Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31292
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I found today’s puzzle to be reasonably friendly for a Wednesday. Amongst my favourites were 26a, 6d and 9d, but my clue of the day goes to the potty-mouthed Swedes in 4a. Many thanks to our setter.
In the hints below the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and indicator words (e.g. anagram indicators) are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the Click Here buttons.
Across Clues
1a British uniform fitting trousers rather short (6)
ABRUPT: A synonym of ‘fitting’ or ‘appropriate’ goes round (trousers) the two-letter abbreviation for ‘British’ and the letter that Uniform represents in the NATO phonetic alphabet.
4a Swedish group’s expletive on the radio? You can count on it! (6)
ABACUS: Homophones (on the radio) of a Swedish supergroup and an informal synonym for an expletive.
8a Flat father and daughter shared? (3)
PAD: An informal word for ‘father’, and the abbreviation of ‘daughter’.
10a Greek rural paradise song featuring Terry-Thomas? (7)
ARCADIA: An operatic song is placed round (featuring) a word for a disreputable fellow, of the sort often portrayed by the actor Terry-Thomas.
11a “Maths problems are back!” – scholar (7)
ERASMUS: Take an informal word for maths problems, follow this with ARE from the clue, then reverse the result (back). This Dutchman was one of the most influential figures of the sixteenth century.
12a Passionately religious? About time (5)
HOTLY: A synonym of ‘religious’ goes round (about) the abbreviation of ‘time’.
13a Next item broadcast covers TV, papers etc (9)
IMMEDIATE: An anagram (broadcast) of ITEM goes round (covers) a word for press/TV/radio etc.
14a New hair and, mostly, apparel accessories (13)
PARAPHERNALIA: An anagram (new) of HAIR, AN[d] without its final letter (mostly) and APPAREL.
17a FT‘s cheap prose misused word classes (5,2,6)
PARTS OF SPEECH: An anagram (misused) of FTS CHEAP PROSE.
22a Network, offline, starts to enrage rich property investor (9)
LANDOWNER: The computing abbreviation for Local Area Network, a word meaning offline or not working, and the initial letters (starts to) of ‘enrage rich’.
23a Most grave argument about discharged shot (5)
WORST: A synonym of ‘argument’ is reversed (about) and followed by the outer letters (discharged) of ‘shot’.
24a Informally talked about Barry and Martin Rice? (7)
BASMATI: Homophones (talked about) of informal alternatives for the forenames Barry and Martin. This is a definition by example: the capitalisation of Rice is a misdirection.
25a Mean Signor exposed belle periodically (7)
IGNOBLE: [s]IGNO[r] without its outer letters (exposed) and the alternate letters (periodically) of ‘belle’.
26a Squiffy on a regular basis – slàinte! (3)
LIT: The alternate letters (regularly) of ‘ slàinte’.
27a Find large old moggy back in garage (6)
LOCATE: The abbreviations for ‘large’ and ‘old’, a synonym of ‘moggy’, and the last letter of (back in) ‘garage’.
28a Alter tuxedo acquired by Australian (6)
ADJUST: The two-letter synonym of ‘tuxedo’ is surrounded (acquired) by an abbreviation for ‘Australian’.
Down clues
1d Native American dad beset by pain (6)
APACHE: An abbreviation for ‘dad’ is surrounded (beset) by a synonym of ‘pain’.
2d A portion of Capri cottage cheese (7)
RICOTTA: Hidden in ‘Capri cottage’.
3d Powerless bookmaker shows where to find 24 Across (5)
PADDY: The Irish bookmaker ‘***** Power’ without its second word (powerless).
5d Directors showing enthusiasm for Monopoly? (5,4)
BOARD GAME: The collective term for a group of company directors, and an adjective meaning ‘showing enthusiasm’. A definition by example.
6d Bitter drink affected Mario’s guts (7)
CAMPARI: An adjective meaning ‘affected’ or ‘effeminate’, and the internal letters (guts) of [m]ARI[o].
7d Relative novice? (6)
SISTER: A double definition. The second word, referring to a trainee nun, is a definition by example, hence the question mark.
8d Local group scrapped crucial NHS op claims Independent (6,7)
PARISH COUNCIL: An anagram (scrapped) of CRUCIAL NHS OP around the abbreviation for ‘independent’.
9d Country artist Muddy Waters by the North Atlantic (7,6)
DENMARK STRAIT: A European country and an anagram (muddy) of ARTIST. This body of water is actually nowhere near the country that forms part of the answer – it separates Greenland and Iceland.
14d Photographer‘s worthless work (3)
PAP: A double definition: an abbreviation for an intrusive photographer and a word for mediocre entertainment.
