Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30275 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)
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An exceedingly straight-forward Saturday Prize Puzzle, with many of his favourite clue types and some double unches, left me in no doubt as to the name of the setter
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 British port and spirit (4)
The abbreviation for British and a South American port often found in crosswords
8a Sentimental type having nervous reaction (8)
An upright type face followed by a nervous reaction
10a Agent in favour of entertaining turn (6)
A preposition meaning in favour of ‘entertaining’ a turn
11a Force to cover two miles in traffic (8)
A verb meaning to compel or force goes over two abbreviations for Mile
21a Related to a man of the cloth? (8)
Related to a member of the clergy or, perhaps, someone working in an office
23a Kind governor initially found in country (6)
The initial letter of governor found in a West African country
26a Mother goes to New York a lot (4)
An informal mother and the abbreviation for New York. A clue that didn’t really need a hint but Prize Puzzle hints are supposed to include the first and last of both the Across and Down clues plus ‘a few’ in between
Down
1d Type of liar who needs no unmasking? (9)
This liar wouldn’t have either a mask or a beard
2d Busily working in the navy, maybe (2,6,7)
A term applied to someone in action in the forces could also mean busily working
6d Spice and herb with top of the milk that’s sweet (10,5)
A spice, a herb and the substance that rises to the top of milk combine to make a sweet that was a regular part of our childhood, although only eaten at Christmas, along with fudge and Buttered Brazils!
7d Trick magistrate to lock up Democrat (5)
Insert the abbreviation for Democrat into the title of the chief magistrate of Venice
12d Fish paid for at the door (3)
A type of fish or an abbreviation for a type of delivery paid for at the door
18d Permit silence to be shattered (7)
An anagram (shattered) of SILENCE gives a verb meaning to permit
21d Snake having firm support (5)
An abbreviated company (firm) and crosswordland’s usual ‘support’
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The Quick Crossword pun: WRIGHT + WALES = RIGHT WHALES (a species of large baleen whales)
Not much of a challenge this morning. It took me longer to find a pen than to complete. Thanks to CS and today’s setter.
I buy Bic pens and pencils by the dozen, that way I don’t have to waste hours looking for one when I need it.
This really must be my fastest ever.
All flowed and came together beautifully.
Elegantly clued throughout.
Many thanks to the setter for this weekend confidence builder and to CS.
0.5*/2.5*. Very light fare indeed. Trying and failing to make any sense of the Quickie pun was by far the hardest task of the morning.
I can’t see anything cryptic about 21a and I thought 15d was rather weak.
Thanks to the setter and to CS, particularly for putting me out of misery with the Q pun.
The ‘quick pun’ were on a nature programme recently – I wondered what made them the first word and looked them up, and then very sadly, wished I hadn’t!
They were called that because they were the most commercial to catch, sad to say.
Hello, Everyone. Yes, I am still here although I’ve had a difficult week nursing a number of symptoms that now appear to be Covid-related. However, two at-home testing kits on Thursday and Friday reported Covid-negative results. My symptoms remain strong enough, though, for me to contact my internist next week and we can then go from there. I have missed the puzzles and the blog and the comments terribly, and naturally I hope to return very soon. Meanwhile, Ballybucklebo has kept me going in a very positive way. Best wishes especially to Manders and of course to all of you!
Welcome back, Robert. Good to “see” you here again, and wishing you a speedy and full recovery.
Sorry to hear of your ailments, Robert. I hope the medics can properly identify it and give you some help.Meanwhile, listen tto your body and do what your body needs. I needed lots of aleep with Covid and my other half could play for England if Sleeping was the game.
Get well soon Robert – you’ve been missed :rose:
Hope you feel better very soon.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery Robert. I hope you can still enjoy reading though.
Oh Robert, I have just read your comment and I am so sorry that you think you may have Covid – I will keep fingers and toes crossed for you and hope you start to feel better soon. As Chriscross says above, try and get a lot of rest.
