Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30470
Hints and tips by 2Kiwis
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Kia ora from Aotearoa.
All go here at present. Family guests have arrived with their motor home and will be with us for a few days. Have sent them off to do other things for a couple of hours so we can pay full attention to putting this blog together. Pity the weather is not behaving well for them.
Quite a lot of GK required for this puzzle and a few clues that we’re still having a few doubts about.
Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
1a Plato’s ideas newly converted Republican put in book (8,4)
PARADISE LOST : An anagram (newly converted) of PLATOS IDEAS includes R(epublican).
9a This person goes to spread out (9)
PICNICKER : A cryptic definition. The spread out is alfresco food.
10a Fight supporter with tip of lance (5)
BRAWL : A ‘supporting’ garment, plus the abbreviation for with and the first letter of lance.
11a Madagascan with thin fingers peeling two layers (3-3)
AYE-AYE : The three central letters of the word layer is repeated.
12a Poor Elon Musk, endlessly receiving international wall-to-wall coverage? (8)
EMULSION : An anagram (poor) of ELON MUS(k) without the K but including I(nternational.
13a Backing champion at Fakenham in possession of fine coat (6)
KAFTAN : A reverse lurker, hiding in the clue. (Not sure what ‘fine’ is doing here.)
15a A way to make eggs get to Lancaster ASAP? (8)
SCRAMBLE : Lancaster here refers to a WW2 bomber.
18a How to avoid a bouncer that comes from Huey or Dewey? (4,4)
DUCK DOWN : The wordplay refers to what covers Unca Donald’s nephews.
19a Year in Madrid art museum? Be my guest (4,2)
PRAY DO : The famous Madrid art museum contains Y(ear).
21a Terrible backlog, with backside of employee causing obstruction (8)
BLOCKAGE : An anagram (terrible) of BACKLOG plus the last letter of employee.
23a Field ball (6)
SPHERE : A double definition. The field is an area of influence.
26a One night in Paris for Greenlander, perhaps (5)
INUIT : Roman numeral one and the French word for night.
27a Rugby team that’s needed to score 147? (3,6)
ALL BLACKS : 147 is the maximum score in snooker and to achieve this requires a certain ball to be potted after each red one.
28a Wandering eyes pry and ogle captivating Southern exotic dancer (5,4,3)
GYPSY ROSE LEE : An anagram (wandering) of EYES PRY and OGLE pus S(outhern).
Down
1d City address to motivate players? (3,4)
PEP TALK : A cryptic definition. Not sure why ‘City’ is here but think it might be generic for a football team.
2d Pleat ecru cheongsam skirts (5)
RUCHE : A lurker, hiding in the clue.
3d Girl who might milk her job for all it’s worth? (9)
DAIRYMAID : Another cryptic definition. We’re not sure if there’s any further meaning in the second part of the clue, other than to mislead.
4d Japanese wine sparkles occasionally (4)
SAKE : The first, third, fifth and seventh letters of a word in the clue.
5d Pretentious bloke beating drum in Strand (4,4)
LORD MUCK : A strand of hair contains an anagram (beating) of DRUM.
6d Female fortune-teller is upset over Times line (5)
SIBYL : Reverse ‘IS’ from the clue, then the two letter word for mathematical times and L(ine).
7d Mariner caught sailor wearing navigational aid, we hear (5,3)
CABIN BOY : The cricket abbreviation for caught, then the two letters for an able-bodied seaman, followed by wearing or clothed by, and a homophone of a moored marker.
8d Look good with weapon (6)
GLANCE : G(ood) and a spear.
14d Odd-jobman Charlie welcomed by large old corporation (8)
FACTOTUM : Large or overweight contains C(harlie) then O(ld) and corporation or belly.
16d Unusually prosaic about ordinary large rock in Athens (9)
ACROPOLIS : An anagram (unusually) of PROSAIC contains O(rdinary) and L(arge).
