Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31209
Hints and Tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where, yesterday, on the 19th day of Spring we woke up to fluffy white precipitation courtesy of an Alberta Clipper! Fortunately, in my area, there was only 5 to 10 cms and the roads and footpaths are already warm enough that it ‘self cleared.’
For me, etc© (I have to say that for Terence), a puzzle of two halves, North and South, but once again not half of a Dream Team Thursday, Prime on Toughie duty today, but no doubt that this is the work of the Master of Brevity. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and appearances from the Queen and his swEetheart, don’t be confused by the second ‘sweetheart’ in 1d (check the hint), appearing in the back pager with an average of 5.2 words per clue. Also, like Dada, Ray T still seems to be making occasional use of a personal thesaurus. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
Candidates for favourite – 9a, 12a, 19a, 22a, 2d, 7d, and 15d.
In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the Click here! buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
1a Watching A levels incur reforms (12)
SURVEILLANCE: An anagram (reforms) of A LEVELS INCUR.
9a One script rewritten for Lewis, maybe (9)
INSPECTOR: Another(!) anagram (rewritten) of ONE SCRIPT.
10a Relation is fine about sweetheart (5)
NIECE: A synonym of fine containing Ray T’s swEetheart.
11a Introduction is formal facing Queen (6)
PRIMER: A synonym of formal (often heard with proper) placed before the regnal letters of our dear late Queen.
12a Spread betting odds before final (8)
SPLATTER: The abbreviated form of betting odds (at the beginning of a race) and a synonym of final (as in Shakespeare).
13a Expect to acquire hard butt (6)
THRUST: A synonym of expect containing (to acquire) the single letter for Hard.
14a Broadcast speech containing empty narrative (8)
SCREENED: A synonym of speech (originating from Old English) containing NarrativE with the interior letters deleted (empty).
17a Company deficit with American giant (8)
COLOSSUS: The two letter abbreviation for company, a term for a (financial) deficit, and (with) the two letters for American.
19a Vulgar people who row in church (6)
COARSE: The short form of a term for people who row (competitively?) inserted into the abbreviation for the Anglican Church.
22a Winning ace possible around rally’s opening (8)
ADORABLE: The single letter for Ace (in a pack of cards?) and a synonym of possible containing (around) the first letter (‘s opening) of Rally.
24a Temporary housing housing a new occupant (6)
TENANT: A type of temporary housing (when hiking?) containing (housing) A from the clue and the single letter for New.
26a Start to train every individual? (5)
TEACH: The first letter (start to) Train and a single word term equivalent to every individual.
27a Soldier in red gear, changing (9)
GRENADIER: An anagram (changing) of IN RED GEAR.
28a Altering manner, lutist gives musical piece (12)
INSTRUMENTAL: Another(!) anagram (altering . . . gives) of MANNER, LUTIST.
Down
1d Fixes up sweetheart provoking scrap (7)
SNIPPET: The reversal (up) of a synonym of fixes and not Ray T’s ‘personal’ sweetheart but a three letter synonym of sweetheart (as a term of endearment).
2d Trickier run with one downhill racer? (7)
RISKIER: The single letter for a crickety Run and (with) the Roman numeral for one, and a term for a type of downhill racer.
3d Snack otherwise includes regular seconds (9)
ELEVENSES: A synonym of otherwise contains (includes) a synonym of regular and the single letter for Seconds (of time).
4d The French taking time for checks (4)
LETS: Plural of the in French containing the single letter for Time (for an archaic synonym of checks?).
5d Reveals speed where one sees jumbo? (8)
AIRSPACE: A synonym of reveals and a synonym of speed.
6d Catch one’s neighbour, gyrating about initially! (5)
CONGA: One of Ray T’s favourite clue constructions – the initial letters of five words in the clue.
7d It precedes Mass for church worker (6)
SEXTON: A three letter informal synonym of It placed before a mass (in terms of weight).
8d Rose could be cultivated (6)
REARED: A double definition – the first might refer to becoming upright.
15d Acquit former partner with ace judge (9)
EXONERATE: The usual two letters for former partner and (with) synonyms of ace and judge.
