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DT 30011 (Hints)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30011 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club

Hosted by Senf

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Hello, it’s me again.  Tilsit is keeping the trains running once again today.

For the last four Saturdays we have had Cephas pangrams, so I was expecting a Floughie Lady production today but we have another pangram so I must conclude, correctly(?), that it is the fifth Cephas puzzle in a row.

Some of the usual features of the Saturday Crossword Club might be missing, but the important parts are here.

Candidates for favourite – 26a, 2d, 18d, and 19d.

As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, a number of the more difficult clues have been selected and hints provided for them.  Thinking of weekend prize crosswords – CL tells us on the DT Puzzles Website that Sunday Toughie Number 20 will be another by proXimal, presumably it will be a little more challenging than his Friday back pager!

Don’t forget to follow BD’s instructions in RED at the bottom of the hints!

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

6a Note small punishment that is not severe (4,1,3,5)
A double definition to start – the first is how a (hand-written) note might be described and the second is a type of punishment that used to be given out at school but is probably not PC these days.

9a Beau reportedly has devilish faults exhibiting self-importance (8)
A two letter homophone of beau followed by (has) an anagram (devilish) of FAULTS.

11a All out hit (6)
Another double definition – the first is when tools are downed and workers leave the facility.

16a Frequent complainant upset cabby snorting lines (7)
An anagram (upset) of CABBY containing (snorting) the two letter abbreviation of the type of lines that Tilsit is interested in.

25a Work Timothy is managing to start in hope (8)
Lego time – assemble the two letter abbreviated form of a (musical) work, the abbreviated form of Timothy, IS from the clue, and the first letter (to start) of Managing.

26a View prison heard to be picturesque (6)
A two element homophone (heard) – the first element is a homophone of a verbal synonym of view and the second element is of an informal synonym of prison.

27a Rake strolling round sliding smoothly (6-7)
An anagram (round) of RAKE STROLLING – I am not sure that sliding is an appropriate descriptor for this activity.

Down

1d Mass epic develops seeking relief from reality (8)
We start the Downs with an anagram (develops) of MASS EPIC.

2d Downtrodden place for artist (8)
The surface that may be used by an artist out in the open in a town centre.

4d Val’s a centenarian going around French region (6)
A lurker, one of two in the puzzle, (going around) found in three words in the clue gives a French region that hasn’t always been a French region.

6d Sailor with tourist trapping that man, one once terrifying in London (4,3,6)
A common term for a sailor and (with) a seven letter synonym of tourist containing (trapping) the two letter pronoun for that man.

7d Unfashionable person criticising training (6-7)
A single word term that for unfashionable person often used by children to describe their parents in the 1950s and 1960s and a synonym of criticizing (harshly) gives a term for some (military) training.

18d News with description of gunshot wound? (8)
Written (6,2) this could be a term that describes a gunshot wound

22d Attacker finding assistant protected by senior cleric (6)
The two letter form of the honorific for a senior cleric containing (finding . . . protected by) a synonym of assistant.

Ballade pour Adeline by French composer Paul de Senneville, composed in 1977, as a tribute to his newborn daughter of the same name.  Normally played on the piano, but here it is played on the harp by Fabiola Harper:

The Crossword Club is now Open, and I will ‘see’ you again tomorrow.


The Quick Crossword pun:

APPLE + CRUMB + BELLE = APPLE CRUMBLE


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56 comments on “DT 30011 (Hints)

  1. Greetings from the Hyeres branch of the blog, where Even Deeper Threat and I have just enjoyed an excellent lunch with Jean-Luc

      1. The dateline on your first comment is December 2021.maybe that is why.

        Great to see all three again having such a great time. Hope to meet again at another Birthday Bash

    1. One of my fellow students, after John Paul II was shot, stole a newspaper billboard reading ‘Pope: latest 18d’.

      1. Despite a frown of disapproval, can quite understand the kleptomaniacal instinct: what a wonderful headline!

  2. Nice pangram that lends itself to the Cephas prediction. I did have a little laugh at the surface of 21d. I started in the NW going anticlockwise but stalled in the final stretch in the NE.
    Today’s coffee was a mixed bag end of/start of mixture of a Guatemalan Huehuetenango and a Kenyan Wangiri. So many floral notes my palate was confused. A couple of missing letters for the pangram got me going again, before I tried another less confusing coffee.
    I hope the DT’s and Jean-luc are having a very pleasant lunch.
    Thanks to Senf, Cephas and Tilsit.
    Re the Sunday Toughie, I too have noticed I get to blog proXimal again, and expect a more testing time after Friday’s gentler workout.

