DT 30056 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30056

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30056

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

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

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

Our awful winter weather continues. Today there is a positive spin-off. Instead of our usual beach walk this morning, the time was spent putting together an Armenian spice cake. This actually involves one baker and one observer and potential taster. Guess that qualifies as a shared project? In a different project some kindling did get chopped up at the same time though.

We found this puzzle a bit trickier than usual for a Wednesday.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Lad visited by doctor with answer — avoid fish (6,4)
BOMBAY DUCK : A lad or young male contains a doctor’s qualification and A(nswer), then avoid or dodge.

6a     Brandy may see study going west! (4)
MARC : Study intensely at the last moment gets reversed (going west).

10a     What a cowboy needs from girl with nothing (5)
LASSO : A girl or young woman and the letter that looks like zero.

11a     Poor souls waiting at the hole in the wall? (9)
BREADLINE : The souls waiting at the hole in the wall could be a slang word for money and a queue.

12a     After wine, political wings will accept that is arrogant (8)
CAVALIER : Spanish sparkling wine, then the abbreviation for the Latin phrase meaning ‘that is’ is enclosed by the hands used for political wings.

13a     Supply crack on base (5)
EQUIP : The mathematical symbol for base and a crack or witticism.

15a     Scarpered from crazed force holding enemy back (4,3)
MADE OFF : A synonym for crazed, the reversal of a word for an enemy and then F(orce).

17a     Needle may give bobble regularly with crushed silk (7)
OBELISK : The second fourth and sixth letters of bobble and an anagram (crushed) of SILK.

19a     Bank said to have responsibility for animal (7)
ROEBUCK : A homophone of bank or tier and then responsibility, often used in the phrase ‘the …. stops here.’

21a     Area of potential conflict sees sexy garments making a comeback (7)
HOTSPOT : Another word for sexy and the reversal of garments such as tee shirts.

22a     Functional out of uniform fur (5)
SABLE : Start with a word meaning functional and remove U(niform) from its start.

24a     Justification for affair? (8)
OCCASION : A double definition.

27a     Pains reportedly following stone cold items eaten at teatime (4,5)
ROCK CAKES : Another word for stone, then C(old) and a homophone (reportedly) of another word for pains.

28a     Eagerly accept drink before appearing in court (3,2)
LAP UP : Drink as a cat might, and a two letter word for appearing in court.

29a     Has long dresses with no end of flouncing (4)
OWNS : Remove the last letter of flouncing from the start of long dresses.

30a     Dressing no cub wears out (5,5)
BROWN SAUCE : Anagram (out) of NO CUB WEARS.

Down

1d     Simple line crossed by criminal (4)
BALD : Criminal or sinful contains L(ine).

2d     Deal badly with worker, taken in by awkward smile (9)
MISHANDLE : A ‘manual’ worker is inside an anagram (awkward) of SMILE.

3d     Subtle quality of a second artist on the rise (5)
AROMA : Reading backwards (on the rise) we have ‘A’ from the clue, a second or short time, and a Royal Academician.

4d     Remove underwear and ask for information after operation (7)
DEBRIEF :  The answer could be equivalent to “drop knickers”.

5d     7 Down may be encouragement I love (7)
CHEERIO : Encouragement or happiness, then ‘I’ from the clue and tennis score love.

7d     All the best gold rings perish (5)
ADIEU : The chemical symbol for gold surrounds perish or expire.

8d     Keep a cash supply, saving time for one who doesn’t like spending (10)
CHEAPSKATE : An anagram (supply) of KEEP A CASH plus T(ime).

9d     The girl’s in a depression, being a fan (8)
ADHERENT : ‘A’ from the clue and a depression or hollow surround a pronoun meaning ‘the girl’s’.

14d     Mostly produce a favourable reaction on a Spanish flower producer (10)
IMPRESARIO : Remove the last letter from a word meaning produce a favourable reaction, then ‘A’ from the clue and the Spanish word for a river (something that flows).

