Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31342
Hints and tips by Mr K
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BD Rating - Difficulty **** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I needed my reference materials this week to confirm a few answers.
In the hints below most indicators are italicized, and underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions. Clicking on the answer buttons will reveal the answers. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
8a Audacious form of dismissal reportedly (4)
BOLD: A homophone (reportedly) of a crickety form of dismissal
9a Master and don excited receiving new decorations (10)
ADORNMENTS: An anagram (excited) of MASTER DON containing (receiving) the single letter for new
10a Bound to accept essentially smallish current paper-maker's measure (8)
CALLIPER: Bound or spring containing (to accept) both the central letter pair (essentially) of SMALLISH and the physics symbol for electric current
11a Cultural home husband returns to visit and so forth (6)
ETHNIC: The reversal (returns) of the fusion of home or “not out” and the single letter for husband is inserted in (to visit) an abbreviation that can mean “and so forth”
12a Where to spot those who are in form? (9)
CLASSROOM: A cryptic definition, where form is used in its educational sense, not its sporting sense
13a Insist on claim omitting nothing factual originally (5)
PRESS: A verb meaning claim or declare minus (omitting) both the letter representing nothing and the first letter (originally) of FACTUAL
15a Tense individual on BBC channel in black and white, typically (3-4)
TWO-TONE: The single letter for (grammatical) tense and a synonym of individual both come after (on, in an across clue) a number that’s a BBC channel
17a Understanding hospital department twice close to collapse (7)
ENTENTE: Two copies (twice) of a usual abbreviated hospital department are joined, and that’s followed by the last letter (close to) of COLLAPSE
20a Letters from Mandela backed flipping secret plot (5)
CABAL: The answer is hidden in (letters from) the reversal (flipping) of MANDELA BACKED
22a Size of US coin Poles first rejected (9)
DIMENSION: Link together a US coin worth 10 cents, the abbreviations for the two poles of the Earth, and the reversal (rejected) of a (2,1) abbreviation that could indicate “first”
25a Abandon criminality in favour of plugging rock band (6)
REFORM: “in favour of” inserted in (plugging) crosswordland’s favourite three-letter rock band
26a Order dessert course (5-3)
APPLE-PIE: A double definition. The answer was clear from the enumeration and a few checkers, but I needed the BRB to verify the first definition
27a Science fiction concept perhaps developed adopting unknown colleague's tips (10)
HYPERSPACE: An anagram (developed) of PERHAPS containing (adopting) a letter used for a mathematical unknown is followed by the outer letters (…’s tips) of COLLEAGUE
28a Challenge women's opinion (4)
VIEW: Another word for challenge with the single letter for women
Down
1d Civil code maintained by Julian, say - and Lex? (5,3)
ROMAN LAW: An adjective that Julian can define by example (say) with what Lex means in Latin
2d Dicky silly to include daughter in rural scenes (6)
IDYLLS: An anagram (dicky) of SILLY containing (to include) the single letter for daughter
3d Overindulging Miles during home redecoration? (9)
PAMPERING: The abbreviation for miles inserted in (during) a form of home decoration involving walls
4d 13 Across representatives on coast at intervals after day in Calais (7)
JOURNOS: Alternate letters (at intervals) of ON COAST come after the French (in Calais) word for day
5d Naked tenants come in (5)
ENTER: Another word for tenants, minus its outer letters (naked)
6d Load again on horse endlessly (8)
RECHARGE: A short word for on or concerning with all but the last letter (endlessly) of a warhorse
7d Moral values in English county mentioned by Mike Tyson? (6)
ETHICS: A lispy homophone (mentioned by Mike Tyson) of an English county
14d Explain informal sandwich shop beneath Milan club (9)
INTERPRET: The informal name of a chain of sandwich shops comes after (beneath, in a down clue) the short name of a well-known Milan football club
16d Happened to cut plant going over flowering shrubs (3,5)
TEA ROSES: A five-letter synonym of happened or came up inserted in (to cut) the reversal (going over) of a verb meaning plant or place
18d One who's unfaithful to merit struggles, wife admitted (3-5)
TWO-TIMER: An anagram (… struggles) of TO MERIT with the single letter for wife inserted (admitted)
19d Sound when shower starts? Mine excluded, not right! (3-1-3)
PIT-A-PAT: Another word for a mine is followed by a synonym of excluded minus (not) the single letter for right
21d Expression of assent finding rare primate (3-3)
AYE-AYE: Another double definition. The expression of assent was obvious from the enumeration, but I had to verify with Mr Google that it’s also a rare primate
23d Tempted female golfer to lift protective cover (6)
SLEEVE: A biblical female tempted by forbidden fruit with a South African golfer, all reversed (… to lift, in a down clue)
24d Entertain male American in Anchorage on vacation (5)
AMUSE: The single letter for male and an abbreviation for American inserted in the outer letters (on vacation) of ANCHORAGE
Thanks to today’s setter. Which clues did you like best?
