Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3327 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where, on Monday, I had my annual MOT. Apparently, there is life in the old dog yet, although that is subject to the analysis of the contents of my left arm after it is ‘drained’ tomorrow and a more comprehensive test, probing my nether regions, on a date to be determined.
For me, and I stress for me,© I can’t recall using this descriptor for a Dada puzzle before, a curate’s egg – four long uns, a plethora of ten anagrams (somewhat ameliorated by six partials), two lurkers, and no homophones all in a symmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, you should be able to get the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. And, remember, my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Candidates for favourite – 10a, 26a, 4d, 16d, and 23d.
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.
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 Forgive the oath, eh? Well, some language (6,2,6)
A very recent repeat, differently clued of course – a synonym of eh when expressing surprise, a two letter synonym of well when expressing surprise, and some foreign language or other.
10a Slight cut on back of dress, orangey-yellow (7)
A synonym of slight (as in contemptuous indifference) with the last letter deleted (cut) placed after (on) the last letter (back)of dresS.
12a Winter garment defective, locate elastic (6,4)
A recent repeat – an informal synonym of defective and an anagram (elastic) of LOCATE.
15a Leader in government would fail, not half useless – shocking! (3-5)
The first letter (leader in) of Government and an anagram (useless) of WOULD FAil with half of fail deleted (not half).
21a Choice note on piano (10)
A type of note (used in a book or document as a direction to another book or document) placed after the single letter for Piano.
25a Standard defeat in race, ultimately (7)
A synonym of (overwhelming) defeat, IN from the clue, and the last letter (ultimately) of racE.
26a Ordinary study in small hotel, say (5-3-6)
A verbal synonym of study (at university?) inserted into (in) an abbreviated form of a small hotel (with limited facilities?), and a synonym of say.
Down
1d In report, a rule virtually incomprehensible (7)
A synonym of report (as in a mild explosion) and an anagram (incomprehensible) of A RULe with the last letter deleted (virtually).
2d Mirror featuring clue so cryptic for council worker (6,9)
A (descriptive) nounal synonym of mirror containing (featuring) an anagram (cryptic) of CLUE SO.
5d Burgers, say, staff cooked: fine without starter (4,4)
An anagram (cooked) of STAFF and a synonym of fine without its starting letter.
7d Complicated contraption for capturing boron, measurer of chemical’s use (6,9)
An anagram (complicated) of CONTRAPTION FOR containing (capturing) the chemical symbol for boron.
13d Before a hat removed, neck warmer? (7,3)
An anagram (removed) of BEFORE A HAT.
16d A paramour preserves energy with a cosmetic liquid (4,4)
All of the first A from the clue and a synonym of paramour containing (preserves) the single letter for Energy followed by (with) the second A from the clue.
23d Yankee’s successor, Southern African (4)
Phonetic alphabet time – that which follows (is successor to) Yankee.
Quick Crossword Pun:
MISSOURI + GUTS = MISERY GUTS
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Dame Cleo Laine passed away on Thursday (the 24th) at the grand age of 97. Her obituary in the DT described her as an “outstanding jazz singer gifted with striking stage presence and vocal range” and “not only the best jazz vocalist that Britain ever produced, but also one of the most versatile and enduring musicians from any part of the world.” Here she is, with husband Sir John Dankworth, who passed away in 2010, from a “few” years ago. RIP:
Nearly a pangram, missing only J and Q. If only Dada could have fitted in Jaquard, the eponymous fabric weaving loom…
Simple fun today, solved without much delay. However, I needed some help from Ross understanding some of the Lego ™ clues like 1d In and 26a Ordinary, after solving them.
Four nice homographs, If you include 24a. They’re usually my favourites, but 1a raised a titter, nay, a giggle.
Farewell Cleo. Nice tribute.
Thanks all.
I disagree on 24a – if hinted, it would have been a (3,4) phrase equivalent to unskilled.
Dada not so friendly today, I thought, with some of the parsing being quite complicated. For example, 26a took a while but once solved I saw it was quite a good clue. I had similar problems with 2d. I got it from the checkers but will have to see the hints for explanation if it’s hinted. A slow solve and not without some help from Mr. G. for a couple. All in all, a bit of a struggle for me but I do have a COTD, which is the paramour at 16d.
Thank you for the brain mangling, Dada. Thank you, Colonel Mustard for the hints. Thank you for explaining 2d.
No to get on with the housework I’ve been putting off.
I keep the paramour on my kitchen windowsill – it is fantastic for minor burns. Or does that put me on the naughty step?
The repetition radar triggered with 1a which featured very recently, but otherwise a quirky but accessible Dada with only a couple of parsings to sort out. My podium comprises 12a, 23d and 16d in top spot. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
2*/4*. This was good fun. Quite a coincidence to come across the answer to 1a again after only a few days. I thought this one was much better clued.
26a was my favourite.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.
