Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3369 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg on the middle day of a holiday long weekend, which is forecast to be quite soggy especially today, celebrating the 207th Anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria who is remembered as The Mother of Confederation.
So, Terence, what was the ‘something’ that went wrong at Wembley yesterday?
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada almost as quirky as last Sunday – four long ‘uns (two of them not anagrams), four anagrams (two partials), one lurker, and one homophone, all in a symmetric 32 clues; with 16 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 – 1a, 5a, 19a, 26a, 1d, 4d, 8d, and 24d.
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 Greed a weakness, tart essentially scoffed (7)
The middle letters (essentially) of tARt contained (scoffed) by A from the clue and a type of weakness.
9a Shrink referring to Victorian book, struggle to cope (4,2,4,5)
A synonym of shrink (as in decrease in value?), a two letter term equivalent to referring to, and a Victorian book written by this chap.
11a Sovereign – item found in classroom? (5)
A double definition – the first is a generic term.
15a Gate, hinge gone (7)
Not a double definition – a verbal synonym of hinge and an adjectival synonym of gone (away?) – Terence contributed to one yesterday.
21a Finn McCool, Fianna chap, champ ultimately (4)
The last letters (ultimately) of four words in the clue.
23a Nicked by students, a rotten old 11 Across (4)
The lurker (nicked by) found in three words in the clue.
26a Jazz Age passed in a riot, singer out of control (7,8)
Brilliant! A synonym of passed inserted into (in) an anagram (out of control) of A RIOT, SINGER.
28a Failure of new hero, out of the running (7)
An anagram (failure) of NEW HERO.
Down
1d Trees in centre of Seattle, initially (2,5)
Not a first letter selection! Cone bearing trees inserted into the (three) centre letters of SeATTle.
3d Hearts in bid strong, also one club (4)
The centres (hearts) in bId stROng and (also) oNe.
7d Whatever rhinoceros I name runs wild (4,4,2,5)
A ‘meteorological’ anagram (runs wild) of RHINOCEROS I NAME.
8d Royal I back on one point (7)
The royal ‘version’ of the pronoun I and a (nautical) synonym of back.
13d Australian native, well generous (5)
The abbreviated form of a member of Australian fauna and a synonym of well as an interjection.
19d Old PM stripped of crowning glory, success (7)
A four letter (easy) way of saying stripped of crowning glory and a three letter synonym of success.
20d Divine sources of silver etc. secured by payment (7)
The sources of silver, etc (as in what they are extracted from) contained (secured) by a synonym of payment (for a service?).
25d Heading for shelter today, drifter? (4)
The first letter of (heading for) Shelter and a three letter adverb equivalent to today.
Quick Crossword Pun:
OFFISH + COLD + WANDER = A FISH CALLED WANDA – well, it took a long time for that penny to drop!
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A memory of The Eurovision Song Contest when it didn’t drag on for so long and international politics and conflicts were not influencing issues. The winner of the contest in 1980, held on April 19th of that year in The Hague, was Australian-born* Irish singer, songwriter and musician Johnny Logan singing What’s Another Year which reached number one on the UK charts for two weeks on today’s date of that year:
* His father, Charles Sherrard, was a Derry-born Irish tenor better known as Patrick O’Hagan, and happened to be touring Australia at the time of Logan’s birth.
I see from the DT report that Bulgaria won this years contest and it seems that the UK might have been better off joining the five countries that boycotted the competition.
Morning this was fun! Was waiting for the post to land as I was having trouble with 8d couldn’t parse it so thank you!
All the four long answers were brilliant today but I think my favourite was 2d as it was first in and unlocked the puzzle for me.
I also liked the two countries and 19d
Thanks for a lovely start to a Sunday – I can hear the grandkids making noise downstairs so have to dash.
‘So, Terence, what was the ‘something’ that went wrong at Wembley yesterday?’
(sigh…)
For me, and I stress for me (© Senf), it was a sad (in sporting terms) day yesterday. The Mighty Chelsea matched the Mancunians for much of the match, but we were undone by a moment of magic from the improving winger, Antoine Semenyo – exactly the exciting sort of player Chelsea would buy before the hedge fund people moved in.
Losing finals at Wembley has become an all too familiar experience in the last few years (another sigh…).
Then, on returning home, we watched the Eurovision Song Contest which was the dullest in living memory, although I did pick the winner.
Great guzzle; enjoyed unravelling it whilst consuming gruel and orange juice without any bits.
Thanks to Da-doo-ron-ron and the ever splendid, if potentially damp, Man From Manitoba.
My firstt pass yielded not a single clue but a PDM with 2d helped me to get goibg on thw ledt hand side if ths challenging puzzle abd tocomplwte the SW and NE corners.Then i began to fear that I would fall at the last hurdle wirh both 15a and 13d holding out unttil the end. I particularly enjoyed the two geographical clues at 17d, 13a and 17a. My joint clues of the day were, however, the long literary lego clue at 9a and the sneaky synonym at 13d. Thanks to Dada for an enjoyable struggle and to Sebf for the hints
This was a steady solve that was enjoyable to complete as I shudder when I see four 4 letter and four 5 letter answers. Sure enough, they were my last three to drop (3d, 13d & 22a) that took me into the next time zone.
