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DT 30050

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30050

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

Our winter of wetness continues. Many parts of the country are reporting their highest seasonal rainfall ever. Just seems to be just one severe weather system after another. Everyone is heartily sick of it now.

Things feel to back to normal with the Wednesday puzzle.
We thought there were some trickier clues in the SW so did consider awarding 3 stars for difficulty but our time indicated 2.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     You fake broadcast? I’m not sure this can be played (9)
EUPHONIUM : A homophone (broadcast) of a phrase that could mean ‘you fake’ and a two letter sound of uncertainty.

6a     Selection of swing-music is abruptly rejected as standard (5)
BASIC : A reverse lurker, hiding in the clue.

9a     A charge for crossing island (5)
ATOLL : ‘A’ from the clue then a fee that might be charged for using a bridge.

10a     Very quickly becoming fond of spirits? (4,1,4)
LIKE A SHOT : The answer could be used to describe somebody with a penchant for gin, rum etc.

11a     What one on fiddle must do to be clear about situation? (4,3,5)
KNOW THE SCORE : A double definition. The fiddler is a musician rather than a conman.

14a     Catch sight of friend sent back for computers (7)
LAPTOPS : The answer when reversed can be a 4,3 phrase meaning catch sight of friend.

16a     Officer must cut complete protection (7)
SHELTER : Complete or total contains a two letter army officer.

17a     Foolish leader going off towards the rear (3)
AFT : A word for foolish loses its first letter.

18a     A jar full of mainly creamy fruit (7)
APRICOT : ‘A’ from the clue and a jar or container encloses a synonym for creamy with the last letter removed.

20a     Doctor learnt about hospital transport (7)
ENTHRAL : An anagram (doctor) of LEARNT contains H(ospital).

22a     I play for time during race for investiture (12)
INSTALLATION : ‘I’ from the clue and then a race or people contains play for time or delay.

26a     Duck exercise and limit action (9)
OPERATION : The cricket score duck, physical exercises and then a limit or allocation.

27a     Doctor must keep our strange band (5)
GROUP : A doctor in general practice surrounds an anagram (strange) of OUR.

28a     Staff initially push for increase (5)
SURGE : The first letter of staff, then push or encourage.

29a     The Spanish board will accept European Community is capable of winning votes (9)
ELECTABLE : The Spanish definite article, then E(uropean) C(ommunity) and a board from which one might dine.

Down

1d     The spirit of Dixieland (4)
ELAN : A lurker, hiding in the clue.

2d     Support pawns capturing rook, oddly (4)
PROP : Two instances of the chess abbreviation for pawn enclose the first and third letters of rook.

3d     Ducks circling river come down in resort (7)
ORLANDO : Cricket score zero starts and finishes this place. Inside we have R(iver) and come down as an aeroplane does.

4d     International legislation keeps any number relative (2-3)
IN-LAW : I(nternational), then the letter that denotes ‘any number’ plus legislation.

5d     Look sharp as terrible cheats caught out underpinning manufacture (4,5)
MAKE HASTE : An anagram (terrible) of (c)HEATS without C(aught) comes after a synonym for manufacture.

6d     I haven’t got a clue! (5,2)
BEATS ME : An alternative phrase.

7d     Study session may see lots of fish encountered rising across river (6,4)
SCHOOL TERM : A collective term for a group of fish, then the reversal of a word meaning encountered contains R(iver).

8d     Had Clarets beaten two of these in Liverpool? (10)
CATHEDRALS : An anagram (beaten) of HAD CLARETS.

12d     Smarmy new goalie with talent … (10)
OLEAGINOUS : An anagram (new) of GOALIE and then talent or acumen.

13d     … and what he has on second report was fiddled! (10)
SPORTSWEAR : The definition refers to the goalie in 12d. S(econd) and an anagram (fiddled) of REPORT WAS.

15d     Dependant requiring a command to be in place (9)
SATELLITE : A place or location contains ‘A’ from the clue and command or order.

19d     Difficult to stifle answer in church parody … (7)
CHARADE : A word meaning difficult contains an extra A(nswer) and is enclosed by the Anglican Church.

21d     … however tempting at first consideration (7)
THOUGHT : A synonym for ‘however’ and then the first letter of tempting.

23d     Colour of metal for example given a lift (5)
TINGE : The metal with the chemical symbol Sn and the reversal of the two letters signifying ‘for example’.

24d     Company doctor’s search (4)
COMB : The abbreviation for company and a doctor’s qualification.

