Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3386 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where today accounts for the third blogging milestone I began talking about at the end of June – this is my 500th Sunday blog, not counting the first Sunday Toughie – 93 puzzles by Virgilius (Brian Greer) and 407 by Dada (John Halpern).
You may not have received a blog notification e-mail this morning; that would be because of an aberration between me and my laptop on Friday evening (UK time). We have spoken to each other and we promise that it will not happen again, at least not until the next time 
For me, and I stress for me,© after a slow start, Dada quite friendly. Five anagrams (three partials), one lurker, and two homophones (in successive clues, neither of them hinted!), all in a symmetric 30 clues; with 15 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, all BRB verified where necessary, you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand! You might even need your favourite e-search ‘assistant’!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
If it is some time since you read, or if you have never read the instructions in RED below the hints then please consider doing so before commenting today as my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Candidates for favourite – 7a, 21a, 28a, 5d, 22d, 23d, and an HM for the Pun.
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, a number of the what I very subjectively perceive to be the more difficult clues have been selected and hints provided for them.
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.
Some hints follow:
Across
7a What is wearing coarser knitted jumper, say (9)
A two letter synonym of what as an interjection inserted into (wearing) an anagram (knitted) of COARSER.
10a Vast land mass in Colombia evacuated after a day (6)
ColombiA with the interior letters removed (evacuated) placed after all of A from the clue and guess an abbreviated day of the week (come on there are only seven of them).
14a Hand slightly damaged, that hurt to put it mildly! (3,3)
I am hoping that Dada is not indicating that this is an anagram (slightly damaged) as it involves moving only one letter! So, move one letter in HAND and add a two letter synonym of that hurt – and The Crimson Tome indicates that the answer is ‘orig N Am inf’.
19a Curious, in the manner of sovereign (6)
A (2,4) phrase equivalent to in the manner of sovereign.
21a Backing this country, stand by country (6)
The reversal (backing) of the abbreviated form of the country in which most bloggers reside and follow it with a synonym of stand by.
24a Old copper in standard valve (8)
All of the single letter for Old and the two letter rank of the most junior ‘copper’ inserted into (in) a synonym of standard.
28a Yours truly sister saw overwhelmed (9)
Yours truly represented by the perpendicular pronoun, sister as a member of a religious order, and an informal synonym of saw (romantically?).
Down
1d Yellow flower for cartoon duck (5)
Not the cartoon duck that may have first come to mind – an informal name for a yellow flower (grown from a bulb).
2d Diamonds on top of elegant dress for ball (8)
A well disguised crickety clue (well I thought so) – the single letter for Diamonds (as a card suit) placed before (on) the first letter (top) of Elegant and the ‘dress’ worn by members of staff in some organisations.
5d Holy cow, something I should keep? (2,4)
A double definition – the first is a (mild) interjection expressing surprise or dismay.
6d More than one horned animal with insect runs off (9)
A three letter insect (that mostly does not fly) and a single word term equivalent to runs off (secretly to get married?).
9d Seize knave after good morning (6)
A synonym of knave (in a pack of cards) placed after a two letter synonym good morning – perhaps ‘unfortunate’ given the significance of Friday’s date.
18d Snag covered by Tom, perhaps in talk (8)
A synonym of snag contained (covered) by what perhaps Tom is (as a furry animal).
22d Equine sound from mouth of weary hybrid equine (6)
The first letter (mouth) of Weary and a term for a hybrid equine (offspring of stallion and female ass).
25d Charitable donation originally supporting family (4)
The first letter (originally) of Donation placed after (supporting) a synonym of family.
Quick Crossword Pun (topical for this month?):
JUNE + EARS + COOL = JUNIOR SCHOOL’
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The Communards were a synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985. They consisted of Scottish singer Jimmy Somerville and English musician Richard Coles. They are best known for their cover version of Don’t Leave Me This Way, originally recorded by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, with guest vocalist jazz singer Sarah Jane Morris which reached number one for four weeks on this day in 1986, someone must have liked it:
A great pair of prize puzzles for this weekend. And a few new expressions for me.
7a made me smile
14a is the new expression I mentioned
20d is my COTD. Very efficient wordplay.
Thank you for your partial breakdown and to a skilled setter
20d is my last one and can’t fathom it out yet!
The rogue is a youngster.
Awake early thanks to a return to a different time zone, and an enjoyable puzzle to keep me occupied. Some clues felt familiar but also some great misdirection! I particularly enjoyed 4d, 15d, 7a, 24a, and 28a, though my favourite was 14a which is an expression I haven’t used for a while.
