liking – too many head scratchers.
Took a bit of a hammering yesterday but still top of the league.
Only got around to doing this as I was very busy with an event i organised this weekend.
I went to the wrong type of schools to be able to solve 5d.
Needed to hints for 10a and 22a.
Otherwise a good challenge.
Thanks to all.
That was a struggle with about 60% completed before I had to resort to the hints. 7a was my COTD along with 20d. Both brought a wry smile.
Thank you to the setter and to CS for the hints.
I have been attempting to do the Prize Crossword for at least 40 years. Firstly under my father’s guidance and later with my family. AT first I was delighted to even fathom one clue but gradually I have become more adept. I must be honest and say that for the last few months I found the solves very tricky. On occasions I have given up altogether deciding that I was no longer in tune with the compilers’ wavelengths but i am so delighted that I stuck it with. I have actually completed the last two week’s puzzles. I may even submit my answers! What a great feeling!.
Using your full name rather than just your forename which is what you used back in 2022 sent you into moderation
Well done on your recent successes. Keep up the good work and become a regular commenter too
Well it’s taken me until now to finally twig the definition for 20d, but it was brilliant when it happened, so that’ll have to me my clue of the day (um, clue of 4 days ago). Until then the contenders were 16a (“Goodness!”), 18a (“atlas”), and 17d (“yellow”).
I didn’t know the answer to 5d, but that’s fair enough — on checking, it’s certainly something that gets mentioned by The Telegraph from time to time (though nowhere near as much in the past year as MrBeast has been!). And for the second day in a row there was a clue which read like a straight definition to me; I think I may have warped my brain such I now interpret cryptic definitions before the supposedly normal meanings!
DOH! Finally! Penny drop moments with the aid of Super Sue’s hints. Have been wrestling with 10 and 22 across for days. Usually get there unaided, but had to finally resort to the clues this week. Very clever and and eminently solvable. Can’t see why I found them so 7 down now! Thanks setter and CS.