Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31315
Hints and tips by Huntsman
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BD Rating – Difficulty * Enjoyment ****
It looks like yet another scorcher on the golf course this afternoon at Centurion where I’ll be more than happy if I can get round in under 30 strokes more than Charley Hull took last week.
I thought today’s Anthony Plumb was a very enjoyable solve & maybe a tad trickier than last week. As ever concisely clued throughout with much to admire. Hopefully I can manage a 2nd week without needing to amend any hints but if so they’ll need to wait until later.
Our old Thursday blogger is over in t’other place with a delightful ‘floughie’ which I would strongly urge commenters to have a bash at as it really isn’t any more taxing than this one & is great fun.
As usual there is a selection of music to enjoy or ignore.
In the hints below the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED & the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the Click Here buttons. Please leave a comment below telling us what you thought & how you got on with the puzzle.
Across
1a Nice stuff – I ordered enough (10)
SUFFICIENT: an anagram (ordered) of NICE STUFF I.
6a Flick scum on liquid (4)
FILM: a double definition – the first an informal term that derives from the consequence of early projectors running at a lower frame rate.
10a Hawk protected hard covering of an egg (5)
SHELL: a verb synonym for hawk/vend goes round (protected) the pencil grading single letter for H[ard].
11a Parking guest’s Ford? (9)
PRESIDENT: the single letter for P[arking] + a synonym for guest as in a hotel for example. The question mark indicates definition by example – last week it was another one with the guest under pressure. Nowt to do with pic.
12a Cleaner with short coat lapels, primarily dark grey in colour (8)
CHARCOAL: an old-fashioned term for a cleaner + coa[t] (short) & the 1st letter (primarily)of L[apels].
13a Greeting husband with a sly look, regularly (5)
HALLO: H[usband] + the alternate letters (regularly) found in the three words preceding the indicator.
15a Train from Spain expected with Tom, perhaps, aboard (7)
EDUCATE: start with the IVR code for Spain then link with an adjectival synonym for expected into which you insert (aboard) a male animal – perhaps indicates there are more than one option & it isn’t a turkey.
17a Fun with silk pants? This could make you merry (7)
SKINFUL: an anagram (our old favourite – pants) of FUN SILK.
19a Run over and blabber about bare men (7)
OPERATE: the cricket abbreviation for O[ver] is linked with a verb meaning to blabber/talk long & foolishly into which you insert (about) [m]E[n] (bare/exterior letters removed).
21a All the best socialists eating fish (7)
REGARDS: insert (eating) our setter’s other oft used three letter fish into a term for socialists or communists. This one is from a family of ray-finned fish inhabiting waters in North America, Central America & parts of the Caribbean.
22a Big flat-bottomed boat left for Belgium (5)
LARGE: think of a flat-bottomed boat + amend the 1st letter – swap out the IVR code for B[elgium] & replace with L[arge].
24a Current stifling weather finally gets hot and steamy (8)
TROPICAL: insert (stifling) the last letter (finally) of [weathe]R into a synonym for current/newsworthy. You ain’t kidding Anthony & it’s getting hotter…..
27a Mum’s eaten crackers for fun (9)
AMUSEMENT: an anagram (crackers) of MUMS EATEN.
28a Best part of obscene literature (5)
ELITE: hidden (part of) – usually the pages of books passed around that had been dog-eared I seem to recall from boarding school days.
29a Ask for religious disciple, we’re told (4)
SEEK: a homophone (we’re told) of a follower of the world’s 5th largest religion.
30a Shows salesman’s bearing grudge (10)
REPRESENTS: insert (bearing) a verb for grudge/begrudge into the usual abbreviation for a salesman including the possessive ‘S.
Down
1d Pedestrian’s shoe oddly small and ordinary (2-2)
SO-SO: the alternate (oddly) of the 2nd word in the clue + S[mall] + O[rdinary].
2d Loosen stockings outside university bar (4,5)
FREE HOUSE: a verb meaning to loosen/unshackle + a term for stockings that goes round (outside) the single letter for U[niversity].
3d Lazier actress Bette scratching head (5)
IDLER: remove the 1st letter (scratching head) from the surname. I still remember the joke she told Parky about hanging out the washing.
4d Refine this writer’s document (7)
IMPROVE: a contraction for ‘this writer’ followed by a verb meaning to document/substantiate.
5d Bugs distress the Parisian (7)
NEEDLES: a nounal synonym for distress/hardship + ‘the’ in French (Parisian) when used before any plural noun.
