DT 30317 (full review)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30317

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 3^rd June 2023

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Greetings from Kolkata. Once again, a very friendly and straightforward Saturday puzzle from X-Type that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and valuable feedback.

Amarillo, the answer to the clue of 11a, is a Spanish word meaning ‘yellow’. I learnt from the net that the name was probably chosen because of the colour of the sub-soil in nearby Amarillo Creek. In the early days, most houses were painted yellow in honour of the name. A county courthouse was built in 1888 of brick made from the Amarillo Creek.

The English common name of mayfly, the answer to the clue of 12a, is so called because of the emergence of the insect in or around the month of May in the United Kingdom.

Catherine, part of the wordplay to the clue of 25a, was the first woman to publish an original work under her own name in English in England. She was also the most-married English queen. In 1529, when Catherine Parr was seventeen, she married Sir Edward Burgh, four years elder to her. However, due to poor health, he died in the spring of 1533. In the summer of 1534, she got married to twice-widowed John Neville, 3^rd Baron Latimer, her father’s cousin, becoming only the second woman in the Parr family to marry into the peerage. He was almost twice her age. He was a supporter of the Catholic Church and had opposed the king’s first annulment. He was implicated in an ambivalent role in the Pilgrimage of Grace, a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England. He fled but later returned to save Catherine and his children from his first marriage. However, by the winter of 1542, his health worsened, but Catherine nursed him until his death in 1543. Later, she used her late mother’s friendship with King Henry VIII’s first queen, Catherine of Aragon to renew her own friendship with Lady Mary, the daughter of the former queen and soon established herself as part of her household. There she caught the attention of the king. Although she had begun a romantic friendship with Sir Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley and the brother of the late queen, Jane Seymour, she regarded it her duty to accept the king’s proposal over the baron’s. She married the king on 12^th July 1543 at Hampton Court Palace, becoming his sixth and last wife. She became the first Queen of England also to be Queen of Ireland following the king’s adoption of the title ‘King of Ireland’. In view of this marriage, Thomas Seymour was removed from the king’s court and sent as an ambassador to the Habsburg court in Brussels. Catherine later on succeeded in reconciling Henry with his daughters from his first two marriages and in developing a good relationship with Henry’s son Edward. After the king’s death in 1547, she was allowed to keep the queen’s jewels and dresses as queen dowager. Six months later, she married Thomas Seymour who became her fourth and final husband. However, this marriage was short-lived. Six days after giving birth to her only child, a daughter, she died on 5^th September 1548 due to puerperal or childbed fever. Her funeral that was held on 7^th September was the first Protestant funeral in England, Scotland and Ireland to be held in English.

Xylem, the answer to the clue of 2d, is derived from the Ancient Greek ξύλον (xýlon) meaning ‘wood’; the best known xylem tissue being wood, though it is found throughout a plant. The term was introduced by Carl Nägeli in 1858.

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Across

1a    Nationals abroad: former constituents losing heart? (6)
EXPATS: The definition of short for expatriates or persons who live abroad permanently, for financial or other reasons is fetched from EX (former) as a prefix indicating of a person no longer what they were but still living and PA[R]TS (constituents) as the plural version of an integral constituent of something that is without its middle or innermost letter (losing heart)

5a    Take goods unlawfully, with elevator at back of retailer? (8)
SHOPLIFT: LIFT (elevator) as a enclosed platform or cagelike structure moving in a vertical shaft to carry people or goods to different levels up and down is placed after or following (at back of) SHOP (retailer) as a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services, arriving at the definition of a verb meaning to steal goods from a shop while pretending to be a customer

9a    Completely captivate that woman going after singer (10)
ALTOGETHER: A combo of GET (captivate) as used to draw attention to someone and HER (that woman) as a genitive or possessive pronoun or a pronoun in the accusative or dative case pertaining to the third person singular feminine gender is preceded by or following (going after) ALTO (singer) as the man who has the highest male singing voice, guiding to the definition of an adverb meaning entirely, wholly or completely

10a    Charge daughter for meal (4)
FEED: A charade of FEE (charge) as a payment made to a professional person or to a professional or public body in exchange for advice or services and D (daughter) as the genealogical abbreviation for daughter leads to the definition of a colloquial term for a plentiful meal

