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DT 31049 (Hints)

by crypticsue  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31049 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)

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A very sunny Saturday morning with an extremely strong and cold wind courtesy of Storm Amy.  I will be interested to see what other solvers made of today’s Prize Puzzle, where a couple of clues put up quite a fight when it came to parsing and hinting!

Please ask for help if you are stuck on clues I haven’t hinted, but before doing so, please read the comments that appear before yours, so that you are not duplicating questions,  and make sure you obey both THE INSTRUCTIONS IN RED at the end of the Hints and the blog’s  Comment Etiquette – Big Dave’s Crossword Blog)

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.

Across

1a           Too much where entrenched soldiers were made to go? (4,3,3)
Excessive or too much; or literally where entrenched soldiers were made to go

11a         Female bringing in own ecstasy: party time? (9)
A female bird into which is inserted a verb meaning to admit or concede (own) and the abbreviation by which the drug Ecstasy is informally known

12a         Leaving minus Oscar bad actor checked material (7)
Remove the letter represented by Oscar in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet from a synonym for leaving and then add a bad actor

18a         Host summit in Scots isle with one large town (12)
The topmost part of something (summit) inserted into a Scottish isle, the Roman numeral for one and a large town then being added

23a         Dancing nude almost felt necessary (7)
An anagram (dancing) of NUDE and almost all of FELt

24a         Perhaps bonsai blossom in island’s cut (9)
Blossom or bring to full development is ‘cut’ by IN from the clue and the abbreviation for Island

27a         Spokesperson opening with dramatic work (10)
Any opening or entrance and a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic composition (work)

Down

1a           Over 50 in substantial European force (6)
The cricket abbreviation for Over and the Roman numeral for 50 inserted into a synonym for substantial, the abbreviation for European being added at the end

3d           One disappearing act changed after tricky hitches here (3,8,3)
An anagram (changed) of ACT goes after another (tricky) of HITCHES HERE

5d           Middle of grotto in which walker, oddly, is nestling (5)
Insert the odd letters of WaLkEr into the letters in the middle of grotto

9d           Ridicule swimmer thus leading course (4,6,4)
A verb meaning to ridicule, something that swims in the ocean, an adverb meaning thus and leading or ahead

15d         Clubs in midday match without serious competition (2,7)
The abbreviation for the card suit of Clubs inserted between synonyms for midday and match

16d         Like mummy‘s fragrance in sea around Cyprus? (8)
An aromatic fragrance inserted into an abbreviated way of referring to the sea around Cyprus

22d         Left in place old Disney character (5)
The abbreviation for Left inserted into a verb meaning to place, the abbreviation for Old being added at the end

As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out

Please read these instructions carefully – they are not subject to debate or discussion. Offending comments may be redacted or, in extreme cases, deleted. In all cases the administrator’s decision is final.

If you don’t understand, or don’t wish to comply with, the conventions for commenting on weekend prize puzzles then please don’t leave a comment.

The Quick Crossword pun:  CELL + AMANDA = SALAMANDER

85 comments on “DT 31049 (Hints)”

  1. A tricky SPP, I thought, but doable with perseverance. Some clues were read and write while others needed a fair amount of teasing out. In fact, just the right balance to make for a satisfying, if occasionally frustrating, solve. I did like the ridiculed swimmer at 9d but my COTD is, unusually, the linked clue at 19d and 6a.

    Thank you, NYDK, or whomsoever if not your good self, for a satisfying prize puzzle. Thank you, CeeSoo for the hints.

    1. I’m frequently amazed at how one’s crossword mileage may vary. For me, this was the quickest solve in prize puzzle memory. And no less enjoyable for that, with clever and amusing cryptic clues.

    2. Anybody know where the extra ‘e’ comes from in 16d? Sea around Cyprus: Tick. Fragrance: Tick. That leaves a spare ‘e’. ??

      1. Welcome to the blog

        The first letter of the solution relates to the position of Cyprus in the sea

  2. Thanks once again Sue for your help – I found today’s quite tricky

    16d. I seem to have an extra vowel I can’t parse!

      2. I’m the same as Paul, can’t see where the first vowel comes in, and can’t see how 1,3 works, can you help further without spoiling things?

