62 comments on “DT 31032”

1. It’s probably me but what happened to Mondays being fairly gentle? No doubt others will find it so but, for meTM, it proved to be a battle. I don’t understand one or two the main one being 1a. How on earth did orthopaedic nurses get involved? If there’s an Oscar winning film in 1d, I can’t see it. I’ve neither heard of the violin nor the capital but, as I said yesterday, geography is not my strong point.

   No COTD for me today, just happy to get over the line.

   Thank you, setter but I could not do your offering justice, I’m afraid. Thank you, Falcon for the hints. Wow, did I miss the lurker at 1a!

   1. Hi Steve, nothing to do with orthopaedic nurses. Nurses should tell you why.You will kick yourself.

   2. Its a lurker, Steve it took a lohg time for me to twig it too

   3. Thanks both. Yes I saw it the moment I read the hints. I think I’m on another planet at the moment. 😳 I hope they sort out my blood pressure medication soon!

      1. Know what you mean, I’m experiencung low BP after meals or post-prandial hypotension to give i its proper name and have had to aalter the dose of the drug I take in the evening

      2. I don’t think I’ve ever seen nurses as a lurker indicator either Steve. Good luck with the BP meds. Mine is constantly being adjusted, probably because for me stress and pain can cause it to fluctuate wildly.

   4. I agree Steve, hope some others do too!
      Monday used to be my favourite gentle puzzle of the week but since starting back with these alas no longer 😏 to be honest I’d never heard of 14a and I found some of the clueing obscure … however thanks to setter and Falcon for the hints 👍🏻

2. The violin was new to me and I didn’t know the film but both were gettable from the cluing.
   Some lovely clues here with my top picks being 1a, 13a, 4d and 16d.

   Thanks to Falcon (loved the 1d cartoon) and the setter.

3. Lots of misdirection. Had such a good night’s sleep it helped this morning. Favourite was 28 across. Such a great word. Knew 12 across because I used to work in a London auction house.One morning a prospective bidder came to try out 12 across and played a good section of the Brook Violin concerto.
   4 down was great and am busy with an 8 down at the moment.Last in 21 down.
   Thank you for the fun setter and Falcon.

4. Oh I feel such a fool! An eejit and a twerp. Even a nincompoop.
   I didn’t ‘get’ 1a.
   After a mighty struggle, I only had 1a left and I could not see it, ignoring the basic rule of cryptic guzzles – if all else fails then it must be a lurker. I am a dimwit and a scaramouch.
   *Answering questions posted yesterday: I have heard of Winchelsea but have never experienced its no doubt exquisite charms in person. Great grossword glue though! Yes, we returned from Hambleden in time to see the Chelsea match, and The MIghty Blues throw away two points in the last few seconds at Brentford. Sigh.

   We have a small river at the end of our garden. The berserk winds are raising such waves on it that one could surf one’s way to the Thames. We have battened down everything that could possibly be battened down. When we were away in California in July a truly enormous tree came down and, luckily for us, fell away from the house, so now, every time there is anything more than a light breeze, I listen out for any suspicious creaking of boughs. We have too many trees. Can one have too many trees?

   Thanks to the setter and The Bird Of Prey

5. Good morning. I needed a gentle start to Monday after failing to finish yesterday’s Prize toughie. This was a read and fill for me, save for 12 across. Thanks to the setter and Falcon for the review.

6. For me, a rather challenging puzzle for a Monday, in which the NE was particularly cchallenging. Ironically, my COTD was the 1a lurker, which held me up for a while and resulted in a loud clang as the penny dropped. I alao liked the double meaning/homophone at 17d and the Lego clue at 14a, one of three geographical clues, to my delight. Thanks to the compiler for a very cleverly clued guzzle. As Steve daid, the days of a gentle Monday crossword seem to be over. Thanks to Falcon for the hints

7. Somewhat different for a Monday puzzle which could be an X-Type production but I am not certain, so the Toonie is staying in my pocket – **/****

   12a and 1d ‘worked’ backwards, appropriate for the 12a reversed lurker, with e-confirmation of the violin based on getting the first letter from 1d and e-confirmation of the film in 1d after writing in the obvious answer.

