Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31190
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ***/****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I found today’s puzzle relatively gentle for a Wednesday: I was heading for my quickest solve of the week, until the app inexplicably threw all my answers away and I had to start again. There are several culinary references today, which left me feeling quite peckish. There is also an excellent Quickie pun. Amongst my favourite clues were 4a, 16a, 24a and 14d, but my top spot goes to the topical 4d. 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
4a Piercing stomach is mostly a show of virility (8)
MACHISMO: A lurker, ‘piercing’ the second, third and fourth words of the clue.
8a Person engaging lawyer Neil is back in court (6)
CLIENT: ‘Neil’ is reversed (back) and inserted into the abbreviation of ‘court’.
9a Classic 1963 film flyers (3,5)
THE BIRDS: These avian creatures are also the name of a Hitchcock classic.
10a Tear down his model furiously (8)
DEMOLISH: An anagram (furiously) of HIS MODEL.
11a Top meeting involving key players (6)
SUMMIT: A double definition. ‘Top’ here is a noun.
12a Relic from bygone age Rodin’s sculpted, lined with gold (8)
DINOSAUR: An anagram (sculpted) of RODINS with the chemical symbol for gold inserted (lined with).
13a Maybe 99 or 100 brought in, that is best (3,5)
ICE CREAM: The Roman numeral for 100 is inserted into (brought in) the abbreviation for ‘that is’ and followed by a synonym of ‘best’.
16a Pan cooks white fish after downing fine German wine (8)
RIESLING: A word meaning ‘cooks in a pan’ loses or ‘downs’ the letter that is an abbreviation for ‘fine’, and is followed by a cod-like fish.
19a One way to make egg: beat it regularly Bill before beginning to eat (8)
SCRAMBLE: A word meaning ‘go away’ (beat it) is followed by the alternate letters (regularly) of ‘Bill’ and the first letter (beginning to) of ‘eat’.
21a Putrefying triceps wound after dislocating radius (6)
SEPTIC: An anagram (wound) of T[r]ICEPS after removing (dislocating) the abbreviation for ‘radius’.
23a Noel, ordinary dad, knight, retired general (8)
NAPOLEON: ‘Noel’ from the clue is followed by the abbreviation for ‘ordinary’, an informal word for a father, and the letter representing a knight in chess, and the whole thing is then reversed (retired).
24a Popular recording group The Killers (3,5)
HIT SQUAD: A word that can mean a successful song is followed by a synonym of ‘group’, giving an informal term for a bunch of assassins.
25a Sharp stick Kelvin poked into drain (6)
SKEWER: The abbreviation for the Kelvin unit of temperature is inserted (poked) into a synonym of ‘drain’.
26a Advances, trying to hold line (8)
ANCESTRY: A lurker, hidden in the first two words of the clue.
Down Clues
1d Cryptic Elgar, 1A “Eating out tagine here?” (7)
ALGERIA: An anagram (cryptic) of ELGAR is followed by the letter that looks like a 1 and A from the clue, giving a country in which you might sample a North African dish.
2d Notorious Biblical king to upset American historian (9)
HERODOTUS: The name of a bloodthirsty New Testament king is followed by ‘to’ reversed (upset, in a down clue) and an abbreviation of ‘American’ to give us an ancient Greek historian.
3d Fearsome warrior finishes off Attic lad (6)
ATTILA: The last two words in the clue without their final letters (finishes off).
4d My daughter’s in on arranging a special time for mum (9,6)
MOTHERING SUNDAY: An anagram (arranging) of MY DAUGHTERS IN ON.
5d Musical group that contains 32 men? (5,3)
CHESS SET: A musical set during the Cold War is followed by a synonym of ‘group’, giving us a description of equipment for a board game with 32 playing pieces.
6d This compiler would put on Isle of Man dialect (5)
IDIOM: How the puzzle setter would say that he or she would do something is followed by the abbreviation for the Isle of Man.
7d Produced content of viral Portuguese product (7)
MADEIRA: A synonym of ‘produced’ is followed by the internal letters (content) of ‘viral’.
14d Might Rod come up with this ginger, ridiculous hairstyle? (3,6)
RED MULLET: a word describing ginger hair colour is followed by a much-maligned haircut to give us something that you might catch with a fishing-rod.
