Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31319 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
(hosted by crypticsue)
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An early start while it is relatively cooler and the sun has yet to peep out from behind the clouds. I also have quite a lot to do this morning, including looking after three hens while our neighbours are in Cornwall. Luckily the crossword didn’t take very long to solve, the main difficulty coming from deciding which clues to hint. I expect someone will tell me I’ve missed the ones they are stuck on
Please ask for help if you are stuck on clues I haven’t hinted, but before doing so, please read the comments that appear before yours, so that you are not duplicating questions, and make sure you obey both THE INSTRUCTIONS IN RED at the end of the Hints and the blog’s Comment Etiquette – Big Dave’s Crossword Blog)
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also”. Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.
Across
1a Mistake end of harness on vehicle for weapon (11)
A mistake, and the end of harnesS which goes after (on) a type of vehicle
10a Careless mistakes with bricklayer’s equipment (8)
Some mistakes and a piece of equipment used by a bricklayer
11a Meet a judge at first overwhelmed by murder (6)
A (from the clue) and the first letter of Judge ‘overwhelmed’ by an informal phrase meaning to murder
14a Sensational finish? (10)
Something that happens once you have used one of your senses while eating or drinking
24a Free magistrate, about 51 (7)
A historical name for a magistrate goes ‘about’ the Roman numerals for 51
26a At sea, piteous serf is annoying (11)
A splendid word meaning annoying is an anagram (at sea) of PITEOUS SERF
Down
1d Very busy making a call (7)
Very busy or an informal way of saying making a call
3d Dance music initially meant for tango creating unease (10)
Dance music, the initial letter of Meant, FOR (from the clue) and the letter represented by Tango in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
7d Seen with Mrs T possibly leaving hotel in London area (11)
An anagram (possibly) of the first four words in the clue, without the letter (leaving) represented by Hotel in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
9d Chap allowed to put up article – on this? (11)
A chap, a reversal (to put up) of a synonym for allowed and a single article
19d On edge, travelling over in North America (7)
An anagram (travelling) of OVER inserted between the abbreviations for North and America
23d Shop in Indian city, we hear (4)
This shop sounds like (we hear) the name of an Indian city
As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out
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The Quick Crossword pun: LEAR + KNOLL + MESSY = LIONEL MESSI
There were a couple of clues that could trap the unwary in today’ s prize offering. They had a choice of answers so the clues needed to be read carefully in order to suss out the correct one. I didn’t know the word at 26a but the clue gave all the instructions and I must try and work the answer into conversation sometime. My COTD is the sensational finish at 14a.
Thank you, setter for a most enjoyable puzzle. Thank you, CeeSoo for the hints.
No idea about the Quickie pun.
I had no less than six warnings about wildfires on my phone last night, three in English and three in Welsh. My nerves were in shreds by the time they finished.
Quickie pun … ⚽️
I might have known!! Thanks, Simon.
Oh dear, wildfires in your area? Understandably concerning. Ours here thankfully seem to mostly confine themselves to the Everglades, but elsewhere in the US some have been devastating, particularly in Spokane, Washington. Sadly, more than one has been caused by arsonists, not Mother Nature.
A gentle start to the weekend with nothing too bothersome. The anagram at 26a needed unravelling but with the checkers it nearly filled itself for a word I have not come across before. My pody picks are 10a, 11a and 24a.
Many thanks to the setter and CS
1*/3*
Nothing too brain-mangling in this SPP with even relative obscurities very fairly clued. Like Steve at #1 I really enjoyed 14a, but my last one in and COTD was 10a.
My thanks to both our Saturday setter and Sue.
Failing to parse 3d properly held me up with 14a. Other than that foolishness, all was plain sailing. I think that 26a is a glorious word. I’ve never tried the 25a shellfish probably put off by mixed reviews that I have read. 17d though is a different matter. I ended up with a plethora of ticks on my page from which I’ve chosen 8a,10a and 20d as my podium. Thanks to compiler and CS.
It was a slow start for me today but, once got a toehold, the clues went in quickly and enjoyably. I liked the anagram at 26a the slogan at 13a the shellfish at 25a and the crptic sensational finish at 14a. Thanks to,the compiler, not NYDK today i think and to CS for the hints. It’s cooler inrural Oxfordshire today after a hot and steamy night
I thought at one point a pangram might have been on the cards, but no.
A very welcome gentle puzzle after two tough puzzles yesterday.
The sensational finish at 14a won my vote.
Thanks to the setter (Cephas possibly ??) and to CS.
This was spot on for a Saturday that flowed from the off.
I cannot believe I haven’t come across 26a before. What a superb word it is that, etymologically, makes complete sense. I will do my utmost to use it at every given opportunity.
I can see why CS didn’t hint 13a as it’s telling you what to do! Never have I seen a clue explained in the parsing like that. Very funny.
What are the rules about an unindicated obsolete term as the synonym in 24a isn’t a magistrate anymore?
My picks are 14a, 16a and the brilliant 7d.
