Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3361 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg. So, Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the birdies is! Since most of the grass is still covered by snow and ice, and what can be seen is brown, it is difficult to decide whether it has riz or not. But we do have birdies. Many of the small ones such as Chickadees, Nuthatches, and Sparrows are with us all year round regardless of the temperature.
A little late, but in the last couple of weeks snow sculptures have appeared on a pedestrians/cyclists only street in the downtown area – this is one of a turtle that appears to be about to consume a jelly fish – the wonders of nature!
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quite friendly – seven anagrams (one partial), two lurkers, and no homophones in a symmetric 28 clues; with 14 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!
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Candidates for favourite – 11a, 13a, 16a, 3d, 7d, 10d, and 25d.
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 Rudeness backfiring, irritated with golf – where bedfellows coming to blows? (6-5)
The reversal (backfiring) of a three letter slang synonym of rudeness followed by an anagram (irritated) of WITH GOLF.
11a Agate touching two axes (4)
A two letter synonym of touching followed by two graphical axes – until you solve 2d you have a 50-50 chance of getting them in the right, or wrong order!.
13a A small flier working (2,2)
A from the clue and a small (feathered) flier.
16a Shop front in Truro, one adorned with flowers, briefly (8)
The first letter (front in) of Truro and the Roman numeral for one contained by (adorned with) an arrangement of flowers, such as a bride might carry, with the last letter deleted (briefly).
23a Rubber ring left filled with oxygen (5)
A synonym of left (a job of one’s own volition) containing (filled with) the chemical symbol for Oxygen.
27a Internal communication, however, pedestrian activity? (7-7)
An adverbial synonym of however and a term(?) for activity associated with being a pesdestrian.
28a Twine pretty twisted? Noted! (11)
An anagram (twisted) of TWINE PRETTY.
Down
2d Please let me off, eh? (1,3,4,6)
A double definition – the second may indicate failure to hear or understand.
4d Completed household chore – finished? (6-2)
A phrase for completion of a household chore (after a meal) which is probably not hyphenated but is in the answer.
7d Scent of old royalty, perhaps, with English cake (8,6)
The second longest serving sovereign of the UK with a possessive S (of old royalty), followed by an informal (and perhaps unpleasant) synonym of scent and (with) the single letter for English .
8d Humour ofttimes, and funny! (5,2,4)
An anagram (funny) of OFTTIMES, AND.
10d American footwear a little lower? British trunks too! (6,5)
A four legged lower and an indication that it might be little(?), and (too) the British equivalent of automotive trunks.
25d Margaret doffs cap, ready for the soldiers? (4)
A diminutive form of Margaret, Ms Mount was a famous one, with the first letter removed (doffs cap).
26d Change written into amended itinerary (4)
When all else fails . . . , written into the last two words of the clue.
Quick Crossword Pun:
MUSSEL + BEECH = MOUSEHOLE BEACH – with the Cornish pronunciation of the village known by the first word.
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Composer and impresario of musical theatre Andrew Lloyd Webber, more correctly Lord Lloyd Webber, is, presumably, celebrating his seventy-eighth birthday today. One of his most famous musicals, with lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe, is Phantom of the Opera and one of its most famous songs is All I Ask of You. Here it is being performed by Michael Ball and Sarah Brightman at a Royal Albert Hall Celebration for Andrew Lloyd Webber in 2015(?):
I found this less tricky than yesterday and enjoyed it.
Top picks for me were 1a, 22a, 7d and 25d.
Thanks to Senf, loved the ice sculpture, and the setter.
I found this quite a challenging SPP, largely due to some clever misdirection and some stonking long anagrams. It was hard to pick favourite among so many good clues but thought the Lego clue at 27a and the long anagram at 9a worked extraordinarily well together to mislead and cofuse the solver and they are my clues of the day The little meld at 23a and the souble definition at 2 had me scrtching my head as well until tg penny dropped with aloud clang. Thanks to Dada for an entertaining solve and to Senf for the hints.
The head scratcher of a long anagram at 9a was, for me, very tricky. Favourites were 27a and 7d, which made me smile. Thank you to the setter and Dada.
25D very funny. Nice puzzle all round, thank you both.
Mr SC is making me this for late breakfast
Favourite puzzle this week. All solvable with some hard thinking. So many great clues 9a and 27a were my favourites
I thought the pun on the quickie was Muscle Beach in California. I think its a better answer than Mousehole Beach in Cornwall!
I rather agree with you…
There is only a harbour at Mousehole, no beach, so I definitely suspect the setter has something else in mind.
That’s what I thought as well
Dada is very amusing today – thanks to him and Senf.
10d is a good laugh but I’m not sure that the lower gender quite works.
Top clues for me were 16a, 27a, 7d and 25d.
Very benign for Dada and it suited a bright and sunny Sunday. 1a fell straight away and 10d raised a smile. Much to like, but my podium comprises three out of the eight four letter answers in 22a, 11a and 13a, the latter because this great site occasionally stops me being13a when my parsing goes astray. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
A relatively easy Dada although there’s 2 we’re not too sure about.
With Gazza on the lower gender of 10d.
Not sure why 28a is noted.
But thanks to Dada and Senf for today.
This was a pleasingly testing SPP with lots of humour and some very clever clues. It was a bit of an anagramfest but they were all nicely compiled. One of them, 28a, was my final entry, with my favourite being another late solve, 25d.
Thanks to both Dada and Senf.
I found this very hard to get started on, the anagrams which are usually my go to clues were quite hard to crack today. Once ai got going I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was very satisfying to complete.
