Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3357 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where we had a reminder that Winter is still with us with snow falling from late on Tuesday until mid-Friday morning fortunately nothing like the pre-Christmas blizzard.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada on double duty with the Prize Toughie but I’m not. A little too much 1d chez moi to make a reasonable judgement on the puzzle as it was one of those Saturday evenings where the Puzzle was not immediately available on the web site but it was on my ‘on its last legs’ tablet so that’s where I started the solve, go figure. Anyway, six anagrams (four partials), two lurkers, and no homophones in a symmetric 32 clues; with 16 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Candidates for favourite – 5a, 10a, 21a, 3d, 17d/18d, and 27d.
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, a number of the what I very subjectively perceive to be the more difficult clues have been selected and hints provided for them.
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.
Some hints follow:
Across
1a Initial letters for indicator (8)
A synonym of initial (a document) and a synonym of letters (coming through one’s door?).
9a Banger – or Catherine-wheel, perhaps? (8)
A double definition – the first can be a type of weapon.
10a Flower power about right (6)
It all depends on the pronunciation of the definition – the type of power ‘harnessed’ by Watt and Stephenson containing (about) the single letter for Right.
15a Place in ground for bird (7)
An anagram (ground) of PLACE IN.
(from my personal collection, click on the photo for a clearer view of what is in the ‘pouch’)
25a Scrap thus in black metal (8)
A two letter synonym of thus inserted into (in) a synonym of black and a type of metal.
26a Holy hole’s squeezed in (6)
In from the clue contained by (‘s squeezed) a synonym of hole.
30a Relatives in newspaper clearing things up (6)
A three letter term for relatives inserted into (in) a descriptive, perhaps pejorative, term for a newspaper that the DT should never be but it does seem to ‘drift’ that way very occasionally.
31a Doctor early with op, gentleman’s head bandaged – one heading for theatre? (8)
The first letter (‘s head) of Gentleman) contained (bandaged) by an anagram (doctor) of EARLY and (with) OP.
Down
1d Accentuate state of emotional tension (6)
A double definition – the first might relate to emphasise, see my preamble for the second.
3d Move to the hard shoulder in Jersey (8)
First of all ignore the misleading upper case ‘J’ in the definition – written (4,4) an easier way of saying move to the hard shoulder.
6d Detect melt-water only? (6)
An oldie but goodie? The concatenation of a (3,3) phrase that can describe melt water.
11d Figure‘s endless trauma at Christmas? (7)
A synonym of trauma with the last letter removed placed after (at) the abbreviated form of the month in which Christmas occurs.
17d Mislead someone in court, one attempting to deceive … (8)
A synonym of (criminally?) mislead and one of twelve someones in court.
22d Baby working for underling (6)
A (possibly) adjectival synonym of baby and our favourite two letter synonym of working.
23d Equipment gets terribly hot, certainly (6)
A three letter synonym of equipment followed by (gets) an, oh dear, three letter anagram (terribly) of HOT.
27d Defeat straight man (4)
A double definition – the second might be someone working with a comedian.
Quick Crossword Pun:
YORK + SHERMAN = YORKSHIREMAN
Could new readers please read the Welcome post and the FAQ before posting comments or asking questions about the site.
As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES OR HINTS in your comment.
Please read these instructions carefully – they are not subject to debate or discussion. Offending comments may be redacted or, in extreme cases, deleted. In all cases the administrator’s decision is final.
If you don’t understand, or don’t wish to comply with, the conventions for commenting on weekend prize puzzles then save yourself a lot of trouble and don’t leave a comment.
Singer-songwriter Steve Harley, with or without Cockney Rebel, had only one number hit which reached that position for two weeks on this day in 1975:
Dada on form today with some witty cluing making for a steady, enjoyable solve. Some of the parsing eluded me so I will hope they are hinted. I liked the black metal at 25a and the detection of meltwater at 6d, although the latter has been seen before. My COTD is the Saturday evening at 12a.
Thank you, Dada for Sunday fun. Thank you, Colonel for the hints.