17d Personal targets which no-one likes to admit? (3,5)
OWN GOALS : These are the classic football blunders.
18d Rubbish teacher (and his qualification) sent up (6)
DEBRIS : Reading from the bottom up we have the formal address for a male teacher and a Bachelor of Education.
20d Manage piece of poetry in Old English (7)
OVERSEE : The abbreviations for old and English bracket a stanza.
22d Tiddles in pool? (5)
KITTY : A double definition. Tiddles is feline.
24d Outperform, say, forty (5)
EXCEL : A homophone of the Roman numeral forty.
25d Smear Britpop band (4)
BLUR : A Britpop band founded in 1988.
Quickie pun toe + nee + blare = Tony Blair
Quite simply the most entertaining puzzle in ages. Just goes to show that you don’t have to be too tricky or clever to be a real joy.
13a reminded me of when I bumped into Ray Dorset coming out of my local sweetshop when I was about eight (he was wearing a floor length one of these). I said ‘Oi mister, are you Mungo Jerry?’ and he smiled and said ‘Yes’, to which I replied ‘Oh’ and promptly walked off. The arrogance of youth eh?
Far too many favourites to cite them all, but if pushed for two I’d have to plump for 15a and the brilliant 24d. Well done to our setter today, keep ‘em coming just like that.
Re 1d – The first 3 letters is the first name of the (Man) City manager.
A little quirky in places, but good fun.
Thanks to the setter, and to the 2 Kiwis. 3*/4*
Bit of insider knowledge there, Jezza!! Much appreciated by this rugby man.
Definitely “different” but none the worse for that. The ‘Quick’ was a bit of an oddball in parts, as well.
Not easy but great fun. Loved 18a, 27a, 23a, 11a and my favourite 1d.
Some of the synonyms were a little stretched but just about the right level for me.
***/****
Thx to all
Off now to walk the dog in the Northumberland snow🌨️
Heavens Brian, are you feeling ok? Most unlike you!🙂
Does “the dog” have a name?
Where is Brian, and what have you done with him 😊?
😀
An interesting test. I enjoyed the well hidden lurker in 13a. Well hidden to me anyway as I was misdirected being a man of the turf. 9a and 8&14d were excellent only beaten by the brilliant 24d. Thanks the 2 Kiwis and our setter for this ***/**** Wednesday treat.
Despite there being a cornucopia of words available, we have the same answer today as we had to one of Saturday’s clues. Not the setter’s fault.
Favourites today in this entertaining puzzle were the clever 27a, the amusing 14d and 24d.
It’s a pity our 17d personal targets were not called the answer during the Annual Assessments at work. Might have brought a bit of light relief to them.
Snowing steadily here in NE Scotland.
Thanks to setter and 2Ks.
Finished in record time for a Wednesday, helped by my knowledge of rugby, snooker and football (27A, 1D and 17D) – I pity anyone trying to solve this who is not a sport enthusiast!
A gentle workout to lull us in to a false sense of security before it all goes Pete Tong in the next 48 hours.
A multi-word fest with some nice GK thrown into the mix.
14d was somewhere in the deepest, darkest corner of my brain. It’s so satisfying dredging up a word that you haven’t seen in 30 or so years. I took a guess at 11a as I’d never heard of it but will never forget it. How can you!
Seeing 1d twice in a week is spooky.
My podium is 12a, 18a as it creates a great image and 27a which is splendid.
Many thanks to the setter and Le Touquet
2*/4*
Re 1d we had something similar last week. Pep Guardiola is the manager of Manchester City.
Thoroughly enjoyable way to start the day. After solving 10a I wondered, yet again, why I take so long to think of the support required there.
Some head scratching was required in a few other places, but as all became clear the clever word play was revealed.
Very good, verging on spiffing. Thanks to the 2Ks and today’s setter.
A very nearly unaided finish today: my iPad caught my spelling mistake in 14d…..grrrr!
A very enjoyable puzzle all in all. I loved 1d and 19a. I think we have seen the answer to 25d recently.
