Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3372 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where Summer continues, even though it does not start for another two weeks, with a risk of thunderstorms and tornadoes!
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada very quirkily friendly with some lateral thinking required! OK all you anagram haters just for you there aren’t any! Four long uns, one lurker, and three homophones, all in an economically symmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid you should/might be able to get some of the checkers to enable the solving of the unhinted clues. I hope you have your Crimson Tomes at hand!
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Candidates for favourite – 9a, 10a, 25a, 6d, 7d, 13d, and 18d.
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.
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
8a Slump, a myth (4)
A verbal synonym of slump and A from the clue.
10a Fiddle reversing 0-0-4? (6)
The reversal (reversing) of all of the word used for 0 when a round ball game score is announced, the letter that can be represented by 0, and the Roman numeral for 4.
13a Snack served with cut of beef, a lip-smacking hit? (7,8)
A snack supposedly invented by a nobleman who was an inveterate gambler preceded by a cut of beef (or the joint that protrudes when a finger is bent).
20a Song given smashing analysis (6-9)
A synonym for a song (in a programme of popular music?) and a single word term for given smashing.
23a Rogues, wild animals reportedly? (8)
A homophone (reportedly) of a type of feline wild animals.
25a Excavate ditch the wrong way, boring (6)
The reversal (the wrong way) of synonyms of excavate and ditch.
28a Noodles, but no starter? So be it! (4)
A type of (Asian) noodles with the first letter deleted (but no starter).
Down
1d Desert, half of area consumed by cratered rock (6)
Half of the word AREA, I’ll let you decide which half, contained (consumed) by the cratered rock that orbits our planet.
3d A tool allowing writer to get to the point? (6-9)
The writer is an object, used by a writer, containing graphite which requires a tool to create a point – need I say more?
4d Swine cleaner? Poppycock! (7)
A synonym of swine and a generic synonym of cleaner.
7d Young female horse hasn’t finished charge (4)
The term for a young female horse with the last letter deleted (hasn’t finished).
18d Fine and delicate English article, true (8)
The single letter for English, a definite article, and a synonym of true.
19d Gift posted earlier (7)
Perhaps written (3-4) to be equivalent to posted earlier.
24d Loser to tortoise – in race? (4)
The loser of a race, described in one of Aesop’s fables, between a tortoise and another animal.
Quick Crossword Pun:
SWISS + ELSE + TICK = SWIZZLE STICK
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Hands up all those who will admit to having heard of British glam rock band Doctor and the Medics formed in London in 1981 and apparently still in existence. If I did hear of them all those years ago, I must have had selective amnesia because I only became (re)aware of the band six days ago when I was researching today’s music selection. The group was most successful during the 1980s and is best known(?) for their cover version of American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum’s 1969 number one hit Spirit in the Sky. The cover version reached number one in the UK Charts for three weeks on this day in 1986. I’ll take Mr Greenbaum’s original version any and every time. The band is almost a one hit wonder as its only other chart entry could only make it to number 22. Anyway, what do you think?
Cracking puzzle but had the wrong cut of beef which made perfect sense until I solved 1d. Thanks to all.
Sunday morning’s concerns…will it stay dry long enough England to beat NZ at Lords, will Warwickshire finally win a Vitality Blast match after losing 5 in a row and will I complete a Sunday PP after a tricky few weeks?
The first two will play out over the day but the crossword was a very pleasant surprise, much gentler that I had feared.
I found the wordplay throughout to be exemplary with little ambiguity and I was fortunate in that three of the long ones came to me early on. Overall very enjoyable, Mr G and the BRB both had a day off!
I particularly liked 2d and 20a, but my COTD is 9a
Many thanks to the setter and Senf for the hints.
1.5*/3.5*. This was light and good fun although I can’t see anything at all cryptic about 24d.
Favourite long answer: 20a
Favourite short answer: 9a
Thanks to Dada and to Senf.
Hi RD
Race is a noun in the surface but a verb for the answer which makes it a tiny bit cryptic. But only tiny, mind you.
This was a pleasing solve on a nice grid with Radio taking a leaf out of Mr Brevity’s book.
I’m pleased to say that those pesky four letter rogues weren’t that roguish.
10a is completely bonkers but great fun and 4d is a top word that is very satisfying to say.
My podium is 9a (clever), 17a and 19d though it could have done with a question mark as it doesn’t mean ‘posted earlier’, i.e the prefix isn’t required.
MTTTA and the Manitoban mountie.
2*/4*
I quite enjoyed this Dada puzzle, although it did require some lateral thinking as Senf mentioned.Lthough I love anagrams this SPP was just as enjoyable without them. I liked the clever lego clue at 1d, the cryptic definitions at 3d and 13a and the lurker at 11a. Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints. Yesterday’s rain was much needed to swell my fine crops of broad beans and tayberries
Hi CC
I really know nothing about fruit and veg. So, your mention of tayberry intrigued me.