Well it might be that I’m just an old [quickie pun], but I just didn’t get on with this today. I’m sure there will be lots of comments saying how wonderful and gentle they found today’s offering, but I simply could not get on the wavelength – indeed I have yet to complete it, and I am resisting looking at the hints for a little while longer – but many of the clues I found myself thinking “I probably could get that eventually with a bit of effort – but I’m not sure I can be bothered…”. I will shortly crack, and resort to Senf’s ever-helpful hints. Well done to those who managed it…
With thanks to Senf (whose help I will surely need) and to the setter…
I am in complete agreement with you.
Had a look at this last night after a busy day and got nowhere, so tried again today with the same result.
Like ithers, was surprised t see 1a again so quickly. There were some great Lego clue/ anagrams , inxmcludibg rhe 12a winter coat, the 2d council enployee and 15a (Hope the PM didn’t read the latter, ut might have dented his ego, on second thoughts, probably not.) Thanks to theccompiler and to Senf for the hints.
I was disappointed to find ten anagrams here, including exactly half of the down clues. Whatever happened to the old Telegraph ‘rule’ of not more than six anagrams per puzzle?
That said, I did enjoy some of the clues including 10a and my favourite 26a.
Thanks to Dada and Senf.
This took a bit more teasing out than the usual De Do Do Do challenge but was an enjoyably solve.
I’ve never seen 1a as an answer before and we get it twice in a week. Spooky. This was a good clue but nowhere near Mr T’s hilarious one.
I’ve never seen 8d without the last letter being repeated. It may be a variant but I’d love to see where a professional writer has used it. (obviously, don’t reference Chumpers). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the word with a different vowel as the fifth letter misspelled, ie repeating the last letter.
My podium is 26a (excellent construction), 4d and 7d (a fine effort).
MT to Radio and the Manitoban mountie.
3*/4*
26a, 2d and 7d stood out for me. Like Tom, I preferred Twm’s previous 1a. Nowt wrong with this, mind. A wee bit anagram heavy, to be sure, but there were some good ‘uns. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
My thoughts and sympathy lies with the poor soul who has to ‘probe your nether regions’ Senf.
As I will be ‘under the influence,’ sadly not from over-consumption of Balvenie or Dalwhinnie, I won’t care!
It’s the medics who’ll need the single malt mate, not you!
Have to admit to not being a fan of anagrams but there were IMHO OTT of them today. There seems to be increasing competition these days between setters to come up with ever more obtuse indicators. My bung-in for 15a was a last resort however that solution didn’t occur to me. 23d has to be but I can’t justify last 3 letters of solution (I’m obviously being thick!). Thanks Dada and Senf.
23d – as I wrote in the hint, phonetic alphabet time. The word, not the letter, that follows Yankee in the list.
D’oh thanks Senf, I was of course overlooking the full word except the initial letter.
Don’t use the initial (last) letter much!
I didn’t like the clue for 1a last time it appeared and this didn’t seem to be any better but it’s obviously the clue of the moment! Elsewhere, there were some smiles to be found, of which my choice would be 26a (top step) with 17a in close pursuit.
Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints and the tribute to Dame Cleo.
Agreed, this was a bit anagram heavy. Some good constructions though with one or two less obvious to parse.
As others have commented, it was deja vu all over again for 1a.
My ticks are the same ones as ALP has gone for in 26a, 2d and 7d.
Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Struggled with the across clues on 1st pass – but the downs came to the rescue.
Still can’t parse 22a properly so not sure if I have the right answer.
Thanks to Dada and Senf
The best my brain offered me on 22a was definition ‘turn’ with a synonym of needle with the last letter deleted (blunted)’ I will await the full review, by Rahmat Ali(?), with interest.
That’s how I parsed it too.
Thanks Senf. I wasn’t 100% confident on the parsing of that clue, but I think that must be right.
On the subject of the number of anagrams in a Dada Sunday Puzzle, and not trying to defend Dada ‘getting away with it’ on a weekly basis, I suppose it could be argued that, using some jiggery-pokery (what an excellent word), partial anagrams reduce the ‘effective’ total number. For example, in 2d, the anagram accounts for only 6 of the 15 letters in the answer.
Was pleased to complete unaided after yesterday’s revelation that I had been mispronouncing zoology all my life had left my confidence in tatters!! Wonder what school lesson is in store today?!
Big thanks to Senf for the hints – needed it to unravel 2d’s word play. All in all I found today a bit gentler than usual but enjoyed it as ever.
Thank you setter – and to Senf
I found this quite heavy going but still enjoyable once the cleverness of the cluing became clear.
Top picks for me were 26a, 16d, 13d and 17a.
Thanks to Senf and Dada.
For me this week, I found this at the harder end of Dada’s spectrum. Lots of personal thesaurus use and definitely quirky in places too.
3*/3.5*
Favourites 1a (seen very recently), 14a, 17a, 24a, 2d & 7d — wth winner 2d … well constructed clue.
