Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31140
Hints and tips by Falcon
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Greetings from Ottawa, where we are currently experiencing fairly typical winter weather (daytime highs of -5C) but a cold snap is forecast for next weekend when the high temperature is slated to be -20C (BRRR!) – although Senf will probably tell me that’s warm.
Again this week we have a fairly gentle introductory puzzle from X-Type (presumably).
In the hints below, underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions, FODDER is capitalized, and indicators are italicized. The answers will be revealed by clicking on the ANSWER buttons.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought of the puzzle.
Across
1a Sweet, affectionate social worker (7)
FONDANT — join together another word for affectionate and one of the usual social workers from the insect world
5a Location of mausoleum in shadowy outline (7)
DIAGRAM — insert the location of a famous Indian mauseleum in shadowy or faint
9a Initially auditor rants about workplace records (7)
ARCHIVE — line up the initial letters of AUDITOR and RANTS, the single letter for the Latin word used to denote chronologically about, and the wordplace that is home to a different group of social workers than those seen in 1a
10a Sell off university involved in lawsuit (7)
AUCTION — the abbreviation for university contained in (involved in) another word for lawsuit
11a Strangely, I chose and use cold storage areas (3,6)
ICE HOUSES — an anagram (strangely) of I CHOSE USE; here’s another kind
12a Dish from Carrera, Italy (5)
RAITA — hidden in (from) the final two words in the clue
13a Old king lacking energy to eat a lot (5)
GORGE — the name of an old British king (one of six) with the physics symbol for energy removed (lacking)
15a Design elegant car, excluding a certain shape (9)
RECTANGLE — an anagram (design) of ELEGANT CAR from which A has been deleted (excluding)
17a Women’s hospital is, according to journalist, secretly plotted (9)
WHISPERED — concatenate the clothing label symbol for women’s, the street sign letter representing hospital, IS from the clue, a preposition signifying ‘according to’, and the usual shortened title of a senior journalist
19a French city by river is more pleasant (5)
NICER — a city on the French Riviera popular with setters and the mapmaker’s symbol for river
22a In part, space-age robot is enthusiastic (5)
EAGER — a lurker (in part) found in the two words following the indicator
23a Hinder fellow’s cleaner (9)
DETERGENT — string together synonyms for hinder and fellow
25a Portraying one married and getting on (7)
IMAGING — the Roman numeral for one, the genealogical abbreviation for married, and getting on or advancing in years
26a Unfriendly MC at first ignores late entrants (7)
HOSTILE — MC or compere and the initial letters (at first) of the final three words in the clue
27a Blokes? They spout on the radio! (7)
GEEZERS — sounds like (on the radio) some natural thermal phenomena that spout
28a Legal licence covers current case (7)
PATIENT — wrap a licence granting exclusive rights to make and sell an article around the physics symbol for electric current
Down
1d Red and pink bird loses tail (7)
FLAMING — remove the final letter (loses tail) from a pink bird
2d Foreign letter transparent about fusion and fission (7)
NUCLEAR — the thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet and another word for transparent
3d Miami governor embraces friend from Spain (5)
AMIGO — a lurker (embraces) concealed in the first two words of the clue
4d Manager of funds more confident after rate fixed (9)
TREASURER — a word denoting more confident following (after) an anagram (fixed) of RATE
5d Drags sliding boxes in the auditorium (5)
DRAWS — in Crosswordland and certain parts of England, the answer sounds like (in the auditorium) sliding boxes that are often stacked
6d Verify mixture of arsenic encasing tantalum (9)
ASCERTAIN — an anagram of (mixture of) ARSENIC encircling (encasing) the chemical symbol for tantalum
7d Showering after removing cap in practice (7)
RAINING — a synonym for practice with its initial letter deleted (after removing cap)
8d Staff go out for instruction (7)
MANDATE — another word for staff or engage personnel and go out socially
14d Thorough awareness of disorderly peers’ exit (9)
EXPERTISE — an anagram (disorderly) of the final two words of the clue
16d Pastiched silly training programme (9)
CADETSHIP — an anagram (silly) of PASTICHED; has the setter directed this clue at those who complain about silly anagram indicators
17d Little noise accompanies good gardener’s task (7)
WEEDING — link an especially Scottish term for little, a loud, continuous and unpleasant noise and the single letter for good
18d Trendy fireplace for thankless type (7)
INGRATE — a usual term for trendy or fashionable and a fireplace or one of the principal components thereof
20d Strip screw with tool in narrow space (7)
CREVICE — remove the initial and final letters from (strip) SCREW and pair it with a workbench tool
21d Go back on deal (7)
RETREAT — on or concerning and deal with or care for
23d Artist is wise in retrospect after date (5)
DEGAS — a reversal (in retrospect) of wise and prudent following (after) the single letter for date
24d Amid failures, I take opportunity to do exam again (5)
RESIT — a lurker (amid) hiding in the three words following the indicator
There was no standout favourite for me today. Did something especially appeal to you?