25d     Recess, beset by rising despair (4)
APSE : A reverse lurker, hiding in the clue.

The tone for an enjoyable puzzle was set by 1a so we will call that one our favourite.

Quickie pun    poor    +    keep    +    eyes    =    porky pies

63 comments on “DT 30050

  1. A very enjoyable pre swim Wednesday romp.
    I noticed that the doctor was very busy, he made three calls today, no wonder it’s so difficult to see one in real life!
    12d a new word for me but was relatively simple to work out from wordplay and checkers. Hard to look beyond 1a as favourite but it was all top notch, even the pun.
    Thanks to the setter and the the 2Ks.

  2. 2*/4*.

    My repetition radar bleeped with a surfeit of ducks and I can’t see anything remotely cryptic about 6d. But those aside, this was good Wednesday fun all the way.

    1a was my favourite.

    Many thanks to the three birds.

  3. Found this to be quite tough in the SE and agree with SL about 12d as my experience was the same. More of a ***/*** for me. COTD was 1a. Very good. Thanks to the 2K’s and the setter.

  4. Quite gentle for Wednesday.
    1a definitely COTD, superb clue but with the proviso that with the checking letters, it could not be anything else!
    Just 1.5* and **** for enjoyment.
    Many thanks to the setter and to the 2Kiwis.

  5. I do love a splendid word so was delighted to solve 12d

    Thanks to Jay for another good start to Wednesday morning solving. Thanks also to the 2Ks – we wouldn’t mind a fraction of your rain, not least because it would save the garden.

  6. An enjoyable Wednesday puzzle. My last one in was the four letter 2d, because, as we know, I’m a bit of an eejit.

    Hurrah for The Lionesses!

    Thanks to the setter and The TwoKays

  7. As a native of Dixieland, I really wanted ‘jazz’ to be the spirited definition for 1d, but, alas, it was not to be. So nice to have Jay in crackerjack mode again on a Wednesday. Two clear favourites for me: 1a and 12d (a word I have always loved using for certain politicians), with 13d and 5d neck-and-neck for the second tier. Thanks to the Kiwis (here in Charleston, we’ve had a foot of rain in a week, so I can sympathise with you) and to Jay, one of my favourite compilers. ** / ****

    1. Oh, I wish I was a Pixie, away, away
      In Pixieland I take my stand to live and die in Pixieland
      ‘Cause Pixieland, that’s where I was born
      Early Lord one frosty morning
      Look away, look away, look away Pixieland

      Doncha just love the songs of the Deep South?

  8. The north went in far quicker than the south – I also think 1a is a belter. I knew the word at 12d but had difficulty getting the spelling right. My gardener has just told me I have blossom end rot! Quite painless. Would love some of the Kiwi rain. I think us Brits whinge whatever weather we have – too hot, too cold, too wet – there should be a degree in weather whinging.

  9. With the possible exception of a couple in the SW, I thought this showed our Wednesday setter in the back-page mode we love rather than leaning towards his Toughie persona.
    Plenty of smile moments but I’d agree with others that it’s hard to look beyond 1a for a favourite.

    Thanks to Jay for the entertainment and to our sodden 2Ks for the review. As CS said, we could do with just a little of your rain heading our way.

  10. I marked 1a and 8d as my co-favourites from a very accessible and friendly puzzle. The SW corner was the last to fall, for no good reason other than I seemed to follow a clockwise trajectory when solving it. Excellent Wednesday fare.

    My thanks to our regular midweek threesome.

  11. Based on the comments so far, except for NAS, I seem to have made heavy weather of this Jay offering today, but there can be all sorts of unidentifiable reasons for that, and some identifiable – not enough alcohol, too much alcohol for example – ***/***.

    However, plenty of candidates for favourite – 1a, 9a, 10a, 26a, and 19d – and the winner is 10a.

    Thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis.

  12. Super, light and enjoyable Wednesday fare, while it lasted, with ducks & doctors aplenty. COTD 1a, just pipping 12d, with 18a, 22a, and 19a all in the list of Hon Mentions. Slghtly over 1* time because of 6d, ironically …

    1.5* / 3*

    Many thanks to Jay, presumably, and to the 2Ks

  13. 1a (Fav) was an auspicious start to this likeable enigma which fell to in the North first. 10a ran up to 1a in the Fav stakes. 16a was unparsed bung-in – d’oh!. Thank you Jay and the 2Kiwis.