      1. Thanks for the confidence, at least I only have to solve enough to write hints for some.

  3. Like SJB I cruised the NW, spotting the pangram early for once, but needed a little more contemplation on Tyneside. The stars aligned this morning with garden, sunshine, coffee and a beautifully crafted crossword. And no jobs list. Favourites 6a, 19d.

  4. Satisfying solve to a * time conclusion.
    Last in, and a slight hesitation until a Duh moment, 12a.
    Loved 5d and 18d.
    Many thanks, Cephas and Senf.

  5. After the toughest NYT Saturday puzzle I can ever remember, I really needed this one, but it was no cakewalk. I did finish nicely, though, once I remembered the very British term [‘Brit. informal’] for 7d. I liked 2d best of all, with 16a & 18d (cringeworthily) making the podium. I also liked the three-letter clues. Thanks to Senf and Cephas. 2*/3*

  6. Enjoyable and straightforward puzzle, if rather heavy on the anagram front. Galloped AC fom the NW, pausing for a breath in the NE before regaining speed. FOI was 6d and the fourth 14a, so was on the lookout for the pangram from early on. COTD 12a.

    1.5* / 2.5*

    Many thanks to Cephas, presumably, and to Senf.

  7. Managed to slide off our setter’s wavelength a few times this morning so this took rather longer than I’d anticipated.
    An incorrect answer to 2d left me puzzled until the light dawned and it became one of my top three along with 3&18d.

    Thanks to Cephas for the wake-up call and to our faithful Senf for stepping up to the mark yet again – really enjoyed listening to the lady harpist.

  8. A refreshingly atypical puzzle today. NE last to fall. Can’t believe I bunged in wrong solution to 2d (snap Jane!) however it now joins other nominees for Fav surfaces – 10a, 18d and 19d. Thank you Cephas and Senf. Also best of luck to Tilsit with “keeping trains running”!

  9. Excellent pangram that asks a few tricky questions esp on the right side. Best clues for me were 6a but my COTD goes to 12a, made me smile which at the moment is very welcome. Great fun.
    Thx to all
    ***/*****

  10. Putting the answer to 6d into 7d did not help me at all and it was a while before I discovered the error. All of which, made the puzzle a bit of a slog but I realise that is my fault. Once I had sorted things out, the puzzle became a steady solve with only a couple of resorts to the hints. Happily, the ones I needed were hinted. Plenty to like but my COTD is 26a.

    As usual, I missed the pangram.

    Many thanks to Cephas for the fun and Senf for helping out both Tilsit and me.

  11. A very enjoyable and most straightforward puzzle for me with a slight hold-up inthe SE. I liked 18d, once the penny dropped, and that is my COTD. My,,runners up werepersonal to mwme in appeal, 14a forthe usual reason and 18a, something I enjoyed in my,teens (for me the use of the word sliding in the clue was most apt as I am very clumsy). I’ll Say no morw, lest I end up on the naughty step. Many thanks to Senf for filling in for Tilsit again and commiserations to Tilsit, whos working very hard. Thanks to Cwphas for another fine SPP.

  12. 1*/3* for a light and pleasant pangram with 18d my favourite.

    Many thanks to, presumably, Cephas and to the over-worked Senf for holding the fort yet again.

  13. Enjoyable fairly quick solve today. The schoolboy in me smiled at 21d; and 3d only made sense after I’d got it! 7d probably my favourite, which I needed 9a to work out first word.
    Like others have said – after last week, this was needed.

      1. Thankyou. Been doing crossword for many years, but tend to do the Prize Crossword over a couple of days, and only visit BD once I’ve finished – by which time comments are kind of past it.
        Today is a quiet Saturday so cracked through it in time to comment!

