Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31358
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment ***
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. For me, today’s crossword came between Monday’s and yesterday’s puzzle in terms of difficulty, with one or two clues needing some general knowledge, and a couple more where the parsing eluded me for a while. I counted five famous women, including three TV chefs and two world leaders. Amongst my favourite clues today were 19a, 28a and 20d. 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 Sells call options hedging Shell? (7)
SCALLOP: Hidden in the first three words of the clue.
5a Old principally Regency Somerset town where apples grow (7)
ORCHARD: The abbreviation for ‘old’, the first letter (principally) of ‘Regency’, and the name of a town in Somerset.
9a Drinking establishment where I get the shakes? (4,3)
MILK BAR: A cryptic definition.
10a Left in pain, mentally hollow, work to find the elixir of life (7)
ALCHEMY: The abbreviation for ‘left’ inside a synonym of ‘pain’, and the outer letters (hollow) of ‘mentally’.
11a Full of cold, Frau Merkel drained Kaffee and sponge (5-4)
ANGEL CAKE: The first name of a former Chancellor of Germany contains (full of) the symbol for ‘cold’ on a tap, and is followed by the first and last letters (drained) of ‘Kaffee’.
12a Each can eschew restaurants (3,2)
EAT IN: The abbreviation for each, and another word for a can.
13a That’s funny, doctor – LOL that’s funny! (5)
DROLL: The abbreviation for ‘doctor’ and an anagram (funny) of LOL.
15a After moving desk, go off and do a runner (9)
SKEDADDLE: A synonym of ‘go off’ or ‘spoil’ comes after an anagram (moving) of DESK.
17a Badmouth schoolmarm? Journalist fired (9)
DISMISSED: A slang word meaning to show someone a lack of respect, a way of addressing a female teacher, and the usual journalist.
19a Martha Stewart charged with reckless speeding (5)
HASTE: Hidden in (charged with) the first two words of the clue.
22a Purplish ring returned when touring India (5)
LILAC: A synonym of ‘ring’ or ‘telephone’ is reversed (returned) and placed around (touring) the letter represented by India in the NATO alphabet.
23a Gossip about great deal that’s very economical (4,5)
DIRT CHEAP: An informal term for a juicy piece of gossip, the abbreviation for ‘circa’ (about), and a word that can mean a large amount.
25a Paper available at one’s convenience? (3,4)
LOO ROLL: A cryptic definition.
26a Ham – ace, cold open sandwiches (7)
OVERACT: A word meaning ‘open’ or ‘evident’ is placed round (sandwiches) the letter representing an ace in cards and the symbol on a cold tap.
27a Iron Lady unveiled latest to get axe (7)
HATCHET: The surname of the Prime Minister of the UK from 1979-1990 with the outer letters removed (unveiled), and the last letter of (latest to) ‘get’.
28a Bouquet from Burgundy ages once swirled around (7)
NOSEGAY: Hidden and reversed (swirled around) in ‘Burgundy ages once’.
Down clues
1d Dirac’s worked to incorporate minute phone component (3,4)
SIM CARD: An anagram (worked) of DIRACS contains (to incorporate) the abbreviation for ‘minute’. The English physicist Paul Dirac (1902-1984) was one of the founders of quantum mechanics.
2d Nigella, having swapped nickel for gold, pirouetted briskly (7)
ALLEGRO: Remove the chemical symbol for nickel from ‘Nigella’, replace it with the heraldic word for ‘gold’, and turn the result around (pirouetted) to reveal the musical term for ‘briskly’.
Photo: Nigella Lawson Instagram account
3d Tag Jezebel’s last murder victim (5)
LABEL: The last letter in ‘Jezebel’, and the name of a murder victim who features in the Book of Genesis.
4d Dad runs Susan over when crossing Sierra mountain (9)
PARNASSUS: An informal term for a father, the cricketing abbreviation for ‘runs’, and ‘Susan’ backwards (over) are placed round (crossing) the letter represented by Sierra in the NATO phonetic alphabet. The answer is a mountain in Central Greece, the site of the Oracle of Delphi.
5d Hold forth over cost (5)
ORATE: The abbreviation for ‘over’ in cricket, and a synonym of ‘cost’.
6d Area set aside for spokes people? (9)
CYCLEPATH: A cryptic definition of a track used by people with “spoked” vehicles.
7d Prevented a vague, empty ending to Father Ted (7)
AVERTED: ‘A’ from the clue, the outer letters (empty) of ‘vague’, the last letter of (ending to) ‘father’, and ‘Ted’ from the clue.
8d Senior woman finished acquiring Asian currency (7)
DOYENNE: A synonym of ‘finished’ around (acquiring) the currency of Japan.
