Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30566
Hints and tips by 2Kiwis
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Kia ora from Aotearoa
The seasons have well and truly turned the corner here. We even encountered a few patches of frost on the grass during our walk this morning. Time to bring the winter woollies out of storage.
Quite a tricky puzzle again for us this week.
Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
4a Four Across done first of all? Fancy! (3)
FAD : First letters from three words in the clue.
8a Evil pals concocted something to ward off the chaps (8)
LIPSALVE : An anagram (concocted) of EVIL PALS.
9a Halt manuscript’s extract for film director (6)
ALTMAN : A lurker, hiding in the clue.
10a Crime that I cracked? It’s not all adding up (10)
ARITHMETIC : An anagram (cracked) of CRIME THAT I.
11a Son beginning to like wearing glasses in capital (4)
OSLO : Two letters that when put together look like a pair of glasses are separated by S(on) and the first letter of like.
12a Property in spacious car (6)
ESTATE : A double definition.
14a One pauper leaving Portugal, possibly Spanish? (8)
EUROPEAN : An anagram (possibly) of ONE PAU(pER with the IVR code for Portugal omitted.
15a Maybe Susie is close to vet, one treating canine? (7)
DENTIST : Susie from ‘Countdown’, then IS from the clue and the last letter of vet.
17a Transpose final couplet in Shakespeare sonnet? (7)
REVERSE : The two final letters of Shakespeare and what a sonnet exemplifies.
21a Speech in late summer kept back by actress Jessica (8)
LANGUAGE : The reversal of the abbreviation for a Northern Hemisphere late summer month is inside the name of actress Jessica.
23a Eye police officer quietly ejecting student (6)
PEEPER : Start with a name for a police officer that came from the politician who founded the force, then replace the student driver letter with musical ‘quietly’.
25a Was too late in the auditorium for film (4)
MIST : A homophone (in the auditorium) of a word meaning was too late.
26a Still lacking proposal at the AGM? (10)
MOTIONLESS : At a formal meeting, not having a proposal put forward to be voted on.
28a Noisy Brexiteers in bars (6)
LEVERS : A homophone (noisy) of the description used for Brexiteers.
29a Former news chief eating sweet, fulfilled (8)
EXECUTED : Sweet or twee is enclosed by a prefix for former and a news chief.
30a Rise of Rocky character is nonsense, looking back (3)
TOR : The reversal of nonsense or rubbish.
Down
1d Nerves? Lie and relax, briefly (6)
FIBRES : An untruth and a word for relax or take a break without the last letter.
2d ‘Opes ‘is ‘at, regularly lost, is over ‘ere! (4)
PSST : Alternate letters from three words in the clue.
3d Perhaps roses for Yuppies (8)
CLIMBERS : The wordplay refers to the reputed ambition of Yuppies.
4d Writer experienced US jail (4,3)
FELT PEN : Experienced or sensed, then an American word for a jail.
5d Terpsichorean cared about entertaining knight (6)
DANCER : An anagram (about) of CARED includes the chess abbreviation for knight.
6d Roundabout in Petersham bad for air? (10)
ATMOSPHERE : An anagram (bad) of PETERSHAM includes the letter shaped like a roundabout.
7d Protective wear over trousers for those holding post (8)
MAILBAGS : Protective wear, for a knight possibly, and a slang word, perhaps from Oxford, for trousers.
12d Friend saving fine Rhode Island ruin (3)
END : Start with the word friend and remove from it F(ine) and the abbreviation for Rhode Island.
13d Great hotel breaks, everything included (10)
ALTOGETHER : An anagram (breaks) of GREAT HOTEL.
16d Checked cotton fabric cut up (8)
EXAMINED : The reversal (up) of a cotton fabric used for jeans and then cut with a hatchet.
18d With no introduction, pop medley awkwardly taken on (8)
EMPLOYED : An anagram (awkwardly) of (p)OP MEDLEY with the first letter removed.
