Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30425 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)
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Another week has whizzed by and once again, I must work out what to say in my introduction to the Saturday Hints and which clues are likely to be most in need of a hint. Fortunately this Prize Puzzle didn’t take long to solve and so I should have plenty of time to get outside and enjoy the ‘extended summer’
If I haven’t hinted a clue you can’t solve, it is quite likely to be either an anagram or a lurker
As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, have been selected and hints provided for them.
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also”. Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.
Some hints follow.
Across
1a Thriving, enter good firm (5,6)
A two-word phrase meaning to enter, the abbreviation for good and a synonym for firm
11a Send out American detective put in charge (7)
The abbreviation for American and an abbreviated detective inserted into a charge
14a A triumph staff reported, relating to hearing (8)
A (from the clue) and words that sound like (reported) a triumph and a staff
15a Briefly spot description of requirements (4)
Almost all (briefly) of a small spot
17a What might go from one side to the other? (7)
A cryptic definition of a measurement from one side to the other
25a Sight site for one that could be used in a pun? (9)
The name for what the first two words in the clue are of each other
27a Street urchin, say, sent back to grab absolute bargain (11)
A reversal (sent back) of an abbreviated ‘say’ into which is inserted (to grab) an adjective meaning absolute and a bargain
Down
2d Lady with nothing, as it happens (5)
The letter representing nothing and a single word meaning ‘as it happens’
6d There is the prospect of hidden riches in this (4,4)
A cryptic definition of a movement by prospectors to find hidden riches
13d Soldier favoured defensive work (7)
An abbreviated soldier and an indulged favourite
17d Dedication shown by British author Doris? (8)
The abbreviation for British and the surname of the Nobel Prize winning author called Doris
18d Cross section raised to form emergency exit (8)
Reversals (raised) of both a cross found in a church and a section
22d Boy heard stirring when star appears? (5)
A homophone of a boy and a synonym for stirring – and yes, I did check it is 5 not 3-2!
24d Tiny particle that’s not quite like snow? (4)
Almost all (not quite) like the colour of snow
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The Quick Crossword pun: KNEW + MOAN + EAR = PNEUMONIA
What adelightfully enjoyable SPP, nicely balanced, with a variety of clue types and enough head-scratchers togive an element of challenge. I liked the homophone at 14a, the anagram with GK at 12d, the lego clue at 10a and the cryptic definition at 4d. Thanks to the compiler for an enjoyable guzzle and to CS for the hints.
I found this a little on the tough side but I managed it in the end after much head scratching. I did like 6d and that is my COTD. Others of note are 10a and 8d.
My thanks to the setter for the fun challenge and to CS for the hints.
Telegraph Towers acknowledged my submission for The Mythical so you never know. 😳
Windy and overcast here in The Marches with a temperature of just 16 degrees. I’m doing a very satisfying task in the garden – shredding.
Very sunny and 22 here :)
Overcast and 18! Rats!
I struggled with this one, couldn’t get on the setter’s wavelength and abandoned ship half way through. Thanks to the compiler for the challenge.
First thought was ‘Oh Dear’ but closer inspection and thought revealed a very elegant puzzle. Not the easiest but very enjoyable.
My last in was also my favourite in 4d, a real smiler!
Thx to all
****/*****
Personally I found this puzzle annoying rather that anything else, just felt that the clues didn’t really fit.
I appreciate other may have liked it but it just wasn’t one for me. On the upside though, I really liked 4d which was my favourite today.
A tricky devil today but well clued for some words perhaps not in everyday usage.
Favourites amusing 4d and 13d.
Foul day here in NE Scotland with the rain which started yesterday forecasted to continue right through the weekend. Trains cancelled and football matches postponed. Not too many reports of the Indian Summer down south please! 😕
Thanks to setter and crypticsue.
Yes, as above harder than a usual Saturday offering. Good mix of formulas and took a bit of time but got there.
27a held me up. Why?
Thanks to setter
Sue, 25 d, is the answer included in your hint perhaps?
Oops, 25a
It has taken me over two and a half hours to work out what you were on about so although I don’t think it is a major problem, I’ve replaced the offending word
What do you think of the crossword?
This was hard going but extremely enjoyable.
Not many word clues with not a word wasted.
The Home Counties/Kent/Dungeness help me up for a while with the 14a/13d comby the last to fall which, I appreciate are more East Angular than Home Counties.
My podium is 14a for the tough wordplay, 4d which is totes hilaire and 21a as I love the term.
Many thanks to CS & compiler.
4*/4*
😊👏
1.5*/4*. I found this light and extremely enjoyable.
