DT 30182 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30182

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30182

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

This is New Zealand’s traditional summer holiday time. The weather gods are behaving according to the rule book and we are having a spell of perfect weather at present. Looks like it is going to last for some time yet so all the outdoor activities planned for New Year should be smiled upon too.

Happy New Year everyone wherever you are.

Another good fun Wednesday puzzle to challenge and amuse us.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a      Moving pests off cleaner stuff? (8,7)
PERSONAL EFFECTS : An anagram (moving) of PESTS OFF CLEANER.

9a     One fruit as production of two trees? (9)
PINEAPPLE : The first tree is a conifer and the second a fruit producer.

10a     Free facilities, free at last (5)
LOOSE : An informal word for facilities or conveniences and then the final letter of free.

11a     Art form Liszt’s last symphony covers (7)
EROTICA : The alternative name for Beethoven’s Third Symphony contains the last letter of Liszt.

12a     Swimmer circumnavigating one’s island nation (7)
TUNISIA : A fast-swimming ocean fish contains Roman numeral one, the ‘S (from one’s), and I(sland).

13a     Address of gentleman with no time in prison (3)
SIR : A slang word for prison loses its T(ime).

14a     Surplus could be normal, having nothing for America (7)
OVERAGE : Start with a word meaning normal or not extreme and change its A(merica) to the letter signifying nothing.

17a     Weapons going west in aeroplane’s racks (7)
ARSENAL : A reverse lurker hiding in the clue.

19a     Green may be expressing opinions mainly during trouble (7)
AVOCADO : A three letter word for trouble surrounds a word meaning expressing opinions without its last letter.

22a     Vendors using lines adopted by people who view (7)
SELLERS : People who view contain the abbreviation for line, twice.

24a     Reportedly understand the Irish, say (3)
SEA : A homophone of a word meaning understand or comprehend.

25a     Travel permit for small group (7)
TRIPLET : Travel, or a journey and then permit or allow.

26a     If missing nightlife, lost temper (7)
LIGHTEN : An anagram (lost) of NIGHTL(if)E, once the word if has been removed.

28a     Private meal, excluding starter (5)
INNER : Remove the first letter from what is usually the main meal of the day.

29a     Influenced Independent politician needing relaxation for broadcast (9)
IMPRESSED : I(ndependent), then a Member of Parliament and a homophone (for broadcast) of a word meaning relaxation.

30a     Information about out-of-date fish by workers is welcome (6,9)
GOLDEN HANDSHAKE : Out-of-date or obsolete is contained by a three letter word for information, then manual workers and a type of white-fleshed fish.  We aren’t sure have got the definition correctly identified here. Any thoughts?

Down

1d     Quietly put opening star off song (6,2,1,6)
PUPPET ON A STRING : The musical letter for quietly and an anagram (off) of PUT OPENING STAR.

2d     Percussionist needing love to support band (5)
RINGO : A band that might be worn on one’s finger and then the tennis score love.

3d     Instrument from radio car in America (7)
OCARINA : A lurker, hiding in the clue.

4d     Calm primate eating veg (7)
APPEASE : An animal primate contains small green vegetables.

5d     Complex vote in the Republic of Argentina? (7)
ELECTRA : A word meaning ‘vote in’ and then the IVR code for Argentina.

6d     What’s left after smoothing affairs across Italy? (7)
FILINGS : Affairs or dalliances contain the IVR code for Italy.

7d     One lad taken in by copy of such enamel work (9)
CLOISONNE : Roman numeral one and a male offspring are enclosed by a copy such as Dolly the sheep.

8d     Film shown as Nepalese dined out? (3,6,3,3)
SEE NAPLES AND DIE : An anagram (out) of AS NEPALESE DINED.

15d     Heartfelt proposal in agreement to go topless (9)
EMOTIONAL : A proposal that could be part of a formal meeting is inside an agreement or contract with the first letter missing.

16d     Man greatly admired setter, perhaps needing a lift (3)
GOD : The reversal (needing a lift) of what a setter could be an example of.

18d     Dry sounding sort of cereal (3)
RYE : A homophone (sounding) of a synonym for dry or droll.