16d Occasionally burn in weak rays? (8)
SUNLIGHT: Alternate letters (occasionally – I’ll let you decide if it is odds or evens) of burn inserted into (in) a synonym of weak.
17d Pursued, reportedly, like a celibate person (6)
CHASTE: A homophone (reportedly) of pursued.
18d They scrub toilet rapidly, endlessly! (6)
LOOFAS: the three letter informal synonym of toilet and a synonym of rapidly with the last letter deleted (endlessly).
20d One’s objective about America’s first agenda (7)
REALIST: Start by reading One’s in the definition as One is – the two letter Latin based term for about, the first letter of America, and a synonym of agenda.
21d Gripped by umpteenth rally producing thrill (7)
ENTHRAL: A lurker (gripped by . . . producing) found in the words sandwiched by the indicator.
23d Possibly bleached, like chicken (5)
ASHEN: A two letter synonym of like and a female chicken.
25d Soldiers given uniform list (4)
MENU: A three letter term for soldiers followed by (given) the letter represented by Uniform in the phonetic alphabet.
Quick Crossword Pun:
CLOSE + HOARSE = CLOTHES HORSE
As expected, an enjoyable puzzle from Mr T. I used a scattergun approach and moved round the grid on a very random manner. LOI was 14a.
Top picks for me were 1d, 23d, 18d and 17d. That’s not to say I didn’t like the across clues!
Thanks to Senf and Ray T.
2*/5*. Sheer excellence from the master of brevity with 7d my favourite of many ticked clues.
I hesitate to say this given this setter’s penchant for as few words as possible, but isn’t “first” in 20d surplus to requirements?
Many thanks to RayT and to Senf.
In 20 Down, “America’s list” wouldn’t work [‘s for has isn’t allowed as a charade link]. “American list” would work, but was probably avoided as American appears in another clue.
Thanks, Michael. I don’t think I knew that using ‘s for “has” is not allowed in a charade. Or perhaps I did know and had forgotten
It’s the same in the Times too, but I think it turns up in the Guardian, so hard to keep tabs on it. I think it used to be okay in the Telegraph, but like you I’m not sure when the change came.
I read it as America’s first, meaning America’s first letter (A), then it works fine.
Yes, it’s fine as it is, but Dave was light-heartedly suggesting “first” should be dropped for the compiler’s trademarked brevity.
Nope, didn’t see it that way at all…….
?? Not sure what your reply means, sorry.
A very accessible crossword today which doesn’t mean I found it easy but rather that it gave up its solutions after a lot of thought and trial and error.
On the podium today 17a, when will we see one of these in the White House again? And 27a which brings back memories of the only sympathetic and humane CSM in my admittedly short and unhappy time in the army. Most NCOs were cruel, vicious and thick and would have been well employed in torture chambers where their annual appraisals would have first rate.
Forgot to thank Senf and the estimable RayT.
Mixed bag for me today – most of the grid was straightforward using a round and round approach. But there were some stickers for me, 1d, as usual for me, forgetting other use of sweetheart.
12a betting odds were in but could not think of a word to fit – think my brain is tired this morning.
13a needed a hint to get across the line.
17a was my COTD
I finished this a lot more quickly than I thought I would having moved to thhe south, after finding the north ahard nut to croack. There weere lots of nice anagrams (1a,9a,27a,28a) and some good lego cclues (1d,17a,15d) all clued with admirable brevity. Thanks to Mr T for another winnerr and to Senf dor the hints
Absolutely first class this morning from one of our favourite setters. It was, as ever, beautifully and concisely clued, each one an accurate picture of the answer. For winners, I went for 28a and 7d.
My thanks to Ray T and Senf.
This was very enjoyable as it was not too testing; exactly how I like my crosswords! 12a, 17a and 19a are my top picks. But the anagrams at 1a, 9a and 28a are very clever indeed and worthy of mention. Many thanks to the setter and hinter
Very enjoyable and for the most part straightforward if you followed the instructions. I did need help with the northwest where I couldn’t find the right synonyms for 11a, 13a and 1d. I had 17a as favourite but particularly enjoyed the anagrams too.
Many thanks to Ray T and to Senf for the hints.
Very enjoyable, not too taxing with some first rate clues. Two long anagrams took some time but opened things up. Picks for me are 1d and, because it made me smile 7d.
