Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31250
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the Wednesday back-pager blog. Huge thanks to Gazza for standing in for me last week whilst I was away. Maybe I’m still in holiday mode, or perhaps it was due to lack of sleep after last night’s tropical heat here in Hampshire, but I found today’s puzzle to be the hardest of the week so far. Once again we have an excellent crossword with plenty to enjoy and admire. Amongst my favourites are 11a, 12a, 26a and 14d, but my pick of the clues today is the clumsy cleric in 13a. I also liked the groan-worthy Quickie pun. Many thanks to our setter.
In the hints below the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and indicator words (e.g. anagram indicators) are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the Click Here buttons.
Across Clues
1a Pound family rejected Bohemian Fifties poet (7)
BEATNIK: A word meaning to pound or thump is followed by a word for family or relatives spelt backwards (rejected).
5a Cover western hip-hopper (7)
WRAPPER: The abbreviation for ‘Western’ and a word for a performer of hip-hop music.
9a Cerebral Frenchman taking part in Mercedes car test (9)
DESCARTES: A lurker, forming part of the last three words of the clue.
10a Ms Blanchett touring second class (5)
CASTE: The first name of a famous Australian actress is placed around (touring) the abbreviation for ‘second’.
11a What UK constituencies have to call into question? (7)
IMPEACH: Split (1,2,4) this could describe the number of elected representatives per UK parliamentary constituency.
12a Armed HMS Destiny loaded with equipment (7)
FRIGATE: A synonym of ‘destiny’ is placed around (loaded with) a word for a set of equipment.
13a Spilled Pepsi-Cola belonging to the bishop (9)
EPISCOPAL: An anagram (spilled) of PEPSI COLA.
16a Heavens! One or the other, just take one away! (5)
ETHER: A word meaning ‘one or the other’, from which the Roman numeral for ‘one’ has been removed.
17a Mabel undressed in the morning to the side of a ship (5)
ABEAM: The word ‘Mabel’ without its first and last letters (undressed) precedes the abbreviation for ‘Ante Meridiem’ (in the morning).
18a Cocky hobo, sanctimonious, nursing temperature (9)
BUMPTIOUS: Start with a three-letter word for a tramp and follow this with a word meaning sanctimonious or professing to be religious, into which the abbreviation for ‘temperature’ has been inserted.
21a Introduction to steamy erotica featuring artist in fur-trimmed pouch (7)
SPORRAN: The first letter (introduction to) of ‘steamy’, and a synonym of ‘erotica’ into which the usual abbreviation for ‘artist’ has been inserted.
22a Everybody say “run out!” quickly! (7)
ALLEGRO: A synonym of ‘everybody’, a two-letter abbreviation meaning ‘for example’ (say), and the cricketing abbreviation for ‘Run Out’.
25a Bare necessities as kids eat dad’s starters (5)
NAKED: The initial letters (starters) of the middle five words of the clue.
26a New York admits program over-hasty, a wee problem (5,4)
NAPPY RASH: The abbreviation for ‘New York’ contains (admits) an abbreviation for program/application and is followed by a synonym of ‘over-hasty’.
27a Yes, Cons affected a certain modesty … (7)
COYNESS: An anagram (affected) of YES CONS.
28a … insulated against shocks, somewhat near the Democrats (7)
EARTHED: A lurker, forming part of (somewhat) the last three words of the clue.
Down Clues
1d Bad debt I’m last to settle, now I’m ready for the sack (7)
BEDTIME: An anagram (bad) of DEBT, plus “I’m” from the clue, and the final letter (last to) of ‘settle’.
2d Adult assumed attitude upset fabulous writer (5)
AESOP: The abbreviation for ‘adult’ precedes a synonym of ‘assumed attitude’ that has been reversed (upset, in a down clue), giving us a Greek fabulist.
3d S African resident having place erected in North America (5)
NYALA: A verb meaning ‘place’ or set’ is reversed (erected, in a down clue) an inserted into the abbreviation for North America.
4d Sauce boat carried by uniform page (7)
KETCHUP: A two-masted sailing vessel precedes (carried by, in a down clue) the letter represented by ‘uniform’ in the NATO phonetic alphabet and the abbreviation for ‘page’.
5d Pensive husband leaves card game almost drunk (7)
WISTFUL: Remove the abbreviation for ‘husband’ from the name of a trick-taking card game and follow this with an informal synonym for ‘drunk’ without its last letter (almost). (I hadn’t come across this word as a synonym for ‘drunk’ before, but it’s in Chambers).
6d Chief detective probing technology design expert (9)
ARCHITECT: Start with an adjective meaning ‘chief’ or ‘main’, and follow this with the abbreviation for Information Technology, into which an informal synonym for a detective has been inserted (probing).
