DT 29030 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29030 (Hints)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29030 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club

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As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, 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

1a    Handle cars in irregular trade (10)
Some small cars inside an anagram (irregular) of TRADE

6a    One of pair once popular in America (4)
The first name of one of this popular duo is hidden in the final word of the clue

 

11a    Cooked pure supply of food that’s kosher (9)
An anagram (cooked) of PURE is followed by a “supply of food”

13a    Renegade characteristic shown by lowly soldiers (7)
A characteristic is followed by the two-letter abbreviation for some rank and file soldiers

18a    They may be seen at Covent Garden — work scrubbing King Edwards? (5,7)
A two-letter work is followed by a verb meaning scrubbing or deleting, the regnal cipher of King Edward and the S from ‘S

23a    See head of BBC occupying grand accommodation (7)
This is a charade of a two-letter word meaning see, the two-letter abbreviation for the head of the BBC, a two-letter word meaning occupying and G(rand)

25a    The brightest star among historical pharaohs (5)
Hidden (among) inside the clue

27a    America perhaps hosting golf team (10)
The type of land mass of which North or South America is an example around the letter represented by golf on the NATO Phonetic alphabet

Down

1d    Copper and gold glow (6)
The chemical symbol for gold followed by a verb meaning to glow

2d    US state keeps Republican jolly (6)
… if you’ve not seen this definition before, it’s a Usual Suspect!

3d    One’s often played at Wembley with people such as Shearer before the start of match (8,6)
Some people followed by the first name of former footballer Shearer, THE from the clue and the initial letter (start) of M[atch]

5d    European levy raised trapping papa who’s living abroad (5)
E(uropean) followed by the reversal (raised)of a levy around (trapping) the letter represented by papa in international radio communication

9d    When duels traditionally take place, with familiar cricket commentator and doctor entering prepared to fight (2,7,5)
When duels traditionally take place (2,4) around a familiar cricket commentator and the abbreviation for doctor

16d    Morse, cop playing Wagner perhaps (8)
An anagram (playing) of MORSE COP

17d    Ages taken up by single interval (8)
Ages or periods reversed (taken up in a down clue) followed by a single gives one of the lesser intervals of the musical scale

19d    Spot politician in large building (6)
Out usual politician inside a large imposing building

22d    Greek character takes in endangered creature (5)
A three-letter Greek character around IN from the clue

The Crossword Club is now open.


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The Quick Crossword pun:

Top row: quay+pup+with

Bottom row: urge+own+zees=keep up with the jones’s


43 comments on “DT 29030 (Hints)

  1. Quite a challenge but very satisfying to complete except that i am stuck on the clue 21a. The playwright is obvious but i cannot get the beginner and there are two words both of which could be an impressionist.
    Any help within the usual parameters would be most appreciated.
    Thx to all
    ***/****

    1. 21a Beginner in role penned by playwright who makes an impression (7)

      You need to read the clue again, it’s not “beginner” but “beginner in role”

  2. 3*/4*. My heart sank when I saw the page filled with words but I very much warmed to this puzzle as I settled into it. The ultra smooth surfaces throughout coupled with plenty of penny-drop moments turned this into a 4* rating for me for enjoyment.

    This doesn’t often happen that I get to nominate a 15 word clue as my favourite but today 9d gets the accolade.

    Many thanks to the setter and to BD.

  3. It took me a while to adjust to the setter’s wavelength but I eventually completed it in ** time. Though there were some good clues (9d was my favourite) some were really too wordy. This reduced my enjoyment somewhat. Thanks to the setter and to BD for help parsing some bung-ins

  4. Took me a while to get into this one and I’d be shamed to admit how long I spent trying to scrub spuds in 18a!

    All came together eventually and I have to agree with RD about the long 9d. I’d also award a place on the podium to the simple 27a.

    Thanks to our setter and to BD for the club. Hope you have a special treat planned for tomorrow?

  5. Don’t mean to be picky but isn’t the caption for the image for 3d giving away the answer?

    1. You used to be able to use a parameter &showinfo=0 to suppress the title, but it doesn’t work anymore. I might investigate a plugin to do the job instead.

  6. Thoroughly enjoyed this and agree with those above that 9d was excellent. Also liked the other long one – 3d and luckily I knew the chap mentioned. Nothing to dislike. Many thanks to the setter and BD

  7. Agree with most of the above comments , slow start then steady progress with enjoyment growing and 9D COTD . Also, agree with Brian re 3D .

    Lovely day for our first bowls league match .

    Happy Easter to everyone .

  8. Good, lighthearted fun which fell into place without too much aggro. Perhaps rather too many wordy clues. Last to fall was 1d which I now nominate as Fav. Thank you Mysteron and BD.

  9. I really loved this puzzle, particularly 9d. I was in the same form at school with the daughter of the late, great Johners. Years later I asked how she felt when she heard his voice unexpectedly, like on Desert Island Discs, where you often get the clip of ‘not getting his leg over’! She loved it and loved knowing that so many people felt they knew her Dad. That clip always makes me laugh so thanks to the setter for the puzzle today and for 9d in particular!