15d American travelling to Saturn? It might be him! (9)
ASTRONAUT: The single-letter abbreviation for American and an anagram (travelling) of TO SATURN.
16d In the manner of hard wood (3)
ASH: A word that can mean ‘in the manner of’, and the symbol for ‘hard’ on a pencil.
18d One forgetful in the morning, since tipsy (7)
AMNESIC: The abbreviation for ‘ante meridiem’ (in the morning) and an anagram (tipsy) of SINCE.
19d Vehicle I purchased, 50 per cent off: it can pull a sleigh (7)
CARIBOU: A motor vehicle, ‘I’ from the clue, and the first half (50 per cent off) of a synonym of ‘purchased’.
20d Worldwide objective needing input from student and bishop separately (6)
GLOBAL: Take a word for an objective or target, and insert the letter representing student or learner, and the abbreviation for Bishop, in different places in the answer (separately).
21d Paved road 16 Down perhaps set in stone (6)
STREET: The woody plant of which 16 down is an example is inserted into (set in) the abbreviation of ‘stone’.
23d Pale, exhausted, drained, diminished (5)
WANED: A synonym of ‘pale’ and the outer letters (drained) of ‘exhausted’.
Which clues did you like best? Let us know in the comments below.
The Quick Crossword pun: TEA + WRECKS = T. REX
The Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill died earlier this week aged 78.
Just wanted to note that 14a. It’s an anagram of HAIR AN(d) APPAREL (mostly AND)
Thank you Kian, and welcome to the blog. Now corrected.
I say! It was good to see Terry-Thomas making an appearance in 10a and the powerless bookie at 3d raised a smile too.
Gentle fun, my thanks to our setter and Deano.
I finished yesterday’s puzzle early and dashed off to Edgbaston to watch the ODI between England & India. Any idea that I could have a quiet moment and parse the solutions was quickly proven to be impossible. A few thousand very excited India fans, most of whom want a chat, made for an interesting but not very productive day.
Overall I enjoyed this morning’s tussle which offered a few challenges…how to spell 14a being one example! 8d had me looking in the wrong direction. 9d seemed, to me, impossible without the checkers. Answered 2d far too quickly and found a fruit before a cheese! I didn’t really understand the ‘classes’ in 17a.
A mixed bag with nothing really standing out.
Many thanks to Deansleigh and the setter
1*/4*. Gentle for a Wednesday but good fun.
Many thanks to te setter and to Deansleigh.
Our daughter’s cat sat with me . He always enjoys the quiet time of the crossword when he is in residence.He did object to the derisive term of moggy in 27 across. Delightful start to the day with many ticks. Top marks to 11 across. His son is one of our heros. Did need Deansleigh’s explanations for 22 across and 3 down having put in the right answers that fitted with the checkers.
Many thanks for such a happy start to the day
A rather swift solve for this part of the week, and a bit heavy on the anagrams, but many cracking surfaces and great fun while it lasted. As so often happens on this particular grid getting the four 3-letter answers and marking-in the enumeration resulted in the long clues leaping off the page from their definitions, so the actual parsing was taken on trust.
Honours to the splendid 10a, 15d, & 26a.
Thank you setter, and thanks also to Deansleigh
Hi MG
I can only see four full anagrams and two part-anagrams. Your cut-off is 20% which this is below. Is it perhaps that three of them were long answers?
Hi Tom – I don’t distinguish between full and partial: an anagram is an anagram is an armagna, C! So 13, 14, 17a & 8, 9, 15, 18d. I think 4 or 5 anagrams in a 15×15 grid is an elegant sufficiency, even with 32 clues or when one of them is as good as 15.
Over that one progresses through “a bit heavy” to “a surfeit” and “verging on tediously repetitive : if in doubt look for an anagram”. Fortunately the latter are relatively few and far between. As you know I enjoy anagrams but there are so many types of clue from which to choose in typically only 28-32 clues.
Understood.
It’s just that I seem to recall that you were okay with 20%,of them being anagrams i.e not a surfeit or bit heavy. But, it looks like we’re looking at 15%.
For me, etc©, first sight of the grid suggested that this was going to be quite a challenge but the four long ‘uns ‘fell’ quite early in the solve – 9d was prompted by having watched Sink the Bismarck! too many times – and then it was ‘oh look, I’ve finished’ – **/****
Candidates for favourite – 4a, 11a, 13a, 6d, and 9d – and the winner is 9d.
I have a couple of thoughts on who the setter might be but I am not going to commit any old or new coins, so thanks to whomsoever and Deansleigh.
What a great puzzle! Easy, but so bright and amusing..
A perfect Wednesday backpager, the only slight holdup being remembering how to spell 14a.
