Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3322 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where it was approximately 10 degrees cooler on my Saturday evening compared to 24 hours earlier, when I was struggling a little with the SPP, giving ideal conditions for solving and hinting half of a Dada puzzle.
For me, and I stress for meĀ©, and I hope I don’t upset or annoy anyone, perhaps some will agree with me, the friendliest Dada has ever been for all of the 343 of his Sunday puzzles I have blogged, I suppose one could ask if it is a Dada puzzle at all – eight anagrams (two partials), two lurkers both reversed, and two homophones all in an asymmetric 30 clues; with 15 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, you should be able to get the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues.Ā And, remember, my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Candidates for favourite ā 1a, 13a, 27a, 3d, 8d, and 18d.
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, a number of the more difficult clues have been selected and hints provided for them.
Don’t forget to follow the instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!
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
1a Invitation to drink where barrels might be lowered into cellar? (4,3,5)
A double definition ā perhaps the second mostly applies for an older urban drinking establishment.
9a Youth excursion covered by supporter (9)
A synonym of excursion contained (covered) by a type of medical supporter – the BRB classifies the answer as literary and facetious so I expect that it could be a candidate for THE LIST.
12a Ridiculous shot put ball in pocket? (8)
A slang nounal synonym of shot (as in attempt) and a three letter term for put ball in pocket in a table based game.
18a Herb, sailor managed to secure leave (8)
An informal synonym of sailor and a three letter synonym of managed containing (to secure) a two letter synonym of leave.
21a Coffee, say ā and a cracker? (3,5)
A double definition ā the second is an informal term that may apply to a person who is outstandingly attractive.
27a Narrow piece of wood not narrow enough, first of planks brought in (9)
A (3,5) term that is equivalent to not narrow enough containing (brought in) the first letter of Planks.
28a Loco fan faked ten portraits (12)
An anagram (faked) of TEN PORTRAITS.
Down
1d Ditch where five hundred posies scattered (7)
The Roman numeral for five hundred and an anagram (scattered) of POSIES.
4d Wrong wire upside down (4)
The reversal (upside down) of a descriptive term for the brown wire in an electrical plug.
7d Error, race in the fast lane? (8)
A term for a race over a short distance on (after) a motorway (in the fast lane).
8d Box where Tory has kept sculptures etc (6)
The abbreviated form of the formal term for Tory contains (has kept) a generic term for sculptures etc.
16d Seed coat I ship abroad (9)
An anagram (abroad) of COAT I SHIP.
18d Island a success in this, oddly (6)
A from the clue and a synonym of success (musically?) inserted into (in) the odd letters of ThIs.
20d Footballer, one refusing to put shift in? (7)
A(nother) double definition ā the first used to be called a forward.
25d Policemen in woodland area, reportedly? (4)
A homophone (reportedly) of a type of small woodland area.
Quick Crossword Pun:
HIP + PETTY + HOP = HIPPETY-HOP – Hmm
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Guitarist, singer, manager and record producer Peter Asher CBE, older brother of Jane of that ilk, is 81 today. With Gordon Waller, in the eponymous duo Peter and Gordon, they had had an instant number one, in 1964, with A World Without Love written by Paul McCartney. Gordon Waller passed away in 2009, so in 2018, Peter Asher teamed up with Jeremy Clyde formerly of another eponymous duo Chad and Jeremy. This is a āsing alongā performance of A World Without Love at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica, California on May 20, 2018 (Peter Asher is the shorter of the two):
Dada being witty and friendly today making the solve a joy. Lots of grins from the barrels at 1a through the ridiculous shot at 12a to the split leader at 3d. I canāt quite work out 5d so hope that is hinted. My COTD is the narrow wood at 27a, which I thought very clever once it dawned on me.
Thank you, Dada for a fun Sunday solve and a bash at The Mythical. Thank you, Mr. Mustard for the hints.
Re 5d, if you are still looking at it, your answer is a construct of an anagram (diverted) of one of the words in the clue, less (after loss) the abbreviation of P(ower) and include (around) the capital of G(hana).
