Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31329
Hints and Tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where, apparently, I have been managing to sleep through overnight thunderstorms!
For me, and I stress for me© (I have to say that for Terence), a Dream Team Thursday! There is no doubt that this is the very entertaining work of the Master of Brevity. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and an appearance from the Queen, Ray T’s swEetheart, and the plain sweetheart in the back pager. Also, like Dada, Ray T still seems to be making occasional use of a personal thesaurus. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
Candidates for favourite – 4a, 20a, 26a, 1d, 4d, 17d, and an HM for the Pun.
In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the Click here! buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
1a Goods vehicle approaching pass (5)
CARGO: A type of passenger vehicle placed before (approaching) a two letter synonym of pass.
4a One buys almost neat second drink (9)
PURCHASER: A synonym of neat with the last letter deleted (almost) and a term for a second (large) drink consumed quite quickly after a first (small) one.
9a Unfortunately borstal’s a handicap (9)
ALBATROSS: An anagram (unfortunately) of BORSTAL’S A results in a poetic maritime handicap.
10a Pole‘s small hard behind (5)
SHAFT: The single letters for Small and Hard and a, perhaps nautical, synonym of behind.
11a Pale following motorway blunder (7)
MISTAKE: A synonym of pale (as in ‘beyond the . . . .) placed after (following) the designator of the UK’s second motorway.
12a Grand record with Queen sparkle (7)
GLISTER: The single letter for Grand, a synonym of record (not a circular piece of vinyl), and (with) the regnal letters of our dear late Queen.
13a Assemble Mercedes securing badge (6)
EMBLEM: A lurker (securing) found in the first two words of the clue.
15a Carp about always getting agitated (8)
FEVERISH: What carp is a type of aquatically containing (about) a synonym of always.
18a In earnest, and in general upright (8)
STANDING: A lurker (in) found in four words in the clue.
20a Head of drink on drink (6)
NOGGIN: A strong, old variety of beer or ale brewed in Norfolk and East Anglia placed before (on) a drink that goes well with tonic.
23a Break mineral aggregate for rebuild (7)
RESTORE: A term for a break (during an activity?) and a term for mineral aggregate.
24a Studio devoured story, director’s last (7)
ATELIER: A synonym of devoured, a fabricated story, and the last letter of directoR.
26a Twitch from fish on slab’s top (5)
SHAKE: A fish that resembles a cod placed before (on) the first letter (‘s top) of Slab.
27a Working empty parable into sermon (9)
OPERATION: ParablE with the interior letters removed (empty) inserted into a synonym of sermon.
28a Sign-off used in letter from bank (9)
SINCERELY: A synonym of from and a synonym of bank (as in depending on a person).
29a Teak settee oddly shows discernment (5)
TASTE: The ‘odd’ letters of TeAk SeTtEe.
Down
1d Unappealing church lacking some members? (9)
CHARMLESS: One of the two letter abbreviations for church and a term that indicates lacking some members (as in body parts).
2d Perhaps mug’s clothing sweetheart in dresses (5)
ROBES: A synonym of mug’s (as a crime) containing (clothing) Ray T’s swEetheart.
3d Shock from right in power failure (7)
OUTRAGE: The single letter for Right inserted into (in) a term for an electrical power failure.
4d Fake passion’s first with sweetheart (6)
PHONEY: The first letter of Passion and a synonym of sweetheart (associated with bees) as a term of endearment.
5d Grass suppressing evidence gave up (8)
RESIGNED: A type of grass, that we see quite often containing (suppressing) a synonym of evidence.
6d Opposed upright member supporting House (7)
HOSTILE: An upright member in framing or panelling placed after (supporting) the two letter abbreviated form of house.
7d Surprising bird protecting nest, finally (9)
STARTLING: Guess a bird (with black, brown-spotted, iridescent plumage) containing (protecting) the last letter (finally) of nesT.
8d What goes round, up and down? (5)
ROTOR: A palindromic term (up and down as it is a Down clue) for something that goes round (in a mechanical device?).