20d     A goal mostly keeping learner free (2,5)
AT LARGE : The learner driver letter is inside ‘A’ from the clue and a goal or something to aim for, without its last letter.

21d     Person denying reality of ring road made of money (7)
OSTRICH : The ring-shaped letter, then the abbreviation for a usually urban road and made of money, or wealthy.

22d     Seasonal producer of plants — a criminal (4,3)
SALT PAN : An anagram (criminal) of PLANTS A. We are looking for a facility that produces something used for seasoning.

23     People who record woodsmen? (7)
LOGGERS : A double definition.

27     Engineer held by potentate’s lawyers (5)
TESLA : A lurker, hiding in the clue.

Quickie pun    deign    +    Germany    =     danger money

 

55 comments on “DT 30182

  1. What a nice anagram framework to assist the centre solve. 7d was a new one on me but solvable. 25a, 6d and 21d best of the rest with 6d being my COTD. The three lurkers helped to a **/**** finish with thanks to the 2Kiwis and our setter.

  2. Slightly trickier than usual – well I thought so anyway

    Like the 2Ks, I was confused by the definition to 30a, as I thought this was given to someone leaving a company rather than being welcomed to it

    Thanks to them and to Jay

    1. Agreed as opposed to a “golden hello”. Can only mean welcome in the sense of it being a bonus I guess.

  3. I really enjoyed this albeit at the trickier end of Jay’s setting spectrum. As NAS says, the peripheral clues helped form a good basis for a steady solve, with 8d my favourite.

    Thanks to the three birds.

  4. I can’t say this was my favourite Jay puzzle (he sets a high bar though) Thought 1a a pretty poor clue, an obviously manufactured anagram with a poor surface read and rather vague definition. Never heard of the (1952!) film though had heard of the song. Overall I enjoyed it though with my top two being the clever and subtle 24a&18d.
    Many thanks and HNY to the setter and Ks.

  5. I think I made this more difficult than it actually was imagining that Logman had had a hand in some of the clues – 2.5*/4*

    I knew the 7d enamelling technique but I did have to check its spelling.

    Candidates for favourite – 10a, 11a, 14a, 7d, and 23d – and the winner is the aforementioned 7d.

    Thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis.

  6. What a real Curates Egg. The top half was excellent being elegant and well clued, the bottom half was a nightmare! Never heard of 7d (thx Google) and left not understanding the answers to 14a, 29d, 22d, 15d and 26a.
    Almost as if the puzzle was set by two different people.
    So top half **/****
    Bottom half *****/*.
    Weird!
    Thx to the setter of the top half and for the hints.

  7. The long clues certainly helped with this one, though I did have to cheat with 8d and put the anagram into a scrambler. I’d never heard of the movie. I couldn’t quite get my head around the definition for 12a, and went in a bit of a loop from Tilapia (swimmer) to Tortuga (island nation). I eventually got the right nation, which wasn’t an island. Now that some of my house guests have left, I will spend the afternoon reading the instructions to set up my new bird box camera, though doubt it will be fitted today as it’s pouring with rain. Thanks for todays crossword go to the setter and to the 2ks.

    1. I envy you your camera gift – a friend of mine had one and watching the eggs hatch was an absolute joy.

      1. We had a camera a few years ago DG, but it broke down during lock-up. We haven’t been able to get the spare parts from China to put it right, and no-one has been able to tell us when they might be available. My husband decided to just bite the bullet and start again. The new camera will link to my phone as well as the tv, so really looking forward to it. It’s so entertaining. Beats what’s on TV any day.

  8. I’m afraid I found this too much like hard work with little fun involved. I managed to get two of the long ones early on ( 30a and 8d) and this helped to a certain extent but not for long. I soon hit a brick wall and struggled to finish needing a couple of hints along the way. I have no favourites but did like 11a and 7d.

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis.

  9. Took a while to parse 1a and down and our percussionist!
    7d was new to me.
    A steady enjoyable solve throughiut and a ***/**** for me
    Favourite was 8d for the surface folloewd by 13a-remembered te symphony.

