Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31257
Hints and Tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where thunderstorms are becoming more frequent!
For me, and I stress for me© (I have to say that for Terence), Dream Team Thursday seems to be becoming a distant memory but there is no doubt that this is the work of a very benevolent Master of Brevity with some lateral thinking required. The usual one word clues and answers in the Quickie, and an appearance from the Queen, Ray T’s swEetheart, and the plain sweetheart in the back pager with an average of 4.9 words per clue. Also, like Dada, Ray T still seems to be making occasional use of a personal thesaurus. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
Remember that Reading the Hints before commenting can be beneficial!
Candidates for favourite – 1a, 4a, 28a, 29a, 19d, and 21d.
In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the Click here! buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
1a This compiler’s nonsense, being naughty! (6)
IMPISH: A contraction of a first person pronoun and verb equivalent to this compiler’s and a synonym of nonsense as an interjection.
4a Home provided in retirement lodge (8)
FIRESIDE: The reversal (in retirement) of our favourite two letter synonym of provided followed by a verbal synonym of lodge.
9a Open container discharged (6)
CANDID: A metal container and a synonym of discharged (as in completed a task).
10a Willing to take motorway home (8)
DOMICILE: A synonym of willing containing the identifying letter and number of not the first motorway in England.
11a Choke or accelerator? (8)
THROTTLE: A double definition – the first is a somewhat gruesome verb.
13a Cold church houses habit support (6)
CRUTCH: The single letter for Cold and the two letter abbreviation for church (as a building) contains (houses) a synonym of habit (when considered to be a tedious routine?).
15a Entered marina churning sea (13)
MEDITERRANEAN : An anagram (churning) of ENTERED MARINA.
18a Awkward, formal once, but relaxed (13)
UNCOMFORTABLE: An anagram, but which end of the clue is the indicator and which is the definition? An anagram (relaxed) of FORMAL ONCE, BUT.
22a Speed and power giving winning serve (6)
PACING : The single letter for Power and a single word equivalent to giving winning serve.
24a Distracted, called during act (8)
DERANGED: A synonym of called (by phone) inserted into (during) a synonym of act.
26a Plot in coarse ground (8)
SCENARIO: An anagram (ground) of IN COARSE.
27a Bust, perhaps, is acceptable in shape (6)
STATUE: The single letter that can indicate that something is acceptable inserted into (in) a synonym of shape.
28a Sweetheart’s cross going over threshold (8)
DOORSTEP: Not Ray T’s swEetheart, that’s in 14d – the reversal (going over) of all of a synonym of sweetheart (as a term of endearment), the ‘S from the clue, and a synonym of cross.
29a Polishes accepting captain’s initial orders (6)
EDICTS: A synonym of polishes (a document?) containing (accepting) the first letter (initial) of Captain.
Down
1d Encourage awareness for the audience (6)
INCITE: A homophone (for the audience) of a synonym of awareness.
2d Widespread fear taking over crowd (9)
PANORAMIC: A synonym of fear containing (taking) all of the single letter for a crickety Over and a synonym of crowd.
Have you missed this view appearing in crosswords?
3d Wooden shoes lastly heeled (7)
STILTED: The final letter (lastly)of shoeS and a (nautical?) synonym of heeled.
5d Star is jobless, reportedly (4)
IDOL: A homophone (reportedly) of a synonym of jobless.
6d Seen in water, it reaches land (7)
ERITREA: A lurker (seen in) found in three words in the clue.
7d Inane dimwit is obviously thick, initially (5)
IDIOT: One of Ray T’s favourites – the first letters (initially) of five words in the clue.
8d The plane could be a jumbo (8)
ELEPHANT: An anagram (could be) of THE PLANE.
12d Sex raised in eccentric application (6)
LOTION: The two letter word associated with sex (appeal?) reversed (raised) and inserted into (in) a nounal synonym of eccentric.
14d Squirm beside sweetheart embracing Romeo (6)
WRITHE: A synonym of beside and Ray T’s swEetheart containing the letter represented by Romeo in the phonetic alphabet.
