Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31286
Hints and Tips by Deansleigh
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** Enjoyment ****
Good morning everyone, and welcome to the midweek back-pager blog. I found today’s puzzle to be a step up in difficulty from the previous two days, with some general knowledge required and one or two rather obscure words, but everything is fairly clued. Amongst my favourites today are 22a, 25a, 26a, 2d and 24d, but the clue I liked best was 1a, for its brevity and very clever misdirection. There is also a superb Quickie pun. Many thanks to our setter for a thoroughly enjoyable workout.
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 Rolls here for refreshment? (3-4)
CAR-WASH: A cryptic definition by example. ‘Rolls’ refers to a luxury brand of the type of vehicle that could be spruced up in such an establishment.
5a Bill and Charlie exploited person charged by police (7)
ACCUSED: An abbreviation for ‘bill’ or ‘account’, the letter represented by Charlie in the NATO phonetic alphabet, and a synonym of ‘exploited’.
9a Meagre head of Swiss bank (7)
SLENDER: The first letter (head) of ‘Swiss’, and a word for a bank or other institution that you might go to for a loan.
10a Early jazz tune brought back by country singer (7)
GARLAND: A word for a style of early twentieth-century music by composers such as Scott Joplin is reversed (brought back) and followed by another word for country or nation.
11a Fold over vulgar books in a discreet manner (9)
PRUDENTLY: A synonym of ‘fold’ or ‘layer’ is placed around another word for ‘vulgar’ and the abbreviation for a collection of books in the Bible.
12a Run over a cord supplier (5)
ROPER: The cricketing abbreviation for ‘run’, the abbreviation for ‘over’, and a synonym of ‘a’ in the sense of ‘for each’ (as in “twopence a bag”, for example).
13a Cycling around old Asian capital, arriving at the current one (5)
TOKYO: Take the name of a former capital city of an Asian country and move the last two letters to the front (cycling around).
15a Clumsy mother and boy running riot (9)
MALADROIT: An informal word for ‘mother’, another word for ‘boy’, and an anagram (running) of RIOT.
17a Society mistress bending count’s ear (9)
COURTESAN: An anagram (bending) of COUNTS EAR.
19a Bar for lawyers on board coaches to Penzance (5)
ESTOP: A legal term meaning to bar or hinder is hidden (on board) in the last three words of the clue.
22a Go for a stroll in the morning, miserable after United’s lost (5)
AMBLE: The abbreviation for ‘Ante Meridiem’ (in the morning), and an informal synonym for ‘miserable’ or ‘dejected’ without the abbreviation for United (United’s lost).
23a Unfortunately, Yard’s bent – witness (9)
BYSTANDER: An anagram (unfortunately) of YARDS BENT.
25a Most stingy, Scrooge finally moved into humble street (7)
MEANEST: The last letter (finally) of ‘Scrooge’ is placed between a synonym of humble or lowly and the abbreviation for street.
26a Put an end to Basil working to acquire old hotel (7)
ABOLISH: An anagram (working) of BASIL is placed round the abbreviation for ‘old’ and is followed by the abbreviation for ‘hotel’.
27a German city doctor needs to be trained (7)
DRESDEN: The abbreviation for ‘Doctor’ and an anagram (to be trained) of NEEDS.
28a English garden, New Cross (7)
ENRAGED: The abbreviation for ‘English’ and an anagram (new) of GARDEN. Nothing to do with the South London district!
Down clues
1d Filling Prince’s spittoon, a collector of nasty fluid (7)
CESSPIT: Hidden in the second and third words of the clue.
2d Fish eggs $1? That’s dear, by the sound of it (7)
ROEBUCK: A word for fish eggs and a slang word for the US dollar give us the male of a species of animal that is a homophone (by the sound of it) of ‘dear’.
3d Make rotten beer bottles dad drained (5)
ADDLE: A kind of beer is placed round (bottles) the outer letters (drained) of ‘dad’.