16d     No money around the middle of July for luxury (8)
OPULENCE : The ‘zero’ letter and small change money contain the two central letters of July.

18d     Improvised setter’s cue on origin of universe (9)
IMPROMPTU : Using a personal pronoun the way the setter might refer to himself, and then cue or hint followed by the first letter of universe.

20d     Rapper’s critic? (7)
KNOCKER : A double definition. The rapper could be someone at the door.

21d     Journalist understood this might cut (7)
HACKSAW : A slang word for a journalist and understood or realised.

23d     Food firm trapped in embargo (5)
BACON : A commercial firm is inside an embargo or prohibition.

25d     Persuades women, leaving balloons (5)
SELLS : Remove W(omen) from balloons or increases in size.

26d     Primate must welcome son for recess (4)
APSE : An animal primate contains S(on).

11a took quite a lot of thinking about so we will nominate that for favourite.

Quickie pun    tree    +    cult    +    heart    =    treacle tart

60 comments on “DT 30056

  1. Super puzzle, full of wit and misdirection.
    Virtually impossible to pick a favourite but of several that made me smile 1a plus the linked 5&7d, along with 14d and the simple but clever 25d spring to mind.
    I may be wrong but felt more like NYDK than Jay but thanks to whoever set it, more like this please. Thanks to our reviewers too. I took 11a to be a cryptic definition.

  2. Agree with SL, thought this was fabulous – although felt a bit Toughie in places. 1a, 11a, 7d perhaps on the podium, though really could have been any three. Many thanks to setter and 2Ks (now off to see if the Toughie itself is even, err, Toughier…)

  3. Very enjoyable from start to finish. The Quickie Pun made me smile too. Off to the Snap Dragon Festival now to meet the grandsons and both daughters. Thanks to the setter for the fun and to the 2Ks for the review. It was raining quite heavily here but the sun is out now

  4. I found this a quite difficult puzzle today with some clever parsing.-most enjoyable as I progressed,agree with the 2K,s ***/****’
    Favourite was 1a ,it produced the D’oh moment when I remembered it was a fish!
    11a was a close second.
    Had to check the 24a double definition in my tattered Chambers-maybe a new one for Christmas.
    Thanks to our setter and the 2k.s for the pics.

  5. 23d and 30a – the best Sandwich bar none. Makes up for the inedible 1a IMO. Nice puzzle solved before breakfast leaving plenty of time for the toughie. It felt like NYDK to me too.
    Thanks to setter and the 2K’s

  6. Nearly every clue required a fair amount of thought in this cleverly clued puzzle. The misdirection was so smooth, some of the clues really had me foxed for a while but they were all gettable. It certainly didn’t feel like a typical zJay puzzle and NYDK seems like a possibilty to me too. Favourite clues were 1a, the COTD, followed by8d, 14d and 18d. I really enjoyed it and got much satisfaction out of finishing it thanks to the Kiwis for the hints (wouldn’t mind a piece of that spice cake, sounds yummmy)and to the compiler

  7. Starting off with a great Quickie pun I knew we were in for a treat and so it proved to be. I have lots of ticks but also a number of question marks. In 7d, I took “gold rings” and made “adios”, which threw me for a while. Another reminder for me to take more notice of the parsing rather than just bunging in the first answer that pops into my head. I was also held up by one of my own stupid mistakes. I made the “D” in 2d look like a “P” so 15a was incomprehensible for a time.
    My COTD is the simple but perfectly formed 25d.

    Many thanks to the setter for the fun and the 2Ks for the hints.

    SJB, the best sandwich for me is 23d and fried egg sprinkled with pepper. :grin:

  8. Last two to fall here were 24a & 25d and top of my pile were 11a & 2d.

    Feels like a Jay to me so thanks to him and to our housebound 2Ks – no prizes for guessing who’s the baker!

  9. Like our Ynys Mon correspondent, this definitely had the ‘feel’ of a Jay with, perhaps, a soupçon of Logman – 2.5*/4.5*.