Thank you to Dada and to Senf.
2*/4* from me for a very enjoyable Sunday puzzle with 2d my favourite.
Many thanks to our regular Sunday double act, Dada and Senf.
I found this a little tricky this morning; in fact I kept switching between this and Silvanus until they were both completed.
14a was my last in. My top three 7a, 2d, and 6d.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.
Looking forward to the Madrid F1 in roughly 3 hours time.
I found this tricky but very enjoyable.
Top picks for me were 16a, 18d, 4d, 5d, 10a and 1a.
Thanks to Senf (and congratulations on your milestone) and Dada.
This took a bit of work on a tricky grid which is often the case with Radio.
My LOI was 2d as I couldn’t get ‘ball’ for a good while.
I like that the country in 21a is made up of two homophones (near as dammit). It can also be written as a letter name and a number.
I wonder why the second letter of the hybrid in 22d isn’t a different vowel?
‘Holy cow’ reminds me of Robin in the wonderful 1960s TV series Batman.
My picks are 12a, 18a and, of course, 18d.
MTTTA and S (huge congrats)
3*/3*
For me, and I stress for me (© Senf), re The Communards “someone must have liked it”. Not me, I spent the 1980s trying to avoid that bloke’s squeaky vocals.
Oh woe! Oh how my very heart is torn into shreds after attending Chelsea’s feeble 2-2 draw with some team from up north yesterday. We attack like Brazil in 1970 and defend like kindergarten tots who have never seen a football before. The WOE!
What? Oh the guzzle? I think it was quite tricky and so my odds of winning the crayon set are improved. I’m beginning to wonder if my strategy of sending threatening letters to Telegraph executives might have been misplaced? Perhaps I should try a different approach and send daily garlands of roses.
Thanks to Da-doo-ron-ron and congratulations to The Man From Manitoba on reaching the 500 milestone. The ‘D’ anniversary as the Romans might have said.
This took me a while to crack as I haven’t done a cryptic for over two weeks while we were away. The SW was the last quadrant to fall, mainly because I put in a wrong answer for 16a which skewed the rest of the corner for a bit until I realised my mistake. Plenty of clever clues, with 2d my winner this morning.
Thanks to both Dada and Senf.
An enjoyable and gentle puzzle, my first of the weekend.
Many thanks to Dada and especially to Senf, to whom many congratulations on the blogging achievement – here’s to the next 500!
Always loved – and still do – the music of Bronski Beat and then The Communards. Jane Morris was a phenomenal singer on this piece.
Definitely a puzzle of two visits. The first yielded very little but the second (after coffee!) visit yielded a splendid puzzle. Thx to all.
Took a while to get into the rhythm of this puzzle, but got there in the end. And I did enjoy the tussle. My favourite was the rogue craft at 20d. Thanks to Dada and congratulations to Senf on a notable blogging milestone.
Enjoyable stuff – thanks to Dada and Senf (and congratulations on reaching the milestone).
Top clues for me were 24a, 26a and 2d.
Steady as she goes…..it seemed like I was getting alternate solutions, but as I approached the last of the across clues the pace picked up. Had to confirm the equine hybrid with BRB. LOI was the 27a radio talent and my COTD is the curiosity at 19a, with 18d and 14a in contention.
My thanks to Dada and Senf
2*/4*
Unlike Senf’s comment in his pre-amble I have to say that I thought this was a Dada puzzle that was certainly not his friendliest. Some of the puzzle was clear to see, but the last 1/3rd or so was exceedingly unfriendly. Definite use of his personal thesaurus as well as quirkiness all over the grid. Pretty sure my hair is shorter today due to the amount I pulled out trying to solve this.
3*/3* for me today
Favourites include 7a, 8a, 14a, 4d, 6d & 13d — with co-winners 7a & 13d with 7a being the last in.
Good grief this was a struggle.
Thanks to Dada & Senf
1* / 4* Unusually for Sunday I found this a gentle puzzle, with lots of wit and quirkiness.
Favourites include my last one in the lurking country at 3d, the talk at 18d and the 10a land mass.
Thanks to Senf and compiler
Ps Another vote for Jimmy Somerville and the Communards
The clever misdirection in 7a & 2d held me up for longer than the rest combined. Lots of great clues and some very funny surfaces. Great stuff. Thanks to the setter and to Senf for the blog (apart from the earworm!)