15d Noble Conservative featured in Ustinov broadcast (8)
VISCOUNT: The abbreviation for Conservative is inserted into (featured in) an anagram (broadcast) of USTINOV.
17d One from Lisbon turned up on board debonair e-bike (7)
IBERIAN: A lurker, reversed (‘turned up’ in a down clue) and contained in (on board) the last two words of the clue.
18d One born in the Fifties eating large white loaf (7)
BLOOMER: A word for someone belonging to the generation preceding Generation X contains, or is ‘eating’, the abbreviation for ‘large’.
20d Russian emperor takes exercise after throwing up meal (6)
REPAST: Insert the abbreviation for a gym class into a word for a Russian emperor, then reverse the whole lot (throwing up, in a down clue).
22d Sample refinement (5)
TASTE: A double definition.
Which clues did you like best? Please let us know in the comments section below.
The Quick Crossword pun: GNOCCHI +NONE + EVANS + STORE = KNOCKING ON HEAVEN’S DOOR
Slightly harder than the past 2 days, but nothing too bothersome and enjoyable to boot. 4d went in straight away, but 3 days late, and the lurkers at 4a, 26a and 17d, together with the anagrams, helped to flesh out the grid before a little head scratching. Ticks for the 2d historian, the 3d fearsome warrior and the killers at 24a
My thanks to the setter and Nigel Hades.
1.5*/3.5*
Love Nigel Hades, CD!
An excellent nickname for Mr Farage.
I suppose TDS it depends on whether Deansleigh loves it? …….although there are are Nigel’s.
I never get tired of these nicknames! Please keep them coming!
I enjoyed this immensely as it was literally a read and write from the outset with no hold ups. As such the time required to fill it is a new record for me. 13, 16 and 24 across are my podium picks with the German wine being my COTD. 25a and 14d also caught my attention and are worthy runners up. I hope others found it easy as well. Many thanks to the setter and the hinter
Conor, Please can you read item 6 of the comment etiquette. Thanks.
Please feel free to edit my post and remove the offending words. Many thanks
Also, what did you think of the crossword?
* / ****
Very gentle for a Wednesday. No great hold-ups and the ticks went to 13a 99 and 26a Line. I got held up on the latter by thinking ‘line’ just gave ‘RY’. 4d gets an honourable mention too for such a large and nicely conceptually linked anagram.
Many thanks to Single Head and the Setter.
I really enjoyed this. The historian was new to me but well clued and I needed Deansleigh’s help to parse the non-fish part of 16a.
Top picks for me were 26a, 7d, 14d and 17d.
I also liked the Quickie Pun.
Thanks to Deansleigh and the setter.
I found this harder than today’s Django Toughie. To be more precise, I found the left half of it hard — having completed all the right half didn’t help much, with so few connections between the quadrants. I finally resorted to revealing letters to get the 2d historian, of whom I hadn’t heard. Though it didn’t matter much I hadn’t heard of them, because I’d got the definition at the wrong end was trying to find a word meaning ‘notorious’! Lesson learnt: I should be more patient and wait for Deansleigh’s hints to appear.
My favourite clues were the food-related ones: 99 or 100 in 13a, and the egg in 19a. And that quickie pun is fantastic. Thank you to the setter and blogger.
Off this evening to see King Lear at Leeds Playhouse. Shakespeare isn’t really my kind of thing, but the 13-year-old is in the cast, so I felt I really ought to go.
The Quickie pun has to be the cleverest and most rib tickling ever.
It is a belter. Such fun.
Lovely midweek backpager. Hard to pick just one favourite so I won’t. Pleased to see 4d given its proper name
Thanks to the setter and Deansleigh
A very enjoyable not too challenging mid-week challenge – 1.5*/4.5*
Candidates for favourite – 11a, 19a, 3d, and 6d – and the winner is 11a.
Thanks to whomsoever, I am inclined to say Hudson but not boldly enough to search for whatever coinage remains at the back of my sock drawer, and thanks to Deansleigh especially for decoding the Quickie pun.
What a lovely puzzle for a really beautiful day here in the Chilterns. I did not know the historian but it was so well clued that I got the answer and just needed to check it. There were too many excellent clues to pick one.
Thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints
That really was rather good. A super mid-week coffee-break puzzle, gentle and a lot of fun. Some inspired surfaces and lots of humour throughout.
13a one of the best clues in yonks, and ideal for such a beautiful day; joined on the podium by the German wine in 16a and the ageing rock star at 14a.
Many thanks to the setter (Hudson would be a good call) and to Deansleigh
What a great crossword with so much to like.
4d kicked things off and what a start! Outstanding.
I love ‘ridiculous’ in 14d. Very funny.
Furiously…muddy….solvers just can’t get enough of pushing the envelope with anagram indicators.
The 1963 film was the first film to give me the willies. Scary stuff. Hitch put Tippi through it…and then some, asking her to do it again and again and again. Apparently, it was the worst experience of her professional life.
As always, I am torn between Mr T and Hud (Mr Thud) and am going to go for…..hmm….the Elgar nod is pushing me towards….Mr T!
My podium is, of course, 4d plus 24a and 20d.
MTTTA and Nigel Hades (love it, love it, love it)
2*/5*
Tom, I would advise sitting down and bracing yourself because what follows is truly sensational.
I was in bed last night solving a cryptic puzzle in a DT book. One of the answers was “knitwear” and in a flash I had what can only be described as an epiphany – I had discovered a fresh capitonym!
wear and Wear (as in the river Wear).
Not only that, I also came across a cracking pair of anagrams which I have seen years ago but had forgotten:
Saturnalia/Australian.
I must apologise because after that I do realise that the rest of your day will be something of an anticlimax.
You are quite right, J. I was, indeed, looking forward to tonight. But, thanks to your outstanding observations, not anymore.
Wear has been duly added to the list.
An entertaining puzzle that wasn’t as forbidding as I thought it might be after an initial bout of staring blankly at the screen. 24a was my favourite and certainly more pleasing to me than most of the output of the band referenced. Thanks very much to the setter and to Deansleigh, not least for the 3d cartoon.
An absolute cracker of a puzzle. Witty, entertaining and a joy from beginning to the end. Cotd is 7d. One of my favourite places and I’m partial to a glass of Sercial as well. Thanks to compiler and Deansleigh.
2.5*/4*. This was very enjoyable with a magnificent Quickie pun the icing on the cake.
13a was my favourite of many ticked clues.
Many thanks to the setter (Hudson?) and to Deansleigh.
P.S. It’s concerning when Steve Cowling is not the first to comment or at least not in the first two or three, so I do hope it’s not bad news about the other Hudson.
A very approachable puzzle, particularly for Wednesday. It was a fairly quick solve and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked the cleverly xamouflaged geographical anagram at 1d, the entertaining Lego Ancient Greek historian at 2d, the 5d cryptic double definition and the murderous double definition atc24a. Thanks to the compiler and to Deansleigh for the hints. There are English translations of 2d and if you forget modern notions of checking historical sources and don’t mind a little gossip/hearsay he’s worth reading..
Found this Wednesday puzzle quite approachable this week. Hudson perhaps?
Some smiles throughout the grid and some good clueing too.
2*/4* for me
Favourites 8a, 10a, 12a, 13a, 16a & 4d — with winner 4d
Smiles for 9a, 25a & 14d
Thanks to Hudson(?) & Deansleigh
I found this easier than the last two days and got the top half filled in pretty quickly. I am improving! I couli understand my answer for the Killers but I had got it wrong. My favourite was the initially very puzzling 13a. I seem to struggle when numbers are mentioned. Off back in the garden now and could do with a 13a. Thanks for a great puzzle and hints. I hope Smylers enjoys King Lear. U have only seen it once and it was also an amateur production ( unless your son is a professional already!)
This was very high quality fare with some really good surfaces and excellent clueing. Picking a single favourite is impossible, so I will go for 13a and 14d.
Many thanks to whomsoever and Deansleigh.
A very Wednesday i-sh guzzle done in the conservatory with doors wide open and still too hot! As had been said, the somewhat tardy 4d was an instant help, my last one in was 24a as I was panicking about Boy Bands on which I am totally ignorant. The quickie pun is what I feel I am doing sometimes! Oh dearie me. 4a amused me as did 2d with memories of Miss Hamer’s class. Many thanks to the Setter and Deassleigh.
