Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31320
Hints and tips by Smylers
Hello. Thank you to Falcon for covering this slot last week, when I was returning a hire car from our holiday in my usual ‘blogging time’ before work. If you want to know where we went, you should be able to triangulate our location from these distances (click to enlarge):
![a signpost pointing in lots of directions, with labels including ‘Christmas Isle 12790’, ‘Tahiti 11830’, ‘[Ne]w Zealand 12090’, ‘Botany Bay 13325’, and ‘Alaska 16990’](https://i0.wp.com/bigdave44.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Captain-Cook-signpost.jpg)
Today’s Telegraph Crossword feels fairly typical for recent Mondays in terms of difficulty, though I found myself quibbling over a few minor aspects of a few clues. Please leave a comment below saying how you found the crossword, opining that I’m being too picky, or anything else you wish that’s compatible with Big Dave’s etiquette guide.
Across
1a Jest how sins have upset a member of a Christian group (8,7)
JEHOVAH’S WITNESS: We start with an anagram: upset the letters of the first few words in the clue, to spell out the answer. The usual convention in cryptic crosswords is to omit indefinite articles when they don’t add anything to the wordplay, and at least the first ‘a’ here feels unnecessary to me.
9a Official investigator in nook holding nothing (7)
CORONER: A word that can mean a nook, especially if secluded, holds the letter that looks like the number which represents nothing.
10a Drink fortified wine – keep up! (7)
SUPPORT: A verb meaning ‘drink’ is followed by a particular type of fortified wine.
11a Performance of Greek god with cat? I’m ecstatic, originally (9)
PANTOMIME: The name of a Greek god is entered with a word for a (male) cat, then the ‘I’m’ copied from the clue, and the original letter of ‘ecstatic’.
12a Wine starts to rot in old jars, actually (5)
RIOJA: We need the letters that start the final 5 words in the clue.
13a Damaged hive grabbed by Edward – it’s stolen (7)
THIEVED: Damage the word ‘hive’, rearranging its letters, then have a variant of ‘Edward’ grab it, going around its outside.
15a Saint and a king eat fish (7)
SARDINE: Enter in order: the lesser-seen single-letter abbreviation for ‘saint’; the A from the clue; one of the abbreviations for ‘King’ which Chris Lancaster mentioned in yesterday’s Puzzles Newsletter; and a word that can mean ‘eat’.
17a Chaps saving cold caviar for tennis star (7)
MCENROE: Another word for ‘chaps’ saves inside it the letter indicating which tap is the cold one. That’s all followed by what caviar is an example of. I would have expected a ‘definition by example’ indicator for that, though I can’t see one.
19a Give vile, yet revealing, hostile stare (4,3)
EVIL EYE: The first few words of the clue reveal the answer, lurking among them in consecutive letters.
21a Show mercy to Prince Harry? (5)
SPARE: The second of these definitions is what Prince Harry is an example of by being the second-born in his family.
23a Puts bet on whip to obtain key sign (9)
BACKSLASH: A synonym of ‘puts bet on’ is followed by a verb meaning ‘whip’. The definition is describing a symbol found on a computer key.
25a Inspector in raid, out partying (7)
AUDITOR: This isn’t a police detective but somebody whose job involves inspecting something else. Form it by making the letters of ‘raid out’ party and change their order.
26a Assembles in American services (7)
AMASSES: This clue is much easier to solve if you read the first word correctly as the verb that it is, rather than imagining an I in there for ‘assemblies’. Start with one of the abbreviations for ‘American’, and follow with the plural of a particular church service.
27a Jane’s wild fellow, a real swinger? (6,2,3,4)
TARZAN OF THE APES: A description of somebody who was wild and literally did swinging.
Down
1d Jill’s companion on vessel gets big pay-out (7)
JACKPOT: Here we need Jill’s companion in a well-known nursery rhyme and to place them on top of a cooking vessel.
2d Mother only holds bird (5)
HERON: The first two words of the clue hold the answer in consecutive letters. Could this reveal the identity of today’s setter? It’s only a fortnight since their previous appearance, and until now they’ve only appeared monthly, so I wasn’t expecting to see them today.
