Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31224
Hints and tips by Falcon
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Ottawa, where spring has finally arrived – about a month later than the calendar would have one believe. In Canada, spring is Stanley Cup Playoffs season, the competition for the championship of the National Hockey League. I can now well empathize with those on the blog who have lately been bemoaning the fate of their favourite football clubs. The hockey team I root for, the Ottawa Senators, had a dismal start to the season falling to near the bottom of the league. The second half of the season was the polar opposite – the team had one of the best (if not the best) records in the league allowing them to barely squeak into the playoffs. However, that was the end of the fairy tale season and they fell in four straight games in round one.
Today’s puzzle provided a fairly gentle mental workout to prepare us for the more demanding offerings we will undoubtedly encounter later in the week. UK solvers likely had a bit of an edge on me as it took a few extra minutes to sort out the character from the British children’s novel with whom I was not familiar. As for the setter, the Monday rotation appears to be Weatherman twice a month (on Smyler’s shift) with Heron once a month and the remaining position (today) filled by a mystery setter or setters.
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 Remove head of fruit without speed, turning it (10)
DECAPITATE — the fruit of a palm tree placed outside (without) both a reversal (turning) of a synonym for speed and IT from the clue
6a Terrific story shown in huge picture-house (4)
EPIC — a lurker concealed in (shown in) the final two words of the clue
9a Players I confined to quarters and reprimanded (10)
CASTIGATED — concatenate theatrical players, I from the clue, and a term meaning confined to quarters
10a Animal house reported infection (4)
STYE — sounds like (reported) a notoriously dirty animal shelter
12a Actors’ helpers, perhaps, in old-fashioned transport (12)
STAGECOACHES — split (5,7) this could denote people who help actors perfect their craft
15a Difficulty skimming top off foreign currency (6)
ROUBLE — remove the initial letter (skimming top off) difficulty or hardship
16a Determined in advance Democrat needs it badly (8)
DESTINED — the single letter for Democrat and an anagram (badly) of NEEDS IT
18a Loyalists knock disturbances in the street (8)
PATRIOTS — a charade of a light knock and violent disturbances in the street
19a Church service when in large, elevated area (6)
MASSIF — a church service and a synonym for when
21a Winter G&T cocktail with shot: concocted by one person, but credited to another (5- 7)
GHOSTWRITTEN — an anagram (cocktail) of WINTER G and (&) T and (with) SHOT
24a Return of one chap or another associated with Xmas (4)
NOEL — reverse (return of) one male name to get another male name (this one associated with Christmas)
25a Insolence about dismal period in devout journey (10)
PILGRIMAGE — reverse (about) another term for insolence and append a synonym of dismal and a long period of time
26a Deaf Roman sporting this hairstyle (4)
AFRO — the first two words of the clue are displaying (sporting) the answer
27a Kind EU ally, confused and indelicate (10)
UNLADYLIKE — an anagram (confused) of the first three words of the clue
Down
1d Pack in part of ship (4)
DECK — double definition with the first being a US usage
2d Constant request for beer container (4)
CASK — the mathematical symbol for a constant and another word for request
3d Fashionable until I can be seen filling in jobs for some artists (12)
POINTILLISTS — insert (filling in) all of fashionable or trendy, another very similar word for until, and the I from the clue into jobs or positions
4d First of all, tries wild and noisy guitar sound? (6)
TWANGS — the initial letters of the words following the indicator (first of all); the entire clue serves as the wordplay in which the definition is embedded; Senf’s musical offering in his review of yesterday’s cryptic would be a good accompaniment to this clue – although Duane Eddy might take issue with this description of his playing style
5d Ditch final third of fodder in plate (8)
TRENCHER — a ditch and the last two letters (final third) of FODDER
7d Unevenness of feature aboard head ship (10)
PATCHINESS — a facial feature inplanted in (aboard) another word for an anatomical head, all of which is followed by the letters designating a sailing ship
8d Fed up as dairy product, initially delicious, gets rancid (7,3)
CHEESED OFF — link together a dairy product, the first letter (initially) of DELICIOUS, and (gets) rancid or spoiled
11d Place in the desert has its cake tally prepared (4,4,4)
SALT LAKE CITY — an anagram (prepared) of ITS CAKE TALLY
13d Decent butcher’s uttered deliberate misinformation (10)
PROPAGANDA — in the common dialect of Crosswordland, this sounds like (uttered) synonyms of decent and the Cockney meaning of butcher’s
14d He sells lots of gold once rite’s arranged (10)
AUCTIONEER — string together the chemical symbol for gold and an anagram (arranged) of ONCE RITE
17d Top actor autograph: Leo perhaps (4,4)
STAR SIGN — a top actor and a verb meaning to autograph
20d Dump person on mother? It’s a mark of shame (6)
STIGMA — a literary dump dweller and an informal name for one’s mother
22d One research facility put up in tropical island (4)
BALI — a reversal (put up in a down clue) of the Roman numeral for one and a shortened scientific research facility
23d Give up plant ovule, reportedly (4)
CEDE — sounds like (reportedly) a plant ovule
Let us know in the comments which clue or clues appealed to you.
