Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31322
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I found today’s puzzle to be the hardest of the week so far, but everything is fairly clued. I didn’t know the definition in 1a, or the little ‘un in 22a, which has put me off certain dairy products for life! My favourites were 13a, 28a and 11d. I also liked the 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 Secretary left State conference (7)
PALAVER: The abbreviation for a secretary or personal assistant, the abbreviation for ‘left’, and a synonym of a verb meaning to state or affirm something. I didn’t know this definition, although in Chambers it’s given before the meaning that I was familiar with.
9a Med city canal I’ve restored (8)
VALENCIA: An anagram (restored) of CANAL IVE.
10a Counterfeit piece leaving in the direction of EU nation (7)
FORGERY: Take a word that can mean ‘in the direction of’, follow this with the name of a central European country, and remove (leaving) a synonym for a chess piece.
11a Todd lugs around a product of mine (4,4)
GOLD DUST: An anagram (around) of TODD LUGS.
12a Starve in the morning? Seafood sandwiches! (6)
FAMISH: A source of food from the sea surrounds or ‘sandwiches’ the abbreviation for ante meridiem (in the morning).
13a Hurry up mum, run both taps – that’s an order! (5,5)
QUICK MARCH: Another way of saying ‘hurry up’, a synonym of ‘mum’, the cricketing abbreviation for ‘run’, and the symbols on the cold and hot taps.
15a Additional matter to absorb student (4)
PLUS: A word for matter discharged during an infection is placed round (to absorb) the usual abbreviation for a student or learner.
16a Where to have a cuppa after exercising Great Dane (3,6)
TEA GARDEN: An anagram (after exercising) of GREAT DANE.
21a Lover boy‘s painful back (4)
EROS: A synonym of ‘painful’, reversed (back).
22a Little ‘un born and bred in Wensleydale? (10)
CHEESEMITE: A cryptic definition of an arachnid that breeds in foodstuffs of which Wensleydale is an example. The final four letters can mean either a small arachnid or a young child. Chambers specifically defines this as the species Tyroglyphus longior. Split (6,4) this term can also refer to other members of the genus Tyroglyphus that are deliberately added to some dairy products to improve their flavour and texture.
24a Annual back in library in good time (6)
YEARLY: The last letter (back in) of ‘library’, and a synonym for ‘in good time’.
25a Football: Ancelotti fields brave attacker (8)
LANCELOT: A lurker, hidden in the first two words in the clue.
27a Large former prisoner pinches international wordbook (7)
LEXICON: The abbreviation for ‘large’, and an informal term for a former prisoner into which the abbreviation for ‘international’ has been inserted (pinches international).
28a One collapsed beneath the stalls in Covent Garden? (5,3)
OPERA HAT: A cryptic definition that has nothing to do with market stalls. Instead, this refers to the collapsible headgear that might be seen in a theatre in Covent Garden.
29a Friendly agreement between ten teams holds (7)
ENTENTE: Hidden in ‘between ten teams’.
Down clues
2d Charming party bar served up beer bottles (8)
ADORABLE: The usual abbreviation for a party or social occasion is followed by ‘bar’ from the clue, backwards (served up, in a down clue), and the whole thing is then surrounded or ‘bottled’ by a word for a type of beer.
3d Most furious, Regina rudely discharged servant (8)
ANGRIEST: An anagram (rudely) of REGINA, and the first and last letters (discharged) of ‘servant’.
4d Shock from rubbing plates? (10)
EARTHQUAKE: A cryptic definition of a phenomenon that can be caused by the rubbing together of tectonic plates.
5d Turn up gas ring, that’ll help to set the pudding (4)
SAGO: Reverse ‘gas’ from the clue (turn up, in a down clue) and follow this with the ring-shaped letter.
6d Smile when receiving Liberal Democrat old woman (6)
BELDAM: A synonym of ‘smile’ around (when receiving) the abbreviation for Liberal Democrat.
7d Get ace group of singers on the radio (7)
ACQUIRE: The abbreviation for ‘ace’ in cards, and a homophone (on the radio) of a group of singers such as you might find in a church.
8d Madcap Tchaikovsky pens something that shows he’s human (7)
CAPTCHA: This infuriating way of proving to a computer that you’re not a robot is penned by, or hidden in, the first two words of the clue.
