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DT 30018

by pommers  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30018

Hints and tips by pommers

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****

Hola from the Vega Baja where the heatwave may be coming to an end at last! Forecast is for only (only!) 33°C today and similar for the rest of the week. That’s still hotter than usual for mid-June but a relief after the last week or so of crazy temperatures.  Suffice it to say that I was in Granada last week and the temperature was 42°C for three days running.  That’s unheard of in mid-June and even unusual for late July or early August!

Anyway, on to the puzzle.  It is what, for me, has become a classic Monday.  It’s elegantly clued and not too hard but with a couple of tricky ones in the mix to keep us all on our toes. It was a great welcome back to crosswordland after ten days away on hols.  Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

As usual the ones I liked most 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

5a           List by counter where shoes may be repaired (7)
HEELBAR: A word for list, as a boat may list, followed by a counter, in the pub perhaps.  I always thought this was two words, d’oh!

7a           Search round area in resort (5)
HAUNT:  A word meaning to search placed around (round) an A(rea).  Spent too long thinking this was a seaside resort!

9a           Really popular female performance (2,4)
IN FACT: The usual word for popular followed by an F(emale) and then a performance.

10a         Gossip involving old maiden? It’s not important (2,6)
NO MATTER:  Put another word meaning to gossip around (involving) an O(ld) and an M(aiden) and split the result (2,6).

11a         Book country hostelry (7,3)
JAMAICA INN:  A country in the West Indies followed by a hostelry will give you the country hostelry located in the middle of Cornwall which is the setting and title of a famous book by Daphne du Maurier.  I’ve had a few pints here over the years when my mum lived in Cornwall.

13a         Lose one’s temper in card game (4)
SNAP:  Double definition.

14a         Goes regularly, circulating mugshots (6,7)
ROGUES GALLERY:  Anagram (circulating) of GOES REGULARLY.

16a         Staple food that may give South American energy (4)
SAGO:  Abbreviation of South American followed by a word for energy or vitality.  Not sure this stuff classes as food, staple or otherwise, yuk!

17a         University head‘s in luck getting tube back (10)
CHANCELLOR:  A word for luck followed by a reversal (back) of a tube.

19a         Heats pan prepared for game bird (8)
PHEASANT:  Anagram (prepared) of HEATS PAN.

20a         About to melt scrap (6)
REFUSE:  The usual two letters for about followed by a word meaning to melt.

22a         Saw banker in Zurich? (5)
GNOME:  This word meaning a saw or adage is also a term used for a banker of Zurich.

23a         Remove further carat (7)
EXTRACT:  A word meaning further or more followed by the abbreviation of carat.

Down

1d           Greek character after fine cheese (4)
FETA:  Put a Greek letter after F(ine) and you’ll get a Greek cheese.  Pommette always refers to this stuff as “fetid” which is a bit unfair. I like it!

2d           Electrifying cables to fence? (8)
OBSTACLE:  Anagram (electrifying) of CABLES TO.  Took a while for the penny to drop that electrifying might be an anagram indicator.

3d           Put on article for quack (6)
SHAMAN:  A word meaning put on or fake followed by an indefinite article.

4d           Lucky it being nothing more than a grand (4,2,4)
JUST AS WELL:  If you split this answer (4,1,5) you’ll get a phrase meaning only one grand.

5d           Dye head of horse princess raised (5)
HENNA: H (head of Horse) followed by a reversal (raised in a down clue) of the princess who is the Queen’s only daughter will give you the sort of dye used for making temporary tattoos.

6d           Ongoing conflict between managers? (7,6)
RUNNING BATTLE: Cryptic definition of an ongoing fight between people who manage.

8d           Male in working party gets treatment (7)
THERAPY:  HE (male) inserted into (in) an anagram (working) of PARTY.  So the male wasn’t an M after all, d’oh!

12d         Old English instrument to feature in a long jazzy number coming up (5-5)
ANGLO SAXON: Start with an anagram (jazzy) of A LONG  followed by a reversal (coming up in a down clue) of the abbreviation of number.   Then insert (to feature in) a jazz instrument, or at least the common name for one. Split that lot (5,5) to get another name for the language Old English.

14d         A swine behind the wheel? (4,3)
ROAD HOG:  Cryptic definition of an inconsiderate driver.

15d         Fabric from Chantilly? Price cut (8)
LACERATE: A fabric made in Chantilly followed by a word for a price.

17d         Man reduced rent for wooden villa (6)
CHALET:  A man without his last letter (reduced) followed by a word meaning rent as in hired out.

18d         Start working with group (5)
ON SET:  A word for working, as in not switched off, and a word for a group.

