Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3338 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg on our Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend; we don’t call the second Monday in October Columbus Day, as they do to the South of us, because we know that he never set foot in North America confining himself to exploration of the Bahamas and islands in the Caribbean including Cuba and Hispaniola.
For me, and I stress for me,© I expect that there will be some who will describe today’s puzzle as a ‘walk in the park’ or similar and one might think that this being my 359th Dada Sunday blog that I have got the complete measure of him, apparently not! This brought back memories of ST 2978 on November 18th, 2018. Two long ‘uns, 8 anagrams (3 partials), 1 lurker, and 2 homophones (one partial) all in a slightly asymmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, you should/might be able to get the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. And, remembering what CS wrote about thinking yesterday, in Comment 11, my electronic blue pencil is at the ready and the Naughty Step is OPEN!
Candidates for favourite – 7a, 25a, 27a, 2d, 5d, 6d, 21d, and 22d.
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
7a County tennis in July perhaps broadcast? (8)
A partial homophone (perhaps broadcast) of the season in which July falls and a series of games in tennis.
10a Doing well – as penguin wouldn’t be! (6)
A single word term, out of Dada’s personal thesaurus, for doing well which is something a penguin would never be doing.
15a Extremely bloody rude! (4)
As far as I can tell, nothing to do with ‘outer’ (extremely) letter selection. Unless there are any better ideas, a single word which might end the phrase ‘the air was . . . ‘
17a Fracture below middle of limb (5)
An anagram (fracture) of BELOW.
20a Fakery, salt water of the saltwater variety? (9,5)
Lateral, out of the box, off the wall thinking required! Lachrymal fluids, which can be salty, secreted by a large, semiaquatic (mostly) salt water variety (of reptile)?
27a Television programme with seedy family member, reportedly? (6)
A homophone (reportedly) of edible seed that is part of a (crop) family.
28a Title that’s hard to see in blurred display (8)
The single letter for Hard inserted into (that’s . . . to see in) an anagram (blurred) of DISPLAY.
Down
1d An absence of tree cut for Christmas? (4)
Written as (2,3), a two letter word indicating a negative and a three letter tree (that can ‘suffer’ from a disease from the Netherlands) which then has its last letter deleted (cut) to provide the answer.
2d Some measure of yarn, one pleading innocent (6)
A double definition with, as far as I know, different pronunciations, the first is a unit of weight for silk, rayon, and nylon.
5d Discreetly, sun god arrived? (2,6)
Written as (2,4,2) describing the arrival of the (Egyptian) sun god?
6d Spider bird? (10)
Written as (3,7) how one might describe a spider (with its web)?
21d Bright yellow ink container for writer (6)
A French word used in heraldry for bright yellow and an ink container perhaps set into a desk top.
22d US city needing a little help, as overpopulated (2,4)
A US city that we do not see very often, if we have seen it all before, is a lurker (needing a little) found in the words at the end of the clue.
26d Criminal charged up (4)
The reversal (up) of a synonym of charged.
Quick Crossword Pun:
LITTER + RARE + REAGENT = LITERARY AGENT
Could new readers please read the Welcome post and the FAQ before posting comments or asking questions about the site.
As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES OR HINTS in your comment.
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 save yourself a lot of trouble and don’t leave a comment.
Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti was born on this day in 1935. He became well known in his later years for ‘teaming up’ with Plácido Domingo and José Carreras to form The Three Tenors. Here they are singing the Brindisi (drinking song) Libiamo ne’ lieti calici from Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata:
4*/3*. This was as a tough a Sunday puzzle as I can remember.
Why is lockers plural in 24d?
Thanks to Dada and to Senf.
Re 24d why not ?
I took 24 down to be referring to the manufacturer not a single unit. Hope that swerves the censor!
Likewise
Me too
The NE held me up for ages because I was fixated on a different sun god. Likewise the spider bird took some untangling. Other than that, I thought Dada was relatively benign today. I had ticks for 18d, 16d but I’ll give cotd to 20a. Probably an oldie, but still good. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
15a is surely a double definition, extremely bloody and rude!
Welcome to the blog, DM
That was my take too.
Thanks Gazza
That’s how (redacted – far too helpful a comment for a Prize Puzzle)
Apologies. I struggled with this one, and only figured it out in retrospect. DM’s comment put me right on track, and was very helpful, so I thought I’d avoid redaction. Close call.