    Candidates for favourite – 12a, 20d, 21d, and the 7d/5d combo – and the winner is the combo.

    Thanks to Jay and to the 2Kiwis.

  10. I began this whilst in the endoscopy queue and thought it must be my nervousness making it feel tough. I completed it after the said occurrence and it was still a ***! Quite devious and tricky clues with the best being 1a and 6a a Brandy I have never heard of but guessable. A good distraction from the tube down the throat. Thanks to the 2K’s and our clever setter.

    1. They must do endoscopies differently over there. I’ve sailed through 4 of them, and they put you in twilight sleep so you don’t know anything until you come round in recovery.

  11. Not one for me, far too tricksy with complex and hard to fathom clues. Def one for the Toughie.
    I completed it more by letter substitution than clue solving. Worst clue of the day for me was 3d, clumsy and unpleasant.
    Thx for the hints
    *****/0
    No fun whatsoever.

    1. I have to agree Brian, this was one I solved despite the clues. Looked up at the heading a couple of times to make sure I hadn’t printed up the Toughie by mistake.

  12. I thought this was a little tricky in places, with my last 4 taking a little while to give in.

    Very enjoyable – more of the same please.

    Many thanks to the setter, and to the 2Kiwis.
    Hopefully 7d/5d didn’t imply their swan song (never know if it is 2 words or one) puzzle!

    1. I won’t bother most people whichever you use. Swan song or swansong. It can be understood whichever whatway you choose to use it. Thankfully textspeak, yoofspeak, and the abolition/vilification of the grammar police on the popular social media platforms has led to a huge relaxation of outdated and silly rules of grammar. Life is too short to fuss about such things

      1. Have schools relaxed the ‘silly’ grammar rules, MP?

        If so, you’re ahead of me.

      2. I’m not quite sure I understand your reply..
        My question was which one was grammatically correct. I wasn’t asking about what is generally accepted on social media. You could just have easily have replied to my post as.. I ain’t got a clue guv, nor do I give a monkeys!

        1. It did seem a strange reply, Jezza.

          Miffypops is highly entertaining but your gentle comment has clearly, to quote Russell Crowe….unleashed hell.

          As far as I know, English grammar is still very much taught at schools and taken extremely seriously, as it is around the world, especially in countries whose first language isn’t English.

          I can’t ever see the following sentence being accepted….

          ‘Us was sat at home, watching television.’

          I’d let MP’s comment go, Jezza, as he has accumulated a stack of ‘amusing’ beans in the jar.

  13. About as good as it gets, Jay or NYDK. 1a, 11a, & 5/7d top the podium for me. A joy to complete. Thanks to the Kiwis and today’s setter. ** / ****

    I found the Toughie quite tough, but let’s hear it for Rocky Marciano!

  14. Just nicely testing with so many clues worthy of the application required. Hard to pick Fav(s) but I will plump for 11a and 12a. Have yet to tackle Quickie except pun words which made me smile. Thank you Mysteron and the 2Ks (keep warm). MP please send us in Sussex some of your proper rain – we are threatened with a hosepipe ban.

        1. My God! Do the woke allow this??

          I am very pleased to see that some historic traditions have escaped their clutches

          1. We’ve had Mr Jellybelly the policeman. The kids called him Mr Jellysmellybelly.

          2. We were surprised happy to see this old tradition from our youth on Weymouth beach in 2015.

            1. The crocodiles teeth came out when he was trying to snatch the sausages from Mr Punch. The sausages that Mr Punch made when he put the baby in the sausage machine and turned the handle. Judy was not pleased I can tell you. They did have a long kiss later though. Much to the children’s disgust

  15. I agree with those that found this a little more testing than a usual Wednesday, but it was all the more rewarding to complete as a result. There were no poor clues, only degrees of excellence, with 1a and 11a on top. I also liked the combo.

