Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31188
Hints and tips by Falcon
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from Ottawa where the roller coaster weather continues. One day the temperature dips to minus 20 C at night and a day or two later hits a daytime high of plus 12 C. Fortunately, this week, we were not at the bottom of this cycle when the furnace maintenance man showed up for his annual inspection and promptly shut off the gas and slapped a red tag on the furnace (signifying it was unfit for use). There followed a scramble to install a new furnace. In that situation, one certainly is not in a strong position to shop around and bargain.
Today’s puzzle provides a gentle warmup for the undoubtedly more challenging solving exercises ahead.
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 Cook demeans rich stock (11)
MERCHANDISE — an anagram (cook) of the two words in the middle of the clue
9a Main character is that woman with nothing (4)
HERO — a pronoun denoting that woman and the letter that looks like the number representing nothing
10a Start of victory sign for defence (11)
VINDICATION — the initial letter (start) of VICTORY and a sign or suggestion
11a Used to be number one around end of December (4)
WERE — a lavatorial number one around the final letter (end) of DECEMBER
14a Show former love greeting Chip (7)
EXHIBIT — a charade of the usual former love, a brief welcoming greeting, and a chip or tiny amount (ignore the capitalization in the latter element of the charade)
16a Storm possibly battered haw tree (7)
WEATHER — an anagram (battered) of the final two words of the clue
17a Bloke with old river house (5)
MANOR — another term for bloke and abbreviations for old and river
18a Looked at and followed orders missing first two items (4)
EYED — start with a word meaning followed orders and remove its first two letters (missing first two items)
19a Chief is impatient on and off (4)
MAIN — select a regular sequence of letters (on and off) from IMPATIENT (although the selection process might better be denoted as off and on)
20a Hold good tool (5)
GRASP — the single letter for good and a rough tool
22a Defeat in unpopular drama (7)
OUTPLAY — unpopular or no longer trendy and what a drama is on the stage
23a At that point England’s capital is overwhelmed by menace (7)
THEREAT — the capital letter of England is surrounded (overwhelmed) by menace or danger
24a Fix chess pieces close to board (4)
MEND — the collective term for most types of chess pieces and the final letter of (close to) BOARD
28a Noble, ailing American twice welcomes band (11)
ILLUSTRIOUS — string together ailing or not well and two instances of an abbreviation for American which are separated by a small musical band
29a No amount of touching in north-east (4)
NONE — touching or abutting contained in (in) the abbreviation for north-east
30a Endorsed mermen doc Ed shot (11)
RECOMMENDED — an anagram (shot) of the three words in the middle of the clue
Down
2d Line the setter’s rejected is really bad (4)
EVIL — start with the single letter for line and a contracted pronominal phrase (from the setter’s viewpoint) denoting the setter has; then reverse (rejected) the lot
3d Rotters Charlie notices (4)
CADS — the letter represented by Charlie in the NATO phonetic alphabet and short commercial notices
4d A constant call for praise (7)
ACCLAIM — link together the A from the clue, a letter used in mathematical formulae to represent a constant, and call for or need
5d Show affection towards female creature taking time (4)
DOTE — a female forest creature containing (taking) the single letter for time
6d Trap in small recess set by former monarch (7)
SNOOKER — the clothing label symbol for small, a recess, and the regnal cipher of a recently departed former monarch
7d Stage manager and journalist showing common sense (5-6)
LEVEL-HEADED — a stage in a hierarchical structure, a manager, and an abbreviated senior journalist
8d Petty officer, setter and nan consumed fruit (11)
POMEGRANATE — the abbreviation for Petty Officer, a pronoun the setter would use in reference to themself, another informal term for grandmother, and a word meaning consumed food
12d Men loved pet running into building site (11)
DEVELOPMENT — an anagram (running) of the first three words of the clue
13d Warning of anger then it dissipated (11)
THREATENING — an anagram (dissipated) of ANGER THEN IT
15d Wait with sailor above line (5)
TARRY — an informal word for sailor preceding (above in a down clue) the abbreviation for a train-carrying line
16d Best terrace erected on street (5)
WORST — reverse (erected or put up in a down clue) another word for terrace and place it above (on in a down clue) the abbreviation for street
20d Look around English lake initially locating graceful creature (7)
GAZELLE — look or stare containing (around) the single letter for English, the mapmaker’s abbreviation for lake, and the first letter of (initially) LOCATING
21d Triumphant ombudsman’s hiding illusion (7)
PHANTOM — our first lurker of the day is concealed (hiding) in the first two words of the clue
25d Leaders of Leeds United despairing over game (4)
LUDO — the initial letters (leaders) of the four words in the clue preceding the definition
26d Mark swinging regularly (4)
SIGN — one of the two regular sequences of letters that can be drawn from SWINGING; as only one of the two forms a word, the choice is easy
27d Clever and sweetly pleasing (4)
CUTE — double definition
There is no particular favourite for me in this puzzle but 16a struck a chord as it played a prominent part in my life this past week. Did you have a noteworthy or favourite clue today?