7d Detective Inspector looking up genuine topless model (5)
IDEAL: reverse (looking up in a down clue) the usual police rank abbreviation + a synonym for real less its 1st letter (topless).
8d Still lacking formal proposal in parliament? (10)
MOTIONLESS: the wordplay here references the term for a formal proposal by an MP for debate or in this case the lack of one. Neat.
9d Noticing insulting line is removed (8)
SIGHTING: remove the unit of length single letter for L[ine] from a synonym for insulting or snubbing.
14d This could be loaner’s American location (3,7)
NEW ORLEANS: a reverse anagram – LOANERS is the fodder then preface it with a suitable indicator – if you can’t think of it the US location it is in the song.
16d Aroused adult with naked dancing, squeezing bottom in silence (8)
AWAKENED: A[dult] + W[ith] + an anagram (dancing) of NAKED containing (squeezing) the last letter of (bottom/down clue) of [silenc]E.
18d Building roof – man, it’s complicated! (9)
FORMATION: an anagram (complicated) of ROOF MAN IT.
20d Former lover – tremendous, but not half intense (7)
EXTREME: the usual for a former lover + 50% (but not half) of treme[ndous].
21d Chicken broth’s third in list (7)
ROOSTER: insert the 3rd letter of [br]O[th] into a synonym for list/register or schedule.
23d Root ultimately getting in rake’s way (5)
ROUTE: insert the final letter (ultimately getting in) of [roo]T into a term for a rake or libertine. Nowt to do with gardening.
25d Things turning up in cosmetics (5)
ITEMS: hidden in reverse (turning up/down clue in).
26d Guy dropping off energy drinks (5)
TEAS: guy here is a verb masquerading as a noun in the surface. Remove (dropping off) the physics single letter for E[nergy] from the end of a synonym for it.
I think I’ll plump for 8d as my pick of a fine selection of clues today. Lots to like elsewhere with 15&24a plus 2,9,14&16d among them. Please let us know which clues ticked your boxes.
Today’s Quick crossword pun: BARS + KIT + CASE = BASKET CASE
This morning’s listening has been a recently released debut album, Delusions of Grandeur, by The Family featuring Dylan LeBlanc, his father James, Angela Hacker & her son Bay Simpson. All songwriters it’s an eclectic mix. Here’s a track off it.
A steady fill with a couple of hesitant moments, but in the end everything fell into place. The religious disciple was last in. I assume this is an AP production and as usual every clue is clean and efficient. The grey colour at 12a is my pick of many.
Many thanks to AP and Huntsman
1.5*/3*
23d has got to be the strangest clue ever with the answer practically written right in front of your eyes, did the setter really mean it like that?
I wouldn’t call it the “strangest clue ever” but for me using root was a poor choice – a direct homophone making the answer unnecessarily easier to get. Purley for the surface (secondary in a cryptic clue) root is fine – it’s the very thing that would hamper a rake but I’d have gone for Privet which still maintains the misdirectional surface theme of gardening.
Or Bucket maybe?
Hi J
I think ‘root’ is better than ‘privet’, ‘bucket’ and my suggestions of ‘plant’ and ‘dirt’ as ‘ultimately’ implies there was a problem that wasn’t able to be solved immediately like, for example, moving the bucket out of the way.
I completely understand why people are questioning the clue. Maybe, AP should have chosen ‘rouse’ or ‘rouge’. His clue is a lovely surface and it uses two excellent words for a cad: rake and the one in the answer. He weighed it up and plumped for ‘root’ which he may now be regretting.
I am cool with it for the above reasoning.
I think the ‘rake’ in this case is means cad, not a garden tool.
It’s playing a dual role: the cad in the answer and the garden tool that is getting snared by the root in the surface, i.e getting in its way thereby stopping it doing its job: raking.
Many ways to skin a cat……
….and all that caper.
Whilst we have a slight disagreement about Root as the definition you are 100% right here – rake is a tool in the surface and a cad in the solution. No two ways about that.
Like it, J. Like it.
I found this harder the yesterday and I usually find Mr. Plumb’s offerings very straightforward. Had me head scratching. Last in was 19 across and put in the wrong answer. Otherwise everything else was OK.
With my spelling problems I was very confused by the greeting of 13 across. I have always made sure to spell it with an E. Good start to the morning and if I survive Zumba there are possibilities for the afternoon.I won’t bore you.
Thank you Huntsman and as ever thanks to Mr. Plumb
Unless one is German, “hello” is the normal spelling. In the UK, I think “hallo” could be considered as archaic.
Sorry Tipcat, but 23d seems to me to be a perfectly normal clue!