Many thanks to Senf and the setter.
An enjoyable morning solve on a day off, going to see Belle & Sebastian perform at The Albert Hall later today.
NE corner gave me some problems, five connected clues, it was satisfying when they clicked, LOI was 7D. Also I wasn’t sure of 22A as a synonym for ‘winning’?
Pody picks go to 14A’s new word for speech (and unlocking this one helped me to the finish line), 18D’s plight of the cleaner, and 12A when I eventually recalled the betting abbreviation.
Many thanks to Ray T and Senf ⭐️
Hi Wriggles.
How about a winning smile?
Thanks Tom, that was the first phrase that came to mind, guess I hadn’t considered till now what winning was saying about the smile. As opposed to, say, ‘what a winning puppy.’
Was going well but then fell foul in the NE. Just struggled, so resorted to the hints for 14a and the rest gradually came together. Cotd for me is 1d. Thanks to Ray T and Senf for the needed hints.
Plain sailing until the NE quadrant so a DNF for me.
Will have to add that church worker to my personal thesaurus.
17d, 18d and 19a favourites today.
Thanks to Ray and Senf
* / ****
Almost gave it 2* difficulty because I had 6 parsings to double check. However, it did fly in much more quickly than usual for me with RayT. I had an exchange with NYDK several months ago about clues like 17d where, in this case, one cannot write in the answer until 26a is solved as I feel that either homophone could be valid if the clue was standalone. Anyway, I still bow in obeisance to the master of brevity.
Many thanks to RayT and Senf!
I did wonder if there was a setter’s or solver’s etiquette on the 17D scenario?
It may not be etiquette but, with the likes of 17d, I consider that the setter is trying to confuse the solver for as long as possible, i.e. until checkers are available.
My understanding is that the answer is not the word identified as ‘reportedly’ i.e. pursued in this case. That normally seems to work for me. Thanks to the setter and hinter.
I think Senf has hit the nail on the head and essentially it means the potential double validity is ‘all part of the game’, which is perfectly fair enough. In the case of this clue, I would agree with the above interpretation unequivocally if there was no comma between “Pursued” and “reportedly” and would argue the opposite if there was no comma between “reportedly” and “like a …”. Whereas, if there were no commas at all or in this case, two commas, then I think either homophone would be valid. I raised it in the first place because I didn’t find this type of ambiguity in other clue types and I’ll admit it did rankle a bit in the past but now I’m more used to it, I still notice it but suppose it’s all part of the fun of a cryptic.
.. funnily enough I put the wrong one in first but upon perusing the clue again concluded that I was wrong. The reportedly sits much better with the first word in the clue.
Apart from that, I’m with Senf top half was easier than the bottom.
Last in was 18d … I did laugh … are these still bathroom accessories? I remember my granny having one … that wasn’t yesterday!
Thanks to setter and Senf.
I have to confess to it being a particular bugbear of mine!
Another solid crossy from fortnightly Fred hits the back of the net.
I’m very happy with the alternative meaning of screed. Very. Here’s its etymology…
Early 15c., “fragment, piece torn off,” also “strip of cloth,” a northern England dialectal variant of Old English screade (see shred). Meaning “lengthy speech” is by 1812, from the notion of reading from a long list or simply a “long strip” of speaking.
Marvy parvy.
The root of 21d has two Ls. However, when a prefix is added, one gets canned. Yet, it reappears when we add a suffix. Isn’t the English language just plain nuts? And that’s why we love it.
I didn’t know that 18d can be spelt without an h and I love that there is a 19a word at the end of 19a.
My pody picks are 12a (superb surface), 24a (nicely done) and 28a (good to see a sensible anagram indicator).
MTTTA and the Manitoban mountie.
3*/4*
Nice to see RayT today for his fortnightly backpager appearance this week. As always succinctness and brevity are his trademarks. It was also nice to see that the Queen and his sweetheart also show up too in this puzzle. Makes for a fun solve IMHO.