11d I start to get excited after report of you getting introduced to Joe Strummer (9)
GUITARIST: Begin with the usual nickname for an American soldier (a shortened form of ‘** Joe‘), and insert (introduce) the letter that is a homophone (report) of ‘you’. Follow this with an anagram (to get excited) of I START.
14d Organ stop fed by electronic pulse (6,4)
KIDNEY BEAN: A blood-filtering bodily organ, and a word meaning to stop or prevent into which the abbreviation for ‘electronic’ has been inserted (fed by).
17d Defeatist, for example, punching local person (8)
NEGATIVE: The abbreviation of the Latin ‘exempli gratia’ (for example), inside (punching) a word for someone who is an indigenous or long-time resident.
18d Upright piano in Laos got damaged (8)
GOALPOST: The musical abbreviation for ‘piano’ inside an anagram (damaged) of LAOS GOT.
19d Son knocked up tailless fish and shellfish (7)
SCALLOP: the abbreviation for ‘son’, and the fish also known as the coley or saithe without its last letter (tailless), and reversed (knocked up, in a down clue).
20d Starts to dredge English river south of tight bend (7)
MEANDER: The initial letters of (starts to) ‘dredge English river’ follow (south of, in a down clue) a synonym for tight or miserly.
23d Diocese observed a bit of back and forth (6)
SEESAW: Another word for a diocese, and a synonym of ‘observed’.
26d Test ground eggs first in laboratory (4)
OVAL: A word for eggs or egg cells, and the initial letter of (first in) ‘laboratory’.
Mike Hewitt / Getty images
Which clues did you like best? Let us know in the comments below.
The Quick Crossword pun: FAIR + TILL + AYES + ASIAN = FERTILISATION
I really appreciated this mid-weeker which was thought provoking and amusing in equal measures. By my count there were 6 anagrams and 3 lurkers which eased the solve somewhat. I needed e-assistance for the last 4 letters of 22a, but otherwise an unaided completion. Of the many ticks I’ve chosen 13a, (yes sarge), 22a, (the little beast) and 28a as my 3 of the day, the last evoking a picture of someone a little worse for wear.
My thanks to the setter for the enjoyment and DL for the hints.
2*/5*
A mixture of bung-ins and a couple of head-scratchers.
Good to see another favourite word of mine at 1a, while 9a annoyingly took a while to parse.
Standout COTD was Joe Strummer at 11d. Not often we have 14 word clues, that one made me smile.
My thanks to our setter and Deano.
My mistake, 10a was the headscratcher, not 9a.
Solid start for your boys on Sat. I’m dreading Friday – if they can do that to Man City heaven knows what they’ll do to us. I’ve a score bet with my Gooner mate who’s so confident he’s given me a 3 goal start though he has the draw.
The reality of last season’s achievement takes on a different look with such a daunting opener, H. Anything less than a drubbing will be a bonus.
Best of luck with it, I’ll be cheering you boys on.
COYCOV!
This was hard, almost getting full marks on the difficulty scale.
I didn’t know that 1a meant conference, the little ‘un, the obsolete old woman *, the term in 8d and the alternative spelling of the fish in 19d.
‘Rudely’ for an anagram indicator doesn’t work for me (I think I’ve seen it before) and the parsing of 10a was way beyond me. I only worked it out when I biffed it.
My picks are 13a, 28a and 11d
Many thanks to, I reckon, Mr T and Nigel Hades.
4*/3*
* I’m all for learning not-oft used words as long as the clue is parsable but not an obsolete one. I’d’ve gone with seldom.
I went for “seldom” too, even though it made no sense.
Also, I had a hand held air displacer in 28a.
I sold George’s 28a a few years ago – he was cross with me but it had been sitting in its custom built box for 50 years and he was never going to wear it again 🤭
Hi Yvonne
To me, some things are worth holding on to for the memory.
Saying that, if you got a pretty penny for it then fairy nuff.
I had that too for 28a Clicker.
The only reason I know the 1a ‘conference’ was because I’d just finished reading The Dark Tower series of books (by Stephen King, though not a horror). One of the main characters uses it frequently to mean “have a discussion”. Every day is a school day!