Ns
I would echo others comments. Super puzzle with a satisfying smattering of general knowledge. My LOI was 24a which when the penny dropped was my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter for the excellent entertainment and Deansleigh for the cartoons/popular recording!
I realised how clever 13d was when I saw the hint .My cotd. A straightforward stroll today full of interesting and amusing clues . Thanks to all .
Rabbit Dave is right – I’ve have been at the vets most of the morning waiting to be seen. Last night, Hudson managed to get his lampshade off, chew off the bandage and lick the wound again until it bled. The vet has redressed it but he is now thinking he may need to operate but he would rather not because it is painful. Therefore, we are going to wait to see how it goes this time and I take him back on Friday evening. Trouble is, I’m going to Worcestershire tomorrow for a night and a local girl is coming to dog sit. I will have to leave her strict instructions and hope she takes it all in.
Great puzzle, which I completed while awaiting the vet. Lots of clever clues that were satisfying to solve. I have a vague recollection of the historian but the clue gave clear instructions. My COTD is the 99 at 13a.
Thank you, setter (the other Hudson seems favourite) for a great diversion away from veterinary fees! Thank you, Nigel for the hints, which were not needed but I have read. Only fair to do so after the work has been put in supplying them.
Steve, one of our pack had a splenectomy in the summer and was given a “body stocking” to wear to prevent him worrying the enormous wound. It worked perfectly (and was very slimming…) so I wondered whether something like this might work for Hudson? I’m sure you could find one that can be delivered tomorrow using Prime or similar, and it might even be available via your vet or local pet supplies store.
Depending on where the wound is you might want to use vet-wrap to keep it attached to his paw, but having this over the dressing might work, especially in conjunction with a blow-up collar, which our dogs have always found more manageable than a lampshade, but just as effective.
Good luck whatever you do, and fingers crossed that Hudson behaves!
I cannot edit my post, but this the link I tried – and evidently failed – to include, does not work. Have a look online for “Anti-licking-Protection-Surgery-Recovery-Sleeves” – you can get them just for the front legs, even just for a single leg!
Thank you, MG. I’ll look this up. 👍
Steve, I’ve just had a look at these online and superficially they do seem a good idea – but are they really chew-proof? As you know, large dogs have very powerful jaws/teeth and are experts at chewing and ripping things apart. I well remember our Frau in 1978, a six month old German Shepherd. We had to leave her alone for a few hours in the kitchen/diner. When we got home she had dragged a substantial glass Pyrex bowl off the drainer and crunched it up. The floor was covered in glass fragments and blood. She greeted us with glee, wagging her tail and panting as though nothing untoward had happened. The little monkey! Good luck anyway.
Thank you, Jose. It is incredible how dogs treat pain. Almost as though it does not exist. I agree they have powerful jaws. When he was a puppy, Hudson destroyed the whole skirting board in the utility room.
As a young dog one of ours destroyed the legs of four (of six) kitchen chairs, the pedestal foot of the kitchen table, the accessible lower corners of an oak Welsh dresser my wife had only recently restored, the flooring in our conservatory, and sections of plaster on the conservatory walls. Not to mention the items he chewed requiring swift trips to the vets – who still remember him very, very well!
The body stocking worked very well for our 25kg ESS and after a short while last summer were able to dispense with the blow-up collar; we have (successfully) used a leg stocking on the chewer, and my sister-in-law has used them with her spaniels. They are not gnaw-proof, and are certainly not bramble-proof on walks, but we have had no problems so far.
Most of the ones I have looked at don’t go far enough down the leg to protect the wound. The main problem is the studs on the lampshade come away with ease so I have now tied it with shoe laces. Even so, I see he has somehow managed to get to the back of the dressing. 🐶
Would you be able to further protect the dressing using VetWrap? Or a sleeve over the dressing with VetWrap over the edges of the sleeve?
He’s already got that on.
Yikes, Jose, that sounds like a real horror show to come home to!
Indeed. We were only young at the time, not long married, and it was very alarming and upsetting. We did take her to the vet but there were no lacerations inside her mouth, just bleeding gums and no treatment necessary. Luckily, those Pyrex bowls are/were made of some kind of treated glass which breaks down into regular small blocks of glass rather than very sharp shards.
