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DT 30228

by Falcon  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30228

Hints and tips by Falcon

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****

Greetings from Ottawa, where the final weekend of Winterlude (our winter carnival) has largely melted away in warm temperatures far exceeding historical averages. Colder air from Manitoba is due to arrive in a few days – unfortunately too late to rescue our celebration.

You are seeing me for the second week running as today is moving day for pommers and pommette. Let’s hope all goes smoothly.

Once again, Campbell is light on the anagrams but despite this the puzzle (for me at least) proved to be a very quick solve. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable one.

In the hints below, underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions, and indicators are italicized. The answers will be revealed by clicking on the ANSWER buttons.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought of the puzzle.

Across

1a   In private, a serious and particularly baffling problem (6)
TEASER — we start with a lurker hiding in three words of the clue

5a   Magnificent party, we hear — top quality wine (5,3)
GRAND CRU — a wine from a famous French vineyard sounds like a magnificent work party

9a   Prevailing mood at Missouri field (10)
ATMOSPHERE — a charade of AT, the postal designator for the state of Missouri, and a field or area of expertise

10a   Cutting fish? Not hard, on reflection (4)
CLIP — remove HARD from the name of a fish (or remove the pencil abbreviation for hard from an Australian name for this fish) and then reverse the result (thank you StephenL et al)

11a   Country as Larkin recollected (3,5)
SRI LANKA — an anagram (recollected [as collected in another order]) of of AS LARKIN

12a   A tendency at sea (6)
ADRIFT — the A from the clue and a tendency to move (often in an unwanted direction)

13a   Boast made by British tabloid? (4)
BRAG — the single letter for British and a derogatory name for a tabloid newspaper

15a   Hard work to attempt to follow long Asian river (8)
INDUSTRY — a verb meaning to attempt comes after a long south Asian river

18a   Maker of arrows — one bringing round fifty (8)
FLETCHER — one who brings or retrieves wrapped around the Roman numeral for fifty

19a   Primate with cross and crown (4)
APEX — a mammalian primate and the letter that looks like a St Andrew’s cross

21a   Harm married couple on island (6)
IMPAIR — the genealogical abbreviation for married and another word for couple follow the map abbreviation for island

23a   To date a Parisian, Italian returns having left at once (5,3)
UNTIL NOW — concatenate one of the French indefinite articles, a reversal of the reference book abbreviation for the Italian language, the abbreviation for left, and another word for at once

25a   Advantage of golf club barring wife (4)
EDGE — remove the genealogical abbreviation for wife from a lofted golf club

26a   Legendary knight‘s son held after Irish social event (3,7)
SIR GALAHAD — after assembing according to directions, you should have the genealogical abbreviation for son, the reference book abbreviation for the Irish language, a lavish social event, and a word meaning held or owned

27a   Jokes about young man beginning to row in Sunday best (4,4)
GLAD RAGS — jokes or pranks envelope a young man and the initial letter of ROW

28a   Develop a liking for bear also missing tail (4,2)
TAKE TO — link together a word meaning bear or convey and a synonym for also with its final letter discarded

Down

2d   Go in to register (5)
ENTER — double definition

3d   Draw attention to show of indifference surrounding cup (9)
SPOTLIGHT — a show of indifference or snub containing an informal name for a cup awarded as a trophy

4d   Show regret about enclosure with first of texts (6)
REPENT — line up a short preposition meaning about or concerning, an enclosure (for animals?), and the initial letter of TEXTS

5d   Disregard an urge to reform regiment (9,6)
GRENADIER GUARDS — an anagram (to reform) of the first three words in the clue

6d   Popular female singer receiving help in Australian city (8)
ADELAIDE — a popular British female singer embracing a synonym for help or assistance

7d   Colour scheme in section of wide corridor (5)
DECOR — another lurker, this one hiding in the last two words of the clue

8d   Strengthen control in favour of church (9)
REINFORCE — a charade of words meaning to control (a horse?), in favour of, and the abbreviation for England’s state church

14d   Character, kind learner should follow? (4,5)
ROLE MODEL — as wordplay we have a character in, for example, a theatrical production and a kind or type of commercial product; the entire clue provides the definition

16d   Trail round precinct making light conversation (5,4)
SMALL TALK — a word meaning to trail (usually in a threatening manner) surrounds a pedestrian shopping precinct

17d   Daily, one’s old lady exudes charm (8)
CHARISMA — assemble in order the usual daily cleaning lady, the Roman numeral for one (with its accompanying S), and another informal name for one’s mother

20d   In the end, American sailor turned up on time (2,4)
AT LAST — line up the single letter for American, the reversal of a veteran sailor, and the physics symbol for time

22d   Revise notice involving male servants (5)
AMEND — a short commercial notice containing an old fashioned term for male servants

24d   Style of painting round most of reception (2,3)
OP ART — a letter with a round shape followed by all but the final letter of a reception or social gathering

I liked 21a for its smooth surface reading. What stood out for you?