It certainly is with today’s offering which very much works for me.
1a is such a good word that has to be preceded by ‘and all that’.
Now I would have said ‘what a’ ……..
You are right, Impy.
I was thinking of ‘all that caper’.
Just call me the far better ‘erf of Mrs Malaprop.
😃
Tom. I was a little dubious about “rudely” so I asked Mr AI: “How can ‘rudely’ be justified as an anagram indicator”. It sounds convincing enough to me:
“Rudely” works as an anagram indicator because it implies a lack of proper order, manners, or structure, acting as a descriptor for something done in a rough, chaotic, or jumbled way. In cryptic crosswords, adverbs that suggest disarray or mishandling (such as badly, wildly, or awkwardly) naturally signal that the letters of a word are being thrown into a new arrangement.How the Logic WorksDisorder and Chaos: To behave “rudely” is to break social codes, behave roughly, or disrupt a smooth setup.The Application: When applied to a group of letters (the fodder), “rudely” instructs the solver to break up the current arrangement and knock the letters into a new, disordered state.Grammatical Fit: As an adverb, it seamlessly modifies an action verb or verbal noun in a clue (e.g., rudely shaken, rudely rearranged, or rudely disrupted) to mean that the letters undergo a messy mixing process.
Thanks J.
It’s encouraging to see that AI has got a fair way to go.
In the three examples at the end rudely is superfluous.
Rudely means not in an orderly fashion not a physical order.
Maybe solvers feel that ‘not in an orderly fashion, ie polite’ is an anagram indicator but it’s desperate stuff.
Are synonyms for rudely like impolitely, tersely, abruptly and being short therefore okay to use as anagram indicators?
Yes, I can see you points and don’t disagree entirely with them but I’ll just close with this.
Re public behaviour, disorderly can mean acting rudely so in that sense disorderly = rudely. Applying that concept, figuratively, to anagram fodder letters does work but might me a leap of faith too much for some solvers (but not many I would guess). Regarding your synonyms – for me, impolitely would probably be OK (just about) for an AI but not the others.
You can have the last say if you wish. All this stuff is somewhat subjective (but quite interesting though).
It is interesting and thank you for your input.
A synonym of a anagram indicator is fine as long as it has exactly the same meaning which this doesn’t.
It’s one too far.
I have said it before, many times…..1.500 is more than enough to choose from. I’m more than happy to extend the list but it needs to be a ‘no questions asked’ slam dunk. Rudely isn’t an indicator but a windycator.
Taxi!
Haha! So would I
You were just Gill before so this needed moderation. Both will work henceforth.
What did you think of the puzzle?
Excellent puzzle.
Too many ticks to select a favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh
2*/5* for me.
Unless you like heat, you wouldn’t want to be in 9a today. In our town of l’eliana we’re forecast 43C this afternoon.
I certainly found this a step up from the past two days with tricky parses, a misspelling, a visit to the BRB and the dictionary all adding to the excitement.
I enjoyed the morning’s exercise but I found plenty that paused the flow…
I have been reading this blog for long enough to understand the 1a state and a 23d diocese, without which parsing either would have been beyond me. I had to check the spelling of 19d fish / shellfish because I certainly had one of them wrong. The BRB was required to confirm 6d, the wordplay delivered a solution that was new to me.
The first time I have seen 8d, universally considered to be a pesky nuisance, used in a crossword. A complete coincidence but the current Lady P was recently complaining about the length of time it took her to move past it.
My grandparents made butter and cheese and after they told me what 22a were I stopped eating the product for quite some time!
COTD – 10a
Many thanks to the setter and Deansleigh for the hints
I usedto really like cheese andwould have beenquitecontenti f I hadn’t heard of22a! I’d never heard of 8d either and couldn’t remember much about 11d as they weren’t a band I caredf for.so there a few clues that I had to work at . I did like the geographical clue at9a, the fish sandwich at 12a and my COTD 20d. Thanks to thecompiler and to Deansleigh for the hints.
For me, etc, this was a strange one, as Joe Strummer and I were lifelong friends. I have contributed to several documentaries and books about him. I wrote a little about him here:
https://terencedackombe.medium.com/its-twenty-three-years-now-since-mickey-foote-called-me-with-the-news-that-joe-strummer-had-died-3608e91def62
So that was something. Really terrific guzzle.
