Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31316
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 got off to a flying start with today’s crossword, aided by the linked solutions in the first and last rows, but paused over the grass in 6d and Tracey’s coupling in 12d, although both answers are fairly gettable from the wordplay alone. My favourite clues today are 8a, the aforementioned 12d, and 16d. 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 Clement Freud’s first fiancée appearing regularly (4)
FINE: The initial letter (first) of Freud, and alternate letters (appearing regularly) of ‘fiancée’.
3a Canine maybe excessively hot, nursing temperature (5)
TOOTH: A synonym of ‘excessively’ and the letter on a hot tap are placed around (nursing) the symbol for ‘temperature’ in physics.
6a Groom horse hurdling last at Epsom (4)
COMB: A term for a sturdy short-legged horse goes round (hurdling) the final letter of (last at) ‘Epsom’.
8a Large United Reformed Church oven, one provider of a meal (8,7)
LUNCHEON VOUCHER: The abbreviations for ‘large’ and ‘united’, and an anagram (reformed) of CHURCH OVEN ONE. For some of us who remember the 1970s, the solution will be forever linked with the activities of Cynthia Payne and her clients.
9a English police force in charge? That’s sickening (6)
EMETIC: The abbreviation for ‘English’, an informal abbreviation for the Metropolitan Police, and the abbreviation for ‘in charge’.
10a Carry winter sport equipment back in Russian fur hat (8)
BEARSKIN: A synonym of ‘carry’, an item of winter sports equipment, and the last letter of (back in) ‘Russian’.
11a “Over weight” slogan created self-inflicted damage (3,5)
OWN GOALS: The cricketing abbreviation for ‘over’, the abbreviation for ‘weight’, and an anagram (created) of SLOGAN.
13a One likely to get tipsy cake? (6)
SPONGE: A double definition.
15a Curse what a beaver might do to a stream, it’s said (6)
DAMMIT: A homophone (it’s said) of an expression that describes what beavers do to restrict water flow in a stream.
17a Badly behaved, Bart hits out (8)
BRATTISH: An anagram (out) of BART HITS.
19a Drag everybody outside new hospital community building (4,4)
TOWN HALL: Synonyms of ‘drag’ and ‘everybody’ around (outside) the abbreviations for ‘new’ and ‘hospital’.
21a Very large mother given injection of iodine element (6)
OSMIUM: The abbreviation for ‘outsize’ (very large) and an informal term for a mother are placed either side of (given injection of) the chemical symbol for iodine.
22a Keeps floating unrealistic plans (7,2,3,3)
CASTLES IN THE AIR: A synonym of ‘keeps’ or ‘strongholds’ and a phrase that can mean ‘floating’, in the sense of ‘suspended above the ground’.
23a Endlessly amusing retired peer (4)
LORD: A synonym of ‘amusing’ without its final letter (endlessly) and reversed (retired).
24a Starts to put rosewater in very yucky outside loo (5)
PRIVY: The initial letters of (starts to) the middle five words of the clue.
25a Aquatic mammal left to follow the tide (4)
SEAL: The abbreviation for ‘left’ follows another word for ‘tide’.
Down clues
1d Fabrication of shoe lad engineered (9)
FALSEHOOD: An anagram (engineered) of OF SHOE LAD.
2d Granny enthusiastic for fabric (7)
NANKEEN: An informal word for a grandmother, and a synonym of ‘enthusiastic’. The name comes from the city in China where this material was originally made.
3d Cutting defensive position, soldier? (9)
TRENCHANT: A defensive position often associated with the First World War, and an insect of which ‘soldier’ is a variety much loved by crossword compilers.
4d Coach upset substitute at home and Salah (7)
OMNIBUS: Take the abbreviation for ‘substitute’, a synonym for ‘at home’, and the abbreviated first name of an Egyptian footballer, and reverse the whole thing (upset, in a down clue).