Lots to enjoy so thank you to the setter and Deansleigh
Did you, like me, forget the second “R”, Sue?
Indeed I did
I think there will have been many of us with the same mistake.
Yep. Add me to the list.
… I don’t think I ever knew how to spelll it, I had to resort to Chambers!
I’m with you on that!
A pleasant midweek puzzle – thanks to our setter and Deansleigh.
I liked 10a, 3d, 5d and 7d.
As others have said, a terrific mid-weeker with the four central long ones getting things off got a good start. Mind you, I did have 9d as 6-8, which prevented that going in for a while. Lovely to see the “absolute shower” making an appearance at 10a and what a wonderful word 14a is. The swearing Swedish group at 4a was a great clue and so was affected Mario 6d. My COTD is the maths problem at 11a.
Thank you, setter for a great puzzle. Please do come and take a bow. Thank you, Deansleigh for the hints.
I may not be around tomorrow because I have to go to Telford for tests and I’m not sure how long they will take.
I wish you well on your visit to our great metropolis…good luck with the parking!
Thanks, Graham. I was told by the people who rang today that they have plenty of parking at their place so here’s hoping. I know how bad it is at The Princess Royal because my voluntary driving duties often take me there.
A lovely puzzle for midweek, and for me easier than the last couple of days where I had several I could not parse. 4a was my favourite but I also enjoyed the anagrams!
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints.
A surprisingly straightforward yet hugely enjoyable offering for a sunny Wednesday here in Shropshire. There was so much to enthuse about, particularly the excellent 10a and 9d.
Many thanks to our midweek setter and Deansleigh.
I enjoyed this crossword and,like others founde thlittle 3-letter clues helpful in finding the long clues. My COTD was the snagram at 9d, which intrigued me because the econd word was the surname of a Country Music singer well, very clever or just serendipity? I also liked the lurker at anagrams at 17a and 14a. Thanks to the compiler and to Deansleigh for thechints.
As others have said, and enjoyable midweek puzzle.
Top picks for me were 11a, 4a, 14a, 22a, 9d and 5d (loved the cartoon Deansleigh).
Thanks to Deansleigh and the setter.
Another very enjoyable midweeker that, like England tonight, hits the back of the net.
It’s so difficult to tell apart The Hud and Mr T but I’m going with the former as he likes to make up names like Declan’s brothers in 24a.
I didn”t know that 18d can be a noun and I’ve never heard of the slàinte, the Gaelic word for toasting someone, pronounced slawncha. Gaelic must be so hard to learn….Siobhan, Saoirse, Niamh, Caoimhe, Aoife….help!
I, too, was trying to convince myself that apricot is a cheese.
Hats off to the setter for having Muddy Waters in a clue that has nothing to do with music. Powerless is superb and I like the idea of separating initials in a clue (20d).
My picks are 11a, 25a and the brilliant 15d.
MTTTA and Adele Singh.
3*/4*
I’ve tried to amend a couple of typos within the five minute cut-off but it won’t let me.
This started happening a couple of days.
It’s no big deal but I thought I’d give it a mention.
It’s been happening g to me as well,Tom. I tried to edit my post to say “Mario at 6d” as opposed to “Mario 6d” but nothing happened. Also, for some unknown reason, I can no longer comment using my iPad. I just get an error message.
I just tried to edit this post to get rid of the extra “g”.
Love it!
G for grrrrr…..
In addition to saving us from Chinese bots, Mr K is doing quite a bit of work updating the blog’s site and I think not being able to edit is just a temporary thing while he brings everything else up to date
Thanks, Sue but, as Tom says, it’s not a major issue. We’re all very grateful to Mr. K. and the rest of the team, including yourself.
Absolutely.
It was just in case you and ‘Team Terrific’ weren’t aware of it.
It’s most certainly a long way down the ‘To do’ list.
In conjunction with getting the site back online on July 4, I had to update the core software supporting the site to current versions. That had the side effect of breaking some of the very old plug-in packages that provide additional functionality such as editing comments. I’m working on replacing those plug-ins with modern versions that do get regular updates from their authors. The comment plug-in is first on my list, so you can expect commenting to look a little different in the coming days.
In the meantime, I did manage to get rid of the URL box that recently appeared under the comment box
Thank you so much, Special K.
I know it’s only words but your tireless work is hugely appreciated.
Hear hear. Your efforts are very much appreciated Mr K.
It’s all been said. Great fun from which I’ve chosen a podium of 11a, 22a and 6d. Thanks to compiler and Deansleigh.
