DT 30436 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30436

by Mr K  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30436

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty *** -  Enjoyment ***

Hello, everyone, welcome to our discussion of a solid Friday crossword. 

In the hints below most indicators are italicized, and underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions. Clicking on the answer buttons will reveal the answers. In some hints hyperlinks provide additional explanation or background. Clicking on a picture will enlarge it or display a bonus illustration and a hover (computer) or long press (mobile) might explain more about the picture. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

 

Across

1a    City where treasure may be stored by bishop, say, and Queen (10)
MANCHESTER:  A container where pirate treasure may be stored is sandwiched between what a chess bishop defines by example (say) and the Latin abbreviation for Queen Elizabeth 

6a    Clock set to go backwards (4)
DIAL:  The reversal (to go backwards) of set or placed

9a    Food devoured by hippopotamus tastes revolting (7)
SATSUMA:  The answer is hidden in the reversal of (devoured by … revolting) the remainder of the clue 

10a   Universe having no origin is absorbing (7)
OSMOSIS:  A synonym of universe minus its initial letter (having no origin) with IS from the clue 

12a   Team from 1 Across land here? (6,7)
UNITED KINGDOM:  An short name for one of the football teams homed in the city of 1a is followed by land or realm. The definition doesn’t work for somebody like me who would need “there” instead of “here”   

14a   Denounced cryptic e.g. with dim pun (8)
IMPUGNED:  An anagram (cryptic) of E.G. DIM PUN 

15a   A river bordered by bird burrows (6)
WARREN:  A and the map abbreviation for river are inserted together in (bordered by) a little bird 

17a   Growth of passion -- 'Mail me back' getting oddly ignored (6)
MIMOSA:  Alternate letters of (getting old ignored) of the reversal (back) of PASSION MAIL ME. The growth is a plant 

19a   'Ratty -- Favourite Little Creature' university student's penned (8)
PETULANT:  The single letter for university and the letter indicating a student or learner driver are both contained by (… penned) another word for favourite and a tiny worker insect creature S

21a   Lower chamber standing behind represented false humility (4-9)
SELF-ABASEMENT:  The lowest level in a building comes after an anagram (represented) of FALSE 

24a   What might lead to whispers from Wuhan? (7)
CHINESE:  The leading word of a two-word phrase ending in whispers defines by example (?) “from Wuhan” 

25a   Oxygen contributes to exercising easing stress (7)
AGONISE:  The chemical symbol for oxygen inserted in (… contributes to …) an anagram (exercising) of EASING 

26a   This could be canned music -- no energy, but it has a following (4)
TUNA:  A word for music or melody minus the physics symbol for energy (no energy) is followed by A from the clue 

27a   They rush over after wall's destroyed (10)
WATERFALLS:  An anagram (destroyed) of AFTER WALL’S 

 

Down

1d    Bouquet for tech owner who added 'X' on ... (4)
MUSK:  A cryptic definition of the tech owner who renamed his social media platform “X” 

2d    ... bid to ban candidate? (2-5)
NO-TRUMP:  This bid in a card game could also mean ban the Republican frontrunner candidate for US President 

3d    Goal-fest at Everton ... could be this home ground! (7,6)
HOUSING ESTATE:  The answer read as a wordplay instruction could describe GOAL-FEST AT EVERTON  Since GOAL-FEST AT EVERTON contains/houses the word ESTATE, we could say that the phrase is “housing ESTATE” 

4d    Engineer leaves the Spanish geographer's base (3,5)
SEA LEVEL:  An anagram (engineer) of LEAVES with “the” in Spanish 

5d    He'd blog regularly -- pretty good work on screen (1-4)
E-BOOK:  Alternate letters (regularly) of HE’D BLOG are followed by a “pretty good” or “yes” 

7d    Local alcohol delivered for member of the club (7)
INSIDER:  Homophones (delivered) of another word for a local drinking establishment and an apply alcoholic drink 

8d    Eleventh-hour stay, little to the south (4-6)
LAST-MINUTE:  Stay or endure with little or tiny

11d   Families may be putting in this reduced model of course (9,4)
MINIATURE GOLF:  A cryptic definition of a family attraction where people might be putting with clubs 

13d   Feline -- Matisse fancifully captures one that's played up (7,3)
SIAMESE CAT:  An anagram (fancifully) of MATISSE contains (captures) the reversal (that’s played up) of the name of a playing card that has one pip 

16d   Pass on portion of sweet, a gel Edward flipped over (8)
DELEGATE:  The answer is hidden in the reversal of (portion of … flipped over) the remainder of the clue 

18d   Number whose abbreviation would be its square root in Rome (7)
MILLION:  The single letter abbreviation for the number in question is also the Roman numeral for the square root of that number  The abbreviation for million is M. That’s also the Roman numeral for 1000, which is the square root of one million

20d   Self-built small ground-level home, not flat (3-4)
ANT-HILL:  A cryptic definition of non-flat homes built by armies of worker insects

22d   Field that takes an age to turn over (5)
ARENA:  The reversal (to turn over) of the fusion of AN from the clue and an important age or period 

23d   Imprisons  writers (4)
PENS:  A double definition. The writers are writing instruments 

 

Thanks to today’s setter. Top clue for me was of course 13d. Which clues did you like best?