7d Excited his Topic contains a nut (9)
PISTACHIO: An anagram (excited) of HIS TOPIC contains ‘a’ from the clue.
8d Refreshed order to include mobile network browser (3,4)
ROE DEER: An anagram (refreshed) of ORDER surrounds (to include) the two-letter name of the mobile network operator formerly known as Everything Everywhere.
14d Play where Puck comes in for a bit of stick? (3,6)
ICE HOCKEY: A cryptic definition of a contact team sport popular in North America, where only the second word is used.
15d Caught game bird flying around university city (9)
CAMBRIDGE: The cricketing abbreviation for ‘Caught’, and an anagram (flying) of GAME BIRD.
17d As Wenger lacking energy in charge? (7)
ARSENIC: The first name of a former football manager loses an ‘e’ (lacking energy) and is followed by the abbreviation of ‘in charge’. (‘As’ here is the symbol of a chemical element.)
18d Airline’s transporting granny, slightly potty (7)
BANANAS: The abbreviation for the UK’s national carrier and the possessive ‘s’ from the clue contain an informal word for a grandmother.
19d Reportedly encounter Greek character that’s rather crusty (4,3)
MEAT PIE: Homophones (reportedly) of ‘encounter’ and a letter of the Greek alphabet that is also a mathematical constant.
20d Son cleared out lean-to outbuilding the worse for wear (7)
SLOSHED: The abbreviation for ‘Son’ is followed by the first and last letters (cleared out) of ‘lean-to’, and a word for an outbuilding.
23d Bed topless actor (5)
LAYER: A word for an actor loses its first letter (topless, in a down clue), giving a term that can mean a bed or stratum of rock.
24d Plot good knock, opening for Hampshire (5)
GRAPH: The abbreviation for ‘good’, a word meaning to knock or strike, and the initial letter (opening for) of ‘Hampshire’. The answer can be a verb meaning to draw or plot on a chart. Having followed Hampshire’s woeful batting performances so far in this season’s County Championship, I detect a certain degree of irony in this clue.
Which clues did you like best? Let us know in the comments below.
The Quick Crossword pun: CLAW + DEAR + WIN + COALMAN = CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN
What a cracker of a puzzle! I have ticks all over the paper. There were a few that needed thought to add just the right amount of spice but, on the whole, a steady solve. I spent quite a while trying to fit “Ezra” into 1a until I got my brain into gear. The Cover at 5a was so obvious I missed it by overthinking the clue. I thought Puck coming in for some stick at 14d was a great clue and the cheeky wee problem at 26a raised a smile. My COTD is what UK constituencies have at 11a – a very clever clue.
Thank you, setter for the fun. Thank you, Ashlee Ding for the hints.
Slightly cooler in The Marches this morning with the temperature set to rise as the day wears on. Still, I might get the grass cut.
With you on 11a, brilliant!
Fairly straightforward for a Wednesday with the only questionmark being the parsing of 11a; only one word fitted and then the penny dropped, very clever. The steamy pouch at 21a brought a smile and 6d was a nice misdirection, but for COTD I’ll go 26a.
My thanks to the setter and Deansleigh
1*/3.5*
Can’t see why Roe Deer is a browser, maybe someone can enlighten me?
Because they feed by browsing on rough shoots of plants
Ta Sue, but still reckon its a bit of a stretch as loads of animals do that.
‘Browse’ can mean to feed on shoots and twigs.
A properly splendid crossword – it might not have taken long to solve but the whole thing was a joy.
Thanks very much to the setter – I have a feeling as to who you are – not least for arranging for the clue on the second page to be easily solved rather than having to write it on page 1 and have a think.
Thanks also to Deansleigh for the blog
What a great puzzle, so enjoyable. 18a is such a lovely word.
Top picks for me were 11a, 22a, 26a, 8d, 3d and 6d. Loved the Quickie Pun too.
Thanks to Deansleigh and the setter.
What a Stonker!,
11 across was worth the £3.50 on its own.
A lovely comfy ride through crosswordland for all us “medium ability” solvers.
Thanks to all involved, you have made my day.
What a stonker. Light, witty with the occasional chewy morsel to add a bit of piquancy to the mix. An absolute joy. So many great clues from which to pick a podium, so at random, 5d, 1a and 19d. Thanks to compiler and Deansleigh.
I e hoyed this gu,zle, which ws pleasantly challenging in places. I liked the cocksure lego synonym at 18a, the geographical anagram at 15d and the wee problem at 26a but the cleverly worded 11a is my COTD. Thanks to the compiler and to Deansleigh for the hints.
An hour of early morning gardening made possible by the lower temperature and a slight breeze didn’t do a lot for the grey cells and I got off to a sluggish start. Once I switched from ‘down’ to ‘across’ things started to move along quite nicely and I agree with what my old crossword mentor would have said…”that was a proper puzzler”. Pick of the week to date.