Like Jezza I have been going backwards and forwards between this and the toughie. Quite chewy in my opinion but very satisfying to complete. I spent quite a lot of time thinking of parachutes and finery for a ball before the pennies dropped. Huge congratulations on an impressive milestone Senf, I hope you get a suitable bonus! Well, you have our gratitude and affection, you will probably have to make do with that. Many thanks also to our devious setter.
I found this quite tricky in places and needed the hints for 13a. Much of it was very clever and enjoyable.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints.
I found this Dada puzzle quite enjoyable, rather to my surprise, as I often have to turn my brain around to understand the clue, let alone find an answer. Many thanks to him and to Senf.
Not being into popular music I have to say the only reason I’ve heard of the Communards is because they are often mentioned in regard to Rev Richard Coles.
A session in the gym followed by a session with the excellent Dada, don’t know which is more taxing! Thank you Senf for explaining 2d and myCotD is 20d for its brevity
Not convinced by the yellow flower but was convinced by the duck. Pretty quirky and difficult. Favourite was 2d. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Thanks to Dada and Senf. For a Sunday prize puzzle we solved it relatively quickly. Now we are back tackling the puzzle daily it has become easier, either that or we are getting better! COTD 5d. LOI 18a.
I completed most of the puzzle earlier but had 3 left to solve which kept gnawing at me. Went off and did some jobs, came back and completed in no time at all. Such is life! COTD 2d as it was one of my last ones in. Got it earlier in the day in the back of my mind but took some time for the penny to drop, Doh! Many thanks to the Setter and Senf. Many congratulations Senf on an impressive milestone.
Went out for a 20 mile run this morning, as one does, my little legs felt wiped out after ‘only’ 17, I cut it short and walked 2 miles home while doing most of this puzzle.
A handful caused a slower solve. LOI was 7A’s jumper, but I’ve only this second realised what ‘in the drink’ is doing on 23A, I clearly haven’t stored this meaning yet for quick recall.
Pody prizes go to 2D’s delivery which I was chuffed to get swiftly, 17A’s cheap wine – haven’t heard that for a long time, rather nostalgic, and 7A’s jumper once I’d unravelled it.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf – happy 500th, and I liked your Communards ‘someone must’ve liked it’ comment 🙂
A 20 mile run, Wriggles? That’s outrageous.
I run 5 miles, four times a week, which is more than enough for me. I have no desire to run any longer than that.
Haven’t you done a 50k one, you Forrest Gump, you or am I imagining if?
4 x 5 miles weekly is impressive Tom.
I have done one 50km event in May and my own one last November to see if I could do it. Next week in Dorset might be my third – it’s a ‘see how many 3.3 mile loops you can do in 7 hours’ affair! 😬
Based on today’s performance I’m not so confident of achieving a new furthest distance, but it’ll be an adventure nonetheless. 🏃🏻♂️
Respect, Rigs.
I’ve been doing it for 15 years and will keep doing it until I’m not able anymore.
I never look forward to it, don’t enjoy it and get nothing out of it.
But, I know it’s good for me.
Onwards!
Well, for five miles, at least. But, not in your case…
Running late today, so will need to solve later, but just wanted to congratulate Senf on his 500th blog. Amazing!
I found this one to be slightly easier than yesterday’s however I was a bit fuzzy in the head – a bit more on form today so that always helps. Got a bit stuck in the NE , but in retrospect not sure why. I liked 6d , a simple clue as it turned out which I didn’t see coming and spent quite a while trying to fathom the parsing. I was also misdirected on 9d with the word ‘knave’ having solved 17a without giving too much away . Last one in was 2d. Of course – cricket again 😬! Thanks to Dada and Senf and congratulations on your milestone blog.
Mercifully easier than last Sunday. 2d was last in & my fav ahead of 14&24a.
Thanks to D for an enjoyable puzzle & huge congrats to S for his 500th Sunday review.
Pleasingly fun. I haven’t tried a Sunday crossword for a while, but had some time last night and saw Senf had described this as quite gentle — thank you.
The 12a definition was new to me: I only risked filling it in once I had all the crossing letters and it couldn’t be anything else.
Highlights including 10a “a day”, 18a “in shape”, 19a “curious”, 2d “diamonds”, 13d “strike”, and 18d “snag”. Thank you to Dada for the entertainment.
Most entertaining – I didn’t get around to making comment yesterday, but thanks Dada & Senf
**** / ****
Enjoyable but tough. The penny never did drop for the ball in 2d so thanks to Senf for the hint above and thanks to Dada for the entertainment.