Quickie pun:: WALLY + SAND + GROMMET = WALLACE AND GROMIT
On This Day …
… in 2007, Canadian singer, songwriter, musician and former Mamas and the Papas singer Denny Doherty died at age 66 at his home near Toronto, Canada of kidney failure after surgery for a stomach aneurysm. A tenor, Halifax, Nova Scotia born Doherty was a founding member – together with Cass Elliot and John and Michelle Phillips – of the 1960s musical group the Mamas & the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. The group scored the 1966 US No.1 & UK No.2 single ‘Monday Monday.’
While maybe not the most newsworthy thing to happen on this date, it does give me the opportunity to add a bit of Canadian flavour to this piece. After all, I can’t feature The Beatles every week! And the song is very appropriate for the day.
Congratulations to Heron on her debut. I liked the mix of clues — some straightforward (good for morale!) and some that required more thinking (making it an enjoyable challenge), making it overall well-pitched.
I guessed the existence of the 12a dish, the chemical symbol in 6d, and the 25a verb form. Thank you to Falcon for confirming those, and explaining the 5a parsing.
And thank you to Heron for the entertainment. Highlights included hindering the cleaner in 23a, the little noise in 17d, and the wise artist in 23d. My top 2 were the 28a current case for cleverness and the 8d staff going out for amusement. Looking forward to more puzzles like this one.
Bang on the Monday money – welcome to the party. 5a’s fun and 20d tickled/pained me as I’ve idiotically just done that very thing. Curses! Best thanks to Heron and Falcon.
Enjoyable but I think 25 across is given the wrong answer in the hints as I have it as a verb that works with 23 down. Favourite was 28 across for misdirection.
Many thanks all round
I think the last letter in the hidden solution for 25a is a typo
A very enjoyable challenge. My COTD was 17D which raised a smile. I have a problem with the homophone in 5D because that’s certainly not how we say the two objects in Sheffield, if I have parsed the clue correctly.
Thanks to the setter and for the hints.
That was an enjoyable and straightforward guzzle from this Monday’s compiler. I liked the aanagram at 16d, my COTD, the two lurkers at 12a and 22a and the clever little llego clue at 23d. Tha ks ro the compiler (Heron?) and to Falcon for the hints.
For me a fairly fast finish but enjoyed all the same.
Minor quibble on 9a being singular but there we go.
I obviously live in the wrong part of England to pronounce 5d as suggested!
My thanks to the setter and Falcon
My apologies thanks to Falcon
I think 9a is OK, jimbob. An archive is a collection of records.
2*/3.5*. This was light and fun, which is as it should be on a Monday. Smylers appears to have inside knowledge that this is a debut offering from a setter called Heron (claimed on X or Bluesky, perhaps).
I have two analogous questions. Can anyone provide sentences showing that “go out” can be synonymous with “date” in 8d and that “deal” can mean “treat” in 21d? The only ones I can come up with involve adding a proposition, e.g. “go out with” and “deal with”.
My top picks were 5a, 4d & 5d.
Many thanks to the setter and to Falcon.
Yeah, Heron posted on Bluesky this morning. (That was public, so it doesn’t really feel like inside information to me!)
“How long have Alice and Bob been going out?” / “How long have Alice and Bob been dating?”
I haven’t found anything for deal/treat, though.
Hi RD
Do ‘Love Island’ couples go out/**** once the series is finished or do they go their separate ways?
I can’t think of one for ‘deal’.
Thanks to Smylers and TDS. I’m happy with the dating suggestions.
But what is this Love Island?
A reality TV dating show.
My emoji was meant to show that I was joking, but that’s fallen flat
I tend to ignore emojis but will look out for them in future.
We refuse to treat with any country that uses bioweapons./We refuse to deal with any country that uses bioweapons.
“Treat with” is (I think) a phrasal verb when used like this.
Thanks, Anorak. It’s probably just me, but your first sentence using “treat with” doesn’t seem right to me.
It’s uncommon, but definitely a thing.
Another example here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/treat “…government’s plan to treat with Russia on the Arctic and other areas of mutual interest …”
Thanks for that, Karona.
Heron has got off to a solid start.
Perfect way to start the cruciverbal week. Just enough food for thought without being too taxing. SW was most resilient quadrant. 14d thorough awareness is a bit far-fetched and likewise deal in 21d. IMHO Thanks setter and Falcon.
Apologies my amendment doesn’t seem to have gone through. The IMHO should precede 14d.