I would probably have finished in my 1* time if I hadn’t a plausible but wrong second word in my answer for 6d which held up 14a until I realised the error of my ways.
Whatever Chambers has to say about it, 22d is undoubtedly an American term. Collins agrees.
My top three were 14a, 4d & 12d.
Many thanks to the setter and to CS.
I too had a different but plausible second word in 6d, RD.
You tell me yours and I’ll tell you …
… oops, I’d better not finish that off.
😂😂
Same problem here with the second word of 6d but my alternative only messed up 17a.
Me too with the second word of 6d but, unlucky for me, didn’t have the sense to realise it.
Got stuck in the NW delaying my swim this morning. 6d for cotd although none really stood out
A bit of a head scratcher for me, perhaps I had started on the vino collapso a little too early, but as enjoyable as ever for a SPP – 2.5*/4.5*
So, was it set by one half of the Chaliphas duo? With the double unches I think it was and I have enough half-crowns rattling around in my pocket to put two of them on Cephas.
Candidates for favourite – 10a, 23a, 8d, and 18d – and the winner is 8d.
Thanks to Cephas, or whomsoever if my five bob goes down the drain, and thanks to CS.
Like RD this would have been a fast finish were it not for a helluva head scratch for the 2nd word at 6d & total brain fog at 14a extending the solve to nigh on ** time. Lots to enjoy & a nice clue variety. 14a bags top spot but with a good number of ticks elsewhere.
Thanks to the setter & to Sue
Ps lovely & sunny here on the first tee at Centurion
I had trouble on the way to John O’Groats, 11 and 14a held up by getting the 2nd word of 6d wrong
Thanks to setter and CS, i didn’t find it quite so easy as Sue 19d gets COTD as they are such pretty things
Grey but mild in deepest Yorkshire
Found this hard to get started, but then 5d and the non-Flanders and Swann 7d together with 12a started putting in some checkers. Faves were 27a, 4d and 8d (obvious after the event!) but in no particular order.
Thanks to the setter and the hardworking CS. Bon weekend everyone.
Very enjoyable. Thanks to today’s setter and CS.
Excellent puzzle; thanks to setter. Nicely balanced on difficulty versus enjoyment, ***/**** for me, and my favourites were the very clever 27A & 12D.
Oh golly. I agree with Brian. Hard at first but all fell into place nicely, 1a being the last one in as it is not a phrase I would readily use. 12a a neat anagram and 4d raised a smile but I think I am going to plump for 19d. Sorry, DaveP, but it is blisteringly hot in Cambridge. Very beneficial for the oil tank. Now I know I am a lady of mature years, but I do pride myself on being fairly au fait with the modern world unless it involves cricket or football. But I am living with a dinosaur. Last night trying to do the toughie ( which I found very tough) George took the paper from me and said ‘let me see’. He read a few clues and then asked ‘is there any significance in the capital letters used for the words dire straits?’ I ask you. Many thanks to the setter and the wonderful CS.
Honestly DG, I’m only 60 off miles further North and it’s chilly and overcast!
Odd miles! Bloomin spellchecker!
This puzzle had so many great clues that it’s hard to pick out one, but if pressed I will agree with a number of others and go for 4d. I found this a real challenge, with the NW/Cumbria/Westmorland holding me up for a while. Really good stuff and very satisfying to finish and submit into the Saturday PP lottery.
This was right up my street. For me the most difficult puzzle of the week, but still quite friendly. Favourite today was 25a supported by 10a and 27a, with honourable for the quickie pun. Thanks to the setter and Cripticsue.
Trickier one today – definitely needed CS’s hints for a couple and then one or two others I still can’t parse, so must remember to check when the full review comes out. Favourite 14a today. Thanks CS and the setter.
Ugh! A struggle from beginning to end, but got there eventually with a lot of sweat and tears (and, admittedly, a couple of Crypticsue’s wonderful hints). LOI was 4D, but why? It seemed so obvious once the penny dropped. *****/*
Found this crossword difficult but managed to finish with help from Chambers for possible words. 4d delighted me ; Erica Roe cropped up in another crossword or quiz this week.
Thanks to the setter and CS.
Another Saturday puzzle that was a good solve with no obscure words to trip one up. However, just like last Saturday I’m keeping my 5/- firmly tucked away again.
Favourites include 1a, 8d, 12d, 18d & 22d — with winner 1a
Lots to like and chuckle at like 10a, 26a & 8d
Thanks to setter & CS for hints/blog
Busy morning here so this was a lunchtime solve. Thought I spotted several Americanisms but the BRB doesn’t seem to agree with me about some of them so I’ll leave that one alone.
