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DT 30295

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30295
Hints and tips by Huntsman

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BD Rating – Difficulty **  –  Enjoyment ***

A reasonably straightforward & very pleasant Tuesday puzzle that shouldn’t present too many difficulties. Nicely clued throughout & with one parsing head scratch (I think) for me at 27a. Apologies for the absence of illustrations but after the professionalism of T’s reviews you’re lumbered with my debut stab at the hints & my lamentable inputting skills. Thanks to Mr Kitty & Gazza for much needed help with the process.

In the following hints, definitions are underlined, indicators are mostly in parentheses, and answers are revealed by clicking where shown as usual. Please leave a comment below on how you got on with the puzzle.

Across

1  Heads of European nations tell France leader’s lost grip (8)
ENTRANCE: use the initial letters (heads) of EUROPEAN NATIONS TELL then add our near neighbour less the first letter (leader’s lost)

5  Web expert changing ISP, flipping embarrassed? (6)
SPIDER: an anagram (changing) of ISP then add & reverse a familiar synonym for embarrassed. The Who sang about one called Boris which may have been a music clip if I knew how to insert one

9  Even prisoner’s tense after wallop (8)
CONSTANT: a charade starting with a word for prisoner’s & ending with a single letter abbreviation for tense into which a synonym for wallop is inserted

10  Samples pastries in church? On the contary (6)
PIECES: the usual 2 letter abbreviation for church placed within (on the contrary) types of pastries

12  Met blokes maybe ordered lemon pie outside clubs (9)
POLICEMEN: the single letter abbreviation for clubs (suit) placed within an anagram (ordered) of lemon pie

13  Stroke fawn (5)
CRAWL: a double meaning – think swimming & sycophancy

14  Off one’s head, stagger back (4)
NUTS: reverse (back) a synonym for stagger as in surprise

16  Highest-ranking American returned before me (7)
SUPREME: A charade starting with a 2 letter reversal of American followed by a synonym for before then add the last word of the clue.

19  Roar, and German’s grabbed by the tiger at last (7)
THUNDER: Insert the German for and into the (grabbed by) & append the last letter of tiger

21  Boss getting rid of current cook (4)
CHEF: a synonym for boss less the single letter abbreviation for current (as in Ohm’s law I think)

24  Set foot in two hospital departments (5)
ENTER: Our usual hospital department followed by an American one (the title of a series that shot George Clooney to fame)

25  Fixed Beetle car? Rejoice! (9)
CELEBRATE: an anagram (fixed) of Beetle car

27  Unfinished liquor bottle (6)
SPIRIT: a triple definition (I think) – the first something to do with death maybe, the hard stuff & bottle in the sense of courage. Ignore my rambling – another word for liquor less it’s last letter (unfinished) for the definition synonym – thanks Gazza&Senf

28  Royal Engineers beginning to show initiative (8)
RESOURCE: The usual 2 letter abbreviation for the Sappers followed by a synonym for beginning

29  Departs, for example, with endless grass – something student wants?(6)
DEGREE: A charade. Start with the single letter for departs then add the abbreviation for example & finally append a type of grass minus its last letter (endless)

30  Breadbaskets  crushed Scot’s ham (8)
STOMACHS: an anagram (crushed) of Scot’s ham for an informal term

Down
1 Get free ale finally with small head (6)
ESCAPE: start with the last letter (finally) of ale & the single letter for small then add a geographical synonym for head.

2 Relish the French confict (6)
TANGLE: start with a synonym for relish then add the French for the (if followed by a masculine noun)

3 That tickles, admits Greek (5)
ATTIC: a lurker (admits) for a dialect referred to as classical Greek

4 Where to find pictures amnesic misplaced (7)
CINEMAS: An anagram (misplaced) of amnesic where I’ve spent many happy hours & the only place to properly appreciate them

6 Truth from headteacher in speech (9)
PRINCIPLE: a homophone of a synonym for headteacher

7 Announced what cricketers perhaps did (8)
DECLARED: what the batting team may do (a century from RD perhaps) once they judge they have sufficient runs on the board gives you the definition synonym

8 Reconciled about what this crossword may end up being (8)
RESOLVED: what I frequently have to do with puzzles having made a total horlicks of filling them in.

