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DT 30521 (Hints)

by crypticsue  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30521 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

A beautiful sunny, if frosty, morning brings the pleasure of finding the Saturday Prize Puzzle actually on the back page of the paper. With quite a few anagrams and a couple of ‘old friends,’ it didn’t take me long to solve, which was fortunate as I have three blog posts to prepare today in addition to a long walk round the village to deliver parish magazines and collect the annual subscriptions

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.

Please take note of the red instructions, particularly the second paragraph. Last weekend there was quite a discussion on matters cinematic which really should have been saved for the full review as it probably could be considered as ‘alternative clues’

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    Ocean-going craft? (10)
The art of handling ships in the ocean

11a    Depraved sort Royal Engineers will copy? (9)
The abbreviation for the Royal Engineers and the official copy of a will

12a    Traveller in storm on Russian plane (7)
A verb meaning to storm goes on or after a Russian plane

18a    Equipment used in the services? (6,6)
Equipment used in a particular game involving ‘services’

25a    Penny in loveless marriage finds release (5)
The abbreviation for Penny inserted into a marriage without (less) the letter used to represent love

27a    One delivering curtains for us? (4,6)
A cryptic definition of personification of the end of life (curtains)

Down

1d    Shell of some identical seed (6)
The ‘shell’ of SomE and a synonym for identical

3d    How vowels are used by Artemidorus? (14)
The way the vowels appear in the last word of the clue

4d    Reach emergency room — on this! (9)
A synonym for reach and the abbreviation for Emergency Room


8d    Hero’s lover beneath old tree (8)
The lover of the Greek priestess Hero goes ‘beneath’ the abbreviation for Old

19d    Support for new setter? (4,2)
A preposition meaning for and a young (new) animal such as a setter

22d    Change found in contractual terms (5)
Hidden in the last two words of the clue

Could new readers please read the Welcome post and the FAQ before posting comments or asking questions about the site.

As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out!

Please read these instructions carefully – they are not subject to debate or discussion. Offending comments may be redacted or, in extreme cases, deleted. In all cases the administrator’s decision is final.

If you don’t understand, or don’t wish to comply with, the conventions for commenting on weekend prize puzzles then save yourself (and me) a lot of trouble and don’t leave a comment.


The Quick Crossword pun: TORQUE + ALLOWED = TALK ALOUD

127 comments on “DT 30521 (Hints)”

  2. 1.5*/2.5*. A curate’s egg for me today with a mixture of ticks and a few hmms.

    For me, 10a is a bit “same-sidey”, and I don’t think that 18a quite works – “for” would have been better than “in” (although less convincing for the surface). I’m not convinced that “carry” in 7d defines the answer, and 9d is not the correct name in my book (even though I was very surprised to find it in the BRB).

    I had ticks for 1a, 21a, 23a, 25a, 27a & 16d.

    Many thanks to the setter and to CS.

    1. Hi RD

      A couple of things:

      In 10a, I think [redacted – come back and discuss this when my review appears on Friday]

      Re 7d, ‘a disease gets carried/********ted from one person to another’ works for me.

      I could be wrong but if the word ‘for’ was used in 18a instead of ‘in’, then the question mark wouldn’t be required. I think the setter is asking us to let them off. I’m okay with it but I see why you may not be.

        2. I agree. [redacted]

          It can’t be easy for people living in other countries when local references appear in a crossy. We should have a golf handicap system.

      2. Apologies, Sue.

        Hopefully RD saw it before it was redacted as I feel the first expression meaning something else other than the obvious is cryptic enough.

      3. Tom, thanks very much for your reply.
        10a – I did see your pre-redacted version but I still think that’s a bit weak.
        7d – Being a carrier does not necessarily mean you 7d.

        1. RD – for 7d, you need to think more of electrical signals being carried 👍. The synonym then works.
          9d – definitely short-changed 😀

  3. lovely crossword. my favourite today was 3D but honourable mention also to 19D which was deceptively simple but amusing once I eventually saw it…
    thanks to the setter and as ever to crypticsue…

  4. Just right for Saturday but perhaps too many answers could be guessed first and justified second? Good thing I like anagrams as well.
    Thanks to setter.