11a    Place they ask the way to massage the bottom of former lama with oil (8)
AMARILLO: An anagram (to massage) of the last letter (the bottom) of [FORME]R, LAMA and (with) OIL helps to arrive at the definition of a city in the state of Texas and the seat of Potter County in the United States that goes by the name ‘Amarillo’, that is also the place people ask the way of as in the song ‘Is this the way to Amarillo?’ sung by Tony Christie, the English musician, singer and actor

12a    Short-lived insect might take wing (6)
MAYFLY: The definition of a short-lived slender plectopterous insect Ephemera having delicate transparent wings and two or three long filaments on the tail is arrived at from a charade of MAY (might) as sometimes used interchangeably with its past tense ‘might’ to indicate a possibility or probability more remote and FLY (take wing) as of an insect, other than a bird or bat, to move through the air using wings

13a    Where to find chickens in store? (4)
COOP: Double nounal definition; the second also written as CO-OP and being a colloquial short for both co-operative society and co-operative store, the latter being the shop of the former, a commercial enterprise from which the profits are passed on to workers and customers that leads to the first referring to a box or cage for poultry or small animals

15a    Naive and hip, with no little money (8)
INNOCENT: The definition of an adjective meaning simple-minded or naive is arrived at from IN (hip) as currently fashionable or trendy followed by (with) NO from the clue and CENT (little money) as an informal term for a small sum of money

18a    Second-class English deserving such telling off? (8)
BERATING: A charade of B (second-class) as inferior to the best or something of a second class or order, E (English) as the abbreviation for English and RATING (deserving) as deserving or being worthy of something leads to the definition of a verb in the continuous form meaning scolding or chiding someone severely

19a    London district‘s that really lively (Time Out) (4)
SOHO: The definition of an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London and one of its main entertainment districts is arrived at from SO (really) as used to express agreement and HO[T] (lively) as animated, lively or full of spirit that is having T (Time) as the symbol for time in physics removed (Out) as taken out

21a    Supply forgotten words in concert with small part (6)
PROMPT: The definition of a verb meaning to supply forgotten words to an actor or actors, especially in a theatrical performance is arrived at from a charade of PROM (concert) as a promenade concert and (with) PT (small part) as a written abbreviation for part, when referring to part of a document

23a    Salesperson with spliff gets rebuke (8)
REPROACH: A charade of REP (salesperson) as a sales representative and (with) ROACH (spliff) as an informal term for a marijuana cigarette leads to the definition of a noun meaning upbraiding or rebuke

25a    Fish for Catherine? (4)
PARR: Double nounal definition; the second being the surname of Catherine who became the Queen of England and Ireland after marrying Henry VIII as his sixth and last wife that leads to the first referring to a young salmon up to two years of age

26a    Place upset with comic’s collaborator (10)
ACCOMPLICE: An anagram (upset) of PLACE and (with) COMIC is leading to the definition of a person who helps another or others to commit a crime

27a    Work out how nut mostly did crime caper (8)
WHODUNIT: An anagram (work out) of HOW NUT and most of the letters (mostly) of DI[D] takes to the colloquial definition of a story or play concerned with the elucidation of a crime mastery

28a    Lower part of planet hereabouts (6)
NETHER: Hiding inside (part of) [PLA]NET HER[EABOUTS] is the definition of an adjective meaning lower in position

Down

2d    Woody substance discovered in waxy lemons (5)
XYLEM: Part of or hidden inside (discovered in) [WA]XY LEM[ONS] guides to the definition of the vascular tissue in plants which conducts water and dissolved nutrients upwards from the root and also helps to form the woody element in the stem

3d    Happy carol incomplete, sadly, in religious texts (9)
APOCRYPHA: An anagram (sadly) of a combo of HAPPY and most of the letters (incomplete) of CARO[L] guides to the definition of the books or parts of books including in the Septuagint and Vulgate translation of the Old Testament but not accepted as canonical by Jews or Protestants and of later books included in the New Testament but never accepted as canonical by the Christian Church

