DT 30572 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30572

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30572

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

BD Rating – Difficulty **** Enjoyment ***

Kia ora from Aotearoa.
Everything is very dry here and has been so for the last couple of months. This morning we set out for our usual walk feeling quite confident that the few clouds about would either dissipate or move away from our vicinity. That was not to be, and two very soggy coatless walkers eventually made it back home. The irony is that now the sun has come out again so drying everything is not a problem.
We really struggled with this puzzle and there were quite a few clues where we had to resort to Google searches to sort out what was going on. Maybe some of these will be better known to UK solvers but the rating we have given reflects the time we took to solve and fully parse all the clues.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Local atheist, according to Spooner, who worked in the White House (9,6)
PRESIDENT REAGAN : A Spoonerism of the title and name of someone who occupied the White House in the 1980’s.

9a     Inelegant collar delivered when out (5-4)
ROUGH-HEWN : A homophone (delivered) of a type of frilled collar and an anagram (out) of WHEN.

10a     Pay for edge over wicket (5)
ENDOW : An edge or final piece and the cricket abbreviations for over and wicket.

11a     Old boy, essentially impertinent and vulgar, gets stick out (7)
OBTRUDE : The two letters for old boy, then the central letter of impertinent, and vulgar or impolite.

12a     Light chatter with city politician (3,4)
GAS LAMP : Chatter or talk aimlessly, a California city and a Member of Parliament.

13a     Certainly not beginning to heckle Japanese drama (3)
NOH : A two letter word for ‘certainly not’ and the first letter of heckle.

14a     Power nap, and something to lean on (7)
ARMREST : Power or supply with weapons and then nap or take a break.

17a     Prepare to drive across centre of Barnsley to get contract (5,2)
TENSE UP : The two central letters of Barnsley are enclosed within a 3,2 phrase meaning prepare to drive on a golf course.

19a     Socially distanced writers hit back after confinement (3,4)
PEN PALS : A confinement that might contain livestock and the reversal (back) of hit with an open hand.

22a     Producer about to interrupt Rocky actor (7)
CREATOR : An anagram (rocky) of ACTOR surrounds the two letter ‘about’.

24a     Age Fitzgerald’s written about (3)
ERA : A lurker, hiding in the clue.

25a     Circled right piece in dictionary (7)
ORBITED : The three letters for a well-known dictionary contain R(ight) and a piece or portion.

26a     Fake doctor passes out? Cop able to revive (7)
PLACEBO : An anagram (to revive) of COP and ABLE.

28a     African resident fine with au pair appearing only occasionally (5)
OKAPI : The two letter fine or acceptable and alternate letters found in au pair.|

29a     Before short trek, make up a posh liqueur (9)
COINTREAU : Make up as you might a new word, is followed by the first three letters of trek and then ‘A’ from the clue and the letter indicating posh.

30a     Greek character with clarinet and Corea playing fusion? (7,8)
NUCLEAR REACTION : A particular Greek letter and an anagram (playing) of CLARINET and COREA.

Down

1d     Insulting poor poor nun — this could be her (8,7)
PERSONAL PRONOUN : Insulting or targeting an individual and an anagram (poor) of POOR NUN.

2d     Clean around top of teapot’s spout (5)
ERUPT : The reversal (around) of clean or pristine and the first letter of teapot.

3d     Where Hugh Laurie’s seen not using outsiders (2-5)
IN-HOUSE : The wordplay alludes to an American made TV series.

4d     For example, Krypton Factor (7)
ELEMENT :  Double definition

5d     Firm about working later this evening (7)
TONIGHT : Firm or not yielding contains the two letter working or in operation.

6d     He performed with Lake poet (7)
EMERSON : The wordplay refers to a 1970’s British Supergroup.

7d     Sponsor to follow up yearly fee (9)
GODPARENT : The reversal (up) of to follow or trail, then the two letters indicating yearly and a fee paid to a landlord.

8d     Telegraph pole? Hastings has one (9,6)
NEWSPAPER COLUMN : What The Telegraph is an example of, and a pole or post.

15d     Somewhere in the Alps, flash TV chef eating nougat on vacation (4,5)
MONT BLANC : Two letters for a short period of time, then the first and last letters of nougat. Finally a TV chef.

16d     When tipping, almost mislaid Peruvian coin (3)
SOL : The reversal of a synonym for mislaid without its last letter.

