Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3382 (Hints)
Hints and tips by Senf
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A very good Sunday morning from Winnipeg where, after a ‘Soggy Saturday’, I am hoping for a ‘Sunny Sunday’ as I will be attending an outdoor memorial for the 81st anniversary of VJ Day.
For me, and I stress for me,© Dada quirkily friendly, with seven anagrams (four partials), no lurkers, three(!) homophones, and one that, at first look, you might think is a homophone but isn’t all in a not much value for the money symmetric 28 clues; with 14 hints ‘sprinkled’ throughout the grid, all BRB verified where necessary, 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! You might even need your favourite e-search ‘assistant’!
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Candidates for favourite – 7a, 17a, 25a, 1d, and 22d.
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
7a Crew fed member right message (8)
All of a body member and the single letter for Right inserted into (fed) a synonym of crew.
11a Dash hopes of coppers put in post (10)
I had some initial confusion over coppers, however, once sorted – our favourite senior investigative policemen/women (coppers) and a term equivalent to put (a person) in post.
14a Form contains permit (8)
An anagram (form) of CONTAINS.
17a A demon barber and son quarrelling (2,4)
A from the clue, the last name of a fictional demon barber, who first appeared in a ‘penny dreadful’ in the mid-19th century, and the single letter for Son.
20a Boy joins company in splendid expression of approval (8)
All of a synonym of boy which follows (joins) the two letter abbreviated form of company are inserted into (in) a three letter synonym of splendid.
23a Free hospital seen in sailing down river? (2,3,5)
Firstly, the name of a river is needed – there are five so named rivers in the UK, the greatest of which flows into The Wash. The single letter for Hospital inserted into (seen in) a synonymic phrase, equivalent to sailing down the river, which includes the previously established name of the river.
26a E-tailers coming a cropper first (8)
An anagram (coming a cropper) of E-TAILERS.
Down
1d Toxic gas flash seen in planet (8)
All of the chemical symbol for the gas that makes up approximately 21% of the air we breathe and the two letters that are used for a flash (moment) in time inserted into (seen in – again!) the planet that comes closer to Earth than any other planet.
3d Restraint of union member in speech (6)
A homophone (in speech) of a single word term for “of union member” (where the union is until death or a divorce judge do us part).
5d Orderly upset with pet, we hear (10)
Not a homophone, although the definition might suggest it! An anagram (upset) of ORDERLY and (with) PET.
6d Island stood on top of ocean (6)
A synonym of stood (as in endured) placed before (on) the first letter (top) of Ocean.
16d First of leaders, they are awfully tough (8)
The first letter of Leaders and an anagram (awfully) of THEY ARE.
18d All there is around it is clean (8)
A single word equivalent to all there (as in state of mind) containing (is around) IT IS from the clue.
24d Post Irishman put up (4)
The reversal (put up) of the first name of an Irishman, this individual perhaps.
Quick Crossword Pun:
HUMP + TEA + DAM + TEE= HUMPTY DUMPTY
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Bereft of song/video ideas for today so, if all else fails, Atkins and Knopfler and no apologies I have used this before 493 Sunday blogs ago:
I’ve just done Prolixic’s NTSPP…it’s a really good puzzle, not too hard and a double pangram, to boot! Well worth a look, of you haven’t already.
I found this a wonderful puzzle to solve, with many it just involved closely following the instructions in the correct order. I’m glad 3d was hinted at, I have the correct answer, I think, but cannot see in the clue how to get the penultimate letter. Any suggestion appreciated😁. Thanks to Dada and Senf
As Senf said above. The answer is a 6 letter synonym of another 6 letter word meaning ‘of union member’.
Nice puzzle; thanks to Dada and to Senf.
Oops.. actually Senf didn’t say that.
It’s a 6 letter homophone of ‘of union member’
I’ve just re-read this thread, and I wonder if you’ve taken a 5 letter word for union member, and inserted an incorrect penultimate letter?
See if you can find a different word with a different 5th letter.
I can’t see any other way that there could be confusion over the penultimate letter.
