Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31282
Hints and tips by Mr K
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BD Rating - Difficulty *** - Enjoyment ****
Hello, everyone, and welcome to an entertaining Friday puzzle.
In the hints below most indicators are italicized, and underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions. Clicking on the answer buttons will reveal the answers. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
1a Rage has run wild for aggressive speakers (10)
HARANGUERS: An anagram (wild) of RAGE HAS RUN
6a Name of chap that's sacked - not the first person (4)
FRED: Sacked or dismissed minus (not) a first person pronoun
9a Concern at home, rodent circling middle of duvet (7)
INVOLVE: The usual word for at home is followed by a rodent containing (circling) the middle letter of DUVET
10a Sewers require holes leaving house (7)
NEEDLES: A synonym of require with HOLES minus (leaving) an abbreviation for house
12a Understand rank fish not belonging to anybody, it's said (4,4,5)
KNOW ONES PLACE: The answer could, whimsically, be a homophone (it’s said) of a phrase describing a (type of) fish not belonging to anybody
14a Stealthy type seeing that elite corps is retreating north (8)
ASSASSIN: Join together a word meaning “seeing that”, the abbreviation for an elite corps in the UK military, the reversal (retreating) of IS, and the single letter for north
15a Saw short support to insert into bunk (6)
BEHELD: All but the last letter (short) of support or assist is inserted into a bunk or cot
17a Limit speech, scrapping introduction (6)
RATION: Another word for a speech, minus its first letter (scrapping introduction)
19a Old-fashioned professor died (6,2)
PASSED ON: A French adjective meaning old-fashioned with another word for a university professor
21a Iberian explorers once organised stoic squadron (13)
CONQUISTADORS: An anagram (organised) of STOIC SQUADRON
24a Stretch of river containing vessels (7)
EXPANSE: A usual river containing some vessels used for cooking
25a Outsiders from Egham cross Islamic ruler's land (7)
EMIRATE: The outer letters (outsiders from) of EGHAM with cross or angry
26a Covers opening to be removed from medicines (4)
RUGS: Another word for medicines minus its first letter (opening to be removed)
27a A foreign, vulgar lady disheartened rarely (10)
UNCOMMONLY: Link together “A” in a usual foreign language, another word for vulgar, and the outer letters (disheartened) of LADY
Down
1d Welcome precipitation (4)
HAIL: A straightforward double definition
2d King finished revolutionary opponents and withdraws (7)
REVOKES: The chess abbreviation for king and finished or done are joined and then reversed (revolutionary), and that’s all followed by the abbreviations for two opposing players in bridge
3d Pillar of salt? (7,6)
NELSONS COLUMN: A cryptic definition of a well-known London memorial
4d Regularly taking aunt, niece herds cattle up plain (8)
UNEXOTIC: A string of alternate letters (regularly taking) in AUNT NIECE contains (herds) the reversal (up, in a down clue) of another word for cattle
5d Went fast, say, climbing the Chilterns? (5)
RANGE: Went fast by foot is followed by the reversal (climbing, in a down clue) of the abbreviation for say or for example. The ? indicates that the definition is by example
7d Soldiers pleased to be unconfined and set free (7)
RELEASE: The abbreviation for a usual group of soldiers with PLEASED minus its outer letters (to be unconfined)
8d Son of Daniel coming into some French money (10)
DESCENDANT: An informal contraction for Daniel is inserted in (coming into) some in French and a small monetary unit (used in France and many other countries)
11d Working in six premises changing art style (13)
EXPRESSIONISM: Working or not off is inserted in an anagram (changing) of SIX PREMISES
13d Converted racecourse is Parisian tourist hotspot (5-5)
SACRE-COEUR: An anagram (converted) of RACECOURSE
16d Overturned in alcove, jar aslant somewhere in the Balkans (8)
SARAJEVO: The answer is hidden reversed (overturned) in ALCOVE JAR ASLANT
18d One holds guy, figure trembling in the extremities about exercise class (4,3)
TENT PEG: A figure between nine and eleven is followed by the outer letters (in the extremities) of TREMBLING containing (about) a usual abbreviation for a school exercise class
20d Detective wrong accepting attorney's scorn (7)
DISDAIN: A usual abbreviated detective is followed by a wrong or an immoral act that is containing (accepting) the abbreviation for district attorney
22d Birds moving tail to the front? That's hard (5)
STERN: In a word for more than one of a certain type of seabird, move the last letter (tail) to the front of the word
23d Kiss inside certainly turned sensual (4)
SEXY: The single letter indicating a kiss is inserted in (inside) the reversal (turned) of certainly or OK
Thanks to today’s setter. Which clues did you like best?
