Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30330
Hints and tips by pommers
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
Hola from Almoradí where summer arrived with a bang about ten days ago. Hot weather, which I like, but it’s not cooling down overnight, which I don’t like. Hey ho, the joys of living in Spain.
As for the crossword I managed something I haven’t achieved for quite some time – that is to solve every one of the across clues in order! After that the downs just sort of filled themselves in. I’ll be interested to see if others found it the same.
As usual my podium three are in blue. The definitions are underlined in the clues and the answers are under the “click here” buttons so don’t click on them unless you really want to see the answer. Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
9a Mike in returning role as vagrant (5)
TRAMP: Take a word for a role in a play and reverse it (returning) and then insert (in) the letter represented by Mike in the phonetic alphabet.
10a Upset at charges enter uninvited (9)
GATECRASH: Anagram (upset) of AT CHARGES.
11a Workers working, favouring active involvement (5-2)
HANDS ON: A word for workers followed by a word which can mean working as in your washing machine is working.
12a Silly person beginning to divulge answer (7)
RESPOND: Anagram (silly) of PERSON followed by a D (beginning to Divulge).
13a Got here, ring and type of brooch (5)
CAMEO: A word meaning got here or arrived followed by an O (ring).
14a Social climber‘s rare visit abroad (9)
ARRIVISTE: Anagram (abroad) of RARE VISIT.
16a What a licensed bowling alley has to offer? Fun (4,3,8)
BEER AND SKITTLES: What you might buy in licensed premises and the game you might play in a bowling alley are put together to give a phrase meaning fun or having a good time.
19a Dog inflamed crossword compiler (3,6)
RED SETTER: A word for inflamed or sore followed by a crossword compiler.
21a Oarsman, perhaps, in argument with that woman, losing face (5)
ROWER: A word for an argument followed by a word for that woman but without its first letter (losing face).
23a Puppet winning fight (5-2)
PUNCH UP: A character from a puppet show often associated with the seaside and a word describing someone who is winning, in a game of poker perhaps.
25a Coppers welcoming an act of atonement (7)
PENANCE: Start with some coppers or loose change and insert (welcoming) the AN from the clue.
27a Knight in a vehicle moving right (9)
CHEVALIER: Anagram (moving) of A VEHICLE followed by R(ight).
28a Straps for horses — some were in stable (5)
REINS: A lurker hiding in (some) the last three words of the clue.
Down
1d Long hold-up heading off (4)
ITCH: A hold-up or minor problem without its first letter (heading off).
2d Bottle shown by two males seizing a loaded gun (6)
MAGNUM: Start with two M’s (males) and insert (seizing) the A from the clue and an anagram (loaded) of GUN.
3d Convert copies tape in bishop’s office (10)
EPISCOPATE: Anagram (convert) of COPIES TAPE.
4d Dope interrupting a DA’s schedule (6)
AGENDA: Start with the A and DA from the clue and insert (interrupting) a word for dope as in information.
5d TV series open about king (4,4)
STAR TREK: Take a word meaning to open or set off and then two letters for about and finally the letter for king in chess notation. Split that lot (4,4) to get a famous TV series.
6d Book turns (4)
ACTS: Double definitions. Turns as in those you might watch on stage.
7d Musical‘s song describing custom (8)
CAROUSEL: A song you sing at Christmas around (describing) a word for custom.
8d Article on piece of furniture in play (3,7)
THE DRESSER: A definite article followed by a piece of furniture often described as Welsh.
13d What emails pass through Rebecca? Spy found out (10)
CYBERSPACE: Anagram (found out) of REBECCA SPY.
15d Differ about entire broadcast concerning treatment of animals (10)
VETERINARY: A word meaning differ or change around (about) an anagram (broadcast) of ENTIRE.
17d Aim to work up to compromise (8)
ENDANGER: A word for an aim followed by a word meaning to work up or rile.
18d Service one in apartment, tax already taken care of? (4-4)
DUTY PAID: A service or onus followed by a slang term for your apartment with an I inserted (one in).
20d Give an account of explosion (6)
REPORT: Double definition.
22d Ad-lib in group, primarily during comedy (4,2)
WING IT: Take the IN from the clue and a G (Group primarily) and insert (during) into some comedy or humour.
24d Endless courage results in try (4)
HEAR: Take the last letter off (endless) a word for courage to leave a word meaning to try a court case.
26d Bridge player, poorest having lost pounds (4)
EAST: Remove the L (pounds Sterling) from a word meaning poorest or smallest.
My podium today is 23a, 25a and 22d with 23a on the top step.
Quick crossword puns:
Top line: CHOIR + CHEWED = QUIETUDE
Middle line: BANNED + LIEDER = BANDLEADER
Bottom line: LACKED + EIGHT = LACTATE
A lovely puzzle to get the week off to a good start. Nothing more to say really other than it was 16a all the way and very enjoyable. My COTD is the fighting puppet.