4d Difficult puzzles in this outlet, work of Boz? (4,5)
HARD TIMES: A synonym of ‘difficult’, and the name of a media outlet or publication in which puzzles can be found. “Boz” was the pen-name of a prolific nineteenth-century English novelist.
5d Furious old King stuck in American state (5)
ANGRY: The abbreviation for Georgius Rex (old King) inside the abbreviation for American and the abbreviation for the state of New York.
6d Wagon on crest that’s loaded with pellets (9)
CARTRIDGE: A synonym of ‘wagon’ and a word for a narrow top or crest.
7d Counterfeit photos regularly missing Head and Shoulders? (7)
SHAMPOO: A synonym of ‘counterfeit’ and the alternate letters (regularly missing) of ‘photos’.
8d Philosopher featured in sordid erotica (7)
DIDEROT: The name of this eighteenth-century French philosopher is hidden in the last two words of the clue.
14d Feeling better? Their treat gets Ned in a tizzy (2,3,4)
ON THE MEND: The first six letters, split (2,4), give us a phrase meaning ‘their treat’, or ‘they are paying our bill for us’. Follow this with an anagram (in a tizzy) of NED.
16d Scenic painting captures head (9)
LANDSCAPE: Another word for ‘captures’ or ‘secures’, and a word for a head or point projecting into the sea.
17d Demanded medical reforms (7)
CLAIMED: An anagram (reforms) of MEDICAL.
18d Resentment, fury after elephant is skinned (7)
UMBRAGE: An informal word for an elephant, with its outer letters removed (skinned), is followed by a synonym of ‘fury’.
20d Clearing away note on the way out (7)
TIDYING: The seventh note in the Solfège scale, and a synonym of ‘on the way out’ in the sense of ‘expiring’ or ‘ceasing to exist’.
21d Very dry, quiet, shrewd editor (7)
PARCHED: The musical abbreviation for ‘quiet(ly)’, a synonym of ‘shrewd’ or ‘cunning’, and the usual abbreviation for ‘editor’.
23d Fail to declare policeman’s truncheon (5)
BATON: Split (3,2), this describes the decision of a captain of a cricket side to continue amassing runs, rather than declaring and allowing the other team to begin their innings.
24d Love affair with dame, you’re getting undressed (5)
AMOUR: The words “dame” and “you’re” without their outer letters (getting undressed).
Which clues did you like best? Let us know in the comments below.
The Quick Crossword pun: WHEN + SLID + AIL + GROMMET = WENSLEYDALE, GROMIT
The answer is a favourite phrase of a much-loved animated inventor.
Nicely testing in places which required a solve south to north with 1a my last one in. Many ticks on my page from which I’ve chosen a podium of 6d, 15a and 21d. Thanks to compiler and Deansleigh.
A top Wednesday puzzle with just the right level of challenge for me. Thank you so much to the setter. Top clues for me today were the jazz-country singer in 10a and failing to declare in 23d.
And thank you to Deansleigh for being a safety net; I was close to needing you today with a couple of parsings, but they eventually came to me.
A definite challenge as gozzles go but I very much enjoyed it, as akl the clues were fair i I like a puzzle with some General Knowledge. I liked the geographical clues at 27a andparticularly 13a, my COTD. The 1a dirty lurker was also good fun as was the cerebral one at 8d. Thanks to the compiler and to Deansleigh for the hints
A slightly disappointing day – early this morning, after much delay, we were finally connected to full fibre broadband BUT, it took me just as long as usual to complete the puzzle. I’d understood that everything would be quicker, more efficient etc.!
Today was a step up from the past two days which in my mind made this a more interesting grey cell exercise. Three excellent lurkers that all lived up their manta…”if it makes no sense it must be”.
Clever wordplay at 2d, 11a and 21d but my favourites were 4d’s difficult puzzles and 14d feeling better.
Thank you to the setter and Deansleigh for the hints
I got fed up of EE changing my router repeatedly and tweaking everything only to find no improvement. The internet would go down on a regular basis, which interfered with work. In the end, I got Starlink and I now get 400 plus MBS download speeds as opposed to 11. At £75 a month, it’s a bit expensive but it is extremely reliable so is worth it for me.
