Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31265 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
(hosted by crypticsue)
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A lovely morning brings what I thought was a slightly trickier Saturday Prize Puzzle, even though it has quite a few anagrams and lurkers. I will be interested to learn what other solvers think about it.
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 Staggering loan some day for already wealthy person (11)
An anagram (staggering) of LOAN SOME DAY
7a Hard answer no good? Setter perhaps guilty (7)
Abbreviations for Hard, Answer and No Good followed by an animal such as a setter
16a Biscuits and drink next to German out to lunch (6,4)
Our Saturday setters certainly like these biscuits. An alcoholic drink, an abbreviated German and another informal way of saying slightly crazy (out to lunch)
21a Object to Post Office overturning present (6)
Reverse (overturning) the abbreviation for Post Office and follow with a verb meaning present or put forward
22a Small part of shower control reported by doctor before work (8)
A homophone (reported) of control, an abbreviated doctor and an informal word for work
26a One destined to climb high in their chosen profession? (11)
I went through several high climbers before the checking letters made the solution more obvious
Down
1d Label and zip the wrong way around for American footballer (7)
A reversal (the wrong way round) of a verb meaning to label and a synonym for nothing (zip being an original US slang term)
3d Young bird audible? Call for digital enhancement (6,4)
A homophone (audible) of a young bird and a verb meaning to call
12d Kind friend scoffed portion of chops (4,6)
Kind or gentle, an informal friend and a synonym for scoffed – chops being an informal name for the mouth
17d Kidnap persecutors covering heads (7)
Look carefully and you will find a slang word for heads ‘covered’ by the first two words of the clue
19d Off on the road? (3-4)
The second clue which didn’t add to the enjoyment of my porridge! Off here being a reference to being unwell
23d Mum quietly getting hold of one schooner, maybe (4)
An instruction to be quiet (mum) and the musical abbreviation meaning quietly ‘getting hold’ of the Roman numeral for one
As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out
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The Quick Crossword pun: ALES + EASE + HER = HAIL CAESAR
A tough challenge for a Saturday but only to be expected for a prize guzzle. I didn’t realise 1a was a word but it is in the BRB. and I had to check the red tome again for 17d. I’ve never heard of it. When I couldn’t fit the singer from The Clash into 5d, I had to rethink. I do like the visit to lost property at 7d and the good reverend raised a smile but my COTD is the kind friend at 12d because I have seen many.
Great Quickie pun!
Thank you, setter for an enjoyable puzzle. Thank you, CeeSoo for the hints.
I’m with you there in 1a .. but I did spot it pretty quickly which opened the puzzle up.
I wonder how many bunged in Edmund Hilary’s profession at 26a and then scratched their heads pondering the down clues … doh!
My cotd 7d.
Thanks to setter and CS for the hints … but none needed today. 😊
I’m glad CS found this trickier than of late as a fair few caused for a bit of crumpet scratching. The anagrams and lurkers certainly helped although one lurker, embarrassingly, took an age to spot. 12d was my last one in; not a term that I use regularly. My cotd us the dairy product at 8a. Thanks to NYDK (?) and CS.
1.5*/4*. I found this very light for a SPP with a couple of clues in the SE corner taking me above my 1* time but I did enjoy it with 16a my favourite (and they are!)
Many thanks to NYDK (?) and to CS.
I thought it was over too quickly. Some very un-telegraph like words i.e. 1a, 9d and 17d. It was a bit like somebody’s first attempt at compiling cryptics. Not a single stand-out clue.
Welcome to the blog
Somebody’s first attempt at compiling? I doubt it. 😊
Very surprised that you were of that opinion Richard. I found it a well put together puzzle, fun to solve & with a good number of excellent clues – the 4 long peripherals were all good & particularly the Spoonerism. I liked the portion of chops definition, the out to lunch idiom & had ticks next to 15&19d. I guess we all see things differently.
Thanks to the setter & to Sue
I agree that it was a very craftily crafted guzzle. Good fun.
It felt rather strange overall.
Some modern and colloquial words indeed but if the average age of cryptic solvers is ever to come down below 60+ (my current estimation) maybe the setters need to move with the times. Our son (36) is a pretty good solver but often he’s caught out by words or phrases that I only remember from my youth. Let us not be luddites!
Hi FM
This is a difficult one.
90% if not 95% of people on this blog are over 40 if not 50.