21d         Message about large plant (4)
FLAX:  An old type of message around (about) an L(arge).  Do people still use this method of communication?

Just about any one of these clues is worthy of the blue treatment but I like a succinct clue with no wasted words so for my favs today I’ve gone for the short stuff.  My podium is 9a, 11a and 22a, with a dead heat between the three.

Quick crossword puns:

Top line:     BERTH     +     WAIT     =     BIRTH WEIGHT

Bottom line:     MEET     +     BAWLS     =      MEATBALLS

78 comments on “DT 30018”

  1. Lots of very excellent clues eg 10, 11 and 23a and 12d,
    And some very easy ones eg 16a and 1d.
    Usually this mix with Campbell which always pops me into at least 2* time.
    Last in 3d, constructed correctly but almost a new, vaguely remembered, word for me.
    Many thanks, Campbell and pommers.

  2. Campbell back to his more straightforward Monday form, I thought, and I agree with Pommers – “elegantly clued and not too hard”: it was a delightful exercise while making a coffee, and resulted in smiles aplenty. I drive past 11a a couple of times a week, but it’s not a particular 7a of ours, which may be 4d given the 18d of the tourist season. 9a we positively aim to avoid it, the traffic being something of an 2a in the summer, not helped when the odd 14d causes an accident and endless tailbacks – possibly when trying to avoid the many 19a’s.

    Anyway, a most enjoyable interlude, for which many thanks to Campbell and to Pommers!

    0.5* / 3* COTD 4d and HM to 15d

  3. I agree with Pommers and Hrothgar about thepleasing blend of straightforward and trickier clues. This was an entertaining puzzle with some great anagrams, especially 14a. I also liked 15d and 10d. My COTD, however, was the superb 12d. Thanks to Campbell for another high quality puzzle and to Pommers for the review. Glad you enjoyed your break.

  4. I agree with the sweltering pommers that there are a handful of head scratchers in this puzzle. I was therefore ‘forced’ to toast a further slice of bread. I only avoided setting off the smoke detectors by a narrow margin.

    ‘The youngster’ is off out for an audition/interview today for a job she really wants. Any positive vibes will be gratefully received.

    Thanks to Campbell and pommers.

    Today’s crossword soundtrack: Jackson Browne

    1. Miffypops interviewing technique
      Can you do the job?
      Yes
      Will you turn up?
      Yes.
      You are hired. When can you start?
      Or
      Can you do the job?
      No
      Will you learn if we train you?
      Yes
      Will you turn up?
      Yes.
      You are hired. When can you start?

    4. Good luck to her! :rose: I always used to have to promise to keep thinking good vibes when our Elder Lamb was having an interview. She always ended up getting the job so it became a self-fulfilling prophecy thereby giving her confidence – it still works even though she’s a proper grown-up now (a Doctor and has a chair!)

  5. It’s Monday :good: It’s Campbell :good: **/****

    I did find that the OLPP was more ‘friendly’ than this one.

    Candidates for favourite – 11a, 23a, and 14d – and the winner is 23a.

    Thanks to Campbell and pommers.

  6. Another couple of highly enjoyable puzzles from Monday’s Mr Consistency. Thought the back-pager the easier of the two albeit last in, 22a, needed some investigation as I wasn’t familiar with the adage synonym & had forgotten the term for the Swiss money men so it was an educated bung in. Top 3 for me – 11&14a plus 6d. The bonus cryptic just gets the nod in my book – last in was the 5d breakfast item where arranging the fodder in the correct spelling was the challenge – not quite a pandowdy but far from familiar grub on my breakfast table.
    Thanks to Campbell & Pommers.
    Congrats to Matt Fitzpatrick on a sensational ball striking performance in winning his first major yesterday. I suspect more will follow & lovely to see a golfer who just gets on with it & plays at a brisk pace.

    1. Agree on your assessment of Matt Fitzpatrick Huntsman, what a brilliantly entertaining last round of golf it was too

  7. Very enjoyable, non of my favourites correspond with those of our blogger, but a wide spectrum of top clues indicates a quality puzzle.
    Top three for me being 2,4&12d.
    Thanks to Campbell and Pommers

  8. I suspect many of the regular commentariat will concur with our blogger’s assessment of this excellent puzzle and his podium choices, as do I. Terrific Monday entertainment for a mid-summer morning.

    Many thanks to Campbell and pommers.

  9. Is not the top line Quickie pun “birth weight” rather than “birth rate”?

      1. Not at all. I wasn’t happy with rate but just thought Campbell had developed a lisp :lol: Having no kids I’m not up with terms relating to babies.

  10. 1.5*/3.5*. A light but fun start to the week which is as it should be with 22a my favourite with 2d & 4d joining it on my podium.