Quickie pun:: WORE + TURF + AWL = WATERFALL
On This Day …
… in 1959, Scottish singer, recording artist and actress Sheena Easton was born. She had the 1980 UK No.3 & 1981 US No.1 single ‘Morning Train, Nine To Five’. Easton’s other hits include the James Bond theme ‘For Your Eyes Only’, ‘U Got the Look’ with Prince and ‘We’ve Got Tonight’ with Kenny Rogers.
A great start to the week although 3d gave pause for thought. It was my last in because all the checkers were needed. I was surprised to see the G&T cocktail so soon after it appeared last but I suppose coincidences do occur. For some reason, I got the name associated with Xmas the wrong way round and that held things up for a while. I liked the actors’ helpers at 12a but my COTD is the rancid dairy product at 8d.
Thank you, setter for getting the week off to a good start. Thank you, Falcon for the hints.
An enjoyable start to the week but it still made me think. Had to check the meaning of 5d.
Top picks for me were 13d, 8d, 20d and 25a.
Thanks to Falcon and the setter.
I had to start at the bottom, and work my way up. But a nice gentle first one of the week. I was amused at the thought of the deaf Roman.
Funny, I often start at the bottom , but especially today, like you. Thank you Mr Falcon for helping me get the top line and thank you setter .
I think I would describe today’s offering as ‘sticky in places’. I got off to a slow start for some reason with not much leaping out at me in the first pass. 1a seemed fairly obvious but it took me a few moments to parse it, 3d made no sense at all and the long anagrams were of no help without checkers.
However, with a few easier down clues sorted things started to fall into place and the whole thing turned itself into a very enjoyable experience.
I had to seek advice from Mr G to parse 20d, a man from a car show?, a scruffy person?, before settling on a children’s book.
So many clues to like with 8d, 13d, 9a, 12a, 21a and 25a all catching my eye for various reasons but my COTD was, by a long way, 3d
Thanks to the setter and Falcon for the hints.
Mondays are getting a bit tougher which is no bad thing. I just need to be ready for it. For example, the parsing of 1a would typically be found at the end of the week.
4d is such a great onomatopoeic word and I’ve never heard of the plate in 5d. My LOI was the Legoed 3d because I was convinced part of it was an anagram. I also didn’t know it had a double L.
My pody picks are 12a, 25a and 27a.
MTT…hmm, now let me see…Heron (?) and Falcs.
3*/3*
A tad chewier than Mondays past, but very enjoyable all the same. Honorable mentions for 19a, 10a and 11d but cotd goes to 5d. Thanks to compiler and Falcon.
Party like it’s 2569.
A quick Thai fact before my crossword comment. Here in Thailand we use the Buddhist calendar as well as the western version, so it’s 2569 here. Given the huge difference and the easy conversion; add 543 years, confusion is rare as to what version is being quoted but official documents seem to use both versions interchangeably.
I thought today’s challenge was a step up from previous Monday’s and was all the more enjoyable for it. I needed the cryptic element to parse the clue which, for me, is often not the case at the start of the week. Thanks to Falcon and the setter.
One more Thai titbit, which is date related as per the first comment and I personally find incredible. The naming of the days of the week in Thai, follows exactly the common western system. Sunday in Thailand is day of the sun, Monday is moon day, the following days are named after the planets related to the same Nordic, Germanic, Greek and Roman Gods as in the western system and we end with Saturn’s day. For me this makes the world seem much smaller and more interconnected.
We love it, Atib!
When I try to party, I feel like it’s 2569 in our calendar!!!!!!
A gentle introduction to the week – thanks to our setter and Falcon.
Will we get 21a again tomorrow?
I liked 9a and 20d.
Very odd, and interesting, that the ‘long uns’ were last in..