18d     Shell-like fruit, not soft (3)
EAR : A pip fruit with the musical symbol for soft removed.

20d     Man demonstrating tap in Holiday Inn? (7)
ASTAIRE : Tap here is a dance style and the wordplay refers to a 1942 movie.

21d     Casanova secured buckles (7)
SEDUCER : An anagram (buckles) of SECURED.

22d     Impulse to fix staple? (7)
CAPRICE : To fix or put a cover on and then a staple food.

23d     Adaptable, the Spanish clubs stocking Italian wine (7)
ELASTIC : The Spanish definite article and card players’ abbreviation for clubs surround a type of Italian wine.

27d     Tree resin rising in lime leaf (5)
ELEMI : A reverse lurker, hiding in the clue.

Quickie pun    loo    +    ether    +    rue    =    Louis Theroux

138 comments on “DT 30572

  1. I thought this was going to be a no goer for me after solving only two at the end of the first pass. Seeing a Spoonerism at 1a was not a great start and I solved nothing until I got to 19d. The long ones around the perimeter where daunting and I was ready to pack it in but decided to stick with it a bit longer. I’m glad I did because it gradually came together but I admit to needing Mr. G for a few. There were a number of slick clues such as 12a but I will go for the poet performing with Lake at 6d as my COTD.

    My thanks to the setter for an interesting workout. Many thanks to the 2Ks for the hints.

  2. Brilliant, quite brilliant. This was cryptic with a capital K.
    Agramans, srekrul, a good dose of general knowledge, even the Reverend stuck his beak in at 1a, great fun.

    Took me a fair while though, never heard of the journo at 8d, but was obvious from the clue.
    Good to see the great keyboard player at 6d, so have added a clip (a bit grainy and dated) of him at his manic best playing ‘America’ with The Nice, a troubled soul who came to a sad end.

    Last in for me was 20d, a super clue which along with 9a are my two favourites (out of many) today.
    Best fun in ages!

  3. Very quirky today, I thought. And certainly not overly friendly to anyone outside the UK. 2Ks, I salute you! A very sweet little Spoonerism to start with but some odd ones to follow. Took me a moment to crack the wavelength but, once I did, it started to fly. 9a’s definition proved initially elusive but ‘twas beautifully put together. 17a’s “prepare to drive” was lovely too. 1a made me smile – clunky surface though. But 6d was a strange one. 20d too. Two very different eras – and genres. It was 8d that really made me sit up. I rather liked it but it is decidedly unusual. And I would have thought some (more) sport could have been had with Fraser Nelson, no? He is, after all, a Tel columnist. Hastings (Max, presumably) isn’t. But I enjoyed this: it felt pretty fresh (largely) and it’s always good to see summat slightly different. Thanks to the setter and the 2Ks.

  4. For me, etc, a ‘wrong envelope’ day – ****/**

    Smiles for 22a, 29a, 6d, and 7d.

    Thanks to whomsoever and the 2Kiwis.

  5. So many answers that were more of an inspired guess for me. Definitely not on my wavelength but i did get to the end. Whew

  6. Brilliant puzzle. The four long ‘uns filled me with dread, but they fell one by one and provided a host of checkers. Needed some help on the last couple (6d and 20d – 70s music and 40s films are not my hottest topics!), and then needed the 2Ks to help with a couple of parsings. [MILD SPOILER AHEAD] Still not sure if the reverend meant ‘pagan’ or ‘pray gone’ in 1a.

    15d was my COTD for the surface. ****/****

      1. More recent definitions/syonyms of pagan include: someone who has no religion (both BRB and Chambers)) and and from Chambers solely: unbeliever, disbeliever, irreligeous, agnostic and atheist. So, depending on the context, “atheist” might be acceptable.

  7. Thoroughly enjoyable, pleasantly testing and with some superb surfaces, this was right out of the top drawer. Very hard to pick an outright winner, but I did enjoy 15d.

    Many thanks and congratulations to our setter for a fine challenge, and to the 2Ks.