Anyway, good morning to you and thanks to the professor for a gentle ride today.
2d & 13a are my pick for today.
Cheers for your hints Huntsman.
Hi V
TC is saying it’s rare for a homophone of the whole answer to be in a clue and even rarer for the setter to ignore that connection and play around with it in some other way.
AP could have used plant or dirt but I think root is the most obvious choice. In fact, I quite like that he chose that as it makes the clue fun.
I still reckon if you read the clue aloud and in so doing you actually say the answer, it ‘s a bit of a giveaway.
I agree
I agree, Tom,
I thought it was a diversion/brain addler impishly introduced by the prof.
The lovely cunning rascal!
For me, etc,© and probably just me, not quite Typically Tuesdayish – 2.5*/3.5*
Candidates for favourite – 10, 15a, 2d, 8d, 14d, and an HM for the Pun – and the winner is 14d.
Thanks to AP and Huntsman.
I was beaten by 14 down and 29 across. I just couldn’t spend any more time looking for the missing letters. I eventually went cross eyed.
Good puzzle, much enjoyed.
Thanks to setter and hinter.
A real Tuesday treat. Some great clues with lovely surfaces and plenty of baht drops moments. Some of the synonyms were on the edge of my experience of the usage of the word, ( the first half of 5D as an example) but I parsed all the clues so I shouldn’t quibble. 6a, 15A,17A and 26D were my nominations for COTD with 15A winning the award by a whisker, pun intended.
Thai corner.
The recent spate of funerals and weddings has provided endless cultural shocks. The latest funeral provided a classic examples of Thai entrepreneurial skill. As the funeral ended an ice cream vendor entered the temple courtyard with an insulated hand cart full of lollies and ice creams. The mourners who had endured a full day of sitting in the heat listening to monks chanting quickly bought their cornettos and lollies, which improved their day and the vendors.
The picture is of the vendor in front of the crematorium before he was mobbed.
Another quality puzzle from the Tuesday maestro – thanks to him and Huntsman.
The only clue which made me pause was 4d where the required synonym for document wasn’t the first one that sprang to mind.
I ticked 12a, 15a and 14d.
I’ll second Huntsman’s recommendation for Shabbo’s Toughie which is pretty gentle and very entertaining.
On 4d: I always stumble when a surface noun needs to be parsed as a verb (or vice versa). One of my last ones in, too.
Was held up by 23d – as I thought the answer couldn’t be what it was. I see tipcat has already commented on it and I agree.
Overall I though it a tad trickier than a normal Tuesday although hard to say exactly why.
Thanks to the setter and to Huntsman for the blog
My view on 23d exactly, I thought ‘ it just can’t be that, it’s too obvious’
1a was a nice easy anagram to start, but it raised a titter when I remembered this;
A gentle puzzle for me with LOI 29a which I seemed to stare at for ages.
Top picks for me were 14d, 6a, 2d and 16d.
Thanks to Huntsman and Mr Plumb.
A small step up from yesterday but today’s puzzle was very well clued leaving little room for misinterpretation.
There were two clues that need an extra moment of thought – the 23d licentious man was a new word for me but perfectly gettable, and I nearly fell into the trap of misspelling 13a.
COTD – the 15a Spanish Train
Thank you to today’s setter and Huntsman for the hints.
Yesterday evening I caught up with Sunday’s PP and, not for the first time, I really struggled with a Dada creation, my belated thanks to Senf for seeing me through.
I wish to complain in the strongest possible terms. I was doing fine, bunging answers in willy and also nilly, and then, outrageously, I needed to think rather more deeply to solve the remaining half-dozen or so glues. I feel completely exposed, like a seal basking on a sandbank with the tide coming in.
My point is I pay an extra one pound per year for these guzzles, and the least the setters can do is pitch them exactly at my level. Why should I need to stretch myself in this way? It is an utter disgrace. This is the sort of issue Mr Burnham should be prioritising.
Oh! I am a wretched soul, bruised with adversity!
Oh yeah – thanks to the setter and Andy Sizzling On The First Tee. Ta for your music choices.
Ask H to take you for a nice walk and you will calm down.
Yet another quality crossword from the prof with nearly every clue being a winner.
There are a few ‘Ooo, matron’ clues which I can only assume is down to the heat.
AP has given his best shot at illustrating how useful the technique of using or omitting a single letter is: short, primarily, scratching head, topless, removed, bottom, third, ultimately and dropping off.
I didn’t know the synonym for the verb document and I haven’t heard the term loaner though it obviously makes sense.
