Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31376
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I found today’s puzzle similar to yesterday’s in terms of difficulty. Some general knowledge of Greek mythology and literature is needed, and there are one or two more obscure words, but everything is fairly clued. There is also a very groanworthy Quickie pun. My favourite clue, and the one that gave me the biggest laugh, was 17a. 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 Worked out naked in party in one’s house (2-4)
AT-HOME: A synonym of ‘worked out’ (in the sense of ‘understood’) without its first and last letters (naked).
4a Sick, beset by pains … Paris finished him off (8)
ACHILLES: Insert a synonym of ‘sick’ inside (beset by) another word for ‘pains’ to reveal a Trojan war hero.
9a This compiler: firm, extremely lovely on the outside, handsome (6)
COMELY: The abbreviation for a firm and the outer letters (extremely) of ‘lovely’ are placed around (outside) the first person form of ‘him/her’ (this compiler).
10a Popular pair beginning to investigate lad serving time (2,6)
IN PRISON: A synonym of ‘popular’, the abbreviation of ‘pair’, the first letter (beginning to) of ‘investigate’, and an informal word for a lad or young man.
11a Going around in hotel bare, Neville’s worthy of respect (9)
VENERABLE: Reversed (going around) and hidden in the middle three words of the clue.
13a Standard finale of Palestrina opera (5)
NORMA: Add the last letter (finale) of ‘Palestrina’ to a synonym of ‘standard’ to reveal a Bellini opera.
14a Bear ridiculously thin whoopee cushions 1 Across (6-3-4)
WINNIE-THE-POOH: An anagram (ridiculously) of THIN WHOOPEE is placed around (cushions) a two-letter synonym of the term in 1a.
17a Unacceptable delay – BT phone ordered back in June (6,3,4)
BEYOND THE PALE: An anagram (ordered) of DELAY BT PHONE, and the last letter of (back in) June.
21a Love goddess Eve going topless with backing of Sun (5)
VENUS: ‘Eve’ without its first letter (going topless) and ‘sun’ reversed (backing).
23a Underlying principle helping allies periodically (9)
RATIONALE: A synonym of ‘helping’ or ‘portion’, and the alternate letters (periodically) of ‘allies’.
24a Heraldic war memorial with me excluded (8)
ARMORIAL: The abbreviation for ‘with’ and the word ‘me’ are removed (excluded) from ‘war memorial’.
25a Run one small Italian resort (6)
RIMINI: The abbreviation for ‘run’ in cricket, the Roman numeral for ‘one’, and a synonym of ‘small’.
26a Genteel idyl, swimming in lough (8)
LADYLIKE: An anagram (swimming) of IDYL inside a synonym of ‘lough’. I’d not come across this way of spelling ‘idyll’ before, but it’s in Chambers, where it’s described as ‘sometimes US’.
27a Showing lip – part of face – the ultimate in beauty (6)
CHEEKY: A part of the face, and the last letter of (ultimate in) ‘beauty’.
Down clues
1d A bit of Falco? Very niche (6)
ALCOVE: Hidden in ‘Falco very’.
2d US writer picked up element of dressmaking fashion (9)
HEMINGWAY: A homophone (picked up) of an activity forming part of dressmaking, and a synonym of ‘fashion’ or ‘method’.
3d Mr Banks kind on a French flight that’s uneventful (4,3)
MILK RUN: ‘Mr’ from the clue goes around (banks) a synonym of ‘kind’ or ‘type’, and is followed by the French masculine indefinite article (on a French). This meaning of the expression originated during the Second World War.
5d Tory camp intended, we hear, to obtain satisfaction (11)
CONTENTMENT: A three-letter abbreviation of ‘Conservative’, a word that can mean ‘to camp’, and a homophone (we hear) of ‘intended’.
6d Reachable fringes of Iberian mountains (2,5)
IN RANGE: The first and last letters (fringes) of ‘Iberian’, and a word for a chain or group of mountains.