💐Robert, your educated and entertaining comments have been much missed. Get well and come back soon. 💐
Hope you get well soon Robert. I know we all miss hearing from you.
Nice to hear from you – keep taking the pills!
So good to see you back Robert. All the best for a speedy recovery.
Glad to see you back Robert. Perhaps you have the flu? Whatever it is, let’s hope the doctor can diagnose and get you on the right medicine.
I missed you, so nice to have you back!
Great to hear from you, Robert and I hope you recover soon. 😷
Sorry to hear Robert. Get well soon.
Many thanks to all of you for your kind wishes.
If you are visiting Ballybucklebo, Robert then you will soon feel better, so. ☘️
There’s going to be a lot of entries for the pen this week!! Although if it took Jonners longer to find his pen than do this I don’t want them in my hide and seek team! 😄
A siiftly accomplished finish to today’s puzzle and it was an enjoyable romp. Favourite clues were 12a, 1d , 25a and COTD 2d. Many thanks to the compiler andcto CS for the hints..
For me one of the best Saturday puzzles for a long time. Some clever clues esp 1a and 10a and a very well hidden lurker.
Very enjoyable, right up my street.
Thx to all
***/*****
Who are you ? And what have you done with Brian ? (And not for the first time)
At least he, whoever he is, dose not complain about his ailments or his pets, or his days out etc., etc.
That’s rather unfriendly, Wahoo. This blog is a community and many commenters like hearing about each others’ lives. Obviously it’s also fine for people not to share those things, but please let those who enjoy some friendly chat do so.
Well said!
Lovely fun puzzle today. Great start to the weekend.
Thanks to the setter and to CS
Very straightforward, nothing contentious and entertaining while it lasted. I couldn’t come up with a favourite although several clues raised a smile. The Quickie pun was not particularly funny, or punnish really.
Thanks setter and CS.
An easy ride this morning but several smiles along the way, particularly from 12d which reminded me of one of the mobile tradesmen who called every week when I was a child.
Thanks to Cephas, presumably, and to CS for the hints and memories – haven’t seen any buttered brazils around for years.
Double unches in a SPP – five bob on Cephas! 1.5*/3.5*
5d got a large Hmm which I will explain in a comment on the review next Friday.
A long list of candidates for favourite, so I will just say that 4d beat out the two long ‘uns.
Thanks to Cephas and CS.
Ah, I forgot about your double inch theory, Senf so I’m glad I kept my five Bob in my pocket.
As a newcomer to the cryptic world, I really enjoyed this one, a great confidence booster. Saying that, I haven’t finished it yet, there’s a few that I’ll let simmer away at the back of the old grey matter and come back to. Favourite for me was 5D, quite clever.
Welcome to the blog
Welcome from me as well, CeeDee. Hope to hear from you again.
Always happy to see someone new joining, CeeDee.. As someone new to the cryptic world, today’s puzzle was ideal. But please don’t get put off when they get trickier. I’ve been doing these since the dark ages, and I still struggle some days. But this blog with its wonderful hints is the perfect learning place. I know I’ve improved a great deal since I stumbled across it a few years ago,
Here, hear! 👍
I saw that!
What a pleasant way to start a Saturday. Half done on first read through, a break then the second half fell into place. Many thanks to the compiler (I did wonder Chalicea, but most seem to think Cephas, so I bow to the majority) and CS for the hints, which, although I didn’t need, still good to read to see if I was on the right track.
Welcome to the blog
Welcome, and what a lovely rose. I can almost smell the scent from here 😊. My feeling is also that it is a Chalicea offering, as hers are typically user friendly like this one.
Welcome, antiquatedanne. I hope we hear from you again. 👍
I enjoyed this and quickly finished most of the clues without having to look at any hints. However, I couldn’t finish it as 25a is something I have not come across before. Got the first word but had to cheat to complete it. Thanks to the setter and for the clues.