The Quick Crossword pun:  NOAH + FENCE = NO OFFENCE

62 comments on “DT 30436”

  1. Great puzzle, another typically very smart offering from this setter.
    A tad slow to get started but once I had it fell quite quickly with ticks and smiles all over the shop.
    Of course, I liked 1&12a, thought the succinct 26a clever as was 5d but top spot goes to the very original 3d.
    Many thanks to Zandio and Mr K for the top-notch entertainment.

    1. Surely you are not suggesting that the structure of the clue at 3d has not been used many times before?

  2. Wow. What a great if not straightforward end to the week! My favourites are 10a and 11d. The anagram at 25a was nicely hidden. A fitting ***/**** for Friday. Thanks MrK and the setter.

  3. 3d and 18d — so clever! I am in awe of Zandio who never ceases to provide top drawer entertainment. Thank you, Mr K for reading my mind wrt both of your hidden detailed explanations for parsings which completely eluded me 🤦🏻‍♀️

  4. Still being bombarded by Storm Babet. Only venturing out when getting a really hard stare from Emmy the Dog which indicates that she wants a walk.

    Enjoyed this Friday puzzle but needed the hinter’s explanation for 3d. I had the answer but the derivation was too clever for me.

    COTD is 17a which needed a bit of head scratching but very clever. Other favourites include 10a, 4d and 20d.

    Thanks to setter and Mr K and his cats.

  5. What a super puzzle, with – quite appropriately for a Friday – a little more bite than the backpagers that have preceded it, but still reasonably gentle and straightforward, all very fairly clued. Ideal accompaniment for the coffee! Smiles all over the place with such clever (3d in particular) and witty clueing, but shall limit Hon Mentions to 10a (brought Prof. Brian Cox to mind), 26a, 2d, 5d & COTD 18d.

    2* / 4*

    Many thanks to the setter – yes, it feels like a Zandio challenge – and to MrK

  6. We have certainly been blessed with some cracking puzzles this week, full of invention and wit, and this one is a terrific addition to the list. I particularly enjoyed the clever 3 and 13d.

    My thanks to Zandio and Mr K.

  7. Great puzzle, very friendly for a Friday, I thought.I needed help to parse 13d, though the answer was obvious. I liked the ingenuity of 3d and the clever little can of tuna at 26a.Lots of contenders for the podium today. I’ll go for 10a, 11d and favourite 20d. Thanks to the setter and Mr K.

  8. Well, that puzzle’s parents certainly weren’t married, very nearly gave up after the initial read through having got only one, but a mixture of belligerence and the fact that it was still raining forced me to see it through to the end (which took some considerable time!)
    Very tough even for a Friday, but great clueing and great fun. Loved 26a but favourite today was 10a. Many thanks to our setter today.

  9. I thought this was a tad peculiar in parts, but very jolly nonetheless. 3d was odd, albeit cunning, 20d was very much a hmm and I didn’t love the surface of 17a. But 11d was clever – 25a and 4d too. It was all fun and different which is always to be cherished. It certainly had a lot of quirk. Thanks to Zandio (?), and Mr K, of course.

  10. I found this very gentle for a Friday backpager */** No standout clues but 1d and 2d could be amusing if Mr M takes a firm stand against Mr T.

  11. My only complaint if it is a complaint is that I got many of the answers without working out the wordplay. I did it on line as not venturing out for a paper. Advantage is that it is easier to bung in and change if wrong. Slowed down by 20d and 25a mainly because I carelessly spelt 19a wrongly. Sorry to say I had the wrong second word for 21a. Brilliant after mistake was pointed out. 10a was another clever favourite. Not able to encircle favourites on line so I guess mine probably accord with those of others. I think Robert would have enjoyed this one.

  12. As usual, I found my self totally unable to grasp the rationale behind the parsing of some off the clues, so it’s probably Zandio. I finished this Toughie wolf in back pager sheeps’ clothing after a bit of a struggle but there were several bung-ins . The best of the clues for me were the geographical lego/anagram at 4d (COTD), the 27a anagram and the 10a lego clue. Many thanks to Mr K for the hints, which I shall now read so that I can parse my guesswork Thanks to Zandio, it was certainly a challenging guzzle .

  13. A bit of Zand suits me grand,

    He puts so much effort into his crosswords, using myriad techniques to keep us on our toesies. (I know ‘myriad of’ is perfectly acceptable but I prefer the former as it’s more fun)

    My podium is 26a, as I love monster clues for four letter answers; 27a and of course 3d.