Quickie Pun (Top Row): BERTH + RITE = BIRTHRIGHT

Quickie Pun (9a + 10a): WHOLE + DOVER = HOLDOVER

Quickie Pun (Bottom Row) : HARE + ROYAL = HAIR OIL

104 comments on “DT 30228”

  2. A 1 for difficulty and a 1 for pleasure. I’m sorry but there is a quick crossword below this one.

  3. A nice gentle start to the cruciverbal week, with,for me, nothing to cause any head scratching. Everything was well clued and all fell into place without a problem. I particularly enjoyed 9a, 27a, 3d and 8d. My LOI and favourite was the very clever 10a. Thanks to Campbell for the workout and Falcon for stepping into the breach once again.

  4. Mainly enjoyable though I thought some of it a tad ordinary/dated. 2d for me is a pretty weak DD and surely we don’t need “popular female” in 6d…she’s ubiquitous. Does anyone still call a home help a char, and I’d be surprised if there are any 18a still practising. Small gripes however and more than made up by the ones I did like including 11&23a plus 3,16&20d with top spot going to the super 10a, where my parsing is remove “hard” from a fish and reverse the result.
    Many thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

      1. The hint refers to the abbreviation for ‘hard’ as used on a pencil – not the word in its entirety.

    2. An excellent way to start the week.

      I too had the word ‘hard’ not ‘h’.

      I reckon you’re right about the lack of 18a these days, SL. Bizarrely enough, a friend’s father was one who only hung up his last quiver three years ago. So, they are still out there which is good to see. I love these medieval jobs, e.g cooper, bowyer, chandler that has the word candle in it and is the same root as chandelier which makes sense.

      It reminds me of The Great Livery Companies borrowing Chaucer’s expression ‘At sixes and sevens’.

      The skinners and merchant taylors claimed their worshipful company was established before the other: one was the sixth the other the seventh. To settle the argument, they agreed the skinners would be number 6 in the even years and the merchant taylors the odd. So, this problem was another example of being at sixes and sevens.

      1*/4*

      2. My dad worked as a bowyer and fletcher from the age of 13 until 60, with a few years out during WW2 for National Service. As children, we’d watch him glue on the feathers and painstakingly paint the chosen colours underneath. He worked for Slazenger and then Jack the Yeoman in London. It’s said he could take a length of seasoned yew and transform it into a longbow! I’d have been embarrassed had I not got the answer!

        1. Jack the Yeoman? Love it!

          And here is the man in question.

          I love crosswords for triggering stories like yours, BandM.

          Marvellous stuff.

    4. I wish I had a penny for every time “char” appears in a crossword and this is the first time that I’ve heard a complaint that it is dated!

  5. It’s Monday :good: It’s Campbell :good: It’s a Holiday – even better! – 1.5*/4.5*

    Although, a little time was spent ‘breaking into’ the puzzle but once I had five or six answers spread around the grid it was ‘off to the races.’

    Candidates for favourite – 5a, 18a, 8d, and 17d – and the winner is 8d.

    Thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

  6. Very neat, very (very) easy. It was thus a treat of some brevity, and quite possibly ideal for a Monday.

    Thanks to Campbell and to Falcon.

      1. Therefor, The one I saw at 17a and 20a “pitch toward” was unintentional? Mind you, it always was a bit tenuous. :smile:

      2. Thank you for a proper coffee puzzle!

        Most enjoyable.

        Strangely, I thought I might stumble but the useful anagrams and hence cross checkers unfolded a very pleasant */***.

        Perfectly set Monday fare.

        Thank you to C and of course our hinter

  7. 10a my favourite this morning from this light, cheerful and straightforward puzzle from our regular Monday setter.

    My thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

  8. Apart from last in 10a, where the penny took an embarrassingly long time to drop, this was a quick stroll to the finish line. No particular favourite but nicely clued throughout.
    Thanks to Campbell & Falcon.
    Ps wonder if 9&10a are a middle pun in the Quickie

  9. A gentle and enjoyable start to the week – think I may have had a different fish from Falcon in 10a but got to the same answer. COTD for me was 5a. Off on hols today – hurray – not sure about Wi-Fi connectivity as we will be on a boat so may be off grid for a while.
    Thanks to all – see you virtually when we are back.