2*/4.5* for me
Favourites include 1a, 9a, 11a, 28a, 17d & 23d — with winner 9a
Thanks to RayT for a great puzzle & Senf for hints/blog
Fitted a hospital visit in between start and finish. The south went in fairly easily before going and most of the top was accessible when I came back until I came to the 1d/11a combo, where I persevered trying to use RT’s usual sweetheart. So thanks to Senf for showing me the error of my ways after which 11a was a shoo-in. All in all a highly enjoyable puzzle. My pody picks are 5d, 20d and 16d is my top pick
MT to RayT and Senf.
2*/4*
Enjoyable plain-sailing but, as for others, a sticky patch in the NE. 4d was a bung-in and I blanked on 7d and 14a. A curate’s egg. Thanks RayT and Senf.
1.5* /3.5* A very enjoyable challenge which kept me on my toes.
Favourites today include the jumbo location at 5d, last one in the cultivated 8d and the 26d rays
Thanks to compiler and Senf
Another who get held up in the NE but got there finally. Had to check the hints to see that i had 4d correct (only two options!). Sadly this was not for me – roll on friday.
Thanks to the setter and senf for blogging duties.
Tricky for me on the west side – thank you RayT and Senf
Evening all. Many thanks to Senf for the analysis and to everybody else for your observations. As always, much appreciated.
RayT
Thank you for the enjoyable solve and blog challenge.
Anyone new to solving DT crosswords would have been floored by, for example, 7d. A genius clue whose solution is required before parsing. Clever stuff, Mr Ray T.
I found the North very hard in places.
As someone who had never placed a bet (I despise gambling), 12a was beyond me.
13a was a new meaning of butt so needed the hint to confirm my bung in.
4d was a weird meaning of checks. If some used that in normal life people would be somewhat confused I imagine.
14a was also beyond me.
7d was a new term for me.
I spent way too long working out how Sir Lewis related to 9a before the penny dropped.
Enjoyed solving the rest though.
Thanks to all.
Passports say (or used to say) something along the lines of ‘without let or hindrance’ – hence checks / delays
Just checked my newish passport and it still does use ‘let’. Can’t say I have ever noticed. Every day is a school day!
My favourite is 7D – not just for the superb clue, but as a reminder of that brilliant poem, Faithless Sally Brown, by Thomas Hood.
It’s all great, but especially the last verse in which 7D features.
Many thanks to Ray and Senf.
Really struggled today. Just me! Still don’t like 20d just doesn’t read right for me.
Solved at silly o’clock early this morning but playing (not badly for a pleasant change) then watching ⛳️ has got in the way of posting a comment.
Thought this one right out of Ray T’s top drawer – quite gentle but impeccably clued throughout & fun from start to a brisk finish. Can’t say I was familiar with the archaic synonym at 4d (& didn’t bother to check it out) but E rather than A in ‘the French’ seemed the better punt. My fibrous sponge comes with an H but had come across the less common spelling before. ✅s all over the shop – 11,12,13&14a plus 5,7&16d particular likes. 14a my fav – apposite of political oratory both sides of the pond.
Thanks to Ray & to Senf – very much enjoyed the rendition of HOTRS. Reckon there would be a market for a compilation of rock standards played on the lute – Metallica don’t sound too bad on one
🤞 Rory kicks on from his excellent 4under thru 14 & emulates Sir Nick in retaining.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one to fall foul of the NE. The rest was a fairly gentle solve , but I needed a hint to get me over the line. An enjoyable solve . Thanks to Ray T and Senf.
Having scanned through the top half without solving a single clue, apart from spotting a couple of anagrams which I left to solve later, I moved to the bottom half and solved it in very short order. I moved back to the top and found it a very different animal but there were enough gimmes to get a start and edge me towards completion. Favourite was 18d. Thanks to Rayt and Senf.
Re 19a, I haven’t previously come across “oars” as meaning “people who row” (as opposed to what they use to row with). Perhaps “oarsmen”, “oarsmen” or “oarspersons” would be more appropriate but I am ready to be corrected.
Sorry – the second one should have been “oarswomen”.
19a – straight out of The Crimson Tome.
Sorry, I don’t understand. What is “The Crimson Tome”?
Chambers Dictionary also known as the Big Red Book (because it is).
Thank you for enlightening me.
4*/4* …
liked 18D “They scrub toilet rapidly, endlessly ! (6)”