Quickie pun:: MILL + HEN + EELS = MILLENNIALS
On This Day …
… in 1968, Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay,” became the first posthumous single to top the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. Nicknamed the “King of Soul,” Redding recorded the iconic hit days before a plane crash took his life on December 10, 1967. The song, which also topped the R&B chart, remained at No.1 for five weeks and earned two awards at the 1969 Grammys. It reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.
/p>
There were a few tricky ones in today’s offering and these gave rise to a less straightforward solve. That is not to say it was not enjoyable and I do have ticks over the paper. The former lover at 14a was clever and I had forgotten the word at 23a so spent too long trying to enter variations of another, similar, word. I did think 12d needed a question mark because the answer is not always a building site. However, like Manuel, I know nothing. My COTD is the gathering of a petty officer, the setter and nan at 8d.
Thank you, setter for a fun, if slightly quirky, puzzle. Thank you, Falcon for the hints.
Steve, I caught up with your news from last week re Hudson and his misbehaviour ‘en route’ to the vets! In times past, we have been able to manipulate said dogs and ‘lampshades’ into their cage for a 20 min journey. I do hope you can find a satisfactory solution. At £20 a dressing x ?? it could get very expensive. ‘Mr Tucker’ sends his sympathy!
He’s going to the vet on Wednesday, Hilary. He now has a dressing on the wound and that also seems to stop his licking. I’ll put him in the passenger well so I can keep an eye on him. Hudson thanks Tucker for his sympathy and wonders if he has any tricks on how to get out of the lampshade. 🐶
😊😊😊
I’m enjoying the return of Mondays how they used to be. The only clue that really held me up, but not for long, was 6d, not helped by the double inches
Thanks to the setter and Falcon
“The return of Mondays how they used to be ?” I still miss Rufus!
I found this very easy, even for a Monday. 20d is my COTD. Many thanks to the setter and hinter.
A nice easy start to the week.
A nice accompaniment to morning coffee and toast in Silly Sid’s – my local coffee shop.
I wonder how many people would use 23A in writing or even speech these days- apart from the legal profession?
Another fine example of Monday as it used to be, even the eight longish ones with no starting and finishing checkers didn’t slow me down – */****
Candidates for favourite – 11a, 23a, 6d, 16d, and 25d – and the winner is 6d.
Thanks to whomsoever and Falcon.
Very enjoyable, a good start to the week, and very satisfying. LOI 6d – hadn’t really noticed the double unches until then.
Many thanks to Falcon (what a relief you got your boiler sorted so quickly!) and the setter
I didn’t notice the double unches until I read CS’s comment!
My LOI was also 6d. Not sure what you mean by the double unches? (I presume CS ‘s unches was autocorrected??)
Otherwise a fun puzzle!
Thanks to all involved.
Don’t worry – ChatGPT has explained all!
0.5*/4*. Perfect Monday fare.
Many thanks to the setter and to Falcon.
Good Monday fun only held up by a couple of the pesky four letter clues. Cotd is 10a. Thanks to compiler and Falcon.
Found this one a tad trickier than the usual Monday. Not a fan of the grid (a dozen pesky 4 letter ones) but still enjoyed the puzzle. 6d & 28a my top two.
Thanks to the setter & to Falcon.
I do all the four-letter ones first (well, 6 out of 8 this time, which was a good start). Not sure why people have such a downer on them! I will concede that double definitions of short words fill me with terror, especially when the checkers are miserable vowels.
1.5* / 3.5* A most enjoyable start to the week with plenty of wit and clever clueing.
Best of the day include the 20d graceful creature, the noble 28a and the best 16d
Thanks to setter and Falcon
Ps also liked the quickie pun
It took me a while to get onto the setter’s wavelength. I couldn’t see anything in the first five across clues then the middle filled itself. 28a was a sticking point before continuing up the downs without too much hesitation. The checkers then enabled the final fill.
The stage manager at 7d is my COTD with the noble 28a close behind.
My thanks to Falcon and the setter.
1.5*/3*
Nice easy solve with just a slight hold up on 7d due to a grey moment of putting inn 12d’s answer – doh
Many thanks to the setter and Falcon – hope your furnace is soon fixed
A great start to the week with ticks all over the page.
Top picks for me were 11a, 28a, 7d and 6d.
Thanks to Falcon and the setter.
**/*** for me, half a cuppa off the pace this morning. I was 6d’d by 6d for a bit, LOI. COTD 28a and wish I had the know-how to insert said band at my son’s wedding here.
Many thanks Falcon and our setter.
