Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31242
Hints and tips by Smylers
Hello. Here are hints and explanations for today’s Telegraph crossword. This took me a little while to complete, but if you’re the kind of solver who does the anagrams first, rather than needing to leave them till later when there are lots of crossing letters, then you can probably knock off a difficulty star.
Do leave a comment below saying how you got on, querying what an illustration has to do with a clue, or just giving us a general life update. New commenters are especially welcome. Please follow the etiquette guide that Big Dave left us.
Across
1a Search advanced into blacksmith’s workshop (6)
FORAGE: Insert the abbreviation for ‘advanced’ into a word for a blacksmith’s workshop. If that gives you ‘Smaithy’, pick a different workshop word and try again.
4a Doctor bathes in booze (8)
ABSINTHE: Doctor the order of the letters in the next two words.
9a Rogue artist’s still losing millions (6)
RASCAL: After the usual artist and the possessive S from the clue, we need a word meaning ‘still’ from which the abbreviation for ‘millions’ has been removed.
10a Reportedly requiring massaging (8)
KNEADING: If you heard somebody report a synonym of ‘requiring’, it would sound like the answer.
12a Dull, annoying person ringing editor then managed to grab the setter (10)
PEDESTRIAN: A word for an annoying person rings round the outside of the shortening of ‘editor’. That’s followed by a word meaning ‘managed’ (in the sense of ‘operated’, rather than ‘succeeded’) which grabs a pronoun the setter could use to refer to themselves.
13a Uncultivated land with space to the west (4)
MOOR: The answer is also a word meaning ‘space’ when read facing west — that is, backwards.
14a Need to pay poet, barely holding on to wife (3)
OWE: Turn ‘poet’ bare by removing its outer letters, then make what’s left hold inside it the abbreivation for ‘wife’.
15a Arrogant vow engineer breaks (11)
OVERWEENING: Break the preceding words and re-assemble their letters in a different order.
18a Better publish about head of government’s digital ID (11)
FINGERPRINT: A fantastic definition. Concatenate a synonym of ‘better’ (in the sense of ‘higher quality’, not ‘gambler’) and a word meaning ‘publish’ (specifically on paper). Insert into those the head letter of ‘government’.
20a Sheep‘s memory (3)
RAM: This word for a subset of sheep is also an acronym for a type of memory chip used in computers.
21a Set of expectations about lyric poem (4)
CODE: Think of a word for a lyric poem and put it at the end. The number of letters remaining tells us which of the multiple short forms that can mean ‘about’ to put at the start.
22a Somehow reaches dim mathematician (10)
ARCHIMEDES: Somehow arrange the letters of the following words.
Pic credit: © Sam Radmall, CC BY-SA 2.0
24a Unqualified able seamen in front of old instrument (8)
ABSOLUTE: Enter in order: a usual sailor made plural; the abbreviation for ‘old’; and a musical instrument (which does happen to be old, but the clue doesn’t actually tell us that, because ‘old’ has already been used up by the preceding element). The answer means ‘unrestricted’, rather than ‘untrained’.
25a Small company importing revolutionary wound plaster (6)
STUCCO: Begin with how a clothing label indicates ‘small’ and end with the abbreviation for ‘Company’. (Feel free at this point to ponder whether it gets used outside of business names and so can also stand for lower-case ‘company’, then leave a comment if you can think of an example.) Into those import a word for a type of wound (as in an injury), which has revolved to turn backwards.
Pic credit: krvvitaliy
26a Regularly see aged toys getting repaired (2,6)
GO STEADY: Repair ‘aged toys’, so their letters are in the correct order for the solution.
27a Friend penning second manuscript for book (6)
PSALMS: A book of The Bible is formed from a word for ‘friend’ penning inside it the letter that indicates second(s), all followed by the abbreviation for ‘manuscript’.
Down
1d Not combustible if looking up concerning evidence (9)
FIREPROOF: Enter in order: ‘if’ from the clue, turned round so it looks up the grid; the usual ‘concerning’; and some evidence that shows something to be the case.
2d What remains of troops you heard breaching flank (7)
RESIDUE: We start with the abbreviation for some specific military troops — the usual engineers. Follow that with a synonym for ‘flank’ which has been breached by the letter that can be heard when somebody says ‘you’.
3d Prime minister sending lads to nearby houses (9)
GLADSTONE: The name of a prime minister is housed inside consecutive letters in the clue.