14d Sailor saw a bit on travelling (9)
BOATSWAIN: An anagram (travelling) of SAW A BIT ON.
16d Back sprint including new hurdle (9)
HINDRANCE: A synonym of back (as in …. quarters?) and a synonym of sprint containing (including) the single letter for New.
17d Stake bound for fast runner (8)
ANTELOPE: A financial synonym of stake and a movement related synonym of bound.
19d See old Church saint in decline (7)
DIOCESE: All of the single letter for Old, the two letter abbreviation of Church (as an organisation), and the single letter for Saint inserted into a synonym of decline.
21d Extravagantly perform part of lover, actually (7)
OVERACT: Another lurker (part of) found in two words in the clue.
22d Security, for example, checking iron temperature (6)
SAFETY: A single word synonym of for example containing (checking) all of the chemical symbol for iron and the single letter for Temperature.
23d Exploits following Romeo’s wiles (5)
RUSES: A verbal synonym of exploits placed after (following) the letter represented by Romeo in the phonetic alphabet.
25d One struggles seeing climbers (5)
IVIES: The letter that represents the Roman numeral for one and a synonym of struggles.
Quick Crossword Pun:
EWER + FOES = UFOS
I hope this works; it’s from the BBC and they are notorious for copyright protection in their own back yard! As you have probably seen in the news, Dolly Parton, The Queen of Country, passed away at 80 years young on Tuesday. In 2014, she made her one and only appearance at Glastonbury and was supported by a ‘choir’ of an estimated 180,000 when she was on stage on the Sunday afternoon of the festival. May she Rest in Peace.
RayT being somewhat kind to us today with a very enjoyable puzzle. I was held up in The Home Counties for a while because I entered the incorrect last three letters at 27a and that threw 16d off. I also took a long time with 4d because I pursued the wrong sweetheart. I thought 15a needed a question mark but what do I know? I loved the simplicity of 20a and that is my COTD.
The Quickie pun was groanworthy.
Thank you, RayT for another great offering. Thank you, Colonel for the hints.
Reading the comments below, I realise this was a DNF for me because I put “Glitter” at 12a. Read the clue, Cowling! Since when was “Litt” a record? Eejit! 😡
Look to your Shakespeare Steve!
To think I did The Merchant of Venice at school!!
You’re not alone Steve!
Sadly me too!
Not that there was any abuse from a film producer at the time…..
A fairly straightforward and enjoyable workout from RayT with sweethearts in abundance, (well at least 2). The fake at 4d needed BRB consultation, but otherwise nothing untoward. My pick of several contenders for COTD is the letter from the bank at 28a.
Thanks to RayT and Senf
1.5*/3.5*
An enjoyable puzzle. LOI was 4d as I was fixated on lover being the sweetheart but couldn’t relate plover to fake. Got there in the end.
Top picks for me were 20a, 1d and 25d.
Thanks to Senf and Ray T.
Thunderstorms in the early hours here just as we start a hosepipe ban. Need a lot more rain though.
4d my last in too & plover my first thought but it made no sense (or maybe it would have done if I’d investigated further) – made me think of Brideshead when Sebastian serves them with champers to Charles in his first introduction to the gang.
their eggs not the birds of course
I had Plover too…and the BRB has Dupe for a definition…which is fake I think
Me too for plover and I made rather slow stert, before a breakthrough helped me to whiz through this enjoyable Ray T puzzle. My COTD was the well-misdirected 4a (shades of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner). I also liked the wily oitfall clue at 2acand the lego clue at 28a. Rhanks to Mr T and to Senf for the hints.
I found the same with Google search.
I was the same with Plover as Google search came up with a synonym that was dupe. .
Well glad I wasn’t the only one to put Plover. I looked up the meaning of it in Chambers and found it lists a meaning of ‘a dupe’ in old slang , so was convinced it was right. I use the app , so at the end it highlighted it as being wrong 🙄
Also tried to convince myself plover could be right!