7d Kind of light novellas Errol pens (5)
LASER: A lurker, ‘penned’ by ‘novellas Errol’.
8d Ashen, but somehow attempt to turn bronze (8)
SUNBATHE: An anagram (somehow) of ASHEN BUT.
12d British surgeon twisting cap on potassium tablet container (7,4)
BLISTER PACK: The abbreviation for ‘British’, the surname of the surgeon who pioneered antiseptic surgery, and the word ‘cap’ reversed (twisting) are followed by (on, in a down clue) the chemical symbol for potassium.
15d Efficacious worker (9)
OPERATIVE: A double definition.
16d Love a Lab mongrel more than anything else (5,3)
ABOVE ALL: An anagram (mongrel) of LOVE A LAB.
18d Opening numbers regularly terrible (7)
NOSTRIL: The abbreviation for ‘numbers’, and the alternate letters (regularly) of ‘terrible’.
19d Sailor, fairly long in the tooth, robbed of diamonds in scrap (7)
ABOLISH: The abbreviation for Able Seaman, and a synonym of ‘fairly long in the tooth’ without (robbed of) the letter representing diamonds in a card game.
20d Long-windedness missing its central component: truth (6)
VERITY: A synonym of long-windedness without its middle three letters.
22d Rover, perhaps Odyssey star heading north (5)
NOMAD: The surname of the star of the recent Christopher Nolan epic is reversed (heading north, in a down clue).
Which clues did you like best? Let us know in the comments below.
The Quick Crossword pun: MODEM + SHOW + LAY = MADAME CHOLET
This animated TV chef is joined in the grid by two of her fellow Wombles. The town in western France after which she is named is twinned with Solihull.
A small step up from the previous 2 days with only the parsing of 1a delaying completion before the penny dropped, although the solution was very clear from the outset. I liked the tablet container at 12d, the uneventful flight at 3d and the 20d truth.
Many thanks to the setter and Deansleigh
1*/3*
The solution to 1a was obvious but the Penny still hasn’t dropped re the parsing…..v enjoyable puzzle
According to Chambers, with its first and last letters still attached the word originally meant ‘measured or encompassed with outstretched arms’, and later ‘discovered the depth of’. The related noun is a unit of measure of depth.
I pegged the wordplay easily enough but the surface confuses me.
Why not simply – worked out naked in one’s house.
I must be missing something because I can’t see what ‘party in’ brings to the table.
A couple to think about but mostly plain sailing. My picks are 1a’s worked out naked, Mr Banks in 3d and the tablet container in 12d.
My thanks to our setter and Deano.
An enjoyable and gentle coffee-time diversion. Parsed 22a and presumed that someone called Damon is in the new film, since they sure as heck aren’t in the original text! Broad smile at the surface of 9a – given the classical theme today I half expected to find Narcissus, too, somewhere in the grid. Honours to 21a (cracking surface), 12d & 1a.
Many thanks to Deansleigh and to the setter.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh.
My only pause was with 22d, where the definition of rover was obvious; I’ve heard of the actor, but not the film.
1a and 17a were my choice.
1*/4* for me
2*/4*. This made for a very enjoyable midweek solve which was not too taxing and complete with some nice surfaces. 24a was a new word for me but readily derived from the wordplay and confirmed by a BRB check.
1a was my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh.
I cannot disagree with our blogger’s choice of favourite clue – 17a. It brought back unhappy memories of many attempts to sort out problems with that particular company. Overall this was a very comfortable and well-clued puzzle that was a real delight to solve.
Many thanks to both our midweek setter and Deansleigh.
Perfect fare for a wet Wednesday to cheer up the spirits. Like others, the parsing of 1a threw me, so thanks to Deansleigh for the answer to that conundrum. My podium, chosen from a number of contenders, is 3d, 12d and 17a. Thanks to compiler and Deansleigh.