PS. Has anyone here ever won a prize 🏆?
I use the iPad app; I guess the editors believe we don’t use fountain pens any more!
I found it really difficult to get a start in this Sunday Prize Puzzle. My progress was uicker once a few checkers went in but i was stuck for a long tine barking up the wrong tree at 20a. Favourite clues were the 6d spider, 7a tennis in July, the anagra. At 10a and the writer at 21d. Thanks to Dada for a goid challenge and to Senf for the hints.
15a is probably referring to (redacted)
Welcome to the blog
That’s what I have put in the draft Full Review, but as this is a Prize Puzzle, you can’t say what amounts to an Alternative Clue
A bit trickier than usual (and with his customary ration of anagrams) – thanks to Dada for an enjoyable puzzle and to Senf for the hints.
Top clues for me were 7a, 15a and 5d.
1.5* / 4* Another splendid Sunday puzzle, had to use plenty of lateral thinking and check with Senf to see if the last one in (15a) was right and it seems to be.
The best of a very fine bunch, 2d pleading innocent, 18d drunk and the lurker at 22d
Thanks to setter and Senf
I found this tough. I was ‘led up the garden path’, in two areas. 22d had me going for xxxxx and I found what seemed like a workable anagram for 23a-wrong again! Excellent distraction (deliberate or not) by the setter. When I finally completed and compared with the hints (thanks to Senf), only then did I breathe a sigh of relief. Overall great puzzle. I hope I have managed to avoid the naughty step with these comments?
Using your name rather than one of the three aliases you used before sent you into moderation
It took me a while to get into this but once I had a foothold I found it very enjoyable.
Top picks for me were 1d, 2d, 14d, 5d and 20a.
Thanks to Senf and Dada.
An enjoyable Sunday solve with 7a, 25a, 15a and 20a as favourites today, with 15a taking the win for the PDM. I have parsed it differently to Senf so interested to see if my answer is correct
2*/4*
Thanks to Senf and Dada
5d was good, yep, that’s about it.
Something of a wake-up call, how rude on a Sunday! Slow start on this one but am now fully alert and ready to face Mr T in the other place.
As usual, I found a couple of the definitions decidedly quirky but there were sufficient give-aways to start the ball rolling. Rosettes handed out to 15a plus 5,6&14d.
Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints and music – always enjoyed listening to The Three Tenors, must root out the recordings I bought years ago……
Great puzzle.
Goldilocks country, not too tough, not too easy. And fun.
Good semantic misdirection, reminiscent of the previous Sunday setter.
I loved the saltwater clue 20a. Also the clever concealment of the police clue, and the lurker 👀 in the SE.
Thanks Dada, Senf and all bloggers here.
Cor! That was a brute. The toughest Dada challenge I’ve ever encountered with the grid not helping matters.
7a and 5d were good fun and 6d took me an age as did 21d because I keep forgetting the synonym for bright yellow.
I was surprised to see ‘is it?’ being used twice.
My podium is 28a, 5d and 14d.
MT to Dada and Senf.
4*/4*
You would think on a Sunday once you’d solved and then prepared the Full Review of the most difficult Dada puzzle for some time, you’d be able to prepare the Sunday lunch while alternating between reading an unputdownable book (Never Tear Us Apart by Rowan Coleman) and tending to Mr CS, who had cataract surgery yesterday and is taking the whole recovery process very seriously. Sadly not as people still aren’t reading the Red Instructions before commenting
Thanks for moderating while I was still sleeping Sue. Very frustrating that commenters don’t understand the Red instructions that apply to Prize Puzzles especially those who are commenting for the first time and will probably never comment again!
I wish Mr CS a speedy recovery (so that you have one less distraction
)
Thank you for the book recommendation, Sue. I have downloaded. Thank you too for your support with today’s guzzle. Couldn’t have done it without you! Thank you also to the setter. I join Senf in sending good wishes to Mr CS.
I have also made a note of the book. I have just finished There are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafek – VG! What a wonderful site this is!
That’s the very next book in my reading pile – I’d better prepare myself for a few late nights if it’s that unputdownable!
Best wishes to Mr CS – and to his long-suffering nurse
As tricky as they come on a Sunday with my last four or five clues taking as long as the rest of the grid. My favourite by a distance was 5d, and my final entry 19a.