16d Greet with nice fizzy bubbly (9)
ENERGETIC: An anagram (fizzy) of GREET and (with) NICE.
17d Alleged drunk punched by seaman (8)
SUPPOSED: A past participle synonym of drunk containing (punched by) a two letter abbreviation for seaman (not the one that uses two consecutive letters).
19d Skivvies this person dispatched northwards (7)
MENIALS: the objective first person pronoun equivalent to this person and a the reversal (northwards – it’s a Down clue) of a synonym of dispatched (as in killed violently).
20d Shot, finishing in sack (7)
BLASTED: A synonym of finishing inserted into (in) what sack is a slang synonym of.
21d Totters maybe, seeing snakes (6)
ADDERS: A nounal synonym of totters when considering those who ‘tot up.’
23d Company welcomes revolutionary ideology (5)
CREDO: The two letter abbreviation for company contains (welcomes) a three letter descriptive synonym of revolutionary.
25d Forebear of Queen one’s elevated (4)
SIRE: The reversal (elevated) of all of the regnal letters of our dear late queen and the Roman numeral for one with the ‘S from the clue.
Quick Crossword Pun:
HELL + SIN + KEY = HELSINKI
I found this to be the hardest of the week so far. Slow to start but stalled in the W until I teased out the excellently misdirected long anagram at 18a, which resulted in a spurt of answers. Ray T’s hallmarks in profusion. 9a,10a and 19d are my picks.
Many thanks to Ray T and Senf
2*/3*
As ever a superb challenge from this setter and very enjoyable as well. I thought 4A was stretching the synonym to it’s limit but I guess that’s just me. I also was unaware of the abbreviation for seaman in 17D but it had to be what it was. Last one in was 22A as although I knew what was required of me I wanted to combine the elements in the wrong order. 3D also a bung in but I thought I had parsed it sufficiently to justify my answer but the hints have proved me to be misguided. My vote for COTD goes to 19D.
Thai corner. Why have six words when one is sufficient.
It wasn’t until we returned from a day out and I was asked in Thai to open the. ‘door’, so we could park on the drive, that I came to understand a fundamental difference between Thai nouns and western nouns. The Thai word for gate and door is the same. With this revelation I came to realise that the word for mug, cup, glass and beaker in everyday speech is the same as is the word for shoe, sandal, trainer and boot. The Thai nouns are generally based upon function so gates and doors are entrances. Anything designed to contain a liquid is a container. Something that goes on your foot is a foot covering. If you need to specify more precisely the nature of the object you can but in every day speech it’s not necessary. So pass me the cup, mug, glass, beaker becomes pass me the container. Simple.
This abbreviation in 17d does appear here every so often, so next time you see seaman mentioned you’ll have three options to choose from – as if life wasn’t complicated enough! 😅
Don’t forget “salt” (assuming I have correctly identified your other three) 😉
And Tar and Jack and RM!
Yet again my apologies for failing to thank Senf for the hints, which I thought I didn’t need but proved to be wrong when I checked my parsing and to the ever superb setter. My excuse is that as I finished my comments a thunderstorm began which required a dash onto the patio to raise any vulnerable objects above the normal flood high water mark.
This was a slow start for me but then it came together. I wasn’t too sure that I had 4a correct but it couldn’t be much else and Senf has confirmed both it and my parsing.
Top picks for me were 28a, 29a, 19d and 3d.
Thanks to Senf and Ray T.
Like CD I too found this the trickiest of the back-page week thus far. Most of it went in without a crumpet scratch then complete brain fog with last in 25d which extended the solve into **time. As ever elegantly & concisely clued with lots to admire – 4,10&28a plus 2,12&17d the ones that stood out for me.
I’m making hard work of Karla over in t’other place so maybe the decent uninterrupted night’s kip that I finally managed last night has dulled the brain cells.
Thanks to Ray & to Senf.
Nice to welcome RayT back for his fortnightly visit to the back pager puzzle for this Thursday. As always, brevity and succinctness in his clueing is welcome. I agree that he also seems to be borrowing Dada’s thesaurus now and then.
Nice to see the Queen appear as well as only one sweetheart that counts.