The Quick Crossword pun: MUTT + CHAD + MIRED = MUCH ADMIRED
An excellent puzzle with a suitably deserving 4-line tribute to Jay.
Too many excellent clues to select one favourite.
Many thanks to the setter, and to Mr K.
2*/5*
Thanks for mentioning the tribute, I hadn’t spotted it.
An excellent spot, J, and well done to the setter.
Thank you for that, Jezza. I’d managed to miss both the Nina today and the news back in August. RIP, Jay, who is Mutch missed.
That was tricky, but I guess it’s what we should expect on a Friday, multiple head scratching moments that certainly kept the grey cell occupied
The 7d introduction to Sean Connery’s replacement made me smile. I wondered whether I’d misunderstood 23d when I spotted that both of crossword lands favourite golfers had made an appearance.
It took a while before I understood 1d…the solution appeared when the checkers were in place, but I would not have parsed it without the help of Mr G.
I’ve never previously come across the assenting primate and paid a second visit to Mr G – one to remember?
I was going to choose 19d as my favourite, but the third bit did not quite work for me and so I settled on the fictional 27a.
Time to focus on the big issues…will another test match fail to last three days, will the sky blues get their first point of the season, and will the two weekend PPs be friendly?
Many thanks to today’s setter and Mr K for the hints.
Three PP’s😉
A DNF for me with the first part of 1d otherwise an enjoyable puzzle.
Top picks for me were 22a, 10a, 23d, 18d and 25a.
Thanks to Mr K and the setter.
For once I couldn’t fail to spot the tribute in the Nina, a nice touch.
That apart, this was a bit of gentle fun on which to end the week.
Poor old Iron Mike takes one on the nose again for his speech impediment at 7d while the golfing Saffa makes another appearance on the tee at 23d.
The gardening work in 16d was my COTD, nicely constructed with a fine surface read.
My thanks to our setter and ALP.
3*/5*. What a brilliant puzzle with a wonderful tribute to Jay and one with which I wholeheartedly concur.
The surface readings were sublime and I have ticks all over my page. I loved the Mike Tyson reference and, if you twist my arm, I’ll settle on 23d as my favourite.
Many thanks to Silvanus for it must be one of his, and to Mr K.
It will be interesting to see if it is the work of Silvanus, or more than one setter.
Cor! That was hard work and was therefore extremely satisfying to solve.
My LOI was 10a that I biffed as I didn’t know the synonym for the verb ‘bound’. Parsing 23d took an age as I was trying to justify ‘Seve’ being on the outside of two letters. ‘First rejected’ in 22a also took a while to work out.
I haven’t heard of 16d as my fauna knowledge sucks. I didn’t know 21d but I won’t be on my own with that one.
It is bonkers how often I hear people mispronounce the adjective of 2d because they think its root is ‘ideal’.
Juneau that Anchorage isn’t the capital of Alaska? Juneau is.
My picks are 28a, 2d and 7d.
Many thanks to, I’m guessing, Zandio and Mr K.
4*/4* (I was going to give 3* but the nod to Jay merits another star)
I found this tough. On the first pass through I had but a couple of answers. Slowly, oh so slowly it came together, but I can’t claim an unaided finish as I needed the hints to complete the grid. Overall a top class challenge, that was just too good for me today. Tough to pick a cotd, but I’ll award it to 22a. Thanks to compiler and Mr K.
I didn’t get 1 down and since I only allow a certain time to the crossword DNF. Actually I now see that I put in the wrong science fiction concept for 27 across. No wonder it didn’t parse but the letters were all OK as checkers so it didn’t beg attention. Favourite in this rather tricky puzzle was 26 across. Well done to our setter and Mr. K who had a lot of explaining to do
27a – I wrote in “cyber” out of desperation.