I question the use of a bomber in 15a. I am pretty sure that the answer was used in the sense of getting into and taking off in a fighter plane as quickly as possible. I appreciate the surface would have been poorer if Hurricane or Spitfire had been used.
Thanks for getting Wednesday off to a good start.
I was about to say exactly the same about 15a
A bit of a head scratcher for me. With my O-Level English Literature (failed), I never realised that 1a was a book or, more correctly, a series of books and I needed e-help on the 11a Madagascan. ***/***
Candidates for favourite – 27a, 17d, and 22d – and the winner is 22d for the image that the clue conjures up.
Thanks to whomsoever and the 2Kiwis.
I didn’t find this as easy as others seem to have done. 2d foxed me completely because I had not heard of neither part of the clue nor the answer. It took me a while to recall the Madagascan with thin fingers but managed to dredge it up from the swamp of memory. I spent far too long trying to fit “odyssey” into 20d but I did like the eggs getting to Lancaster. No real favourites today.
Thank you to the setter for a puzzling guzzle and many thanks. 2Ks for explaining the parsing of some of them.
Sunny and cold in The Marches.
I did not find it easy either.
A bit belated but sorry to hear of your illness Steve. Glad to see you back in the fold and hopefully on the mend.
For me the quirkiest (in a mainly good way) back-pager we’ve had for a while, though it did have a slightly dated feel to it in places. I think the question mark in 15a is doing a lot of heavy lifting and couple of the surfaces in order to construct the anagram fodder read a little awkwardly too. Lots to like though, I’ll mention 9a plus 5d (for personal reasons) &18d.
Thanks to the setter, my money’s on NYDK, and the Ks…. that picture of Blur must be 30 plus years old! Here’s how they are more recently with one of my favourite songs of theirs….they have a supremely fine discography.
Thoroughly enjoyable solve today with a good mix of clues. Rather too much sport for me but I know that many will be well suited. 11a brought back memories as I’ve been lucky enough to see these lemurs in the wild on a Madagascan holiday. Favourite today is 14d, just because it’s one of those lovely words ( on a par with serendipity and recalcitrant – don’t ask!) I also liked 26a, 18d and the very clever 24d. Thanks to our setter for the absolute pleasure and the 2 Kiwis for their review. I hope the weather perks up for your visitors
2*/3* for me today with 27a my favourite. My only slight reservation is that “newly” seems unnecessary in 1a
A few random thoughts arising from the puzzle:
– A friend made a great suggestion that Donald would have been a rather clever alternative to Huey and Dewey in 18a alluding to the fearsome South African fast bowler with that surname.
– Isn’t the answer to 18a tautological?
– You won’t often come across poor and Elon Musk in the same sentence.
– It would be nice to hear from our 22d. Hope she’s doing well.
Many thanks to the setter and to the 2Ks.
As a Bears fan (who was lucky enough to have backed them in multiples when they won 3 of the 4 domestic titles having had early info that Lara was county bound) I was delighted that AD was rightly voted our greatest overseas player. We’ve had some great bowlers over the years but he was the best of them by some margin.
Hi RD
18a is indeed tautological but I think setters are allowed a bit of poetic licence, especially as the second word has a relevant meaning. People are forever saying stand up, bend over, lie down. rise up, kneel down.
Allan Donald is a superb spot from your pal but it would obviously go down like a lead balloon with 90% of the punters.
Re Donald in 18a, I can think of another Donald that would fit nicely in there!
Great puzzle. 26a and 24d my favorites. 1d refers to the Man City manager I assume.
Top notch puzzle. Can’t say it struck me as having a dated feel to it. 11a was last in & a wordplay bung in as I’d long forgotten the critter if indeed I’d ever heard of it. Ticks aplenty with 12a my fav.
Thanks to the setter (may well be Donny but my 5 bob is on Robyn) & to the 2Ks for the review.