5d Fuss embodied by Cornish “ooh arr” (3-2)
HOO-HA: Hidden in (embodied by) the last three words of the clue.
6d Prepares to fire former Labour leader Michael, being a grass (9)
COCKSFOOT: A word meaning ‘draws back the bolt of a gun in preparation for firing’, and the surname of the leader of the Labour party from 1980-1983 responsible for ‘the longest suicide note in history‘.
Credit: Mike Read / naturepl.com
7d Gathering support for driver heading north with trendy sports car around (7)
MEETING: Take a support for a golf ball, reverse it (heading north, in a down clue) and follow this with a synonym for ‘trendy’. Then place all this inside a famous sports car marque.
12d Paired with good artist Tracey on wild date (9)
GEMINATED: The abbreviation for ‘good’, the surname of a controversial English artist, and an anagram (wild) of ‘date’.
13d Theory was pulled to pieces so it should hold water (9)
SEAWORTHY: An anagram (pulled to pieces) of THEORY WAS.
14d English pub on green barring daughter just for a brief period (9)
EPHEMERAL: The abbreviation for ‘English’, the symbol for a public house on an Ordnance Survey map, and a gemstone that is a synonym for the colour green, without (barring) the letter that is an abbreviation for ‘daughter’.
16d One from Mexico getting stoned before dinner? (7)
AVOCADO: A cryptic definition of a fruit also known as the alligator pear.
17d Almost ringing international artist (7)
BELLINI: A synonym of ‘ringing’ without its final letter (almost), and the abbreviation for ‘international’.
18d Copy current friend installing tech (7)
IMITATE: The symbol for electric current in physics (from the French Intensité du courant) and an informal word for ‘friend’, round the abbreviation for Information Technology (installing tech).
20d Some Eurocrat (EU politician) cleaned his plate (3,2)
ATE UP: Hidden in ‘Eurocrat EU politician’.
Which clues did you like best? Let us know in the comments below.
The Quick Crossword pun: SUITE + HANDS + OUR = SWEET AND SOUR
An enjoyable midweeker that didn’t cause too many hiccups.
We like the expressions along the top and the bottom. Always a nice touch.
Even though 12d makes sense, I’ve never heard of it. 5d is a great expression as is 6d which was a new one on me (obvs).
I’m guessing the setter isn’t a horse racing fan as there are no hurdles or fences at Epsom whereas there are at Cheltenham.
My picks are 13d (nice surface) and 14d (good construction) and 16d (good fun).
Many thanks to…..hmm….which one of them isn’t a fan of the nags…..Mr Tumble!
3*/4*
and at Hexham
And Fakenham.
I mentioned Cheltenham as it hosts the most prestigious hurdle races. So, more non-followers would have heard of it.
And thank you Nigel Hades for another splendid blog. Most remiss.
It’s Wednesday and I’m a small step up the ladder. I really enjoyed today’s offering as the clues led me to unveil a number of “let’s check that in the dictionary’ moments.
Am I displaying a weakness if I say that 17d is better known as a cocktail than an artist? I did smile at 5d which had a touch of the carry on films about it.
COTD – the cleverly worded 7d & 12d
Off to Edgbaston for Birmingham’s last Hundred fixture of the season…won one lost plenty, very disappointing.
My apologies for omitting to thank Deansleigh for the hints and today’s setter for the puzzle, very grateful to both as always.
… I was thinking the same … although an original Bellini is probably cheaper to buy that the cocktail created and named thereafter in Harry’s Bar in Venice!
Good midweek puzzle btw. My cotd was 3a.
Thanks to setter and DL for the hints … I never noticed the linked answers across the top and bottom … clever eh!
And, I always thought that Bellini was a composer, a favourite of Queen Victoria, best known for his operas especially Norma and Puritani.