So, understandably, the setters target the clues towards that audience. Many of the silver surfer references evoke some happy memories, often leading to lovely stories and anecdotes which can only be a good thing.
A few of the setters throw in some modern stuff that goes over the heads of certain solvers but will hopefully keep the younger punters happy.
It’s a tricky balancing.
I think, as a rule, the setters get it right though I’m sure they have noted your comment.
More often than not, most specialist/obscure answers are solvable from the parsing. Only this week, there were about 10 words or expressions I hadn’t heard of that I have now logged. So, your son isn’t on his own.
Tell him to keep the faith…and keep solving.
Maybe, one day, he’ll solver it quicker than his pop!
Just challenging enough for a prize puzzle with some amusing definitions, particularly the portion of chops at 12d and off on the road at 19d.
My thanks to our setter and CS.
Oh my goodness me, that was H-A-R-D. My gruel was consumed an age ago, and I was so caught up in this trickiest of guzzles that my orange juice with no bits lay undisturbed.
Once more I must urge everyone not to enter as I have already arranged for the big prize, the PoundShop (™) Bic Biro and colouring in book, to be mine All Mine! this week. I have spoken to the new German owners of the Telegraph; it is all arranged, so please do not enter. Thank you in advance.
Additionally, thank you to the setter for quite the challenge, and PC Security (anag) basking in the sunshine.
Sorry, Terence but I have just taken delivery of a new pentagram too summon The Mythical. I have lit the candles and chanted appropriate incantations so it comes my way at last.
You’re both safe from me. I made a typo in an unch and didn’t pick it up before submitting
Yes, a trickier but not insurmountable SPP. I particularly liked the 7d lost property office and the high climber at 26a, but my COTD is 8d, Dr Spooner’s headgear. LOI was 12d which needed the checkers to put me on the trail of the correct kind and type of chops.
Many thanks to NYDK and CS
2*/3*
Is this the work of NYPD Blue, three days after his previous one? I reckon it is. If so, what an honour for a setter to appear twice in a week. Saying that, there are no sprawlers. Hmm…I’m going to say…..yes!
You know there’s a rekrul in the vicinity when the never-to-be-seen word ‘yeuch’ appears in a clue. I didn’t know the slang term for ‘head’ but it makes sense.
I’m not happy that there is a variant spelling of 8a that has no middle letter. The fact that it derives from a Turkish word that doesn’t have the middle letter is irrelevant. It was dropped to make the spelling easier. ‘But we can’t hear it!’…..’Oh, behave’. Lame.
Logically, the sixth letter of 1a should be a different vowel.
My picks are 7d, 19d and the splendid 12d.
MTTTA and she of the Kent crypt.
2*/4*
Grandma Emm would ask if you had been dropped on your 17d as a bairn
It’s a very good shout, SJB, and would explain a few things.
Just think of “any old iron, any old iron etc. “
it is in there.
No.
Curses!
I was impressed with a double bubble.
Now, get back to your next crossword, you sprawler, you!
Please forgive me for mistaking you with someone else. I’ll refrain from jumping to conclusions in future
I couldn’t remember what chops might be slang for, which held me up, but otherwise all fairly straightforward I thought. In fact it felt like I spent almost as much time clearing history, reloading the page and watching spinning circles as I did solving the puzzle. The new German owners have clearly decided that IT is not an immediate priority. A fair few top clues nevertheless and 7d and 9d both made me smile, with the former winning COTD by a nose. Thanks very much to the setter and to Cryptic Sue.
Just the right strength of difficulty for a Saturday. My LOI was 12D which also became my favourite.
I’m intrigued by the word “already” in the clue for 1A. I’m not sure what purpose that serves.
Thanks to CS and the setter.
It’s a fair question, J. I don’t mind a setter using a word to add colour to a clue but it doesn’t really help here.
Hmm….
This is a longshot but could it be that it sounds like ‘all ready’ as ‘ready’ is a slang term for the last five letters of the answer?
It’s probably not
But that’s all I’ve got
We love a rhyme.
I also thought the word already was superfluous but now you mention it, I think it was to disguise the fact that it was a simple anagram by making a thing about the loan being for someone who shouldn’t need one. That and the fact that ‘staggering’ is an unusual anagram indicator made an otherwise simple clue less obvious.
It could well be, Foxy.
Superfluous words can sometimes weaken a clue but not in this case.
Welcome, by the way.
