Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31341
Hints and Tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty 2* – Enjoyment 4.5*
A very good Thursday morning from Winnipeg where Autumn is beginning to be in the air!
For me, and I stress for me© (I have to say that for Terence), not a Dream Team Thursday, Kcit is on Toughie duty. But, there is no doubt that this is the very entertaining work of the Master of Brevity. 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. 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 – 14a, 19a, 26a, 4d, 16d, and 17d.
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 Lucky devil on a trip abroad (12)
PROVIDENTIAL: Let’s start with a friendly anagram (abroad) of DEVIL ON A TRIP.
9a Iberian tip as tomato covers appetiser (9)
ANTIPASTO: When all else fails . . . A lurker (covers) found in the first four words of the clue.
10a Grand platform for Labour maybe (5)
GRAFT: Ignoring the misleading upper case L of Labour, the first letter of Grand and a type of (floating) platform.
11a Head of state worried and anxious (6)
SCARED: The first letter (head) of State and a (frequent) synonym of worried.
12a Surface material of the stars (8)
SIDEREAL: A four letter term for a surface of a box(?) and a synonym of material.
13a Israeli capital? (6)
SHEKEL: Not the capital city, rather what can be used for making purchases.
14a Nitrogen and oxygen in cold drug (8)
NARCOTIC: The chemical symbol for Nitrogen followed by the chemical symbol for Oxygen inserted into a region of the Earth that can also be used as an adjectival synonym of cold.
17a Persistent criminal’s hit with time (8)
CONSTANT: One of our favourite abbreviated synonyms of criminal’s, so don’t forget the ‘S, a synonym of hit (a miscreant’s back side?), and (with) the single letter for Time.
19a Empty beer vessel? He’ll fill it! (6)
BREWER: BeeR with the interior letters removed (empty) and a type of vessel (more commonly used for water?).
22a Blabs in theatre consuming drink (8)
ABSINTHE: Just like 9a, a lurker (consuming) found in three words in the clue.
24a Respecting church vessel for apse (6)
RECESS: The two letter Latin based term that can be a synonym of respecting, the two letter abbreviation of the Anglican church, and one of the ‘designations’ of an ocean-going vessel.
26a Upstanding before court (5)
ERECT: A literary or poetic synonym of before and the two letter abbreviation of court.
27a Protects a shaky witness (9)
SPECTATOR: An anagram (shaky) of PROTECTS A.
28a Request a hard ground for base (12)
HEADQUARTERS: Another anagram (ground) of REQUEST A HARD.
Down
1d Party’s leader steps up producing cheers (7)
PRAISES: The first letter (leader) of Party and a synonym of steps up.
2d Crazy to argue for crime (7)
OUTRAGE: An anagram (crazy) of TO ARGUE.
3d Complete tool (9)
IMPLEMENT: A double definition – I’m not sure that I need to say any more.
4d Language is Queen’s English (4)
ERSE: The regnal letters of our dear late Queen, including the possessive S, and the single letter for English.
5d Current carrying resistance is hot (8)
TROPICAL: A synonym of current (as at this time) containing (carrying) the single letter for (electrical) Resistance.
6d Republican in fever creating squabble (5)
ARGUE: The single letter for Republican inserted into (in) a synonym of fever.
7d Perhaps mother or father split (6)
PARENT: The singular of a word that describes mother and father together.
8d Type placing emphasis on words? (6)
ITALIC: A (sloping) type that can be used for emphasis.
15d Fish list possibly seen in chippy (9)
CARPENTER: A freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae and a verbal synonym of list.
16d So sweetheart in climax gets excited (8)
ENTHUSED: All of a synonym of so and Ray T’s swEetheart inserted into (in) a synonym of climax.
17d Beginning to cook bird, say, chicken (6)
CRAVEN: The first letter (beginning) of Cook and guess a bird (but it’s not a chicken) – the illustration should help.
18d Scoffed, working around wooden building (6)
NOSHED: The reversal (around) of the usual two letter synonym of working followed by a wooden (storage?) building.