I liked the use of ‘hearts’ in a clue, the surface of which was probably gobbledeegook to most people. I said it recently but it is SUCH a great game. My father loved playing 3 No-trumps as it’s such a dangerous contract if a long suit was against him.
21a was a splendid effort. I’ve heard of the name but not Fianna.
We like the ‘Royal I’.
There’s a nice acronym for the Great Lakes that, to try to avoid having a creamy delight with Pat Coombs on the naughty step, is a homophone of a surname of a famous literary detective.
My podium is 22a, 4d and 8d.
MTT Radio and the Manitoban mountie.
3*/4*
Oh, love the pun.
That was a delight although it took me ages to parse 8d and get 13d.
Top picks for me were 1d, 3d, 13d, 25d, 17a and 26a.
Thanks to Senf for being there if I needed him and to the setter. Thought the Quickie pun was excellent too.
Stayed up to watch the Eurovision and wished I hadn’t bothered. Even Graham Norton’s comments seem to lack their barb/wit this time.
Dada as tricky as last week and thank goodness I got 2d. on the first pass because it was the key to the rest. I read 5d as “Tropical” so was held up for ages there. I should have gone to Specsavers. I loved the royal back at 8d and the country pig at 17a. My COTD is the drain pipe at 4d.
Thank you, Dada for another challenge. Thank you, Colonel for the hints.
Great Quickie pun once I sorted the answers out.
A friend of mine, who claims to have won The Mythical five times on Enigma Variations gave me one this morning. I have my doubts because anyone can make up things these days what with AI (not anagram indicator) and three dimensional printing. Still, it might serve as bait for The Mythical itself.
All of that sounds as if I am ungrateful for the gift. I am not and am grateful to my friend for giving me a pen even if he did have “DT” engraved on it. 🤣🤣🤣
You weren’t the only one with tropical Steve. It didn’t help that I’d just read an article on canned tropical fruit!
Me too with tropical!😁
All the best people read it as tropical
It’s not a pen you want, Steve, it’s the winning thereof. You’re more than welcome to mine, which has lain in a drawer somewhere for years. It’s a fountain pen, as you’re aware. Who uses those these days, apart from Registrars for signing death certificates? Keep trying and you could be a winner, though the elation is short lived. As for winning five, all for EVs, well the chances of that are minuscule, I fancy.
That’s exactly what I said to my friend, Phil, that I hadn’t won it. He seemed to understand. I suppose there is more chance of The Mythical with an EV because fewer enter?
Ha ha, I’m another who read it as tropical and spent ages trying to figure out a fruit beginning with c.
Most definitely not a walk in the park, but very satisfying to complete and there were some cracking clues. 26a was my favourite and I enjoyed all the long clues.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints.
An early morning walk and a mid puzzle hour in the garden did nothing to make today’s offering gentle. The first pass yielded little except 2d and 9a (I’m a fan of the bearded gentleman) which got me started.
Got stuck on 5d because I spent too long trying to make a ‘tropical’ rather than ‘topical’ fruit fit. I followed Senf’s advice and had my BRB to hand for 22a and 6d.
Spent far longer than normal on this but If it’s a Dada production I have struggled previously to get myself on the right wavelength. I hope that, as with most things, practice will help.
Many thanks to the setter and Senf for the hints.
A nicely testing puzzle this morning, no walkover by any means. Good balance of clue types with admirable self-restraint on the use of anagrams. COTD 8d.
Many thanks to the setter and Senf
2.5*/3*. This was good fun. I found most of it reasonably straightforward but there was a bit of a sting in the tail with my last few in.
The definition for 8d doesn’t quite work for me. Without risking the naughty step, can anyone supply a sentence where “on one point” can be replaced by the answer?
I’ll have to pick 4d as my favourite as I’ve spent the last hour unblocking a drain pipe!
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.
RD, 8d. I don’t think the “on” is part of the definition. It means that the synonym of back is “on” (the end of)/added to the Royal we. Leaving “one point” which the answer is an example of. That’s how I see it.
Thanks Jose, but I’m still not convinced as “one point” is a nounal phrase and the answer is an adjective.
Yes, you’ve got a grammatical point there – can’t argue with that!
Think of “on” being used in the sense of concerning or relating to. Then “on one point” is an adjective phrase.
Adjectival (auto corrupt strikes again)
Thoroughly enjoyable – didn’t understand 8d until I read the hint – last in was 20d as I had the wrong payment – I often struggle with the Sunday v other days so a good solve
BTW – I did want Chelsea to win yesterday also BUT I am a Celtic supporter 😊⚽️ so a good day really
I started well with the across clue apart from 9a which was second last in. My education didn’t stretch to the Author’s 10th novel!
I take issue with 17a, surely the part answer is a product if said pig and not a synonym … just wondering?
Last in 8d after some head scratching
Lots to pick for cotd but I think it goes to 25d.