19d Raised first of readings on sin (3)
ERR : The reversal (raised) of the first letter of readings and on or referring to.
20d Watch Sky for this item that follows the news (7)
WEATHER : Two definitions for the answer. The first contains a false capitalisation.
22d Calm ostrich? Not quite … not quite (6)
ALMOST : A lurker, hiding in the clue.
24d Less demanding because I learn periodically (6)
EASIER : Alternate letters from three words in the clue.
27d Boor not here to support Liberal (4)
LOUT : L(iberal) and not here or away.
Quickie pun sing + caws + whim = sink or swim
This one felt very odd, almost like I was doing it in a daze, answers went in, but I really did not know why.
But after finishing and looking back I think it was a very clever puzzle indeed.
Last one for me was 16d which took some considerable time as I was determined to force ‘diced’ into it for cut up. Saw the error of my ways in the end though.
No idea who Susie is, but the answer was plain enough without her, and only knew 9a
from MASH.
Many great clues, but as I only ever pick two, I’ll go for 21a and 23a.
Intrigued to see who the setter is today.
Susie Dent, lexicographer extraordinaire, of Countdown Fame.
Carol gone then?
She was the numbers & yes. The rather lovely Rachel Riley took her place.
rather?
“Rather” in a Terry Thomas sort of way.
Exactly
Really? Does Kath allow you two? That is favouritism!
Ah, but he didn’t say “fave”, just choosing two!
You’ve lost me here, who’s Kath?
Welcome to BD then !!
Still none the wiser.
Thanks very much – I’ve been on this blog for many years and did the hints for a long time until I had a brain haemorrhage three years ago!
I was a big fan of your hints Kath, always very informative and easy to understand. 👏
I can’t believe it was three years ago! I hope you’re doing well.
I also wish you well. But can you explain the “favourite(s)” thing, please? I’ve certainly seen Wahoo refer to this before. Presumably, you aren’t/weren’t a fan?! Or was it the just the word “fave” that you objected to? If so, I’m totally with you..
5*/2*. I couldn’t get onto the right wavelength today and found this extremely difficult. Doubtless it will be a marmite clue, but I thought 2d was dreadful.
Thanks anyway to the setter and to the 2Ks.
I’m with you on 2d, RD. I don’t mind the answer particularly – I’ve seen that a lot lately – but the construction is very ugly.
Agreed, ALP. The answer is fine.
Me as well with 2d, ghastly word.
If you found this hard, what chance the tiny brains?
No chance…
Horrible – I haven’t commented as I too struggled with this and DNF. Thank you nevertheless MrT for providing today’s tough fare and TVM 2 Kiwis for explaining some of my stumbling blocks.
Some marvellously masked anagrams and capital letter throw-offs. 20d’s a lovely clue and 8a’s a cracker – chaps is such a useful word. Loved 10a’s definition, too. And 3d’s funny – but maybe a question mark would have been cleaner than “perhaps”? Tipcat, re Susie, I’d have bet good money on you being a Countdown fan – clearly not! Great puzzle, just right for a Wednesday. Many thanks to the setter and the 2Ks.
Quite a struggle but
Very satisfying to complete
Unaided, spelling checks
Apart.
Great many novel and clever
Clues.
eg 8, 9 and 10a
Albeit anagrams and a
Lurker.
Big smiles at 4 and
20d.
For me 4*/5*
Thanks setter and the
2Kiwis.
I enjoy reading your comments as they’re like a series of haikus
I found this much easier than usual (for me) and quite enjoyable. My favourite was 26a. The only clue I couldn’t parse was 12d but how many 3 letter words could there be that start with an E and end with a D? Thanks to the setter and to the two Ks for explaining 12d to me. I don’t really see why 2d was so jarring to everyone. Off now for lunch 🍸 **/****
Oops … sorry … that wasn’t supposed to be a reply
Thanks, Anorak.
Not very good at it.