Goodness me. Have I gone down a rabbit hole or what!
Named after the River Tay as it grew on its banks, it was an attempt to improve the loganberry which was discovered by accident.
American James Logan combined two blackberries to create a superblackberry but they were planted next to an old variety of raspberry (Red Antwerp as it came from Belgium) which resulted in the loganberry.
Then there’s another hybrid the ‘Phenomenal’ berry aka Burbank’s Logan followed by a nessberry and youngberry. Who knew! There are probably squillions of others.
I can’t stop myself finding out more and more. It’s like doomscrolling.
Chriscross, what have you done to me? My domestic plans have been kicked down the road.
Help!
TDS if the tayberry fascinates you, are you aware of the durian fruit and the mythology which surrounds it? It notoriously smells of putrid flesh and is banned from being carried on airlines because of that. Due to its armour like exterior the traditional way to assess its ripeness is by tapping it with a stick and listening to the echo. At our local supermarket they are displayed with a handy stick (like a drum stick) in a holder next to them. The ability to eat the fruit is seen as a rite of passage for foreigners and I am constantly asked If I am able to eat them.
Brilliant!
I knew this fruit reeked but didn’t know the rest of it.
My day is full.
Loved your earlier post, btw.
What a tremendous puzzle, lots of smiles and pennies dropping.
Very tricky to pick out favourites but I’ll plump for 10a, 9a, 12a, 13a and 20a.
Thanks to Senf and Dada.
I also found that surprisingly (almost PB-breakingly) light but I loved the oblique cluing and, possibly controversially, the lack of anagrams (I don’t object in principle but just haven’t the patience). I thought 10a and 13a were both very good indeed. Thanks very much to the setter and to Senf. I’m hoping the cricket continues for several hours having arranged to have a late lunch in a Swiss Cottage wine bar and promised it won’t be too loud. Then I’m off to Putney for some pretend Steely Dan, so I may be slow tomorrow.
Wow. What a superb puzzle. This definitely gets my nomination for crossword of the year. The level of challenge was very slightly above a Sunday puzzle but everything was fair and could be worked out. To nominate a COTD seems unfair to the runners up but they are 12A and 10A with 13A standing proudly on the podium. Thanks to Senf and to the setter.
Thai corner. Why have one word where six will do.
I thought it only fair to defend the Thai language for it’s drive to group what westerners would see as very distinct objects under one banner with an example of where the Thais see us as doing the same thing albeit with an action. Westerners, ‘wash’, everything; clothes, themselves, dishes, cars, hair, animals, windows. To Thais this is very strange and each action has it’s own unique verb describing what they see to be very different activities.
Managed to finish this in the launderette – a first as I normally get a block on LOI. Even 25a my COTD sprang out. I now only have to find the first missing letter to 28a!
Many thanks to Dada and Senf
Great fun – thanks to Dada and Senf.
Top clues for me were 9a, 13a and 20a.
A very enjoyable romp for a SPP. Passed on the first 2 and then got 10a by reverse parsing the obvious answer; what an innovative clue. After skipping 12a and 13a it was nearly a read and write with the lower half filling quickly and then steady progress up from the bottom. LOI was 1d once I found the cut of beef. So many clues out of the top drawer, but my favourites were 24a, 19d and 20a.
Many thanks to Senf and Dada
1.5*/4.5*
Like Gazza my top 3 were 9,13&20a but plenty of other likes too – 10,12&26a among them.
Gentle but a very enjoyable distraction in between seeing off golfers on a mercifully drier 1st tee than yesterday’s members guest day.
Thanks to D&S
Would 24d be a double definition or all-in-one?
I certainly underlined the last word.
Good fun and I got most of this done waiting for the Light
Thanks to Dada and Senf
I have heard of Dr & the Medics but like Senf prefer Mr Greenwood’s version
I can only agree that this was an excellent offering from Dada. My first in was the bizarre but clever 10a and that set the tone. Getting the two long ones at 3d and 5d opened everything up. It took a while to recall the cut of beef at 13a but what a lip-smacker it turned out to be. I loved the swine cleaner and, like TDS65 (who finds himself diving into such things after every puzzle it seems), I had to look up the etymology. So many clues to choose from but I have to go with the aforementioned lip smacker as my COTD.
Thank you, Dada for a most enjoyable diversion from my current tranche of marking. Thank you, Colonel for the hints.
Further to the Kinnerley Beer Festival yesterday, everything – beer, lager, cider, gin and prosecco – all went. The food vans did a roaring trade and the three bands had everyone dancing. We look set fair for another four to five thousand profit.
What a success that is!
We love a beer fest.
In haste. Great fun. Cotd 10a. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
I found this great fun and rather unexpected, to the extent that I thought someone would say it wasn’t Dada at all. I thoroughly enjoyed the long clues and had 4d as my favourite. The lack of anagrams did not detract from the enjoyment.
Many thanks to the setter and to Senf for the hints.