4d    Potter perhaps taught these terms? (6)
SPELLS: Double nounal definition; the second being the plural of a period spent in an activity guides to the first referring to words used as magical charm, influence or incantation

5d    Dr S chose tragic illustration finally, composing example of quantum paradox (12,3)
SCHRODINGER’S CAT: An anagram (composing) of DR S CHOSE TRAGIC and the final or last letter (finally) of [ILLUSTRATIO]N guides to the definition of a famous quantum physics thought experiment that presents a paradox in which a cat in a box is somehow simultaneously both alive and dead

6d    No turning back concerning fellow with diamonds awaiting trial (2,6)
ON REMAND: NO from the clue is taking the opposite direction (turning back) as a reversal in the down clue, followed by the preposition RE (concerning) as a commercial jargon used to indicate ‘with reference to’, ‘concerning’ or ‘about’, MAN (fellow) as an adult male human being and D (diamonds) as the single letter for diamonds in a pack of cards, taking to the definition of a phrase used in law meaning having being taken into custody or on bail awaiting trial or completion of one’s trial

7d    Short chap nicknamed this, in all of Tyneside (5)
LOFTY: Part of or hidden inside (in) [AL]L OF TY[NESIDE] guides to the definition of an adjective meaning of imposing height used as a nickname ironically for a person of short stature, especially in the military

8d    It’s said there’s no such thing as this European letter used initially in language (4,5)
FREE LUNCH: The initial or first letters (initially) each of E[UROPEAN] L[ETTER] U[SED] is placed inside (in) FRENCH (language) as the language that people speak in France, taking to the definition of a phrase completing a popular adage that denotes that anything that is worth having need to be paid for or worked for, one cannot expect to get it for nothing or free

14d    Go too far, making deliveries by part of river? (9)
OVERREACH: The definition of a verb meaning to reach or extend beyond, especially to an excessive degree is arrived at from a charade of OVER (deliveries) as the play consisting of making deliveries or bowling a sequence of six balls from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end in a game of cricket followed by (by) REACH (part of river) as a continuous extent of water, especially a stretch of river between two bends

16d    Fool in company you, we hear, allowed to make dish (9)
CASSOULET: ASS (fool) as a dull, stupid fellow or a fool is placed inside (in) CO (company) as the abbreviation for Company and followed by U (you) as a homophone heard by the audience as U, the twenty-first letter of the English alphabet instead of ‘you’, the personal pronoun for second person singular or plural and LET (allowed) as allowed or permitted, arriving at the definition of a French dish of a stew consisting of haricot beans, onions, herbs and various kinds of meat

17d    Seize beloved princess’s retinue (8)
DISTRAIN: A charade of DI’S (beloved princess’s) as of or belonging to Diana, lovingly called as the People’s Princess and TRAIN (retinue) as a retinue of attendants accompanying an important person guides to the definition of a verb meaning to seize the goods of a debtor

20d    Title given to dad sent up our ancestor? (6)
APEMAN: A combo of NAME (title) as a word or set of words by which a person or thing is known, addressed or referred to along with (given to) PA (dad) as a childish or familiar word for father forming a charade moving upwards (sent up) as a reversal in the down clue leads to the definition of any of various extinct primates considered to be close relatives or ancestors of modern humans

22d    Completely stuck: motorway has traffic light (5)
MIRED: A charade of MI (motorway) as the motorway that connects London to Leeds, the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, and stretches 193.6 miles in length and (has) RED (traffic light) as denoting the red traffic-light used as a signal to vehicles to stop guides to the definition in the past tense meaning caused to become stuck in mud

24d    Hoard of money reported (5)
CACHE: CASH (money) as coins or paper money or available or ready money serving as a homophone the audience felt told (reported) takes to the definition of a hoard or hiding-place for treasure, provisions, ammunition etc

The clues that I liked in this puzzle were 5a, 9a,11a, 12a, 15a, 25a, 27a, 5d, 8d, 14d and 16d; 11a being the topper. My prayers to the Almighty for the eternal rest and peace of BD and my thanks to X-Type for the entertainment and to Gazza for the assistance. Looking forward to being here again. Have a nice day.