Sailed through. I liked 19d. Thanks to CS and today’s setter.
I thought this was an absolutely cracking puzzle today despite only getting half a dozen on the first pass. 26a held me up a bit because I was looking for those people who basically do all the work for people going up Everest (hope that doesn’t amount to the naughty step!). Otherwise lots to like so thanks to the setter and CS
Very entertaining on this bright and sunny day, several clues required revisits but it was a great challenge. The chops have to be my favourite closer pursued by the spooner.
Many thanks to the setter and to CS for the hints
For me, etc©, somewhere between CS’s ‘slightly trickier’ and Terence’s ‘H-A-R-D’ especially, inexplicably, in the SE. If tomorrow’s Dada is anything like this you might have to wait until Wednesday for the blog!
Candidates for favourite – 16a, 22a, 4d, 7d, and 19d – and the winner is 16a.
Thanks to whomsoever and CS.
Still stuck on 14a and 5d, can anyone hint without a cat and bag incident?
anagram of the first two words? maybe more hubris than pride? Is that permissible?
Straight anagram (“prepared”) of TRY and GRANOLA
I’m also stuck on 5D though. Have all the relevant letters, but noting seems to fit.
Me too with all the letters, just can’t make a word that fits.
the capitalised “Clash” is a red herring. The last three words are the definition.
Please put me on the Naughty Step if that goes too far, Sue.
5d singer after dark? Last bit (after the broadcast bit) has nothing to do with the punk scene?!
Ta Mark, got it now!
Just right for a Saturday lunchtime I thought. LOI (and my favourite) was 12d. (7d close runner up). Now back to the sunshine!
Many thanks to the setter and CS.
I am always surprised by the differences in perceived difficulty.
For me it went smooothly with only a couple of pauses for 15d 19d
Thanks to Sue and Setter (it didnt feel like the door furniture to me, but I am useless at spotting)
Like Senf, I expect a sterner test tonight/tomorrow
I’ve only just got the Clash one (5d) but the rest was pretty straightforward.
Welcome to the blog
Going out on a limb here today that this is not a NYDK puzzle. Just didn’t feel like his sort of clueing. But what do I know.
Found this trickier than most Saturday puzzle’s … but then again, maybe it is just me.
3*/3*
Favourites 10a, 11a, 24a, 28a, 3d & 20d — with winner 10a
Thanks to setter for the challenge & CS for blog/hints
I did have a laugh to myself – just a week ago I declared myself to be a numpty and sought CS’s help to parse a clue, today virtually the same clue appears and I was on the verge of declaring myself an idiot when luckily I recognised an idiom! I became an expert on the works of Joe Strummer before accepting that capital letters are merely ammunition for a cunning setter. My greatest mind wandering moment of the day though was to fill in 6d with the solution to 8a and jam up an entire corner.
I blame some of these lapses on the fact that I spent three hours with the grandkids before coming home to start the puzzle!
Despite these adventures I thoroughly enjoyed a well clued puzzle with much misdirection, cunning lurkers and a tricky anagram (part from Harry Enfield who knew it was a legitimate word?)
Many thanks to the setter and crypticsue for the hints.
This was a suitably taxing prize guzzle I thought. So many brilliant clues – when have we ever come across 12d before, and 5d and 26a are not exactly frequent. I thought it was fresh and amusing. I am a great fan of 8a, 9d was an excellent Spoonerism, 18a was last one in which shows how crafty it was but I think 15d was my favourite. Many thanks to CS (Crafty Setter) and CS (Controller of the naughty Step).
Really enjoyed this one, favourite was 19d as it made me laugh when the penny finally dropped. LOI was 9d due to fat fingers causing a typo in 14a.
As always many thanks to setter and CS.
I thought this was a great puzzle apart from getting the wrong type of climber as one sprung to mind immediately that had the right number of letters. Soon realised my mistake when the obvious downs would not fit.
Really liked all the perimeters and lost property was my favourite clue today.
17d was a new definition that I had to look up. And I was misdirected by the capitalisation in 5d which was my last in as I was trying to fit the lead singer from the Clash in as Steve Cowling was as well.
I really enjoyed this puzzle and for me, the level was just about right – I only got a few right off on the first pass, and after deep thought on the ones which took me longest, managed to parse them all. Some clues I found to be absolutely delightful, namely 3d, 7a, 7d, 12d and 22a. 7a though was a beautiful little story in itself. Well done setter, and thanks CS.