3d Vehicle by university within top city (9)
VANCOUVER: A type of vehicle is placed by a word that can mean ‘top’ (in the sense of being physically on top of) into which has been inserted the single-letter abbreviation for ‘university’ (more commonly encountered with American institutions).
4d Harassed husband turned up, very withdrawn (7)
HARRIED: This one starts with the abbreviation of ‘husband’. Follow that with a word meaning ‘turned up’ (in the ‘being somewhere’ sense, not the bottoms of trousers) from which we have withdrawn the letter that indicates ‘very’.
5d Rings people who do cleaning (7)
WASHERS: In this double definition, the first is a physical description of (that sense of) the answer rather than a synonym for it.
6d Initially, tigers advancing tear up mammal (5)
TAPIR: Take the initial letters of both ‘tigers’ and ‘advancing’, then follow that with a verb meaning ‘tear’, which is entered up the grid. We were lucky enough to see some of these creatures at twilight from our balcony at the hotel by Yorkshire Wildlife Park. I was thinking it was unfortunate that my camera wasn’t really capable of capturing them, but at least this avoids complaints about the photo giving away the answer:
7d Save awfully nice moose (9)
ECONOMISE: The answer uses the same letters as ‘nice moose’, but would be an awful way of spelling it.
Ernest: The Moose Who Doesn’t Fit by Catherine Rayner
8d One day, briefly, I consumed stuff (7)
SATIATE: We need one of the days of the week (having the answer to 1a really helps narrow this down!), entered in its brief form. After that copy across the I from the clue and a word meaning ‘consumed’. The answer is a verb, despite appearing as a noun in the surface meaning.
14d Person from cold country arranged fire and candle, leaving France (9)
ICELANDER: Arrange the letters of ‘fire’ and ‘candle’, leaving out the one that indicates France (when on the back of a car, for instance).
16d Check, then declare it’s put back as before (9)
REINSTATE: Here we start with another verb meaning to check or constrain something. Follow that with a word meaning to declare something.
17d Oddly, main small group of actors given wrong parts (7)
MISCAST: Enter in order: the odd letters of ‘main’; the clothing abbreviation for ‘small’; and a group of actors. The final component accounts for more than half the answer and has related meanings in both, which feels suboptimal.
18d Bring the setter around pub, then leave: it’s prohibition! (7)
EMBARGO: First we need a pronoun the crossword’s setter could use to refer to themselves and then bring that around to go up the grid (which immediately rules out a single-letter pronoun!). Follow that with another word that can be used for a pub, then a synonym for ‘leave’.
19d Put under a spell, with inclination to lose head (7)
ENCHANT: A word for an inclination, in the sense of a tendency or liking, rather than tilting, loses its first letter.
20d He’s in fabulous, revolutionary, unfinished old city (7)
EPHESUS: I only worked this one out from the crossing letters then parsed it afterwards. We need an alternative to ‘fabulous’ (SUPER), which is revolved to go up the grid, and also unfinished (but it’s its original final letter which is omitted, not the one that’s now at the end after revolution). Place the ‘He’s’ from the clue inside it.
22d Run more (5)
EXTRA: The first of these two definitions is specific to cricket.
24d A model uprising for storyteller (5)
AESOP: After the A from the clue, we need a verb meaning ‘model’ (for a photographer, perhaps). The answer is the name of a well-known person, not a synonym for ‘storyteller’ generally.
Quickie Pun
In today’s quick crossword the first three answers are italicized, indicating that when spoken together they sound like another word, a phrase, or a name. The 4a mountain pass is a word I’ve only encountered in crosswords; check your answers here:
SIGH + COL + ROOT = CYCLE ROUTE
Recent Reading
I encountered this on the ‘our readers recommend’ trolley in Whitby library and picked it on a whim. I really liked the strong characters — the New-York-hardened literary agent who had to look after her then-teenage sister after their mother died, and the editor who seemingly doesn’t waste any words on flattery or caring for others’ feelings. It is a romance, but the relationship between the sisters is just as key to driving the plot forwards, and felt more interesting to me — perhaps because of the greater possibilities for what might happen between them. And I really liked Emily Henry’s engaging writing style, which kept me reading.