I found this to be of a similar level of challenge as yesterday’s puzzle but less enjoyable and the surfaces were not of the same standard. 12D is a new word for me but I solved and parsed the clue through its cryptic elements. I wonder if 11A should have had a plural definition but I’m sure I’m wrong. I was going to complain about the obscure nature of 24A until I saw the pun, then the other one. I do feel sympathy for any solvers who struggled with 8A as the item in question was fairly short lived and was limited to a small sector of the population.
Thanks as always to Deansleigh for the hints and to the setter.
Thai corner.
The Thai Government lottery is omnipresent. Although there is an online version the paper tickets seem to be the preferred option still. The tickets are displayed on large folding plywood cases which also act as the means of transport. At least 20% of the vendors have some disability including a large number of blind sellers who read the braille on the tickets. Given the Thai obsession with numerology the sellers have an encyclopedic knowledge of the ticket serial numbers they have on offer. Approach one and ask for a ticket relevant to a birthday on 29th May 1962 and they’ll present you with all the options instantly. More to come on this. The picture shows the lottery sellers in operation at our local market this morning.
The ONCE (pronounced on-thay) lottery tickets in Spain are all sold by people with disabilities.
ONCE is the 1st letters in Spanish for Spanish National Organization of the Blind.
Thank you, both, for those snippets (great word)
They were sold by people with boards in Athens but my daughter told me not to buy them because they were usually linked with crime. There were other, legitimate, outlets if I felt so inclined. My dealings with the lottery in this country are three scratch cards every Saturday. I’m up by £1 at the moment. 😊
I’ve been buying lottery tickets weekly since they started over here in January 1988. A few small wins, numerous “free tickets” but not the big one yet. (When it started out, the then Florida Governor was against the lottery, saying people should save and buy what they want. Said the man coming from family wealth, with farmlands supported generously by the taxpayers.) Should we ever win, we’ve got that earmarked to pay off our daughter’s mortgage for her, so fingers crossed.
My solving pretty much mirrored our blogger’s intro. 6&12d certainly weren’t familiar & arrived at via the wordplay – with the former I wasn’t even sure what sort of grass it was as it seemed quite a good term for a snitch. A pretty swift grid fill with a neat top & bottom & plenty to admire elsewhere – 13,15&22a + 7&13d particular likes.
Thanks to the setter & to Deansleigh
Ps I’m finding Donny over in t’other place hard graft.
An enjoyable puzzle with both 6d and 12d being new to me. I had to check that 17d wasn’t just a cocktail.
I liked the top and bottom phrases and the Quickie Pun.
Top picks for me were 16d, 7d and 14d.
Thanks to Deansleigh and the setter.
A satisfying solve despite a couple of words I have not heard of. I wanted the first part of 6d to be “colts” so I was held up there until the church oven came along at 8a. Also, putting “pooch” in at 3a did me no favours – another case of bunging in an answer without having followed the instructions in the clue. My COTD is the English pub at 14d.
Thank you, setter (I’m going with TDS65 and plumping for Tumbledown Mountain) for the fun. Thank you, Lain Hedges for the hints.
I did like the Quickie pun and I now feel in need of some.
That’s made me smile Steve – I suspect many, including me, strayed down the pooch route as their first thought, but of all the solvers I did think you’d be the first to nail it.
To my eternal shame, I missed it completely, GP. 🤔
I fell in with a loud splash. So clever to have us all thinking of breeds of dogs.
I will add Lain Hedges to the list.
I thought this one was an Ed Leashing production?
Duly added, J.
Or that Norwegian setter Helga Denis – we don’t hear much from her these days.
You’re on fire!
2*/3*. A bit of a curate’s egg for me today.
It’s unusual to have what I assume are unrelated expressions in the top and bottom row, and I’ve never heard of 12d but it was readily derivable from the wordplay.
7d was my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh.
An excellent puzzle, and I liked the top and bottom row. As the puzzle progressed I continued to look for something further.