Thanks to setter and Senf.
I ground this one out with very few in the first pass. I figure 4 long-uns would help and I was not wrong. With them in the rest came steadily together with the Australian, the parasite and upbeat last to fall. My podium consists of 17a, 21a and 8d. Odd to
Very gratifying to finish without recourse to the hints.
Thanks to Dada and Senf
2.5*/3.5*
I really enjoyed today’s offering from Dada and am dropping in to say so! In fact its been a great week all round for crossies!
The long-uns were top notch. 8d was LOI which took a little bit of thought to parse.
Many thanks to Dada and Senf for the hints
I had hoped that the four long clues might have helped in the solve, but 26a took an age, not helped by trying to use a wrong synonym in the wordplay so all in all it had to be ground out over some considerable time. Overall a stiff challenge. The country pig at 17a gets my vote as cotd. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
I fully agree with Senf’s intro comments with Dada quite unfriendly again this week. Quirky and a definitely a well thumbed through personal thesaurus are very evident. Top of puzzle was easier than the bottom … but none of it was easy.
3*/3.5*
Favourites include 1a, 5a, 11a, 17a, 2d & 19d — with co-winners 17a & 19d
Smiles for 5d, 11a, 2d & 5d
Thanks again Dada for the brain mangling & Senf for blog/hints
A lovely puzzle that took up an appropriate portion of my Sunday. The pig in farm noises at 17a was my COTD. Thanks very much to Dada and to Senf.
Add another to the list of those needing the hint for the parsing of 8d. Never would have got the ‘Royal I’ without it so huge thanks to Senf. Smooth sailing apart from that but very enjoyable. Thanks to the setter
2.5* / 4* The north seemed more straightforward than the south, but it all fell into place nicely with the generous 13d last to fall.
Favourites the aforementioned 13d, the country at 17a and Jazz Age at 26a
The tenuous quickie was also excellent.
Many thanks to Senf and compiler
A sleepy effort this morning … I started ok then got rather stuck, in various places. 26A’s jazzy number took me a while, and helped pave the way. LOI was 13D, I do tend to miss the well / my pair.
Pody posse is 1A’s surface and I like the word, 9A’s shrink-inducing book, and 26A’s lively phrase plus it was the centrepiece of my puzzle fortunes today.
Thanks to setter and Senf ⭐️
I think I decided this weeks was tough as last Sunday’s so made heavy weather of a few clues that were actually quite straightforward. For example 11a , with both checkers in place I could see only one word , that would not parse so it was clearly wrong , and I could not get beyond that. When I read 23a , I burst out laughing as well, if you can guess the other word I was thinking …. say no more. I had to check the hint in the end. Similarly 3d, which I also had to look up. Still thinking about the parsing of 8d, which I also had to look up as did others. I thought this one wasn’t as bad as last week’s , but down to my own blind spots made it more difficult than it was. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
I found this challenging, but it’s good to be challenged sometimes, and it was certainly fun as well. I liked the grid, with the four long phrases plus plenty of shorter answers. Highlights include Finn McCool in 21a, the out-of-control singer in 26a, and the parasite cleaner in 18d. Thank you to Dada, and also to Senf whose hints I definitely needed today.
3*/3* …
liked 17A “Country pig overwhelmed by noises on farm (7)”
The least enjoyable for a long time. Too much quirkiness! Thanks Senf for your help and Dada for a struggle.
I need the hints when only half done, so a pathetic effort on my part today. I’ll blame it on being stressed by packing for our trip to Bermuda tomorrow. I know, don’t sweat the small stuff. But this trip has been an and off so much that it is hard to believe it is actually happening, fingers crossed. Dada has definitely upped the ante the last few Sundays, with 8d being my LI. At least I did start by solving 2d and 7d which definitely helped. Thanks to Dada and especially to Senf, what would 8 do without your hints on Sundays?
Bermuda how lovely
Challenging is a good word for this guzzle, completed over several hours due to many interruptions. 22a was last one in and a guess. I’ve been trying to get the mythical for Steve but now he’s been given one I feel surplus to requirements! This was an interesting grid, getting the four long ones was certainly a help but then there were the tricky four letter jobs. I got the gate st 15a but still don’t see where the hinge comes in. Actually I have just read the hint again and I see it now! I do so agree with Tom about the fascinating game, I used to play every Wednesday night and often other times as well. Happy days. Many thanks to The Setter and to Senf.
In no way are you surplus to requirements, Dayzee! As I said above, I will not believe in The Mythical until it comes summoned by the incantations I chant in the pentangle, each midnight, (Note to self – buy new candles). The spells have to be chanted in a certain, ancient way and will only succeed if Jupiter aligns with Mars but as these two have fallen out with each other, it could be some time.
Until that happens, all pens are imposters! 🤣🤣🤣
Don’t usually have a go at the Sunday puzzle but did tonight whilst watching the ⛳️
Unsure if it’s traditionally harder than Saturday version or vice versa? Anyhow some cracking ones with 3d particularly apt!