        1. The first letter is part of the abbreviated way of referring to the part of the sea around Cyprus. I can’t say any more without ending up in the cakeless Naughty Corner :sad:

            1. Oh well, thought it might, looks like I’ll have to wait a few days before the full explanation……..

      3. That helped me too thanks – the penny hadn’t dropped with that initial vowel & moved on & forgot to return to it.

  3. I didn’t find today’s toooo chewy. A new word to me at 14a, but having decoded it Google confirmed it was indeed a ‘thing’. Clue of the day has got to be 20d which was absolutely delightful 😘. Also who doesn’t love a reference to Pink Floyd. Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn?

    1. Met Dame VL about 25 years ago; she was the patron of Ingfield Manor School near Billingshurst in West Sussex. She opened their annual open/fun day!

  4. Good morning. This was mostly a read and fill. 14a is a new word for me, 18a made me laugh and 3d was LOI and takes top spot as COTD. Many thanks for the review and to the setter.

  5. This was perfect for a windy and rainswept Shropshire morning, with plenty of chewing necessary to get across the line. I found some of the long clues were the last to fall despite the checkers, so I can only assume I was not quite on top form this morning. Hugely enjoyable, though, with 18a and 9d my particular favourites.

    Many thanks to Donny (or whoever) and Sue.

  6. A nicely balanced puzzle for a Saturday morning with the two long down clues taking a little while to solve. Smiles aplenty including 21a, and 20d, but podium places go to 18a, 9d and the linked 19d/6a combo. Thanks to NYDK(?) and CS.

  7. For a while I was somewhat puzzled by the non RayT sweetheart in 8d. 18a gets my COTD for its Scottish isle reference.
    Thanks to Setter (NYDK Surely?) and Sue.

  8. I found this a mixed bag but still enjoyable and it managed to distract me from the ferocious winds outside.
    4d was a word which appeared in my RHS exam and which I had to describe having never heard of it before. Can’t remember what I guessed as it meaning back then.
    Top picks for me were 9d, 4d and 12a.

    Thanks to CrypticSue and the setter.

  9. Thanks to CS and the Setter. For a Saturday we found this relatively easy with no real hold ups. LOI 18a COTD toss up between 3d and 9d.

  10. I have been trying to solve Telegraph crosswords for quite a while and a friend who has commented regularly on this blog for the last 12 years or so has, for at least ten of those twelve years, been trying to persuade me to ‘join in’ so here I am. :wink:

    I quite enjoyed this Prize Puzzle and I particularly liked 1a and 8d. Thanks to the setter and crypticsue.

    4. Hi fro me too, I am sure Senf would extend a welcome to another from the mustard family.

  11. Really needed CS’s help with three of the llonger answers; 20d is such a good smooth clue. Thank you compiler

  12. This was good fun and most of it fell into place quite quickly. However, solving and parsing 27a, which was my last one in, took quite some time. I didn’t know the sweetheart part of 8d but the BRB confirmed what it had to be.

    My favourite was a dead heat between 18a & 9d.

    Many thanks presumably to NYDK and also to CS.

  13. There were some tricky clues in this SPP, especially in the SW, and a fair amount of citation was needed. My COTD was the Lego clue at 3d, followed closely by the other long down clue at 3d. Third on the podium is another Lego clue at 4d. Thanks to CS for the hints and to rhe compiler

  14. Great fun even though I did initially take an incorrect guess at the ending of 14a. My podium places went to 18a plus 9&20d – the last of those being such a clever and succinct clue.

    Thanks to NYDK and to CS for the hints.
    PS Storm Amy seems to have moved on from us here on Anglesey, hope she doesn’t now wreak havoc on those further east of us.

    1. Very nice puzzle with for me just the right side of challenging. Last one in was 18a which was also my favourite for the clever definition and synonym.Also loved 16d (though I a while to parse the extra vowel). And eschewing congress at 18d is still making me laugh. Thank you setter and cryptic sue.

  15. I’m still getting the message “The string did not match the accepted pattern” when I submit online.

      1. Is your clue for 11a correct? I parsed it as ‘bringing in’ being part of the definition seeking a synonym and own as being the position marker (ie indicating contain). This seems to clear up @tomdisappointingsturgess’s question below. I may well be wrong of course!

        1. I too had own as the insertion/containment indicator & bringing in the part of the wordplay looking for a synonym. I’m sure that’s what Sue is saying – the confusion maybe stems from the bracketed (own) not following inserted in the hint.
          I may be talking gibberish of course – often am

          1. Hmm, I don’t think that’s right.

            If ‘own’ was a CI then it needs to be the other side of ecstasy.

            Also the tenses aren’t the same for ‘bringing in’ and the synonym in the answer.