Thanks to the setter, and Singlehead
Terence, call me a philistine but I have to confess that I had never heard of Joe Strummer and solved this clue from the wordplay. To find that he actually existed brings context to the clue and elevates it’s humour.
Me too! I shall have to look up the reference.
Nice article T. About halfway down a box invited email address submission should you wish to receive articles from this writer direct to your inbox – which I did only to get a 8d identification failure message.
Interesting article, Terence.
A fairly quiet lad in my year at school went on to be the original drummer with The Clash. He adapted his real name and was known as Tory Crimes.
Yes! Terry Chimes – now a chiropractor!
I’m Impressesed by your Joe Strummer link
Just right for a Wednesday and very enjoyable too
Thanks to the setter and Deansleigh
3*/2.5*. Curate’s egg day for me today with some excellent clues and a few hmms.
I think 5d wins the prize for the most surface padding ever in one clue. The first four words of the clue are the wordplay and the last word is the definition; the rest seems to be padding.
How on earth is “rudely” an anagram indicator in 3d?
1a was a new meaning for me. I’ve only ever come across it as an unnecessary fuss. I didn’t know 22a, which seems barely cryptic, and 6d was a new word for me.
19d is a poor clue as it does not have a unique answer. The shellfish can be spelt with either an A or an O as the third letter, and likewise the fish can have an A or an O as its fifth letter.
Thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh.
I quite agree on 19d. Would have been fine had the A/O been a checker, but as it wasn’t the ‘correct’ answer couldn’t be reliably determined. D- must try harder.
that’s a bit harsh surely Dave – I can’t recall ever seeing the O variant used nowadays.
Given up ordering them as a starter – overpriced & invariably underwhelming.
The seafood has an A. With an O, it’s a regional potato dish
CS, according to the BRB, scollop is a spelling variant of scallop. Both can mean shellfish (and both can mean a potato dish).
agreed but the O variant is no longer used
Hi Hoots
As obsolete words are allowed as answers (6d), does that mean that obsolete variants are okay to use?
No idea Tom but I quite liked the clue & I learnt the diff between pollack & pollock
As did I.
It looks like unindicated obsolete words (incl variants) are okay to use.
Onwards, comrade!
Plenty of recipe sites still use the O variant. https://www.cecilevadas.com/mains/lemon-amp-butter-seared-scollops
I stand corrected.
Mrs Clicker has just reminded me that we used to eat potato scollops in Australia – a round mash of potatoes covered in batter.
I was about to write the same thing about 1a, 22a and 6d. Heard of a “right palaver” many, many times but no one was ever referring to a conference ☺️.
Hi RD, one sense of rude is of something in its original untreated or uncultivated state, e.g. three pillars of rude stone. So perhaps ‘rudely’ is telling us to look for the original word before it was worked on to make the anagram? A bit like ‘unscrambled’ (which was used in DTT 1576 14d).
An interesting angle Mark but I can’t see it.
Still. feeling a bit fuzzy headed after my fall. Not getting 1 across always bodes badly and I would not have reached the answer from the definition.Should have got 22 and 28 across but gave into Deansleigh’s help.Never heard of 8 down . Got the rest in and enjoyed the puzzle but have decided to cancel everything today and just take it easy.
Many thanks all round
Fast recovery i hope dyslex 🤞
A fabulous puzzle, although on the hard side for me having never heard of a 22a or a 28a, neither of which were really gettable from the clues alone. 8d possibly a new entry to the List? Lots to like but I’m going to pick 4d as my COTD. Thanks very much to the setter and to Deansleigh.
Why is 28a collapsed BENEATH the stalls etc ? I could understand IN. Am I missing something?
The solution is a headpiece specifically designed for the theatre. Imagine a top hat – hit the top and it flattens allowing it to be placed under the seat.
Thanks for explaining !
I was a little surprised to find that 8d was in the BRB, and even more when saw that it was an acronym
ORIGIN: From Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart
I thought it was just a made up silly misspelling
Thanks to setter and Ghandi’s Eel
I didn’t know that . Thanks for the enlightenment.