    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  16. Steady pace, leaving 1 and 19a and 1d.
    Took ages to get which, on reflection, should not have done.
    Cracking puzzle, so 5*/5*.
    An emphatic COTD 11a.
    Many thanks, Jay and the 2Ks.

  17. Well, I just agree with almost everything that has been said. Clever and full of twists. I liked 17a, struggled with 24a, winced at 30 being described as a dressing! 14 d sprang to mind but I wanted to use a double s, so that was LOI. 8,16 & 18 were brilliant. Still no rain in Cambridge, my grass crackles when I walk on it. Every drop of water in the sink goes out to the garden, it is tedious. I don’t think I would have coped very well if I had had to draw water from a well or a river. Many thanks to bothe Setter and Hinters.

    1. I felt the same about 30, Daisy. It’s more of a relish than a sauce—- but that would t have beensogoid as red herring for the setter’s purposes.

      1. Surely HP has always been a “sauce” (see bottle label) – I didn’t know it was known as a “brown” sauce but anyway it’s hardly a “dressing”. IMHO sauces are cooked whereas dressings are uncooked.

  18. A fine Wednesday puzzle. Good clues, a reasonable challenge and very entertaining. I’ve ticked a few but can’t decided on a favourite. 3*/4*.

  19. Seemed trickier than a normal Jay puzzle to me today. Some tricky parsing to figure out to get there.
    2.5*/3*

    Favourites include 27a, 5d, 7d & 20d with no clear winner for me today.

    Thanks to the three birds

  20. This was hard work, only half-time completed at first sitting. After jobs, it all looked more benign. Sadly Samoan can be derived from 1a, which works until it doesn’t. Nobody else seems to have fallen for that.
    In short, full of wit and misdirection as SL said.
    LOI 13a which is daft because it’s not new and not difficult.
    COTD 11a
    Thanks to the After a and 2Ks.

  21. Tried my best but needed to consult too many hints today. Many thanks to the setter and the 2 K’s.

  22. Morning all.
    So it wasn’t just us that found this one trickier than usual. The fish in 1a was new to us so a slow start and several other delays as well. Despite this we did enjoy the solve though.
    Cheers.

    1. What type of animal is a 1 across is a popular quiz question here. Can’t say I’ve ever seen it on a menu but I’d give it a go if I did

      1. It is usually a dried up chewy gristly bit of fish that has all the taste and texture of chewing on Ghandi’s flip-flop IMO

  23. Definitely trickier than the the usual Wed fare. I also wasn’t entirely sure it was a Jay puzzle but Donny usually pops in & acknowledges ownership so maybe Senf & Jane are right. Agree with all of the plaudits. 11a the hands down winner for me with big ticks also for 1&15a along with 2,7,14&16d.
    Thanks all.

  24. I found this almost like two levels of difficulty in one crossword.

    Completed one half of it very quickly and then came to a hard stop for the second half.

    I put the checkers in for cashpoint for 11a which didn’t help…

    Completed without help so all good.

    Thanks to all.

  25. Too hard for me today.
    Most of my answers were bung ins checked by using the Check Answers function on the app…which is cheating really.
    So, not much fun for me.

    Thanks to the setter and to the 2 Kiwis

  26. I felt exactly the same as Hilary. Attempted to solve on my own but when I need more extra clues than I’ve got unaided it does mean it’s time to throw in the towel. Thanks to the setter and the 2Ks. I’ve just finished reading Mapp and Lucia which I did eventually enjoy. Am now reading The dark remains by William McIlvaney ….. AND Ian Rankin. It’s set in Glasgow.

  27. Only 4 on my first pass, but with perseverance and the Kiwi’s hints (thank you), got there in the end. I didn’t know the brandy, though I have heard of ‘6a de champagne truffles’ without apparently ever stopping to question who 6a is or what he was doing on my truffles.

    My favourite was either 14d’s “flower producer” or 16d’s “no money”.

  28. 4*/4*…..
    liked 27A “Pains reportedly following stone cold items eaten at teatime (4,5)”

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