    1. You might be amused to know that I’m going to send a pdf of my completed puzzle to the person in question in 9d, Manders, and I’m sure that he’ll be amused by his inclusion in today’s puzzle.

      Thank you for the hints today, Dave, because I needed one and Many Happy Returns of the Day for tomorrow. By the way, I don’t seem to have your current email address…

        1. Thank you, Dave, and now you know why I didn’t wish you and Pam a Happy Christmas – the postmaster stepped in! Have a good day tomorrow and I promise I’ll send you a screenshot of any reply I may receive in connection with 9d.

    2. It may be apocryphal, but here is another Test Match Special ‘excerpt’ – The batsman is Holding the bowler’s Willy!

      1. No, it’s not apocryphal, Senf, but it’s the other way around. The batsman was Peter Willey and the bowler was Michael Holding – one of the most lethal bowler’s that the world has ever seen, nicknamed ‘Whispering Death’. “The bowler’s Holding; the batsman’s Willey.”

  10. Not as tricky as some recent Saturday puzzles, enjoyably completed at a gallop – 2.5*/3*.

    Favourite – 9d, partly because it is not often we see a fourteen letter answer that has more words in the clue.

    Thanks to the setter and BD.

  11. The Quick Crossword pun runs to six words today. The three clues in the bottom row complete the saying.

  12. Not too many issues, except I put the ‘Pennies From Heaven’ playwright for 21a!! That was loi once I realised my mistake.
    A shame that TMS is no longer the preserve of wordsmiths like Brian Johnston and John Arlott.
    Thanks all

  13. First pass and this seemed a bit daunting but after a stint getting our little greenhouse ready for Tom’s I picked up the pace over the rest. Quite a bit of GK and cricket/footy knowledge required today that didn’t detract from the puzzle. Thanks to BD and setter.

  14. Loved 9d – although couldn’t keep WG out of mind. Lots of merry scarlet waders for tomorrow to BD

  15. Took a while to get a toe hold on this one but once I got the setters mind it was a steady & rewarding solve ,,, some very good surfaces for the solve!
    3*/4*
    Many thanks to setter & BD for review.

  16. Like others, it took forever to get on wavelength. At one point I was stuck in the NW corner and had to visit BD’s hints to get going again.
    Having two wrong answers at 18a and 15d certainly didn’t help any.
    I knew 3d had to be what it was but had no idea who the chap was.
    There was a lot to like, I think fave is 9d.
    Thanks to the setter and to BD for his hints and pics.

  17. Several of these had me scratching my head – I am really cross to have missed the lurker in 6a I thought it was one of a pair of rather nasty rubber shoes! Thanks for putting me right – enjoy the sunshine everyone although it is worrying to be watering the garden in April!

  18. Thanks to the setter and to Big Dave for the hints. A nice puzzle today, with a few to make you think. Took a while to get 6a before the penny eventually dropped. Needed the hints to parse 18a. I liked 3D, but my favourite was 9d. Was 2*/4* for me.

  19. Tricky but very doable. Didn’t spot the lurker in 6a, and 9d was my favourite. Very enjoyable and great fun to complete. A six word pun in the Quickie. Well well.

    Thanks setter and BD.

  20. I was slow to get going but once I had it all came together quite smoothly. I liked 6a, the penny was remarkably slow to fall!
    Thanks to the setter, and to BD for the hints.

  21. Tougher than the last few days, but I got there eventually. Also fell into the spuds trap in 15a. Thanks to setter and Big Dave.

  22. That felt a little tricky while solving, but still finished in about **ish time. Enjoyed, with the SW corner last in.

  23. I’m not as late as usual, later than most though. The Johners references brought back memories and made me smile, as did dome of the clues. I remember driving along in an old banger with a coat hanger for an aerial trying to listen to TMS and hearing lots of sniggering and giggling but having missed the comment due to poor reception. It took me ages to find out what they were laughing at. The leg over is now the stuff of legend. I chose my words carefully. I agree with all comments above. Thank to setter and BD.

  24. Very late here today so all I probably need to say is that I agree with most of the earlier comments.
    It took me ages to get anywhere near the right wave length and I had very few answers for ages.
    All I could think of with 18a was something to do with spuds – oh dear!
    I enjoyed this one a lot so thanks to the setter and to BD.

  25. Very late to the party and a great set of clues and hints but 6a really threw me as I thought the answer was one of two once standing proud in NYC.

  26. Pretty easy.
    I don’t get it. On another day, this would have been a real challenge. Perhaps, the variability in skill is influenced by the red wine.

  27. Spent as much time working out the pun
    in the quick crossword, as I did on the prize.

  28. Enjoyed yesterday’s puzzle with the help of my son in law. With family staying, finding time was tricky…last in was 24a as it was held up by 17d -thanks for the hint on that, Dave. Of course 9d was the best so one had to be a cricket fan to get that one!
    I missed the anagram on 14a although I had the answer-brilliant!
    Thanks to the setter as well as Dave -I learn that MHR are due!

  29. Completed crossword 29031 very early this morning
    must have been the easiest for some time.

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