I have amended the hint with quotation marks to show “of union member” which should clarify the requirement for a word to be a homophone of the answer. In this case “of” is very necessary not just adding to the “flow” of the clue.
What an enjoyable and challenging solve. Great misdirection and an anagram at 14a that I didn’t see for a long time.
For me, the top picks were 3d, 25a and then 18d.
This nicely constructed puzzle on a tricky grid took a bit of work but was an enjoyable romp.
It’s extremely rare to see ‘we hear’ not being a homophone indicator.
Am I being harsh, or plain wrong, that the synonym for ‘quiet’ in 22d isn’t strictly correct?
My picks are 17a, 25a and 3d.
Many thanks to Radio and Senf.
3*/4*
Well, Tom, what can I say? When one looks up ‘quiet’ in a certain Big Red Thesaurus there is the word needed for 22d.
I’m quite happy with the synonym, Tom.
It’s an ‘A implies B but B doesn’t imply A’ jobbie which is fair enough.
Onwards!
I was pondering for ages about using the first two letters of that word which also means quiet until it finally clicked. Definitely a viable synonym. Maybe you’re too “reserved.” 😁
Like it, Pally. Like it.
Gave up after 3 clues, it’s probably just me but I find these very concise type of puzzles no fun at all, hope others like it though.
I found this offering from Dada was quite problematic for me. After the first pass, I had solved just one clue and that was the last one – the Irishman at 24d. I then stared at the grid but nothing happened so I left it and got on with a few chores. Things were no different when I returned so I had to await the hints. Thank you, Senf for kick starting it for me with 1a. It was then a gradual, if tortuous, solve that I didn’t particularly enjoy. I do, however have a COTD and that is the saw user at 25a.
Thank you, Dada but you bamboozled me today. Thank you, Colonel for the very helpful hints.
Dada’s very entertaining today – thanks to him and Senf.
Top clues for me were 11a, 23a and 13d with my favourite being the very neat 18d.
A puzzle of two halves for me where one half was relatively straightforward and the other, anything but. Perseverance paid off in the end and I could admire the compiler’s skill. My podium comprises 17a, 13d and 19d. Thanks to Dada and Senf.
Firstly, I have just sat in awe of Atkins and Knopfler; great guitar work from 2 of the best, thank you Senf.
As for the puzzle, a very approachable offering from Dada. Not obvious at first, but building on the checkers in a snakes and ladders fashion I filled the grid without difficulty finishing in the NE with 4d. I liked 17a, the demon barber, and 14a was cleverly constructed, but the collar at 23d is my COTD.
My thanks to Dada and Senf for the entertainment.
1*/4*
Thanks for the comment on Chet and Mark. I have a second ‘if all else fails’ duo – a perhaps unlikely combination of Alison Krauss and Robert Plant.
Krauss and Plant are terrific together – my go to playlist for end of day listening.
I also agree with CD – what a mesmerising performance by Knopfler and Atkins.
1*, CD?
I managed to finish it in 3* time but I was on fire this morning. If I was just slightly off my game, it could have easily been 4* if not 5*.
You are a mighty fine solver.
I don’t recall you ever giving a 4* or 5* for difficulty. Have you?
Completed in *********** for me which is not bad for a Sunday prize puzzle. My last complete was 3D but struggled for ages to parse it. 1D was a clever bit of charading but I think my favourite was 23A and the clothing wordplay of 13D. 25A put me a mind of an old childhood joke about Irish lumberjacks 😄
[Please read Comment Etiquette #6 and don’t discuss solving times]
Wrist slapped. 😬 Will sit on naughty step for a bit.
And I doubt there will be cake. 😊
2*/4*. Good fun. 17a was my favourite.
Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.
A very entertaining crossword that took me a tad longer to finish mainly because I got 21d wrong which caused problems with 25a, my eventual clue of the day. Great stuff.
My thanks to both Dada and Senf.
Well, for me today, I found this another rather unfriendly Dada puzzle. Lots of personal thesaurus use and quirkiness throughout. Not one of my favourite puzzles today.
2.5*/3*
Favourites 8a, 4d, 5d & 15d — with winner 13d
Thanks to Dada & Senf