Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31304
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 crossword easier than yesterday’s, although I didn’t know the alternative meaning of ‘dainty’ in 11a or the philosopher in 24a. Amongst my favourite clues were 18a, 29a and 3d, but tying for first place today are the remorseful car thief in 27a and the itinerant naturist in 25d. There is also an absolutely cracking Quickie pun. 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 Rabbit finally ate carrot turning reddish brown (10)
TERRACOTTA: The last letter (finally) of ‘Rabbit’, and an anagram (turning) of ATE CARROT.
9a Leaders of bishops implacably against sexist prejudice (4)
BIAS: The initial letters (leaders) of ‘bishops implacably against sexist’.
10a I mess about when drunk or sober (10)
ABSTEMIOUS: An anagram (when drunk) of I MESS ABOUT.
11a Dainty City hideaway (6)
ECLAIR: Start with the two-character postcode area often used in crosswords as a synonym for the ‘square mile’ or City of London. Follow this with a synonym for a hideaway or retreat. One of the meanings that Chambers gives for ‘dainty’ is ‘a delicacy, especially a small cake’.
12a Early childhood popular? Imagine! (7)
INFANCY: A two-letter synonym of ‘popular’, and a word that can mean ‘imagine’
15a Illuminate answer to crossword clue “English knight” (7)
LIGHTEN: A word for the answer to a crossword clue (which appears in its plural form at the top of all Big Dave’s blogs), the abbreviation for ‘English’, and the abbreviation for a knight in chess.
16a Subject closed, prince periodically discharged (5)
TOPIC: A two-letter word that can mean ‘closed’ (a door, for example), and the word ‘prince’ with alternate letters removed (periodically discharged).
17a Faction determined to arrest Charlie (4)
SECT: A synonym of ‘determined’ around (to arrest) the letter that Charlie represents in the NATO alphabet.
18a This compiler admitting America is an inspiration (4)
MUSE: The two-character pronoun for the first person singular (this compiler) around (admitting) the abbreviation for the United States.
19a Halle Berry, at heart revolutionary maverick (5)
REBEL: Hidden and reversed (revolutionary) in the first two words of the clue.
21a Clobber engineers in shock (7)
APPAREL: The abbreviation for the Royal Engineers inside a verb meaning to shock or horrify.
22a Small axe husband traded for right mechanical device (7)
RATCHET: Take a word for a small axe, and replace the abbreviation for ‘husband’ with the abbreviation for ‘right’.
24a Liberal philosopher engaging women’s solicitor (6)
LAWYER: The abbreviation for the Liberal party and the surname of a twentieth-century English philosopher around (engaging) the abbreviation for “women’s”.
27a One breaking into a Volkswagen Golf etc is sorry (10)
APOLOGETIC: Take the word ‘a’ from the clue, append a VW model (not the one from the clue), plus G[olf] (NATO alphabet) and ‘etc’ from the clue. Finally insert the Roman numeral for ‘one’ (one breaking into).
28a Heartless work of fiction, A Christmas Carol? (4)
NOEL: A term for a work of fiction with its middle letter removed (heartless). According to Chambers, when spelt without an initial capital, this word for ‘Christmas’ can also mean a Christmas carol.
29a Invaders arrive without resistance in disputed territory (2-4-4)
NO-MANS-LAND: Remove the symbol for ‘resistance’ in physics from the name of a band of eleventh-century cross-channel invaders, and add a synonym of ‘arrive’ (by ship, for example).
Down clues
2d Pound deposited in each island in the Med (4)
ELBA: The abbreviation for the Avoirdupois pound is placed inside (deposited in) the abbreviation for ‘each’.
3d Hesitation around Ms Turner, a bit of a looker? (6)
RETINA: An interjection expressing hesitation is reversed (around) and followed by the first name of the legendary “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” who died in 2023.
4d Close container for 13 Down (7)
COMPACT: A double definition.
5d Excessively large utensil (4)
TOOL: A synonym of ‘excessively’, and the abbreviation for ‘large’.