Top three here, just because I like the words, are 10,21&27a.
Thanks to our setter and to CS for the hints.
I think that that was the longest time I’ve ever taken over a DT crossword, including having to have some electronic help. I’m really not sure what I made of it. At least it was solved outdoors in glorious sunshine with a rather splendid glass or two of pink sparkling English wine. I’ve not a lot to say about the crossword, but the wine was a lot better than most of the French champagnes I’ve had lately. Thank you setter and CS
Anything sparkling, from diamonds to wine, makes things seem rosier. Even ripples in a stream, though
you cannot hold on to them!
I found most of this terrific puzzle fairly straightforward, but the final half dozen took as long as the rest or it, not because of hard clues, but two simple errors which made a nonsense of trying to complete it. Having rechecked the offending answers, of course it went in smoothly enough to finish it off.
Favourite clue, 14a.
My thanks to our Saturday setter and CS.
I can’t make up my mind if this was tricky or not. There were enough gimmes to get checkers, also a lot of the checkers were not common letters so with a lot of guessing I arrived at the finish line. I seemed to finish in a short time so maybe not as tricky as I thought. Some lovely words, 10a and 27a for e.g. We used to have a lot of the very pretty 19d in our canals, however, they’ve now disappeared and I blame those huge iguanas eating their eggs, some of them over 3′ long. They’re so invasive, I hate them. My fave was 12d, because I love it.
Thank you setter for a fun start to the day, and to CS for her lovely pics and hints.
Nothing to write home about but pleasant enough with SE mainly due to parsing of 25a proving to be a stumbling block. 16a off-key whatever will setters think of next? Wrong second word for 6d put a spanner in the works for a while. Fav 26a. Thank you Mysteron and CS.
Nice clueing and, as others have said, I liked 4d but I wondered if ‘….totally unsuited for running…’ would have been even better than ‘…totally unsuited to running’?
I was quite slow with this one – not really sure why as there wasn’t anything very difficult – maybe it was all the double “thingies” – what a lot of them!
Like others the second word of 6d put the spanner in the works and 14a took ages.
I spent far too long trying to make 23a something that wouldn’t work however hard I tried – dim!
I liked 10 and 25a and 3 and 18d (and not 22d!) I think my favourite might have to be 24d.
Thanks to whoever set this one and to CS for the hints.
Off now to have a natter with my sister!!
A dnf due to 25a needing the hint. I always struggle with this type of clue.
22d is a new, not to mention awful looking, word to me.
Otherwise enjoyable Saturday solve.
Thanks to all.
Needed the hints for a couple, so not a great crossword for me.
Bottom half filled in pretty quickly but got really stuck on the top half.
Just not on the right wavelength today.
Thanks to the setter and to crypticsue.
Very envious of your Indian Summers….continuous rain here with a temp of 8C. Grim.
Hardest for a while for me at least as regards the top half BUT all clues fair and nothing obscure SO hats off to the setter whoever he or she may be….
Can only echo Brian. Last one in also 4d, which was obvious once we clicked.
Thanks for your kind comments.
Thank you, Cephas for the puzzle and for popping in. You tested me today! 😎
Thank you Cephas, some good stuff there!
Thanks, Cephas, nice one!
We found a number of these difficult then having got the answer wondered why. Favourite was 27a. Thanks to the setter and CS.
Finished together with the friends we are away with, some tricky ones but we got there in the end.
Many thanks to Cephas and to CS for the hints
Total failure with this, just couldn’t get going, even the hints didn’t help much. Thanks to all
I was the same but left it for 5 went back to it and boom!!
You’re still mistyping your email address which is sending you into moderation.
Argh!!! It’s taken me till this morning to get round to looking at st pp and I’m going back to bed 🤣🤣 I agree with earlier comments I’m just not on the setters wavelength and even cryptic Sue’s help is not getting me anywhere … a few obvious answers went in quickly and a couple of doh! Moments but I’m stuck 😬 off to get Mondays paper see if I can rattle that one off 🎷
A typo in your email address sent you into moderation
Take it back 🤣 I’m finished finally got the setter sussed which helped and on reflection a very clever puzzle indeed which totally had me out foxed and plenty fore head slapping answers !! 🙈🙈
Very enjoyable but I found this one more challenging than usual. (TBH I only really enjoyed the last few because I knew I was going to get there by then!) I can’t parse 19a which has left me staring at the page somewhat for a few days off and on but I’m filling it in now anyway to try and put it behind me. (What time does the full review come out again!!??)
9 am