  14. LHS went in far quicker than the RHS but all in all an enjoyable solve. Drove a couple of miles to see the lovely poppies which I will try and show below. Found we had locked ourselves out of the house and our neigbours with our spare key have just moved. Our neighbour the other side climbed up a ladder to get into the bathroom and shoot downstairs so I could turn the alarm off. Have now got a massive headache! So doing the puzzle a welcome relief. Thanks to the setter and Senf for standing in again.

    1. More poppies, this time not real ones but the ceramic ones that were at the Tower of London for the centenary of WW1.
      They were on tour for a while and there they are at the Ashington Mining Museum.

  15. Lovely photo Manders, I have taken similar near us in previous years. Have to smile at the thought of the xword healing a headache it is usually the other way round. I enjoyed this and was on early pangram alert which helped a bit. I even looked for a Nina. I’m with Brian on 12a being the top dog but several other contenders- 27a and 18d to name a couple. Many thanks to Cephas and to Senf for standing in.

  16. 17d is not really a monitor, more a control device, apart from that fairly straight forward with some clever misdirection.

    1. Yeah, I thought that, too about 17D.

      26A was my favourite. Thank you to Cephas and Senf.

  17. I will join the list of those who enjoyed 18d to nominate it as my favourite too. The whole puzzle was a delight to complete and just tricky enough to push out my solving time.

    Many thanks to, presumably, Cephas for the pangram and to supersub Senf.

  18. Tricky little puzzle in many spots especially the 3 letter stumbling blocks for me. 2.5*/4* today.
    Favourites were the four 3 letter clues and answers, as well as 6a, 12a & 19d with winner 6a
    14a was not known to me until I completed the answer and checked it out.

    Thanks to Senf for stepping in with some useful hints and of course to Cephas for the fifth pangram on a Saturday

  19. Phew, a relief to find this enjoyable puzzle waiting for me this morning, after DNF for the past two days. If I didn’t get it at first, the checkers brought me past the finish line. COTD jointly to 12a and 26a. Thanks to Cephas for lifting my spirits and to Senf for filling in for Tilsit. Off to Wordle and Canuckle. Canuckle in 2 yesterday. Sheer luck.

  20. Very enjoyable. I laughed at 10a and 12a. 5d last one in. Knowing that the puzzle was a panagram helped me (for the first time ever) – 7d was the hold-up.

    1. I forgot to thank you above Cephas and Senf, hope it’s not too late! Like Daisygirl, I optimistically looked for a Nina on top of the pangram.

  21. As I recall Steve Wright also made the same crass statement regarding the Pope

    As usual for me, the short easy ones are the hardest – cannot work out 15 down… surely it isn’t that obvious ?

    EDIT
    Just remembered my Alphabet – all is good !

    1. Your comment went into moderation because you have used a different alias – both should work from now on.

  22. Not on the wavelength today. A dnf with 6a possibly solved with the hint. 5d totally eludes me.

    I spent longer in the NE corner than the rest of the crossword by a massive factor.

    Thanks to all.

  23. Another great puzzle which I completed earlier this afternoon. Some lovely anagrams and 12a made me smile. Many thanks to Cephas and Senf. Lovely to see the cordiality in the photo of Deep Threat, Even Deeper Threat and Jean-Luc. It’s such a friendly site. I’m sure some of you longer members have got some very happy tales to relate!

  24. Started this over toast this morning, but stumbled in the NE before leaving for village cricket at midday. On my return I realized that I was wrong in trying to fit in w***s as the last part of 6a. Having sorted my error, all became clear, and a full grid achieved.
    As usual I did not spot the pangram. Thought 6a, 6d and 7d all rather clever.
    Thanks to Cephas for the fun workout (and for the visit) and to Senf for the hints, though not required today.

  25. Enjoyable as ever. Found the NE the trickiest in a plodding solve. Favourite was 18d.
    Thanks to Cephas & Senf.

  26. Fastest ever today despite mild mental impairment from attending son’s wedding last night. Only 6 more to go

  27. 17d very poor clue. In no way could the term Monitor be applied to the answer. No more so that a steering wheel could be referred to as a monitor.

  28. Delightful crossword! If you ever need relief from a build-up down below, you’ll have enjoyed 21d.

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