5d Boxer and outlaw intoxicated, drinking in the morning with European (12)
BANTAMWEIGHT: ‘Outlaw’ here is a verb; we need a synonym for it. Follow that with a colloquial term which can mean ‘intoxicated’, and which has drunk inside it abbreviations for all of ‘in the morning‘, ‘with’, and ‘European’.
6d Religious leader‘s Mass supporting current postgraduate (4)
IMAM: The physics symbol for mass goes at the bottom, supporting both the physics symbol for electrical current and some letters that indicate a particular postgraduate qualification.
7d Group of three left one securing parking in capital (7)
TRIPOLI: Concatenate a group of three (playing music, perhaps), the abbreviation for ‘left’, and the Roman numeral for ‘one’; then make the combination secure inside it the letter seen on road signs to indicates parking.
8d Article in Madrid newspaper about composer (5)
ELGAR: Start with a grammatical article that could be used by somebody in Madrid. Append a derogatory term for a newspaper, turned about.
11d Unconventional, suspect I prefer diets (4-8)
FREE-SPIRITED: Treat the final 3 words of the clue as suspect, and put their letters in a different order.
16d Guesses friend enters sites getting renovated (9)
ESTIMATES: A word for a friend (a different one from 27a) enters into the letters of ‘sites’ after they’ve been renovated into a different order.
Pic credit: © Bethany Khan, CC BY-ND 2.0
17d Programmes in Georgia question occupying military dining hall (4,5)
GAME SHOWS: Start with the abbreviation for the state of Georgia used in addresses. Then we the term for a military dining hall, which is occupied by one of the words in English that denote a question.
19d Detectives probing crazy people with no clothes on (7)
NUDISTS: A usual detective is made plural and then probes inside a synonym for ‘crazy’.
(If you’d like an illustration for this clue, you’ll have to search for a suitable image yourself.)
20d Militant section of placid army in retreat (7)
RADICAL: Make a couple of words from the clue retreat, so they’re facing the other way, then take a section from them.
21d Loud noise from family dog’s bottom (5)
CLANG: Follow a word for ‘family’ with the bottom letter of ‘dog’.
23d Wasted on the radio? That’s indecent (4)
BLUE: A word meaning ‘wasted’ (a sum of money, perhaps) if heard on the radio would sound like the answer.
Quickie Pun
In today’s Quick Crossword the first 2 clues are italicized, indicating we can say their answers out loud to make another word, name, or phrase. Reveal the blobs below to check or it inflict an earwork on yourself:
START + WRECK = STAR TREK
Recent Reading
All books sharing stories of under-represented groups should be this entertaining. Kate Fox tells us tails of northern women in a tone clearly signalled by the book’s title Where There’s Muck, There’s Bras, and continued into an early chapter ‘The Hildas’, in which the author groups together St Hilda of Whitby, swimmer Hilda Jones, stage comedian Hylda Baker, and Hilda Ogen from Coronation Street. I was previously unaware of the middle two of those, and I learnt interesting things about all of them. Hilda Jones introduced front crawl to the UK, won a silver medal as a teenager in the 1916 Olympics … but didn’t get to compete in 1920, because her parents wouldn’t let her.
The book is full of stories like this — people we deserve to know more about, many of whom suffered or overcome various setbacks — all written in a sharp and readable style. The author herself tells of how she trained as a radio newsreader, then was declined for jobs on northern radio stations on the grounds that she had a northern accent. (She tells it better than I do.)
I bought this at The Brontë Parsonage, having first encountered Kate Fox last year when she recited a poem about libraries on an episode of Radio 4’s Loose Ends that we were in the audience for, as part of Bradford being the UK’s City of Culture 2025. It zips along — ‘worthy’ only in the sense of being worthwhile, not tedious — and you’ll feel better for knowing more about the women featured, so I can’t think of a reason not to read it.
I found this to be a step up in difficulty for a Monday, but accessible nonetheless. The 4 central long ones took some teasing out, but I took a while too parse 5d. 15a is a new word to me, but available from the anagram and confirmed post solve. 21d raised a flicker of a smile, whilst the boozy doctor at 4a conjured up a bizarre image.
My thanks to the setter and Smylers
1.5*/4*
The Quickie is tricky!
A couple of chewy morsels, but otherwise a steady solve. 20a and 21d raised a smile and I liked the digital ID. From the many contenders I’ve chosen a podium of 13a, 22a and 25a. Thanks to compiler and Smylers.
