Daily Telegraph Vintage No 25
Hints and Tips by Rossophile
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ***
Welcome to my latest, and possibly last effort in this enlightening and enjoyable vintage series. It depends whether Saturday V27 has already been covered on the BD blog, otherwise I can have a go. A few unknown words today, and some tenuous parsings. Our volunteer Deansleigh is in charge tomorrow
As before, a link to my page with images, and blanked solutions, that can be revealed.
https://www.macdonnell.co.uk/DT/V25.htm
https://www.macdonnell.co.uk/DT/V25.pdf
Across
1a Is able to dance for a spell (7)
CANTRIP: Charade of C*N (is able) and T**P (dance). From the Scottish; anything magical
5a Weed (7)
THISTLE: Single example type of this unwanted growth
9a His cord got twisted round the flowers
ORCHIDS: Anagram (got twisted)
10a City father with a habit of wolfing down his
food? (7)
ROMULUS: One of the twin founders of Rome, reared by a wolf
11a Signal by turning the page left and right (9)
TELEGRAPH: Construction. Anagram (turning) THE PAGE with L and R inserted
12a Nymph appears in a new advertisement (5)
NAIAD: Anagram in In A (new) and abbreviation of advertisement
13a Only one is quite enough to go round (5)
WHEEL: A device allowing rotary motion. Ideally four preferred for vehicular transport
15a Causing delay by exhibiting items (7,2)
HOLDING UP: Double definition: Both phrasal verbs
17a A display of lights (9)
CROSSWORD: I got a BRAVO suggesting this is the correct solution. It may mean a CROSS WORD. For instance, the instructions, shown in lights, at a pedestrian crossing, WALK/ DON’T WALK
19a Lay up at the turn for a wartime meeting place (5)
YALTA: Anagram of lay up (at the turn) for famous Crimean summit with Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt
22a As the igloo is to the Eskimo, so was this to
the Sioux… (5)
TEPEE: Accommodation for American Indians
23a Has doubts about giving credit (9)
SCEPTICAL: Definition (adjective), Reluctant to believe that credit is due
25a Bunk (7)
HISTORY: If he doesn’t pull his socks up (and stop talking BUNK), he’s history. Or maybe the setter just didn’t like history
26a Girl going round Rhode Island encounters
frenzied conditions (7)
DELERIA: Insertion of RI into girl’s name
27a Teacher turned to German chap’s food (7)
RISOTTO: Polite address of male teacher , reversed, and a common German male name
28a Did it help Fatima save face? (7)
YASHMAK: Reference to female mask used in some cultures
Down
1d Amerind Watch Co. gone bust (7)
CHOCTAW: Anagram of WATCHCO . Aboriginal people from Mississippi
2d On the continent she can at first overturn
the airship-car? (7)
NACELLE: The French for “she” and CAN reversed. Gondola of an airship. Or more generally, any housing of a propellor or other mechanical parts.
3d Deploring turn in a circus (5)
RUING: A U-(turn) found in the place where circus performers work
4d It’s pale green, a pitch, so I can spin (9)
PISTACHIO: Description of a snack nut, anagram of “a pitch so”
5d Set fire to church beneath a hill (5)
TORCH: A small 3 letter hill, followed by abbreviation for church
6d Sweep in my time’s changed! (9)
IMMENSITY: Word for large scope of something; anagram “in my times” (changed)
7d Counting votes that are effective (7)
TELLING: the gerund verbal noun for counting votes, and an adjective describing these, all being “effective” 1. Having force or weight, 2. Revealing information or 3. Serving to convince
8d Calmed down apes due to be rehoused (5,2)
EASED UP: Anagram of “apes due” (rehoused)
14d A yobbo must accept a woman’s attacks (6,3)
LASHES OUT: Four letter word for yobbo L**T, into which inserted A+(pronoun for woman)+s
16d Annual meeting for thoroughbred fillies? (6,3)
LADIES DAY: Horseracing event (Lingfield 2025). Fine horses, and glamourous fashion day out for the ladies
17d Fielder liable to infection (7)
CATCHER: Cricket position, and someone with propensity to pick up germs
18d Resists work as one sits (7)
OPPOSES: Usual abbreviation for work, and a verb describing what a person sitting for a picture or photo does.
20d Jam with butter – it’s material (7)
LOCKRAM: A charade of four letter word of something with a key that can jam , and an male ovine farm animal prone to butting. A rough fabric originally from France, a Breton town Locronan
21d Everyone says it is just a rumour (3,4)
ALL TALK: A double meaning: Everyone speaks, but it may not be so
23d A writer in all honesty looks for it (5)
STYLO: Type of writing implement. Lurker in honeSTY Looks
24d Taxes levied on rings? (5)
TOLLS: Double definition. Taxes, often on road structures, and verb for what a bell does
Update on 25a in photo. ” Lights” are the white squares in a crossword grid containing solutions.
Thanks G.
A bit of a hotchpotch as you’d expect from clues garnered from 80 years of crosswords. There are quite a few (presumably from the early years) which aren’t cryptic at all including 5a (I wonder how the Scots reacted to their emblem being called a weed) and 22a.
I did like some of the more modern clues including 17a, 2d and 14d.
Thanks to Rossophile for the blog.
I was expecting a bit of a tussle, as this came with an editorial note saying ‘expect something trickier than usual’…it turned out to be my fastest solve of the vintage crosswords. Like Gazza, I did wonder about calling 5a a weed…not in my books! I like the father wolfing down his food.
Thanks again to Rossophile.
We also found this more straightforward than we were led to expect . As always with puzzles of this type, we find that not being able to ‘get inside the setter’s mind’ does add an extra level of difficulty. After 11a, 17a and 25a we did look for other themed entries but didn’t find any.
Thanks Rossophile.