She was a fantastic dog and died (in my arms) in 1988. I still think about her every day, even now.
Oh dear Steve, just catching up with the comments and so sorry to read the latest news about Hudson. We once had a blow-up collar for one of our previous dogs and it was very effective!! Do hope you can get the problem sorted as surgery is the last thing either of you need.
He had a blow up collar initially, Hilary but he could easily bypass it.
Really enjoyed this one! Perhaps owing to recent struggles on a few stragglers, moreover I thought many surfaces were great, with several pody contenders. The speediness was helped by the full-length 4D going in early.
Pody picks are 4A’s amusing and neat surface; 24A was my LOI – satisfying to land, enjoyable definition and I’m a sucker for a music reference; and finally 2D, which exemplifies a big reason I enjoy cryptics – never heard of this answer but the lights lead the way 🙂
Many thanks to setter and Deansleigh ⭐️
1.5* / 4* Very enjoyable with plenty of of humour.
Favourites are the quickie pun (one of the best ever), fishy 14d and the lurking 17d
Thanks to setter and Deansleigh
Sailed through the East but like Smylers found West more demanding. Unless I’m missing something surely 8a is not necessarily a lawyer. 25a K didn’t occur to me and I overlooked 26a lurker. Clever Quickie pun. Thanks setter and Deansleigh.
8a is the person engaging the lawyer
Yes, I meant to give a shout out to the Quickie Pun too 👏🏼
An enjoyable puzzle for me today with the exception of The Killers….totally flummoxed me.
Loved the rest, though.
Thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh.
Spent most of the afternoon trying to change my electricity supplier….they make it all sound so easy……wish it was…..
Should have said….the quickie pun was great!
An excellent midweek puzzle (and a top-notch Quickie Pun) – thanks to our setter and Deansleigh.
I plumped for 13a, 16a and 24a for my podium.
Another enjoyable puzzle with just a few head-scratching moments. I missed the lurker at 26a and was delayed over 20d and 25a. 19a brought a smile to my face and 16a took me back to my younger carefree days! Many thanks to the setter and Deansleigh
Another enjoyable puzzle with just a few head-scratching moments. I missed the lurker at 26a and was delayed over 20d and 25a. 19a brought a smile to my face and 16a took me back to my younger
carefree days! Many thanks to the setter and Deansleigh
Superb entertainment – VMT to Hudson or whomever. 13A and 14D the standouts for me. VMT also to Deansleigh.
Lovely Wednesday puzzle with just enough head scratchers to keep me honest. Favourite was 23a, good spot. Thanks to the setter and DL.
A cracking puzzle. For me a tad trickier than Mon & Tues though still a brisk solve & I’m with Smylers & Angelov in finding whatever crumpet scratching required confined to the east. Loved the culture references but can’t disagree with Gazza’s choices of 13,16&24a as podium picks. Only a lamentable failure to twig the excellent Quickie pun soured my mood & it’s a song I love too.
Thanks to the setter (I’ll stake hard cash on Hudson) & to Deansleigh, whose review I shall now read.
Ps I loved the Michael Ondaatje book, The English Patient, & thought Anthony Minghella’s sumptuous film of it hugely deserving of its best picture & director Oscars & his adapted screenplay (nominated) ought to have won too. We lived in the same road in Hampstead & he was a delightful man & such a tragic loss to the UK film industry when he died only in his mid fifties. For any that haven’t seen the film or read the book I thoroughly recommend them. I mention this because 2d’s Histories feature in the film. Here’s a clip of a great scene from the film, where Katharine Clifton flirts with Almásy right in front of her hubby (Colin Firth) by telling a story from Herodotus.
Just to let everyone know, I may not be around tomorrow or Friday. I’m meeting up with Uni pals for lunch in Worcestershire and I’ve decided to stay overnight. Gone are the days when I could drive there and back in one day. Anyway, it will allow me to have a tipple or two. 🥃😊
Thank you for letting us know in advance, Steve — that’s most thoughtful of you. Enjoy the time with your uni friends.
I found this very hard and 2d and 26a defeated me. Pretty obscure historian and kicking myself for missing the lurker in 26a.
Thanks to all.
2*/4* …
liked 7D ” Produced content of viral Portuguese product (7) “