I wish to complain in the strongest possible terms! 22a is clearly an underhand, even sneaky, reference to the performance of the Newcastle Magpies against The Former Mighty Chelsea on Saturday evening. I have taken this personally. I have written to Mathias Döpfner and his mate Friede Springer at their new penthouse offices in Buckingham Palace Road. Due to my influence I expect all Telegraph crossword staff to be released from their roles with immediate effect. Copied to Sir K. Starmer, Mrs Badenoch, the Green bloke, and Harry Styles.
Thanks to the setter (apart from 22a), and The Shivering Bird Of Prey
An enjoyable puzzle to start my non-weekend week.
No idea what the surface of 30a meant, but the answer was obvious.
8d was my favourite, with 10a and 23a taking the other podium positions.
Somebody called Ed has filmed a documentary about mermen, and a second person has endorsed it.
Admittedly not a phrase I anticipate using, or even hearing, but it parses with a valid meaning for circumstances that could occur.
Ok fair enough! Thanks for your reply.
While I’m here, I just realised I didn’t thank the setter or Falcon, so belated thanks to both.
Re 30a: someone wrote a positive review of a documentary about mermen (male counterparts to mermaids) produced by cinematogragher Ed
Looks like Smylers beat me to the punch
This took me longer than it should mainly due to the grid locking up on my laptop then freezing so I couldn’t reload the puzzle. This is not the first time this has happened. Finishing it on my phone is always more time-consuming when ones digits act more like pork sausages than fingers. Anyway, that gripe aside, this was very enjoyable and only a bit harder than a normal Monday for me. I selected 6d, my LOI, as my favourite.
A delightful walk in the park with which to start the cruciverbal week except 23a which didn’t occur to me and likewise 6d (former monarch does seem to be a convenient bad penny). Many thanks for the fun to the setter and to Falcon.
.
Another good start to the non-work week with this puzzle as I watch, (and walked Tucker), in the pineapple express starts to dump down on us this Sunday evening as I type this. Expecting rain for the next week. Gonna be flippin’ ugly.
1.5*/4*
Favourites 9a, 23a, 24a, 3d 5d & 20d — with winner 20d
Smiles for 17a, 20a & 25d
Thanks to setter & Falcon
I’ve just looked up Pineapple Express. Stay safe, PCQLBC.
I haven’t quite finished this yet but I had to come on here and say that 25d is an absolute belter. As a Leeds United fan it is so incredibly apt, particularly after yesterday’s result. Genius.
* / ****
Very enjoyable and gentle start to the week. Thanks to Falcon for confirmation of the parsing of “number one” in 11a – tee hee. Then ticks went to the 28a Noble, the 16d definition of “Best”, always like that combo and COTD the full lego kit for 8d’s fruit.
Thanks to the setter and Falcon
A good Monday guzzle, there seemed to be several anagrams which is right up my street. Or should I say which SRE right up my street? Anyway, my last one in was 11a – I couldn’t quite believe it – and my favourite was the noble sick American at 28a. I have just finished yesterday’s Toughie thank goodness, it was a hard graft. Many thanks to the Setter and to Falcon.
Oh why did I not proof read? For SRE read ARE.
Enjoyable but had to parse a few including and apologies if it’s been covered above but unsure how the answer to 16d is the opposite of the clue?
Bram Tchaikovsky (ex Motors) today 🎸
CYYB👍
Re 16d, both words in context are synonyms of to defeat.
16d is an example of a word that is its own antonym. Such a word is called a contranym (also spelled contronym). These words have two contradictory meanings depending on context, often referred to as “Janus words” (named after the two-faced Roman god) or auto-antonyms. Common examples include cleave (to adhere vs. divide), sanction (to approve vs. penalize), and dust (to remove vs. apply dust).
That one got me too. I had it inked in as it fit the clue, but for the life of me, I couldn’t make it fit thr definition.
Enjoyable and fairly straightforward even as a relative newcomer. Missed one of the anagrams for longer than I should have, and some of the four letter words were among the last in. 8d made me chuckle, so that’s my COTD. Thanks to the setter and Falcon.
Thank you to the setter, and to the editorial team for publishing this on a week when Falcon was blogging (thank you), because I really didn’t find this straightforward for a Monday puzzle (the anagrams, I expect). And to Bluebirds in the preceding comment for asking about 16d’s definition, so I don’t have to.
23a and 13d are both fine clues, but it it might have been better if they’d appeared in separate puzzles from each other.
My top couple were 18a with “followed orders” and 8d with “stage manager”.
Terence I don’t think you’ll get anything done if you’ve sent your complaints to Kier Starmer , he’s an Arsenal supporter to boot .I found most of today’s offering one/ two star but got stuck on 11 across.Obvious when explained . For some reason this wasn’t quite my cup of tea although I did like 6d . Thanks to all .
