Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31255
Hints and tips by Huntsman
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***
The much needed rain with hopefully cooler temperatures has arrived so the prospect of a decent night’s kip a realistic prospect to look forward to.
I found today’s puzzle a good bit trickier than the usual Tuesday fare & for me at least more difficult than yesterday’s offering. It didn’t have the feeling of an Anthony Plumb production but I’m probably wrong so it will be interesting to see what others make of it. Anyway I enjoyed the solve & thought it nicely clued throughout.
As usual there is a selection of music to enjoy or ignore.
In the hints below the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED & the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the Click Here buttons. Please leave a comment below telling us what you thought & how you got on with the puzzle.
Across
1a Copper’s dunked in river, extremely morose and sorry (6,2)
EXCUSE ME: insert (dunked in) the chemical symbol for copper + the possessive ‘S into a river in South West England then append the outer letters (extremely) of m[oros]e.
5a Listen to enthralling record getting promoted (6)
HELPED: a verb meaning to listen/pay regard to goes around (enthralling) the abbreviation for a vinyl album.
9a Unusually cute, rare animal (8)
CREATURE: an anagram (unusually) of CUTE RARE.
10a Extorts small groups of sailors (6)
SCREWS: S[mall] + sailors/ those manning nautical vessels.
12a Stiff old writing implements I have (9)
EXPENSIVE: link the usual two letter prefix for ‘old’ with writing implements (Nicola’s ex, who is due in court today, shelled out over 4K on a number of ‘em having presumably, like Steve, despaired of ever winning the Mythical) then append a contraction for ‘I have’.
13a Sailing vessel heading off, say (5)
UTTER: remove the 1st letter (heading off) from a versatile type of vessel – generally thought of as a single-masted sailing vessel.
14a Took advantage of some countryside surroundings on the way back (4)
USED: hidden in reverse (some/on the way back) in the two words between the indicators.
16a Those who sketch boxers? (7)
DRAWERS: a double definition. Nowt to do with pugilists.
19a Get a hundred and twenty-four sheets of paper (7)
ACQUIRE: A from the clue + the Roman numeral letter for 100 + the term for 24 sheets of paper which comprises one-twentieth of a standard ream.
21a Revolutionary female cook (4)
CHEF: the first name of the Argentine Marxist revolutionary (whose massed produced fizzog came to represent counterculture) + the single letter for F[emale].
24a Training exercise – this could be boring (5)
DRILL: a double definition – those into DIY seem to have a bewildering collection of ‘em.
25a One male invalid is itching (9)
IMPATIENT: link the Roman numeral for one + the single letter for M[ale] + a noun synonym for invalid/someone suffering from illness.
27a Bird returning in due course with what it’s caught? (6)
OSPREY: I’m assuming the parse here is the reversal (returning) of a two letter word for in due course/in time followed by a synonym of quarry/what it’s caught. Perhaps someone can supply a sentence where the first bit is interchangeable.
28a Judge’s decision encapsulating street’s lower crime? (8)
RUSTLING: the term for a judicial decision goes around (encapsulating) the usual two letter abbreviation for street. Lower in the context of the definition relates to noise made by cattle.
29a Partially withheld estate for first-born (6)
ELDEST: hidden (partially).
30a Emotions shown by Eastern European in brief romantic affairs (8)
FEELINGS: insert the single letter abbreviation for E[astern] & for E[uropean] into a term for romantic affairs or brief dalliances.
Down
1d Artist’s fees not oddly steep in France (6)
ESCHER: the even letters (not oddly) of f[E]e[S] + the French for steep/12a. The wordplay is pretty straightforward but I can’t say I was familiar with the Dutch graphic artist.
2d Policemen surrounding His Eminence, ruler of Egypt (6)
CHEOPS: an informal term for policemen goes around (surrounding) the two letter abbreviation for His Eminence. Yet again Mr G required to tell me all about the 2nd pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty of Egypt. He was also known as Khufu & is generally considered responsible for commissioning the construction of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
3d Modelled wearing silk fabric (5)
SATIN: a verb for modelled/posed + wearing/dressed **.