14d Minimal covering on to chill out (9)
LOINCLOTH: An anagram (out) of ON TO CHILL.
16d Producer of duck egg blue bed cover? (9)
EIDERDOWN: A type of duck, and a synonym of ‘blue’ or ‘sad’.
17d Interpol finally to probe TV cook – hard, treacherous woman (7)
DELILAH: The last letter (finally) of ‘Interpol’ inside (to probe) the first name of a famous TV chef, and the symbol for ‘hard’ on a pencil.
Credit: Bang Showbiz
18d Betrayed only reservation, it’s said (4,3)
SOLD OUT: Homophones (it’s said) of a synonym of ‘only’ and another word for a reservation or suspicion.
20d Second husband began torrid affair (7)
SHEBANG: The abbreviations for ‘second’ and ‘husband’, and an anagram (torrid) of BEGAN.
21d Pay them to spread compassion (7)
EMPATHY: An anagram (spread) of PAY THEM.
23d Derek Trotter initially bags fine tableware (5)
DELFT: The informal short form of ‘Derek’ and the first letter (initially) of Trotter are placed around (bags) the symbol for ‘fine’ on a pencil.
24d Regularly cutting corners, son leaves (5)
CRESS: The odd letters (regularly cutting) of ‘corners’, and the abbreviation for ‘son’.
Which clues did you like best? Let us know in the comments below.
The Quick Crossword pun: WITS + UNTIED = WHITSUNTIDE
A thoroughly enjoyable puzzle with just a little chewiness to keep the brain cells ticking over.
I’ve ticks all over my page. Top picks for me were 14d, 18d, 5a, 25a, 26a, 16d and 15a because it’s a lovely word.
Thanks to Deansleigh and the setter.
5* enjoyment for me with some cracking clues. Quick to get onto the setter’s wavelength and a speedy solve. I loved Frau Merkel and the elixir of life at 11a & 10a respectively, but my COTD is 6d the area for spokes people.
Many thanks to the setter and Giles Haden.
1*/5*
Forgot to say that Donybrook’s toughie is quite approachable today so worth a try if you don’t often attempt them.
As Deansleigh says, a bit Monday/Tuesday, and it wasn’t much of a challenge, but very enjoyable despite that. Completing from N to S I’d originally gone for …lane at 6d, so it wasn’t until I got to 19a that I realised my error. Unfortunate that without wordplay such a cryptic can have two equally valid answers, but at least there was a final checker to confirm which was needed.
Big smiles for the surface reading of 27a, joined on the podium by 7d & (same reason) and 17d.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh
I went down the same lane at 6d !
I came here for the parsing of 18d so thank you for that.
12a is my favourite – eschew is such a great word!
PS On the app this is 31358 not 31352?
Thanks C. I’d updated the puzzle number when I originally started the blog, but WordPress threw all my changes away and I didn’t notice that the puzzle number was still incorrect when I posted it.
Hi Deansleigh – do you find that WordPress occasionally does that despite having pressed save. Yesterday I lost the hint & music clip to the last one I filled in plus changes I’d made to the intro splurge. Additionally I occasionally have to rewrite a number of hints that mysteriously just vanish into the ether.
Yes Huntsman. Some days WordPress is fine, but today it was definitely misbehaving. I have added “Puzzle number” to my ever-increasing list of things to check before setting the blog live.
A totally enjoyable puzzle for me with a minimum of head scratching. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was a piece of cake, not with some of the slang terms used and the necessary knowledge of some senior women. One of my favourites is chewing indoors – 12a.
Thanks to setter and hinter.
PS the number of the puzzle needs to be corrected.
1*/3.5*. The third very light puzzle this week, but I did enjoy it.
15a gets my vote as favourite of many ticked clues as it is such a lovely word.
Many thanks to the setter and to D.
A very enjoyable guzzle but, for me, a strange one. I solved many of the answers without parsing them. They seemed to leap out of the page and I knew, instinctively, they were correct. I then had to reverse parse to see how they worked. Still, as an erstwhile member of this blog used to say, a filled grid is a filled grid. 5a is such a wonderful word and I must try and get it into conversation soon. A huge grin for the convenient paper at 25 but my COTD goes to the badmouthed schoolmarm at 17a.
Thank you, setter for what was, for me, a different kind of solve. Thank you, Lin Hagseed for the hints.
A puzzle of two halves – South followed by North. As I entered my last answer I was surprised to find that my solving time was not as long as the actual process seemed to be – 1.5*/4.5*
Candidates for favourite – 5a, 17a, 5d, 16d, and 20d – and the winner is 20d.