The Quick Crossword pun: HOLE + JAWED + RINK = HOLD YOUR DRINK
What a great way to end the cruciverbal week. Another cracking puzzle resulting in ticks all over the paper. The name of the fired chap at 6a, the sewers at 10a and the old fashioned professor at 19a all raised a smile. Initially, I had the wrong spelling for Balkan place, which is inexcusable because the word is right in front of you. My COTD, however, is the pillar of salt at 3d because it had me going down the biblical route for a while.
Thank you, setter for a very enjoyable puzzle. Thank you, Mr. K. for the Hints.
Cracking puzzle, maybe not so difficult for a Friday but great fun nevertheless.
1a is a particularly awkward sounding agent noun, even more so in the plural form, though 15a is a fine old word I shall endeavour to use more often.
My top two are 3d, which raised a smile even if I’ve come across something similar in the past and the clever 4d, which conjours up it’s own diorama whilst keeping a very smooth surface.
The quickie pun is also a good ‘un.
My thanks to our setter and Mr K.
An enjoyable puzzle from Castlemaine that didn’t cause any issues.
3d is absolutely superb; it really is. It must give a setter so much satisfaction when they think of it. I’d be surprised if it’s not an old classic but it deserves to be wheeled out at every given opportunity. Sublime.
13d is a very neat anagram and 16d is a great effort at a rekrul.
I hate seeing the word ‘support’ in a clue (15a) as it has so many synonyms.
My picks are the aforementioned pillar and Parisian hotspot plus 9a.
MTTTA and Mr K.
2*/4*
19a not 9a
I agree with your choices, Tom. 👍
4*/5*. I thought this was an excellent Friday challenge from Mr 4X (it is also a Z-less pangram but I assume that’s a coincidence).
I had ticks aplenty and my favourite was 3d.
Many thanks to proXimal and to Mr K.
A trifle on the easy side for Friday but very enjoyable . I particularly liked the pillar of salt and the son of Daniel but my favourite is 18d . Thanks to all .
On a normal day I start by looking for an anagram or two to get me started…today’s four options put me off that idea and I had to look elsewhere – I needed checkers in place before any of them made sense.
Overall this was a great puzzle to end the weekday offerings with some really interesting clues. The 3d pillar of salt and the stealthy type at 4a were my favourites.
Many thanks to the setter and Mr K
What an absolute cracker for a Frday; not too difficult but jam packed with brilliant clues, humour and nice deception. From a very crowded podium I chose 3d as my favourite.
My thanks to proXimal and Mr K.
A very nice puzzle. I wasn’t going to comment but I thought the anagram at 13d was sheer excellence and warranted an acknowledgement.
Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K
An excellent and quite tricky puzzle (I needed help with 2 or 3 clues). 3d is absolutely brilliant and there were many other good clues as noted above. 23d made me smile too. Thank you setter and Mr K.
An excellent puzzle but a DNF as I knew what I was looking for but couldn’t find the rising cattle in 4D. I also put the wrong word in the middle of 12A and it was only when I got the checkers that I realised the clue was very clear about which option to use. 6A and 8D had me googling biblical lineages which has increased my knowledge but was no use in solving the clues. 19A was a great clue but my vote for COTD goes to 3D which I thought was inspired. Thanks to the setter and to Mr K for the hints.