  5. This was bang on for a Saturday prize howdy doody: short clues, multi-worders, lateral thinking, a bit of humour, general ‘general knowledge’ though the anagram count may result in a ‘Harrumph!’ from Mustafa.

    What is your cut-off, MF….20%?

    The compiler has done well to drag up an obscure 2nd century Greek dream interpreter as opposed to using the two usual suspects.

    In 1d, the word ‘some’ threw me nicely off the scent for a while which I enjoyed.

    My podium is 27a, 3d and 17d.

    Many thanks to the Saturday setter and super Sue.

    2*/4*

    Oh, I have only just read yesterday’s blog and saw ALP’s mention of me possibly wolf whistling in Day Zee’s direction. This is what I would do if I saw her doing the splits at her 90th birthday celebrations this year…

    I’m such a huge fan of Tex Avery. He kicks Fred Quimby into a cocked hat.

      1. Not as much as I would, especially if she wore the sash on her right hip…….howwwwwwwwwwwwwwwl!

  6. What a relief after yesterday’s
    Horror with still
    Six to go.
    Perhaps too many in this
    SPP were guess first.
    Nevertheless enjoyable in
    1.5* time.
    Loved and smiled at
    27a and 19d.
    Thanks to the setter
    And CS.

  7. For me they’re getting the Saturday about right. Today’s for example is not too difficult, but with enough nice touches (such as 11A & 17D) to maintain a level of class. 3D is an absolute corker and gets the laurels.

    Agree about yesterday’s btw. Now that was hard!

    Thanks Ron and Sue.

  8. I thought this was delightful. Very gentle, for sure, and felt quite anagram heavy but so nicely done. And it just got better as I flew through the downs. 17d and 19d were especially tight. Many thanks to the setter and the industrious CS, of course. Does she ever stop?! PS still chuckling about Tom and his right-sash howwwwwwwwl – the perfect reminder to us all that we should ever act our age!

  9. That was admittedly a piece of cake but it was nevertheless a lot of fun to solve with plenty of cryptic food for thought. 18a is crafty in a USA form. 27a Fav plus a nod to 3d for which I found I didn’t even need to know who Artemidious was. Thank you setter and CS.

    1. Were you impressed that Alcaraz is now wearing shirts with sleeves? He always looked like he was playing in his underwear!

      1. Yes indeed – an improvement. At Wimbledon “running vests” are taboo for spectators and that should be the case for players too at all ATP tournaments. Fings ain’t wot they used to be!

  10. A not too demanding Friday evening cranial exercise with a large groan following the PDM on 3d which we have probably seen before – **/****

    No problems for me with 9d – it’s easier to say than what is printed on the label.

    Candidates for favourite – 6a, 13a, 25a, 1d, 17d, and 19d – and the winner is 19d.

    Thanks to whomsoever and CS.

  11. Nearly threw this one away in disgust when I saw 3d, oh no I thought another setter with a 1st in Classics from Oxford, had to Google this obscure Greek. However I’m glad I didn’t as this proved to be a clever and enjoyable puzzle. Needed Mrs B to supply the opera, not a form of ‘entertainment’ that I find pleasant. It was summed up for me in Drop the Dead Donkey “Fat lady comes on, fat lady sings, fat lady dies”.
    Thx to all
    ***/****(if you ignore 3d)

    1. So, sitting through Verdi’s religious-based ‘Nabucco’ would be a living hell for you, Brother Ian.

        1. Ah, another ‘opera and hater of any religious references’ is in the ranks.

          The Chorus of the Hebrew slaves is one of my faves.

          3. I’m not a huge fan of opera but I know a good tune when I hear one. Agree about the Hebrew Slaves and would add Nessun Dorma, O mio babbino caro, Habanera, Voi che sapete and Song to the Moon.

            I’ll let you all sort out the various operas but here is one of those I have chosen. It never fails to move me. It did before the World Cup!

          2. I appreciate opera is not many people’s ‘thang’.

            But, the composers come out with some mean ‘tunes’ that ar an extremely pleasant listen at home when pottering or imbibing a glass of something stiff with the lights dimmed.

          3. I once went to Aida at the Caracalla Baths is Rome. That was an experience, I can still feel the excitement.

            1. Oh my goodness. What a thing to do!

              Well jel.