  10. It took a long time to get on wave length with this puzzle. Although,there were a lot of very straightforward clues and some good anagrams to help, there were a few awkward head scratchers and some interesting General Knowledge to challenge the solver. I liked 9a, 8d and COTD 15a. Thanks to the compiler (was it Campbell?) And to Falcob for the hints

  11. A friendly and enjoyable way in which to launch the cruciverbal week. Let’s see how the difficulty develops over the forthcoming week. Plenty of crafty clues with 5a LOL standing out for me. Thank you Campbell and Falcon.

  12. A gentle puzzle, ideal for a Monday and very enjoyable – thanks to Campbell and Falcon.
    My medallists are 10a, 27a and 16d.

  13. I had an 8 letter fish with the whole word ‘hard’ removed for 10a, no idea what the Aussie fish is about.

        1. I did google pilch, but thanks anyway. I don’t think the setter intended pilch, though – that obscurity would surely require some sort of Australianism indicator. Especially in a Monday back-pager!

          1. Totally agree Jose! But reviewers do get increasingly desperate as publication deadline looms ever closer.

                  1. No, I think pilchards must be what we know as sardines. For me, both pilch and pilchard are obscure terms (although I do seem to recall having seen pilchard in a previous puzzle). As for Australian terms, I recall tinny for beer without an Australian label.

  14. Last week taught me an invaluable lesson. If after two passes of the puzzle with plenty of time between for what imitates my brain to think and I have less than five clues solved then go straight to Big Dave and read the hints and if that is no help to reveal the solutions. With spring on its way I will not have time to worry about not solving toughies in cryptic clothing with so much gardening to do.

    Today like Saturday and Sunday was a successful solve with 9a, 10a, and 8d as honourable mentions.

    My thanks to Campbell and Falcon for an inspiriting solve.

  15. A nice mix of common GK and clear synonyms made this a friendly solve for me. I don’t hear anyone refer to 27a anymore but it’s still a great word! I liked 5d which took me a while to unpick and 5a which made me smile. All round good Monday fun, thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

  16. Oh dear.
    Was in .5 time with just one to go, 5a.
    Getting the second part put me into 4* time.
    I did not know this wine description.
    Otherwise, an enjoyable Monday puzzle with many amusing and clever clues, eg 17a and 14and 17d.
    Many thanks Campbell and Falcon.

  17. A pleasant Monday ramble with our setter – just right for a start to the non-working week.
    My favourite was 16d and its joined on the podium by 5,15&18a.

    Thanks to Campbell and to Falcon for extra duty – I do hope all is going smoothly with pommers’ move.

  18. Like others. I just breezed through this one, with 10a (with ‘hard’), 5a, & 17a just edging out 23a and 16d for top honours. Nice start to the week. Thanks to Falcon and Campbell. **/***

  19. After I had ticked many clues such as 9a and 26a along came 10a (my last in) and it shot straight up to COTD for me. I thought it very clever and it came with a terrific PDM. I also liked 6d but I must be the only person in the world who cannot stand the singer in question. To me her voice sounds forced. For the life of me, I couldn’t parse 24d until Falcon sorted it out for me. Why I missed the obvious is anybody’s guess.

    Many thanks for the fun, Campbell. Thank you, Falcon for the hints and I’m sorry to hear about Winterlude melting away. I think we have a Winterval in the UK somewhere.

    It is very tenuous but could there be a third Quickie pun? 17a and 20a, if pronounced in a certain way, could be “pitch toward”? :grin:

  20. Great crossword to start the week!
    Inner voice: Hold on mate. You’re only saying that because you completed it without help for once, aintcha?
    Yes, all right, that may be so but allow me a moment of glory…
    Inner voice: No chance mate. I’m always here to remind you of your failings…

    Thanks to Campbell and The Bird Of Prey

  21. Good afternoon.
    After Friday’s dismal show and missing Saturday out, I’m pleased to report completing the ST back-pager yesterday and today’s even before leaving for work this afty! Thank you Falcon for the hints and to our compiler.

  22. We seem to have swung from the ridiculously difficult to the easiest end of the spectrum. Fun for all abilities I suppose !! I don’t think many would have known the Aussie fish, I preferred the the removal of 4 letters from 8 approach.