11 Underwear but no top for social workers ? (4)
ANTS: An item of underwear (& much disliked by some anagram indicator) less the initial letter (no top) gives you these social workers

15 Lenin rude about accent (9)
UNDERLINE: An anagram (about) of the first 2 words in the clue for accent in the context of emphasis

17 Initially struggling with hair, Edward’s anxious (8)
STRESSED: Start with the first letter in Struggling (initially) then add the usual synonym for hair & append the abbreviation of the fella’s name

18 Lower stealing? (8)
RUSTLING: a cryptic definition – think livestock

20 Diamond’s type of music? (4)
ROCK: double definition

21 Gather phone’s picked up in bed (7)
COLLECT: a reversal (picked up) of what the Americans call a mobile placed into a synonym for a bed

22 Cloth  lovely and plush, not hard (6)
FABRIC: start with an informal term for lovely & add a synonym for plush less it’s last letter (not hard)

23 Ship that’s circling always docks (6)
SEVERS: A nicely misleading surface. The usual 2 letter abbreviation for ship surrounds (circling) a synonym for always gives you the definition that has nowt to do with where you’d find it.

26  Sweep runs, with loud noise outside (5)
BROOM: place the single letter abbreviation for runs into a loud noise (think sonic) for the definition synonym.

18d my favourite today with the nice surfaces at 5a & 23d gaining podium spots & a nod to the Quickie pun.


Today’s Quick Crossword pun: BEE + PAY + SHUNT = BE PATIENT

55 comments on “DT 30295

  1. What a difference a day makes! I loved this offering. It had just the right balance of straightforward and puzzling. I did take some time over 13a because I couldn’t reconcile the stroke part but the LRB (Chamber’s Crossword Dictionary) helped. 1a was another that took a time for the penny to arrive. At first, my COTD was going to be 12a because of the misdirection of “met blokes”. I tried to think of every meeting there is. However, when 18d came along that immediately became my COTD because I thought it was clever.

    Many thanks to the setter for the fun. I do hope you pay a visit to claim it. Thank you to Huntsman for the hints, which I will now read. Many congratulations on your debut.

  2. Found this quite taxing for a Tuesday, finished it but can’t quite see how some of the clues are fully worked out (27 and 28a, and 2d) so will have to see the hints today for enlightenment. Really liked the answers to 12a and 18d, very neat!

  3. A pleasant puzzle – thanks to our setter and thanks and congratulations to Huntsman for an excellent first blog.
    I particularly liked the cunning definitions in 12a (Met blokes) and 23d (docks).

  4. For 30295 read 20395 in my paper! Good, fairly quick puzzle, no outstanding clues, but then no duds either.
    Thanks to the setter!

  5. For me, much gentler than yesterday. I didn’t like the use of ‘broom’ as a verb in 26d, although I see it is given in BRB and who am I to argue. Also, I don’t see the ‘unfinished’ part of 27a, even with the hint. That said, there were some clever and amusing clues, especially 1a, 5a, 7d and my favourite (and I suspect, that of many others) 18d. Thanks to our setter and Huntsman.

    1. To expand on Gazza’s reply, I parsed 27a as definition ‘bottle’ created from spirits (liquor) with the last letter deleted (unfinished).

  6. I thought 1a and 18d the best the latter being my COTD although 20d was clever in its construction as well. Reasonable difficulty for a Tuesday and I concur with Huntsman’s rating. Thanks to him and our setter.

  7. 12a my favourite, just ahead of 18d. I found this a comfortable and most enjoyable puzzle with very few delays in the solving process.

    Thanks to our Tuesday setter, and a big thank you and welcome to Huntsman for his maiden blog.

  8. A lovely puzzle with enough head scratching to make me pleased I managed it. 23d was my favourite but it could have been 18d which made me chuckle.
    Congratulations to Huntsman on completing the hints, it must be so tricky getting them done under pressure. There is an error in 2d, the clue has the wrong final word (should be conflict)

    Many thanks to Huntsman and the mystery setter.

  9. Enjoyable and satisfying.
    And neatly constructed.
    Rather Mondayish, though.
    Loved 12a.
    Thanks to the setter
    And to Huntsman

  10. Spot on Tuesday puzzle ,held up by te SW corner, agreed with Gazza for 27a,
    Took a while to parse 19 a as I initially had Hun for the German!
    Enjoyed the solve and a 2.5*/ 3*
    Favourite was 1a, 5a made me smile

  11. What a surprise – well done for stepping up to the blogging plate, Huntsman. If this is a regular commitment it could play havoc with your golfing schedule!
    Like Mhids, I’m not keen on 26d and hesitated over the wording of the clue for 27a.
    Tops for me today were 13a plus the Quickie pun.