My thanks to Dada and Senf.
A pleasant romp today with nothing to scare the equines. Absolutely “sip sing” (anag) down here in South Carolina; thunder, lightning, gales – the whole nine yards. So we are off to desonstruct my wife’s booth (tent) at a local craft fair whcih I noted earlier this morning has already lost its roof. So all her stock will be soaked, but fortunately it’s pottery so it will dry.
Anyway, thanks to Dada and CS…off to get soaked now!
Well this week I thought Dada’s puzzle was definitely not that friendly and at the harder end of his spectrum, especially the last eight clues I had to solve.
Quirky as well as personal thesaurus use this week was evident.
3*/3* for me
Favourites 7a, 20a, 25a, 6d, 8d & 24d — with co-winners 1a & 24d
Smiles for 7a, 25a, 6d & 24d
Thanks to Dada & Senf
A very enjoyable puzzle. Unfortunately the fun was over too quickly .Last one in 15a and still not convinced about it .So many good ones today it’s difficult to choose but 6, 10and 28 occupy my podium . Thanks to all
Definitely no walk in the park here & the 4th very laboured solve this week. I wonder if Mr Halpern has decided to bare some teeth or at least introduce some more bite. The measure of yarn was either unfamiliar or long forgotten so that required post solve investigation but otherwise it was just a case of being slow to twig some of the wordplay. Ticks at 7,15&20a plus 1,5,6&14d.
Thanks to D&S
All done but agree with many – pretty tough by Dada this week! I answered 15A and 27A correctly but definitely needed Senf’s assist to confirm…not the best indicator of a good clue, is it? 😏
Anyway, thank you for the Sunday challenge and, as ever, to Senf for another excellent blog ‘n hints…and to CS for helping out in the earlier hours with red pen 😉.
Cheers!
After a tough week of puzzles I had hoped for a friendly Dada, but this one was even harder than his one from last week. Disappointing. Hats off to Senf for being able to solve all of these.
I can understand the frustration of the moderators here. I can also see it that makes sense that the blog shouldn’t become a free for all in terms of giving answers away. But a bit of gentle hinting of the more inaccessible clues is fun for the hinter and the enquirer. It can be very difficult to restrain yourself from hinting when one wants to be helpful and are perhaps generally pleased with oneself for working out a challenging clue. Bearing in mind that the picture hints from moderators usually completely give away the answers, that all the answers are freely available on the internet anyway and (i suspect) that like me most people only apply for the mythical if they’ve had a completely unassisted solve, would the bloggers considering relaxing the rules around hinting I wonder? In my view it would be a positive thing if they did. I do of course understand the desire to be loyal to Big Dave but I wonder if answers were so readily available elsewhere when the rule was made? Thanks as always to the setters and blogger from whom I have learnt such a lot over the last couple of years.
Big Dave’s blog is the only crossword blog that provides a blog post on the day of publication of a prize puzzle. His view was that if care wasn’t taken about what was included in a comment, the DT might ask that we wait until after the closing date before posting anything at all about a prize puzzle
I completely understand the dilemma but with the internet providing answers at 3.00 am on the day of publication (believe me with my insomnia, I’ve looked) I wonder if the world has moved on a bit since Big Dave started the fantastic blog? It’s all a bit of fun and if anyone is sad enough to apply for the prize having had help with the answers that’s just their loss surely.
So, why don’t us bloggers just tell everyone, for example, for 1a in DT 31052, my most recent Wednesday blog, write in BRIGHTON ROCK instead of providing a hint and a hidden answer.
Big Dave got it right and I am one who considers that we should maintain the integrity and tradition.
I was just trying to suggest a middle way that might make the interaction between non moderators more lively. I don’t think and never suggested that anyone should be just giving answers away. You, CS and others are the High Priests here and as a mere recent convert I obviously accept your view!
I loved that clue! All homophones appreciated.
The reality is, most commenters here are experienced solvers, who rarely rely on the (excellent) hints provided. I visit on Sunday morning for the “comments club”. Should really be on the golf course…
Any reference to a non-hinted clue has one treading on eggshells – in fear of the moderator’s arbitrary censorship, and ritual humiliation on the naughty step.
How about a review of the Rule Book by the four prize hinters? Perhaps a watershed time, say 4pm, when gentle discussion of unhinted clues could occur, the blue pen unplugged, and the naughty step closed.