              Aida – such a classic classic.

              1. Open air, huge stage, real live horses pulling carriages! Imagine the grand March, soldiers ranks just appearing over the back of the stage, then down towards the footlights. I wonder if they still have operas at the Caracalla Baths. I should google!

                1. We went to Turandot in Prague years ago. Free champers at each interval (3) and masses of it. I had to be almost carried back to the apartment we had rented for the weekend (cheaper than a hotel)! We were on the 6th floor and no lifts! The man next door dropped dead and we didn’t speak the language. The confusion et al was like black comedy. A w/e not to be forgotten, the opera was terrific tho’.

            2. We saw it in Verona. Magical. I think it is such a shame that people dismiss ‘opera’ out of hand. Not all, but some of it is sheer magic. IMHO!

              1. The bit in Shawshank when Andy plays the duet from The Marriage of Figaro moves me to tears every time…

                1. It’s up there, Sloops.

                  That reminds me of the best film Oscar for 1994 where Quiz Show was in the group of death:

                  Shawshank Redemption
                  Forrest Gump (winner)
                  Four Weddings and a Funeral
                  Pulp Fiction
                  Quiz Show

                  It’s recognized as the best year for film since 1939 which was ‘The Year’.

                  I can’t believe that they have diluted the category, doubling the number of nominations.

              2. Verona is on my bucket list.

                I love the irony of ‘in my humble opinion’ in capital letters with an exclamation mark.

                    1. We hired a car in Verona to get to Lake Garda for a week. I had the map upside down so it took us rather longer than it should!

  12. A nice Saturday breakfast ‘amuse gueule’. Fave du jour is 16d followed closely by 27a and 17d.
    Many thanks to Setter and particularly to CS for properly parsing 19d for me! (Would have been a candidate for fave if I’d been able to parse it!)

    1. I’d forgotten about 3d, which I solved fairly early on when looking for checkers for 1a? With hindsight would add it to the fave candidates, if not the one itself.

  13. Straightforward enough for me to finish while watching a Prime video yesterday evening. 11A, 18A and 3D get ticks from me. My bottle of 9D is a permanent fixture on my kitchen counter, I use it so frequently. Thanks to CS and today’s setter.

  14. I’ve muttered to myself about the odd entry in the BRB from time to time but 9d absolutely takes the biscuit – the founders of the company who manufacture it must be turning in their graves.
    Took a little while to correctly parse 11a and my top two were 23a & 19d.

    Thanks to our setter and to CS for the hints.

    1. Absolutely agree about 9d. Sacrilege. My husband is a huge consumer. (I’m being mindful of the naughty step. )

  15. I don’t approve of the spelling of 18a. On a more cheerful note the Defender passed it’s MOT

    Thanks to CS and today’s setter.

  16. Loved it! As has been said many times before a puzzle that is relatively easy can sell be entertaining. Mind you, 3d gave me pause because I couldn’t see what the answer had to do with dream interpretation. Then the penny dropped with such a clang it startled the whole hamlet of Osbaston! In fact, 3d ended up being my COTD.

    My thanks to the setter for the fun and giving me another go at The Mythical. Thank you, CS for the hints.

    Once again, my grateful thanks to everyone for their good wishes on the return of Mrs. C.👍

    Now back to “A critical appraisal of theory and methodology of active irrigation
    systems in the chemical debridement of the root canal system” – the title of the current essay I’m marking. 🤪

    1. That essay sounds fascinating , I’d love to read it, on second thought’s I’ll pop to my shed and put my head in the vice instead 🤪

        1. You should know that head in the vice can only be enjoyed in isolation, so sorry no, although it can be reserved for a reasonable fee( beer)😁

                1. Just seen that Mrs C will be home on Monday…wonderful news!
                  Best wishes for a continued recovery.

                  And ditch the marking for a day or two! Debridemen of root canals can wait for a bit.

                  1. Thank you, Ora. As for the debridement of root canals I agree they can wait. However, the deadline for marking essay will not. 😁

                    Mind you, the website I use for marking has just crashed so I have an enforced yet welcome break.