4d Groom gets this short female horse annoyed, heartlessly (7)
MARRIED: remove the last letter (short) from the term for a female horse then link with a synonym for annoyed having removed its central letter (heartlessly).
6d Egg on our hen cage unfortunately not hard (9)
ENCOURAGE: an anagram (unfortunately) of OUR [h]EN CAGE (not H[ard]).
7d Row after pert bust is more appealing (8)
PRETTIER: an anagram (bust) of PERT precedes a noun synonym for row/echelon.
8d Is tense cutting clothing for Harrow (8)
DISTRESS: insert (cutting) IS from the clue + the single letter for T[ense] into a noun for clothing or apparel. Definition is nowt to do with the public school.
11d Was in charge of penning a clue (4)
LEAD: a past tense verb for was in charge goes round (penning) A from the clue.
15d Calm host half ignored complaint (9)
STILLNESS: 50% (half ignored) of hoST + a complaint/malady.
17d A few supporting worker striking (8)
HANDSOME: an adjective for a few/small number goes under (supporting/down clue) a term for a worker or staff member.
18d Prepared interviewee ultimately made a witty remark (8)
EQUIPPED: the last letter (ultimately) of the 2nd word in the clue followed by a past tense verb for made a witty remark.
20d Give out porridge, upset (4)
EMIT: reverse (upset/down clue) another informal synonym for porridge which is usually preceded by serving.
21d Seize hat on top of the river (7)
CAPTURE: a type of flat hat + the 1st letter (top) of t[he] + a river in North Yorkshire.
22d Rule about start of sick leave (6)
RESIGN: a noun or verb synonym for rule goes around S[ick] (start of).
23d Deer’s protecting middle of her legs (6)
STAGES: the term for male deer (plural or with the possessive S) goes round the central letter (middle) of h[E]r. The definition context is phases.
26d Perfect trout regularly seen on a lake (5)
TOTAL: T[r]O[u]T (regularly) + (seen on) A from the clue + the single letter for L[ake]
28a was my pick of the clues today with podium places awarded to 27a & 6d. Please let us know which clues you liked best.
Today’s Quick Crossword pun: RAN + SUM + WEAR = RANSOMWARE
A classic production from the professor and most enjoyable. The only clue I’m not sure about is 26d. The answer could be nothing else if the instructions in the clue are followed but I don’t see how it relates to perfect. I will need to look to the hints for enlightenment. There are so many good clues that it’s difficult to pick one for the top spot. The stiff writing instrument at 12a, those sketching boxers at 16a and the artist’s fees at 1d are all contenders. In the end, I have gone for the hundred and twenty four sheets of paper at 19a as my COTD.
Thank you, AP for a fun puzzle. Thank you, Hintsman for the hunts.
Another synonym for ‘perfect’ here might be ‘complete’, which would have the same meaning as the solution, I think.
Hmm. Not convinced but thanks, Harry.
How about he was a perfect/total pain in the arse.
Ok, I’ll sort of buy that but, to me, total is to add up; to calculate the sum of while perfect is to make perfect; to improve or hone.
Maybe I’m just old fashioned. 😊
Steve, 26d. I had to do some thinking and research on this one but I think it’s OK. In the sense of absolute, perfect can mean total/complete: A patient needs to have perfect/total confidence in their dentist because they sometimes rip the wrong tooth out whilst they’re thinking about semantics!
Ok, I’ll concede defeat but I doubt I’ll use total in that fashion. As for taking the wrong tooth out, I once had to deal with the consequences of a dentist removing the wrong tooth. It had to be root treated. The other dentist was sued and he deserved it. I wouldn’t normally say that but he was trying to cover up botched work by telling the patient’s parents his treatment hadn’t worked and the tooth needed to come out. He then took out the tooth behind the one he should have, realised his mistake and replanted the tooth he had mistakenly removed. Then he took out the tooth he had messed up.
Crikey! So a tooth can be removed and then replaced some minutes later. Would it re-integrate with the gum/tissue and become solid again, including the nerve?
If it is replaced immediately and splinted to adjacent teeth, yes it will reintegrate with the bone. This is because the cells on the root surface of the tooth that attach to bone will be vital and can form what is known as the periodontal ligament, which attaches the tooth to the bone. The pulp tissue (nerve), however dies and that is why it needed root treatment. There is a lot of research being carried out at present Into regeneration of the pulp using stem cells but there is a way to go yet.
