Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3374
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 21st June 2026
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A truly superb puzzle from Dada this Sunday that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review of his puzzle for your kind perusal and valuable feedback.
I wanted to learn more about ‘abbey’, the answer to 12a, so after solving the puzzle I searched the internet and found a great deal of information about it. An abbey is a monastery or convent headed by an abbot or an abbess and occupied by a religious community living under a common rule. The term is generally associated with Christian monasticism, particularly within the Roman Catholic tradition, although abbeys also exist in some Anglican and Orthodox churches. An abbey is usually larger and more independent than a priory, often possessing extensive lands and enjoying considerable influence within the surrounding region. An abbot is the male superior of an abbey of monks, while an abbess is the female superior of an abbey of nuns. Monks are men who dedicate their lives to prayer, worship, study and manual work, usually taking the religious vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Likewise, nuns are women who commit themselves to a life of prayer, service and communal living, observing the same or similar vows. The abbot or abbess is responsible for the spiritual guidance, discipline, administration and overall welfare of the community, ensuring that its members faithfully observe their religious rule, such as the Rule of St Benedict. Throughout history, abbeys have been far more than places of worship. They have served as important centres of learning, scholarship and education, preserving classical and religious texts by painstakingly copying manuscripts long before the invention of the printing press. Many abbeys also became centres of agriculture, craftsmanship and medical care, introducing improved farming methods, offering hospitality to travellers and pilgrims and providing charity for the poor and needy. Their libraries, schools and scriptoria made a lasting contribution to European civilisation. In Britain, medieval abbeys played a significant role in the country’s religious, cultural and economic life until many were dissolved during the reign of King Henry VIII in the sixteenth century. Today, the surviving abbeys, whether still functioning as religious houses or preserved as historic monuments, continue to attract pilgrims, historians and visitors, standing as enduring reminders of Europe’s rich spiritual and architectural heritage.
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Across
1a Team on pitch is rocking, wickets taken now and then? (7,4)
IPSWICH TOWN: The definition of the team of the professional Ipswich Town Football Club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England is reached from an anagram (rocking) of ON PITCH IS with WW (wickets) as the plural ‘wickets’ cryptically formed from the singular W that serves as the standard abbreviation for wicket used in cricket scores getting inside individually at two different places (taken now and then)
9a Statement of belief, religious relic perhaps? (7,2,5)
ARTICLE OF FAITH: Double definition; the second being a cryptic description of a religious relic which is quite literally an object (article) belonging to a system of religious belief (of faith) that takes to the first denoting the binding statement of points of belief of a Church etc
11a Bird, one with head of black exists (4)
IBIS: The definition of a large wading bird with a long down-curved bill, long neck and long legs is arrived at from I (one) as the Roman numeral for one followed by (with) the first or leading letter (head) of B[LACK] and IS (exists) as a form of the present tense of ‘to be’ used with third person singular meaning exists or lives
12a Where brothers or sisters found energy feeding new baby (5)
ABBEY: The definition of a religious complex where monks or brothers and nuns or sisters are found living under the guidance of an abbot or abbess respectively is got from E (energy) as the symbol of energy in physics going inside (feeding) an anagram (new) of BABY
13a Food additive right behind cooker (4)
AGAR: The definition of a food additive used as a gelling and thickening agent is reached from R (right) as the abbreviation for right coming after (behind) AGA (cooker) as a famous, heavy-duty cast-iron heat-storage cooker
16a Bear or real cuckoo eaten by bear (8)
TOLERATE: The definition of a verb meaning to bear, endure or suffering is got from an anagram (cuckoo) of REAL taken inside (eaten) by TOTE (bear) as a verb denoting to bear, carry or transport
17a Man I go to town on beer initially! (6)
BISHOP: The definition of a man or chess piece that can move diagonally over any number of unoccupied squares of the same colour or a high-ranking clergy man is derived from a combo of I from the clue having alongside (go to) SHOP (town) as a commercial or business establishment e.g. a printing shop, an example of which is a town referring to the main business or shopping area in an urban centre coming after or preceded by (on) the initial or first letter (initially) of B[EER]
19a Fly in salad? (6)
ROCKET: Double definition; the second being a noun referring to a cruciferous Mediterranean salad plant, Eruca sativa, also known as arugula, that bears pungent green leaves and prized for its peppery flavour that takes to the first a verb meaning to fly, move or shoot upwards at great speed
20a Device attached to a killer gag? (8)
SILENCER: Double nounal definition; the first being a muffler or mechanical device attached to the muzzle of a lethal weapon (a killer) to deaden the sound of firing and the second denoting a gag used to forcefully quieten or silence someone
22a Weapon held in parliament, first of all, for Westminster official? (4)
