Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31176
Hints and tips by Falcon
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Ottawa where, following a brief spell where the daytime temperatures got above the freezing point, we are about to return to more frigid temperatures. It’s definitely a long way from spring here. This idea of spring starting on March 1st that Senf mentioned yesterday must be an invention of British meteorologists. I’ve never encountered it on this side of the pond.
I will not hazard a guess as to today’s setter. Smylers figures that at least four setters may be sharing Monday duties. Unless a setter displays characteristics as distinctive as those of RayT, I am hopeless at identifying them.
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 Tech company with power that is a US symbol (5,3)
APPLE PIE — chain together an American multinational tech company, the physics symbol for power, and the Latin abbreviation for that is
5a Reconstruct flue with us? That’ll be handy (6)
USEFUL — build an anagram (reconstruct) from FLUE and (with) US
9a Re-experienced swallowing ecstasy, free of anxiety now (8)
RELIEVED — a synonym of re-experienced containing (swallowing) the single letter name for the recreational drug ecstasy
10a Caught student with Ernie’s partner, a priest (6)
CLERIC — line up the cricket scorecard symbol for caught, the symbol displayed on the vehicle of a student driver, and comedian Ernie’s partner
12a Fat lady, losing daughter, explodes with ire: what a story! (5,4)
FAIRY TALE — an anagram (explodes) of FAT LADY and (with) IRE after removing (losing) the genealogical abbreviation for daughter
13a Food ingredient using copper and trimmed herb (5)
CUMIN — the chemical symbol for copper and an aromatic herb missing its final letter (trimmed)
14a Fifty plus acres, perhaps? (4)
LAND — the Roman numeral for fifty precedes plus or accompanied by
16a Sounds horn with one end of toe and foot, childishly (7)
TOOTSIE — concatenate a word meaning makes an automobile horn sound, the Roman numeral for one, and the final letter (end) of TOE
19a Plums cooked by Mr Davey, sitting heavily (7)
SLUMPED — an anagram (cooked) of PLUMS and the first name of Mr. Davey, the British politician
21a President in vehicle reaching middle of nowhere (4)
BUSH — a large passenger vehicle and the middle letter of NOWHERE
24a Drive forward as part of grim peloton (5)
IMPEL — a lurker in the midst of (as part of) the pack formed by the final two words of the clue
25a Pass by group to see workmate (9)
COLLEAGUE — a mountain pass and a group (of competing teams)
27a A free BBC (6)
AUNTIE — A from the clue and free or loosen
28a Queen once hosted by a French doctor without staff (8)
UNMANNED — the first Queen of Great Britain is welcomed into (hosted by) a French indefinite article and an abbreviated physician with an advanced degree
29a Brian from Roxy Music? Yuk! Too much! (6)
ENOUGH — the surname of musician Brian and an exclamation equivalent to yuk
30a Create concoction of green tea (8)
GENERATE — an anagram (concoction) of the final two words of the clue
Down
1d Commercial separation, having no purpose (6)
ADRIFT — a very short commercial message and a separation or fissure
2d Friend having top that’s rather washed out (6)
PALLID — string together a synonym for friend and a top or cover
3d Sad verse excited glee, with unknown ending (5)
ELEGY — an anagram (excited) of GLEE closed by a mathematical unknown
4d Country store? (7)
ICELAND — double definition, the latter originally a British purveyor of frozen food
6d Sally has account with debts – it’s obscene (9)
SALACIOUS — assemble a diminutive form of Sally, the abbreviation for account, and evidence of debts
7d The best method of working in wooded area (8)
FOREMOST — enclose the police jargon for ‘method of working’ in a wooded area
8d Len’s dice playing is officially permitted (8)
LICENSED — an anagram (playing) of LENS DICE
11d Spanish car: you may sit in it (4)
SEAT — double definition, the first (to the best of my knowledge) unknown in North America (but I knew it from its occasional appearance in crossword puzzles)
15d Smartphone program to get a lake fish is dreadful (9)
APPALLING — install in this order: a smartphone program, the A from the clue, the mapmaker’s abbreviation for lake, and a food fish
17d Guess teatimes varied (8)
ESTIMATE — an anagram (varied) of TEATIMES
18d Come across lazy type with horse (4,4)
BUMP INTO — split the answer (3,5) to see the lazy type and spot the horse
20d Outspoken medic in courtroom area (4)
DOCK — the answer sounds like (outspoken) an informal term for a medic
21d Ban lace pants to create stability (7)
BALANCE — an anagram (pants) of the first two words of the clue
22d After a long time, regularly trimmed unideal schedule (6)
AGENDA — a word denoting a long time precedes an alternating sequence of letters (regularly trimmed) drawn from UNIDEAL
23d Interfere in award, one hears (6)
MEDDLE — the answer sounds like an award, one that some Olympians recently returned with hanging around their necks (two of the ladies below are from Ottawa)
26d Steer clear of sinner receiving promotion (5)
EVADE — one of a pair of original sinners containing (receiving) a short commercial promotion
I’ll go with the amusing 21d to top my podium today. The remaining clues can fight it out for silver and bronze. Those who hate the anagram indicator from 21d used in this way should consider that without the meaning they abhor, we would be deprived of a amusing clue.
