Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31325 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club
(hosted by crypticsue)
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Morning from East Kent where we are celebrating a full three-quarters of an inch of rain in just under a week, although it is going to take a lot more than that to rescue the garden after nearly three months of drought. Quite an autumnal feel first thing but hopefully it will warm up later
I will be interested to learn whether other solvers found this Saturday Prize Puzzle as tricky as I did and, indeed, who they think set it.
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 Beard perhaps dad cut back for picture (4,7)
The forename of Professor Beard, the academic specialising in Ancient Rome, an informal name for a dad and a reversal (back) of a verb meaning to cut
8a Soft old politician with a grim hairstyle (9)
The musical abbreviation meaning soft, the abbreviation for Old, a politician, A (from the clue) and grim or sullen
10a Chilling thing with six faces … (3,4)
A nice cryptic definition of something used for cooling
12a Children grabbing second of teddy bears (5)
Young children ‘grabbing’ the second of tEddy
18a Yellowish-brown ring about to be found outside church (5)
The ring-shaped letter and the usual about, on the subject of, into which is inserted (outside) the abbreviation for church
19a Cons discontented Italian couple and son (7)
The outside (discontented) letters of Italian, a verb meaning to couple and the abbreviation for Son
25a The Sun features very large American Republican with wide trousers (5,6)
A synonym for very, abbreviations for Large, American and Republic with wide trousers popular in the late 60s and early 70s
Down
1d Worn-out parent briefly advanced and lifted bag (4-5)
A truncated (briefly) female parent, the abbreviation for Advanced and a reversal (lifted) of a bag
5d Stunned when “Middle Ages” is broadcast (2,1,4)
A homophone (broadcast) of in the middle and some periods of time
7d Painter‘s subject, out of sorts, is tense (11)
Subject or matter to be taken into account, unwell (out of sorts) IS (from the clue) and the abbreviation for Tense
9d Bit of kit that lock’s put on? (5,6)
A piece of kit that a player of a particular ball game might put on
14d Flower from Spooner’s unwanted plant patch (9)
How the Reverend would say an unwanted weed and a period of time (patch)
17d What bowler maybe can hold, stifling England’s opener, nasty (7)
Nothing to do with cricket but what a particular type of bowler can hold, ‘stifling’ the opener of England
21d More certain to be found on board pleasure ride (5)
Hidden in the last two words of the clue
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The Quick Crossword pun: DOCK + HEAP + BAG = DOGGY-BAG
I found this pretty chewy compared with recent SPPs, but with hindsight I probably tried to overthink many of the clues. There were a few which went in on the first pass, but the rest needed teasing out. Unravelling the anagrams at 13a and 16a proved to be the turning point for completion. My podium picks are the chilling thing 10a, 5d and the sun features at 25a is my COTD.
Many thanks to the setter and crypticsue.
I am firmly in the trickier than usual for a SPP, but no idea as to the setter
7d my favourite and sent me to search for Sondheim the crossword setter rather than this about my favourite 7d – Sondheim’s book of crosswords is super rare and on every cruciverbalist’s wish list
I had but one answer in first run through, found this very tricky but then the North was completed. The South took far more effort. A couple of spelling mistakes on my part didn’t help. Now to Wordle! Thanks to the setter and CS, also rain here at last.
Blimey, that was hard for a Saturday, we’ve had easier toughies!
Took a while to get going, then cracked on once I got in to the swing if it.
Plenty of ticks, there were some really devious deceptions, including Beard at 1a and possibly one at 16a.
Best SPP for ages, my thanks to our setter and CS.
4*/3*. I too found parts of this quite tough for a SPP but it was a reasonably enjoyable challenge.
Many thanks to the setter and to CS.
My last one in was 14d: I’d parsed it right, but was too used to reading the definition bit as a usual suspect, and it took getting all the checking letters to work out what it was!
Welcome to the blog
I’m pleased to see that others found this a tricky little beast. For example, “Beard perhaps” was such a brain mangler and, like Manders, I only had one clue solved after the first pass. I thought the lurker was very well hidden but I had totally forgotten that 8a was a hairstyle and the Reverend beat me today. I do have a COTD and that is the muscular honey at 24a.
I quite like the Quickie pun.
Thank you, setter for a really good brain mangling. Thank you, CeeSoo for the hints and I’m pleased you’ve had rain. We have had no more in The Marches despite it having been forecast.
For me, etc©, how a SPP ought to be for those with ambitions of winning The Mythical which, by virtue of geographic location, I and many others are excluded from although I have vague recollections of a suggestion of an e-voucher prize of some sort, Amazon(?), for overseas participants but that never came to anything. Anyway, back to the reality of today – 2.5*/3.5*
Candidates for favourite – 7a, 10a, 25a, 1d, and 9d – and the winner is 1d.
Thanks to whomsoever and CS.