    I wasn’t too keen on 6d as it seems to me to be a more or less straight definition even with the question mark.

    This puzzle did have a bit of a dated feel. The BRB lists the resort in 7a as Shakespearean; it also cites the specific meaning of sham needed in 3d as obsolete; and surely the method of messaging in 21d is as dead as a dodo.

    Many thanks to Campbell and to pommers.

    1. Just before I retired in 2005 I received a 21d message. When I told my boss I’d had it his reply was “a ???, how quaint!”.

      1. Way back when we used to ring up the recipient to see if they had received the 21d message. :wacko:

    2. I had exactly the same thoughts re 21d as dated references are a bit of bugbear of mine, looked online and to my surprise…..

      Surprisingly, fax machines are still used routinely in many places. In fact, faxes were once at the forefront of communication technologies. Even today, it is regularly used by law enforcement agencies for bail postings or the deliver of public records.22 Jan 2022

      1. First job I had had a telex machine. Punching along message took ages. I am surprised we got anything done.

    3. Well, as I have already said, I liked 6d with its double entendre of running synonym.

  11. I, too, had forgotten the other meaning of 22a so it was a bung in. Wasn’t 14a a clever anagram. It’s my COTD

  13. Pleasant challenge which contributed a couple of additions to my vocabulary viz 22a and 3d (conman messed me up for a while). My Fav was 6d for its surface. Thank you Campbell and pommers. Hopefully no news is good news as far as BD is concerned?

  14. Delightful as usual. It’s a good thing that I learned about Swiss bankers in one of these cryptics not long ago because I doubt that I’d ever have solved 22a otherwise. I noticed that so far our favourites are spread all over the grid–a really good sign of a masterful bit of clueing, but for me it’s got to be 11a (love du Maurier), 12d, & a draw between two peerless idioms 10a and 4d. Best Monday poser in some time, outranking the online gift by just a whisker, with its great breakfast menu. Thanks to pommers and Campbell. 2.5* / 4.5*

    1. As I said, just about any clue in this puzzle could be a candidate for blue. That’s why ***** for entertainment.

      1. The only reason I gave this classy puzzle a 4.5* (when my heart said FIVE) is that 6d seems like just a definition to me, with nothing cryptic about it. But maybe that’s just a quibble.

        1. If you’re managing something (a company, say) you’re running it, so the clue seems cryptic enough.

        2. I liked 6d but notice a couple of objections that it’s not really cryptic … but I’m not sure a straight definition would have anything to do with managers, would it?
          [Edit: Apologies Gazza, guess I’m just a very slow typist…]

        3. I have just reread ‘A Month in the Country’ by JL Carr which was on the Booker short list in 1980. I was amazed at how good it is. A wonderful evocation of English life in the period after WWI. I wondered if you might find it of interest. It’s in the Penguin Modern Classics series. Of course you may have already read it.

  15. Easy finish today apart from 21d where I went for a type of large leafed plant, same word as what could also be waved during the jubilee recently! Annoying 😡

  16. All bright and breezy except 22a where neither usage sprang to mind without the assistance of google. Very enjoyable, thanks to pommers and today’s setter.

  17. Really had fun with this one and unlike Senf I found it far easier than the OLPP.
    Biggest ticks here went to 9a plus 6,14&15d.

    Thanks to Campbell and to pommers as he gratefully prepares for some slightly cooler weather. Good to hear 14d again after all these years and I’m in your camp where 1d is concerned!

    1. To be fair it’s just a rare joke from pommette. She eats enough of the stuff on salads.

      1. I thought perhaps she’d tried it when it was too warm – it can have a slightly strange smell if it isn’t kept cool.

  18. A typical Campbell for this Monday and a great start to the week. It was the short ones that held me up today especially 21d because I had totally forgotten that particular means of messaging. In 16a, I was stuck with the letter “e” for ages and could not, of course, make it work. For ages I could not see where “party” came into 8d until my subconscious popped in to tell me I was a stupid idiot. My COTD is 22a.

    Many thanks to Campbell for the fun. Thank you, pommers for the hints and I do hope you stay cool in your extreme weather. I am also very fond of 1d.

  19. A gentle start to the week, although the SE corner took a bit of thought, especially 20a and 21d.
    Good fun.

  20. Great fun. As I love a good anagram 14a is top of the tree. I am with the j
    keep your ‘Feta and Halloumi ‘ tribe, give me a good British or even French cheese any day. I am slightly worried that Terence does not seem to have had any orange juice with his second slice of toast, I do hope he is not going off it? Anyway, lovely start to the week and many thanks to the setter and Pommers

    1. Quite agree DG but I love most cheese. Mrs Temples cheeses near us are fantastic especially her Binham Blue. Her farm and cheesery (is it called that?) is an extremely interesting tour. We used to get a cheese called Baraka on board Minerva – absolutely delicious but I have never seen it since.