I can understand people’s comments about 23d but you can see my thoughts on it in my reply to Venator (#4)
My picks are the ‘Wey heys! – 17a, 2d and 16d.
MTTTA and Hoots!
2*/4*
Had signs of a fastest solve time but got stuck in the SW with a combo foursome. LOI was 14D, and remembering the rake of 23D would help.
Pody prizes go to the cheeky 2D surface – and I like a 2D very much; 19A’s blabbering Lego and and 14D, I need the practice on this sort of trickery.
Thanks to AP and to Huntsman ⭐️
Thanks to setter and solver, but two points – first is 17 a real word, it surely should have two l’s at the end? And the s of it’s in 18d is not part of the anagram
Hi T
The only words that end ‘full’ are ones that are describing how full something is, e.g brimfull * and bankfull. It’s a very rare ending. Houseful, handful, cupful, and 17a all have one L which makes no sense whatsoever. The reason is rubbish: they think a triple L isn’t right when adding ly, e.g colourfullly. If that’s an issue then just add y.
Ignoring the ‘s of a word like it’s is accepted crossword practice.
* Brimful is a variant (Brimful of Asha)
Tom, 18d. I think T’s point is that in the review above H has included the ‘s as part of the fodder.
Ah, apologies, T.
Duly amended T. Thanks.
I really should proof read what I’ve written.
I have been having problems getting on the site lately. We usually have lunch on the terrace in this weather, the table is just outside the conservatory doors and I have never had problems with internet connection in the past. I think the hot air is bugging it. I have come into the study to type this and I’m sure it will sail through, but I have typed things and banged ‘send’ so many times I felt CeeSue would put me on the Naughty Step for being a nuisance. I enjoyed this guzzle, 19a (I should have recognised ‘run’ for goodness sake) and the disciple had me running through Matthew, Mark etc and they were the last two in . I liked the loose stockings (wasn’t that a cracking University Challenge last night? If only the other team had been quicker on the button) and the Spanish train. Many thanks to our Setter and to the Hintsman.
A slightly trickier puzzle it would seem this week.
1.5*/3.5*
Favourites include 12a, 22a, 27a, 30a, 14d & 20d — with winners 27a & 20d
Thanks to AP & Huntsman
1*/4*. No different to any other Tuesday for me – very light and great fun.
I’m not entirely convinced that “document” in 4d is synonymous with the second syllable of the answer but, that aside, everything was hunky dory with 15a my favourite.
Many thanks to AP and Hintsman.
1.5* / 4* Slightly trickier than yesterday with plenty of wit and quirkiness.
Favourites the simple double definition (but last one in) flick at 6a, dark grey at 12a and the drunken fun at 17a
Thanks to compiler and Huntsman
Thanks to AP and Huntsman
Our usual late start. Mostly straightforward. Held up on a few towards the end. LOI 19a. COTD 3d.
Thanks to Setter and AP for the hints.
Our usual late start. Mostly straightforward. Held up on a few towards the end. LOI 19a. COTD 3d.
It must be the heat but I found the professor on the harder side today. As usual, once I had the answers, I wondered why. It was very enjoyable, nonetheless, with the usual crop of ticks scattered across the paper. My take on 23d was that it was a misdirection in that I took root as the definition so spent ages wondering how one would get in the way of a garden rake. Hey ho!. My COTD is the cleaner with short lapels at 12a.
Thank you, Professor Plumb for a diverting crossword. Thank you, Hintsman for the hunts.
Stay safe in the heat, my friends.
Hmmm , where did the ‘New ‘ come from in 14 d?
I’m clearly missing something in the explanation. Maybe the heat is frying my poor little brain. Not complaining though, we’ll probably be freezing soon!
14d is a reverse anagram which means that the anagram indicator and the fodder are both in the answer and the solution to the anagram is in the clue. So if you solve the anagram with ‘New’ as the indicator and ‘Orleans’ as the fodder you should get ‘loaners’. As the clue says ‘this’ (i.e. the answer) could be loaner’s.
Slightly harder than average for a Tuesday, but all fair and very enjoyable. I had 12a as my favourite followed by 15a.
Many thanks to the setter and to Huntsman for the hints
For me this was a bit harder than yesterday’s but still fairly gentle, but enjoyable too . I saw the other comments about the homophone at 23d, and I did think it was a bit odd , but hey it parses ok , so fine by me. I enjoyed reading the ghost stories from yesterday’s blog, which all stemmed from a goat story. Rather fun ! Thanks to Anthony Plumb and Huntsman.
As always a very enjoyable puzzle from Professor Plumb.