Bucking the trend today, although gentle & straightforward I didn’t particularly enjoy this puzzle: too many strained surfaces, the unfortunate coincidental repetition of a couple of recent clues & appearance of “old friends” (either in DT or TT), one clue in every five was an anagram, and a general feeling of it being somewhat dated. Having said that I thought 19a was a super clue, and it would have been joined on the podium by the very clever 24d were it not for the odd surface reading of the latter.
1* / 2*
With thanks to the setter, and of course also to the 2Ks
‘Verging on spiffing ‘! Thank you Jonners.
**/***, wavelength, wheelhouse, street whatever, this was right up my.
Lots of lovely lurkers but 11 & 12a brought the biggest smiles.
Many thanks setter for making my Wednesday, and 2 Kiwis too.
Agree with Tipcat that this puzzle was indeed most entertaining and quirky as SL says.
Cracking clues all over the place.
Id was my favourite especially after last night! followed by 15a.
Eventuly remembered 11a but initially mispelled it as eye eye -pep again to the rescue.
Going for a ***/*****
This guzzle was not my cup of tea and I filled in most of the clues by guesswork. The best thing about it was the anagrams at 16d and 1a, at least I was sure of the answer. Some of the clues were downright bizarre (I had to google Huey and Dewey to see what the clue meant). Thanks to the Kiwis for the hints and to the compiler for his efforts but I hope it will be a long cold day in hell before another puzzle like this appears
Ouch CC – that’s a bit sharp for you! Are you off colour? Tomorrow is another day. 😊
It’s my other half that is off-colour, Daisy, which obviously might have had an effect on me. The sporty clues did go right over my head also
Hugely enjoyable puzzle. Lots to smile about. Clever, witty and satisfying once completed. Gratitude to Kiwis and compiler.
Doing other things at breakfast so this was a fairly easy lunchtime solve. No real problems other than not knowing the City manager, and started off spelling the Madagascan with an ‘e’, having forgotten that it was naval!
Clue du jour is 14d, for it describes me to a T – wife bedridden for 2+ years and femme de menage off for nearly a year. (Not to mention my corporation, are setters really allowed to get personal? I keep telling my golf pro that it’s a good place to store the rotational energy he keeps on about!)
Any thanks to the setter and the Kiwi pair. (And the City experts!)
Not a barrowload of fun thanks to some rather iffy surfaces e.g. 9a,19a and 18d. I don’t think of 13a in terms of a coat but more so a dress. 10a supporter is becoming a bit of a bad penny. 11a animal completely new to me. Fav 17d. Thanks Mysteron and 2Kiwis.
I greatly enjoyed this puzzle. I remembered the football manager from his recent appearance. Thanks to the setter and the 2Ks.
Regarding a couple of questions posed in the review, the “fine coat” in 13a was originally “a long coatlike garment, usually worn with a belt and made of rich fabric, worn in the Middle East” (Collins) and in 3d “milk something for all its worth” is a common expression.
To add to your comment about 13a, Falcon, an adjective is required as all gee-gees have a coat.
So, I think it’s fine….if you know what I mean.
A bit of a hmm for 15a, did they really do that with Lancaster Bombers? More of a sedate walk at a planned departure time IMO, but what ho! The answer was clear to see. The skinny fingered Madagascan took some thinking about too. Thanks to setter and Kiwis
A fun and witty puzzle, the most enjoyable back-pager for some time – thanks to our setter (Robyn?) and 2Ks.
I share the 2Ks query as to why the 13a coat is fine and Gansosalvaje is right in saying that the 15a verb applied to fighters rather than bombers.
My top picks were 18a, 1d, 14d and 22d.
A nice midweek puzzle to tackle on my Tuesday evening … in the dense fog for the third day. Damp and chilly.
Lots of multi-word answers in this and that usually helps one along. Lots to like here and some good chuckles along the way.
1.5*/4* for me.