Thai corner.
I went to the hardware store today to buy a plug socket to replace a damaged one. Our house in common with most of a similar age is two pin throughout, there is no earth wire. Two pin sockets are no longer sold so a three pin version has to be cobbled together and used with various adaptors to overcome the incompatability of the socket and plug. You don’t need to be an electrician to predict that electrocutions are a common reason for hospital visits here.
That reminds me of my father who was a radio engineer. He didn’t bother with plugs – just stuck the wires into the socket and secured them with matchsticks. 😳
Great story Steve. I guess the question has to be did he srike the matches first or was it a case of double jepoardy.
Reminds me of that old Public Information Film which traumatised me as a child. That and the one with the broken bottle on the beach.
Blimey! That wouldn’t be allowed to be shown today.
My electrician Dad did that too……have never heard of anyone else doing this until today.
We also had a cable that plugged into the ceiling light socket to power the iron. This meant Ironing could not be done at night.
Same here…..and I think he also used rolled up bits of newspaper to keep the wires in the socket when match sticks were unavailable.
Are all electrician’s daft ?
Having said that, we did not have any disasters that I remember……..
He was also very inventive in his use of black tape ……
Used it for almost every household repair.
Have to admit …I always have a roll or two at the ready.
My father served his time as an electrical engineer and he used to say that what he knew about electricity was dangerous!
Good puzzle today and on the easier side for a Friday … but had to be solved in two halves due to shopping expedition!😤
I found the NE corner ro be the trickiest and last in was 5d.
Cotd 3d … it came to me in a moment of inspiration … perhaps sparked by the article in today’s paper.
Thanks to setter and Mr K I needed the hint to unravel 2d .. it was a bung in initially.
Our very first house had only one socket, in the dining room and that came off the lights. We were too young and gullible (19 and 21) to notice this before buying. It came to light (ha ha) when we tried to plug in a bedside lamp and found there were no sockets upstairs. Being short of cash, Peter installed a ring main himself. No mean feat as it was an old house without cavities in the walls, so he had to chisel his way through the stone walls in every room. In one room he got so tired, we ended up with a socket half way up the wall 😊.
My grandfather, rural Herefordshire (d. 1960), did not trust electricity and refused to have it in the house. This fear did not prevent him from taking the wayleave payments for the two poles sited on the farm.
I love it! 🤣
… or the man for Lewis who remarked “… my wife is using up all the electricity in the house …. !”
I seem to recall accumulators that needed to be taken to a garage or shop to be recharged. They were used to power radios before mains electricity came along. My uncle, who worked on a farm in Yorkshire, had one.
ProXXXXimal on good form today. Not quite as challenging as perhaps a Friday back pager should be but no less enjoyable. 2.5*/4.5*
Candidates for favourite – 10a, 19a, 25a, 27a, 4d, and 22d – and the winner is 25a. I have generally good memories of attending Strode’s Academy for Young Gentlemen, founded in 1704, in the town in the clue, properly known as Strode’s Grammar School (pictured below), before Educational Trusts and Sixth Form Colleges became ‘things.’
Thanks to the 4X-man and Mr K.
What a great puzzle for a Friday, just enough chewiness to keep one on one’s toes, but nothing too onerous. I particularly liked the fishy rank at 12a, the 21a Iberian explorers and like others I thought 3d was brilliant. 4d was last in.
Many thanks to the setter and MrK
2*/4*
An excellent Friday puzzle – thanks to proXimal and Mr K.
I liked 10a, 19a and 16d but, like others, my favourite is 3d which is reminiscent of Rufus’s famous ‘Bar of Soap’.
Presumably the bar (pub) in the ‘soap’ that is approaching 12,000 episodes.
The enumeration was 6,6 if that fits.