Huntsman, thanks for the hints. Hope you enjoyed your round of golf at Centurion.
I presume that you didn’t do better than Charley Hull’s 11 under par … but, maybe you took fewer putts than her on the 17th on Sunday?
I narrowly missed my birdie on 17 but safely tapped in for par & yes I’d exceeded Charley’s 62 whacks by the 15th hole. We won our match though….
I thought I’d walked onto the set of a Carry on 6 across what with bare men, intense former lovers, topless models, adults squeezing bottoms and fun with silk pants inter alia. I could even hear Leslie Phillips saying 13 across. Much 27 across to be had today, however. Thanks to setter and blogger and all those making comments. I don’t comment often but enjoy those who do. Nice and cool up in the north.
Brilliant description of today’s guzzle, SR. Do please consider commenting more often. 😊👍
As for your comment about it being nice and cool up North – “It are wicked to mock the afflicted” (B. H. [Calcutta] Failed). 🤣
Now, I wonder if anyone knows where that quote comes from. 🤔
Great post, SR!
I couldn’t agree more about the ‘Oh, I say’ theme.
You need to comment more as we’re clearly missing out.
Saying that, you’ve set the bar very high for yourself. So, maybe leave us wanting more…
Another enjoyable puzzle and lovely to get 1a immediately. 2d made me smile. I did get misdirected initially on 14d but saw the error of my ways. Lots to like though I wasn’t keen on the answer for 13a! Many thanks to the Setter and Huntsman.
I’ve actually had a go with the Toughie which is usually above my pay grade and just got 3 clues left to solve. Might be tempted to look at the hints ….
Like you HU, I find the Toughie tough. But today I failed only on 13 across. I would never have got it in a hundred years.
I never used to even bother with The Toughie, HU believing, as you, that it was way out of my league. Then I thought if I don’t look at them and use the hints to understand them I would never solve one. Then along came Chalicea and she gave me my first Toughie solve. I now look at them all and I’m gradually improving. They are always worth a look.
Indeed Steve, I was the same, never touched the Toughie. Then after pressure by you folks on here a few months back decided to give them a go and found they were nothing like as hard as I had feared. I tend not to do the Friday five star ones, otherwise I get stuck in and normally complete without even looking at the hints. And of course the Sunday one gives me another chance at the mythical. Today’s was almost a breeze.
Good evening
How could I possibly follow Scotrunner’s analysis above? 🤣🤣
OK – boring summary follows… an enjoyable solve and just the job for a long break in Exeter.
COTD is the excellent 8d.
Many thanks to the Prof and to Huntsman.
If it’s the heat making this puzzle tough, then every day is tough for me here in the sub tropics ☺️. But, strangely enough, according to our nightly news program just about everywhere in the US (NY, NJ, CA and everything in between) have been far hotter than us routinely. We are thankful that at least everything here is usually air conditioned, except outdoors of course. Spent too long on 3d thinking of the wrong Bette (Davies), and stupidly bunged in niggles at 5d. Thanks to setter for the challenge and to Huntsman.
A mixed social bag today – sadly attending a funeral this morning for a friend and neighbour, but partly a celebration as he had a long, well lived life until his 88th. Then this afternoon we are so proud of our granddaughter who will be marching across the stage to receive her Masters in Speech Pathology and Language. She’s already completed her two internships and starts her Fellowship at the end of the month.
Gosh, BL! What a day you’ve had.
Excellent Tuesday fare from the Prof. 14D & 23D my faves. VMT also to Huntsman.
I was not on the wavelength today at all. Much of the SW was unsolved. Seven clues beyond me.
Funnily enough I got 23d straight away and thought no more about it.
Thanks to all.
One of my “Nothing to do with cryptics” posts.
Is anyone else watching Ann Droid? Written and starring Diane Morgan along with Sue Johnston? The rapport between Morgan and Johnston is superb.
Slowly playing catchup on iPlayer – very clever, amusing and sometimes quite poignant. Nicely written. As you say, great rapport. Sue Johnston enhances anything she’s in – R4’s Preppers being a prime example.
Like others I struggled with this particularly in the SW so no walk in the park for me. Loved the schoolboy humour though. Favourite was 8d thanks to AP and Huntsman
Thanks to all commenting today.
Great fun on the golf course this afternoon followed by a good Indian meal & a few slurps.
A good night’s kip beckons…..
Just finished but got stuck in the SW corner. Needed the hints for 14d, but then became obvious and the rest fell into place.
Thanks to the setter and to Huntsman for the hints.
2*/3* …
liked 24A “Current stifling weather finally gets hot and steamy (8)”