6d As the Gunners wanting a student in charge? (7)
ARSENIC: Take the name of the North London football club known as the Gunners, remove the second ‘a’ and the usual abbreviation for ‘learner’ (‘wanting a student‘), and append the abbreviation for ‘in charge’. The definition is the symbol in the periodic table for this poisonous element.
7d Gift of gold that ultimately infuriated the old king? (5,5)
MIDAS TOUCH: A cryptic definition of an expression based on a Greek legend, in which a king found that the gift of turning everything he came into contact with into gold was actually a curse.
8d Austere spy throttling Australian leaving Spain (10)
ASTRINGENT: A synonym of ‘spy’ is placed around (throttling) an informal term for a broad Australian accent, from which the IVR code for Spain has been removed (leaving Spain).
12d Getting set up in Main St, Allington (10)
INSTALLING: Hidden in the last three words of the clue.
13d Confront authority after pinching Dior’s no. 1 cosmetic (4,6)
FACE POWDER: A synonym of ‘confront’, and a term for authority or control into which the first letter of ‘Dior’ (Dior’s no. 1) has been inserted.
14d The call of the mountains? (5)
YODEL: A cryptic definition of an Alpine singing technique.
15d On air, finale from Wurlitzer organ (5)
LIVER: A word meaning ‘on air’, i.e. currently broadcasting, and the last letter (finale) of ‘Wurlitzer’.
19d Avoid a repeated piece of music (7)
REFRAIN: A double definition.
20d Yoko Ono regularly supports light satire (7)
LAMPOON: The alternate letters (regularly) of ‘Yoko Ono’ follow (supports, in a down clue) a synonym of ‘light’.
23d Initially, children eat authentic breakfast food (6)
CEREAL: The first letters (initially) of ‘children eat’, and a synonym of ‘authentic’.
25d Wander around promenade briefly naked in the morning (4)
ROAM: The shortened form (briefly) of ‘promenade’ without its first and last letters (naked), and the abbreviation for ante meridiem (in the morning).
26d Look cruel, by the sound of it (4)
MIEN: This word meaning ‘look’ or ‘appearance’ is a homophone (by the sound of it) of a synonym of ‘cruel’ or ‘unkind’.
Which clues did you like best? Let us know in the comments below.
The Quick Crossword pun: POLYP + PUTT + THICKET + TALON = POLLY PUT THE KETTLE ON
Genius.
Unlike our hinter I found this a step up in difficulty after the first 2 days this week, but still very doable and enjoyable. I had to confirm the philosopher at 24a and LOI was 27a which was cleverly misdirected with the Golf. It’s a long time since I came across the Australian lingo (8d) which I find was coined in 1965 by Afferbeck Lauder – what a fabulous pseudonym. I’ll nominate that as my COTD.
Many thanks to the setter and Deansleigh
2*/4*
Another puzzle that wasn’t terribly difficult to solve or parse, yet was a delight to complete. I had a load of potential favourites but my clear winner was 27a. Great stuff.
My thanks to both our midweek setter and Deansleigh. (An uncomfortably close finish against your county at New Road last Sunday).
Yes, but at least you were supporting the winning side! It’s the hope that kills you…
A very enjoyable puzzle with smiles galore. I didn’t know the philosopher but it couldn’t have been much else.
Top picks for me were 29a, 11a, 27a, 3d and 13d.
I also liked the Quickie pun.
Thanks to Deansleigh and the setter.
I think DL got the rating right on this one. Although not a read and write it all went in fairly easily. As I lost my first post by going back to the puzzle I am not adding anything else except for thank yous to DLs and the setter.
Good fun on a very warm morning here with about the right level of challenge for a Wednesday. Like others, I thought the car thief at 27a was excellent while the well-disguised element at 6d was also very good. Thanks very much to the setter and to Deansleigh.
1.5*/3.5*. I found this lighter than usual for a Wednesday, but I did enjoy it. I had no particular favourite but the Quickie pun takes the honours today.
Deansleigh mentions the BRB definition for “dainty” relating to 11a. I rather like their definition for the answer: “a cake, long in shape but short in duration, …”
Many thanks to the setter and Deansleigh.