Yes, this was easier than some but occasionally its nice not to have to scratch ones head too much. Nothing for Terence to put on THE LIST. Even Brian appears to have enjoyed it. Yippee, the asparagus season has started and we drove to the local farm that sell it at their gate. No-one else there so I could get out of the car – there is usually a person to pay but today it was an honesty box with jars of change for notes. Thanks to the setter and to CS
I just love asparagus and British asparagus is the best without a doubt. Enjoy.
The spears are not showing in our garden yet.
Thank you Manders. It is always nice when someone who can clearly solve the more difficult puzzles recognizes that there are many who enjoy something like today’s gentle cryptic,
I did wonder if the Viennese magistrate may make THE LIST, but he is a regular in crosswordlandia.
As others have said this was a brisk solve but entertaining. 1a was last here as I trawled through a gazetteer of 4 letter Ports
Thanks to Cephas and CS and best wishes to Robert (and others ailing)for a speedy recovery
I was held up on the port too, I forgot about that spirit.
Thanks, John!
if anyone is looking for another crossword, I can recommend today’s NTSPP
I’ll second that recommendation.
Thirded!
Even I managed to complete this without using Cs’s excellent hints!
A case of more haste, less speed for me as I quickly filled the grid of this elegantly clued SPP. Stared at 6d, my LOI, for ages until I realised I’d put the wrong answer to 3a!
1*/4*
Fav today 10a.
Thanks to setter and CS.
A very enjoyable puzzle today! So many great clues, hard to pick a favourite. I liked 10a, at first I thought a Fed was part of the answer until I came to my senses. A lovely sunny day here in S. Manchester after so much rain recently.
Thankyou setter and hinter!
Based on the puzzle grid and the style of the clues, my 5/- is on Cephas again this week. Very entertaining puzzle and fun to work through. Some great clues that cause a laugh as soon as it is solved!
1.5*/5* for me
Favourites include 1a, 9a, 26a, 3d, 4d & 21d with winner 4d and all of this caused me the chuckle/laugh.
In addition, the two 3 letter clues made me chuckle too.
Great fun, great enjoyment
Thanks Cephas and thanks to CS for the hints.
That was a swift walk in the park – I don’t think you are going to get your pen this week Steve, there will be thousands of entries!
Many thanks to the benevolent setter and CS.
What pen is that, Daisygirl? 🤣
🫢
Great fun. 22d was my last one in. Missed it until the end. Say no more. Thanks to the setter and CS.
There’s not a 22d. Perhaps that is why you missed it!
As straightforward as they come but enjoyable, no hold-ups. Favourite was 1d. Thanks to the setter and CS.
So straightforward I did not even notice the double unches. Some very good clues though. Not sure about the crypticness of 21 a but perhaps we are meant to think of a different type of cloth. 1a I got without knowing that I knew it. Favourites 1 4 12 17 and 21s. Thanks CS but a walk in the park today for you. Thanks Cephas if it be thou.
Hello everyone – a long time since a comment from me but here goes anyway.
Two reasons for the long gap – first reason has been lots of help needed for our younger Lamb and family with their new(ish) baby – the second one really is that I just can’t do the crosswords properly any more – it’s a bit soul-destroying even though I always read the blog – anyway that’s just being totally honest . . .
Right – on to the crossword now – this is the first one I’ve finished for such a long time.
A few in the top left corner took a bit of thinking but got there in the end – I was so determined not to give up having been so close.
Thanks to Cephas for the crossword and to CS for the hints and pics.
Hello Kath, nice to hear from you again. Today’s puzzle will have been a welcome surprise for many who really enjoy one that can actually be finished.
Good to hear from you, Kath. 👍
Lovely to hear from you Kath – and what better reason for not wasting time on a crossword than a lovely new grandchild. Enjoy every minute. Suddenly they are grown up. Glad you did todays though , it had some nice satisfying clues.
Great to hear from you, Kath. Congratulations on finishing the puzzle — which is more than I managed!
Well I had no trouble finding my pen, as I put it right there by my place mat on the breakfast table the night before. Thank you to the setter – Chalicea? – for a lovely start to Saturday. It always tops my enjoyment chart when I can finish, or almost finish, a puzzle without help. I just missed that 22a was a lurker, otherwise it would have been all my own work. A nice steady solve, with no head scratching.