Quickie pun:: BACH + TETHER + FUCHSIA = BACK TO THE FUTURE
On this day in music …
… in 1999, singer Dusty Springfield lost her battle with cancer. Born Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O’Brien in London, the iconic artist – famed for her blonde beehive hairdo and soulful voice – rose to fame in the folk-pop trio The Springfields before going solo in 1963. Between then and 1995, she racked up 27 UK hits, among them the chart-topping “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” (reaching number 4 on the charts in both Canada and the US) and “Son of a Preacher Man,” a Top Ten favorite on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1999 she was awarded an OBE and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
A gentle start to the week with mostly r&w, but had to check on the Roxy Music man after reverse parsing, as I’d never heard of him. LOI was 25d, trying to reverse the answer before I identified the sinner. 12a and 16a brought smiles.
My thanks to the setter and Falcon
*/***
I’ve heard of him but I didn’t know he had played with that band and he isn’t the first one that comes to mind. Still, it was an excuse to play some of their great music…
Excellent gentle puzzle. Completed in near PB for me. I particularly enjoyed 27a and 18d. Thank you setter and blogger as always
Loved this. Completed unaided for the first time in 2 months. Great sense of achievement. What shall I do for the rest of this sunny day? Thanks to the setter and to Falcon.
You could have a go at the Rookie Corner puzzle by Zebedee which is very entertaining.
Thanks Gazza. I have printed it out and will have a go.
Nice one for a Monday – and a great boost to the ego. Definitely Cryptic 101- if you want to introduce a friend to the world of cruciverbalism.
For some reason I often find Monday puzzles a bit tricky but today’s was very gentle and enjoyable – thank you setter and Falcon
Very gentle but most entertaining. My loi was also 26d having taken too much time on it until the proverbial dropped with a clunk. Smiles for 1, 12 and 27a but my cotd is the medic in court at 20d. Thanks to compiler and Falcon.
Very pleasant start to the day. Although it is not as difficult as later in the week there was a good variety of clues and some head scratching required. 27 across was a short clue with a great answer and 18 down raised a smile.
29 a. got me fixated on Mr. Ferry. I used to know an event promoter who could never understand what the women saw in Brian Ferry that he couldn’t offer. Stopped myself from saying , “ He has his own teeth”.
Thank you Falcon and ditto our setter today
Mr Ferry is Bryan, not Brian, so it couldn’t be him — but it was only after getting the solution and reverse-parsing that I remembered which Brian was involved.
What about Brian Ebb?
Sorry Smylers I hadn’t read your comment properly
A fine start to the cruciverbal week with the setter giving us lots to enjoy.
27a is an absolute belter of a clue that is ironically timed. The BBC announced last month that they’re going to the dark side by charging overseas viewers to access their YouTube channel. If you can’t beat ’em…..
The ‘land’ collision in 14a and 4d was unfortunate and I didn’t know there was a second member of Roxy Music called Brian though I knew he was a producer.
The parsing of 22d is one out of a Friday’s book: regularly trimmed unideal to get nda.
My podium is 27a, &d and 18d.
MTT the setter and Falcs
2*/4*
PS Falcs, I think one of the reasons why some people in Blighty think it is now spring is because they struggle to call the start of the last week before Christmas Day the autumn which I get.
For me it’s simply that in childhood I had a jigsaw with the seasons on neatly aligned to months, so that’s what I learnt. Also, I don’t understand how Midsummer’s Day can possibly be the start of summer when it has “Mid” right there in its name — even a very liberal setter wouldn’t use “Mid” as a ‘beginning of’ indicator!
The whole thing is very messy, S. So, the argument will go on forever.
This works for me as I can’t call September 20th the summer and December 20th the autumn:
Spring – March, April, May
Summer – June, July, August
Autumn – September, October, November
Winter – December, January, February
Meteorologists can stick their comments where the sun don’t shine.
But it’s the meteorologists that agree with you, Tom! Or you agree with them. As Senf said on Sunday, starting the seasons on the first of a month is a convenience they have invented for themselves.The meteorological seasons are calendar based, static and driven largely by the annual temperature cycle. The astronomical seasons are event-based, can vary slightly and are governed my the Earth’s orbit and the exact position of the Sun in relation to the Earth’s equator. I’m in the astronomical camp …
Ah, forgive me.