Crisp and brevity
Are my favourite
Words.
Very good.
Plenty of smooth surfaces with lots of techniques on display with my LOI being the excellent 7d.
My podium is 8a, 10a and the aforementioned.
Many thanks to the midweek master and Le Touquet.
3*/4*
All very lovely and, on the whole, the answers dropped after some thought. 2d was second-last in (and a bit ugly), with 7d causing me the most problems. I think I went through the whole suit of armour and then every piece of ‘elf’n’safety kit in the western hemisphere before I got it.
Most enjoyable puzzle of week so far. ***/****
This one was right up my street with very few hold-ups during the solving process. I have to agree that 2d was a rubbish clue and at total variance with the rest of the grid. Some nice anagrams, but 23a was my favourite.
Thanks to our setter and the 2Ks.
I really enjoyed this but had to resort to extra hints for 4d – I had tip instead of pen and didn’t have a clue for 2d so many thanks to the 2Ks and the setter. Feeling much warmer in Surrey today and a few glimpses of the sun – much needed for all the flooded fields.
A steady ‘plod’ from start to finish which probably took longer than it should have done as I had one eye on a (ice) hockey game on TV which may have had an effect on the enjoyment of both – ***/***
Smiles for 29a, 1d, 16d, and 22d.
Thanks to whomsoever and the 2Kiwis.
Go Jets Go!
Didn’t really take to this rather ‘meh’ anagram-heavy puzzle. Having no interest in films or daytime TV several clues were fortunately solvable from the definitions rather than wordplay. I thought 2d one of the more ghastly surfaces/clues in recent time, and that 20d needed at the very least a ? at the end given the forecast appears before, during, after & sometimes nowhere near the news, depending on what medium one uses to get it. Podium places to 19d and 25a.
2* / 2*
Thank you setter, and also to the 2Ks
A quirky puzzle today, took a while to get going and log into our setter!
Last in was 28a and my favourite when the penny dropped, eventually parsed 7d.
Failed to parse 23d, a tad obscure- thanks to 2K’s.
Going for a ***/****
Liked the quickie pun
A pleasant puzzle – thanks to our setter and 2Ks.
Top clues for me were 23a, 26a and 7d.
Today’s offering felt a little awkward to me. I didn’t see some of the parsings and homophone indicators seemed a little bizarre – 28a for example. I had to put the paper down a number of times to allow the brain to work on it subconsciously and I have just finished it. I have no COTD but I did like 15a (obviously 😊), 26a and 7d.
Thank you, setter for bamboozling my brain. Not your fault, of course, that I found it awkward. Thank you, 2Ks for the hints and explaining the parsings of those I could not fathom.
I have an infection of the big toe and an infection is not good in one who has had a transplant. I rang our doctor and the receptionist offered me an appointment in mid May. 😳
(To be fair, the doctor did ring back and saw me immediately. 👍)
I’m with you on the homophone indicators,bizarre indeed.
Oh, so sorry Steve, get better soon.
Thanks, Merusa. I’m on ABs now so should be done with soon.
Just when did receptionists get elevated to assessing the urgency of care? Glad the doctor rang you and saw you.
Thanks, BL. In her defence, I think the receptionist was new to the job.
Glad the problem is being addressed – big toes are vulnerable I believe. Take care.
Thank you, DG. Yes, big toes are a problem and I have already lost one. 😒
I too thought 2d ghastly. To start with couldn’t say I was particularly enamoured with the puzzle but it grew on me, probably helped by the film references & being on wavelength for a brisk finish. The great 9a directed at least half a dozen wonderful films – impossible to pick a favourite but I’ve a real admiration for Short Cuts which was a real gem & with a super ensemble cast. 21a evoked memories of the sizzling chemistry between Jack & Jessica in Bob Rafelson’s remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice & that steamy kitchen table scene (a terrible waste of good bread). 7d was last in & my pick from a good bunch of clues.