Interesting ….
Wow, Steve, mental note to self: don’t ever mention this blog to Mrs AP. She has a pathological fear of dentistry and has to be sedated to even hear the word “dentist”.
Alfiepops, your good lady did not meet me. I took a pride in not hurting my patients and won over many a phobic. 😊
Perhaps two stars would more appropriate.
I forgot to amend the rating at the top – fully agree & now changed.
Overall I found today an enjoyable exercise. A number of well crafted clues from which I am selecting our hen cage at 6d and the old writing implements at 12a as my favourites.
Out of interest and asking for a friend…
I generally start my puzzle in the NW corner but today, thanks to 1d and 2d, it’s where I ended up. The wordplay and checkers for these two beauties created words which meant nothing to me, and I resorted to asking Mr G if he knew the artist and the Egyptian ruler, which fortunately he did. The clues did their job, and I recognise that I am a 31253 21d but when trying to parse is Mr. G becoming as invaluable as the BRB?
Thanks to the setter and Huntsman for the hints
Even if this wasn’t our normal Tuesday setter as our blogger suggests, it still felt like one of his; elegantly and accurately clued, gently humorous and a joy to solve. 19a and 2d were particularly good and my favourites this morning.
My thanks to whomsoever and The Hintsman.
I didn’t know the Egyptian or the artist so had to check those but otherwise quite gentle.
Top picks for me were 12a, 28a, 11d, 20d and 7d.
Thanks to Huntsman and the setter.
I too found that more challenging than the usual Tuesday fare, but it was no less enjoyable for that. The paper quantity at 19a required some research and I’m going to nominate it as my COTD. Thanks very much to the setter and to Huntsman for the tunes. It’s good to see a bit of colour returning to the lawns and hopefully we have a few more days of typical English summer weather ahead.
Fun whilst it lasted. 28a gets my vote. Today’s toughie is also very approachable.
Thanks to today’s setter and Huntsman.
Your comments on your favourite clue, 28 across are noted but to say that the underlined clue (lower crime) relates to the noise that cattle make is incorrect. Lower crime (theft of cattle) is called rustling which, in my humble opinion, is what the setter had in mind.
It was also my favourite, I concur with the explanation offered in Huntsman’s hints.
I’m well aware of that David & yes that is what the setter has in mind. I was trying (& clearly not succeeding as far as you are concerned) to provide a nudge to any not familiar with lower in the context of a crossword term for a cow – so called because of the noise it makes.
I also had the same problem as Huntsman regarding the first two letters of 27a. However, ‘in due course’ is given as an example in the BRB so it must be right.
Thanks to Huntsman for all the hints and to the setter for an enjoyable puzzle.
Last one in 1d .That says it all ? A very enjoyable solve today, which I found slightly more difficult than most Tuesdays , largely due to the north west corner. Favourites are many but G,S and B to 2,4,6.Thanks to all .
As our reviewer says this was rather trickier than we usually get on Tuesdays but very enjoyable.
As Humph above says ‘in due course’ is lifted straight from the BRB for the required word in 27a; I can’t think of a very good example for it but perhaps something like ‘The train was waiting at the station and ** the journey began’.
Ticks from me for 13a, 4d, 17d and 23d.
Many thanks to our setter and Huntsman.
That works for me thanks. It prompted the playing of another John Martyn fav.
H, 27a. So can mean therefore/in due course/thereafter/thus: The welding was of poor quality and so/in due course it inevitably failed with tragic consequences. Best I can come up with.
That’s how I read it, Jose.
What an excellent crossword from Il professore with nearly every clue a winner. The length of completion drifted into the next time zone due to the north west causing problems.
I had to think how ‘wearing’ can mean ‘in’ but got there in the end. I like that the synonyms of ‘dear’ crossed and the deer clue made me smile. Dear deer.
The Egyptian ruler and artist are new ones on me but both perfectly gettable.
Rosettes got to 4d, 7d and 17d.
MTTTA and Hoots!