I love it – and I am rather partial to them!
In the seventies we used to buy square marshmallows covered in chocolate and dipped in coconut – “Dainties”. Thought they may have been Tunnock’s but they did round versions called “Snowballs”. I can still picture them in the shop – about 3” square in separate cellophane packaging.
Really enjoyed the crossword, especially 3d, 6d and 19d, which was my last one in.
Thank you to setter and to Deansleigh for being on hand for me to check the parsing of 24a
The Aussie in 8d was a learning moment, and thanks Croye Dave for Afferbeck Lauder, that’s a good little rabbit hole to go down.
Welcome to the blog, gladys.
Welcome, glad to see you !
Another day with a few tricky areas…the 24a philosopher was a new name to me and I needed Deansleigh’s hint to parse a couple – 7d was straightforward but I cannot see how the clue helps to construct the solution and with 8d I was even more confused – to be “austere” should the first letter of the solution be there? It took me ages to find a word that worked after I had taken the spy out. 26a took me some time to find and it still didn’t really sound quite right.
Aside from those issues I enjoyed the puzzle. My COTD is 6d which I thought was clever, once the penny dropped!
Many thanks to today’s setter and Deansleigh for helping me out
Despite a completed grid bar one clue, this was a very nice puzzle
My printed version this morning chopped off the second line of 29a at the bottom of the page and unfortunately “Invaders arrive without resistance in” was not enough to solve it (especially without the enumeration).
I couldn’t be bothered to switch the computer back on just for 1 line of text!
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh.
Quickest solve ever today, must be right on the same wavelength as the setter, I’ll enjoy it while I can, it don’t happen often.
I’m with our reviewer in reckoning this one maybe a tad easier than yesterday. That said both the philosopher & the informal term for the Aussie/English accent were unfamiliar so needed post grid fill confirmation. I also struggled with ‘to’ for ‘closed’ but came to the same conclusion as in the hint.
Enjoyed the puzzle – 10,27&29a (prompted a blast of Bob thro’ the speakers) + 3,6&25d particular likes. Top prize goes to the pun.
Thanks to the setter & to Deansleigh
A very gentle midweeker that was a joy to solve.
I’ve had a bad run of guesses recently but I’m going all-in that it’s The Hud as he loves to mention villages and their streets in clues. If it is Mr Tumble then I’m going to keep struggling with these two.
I thought VW Golf was great though ‘etc’ was a shame but he had no choice. I also like the Aussie slang which I haven’t heard of before though it makes complete sense.
How he parsed the first two letters of 25d is absolutely hilarious: ”Hmm. I know what I’ll do. I’ll think of a nine letter word, takes its shortened version and then knock off the outside letters.” Bonkers but I love it.
My picks are the brilliant 10a, 28a (very clever) and 29a.
MTTTA and Nigel Hades.
2*/4*
Oh, great pun!
Monday on a Wednesday! 1.5*/4.5*
Candidates for favourite – 11a, 22a, 4d, 19d, and an HM for the pun – and the winner is 11a.
Thanks to whomsoever and Deansleigh.
A nice puzzle but for me a bit too unchallenging for a Wednesday. Mostly very good clues provided an enjoyable solve. Favourite clue: 21a – simply because the definition has been used widely in these parts since I was a kid. 2*/3.5*.
Gentle and fun whilst it lasted. Thought 6d was nicely constructed and liked the Aussie slang. Cotd though goes to 27a. Thanks to compiler and Deansleigh.
I found this relatively gentle for a Wednesday but cracking fun. My favourite was 29A which I thought was very neat.
10A is one of two words I know where each vowel appears once and in order, the other being FACETIOUS. Tom no doubt knows many more!
Thanks to Deansleigh and the setter.
Hi Jon
I forgot to mention it in my post.
I heard a good vowel one last year:
The vowels in Celine Dion are (to the tune of Old McDonald) e i e i o.
Can you or anyone else think of a regular word that contains five consecutive vowels? I have three though I would spell one of them with four.
I’m guessing the one you’d spell with four would be queueing / queuing. I can’t think of any others!
That’s the one.