Interesting Steve, I had problems with a poor EE service and a constant change of router. Insisted on a visit from Openreach who located and fixed an external fault in the copper joints – problem solved, never was a router issue. Still with EE – 300Mb’s for £33 / month. We’ll see how it goes.
Let me not overstate it…£34.95.
300MB is good for EE but they don’t seem to cater for the rural areas of Shropshire. The best I got from them was 17MB and that only lasted a day. most of the time it was 5-6MB.
Staying in the cool part of the house whilst I pluck up courage to do something. Unfortunately solving this crossword didn’t last long enough for me to put the jobs off any longer. Interesting enough with some odd general knowledge which you didn’t need to know. All easily signposted.
*/***
I thought this was just a write in, I thought honestly you would mark this a one star. I loved it though. The clues were clever and humorous.
I agree with you – must be on the right wavelength today. Few hold ups except for a moment of trying to skin the elephant in 18d, and finding an early jazz pianist in 10a, and not realising until the hints that he merely shared the name with the singer.
Also liked 4d and 21d.
Thanks to setter and Deansleigh for hints
Another gentle puzzle which was enjoyable. I did have to check the parsing of 13a, as my geography knowledge isn’t great – I really should have known this 🙈. Thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh.
A terrific midweek puzzle that fell at a steady rate. It took a while to get 12a and I didn’t know the legal bar at 19a but the clue gave clear instructions. The philosopher was new to me but, again, he was staring me in the face. I loved the $1 eggs at 2d and the failure to declare at 23d. My COTD is the skinned elephant at 18d because it made me laugh.
What a fantastic Quickie pun. 😊
Thank you, setter for the fun. Thank you, Ade Shingle for the hints.
Brilliant puzzle, best for ages.
This one was clever, entertaining and just about the right level for a Wednesday.
No real favourites as they were all top notch.
Just heard the latest, Donald Trump has asked for a rematch againt Belgium, as he wasn’t quite ready.
An enjoyable but not overly challenging mid-week challenge – **/***
Candidates for favourite – 15a, 6d, 18d, and 21d – and the winner 18d!
Thanks to whomsoever and Deansleigh.
A cracking midweek puzzle – thanks to our setter and Deansleigh.
There are lots of anagrams, especially in the across clues down south, which will please some.
I especially liked 2d, 4d, 7d, 18d, 23d and 24d.
Unlike Lynne (comment 6) I’m with our reviewer in rating this a distinct step up in difficulty from the previous couple of days & with Graham P in appreciating something a bit more taxing. It was a brisk grid fill but a couple of the whys boarded a later bus. Not sure I would have dredged up Charlie D’s pseudonym in a quiz or that I would have been able to accurately explain the legal principle of estoppel without the assist of the nudge in the clue definition. The 2 parsing crumpet scratches were 22a (saw bleak before the required synonym) & 14d (slow to twig ‘their treat’).
Thoroughly enjoyed the puzzle. Ticks aplenty but if forced to pick a fav 13a just nicks it from 1a.
Thanks to the setter (Twm maybe) & to Deansleigh
Hi Huntsman,
A couple of days ago, you asked about the “Website” box on the comment submission form. I apologize if this has already been addressed (I haven’t had a chance to read through the comments for a day or two as I have been preoccupied with my post-flood cleanup chores).
Here is my understanding of the matter. Big Dave’s Crossword Blog runs on a software platform called WordPress. It maintains a database of all comments that have been posted together with a profile of the person posting the comment. I have my own WordPress account and if I am logged in to it when commenting, I don’t see the “Name”, Ëmail”, and “Website” boxes. Instead, I see an option to “Edit your profile”. The WordPress profile database contains a large number of predefined fields including the three collected by the comment submission form. These include a host of social media addresses, some for platforms I have never heard of.