Thanks to the setter & to the 2Ks.
Shot through most of this and then ground to a halt with only a few remaining. Several D’oh moments that brought a wry grin to our faces. Very enjoyable.
Another Wednesday puzzle that was hard to get into and with some tricky clueing. Went in clockwise from NE for me.
2.5*/3*
Favourites include 12a, 30a, 1d, 4d, 20d & 22d — with winner 12a.
Chuckles and smiles from 2d, 4d, 7d & 22d
Thanks to setter & 2K’s for blog/hint
Tea was cold by the time I finished this. That shows I was fully immersed (just like a teabag?).
18d took a while, as I had started 17a with ‘in’, not ‘re’. And, for some reason, 23a delayed me.
I am another who doesn’t know ‘Countdown’, but I was able to guess the answer once I had the late summer month. Congratulations to Kiwis for recognising hemispherical differences.
Loved 6d and 7d.
A very nice midweek puzzle. Fine clues, a decent challenge and very enjoyable. Favourite of a good bunch: 7d. 3.5*/4*.
I found this puzzle both quirky and clever and ended up with ticks all over the place. Didn’t like 2d and last one in was 28a.
Top picks were 10a, 11a, 4d and 16d.
Thanks to the 2Kiwis and the setter.
I found this to be like a dodgy stew, some good bits and some not so good. To be fair the bad bits were mostly down to my ignorance and inability to solve the clues, not a reflection on the setter. It’s only a crossword and helps to amuse and pass the time. Thanks to all.
A reasonable puzzle but nothing to write home about from my point of view, although the reading of 2d did set my teeth on edge.
Smiles came from 26&29a plus 1&16d.
Thanks to our setter and to our 2Ks for the review – sounds as though you got the outside paintwork finished just in time!
An enjoyable puzzle, but mark me down as another who did not care for 2d.
I wasted a bit of time by bunging in felt tip at 4d, wondering if tip was an American slang word for prison. Needless to say, it is not! Otherwise, it all went in fairly smoothly.
Being a Countdown fanatic and a one-time participant, I had no problem identifying Susie in 15a. We also attended her one-person show “The Secret Lives of Words” at Watford Palace Theatre on a really hot Sunday afternoon last September. A fascinating show.
Thank you setter and Kiwis.
Hello everyone ,
Phew!! I’m finding this a massive struggle – I’m not yet who’s going to win the battle!
Maybe I’ll come back later and see if the brain has thought a bit!!
In the meantime thanks to the setter and to the K’s too.
Good to “see you” Kath. Whatever works, keep smiling.
I struggled to get into this mindset although having finished it I don’t know why. Some clues seemed almost too easy and others impenetrable at first. Perhaps that is the perfect guzzle? Anyway I was glad to finish it without resort to Di tomatoes or even dictionaries (spellcheck is quite bizarre sometimes). I liked 20a. Many thanks to the setter and Kays.
I enjoyed the challenge of this crossword even though it was a DNF for me (7d in particular eluded me).
We have a builder here (a splendid chap) undertaking major alterations and additions. No-one can prepare you for the noise and disruption. We have boxes of this and that everywhere. There are planks, boards, bags of plaster, boxes of nails, screws, tools. There is what I think is ‘Greatest Hits Radio’ to contend with.
As we are gluttons for punishment, next month we have landscapers in, and the building of an outdoor office/chill out room/whatever log cabin.
I may move abroad until June.
Meanwhile, thanks to the setter and The TwoKays
This is good:
This was a real struggle for me, and a DNF. The north was very doable, but south was way beyond my ken, I had six or seven unsolved, I think the most unsolved in a long, long time. I was way off wavelength, swimming in molasses comes to mind.
Thank you setter, I’m just way too thick for this. Your help to finish was much appreciated 2Kiwis, I don’t know how you unravelled that lot.
