Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31394
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 suitably tricky for a Wednesday: some artistic, geographical and literary general knowledge is required, and there are one or two rather 17d words. Amongst my favourite clues were 8d, 13d, 15d and 23d, but tying for top spot today are 6d and 10a. I also liked the Quickie pun. Many thanks to our setter.
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 Regularly jabbed old chaps in the tummy (7)
ABDOMEN: The alternate letters (regularly) of ‘jabbed’, the abbreviation of ‘old’, and a synonym of ‘chaps’.
5a Pad out black leather ‘older for gun (7)
BOLSTER: The symbol for black on a pencil, and a word for a (usually leather) gun-case worn on the hip from which the initial letter has been dropped, like it has in “‘older”.
9a Cold day to be fooling around here in the Med (5)
CAPRI: The symbol for ‘cold’ on a tap, and four letters that, when split (3,1), look like the date in the year when practical jokes are traditionally played.
10a Cattle run haphazardly, needing a prod? (9)
RELUCTANT: An anagram (haphazardly) of CATTLE RUN.
11a Cleared English figure punching adult (10)
EXONERATED: The abbreviation for ‘English’, and the word for the figure 1, inside (punching) a term describing an adult film.
12a Emperor starts to talk sense about Russia (4)
TSAR: The initial letters (starts to) of the last four words in the clue.
14a Dish – for crooked farm labourer? (9,3)
SHEPHERD’S PIE: A cryptic definition of a dish named after a farm worker who might carry a crook.
18a Watch as snake shocked provincial N Americans here (12)
SASKATCHEWAN: An anagram (shocked) of WATCH AS SNAKE.
21a American subaltern second to lose voice (4)
ALTO: The single-letter abbreviation for American, the abbreviation for a subaltern or lieutenant, and the second letter in ‘lose’.
22a Cuddly Tom, smashing husband for the missus (2,3,5)
MY OLD DUTCH: An anagram (smashing) of CUDDLY TOM, and the abbreviation for ‘husband’. The origin of this term for ‘wife’ is uncertain. There are some suggestions on Wikipedia.
25a Compact area outside Maine, fresh temperature (9)
AGREEMENT: Start with the abbreviation for ‘area’, then place a synonym for ‘fresh’ or ‘new’ around (outside) the abbreviation for the US state of Maine, and finish with the abbreviation for ‘temperature’.
26a Good wander in wooded area (5)
GROVE: The abbreviation for ‘good’, and a word meaning to wander.
27a Cry out suddenly “Alimony!” (7)
EXCLAIM: The solution could be a cryptic definition of a demand from a former spouse for financial support.
28a Ripped off covers from Honshu street light (7)
HUSTLED: The first and last letters of (covers from) ‘Honshu’, the abbreviation for ‘street’, and the abbreviation for light-emitting diode.
Down clues
1d Topless demonstrator, one from Ambridge? (6)
ARCHER: A synonym of ‘demonstrator’ without its initial letter (topless, in a down clue) could describe a member of the cast of a long-running radio drama.
2d Unfold vacuous defensive gambit (6)
DEPLOY: The first and last letters (vacuous) of ‘defensive’, and another word for a gambit or stratagem.
3d Town boss supports males receiving assistance (10)
MAIDENHEAD: A synonym of ‘boss’ goes after (supports, in a down clue) a word for adult males around (receiving) a synonym of ‘assistance’, to give us the name of a Berkshire town on the River Thames.
4d Opera from Schumann or Mahler? (5)
NORMA: This Bellini opera is hidden in the last three words of the clue.
5d Lebedev working on summerhouse (9)
BELVEDERE: An anagram (working) of LEBEDEV, and a preposition meaning ‘on’ or ‘concerning’. The name of this architectural structure comes from the Italian for ‘beautiful view’.
6d Mad, Charlie gets stuck in the gents (4)
LOCO: The letter represented by Charlie in the NATO phonetic alphabet is ‘stuck’ inside an informal word for a toilet.
7d Time published month long piece set in church (8)
TRANSEPT: The abbreviation for ‘time’, a synonym of ‘published’ (in a newspaper, for example), and a four-letter abbreviation of one of the months of the year.
Credit: Lusitana CC BY-SA 3.0
8d Yielded runs? England’s opener got some spin (8)
RETURNED: The abbreviation for ‘runs’ in cricket, the first letter (opener) of ‘England’, and a word meaning ‘spun’, which also describes the behaviour of a ball delivered by a spin bowler.
13d Dad’s going out with reggae artist (5,5)
EDGAR DEGAS: An anagram (going out) of DADS REGGAE.
“The Star”, 1879
15d Perhaps Elephant Man created by Stevenson beset by awful cramp (9)
PACHYDERM: The alter ego of Dr Jekyll in a novella by Robert Louis Stevenson is placed inside (beset by) an anagram (awful) of CRAMP.
16d Adult daughter features in Prison Break caper (8)
ESCAPADE: The abbreviations for ‘adult’ and ‘daughter’ inside a word that could describe a prison break.
17d Secret gathering of Tories in the City of London (8)
ESOTERIC: An anagram (gathering) of TORIES inside the postcode area that covers the City of London.
19d A walk in the park for F1 driver? (6)
STROLL: A double definition: this word for a leisurely walk is also the surname of a Canadian Formula 1 driver.
20d Smart wife cut up skirts (6)
SHREWD: A synonym of ‘to cut up’ is placed around (skirts) the abbreviation for ‘wife’.
23d Section of lock in canal at Chester (5)
LATCH: Hidden in the last three words of the clue.
24d Newspaper article about English cheese (4)
FETA: The abbreviation for a pink daily newspaper and the indefinite article are placed around (about) the abbreviation for ‘English’.
Which clues did you like best? Let us know in the comments below.
The Quick Crossword pun: STARE + WAITER + EVAN = STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
This enjoyable puzzle was certainly a step up in difficulty from the last 2 days. Most of it was readily accessible from some clever wordplay, but I needed to confirm that the F1 driver existed, as it is one sport I do not follow, and to check the hint for 9a although the answer was obvious with the checkers. A nice anagram for the North American province. Ticks galore with 11a, 22a, 27a and 15d to the fore.
Many thanks to the setter and DL
2.5*/4.5*
PS – what a great Quickie pun.
2.5*/5*. I thought this was a top-notch puzzle – nicely challenging and great fun.
27a was LOL moment so it gets my vote as favourite.
Many thanks to the setter (my guess is Hudson) and to our multi-aliased blogger.
Monday on a Wednesday! 1.5*/4.5*
Candidates for favourite – 14a, 27a, 7d, and 24d – and the winner is 14a.
Thanks to whomsoever and Deansleigh.
On Sunday, I had a mild brain failure and forgot my usual Remembrance Sunday musical tribute so here it is on Remembrance Day:
A bit more meat on the bones than the last couple of days, I liked the missus in 22a, Elephant Man at 15d and best of all, the fisticuffs occurring in 11a.
My thanks to our setter and Deano.