Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31229 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
(hosted by crypticsue)
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A warm sunny morning, with mist creeping in over the marshes, brings a crossword that was just right for a Saturday Prize Puzzle – my particular favourite was 9a
Please ask for help if you are stuck on clues I haven’t hinted, but before doing so, please read the comments that appear before yours, so that you are not duplicating questions, and make sure you obey both THE INSTRUCTIONS IN RED at the end of the Hints and the blog’s Comment Etiquette – Big Dave’s Crossword Blog)
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.
Across
1a Ring and chatter excitedly, wanting king to lead dangerous expedition (4,3,3)
Encountering great person hazard for the sake of others – a verb meaning to ring and an anagram (excitedly) of CHATTEr (without – wanting – the Latin abbreviation for king
9a Police leader? Smart! (5)
Nothing to do with Chief Constables! The leader of Police or a sharp pain (smart)
15a Spooner’s destiny: coastal city that’s horrible (7)
Spooner muddling up destiny with the name of a city on the coast of Yorkshire
17a Officer housed by fine homeless charity (7)
An abbreviated officer ‘housed’ by very thin (fine)
22a Old people snap tigers on vacation (5)
An informal photograph (snap) and the outside letters (on vacation) of TigerS
27a One times spinner cutting sample of fabric (9)
Something that spins ‘cutting’ a fabric sample
30a Eighty red fans going after black – that’s keen (6-4)
An anagram (fans) of EIGHTY RED goes after the abbreviation for Black
Down
1d Badenoch initially remains in party (4)
The initial letter of Badenoch and some burnt remains
3d Animal in children’s game here, having shed its skin (5)
A children’s game of chase and the inside (having shed its skin) letters of hERe
4d Just this Roman and others around (7)
A Latin phrase meaning and other people and things goes ‘around’ the Latin (Roman) word for this
16d Worries over wife cut by a sharp tool (7)
Worries about goes over (in a Down solution) the abbreviation for Wife ‘cut’ by A (from the clue)
18d Everything extremely suspect in Conservative lie (4,5)
Everything and the extreme letters of SuspecT inserted into Conservative
23d Near dead-end road (5)
Very near or a dead-end road
26d Drove that woman mad at last (4)
That woman and the last letter of maD
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The Quick Crossword pun: KNOT + WHELK + HOME = NOT WELCOME
3*/2.5*. A mixed bag for me today which, overall, I found quite challenging.
I’ve never heard of 1a but it was fairly clued. I was surprised both to see Spooner’s city in 15a described as coastal, and to find one answer appearing in another clue. I can’t make any sense at all out of the surface for 27a.
I suppose I should be grateful that we haven’t had a vague person for some considerable time (but I certainly wouldn’t dream of describing the 29a woman today as vague!)
It often crops up in Rookie Corner that “tail” means only the last letter of a word, so I don’t think 25d works.
Thanks to the setter and to CS.
Hi RD
Replace ‘One’ with ‘He or she’ in 27a.
The tail works for me, ie two letters not one, as there is more than one in a batting line-up and a peloton. I appreciate that isn’t the tradition but I’m okay with the setters trying to break new ground with this one.
I know I’ve said it before but I do find it intriguing that you have an aversion with names but not other categories, many of which are bigger.
I’d prefer ‘it’ to He or she’ – i.e. ‘this thing’.
You’re right, Harry. Apologies.
This was a fairly straightforward solve with nothing to scare the proverbials.
I haven’t heard of the alternative term for the children’s game nor the dangerous expedition (I’ve just seen its origin which is a goodie)
My pody picks are 6a, 1d and 18d.
MTT the non-New York setter and she of the crypt.
2*/4*
The dialect map for the game would suggest that you live south of a line from the Wash to the Severn estuary (or Welsh!)
You are correct, Sloops.
Solid and gentle fare for a grey and dull but so far dry Saturday morning in the SW. 1a entirely new to me, but the directions were clear. Honours to COTD 27a – nicely misleading definition – with runners-up 6a (for the surface) and 4d because it made me smile.
Many thanks to the setter and the not in the least vague CS
I agree about the Spooner – not coastal IMO.
1a was my LOI and I had to refamiliarise myself with Aesop’s fables
30a earned a wry smile coming hard on the heels of an hour and a half frame of Snooker yesterday.
Nice nod to our blogger today too
Have been a few days behind all week and catching up today.
I found this straightforward until I reached my last clue 1a! Could not make any sense of it and even rechecked all the downs to see if that was the issue. Thanks for the hint above as a last it unravelled and then mr google explained what it means – made me smile.
COTD is definitely 6a although 9,13 & 21a were contenders
1a was my last in, not heard of it before. Otherwise a speedy solve, 27a gets my vote.
Thanks to CS and today’s setter.
Brilliant puzzle, loved every minute of it.