This was certainly at the easier end of the setting spectrum for a Thursday, but it was excellently and concisely clued as always by RT. As usual, picking a winner was difficult from such a wide selection of possibles, but I went for 1d.
My thanks to both Mr T and Senf.
The Toughie is quite friendly today too.
A fairly benign Ray T today. My only horlics was 12a having failed to fully follow the instructions and gaily inserted glitter, doh. Tough to pick a favourite, but I’ll plump for 17d. Thanks to Ray T and Senf.
A pleasant */*** today with a lurker theme. 28d was my favourite although 17d was clever too. Not sure about the setter but I rarely am!
Hugely enjoyable, but I too went with the bird at 4d since the BRB gives as one of the definitions “a dupe”, and whether as an abbreviation for duplicate, or in its form as a transitive verb, that for me was close enough to “fake”. Ah well, not complaining.
Some cracking surfaces, from the sad truth of 9a to the humour of 10a & 18a, all joined on the podium by my LOI, 6d.
Many thanks to RayT and to Senf.
I had ‘plover’ for 4d, which google also confirmed was another word for fake, anyone else?
Don’t answer that, I’ve just seen above that others thought of the dickie bird too!
Me too
A very friendly RayT today but technically a DNF due to mistake at 12a.
28a LOI and COTD for PDM. 1d and 4a on the podium
Thanks to Senf and Ray.
A terrific Ray T production with much to praise and enjoy. A couple of early bung ins at 12a and 27a caught me out but once corrected I found things fairly straightforward.
I smiled at 19d which we had in reverse recently and 20d that’s a word I haven’t heard in conversation for a long while.
Lots to pick from but my CPTD is 16d
Many thanks to Ray T and Senf for the hints
I got there in the end, but computer initially said “no” to my NE corner. 10a being ‘shard’ seemed way too basic but did however fit perfectly with my 8d ‘radar’ going round and round. Ho hum!
Little confused by 27a; surely ‘working’ should be ‘XXX-ING’, or (if it was a different grid!) ‘IN XXX-ION’?
I said the same thing about 27a, CM in my comment at #1. It held me up for ages. 😊
For me, and I stress for me (© Senf), I need to zip up there promptly to understand the parsing of a few, as I whizzed some answers in but didn’t grasp the cryptic bit. As we know, I am challenged and somewhat of an eejit. I should receive a government grant really.
Well, what could possibly go wrong today? We leave later to visit The Mighty Chelsea as we play lowly Luton Town (I understand Luton is a place north of Maidenhead). Of course, nothing will go wrong and it will simply be a question of how many we score. I’m expecting ten goals for TMC. Very straighforward; nothing to fear.
Thanks to RayTee, and Rip Van Winkling through it all – The Man From Manitoba
I hope the boys from Leeds, who come next, give the winners of your match a stern test
A brisk & enjoyable solve with nothing really to cause much crumpet scratching other than a brief mental trawl through the alphabet to twig the 2nd letter of last in 4d. I did have the correct 4th letter to 12a having studied Merchant of Venice for O’Level back in the day. Seem to recall posting a pic of Clarice when we had 7d in AP’s puzzle a couple of weeks ago. No real fav clue but as ever plenty to like.
Thanks to Ray T & to Senf.
Ps the Smooth production over in t’other place isn’t overly taxing & is well worth having a stab at
A mildish but enjoyable Thursday puzzle. I’d prefer 3* – 4* difficulty from Ray T on this day of the week, however. The clues were fine and concise as usual and there were one or two unfamiliar synonyms (appreciated by me). I have ticked a few clues and will pick 1d as my favourite today – it just tickled me somehow. 2*/3*.
*Isn’t the figure in the 1d photo armsless? I mean, if the police were searching for an “armless” juggler how would they know how many members were missing. Over to you, Tom
From my MRB:
Antimony: a metalic element, atomic number 51.
Antinomy: paradox, contradiction.
Nice to see RayT here today on his fortnightly visit to the back pager puzzle.