A lovey puzzle with the right amount of chewiness for a prize puzzle. Had to check 17d as it was a new word for me. LOI was 12d.
Top picks for me were 5d, 3d, 19d and 7d.
Thanks to CrypticSue and the setter.
A rather jolly jaunt for me today, a very nice puzzle. I seem to be chiming with Senf as to the best of a good bunch.
Thanks setter and Sue.
Trundled through this fairly steadily but am ashamed to admit that 6 Down has defeated me. Subtle hint anyone?
The first word of the solution to 6d is a reference to the solver looking at the clue; you then need the primary letter of Wanting and regular letters (now and then) of variety
Thank you!
Difficult in places but enjoyable all over is our assessment. We weren’t keen on 1a though. Several candidates for favourite but we’ll go with 5d for is misleading nature. Thanks to the setter and CS.
An nice challenge with some quite tricky blighters in there. Was held up by the excellent misdirection in 5d, and had a srong sense of deja vu regarding 16a – havent we had almost exactly the same clue & answer last Saturday?
Favourite of a hostnof candidates was the chuckle inducing 7d
Thanks to CS and to the setter
** / ****
Late on parade as couldn’t finish before going to bowl. Came back and finished at a lick. Very enjoyable but due to the interruption and grand kids earlier in the day, didn’t tick any. The Spooner was perhaps a standout. Thanks to the setter and Sue.
I agree.Spoonerism was really good. Thanks all.
Hi, setter here. Thank you for your comments and thanks to Sue for the write-up.
Darn it!
I couldn’t decide between you and NYPD Blue. Close but no cigar.
I guess you didn’t craft Wednesday’s? So, I got that wrong too.
Great crossy. Keep ‘em coming.
No, Wednesday’s wasn’t mine.
Cheers!
I was glad that this was soooo much lighter than yesterday’s – but still challenging, in a good way.
Half a dozen were left after a decent plough through – last trio in were 1A, 3D (hadn’t spelt it correctly) and finally 5D.
I enjoyed the unusual words and phrases. Pody medals go to 1D’s non soccer player, 5D’s new bird and Joe Strummer-recall, and the mouthy 12D, one of my last to crack, loved that one 💜
Thanks to setter and to CS ⭐️
Didn’t get chance to look at today’s offering until late in the day and just finished. It took me forever to get 1a and 1d, didn’t help as I was looking for the name of a footballer, American or not! Like some others I was looking up the Clash singer and it wasn’t the only cul-de-sac I went up! I actually got the Spoonerism and that doesn’t happen very often! Many thanks to Twmbarlwm who I notice has just popped and to CrypticSue. Good night everyone and sleep well 😴
I read that many fewer people do the Sunday cryptic than the Saturday one so presumably a higher chance of getting the prized fountain pen on Sunday? Has anyone ever received a prize? I live in hope. Not that I need another fountain pen, but I just want TO WIN THE TELEGRAPH FOUNTAIN PEN!
Welcome from me too Foxy.
Yes people on here have won the prize (not me!) and some more than once.
It has also become known as ‘The Mythical’ on the blog as some of us have been after it for so long we start to believe that it doesn’t exist 😊
Mayflower is correct, Foxy. The Mythical does not exist. Were it real, I believe I would have won it in the fifty years I’ve been doing the prize guzzle. I even resort to mystical incantations to try and summon it. I’ve summoned many things but not The Mythical. 🤣
I have a friend who has won it five times and that was on Enigma Variations – he doesn’t do the cryptic. 😳
Welcome to the blog from me as well. 👍
I won two fountain pens from the DT about 8 years ago within a couple of months of each other and a really nice Cross ballpoint from the Sunday Times prize crossword shortly afterwards – all submitted as scans of hard copies. Since then nothing and it makes me wonder if the organisers can be bothered to include scanned entries in the draw.
For what it’s worth the Sunday Times prize puzzle seems harder than the DT Saturday one – probably on toughie level.
Just finished and that was challenging, 3*/4* imho. But it is a prize puzzle. Once again the dictionary was working overtime. Got 1a quite easily but struggled with the other anagram with the breakfast cereal.
Favourites 1a and 22a.
Thank you to the setter and to CS for the hints.
85% good clues.15% suspect IMO.
Lead singer of the Clash foxed me.
So mostly enjoyed but as I state a couple of dubious clues.
Steely Dan with the music today 🎸