The very large mother at 21a was my favourite, and reminded me of the element song by Tom Lehrer.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh
I sat down with a coffee having driven home from Worcester via Shrewsbury fully expecting this to be really testing, and was pleasantly surprised when most of the across clues went in straight away. The two long’uns and the linked clues were excellent stepping stones towards completion, and the rest followed very smoothly. For a favourite I went for 16d.
Many thanks to our midweek setter and Deansleigh.
I very much enjoyed this very nice midweek backpager
Thanks to the setter and Deansleigh
The wordplay was excellent and enabled me to find the more obacure answers to some of rhe clues in this enjoyable guzzle. I afraid I failed to notce the links across the bottom and top row, although they arw clear now they have been pointed out. I liked the grass clue at 6d and remember itt being pointed out while doing land use surveys on geography fieldtrips. 14d was another good Lego clue as was 8a and 1d a fine anagram. Rhanks to the compiler and to Deansleigh for the hints
Enjoyable and over too soon, one of those puzzles where progress was such that I didn’t pause for long enough even to notice the phrases in the top and bottom rows.
Many cracking surfaces and the NHO at 12d was very fairly clued – I presumed it has the same linguistic route as the star sign etc. Big smile at 5d, being a resident in Cornwall! Honours to 13a, 22a & 16d.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh
Never knew where avocados came from until today, also does anyone know if LVs still exist, I thought they were a thing from the 60s and 70s.
Anyway a great fun puzzle and just right for a Wednesday.
A very pleasant midweek puzzle that didn’t overtax the grey matter. No surprise, I missed the connections in the top and bottom lines. 2d is a word that I only became aware of by becoming an avid cruciverbalist and is the only place I have come across it since. **/****
Candidates for favourite – 6a, 13a, 24a, 2d, 7d, and 16d – and the winner is 16d.
Thanks to whomsoever and Deansleigh.
I have spent my life with fabric so have always known the word – but very much doubt if it is still made. Maybe someone will prove me wrong.
Have a gander at this:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/chinese-printed-blue-nankeen-exhibition-hall
As is my wont, I filled in the knowable to me answers and then had to concentrate fully to solve the remainder. I even worked out 12 down and 21 across.
But, ignominiously, I was left with the first word of 22 across and had to concede or go mad.
Thanks to setter and hinter.
I finished this in one sitting, with some e help for the 2 new words that have been mentioned. To my shame I didn’t notice the linked clues until I read the blog. Thanks to setter and Deansleigh.
An enjoyable puzzle with very neat phrases at the top and bottom – thanks to our setter and Deansleigh.
I didn’t know the 6d and 12d answers (or that 16d came from Mexico) but all were fairly clued.
For my podium I’ve plumped for 10a, 15a and 22a.
Nothing too onerous for this mid-week production, once the meal provider at 8a was unravelled. I wasn’t sure that the interjection at 15a was legit but there it is in the BRB. 12d was a new word for me, but clearly parsed. My 3 favourites are the aforementioned a meal provider, the watertight theory at 13d and the brief period at 14d.
Many thanks to the setter and DL.
1*/3*
Oh those women who complain about the pain of childbirth! They know nothing! Nothing, I tell ye.
Yesterday I had a double jab session. Pneumonia, and shingles. Today, my left arm feels as though it has a cannonball injected into it. Additionally, there is the dizziness and mild nausea.
A drowsy numbness pains my sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk.
Oh the agony! The woe!
It is nothing short of a miracle that I have suffered through and completed today’s guzzle, and struggled on through the torment to bring this important epistle.
My suffering is greater than that endured by King Lear and Jean Valjean combined.
What? Oh yeah – thanks to the setter and Single Head.
Never, ever had a reaction to a jab anywhere near as bad as to shingles #1. Screaming ab-dabs for 3 days, culminating in a saturated pillow after a ridiculous fever.
I didn’t have a reaction to the shingles jab and I often wonder whether it worked
I’ve had shingles and it is not an experience I would like to go through again. Apart from a tender arm, I don’t react to vaccines except, that is, to the Civid vaccine last year. I had the worst headache I have ever experienced. I was holding my head because I thought it was going to explode. The next day I was in hospital. I was quite trepidatious about the one this year but it passed with no incident.