Couldn’t get on the website earlier. Kept getting an error message that BD was asleep. 😊
A fairly straightforward guzzle today but with a few curveballs thrown into the mix. I don’t understand 5d. I assume “auditorium” indicates a homophone but I can’t see it. It took me ages to work out the mausoleum at 5a but it dawned eventually. It was good to welcome an old favourite at 23a and I have a feeling it appeared not so long ago. My COTD is the good gardener at 17d.
Thank you, setter for a great start to the week. Thank you, Falcon for the hints.
Welcome aboard, Heron (I’ll resist the urge to play with her name…..for now)
This was a nice solve that was looking like a 2 star for difficulty but the 5a/5d comby pushed it into 3 territory.
I’m sure we’ll get a few comments about the accuracy of 5d’s homophone even though it works for me (I always give setters a bit of latitude due to different accents).
2d gets mispronounced so often, i.e the ‘le’ in the middle gets changed to ‘ul’. How funny that ‘cold storage’ gets another mention so soon after Saturday’s.
23a is threatening to replace one of orchestra, Serengeti and nevertheless on the ‘Frequency’ podium.
It’s safe to say that Heron loves a lurker.
My podium is 9a, 21d.
MT to the birds.
3*/3*
…and 4d
An enjoyable Monday challenge with some oldies but goodies including the Pun – **/****
Candidates for favourite – 10a, 28a, and 8d – and the winner is 8d.
Thanks to Heron(?), who I see is a ‘Star Setter’ on MyCrossword, and to Falcon.
PS1 – I hope that Heron claims the puzzle here for those of us Luddites who spurn certain social media apps.
PS2 – Falcon, I will be ‘on location’ next weekend in a balmy plus 8 degrees – tee shirts and shorts weather!
I thought this was going to be a walk in the park until I ended up in the NE and similarly had issues with 5a,5d and 8d. The tomb eventually came to me and then I twigged the instruction, but like tds, feel “go out” is insufficient. 5d was LOI requiring Falcon’s input to confirm, having discounted the answer earlier.
1.5*/3*
Welcome Heron(?) and thank you Falcon.
Can anyone shed light on why WordPress remembers my email address but not my username?
A nice puzzle to start the week. Welcome to Heron.
Loved the Quickie Pun, living in the Bristol area I’ve become quite fond of them.
Top picks for me were 9a, 17a and 5d.
Thanks to Falcon and Heron.
Very enjoyable. A tad chewier perhaps than some Mondays but that’s no big problem. 20d gets my vote for cotd. Thanks to Heron on her debut and to Falcon. Surely a bonus for all the birders on the blog.
As today’s puzzle is by a new setter I would like to welcome Heron and say thank you for a great puzzle.
Harder than usual for a Monday with 5a and 5d holding out for ages and hint needed for 5d.
3*/4*
Thanks to Falcon and Heron
My only quibble is 23a. The ‘s is not required. Hinder fellow cleaner works better.
Hi SL8
You’ve used fellow as an adjective whereas Heron has it as a noun. Both surfaces work well.
I read this as the apostrophe “s” is indicating an abbreviated “is” – i.e. Hinder fellow – is cleaner. In other words “is” pointing to the definition…
I would also like to extend a warm welcome to Heron – and many thanks to both her and Falcon for an entertaining puzzle and a helpful unravelling respectfully.
Welcome to Heron and thanks for an enjoyable Monday puzzle. Thanks also to Falcon for the review.
For my podium I plumped for 9a, 28a and 21d.
I would like to extend a warm welcome to Heron, a new (at least to the DT) setter whom Smylers informs us has provided this delightful puzzle that was a pleasure both to solve and to blog. Let’s hope that it is but the first of many to come.
And my apologies for the typo in the hidden answer to 25a.
That was a gentle start to the week as we expect on a Monday. I understand from the comments that we have a new setter ? Welcome to the wonderful world of BD. 1a got us off to a good start but we gat stuck on 21d having (as bridge players) entered ‘renegue’. Many thanks to Her on duty and to Falcon. I’m still getting phone calls from friends across the country about my letter published in yesterday’s paper. I write at least once a month – I reckon every now and then the editor says keep that old girl quiet 🤭
I wonder if Julia Malone, who has a letter about Latin and the cryptic crossword in today’s DT, is a member of this blog.
I’ve got news for you, SC…
Love the gloves story, Duchess Daisy!
I wish I had read the letters page before writing the blog yesterday. I had a similar anecdote to go with
Grand bottoms causing blushes (5)
“Only pigs and horses sweat,
Men perspire and women “glow”
A female acquaintance once said “Well I glow like a pig 🐖 then”
I see that we have a new setter in our midst, a very warm welcome to her. This was a nice Monday puzzle for me with my ticks going to 1&10a plus the amusing good gardener’s task at 17d.
Thanks to Heron and to Falcon for the review.