However, I was irked by the characters mentioning their dislike of common romance tropes yet the plot including them anyway, as their somehow provided cover for doing so ‘knowingly’. And there was a bit where somebody commented something would only happen in a film, as though this particular fictional plot is superior to other fictional plots. The ending has a couple of mild surprises, though the second one of those I realized quite early on (before the first surprise had made it plausible).
So the characters and writing in Book Lovers appealed to me, but I’m still unsure about the plot. Given other praise for this book, it may just be that I’m not really into romance novels and the plot is fine.
Awoke early to find a strange substance covering the ground…I took a photo, used Mr G’s search facility, and discovered that it’s called ‘rain’ and can have a wonderous effect on our lives if stored and used correctly. I have two cups full and will try to use it wisely.
A gentle start to the new week but no less enjoyable.
Fortunately, the two long ‘uns went in very quickly and that opened things up nicely. I briefly attempted to turn 19a into an anagram and was grateful that 6d had visited crossword land previously (I thought our setter was very generous in the wording of the clue).
COTD – 20d, perfectly described.
My thanks to today’s setter and Smylers for the hints
Like Graham, we awoke to find that a rare weather phenomenon we hadn’t seen since early June had happened overnight. Given that there was enough to produce puddles, I checked the rain gauge and found that we’d had half an inch of the much needed wet stuff.
Another lovely friendly Monday puzzle, presumably from 2d. Thanks to the setter and blogger
A very entertaining relatively gentle puzzle until it wasn’t. I thought the SE was tricky 19d, 20d and 26a were my favourites. Thank you setter and Smylers
A nice start to the week by, I’m guessing, 2d with my LOI being 15a as I keep forgetting this abbreviation for St.
I’m struggling to see how ‘partying’ can be an anagram indicator. If it meant purely ‘dancing’ then I’m okay with it but partying is also to chat, drink, eat and listen to music. A decent percentage of people don’t dance at a gathering, Anyone got any thoughts on it?
For those new to the blog, as I’ve said it before, 18d reversed and written as (1,4,2) gives an apt message.
If you replace the second half of 11a with ‘phobia’ you get the fear of everything as the first half means ‘all’ which is a shame as there should be an official term for the fear of 11a. Oh no there shouldn’t be. Oh yes there should….
‘Bring the setter around’ has to be the longest reverse indicator going and even better that it’s for only two letters of the answer.
My picks are 1a, 17a (I am being serious) and the neat lurker in 19a.
MTTTA and S.
2*/3*
Tom – I gave up on traditional anagram indicators last week when ‘zonked’ was christened and added to the other 1,499 (or so) options. I was OK with partying as, to my mind, partying gives the opportunity to mix.
Hi Doc
I don’t mind ‘mix’ but really the expression is ‘to mix with people’ not just ‘to mix’. But, as you say, the list is bonkers. So, I think it’s probably okay but to be used sparingly as it’s pushing it. A good effort, though!
I’m surprised that you didn’t like ‘zonked’. Firstly, it means ‘drunk’ so I think it’s fine as an anagram indicator. Secondly, and much more importantly, it’s a superb word that needs to get more outings.
I didn’t say I disliked ‘zonked’ I was merely accepting that new indicators appear on a regular basis… I am proposing ‘mingle’, which I have undertaken at a party, be added immediately.
Mingling is definitely a better synonym for partying than mixing as it’s more than likely to do with people. But, it’s still not good as one doesn’t mingle letters. ‘Dancing’ is way better than these. So, I don’t think they should be added to the list. But, as with hundreds of other dubious ones, they’ll probably be used again.
The domain of cruciverbalism can be rather surreal, you often have to think laterally and use your imagination; be prepared to accept figurative, metaphorical and whimsical notions/contrivances. It’s the letters of the fodder, not people, that are partying and just like people they would mix and mingle busily and end up aligned in a different/the required sequence. It seems a reasonable anagram indicator to me – not the best or most immediately obvious but certainly good enough.