  14. Doesn’t 2 have a second possible answer if ‘pawns’ is resolved slightly differently (a way that I’ve certainly seen in the Times cryptic before)?

    1. You’ve shortened your alias so this needed moderation. It’s probably better if you don’t use just ‘Andy’ since we have a long-standing commenter who uses that alias.

    2. I am guessing that you are suggesting that the slightly different resolution of pawns is the chess notation for pawn ‘pluralised.’

      After consulting the BRB, I don’t consider that that ‘fits’ the definition which can be a verb or a singular noun with the correct answer.

      1. I presume we don’t do spoilers in the comments so I shan’t be more explicit but I think the definition fits quite neatly with the plural noun for one of two very similar definitions given in Collins. Not important obviously… just the crossword…

  15. A fabulous puzzle that required just the right amount of straightforward and lateral thinking. So, for once, the head scratching came up with answers whereas it often does not for me. I couldn’t get “shove”out of my head for 28a. I knew it was wrong but it insisted on staying in my head at the expense of all other possibilities. It took me a while to see the officer in 15a. My COTD is 1a.

    Thanks to Jay for a cracking puzzle. Thank you, 2Kiwis for the hints and could you send us your rain, please.

  16. A good mixture of clues today with 1a the stand out favourite for me too. The North was the first to fall a long way ahead of the South which required some head-scratching to complete. 12d was a new word for me and required electronics to solve, once in, the lower half came together OK.
    Many thanks to all three birds.

  17. Unlike yesterday’s offering this was right on my wavelength except for 12d, a new word to me and the lurker at 25d.
    I initially bunged in a synonym for ‘pretence’ for 1a which fitted all the checkers except the popular holiday destination which held me up for a while, incidentally, I was given a ‘euph’ to play when I took my youngsters to join a local brass band on the basis that if I had to ferry them there I might as well join in and thoroughly enjoyed it.
    Thanks to Jay and the 2 Kiwis

  18. A great Jay puzzle with superb misdirection. I too thought it had an interesting variety of clues. 1a was undoubtedly the COTD followed closely by 1a and 8d, latter s3nding me on a wild goose chase roun Liverpudlian football teams, the Liver Birds etc. Like Robert, I wanted Jazz to fit in with1d. Thanks to Jay and the Kiwis. Can we have aome of your rain please?

  19. Would love to comment but I cannot access puzzles today. After speaking to 3 DT subscription reps yesterday and was told I would be able to access and print the puzzles with a Digital subscription and didn’t need Digital Plus, I went ahead and did just that. Of course, you’ve guessed it. I cannot access puzzles today. So frustrating.

    1. Update: Couldn’t correct on line. Site said to enable JavaScript, which was already enabled. Called London again, got passed around, rep managed to cancel my Digital but when he went to switch to Digital Plus he said he had system problems and would have to call back some time today or tomorrow ….

  20. Nice and friendly today, I agree with the plaudits for 1a (for which I have a joke) and also had a quick spellcheck for 12d. Thanks to Jay and 2K’s.

    Guy wakes up after a night out, he has lost his keys and can’t recall much about the night before. He remembered the house he went back too had a green door and a gold toilet, he goes round the neighbourhood knocking on green doors and asking if they have a gold toilet. No response until he got to the last green door, when he asked the person who answered the door if they had a gold toilet she shouted inside…
    “Dad the guy that shat in your 1a is here”

    1. 😆 thanks SJB for cheering me up after my booster jab and an expensive visit to the optician this morning

  21. I agree with Senf on this puzzle as I found it quite difficult, especially the SW with a word I have never heard of mixed in too.
    3.5*/2.5* today for me.
    1a was another word not familiar to me either.

    Favourites include 10a, 20a, 4d, 7d. 15d & 24d with winner 7d

    Thanks to the 3 birds

  22. Having spent all morning sorting out my digital subscription to Telegraph puzzles I find it’s a Jay. I really shouldn’t have bothered ; there’s not enough stars in the sky for the difficulty I found with this.

    Or perhaps I was still fuming from trying to sort out my subscription. Although I had updated the card for my newspaper subscription this had not been passed on the puzzle department. Is it any wonder their opinion columns can’t decide whether to support the son of a chemist or a surgical item.