  10. Loved this. Just enough head scratching to make it enjoyable without being frustrating. I didn’t recall the less obvious meaning of 14a, and, though it had to be what it was I checked the BRB after completion of the crossword. I share other’s views on 30a. I liked the misdirections at 22d and 26a and the memory dig required for 7d. Favourite today was 11a. Thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis.

  11. 3*/3.5*. This was good fun despite a couple of rather odd surface reads. I found it trickier than normal for a Wednesday.

    I’ve never heard of 7d nor did I know that 14a can mean “surplus” so both these required checking in my BRB. I think the definition for 30a is incorrect.

    24a was my favourite.

    Many thanks to the three birds.

  12. What a jolly joyride this JayDay! Actually, I started at the bottom and flew up to the top, with 1a and 6d my last two in. Don’t know why I did it that way, but I very much enjoyed the smooth ascent. Quickly solving three of the peripheral clues helped immensely (don’t consider a 1952 film as being quite so old, but I first heard that phrase in 8d as my cruise ship docked in lovely old, chaotic Napoli–as both a felicitation and a warning). Big winners for me: 7d, 11a, & 6d. Thanks to the Kiwis and Jay. 2*/4*

  13. I’m afraid I didn’t get on with this puzzle at all. It was too much like hard work and I needed a few of the 2Kiwis’s excellent hints to get over the line. Getting two of the long ones early on didn’t help overmuch because they were 30a and 8d so gave me only end letters. I do have a couple of favourites in 11a and 7d but no COTD.

    Many thanks to Jay for the thrashing and the 2Kiwis for the much needed hints.

    A wet and muddy day here in The Marches. Even Hudson is reluctant to go out.

  14. Decent puzzle with some enjoyable clues which I thought were a bit tougher than usual. The definition in 30a surprised me.

    Thanks to today’s setter and the 2Ks.

  15. Definitely *** for difficulty for me. It also had some aspects I didn’t like. 1d was familiar to me but is not a great classic and I imagine would be unknown to almost anyone under (say) 55 – we need to be making every effort to attract younger solvers, IMHO. 8a also seemed pretty obscure – I managed to construct/guess it from the checkers and familiarity with the expression, but hadn’t heard of the film. 7a was also new to me, but I assume that is just a lacuna in my general knowledge. Anyway, and despite these moans, challenging but fun…..

    1. Agreed with the classic references. As an 80s child I hadn’t heard of either 1d or 8d and being key answers struggled for the whole puzzle as a result. Indeed the only (unintended) film title in the grid I knew of was 1a, the Michelle Pfeiffer film of much more recent release!

  16. I would normally expect to get the long ones relatively easily and use the checkers coming from them – today was the opposite way around despite being familiar with both the song and the film.
    Top three for me were 11&24a plus 21d with a mention for the Quickie pun which raised a smile.

    Thanks to Jay and to our 2Ks – look forward to ‘seeing’ all three of you again in the new year.

  17. A real struggle today, much harder than the usual Wednesday Jay. Didn’t know the work in 7d, the misdirection in 22d threw me and I couldn’t parse 15d.
    On reflection, the clues were fair and all gettable from the wordplay.
    So our old friend wavelength has a lot to answer for.
    Thanks to the 3 birds.

  18. Difficulty rated at **, are you kidding me? I found this extremely hard today as I couldn’t get all the long ones to give me a start, had to work from the inside out!
    Had a lightbulb moment with 1d by just staring at the letters until the answer popped out, we had to learn this song at primary school for a parents day performance, and have never forgotten the words.
    Favourite for me today was 2d, made me smile when I got it. Thanks to our compiler.

  19. A fairly typical though enjoybable Wednesday puzzle with mostly fine clues of around medium difficulty. No stand-out favourite today but I will give a mention to 8d and 7d – another word you’ll know if you listen carefully when watching Flog It! and the Antiques Roadshow. I normally like to support/uphold setters but I’m mystified at the definition in 30a, so I’ve reluctantly deducted .5* from my enjoyment rating. 3*/3*.

