Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30581
A full review by crypticsue
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This puzzle was published on 6th April 2024
BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment *****
A splendid Saturday Prize Puzzle – very friendly and fun from start to finish, with some great surface readings, so I had no doubt that NY Doorknob would turn up to confirm he was the setter
Quite a few of the Across solutions could be linked – I particularly liked the idea of a henpecked tuna!
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Across
1a Party line repeated for Barbie, perhaps … (4)
DOLL – DO (party) L L (repeated abbreviations for Line
4a … Ken, legend, cooked with wok! (9)
KNOWLEDGE – Although Ken could be linked with Barbie, or the forename of a Chinese cookery legend who cooked with a wok, here it just refers to knowledge – an anagram (cooked) of LEGEND with WOK
10a Shocked? Adult seemed to protect toddler initially (9)
ASTOUNDED – A (adult) SOUNDED (seemed) to ‘protect’ the initial letter of Toddler
11a Volume with Irish Gaelic poetry (5)
VERSE – V (volume) with ERSE (Irish Gaelic)
12a See 28 Across
13a NUT head agitated, troubled by ghosts (7)
HAUNTED – An anagram (agitated) of NUT HEAD
16a Swift’s heartless attack (4)
RAID – Remove the middle letter (heartless) from RApID (swift)
17a No longer liking Pink Floyd classic? That’s strange! (3,3,4)
OFF THE WALL – OFF (no longer liking) THE WALL (Pink Floyd classic album)
20a All the same, these letters suggest a basic education (3,5,2)
THE THREE RS – The same letters suggest a basic education – Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic
21a Work Bishop Ussher pens (4)
OPUS – Hidden in the name of the Bishop of Armagh in the 1600s
23a The Orient Express carries American about (3,4)
FAR EAST – FAST (express) ‘carries’ A (American) RE (about)
25a Rating mostly dubious pricing system (6)
TARIFF – TAR (rating, sailor) and most of IFFy (dubious)
28a & 12a Girder to be rigged outside with adjustable spanner? (5,6)
TOWER BRIDGE – An anagram (rigged) of GIRDER TO BE goes outside W (with)
29a Page in Old English helping process (9)
OPERATION – P (page) inserted in OE (Old English) and followed by RATION (helping)
30a Harassed wife leaving when quickly kissed (9)
HENPECKED Remove the W (wife leaving) from wHEN and add PECKED (quickly kissed)
31a Fish and cask ale for starter? (4)
TUNA – TUN (cask, barrel) and A (starter for Ale)
Down
2d Support melting away? At risk here! (2,4,3)
ON THIN ICE – Support animals living on ice melting away
3d Dive forward, catching ball: take it easy (6)
LOUNGE – LUNGE (dive forward) ‘catching’ O (ball)
4d Pirate joke for audience? (4)
KIDD – A homophone (for audience) of KID (joke)
5d Excited stars model for revered artists (3,7)
OLD MASTERS – An anagram (excited) of STARS MODEL
6d Private Pike, he was a plant? (8)
LAVENDER – The surname of the actor who played Private Pike in Dad’s Army or a fragrant plant
7d Gallagher’s intro in dreadful song (5)
DIRGE – G (the ‘intro’ of Gallagher) inserted in DIRE (dreadful)
8d European lair — delightful place! (4)
EDEN – E (European) DEN (lair)
9d Savagery: it’s seen in North African region (9)
BARBARITY – IT (from the clue) inserted in BARBARY (coastal region of North Africa)
14d Dessert wine causing tremors later? (10)
AFTERSHOCK – AFTERS (dessert) HOCK (wine) – this week’s Old Friend of the Crossword Solver
15d Son, drunk, kicks daughter and kitty! (5,4)
SLUSH FUND – S (son) LUSH (drunk) FUN (kicks) D (daughter)
18d Creature from public house in Namibia unruly (9)
AMPHIBIAN – PH (public house) inserted into an unruly anagram of NAMIBIA
19d Toes here broken? Stretcher needed! (8)
SHOE TREE – Lovely surface reading – an anagram (broken) of TOES HERE
22d Empty one container into another (6)
VACANT – CAN (one container) inserted into VAT (another)
24d Area with graceful bird in Egyptian city (5)
ASWAN – A (area) with SWAN (graceful bird)
26d Make an impression and so on with husband (4)
ETCH – ETC (and so on) H (husband)
27d Crook knight bundled into sack (4)
BEND – N (chess abbreviation for knight ‘bundled into’ BED (sack)