* / ****
Welcome Heron and thank you for a good workout. The 23d artist was in a very dim and distant part of my brain and like many others, 5d was a real poser. It wasn’t until I went for a cigarette when: “as if by magic, the answer appeared” – far too young for Mr Ben obviously ☺.
Favourites were the 5a outline and the 17a Women’s hospital secret plotting.
Thanks again to Heron and to Falcon.
I absolutely loved Mr Ben, AP.
I always booed the shopkeeper when he stopped Mr B slaying a dragon, bringing him back to reality.
For me this seems like a puzzle I would expect for a Monday. A couple of head scratchers, but overall the grid filled pretty well top to bottom.
1.5*/3.5*
Favourites include 10a, 13a, 15a, 28a, 7d & 17d — with winner 17d
Thanks to Heron & Falcon
Loved 21d … very smooth 🥰🥰
Started early for me and completed on and off without assistance but afterwards checked the hints to fully understand the parsing of 2d, 9a and 21d (on the latter, not convinced on the “deal” and I solved it on a “couldn’t be anything else basis”). Lots to like so COTD difficult but 3d just about wins for the construction and surface. Thanks to Heron (and welcome) and to Falcon.
Forgot: **/****
An enjoyable puzzle and an excellent start to the week. Lovely to hear that we have a new setter and welcome Heron to the BD site. I think we are an ‘eclectic mix’ especially when it comes to Terence! Just remember he doesn’t like orange juice with bits in! I liked 1a and 1d. Slow to get first part of 5a and LOI 5d. Many thanks to the two birds Heron and Falcon.
9,17 and 26a appealed to me. Thanks to Falcon for his explanation of many clues and especially so TDS will not have me down as an incorrigible grumpus a warm welcome to the long legged setter.
We love you, Corks!
A warm welcome to Heron. Lots to like in her debut offering which was pretty much spot on for the Monday slot. A close call between 5&9a for my pick of the clues.
Many thanks & to Falcon for the review.
9,17 and 26a appealed to me. Thanks to Falcon for his explanation of many clues and especially so TDS will not have me down as an incorrigible grumpus a warm welcome to the long legged bird.
Slightly trickier than recent Monday offerings, particularly the NE quadrant where I had to resort to the hints for 5a and 5d. Obvious when things are spelt out for you. No particular favourites today but if forced to choose I would go for 5a.
Thank you to the setter and to Falcon for the hints.
Superb debut by Heron. 5A wins it for me. VMT also to Falcon
1.5* / 3.5* An excellent start to the week, pitched just at the right level. Lots to like but favourites include 5d drags (homophone works for me), 21d quite happy with deal / treat and the brilliant last one in 5a outline.
Thanks to Falcon and welcome to Heron
Nice crossword for the start of the week 😃 **/**** Favourites 1a, 10a & 23a Thanks to the Falcon and Heron, very bird like 👍
A late comment as I could not access the site earlier, error 404 page not found. I very much enjoyed the puzzle which seemed just right for a Monday but cannot recall any specifics!
Many thanks to Heron and congratulations on your debut and thanks to Falcon for the hints.
I’m pleased you had the error message as well, MissTFide although mine read “It looks as if Big Dave is asleep.” Nobody else has mentioned it so I began to wonder if it were my computer.
Er, not “pleased” really 😀
I found this pretty difficult for Monday, well just pretty difficult really, and had the same gripes as others. I felt a couple of the synonyms were a little stretched but maybe it will just take time to get on the new setters wavelength. No real favourite but if pushed I’d go with 27a. Thanks to Heron, apparently, and Falcon.
This was all fairly straightforward until my last two in 5A and D. I usually find a dog walk does gives me a lightbulb moment but alas not today. I just finished with a bit of help. Thanks so much Heron and Falcon.
Greetings from Monaco! Very late on parade today; early morning drive from Zurich. Found some time to give this a lash. Great fun from start to finish. And just the way I like my crosswords… not too demanding! Enjoyed this immensely. Especially after a very gentle Observer Everyman yesterday. Many thanks for the review, and many thanks to the setter for a great puzzle
Thank you for the hints needed to check 9A and 17D, thought they were correct and everything else went in smoothly but for 5 D and A, which defeated me.
So today is a setter’s debut for this particular crossword? Thank you Heron. It was a suitably smooth Monday ride, done in between work meetings and while making tea. I did get a little held up in the SE till I got the ‘pastiched’ anagram.
Pody picks are 9A for the Lego-ness and the nice surface, 17A for the building blocks again, and the humorous 27A – which might also be true of many 😸
And when I read 5D I did wonder if there might be some doubts about that one …!
Thanks to Heron and Falcon.
Late to the party just wanted to welcome Heron and praise the mausoleum clue which I thought was very neat.
2*/4* …
liked 9A “Initially auditor rants about workplace records (7)”