You have my sympathy, Terence. Courage, mon brave! Think of England!
Whoa! Whoa! Isn’t “trepidatious” an unidicated Americanism? Where’s RD!
So it is, J. I hang my head in shame. 🙂↕️
Isn’t ‘dizziness and mild nausea’ your normal condition?
How miserable for you!
John tells that there is some evidence that the shingles jab can give a measure of protection against dementia , so perhaps your agony was worth it.
Ha…very interesting!
Thanks to the setter and Deansleigh – quite enjoyed today. But it was all over far too quickly for us. Probably the easiest Wednesday puzzle for a long time – we wrote in every answer on 1st pass.
Like others, neither of us spotted the top and bottom row lonked clues!
A very entertaining puzzle with a few new words, already mentioned by others but well clued so that they were gettable even if you didn’t know them. 8a was my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints.
Easiest of the week (and knowing Thursday’s and Friday’s it will probably remain) for me so far.
Quite few smiles. I remember getting 15p/day of 8a when I first started work and if anyone does the Password puzzle, 3a will bring a sense of deja vu. Hadn’t heard of 12d or 17d before but the clues made the answers very clear.
Thanks to setter and DL
I thought this mid-week puzzle trickier than last week.
2.5*/3* for me
Favourites include 8a, 11a, 15a, 1d, 2d & 13d — with winner 15a as it made me chuckle
Thanks to setter & Deansleigh
A nice gentle solve with only a few hold ups, primarily 6d (spent too long trying to fill in Coltsfoot) 22a (needed help to solve this in spite of writing in the last three words – knew it was something ‘in the air’ but the castles eluded me! Finally – the LOI – 16d. Having just eaten an avocado for lunch I still thought the answer related to an inhabitant of Mexico! Favourites were 8a (do they still exist?)
21a and 14d (love that word). The three short worded clues at the top and bottom of the grid were great. Thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints.
I’m glad I’m not the only one, JG , who couldn’t think of those floating buildings. I’m not even sure if I’ve ever heard or read about them. Or is my brain not remembering properly?
Just a moment. Are they sung about in a Dolly Parton song?
Don McLean had a song called Castles in the air.
I don’t know that one by Don Mclean. My mind was in a complete muddle because I was imagining Dolly Parton singing Castles in the Air to the tune of “Islands in the Stream”. Ha!
Thanks for the info, Madflower.
What a great guzzle, a delight. The two long ones went in immediately without counting the letters, I was so sure of them. 12d made me stop and think for a while then I thought of Gemini and it made sense. I liked 3d (soldier ant clever) and 14d and 4d all had stars. And the linked top and bottom clues were a nice touch. I still cannot access this page on my iPhone have had to use the iPad. I wish one of you IT fellows lived round the corner. I might have to face a trip to Apple in Cambridge to get it sorted out. Almshouse Trustees meeting at 3.15 and I take the minutes, I hope it is short and sweet but some idiot backed into the garden wall so no doubt it will take ages. I shall have to put on something decent! Many thanks to the setter for distracting me from the forthcoming ordeal and to Deanleigh.
A nice midweek puzzle with fine clues of mostly moderate difficulty providing an enjoyable solve. A couple of answers I’d never heard of but no problem with that. I have ticked several but will plump for 10a as my favourite today. 2.5*/3.5*.
*I have recently refurbished my father’s old weathervane which he made in 1980 and sits upon the gable of the shed/workshop in the back garden. My neighbour was asking me about the pointer at the rear fence. I told him that the arrow should point into the wind not with it and quoted an old adage I had learned in geography lessons in the mid 60s: “A wind is known from whence it’s blown”.He’d never heard of it and I can’t find it using a Google search. Does anyone else know this adage?