I found this a really tough Friday puzzle with little enjoyment in getting through it.
Parsing was hard to figure out today too.
Can’t say I really had any favourites either but if I had to pick one 15a
Bring on Saturday’s puzzle
Thanks to setter & Mr K.
A top-notch puzzle with an excellent tribute to Jay as a Nina. Many thanks to our setter and Mr K.
I didn’t know the rare primate but the obscurities were kept to a minimum taking into account the need to fit in the Nina.
I liked 15a, 26a and 23d.
Quite a challenge at the end of a very busy Thursday which included attending a planning meeting for Winnipeg’s Remembrance Day Ceremony in the afternoon and, in the evening, a Candlelight Service of Remembrance at the Military Cemetery. A battery powered ‘tea light candle’ on every one of 11,000 headstones. The ceremony started about 45 minutes before sunset and as darkness came the ‘candles’ became more and more visible. Impressive.
Back to the puzzle. A splendid tribute to Jay. Candidates for favourite – 17a, 26a, 28a, and 14d – and the winner is 28a, as if I would ever challenge a woman’s opinion!
Thanks to Silvanus, or whomsoever in the unlikely event it is not he, and Mr K.
P.S. If you have not seen it, Twmbarlwm commented on yesterday’s blog on 25a:
Just to clarify: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/bow
“7. a metal ring forming the handle of a pair of scissors or of a large old-fashioned key”
Surprisingly gentle for a Friday – maybe because I worked up from the S, 28a having leapt off the page at me – and a bit taken aback at the other experiences in evidence here. No hold-ups other than with my LOI, 8a, where I found myself running through the alphabet in my mind, looking for homophones.
Needless to say I did not spot the Nina, but a nice tribute to Jay, whose puzzles I always enjoyed tremendously.
Honours to 2d, 3d & 19d.
Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K
A swifter finish than typical, helped by few anagrams and all the answers being words I knew, with much fun along the way. I particularly enjoyed working out the wordplay in the 11a cultural home, the 4d day trip to Calais, and the 19d shower sound. And 21d is always a highlight, for how cute it is. (Photo © Jarr on Flickr. Used under the terms of CC BY-NC 2.0.) We saw some at Jersey Zoo, who have some even cuter pictures.
Thank you to Mr K for explaining ‘first’ in 22a and the 16u plant.
There was a couple of meanings I had to check: I thought 5d was just indulging rather than over-indulging; and having heard the phrase “rural idyll”, I presumed it was the first of those words indicating the ruralness and that an idyll on its own wasn’t necessarily rural. In both cases Oxford confirmed my thoughts while Chambers justified the setter.
I didn’t know 1d as a pharse; its wordplay doesn’t feel particularly cryptic, especially just cluing something with a foreign word for the same thing. I shall try to remember to ask the teenager (who’s doing Latin GCSE) about it.
Thank you to the setter for an enjoyable crossword.
A very entertaining but, for me, a bit too hard with several clues I could not parse or needed help with eg 1d. I enjoyed the challenge as there were plenty of clues I could manage with the excellent wordplay.
Many thanks to the setter and to Senf for the hints.
Apologies, thanks to Mr K for the hints, I had just read Senfs comment.
Slowly and steadily until completed, except I don’t know what a “science fiction concept” is. So I got 27a wrong.
Thanks to Mr. K for explanations of the clues I couldn’t parse and to setter for a likeable puzzle.
I didn’t know M Tyson lithpth.
This was very similar to yesterday for me. Most went in systematically however left with a few stragglers that proved resistant. Aye aye seemed to be an obvious answer but could not parse and did not imagine it would be the name of an ape!! And also stuck on the sci-fi concept which obv wasn’t outer space.
Thanks to those of you who pointed out the NINA which I hadn’t seen.
COTD for me is 26a
Tricky little number today. Finished OK but couldn’t parse them all by any means so a few bung ins. I know what a NINA is but cannot see it so could some kind person spell it out for me. Thanks. And thanks to setter and hinter. Loved Smyler’s picture, what amazing little ‘hands’ he/she has.
From your completed puzzle, read across row 1,3,13,15.
Wow, got it, thanks. Would never have managed to do it myself!