Once the frosts clear the last few days have been absolutely beautiful here.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints.
I agree that this Dada puzzle seemed quite friendly this week with only a couple of quirky entries and minimal personal thesaurus use.
2*/4* for me
Favourites 1a, 19a, 23a 2d, 7d & 10d — with winner 2d
Smiles for 13a, 4d, 6d & 14d
Thanks to Dada & Senf
No… no… don’t talk to me about football… I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.
{A man in denial}
For me, and I stress for me (© Senf), this was a groovy guzzle. I was helped on my way by the anagrams and the easier four letterers.
No time for jibber-jabber today. We are not going out for a lovely walk; I’m told we are undertaking jobs in the garden.
Thanks to Da-doo-ron-ron, and The Man From Manitoba with his chickadees et al.
A wonderful offering from Dada that took some getting into. I had 1a immediately than nothing on the first pass until 3d. Then the bananas at 6d arrived followed by the note, the machine worker and Margaret. These gave inroads into the puzzle and I was on my way. I found some of the anagrams a bit stodgy but I managed them once a few checkers arrived. I have never described the internal communication at 27a with those words so that one took some time. My COTD is Margaret getting ready for the soldiers at 25d.
Thank you, Dada for giving me yet another stab (the latest of thousands) at The Mythical. Thank you, Colonel for the hints and, while I have heard of a Chickadee, I have no idea what they look like. A quick consultation with Mr. G soon put that right. What a beautiful bird. It looks like our Long Tailed Tits but with a short tail.
Way too hard for me. I doff my cap to everyone else who found this easier than yesterday. I struggled and gave up with about 5 remaining. A sound kicking from dada!
Don’t worry: you’re not alone. Some puzzles are simply impenetrable to normal minds. This was one of many.
Agree, definitely not alone.
East was doable but West was a different kettle of fish so sought much outside help in order to finish. 25d comes from unusual nickname (not as per Margaret Thatcher!) and 25d doesn’t signify just a cut. I think DT and I may have to agree to differ. I just can’t find most of the wavelengths and anyway am not keen on anagram overload but which presumably is less taxing for setters. Thanks Dada and Senf.
Three quarters straightforward then an age to solve the SW (maybe the SSW, to be more accurate). Got a good chuckle from the odiferous empress at 7d, so making that my favourite. 2.5*/3.5*
Had to mention 7d, clue of the year so far for me.
Great guzzle, 9a was the last to fall – I could see what I had to do but it took a while for me to fall in. Some fine misdirection and quite a few contenders for the favourite. Possibly 7d. I too did not quite get ‘noted’ at 28a but the answer had to be. Laughed at 25d. Many thanks to the Setter and to Senf. I am more than halfway through the Toughie which is quite gentle today.
Quality clues as always, with the odd number my favourite. Thank you Senf for explaining the pronounciation in the quickie pun!
1a went straight in followed by seemingly ages to decipher the anagram at 9a. I then had about 2/3 completed when the mental mist crept in. Went outside, mowed the grass and resumed, with the royal cake, the American footwear and the the pretty twine giving me a speedy lift off. Had to confer with my wife for Margaret’s other name. LOI was that silly little dog. Favourite was the Lego communication 27a.
My thanks to Dada for the brain teasing and Senf for his input.
2*/2*. Too many iffy surfaces for me and I don’t understand the definition for 8d.
Thanks anyway to Dada and to Senf,
Funny is the indicator.
Humour as in the slightly old fashioned meaning. “He was in a foul humour yesterday.”
Definition 6, supported by 5(?), in the Crimson Tome.
Parsing 10d didn’t work for us apart from the lower, couldn’t see noted either. 19a was a bit of a stretch also. The rest just about passed muster. Not our favourite Sunday puzzle but a completed grid is a completed grid. Favourite was 11a. Thanks to Dada anyway and Senf.
8d best clue I’ve seen in a long time . The west flew in except for the Margaret clue , I think some of the people who have been doing crosswords for a while probably have seen this before .My grandma was called this . last in 15 and needed e help for 23 . Patchy in difficulty just like yesterday . Thanks to all
4* / 4* I’m definitely in the very tricky camp, but thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.
Loads of top clues including 16a shop, little maggie at 25d and my last one in 23a rubber ring
Thanks to compiler and Senf
I ve been unwell this week so haven’t done Weds to Fri. Feels like I’ve come back and my brain isn’t quite back to scratch although I actually feel really well now, or have they just been hard ? Yesterday I got about 90% done and fell asleep and on waking discovered I had submitted the prize puzzle with the grid filled mainly with the letter H 😳. Goodness knows how! Today I’ve dropped in to get a hint or two to get me over the line. I am hoping maybe tomorrow will get confidence restored again. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
I had to work jolly hard for this but eventually got over the line.
I managed to get through the four middle 5 letter jobbies despite all 8 checkers being vowels.
I was surprised to see ‘internal communication’ repeated and 8d was a new one on me.
I’ve always liked the emordnilap in 15d and a little lower was good fun.
My pody picks are 16a (nicely done), 18d and 25d.
MTT Radio and Senf.
4*/3*
Stick me in the tricky camp. 10d last in & a real crumpet scratch & a few of the others didn’t yield that easily either. Enjoyed all the long ‘uns.
Thanks to D&S
Late to the party I know, but I thought this was a great puzzle – went down some real rabbit holes (10 down and 27 across) but once I’d come up for air things went far more smoothly. Needed a couple of hints for what turned out to be fairly simple short word clues! Favourite was 7 down by a country mile.
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