                    1. Damn. I’m going to have to stir myself to look up debridement. Is it the same as divorce?

                    2. “Surgical excision of dead, devitalised, or contaminated tissue and removal of foreign matter from a wound.”

                      Yes, Daisygirl – very like divorce! 😄

    3. Perfect level for me to tip my toe in the water after two weeks of entertaining house guests. Didn’t dare try yesterday’s as I knew that it would confirm a loss of brain cells after my absence. 8d is commonly seen as a bush here rather than as a tree. We had one but took it out because it attracts caterpillars with a nasty sting. Opera clue let me down as I am certainly not a fan, and always forget about the awful new spelling in 18a. Otherwise enjoyed. Thanks to setter and Cryptic Sue.

      1. Oops, this is in the wrong place. Should be at the bottom. Shows how rusty I have become.

  17. I found parts of this very tricky, 3d defeated me had to go to the hints for that. I liked 4d for some reason 🤷‍♂️. The second part of 18 threw me for a while ,I’m used to the other( correct) spelling,but I won’t make a noise about it🙄. I thought about our old friend the retired innkeeper who was ousted, or should I say left voluntarily a while ago, I always enjoyed his posts ,they added a certain piquancy to the blog. I hope he still looks in on us and I send him my best wishes. Thanks to all.

  18. Great puzzle with very entertaining clues. Last one for me was the fantastically deceptive 3d, very funny when you finally twig it.
    Didn’t like 4d for obvious reasons. My two favourites today were the aforementioned 3d and 27a, great clue.
    Many thanks to our setter today, top class.

  19. Great fun for a sunny Saturday afternoon. Podium comprises 1d, 15d and 8d, the latter being my cotd. Thanks to compiler and CS

  20. Well I must say that this Saturday puzzle is much more to my liking as opposed to my comment yesterday on the last two we have had. Made lots of sense, with good clues and parsing.

    1.5*/4* for me today

    Favourites include 6a, 13a, 18a, 27a, 3d & 20d — with winner 20d
    Smiles from 10a, 12a, 13a, 1d & several of the favourites too.
    Much nicer today

    Thanks to setter & CS for blog/hints

  21. Very entertaining puzzle. Favourite was 27a and I also liked 13a and 17d.

    Thanks to setter and hinter who’s work I will now have a butcher’s at

  22. This was a straightforward and enjoyable solve today . 3d did make me smile once I’d twigged. Thanks to setter and CS .

  23. At least I now know who Artemidorus was having googled him before the penny dropped. Thank you setter and CS.

  24. I’m commenting before reading the hints or comments, I’m sure they’ll burst my bubble! This was right up my straße and I loved it after the brain mangling of the last two days. So much fun stuff here, hard to pick a fave, maybe 18a in view of the current event?
    Thank you setter, you reassured me that I’m not brain dead, and CS for the hints and pics. I’ll now read the comments and find out how ridiculously easy peasy this was, such a waste of time for the brainiacs!

      1. No, but I know when to concede. I’ve fought it long enough, now it’s tilting at windmills!

  25. Good afternoon

    An enjoyable solve this afty, not without its twists and turns. Had to look up 8d to confirm my answer; other than that, the answers all seemed to drop in without too much trouble.

    COTD: runner-up is 19d; 3d wins!

    Many thanks to our compiler and to CS

  27. Hadn’t a scooby who the Greek chap was at 3d but fortunately realised it mattered not. It was my pick of the clues in a lovely puzzle albeit one that was over a bit too soon – about a quarter of the time yesterday took.
    Thanks to the setter & to Sue.
    Ps with all those redactions I guess the lemon drizzle is long gone.

  28. Enjoyed this a lot,
    The north came quickly but I picked a wrong answer for 11a and that made a mess of my condiment. 18 and 27a did it for me today (same name and favourites as John above :o)
    Thanks to CS and setter
    I hope all the whisky drinkers have got over Burns night with only a slight hangover and that Steve C has done his scurryfunging before Mrs C gets home

  30. I didn’t bat an eyelid at 3d because I didn’t consider the surface. That might be because I had never heard of Artemidorus (and I tend to ignore capitalisation). Sometimes having no GK is a plus. Mostly a nice puzzle, although for me a bit heavy with the use of slang/informal words. On that note, I am not entirely sure why 10a is cryptic. I expect I should be embarrassed to say that I still haven’t parsed 17d. When I Googled to check I have the right answer, one site said “I’ve seen this clue in The Sun” (although perhaps I underestimate The Sun’s crossword). I am embarrassed to say that I spoilt my entry for the prize by rushing in a spelling mistake. Never mind, it’ll give Steve slightly better odds. Pleased to hear Mrs C is well enough to return home.