Thanks, Jezza. I thought it was something like that but my brain refused to sort it out. š³
Blame it on the heat! – I don’t know what it’s like where you are in the UK, but in our part of Valencia, we are already at 33C before midday!
We hit 32C in The Marches yesterday but, thankfully the heatwave has broken today and we’re at a pleasant 18C. Trouble is, I now have to wade through tons of salad!
I occasionally add a bit of salad to my home cooked burger, to compensate for the melted camembert and gorgonzola
I’ve postponed my next cholesterol test until I am confident that the monthly lettuce leaf is doing its job.
So that explains my off days, where anything below 32C is regarded as a cool day here in South Florida š . Itās not my old brain, itās the heatā¦
I remember very well being in Fort Lauderdale in April 2003.
I was on a cruise on the QE2. The humidity level was ridiculously high!
You should try August š . April is our good weather.
Yep, an enjoyable cruciverbal warm-up on a welcome cool, overcast and damp day. COTD 3d.
Many thanks to Dada and Senf.
Today’s Zandio Toughie is very accessible and amusing – well worth a shot.
I hope someone tells our new Tuesday Toughie blogger about the Spoonerism
Like Senf, this was so benign that it didn’t seem like a Dada production at all. That said it was full of charm and wit and a joy to solve, with ticks all over the page. Consequently it’s tough to pick a podium, so at a random pick I’ll choose 8d, 12a and 10a in top spot. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Very straightforward for Dada but nonetheless wity and enjoyable. I liked the 1a cryptic definition, the Lego clue at 18 and the big anagram at 28a but my COTD was the Lego clue at 27a. Thanks to Senf for the hints and ro whichever compiler created this enjoyable guzzle.
A nice, gentle stroll through the Land of the Crossy.
I didnāt know the expression āout of the arkā and Iām surprised that the synonym for ābutā in 26a is in the dictionary as, to me, like āthruā, itās not a word. Only tell me if itās in Collins or The OED as the other one can take a hike.
My podium is 15a, 5d and 20d.
MT to Radio and Senf.
2*/3*
Friendly enough but fun too.
5d is my standout with 27a and 4d as stand-ins.
Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Our setter being worryingly benign – that usually means that a ‘stinker’ is heading our way! 27a wins the race for 1st place by a country mile.
Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints and music – nice to see a couple of ‘oldies’ still enjoying making music together.
Just in case JohnF drops in, I wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading his book ‘Fired’. Not a subject that I was at all familiar with but quite fascinating to learn more about – a salutary tale for anyone thinking of making a fraudulent claim on their fire insurance!
I will happily join those who found this rather easy to solve, and add my name to the growing number of commenters who favoured 27a.
Thanks to Dada and Senf.
I agree with Senf, with 7 years of solving and hinting experience under his belt, this didnāt feel like the usual Dada fare. Only giveaway was the large number of anagrams, however disguised.
Enjoyable and satisfying.
I liked the clues needing more āsemanticā input, like the 7d error, and the 12a ridiculous, and 26a but navy, and 5d leader. All vying for the podium.
The Legoā¢ clues were good as well.
Thanks all.
Dada’s in friendly mode today – thanks to him and Senf.
My ticks went to 21a, 27a and 3d.
Another great puzzle for the weekend.
Top picks for me were 27a, 26a, 3d and 28a.
Thanks to Senf and Dada.
I must agree with Senf about the friendliness of this puzzle.
Favourite must be 27a…a laugh out loud for me, closely followed by 3d.
Thanks to the setter and to Senf.
Much cooler here today with a stiff breeze . Allegedly it will rain heavily soon, but no sign of that yet, so maybe the forecasters are wrong again.
Spoke too soon…..bucketing down now.
Indoor games today.
An unexpected treat to have such a fun and accessible puzzle. Many clues could have been top of the pile but I think 27a is the winner.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints.
This, like the six previous days, has been more of the level that Telegraph crosswords used to be like. Being a Toughie-No-Way sort of person I am truly grateful. Regarding a video of the as yet nameless (probably better that way) band I am trawling through YouTube to see if there’s a bootleg video..