Many thanks to….I guessed Mr Tumble on Wednesday and I don’t know if I was right. The Hud jumped on but didn’t claim it. So, if it was the latter, I’ll go with the former for today’s. If it was the former then I’ll go with Chalicea.
2*/4*
A lovely prize puzzle for another warm day in Essex. The mention of shellfish and seafood very apt after buying some at our local monthly Farmers’ Market this morning. Thanks to setter and crypticsue.
My bricklayer was using a different piece of equipment for a while, but eventually checkers came to the rescue. Thanks to CS and setter
I am still wincing from a VERY expensive AC repair to my car. I am sure that means the heatwave is now over, and I will never use it before the coolant evaporates. On the plus side, even though the car was in the garage, I did manage to capture the eclipse using my old theodolite
Another one
Love that! My wife says so too 👏🏼
In my 40-odd years as a surveyor, I never once used a theodolite. So that’s what its for!
My Dad was a FRICS, he got me a summer job for the Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Co. In the seventies. We were given that theodolite for services rendered, me working on the Tinsley Viaduct and dad for sorting out a mortgage. They said the theodolite hadn’t been used since the Aswan Dam job in the fifties
I was FRICS, qualified in 1981 and worked mainly in residential valuation and surveys until retirement 6 years ago. No need for theodolites in General Practice. Sounds like you were in a more technical division, civil engineering or the like.
My dad worked as Chief Surveyor for a building society (Leeds & Holbeck, now just the Leeds) but died in 1981.
I was mainly in wood science (like X-type, we are both i.w.s.c) but have mainly been involved in builders merchants / industrial fastenings etc.
The chap at CBE was civils but I have forgotten his name 🤔
I don’t have a theodolite
Good to see you projecting the image rather than looking directly tho.
The theodolite has a blackout lens so I could have looked myself but as it is at least 80 years old I wasn’t going to chance it.
That is the sun now, with the blackout lens over the phone lens. I might have been ok, but it was getting quite warm even though it is a bit cloudy. I suppose the cloud was inevitable as soon as I fixed the AC
Most impressive!
Good start to the weekend. Took a break with 3 unfinished in the grid. Have just nailed them and last one in was 14 across which was a splendid clue. For 9 down I got stuck with manosphere . Just could not get it out of my head even though it was a letter short. So relieved when the right answer popped up. Often the last ones in are worth working for. COTD was 10 across. Any compiler would be proud of that.
Many thanks and am always amazed by the work put in by our hint givers and setters.
I thought this was great fun and reasonably challenging. I was sure I had the correct answer to 7A but thought there must be an alternative spelling as I couldn’t think of any words where the 3rd letter of 7a would fit into a word with the starting letter of 1A. I’m sure I am not the only person who spells 9D incorrectly so my reversal of the 5th and 6th letters didn’t help much. All said and done, got there in the end and enjoyed the journey.Thanks to CS for the hints and the setter for a great puzzle.
Thai corner.
The Thais are so reluctant to point out how badly you are speaking their language that it has taken me 40 years to come to this realisation. In normal speech there is no generic Thai word for ‘want’. The word, ‘OW’ which I have understood to mean. ‘want’, for the last four decades turns out to mean, ‘give’. So in 90 percent of situations it functions as want. In a shop or cafe the employee asks, ‘Ow arai’, what shall I give you and you reply, ‘ow beer’, give me a beer. In most situations the word, ‘OW’ , acts as a synonym for want but when used with a verb it makes no sense. I will leave it to you to try to use give as a synonym for want and see how confusing it can get.
A gentle puzzle with just 26a being new to me but well clued.
Top picks for me were 14a, 3d, 1a and 10a.
Thanks to CrypticSue and the setter.
For some reason I didn’t receive the email today but have just got the NTSPP one.
Me too with the emails
A reasonably friendly SPP with only 26a overtaxing the grey matter – **/****
Candidates for favourite – 21a, 25a, and 3d – and the winner is 25a.
Thanks to the setter and CS.
A breeze indeed, which is always welcome in these parts, and also in UK, according to my relatives, which had no hold-ups for me. I think I’ll chime in with senf for 25A.
Many thanks setter and Sue.
The first pass yielded little and I thought I was in for another bumpy ride but things soon began to unravel, and it turned into a gentle and very enjoyable journey.
It’s a Saturday PP so I’ll be brief –
Very grateful for the checkers in 26a; I was totally misled trying to parse 17d; 11a raised a smile and 12d / 14a were my clues of the day.
My thanks to today’s setter and CS for the hints.
Grateful for a surprisingly straightforward SPP, after completing Friday’s box of tricks this morning.
Pody winners are 16A’s quirky phrase, 26A’s word that I forget soon after hearing it again, and 3D as I feel like playing some of that dance music.
Thanks to setter and CS ⭐️
Enjoyable and relatively straightforward once I realised I had the wrong ending to 3d which meant 14a didn’t make sense until then.
Hope everyone has recovered after yesterday’s phone alert. There is a flaw in the system as far as I can see, in the attempt to stop the awful siren noise both my wife and I dismissed the message before properly reading it! I have an android phone so the message is saved but as far as I can tell on an Apple phone the message is gone for good – is that right?