   Candidates for favourite – 22a, 28a, 9d, and 23d – and the winner is 23d.

   Thanks to X-Type, or whomsoever if it is not he, and thanks to Falcon.

8. Incidentally, I always referred to lurkers as Run-ins, and only learned the term Lurker a couple of weeks ago, on this blog!

9. I thought this was a superb puzzle, with only, for me, 18D being weak. Numerous candidates for COTD but 14A get’s it. Thank you to the setter and to Falcon who on this occassion’s help I didn’t need. Great fun.

10. Got about half then gave up, not one for me today….

11. A very entertaining puzzle – thanks to our setter and Falcon.
    My ticks went to 1a, 13a, 4d and 8d.

12. Another one in the ‘completely missed 1a camp’
    Had been staring at it for way longer than it took me to finish all the others. I decided it must be a typo or something so came to this site to vent my spleen with the imagined other outraged solvers – and wallop!!! What an idiot!! I cannot believe I missed it. Bravo setter – if I could do emojis they would be the hand clap ones!!

    Thank you Falcon for pointing it out.

13. Like Terence, my LOI was 1a, a very well disguised lurker.
    The Colombian marching powder in 28a got me going and the junior MP in 4d was a hoot.
    Certainly this was a tad more involved than we have been acustomed to at the start of the week, though all the better for it.
    My thanks to our setter and Falcon.

14. What seemed on first pass like a challenge quickly turned to fun, with a mix of tried-and-trues, general knowledge and lateral thinking all helpful in completing this in a better than average time.
    I will admit to returning to 1a a few times before the pound coin dropped. Lurker gold!
    Very satisfying to get on the setter’s wavelength after minimal fine-turning.
    This was a great start to my puzzling week.

15. A really mixed bag for me with some clues I particularly liked and others that didn’t chime at all. Ticks went to 13&26a plus 3,15,i21&23d with no prizes for the remainder.

    Thanks to our setter and also to Falcon for the review and the cartoons – especially the ones that accompanied 1&5d. As for the Elvis clips, it’s amazing how quickly he learnt to ‘play’ his audiences!

16. I found this puzzle really tested me out but got great pleasure by answering some of the difficult clues for me

17. A not so gentle start to the week. Sooooo close to giving up with only 1a left until the penny finally dropped!
    Lots to like – 1a, 13a, 20a and 4d to name a few
    Thanks to Falcon and setter
    2.5*/4*

18. Like most people, didn’t spot 1a , didn’t know the film so it didn’t help to identify 1a . Apart from these two I really enjoyed today’s offering .even though it was more difficult than usual for a Monday . Thanks to all

19. 1a was far from LOI but it certainly evaded me for a while too! Superbly disguised including the use of the word ‘nurses’! When the penny dropped, it damaged the floor again.

    Found this pretty sticky in places and took a while to get going but hugely enjoyable nevertheless. 1a gets the big tick – obviously. Only 3 short of a pangram too.

    Many thanks to the setter and Falcon./

20. 2.5*/3*. I enjoyed this (apart from the typo in 3d!) but it left me wondering where our gentle Mondays of yore with Rufus, Campbell and Robyn have gone.

    1a was my favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Falcon.

    1. RD – I’ve thought for a while now that because there are two puzzles of a Tuesday, The Prof’s back pager is deliberately very gentle as there is a second puzzle, usually but not always rather more challenging to accompany it; and that on a Monday the back pager is on its own, and so to cater for solvers of all abilities the difficulty level is slightly higher than that of a Tuesday puzzle.