    Thanks to our setter and to Huntsman for the review – think you deserve a stiff drink now!

  12. I found rthis more difficult than yesterday’s puzzle and not ao enjoyable. Horses for courses, I suppose. There were as many unusual synonyms as a Ray T puzzle and a lot of slang/ Americanisms. Enough said, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Thanks to the compilwer for his efforts and to Huntsman for the hints, which were very helpful for the 4 clues rhat I couldn’t parse (a successful debut H –Congratulations!)

  13. Well done Huntsman and welcome to the bloggers circle. Just about Typically Tuesdayish so I will cautiously put my five bob on Anthony Plumb, I do wish that he would ‘pop in’ now and again – **/****

    A major eye roll at the abbreviated (North) American hospital department in 24a.

    Candidates for favourite – 19a, 29a, 1d, 6d, and 22d – and the winner is 19a.

    Thanks to Mr Plumb(?) and Huntsman.

  14. Apart from trying, without success, to justify “pickle” for 2d, this was plain sailing. Absolute favourite was 18d, followed closely by 12a. Thank you setter, and congratulations to Huntsman for the review.

  15. 1.5*/3.5*. A light and pleasant puzzle for a Tuesday with 5a, 12a & 18d making up my podium. Many thanks to the setter.

    A great first blog from Huntsman. Very well done on sticking your head above the parapet (and for saving me from having to mention that one of the two hospital departments in 24a is American).

    As others have mentioned, I too am not keen on the use of 26d as a verb, although for some strange reason it seems to have crept into Chambers as such.

  16. A pleasant and light dessert to the Robyn main course, unusually for Tuesday nothing in particular stood out for me, it was all err pleasant.
    Many thanks to the setter and thanks and congratulations to Huntsman a very welcome addition to the blogging team.

  17. Found three quarters reasonably accessible but needed tip-offs in NW (thanks Huntsman and welcome to you). D’oh the penny for 18d has finally dropped – should have tumbled sooner to lower chestnut. Suppose 23d can be docks. Thank you Mysteron.

  18. Well done Huntsman – tuppence to speak to you now. No problems with this, like Tipcat I think 12a & 18d were excellent clues, but so was 13a. The only one I needed help with was 10a for some reason. As far as 26d is concerned, a very young DD1 came running in one day and told me Daddy was brooming the dog, so it is OK by me.
    Many thanks to Messrs Setter & Huntsman, hinter extraordinaire.

  19. Well I loved this one. I found myself repeating 5a several times before the penny drop moment! Great fun and well done Huntsman, hope it wasn’t too stressful.

  20. Found this Tuesday puzzle about normal for most Tuesday offerings. Took a while to get going and ended up with the right side completed first. NW was last area to succumb.

    For me 2.5*/4* today

    Favourites include 1a, 5a, 12a, 1d, 20d & 21d with winner a tie between 5a & 12a

    Overall a nice solve with a bit of head scratching to get there in the end.

    Thanks to setter and Huntsman

  21. Good fun – held up a little in the north-west corner until I remembered my own personal mantra – if struggling, look for a lurker. And bingo – 3d was solved and the rest of the corner fell soon after. Thanks to the setter and to Huntsman the Debutante.

  22. Yay, kudos, and bravo to Huntsman! Haven’t read the comments yet (I stayed up late last night so that I could finish Brideshead Revisited and catch up with Jane, who finished a day ahead of me). But as soon as I saw our fellow cinephile’s name, I just had to pipe in with congratulations!

    Enjoyed the puzzle once I got going–a bit sluggish today, still fighting that old bug–with no particular favourite, just a pleasant sense of accomplishment. Thanks to our Tuesday setter and our old friend Huntsman! **/***

    1. I cheated & just re-read the last bit. Always find the doomed affair achingly sad. Watched Sophia Coppola’s On The Rocks last night on Apple TV – very slight but eminently watchable & with Bill Murray stealing the show with a typically deadpan performance. With a look.

  23. I’m late to the table today. Great crossword – 5a made me smile.

    Thanks to the setter and Hooray For Huntsman!

  24. I found this one tricky and needed to use BD’s tips to complete, though I did DNF due to not getting 7d.

  25. This Tuesday treat was a tonic to tackle at lunchtime. Two tie for the top trophy today : 12a and 18d.Huntsman showing terrific talent in his new telling us all about it role ; great stuff. To the setter thanks.