A clue for the others is they are onomatopoeias: one is a noise a four-legged creature would make (there are various spellings of the root word) and a noise we would say to get someone’s attention…
Hmm, I can’t make miaow work, and I’m at a loss for any other candidates.
Miaow can be spelt miaou. So, I’ll give you that one.
The other one is cooeeing which is a brilliant word.
Ah, I did look for an alternative to miaow, but it seems the BRB doesn’t sanction miaou so I gave up. Cooeeing is indeed brilliant.
Except when the cat is asked to drive a car and it replies “Me?How?”
Wey hey!
If you were a practitioner of Gregorian chant you should recognise this – EUOUAE – a Gregorian cadence, and, dare I suggest, in at least one dictionary.
It’s a truly excellent answer, S, and superb knowledge by you.
Unlike some solvers on this blog, I was looking for the regular ones.
I love Gregorian chant. Very relaxing.
Gentle midweek fun – thanks to our setter and Deansleigh.
I liked 27a, 29a, 6d and the Quickie Pun.
This was much easier than yesterday which was too sporty for me – not complaining, just saying. I struggled with that late last night but today was sheer joy. I have a feeling we had the ‘dainty’ a couple of days ago? 6d was very clever, I just had to lean on Deansleigh for the parsing of 25d. The Quickie pun was the out and out favourite! Hot, or what? How and when can I face the ironing? Many thanks to Sparkling Setter and Devoted Deansleigh.
** / ****
Really enjoyable and mostly quicker than yesterday for me. The philosopher was new to me as was the Aussie accent but when said it makes sense. Need parsing confirmations for the invaders at 29s and the aforementioned 8d Australian. COTD went to the simple but elegant 5d Excessively large utensil.
Many thanks to the setter and thanks to She Aligned (great to have met you on Saturday)!
Good to have met you too, AP. An excellent afternoon and great company.
Felt like this should have been a Tuesday puzzle and yeaterdays todays.
This was crammed with charm and wit and although over quickly, every second was a blast. So many top clues but will pick 27a &29a as my joint favs.
Thank you setter for a lovely puzzle.and to Deansleigh for the review
Oh what am I to do? The World Cup over, and the renewal of the Premier League still over three weeks away. It seems wrong at my age to wish time away so I must sit out these three weeks of what can only be accurately described as torture. Oh I know the Spanish Inquisition, and Catholic priests at the time of the Reformation thought they had it rough, but nothing compares with the torment I am suffering. Nothing.
What? Oh yeah. Great guzzle. Enjoyed untangling it.
Thanks to the setter and Single Head.
I feel your pain.
A typical Wednesday puzzle as we approach mid-week.
2.5*/3*
Favourites include 1a, 10a, 12a, 22a, 14d & 20d — with winner 20d
Thanks to setter & Deansleigh
**/***
Nearly finished without assistance but there were a few that stumped me – but the hints got me there. I managed to brute-force 10a but that’s another new one for me!
Very enjoyable and all completed although I needed to check the philosopher and Australian accent as they were new to me. 27a my favourite in this highly entertaining puzzle.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints
Like DL I thought this was easier that Tuesday’s offering. However, I’m wiser now thanks to DL’s hints.
8d, my last in, solved by default. I’d never heard that term for Australian. However, I can imagine it being pronounced!l
15a … a bung in for me …. who knew eh!
19a was strange … I initally thought the answer was Leber (before the revolutionary click in) and on line search reveals that a guy called Leber set up a music company called Maverick … coincidentally or some clever misdirection?
I did know that a dainty could be a cake etc … that was a giveaway.
Cotd was the Arsenal.
Thanks to setter and DL.
About 80% completed before I had to resort to the hints, particularly on the eastern side. I was led astray by thinking of Arsenal at 6d and also the dainty at 11a. Being pedantic isn’t the answer an example of said thing rather than the thing itself?
Going to stick with 11a and 6d as my favourites, especially the latter where the clue was a very good example of misdirection.
Thank you to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints.
Hi, Flyboy. Yes, the answer to 11a is an example of a dainty. That’s absolutely fine in cryptic crosswords, just as 15d is an instance of an organ. (It’s t’other way round that needs indicating — using an example to clue a broader category.)