I’ve always like the meteorologists…
Agreed
You say Meteorologists can stick their comments where the sun don’t shine.
Thanks for that Tom, my father was a Meteorolgist and a very good one too. SO you know what you can do with you comment….
Hi MR
I think you take some of my comments too seriously. The expression was chosen as it mentions The Sun.
I have no view on meteorologists as I’ve never met one. But, from a distance, I have the utmost respect for them because it’s a world that fascinates me.
If I make a comment that you’re not sure about, 99% of the time, I am saying it to fit the context of my post. You can see in my post half an hour ago that I have said I always like meteorologists.
It’s all tongue-in-cheek.
Sometimes Tom, just an ‘I’m sorry’ would be nice. I found your first comment quite offensive (even if it was tongue in cheek). I was very proud of my father, he was a good man and a good weatherman.
I’ll not trouble you with any more comments.
No problem and, of course, apologies.
It’s probably best to scroll past my comments.
Ignore my comment about the parsing of 22d
But TDS, it’s out there, it’s public, it’s on the internet! How can we ever un-see it after reading it! 🤣
Like it, A Pop.
We hate the word unsee.
A nice gentle start to the week. The sun is shining at last so hopefully it will stay around. LOI was 26d which took me as long as the rest of the puzzle before the penny dropped.
Top picks for me were 27a, 16a and 18d.
Thanks to Falcon and the setter.
Lots of fun clues. Mostly straightforward, but with a smattering of more challenging clues. I had to check the 25a pass, which I’ve presumably forgotten multiple times now. The 26d promoted sinner was my final clue to parse.
Favourites included the BBC (27a), Brian, (29a), country store (4d), best method of working (7d), and horse (18d). Thank you to the setter for the entertainment, and to Falcon for blogging — well done on getting that picture in for 23d!
A very straightforward yet still enjoyable Monday morning puzzle to get the grey cells working. 18d and the Quickie pun were my favourites.
Thanks to our setter and Falcon.
Just like Mondays used to be – fun and very friendly
Thanks to the setter and Falcon
🙂 hear, hear’
I agree with CS, very Rufusesque – */****
Candidates for favourite – 25a, 27a, 18d, and 23d – and the winner is 27a.
Thanks to whomsoever and Falcon.
Very gentle and enjoyable as everyone seems to agree, Thanks to the setter and Falcon.
I liked 16a, 7d, 18d (and the Quickie pun).
As straightforward as they come, a light and gentle start to the week with only one left after the first pass.
Thank you to the setter and to Falcon – I do not envy your temperatures! Here (Cornwall) the primroses, celandines, gorse, and daffodils are in full bloom, the wild garlic is growing strongly and despite the constant miserable weather spring has definitely been here for a few weeks already. I’m definitely a “winter is December, January & February” person!
A pleasant start to the week at */*** with 27a my favourite and 18d no 2. The anags and lurker were easy and so this fun was over all too quickly. Thanks Falcon and the setter.
These days Tuesdays are usually more straightforward than Mondays but today’s simple fun will be hard to beat. Knew nothing about Roxy Music but MrG helped me out for 29a. Bunged in 7d without any method of doing so. Thank you setter for a fun kick-off to the cruciverbal week and Falcon for being on hand.
This was typical fare for a Monday, nice and light with no shocks. As such it was pretty much a read and write. No particular favourites other than the tech company at 1a, a Spanish car at 11d and the real estate at 14a. Many thanks to the setter and hinter
* / ****
A great, if brief, start to the week. Ticked lots of clues, mostly for their in-built humour. Favourites were obscene Sally at 6d, 27a although the BBC hardly lives up to that epithet any longer and my COTD the 18d lazy horse! Honourable mentions also go to the ecstasy, the fat lady, Mr Davey’s plums and the lace pants.
Thanks to the setter and Falcon.
As others have said, a nice gentle intro to the week. A (redacted) solve for me with barely a pause. I don’t quite understand the lauding of 27a though, I’ve seen this many times over the years. As someone else said, a great one to introduce a newbie to – I have a candidate!
If you look at the blog’s Comment Etiquette, you will see that we are asked not to mention solving times
1*/4*. A light Monday delight!
My podium comprises 27a, 7d & 26d.
Many thanks to the setter (Weatherman?) and to Falcon.
Easier than what I’ve come to expect on Monday, so am assuming a different setter to the previous weeks. It does feel familiar but I won’t hazard a guess as I’m always incorrect
1*/4*
10a, 16a, 27a and 18d favourites.
MT to falcon and setter.
A nice lunchbreak solve, would’ve been a bit quicker had I twigged the wordplay in 26D (LOI – needed the hint to parse, d’oh!) and not put 2 x Cs in 8D, despite it being an anagram 🤦… speaking of which, this grid seemed quite anagram-heavy today?