Wow that was tough. I struggled all the way through. Got there in the end though. Favourite was 22a. Thanks to the setter and Mr. K.
Tough as expected thank you Mr K for explaining the Julian Rex clue it threw me completely
Our usual mid afternoon sit down to do the puzzle. Tricky as it is Friday. Resorted to a few hints, notably 1d which we still don’t fully understand. COTD 19d. LOI 28a.
***** / **
Simply too far above my pay grade to enjoy it I’m afraid. Couldn’t get the synonym of bound in 10a, couldn’t parse the ‘first rejected’ in 22a but got the answer, didn’t know the first meaning of 26a, got the wrong answer entirely for 1d, never heard of the flowering shrubs at 16d and needed the hint, couldn’t begin to parse 19d and never heard of the primate at 21d. Apart from that, it was a breeze!!! Did like the agreement at 17a and the science fiction at 27a but didn’t tick any others.
Just not my day so many thanks anyway to the setter and Mr K.
Belatedly, I see the whole Nina – excellent!!!
Really satisfying solve today as at first I thought I would struggle but I had my big brain pants on , and also no distractions so made steady progress. Few things I learnt. I didn’t know that the 26a dessert was an order , nor that 21d is a primate. 20a was a new word for me meaning secret plot. I didn’t know the civil code expression at 1d , nor 10a being a paper makers expression. Reader where the hell have I been not knowing this stuff for God’s sake ? One of my last ones in was 3d and I bunged in hammering even though it didn’t parse , and of course computer said no ! Anyway it is really great to learn new things each day doing these crosswords and keeping the brain active. Thanks to the setter for a nicely chewy solve and to Mr K.
J m – I think 26a refers to the phrase “apple pie order” meaning neat and tidy.
Thanks, I’m not familiar with the phrase at all.
I’m just preparing to hit the sack here in Brisbane. Today’s was an all day solve for me but I got there in the end. There were a few hmms which could be worked out from the checkers, like 26a. But they make sense now. My COTD candidates are the two homophones. Thanks to the setter and Mr K for the extras. Best, 🦇
Many thanks to Mr K and to all those solving and commenting.
As I said a few weeks ago, Jay was always an inspiration to me as a setter, and I was very honoured to accept the Puzzles Editor’s invitation to include a tribute to him. By the way, the Quick Pun is also part of the tribute, although nobody has mentioned it so far, I think.
I spoke briefly to Jay’s sister yesterday to mention that today’s puzzle would feature a dedication to her late brother, so I hope that she, her other siblings and Jeremy’s friends will approve of the Nina.
As usual on a Friday, may I wish everyone a good weekend.
Hi Silvanus
This was top quality!
I was a big fan of Jay’s puzzles, normally on a Wednesday if I remember correctly.
I was first to post this morning; Jay and I both have the same forename, which is possibly why I spotted the message early on.
Best wishes to Jay’s family… what an incredible setter he was!
Thank you, Jezza. Much appreciated.
I think Jay appeared first on Thursdays but he moved to Wednesdays after Ann Tait retired and then Bert Danher died suddenly, but others may correct me on that. His 500th back-page puzzle (DT 26,609) appeared on July 20th, 2011 and his 1,000th (DT 29,595) appeared on February 10th, 2021. Amazing milestones.
I figured it was likely one of your puzzles & of course thoroughly enjoyed it. I completely missed the very fitting 4 line tribute to Jay – I’m sure he would have been chuffed with the sentiment as well as greatly admiring your own setting skill in creating the message. Bravo 👏
Thanks also to Mr K for the review.
Well done, Silvanus. I spotted the Quick Crossword pun just after I’d posted above, and smiled again.
Thank you, silvanus for a great Friday puzzle and what a terrific and poignant tribute to Jay. I missed the Quickie pun tribute but it raised a smile when I saw it.
I managed to overthink 1d – I came across a Colombian actor called Julian ***** via a Google search and thought, “Gosh, that’s a bit obscure, even for a Friday”.
Many thanks to Silvanus for a very entertaining puzzle, and to Mr K for the hints.