As always, the brevity and succinctness in his clueing is really so refreshing and make one focus on every word in the clue. As Senf says in his pre-amble, it was nice to see the Queen and although there are two sweethearts, only one counts in this puzzle.
2*/4.5* for me
Favourites include 11a, 12a, 26a, 2d, 4d & 7d — with winner 11a
Thanks to RayT & Senf
Not so easy and friendly for me today. I was stuck for what seemed a long time on 1a, 4a, 2d. 3d, and 4d. Eventually the penny dropped on 1a and I rid my brain of pass being ID. The other answers arrived soon after.
Thanks to setter and hinter.
I always thought that as one gets older life gets easier but I am just about to start a very busy 10 hour day so I will thank Ray T in advance for another very enjoyable to solve and hint challenge.
One thing for sure, we have found that as we get older time flies so quickly, weeks go by in a flash. Despite being retired, we often cannot achieve all that we want during any particular day. Whereas it used to seem ages from Wednesday to Friday when working now it’s gone by so quickly.
Made the same mistakes as some others with regards to 4d and 27a. The latter I was able to correct from the down clues but I had fully convinced myself with the lover in 4d as the plover bird is known for faking a broken wing. Im not a fan of using archaic words like 12a, but this setter tends to use them quite often so I am on the look out!
Thanks to setter and to Senf (esp for clearing up 4d)
2*/5*. A perfect puzzle from Mr Brevity on Dream Team Thursday.
28a, 1d & 19d were my top picks.
Many thanks to RayT and to Senf.
Thanks to RayT and Senf. Still rusty from our break. Some of the clues seemed a bit obscure but got there in the end with a couple of hints.
COTD 20a LOI 16d
I took a while to get into this but then thoroughly enjoyed completing it. 4 d was last in and my favourite once the penny dropped. As usual this was a highly entertaining challenge.
Many thanks to RayT and to Senf for the hints.
*** / ***
Found this very difficult today, with many a clue causing me to wonder why once I’d got it. The NW held me up a long time with the same hold ups as others above. Didn’t write in ‘lover’ for 4d but it occurred[ied my head for far too long. My COTD was the unappealing church at 1d.
Thanks RayT and Senf for confirming a few parsings.
Usually find Ray T more difficult but apart from 4 down all was well. Had been reading the Rime of the Ancient Mariner yesterday so 9 across flew straight in.
Great start to the day and it didn’t make me late for Knitter Natter and Paracise ( not done together )
Thanks all round for such entertainment and explanations.
The week’s puzzles have got slightly more tricky as the week has gone on. This was ***.5 for me.
Did most during lunchtime listening to Tom Petty 🎸 and returned to attempt to finish it bar a few with Eels 🎸
That’s always been the way with DT cryptic puzzles, BlueB. They start the week with relatively easy ones the get harder as the week progresses. That’s the theory, anyway but it doesn’t always follow.
then!!!
Evening all. Many thanks to Senf for the decryption and to everybody else for your observations.
RayT
Great puzzle, as ever, RayT and thank you for popping in.
I thought this was harder than usual for a Ray T , and it took me a while to get going , but as always once you start it tends to flow. I am glad that others also put plover – I found in the BRB that it meant a dupe in old slang so was convinced. Computer said no at the end though. I also put Glitter first off , and actually have never used or heard the word glister so that was new to me too. An enjoyable and satisfying solve. Thanks to Ray T and Senf.
An enjoyable workout but also foiled by the unfamiliar glister (my predictive text automatically changed it to glitter!) Not sure about albatross as a handicap but a fine crossword all the same
What a treat for a Thursday. I am still recovering from last week’s struggle, so this was a very pleasant surprise today. Of course I fell into the glitter trap, and like Steve Cowling, I had the wrong ending to 27a at first. COTD shared by 4a, 11a and 24a. Big thank you to RayT for a lot of fun today, and to Senf,
2* / 4* A step up in difficulty but a most enjoyable challenge.
Favourites 28a letter sign off, the surprising 7d and 29a head
Many thanks to RayT and Senf