Like others 1a wouldn’t have occurred as a synonym for the definition in the absence of the wordplay but good old Mr G provided me with a couple of post completion examples of a sentence where they could be interchangeable. Wallace never warned me about 22a either – I’m quite partial to Mimolette but may have second thoughts now I know they’re used its production. Like Tom 6d was unfamiliar & I now appreciate the required spelling of the knocked up tailless fish isn’t just a variant of the one with an O or rather two of ‘em.
All in all a fair notch up in difficulty so chuffed enough to complete in a shade under **time & especially so as I messed about trying to find wordplay for my Covent Garden accessory before realising it was a cryptic def.
Ticks aplenty for me – Joe Strummer my standout fav with 10&13a on the podium. 11a prompted a listen to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours which I’d not played right through in a while.
Thanks to the setter & to Deansleigh
I found this pretty plain sailing with only a couple of small delays. Like SJB, I learned something today re 8d. Every day etc…. For a favourite I went for 20d, mainly for the surface read.
My thanks to our midweek setter and Deansleigh.
It took a while to ‘break into’ today’s puzzle but once I did I was off to the races with occasional use of the Big Red 27a! 2.5*/3.5*
Candidates for favourite – the aforementioned 27a, 28a, 7d, 23d, and 26d – and the winner is 28a.
Thanks to the setter and Deansleigh.
A top-notch midweek puzzle – many thanks to our setter and Deansleigh.
For my podium I opted for 28a, 14d and 20d.
This had a very different feel about it, I thought. A lot of guesswork went into it on my part. Ia was quite a well used word in my youth, 6d I knew from literature and 28a because George had one – and I think that was a very clever clue. When in doubt look for a lurker and at 8 d I did just that and had to google the answer. Well I never , they say every day is a learning day but some things I don’t want to learn! A message to Penny Turner – I know several people in The Lawns, but I live right in the centre of the village tucked away up a long drive. U3a AGM this afternoon so I’d better get a move on. Many thanks to the mind mangling Setter and to Deansleigh for explaining the working out.
Thank-you for your reply Daisygirl. She’s called Lucie & her husband is Russ Foulger. Ring any bells?!
Thank-you for your reply Daisygirl. She’s called Lucie & her husband is Russ Foulger. Ring any bells?!
I found this one tough but enjoyable, nevertheless. Like others, I didn’t know that particular meaning for 1a and nor did I know the old woman at 6d. I did know the word at 8d because I come across it a lot while working on my laptop but, like Sloops, I thought it was just a silly spelling never thinking it was an acronym. Thank you, John for the information. Like Huntsman, I love a chunk of Mimolette but now I know there are mites in the rind I will think twice. I just had to look up 28a to discover it is a collapsible top hat that can then be stored under the seat while at the opera or theatre. My COTD is the mum running both taps at 13a.
Great Quickie pun.
Thank you, setter for what was, for me, quite a challenging guzzle. Thank you, Linda Sheeg for the hints.
We had rain in The Marches this morning – about five drops! Never mind, I Wordled in three and beat the bot.
Tricky little perisher. Like others, 1a needed some research and 22a sounds decidedly nasty. My top three today are 12a, 7d and 14d. Thanks to compiler and Deansleigh.
Once again for me, I found this Wednesday puzzle only slightly tougher than the Tuesday offering.
A few tricky clues in the mix, but overall a smooth work through.
2.5*/4*
Favourites include 13a, 16a, 25a, 4d, 17d & 26d — with winner 4d
Thanks to setter & Deansleigh
Very different. Didn’t know 8d but spotted it ! Didn’t think palaver was a conference and couldn’t see anything cryptic about 28 , GK only .Got cheese but nothing came to me for the second half of the word , not surprisingly in my opinion . A good work out podium 7, 11 and 14 . Thanks to all
FW. 28a doesn’t have any cryptic wordplay as such and isn’t obliged to because it is a cryptic definition clue type. It does require a bit of GK for sure but it’s “crypticness” comes from the obscure/non-conventional/misdirectional way of describing the answer – worded deliberately to lure you completely away from the actual solution. I was immediately thinking about maybe a drunken person had collapsed and was lying beneath the stalls at Covent Garden Market. It did fool me for a while.