The comment submission form collects only the three above-mentioned pieces of information of which only the first two (“Name” and “Email”) are mandatory with “Website” being optional. The “Website” would be the commenter’s own personal website (something most commenters would be unlikely to possess). I am not aware that the “Website” information is used for any purpose (and I suspect that very few commenters ever fill in that field). Perhaps whoever originally created the comment submission form (Big Dave?) thought that recording this information might provide an avenue to gain some insight into the person leaving the comment.
So the bottom line would seem to be that the box serves no useful purpose, is not required to be filled in, and likely nothing is done with the information if one were to fill it in.
Hi, Falcon – the website box only appeared after the site’s recent outage. I questioned it as well a couple of days ago as to why it had appeared. Still, it’s not a major issue as you point out,
I hope the clean up is nearly over.
It wasn’t me who asked the question – I just ignored the box.
Think I understand the explanation though all a bit technical for the likes of me 😀
A quick workout with nothing to bother the grey matter. Everything well sign-posted. 7d was a new way of defining an old favourite and 1a was inspirational. COTD for me is the skinned elephant, no wonder he’s furious!
Many thanks to the setter and DL
1*/3.5*
3*/4*. Yes, this was a much stiffer challenge today but I did enjoy the battle even though there was quite a lot of rage and anger in the grid!
23a was my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh.
Another screamer of a midweeker, penned, I reckon, by Mr Tumble.
I’m a huge fan of learning new words, expressions and people. So that boxed was certainly ticked today with so 19a, 8d and ‘trained’ meaning ‘manipulated’.
Whenever I see 17d, I can’t stop myself from typing the other anagrams of medical which are: declaim, decimal, camelid and the archaic maliced.
I was aware of the previous capital in 13a being a cycled version of the current one. Very neat and logical due to their meanings.
How dull is the job title for 12a? There are some excellent ones out there, e.g cooper, fletcher, chandler and wainwright. Zzzzz…
It’s all kicking off at the base of the podium but I’ll go with 15a (great word), 26a and 2d.
MTTTA Mr T and Adele Singh (just to put a smile on SC’s face).
2*/5*
Love the pun.
The first run through of the across clues didn’t eke out many answers so I thought we were in for a stinker but the downs were quickly filled in leaving plenty of checkers to sort the remaining answers out with ease. Thoroughly enjoyable throughout!
Thanks to setter and Deansleigh
Spent a hot hour at our little railway Halt booking our tickets for Birmingham. Took time because I didn’t want to go to London and then an underground change to go north again, but now all sorted (hopefully) with passenger assistance organised for George) with just one chance at Ely. Great guzzle except that I wanted to put Chatelaine at 17a. I liked the Boz reference and the German city but the favourite was the English Garden at 28a. Many thanks to the Clever Setter and to Dear Deansleigh.
Unlike some others I did not find this a doddle, there were a number of new words (2 of the lurkers) and about 5 where I needed the parsing explaining. That said I did complete it and enjoyed it and I like learning new words. 1a was my favourite once I twigged.
Many thanks to the setter and to Deansleigh for the hints.
This seemed a trickier puzzle than the first two of the week so far, but overall it was a decent solve. A couple f words not in my everyday conversation vocabulary, but not unknown either.
2.5*/3* for me
Favourites include9a, 15a, 27a, 7d, 18d & 24d — with winners 27a & 7d
Thanks to setter & Deansleigh
Haven’t looked at the cryptic yet but really enjoyed ‘The Wrong Trousers’ themed quickie, it was cracking!
Can anyone tell me why we have a Website option below name and e-mail, and what it can be used for? Thanks.
Just seen comments at 12, forget my entry
see Falcon above
I’ve been forced to relegate crosswords within my priorities for the day for the foreseeable as a result of having to do anything that I actually need to do before it becomes far too hot (and being at Stansted in the middle of the night on top of the World Cup probably hasn’t helped either). Nevertheless, I enjoyed this puzzle very much, with Boz at 4d my highlight followed by the singer at 10a. I actually completed it more quickly than the first two puzzles of the week, but that may just be because I was fully engaged throughout. Thanks very much to the setter and to Deansleigh.