Many thanks to Campbell for the fun and to pommers for the hints. I managed half of the across clues on first pass.
A pleasantly straightforward guzzle proving that it doesn’t have to be a brain-buurner to be enjoyable and entertaining. My COTD 14a, with 8d as the runnerup and 7d and 27a highly commended. Thanks to Campbell for a gentle puzzle; variety is the spice of life! Many thanks to Pommers for the hints
I didn’t solve this in the same way as pommers but the result was much the same. Having solved the first four across clues I moved onto the downs snd then down the grid. The SW corner may have added a moment or two to my time – I loved the misdirection at 17d and the four letter 24d took longer than it should, otherwise we’re back to what,in my opinion, Mondays should be – something for everyone, whatever the skill level. Favourite today was 16a, supported by 3d and 15d. Thanks to Campbell and pommers
What a neat and compact puzzle.
Scatter gun approach,
Bullseyes!
Chuckles at 16 and 23a
Crafty lurker at 28a and some
Juicy anagrams eg 3d.
Many thanks Campbell and pommers.
Usual Monday fare completed before settling down to watch the cricket. Thanks to pommers for the musical link, which stirred up memories of happy times at college playing Goodbye Stranger at full volume on my vinyl turntable set up! I vividly remember that the whole of my Dads car was taken up with audio equipment & cases of vinyl records on trips at the start & end of term, how times have changed.
1*/3*5*
Fav 28a LOI 17d.
Thanks to setter and pommers.
Goodbye Stranger….best track on the album and should have been first single in my opinion.
For those of you that enjoyed the late and great Rufus Monday crosswords, lots to recommend in todays offering in the Grauniad.
A light, quaint and/but clever puzzle. My picks are 27a plus 2,17&22d.
Many thanks to Campbell and Pommers.
Perfect for this morning.
Thanks to pommers and Campbell
I was two short on the across clues with the first pass, so nearly emulated our esteemed blogger. This was a pleasantly straightforward and typically Campbellesque puzzle to start the week, with 23a my favourite.
My thanks to the triple punner and pommers.
A lovely gentle kick off to the new week. Looks like Mr Monday is back to benevolence. Top two for me were 2d&23a with ticks for 16a&14d, the latter reminding me we must be due soon for another series of Channel 5’s excellent remake of All Creatures Grunt & Smell. Wasn’t familiar with the brooch but otherwise pleasingly straightforward.
Thanks to Campbell & to Pommers – reckon I’ve only ever completed all of the across clues in order on a couple of occasions but do remember the first time being a very gentle Dada guzzle & feeling very pleased with myself.
It’s Monday :good: It’s Campbell :good: No need to say anything else – 1.5*/4.5*
Candidates for favourite – 19a, 23a, 25a, and 5d – and the winner is 23a.
Thanks to Campbell and pommers.
Another vote for 23a as clue of the day in this gentle start to the week’s puzzling.
Needed to check the spelling of 15d after hearing the Dales farmers pronouncing it so often in “All Creatures Great and Small”.
Bet Brian will not be happy with 6d coming up so soon again.
Thanks to setter and hinter.
Solving pattern similar to that of our blogger, just 27a that held out for a while because I’d got fixated by ‘cabriolet’.
Plenty of fun from our compiler and my top three, like pommers, are 23&25a plus 22d.
Thanks to Campbell for the gentle start to the week and to pommers for the review.
A gentle and enjoyable puzzle to kick off the week – thanks to Campbell and pommers.
For my podium I’ve selected 11a, 17d and 22d.
Very Monday, enjoyable while it lasted – did not quite match Pommers’ perfect pathway through the across clues, having a couple left unfilled before facing the downs. For me Hon Mentions to 7d and 22d.
<1* / 2.5*
Many thanks to Campbell & to Pommers
It was a joy to begin the week by sailing effortlessly through this five-finger exercise and then the equally undemanding Quickie although I didn’t suss top pun. East just beat other half to it. 6d book seems to be a bit of a bad penny although perhaps that must be the case for regular cruciverbalists. No Fav just a whole collection of fun clues. Thank you Campbell and pommers.
1.5*/4*. A lovely start to the week with 23a my favourite.
I can’t fully convince myself that “loaded” in 2d is a valid anagram indicator but doubtless it appears in one of many lists somewhere.
Many thanks to Campbell and to pommers.
In the list of anagram indicators in the Small Red Book.
But, not really an anagram – a three letter word, move one letter.
RD. I assume it’s loaded in the sense of drunk, so probably fine. I’m sure I’ve seen it before.
A very nice start to the week. 2d anagram indicator and the play in 8d were my only real pauses for thought. Thanks to Campbell and Pommers.