    1. Thank you, Mark for both the good wishes and for giving me a slightly better chance of The Mythical dropping on my doormat. After fifty years, I doubt it will. 😳😊

    2. Went back to 17d and parsed it straight away. Just mentioned that to avoid anyone risking the naughty step.

  31. What a relief to have a crossword that I can do at last!
    Thanks to the setter and to CS for the hints.

  32. Not an easy one for me, but got there with crypticsue’s excellent hints.

    Thanks to the setter and to CS.

  33. Enjoyed this a lot with no particular hold-ups. Didn’t know who the arty farty Greek sounding person was but it was rather irrelevant to the answer. Opened a bottle of Nyetimber Sparkling Wine last night to celebrate our neighbour’s birthday. Its our favourite and v expensive and we had been saving it for ages. Sadly ‘too’ ages as it was disgusting and we felt ridiculous having sung its praises. Anyway, thanks to the setter for an easish ride today and to CS.

  34. Thanks Sue, and everyone for the comments.

    The ‘alternative spelling’ 18 across thing in Chambers gets the ‘noun same as (alt sp)1’ treatment, so the spelling most people (including me, honest) prefer here is obviously on the wane. Also, I didn’t know anything about Artemidorus. But it did come up when I put a certain sequence of letters into the wordfinder :D

    Cheers
    NYDK

      1. I couldn’t get Wordle yesterday because the website was down. It came back today but had wiped my record of solves and sent me back to square on. Steve was not amused! 😒

        1. Me too but I fiddled around and got it. Once done I had no idea what made it work. I was pleased it had retained my stats. My daughter had to load the App to get it.

        2. I’ve had the same issue with Wordle for the last couple of days. I couldn’t get it first thing in the morning which is when I normally do it. However, when I tried later in the afternoon, everything was fine and has continued to be. NYT must have changed their time for releasing it. Very annoying for you that you lost your past record. By the way, I complete Wordle on my iPad.
          Hope that this helps you

      2. My daughter uses Earth every day as her Wordle starter word. I use the first five letter word that comes into my head when I do it at 12 midnight or 6 am. Despite this we both get similar results

        1. Earth was the Wordle some time last year – I hope your daughter was choosing it then!
          I used to use a handful of random words on rotation, somehow getting lucky with Train to get my only ‘oner’. Now I (and my wife) use Mavis as our first word, the name of our labrador, and an alternative name for the song thrush. It’s in Chambers and Merriam-Webster in the States, so maybe one day …

    5. Pint (or three) ✔️
      Bag of pork scratchings ✔️
      NYDK Saturday puzzle ✔️
      Happy days 😁🍻 27a, 18a and 19d the faves.

  35. I went into town after Coffee Stop this morning ( the Guides were on duty this morning so all the parents came in to support them) to have a mooch as George was watching Hertford get slaughtered 36-20. Got home exhausted with poor old knees aching and this lovely guzzle was the perfect accompaniment for an early GnT. So glad because I didn’t have the energy to get up and find a BRB. I think 11a is top of the pops. Many thanks to the Door Knob and the busy CS and nice to hear from Kath – I still think of her kindness when I was coping with DD1’s diagnosis.

  36. Very enjoyable. Lots to like and a lovely mix of clues.

    Many thanks to NYDK and to CS for the hints

  37. Thanks NYDKB and CS. What a delight after which was excruciating. My LOI was 16d. 15d gave me a bit of grief but I managed unaided. I got 3d straightaway which helped. I don’t think of 9d as a condiment. S&P are condiments in my book. 9d is what it says on the label. Prizes are awarded to 11a and 3 16 17 and 20d.

  38. Started and completed this one today. 3d very clever. Confidence back after giving up on Friday’s puzzle.

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