At first I thought that this was going to be quite testing, but it turned out to be an entertaining solve with some witty clues for a drab Sunday morning. 26a was a lol moment, but my podium comprises the linked 17 and 18d and the cleverly constructed 19d. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
This wouldn’t have been so long-winded if I hadn’t made a silly mistake by putting the wrong annswer, unsupported by checkers, at 9a. That’ll teach me not to jump to conclusions. I liked the double definition at 18d , rhe Lego clue at 16d, the missing letter clue at 11d and the well-disguised anagraam at 13a Thabks to Dada and to Senf for the hints
I’m betting you thought that your wrong answer at 9a ‘didn’t seem very cryptic to me’, because I very nearly fell into that trap as well….
Great minds think alike, by the sound of it, Tipcat. The NW corner held outfor a while until the checkers prevailed, but I fill the grid in on my phone and it’s easy to delete anymistakes before sending it off. Just as well, as I make a lot of errors and my eyesight problems mean that I don’t always pick them up, even if I check .🤨 Frustrating
I thought this was going to be tricky with only a couple of the across clues solved at first pass, including a lurker. However, it all started to fall into place with checkers from the linked clues and various anagrams.
2*/4*
5a, 28a and 2d favourites. 2d very well concealed.
Thanks to Dada and Senf
Very slow to start yet again today, but once I’d tuned into the setter’s mindset it got gradually (and I mean gradually) easier.
Great misdirection throughout, and not a bad clue to be seen.
my 18d of the day were, 11d, 6d and of course 18d. Brilliant fun!
It’s double-Dada day and it’s interesting to compare the two puzzles. For me this one is marginally the easier of the two but there’s not much in it.
I liked 5a, 17d and 18d.
Thanks to Dada and Senf.
I, too am looking forward to making the comparison, especially as I have just finished the toughie blog, but trying this one will have to wait until after I have made a load of Rhubarb crumbles for the freezer
Delightful day out at The Rhubarb Festival yesterday
I agree with Gazza, not much difference in difficulty or enjoyment. I did like the Jersey. Thanks to Dada and Senf
Reading Gazza’s comment, both puzzles took exactly the same time to solve. The cryptic was trickier than many a Sunday
Thanks to Dada and Senf
An enjoyable tussle. LOI was 27d.
Top picks for me were 5a, 1a, 11d, 17d, 18d, 23d and 27d.
Thanks to Senf and Dada.
Eat your heart out Madflower, sitting in NWT visitor centre overlooking the marshes in glorious sunshine eating a bacon sandwich!
Oh wow, how lovely. Wish I was there too!
Wasn’t too sure it would read OK as was using my phone and hadn’t taken my glasses!
3*/3*. I probably over-indulged at a family meal yesterday and I’ll use that as an excuse for making heavy weather of this today particularly in the NW corner.
I did enjoy it though with 1a, 5a, 17d & 27d making up my podium selection.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.
P.S. I am sorry to say that the latest news on Jane is that there is still no change. It’s now a month since she was admitted to hospital. I am sure I speak for everyone that we are all missing her daily contributions to the blog and are all hoping for the best for her.
Thank you for the update, RD. You certainly are speaking for us all and I send my good wishes to Jane and sincerely hope she will be back with us soon.
My good wishes to Jane too. I hope things are improving.
Thanks for the update Dave. We can only hope for better news soon.
Yes indeed my heartfelt warm wishes to Jane whose sensible contributions here are certainly much missed.
Oh dear, she must be so fed up. I do hope they can make her better soon so she can go home.
Thanks for the update RD, I can only add my hopes for better news soon
I pray to the Almighty for Jane, for her speedy recovery and restoration of her sound health. Aameen.
I think I was over-thinking this one, as when I finally finished it I could not see how I had taken such a relatively long time to solve. Yes, there was some neat misdirection and the usual Dadaesque synonym hunt, but it wasn’t that tough. Anyway, a decent challenge for a Sunday, with 17d my top clue.
Many thanks to Dada and Senf.
Can I add my continued best wishes to Jane and thank RD for his updates.
Sorry to hear about Jane’s lack of progress; please give her our best wishes.
As for the puzzle it was veering into Toughie territory for me with a slow start and no particular direction of travel. However, it slowly came together. Like others I pencilled in an incorrect answer in 9a and initially missed the lurker in 2d, but when I twigged it, all was revealed. I ended up with a hole in middle and needed the hint for 11d which in turn gave me 21a, could kick myself as I bake our bread and thought of every other type of baking product, but not the right one.