20d With others the French struggle (7)
WRESTLE: The single letter for With, a synonym of (the) others, and one of the translations of ‘the’ into French.
21d Relaxation’s about vacant outdoor spas (7)
RESORTS: A synonym of relaxation and the ‘S containing (about) OutdooR with the interior letters removed (vacant).
23d Gunpowder’s part in victories, occasionally (5)
NITRE: Note that part is an integral part of the definition; alternate letters (occasionally), I’ll let you decide if it is odds or evens, from in victories.
25d Reportedly ring sweetheart (4)
BEAU: A homophone (reportedly) of a synonym of ring – which can be found in The Big Red Thesaurus!
Quick Crossword Pun:
CORE + FIB + RAKE = COFFEE BREAK
As Senf says, RayT has his personal thesaurus by his side today but still very enjoyable. I solved 9a without realising it was a lurker using the checkers instead. I thought the surface of 27a was terrific and that is my COTD.
Thank you, RayT for a great puzzle. Thank you, Colonel for the hints and cartoons.
I didn’t get the Quickie pun because I had “Lie” for the second word.
You obviously don’t do the whole of the Quickie, that’s cheating!
We are approaching the business end of the week but with a ‘sweetheart’ and a ‘queen’ on show there’s no doubt that this is the work of Ray T.
I had to dip into a red book before 12a revealed itself, for some reason I bunged in the wrong vowel at the end of 23d and the 8d type kept me pondering until it became the LOI.
Apart from those pauses and an initial failure to recognise one of the long anagrams I found it a very enjoyable exercise.
COTD – 14a the cold drug.
My thanks to Ray T and Senf for the hints.
This puzzle yielded some familiar answers which, along with some clever clues, allowed me to fill in the grid until I ground to halt with 6 to go. I couldn’t figure them out, so I resorted to the tips and answers for which I’m grateful, and was put out of my misery.
As Senf hinted, 25d is unusual.
I was stressed into putting the wrong answer at 8d.
Thanks to setter and hinter.
A tricky little number where persistence paid off in the end. In truth, it was a dnf unaided as I needed the hints on a couple to nudge me in the correct direction. I have two lurker on my podium, 9a and 22a accompanied by 12a. Thanks to Ray T and Senf.
Solved during a Quickie pun – fast out of the traps & maintained a strong pace throughout. A bit of a parsing head scratch at 14a put paid to a sub 1* time finish but still all over in Mon/Tues time. As ever concisely clued throughout, very enjoyable for the short time it lasted & with some cracking surfaces. We’ve not heard any news from Terence’s Committee members for some time but I dread to think what Miss Abridge made of 16d, which was my fav clue.
Thanks to Ray & to Senf
Ps Kcit over in t’other place is also surprisingly gentle for a Thursday Toughie.
A benign RayT today. 25d LOI as it wasn’t in my personal thesaurus.
16d a little risqué for the Telegraph. 14a favourite today.
Thanks to Ray and Senf
Hi SL8
I think RayT meant ‘finale’ like the end of a show.
Not sure about that Tom 😀
Gosh. If you’re right then that’s a big shout from RayT and the gang at T Towers.
All deliberately risque. Ray T can be a very naughty boy.
Wow. Check out RayT Hee
I am surprised.
Now you see , being pure at heart nothing risqué ever crossed my mind!
Please forgive me taking on an experienced and august hinter as Senf, but isn’t the parsing of 7d a synonym of Father + a synonym of split, to give a word of which “mother” is an example?
I feel slightly uncomfortable taking on someone who has provided oodles of hints over the years. I ask for my own education.
Thanks to both RayT for the puzzle and for Senf for the hints.
That’s how I passed it too!
Predictive text changed parsed to passed!
And me
I’m with you on 7d, that’s how I parsed it.
I agree about 7d. I would say the first two words are the definition and the last three words are the crytic word-play as you describe.
That’s how I parsed it.