  20. Tough but rewarding giving a nice, warm feeling on completion. Tempered by having to check 7d was an actual thing. I can’t believe anyone complaining about (spoiler alert) rheostat being a bit arcane yesterday, yet hardly an eyebrow raised over this.

    Many thanks Jay and 2 Ks from the wet and windy South.

  21. I’m in the ‘trickier than the usual Wednesday’ camp – thanks to Jay and 2Ks.
    Top clues for me were 24a and 5d.

  22. I got off to a slow start, beginning at the foot and working upwards (as did Robert, I see!). It was quite a long journey but I enjoyed the trip, with the exception of 7d which has been added to THE LIST.

    Beware THE LIST!

    A good, but chilly, evening at Stamford Bridge, yesterday.

    Thanks to Jay and The TwoKays.

  23. Fairly easy today. Only 2 queries which I’m afraid the hints didn’t explain.
    5d why is the answer complex.
    14a why is the answer surplus.
    I don’t have the BRB as my opinion is sometimes at odds with said book. On these two occasions there is no G help.
    Thanks both
    **/***

    1. The Electra complex is the female version of the Oedipus complex and as I recall very well from my lawyer days overage is an extra payment made to a seller after completion if additional development profit is made by a buyer.

      1. Thank you.
        Another two obscure words I may or may not remember. Luckily on this occasion the answers were gettable so no drama.

  24. I fear I’m still suffering a bit of seasonal brain-fog and was temporarily stuck in SW. 19a seems to make regular appearances in various guises these days. 22d is a clever bum steer. Bunged in 5d as that complex didn’t occur to me. Fav was 7d. TVM Jay and 2 Kiwis and felicitations and thanks to you all for your super contributions to the BD site.

  25. Well, assuming this is our regular Wednesday setter I think he slipped a ‘toughie’ onto the back page and definitely as Logman … no Jay to be found here IMHO!

    3*/4*

    Lots of struggles in this one, (doing this on a wet miserable Tuesday night, so no hints), including unknown words to me in 3d, 7d & 22d.
    Also, did not get the parsing for 5d.

    Favourites were really good though … 17a, 30a, 1d, 2d, 6d, 21d & 27d — with a winner so hard to pick but my top two are 1d & 2d … with 2d eliciting a huge LOL when the penny dropped.
    Really good!

    Thanks to Jay/Logman and the 2K’s

  26. This took longer than usual to finish and afterwards I had to check with 2Kiwis the parsing of 14a. I thought 12a and 21d were very smart clues and enjoyed the four big helpful checkers round the edge. Many thanks to setter and hinters, some neighbours of mine are in NZ at the moment so I am pleased to hear they are having good weather. I had a day in London yesterday – came back exhausted.

  27. Hard work for me today I’m afraid, even after getting 3 of the 4 outside answers…..couldn’t get golden handshake for ages as I think of it as a severance payment or inducement to retire.
    So, not a lot of fun for me .

    Thanks to the setter and to the 2Kiwis.

    Even more snow last night here in Trondheim on top of the 2-3 feet already down, but a beautifully sparkling sunny day today. Temperature hovering around minus 8C so mostly indoors despite the sunshine.

  28. Surprised I didn’t bump into Robert & Terence working my way up from top to bottom. Like Jane the long ‘uns didn’t come that easy & I’m with those who reckon the 30a definition suspect. Certainly a good trickier than usual for a Jay production. Last in 7d – unfamiliar to me & gleaned from the wordplay having twigged the one lad much quicker than the copy to stick him into. No particular favourites but enjoyed the puzzle.
    Thanks to Jay & 2Ks

  29. Hard work for me so little enjoyment in finishing. Wherever See Naples and Die came from I do not know. Wikipedia has the following on Reception :
    “Italian critic and film historian Roberto Curti stated that Italian critics “generally panned the film”.[6] On its release in the United States, the New York Times stated the film had a “sodden script” and that “Gianna Maria Canale, as that pretty, luckless lady, is involved in nearly every cliche dear to the devotees of daytime detergent dramas on radio, but unsmilingly she comes through […] There are English titles but even without them it is fairly clear that sad is the word for the manufactured tragedies in See Naples and Die.”[6]

    I was only five when this was released and I have not heard about it or seen it. Why is a turkey 70 years old brought out at Christmas? I think we should be told.