  23. The Editor has stated that the weekday backpage week is intended to go from easy to difficult, and so I guess it’s of little surprise that this enjoyable puzzle was so gentle. It’s on days like this that one misses a Toughie or other second cryptic crossword, but at least on this site we are lucky enough to have the Rookie Corner, and so Tyjer’s puzzle awaits.

    Many thanks to Campbell and to Falcon

    1. Such a shame that we no longer have a second Campbell puzzle – often notable for the odd pandowdy

      1. Absolutely – the second Campbell was often more rewarding than the main backpager, I thought. Must have been quite a challenge for Campbell, though, coming up with two cryptics and a quickie, week-in week-out.

  25. A pleasant start to a Monday. 10a was favourite, mostly because that fish always makes me laugh for some reason. No idea why, but sprats do too.

      1. I have less pleasant memories of that fish, canned and served with slightly warm , limp salad at school dinners. We weren’t allowed to leave anything on our plates, if it was deemed to be edible, so if it was served, I had to finish eating it.

        1. Yes, I remember them from school, we were made to clean our plates. My bête noir was puddings, curdled custards, I can still taste them.

  26. It’s Monday! A brilliant start to the week from Campbell – concur with the */**** rating. Favourites include 6d (both my husband and I were Grenadiers in the kids cinema club at the Granada cinema back in the day!). Also liked 9a and 10a. Many thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

  27. Light fare to start the week but enjoyable and a relief from the stupidly difficult Friday 1.5*/*** (Would have been * but got held up om my COTD 10A).

  28. It’s the Family Day stat holiday in most of Canada this Monday and it’s also a Campbell day too. A nice way to start the week.

    1*/4.5* for me today.

    Some nice thought provoking clues today, but nothing obtuse to foul the field.

    Favourites include 5a, 13a, 23a, 26a & 17d with winner 26a
    Had smiles and a laugh with 12a, 6d, 16d & 27a

    A good way to start the week.

    Thanks to Campbell and Falcon

  29. I agree that this was light and airy – just like my conservatory at the moment with the sunshine pouring in. Isn’t February supposed to be Fill-dyke month? We’ve had no rain yet. I thought 5d was a lovely anagram and was pivotal in filling the grid. 10a,18a ( may be archaic but was still nicely worked) 27a , 16d. Many thanks to Messrs Campbell & Falcon, purveyors of puzzles and hints.

    1. February fill-dyke indeed. I grew up on a farm and that was the expectation. I suppose the expression “fill dyke” is now considered “problematic” by the thought police…

  30. A most gentle puzzle to start my week, but very enjoyable.

    Not so sure about the hint for 14d – we seem to have overlooked the ‘learner’ in the wordplay. I parsed it as character(4), kind(4), L(earner).

    Many thanks to Campbell & Falcon.

    1. I wouldn’t say that “learner” is overlooked in the wordplay that I suggested as I have interpreted MODEL to be a design, style or version (thus kind) of a product. The answer is something a “learner should follow” – however, as that seemed incomplete as a definition, I chose to identify the entire clue as the definition.

      You have proposed an alternative parsing, where MODE is presumably interpreted in the sense of a “particular style in art, literature, or dress”. I would think either interpretation is valid.

    2. I parsed 14d in the same way Jezza. Kind is the second definition of mode in my Chambers app when I checked. I figured that was why the question mark was needed as the wordplay overlaps with the definition (is all & lit the right phrase?)

  31. Campbell has confirmed (in a response in the thread at Comment #6) that the third pun is intentional – despite its rather unusual positioning in the grid.

    As for the confusion over the fish, I am not familiar with the name as it is called a sardine in North America. It was a case of hypothesizing a plausible parsing and then googling to see if such a fish existed – and discovered that there is such a fish in Australia!

      1. Jezza, I know it may look like a reply to your comment, but if you look very carefully you will see that it is actually a new comment (which you can only tell from the lack of indentation). WordPress annoyingly does not attach a number to comments posted by the person who wrote the review!

        1. Yes – mea culpa! It is easier to tell on a pc monitor than on an android screen that your post was clearly a new post. Apologies for the unnecessary confusion.

  32. As a relative newcomer to the world of cryptics I really appreciate the easier ones. I managed to finish this without having to come here for hints. Think I have only managed that once before in the year or so since I took up this challenge. Quite pleased with myself.

    1. Well done, it’s a great achievement when that happens.
      I am also a newbie and it’s nice to have the more accessible puzzles to give us hope!