A fair defence J but it’s not for me.
Have you become an inveterate Ximenean?
Not at all.
I’ve always praised setters pushing the envelope and venturing into uncharted territory.
Many solvers have said that anagram indicators have gone to pot which I agree with.
Some people are in the other camp which is mighty fine by me.
Glad to hear it. Keep up the good work!
P.S
Is ‘as before’ in 16d pleonastic?
It’s verging on tautologous, but I think it helps clarify the meaning of ‘put back’ required. If you put the Weetabix box back on the cereal shelf then you’ve returned it but haven’t really 16d-ed it.
Thanks S
I don’t think it needs clarifying. Put it this way, if the setter didn’t include it, I think no one would have said that ‘as before’ needs to be added.
A pleonasm and a tautology are different things:
A pleonasm is the use of extra words where the meaning is already implied like ‘frozen ice.
A tautology repeats the same idea or statement using different words or synonyms, e.g ‘ or may not’ isn’t required in the following statement – it may or may not rain tomorrow.
95% of the time, people mean pleonasm when they say tautology.
Sure, it wasn’t needed, because cryptic crosswords are all about resolving ambiguity. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t add something.
The Oxford Dictionary of English quotes “return back to” as a tautology. English usage is by convention, not prescription, so if 95% of uses of a word have one meaning, then it has that meaning, even if you wish it didn’t!
No problem, S. You and others can, of course, keep using tautology.
Umpire here. It seems you may be both right; I couldn’t decide myself so I asked Mr AI “is ‘return back to’ a pleonasm or a tautology?” and this is the answer:
“Return back to” is both. The terms overlap heavily, but “pleonasm” is the more precise technical fit because it uses extra, unnecessary words (“back”) that do not change the core meaning. “Tautology” also correctly describes repeating the same concept twice, though it is often used for phrasing or logic loops.
Thank you, Judge J.
I’ll gladly grab ‘better technical fit’ with both hands and go on my merry way.
Don’t mention Weetabix… Having eaten this since our childhood in the dark ages, we have been lucky to find it over here in our local supermarket, with occasional back up by Amazon when it went missing from the shelves. Alas, since selling it to the Post company, who have now closed their Chicago factory, it is now made in Kenya and shipped back. Complete with nasty plastic sleeves, rather than paper ones. End result, it smells and tastes awful. Apparently they now ship wheat from Canada to Kenya, make it there, and ship it back, supposedly as a cost saving. Envy those of you in the UK and Canada that can still get the real thing 😟.
How frustrating! And how silly of them to change how it tastes.
Possibly but, in either case it read to me as an action completed and needed an additional letter.
That’s just a consequence of ‘put’ being both the present and past forms in English (we don’t say “putted”), so it could be either. And sometimes in cryptic clues, words like ‘put’ can be one tense in the surface reading and t’other in the wordplay.
Good explanation!
What a gentle and enjoyable start to the week. Like GP above, the two long clues fell straight off and 2d left me wondering if it was a reference to the compiler? Clues aplenty for a podium from which I’ve chosen 17a, 15a and 8d. Thanks to compiler and Smylers.
2*/3*. Like Smylers, 2d caused me to think this might be a Heron puzzle.
We have yet another anagram indicator which I think is dubious – “partying” in 25a. IMO, “dancing” would have been better.
21a was my favourite.
Thanks to the setter and to Smylers.
I was actually trying to say that despite 2d this might not actually be by Heron!
I think people mill around at parties and swap positions chatting to each other, even if they aren’t dancing.
Like Jona Lewie, you’ll always find me in the kitchen at parties.
I do think partying works better because of the police “raid” aspect in the surface read. Illegal raves etc. In my opinion, the list of anagram indicators will always grow as language evolves.
Most of that went in very quickly (for me) but I was slowed down considerably by various eastern elements and particularly the city at 20d. 17a and 23a were my favourites. Thanks very much to the setter and to Smylers. I saw an excellent REM tribute by the name of Stipe at the 100 Club on Saturday and would thoroughly recommend them to anyone with a 19d with head reinstated for their music.
A gentle start to the week.