    2. I used to love Rufus Mondays RD really miss them 😏

    3. I’m looking in vain for the typo in 3d. Was the clue in the dead tree version different?

       1. Yep — at least, this is what PressReader has, with an extra S:

          

          1. Thanks, Smylers. I’ll now cancel the emergency visit to my optometrist!

21. Lovely puzzle, bang-on and reasonably gentle for a Monday. Great surfaces, amusing and clever clueing. I think it may have taken me as much time to get 22a and 18d as all the other clues together, dullard that I was. Honours to 1a, 13a (for the cracking surface and well-spotted anagram) and 16d.

    Many thanks setter (yes, X-Type for my fiver too) and Falcon

22. Thoroughly enjoyed the guzzle, 11a and 16d my shout-outs. I was today years old, as they say, when I learned that the capital at 14a is spelled and pronounced so. Was I the only one saying it without the first ‘i’ all these years? Probably. Thank you setter and Falcon

    1. I didn’t have a clue how to pronounce the place but on-line sources have it as ‘tboysay’ – not an ‘I’ in sight!

       1. Foreign languages, eh? Just when you think you’re getting somewhere …

23. 3.5*/ 4* A proper test for a Monday, some excellent misdirection and wit. Favourites include the brilliant 1a, satellite at 6a and one of my favourite places in Austria at 26a
    Thanks to setter and Falcon

24. Found this to be a regular sort of Monday puzzle. No real difficulties today.
    There was one new word for me in the grid but the cross letters helped me get it.

    1.5*/3.5*

    Favourites 1a, 6a, 22a & 4d — with winner 1a

    Thanks to setter & Falcon

25. Was stuck with 1a and 1d. The other problem I had was that I was trying to put ‘casts’ (group of performers) into 18d. 13a my favourite.

26. That was a struggle, we knew the violin, and the capital, although I entered Tib and then got in in mess with 3d. George came up with the sleeping partner which was a delightful clue – possibly my favourite. We have one who sits on the bed called Grossefoote as he has big feet and is Dutch, but he gets hurled onto the floor when we retire. The member of parliament was good too. A very challenging but satisfying guzzle for which many thanks to the setter and to Falcon for sorting 18d for me.

27. I also thought this was tough for a Monday. 1a was second last in .. and the lurker only appeared when I bunged in 1d. I got the K but I was sure the O was from the phonetic alphabet. Never heard of the film.

28. I thought this was still pretty straightforward, albeit above last Monday’s in difficulty, despite my having to check the Violin maker, the Austrian province, the Oscar winner, the capital city, and the striking effect.

    The top few for me are the nurses, actor, and sculptors in 1a, 10a, and 16d. Thank you to the setter and to Falcon for the blog.

29. .. just looked up the film at 1d … and I won’t be watching it either .. unless a purchase a onsie .. what is happening to the Telegraph Crossword?

30. Excellent puzzle so thanks to all. !a last one in until I heard [a voice from the past] yelling at me ‘look for the lurker’!. Glad lurkers and rekruls have been added to FAQ.

31. Completely missed the lurker at.1a despite spending an inordinate amount of time looking at the clue. I had to resort to on-line help for 12a the name was new to me but will remember it for the future. I assumed it was a typo error in the paper for 3d but I can’t blame that for being slow on the uptake. I was leaning towards Tripoli for 14a until getting 15d! I won’t go on as it’s too embarrassing. My little grey cells have missed an envigorating walk in the fresh-air today. I won’t count going out in the car to my exercise class! Many thanks to the setter for the challenge and Falcon for all the hints and pics.

32. May I ask why my comment was sent into moderation and then deleted?

    1. Falcon, what is going on? Perfectly straight queztjon!

       1. Hi Manders,
          I’m not sure why your comment went to moderation and was binned. I can only take a wild guess that it went to moderation because something in it did not pass a content filter. I also don’t know if the binning was an automated function or human action. In any event, I had no part in it. I have rescued your comment from the bin, making a small edit to remove what I guess may have been the offending content.