    Many thanks to the Big Zee and the, oh, so Special K.

    2*/4*

  14. A very entertaining Friday puzzle – thanks to our setter and Mr K.
    My contenders for favourite were 12a, 26a, 3d and 20d.

  15. As an Everton fan, I had a wry smile at the thought of a goal fest. Hopefully this weekend against the old enemy. Great crossword.

    1. I always think Matisse to be very fine. As are you in your art Zandio.

      Many thanks for your ingenuity today.

    2. Incidentally, on the subject of surface readings, sometimes the surface will be a riddle in itself. No doubt that’s true for most setters. In this puzzle, I was interested to see if anyone would comment on 21a. On the face of it, it may not mean much — but from another angle you might see a description of the Queen’s Speech. The lower chamber (the MPs) humbly stand at the back but actually that’s false humility because they are the ones who hold the power (and, indeed, write the Speech). All the best, Z.

  17. A late start today and am now running even later having started a simple puzzle and then suddenly found every remaining clue a real sweat.
    I put in around four answers without any real idea why they might be right ( they were phew!).
    What a range of difficulty within one puzzle.
    Thanks to compiler.

  18. Found this Friday puzzle a nice way to end the week. Found this very approachable and with no obtuse words. Pretty straightforward I thought and a joy to tackle.

    1.5*/4* for me

    Favourites today include 1a, 12a, 27a, 2d 7d & 20d — with winner a toss-up between 7d & 20d … they both made me chuckle when the pennies dropped.
    I also liked the sentiment in 2d … that was good!

    Thanks to Zandio & Mr K for hints/blog

  19. A great Friday puzzle – top half went in quickly with Cornwall the last to yield (compounded by the fact that I marked 13d as 3,7 instead of 7,3, so that was the LOI). Overall **/****. Thanks to the setter and to Mr. K for the (mercifully unneeded) hints.

  20. What a clever puzzle! Thought I might be going nowhere to start with but it very gradually fell into place. Last one in was 18d which I only got with the checkers in place. Too clever for me. Thank you Zandio and also Mr K for the enlightenment.

  21. Ah well – I suppose I had to pay for having a dream team Thursday.
    Thanks to Zandio for his efforts and to Mr K and the pusskins for the review.

  22. Football references nearly made me put this one down but so glad I didn’t because it was a gem . 10 and 21 a and then the marvellous 2 d and to trump it 3 d. I did 25a slightly but it was more than worthwhile. Thanks for hints Mr. K which explained 3 d which had been a bung in and Bravo to Zandio.

  23. I don’t know Zandio (well I don’t think I do – I’m off to review the cctv for signs of interloping spies 🤣) but there are a good handful of references to things I like or do in this cracking crossword – raising a ton of smiles! 9a, 14a, 3d clear favourites. Thanks to Mr K too – 13d is adorable 😻😻😸

  24. 3*/4*. I enjoyed this on the whole although there were a couple of strained surfaces to navigate along the way.

    3d is outstanding and gets my vote as the best of the bunch.

    Thanks to Zandio and to Mr K.

  25. A great way to end a very strong week of excellent guzzles. Only a failure to parse 3d (surely an ironic surface though they did stick 3 past Bournemouth last game) took the shine off a wee bit. Ticks a plenty excuse the odd clunky surface & a very enjoyable solve. 21&26a + 3,5,7,11&18d particular likes.
    Thanks to Zandio for both the puzzle & for popping in & to Mr K for the review & pics- I want to cutie at 14a

  26. I have found all the guzzles difficult this week so it was with trepidation I looked at the Friday offering and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to complete almost all unaided. Thank you Zandio and Mr. K

  27. So enjoyable with 11d as a fabulous clue – and what fun families seem to always have when playing it! Thanks Zandio and Mr K

  29. I thought this would be a DNF, in the initial read through 20d was the first one in followed by 25a. After that the SE corner fell into place, the rest took me a long time but got there in the end. Equal C’sOTD the very clever 18d and 10a.

  30. What a great puzzle – definitely on the difficult end of the spectrum for me. A wrong answer for 21a slowed progress and I finally had to resort to some help from Mr K. Otherwise all completed, although unsure why I had the correct answer for a couple! 3d was a case in point where I found ‘estate’ in the clue so guessed ‘housing’. Favourites included 27a, 3d, 11d and 18d. Many thanks to Zandio and Mr K.

  32. Good afternoon
    I have a bit of a chequered history when it comes to Friday and the occasional wrangle with the Mind of Zandio; I’m pleased to report that I got ’em all this afty – not without several instances of head-scratching, though!
    C O T D is definitely 3d, special mention for 13d
    & 16d.
    Thank you to The Mind Of Zandio and to Mr K

  33. What a great crossword for a Friday backpager he laughingly read between his screams of rage. (A good opening for a murder mystery about the deaths of some well known setters.)

