Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30539
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 17th Feb 2024
BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A fairly gentle and straightforward Saturday puzzle from NY Doorknob that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and valuable comment.
Tutsi, the answer to the clue of 5d, was known to me as an ethnic group in the African continent. After solving the crossword, I became inquisitive to know more about these people and so visited the net. What made the reading interesting was that the definition of this ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region had changed through time and location. The Tutsi people are also known by various other names, viz., Watusi, Watutsi and Abatutsi. Historically, the Tutsi were pastoralists and filled the ranks of the warriors’ caste. Before 1962, they regulated and controlled Rwandan society, which was composed of Tutsi aristocracy and Hutu commoners, using a clientship structure. They occupied the dominant positions in the sharply stratified society and constituted the ruling class. They form the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi. The largest was the Bantu ethnic group Hutu and the Twa ethnic group Pygmy. Social structures were not stable throughout Rwanda, even during the colonial regime under Belgium. The Tutsi aristocracy or elite was distinguished from Tutsi commoners. When the Belgian colonists conducted censuses, they wanted to identify the people throughout Rwanda and Burundi according to a simple classification scheme. They defined Tutsi as anyone owning more than ten cows that actually symbolised wealth or with the physical features of a longer thin nose, high cheekbones and being over six feet tall, all of which are common descriptions associated with the Tutsi. The colonists believed that the Tutsi people came to the Greak Lakes region from the Horn of Africa. They have been living in this region for at least 400 years, leading to considerable intermarriage with the Hutu in the area. On account of the history of intermingling and intermarrying of Hutus and Tutsis, some ethnographers and historians opine that the Hutu and Tutsis are one and cannot be tagged as distinct ethnic groups.
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Across
1a Luxurious establishment on Piccadilly — it’s a cracker! (4)
RITZ: Double nounal definition; the first referring to one of the world’s most prestigious and best known 5-star hotels that is also a symbol of high society and luxury and located at 150 Piccadilly in London and the second denoting the name of a brand of a snack cracker that is a flat, dry baked biscuit typically made with flour that has seven perforations and a finely scalloped edge
3a One making new life abroad — former postman? (5)
EXPAT: The definition of the short for expatriate who is working in a country other than their country of citizenship or who has relinquished citizenship in their home country to become a citizen of another is arrived at from a charade of EX (former) as former or belonging to the past or as a prefix indicating of a person no longer what they were but still living and PAT (postman) as a character in British books and television programmes for children who is a happy postman who drives around in his van delivering letters and packages with his black and white cat, Jess
6a Foxes skinned by northern cattle (4)
OXEN: [F]OXE[S] from the clue having been stripped or removed of its outermost letters (skinned) and having alongside (by) N (northern) as the abbreviation for Northern guides to the definition of the plural of an adult castrated male of any domesticated species of cattle used for draught work and meat
8a Fan must start in line to see player (15)
INSTRUMENTALIST: An anagram (fan) of MUST START IN LINE produces the definition of a person who plays on a musical instrument
9a Endlessly assist London force: copper’s top! (6)
HELMET: HEL[P] (assist) as to aid or assist someone that is devoid of its last or ending letter (endlessly) followed by MET (London force) as the informal term for Metropolitan Police, the police force responsible for Greater London, except for the City, where the police force is the City of London Police takes to the definition of a piece of protective or defensive armour for the head worn by, inter alios, a copper or police officer
10a Lively friend protected by a new identity (8)
ANIMATED: The definition of an adjective meaning lively, full of spirit or endowed with life is reached from MATE (friend) as a friend or companion surrounded (protected) by a combo of A from the clue, N (new) as the abbreviation for new and ID (identity) as the short form for identity or identification
11a Sample an American beer — sensational thing! (5,3)
TASTE BUD: The definition of a group of cells on the tongue sensitive to taste is arrived at from a charade of TASTE (sample) as to test or sample the flavour of food or drink by taking it into the mouth and BUD (an American beer) as a short version for Budweiser that is an American-style pale lager or a kind of effervescent beer that is sold in most of the European Union as ‘Bud’
13a Sun-worshipper in this atoll? (6)
BIKINI: The definition of the name of an atoll that is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands of the Pacific Ocean is cryptically arrived at from a female person who is spending long periods of time sunbathing (sun-worshipper) and wearing a two-piece swimsuit of the same name
15a Flock gathering at the edges in storm (6)
GAGGLE: The outermost letters (at the edges) of G[ATHERIN]G put inside (in) GALE (storm) as a very strong wind or a storm at sea leads to the definition of a flock of cackling geese when they are not in flight
17a Erudite elder in muddle with law (4-4)
WELL READ: The definition of an adjective meaning erudite, scholarly or literate is reached from a combined anagram (in muddle) of ELDER and (with) LAW
19a Good Beatles guitarist leaving hotel for camp (8)
GARRISON: G (good) as the abbreviation for good followed by [H]ARRISON (Beatles guitarist) as referring to George Harrison, the English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles from which H (hotel) as the letter represented by Hotel in the NATO phonetic alphabet is being vacated (leaving), arriving at the definition of a military camp, fort or base
21a Flag officer (6)
ENSIGN: Double nounal definition; the first being a flag or standard, especially a military or naval one indicating nationality and the second referring to the lowest rank of commissioned officer in the US and some other navies, above chief warrant officer and below lieutenant
22a St John’s view as he converted sectarian (8,7)