3d and 8d both gave me an Oh! Deer moment or two.
I thought 12a and 18a were clever but 11a was my brilliant COTD
Thanks to the setter for an excellent offering and Deansleigh for the hints.
I agree with Steve, a total cracker. Every clue reveled itself but generally through it’s cryptic element rather than the definition. I have numerous clues that I thought were worthy of praise but 26A is my COTD. Due to visa issues and laundry related disasters my routine has been disturbed but hopefully the distractions are now gone. Thanks to the setter for a brilliant puzzle and Deansleigh for the clues.
Thai corner.
A quick cultural contrast rather than a linguistic one. I use a local community exercise park on a daily basis and I regularly fix the machines, tidy up the undergrowth and do small tasks to improve the environment. This is recognised on a nearly daily basis by neighbours turning up with gifts of fruit, (pineapples, papaya, mango, durian etc.) , in recognition of my efforts. Yesterday I was completing the crossword in my air conditioned study when a neighbour appeared at the door with three carrier bags and a household bucket with a plastic bag over it. All contained gifts, the first carrier bags contained limes, bread rolls and a curry with noodles so thanking the donor was straightforward as I recognised the items knew the Thai word for them and was aware how to deal with them. I then took the carrier bag off the bucket to find about 4 inches of water in the bottom and a very live and large catfish. Things did not go well from that point on. We have a fish pond so I suggested I put the fish in it, to be met with a look of horror from the donor who said no you eat it. I then realised I did not know the correct etiquette, did I kill the fish on the spot and hand the bucket back or what? I don’t think I can adequately describe my failure to respond appropriately from that point so I will leave it to your imagination.
What a great story! As Graham Norton would say….orcs!
And what a star you are for doing your big in the exercise park. You’re turning into a local celeb!
A cracking midweek puzzle – many thanks to our setter and Deansleigh.
I wasn’t aware of the synonym for drunk in 5d but it couldn’t be anything else.
It’s difficult to pick a podium from such excellent contenders but I’ll go with 11a, 12a and 26a (with an extra tick for the Quickie pun).
A super puzzle that required a fair bit of thought, particularly in terms of a few of the definitions/synonyms, but was a pleasure to solve. Like others, I thought 11a was superb once the penny had dropped and 12a wasn’t far behind. Thanks very much to the setter and to Deansleigh.
Agree with all the positive comments above. Lovely puzzle. Some answers leapt from the page, others needing teasing out. Podium places to 12a, 17d (embarrassed at how long it took given that I’m a retired science teacher!) and 11a – couldn’t see the parsing for ages.
Thanks to setter and hinter.
Loved the quickie pun too
2*/4.5*. This was a lovely midweek back-pager resulting in lots of ticks on my page.
I didn’t know the slang for drunk needed in 5d but it couldn’t have been anything else and the BRB confirmed it.
My only qualm is that the definition for 1d doesn’t work I can’t see how you can replace the answer with “now I’m ready for the sack”.
My podium selection is 11a, 12a & 26a.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh.
What a hugely enjoyable puzzle from The Hud (HMS Destiny is a give-away).
Funnily enough, my LOI was the truly superb 11a. What larks. 9a was an excellent lurker and the Lego in 6d was nicely done.
Keeping 11a company on the podium are 14d (very clever) and 19d (such a great word)
MTTTA and Nigel Hades.
2*/5*
18d not 19d
… 22a the reason British car manufacturing died🤣
I found that a bit of a challenge but a great puzzle nevertheless.
15d was a bung in … I had caught and the NSEW card game … doh!
Cotd was 26a and my last in … primarily as I was sure the first word was nippy!
Re comment about on “browser” shouldn’t that be a “usual suspect” (or is it already?) as I’m sure it has been used previously and not necessarily for today’s deer … akin to “flower” .. and many others?
Thanks to setter and DL
One of the best midweek puzzles ever – 1.5*/5*
Candidates for favourite – 12a, 21a, 22a, 26a, 2d, 14d, and 17d – and the winner is 22a.
Thanks to Hudson(?), or whomsoever if it is not he, and Deansleigh.
1.5* / 4* A terrific puzzle and an excellent quickie pun.
Loads of top clues, my favourites include 9a cerebral Frenchman, 11a called to question (couldn’t parse for ages) and Puck’s game at 14d
Many thanks to compiler and Deansleigh
Well, as we get to mid-week the difficulty and trickiness starts to increase in the puzzles it seems. I see that Deansleigh says the same thing in his comment too. Again for me, some parsing I don’t get and when the answer is what it has to be.
3*/3.5* today for me
Favourites that made sense 9a, 16a, 27a, 5d, 14d & 15d — with 14d & 15d the top winners
Thanks to setter and Deansleigh