Ha ha, I like that, you probs my thought your outlier GK had come up trumps 😸
I was quite pleased that I’d made it to the end reasonably swiftly, when it felt challenging all the same (only a handful when straight in), only to find I had two wrong. One was 27A’s sci fi term, I’d suspected CYBER…. was wrong as couldn’t explain it (careless), but the other was 1D. I had to concede to Mr K’s hints for that one 😒
Pody picks – the 21D primate is a new one, don’t think I’ll forget that, 13A that was oddly satisfying to parse, had taken a while, and 15A has me thinking The Specials will sound great on this post-work Friday.
Thanks to setter and to Mr K ⭐️
Enjoyable puzzle watching the ladies golf tussle.
🤞 we can get a W in the column tomorrow at whatever Burnden Park is called these days.
Well my excuse is that it’s a Friday, so obviously,, the anti has been upped to the appropriate level for the end of the week! I really struggled to get started with today’s offering but slowly I worked my through most of it. Only got the bottom half of 1d and just realised that I haven’t finished 25a. There were a few that I had difficulty in parsing and so have checked all the hints. I notice from the comments that I wasn’t the only one to put Cyberspace at 27a! Many thanks to the setter and Mr K whose hints were more than welcome. Have a nice weekend everyone.
A bit too tough for me needing Mr K to come to the rescue for the primate and the tempted female golfer, which had me trying to find a fit for Seve with an F. I didn’t know the paper measure but got it from the word play. 11a, 27a and 1d are my picks. The tribute was missed as I never encountered JM.
Thanks to Silvanus and MrK
4*/3*
Very hard today. Just one comment – I thought the paper-maker’s measure had just one ‘p’. Two of that letter is an instrument for measuring thickness and the like. Or is this an English versus US spelling?
You were Gromsy before so changing your alias sent you into moderation. Both aliases will work from now on.
Thanks Gazza. It’s so long ago I had forgotten my alias.
Hi, John. 10a does indeed only have one P in my completed grid — have you managed to fit an extra one in somewhere?
It’s the same word for both the instrument and the measure: the measure is the thickness of the paper, presumably measured with the instrument. Dictionaries list it with either LL or L, but always with a single P. Chambers has LL (as used in this crossword) as the main spelling with L marked as ‘US’. But Oxford has L as the main spelling even in the UK, with LL offered as a variant.
I meant ‘l’ (fat fingers). Anyway I think single or double is correct for both the measure and the instrument. I should start the day again!
Today was a first for me. Both the cryptic and Toughie completed with no help from bloggers, Dan word or Mr K. Feeling very pleased with myself for managing it. No favourites but thank you to Mr K and the setters.
I see the naysayers have clubbed the Assisted Dying Bill to death but it is no problem to me. I will not need assistance when I have had enough of this awful world.
Well done on Osmosis – I’m 3 shy & scratching the crumpet furiously to no avail thus far.
4* / 4* Tough but an enjoyable challenge and needed Mr K’s explanations for a couple.
Favourites today 3d over indulging (also had hammering initially like Jenny M), 21d primate and the record label at 15a
Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K
I found this very tough today, so not hugely enjoyable but it was a lovely tribute to Jay.
Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.
Definitely above my pay grade today, with several answers going in with little confidence (5d, 7d, 19d and 21d). Also, only ever seen 10a spelt with one “l” so that didn’t help. A few fell into my lap, helped by checkers, but overall too much of a slog, but unsurprising as it is Friday. Roll on Saturday. Thanks to setter and Mr K. I am in awe of your ability to solve all this for us.
Quite a tricky blighter today.
A dnf due to 16d and 1d. I know about 3 plants in total, so no surprises there. Totally baffled by 1d. I was trying to think of celebs called Julian. I know almost no latin so was thinking of Lex Luther.
Took a while to unpick some of the clues. A couple of new words, 10a and 21d, and still cannot parse 26a. Order?
Nevertheless, an enjoyable challenge.
Thanks to all.
I hadn’t heard of apple pie order either. It means neat and tidy apparently.
I always thought it is from the French “Nappe pliée” or a neatly folded napkin, but this seems to be in dispute;
“And he was devoted to his books, which were in apple-pie order.”
— Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (1899)
Thanks all for the replies.
One for the memory bank it would seem.
I would have guessed it had originated from the US, but apparently not.
Very difficult and e assistance required to check a few answers and solve the flowering shrub.
Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.
A fitting tribute to Jay.
4*/4* …
liked 26A “Order dessert course (5-3)” amongst others
and the NINA.