    1. You are not alone. Every year I have this problem. It is like nailing jelly to a wall.:)

  23. A very nice amusing back pager just what one of the many doctors ordered but my inability to spot reverse lurkers holed me below the waterline 😳 ergo ***/**** Favourites 11 & 18 across & 12 down 😃 Many thanks to the 2x Ks and Jay 🤗 Please send us some of your rain, our green and pleasant land is now brown and very dusty 🐪

  24. What a relief after yesterday. Favourites 1a and 7d. Last one in was 12d. Vaguely knew the word but took a while to get the letters in the right place. I certainly felt I was on the right wavelength. Thanks Jay and 2Ks.

    1. Welcome to the blog, Josephine.
      You can see the answer if you click on the ‘Click here!’ box next to the clue in 2K’s blog.

  25. Initially I missed the cleverness in six down which has now become my clue of the day. It is the sitter speaking and he cannot come up with a clue for this answer. So the clue, becomes his statement that he cannot come up with one.

  26. People saying this was gentle ! I struggled for the last few , for example 6d beat me !.
    Why ? Thanks to the latest variant BA:5.
    Not much suffering now, just tiredness and brain fog.
    Thanks to the Kiwis and Jay.
    PS I’v had the jabs and boosters.

      1. Thanks Huntsman, ansd all we have to do is wait for the next variant from the Biolab 4.

      1. Hope you feel better soon, Una. My son caught Covid from my grandson, despite having had 3 Moderna vaccinations.

  27. 12d is such a wonderful word (perfect to describe our former Chancellor & wannabe PM in my view) so it was my favourite but the brilliant 1a was probably COTD. Top notch puzzle & one from the Jay top drawer.
    Thanks to all 3 birds.

  28. 2/4. A very enjoyable puzzle. 12d was my favourite purely because it’s such a descriptive word and not seen that often. Thanks to the setter and the 2Ks.

  29. Thanks to Jay and to the 2 Kiwis for the review and hints. A very enjoyable puzzle. I was beaten by 12d, thought it probably ended in “inous”, but also thought it was an anagram, rather than a partial anagram, and it was a new word for me. Favourite was 1a. Was 2* /4* for me.

  30. Morning all,
    Nice to read pretty general consensus once again. Jay really has the knack of keeping all his fans happy. We count ourselves as being a couple of his biggest admirers.
    Not surprising we wake up to rain again, with the promise of it getting even heavier through the day. Bother!!!!
    Cheers.

      1. My sweet peas have also given up along with my peas. Mind you, the raspberries are going great guns!

  31. Not on the wavelength at all today.

    Most of the west half is incomplete and likely to stay that way.

    Thanks to all.

    1. Went for the answers to the clues I hadn’t got and I cannot see why everyone thinks 1a is a great clue. Apart from never having heard of the instrument, I still don’t like the clue.

      12d is an awful word that only ever surfaces in crosswords.

      A few others I would never have got in a month on Sundays.

      Glad everyone else enjoyed this.

  32. I’m always at a loss regarding the significance of the… in 12d and 13d. How do they help?

    1. In this case the the two ‘…’ mean that the two clues should be read as a single sentence. Without the ‘…’ the ‘he’ in the second clue would make no sense.

  33. Finally and thankfully, I am now able to see the crosswords again. I already know they are a big part of our daily routine, but I had serious withdrawal this morning when I couldn’t access. Now I’m in, I don’t even care that this was a little too tricky in places for me, especially 12d. I just enjoyed the trying. Thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis.
    I really want to thank Miffypops for his help and listening to my DT access woes. And it would be remiss of me not to say kudos to the Sukhi, a young lady in the subscription department, who finally waved a magic wand and fixed everything for me. She was superb.

  34. Well done to anyone who’d heard of 12d, I’m sure it will come up again but I’m forgetting it as I type. At least i got all my funerals out of the way, yesterday’s was the hardest. Personally I found parts of this harder than the toughie but not as hard as Monday or Tuesday. I’ll go with 1a as favourite. Thanks to Jay and 2K’s.

  35. Well I struggled with this but I enjoyed the effort. Like others I thought 1a was a brilliant clue. I always struggle with clues with ellipses and today there were 4! 12d was clever once I had the answer. Many thanks to Jay and the 2K’s for the much needed explanations.

  36. 3*/4*…..
    liked 12D “Smarmy new goalie with talent … (10)” amongst others.

  37. Well, got there in the end! Strange how when you go back to an unfinished Xword it all seems to click. Loved 12d as a new word to me. I can start last weekend’s one now which should be a lot easier…..

    1. Well done Ptp. Yes it is strange how one can stare and stare at the clues but come to a complete stop yet pick up the same puzzle at a later time and just rattle them off

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