Top picks for me were 23a, 21a and 5d.
Thanks to Smylers who I hoped had a good time in Whitby and the setter.
Thanks Smylers for the new book recommendation. I’ve just read The Box of Murders and Death at the museum by Janice Hallett and enjoyed them so thanks again as I wouldn’t have read them without you.
Yes, we did, thank you, and glad you liked the books. I also went straight on from reading A Box Full of Murders to its follow-up, Death at the Museum and liked the second, set at the Natural History Museum, even more.
A gentle start to the week with barely a head scratching moment. Everything clearly clued, although I had to read a few out loud to see the context. The long ones at 1a and 27a were shoo-ins and provided a solid foundation for the remainder. I particularly liked the fish at 15a, the old city 20d and the key sign 23a.
Thanks to the setter and Smylers for a very entertaining puzzle and hints
1*/4*
What a great puzzle to start the week with humour and dropping pennies galore. The top and bottom anagrams got things off to a good start although I stalled over 1a because I couldn’t spell the first word. Ticks all over the paper with a special nod to the rings that clean at 5d but my COTD is being merciful to Prince Harry at 21a. It made me laugh out loud when the currency hit the floor.
Thank you, setter for the fun. Thank you, Smylers for the hints.
I never thought I would say this but I wish there were a Toughie on a Monday.
No rain in The Marches as yet. The weather map shows rain but, as it approaches Knockin, it parts and goes around or disappears altogether.
21a made me laugh too! It was one of many ticks across my page. Poor chap doesn’t seem to help himself.
Held up marginally by trying to use initials of all words in 6d, and had the answer to 19a at a glance, assuming an anagram but didn’t read it properly until nudged by the comments above. I obviously don’t follow my own advice, as ‘offered’ to countless thousands of pupils over the years: “read the question twice before answering”.
No rain here in Northants yet but temperature is down to a reasonable 20 degrees.
Thanks to setter for a very enjoyable workout, and to Smylers for the hints.
Hi L
I did wonder for a squillisecond if tatum is a mammal.
Me too. 😊
I dithered over tatum, but really tear up was genius. Top clue.
Carrying a watering can to the top of the garden which meant climbing 5 steps and turning, the weight of the water spun me down onto the concrete path below. Doing today’s crossword felt a real delight and a return to normality. Lots of bruises but that’s all. Got 1 across immediately. My father became very involved with them for 6 months and they were always at our house. Bottom of the grid filled in another long one. Most enjoyable was17 across followed by 21 across. John is taking me out to lunch and bridge tonight. A day of healing . Many thanks to this whole community as well as Smylers and our setter.
Bad luck on your fall, Dyslex. I hope the garden appreciated the effort you went to, and that you enjoy your lunch.
Sorry to hear about your fall, Dyslex. I hope you recover soon. 👍
Wishing you a speedy recovery Dyslex.
Filling large watering cans was becoming a real strain and I said to George – I’m going to get rid of these big cans and buy a couple of small ones. Ridiculous, he said, just fill the big ones half way. But somehow, you just cannot do that!
Clearly watering the garden can be a dangerous activity. Last week a friend of ours carried two full cans (to save time/effort) to the end of the garden, overbalanced, and wrenched his shoulder. Hope you recover quickly Dyslex.
Thanks for the good wishes and I know I have been lucky. The Big Dave group are so helpful in so many ways.
Oh dear, just what we all dread, a nasty fall. I’m just about to go out and lug around the hose to try to bring relief to my garden. Thankfully we don’t get hose pipe bans, as I find the watering can just too heavy.
This wasn’t terribly difficult but I still enjoyed the challenge as I generally do. 21a was my standout favourite for the brilliant topicality.
Thanks to our Monday setter and Smylers.
A gentle and entertaining start to the week – thanks to our setter and Smylers.
There are ticks on my printout for 17a, 21a, 27a and 1d.
The gentlest of gentle backpagers I can remember. But thats not to say it wasn’t extremely enjoyable. I didn’t bat an eye at ‘partying’ in 25a – as far as I’m concerned, when it comes to anagram indicators, all bets are off – perhaps I’ve just worn myself out complaining about them and have adopted a laissez-faire attitude as a coping strategy!