Me old mucker, Susie Dent
(a shameless name-drop) told me something about avocados which I loved:
The Aztecs called a part of the male body ‘avocados’ because of their shape and how they hung from the tree. Off the back of this, demand increased hugely as they thought they were good for fertility.
The deepest of joy.
I will endeavour to forget this info when next tucking into a fleshy ripe avocado.
Love it!
Must revise my elements table! Thank you compiler and Deansleigh
Great puzzle , I loved the stoned Mexican. Thank you setter and Deansleigh for the hints.
Urrgh, defeated by 16d. Still, every day’s a school day in crosswordland so I’ve learnt 6d and 12d. And I’d have spelt 15a with an ‘n’ instead of the double letter.
My first comment on here, so hello from the northern reaches of the red rose county. A fairly straightforward solve for me today although like others I initially had the wrong sort of canine at 3a which caused 3d to be LOI. 6d and 12d both new words for me too, but nicely clued. No clear favourite but 4d made me smile.
Welcome to the blog, Johnogaunt.
Now that you’ve introduced yourself I hope that you’ll become a regular commenter.
Welcome from me as well, JoG and, as Gazza says – do please keep commenting.
And greetings from Carnforth in the Red Rose county!
We’re neighbours then!
Completed the puzzle early as I had to travel to Tunbridge Wells for a Guys dentist. The bite wings showed perfect restorations done 50 plus years ago.
Excellent puzzle and it is so good to learn new words.I knew the sport connected to Salah but only because it had cropped up in a previous crossword and now I know his first name. The astrological twins popped up although like others that was one of the new words. Top marks for 16 d. Thanks as ever to Deansleigh and our setter.
I have some of those fillings as well, Dyslex. 👍
Just finished, the hot temperatures causing the brain function to be a bit on the soggy side, that’s my excuse.
I found this to be harder than the previous two days but did finish it without the hints. An enjoyable solve given the readings along the top and bottom lines, very clever. Favourite today was the meal provider at 8a although the grass a 6d was amusing although having never heard of it.
Thank you to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints.
Another enjoyable puzzle completed earlier today. Lots to like though I had the wrong ending for 15a which obviously affected the ending for 3d. Not so clever me. Liked 16d and 22a. Many thanks to the Setter and Deansleigh
I was surprised how many didn’t know the grass, still, if you know it you know it, if you don’t you don’t. 12d was a new word for me but fairly clued. Not sure about the synonym for tide but I’m sure someone will prove me wrong. Favourite was 14d. Thanks to the setter and DL. Good luck to anyone a attempting the toughie. In about 2 hours I completed 0 clues, that’s zero, zilch, not one, none whatsoever before throwing it into the waste paper basket where it belonged
1.5*/ 3.5* An excellent midweeker, a few new words but all gettable with the good clueing.
Favourites today the self inflicted damage at 11a, the coach at 4d and 13d holds water
Thanks to Deansleigh and setter
I too started out very well with the answers going in rapidly, until they didn’t. I didn’t know the 21a element, 12d was a new word for me, and 25a just never occurred to me, oh dear. Otherwise, a lot of fun. Thanks to setter and Deansleigh.
Laboured through this a bit. Last two in were 9A and 3D, both new words to me.
Pody picks are the sickly 9A, 6D’s grass and the watery 13D.
Thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh ⭐️
I might not be around tomorrow, my friends. I have an appointment at Telford hospital to be told the results of my tests and CT scan.
Play nice! 😊
Good luck, me old cocker spaniel.
My thoughts are, of course, with you along with the thoughts of many, many others.
We’ll be thinking of you – stay positive
Will be thinking of you Steve. Take care.
9I washed up on 12d because I spelled 15a correctly with an ‘n’ in the middle. I’d never heard the word 12d but worked it out from the clue so all’s good.
An enjoyable puzzle
2*/5* …
liked 16D ” One from Mexico getting stoned before dinner? (7)”