A wonderfully light and pleasant puzzle.
There were many excellent clues for me, but I’ll side with pommers and others in plumping for the puppet.
Thanks to p, and Mysteron.
It’s Monday and it’s Campbell to start this non-work week. For me, this was literally a R&W except for 3 clues. Nothing confusing in this with either clues or awkward answers and unknown words.
1*/5* for me.
Even though this was done and dusted without issue, I still enjoyed it very much.
Favourites could be the whole grid, but I’ll pick 11a, 16a, 19a, 23a, 5d & 15d — with winner 19a & 23a runner-up.
Thanks to Campbell and pommers for the hints/blog
Just my sort of puzzle- some easy clues to give me some cross letters to help with the hard (for me) ones.
A slight hiccup on 25a as I expected the coppers to be CID but I quickly realised the error of my ways
COTD 27a simply because it is such an elegant word
Apart from never having heard of 13d I didn’t have any problems today.
Remembering the expression at 16a took for ever – that’s the sort of thing that makes my stupid brain lets me down, damn it!!
Lots of good clues including 10 and 14a and 22d.
Thanks to Campbell and pommers.
No problems for me today…..so who is the setter and what have they done with Campbell? For he it cannot be as I always have trouble with him.
Very enjoyable puzzle .
Thanks to the setter and to Pommers.
Spent a lot of today putting out washing then bringing it in again out of the rain. (Three trips at least…lost count.) Currently thundering but we have had very pleasant bright spells in between.
Lovely puzzle to start the week although 3d is a new word for me but my fav was 5d. Shame about the biblical references which seem to be de rigueur these days.
Thx for the hints and to CS for patiently trying to explain one of yesterdays clues but which still eludes me. I wait with bated breath for the full debrief.
*/****
I can’t stand or abide football, Brian but I don’t complain about football clues. What is it with you and clues involving The Bible? May I refer you to Point 2 of commenting etiquette?
I agree Steve, as I said before, if the setters had to avoid each of our pet hates/areas of limited knowledge fairly soon there would be no crossword clues at all! I know nothing about cricket and would prefer no clues related to it but in fact I have now learnt a bit about it and know about ‘the mine’ where I can get help I would not dream of asking for cricket to be avoided altogether.
Some very smooth clues with 19a and 25a as favourites thank you Campbell and Pommers
I couldn’t agree more. It’s time Brian turned that particular record off. Chess, cricket, RU, soccer, all unknown areas to me but all the clues are capable of being worked out.
2/4. Enjoyable puzzle if over fairly quickly. Favourite was 23a. Thanks to Campbell and Pommers.
Pure joy, I had so much pleasure solving this. I had done it earlier and did my “routine” in the pool before the monsoon set up. Black skies now and Big Massa grumbling. There was so much to like here, nothing new for me, only needed help spelling 14a, thank goodness it was an anagram. I have a lovely 13a, see my gravatar, that Grandad brought from Italy for my Gran. My fave has to be 23a.
Thank you Campbell, please keep being friendly, and much appreciation to pommers for the hints and pics.
Not quite as Route One as the Pommers but I managed this pretty well.
Although 16a was indeed fun 5d gets the nod today and I believe Jean-luc of this parish is also a fan
Thanks to Pommers and Campbell
Great start to the week and a good boost to my flagging confidence! Many thanks to Campbell for such an enjoyable puzzle and to Pommers for his hints confirming I was bang on!
Good evening
Took a little while, but one by one, pennies started to drop and it was all done!
COTD 13d! Very witty
Thank you Campbell and Pommers
Two thirds went in pretty quickly, well for me that is, but the last third took a bit longer. I was chasing the wrong type of coppers and compromise, plus 13d and 14a were new words for me, despitde devouring 6 books a month. Clearly there are a lot of words out there still to be learnt. Thanks to Campbell for providing this lovely puzzle that did not make me feel inept, and to Pommers for the needed hints. If it’s any consolation, it’s incredibly hot here this week, nearly 33C here right now, which might go down if we get the promised rain this afternoon. Nights are only slightly cooler, with possibly 25C if we are lucky. I lasted for about 10 minutes walking around the garden center this morning before I decided it was not a good idea.
A lovely start to the week, fun and plenty to think about. 23d was last in as I was initially on the wrong track. 5d became my favourite as it reminded me I used to watch it with my dad.
Many thanks to Campbell and to Pommers who confirmed the parsing of a couple.
Late start, late finish. Hadn’t heard of the play but couldn’t be anything else. Mercifully straightforward having done my dog training class and been to the pub afterwards. Favourite was 16a though I haven’t played the latter for three years now, maybe this winter? Thanks to Campbell and Pommers.
2nd Quickie pun could have been, “lied again”. (Lieder gain)