    Thanks Zandio for taking me to the edge of darkness and to Mr K for bringing me back into the light.

  34. Great stuff. A lot of really clever clues. Hard to pick a favourite but I’ll go with 21a, which led me up the garden path for a while. Thanks to Zandio and Mr. K.

  35. Another humdinger of a guzzle today. My heart sank when I saw the footballee clues but then lightened when I realised they weren’t really footballee clues at all. Loads of penny drop moments and really enjoyed this. I mentioned t’other day that DT wanted to put my subscription up to £247 a quarter and looking on this site it was recommended I query this. I did as I was not prepared to pay so much and have now, after a lot of haggling, got it down to £195 a quarter. Still think this is too much but himself will not read the digital version so I will cough up this time. He hasn’t the patience to scroll through it methodically! Anyway thanks to Zandio for a corker of a puzzle and Mr K for explaining a couple of my bung-ins.

  36. Very tricky, but then Zandio always is. I was DNF at 25a, 26a and 1d, not even word search helped me. I had a lot of bung ins ‘cos they “fit”, 3d and 18d were so esoteric they were way, way beyond me; thank you for unravelling those Mr. K. I’d never heard of the 24a whispers, so I learnt something new. I thought I did pretty well for a tiny brain. I loved 13d, but, natch, fave has to be 2d, “wif knobs on”.
    Thanks to Zandio, and of course to Mr. K for explaining that lot and kitty pics!

  37. Thoroughly enjoyed this one. A lot of them came without analyzing the word play and then figuring it out afterwards. Thanks to the setter and to Mr K

  38. Just not my scene – I struggled with this demon which offered no light relief from other concerns on my mind and I in fact threw in the towel in the South. IMHO several rather iffy clues including 9a food and 17a growth which seem somewhat broad. Hard to identify a Fav but will settle on 3d. Thank you Zandio and MrK whose hints helped me to finish.

  39. Managed to complete this crossword unaided but needed help with some parsings.
    Top half went in faster than bottom half which was quite a head-scratcher.
    Thanks to Zandio and Mr K
    Storm Babet has caused a lot of damage near us but fortunately we are safe, well and dry and still have power. The red warning has been re-instated for rain overnight so goodness knows what is ahead of us .

    Oops forgot to give Mr Meringue credit for the Roman Numeral one. Thank you Mr M

  40. I got off to a good start and completed all the NW and SW including the anagram at 27a. I then hit the buffers with some of the NE and SE. I eventually decided to bung in 4 clues which I didn’t fully parse but having read the hints they were all correct ‘Oh ye of little faith’. Many thanks to Zandio (whose puzzles are usually too hard for my capabilities) and Mr K. I think on the whole we have had a good selection of puzzles this week. Have a nice weekend everyone despite the weather forecast but stay safe.

  41. A bit too hard for me but I was pleased I only needed 3 hints to finish it…Friday’s are usually a lot worse.
    I loved 18d. If I was still teaching maths, I would incorporate it into a class somehow.
    Many thanks for the puzzle (why are they referred to as guzzles?) and for the hints which were most helpful.

  42. I did about 2/3 this morning and then had the tricky bit left to do tonight. I am so glad I kept at it as I finally finished. I admit to not understanding why some of the answers were what they were but fortunately Mr K has, as ever, clarified the answers. Many were brilliant and there were too many to pick a favourite, even the lurkers were clever.

    many thanks to Zandio for the fun and MrK for the pics and explanations.

    I do hope those in the North UK are not too affected by the storm

  43. Way to hard for me, most clues were incomprehensible to me. I’m amazed that some found it gentle. I shall slink off to a darkened corner with my dunces cap on. Thanks to all.

  44. I managed four clues, but the rest was way beyond my 90 year old brain. Congratulations to all who finished this puzzle and thanks to Mr K and setter. I will now read the hints and try to understand them.

  45. A slow start for me, I’m out of practice, but took another crack this morning and nearly finished without help. 3D was above my pay grade! I’ll watch out for that sneaky super cryptic kind of clue in the future! I enjoyed 11d the most. Thanks all!

  46. A late comment from me comme toujours! I’m very partial to this setter’s puzzles, and this was a super one. Entertaining but teasing ‘the little grey cells’, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I ticked many clues. My absolute fave is, of course, 13d. Others in my top selection include 19a, 26a, 5d, 7d, and 11d.
    Many thanks to Zandio for the puzzle and for the interesting info re Matisse’s feline and Svetislav Meandzija.
    Many thanks to Mr K too for an excellent review and delightful kitty pictures.

  47. 5*/4* … I shall have to brush up my lateral thinking skills …
    liked 20D “Self-built small ground-level home, not flat (3-4)”

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