Another clever Ray T puzzle to enjoy and great fun too, personal thesaurus included. There were somlovely long anagrams. I loved 1a and 28a. I liked thesurface read of the 15d meld and the lurker at 9a. Last but not least on a crowded podium was the double definition at 3d. Thank you Mr T for a sparkling puzzle and to Senf for the hints .
Fortnightly Fred at his succinct best, dipping under a five word average per clue.
Just when I had moved on from ‘Abroadgate’, he sets me off again. And it was the first clue, no less!
Blabs is such a great word, almost onomatopoeic. Whenever I see 15d, I think of it starting a joke: ‘Fish walk into a chippy….’
I was surprised to see him choose ‘vessel’ in 19a as it was used in 24a. Maybe ‘jug’ or ‘pitcher’ could have worked?
I always enjoy political clues and there were a plethora today. Well, four of them.
My picks are 19a, 27a (excellent surface) and 20d. I’d’ve gone with 1a for its surface but it hurts too much to acknowledge it.
MTTTA and S.
2*/4*
I love the pun as it’s how a Chicago mobster would say it.
P.S
11a is one of those six-letter words that contains lots of smaller ones with 10 (minimum two letters and no anagrams).
There’s a very similar six-letter one that has 11.
And the answer is….
A ‘Quicktic’ but nonetheless an archetypal RayT puzzle, complete with ribald humour, 16a raising a broad grin. A wonderful crossword.
Honours to 14a, 19a and 17d
Many thanks to the Maestro and to Senf
For me, and I stress for me (© Senf), I understand that Miss Abinger fainted whilst perusing the clue for 16 down today. As she was late for flower arranging in the church, Reverend Peaslake called round, and found her all of a flutter. Already distressed as Colonel Bagshot has returned from a summer playing the tables at Casino de Monte-Carlo, Miss Abinger has written to Mr Lancaster requesting that a warning be given in advance for such ‘X’ rated content.
Yesterday evening, we tootled along to Cadogan Hall to see Todd Rundgren on his latest tour. Seventy-eight years old and full of voice, astonishing guitar work, and brimming with joie de vivre.
Great guzzle – thanks to RayTee and, of course, The Man From Manitoba
Please convey my apologies to Miss Abinger for misremembering her name – I trust my concern for her welfare sufficient compensation
A fairly mild puzzle from Ray T. His usual laconic clues provided an enjoyable solve (while it lasted). Several ticks and I’ll plump for 14a as my favourite. 2.5*/3.5*.
From my MRB:
A couple of gravestone epitaphs.
A daily thought
A silent sadness
I have seen yesterday
I know tomorrow
To die would be a very big adventure
My tombstone story is also true. When at a well known Monumental Mason in Cambridge choosing a stone slab to commemorate the Millennium, I wandered round whilst the paperwork was being done and spoke to a mason carving on an old stone. I said – I suppose you often get asked to add names to old stones? Yes he replied but never one trike this before. It was a twin being reunited with his sibling and the memorial stone said “Same womb, same tomb’. I swear that is true.
😀😁
Superb!
A typical Thursday, difficult in parts and odd word I’d never heard of .i.e 11a..Beau /ring not for me though I understand it is listed somewhere .I initially put carpentry for 15d , it seemed to fit better than the eventual winner.As a result 28a was a non starter .No real favourites . Thanks to all .
Mild for a Thursday but no less enjoyable for it. LOI was 12a for which I had to wait for the checkers, but otherwise a speedy fill. The long anagrams at 1a and 28a were nicely crafted and join the alcoholic lurker at 22a on my podium. I’m with Dryden and co re parsing of 7d.
My thanks to RayT and Senf
1*/3*
Obviously TDS knows the same mobster as I do, except mine was living in NY.
* (****) / ****
Sorry for the difficulty rating but this one flew by except for 25d, which although obvious now, just would not come to me even with the hint, hence a DNF!!!
Ticks went to the 3d complete tool for its cheeky surface, 12a because it plays to my interest in astronomy and of course the committee baiting 16d – superb! Re-reading, the clue construction is just so good and maybe the 20d comment on the French should also have climbed onto my overcrowded podium.