A good start to the crossword word week and so achievable for newcomers to the site. As I enjoy anagrams ‘it was right up my street’ 😊. Having checked the hints I now realise I had an error with 6d. My COTD is 8d Pomegranate which I assume could be referred to as a Lego clue? Many thanks to the setter and Falcon. I just don’t know how you cope with such weather/temperature fluctuations, Falcon.
Glad to have a quick solve because the gardening madness is upon me and plants are calling out for attention. COTD was 16 down for misdirection. Did not realise what fun 11 across was until Falcon explained what No 1 could be. Thank you also to our setter
A splendid start to the cruciverbal week with lots of nice constructions on a not oft-seen grid. Ooooo, those cursèd four letter tykes!
I didn’t know that item can mean letter. So, that’s been noted.
It was a shame to see the repetition in 13d/23a. But, there are no other words that fit those checkers. So, wadda yer gonna do?
My pody picks are 11a (of course), 28a (nicely done) and 7d.
MTTT setter and F.
2*/4*
Thanks to the Setter and Falcon. Quick easy solve to start the week. COTD 8d. LOI 6d. Grey damp day but shall light wood burner soon. Forecast for rest of week is sunshine 🌞!
An enjoyable solve and just defeated by the trap at 6d. I had worked out the construction but had to look up a synonym of recess which fitted. I thought it was worthy of a bit more than a one star.
COTD for me, 28a. Reminded me of a course I did with the navy back in the late 80s and we paid a visit to HMS Illustrious in Portsmouth harbour. I know it was dwarfed by the American carriers but standing on the flight deck it seemed huge.
Thank you to the setter and to Falcon for the hints.
What a joy that was. Reminded me of the good old days. The Monday puzzle was always a delight and a gentle ease into the crosswordland week. I was relieved it was doable for my first foray this year. Slight head scratch at 11a. I thought “ it can’t mean that!” but yes it did. Thank you Falcon and setter.
A nice zephyr of a crossword to start the week. Surprised there wasn’t the usual uproar and indignation for the number one at 11a along the lavatorial humour line 😉, so will make that my favourite.
Thanks to all.
A great start to the week with lots to like and no particular favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Falcon for the hints.
Needed to pop in here to understand why 11a was the answer. Lavatorial humour not my thing!
Overall very easy but fun – really enjoyed 8d however my favourite was 16d!
Very enjoyable. Especially after being able to solve all four 11 letter clues. Can’t say 28a sprang to mind to mean noble. 16d just had to be, despite my being able to reconcile the answer matching the definition of best. Other than that, an enjoyable solve today I can only wish I could look forward to more like this. Thanks to setter and Falcon. Commiserations on the furnace problem. Wonder if it is gas? There are often houses in the news here that have exploded due to gas leaks. So perhaps they aren’t being checked out like yours?
I’m with you BusyLizzie
Apologies for being late ‘late on parade’. A nice offering to start the week but I’m a bit confused re 16d, four out of five checkers were provided so the answer could only be worse. But worse equaling best? What am I missing? Thanks to the setting and Falcon. 🦇
Change that ‘e’ for a ‘t’ in your answer…
Hi, Flyingfox. Comments are welcome at any time and as crossword-solving is a voluntary activity, I don’t think it’s actually possible to be late!
Anyway, what you’re missing with 6d is Jezza’s reply to Bluebirds at comment number 24 above! (I also couldn’t work it out.)
Got those comments above and Falcon’s clarification thanks Smylers. I should have read the comments before posting. I’ve been googling as well but I remain to be convinced. And make that thanks to the setter (^%#+* spellcheck). 😜🦇
Another LOI for 11a and needed the hint to parse it. Those lavatorial euphemisms were never used in my family so it didn’t occur to me and I’ve never known which is which. In my head they could quite reasonably be reversed. I’ve no idea what the comments re 30a were about, please don’t bother to try and explain to me, I just took it at face value. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this as I did. Favourite was 28a. Thanks to the setter and Falcon.
A gentle start to the week with a few clues that held me up at the end which in hindsight I should have got which delayed my finish . Quite busy this week , so that’s my excuse for foggy brain . I did like the lavatorial humour at 11a . Had total word blindness over 2d which was my last one I am embarrassed to say. Learnt a new term double unches , and also looked up ChatGPT to find out what it meant ! Thanks so much to setter and Falcon.
LOI was 6D, the second time recently that a clue of a favoured sport of mine has eluded me.🎱
Pody picks – 11A was a funny highlight, liked the 8D charade (and I like fruit), and 12A’s absurd building site pet.
Thanks to setter and to Falcon ⭐️
Nobody has guessed the setter – perhaps they might reveal themself. Hope so.
2*/3* …
liked 3D “Rotters Charlie notices (4)”