Nicely straightforward for a typically enjoyable Monday puzzle. Once I’d sorted out the parsing, 5d became my favourite.
My thanks to our setter and Smylers.
A swift and enjoyable puzzle, with many good surfaces and plenty of humour.
Looking forward to seeing what Tom, Steve, Rabbit Dave, Daisy and co. have to say about it during the day…
Many thanks to the setter and to Smylers.
Smylers – continuing re examples of ‘co’ in 25a, I just recalled Kipling’s book, “Stalky & Co.”, although as that usage is in the title of the book it is a capital C. But in any case also not a trading / business name.
Hmmm. You’re right that it isn’t a business name. But that use of it feels like it’s using a pretend business name as an analogy, which would still warrant the capital. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary doesn’t have the abbreviation at all; The Oxford Dictionary of English only has it as ‘Company’ with a capital C.
The BRB has Co. as abbreviation for Company; Collins specifically offers “and co” as an informal abbreviation of “and the rest of them: Harold and co”
Both offer such a broad range of non-commercial definitions, including “any assembly of people” and “the crew of a ship”, and “a group of actors”, I think as to permit such as “Captain Ahab and co”, or “Judi Dench and co”. Perhaps a gathering of only 3 or 4 people might be a “small company”, or a sergeant might be detailed to take a “small company of soldiers to recce that position”?
Today’s crossword was approachable and enjoyable with a nice variety of clues,not wholly without difficulty. I liked the anagram at 15a (and what a lovely word it is). The Greek at 22a, the long lego clue at 5d and the lurker at 3d were my other picks. Thanks to the compiler and to Smylers for the hints.
Another fine ‘Mondays as they used to be ‘ crossword.
Some lovely surface readings and things to make the solver smile
Thanks very much to the setter and Smylers
I was ‘in the zone’ with this one. It fairly flew in with nary a hold-up. Seemed a bit anagram-heavy (though I haven’t totted them up) but the surfaces were excellent. I was held up by 15 across despite the anagram being indicated in flashing neon letters, and despite having all the crossers. Go figure. */****
An interesting start to the week. A couple of misdirection’s which threw me off track and a very well disguised lurker wrapped up with some excellent clues.
I particularly liked 12a and 24a but my COTD by a country mile was 5d, the second word in the clue managed to send me off in the wrong direction, very clever.
My thanks to the setter and Smylers for the hints.
A nice start to the ‘crews eve err ball’ week (goodness know why I typed) that flowed from the off (‘get-go’ doesn’t do it for me).
I am extremely happy with 15a because I haven’t heard of the root word, let alone the word itself!
I’ve never seen so much going on in a 5 letter clue than 8d. A fine effort as is the lurker in 3d.
It’s hard to pick a podium as there are a few that conjure up great scenes. But, I’ll go with 4d,19d and 21d.,
MTT the setter and Smylers.
2*/4*
1.5*/4*. A pleasant friendly Monday puzzle to start the week, although 5d seemed rather more complex than all the rest of the puzzle.
Many thanks to the setter and to Smylers.
First impression was that this was going to be unusually challenging for a Monday but I quite soon found the wavelength and it came together nicely. No particular Fav in a collection of ingenious clues. Thank you Monday setter for the fun and Smylers for being there for us in case of need.
I won! Don’t worry Steve, it wasn’t the Mythical, in fact there was no prize at all! My entry for creating a cryptic clue for “carousel” in the puzzles newsletter was chosen as the winner. It really made my day.
Back to today’s puzzle which was a great start to the week. 15a was a new word for me.
Top picks for me were 5d, 9a, 12a and 17d.
Smylers, which game show did you create additional questions for in your image for 17d?
Thanks to Smylers and the setter.
Congratulations, Madflower! I think I was away for that one so didn’t enter. Not that I would have got anywhere. 😊
Congratulations to you and to ALP for being “honourably mentioned” as a runner-up
Ha, I was – rightly – trounced by the better person! Jolly well done to Madflower.
Well done!
My submission was 28a in yesterday’s Dada. Perhaps my already submitted MANUAL will fare better.
Thank you. I think it was beginner’s luck as I’ve never entered before, in fact I didn’t realise it was a regular thing.
Good luck with your manual clue, you are unlikely to have any competition from me as I’ve looked at the word and got no inspiration.
Hi, Madflower. The credits are from Only Connect. I was wondering if anybody would recognize it from the set, colours, or font — but there isn’t much to go on in that frame.