Many thanks to RayT and Senf.
Nice to see RayT today with his fortnightly back pager puzzle. As always succinctness and brevity abound as does the exactness of his clueing. Nice to see the Queen and his sweetheart put in an appearance too.
2*/4* for me
Favourites 1a, 14a, 19a, 3d, 8d & 18d — with winner 14a
Thanks to RayT & Senf
I thought this was quite straightforward apart from 25d.
Top picks for me were 17d, 24a and 15d.
Thanks to Senf and Ray T.
Of course I loved the anagrams, and the drug was clever, the frightened bird, and the HQ. I did not care for 18d as it is a word I would never use, it is ugly. Thank you Setter for a very enjoyable guzzle completed after a trip to the dentist (see you in 6 months God Willing) and a nip into Waitrose for three items which turned into a trolley load. Mussels tonight. Many thanks also to Senf – I too put “lie” in the quickie pun!
Delayed putting in the answer to 25d as I couldn’t find confirmation in the thesaurus nor the little red book. Although finally did via reverse -ie looking at bow to find ring (still don’t agree with it tho!!). My flabber was well and truly gasted by 16d!!
Loved the two lurkers at 9 and 22a – nicely done.
Thanks to the setter and to Senf
When will I remember that capital can stand for coinage. So ran off to knitter Natter with I gap in the crossword so effectively DNF. Must remember to kick myself . All very entertaining and I do not tell John just how risqué Mr.T can be.
Thanks all round.
I enjoyed this puzzle. Can someone give an example of a sentence including the ‘sounds like’ answer to 25D. I can’t make any connection between the two words.
Bow (its apparently a synonym of ‘Ring’ from the clue) and is a homophone of Beau. I commented above (19) about not being totally convinced
As I have rung the Great Bell of Bow, it came to my mind immediately.
Hi SL
The closest I can get is there is a bow ring that’s an item of jewellery. Maybe they’re known as bows in the trade? Probably not.
It would be nice to know as I’m clutching at straws.
Just to clarify: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/bow
“7. a metal ring forming the handle of a pair of scissors or of a large old-fashioned key”
An enjoyable puzzle which I completed in a personal best time so had to check that it was Thursday. However, on checking the hints I realised that all was not, as it seemed, and I had the wrong answer in for 11a (shaken). So not so clever, after all! I hesitated at 12a but guessed right and was tempted to put carpentry in at 15d but changed my mind. Nearly missed the clever lurker at 22a. Got 25d but not sure if I parsed it correctly (thinking of church bells). Must crack on, out for a nice meal early this evening and much to do before then. Many thanks to the setter Mr RT and to Senf.
My posts may well be sporadic over the next week. My daughter and son-in-law are over from Melbourne and we are going here and there.
Play nice, children. 😊
Very enjoyable, wonderful anagrams, clever (and easily missed) lurkers and couple that needed checking (12a and 25d). How this is achieved with such brief clues on such a consistent basis I have no idea.
Many thanks to RayT and to Senf for the hints.
… re 25d and above hints, not in my BRB. I grt the gist though!
2.5* / 3.5* Found this quite tricky for a Thursday and needed help for 12a so technically a dnf.
Favourites the lucky anagram at 1a, the lurking drink at 22a and the chicken at 17d
Also special mention for the the excellent quickie pun.
Thanks to Senf and compiler
Probably got about 60% completed before I had to resort to the hints. The western half went in relatively easily, although I completely missed the hidden at 22a, if in doubt check for… Just shows how one can learn something new, I had always believed that the answer to 17d meant greedy, avaricious, etc. That said some nice clues, 13a and 14a spring to mind. But my favourite was the chippy at 15d, there will only ever be one Karen.
Thank you to the setter and to Senf for the hints.
Evening all. Many thanks to Senf for the review and to all for your comments. As always, much appreciated.
RayT
Thank you, RayT for another enjoyable puzzle.
Typically Thursday for me. Completed the majority of this after several seeeps but then left with three I couldn’t solve without help.
8d, 12a and 25d.