          1. Thanks Falcon, my comment was unintentional but I do think it’s deletion was rather sad

33. Very enjoyable puzzle with ticks all over the place but my top picks are a couple of well worked anagrams 13 and 30a, 4 and 21d that made me chuckle and of course the delightful lurker 1a. Did not know the violin nor the movie but both were so generously clued that I didn’t bother to verify the answers.
    Many thanks to Falcon and of course to our compiler – hope to see more like this from you!

34. I totally took the wrong fork in the road with 1a, having not twigged “nurses”, guessed at 12a, and bunged in 17d as it was the only one that slotted in between the checkers. I will always remember Angela Rippon’s precise enunciation of that word with a smile. COTD for me is 15a. Bit tougher than I would prefer for the start of the week, but enjoyable nonetheless. Thanks to setter and Falcon.

35. This was a great puzzle for a Monday with , for me a few howlers that had me head scratching. I too couldn’t parse 1a for a long time and then the penny dropped. The violin was a new word for me. I loved 14a , not having heard of the place and as I had all the checkers in place heard the voice of Roy Walker from Catchphrase ‘ say what you see’ – so putting in the BIL to get the right word was a delight. My last one in was 18d where I got into a pickle with the parsing thinking the word casts appeared in it , so I laboured over that for far too long. Thanks so much to the setter for the enjoyment and Falcon.

36. A very entertaining puzzle with some tricky bits for me, especially the north west corner. I got there unaided but did need to check the violin afterwards and 1a was last in and once I spotted it I thought it was brilliant and my favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Falcon for the hints

37. 1a very sneaky – took me ages to see it!

38. Thanks to the Setter and Falcon (for the hints). Struggled with this one just could not get onto the setters wavelength. Plus 12a and 14a we had never heard of. COTD 4d.

39. Apart from 1d (unnecessary gk which caused my sabre to rattle for a few minutes) an otherwise ok puzzle. Didn’t really float my boat, but other solvers enjoyed it, which is more important.
    Thanks to the setter and to Falcon

40. Very tough for me. The only violin maker I knew off the top of my head was Sig Stradivari so had to consult Dr Google as well as help with the 2025 best film. I couldn’t understand the purpose of “working” in 6a as I assumed the clue was a double definition with one solution being the noun to describe the silvery satellite and the other being a verb which could mean “to flash” in the sense of exposing a body part! Checking with Falcon’s analysis I see I got it right for the wrong reason.

41. I liked 13a (I have one called Lancelot who is thrown on the floor by my husband when he comes to bed) and 4d. Hard for a Monday.

42. Good puzzle, but tricky for a Monday, perhaps?
    The brilliant lurker in 1a makes it my CoD.
    Thanks setter and Falcon.

43. A great start to the week with plenty of splendid surfaces.

    Obviously, it’s impossible to fill Rufus’ shoes (none of this Rufus’s nonsense) but X-Type is doing a mighty fine job of owning the slot.

    I like that the anagram of 27a included people from the country that surrounds it.

    As many of you know, I’m a big fan of abbreviating words but I’ve never heard of circs and absolutely hate it…..with a passion! Saying that, it’s been duly noted.

    My podium is11a (great scene), 13a and 4d (nice)

    MT to the Big X and Falcs.

    2*/4*

44. Add me to those for whom 1a was last in – having neglected the ‘if all else fails’ dictum the ensuing crumpet scratch nigh on doubled what would otherwise have been a comfortable 1.5* time completion. Not sure how but knew both the violin & the Georgian capital & of course the wildly over praised Oscar/Palme D’or winner – at least BAFTA didn’t follow. I guess 1a ought to be my pick but 13a is difficult to overlook. ✅s also for 22a plus 1,8&16d.
    Thanks to the setter & to Falcon

45. Needed the hint for 1a, I knew the violin and the capital but didn’t know the philosopher or the film in 1d, I haven’t watched the Oscars for forty odd years, so was a bung in as was 18d, and this was a Monday? No particular favourite. I’m hoping for an easier ride tomorrow. I’ll bet the toughie will be more straightforward.

46. 3*/4* …
    liked 4D “Junior Member of Parliament ? (5)”

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