Thanks to whomsoever and Deansleigh.
Surely Steve you mean 15a. Or am I skedaddling up the wrong tree?
Indeed, I do, A. C. Count! Thank you. 👍😊
A very entertaining puzzle – thanks to our setter and Deansleigh.
My ticks went to 9a, 23a, 16d, 18d and 23d.
Very simple yet most entertaining. It wasn’t much of a challenge, to be honest, but as is often the case, a speedy solve deserves another run through to appreciate the setter’s art. 17d was my favourite.
My thanks to our midweek setter and Deansleigh.
My thoughts echo those of Young Salopian just above me
Thanks to the setter and Deansleigh
Whilst not difficult it was highly entertaining. Liked Frau Merkel, 15a and 20d, but cotd has to go to the badmouthed schoolmarm in 17a. Thanks to compiler and Deansleigh.
This was a really enjoyable puzzle with just the right amount of chew . Some excellent clues – Frau Merkel at 11a was my favourite. Last one in was 23d where I was a bit slow , trying to think of a 3 letter word meaning ‘fine’. It clicked in the end , but the definition was a new word for me. Thanks to the setter and Deansleigh.
Like CS my thoughts also echo those of YS. The full 5*s for entertainment in my book with ✅s against pretty much every clue so next to impossible to pick a fav. A shame the solve didn’t last a bit longer really.
Thanks to the setter (Hudson my punt) & to Deansleigh
Good punt…
I thought this mid-week puzzle was much on par with Tuesday’s offering. Pretty straightforward with little tripping me up.
2*/4*
Favourites include 13a, 15a, 17a,25a, 6d & 21d — with winners 25a & 6d, both of which made me laugh.
Thanks to setter & Deansleigh
* / *****
Agree with those calling out the entertainment value of this one. Really enjoyed it. Some great words in there including 15a and 20d. The podium consisted of doing the runner (15a) to upset the duck (16d) and insult the schoolmarm (17a). Many other clues could be mentioned too for their great surfaces and general humour content. Only the SE provided a short hold up due to what seemed to me to be clues with a much higher misdirection level than the other three quadrants. For example, the fantastic surface of 20a hid the AI so well it was very hard to spot (but not wanting to spark another AI debate – should we use AI in this context, that was another debate in the not too distant past)?
Anyway, that’s enough of that malarky, very many thanks to the setter and to She Aligned.
This seemed different to me somehow, but I cannot put my finger on it. Very enjoyable and enough head scratching to make it all worthwhile. 1a went straight in – my favourite seafood and I remember when they were quite cheap to buy. I had to turn to the hints for 14d/17a as I had entered linocloth and demonised. Skedaddle is well used in this family, I liked the convenient paper and Nigella but 10 was my favourite. I am having huge trouble with my new 17 phone in accessing the hints and comments I get the initial paragraph but when I hit the green bar for the hints it all goes pear shaped and I have to use my iPad- as I am now doing. Very frustrating. Anyway, many thanks to our Setter and to Deansleigh for the hints.
the hints.
DG, perhaps you should try a differnt browser.
A pleasant puzzle. Thanks to setter and Deansleigh for the blog.
I am sorry to be dense, but what do you mean a new browser? I get an email from Big Dave’s Crossword Blog and when I scroll down I get
a green bar which says Continue Reading. In the past (on my old Apple 13) I sailed straight in to the extended email with the hints and
comments. How else would I get in? PS I was dragged kicking and screaming into IT and though I don’t think I do too badly for a 92 year old
I am obvs (!) not as good as a seven year old.
Hi DG, rather late in the day but hope you come back to this. You are probably viewing the blog in Safari – the standard browser on iphone. But there are other browser apps that you can download for free: Firefox, Google, Opera, Microsoft Edge, Puffin.
No guarantees but you could at least try.
A cracking puzzle and some welcome relief after yeaterdays struggle. Some really clever clues. Yes it was simple but extremely elegant.
Thanks to the setter and Deansleigh.
Now to try the Toughie
Thanks to the Setter and Deansleigh for the hints. Mid week level. Steady solve with a few hold ups. COTD 6d. LOI 8d.
Storm cloud brewing on the horizon.
After a DNF for me yesterday, this restored my confidence and enjoyment. Thank you setter and Deansleigh. Lots of lovely words today in the clues and the answers.
5* entertainment from our setter .Too many to select for a podium but 15a very amusing.Thanks to all .
Did enjoy the solve and many ticks. However my sensibilities were knocked sideways by 20 down. Read as two words it is rather shocking but very clever. You could say that she was banged up in a torrid affair.
Enough of that and a cup of tea needed . Thanks all round.