2*/4.5* for me
Favourite include 1a, 10a, 11a, 5d & 20d — with winner 1a
Smiles for 1a, 7d, 8d & 21d
Thanks to RayT & Senf
I do not find this straightforward but had a lot of enjoyment cracking it. I needed to check 4 a was right with Senf. As ever it was full of skilful misdirection and I can’t really choose one favourite.
Many thanks to Mr T and to Senf for the hints.
I’m glad others found this the toughest of the week so far. I normally struggle with Ray T and today conformed to the, sadly established, pattern. Can’t claim an unaided finish as I needed Senf to confirm/ set me right, especially on 4a. My cotd is the snakes in 21d. Thanks to Ray T and Senf.
2*/4.5*. Very enjoyable for a typical RayT puzzle. The one synonym that seems over-stretched to me is speed/pacing in 22a.
My podium selection is 1a, 9a & 2d.
Many thanks to Ray T and to Senf.
I’m starting to appreciate Ray T’s work more as I slowly become more competent at solving crosswords but, while I admired the concise clues, I’m pleased that others also had problems solving some of them today. The south proved particularly challenging, with 22a my last in. Perhaps I should have gone to bed earlier last night rather than spinning records until who knows when. 28a was my favourite with its atypical sweetheart. Thanks very much to Ray T and to Senf.
I enjoyed this knotty Ray T puzzle. As usual there was a queen and a sweetheart and lots of slightly oblique synonyms. I didn’t find it easy but that’s probably the after effects of concussion. I liked the two long anagrams at 15a and 18s but the former was my COTD. Ialso liked the double definition at 11a. Thanks toMr T and 4o Senf for the hints
I hope you’re feeling better, CC.
A late start after lengthy discussions with Openreach engineers who came along to connect us to fibre – progress shuddered to a halt when they lifted the duct cover and found no trace of the fibre.
Will they ever return I ask myself.
As a relative newbie to this blog I am becoming more familiar with the traits of the individual setters and today’s is becoming a favourite. The brevity of the clue means that each word plays a part in the solution and has to be carefully considered. I find this adds greatly to the thought process and the satisfaction when the solution reveals itself.
The answer at 4a became clear but in parsing I had to check both elements and the final word in the BRB. Not too sure that the synonym for jobless in 5d applies in all cases.
MY COTD is 28a
Many thanks to the setter (Ray T) and Senf for the hints.
Hi Graham
Google “delayed provisioning” if you have been given an activation date of today. Openreach did that with me, discovering a tree in the way. It took them 6-months to erect a new pole and wire to it and on to our house. Delayed provisioning provides for compensation from your service provider – Sky in my case – of £6.27 per day. This is from Ofcom, not negotiable and they have to do it. I made just over £1,100 on the deal – telling engineer after engineer, “don’t rush, take your time”!!!
I’m not doing very well with the crosswords at the moment and I put that down to brain fatigue. I’m currently wading trough fifty research proposals and I come across the Quickie pun daily during the sections on ethics.
I usually love RayT’s offerings but, like others, I found him a bit on the tough side today. I had to use the excellent hints for a couple so it’s a DNF for me. My COTD, once I got Ray’s sweetheart out of the way, is 28a.
Thank you, RayT but I could not do your excellent puzzle justice today. Thank you, Colonel for the hints and explaining a couple for me.
Any news about Jane?
*** / ***
Found this very tough, almost back to my early days of trying to tease out meanings from such brief clues. Finished unaided, but needed Senf’s help to confirm many parsings, 8 I think!
COTD was the 28a threshold for the innovative use of ‘sweetheart’.
Many thanks to Ray T and Senf
2.5* / 4* An excellent and enjoyable challenge, started quickly then slowed dramatically.
Plenty of witty and clever clues, favourites being the alleged 17d, totters in 21d and last one in the wooden 3d
Thanks to Ray T and Senf
As usual for a RayT number I found it a bit of a slog. Its hard to put my finger on why exactly – I guess I could use 20d as an example of what I’m not fond of.
Happy to admit I am in a minority of one and it does in no way lessen my admiration for all the setters.
Thanks also to Senf for makinking senf of it all