Having provided most of the hints for the Veteran series, I know how much commitment and hard work is involved. We all are in awe of the prize puzzle hint-givers expertise, knowledge and wisdom. We want this blog to thrive.
I think Big Dave RIP, would have recognised the advance of AI and adapted his Rule Book accordingly. Even the most cryptic clues can be solved by ChatGPT, or Crossword Genius. I think it would enhance the blog’s appeal for the commenters to discuss every clue (with certain constraints ie. Don’t reveal the clue), seeing as they have decided to navigate to this blog in the first place.
Of course I strongly believe in rules, and I will certainly not refer to any unhinted clues until such time as it is may be allowed.
Keep up the great work!
15a (redacted – what you said is perfectly true but can’t be said when it’s a prize puzzle)
Anyone else put (redacted )for 18 down? I had the W and the K. Great puzzle. Managed to finish, last one in 2 down.
I did for a while !
Found this pretty difficult. Thanks to Senf for the hint that told me I had 2d wrong and the hint for 6d without which I’d have had a DNF! Well 2d was wrong so I suppose it was a DNF for me.
COTD was the superb 5d sun god. Got the answer immediately but really enjoyed the parsing once the penny dropped.
Thanks again to Senf and to dada
Oh dear. I do feel for you lively hunters ( sorry, lovely hinters) who so generously and regularly give up your time to give we lesser mortals a hint. It is pretty amazing to get all the generous hints – and a reveal – on weekdays and a bonus indeed to get a dozen hints on prize days. This is a fabulous site and I hate it when the boat is rocked. Rules is Rules I say, even though the naughty step might have cake. Great guzzle, I’m very fond of the 16d word it just sounds good. Many thanks to Setter and Senf, purveyors of entertainment and enlightenment. 28a is today’s favourite.
Hi Daisy,
Just finished reading ‘A Long Petal of the Sea’ What an epic saga it is and it did indeed require a lot of concentration – along with the occasional checking back to verify names and locations. I’m ashamed to say that it dealt with a period of history that I knew almost nothing about, certainly one that wasn’t covered in our school syllabus – I can only hope some of the details are now lodged in my brain. Will you please thank whoever recommended it to your group, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey of Victor’s family through all their trials and tribulations.
Great shout DG, always someone who doesn’t read the rules. Yes, rules are rules!
For me this was a rather prosaic struggle with some unDadalike iffy clues e.g. 10a, 27a, 8d and 21d. Took a while to ingerpret lead in 3d (clever misdirection). Thanks Dada nevertheless and Senf for your useful hinting.
For me this was tricky and I needed help from Senf to get restarted for the the last few, but it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints.
I found this quite challenging but some very clever clues. I particularly liked 20a and 5d.
Difficult but fair with the saltwater clue as my favourite. Thank you Dada and Senf
Good gardening weather and installing a new coffee machine, not to mention Beam in the Sunday Toughie, delayed completion of this until today. Like Senf I don’t think I have the measure of Dada quite yet. 2 and 6d pleased the most. Thanks to Senf and Dada
Still working my way through this as finding the second half fairly tough, hence dipping into the blog now for some hints.
On reading the first hint, I realise that the clue would have been “fairer”, had it read…
SOME tennis AFTER July…
Am I being unreasonable?
My (quite possibly unjustified) sniping apart, a very clever and enjoyable puzzle. Many thanks to Setter and Bloggers.
Your comment went into moderation as you ‘forget’ the first S in your alias which I have taken the liberty of inserting.
‘Tennis’ on its own is probably a little vague, I used ‘series of games’ in the hint, but I consider that ‘in July’ is reasonably acceptable – after all, it is a Dada puzzle!
Thank you very much for the (speedy) explanation. And for the name correction.
I was unable to log in today for some reason, and so had to fill in details manually – which I did on my iPhone.
The combination of the print size – too small, and my fingers – too big, caused me to miss out the “s” in my name.
As an aside, on realising this, I wrote to the “Contact” page, to explain, and also comment on the log in issue.
However, despite carefully checking the details, and ticking the required boxes, the page would not allow me to submit it – apparently because I was not logged in!
Any hints – or the address of the Kafka Society – would be gratefully received.
3*/3* …
liked 5D “Discreetly, sun god arrived ? (2,6)”