I managed to make heavier weather of this guzzle than it should have been. A slow start convinced me that this was tougher than your typical Monday saunter, but as I got into it it wasn’t so bad after all and everything was fairly clued. LOI was the dotty artists at 3d which also counts as my COTD.
My thanks to the setter and Falcon
1.5*/3*
Slowed down by two or three of the longer ones especially 3d; I wonder if Terence had an early morning visit from members of the committee. 2.5*/3.5*
Candidates for favourite – 9a, 26a, 1d, and 8d – and the winner is 1d.
Thanks to whomsoever and Falcon.
2*/4*. Slightly tougher than the average Monday, but nevertheless great fun.
Is “in the street!” necessary in 18a?
My podium selection is 25a, 8d, 13d & 20d.
Many thanks perhaps to Heron, and to Falcon.
This was a pleasant and gentle start to the week after a few days away watching cricket. Despite the relative ease of the solve, it was still an enjoyable and rewarding exercise with plenty of inventive and entertaining clues, none better than 20d.
Thanks to our Monday setter and Falcon.
Compared to Mondays of time past this was no walk in the park.
1a set the tone – a tricky construct. 3d and 5d also gave food for thought.
13d favourite today.
Thanks to Falcon and ?Heron
It’s been a few weeks since I last had an outing – so maybe some of you weren’t expecting to see me again on a Monday. But the humour might have given you a hint?
Hope to see you again in May
Thank you for a fun puzzle to solve and blog — and thank you for dropping by to claim authorship.
Thank you, X-Type for a fun puzzle and for popping in. It is always appreciated. 😊
* / ****
Found this at the easier end of Monday puzzles, which seems a bit out of kilter with others. Maybe I’m more in tune having not had time to do (and be bamboozled by) the weekend puzzles yet – probably the norm now that the bowls season has started!
3d was a new word to me, as was the 5d plate but both clued superbly. Ticks went to the indelicate 27a, the 20d Dump person and the 9a reprimand.
Many thanks to X-Type and Falcon.
Now I know why I found this slightly trickier than the normal Monday fare following X-type’s admission of guilt!
Id never heard of 3d before but the clue led me neatly to the answer, though it was my last in, other than that it was an enjoyable guzzle with plenty of smiles
Thanks to Falcon and the aforementioned X-type
You’ve expanded your alias (from Sim) – both will work from now on.
I know, sorry, autocorrect strikes again!
Tough for me today. I don’t seem to get on with Monday puzzles.
Needed help with 7d…just could not see it…and the parsing of 1a eluded me.
Favourite 6d…..I like a good trencherman…..makes the meal prep worth it.
Thanks to the setter and to Falcon.
Like others have already stated, I found this tougher than normal for a Monday, particularly the NE corner which took as much time as the other three corners. 3d was my LOI and is a new word for me. I was expecting a challenge this morning after yesterday`s Prize Puzzle which I thought was very easy. I am glad that I am not alone in finding today`s puzzle a bit of a head wrecker in places. Many thanks to the setter and hinter…..
Much trickier that usual for a monday but I really enjoyed the battle. Quite a few would not be out of place in a thurday/friday puzzle for difficulty in parsing. Top marks for enjoyment even if it used up more of my day than expected! Thanks to the setter and to Falcon
It seens that Monday puzzles are becooming less distinguishable from those on the other days of the week. I found it hhard to get into but it got easier as the checkers went in. So I’m glad I didn’t give up. I liked the geographical anagram at 11d, the lego clueartists at 3d and the journey at 25a. Thanks to the compiler and to Falcon for the hints
Like Senf, I also thought that Terence would be summoning the Board to discuss 3d. It did help to have studied art, like wot I did! I also liked the winter G&T cocktails. Altogether fair and doable I thought – I am not sure why we expect Monday to be easier , have we all had a head- banging weekend? We are having our Covid vaccination this afternoon and so many friends have said they had a bad reaction so I am a little apprehensive. Many thanks to The Setter and to Falcon. 13d my favourite, I liked the decent butcher.
My Covid jab was fine DG.
I didn’t find this Monday puzzle a normal Monday offering, that is, relatively gentle and straightforward. A lot of quite tricky clues today that caused a tougher solve … at last for me
2.5*/3* today.
Favourites 12a, 15a, 21a, 8d & 22d — with co-winner’s 12a & 22d
Thanks to X-Type & Falcon
Rather unusual to encounter an obscure word such as 3d this early in the week, I’d agree this was slightly more difficult than our standard Monday fare.