Favourites include 9a, 12a, 15a, 26a, 27a & 5d — with winner 15a
Thanks to setter & 2K’s for hints/blog
Fortunately, the required GK and sporty stuff was in my memory bank but I do share the reservations expressed by others regarding some of the surface reads. Laying that aside, my ticks went to 15&27a plus 22&24d.
Thanks to our setter and to our 2Ks for the review – hope your guests enjoy their stay.
Just great! So many good clues. Favourites were 1a and 18a. Thank you to all.
Late coming to this today so I don’t have anything relevant to add to earlier comments. I come down on the side of those who found this a little quirky but enjoyable nonetheless, with 27a my favourite.
Thanks to our Wednesday setter and the 2Ks.
2/4. A very enjoyable puzzle with too many good clues to list but 24d was the gold medallist. Thanks to the setter and the 2Ks.
I thought this was going to be a stinker. 1a no clue. 1d got it immediately but couldn’t parse it. 11a got it immediately because an animal beginning with A in Madagascar had to be, then failed to parse. Had to work anticlockwise but the clues got easier. Except for the GK required. Didn’t know the art gallery but I did know the name. Didn’t know the highest score in snooker although the team was obvious. I was looking for a word beginning with “eg” in 24d. After the penny dropped it took me a while to parse. So a few double takes and easy ones gave me a **/**** solve.
I too felt it was a bit dated, perhaps in relation to Ducks and Bombers. Thanks to the setter and the 2Ks. Hope the summer gets better for you.
I enjoyed this. Right on my wavelength and the answers came without too much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Again, I’m posting before reading the hints or comments! I found this tricky but very doable with copious help from word search! I was DNF, not getting 18d, I’ll need the hint to get that. My lack of Britpops meant I have no idea if 25d is right, didn’t have time to google that ? band, I dare say the Kiwis will enlighten me. Lots to like, 5d, 19a and 18a amused, I think fave is 14d, I just like the word, but many others could qualify.
Thank you setter for the fun, and 2Kiwis for the hints, which I’ll read when I have time!
Most enjoyable crossword which got my brain working.Out of a myriad of good clues 12, 19, and 28a with 2, 17, and 18d are on a crowded podium.
Thanks to the 2Ks and the setter. I am pleased the setter eschews the temptation of being on trend.
First time for a while that I found time for this before the wee small hours. Thanks as always to the 2 Ks, and all the bloggers.
And huge thanks to the setter for what was for me a very cleverly-clued and enjoyable solve.
Thank goodness. I needed a little electronic help here but this was a pleasure after the last 2 DNF days
16d is topical isn’t it!
18a was difficult not being a Disney fan but, despite it being a bit incorrect, I really liked 15a which is my COTD
A good puzzle for me today. Unfortunately I had to check on the parsings for a few which took a bit of the shine off but overall very enjoyable.
Maybe a bit GK and sport-heavy . I live in hope that my day will come, as it did to my delight once with the 3-d calendar puzzles, when the DT will have a puzzle full of knitting and sewing clues. If you folks haven’t trued the 3-d puzzles , give them a go here https://3dcalendarpuzzles.co.uk/ they are great fun.
For a good cause too. (Hope I’m allowed to post this here.)
Thanks to the setter and to the 2Kiwis.
Baltic cold continues here in coastal Angus with a tiny flurry of the white stuff this morning which has since disappearred.
It always makes me smile when you mention Angus – it’s my clan!
Morning all.
Being from the other side of the world and having very little football knowledge, reckon we can be excused for not knowing the first name of a team manager in 1d.
However, we did have most of the other GK required and most of the comments about the puzzle report an enjoyable solve. We’re sure the setter will be pleased.
Cheers.
The way of making eggs is my favourite on all fronts, great clues thanks compiler and 2Ks
I could say lots but I think it’s a it late in the day for me so I’ll keep it short.
A busy day – dentist this morning and a friend this afternoon.
For someone who knows absolutely nothing of sport I didn’t too badly today.