All good fun and thanks to the setter and to Smylers (who’s book reviews I normally read – but I think I will swerve this one!)
Smylers – you are in my most favourite place on Earth – Whitby. I go there often because it’s where my family on my father’s side comes from.
A very enjoyable Monday puzzle. I too had the thought of the setter ‘self-identifying’ in 2d but perhaps a different setter is trying to confuse us. 23a and 16d slowed me down in the SE . 1.5*/4.5*
Stand out favourite – 21a!
Thanks to whomsoever and Smylers.
Whilst researching a tea related clue yesterday I found that Bettys have been planting trees with some scholars from Ilkley. I thought there might be some young Smylers there, but it is quite old
I’ll look at the crossie after work
Thanks, Sloop: I hadn’t seen it.
Yeah, it’s from before our eldest started school, and it’s from one of the other primary schools in the town … but there’s a decent chance somebody in it is an older child we know from dancing, church, drama, Scouts or similiar; I just haven’t spotted them yet.
This was very gentle until the SE. I thought 20d a rather devious clue for a Monday and 15d was LOI – like others I was unaware of the single letter saint.
20d and 16d favourites today.
Thanks to Smylers and Setter
Re: the toing and froing that Tom started above, with partying and dancing, it seems to me that setters will try to get away with anything in order to more confuse us.
22d confused me. I could only parse 50% of it (cricket again).
21a is quite witty to me.
Thanks to setter and hinter.
Hi C
I do have a bit of sympathy for non-cricket fans as terms for this sport get used a huge amount. ‘Leg’ meaning ‘on’ is brutal.
I’ll always question dodgy anagram indicators as it may make setters think twice before using it again. If just one hesitates then I’m a happy camper.
Ah but do you think the setters, apart from the likes of sylvanus and RayT, look at this blog, Tom?
Steve – I suspect not; I doubt that one person’s view would sway anything, and I hope they wouldn’t change their style anyway.
Hi SC
I can think of at least half a dozen more who claim ownership, with the majority of them occasionally commenting on a clue, and I reckon there are a couple of lurkers amongst the remaining handful.
I don’t disagree with your questioning, Tom, but I think it’s wishful thinking that setters may take notice.
Leg can mean on. What can mean off?
‘Off’ has no alternative cricketing term.
Offside and Legside/Onside.
This chat reminds me of this brilliant tea towel from the 70s that my father bought for me. Whoever thought of it is a genius.
Wonderful!
Here’s how I explained some of the fielding positions to Jane in Feb 2017 (DT 28350):
Jose
February 15, 2017 at 10:51 am
J. It’s easy to identify the fielders’ positions when spectating. If there’s one leaning over at a funny angle – he’s long leg. The one wearing a furry parka over his jumper – that’s extra deep cover. The one wearing wellies and chewing a piece of straw – he’s cow corner. The one who’s always gesticulating and giggling – that’s silly point (obviously). Etc…
Very good.
You know Tom, I used to refer to RD as our Don Quixote ’tilting at windmills’ of guess a girl’s name, which doesn’t seem to happen any more so perhaps he was successful, but now the mantle should pass to you ’tilting at windmills’ of ‘dodgy’ (your term) anagram indicators. But, remember that all elements of any clue have passed editorial scrutiny! Good luck and God speed!
Nice post, S. It made me smile.
There are many solvers who feel the same. Many.
I’d love to talk to the committee who decides what is and isn’t an anagram indicator.
Something tells me that ain’t going to happen anytime soon…
For me and I stressLate for everything today. We’ve had a boat marooned in our garden for a few years and with no wish to relaunch it, we had two blokes and a gal here this morning to (at last) take it away. It is a joy to look at the reclaimed space. Now I have to think of a plan to stop H filling the gap with ‘objects of interest’.Good to see the lad from Ilkley and family enjoyed their holidays at the North Pole and very best wishes to Dyslex after that fall.
Eh? Oh the guzzle? Great fun. Enjoyed the challenge.
Thanks to the setter and the Ilkley Explorer.