That does work for the one I am thinking of.
I found this Friday puzzle out of the norm as it went together pretty easily for me. Quite the surprise.
A couple of head scratchers but overall it was smooth sailing.
2.5*/3.5*
Favourites include 1a, 12a, 24a, 26a & 22d — with winner 12a
Thanks to proXimal & Mr K.
This had so much to like about it, excellent anagrams and a wide range of other clues. It was entertaining from start to finish. 3d was my favourite but it was hard to choose just one.
Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K for the hints
Most enjoyable and clever. It was nice to get off the starting blocks with 3 down and although it was a down clue it raised a smile. DNF because I had just 4 down with plenty of checkers but just had to get on with other stuff this morning. Did not see that “ herds” indicated that the cattle had to be inserted upwards in the answer. Added to which I was feeling lazy . Take a detention for that.
Thank you Mr. K and our setter
A very enjoyable puzzle for me today.
Lots to like, especially 3d and 19a.
Thanks to the setter and to Mr K
Lovely puzzle, with some great clues and plenty of humour. Honours to COTD 3d, 4d, 9a, and 19a, although I detest the phrase – if people have died, they’ve died. At least with “on” added it’s not quite as bad as the mealy-mouthed “passed” on its own! Grump grump grump.
Many thanks to ProXimal and Mr K
Strange to relate, MG but there are two letters in today’s D. T. about the topic of “passing”.
Hello from Italy! Currently on a train from Pisa to Florence at the start of 3 weeks off including big birthday coming up. Been a little busy to manage many solved recently. Today’s was done while waiting on the plane for our slightly delayed flight to leave Gatwick.
A gentle Friday puzzle, for which I’m grateful. Pody picks go to fishy 12A, 8D’s Lego son, and my LOI 15A, for which I was grateful to solve it just before take-off ✈️
Thanks to ProXimal and to Mr K ⭐️
Have a great holiday, Simon and Many Happy Returns for the Big Day1 🍺🍺🎂🎂😊
Three weeks in Italy? I’m well jel.
Have a splendid trip, ‘Wriggles’.
Two weeks in Italy. Some dear friends from my Kiwi days are over, in Italy with us, then some time in Worthing with them + UK folks.
Lucky stick! Have fun.
We want piccies!! 👍😊
Thank you everyone! I’ll do all of those things.
4d is not in my Chambers App!
Great Friday fare. Cotd from many contenders is 3d. Genius. Thanks to ProXimal and Mr K.
A really enjoyable puzzle, nicely judged in terms if difficulty, which I found more approachable than most Friday backpagers. My jointCOTDs were the pillar of salt at 3d (I, too initially went down the biblical route) and the defunct professor at 19a. I also loved the anagram at 21a and the lego clue at 15a. Thanks to Proximal and to Mr k for the hints
I am still not seeing 10a – a bit slow today 🙄
require (need) and holes without the house (ho).
Thanks Steve
A synonym for requires and holes without the shortened version of house, definition sewers
I think everyone has said it already. I thought 12a was favourite until I cracked 3d. And 13d such a clever anagram , and then 18d, 27a – it just goes on. Many thanks to the oh-so-clever Setter and to our trusty Mr Kay.
Anyone an expert on Velux windows? George changed the battery on the remote control this morning and has not ceased his mental strife in trying to get it to work again. He texted Velux and told them he was 93 and about to kill himself and was sent an 8 line link to a solution! Happy weekend.
** / *****
5* entertainment for sure! Thought it was going to be up to 4* difficulty but note to self: check your bl**dy answers, Alfiepops. If it’s an anagram and you’ve biffed the last letter incorrectly (11d) and that letter is not in the fodder, check it you fool! Also, if 4d makes no sense at all, double check the order of the vowels in 1a!!!! Once those two errors were fixed, the hold-ups disappeared.