  26. Nice crossword 😃 just about right level of difficulty for a Tuesday **/*** Favourites: 5a, 1d and 8d Thanks to Huntsman and to the Compiler 🤗

  27. An enjoyable Tuesday puzzle with my favourites being the shortest clues – 13a and 18d.

    For those not happy with Americanisms, is the upside down part of 21d not another one?

    Thanks to the setter and new hinter.

    1. Sorry Huntsman, I see you had already mentioned part of 21d as being American.

  28. First read through without much success but did much better with the downs. I couldn’t see the “why” of several, especially in the NW, but on reading Huntsman’s unravelling, that was my dimness. I didn’t think of swimming at 13a, but of course! Apart from my shortcomings, a lot of enjoyable moments. Fave was 18d.
    Thank you setter, and welcome to the hot seat Huntsman! You done good (that’s another Americanism, so shoot me!)

  29. I really enjoyed today’s puzzle and didn’t need much help compared to yesterday. Early on, I too wanted to put pickle in for 2d. Afterwards everything just fell into place. Many thanks to the setter and Huntsman.

  30. Good evening
    Thank you Huntsman for your debut in the Hints Dept, and thanks to our compiler for a puzzle just on the right side of trickiness!

  31. I agree this crossword was the appropriate level of difficulty for a Tuesday. Thank you setter.

  32. Congratulations, Huntsman, and thank you for joining this exclusive club. An excellent start.

    Splendid friendly fare for a Tuesday – just what the doctor ordered.

    I heard a great clue a few years ago for 5a…

    Web designer (6)

    1*/3*

  33. I found this an enjoyable solve pitched at just the right level for a Tuesday. Top clue for me was 12a.

    Thanks to our setter. Thanks also to Huntsman for an accomplished debut set of hints, and welcome to the blogging team.

  34. Hello everyone,
    I haven’t even had time to do the crossword but just popped in to say congratulations to Huntsman on his first set of hints.
    Well done – I do remember my first time and how totally terrified I was – I have to tell you that never changed however many times it did them – I was a gibbering wreck every time – call me a scaredy cat if you like . . .
    Good luck!

    1. Thanks Kath. There was a fair bit of trepidation. Fortunately only 1 horlicks & a dodgy explanation so I’ll take that.

    2. Well we could never tell Kath, I was always so impressed as you had to solve the Ray T challenges every week.

  35. Congratulations on your debut today, well done. I didn’t find this very easy today, and ended up needing 8 hints, so thank you. By chance, I used a different pen for those answers, so it made it easy to see which ones were not all my own work, I think I’ll make this my practice henceforth 😊. It was also one of those days when the answer pops into my head in the split second between pressing click here and it actually showing.

    Finally found time to sit down and watch the Coronation, I know shame on me. But I had watched numerous highlights on the actual day. My goodness, it all made me so proud. The world would be a grayer place without the monarchy and all the pomp and pageantry. Inaugurations don’t even come close, and they never will, because you know another one will be along In four years. So very happy for King Charles and Queen Camilla.

  36. A breath of fresh air after yesterday’s out of place brain mangler. Some really excellent clues of which the hands down winner was 18d. Thanks to the setter and Huntsman, you were always next on the list in my book, well done. Back to the toughie which I’m making heavy weather of.

  37. I enjoyed todays puzzle, so many great clues. Congratulations Huntsman, I think you did an excellent job. Thanks also to the much appreciated setter.

  38. General approbation for this. Very good. I’m days behind due to Coronation events. 5a my favourite and congrats Huntsman.

  39. I do not see why anyone objects to Americanisms in a puzzle. After all, we accept a lot of French and German. I put in ER without a second thought.
    It might be a chestnut but I did like 5a

  40. Belatedly, a welcome to Huntsman, and thank you for these hints, helping to unstick me on a couple of clues. And thank you to Twmbarlwm for your previous Tuesday hints — sad to lose you, just when I’ve got the hang of spelling your name.

    I’ve no idea how long the puzzle took me yesterday, because I opened the browser tab for it several hours before I got round to it, the timer ticking away throughout!

    23d’s docking ship and 13a’s impressive double definition were my favourites.

    Huntsman, one tiny request for future weeks, if possible: could you please put the ‘a’ or ‘d’ after each clue number in your list? I realize this is redundant when reading through the hints in order (the subheadings making it quite clear which clues are across and which down), but it makes it much easier when using Ctrl+F in a browser to search for a specific hint — searching for “9d”, say, works a lot better than searching just for “9” and having to skip through all the other times that digit crops up on the page. Hope that makes sense, and please don’t take it as a criticism: I am tremendously grateful for everything you bloggers do.

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