2*/5*
I think the artist’s work might well appeal to you, Tom – I cannot get picture links to work, but have a look at the Belvedere, while Waterfall is similarly mind-mangling, while Day & Night is possibly one of his best known.
You are right, MG. Most appealing to a maths man like me. Thank you.
I now know the term mezzotints.
When I saw the term ‘Dutch graphic artist’ in his Wiki entry I initially thought of one that you’d see in a certain district of the country…
His face on Wiki looks like a self-portrait.
Waterfall
Here’s Belvedere.
And here’s Day and Night:
Thanking you, SAS.
Tom. If you click on the link below you’ll see an Escher lithograph print used by Mott the Hoople on the cover their eponymously named debut album in 1969:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mott_the_Hoople_(album)
*The print is called Reptiles.
Thank you, J.
We love this guy!
Thank you chaps for posting those and making up for my own failings in these things!
1*/4*. For me this was TT – a light delight from start to finish.
17d was my favourite.
Many thanks to AP and to Hintsman.
I made heavy weather of this puzzle. Only sheer b-mindedness got me to the end, albeit having had to check parsings of 1d and 27a. Cotd is the judges decision in 28a. Thanks to AP, presumably, and Huntsman.
A 26d delight of a Tuesday puzzle – as light as they come if the GK was familiar, and so well crafted. I’ll go for 1, 1 & 2 on the podium for their surfaces and cleverness.
Many thanks to the setter (yep, AP for my money too) and Huntsman – some great music choices there.
2* / 3.5* No real hold ups, knew the artist but had to check the Egyptian.
Liked the lower crime at 28a, sorry at 1a and the aforementioned artist at 1d (had one of his posters on my wall as a teen).
Thanks to Huntsman and compiler for an enjoyable challenge
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the tomb of 2d.
…or should that be ‘The Great pyramid of some Egyptian Giza’.
Stop it, Tom ☺!
If you think Giza’s in Gaza, ask Gazza – he’s the geezer that’ll know.
Excellent work, J!
Maybe make it a tad shorter: If you think Giza’s in Gaza, ask Gazza, the geezer.
But all credit to you.
Yes, that’s an improvement.
To use footie vernacular, call it an assist.
I had a couple of his posters on the walls of my teenage bedroom too. Purchased from either Woolworths, Athena or HMV. Sadly I don’t think any of those exist anymore!
Bottom left did for me🤦♂️The rest was fun – worked out 2d as never heard of him.
Dark Side of the Moon today 🎸
Puzzle on form today. Lots of nice clues. I am not sure how many people nowadays would know the collective words for sheets of papers. (I am sure I shall get reams of complaints about this post).
27a conjures up famous images from nature programmes on television.
This Tuesday puzzle was definitely trickier than Monday’s offering. Just one word/name I did not know, just required a little head scratching.
2*/3.5* for me
Favourites 1a, 5a, 25a, 30 & 17d — with winner 25a
Thanks to AP & Huntsman
At first glance I thought ‘oh dearie me’ but soon got a foothold had found it a little beauty. I knew the Dutch artist – fascinatingly annoying work and have been round the pyramids a few time so knew him too. Came unstuck with 14a as I stupidly put ‘ruse’ starting my rekrul too soon. I liked the deer at 23 and 1a. I was cross yesterday because I did make a comment and must have forgotten to press send! All that effort! Anyway, rain overnight which was good for beans and courgettes, and sunshine now for the sheets. I received a communication this morning from a man recently appointed as a fellow trustee of a charity he signed it with his name and title and then, in brackets, (he/him). Now that is a first for me – I haven’t yet met the gentleman but at least I know where I stand gender wise! Perhaps I should reply and say Just Call Me Madam. In Wordle this morning I got, on my second try, only one letter wrong. Well, I’d missed a Done It in Two but surely I would get a Three. No, tarnation, it took me to 5!
Very many thanks to the Clever Setter and to the Hintsman
We love, Wordle.
I’m with you DG re the Wordle. Had the first 4 letters correct after 3 and took me another 2 to find the darn last letter.
I am pleased to read that others found this trickier than Typically Tuesdayish and it wasn’t just me being ‘cream crackered’ at the end of long fatiguing day.