Started off at a gallop and slowed down in the NE corner. Got the correct answers for 6d and 8d but couldn’t work out why – thanks Deansleigh for your help. 11a was a DNF even though I guessed it started with EC. Annoyingly I remember small cakes being called dainties after I saw the answers! In spite of my difficulties I thoroughly enjoyed the puzzle so thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for your hints.
1* / 4* Firstly one of the best quickie puns ever followed by a terrific puzzle.
Loads of excellent clues including sorry at 27a, the 1a reddish brown anagram, and 3d bit of a looker.
Thanks to the compiler for a most enjoyable diversion and to Deansleigh
Like others,I found this a gentle Wed offering.
Pody pop stars are 10A’s surface even if I find the word unpleasant to say, 3D’s Turner looker and 27A’s Lego-tastic car thief; hopefully they won’t do it again.
Thanks to setter and to Deansleigh ⭐️
And the quickie pun is indeed a banger, bravo 👏🏼
John and I did an ice cream making demonstration this morning with cones to sample at the end. Got to the crossword rather late but it was a delight to come home to. Finished unaided but it certainly was NOT a read and write. The Australian reference was a new one but it could not be anything else. Like Daisygirl I too love a dainty although scrapping half the sugar coating away before eating is hardly dainty. Biggest tick went to 3 down.
Thank you to our setter and Deansleigh
27A an absolute classic in a hugely entertaining puzzle. VMT to setter and to Deansleigh.
Late on parade because of an appointment at the Liver Unit of the QE in Brum. How weird is it that, as I sat down, I solved 15d.
Before anything else, a huge shoutout for the Quickie pun! I didn’t see it at first then it seemed to appear as if it were emerging from mist. Fabulous and the setter should take a bow.
As others have said, this was a gentle affair that didn’t bother the horses – I can say that because nobody has for a while. I have only one, minor, complaint. It is too early to mention 28a. My COTD is the bit of a looker at 3d.
Thank you, setter for the fun. Thank you, Lin Hagseed for the hints and good to meet you last Saturday.
We’re back in the high twenties in The Marches and are now in an official drought. What an unofficial drought is like, I hesitate to ponder.
Is it me or is 6d becoming the new orchestra? Didn’t know the philosopher but the answer had to be what it was so I just put it in and moved on. I think this was about right for a Wednesday. Favourite was a toss up between 27a and 29a and I’ll go with 27a. Thanks to the setter and DL.
I too thought this was fairly gentle for a Wednesday only held up at the end in the NE with the dainty clue and the austere 8d ,the latter of which I got with some e help. I’ve only ever heard the term in the context of a face lotion ! I managed to parse 11a to get the answer , and only just twigged from reading the blog ‘dainty’ was meant as a term for cake , and not a real synonym of the word eclair. I thought I had learnt something new ! As others have said 27a was a brilliant clue. Thanks to the setter and Deansleigh.
Jenny M – I’m with you on 8d….austere is stringent and a product that tightens face tissues is astringent.
Had to do this in stages today. Too many parses for my liking but ** about right.
Some classic Pink Floyd tonight 🎸
Dark Side, Wish u Were Here or ?
Wonderful — thank you so much, Hudson. One of the easiest crosswords for a while, but also one of the most fun, with highlights including breaking into the VW in 27a, the invaders arriving in 29a, and the Wurlizer organ in 15d. And well done, Hudson, for spotting the wordplay available in Halle Berry (19a) and Yoko Ono (20d) — the latter being a particularly fun way to clue just 3 letters. My favourite, as with many other commenters above, was “As the Gunners” in 6d.
I solved this as a treat before bed last night, after an evening of playing board games in the pub, but only had time to read everybody’s comments this morning.
I remembered the philosopher from school RE lessons. Thank you to Deansleigh for confirming I wasn’t missing any wordplay in 7d and 14d, and the ‘carol’ definition of 28a.
2*/4* …
liked 29A “Invaders arrive without resistance in disputed territory (2-4-4)”