Am I missing something? Is this the on line puzzles?
No, it’s in the weekly DT puzzles email newsletter. It used to come out on a Sunday but now seems to be Monday morning.
The ‘Clue-Writing Contest’ in The Puzzles Newsletter re-introduced after a long hiatus.
In the previous incarnation it was weekly with a promise that the winner would appear in a back pager but that didn’t seem to work very well.
Well done Madflower! Sorry you didn’t get an itsy bitsy little prize though!
Choice of weeding out the raspberry bed or coming to our Big Dave site. As today’s offering was pretty straightforward the weeding has been done.Gave 18 across a big tick although it is a favourite with setters and old hands get to recognise it.
The parsing was the harder part today because the answers came the more easily. Great start to the week and many thanks to Smylers and our setter
Something for everyone in today’s great start to the week. I agree with RD in that 5d is quite convoluted and I have never heard of 15a. I put the wrong spelling for the mathematician at 22a but, as the letter wasn’t a checker, it mattered not. I’ll leave it to everyone to work out which letter it was. I did like the regular seeing at 26a but, because Hudson did make a loud noise as I was solving the clue, 21d is my COTD.
Thank you, setter for getting the week off to a good start. Thank you, Smylers for the hints and clips.
Because I ended up in hospital last time, the advice given to me after this morning’s covid jab was to drink plenty of water. 🤔
A very friendly puzzle with some excellent clues. I must have got on to the setter’s wavelength as this was my personal best quickest ever solve time (half the usual cut off). I particularly enjoyed 4a the boozy doctor for the surface 18a the digital ID (which I’ve never seen before but I guess others may have) and 27a for the clever constuction. Thank you very much to the setter and Smylers.
Ditto to what CS said – 1.5*/4*
Candidates for favourite – 12a, 18a, and 21d – and the winner is 21d.
Thanks to the setter and Smylers.
Great puzzle and the digital ID at 18a was excellent. I also appreciated the boxer at 5d, although I was grateful to Smylers for his assistance with the full parsing. Thanks very much to the setter and the man from Ilkley.
This was good fun but I only got stuck into it in the South. 24 and 25 across and 21d are my top picks; 27a was a medal contender as well. 15a is a new word for me, but with the checkers in place, it wasn’t difficult to solve.
Many thanks to the setter and hinter
A gentle offering to start the week with some amusing surfaces – the flatulent dog and the intoxicated boxer/outlaw favourite clues today.
No real hold ups excepts 15a – a new word for me and needed all checkers to solve the anagram and then Dr Google to check the answer.
Thanks to all.
Good fun – thanks to our setter and Smylers.
I liked 24a, 5d and 8d with my favourite being the LOL 21d.
* / ***
After only getting to NYDK’s excellent Saturday puzzle on Sunday and not really having started yesterday’s Dada, this one flew by so quickly! 15a was new to me too. My COTD has to go to the dog’s bottom at 21d, highly amusing.
Many thanks to the setter and Smylers.
Excellent start to the week, especially after the disaster that was my attempt at yesterday’s toughie.
Like others 15a was a new word to me, I had the beginning and the end only, once I solved 5d it fell into place.
My favourite today has to be 12a it is such a great word in that context.
Sun has just come out so it looks like it’s going to be a good day!!
I liked the dog’s bottom too (tehee 🤭) and most of the rest of it — except 15a. I am going to find ways to try it out in company and see what reaction it gets! Anyway thanks to our compiler and to Smylers whose blogs are works of art in themselves
Enjoyable thanks setter.
Listening to Bryan Ferry doing covers of Bob Dylan as recommended 🎸
Great Monday fare on a day so cold I made a hot soup for lunch. The quickie is giving far more trouble. I started to write a limerick about crafty compilers, which rhymes nicely with Smylers, but ran out of steam. 15a is very old fashioned but I do remember it being used and 21d was very funny. My parental grandparents always talked about the ‘Clan’ coming lunch etc, they would not have been amused. George is reading the dictionary and informing me that when you open it at random there is almost certainly one word you don’t know and has just told me that to nidify is to build a nest. Nope, I didn’t know that! Many thanks to Compiler and Smiler’s – I’ll work on that rhyme.
I’m very happy with nidify, Daze. What a great idea from Georgie Porgie.
I’m going to try my uttermost to get into a sentence nidification (nest-building), nidicolous (animals that stay in the nest after hatching) and 15a.