            I’ve asked NYDK below if he can clear it up but it may be too late.

    2. I’m getting:
      Unexpected token ‘P’, “Prize Cryp” …. is not valid JSON

      I managed to screenshot it this week.

      1. I keep getting tht message too. Then I get a message thanking me for submitting the puzzle. What’s going on, I wonder?

        1. I’ve just reported it to the DT customer services via email. I’ll report back if I get a response!

          1. I was going to ring DT on Monday, MF but I’ll wait to see if you get a reply first. Keep us posted. 👍

  16. I had to work hard for this one as the two combies 24a/16d and 27a/9d took forever, pushing me into rare 4* territory for a Saturday crossy.

    5d is all over us with its third appearance in a fortnight. You’ve had a good run but enough now.

    Maybe it isn’t possible to do it on a Saturday but can anyone put ‘own’ in a sentence where it can be replaced with its synonym in 11a? I see what Sue has put but I’m still struggling.

    As much as I love NYPD Blue – and I do – I can’t give him the sea in 16d, even though it’s obviously legit. [redacted] It’s one of those crossword classic ‘How can I parse this bit of the word?’ jobbies. It’s a fine effort but…..no.

    My podium is 12a (nicely done), 23a (good fun) and 4d (excellent Lego clue).

    MT to both of the aforementioned.

    4*/4*

  17. I found this quite tough and needed some digital help to fill in the gaps. Good job it is the weekend with plenty of time to do justice to an excellent puzzle – thanks Setter.

    20d stumped me to the very end, but at least the thought of the dancing nude in 23a cheered up my day!

    Thanks CS for the enlightenment on the parsing, much needed today.

    Steve – I am getting the error you mention, I am using Edge browser on a Mac, a popup on my screen says that “there is a JSON error and P is not an acceptable character”, but the puzzle seems to submit all the same? At least I hope it does – wouldn’t like to miss out on a chance to win the Mythical……

  18. I found this quite tough but perseverance paid off and got there in the end. Perfect for a prize puzzle and the longer solving time was ideal given the awful weather outside.

    Like TDS, I am struggling with the parsing of ‘own’ in 11a

  19. 2* / 4.5* My favourite puzzle of the week, right up my very windy cul de sac. Loads of great clues and tricky enough to get the brain working.
    Favourites include 18a host, little tree at 24a and the course at 9d
    Many thanks to setter and Sue

  20. This enjoyable puzzle took me a few minutes longer than usual, so I’m guessing it was accordingly more chewy.

    I liked the mammoth (though I always like one of those), the tricky hitches and the Congress pun. However, being fairly well-acquainted with the region alluded to in 16D, that plus 20D, a really first-class clue IMO, were my favourites among a rather explosively stellar list.

    Thanks setter and Sue.

  21. Well I must say I found this NYDK puzzle very, very tricky this week, but when I finally got through it, I thought it was really well put together. Last area in was due to my brain not clicking on one particular clue … What a clatter when the tea tray dropped !!!!

    2.5*/5* for me

    Favourites abound here but my picks are 1a, 13a, 18a, 3d & 5d — with winner(s) 3d & 18a the runner up.
    Smiles for 13a, 21a & 20d
    New word for me in the SW too.

    Thanks to NYDK & CS
    Anyone know why Senf has not been seen for a week? I hope everything is OK with him. I miss his comments. Very unusual … but maybe he is on vacation.

      1. … and that is the last time he was seen. He always comments throughout the week on the puzzle with the occasional missed day.

        1. He has just popped in to comment on today’s NTSPP, mentioning a week’s time out for R&R.

          1. I wanted to edit my previous comment but the edit function went AWOL so I typed a correction here. Then the edit function reappeared so I have been able to change it making this comment utterly irrelevant!

  22. I needed Cryptic Sue and Mr Google to finish, however I still really enjoyed the challenge.
    3d and 9d were my favourite clues.
    Thank you to CS and the setter

  23. This was right up my proverbial alley, and I finished it without help in a reasonable (for me) time. Glad to see only one linked clue, but it was a good one! Also liked 18a, which is unusal for me as I generally dislike lego clues. All in all a very enjoyable expeience, so thanks to NYDK, and to CS for the hints which I shall now read over coffee (it’s still morning here in the USA).