The dump-dweller in 20d made me smile. When it was on TV back in the 80s, we used to refer to scruffy dressed people as looking like the title character.
The misinformation at 13d has to be my COTD, it’s definitely speaking my language.
My thanks to X-Type and Falcon.
Yes definitely trickier than most Mondays. I went back to look for the children’s book and realised that I had taken it to be from Top Gear!!
I originally thought this was hard for a Monday, but my eventual time indicated it was not. The switch seemed to occur when I stopped treating it like a Monday puzzle, and started being more patient and forensic when teasing apart the clues. It sped up rapidly at that point. 3d was last in, like many others have already said, but very gettable with the checkers. Overall I enjoyed this one quite a lot. **/****
Interesting you say this , as it’s true. ‘Monday is always easy’ I think . Look at the first clue for 10 seconds .. look at the second… and so on , not getting any instant answers, before realising that I need to apply myself, engage brain and start over. Glad it’s not just me.
A DNF due to 3d, which I’ve never heard of and probably will have forgotten by tomorrow. But I was very pleased to complete the rest of this enjoyable puzzle. Thanks to all.
Thanks to Falcon and X-Type. Unlike most we found this a relatively quick solve. Maybe sat in the bright sunshine helped! COTD 13d. LOI 16a
Surprised no one commented on 11d. One of the best anagrams I’ve seen for a long while. It wasn’t until I had 25 and 27a filled in that I got it.
Although not an arts buff I have always liked the works of Seurat and others pointallists including Matisse , so 3d was one of the first to fall . For me this was in keeping with recent Monday offerings and I appreciate the slight upward trend in difficulty.But — I cut my teeth on the Monday crossword and if it had been much harder I may not have pursued cryptic crosswords .So ! Caution perhaps .7d was for me the most difficult clue and I needed help, although it couldn’t have been anything else . Favourites include 12a , and 8d . Without being to botanical about it, the ovule is not a seed in the true sense of the word .It needs to be fertilised before it begins to reach seed like status . Many thanks to all .
As others have said I too found this harder than the usual Monday , and had to notch it up a gear to get into it. Some interesting parsings too. I could not parse 13d , despite saying the definition out – I missed the Cockney rhyming slang totally. An excellent clue. 7d was clever too as I assumed the head was the ‘ness’ until I thought about it at the end. Spent too long on the anagrams, and had assumed the place in the desert at 11d was some place in the Middle East I had never heard of 🙄. so that was one of my last in . A couple of new words too. Pointillists being one, and I spent a while trying to slot in a u as assumed it was an anagram of until. All in all it was a wily and enjoyable little beast. Thanks to X Type and Falcon.
I enjoyed this a lot, though I didn’t actually manage to finish it: I hadn’t heard of the 3d artists, and got stuck trying to make the first bit either ‘paint’ or ‘print’. Nor did I know the 19a elevate area, or the plate. And thank you to Falcon for explaining one of the 1d definitions, as well as helping out with 7d (where I’d got stuck on ‘head = ness’).
Highlights for me included the 12a actors’ helpers, the decent butcher’s in 13d, the 17d autograph, and the 10d Dump person. Thank you to X-Type.
I enjoyed this very much but thought it.tricker than some weeks. I did not know 3d or 5d and had 20d as my favourite as it reminded me of childhood.
Many thanks to X-type and to Falcon for the hints
2*/3.5* A very enjoyable slightly trickier than normal Monday puzzle.
Favourites include the place in the desert at 11d, misinformation at 13d and remove head at 1a
Many thanks to X Type and Falcon
I didn’t find this overly difficult, like recent weekday crosswords, following a spell of poor form which I find heartening, maybe I’m not losing it after all. No doubt my refound confidence will come crashing down tomorrow. Favourite was 25a. Thanks to X-Type and Falcon.
I liked this meaty Monday offering, a pleasant after-work solve in the garden.
Pody picks awarded to 7D’s Lego and solution, 20D’s Dumpy character, and 5D’s new plate.
Thanks to setter and Falcon ⭐️
I managed to fall neatly into the pit holes, but nevertheless enjoyed the challenge. I guess the Stig books were some of the few I never read to our daughters, so I literally had no clue on 20d. I also had never heard of the 5d plate, but the checkers said it had to be. Despite the sticky spots this was fun, and even more satisfying when I realised it was from X-type. Thanks to himself and Falcon.