Well there’s some disagreement in the ‘Guess the Setter’ game today because I’m convinced it a Chalicea offering from pretty early on! Lovely puzzle, containing plenty of crosswordland staples – a very pleasant solve for me. My COTD is 6d as I do like a good lego */***
Thanks to our setter and CS
Quite a breeze for prize puzzle.
Like others, I found this fairly straightforward and managed to finish in PB time. Could it be Chalicea I wonder but then I am always wrong so I will leave my five bob for The Grand National. Plenty to like but my COTD is the very neat 12d.
Many thanks to Chalicea if it be she or to whomsoever. Thank you, CS for the hints.
Good puzzle keep it going Kath great to hear from you
Well that was a lovely walk in the park. For some reason I completed the bottom half first and can’t remember why. Many thanks to the setter and to Cryptic Sue. I have to own up to not getting the first part of the Quickie pun.
I don’t need to say I loved this, that’s a given, pure fun and all done without help. I have no idea who the setter is, Chalicea or Cephas, I like them both. How nice for a tiny brain to have so much enjoyment! I liked them all but 1d did stand out, also 25a for the “run off”.
Thanks to Chalicea or Cephas, and certainly to CS for the lovely pics!
0.5/5. This was such a delight if not particularly onerous. No stand out clues for me. Thanks to the setter and CS.
GWS Robert. It’s a really nasty virus, for all the available treatments, and for some it can be far worse than it is for others.
An incredibly easy puzzle today for me, so it didn’t really touch the sides, but there is always room in the world for an easier solving experience.
Many thanks both.
Thank you, Jeanne!
I completed this highly enjoyable puzzle on the way to a family celebration for which we were blessed with sunshine.
Many thanks to CS for the hints which today I did not need and the setter.
Thanks for your kind comments
Thank you! You can have no idea how the less brilliant enjoy the fun of being able to solve without turning one’s brain to mush.
Thank you, Cephas for a most enjoyable puzzle and for popping in.
Kindergarten stuff today, so right up my street. Thank you setter.
I don’t often do the Saturday prize puzzle, but after seeing the pre-amble and comments saying how easy this was was, I thought I’d give it a go last night. Sadly, I wish I hadn’t: it’s the first crossword in ages I’ve got so stuck on I’ve had to give up, with 6 answers still left, even having gone through all CrypticSue’s hints. Leaving it overnight got me another couple this morning, but didn’t do its usual trick of suddenly making clear everything that had been beyond me the night before.
Friday’s proXimal puzzle just fell straight into place; this one was beyond me. I don’t understand why I can struggle this much with “easy” puzzles, but I’m glad so many others enjoyed it.
9a and 22a did make me smile, though, so one of those is probably my favourite. I hadn’t heard of “adjutant”, nor the magistrate, and I think I’ve got 3d but don’t understand what the Queen is doing in there.
Glad I’m not the only one getting stuck on a couple here! The usual suspects will elucidate The Queen’s appearance for you.
I’m quite new to cryptic crosswords but these hints and tips are an excellent learning resource – thanks to CrypticSue and others. One of these days I’m hopeful to complete the entire thing without resorting to any hints… (only got stuck with two today – 1A and 22A)
Welcome to the blog
Some of us started solving long before the internet was ‘invented’. We used to try to solve the crossword and then look at the solution the next day to see if we could work out how it related to the clue, and were often still confused.
Look up queen with a lower case Q in the dictionary – the definition you want is quite far down the list She appears quite often in crosswords so is one to note for the future.
1a was my last one in and I was quite pleased to parse it as the two letter abbreviation for British followed by a type of port used in computers only to learn from the hints that it was a rather more obvious type of port.
2*/4* … thought my crosswording skills must have improved no end, until I read that almost everyone else found this one nice and easy …
liked 12D “Fish paid for at the door (3)”