      Today would not have been a finish for me without Falcon’s very helpful hints as I did not know the terms in 18a nor 24d. So a good day as the puzzle was fun and I have learnt something. One cannot know what you don’t know! I did know the 8 letter fish in 10a which I think was a clever clue.

      Many thanks to Falcon and Campbell

  33. Perfect for me this morning. Having put my back out, overdoing the pruning yesterday, I really need to keep moving and not sitting, so glad I could actually solve this without spending ages scratching my head. Thank you to Campbell for a delightful start to the week. Helps to compensate for those days when presented with those clearly above my pay grade.

    1. Gentle, but fun. */****.
      Held up mainly by 5a and 24d.
      Favourite 1a- Slur Kermit loves a good lurker
      Thanks to Campbell and to Falcon

      1. You will have to remove the + in your name for the pun to work, as a rekrul is Tim your given name?

  34. If anyone is interested in the story behind the Sir Galahad statue in Ottawa, it was erected in honour of a young man who lost his life in 1901 in an attempt to rescue a young woman who had fallen through the ice at a skating party on the Ottawa River. Both perished but the young man is reported to have quoted Galahad’s famous “If I lose myself, I save myself” before jumping into the water.

    1. Oh what a sad but interesting tale. Lovely idea to put up a statue to commemorate the young man and honour his valour.

  35. An enjoyable puzzle that was over far too soon but much appreciated. Great start to the week. Many thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

  36. Agree with the masses that this was at the very gentle end of the spectrum, but enjoyable nonetheless.
    I’m also with the majority by making 10a my COTD.
    Thanks to Campbell and Falcon

  37. Favourites 18 and 27a and 8 and 17d. All went swimmingly until the fish. Nearest I got was chip with a tenuous connection to fish! Everything else was fine. Thanks Campbell and Falcon. My sympathies to you for not knowing the fish but congrats on your endeavours to find a fish which fitted. More than I managed. Ian sure there are fletchers still fluffing their feathers. I have friends who are Woodmen of Arden and I’m sure they need the services of a Fletcher.

  38. I take my hat off to you all. I found this quite tricky at least a *** for difficulty. I often struggle with the Monday setter, I can’t seem to get on the right wavelength. How are you supposed to know the post code for Missouri without looking it up!
    For me a real drudge with very little fun.
    ***/*
    Thx for the hints

    2. Brian, BD has provided us with a marvellous feature on this website called The Mine which speeds up the business of looking things up.

      Click on Features in the top bar and then on The Mine. Scroll down until you reach US States – Capitals, Abbreviations & Nicknames.

  39. A very gentle start to the week – possibly too gentle from my perspective. Thanks to Campbell and Falcon. I’m still trying to get back on my time zone after a few weeks in the 2Ks part of the world and their challenging weather.

  40. A bit of a slog for me but I’ve pulled a muscle in my back and all the painkillers are doing is making me woozy
    Does anyone do the mini sudoku on the puzzle page? Today’s was classed as gentle and it was anything but

  41. A puzzle compiled with me in mind! For those who think it’s too easy, remember us tiny brains, we need our day too. I loved it. I didn’t get the fish at 10a, I just bunged in the right answer that fitted with “cut”. I had to go over 26a a couple of times to “get” it. So much to like, thank you Campbell, this was perfect. I can’t choose a fave, maybe 27a, I like the phrase. Thanks Falcon for your hints and tips.

    1. Yes Merusa, Monday is the day I look forward to so I can prove there are a few connections in my brain.

  42. A bit more than one star in difficulty as far as I am concerned.
    Perseverance paid off.
    Should have seen the chestnut in 15a but it was one of my last ones in.
    Thanks to Campbell and to Falcon.

  43. A very enjoyable crossword, thanks Campbell. Like a few others, the Cornish Sardine made me chuckle! Nice to have a not too taxing crossword every now and then. Thanks to Falcon for the blog

    1. You’ve used your email address as your alias, presumably by mistake, which sent your comment into moderation. I’ve changed it to your usual alias.

  44. After my disastrous solo efforts last week this was a welcome respite. Put me down for another vote for 10a being cotd. Many thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

  46. Found Campbell extremely friendly today, last one in 10a, no particular favourite. Thanks to Campbell and Falcon

  47. Thanks to Campbell for the note about the fish. At long last I understood 10a. Did not quite finish this, but very enjoyable. Many thanks to Campbell and Falcon. We have Another Brian !! ??

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