Thoroughly disappointed to be presented with another Wednesday ***, and did not DNF. Some of it due to my ignorance of the film director and the Susie person (although that was one of my few first pass answers – canine gave it away). There are many other ways the clue for 7d could have been written (the man in the picture looks frightful) that might have led me to the answer, the same with 2d. I got the second word for 4d, but it was a while before the first word went in, probably because they are called felt tips over here, not felt pens. Thanks to setter and 2Kiwis.
Where I live in the UK 4d are also called felt tips.
I also put in felt tip first! We use all three words – felt tip pen!
Me too!
Not a lot of joy today. Some clues were easy and others unfathomable, so thankyou 2K’s for your much needed assistance. 2d my unfavourite.
I thought this was fresh. Great puzzle. Thanks to today’s setter and the 2Ks.
Morning all.
One of us was challenged by the names required for 9a and 21a but the other team member knew them both so potential stumbling blocks were avoided there.
No one seems to have had a guess as to who the setter might be and we certainly aren’t willing to have a stab. Maybe he/she will pop in to enlighten us.
Feels frosty again this morning but not yet daylight to see what colour the grass is.
Cheers.
This was quite a struggle for a midweek backpager. I managed about 75% then took a break. The last few then took twice as long to solve with the NW being last to fall. Not sure why our setter thought dropping letters in the 2d clue would work well. Count me in as one who thought it didn’t!
I did like 22a 26a and 7d.
Many thanks to the setter for this quirky offering and of course to the two Kiwis.
I struggled with this and ended up finishing with the hints for the last few, as I just could not concentrate today. Definitely a me problem not the setters fault, I am very distracted and that never leads to an easy solve. It should have been up my street as there were some lovely anagrams which I enjoyed, I just couldn’t get the cryptic part of my brain to turn on.
Many thanks to the setter and to the 2kiwis for the needed hints.
Thanks all, and thank you especially to 2Kiwis for the blog.
Re 2d: when a setter is painted into a corner with _S_T and the pesky Psst is the only option, the obvious route is to clue it as a lurker, as there are plenty of words that end __PS and that begin ST__. As I already had two lurkers in the puzzle, I thought I’d try something different. I imagined the definition as being a more cheeky Over ‘ere! rather than Over here, so I wondered if I could extend the Cockney speech into the wordplay to justify it. So there we are. A Cockney who’s often mislaying his hat and thinking of one last place it might be.
Jeemz @31, if I’d included all the aitches, the alternate letters wouldn’t have worked (if that’s what you’re suggesting).
Steve and Dave G @13, both noisy and in the auditorium have been used as homophone indicators in the DT – and other papers – before, and will no doubt appear again.
DaisyGirl et al: Chambers has felt-tip pen, felt-tipped pen, felt tip and felt pen. Spoiled for choice!
Didn’t twig it was one of yours. Thanks for popping in & for the puzzle. We don’t see nearly enough of you.
I had a funny feeling this might be one of yours and even checked your Twitter earlier to see if you’d claimed it but you hadn’t – you have now, I see! Very jolly, ta lots.
Thanks Twmbarlwm for popping in with responses. I did realise the alternate letter cluing wouldn’t work with the aitches left in but I felt the cockney part didn’t have any bearing on the solution and a different approach might have worked better. But if Chris Lancaster and the two Kiwis liked it, then what do I know!
Thanks again for a very enjoyable tussle.
Thanks. I wasn’t totally sure that you didn’t mean that.
Don Manley and Azed, in particular, occasionally use the dropped aitch in clues, although not usually to facilitate an alternate letter clue, which is obviously a contrivance that I probably won’t have to do again. I understand the clue’s marmiticacitiness* for the solver though, but just wanted to say that there was some method behind it on my part!
* Chambers 16th Edition ©2040
😊😊
Thank you, Timbertwig for the challenge. I have no doubt that those words have been used as homophone indicators before. It’s just I have not come across them and it took me a while to twig em. 😊
I suppose if you don’t know them it makes the clue harder to crack than using ‘reportedly’ or ‘we hear’, so I’ll have to think about that. Sometimes it’s better to fall back on the obvious indicators (and risk being called an unoriginal purveyor of chestnuts!).