Read, parse, tap in answer. Lovely. Perfect for a Monday lunchtime. Thanks to all.
As is normal for a Monday a gentle start to the non-work week.
1*/4* for me
Favourites all over the grid, but top six include 10a, 13a, 17a, 3d, 18d & 24d — but winner has to be 3d … the city that is located close to where I live that is also my name for posting comments.
Thanks to setter and Smylers
A pleasant saunter only held up by the combo of 15A / 16D. I didn’t know that Saint can be simply S rather than St?
3.5 *** for enjoyment, I liked many surfaces and neat construction. I did find the 25A partying anagram indicator dubious and I did expect ‘someone’ to mention it 😸
Pody picks are 10A’s drinking challenge, 18D’s setter / bar composition and the swingin’ 27A.
Thanks to setter and to Smylers ⭐️
I think I’ve mainly seen S on its own used in (foreign) place names — though I can’t find any right now. (Well, I suppose its also just S the abbreviation for a Paris football team, but I don’t think ‘Paris could be used in crosswords indicate P, so let’s not count that one.)
Oh, and it’s just S on the fizzy water brand (now part of the Nestlé empire):
Thanks … that fizzy example will do!
What a lot of commenting today! I thought this was a very straightforward guzzle with just a couple of
nice pauses for thought, 6d being one of them. I also really liked the saint and king eating fish. Many thanks
to the setter and to Smylers. Our Book Group meets tomorrow and our book of the month was Wide,
Sargasso Sea. I disliked it the first time I read it and disliked it even more the second time! So miserable.
Speaking of being miserable, I spent an hour on the Norton Helpline this morning, rang the helpline number – unavailable
Eventually got an AI assistant but begged for a ‘real person’ – could not speak on the phone but got someone
who took control of the computer and cleaned it -I was being overwhelmed with MacAfee advertisements. Worryingly
the writer kept calling me Mrs. Yvonne M Young. and I kept on saying why are you using this name.
At the end of the session, he told me it was because that was the name on the account.!!! I put him right and he apologised.
As soon as I got my computer gong again – all cleared of bugs – I got a pop up from Avast Secureline VPN wanting me to subscribe.
and I just cannot delete it. Help. I need to go and lie down in a darkened room.
Great post, Yvonne.
The initials of ‘Mrs Yvonne M Young’ are perfect for how you felt.
Oh gosh sorry you’ve had a miserable morning. Maybe a glass of red too !
This has nothing to do with the crossword, but my niece whom I saw yesterday lives in The Lawns, is that anywhere near you?
Yes, it is just up the high street – I know a number of people there. I live bang in the centre if the village though you cannot see me!
A gentle and enjoyable workout for a Monday. I too assumed 2d was a clue to the setter but sounds maybe not ? I was interested in the anagram indicator debate as I had assumed that it was down to setter discretion – the BRB says that the list they show isn’t definitive , so I think partying is fine and the setters are vindicated. Thanks to the setter and Smylers
A mainly straightforward puzzle today. 27a tickled me. Thanks to setter and Smylers.
An enjoyable start to the week and almost completed in a very good time, for me. The anagram at 1a got me off and running. Alas, I fell at the last hurdle as couldn’t get 20d despite having all the checking letters. Many thanks to the setter and Smyler.
So sorry to hear of the injuries incurred by those manoeuvring watering cans around the garden. It only passed through my mind recently, how many people might have put their backs out, or ended up in A&E, through resorting to using watering cans due the hosepipe bans. As we get older our sense of balance becomes much more precarious,
Im probably at the younger end of the spectrum on here and hence my odd moan about old tv shows/personalities/ or golfers (particularly a golfer called ‘Snead’!! ) nonetheless – I have suffered gardening hydration issues and have in fact spent the entire day in bed with a bad back exactly as you described. Never had a bad back before – hurts a good un! If it finally does rain tonight well that would be the proverbial cherry on top…
Oh I sympathise with you Magichatuk you take it carefully and maybe use/get some Voltarol. We have had a dampish day here in the NW but heavy shower late this evening and more forecast for the rest of the week!