An unusual grid but quite a helpful one. Glad of the distraction being driven by DD 2 to see DD1 having been told she had had a seizure in the night. Three hour journey the an hours wait as doctors with her and now driving home. SO glad to have the puzzle to do I love the 14a word. Many thanks to setter and Hinter.
Enjoyed the Muddy Waters clue. As a fan of the late Blues guitarist, I was thrown, at first, by “country artist”! 😉
Welcome to the blog, Graham.
Welcome from me too, Mati.
And me Graham!
Welcome, Graham. Please keep commenting. 👍😊
I thought this mid-week puzzle was somewhat gentler than normal today. As always a few head scratchers and a couple of bung-ins, but all came together pretty easily.
2*/4*
Favourites include 4a, 11a, 14a, 27a, 3d & 19d — with winner 4a
Thanks to Hudson(?) & Deansleigh
Nice to see a bit of Irish in 26A – after all Her Late Majesty used a few words (cúpla focail) when she came to Dublin a couple of years ago. However, the accented a vowel in Irish has a forward accent : sláinte. The French have the luxury of both types of accent on vowels – we Celts are content with just the one.
Ádh Mór o raibh go léir. (Good luck to all).
Great stuff, CC!
It’s such a brilliant language with a rich history that I don’t have the first clue about.
The interesting thing about Welsh and Breton Gaelic (I’m not sure about Irish) is that they are very similar. Two Breton friends of ours went on a cycling tour of North Wales and went into a remote pub for a meal. As they ate the conversation around them was in Welsh. They soon realised they understood what was being said and went to join everyone and a great night ensued.
The family bible is in Scots Gaelic, regretably I know very little.
The original owner was Murdoch Bee, a minister of the kirk in Lochbui on the Isle of Mull and he records the early Bee family tree
I am tempted to have someone like The Repair Shop have a go at restoration, but the thumb hole where he carried it to kirk every day is an important feature I want to keep
Papa Bee made the oak box nearly fifty years ago, but my own skills at that sort of thing is as bad as my Gaelic
That’s wonderful, John. I may have said this before but my father was on the convoys during the war and he wrote of his experiences while at sea. They are only short but give insight into a world we could not imagine. He describes the sinking of a ship with detachment. The manuscripts were becoming fragile so I had them transcribed. I’m sure there are firms out there that will restore the pages of your family bible but leave the cover alone.
To quote the best rugby commentator of all time, Cliff Morgan (Billy Mac ran him
close), in the Baa Baas/NZ game…this is great stuff, gents.
Isn’t this blog just the best!
I’m sorry about that mistake with the accent. The file I submitted had it right – because I checked it – but unfortunately the proof sent back was wrong and I *didn’t* check that thoroughly enough.
With best wishes, Rob/Hudson
So the slant in sláinte was slanting the wrong way.
Thank you, once more, for a most enjoyable crossword.
The space traveller was a great spot by you.
Thank you for a great and enjoyable puzzle, Hudson. Top class. 👍
It’s becoming a pattern, most fly in but some hold outs. Enjoyable puzzle, thanks to setter. Supertramp today 🎸
I think this is a splendid crossword 1*/4* , and appreciated 20d particularly in light of today’s sporting highlight. Many thanks to Hudson and Deansleigh.
I think this was more difficult than* but I was distracted by a bowls match this afternoon so my attention and time was split . Enjoyed 10., 11, 14 ( spelling problem) and 28 . Thanks to all .
Just right for a Wednesday. Favourite was 22a. Thanks to the setter and DL.
Rattled this off before going out this morning and now it’s half time so using the opportunity to make this belated post. Plenty of smart clues and pick Barry and Martin’s rice as COTD.
Thanks to Hudson and Deansleigh
1*/3*
Now back to the second half of a difficult to predict battle
A quick post during half time. Gentle(ish) but as ever with a Hudson puzzle great fun for short time it lasted early doors this morning. Muddy Waters was my clear pick of the clues with podium places for the sweary Swedes & the powerless bookie + a plethora of ticks elsewhere.
Thanks to Hudson & for dropping in & to Deansleigh
Completed this afternoon after a walk over the stepping stones for a very nice meal at The Penny Bun in Askwith. Thank you to Hudson for so much entertainment, including the Swedish swearing in 4a, the 17a word classes, the network offline in 22a, the enthusiastic directors in 5d, and the hard wood in 16d. My favourite today was the 3d powerless bookmaker.
And thank you to Deansleigh for explaining Terry-Thomas, who I know we’ve had before, but I failed to remember.
My last in was the 15d traveller to Saturn. Even though crossing words gave 5 out of the 9 letters and I knew the remaining 4 from the anagram fodder, I still struggled to put them in the right places!
2*/3* ….
liked 4A “Swedish group’s expletive on the radio? You can count on it! (6)”