Thanks for solving under difficult circumstances, and hope the antibiotics work their magic in due course.
Why is dropping aitches always only hockney? Us northerners do it as well! Thanks for an enjoyable puzzle.
Heh! It’s true – a lot of Midlanders too. I suppose for crossword purposes it’s easier to stick with a very specific traditional accent confined to a small 5-mile radius of Bow Bells, although traditional Cockneyisms must be fading now.
Ronnie Barker saying “Fork handles” in RP and being given a fork handle wouldn’t have worked for me.
Thanks for dropping by! Put me down in the liked 2d camp! Funnily enough last night I was trying to reduce my backlog of puzzles from other places and I came across a 2d clued as ‘sounds drunk over here’ or similar!
Thank you. I definitely wouldn’t risk that idea in a DT puzzle. 🤭 (Not that it would get past the editor anyway!)
The Times had it as “Way later, I would add something to attract attention” back in November and in their Quick Cryptic as “Those heading up promotions should sell things over here!” earlier this month.
Various other clues over the years suggest you are very far from being the first setter to find yourself painted into that particular corner – LNL’s example sounds as though it may have come from the Grauniad … lower standards over there, donchaknow!
Thanks for popping in Twmbarlwm. We actually enjoyed the Cockney aspect of 2d but it did take a little time to twig what was going on.
🙂 Cheers! Chris Lancaster said he really liked that one but I guess it’s not for everyone!
I thought it was a fine effort that tickled me.
Keep pushing the envelope, Tumbleweed. I’m all for it.
Again tricky in parts but much more enjoyable than earlier this week😃 ****/*** Favourites 15a (I am a Countdown fan) and 26a 👍 Has Spring arrived 🤔 after all it is the Vernal Equinox! Thanks to the Compiler and to the 2x Ks
It would appear that wednesday is the new Friday!
Hard work for a Wednesday and I wasn’t keen on a number of the clues. Never heard of the film director and not really that keen on clues like 15a and 21a, Susie was guessable and I’m not a great film buff but eventually worked out the Jessica.
I’ll go for 20d as pick of the day for no other reason than my father followed the news with the 20d forecast on TV many moons ago.
Thanks to Twmbarlwm and the 2Kiwis
The Word Master bamboozling assorted redoubtable linguists without malice …..
A fine effort! 👏👏
The hidden acrostic ninja Kermit, Slur.
Touché!
I wonder is 26a the new “Serengeti”? I think it appeared in Sunday’s cryptic.
I found this quite tricky and gave up halfway through, but came back to it just now and managed to slot a few more in, the little grey cells must have been working away in the background.
Thanks to the setter and the hinters.
A dnf for me.
No one has called trousers bags since the 1800s.
17a is an awful clue that belongs in a toughie.
23 and 25a also belong in a toughie.
I was really enjoying this solve until I came to a hard stop because of the clues mentioned above.
IMHO the whole caboodle belongs in a toughie.
I found this difficult, as I did the toughie, but I predicted this yesterday. Tomorrow and Friday might equally challenging if not more so but I probably won’t be commenting as I’m otherwise engaged on both days, Friday being yet another funeral but I’ll probably pop in to say “I told you so” on Saturday under a different name obviously. Any road up I stuck at it and got there in the end though I had to check what a terpsichorean was, I know now! Favourite was 28a, I was one of those. Thanks to T and 2K’s.
Sometimes you look at a completed puzzle and say ” Its easy and not that bad now that I’ve finished ” but in all honesty it really was bad. Not for me , I think I’ll do the toughie and see if that’s more to my liking.
Thanks to the Kiwis.
3*/4* …
liked 2D ” ‘Opes ‘is ‘at, regularly lost, is over ‘ere! (4)”
👍 😇