Thanks to Dada and Senf
My main difficulty was with the grid … I solved the four “corner puzzles” quite easily … but struggled with “the one in the middle” … not many checkers available?
Favourite(s): The 17d 18d double act.
Thanks to Dada & Senf
PS I found today’s Dada Toughie slightly more difficult
This was such an enjoyable solve, though it felt trickier than usual to me. I liked the 17/18d link, but favourites were 5a and 11d, because of the facepalms when I finally parsed them. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
*** / ****
Took awhile to get into this and as for yesterday I’m claiming 10* family distractions!!!! Liked the 17d Misleading and the 18d linked achievement. Many thanks to Senf and Dada
Did the Touughie first. This cryptic was much easier IMHO. Both good fun.
Thanks to all
I thought this Dada puzzle was for the most part quite friendly overall, but that is not to say there wasn’t a little quirkiness involved and maybe a quick leaf through his personal thesaurus too.
2.5*/4* for me
Favourites include 9a, 15a, 6d, 17d, 18d & 24d — with co-winners 17d & 18d
Smiles for 5a, 20a, 28a & 4d
Thanks to Dada & Senf for blog/hints
Cracking puzzle today which was quite chewy in places. I solved it in quarters going clockwise and it became easier as answers clicked into place. Having read the comments am off to Toughieland to have a go at that as well. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
This was a scrap and a half – rare for a dimanche – with Merseyside giving me the most trouble on a tough grid.
I liked the 17d/18d combo and good to see judgement with an e.
We do like 25a as a word, yes, we do.
Rosettes (a nod to Jane) go to 9a, 3d and 27d.
MTT Radio and the Manitoban mountie.
4*/4*
The last section to fall was the north west but once I’d finished it I couldn’t understand why ??? The hold up for me was the centre of the grid .I put the wrong figure in for 11d and the wrong error . Some decent clues but hard to pick a favourite , perhaps 21a .Thanks to all.Will try the toughie shortly .
Very busy again so that’s my excuse for this taking me ages to complete and needing a little help from Senf. It’s interesting how general life business and distractions can addle one’s cryptic brain.
Some lovely clues especially the linked ones.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints,
Other than last in 23d, which for some reason needed a head scratch, this was a fairly brisk 1d solve whilst watching Arsenal take care of their North London rivals. Haven’t looked at his Toughie offering yet so it’ll be interesting to compare the two. No fav clue here but enjoyed the puzzle.
Thanks to D&S
17D my COTD. VMT Dada & Senf.
One of the best Sunday puzzles for a long time. Really enjoyed, and big thank you to Dada for not making me feel stupid. This one fell quickly into place in the SW corner, and the rest just all fell into place. No deep dives into GK, or convoluted clues. Thanks also to Senf.
Sorry Dada but you left me cold today – probably least enjoyable and unproductive session ever. Too many IMHO iffy clues/solutions to enumerate and only finished thanks to much consultstion. Here’s to hopefully more cruciverbal fun in the future. Thanks nevertheless to Dada and Senf.
I found today’s puzzle mostly straightforward but then hit a brick wall and eventually decided it was tough! The last 5 or 6 clues took a long time before the pennies dropped and 11d defeated me until I looked at the hints. My favourites were 2d and 17d.
Thanks to the setter & to Senf.
The SE corner was the last chunk generally. LOI was 11D, with help from my wife who suggested how to use the Christmas bit and then proposed an answer – so basically did most of the clue ! I seem to struggle with ‘figure’ definitions 🤔
Pody picks – 5A’s number, 17D’s deceiver (liked the Paul Daniels pic too) and 21A for being an error that I hadn’t known before.
Thanks to Dada (twice) and to Senf ⭐️
I can’t parse 24d Unless I have made a 21a
Hi JN
The answer is a synonym of the verb ‘nag’ which is the result of putting the abbreviation for ‘street’ inside a word for an aristocrat.
Like the use of 21a, btw!
Thanks Tom D S
I picked the correct meaning but bunged in another word for nag with the same checkers as I couldnt think of the aristo. I should have used my loaf