I spent longer on 20d than the rest of the crossword. The hint didn’t help me either.
Never heard of the city, but considering the education I had, no surprises there.
Thanks to all.
Apologies for the hint not helping, Bananawarp. It’s hard to pitch hints so they provide a nudge but don’t give away the answer. Now you’ve got it, can you think of a hint that would’ve been appropriately nudge-y? If so, I can update it to help anybody else still struggling.
S. When a solver leaves a comment saying they still don’t understand the hint/parsing, it might be a good idea to then add a “more detailed explanation” under a button. For 20d down something like: He’s from the clue inside (in) a reversal (revolutionary) of a synonym of fabulous (super) minus its last letter (unfinished): [R]EP(HES)US.
Good suggestion. I’ve added the required synonym behind a ‘Click here’ blob, since that’s the main thing I’m guessing the hint was missing that still lets the solver follow the steps, rather than just giving them the answer. (I’m not at Mr K levels of being able to change the text on those buttons!)
This particular clue happened to be one of those where the answer just appeared in my mind as soon as I saw some of the crossing letters (and I’m sufficiently ignorant of history that I only know a few old cities, so there weren’t lots of other possibilities for me to consider!), so it was tricky for for me to know what other people might find hard about it.
Smylers,
No apology necessary. My ignorance was the culprit here. I can only imagine how hard it is to create the hints and you routinely do a fantastic job.
Aw, very kind of you, Bananawarp.
A lovely start to the week with 1a falling immediately. I rather liked 15a.
Many thanks to the setter and to Smylers for the hints.
I agree about anagram indicators. Surely that is at the discretion of the setter and the puzzle editor whom I would consider more than qualified to make that call?
I’m sure there are many who concur!
Perhaps not on here tho!
1* / 4* A gentle and very enjoyable start to the week with plenty of wit.
Favourites today the 11a performance, fishy 15a and the 17a tennis star.
Quite like partying as an anagram indicator, in fact no problem with any of the more quirky ones, setters discretion as far as I’m concerned.
Thanks to compiler and Senf
I seem to be the only one today with brain fog, finding this quite chewy for a Monday. I will blame it on insomnia. Did make it to completion, but only with Smylers help.
I knew the city at 20d as its the site of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the temple of Artemis. I learnt these in case I ever got asked them in a quiz, I never have been. I’ve worked with one or two 1a’s in my time, they were forever trying to convert me. Needless to say they all failed hopelessly. 4d took an embarrassingly long time to parse until I wrote it down then the blindingly obvious hit me. Favourite was the aforementioned 20d. Thanks to the setter and Smylers.
Unlike TG I didn’t know the 7 wonders temple’s location but twigged the wordplay for a last in grid fill just outside of the rarely managed sub *time finish. No real fav but an enjoyable kick off to a new week of puzzles & 17a always makes me think of Griff in that wonderful Not The 9 O’Clock News sketch.
Thanks to the setter & to Smylers.
Just finished, bit of a plod today since partaking of a couple of pints of Hobgoblin at lunchtime, raising a glass to one of our football players who celebrates his 80th birthday today. Got a bit stuck in the SE corner so had to resort to some assistance. Held up on 15a because I was trying to come up with a fish that began ‘st.’ The old city defeated me although on rereading the cluing was fair.
No particular favourites today but as ever, thank you to the setter and to Smylers for the hints.
An enjoyable canter through Monday’s offering. Only got round to it late on, so happy to have finished before the midnight reset on the app. The big across boys were quite straightforward and provided a lot of the help for the downs. 17A had me scratching my head because of the double consonant. I did like 6D and 23A though.
Lovely puzzle to start the week, thanks to smylers and setter. You might like “How to read a book” by Monica Wood. Similar writing style but in my view a better story.
Thank you for the recommendation. I’ll try to get round to it!
3*/4* …
liked 27A “Jane’s wild fellow, a real swinger ? (6,2,3,4)”
Yes, I liked that one as well, Robin. To quote TDS65 “We like a risqué clue. Yes we do”. 😊
☺️
🙂 just worked out how to use the emoji’s ….
puzzled by your mention of TDS65 …