I’ve certainly been elephants in Covent Garden on more than one occasion but thankfully never sufficiently inebriated to collapse under a stall 🥴
Its, not “it’s”.
You’d be surprised, Jose at the number of my students working their way to a Master’s degree get “its” and “it’s” mixed up. Also “There” and “Their”. Another common one is “Bacteria is”
It was just a typo but it is a slip I do make quite often without thinking carefully. I always remind myself that it doesn’t need an apostrophe in that situation because it’s already a possessive pronoun without one. But I think I’ve even got that wrong – it’s really a possessive determiner. Precise grammar isn’t my strong point for sure. My passion is pure semantics – I know the meaning of “solecisms” but not always sure how to avoid perpetrating them.
I do my best to avoid them but, as you say, they can easily sneak in. Just life, I suppose but I do jump on them in post graduate essays. As for semantics, it could well be that the English language evolves to the extent that “its” and “it’s” become interchangeable. Oo nose? 😊
It’s bacteria ain’t innit
Reminds me of a sketch, by whom I cannot recall, where a teacher asks a pupil what he wants to do when he leaves school.
“Get a job, innit!”
Teacher is horrified, “No you mean you will find a job”.
“Yes, sir I am going to find a job in IT”.
A few new words for me today. I didn’t know the meaning for 1a, and the 3-letter word of 28a defeated me. I’m rather glad I’m no longer able to eat cheese. There is a Beldams Lane near to where I live, and I always think it should be Bedlams, not realising it’s an actual word. I wonder if the road is named after a specific person?! Thanks to Deansleigh for the hints and explanations and to the setter.
Found this hard going. Some new words or uses of them for me that I shall probably never see again (nor will I remember if I do) 6d esp.
Found parsing a few tricky – needed the hints for 10a. Got bored of trying to parse 11d – just saw strummer and biffed it in!
I too had an issue with the seafood at 19d – i spell the fish in a way that (to me) made the seafood wrong or vice versa.
Checked to see there was such a thing as 22a – and I saw an image I really wish I had not!
And on the topic of gross things – does ‘matter’ in 15a really mean pus, I mean it could be a thousand things couldn’t it??
Thanks setter and esp to Deansleigh for helping with a couple
For some reason only half my username appered in the box and as such mybprevious comment has gone into moderation. I feel a bit like the guy in Deansleighs cartoon!
A nice midweek puzzle with a few obscurities that caused a fair bit of head-scratching, cogitation and research. Mostly fine clues provided a decent challenge and an enjoyable solve. Favourite today: 28a. 3.5*/4*.
From my MRB:
POSTERN: Back door/gate. Small, private door.
PASTERN: Rope to tie up a horse’s leg; a hobble; horse’s leg from hoof to fetlock.
Good afternoon
Do you know, I stared and stared at the grid this afty, thinking I’d never get started…and then kerpow! Away I went….until I ground to a halt at the halfway stage. Went in for a second bash, pausing only to look up 6d and 8d, which I intuited but whose meanings were unfamiliar, and then….oh. The NW quadrant.
I had mistakenly entered ALMA at 15a (thinking “alma mater” – nicely misdirected there!), which obviously hindered 3d. 1a turned out to be a long-forgotten expression, and last to fall, 10a, was an educated guess backed up by Deansleigh’s explanation of the parsing.
COTD: three-way tie between 1a, 20d, and 11d.
Many thanks to our setter for a top challenge, and to Deansleigh.
Very enjoyable with a new word and loved the strummer video. The shock clue is favourite the smooth brevity
2.5* / 4* A good challenge for a midweeker, learnt some new words and spellings, might even retain some.
Favourites Terrence’s pal Joe at 11d, counterfeit at 10a and the lurking attacker at 25a
Thanks to Deansleigh and compiler
A few new words or meanings today (1a, 6d and 28a) but otherwise a very good midweek challenge which I thoroughly enjoyed. I liked 11d the best.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints
A smashing puzzle today. Nicely chewy and a few new things learnt on the way. I had not heard of the collapsible hat at 28a and 22a yielded a ‘yuk’ when I finally got the second half of the clue. A confession – I rushed in ORAL for 26d , not really reading the clue , just seeing the word test and given the checkers 🙄The app showed me the error of my ways at the end. Many thanks to the setter and Deansleigh .
