Sunday Telegraph Prize Crossword Prize Toughie 174 Sunday May 25Th 2025

[JBRare]

18d Standards beginning to lower amongst ridiculous works (8)

I am reasonably sure the answer is PATTERNS but would appreciate it if anyone could explain why

[Lie-in King]

If it's - ?A?T?R?S - then

Saltires (standards) - 'l(ower)' (beginning, in) 'satires' (?)

[Neveracrossword]

JBRare, did you try one of the 'help' sites? I've just had a look there and one gives Patterns - I think that's because they just go for letters/words that fit!

[Lie-in King]

I'll say it for the umpteenth time - those sites frequently give incorrect answers & I wish AB'ers wouldn't rely on them.

[modeste]

I put saltires. As LIK says "don't rely on help sites"!

[Neveracrossword]

Thanks, Lie-in King and modeste.   And JBRare might not have used any of the 'help' sites, but I  wasn't sure how Patterns would have come to mind.

[Lie-in King]

I like to think that we AB'ers are generally helpful & reliable enough to sort out most clues & answers between us 😉

[modeste]

Well said LIK. On a different note, my neighbour just handed me a parcel with a thesaurus and dictionary from the times.

[Lie-in King]

Well done, modeste! 😊  Sunday Cryptic?

[modeste]

LIK,yes number 5163, only runners up though!

[Lie-in King]

I won the 1st prize a very, very long time ago & haven't entered since.

Apologies to JBRare for the digression 🙂

[JBRare]

I don't use the help sites, I agree they are usually wrong. I got patterns from the thesaurus and missed the correct wordplay as it was way past my bedtime

[Neveracrossword]

JBRare, thanks for that - and  your update was what I was hoping for.  I've 'solved' clues wrongly myself in the past!

[Lie-in King]

Good to know, JBRare & glad I could help 🙂