    Thanks to Jay for giving a puzzle that was solveable

    One complaint to the 2Ks despite the excellence of their blog is why is there no clip of the lovely Sandie Shaw?

  30. I struggled with today’s puzzle unfortunately, I couldn’t get any of the outside long answers immediately and things didn’t improve from there. Both 1d and 8d were released over a decade before I was born and were rather obscure to boot; both 1a and 30a I thought the definition was too tenuous and had to solve entirely from the wordplay. All in this pushed me into **** difficulty territory.

    Still, there were 3 or 4 inner corkers that lightened my mood, including 2d, 16d and 21d which got my COTD.

    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  31. Superb puzzle.
    Really, though, enjoyably tricky.
    Loved the inspired 2d and the clever 11a.
    Only quibble, 21a, not alone in questioning it.
    Many thanks, Jay and the 2Kiwis.

  32. Tricky little number today but got there unaided. Helps though that I can ask my device if I have entered the correct answer (not for prize puzzles). Have to be careful not to hit the ‘reveal all’ button which is very annoying. Horror of horrors both my neighbour and I have spotted a rat moving between the 2 gardens so I called in the vermin chap today. I asked him not to come in a van that said ‘Rat Catcher’! The shame of it. Anyway thanks to the setter and 2 Kiwis – needed the explanation for 16d

  33. Some terrific clues and some new words, three of which I got without knowing why until the 2Ks explained things. Thank you Jay for lightening up a lazy afternoon in front of the tv

  34. I’d be another one saying ‘in the trickier camp for a Wednesday’ but there isn’t any space left for me – I’ve tried!
    I agree that the definition is a bit dodgy for 30a.
    The long answers round the outside were jolly helpful otherwise I’d probably be still stuck.
    Thanks to Jay for the crossword and to the 2K’s for the hints and pics.

  35. Morning all.
    Looks like we got the difficulty level a bit low. We got the long answers in 1a and 1d quite quickly which gave heaps of starting letters to work with which might have helped. We did not include the time we spent after we had filled the grid doing a dictionary search to try and justify the definition for 30a. No success there unfortunately.
    We also resisted the temptation to make 12a more complicated by mentioning that the name of the fish in 12a is also the Maori word for an eel.
    Cheers.

  36. I found this tricky but I also had a feeling of déjà vu which helped a lot, the symphony, the trees, the green, so many of them felt like we’d visited them before. I needed an anagram helper for 8d. Good fun though. Fave was 7d, I’ve got some here so no problem.
    Thank you Jay for the fun and appreciate the hints 2Kiwis, helped unravel a couple. Enjoy your sunshine.

  37. Challenging but really enjoyable.
    7d was new to me but fairly clued and like others I thought the definition in 30a was incorrect, even if it would no doubt be welcomed by the recipient.
    Thanks to the three birds.

  38. Hardest I’ve found the back pager in ages. Maybe a visit to the dentist because of a terrible toothache and being told I needed root canal treatment put me off. (Or maybe it was just hard!)

  39. Finally finished at 22:15 having started at 08:00. The fact that I finished is due to my first Grandson, and his attendants, coming up to visit from the south coast and arriving late.
    I thought that the answer to 30a would be welcome whether a person was leaving or not. My favourite was 7d because the clue told me exactly what I needed to do even though I didn’t know the word.

  40. NE last last in, ridiculously hard. Late start due to meeting a friend from South Dakota and some of his family from Oz. Logman is easier than this. Got there with contributions from Mrs. TWLC. I had the same reservations as others. No real favourite. Thanks to Jay and 2K’s.

  41. Phew, just managed to crawl over the line with this, tricky but enjoyable. Never heard of 7d but followed instructions and bunged it in. SW corner was the last to fall and needed to look at the hints to check the parsing of a few clues. Thanks to all.

  42. Ouch, like DaveG – got there in the end. Very annoying as always makes sense once you get there. So frustrating. Maybe better to stick to Saturdays, always easier for some reason

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