Many many ticks but for the podium, the 12a rank fish, the 19a old-fashioned professor and of course, like everyone else, the 3d salty pillar. I thought of the nautical connection quite quickly but still needed a few checkers to get there.
Went on early pangram alert but noted the two missing letters and the large number of X’s hence many thanks to proXimal as well as Mr K of course.
Pretty straightforward with head scratchers which I enjoyed immensely. I’m tempted to name 3d as favourite as I got it with only two checkers (the first ‘N’ and the ‘U’) but I did rather like 18d so I’m going with that. Thanks to the setter and Mr. K.
2.5* / 4* An extra * for difficulty because of 4d, just couldn’t see it. As others have said a brilliant Friday puzzle with plenty of humour and misdirection.
Favourites today include the popular pillar at 3d, died at 29a and I liked the Iberian explores at 21a, a great word
Thanks to Mr K and compiler
This was a smart puzzle with a capital S. Some super clues , which made it a really enjoyable solve. I did not know the Iberian explorers , so the anagram was particularly challenging , which I managed to get with all the checkers in place. 1a took me a while too, due to the spelling . 3d is indeed a genius clue , I was a little slow to get the parsing …. It’s hot and I’m tired ….ha ha, any excuse for being a bit of a dimwit! Thanks to the ProXimal and Mr K.
Enjoyed this as well as above discussion of electricity! The pillar of salt is a brilliant clue, thank you compiler and Mr K
A lovely puzzle that i thought a tad trickier than our bligger MrK. Loads of ticks but stand out favourite was 3d – absolute genius and the clang of the PDM must have shown on the richter scale!
Thanks tonthe setter and Mr K
I made a bit of a meal of this but to be fair it was solved in between teeing golfers off on a very busy 1st tee.
Didn’t initially twig it was 4X as my fat fingered mobile phone typo stuck in an S for the X at 11d so I was actually on pangram alert before twigging the error. I rather wish I’d waited until home & given the puzzle proper attention because it was top notch. 3d was my clear fav with 12&19a on the podium & much to like elsewhere – particularly 21a which prompted a blast through the speakers of a terrific live recording of one of my favourite Procol Harum songs.
Thanks to proXimal & to Mr K
Very late for me today as out very early to go looking for butterflies and extremely rare dragonflies (scarlet darters if you are interested). We saw them so we were happy tired bunnies.
Loved the puzzle. Got 3d while it was printing out. LOI was 4d.
Top picks for me were 3d, 19a, 24a, 8d and 20d.
Thanks to Mr K and the setter.
What a lovely surprise today to find a Friday puzzle I could actually almost finish on my own. 1a, 21a, 3d, 13d and 16d went straight in which greatly helped. Thanks to setter and Mr K.
Can’t quite believe it for a Friday – which is often a DNF for me – but it’s been the fastest solve of the week for me! I think I’ve warmed up through the week. A few that just fitted and took a while to parse. LOI 6a took me a while as I was trying all sorts of pronouns, rather than removing one! Very enjoyable, loved the clues at 19a, 13d and 23d. Thanks Mr K and setter.
A really enjoyable puzzle, especially for a Friday which frustratingly, I couldn’t finish until visitors had left! So many great clues and anagrams. Favourites include 3d, 13d, 12a, 21a. Many thanks to Proximal and Mr K. Have a nice weekend everyone.
Just finished. About 85% completed before I had to resort to Mr K’s hints, which is about right for me for a 3* puzzle. The western half went in easier than the eastern side. Two CsOTD for me today were 19a the old-fashioned academic and top place to the pillar of salt at 3d. The greatest ever Englishman imho.
Thank you to the setter and to Mr K for the hints.
Thanks to Mr K for the review and to commenters for comments.
Thank you, proXimal for a wonderfully challenging puzzle.
Thanks for popping in and for creating a fine puzzle to solve and to hint.
Thanks also to everyone who has commented today. Have a great weekend.
3*/4* …
liked 3D “Pillar of salt ? (7,6)”