I’m familiar with 29A’s Brian mainly thanks to my love of Kraftwerk and Bowie, and he’s generally known as the Godfather (or some such) of ambient music. Will put that on the pody list, with 18D (glad to recall this horse from a recent grid) and 12D’s lady, a wordy but eventful surface.
Thanks to setter and Falcon, and happy Monday everybody ⭐
A wonderful start to the cruciverbal week. How I hate that comment. It bears the same relationship to puzzles and crosswords as perambulating does to walking. Hyacinth Bucket springs immediately to mind and destroys any good feelings I might have had simmering at the back of my mind.
That’s enough comment for today except to thank Falcon and the setter.
Thanks to the Setter and Falcon (for the hints). Probably the easiest puzzle in a long time. Possibly personal best in terms of time taken. COTD 27a. LOI 18d.
Another puzzle to start the non-work week for me. Nothing to scare the horses here at all.
1*/4* for me
Favourites 1a, 10a, 21a, 27a, 18d & 23d — with winner 27a and 10a the runner-up
Smiles for 1a,10a & 21a & of course 27A
Thanks to setter & Falcon
1* / 3.5* A gentle but nonetheless very enjoyable start to the week with lots of wit.
Favourites include the country store at 4d, the lazy horse at 27d and the bbc at 27a
Thanks to the unknown compiler and Falcon
I could have posted an hour ago but must have had a little doze here in the conservatory where it is hot, hot, hot. But you know what they say about March coming in like a lamb so I am not putting away all my merino wool! A great start to the week, have to confess I know nothing about Roxy music but the guzzle fell in such a way that I was happy not to worry about the parsing. 1a looks very funny written as one word, s bit like apoplectic. I set the young lad in the paper shop a challenge – to write me five sentences without using the letter ‘e’. I gave him an example and bless him, he couldn’t wait for me to get in the door this morning before showing me his handiwork! I’ll get him on guzzles yet – you watch. Many thanks to the Benign Setter and the Friendly Falcon. .
Assumed Ferry for the Roxy clue until remembering the brilliant keyboard player was also a founding member, very enjoyable nonetheless. And tonight we are off to see another icon from that era – David Byrne is playing in Cardiff! Thank you Falcon
Well, I’ve not had an outing for a few weeks…nice to see so many comments about it being an enjoyable and fun solve – as you all know, that’s my main aim in my puzzle-setting: to raise a smile or two, along the way. Hopefully, not too long till the next one!
Thanks X-Type for this puzzle that was not only fun to solve but a delight to blog. I should have twigged to it being one of yours as it certainly raised a few smiles. I did try to inject one or two myself but I don’t think anyone has picked up on them.
A nice relaxed solve, which I greatly enjoyed and completed inthe small hours of this morning. I couldn’1t post earlier as I was finishing the washing, unpacking a Sainsbury’s delivery, putting thebins out, rearranging my husband’s hospital telephone appointment, etc before visiting my hussband in his Care Home. I liked the 12a anagram, the childish 16a Lego clue and the and the homophone at 23d. Thaanks to the compiler and to Falcon for the hints.
A lovely treat for this sunny day, fun and highly entertaining. No one stand out favourite.
Many thanks to X-type and to Falcon for the hints.
Lovely to see X-Type back. A lovely gentle puzzle that was fun for the very brief time it lasted & offered lots of possibilities for tunes – The White Stripes at 1a, Shane & Kirsty at 12a, some Kate at 21a, Roxy Music at 29a & either the opening or closing track on Pink Floyd’s 23d album. Lots to like but my fav was the thought of pompous Sir Ed in a degree of discomfort at 19a.
Thanks to X-Type & to Falcon
A delightful start to the week. Completed at a good pace. My only setback was 29a not knowing about Brian from Roxy music so I did have to consult Google. 1a brought a smile as did 27a when the penny dropped. Many thanks to X-Type and to Falcon.
That was surprisingly straight forward after a long day in the office. Thank you setter!
Light and thoroughly enjoyable. What more could you ask for Monday? Numerous contenders for favourite, always the sign of a good puzzle, but I’ll go with 29a as that particular Brian was the first to spring to mind. Thanks to X-Type and Falcon.
X-type has given us a lovely start to the week. They were all fun clues but I especially enjoyed 21A. VMT also to Falcon.
I ve been behind as been away and busy in the last week doing stuff , now settled for a week by the sea at Hope Cove in Devon, a favourite , so I’m hoping to relax and catch up . An enjoyable and gentle solve . Thanks to X-type and Falcon.
On my own in finding this quite hard, especially the south. I just could not work out 28a and even the hint didn’t help (i obviously have poor knowledge of kings and queens). I also couldn’t get 26d, which didn’t help.
Enjoyed what I could solve.
Thanks to all.
1*/3* …
liked 18D “Come across lazy type with horse (4,4)”