  21. Having felt pleased with myself for remembering the Swiss banker and digging out the book title, I then fell over on 12d as I got stuck on looking for an instrument and then ran out of patience.
    A nicely constructed crossword which was a fun solve.
    Thanks to the setter and pommers

  22. Gentle start to the week, plenty of good quality clues in this good fun puzzle, knew the Swiss banker, but not the alternative. Just the job for a warm sunny day on The Downs.
    Thanks to Campbell and Pommers for the entertainment.

  23. I always find Mondays difficult – good and fun, but definitely tricky – even in donkey’s years ago in Rufus days it was the same, for me anyway.
    12d was a bit of a problem and 4d too.
    I spent ages something to do with the police for 14a but that didn’t help much – oh dear.
    I liked 5a (once that I’d given up on a cobbler) and 23a and 8 and 15d.
    Thanks to Campbell and to pommers.

    1. I agree about Rufus. At the time I first came across this blog everyone said Rufus was easy but great puzzling. I found him tricky!

      1. I remember that you did – I was always very glad that I wasn’t the only twit who found Mondays hard!

  24. Late to comment as I have done my volunteer printing job this morning and didn’t start until after lunch. The printer behaved quite well today. Simply flew through the top two thirds but a few at the bottom held me up for quite a while but all in all most enjoyable so thanks to the setter and Senf. I will add a photo from my iPhone of something in my garden for some kind person to identify. Its not a very good photo as it wouldn’t keep still! It’s on a Valerian plant (they grow like weeds here) and has a long pointy thing (sorry probably got an official name rather than ‘pointy thing’) which was probing the flowers. I will add it below and hope someone can tell me what it is. Thanks in advance.

      1. Quite possibly one of the hawkmoths of the humming bird hawkmoth variety Manders. It’s long pointy thing (proboscis) helps it to access the nectar.

        1. Thanks both – that’s it exactly. Annoyingly the wrong photo attached itself twice as I have a much better one. It zips around at great speed and is quite difficult to photograph.

          1. Its a very good photo – I’m amazed at just how good images taken with camera phones are nowadays – I have snapped bees, wasps, flies, butterflies and moths, but have never been fortunate enough to find a hummingbird moth. They make a nice change from my usual subjects; steam engines.

            1. I’ve just taken a phone call in the garden and there were no less than 4 on my Valerian! Lovely sight.

                1. Sorry SB, couldn’t resist the gloat – actually never seen more than one at a time before.

        2. Fascinating–thank you, Manders, Fez, Shropshirebloke. Altogether new to me in S Carolina.

  25. Typical Monday back pager for this week. No real issues.
    2*/3.5*
    Favourites include 7a, 14a, 17a, 6d & 14d with winner 17a

    Thanks to Campbell and pommers

  26. Pleasant Monday type puzzle but was defeated by 12d (just could not not sort out this highly complex clue) and 22a as I have never come across this definition but the BRB confirms. Where do setters find these obscure definitions, is there a book of weird words for crossword compilers? If there is it’s probably written by Giovanni!
    Thx for the hints
    ***/***

  27. I enjoyed today’s puzzle especially the anagrams. Got held up with 3d and 22a (the latter my husband couldn’t believe I didn’t know). Many thanks to Campbell and the Pommers. I really couldn’t cope with the temperatures you have been enduring recently, Pommers.

  28. Nice start to the week 😃 ***/****, took me longer than it should have to work out the NE corner 😬 Favourites 5a, 15d and 21d 👍 Thanks to Pommers and to Campbell

  29. Nice steady Monday, all done in my lunch break. Thanks to Campbell and Pommers, best belated vibes for T’s D. Time for tea.

  30. I feel a fraud as I only do the paper crossword, and having been distracted for the last few days by an inefficient team on my new build in Tavistock – bah humbug! – I have had no time to solve. However, not even having seen the last few puzzles I feel happy just reading the blog and knowing that they exist and that there is a life beyond construction. Thanks all.

    1. I’m hampered by the planning bods who initially denied planning permission but were made to grant it on a technicality. Since then they have tried every which way to prevent us building. It seems I just need to live another twenty years to get what I and the community want

      1. Sadly – t’was ever thus M. Unless you are completely blighting the landscape with a huge scheme in which case – off you go – providing that you stump up the cash for some often meaningless public benefit😩

  31. More Mondayish than the last who knows many but still a sting in the tail. Favourite was 12d. Thanks to Campbell and Pommers.

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