Candidates for favourite – 1a, 27a, 28a, 2d, 17d, and 21d – and the winner is 17d.
Thanks to AP and Huntsman.
** / ***
This flashed by in 1* time but gets the second * for difficulty due to a combination of factors:
1 never heard of the artist in 1d, nor did I know the French word so had to consult one of the many popular search engines for it;
2 never heard of the ruler in 2d, more gettable but still had to check with the same search engine again to ensure I had it correct
3 biffed “Trial” for 24a, which ‘clotted’ Devon and ‘pastied’ up Cornwall for a while.
COTD went to the sorry coppers in 1a for a lovely construction and surface.
Many thanks to AP and to Huntsman
A fairly gentle and enjoyable puzzle , maybe a notch up from a usual Tuesday. I was pleased to parse 2d to find it actually was the right answer as I had not heard of the Egyptian ruler. Nice to see the 1d drawings above, as I was fascinated by his work in my youth. Thanks to the setter and Huntsman.
I thought this was brilliant -I really enjoyed it and have Smiles drawn all over my dead tree. I found it a notch or two harder than the normal Tuesday fare, but nothing wrong with that, so **/*****. Even the “Gimmes” were delivered with flair (eg 8a, 10a, 29a). Almost too many top clues to pick from, but I’m going with 8d, 28a (lower crime is very clever) but my Inner Schoolboy can’t resist giving first place to 7d.
Thanks to our Setter and Huntsman. Plenty of tunes for entertainment later!
I got this done with just 2d requiring some time for thought. I am not familiar with 1d but it was fairly clued so no complaints. 28a, 18d and 20d are my top picks.
Many thanks to the setter and Huntsman
An enjoyable and not too difficult offering from, presumably, AP. I had to check the artist after I
got it from the checkers. Initially put the wrong size of record in 5a and then realised that whilst my answer fitted the definition it was spelt incorrectly, duh! During the 50’s my father had a Sunday job as a rep for a couple of newspapers. I used to go on his round with him topping up the newsagents in south London. The 24 sheet quantity was the standard unit of transaction, although it was 26 in practice, a bit like a baker’s dozen. I liked the lower crime, but give my COTD to egg on 6d.
Thanks to AP and Huntsman
2*/3.5*
Another that was challenging but enjoyable for me.
1d was the cause of a dnf. Not heard of the artist and googling steep in French did not reveal the correct term. Once you have the correct term it does give equivalents of steep.
Thanks to all.
PP upping the difficulty today and for me a far more enjoyable puzzle than recent Tuesdays. It’s not that I haven appreciated them – just solved far too quickly.
28a was very clever and my COTD.
Technically a DNF as I put Etcher in for 1d – my LOI.
2*/5*
Thanks to PP and Huntsman
I didn’t know the 1d artist or the French for 12a (my French doesn’t extend much beyond ‘the’) but I did know the gentleman in 2d. In general I found this pretty straightforward. Favourite was between 28a and 7d but I’ll go with 7d. Thanks to AP (presumably) and Huntsman.
I just read that there’s a 1D exhibition starting this weekend. Such interesting stuff.
Strapped for time this week, solving these give such relaxing enjoyment though. LOI was 27A’s bird, the wife nailed it, needed the ‘in due course’ parsing hint, glad I wasn’t the only one unconvinced. Pody trio are 28A – I suspect what lower meant here , but still took a while to piece together, 7D’s unabashed surface and 23D also for tickling me.
Thanks to AP and to Huntsman. ⭐️ The Jam’s Sound Affects has kept me entertained while I’ve written this.
Started after the old guys football and visited the puzzle several times throughout the day. About 85% completed before I had to resort to the hints. Totally defeated by 1d and struggled in the SE corner. Not helped by the fact I had ideal rather than total for 26d.
COTD for me was 19a, the way it was written was so very natural and clever.
Thank you to the setter and to Huntsman for the hints.
We are away so I am only getting limited opportunities to look at puzzle and blog. I found this one a bit trickier than many Tuesdays but I finished it and enjoyed it a lot. I had 28a as a favourite.
Thanks to the setter and to Huntsman for the hints
2*/5* …
liked 28A “Judge’s decision encapsulating street’s lower crime ? (8)”