Quality clues with a touch of humour, part of a rose as my favouriteā¦. thank you Dada and Senf
1*/4*. Light and fun with 27a my favourite.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.
Seems I am in the minority this week as,I thought Dada was at the harder end of his spectrum in many areas of this grid. Plentiful use of his personal thesaurus and some very quirky areas too. Maybe it is just me with the weather here as it feels like autumn here on the West Coast since 7:41pm yesterday when summer supposedly arrived. Rainy & chilly last night and today and we have the gas fireplace on..
2.5*/4* for me
Favourites 1a, 10a, 27a, 28a, 7d & 14d ā with winner my first in 1a
Smiles for many including winner & 18a, 2d, 24d & 25d
Thanks to Dada & Senf for blog/hints
Indeed a breeze today. The small but perfectly formed 11a gets my vote. Simplistic but excellent in formation.
Another cracker of a puzzle! Thanks to all
Nothing much to hold us up today, it helped getting 1a straightaway. LOI was 4d just because it was. No real favourite but if pushed we’d go with 27a. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Only one thing to say about todayās puzzle ā¦. 10a!
Canāt remember the last time I enjoyed a Sunday puzzle this much. 1a went straight in, and then a steady solve, with 22d being LI for some reason. COTD to 3d, LOL and clever. Thanks for Dada doe this treat and to Senf. Commiserations to all those of you over the other side of the pond who are grappling with the heat. Itās no fun without air conditioning, as we well know from the dreaded days/weeks of power outages following hurricanes.
I sailed through the North but then came up against some challengers in the South so went away and watched the excellent tennis final from Queens which refreshed the grey matter so that the bottom half became more malleable on my return. Setters certainly are digging up (or inventing) all kinds of new anagram indicators of which there are a couple today. 8d was a bung-in until I read hints. I suppose 13a is charm. Yes, me too with 27a as Fav. Altogether a lot of fun – TVM Dada and Senf.
Excellent puzzle. 27A hikarious. VMT Dada & Senf.
Certainly didnāt find this as straightforward as others 3* / 4*, but plenty of humour and quirky clues.
Favourites 16a rose part, 5d African and piece of wood 27a
Thank you to Senf and setter
Easy doddle. When I finished I thought I had just done the quicky then realised it was a prize cryptic and there was a button to press. I think I am about due my third Telegraph pen but don’t tell anybody! Lots of fun while it lasted.
Many thanks to Setter & Senf for the guzzle and the hints. I thought it was very clever. Weāve had a busy weekend- Wilma staying (grandson William and wife Emma collectively known as Wilma) in advance of my birthday – dinner and a stroll round Cambridge on a summer evening and lunch today with them plus DD2. Parted with them at 3.30 and came home for a brief nap before the Big Event of the day – fly past of the Red Arrows at Duxford five miles down the road. Alexa woke us up and we drove to a good vantage point and waited. And waited. And waited. An hour and a half of the precious time left to me waiting for those ruddy planes which did not appear. Came home Very Disgruntled. So doing two guzzles back to back was good therapy. I shall now look at the toughie but will check the local news to find out out why they did not give me my fly past!
Perhaps itās this infernal heat because I canāt say this one particularly rocked my boat. 27a did liven things up a wee bit though.
Thanks anyway to D & of course to S.
For me too I found this a straightforward solve. Ia went straight in so that helped, and the rest of the grid slotted in without too much trouble. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
I printed this crossword out this morning to do during the rain delays at Headingley, but incredibly play started on time and they played through the small patches of light rain, so I actually did most of it on the train home. There was one answer I hadn’t got … which on getting home I discovered Senf hadn’t hinted. However, the fact that Senf hadn’t hinted it, combined with no other commenters having mentioned it, was itself enough of a hint and I was then able to get it. So thank you to Senf and also to all previous commenters above ā it was truly a group effort!
My top few are 27a’s narrow wood and planks, 3d’s leader in split, and 7d’s race, with a special mention for the 9a supporter not being one of the usual ones. Thank you to Dada.
3*/3* …
liked 12A “Ridiculous shot put ball in pocket ?(8)”