I found this hard and it was a DNF for me as I had fan rather than hat for 28a. 6d was new to me as was 22a. I also didn’t know that meaning for 1a. On a positive note I did know 8d although I loathe the things.
Top picks for me were 12a, 20d and 14d.
Thanks to Deansleigh and the setter.
I’m away for a couple of days now so won’t have access to the puzzles but will look at them when I’m back.
I cantered through this but I had two wrong. The hat and cheese.
1a, 6d and 8d were new but solvable from word play.
So overall I really don’t know what to make of this.
Thanks to Dean and Setter
I got off to a good start earlier and really didn’t want to put the puzzle down. 1a took me by surprise but it couldn’t be anything else. Checked it out and discovered I was right. Oh ye of little faith! Ditto with 8d which I have never heard of until today. Much to like 1a,13a, 4d and 14d. However, I failed to get the 2nd part of 7a and completely forgot about the marvellous hat at 28a putting fan for the second word. Oh dear! Many thanks to the setter and Deansleigh whose hints I needed at the end!
14D my favourite in a good Wednesday workout. VMT Setter & Deansleigh.
I’m particularly liking 9a, as I was there watching the stunning total solar eclipse at this exact moment last week!
A very enjoyable puzzle, and would have been a great one, if it were not for 1a, 22a and 6d. You could have put me in the firing line, and I would not have been able to dream those up. A shame, as everything else was a lot of fun. I’ll have to try to remember these in case they ever come up again. Thanks to setter and Deansleigh.
Enjoyed this solve despite a dnf due to 22a.
As a cheese lover, I am appalled that such a creature exists. I wanted to put cheesecake in but obviously wasn’t correct.
Only vaguely heard the name in 11d. Assumed it was a country and western musician. Well aware of his band though.
I made hard work of the NW corner too. In hindsight, no idea why.
Thanks to all.
Needed the hints to parse 10a and 11d, never heard of 1a (in that sense), 22a or 6d. Favourite was 14d. Thanks to the setter and DL.
A smooth morning solve apart from the decidedly unsmooth 28A which was a ‘find what fits’ for the second word. Thanks to Steve C (19) for explaining what it is, like others I don’t see the cryptic side of this clue? I felt almost the same about the more familiar word of 4D.
Pody picks – the uncommon meaning of 1A, 11D for mentioning Joe Strummer and 7D’s singing surface soundalike 🎵
Thanks to setter and to Deansleigh ⭐️
This was a speedy solve for me, well
Within my target time.
22a held out the longest and almost wish I hadn’t see the answer – yucky!!
9a is my COTD only because Mr SC was posted there for two years I. The 90’s so it brings back memories
Thanks all
Thanks to everyone who has commented today.
One of the definitions for ‘rude’ in Chambers is “roughly or unskilfully fashioned”, so with this meaning the corresponding adverb could make sense as an anagram indicator. I imagine the compiler chose ‘rudely’ to help the surface reading, but “Most furious, Regina roughly discharged servant” doesn’t sound too bad either.
Regarding RD’s comment on 5d, although ‘pudding’ is a perfectly acceptable definition for ‘sago’, the starchiness of sago makes it a good setting agent, so the compiler’s definition is arguably a better one, and the surface is smoother.
I tend to agree with the consensus on pollack/pollock and scallop/scollop, though. Chambers favours ‘pollack’ and ‘scallop’, although where I come from in Hampshire, ‘scollop’ is used quite frequently.
I also enjoyed 9a – it’s a great city. The river that used to run through it was diverted after a major flood and the old river bed is now a park packed with attractions. I would have loved to have watched the eclipse from there instead of whilst being stuck in traffic on the A35!
Good night everyone.
Hi D
Rudely meaning roughly or unskilfully fashioned is way down the list of definitions. These anagram indicators need to be the first or second off the rank for it to work.
If not then the setter needs to construct the clue in a different way.
A rookie solver would simply throw in the towel.
You tell ’em Tom! D has given a more plausible justification than I or AI did. I suppose it’s getting a bit confusing that I am resorting to AI to justify AIs. So, apologies for that.
*Artificial Itelligence/Anagram Indicators.
2*/5* …
liked 4D “Shock from rubbing plates? (10)”