I accept that bow is a synonym of ring in the BRB but not in my brain. 12a a new word. 8d just disappointed I didn’t get
I liked the lurker in 22a it reminded me of a night in Soho twenty years ago. The first and last time I tried it
Thanks all
I bought a second BRB for my outhouse , as it’s usually in the wrong place when I need it – A plug for World Of Books as I bought a second hand copy for £7 and free postage and as the first one was, it’s in brand new condition, so highly recommend them. I sold some books to them too, which is a good way to make a few quid and clear some space. We digress ..
So I put my new book to use straight away today. I enjoyed the puzzle , flew through most of it but a few held me up which is always good actually to keep the brain in gear. My last one in was 25d which near drove me demented. There’s something about words with 3 vowels in a row that cause me to be word blind , that plus the homophone synonym is unusual , but as already stated is in the BRB , so there you have it ! I spent a while on 17d not knowing it meant chicken . 12a too I spent a while on , at one stage with the ‘surface’ connection came up with venereal , what with 16d being a bit ooh er too 😀. Thanks to Ray T for the unintended ?? naughtiness especially and to Senf.
My vote’s for 19A in a v enjoyable puzzle. VMT Ray & Senf.
All the usual suspects to mark it as a Rayt production except an acrostic for the second crossword in a row. A smattering of ooh er missis and schoolboy humour plus a few head scratchers to keep us honest. Perfect. Favourite was 14a. Thanks to the aforementioned and Senf.
Did better than I usually do on a Thursday, perhaps brain power improved with brief sedation during procedure yesterday 😊. Thrilled that everything went well and I am now officially too old to justify any more of that type. Rather enjoyed this RayT today, with COTD going to 3d, beautifully cryptic. 12a was a new word for me, and I am such an innocent I can’t figure out what was risqué about 16a…. Thanks to Senf for helping me to fill in the gaps.
Glad that you had good news !🥰
Very late on parade today having spent two hours driving only for my team to get thrashed at cricket and then spending two more hours driving home.
That’s an end to the moans. This puzzle was an absolute joy to solve and worthy of a 2*/5* rating.
Many thanks to RayT and to Senf.
2*/4* …
liked the grand platform for Labour in 10A.
After a wet last few holes on the golf course today and a few at the 19th I eventually got around to this and boy it took a while to get going, plenty slotted in but then hit a brick wall with 2-3 left but apart from 12a got there eventually. David Gray in the background 🎸
A tired solve at this late hour, so it was a little harder than it should’ve been. LOI the starry 12A, didn’t know this word.
Pody picks – the lurker booze of 22A, the naughty 16D and a tie between the chunky anagrams of 1A and 28A.
Thanks to Ray T and Senf ⭐️
Urgh – i find Thursday offerings almost impossible as, being fairly new to these cryptics, getting to know each setter’s way of thinking is a massive challenge. How does a newbie even begin to unravel the mindset of each setter. Some days I can complete the grid, others I am mystified – usually a Thursday. How does one penetrate the fog when a setter has a “personal thesaurus” as I often see referred to?
I always used to dread the Thursday Ray T cryptic as, like you, I found them very difficult. However, reading the hints each week I gradually got to understand his style and he is now one of my favourite setters.
We on the blog are all at different stages/abilities in solving the puzzles and I’ve found I’m still learning every day. I have improved so much since finding this blog. All I can suggest is to keep going and recognise that some days your solving abilities will be better than other days but there is always an opportunity to learn and improve your understanding of the clue constructions.
The people on this blog are generally very friendly and will answer questions if you are still unsure after reading the hints. The only time we have to be restrained is on the prize puzzles at the weekend (which I’d always thought would be much more difficult as there is a prize involved but actually they are usually at the same level as the weekday ones).
Hi Noosin
The end of the week can be a challenge for all of us.
I would approach these tougher ones as your Everests.
The fact that you can complete one is a hell of an achievement, believe me, as it takes most people years to master. You should be very proud.
Keep powering on and enjoy the journey, one crampon at a time.