I wondered if it was just me that occurred to. I do hope it passed Miss Abinger by.
Very entertaining with an excellent variety of clues, 15a is my favourite because I like the word!
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints.
It took me ages to solve 17d until I got a few of the letters-duh!
Phew, I thought I was losing it after yesterday’s tough solve. Happily today’s was completed without alarm. It just seems the days have been muddled up!
My CoD is 12a.
I think it’s all been said above. Excellent entertaining puzzle.
17d and 27a favourites today
Thanks to all
Outstanding.
This was a delightful solve with stacks of neat constructions and lots of wit.
I now know who Dirac is and the location of a certain mountain. Talking of Delphi….Philadelphia means brotherly love as Delphi is brother and the prefix & suffix ‘philo’ is love, eg philatelist and Francophile.
I’m amazed I’ve never come across schoolmarm before.
Playing with outside letters had a decent run out today with ‘hollow’, ‘empty’, ‘drained’ and ‘unveiled’. The setter couldn’t get enough!
Is a restaurant ever called an ‘Eat in’? I’ve seen ‘Eat in & Takeaway’ together and ‘Takeaway’ on its own but never ‘Eat in’ as people will assume it is if it’s unspecified.
My picks are 1a, 13a (great fun) and 20d (a most excellent word)
Many thanks to….decisions…decisions….Mr Tumble and Adele Singh.
2*/5*
Not exactly a walk in the park but engagingly straightforward with which to do battle. SE came swiftly on board and the rest followed rather more slowly. 6d caused a bit of a groan! Took a while to think past RAM for 1d – silly me. I in fact try not to use my mobile ‘phone. Failed to parse 18d. Thank you setter whoever you are and Deansleigh.
This should have been a stand-alone comment not a response to you Tom – sorry.
Re 12a I think we’re eschewing the restaurant and eating in ie at home
Exactly
No problem
We most certainly are. Very disappointing, Thomas.
And thank you.
👍
Not too difficult but not too easy so about right for a Wednesday. Didn’t know the term for gossip or the mountain. Some good words and a smattering of schoolboy humour, what’s not to like? 6d reminds me of the old joke about the the man who was obsessed with riding his bicycle on the pavement, he was a 6d. I’ll get my coat. Favourite was 18d. Thanks to the setter and DL.
Nonsense, TG. Put it back on the hatstand.
It’s a belter!
Perfect puzzle today, and a huge relief after yesterday. No convoluted clues, and provided sufficient checkers to make the more difficult clues easier to fathom. As someone who does these puzzles for enjoyment, if it’s a tad easier that’s fine with me, and I’m sure pleases a lot of people out there who never comment. Thanks to setter and Deansleigh.
Good evening
I was pleasantly surprised at how well the answers were flowing, until – Thud! – the fall that inevitably follows pride, which occurred when I got to the SW quadrant.
I got there in the end. My original idea of BOG ROLL at 25a proved erroneous and I’m glad I never wrote it in. I hate crossings-out (probably a hangover from the admonitions of teachers)!
COTD – a tie. The Iron Lady unveiled at 27a and the nifty little backward lurkington at 28a.
Many thanks to our setter and to Single Head.
The dt crossword has become so colloquial but certainly loo is preferable to bog (dreadful)!
1.5*/ 4* Another cracking puzzle with great wit and misdirection.
Best of the day include fired at 17a, phone part at 1d and the 30d affair
Thanks to compiler and Deansleigh
A late go tonight, thoroughly enjoyable save 4d. 15a is a great word. 19a was obviously a lurker but ‘charged with’ the directive? 27a is a fine clue, and a reminder of the greatest PM in living memory compared to the imposter 😡 currently in the job.
Arcade Fire 🎸
A particular album? Funeral is soooo good.
Solved after a software testing conference day 1 and watching the darts on tv.
A nice and fairly straightforward solve once I got my eye in. LOI was the spokey 6D. A few pody contenders – will go with a triple bill of11A’s sponge, 15A’s runner and 20D’s bad husband, all three answers I say to my wife on occasion. Then a bonus place for the soundalike of 18D.
Many thanks to setter and Deansleigh ⭐️
Just finished but was defeated by two clues. I had never heard of Delboy’s dodgy tableware but pretty certain I have seen it. I was trying to fit a three letter synonym for fine into DT. Having spelt the Greek mountain incorrectly meant that I was struggling with 15a so the hints highlighted my mistake.
So have learned something new and my favourites were 5a, originally thinking of Taunton, and doing a runner ar 15a, a great word.
Thank you to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints.
2*/4* …
liked 15A “After moving desk, go off and do a runner (9)”