Smiles for 17a, 18a, 4d & 19d
Thanks to Dada & Senf
Bit of an anagramfest but still nicely enjoyable with enough tricky clues to keep the interest going throughout the solve. 26a came out on top of my ticked clues.
Many thanks to Dada and Senf.
2* / 4* I seemed to struggle a bit solving this but checked my time and it was relatively quick. Didn’t really notice the amount of anagrams, don’t mind them at all. Some top clues including 26a ordinary, terrible 14a and the toggled winter garment at 12a
Thanks to Senf and Dada
Obscure or what? Not our favourite today so least, said soonest mended. Just glad to finish it. We liked 26a the best. Thanks to Dada anyway and Senf.
Tricky but got there in the end. I misspelt the first word of 12a which put a spanner in the works. It was the little ones that were the problem. Anyway thanks to all
Love ‘spooner in the works’, M.
I too would have spelt it differently but fortunately 6d was already in place so it had to be.
Me too with spelling of 12a but I had put the misspelling in so for a while was trying to come up with an alternative solution for 6d.
Initially I struggled and then after a few eureka moments I got going and eventually won. Several of the long ones took ages to crack. I liked 28a once I figured it out.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints.
A brisk completion but a few whys needed reverse engineering. I did note the plethora of anagrams but that didn’t really spoil my enjoyment of the puzzle. ✅s against a good number of clues – 10,17&26a along with 2&7d particular likes.
Thanks to D&S
I came to this late and somewhat under the weather so made heavy weather for a while then
happily it all began to fall into place. As I have said before, I am the Anagram Queen so very
happy doing my little circles of letters in the convenient neighbouring advertisement.
Am I getting old?!! 15a is a phrase I would never use and am slightly uncomfortable with and
then in the ST today I read that Steve Jobs’ daughter and her husband-to-be ‘snuck’ into the church
via the back entrance.
SNUCK in? Really? I feel a bit like Lady Bracknell. Oh well, I suppose it is progress.
Many thanks to Dada for keeping me amused and to Senf, to whom I send my best wishes for his
forthcoming investigations!
(mutter mutter in the background – silly old fogey.)
Crack on, Daisygirl!
I’m sure I’m not the only one who keeps a sharp eye out for your amusing and insightful comments.
I always smile when I read what you have to say.
All the best to you and George.
Ooooops. Very bad form to use ‘weather’ twice. Sorry.
I wouldn’t usually bother commenting so late and doubt anyone will read this. I started this one earlier – the North went in without too much trouble then I ground to a halt on the rest. I then went out and reconvened with fresh eyes so have just finished it. I was so impressed with the parsing of 26a – one of the best clues I have seen for ages , which is why I had to write this . Thanks to Dada and Senf.
I read it also!
Read by me! Thank you Jenny.
My flabber is gasted by the lack of controversy over the spellings in 12A and 14A.. However I’m a Thai day behind with the challenge as I’m still trying to complete Sunday’s guzzle but Monday’s is sitting underneath on the clipboard, so I have no time to involve myself in any disagreements. Although all of us from the UK have worn a 12A I would challenge that nobody has ever written the words so confusion as to the spelling is to be expected.
Always late finishing DT weekend crosswords – just done so over a coffee in bed and my ‘flabber is gasted’ too!
It could be that 14a spelling has been discussed many times before so we have stopped doing so.
The other one, the winter garment is named after the material it is made from which is in turn named after it’s place of origin and so the spelling is correct.
Hopefully that has avoided the naughty step.
….and, as a back-up, the 5th and 6th letters are the 2nd and 3rd letters of the country this place is in.
Hint: Poirot and Eddie Merckx
At the risk of annoying at least one member of our company, 12a and 14a are listed in the BRB with those spellings so they are quite legitimate especially 12a with its ‘location’ connection.
Arduous. **/*. Is the post of “Brian” open,by any chance?
Well, that’s me firmly put in my place then. For clarity I wasn’t suggesting the setter had made an error. It seems clear from my comment that in the case of at least one of the clues I was in error as I have never needed to write the word. The point of my comment was more concerned with my expectation of the group reation to the clues and not their accuracy. Although the clues did not produce the reaction I expected my post did, so I’ll do a Brian and stay quiet.
There’s quite often speculation about why there are so many lukers and a number of commentators when they first comment reveal themselves as lukers, I wonder why?
Lurker
I would have completed this one. However, there was one answer I could not bring myself to put in. I thought 15 across is a horrible one. Please ask compilers never to use the name of God in that way.
In an attempt to win a latest solver prize, I did both weekend prize puzzles today (Weds)…….this one was quicker for me but very enjoyable. I’m not 100% sure I have 22a correct and I needed the hint to get the parsing for 10a, after completing, but otherwise it was all good. 12a & 26a were my favourites, great clues. Thanks to setter & Senf.
That should have read 10a that I struggled with the parsing…….the orange/yellow, very tricky clue…….my comment edit wasn’t accepted for some reason ????