Last one for me oddly enough was the one I looked at first, 1a. Even when I had all the checkers in, I still had the wrong first word for ages until the penny (very loudly) dropped.
God alone knows how I got 2d, but must have been hidden way back in the old noggin somewhere.
Not a bad clue to be found anywhere, so no real standouts for me today, as they’re all good.
Managed to do most of this on a sunny walk back from Worthing park run 🏃🏻♂️, finished while watching this morning’s snooker 🎱
Some interesting bits indeed in this puzzle – didn’t know the 1A expression but I like it a lot, didn’t know the 3D game. I was writing here that I don’t see how the second part of 24A works – then I got it 🙂, that’s called rubber ducking in the software development world.
Pody poppers are 1A’s new expression which I’ll be sure to use, 24A’s sufferers (now I’ve parsed it), and 1D’s surface.
Thanks to setter and to CS ⭐️
I had a few too many raised eyebrows to fully enjoy this one. Like others, 1a was new to me, as was the alternative spelling in 3d. I didn’t have a particular favourite but I did like 24a.
Thanks to our Saturday setter and Sue.
A first look made me wonder whether a solve, whilst highly desirable, might prove to be impossible…once I solved 1a all was well.
The trips back to Roman and Iron Age times solved via the clues but had to be looked up for confirmation.
I was pretty sure I had the right answer, but I struggled to parse 15a because I thought there was a letter missing. Likewise, I am still trying to parse 6a and will continue to do so before submitting – the penny will drop eventually.
Top of my list for COTD is 24a with 14d as a runner up.
Many thanks to the setter and crypticissue
Re 6a, if you take the first letters (‘at first’) of the antepenultimate word in the clue and its three preceding words (‘sent over’ = reversed), you will arrive at the name of a person who wrote in ‘bars’.
Thanks Harry….I had an answer that used 75% of the right letters in the right order and was 100% wrong! I was very cleverly deceived but can now rest easy. Appreciate you help
What a curious puzzle. Never heard of the 1a phrase so had to check my answer via Snr G. Never came across its use either. Something learned. The east was relatively straightforward, but the west was a different kettle. Still not sure of the parsing of 14d so will have to make a mental note to check mid-week. Cotd is the witty 9a. Thanks to NYDK (?) and CS
Yes I had a very lop-sided grid at one stage, a full house on the east and very little on the western front 😸
A real curate’s egg for me starting with 1a which was a ‘it has to be’ with e-confirmation! Ditto on RD’s comment on 29a! ***/***
Candidates for favourite – 6a, 17a, 27a, 4d, and 25d – and the winner is 6a.
Thanks to whomsoever and CS.
What a great puzzle for a Saturday morning , just enough to disturb the grey matter . Thought 14 , 9 and 27 pick of a good bunch . Didn’t know the game, (so kicked it down the road ! ) sorry frivolous .North East last quadrant to fall . Fans ,30, is a new one for me . Thanks to all .
Now look here! Please take my advice. Don’t bother entering for the prize. The Bic biro is definitely mine this week. I have undertaken lengthy discussions with the Axel Springer media group, and they have agreed that it is my turn this week. So, I repeat, please don’t bother sending in your entry. You are simply wasting your own time and that of Mathias Döpfner. He is far too busy packaging up my biro to trouble himself looking at your entries.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Additionally, thanks to the setter, and PC Security (anag) in the misty marshland. Love to Jane.
Is it only a biro ! Thought that it would be a fountain pen if in fact it ever existed.
Had a bad night after the Covid jab but received TLC from husband and rest in bed with the crossword.
It is complete but it has been a slog. I cannot see how 6 across is parsed. 4 down took me back to lessons where the mistress would knock one’s head with the board rubber. The bald cockney raised a smile and 2 down was a challenge for spelling. Thanks to CS and setter and all the comments that confirmed that others found problems along the way.
Have a look at Post 10. I had the same issue with 6a and Harry kindly helped me out,
A rather uneven puzzle IMO. I had heard the rxpression at 1a, although it is not used that often nowadays and got it quitte quickly. Ialso loked the musical lego clue at 2d and the reverse lurker at12a. I think the town in the Spoonerism might have been more accurately called port. Thanks to the compiler and to Senf for the hints.
The Spoonerism only really works if you pronounce the City/Port with a northern accent, so being a soft southerner it took me a while to get it. Never heard of 1a but the clue worked and 3d took me a while as my accent once again was at a disadvantage! 27a my COTD
Thanks to setter n Sue
1*/ 4* A light and enjoyable Saturday puzzle with lots of wit.
Like many 1a was new to me, but had to be and I had an alternative to 9a which almost worked!
Favourites today include the 10a note producer, the 6a barman and the 2d theme to complete a musical trio
Thanks to Sue and compiler