Like Jane I just happened to know the relevant GK.
This week has been quite “kind” and that run seems to have given up on me.
Thanks to the setter and to the K’s.
Got there unaided and although I struggled it was a quality puzzle and worth every minute. Floored by the sporting references so there were a couple of bung ins. I only ever knew the pretentious person as female but glad to see it can work for both sexes. Many thanks to all involved and for explaining the sporting references.
Too many sport references for me too, dyslex. I finally managed to guess them once some checkers went in
Just back from an early morning eye check up, and numerous errands so a bit pushed for time now, which might explain why I am swimming against the tide here. Didn’t know the bear, the dancer, the fortune teller or the band, so I am clearly having a dunce day. Didn’t find it much fun and lost interest. Will save the few brain cells for tomorrow. Thanks to setter and the 2Kiwis.
I made heavy weather of this today. I misread a couple which didn’t help. There were some fun clues. My GK let me down as I did not know the Madagascan animal or the Madrid gallery and struggled with some of the sporty answers but all came clear with the hints. I thought the lurker was great.
Many thanks to the setter and the 2 kiwis for the hints
Took an absolute age to
Even get started.
Altough completed unaided, dictionary
Checks apart, took an age
To complete.
Every clue of the highest quality.
So, 4*/5*
Many thanks to the setter and
To the 2Kiwis.
Good evening
I’ve only just finished this; it’s taken me since breakfast time (admittedly, I’ve fitted in a shift on the iron road as well); and oh my word! What a set of clues. From laugh out loud, to “Crikey!”, to “WHAT???!!” – we’ve had ’em all today.
12, 15, and 27a along with 24d all receive an hon mensh; 13a is undoubtedly COTD. Thanks to Dr Google for confirming 11a; thanks to our compiler, and thanks to 2Ks.
I too have had a busy day, the Pocket Rocket gardener this morning, Church Ladies lunch, an afternoon painting Christmas cards and then the neighbours round for a drink. G fast asleep ! Reading all the comments I realise that I did quite a bit of bunging in as the sporting references and football managers etc went right over my head. I liked the Prado clue, spent many hours in there and dimly remembered that Huey and Dewey were ducks. But the Madagascan I really did not know and I needed the hints, I also remember my mother talking about 28a whom she and Daddy saw once in a cabaret. Many thanks to the Setter and the Two Ks. Cannot wait to get into bed and be warm!
I was struggling through this and not enjoying it that much then I got 27a and thought brilliant, I then got 24d and thought equally brilliant so joint favourites, however, RD’s friend’s suggestion for 18a would have been the the cotd. I ended up really enjoying this. Thanks to the setter and 2K’s.
Late attempting this today but finished unaided fairly quickly with not too much bother. Very grateful for the hints, though, as quite a few solutions were not completely understood!
This was mixed for me. It felt more like a Toughie, in that I had very few answers on the first pass, and I didn’t manage to finish it: I had the crossing 10a and 9d left, but I didn’t know the art museum, so couldn’t get there even with the hints.
But I loved 27a when I eventually worked it out (I don’t even follow either of the sports in question). And I liked 20d just for being one of those clues where I put in what the wordplay appears to says= even though it clearly isn’t going to make a word, then find to my surprise that it has actually made a word after all.
And it’s neat that in 10a “tip of lance” intersects in the grid with 8d, so actually is the tip of that very weapon.
Quite the strangest puzzle I have ever solved. Some good clues nevertheless. I did not know what City had to do with 1d but answer obvious. Oddly I didn’t get 23a but everything else even if not parsed. Liked 12 and 26a and 5 18 and 22d. Come on Setter reveal yourself. I can’t believe it is one of the regulars. Thanks anyway and to you 2Ks. Difficult one for Antipodean hinters.
:wave:
3*/4* …
liked 12A “Poor Elon Musk, endlessly receiving international wall-to-wall coverage? (8)” … don’t suppose Elon does his own decorating.