  24. Quite a tricky puzzle and had to resort to CS’s hints to finish it. Slowly worked my way through it this afternoon as a means of delaying whether or not I go for a run braving Storm Amy.
    Thank you to the setter and to CS for the hints. COTD for me the reference to Pink Floyd, although on a personal level I still think Dark Side of the Moon is their best and one of the finest albums ever.

  25. Quite a few hmms from us and the last few taking longer than the rest put together. Well done to anyone who found this easy. Favourite was 9d. Thanks to the setter anyway and CS.

  26. Thought this another top drawer Donny (presumably) production. By no means a fast solve – some of the answers needed teasing out & the wordplay more so. 1a made me think of the wonderful ends to Blackadder & Peter Weir’s Gallipoli, set to Albinoni’s haunting adagio. I had ticks all over the shop – 9d&18a both crackers & a coin toss for top spot & the other long at 3d is a goodie too. 11,24&27a along with 15&17d other particular likes.
    Thanks to Donny & to Sue

  27. Hello. NYDK here. Thanks Sue, and thanks all for the comments.

    Roger Waters, who is no stranger to the firm holding of an opinion, is one of the great world musical talents, IMV, having penned the lion’s share of Floyd’s greatest chewnes. I’m another who prefers DSOTM to just about anything else they put out, though the earlier works for me have loads of merit.

    Whaddahband.

    Cheers
    NYDK

    1. Hi NYDK

      1. Thanks for a nicely testing crossword that, for me, was tougher than your usual fare but as enjoyable.

      2. Would you mind giving me a sentence where ‘own’ can be replaced by the synonym in 11a as a handful of us are struggling?

      3. We love Floyd though I have Genesis ahead of them which will put me in the minority, for sure. It’s like choosing between a NYDK non-multi-word howdy doody against one that is a ‘’He’s gone mad’ splattered all over the 225 squares’’ jobbie. They both work.

      1. Er … well … er … ‘own’ is in the Chambers list of synonyms for ALLOW, although ‘allow’ isn’t in the list under ‘own’. However, there are consecutive entries for OWN in the BRB, (4) ‘to allow to be true’, and (5) ‘to admit, concede’, which hover around the sense in which I’ve used it.

        Also, I have seen allow/own used interchangeably in numerous clues over the years, although that’s not a particularly persuasive argument, I’m forced to allow/own.

        Cheers
        NYDK

        1. Thanks NYDK and thanks for replying so late in the day. Saying that, it’s just after 5:30 for you.

          I’m such a wag.

        2. Thank you for confirming that my hint was correct. Had you not replied, I was going to ask the alternative theorists what they had done with the ‘female’!

          2. I wouldn’t have the temerity to be an alternative theorist where one of your explanations was concerned – the (own) threw me.
            Once bitten never again.

  28. Lovely puzzle but had to return (twice) to 8d before I stopped looking for the ‘heart of sweet’ in the answer!
    🙄

  29. This was a great puzzle with some chewiness that made it very satisfying to complete. I ended up with a few long ones with all the checkers in place holding me up at the end. When I got the first word of 9d , I thought ‘there’s really no saying or 3 words that start with this ‘. Then I also told myself ‘I always think that Jenny’ , and hey presto the phrase popped in to my mind just like that ! Thanks so much to NYDK and CS.

  30. Really enjoyed this. Glad for the discussion on the Cyprus sea abbreviation as I’ve never come across it. The big tick went to 18a when the penny destroyed the floor!!!! 9d, 16d and 24a held me up for ages. Got there in the end though. Had 11a early but just couldn’t parse it so thanks to CrypticSue for the hint!

    Huge thanks to CS and NYDK

    Oh and for me © etc. Pink Floyd are the greatest band of all time and even though I saw the named album live at Earls Court in 1979, Dark Side of the Moon is just the greatest. I was awake during my hip replacement last year and listened to Pulse during the op whilst freaking my wife out by texting her from the operating table!!!!

  31. Completed earlier with friends who we are away with. We found some of it challenging but very enjoyable. Many not have time to comment this week very much.

    Many thanks to NYDK and CS for the hints.

  32. Can anyone help? Lately when I press submit to enter the competitions, both on tablet or phone, a message comes up “unexpected token….P …JSON”. I think it’s to do with JavaScript error. It’s only happened in the last couple of weeks.
    Thanks for any ideas
    Great puzzle today

    1. Yes, others are getting it too. I raised a case with DT customer services yesterday and will report back to the blog with any response I receive.

      1. Thanks for that MF. I’ve just updated the app, so maybe that’ll help when I submit the toughie later!

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