Love the rhyme too!
Parental grandparents should of course have read paternal grandparents. Predictive text. Bah.
Hello Daisy. Nid is French for nest as you probably know.
Well I didn’t know that, Weekend Wanda, so I’m glad you mentioned it even if Daisy knew it!
Loved the dog’s jacksy clue. Who’s ever heard of 15a? certainly not me, never seen it writ, or heard it spoke.
Nor me until 5 minutes ago “That overweening arrogance maybe” – Ann Cleeves “The Killing Stones” chapter 34. These strange coincidences are occurring far too often with me for my liking.
1.5* / 3.5* An enjoyable and steady solve with only a few minor holdups.
Lots to like but my top three today is the 5d boxer, loud noise at 21d and the digital id at 18a
Thanks to setter and Smylers
Back to a gentler Monday after a couple of head challengers in the prize cryptic this weekend … especially Dada.
A couple of head scratchers in this puzzle, including 15a for me, (that was a new word), but overall the rest comes to light pretty easily.
1.5*/4* for me
Favourite candidates include 13a, 22a, 26a, 1d, 3d & 21d — with winner 22a
Smiles for 13a, 19d & 21d
Thanks to setter & Smylers
A nice gentle puzzle for a Monday with a fair few anagrams to speed the solve. Favourite had to be the cheeky 21d – one day I will grow up!
As for the capitalisation of Co – surely the clinching argument should be in the spandex clad pop dance troupe Legs & Co.
Thanks to the setter and to Smylers – is your name on the ‘Only Connect’ screen shot photo shopped or did you set questions for it. I can’t fathom that show even with the answers!
It’s legit. I’ve belatedly realized I should’ve used the credits from an episode that also featured questions from Daniel Peake, now of the Telegraph Puzzles team.
Not too sure if I can claim a complete solve without assistance since there was a spelling mistake at 6d although I remain convinced that I entered it correctly and the pesky electronics may have been responsible? Not for the first time.
That said, a steady solve and needed the grey matter to get over the finishing line. Favourites today were the decadent doctor at 4a
, bathing in booze what a thought, and the unqualified seamen at 24a, for some reason I thought of Uncle Albert from Only Foools…
As for 6d, much prefer Nimrod from the Enigma Variations.
Forgot to say, thank you to the setter and to Smylers for the hints.
Forgot to say thank you to the setter and to Smylers for the hints.
A very interesting puzzle which was a bit harder than some Mondays. A new word to me at 15a and 5d my last one in took a long time to sort out. I had 18a as my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Smylers for the hints.
This was for me a bit more chewy than the usual Monday but still quite gentle and enjoyable. 15a was also a new word for me – it was a surprise to have it confirmed when I checked. As others have said , 5d was an interesting parse also. Thanks to the setter and Smylers.
An unassisted solve today and a great puzzle. I enjoyed 21d and 18 a. Thanks to setter and for a brilliant blog
It’s been a pleasant afternoon of crossword catch up (any excuse to put off household chores) – Donny, Dada, proXimal & finally this pleasant starter to the new week. Another vote for the dog’s bottom as fav (we had a red setter called Brough years ago who was murder for that sort of thing when asleep by the fire) & also particularly liked 12,18&25a + 5&17d.
Thanks to the setter & to Smylers
An enjoyable start to the week with a few head-scratching moments. Cue get-up and do some exercise/jobs, return with answer! Lots of great clues with 15a my COTD closely followed by 5d and videos. Upon checking the hints realised I had put the wrong answer (Iman) for 6d! Many thanks to the setter and Smylers. Really enjoyed the ‘Ben Folds Five’ video and had a good sing with ‘Last Night of the Proms’
Reasonably straightforward but a number of the clues needed a deal of thinking about. LOI was 4a as I couldn’t see the wood for the trees. No new words for me and no obscure gk so
from me. Favourite was 5d, one of the ones that needed a deal of thinking about. Thanks to the setter and Smylers.
3*/4* …
liked 4A “Doctor bathes in booze (8)”
This Monday offering had some bite to it. LOI was 15A, I wonder if it was chosen for its obscurity – and nicely paired with an unsubtle anagram. Took me a while to parse 2D also.
Pody mongers are 4D’s indulgent doctor, the very amusing surface of 21D and I’ve yet to try a Toughie by 8D … 😬
Thanks to setter and Smylers ⭐️