Anyway, thanks to setter and Sue
I had the same problem with the alert and its noise but I did find an article about the alert on the BBC News pages where it was possible to see what we had to be doing, or in the case of lighting matches, not doing
It’s true about the iPhone, Sim – all the messages vanished on. mine.
I’ve an android but it doesn’t seem to have saved the message. Where is yours saved? I’m interested for future alerts.
On my IPhone – scrolled down from the top of the screen to view ‘notifications’ and the message was there.
I tried that, GP but found nothing.
37a An SOS poised for action (9, 5)
On an iPhone “Notification Centre shows your notifications history, allowing you to scroll back and see what you’ve missed. There are two ways to see your alerts from the Notification Centre:
1. From the Lock Screen (the first screen you see when you log on), swipe up from the middle of the screen.
2. From any other screen, swipe down from the centre of the top of your screen.
However – if the emergency alert notification was deleted it cannot be recovered.
This is my final answer 😂🫣
Got it! Thanks, GP. 👍
Mine was and still is in Settings- Notifications- Emergency Alerts- Emergency Alerts History
Nice and straightforward!
Thanks Sim. Whether I’ll remember that for next time is another matter!
My son and his family were staying in Ilfracombe, sacross the Severn estuary from Wales and received the message in Welsh, to their confusion, before finally getting it in English. We have had gas barbecues going for weeks where I live and some idiots having bonfires so it was not before time that something was done wasdone to get through to those endangering the rest of us
Fairly straightforward today, and after getting 1a without even thinking, I was 1d thereafter.
Although never heard of the word at 26a, I made it up from the fodder and checks and then consulted the BRB to see if it existed.
Last in was 14a, and I was sucked in there for a while until the penny eventually dropped. My COTD.
Thanks to setter and CS for the hints.
Like Steve & Tom 26a’s splendid word hasn’t been part of my vocabulary but I will look to rectify that at the earliest opportunity. 14a gets my vote as the pick of a fine selection of clues – 7,10,11&21a plus 3,7&15d other particular likes.
Thanks to the setter & to CS
This was an enjoyable Saturday puzzle that had lots of smiles throughout the grid with clues and answers I liked.
2*/4.5* for me today
Favourites include 1a, 7a, 10a, 16a & 5d — with winner 7a
All the favourites made me smile but when 7a hit me that was an LOL moment.
Thanks to setter & CS
1* / 4* A slow start but then everything slotted in quite quickly, lots of clever clues.
Favourites today the 1a weapon, the careless 10a and the prying Koreans at 16a
Thanks to Sue and setter
Any help with 16a appreciated. Cannot fine any words in my dictionaries to fit. Despite being confident of 5 letters!
Terribly is an anagram indicator
Got this. I was typing it into my anagram solver – no results. Used my brain instead…
Thanks all.
I’m damned if I could parse it but I bunged it in as it is obviously an a?????m which is so often the case these days.
Got there on my Jack Jones save 26a (new one on me) but can’t say I enjoyed the ride very much. Fav was 14a when the penny dropped. Thank you setter and CS.
Just realised – poor quickie pun!
Hmm. My comment seems to have disappeared. Just briefly: 2*/3* with 10a my favourite.
We didn’t know 26a but it had to be what it was. Nothing else held us up for long. Favourite was a toss up between 7a and 11a but we’ll go with 7a. There were other contenders. Thanks to the setter and CS.
Good evening
Trickier crozzie today than I’d first thought; I bunged a load of correct solutions in early doors, but then had to do my normal trick of going away and doing something else before returning to the crozzie after tea.
Fortified by tea, beer, a good steak dinner and a glass of red, I took up my Lucky Green Pen and limped over the finishing line with a sigh of relief as I finally twigged 14a, which for me – and I stress, for me 😉 – is COTD.
Many thanks to our setter and to CS.
What a fun Saturday puzzle, even more enjoyable because it was so unexpected. I would have pencilled in 26a, but as I doubted it was a real word, and use a gel pen, I refrained. Silly me, it was right, which made me laugh. Haven’t owned a 9d since 1982, so we’ve had to get creative with birthday and Christmas cards etc. What a lovely word at 1a. Thanks to setter and to CS for her succinct and helpful hints.
,
Finished but had to resort to the hints for my final two entries. Would not have got the shellfish at 25a and also defeated by the sensational finish at 14a. Never heard of 26a but once all the checkers were in place I reckoned it could be the only answer. Favourites today were 7a and 14a.
Thank you to the setter and to CS for the hints.
A very entertaining puzzle which I thoroughly enjoyed this morning. My favourite was the wonderful 26a and I also liked 1a.
Many thanks to the setter and to CS for the hints.
Bit late to this one after ⛳️ .Quite a gentle puzzle but most enjoyable listening to the stupendous Black Keys 🎸
1a was a wonderful clue. 14a stumped me and never heard of 26a before so was delighted I had it correct!
Like you BB and FB above, I was caught out by 14a. To me it was a bit of a googly.
I wonder if anyone solved it without the checkers.
On the whole, I found the puzzle rather 26a.