JEHOVAH’S WITNESS: An anagram (converted) of ST JOHN’S VIEW AS HE guides to the definition of a Christian fundamentalist sect which rejects all other religions and denominations, believes in the imminent end of the world and refuses to accept civil authority where it clashes with its own principles
23a Roguish leader missing from demo (4)
ARCH: The definition of an adjective meaning roguish, impish or mischievous is arrived at from [M]ARCH (demo) as a public meeting or march protesting against something or expressing views on a political issue that has M, its leading or starting letter (leader) gone (missing)
24a Shy artisan occasionally seen in country (5)
SYRIA: The occasional or alternate letters (occasionally) of ShY aRtIsAn takes to the definition of a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant
25a Fine Greek character offers cheese (4)
FETA: A charade of F (fine) as the abbreviation for fine as on lead pencil and ETA (Greek character) as the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet offers the definition of a Greek brined white cheese made from the milk of ewes or goats or from a mixture of the milk of both of them
Down
1d Wealthy creature around East German house (9)
REICHSTAG: A combo of RICH (wealthy) as wealthy or having a great deal of money or assets and STAG (creature) as a male deer, especially a male red deer after its fifth year placed about (around) E (East) as the abbreviation for East guides to the definition of the lower house of the Parliament during the period of the Second Reich and the Weimar Republic in Germany
2d Scraps — skin of sausages left in fresh suet (7)
TUSSLES: A combo of the outside or outermost letters (skin) of S[AUSAGE]S and L (left) placed inside (in) an anagram (fresh) of SUET takes to the definition of a verb in the present tense third person singular form meaning engages in a vigorous struggle or scuffle
3d Even-handed European who in Paris sits on board (9)
EQUITABLE: A combo of E (European) as the abbreviation for European as EU in European Union and QUI (who in Paris) as the French word for ‘who’ as they say in Paris is placed upon (sits on) TABLE (board) as a flat horizontal slab or board on which food is served in the down clue, arriving at the definition of an adjective meaning even-handed, just, fair or impartial
4d Spotted photo’s source that is obvious (7)
PIEBALD: The definition of an adjective meaning marked or spotted in two different colours, especially black and white is arrived at from P as the origin or beginning letter (source) of P[HOTO] (photo’s), followed by IE (that is) as the abbreviated form of the Latin phrase id est meaning ‘that is’ and BALD (obvious) as an adjective meaning undisguised or obvious
5d African expresses disapproval on island (5)
TUTSI: The definition of a member of a Bantu people inhabiting parts of Rwanda that is in the African continent is arrived at from a charade involving TUTS (expresses disapproval) as a verb in the present tense third person singular form meaning expresses disapproval or annoyance placed upon (on) I (island) as the abbreviation for island as we find in geographical map book in the down clue
6d Might such a vessel be well-filled? (3,6)
OIL TANKER: A cryptic definition of a ship (vessel) that is used for carrying liquid, especially mineral oils, in bulk that is obviously obtained from shafts or wells sunk into the ground (well-filled)
7d Beatles manager Brian records ‘One In Ten’ (7)
EPSTEIN: EPS (records) as the plural of the colloquial term for an extended play record followed by I (one) as the Roman numeral for one placed inside (in) TEN from the clue takes to the definition of the English music entrepreneur whose full name was Brian Samuel Epstein and who managed the Beatles from 1962, playing a crucial role in their early success until his own death in 1967
12d Hotter MiG replaced British plane (5,4)
TIGER MOTH: An anagram (replaced) of HOTTER MIG leads to the definition of the 1930s British biplane that was operated by the Royal Air Force and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft
13d Dancer likely to be up on points? (9)
BALLERINA: The definition of a female ballet-dancer is cryptically arrived at from the possibility of her requiring to balance the entire weight of her body on the tips of her shoes (on points), each of which being a rigid box made of densely packed layers of fabric, cardboard and paper hardened by glue
14d Identical son in populous land where Jakarta lies (9)
INDONESIA: A combo of ONE (identical) as identical or the same and S (son) as the genealogical abbreviation for son placed inside (in) INDIA (populous land) as the most populous country of the world as of June 2023 takes to the definition of the country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans having Jakarta as its capital
16d Dilettante in a beaten RU team (7)
AMATEUR: A from the clue followed by an anagram (beaten) of RU TEAM takes to the definition of a person who engages in a pursuit, especially a sport, on an unpaid rather than a professional basis, an example of which may be a dilettante who takes up an art, activity or subject merely for amusement, especially in a desultory or superficial way or is not very deep or serious about it
17d Earn medal presented by king in castle (7)
WINDSOR: WIN (earn) as to acquire or secure as a result of a contest, conflict, bet or other endeavour followed by DSO (medal) as Distinguished Service Order, a military decoration that was awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, having alongside (presented by) R (king) as the abbreviation for rex, the Latin word for ‘king’ leads to the definition of the name of the castle that stands on a ridge at the northeastern edge of the district of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England that also serves as the English royal residence
18d Not a good look from these vile yeomen (4,3)
EVIL EYE: Part of or hidden inside (from) [THES]E VILE YE[OMEN] guides to the definition of a look or stare believed to cause injury or bring bad luck or misfortune on someone
20d Mammals in ocean clash regularly (5)
SEALS: SEA (ocean) as a huge body of salt water, typically a part of the ocean that is near land followed by the regular or alternate letters (regularly) of cLaSh takes to the definition of fish-eating aquatic marine mammals, each having a streamlined body and feet developed as flippers, that return to land to breed or rest
Some of the clues that I liked in this puzzle were 3a, 8a, 9a, 13a, 22a, 1d, 3d, 6d and 17d; 22a being the best of the lot. My prayers to the Almighty for the eternal rest and peace of BD and my thanks to NY Doorknob for the entertainment and to Gazza for the assistance. Looking forward to being here again. Have a nice day.
2*/4* …
liked 18D “Not a good look from these vile yeomen (4,3)”