WHIP: Each of the first or initial letters (first of all) of W[EAPON] H[ELD] I[N] P[ARLIAMENT] guides to the definition of an official in the UK Parliament at Westminster who is appointed by their political parties to enforce party discipline, ensure members attend and direct how they vote
23a Pretty, I agree (5)
QUITE: Double definition; the second being an interjection denoting exactly, indeed or I agree that takes to the first an adverb meaning pretty, kind of or to some extent
24a Resort for a Portuguese city (4)
FARO: An anagram (resort) of FOR A guides to the definition of a city and municipality in southern Portugal that is also the capital of southern Portugal’s Algarve region
27a Don’t worry about the cost – travel restrictions lifted then? (4,4,4,2)
EASY COME EASY GO: The definition of an idiomatic expression denoting what is easily gained is easily lost and hence not to worry about the cost is cryptically reached from the literal interpretation of being able to come and go easily once travel restrictions are lifted
28a Variety of starch often in eggy bread (6,5)
FRENCH TOAST: An anagram (variety) of STARCH OFTEN leads to the definition of a popular breakfast dish made of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs and milk, then fried
Down
2d Overlap ultimately seen with celestial pair shifting? (7,7)
PARTIAL ECLIPSE: The definition of an astronomical event where two celestial bodies overlap only partly is fetched from the ultimate or the last letter (ultimately) of [OVERLA]P followed by (seen with) an anagram (shifting) of CELESTIAL PAIR in this all-in-one clue
3d Little bit pale when cut (4)
WHIT: The definition of a noun meaning the least bit i.e. very little bit or the smallest amount is obtained from WHIT[E] (pale) as pale, weakly coloured or almost colourless with its last letter removed (when cut)
4d Priest joins club in Church of England, observing religious vow (8)
CELIBATE: A combo of ELI (priest) as the high priest mentioned in the Books of Samuel in the Bible and BAT (club) as a flattish club for striking the ball in cricket or a club for baseball placed inside (in) CE (Church of England) as the abbreviation for Church of England leads to the definition of an adjective denoting abstaining from marriage and sexual relations, typically for religious reasons
5d You and I measure up? An insufficient amount (3,3)
TOO FEW: A combo of WE (you and I) as a plural pronoun referring to you as the solver or solvers of this puzzle along with I, its setter and FOOT (measure) as a unit for measuring length, equal to 12 inches in an upward direction (up) as reversals in the down clue results in the definition of a noun meaning an insufficient or unacceptably small number of people or things, an example of which is an insufficient amount
6d Some bedfellow, I feel – for husband? (4)
WIFE: Part of or hidden inside (some) [BEDFELLO]W, I FE[EL] leads to the definition of a woman who is married to a man and hence she is for her husband
7d Make improvements – righten when this happens? (4,3,7)
RING THE CHANGES: The definition of a verbal phrase meaning to introduce changes or bring improvements by doing something differently is arrived at when this happens: ‘RING THE’ subject to a reverse anagram through the indicator ‘CHANGES’ yielding ‘righten’
8d Cain, he? (5,6)
THIRD PERSON: Double definition; the first telling the solvers about Cain, historically and biblically the third person to exist on Earth and born to Adam and Eve, the first two people and the second referring to a third person pronoun, an example of which is ‘he’ used in place of the name of a boy or man
10d Beer, dear, both good and bad (11)
BITTERSWEET: A charade of BITTER (beer) as a sharp-tasting beer made with hops and SWEET (dear) as a noun meaning dear or darling takes to the definition of an adjective denoting both good and bad, referring to something involving both pleasant and unpleasant aspects
14d Inexperienced politician (5)
GREEN: Double definition; the second being a noun referring to a green politician who is a member of the Green Party or an environmentalist generally that leads to the first an adjective meaning inexperienced, untrained or immature in age or judgment
15d Note priest provided, sent up (5)
FIVER: The definition of an informal term for a five-pound note is reached from a charade of REV (priest) as the abbreviation of Reverend, the title of a priest and IF (provided) as a conjunction denoting provided, assuming or in case and sequentially both in ascending mode (sent up) as reversals in the down clue.
18d Unknown figure couple invested in this rare diamond (8)
SIXTIETH: A combo of X (unknown figure) as a variable or unknown figure or yet to be ascertained quantity or factor as used in mathematics, especially in algebra and TIE (couple) as a verb meaning to unite, join, marry or couple placed inside (invested in) an anagram (rare) of THIS guides to the definition of an ordinal number describing a milestone anniversary typically associated with a diamond jubilee
21d Send for whole day (6)
SUMMON: The definition of a verb meaning to send for, especially to attend court is got from a charade of SUM (whole) as denoting whole, entirety or totality and MON (day) as the abbreviation for Monday, the first working day of the week
25d Maple tree, more fabulous? (4)
ACER: The definition of the botanical genus name for any of the species of maple trees is obtained from ACER (more fabulous) as the cryptically-composed comparative of ACE denoting fabulous or outstanding
26d Capital nothing like that, pound invested (4)
OSLO: The definition of the capital and largest city of Norway, a country in Northern Europe is reached from O (nothing) as the letter representing naught or nothing followed by SO (like that) as an adverb denoting likewise or like that having inside (invested) L (pound) as the historical abbreviation for pound
There were many clues that I liked in this puzzle such as 1a, 12a, 16a, 2d, 5d, 7d, 8d, 10d, 18d and 25d; 8d being the best of the lot. My prayers to the Almighty for the eternal rest and peace of BD and my thanks to Dada for the entertainment. Looking forward to being here again. Have a pleasant day.