  8. I put Truman instead of Reagan, that held me up. My first was 1d which was a good help. I liked 6d the best.

  9. I’ve been lurking on these pages lately rather than posting. Lately I seem to have made a breakthrough with my solving and then there’s today’s crossword that has been a real grind and I’ve still got the whole of the top right to go plus a couple of others! That said, a few weeks ago I think I’d have stared at it for 10 minutes, got a couple of answers and given up

        1. I got there in the end, although did check a few answers as I went as I had many doubts on this one. 8d was an example of one where I was looking for something more complicated than it actually was, I was thinking the first word would be more specific than it was!

          1. Welcome to the blog, Matt.

            Midweekers are normally a tad more gentle than this brute. So, the fact that you got there in the end means you have certainly ‘broken through’.

            At least it tees us up for the next two challenges.

  10. I must be dense but I don’t get the Spoonerism… Resident Preagan???

    Ah, Pagan! I am dense, yes.

        1. That’s my gripe too, and I know full well that a Spoonerism involves switching either the letters or the sounds, but in this instance the “Re” of Reagan is just ignored to make it work. Which it doesn’t. Unless of course the R-Rev S-Spooner had a s-stutter : “Re-resident Pagan”!

            1. I know. It would have been amusing (if only very briefly!) had Ronnie a daughter named after Lear’s daughter …

              Not that it really matters in my view: the point here is that the setter has shifted the P from President to the front of “reagan” and removed the ‘r’, to make a sound-alike “pagan”, but has switched nothing, not a letter & not a vowel sound, to the front of Resident. Unless one stutters.

              So it’s not a proper Spoonerism, and doesn’t really work in my book.

              1. MG. I can see your point, but Spoonerisms are verbal/spoken plays on words/puns and not really intended to be written down and grammatically scrutinised. Here’s what I wrote in mild exasperation at the end of a long thread on another disputed Spoonerism in 2016:

                Jose
                October 8, 2016 at 10:32 am
                P and HIYD. May I explain? 21a: Submerge is a synonym for flood and floor covering is one for mat. Spooner is the homophone indicator and Spoonerisms are justified by pronunciation, not spelling (FLUD MAT) – either by saying them or thinking them. You’re not supposed to write the ruddy things down… :-)

              2. Or in other words, they can sometimes be easy to justify verbally but not when written/analysed (like this one).

                1. Totally agree, Jose. The good reverend would say without thinking of grammar etc. 1a works for me.

  11. This looked a bit daunting on first read through but a ‘softly, softly’ approach worked wonders. Favourite by a mile was 17a with minor places going to 9&19a.

    Thanks to our setter – Robyn? and to our 2Ks for the review. You certainly had your work cut out today!

  12. Didn’t really enjoy this. It felt dated and somewhat contrived, with rather awkward surface reads. I didn’t feel the Spoonerism works properly, had to assume that someone called Hastings writes a piece in the DT, and though the GK was all familiar (bar the 82 year-old film) there was far too much of it, even for me. Highlights were 3d & 18d.

    2* / 1*

    Thanks setter (I’ve a good idea but won’t risk my fiver!) but just not for me today, and thanks also to the 2Ks.

  13. 3.5*/3*. I am not quite sure what to make of this, but I did enjoy it on the whole. The style seemed unfamiliar and the difficulty ranged from straightforward to downright tough in places, particularly in the SE corner.

    6d was my favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter and to the 2Ks.

  14. I enjoyed this, once I looked beyond 1a.

    20d was my last one in and goes straight to the top of my podium.

    Thanks to the 2Ks and today’s setter.

  15. This was like shucking a bed of oysters for the first time, each one tricky, but eventually yielding its velvety interior! Very satisfying and enjoyable to complete, though, like oysters, it won’t be everybodys taste. Well done setter, take a bow, and thanks to Les deux Ks.

    1. After battling with this horror for an inordinate length of time with little to show for it I have thrown in the towel before wasting any more time. Sorry setter but you beat me however thanks for your compiling effort and 2Kiwis I’m reassured to have your sympathetic feelings on this poser.

    2. Back from Norfolk will all fingers intact, so perhaps I am getting better at this shucking lark! The local Brancaster oysters were delicious!

  16. 1a straight in and raised a smile, this is going to be fun I thought. How wrong I was, this challenged me all the way, good job I’m on a day’s holiday.
    6d and 20d go on my personal naughty step for being pure GK, though they were guessable with the checkers. At least 13a and 27a allowed the answer to come from the wordplay.
    Last 2 in were 1d, which produced a loud clang as the penny dropped, and 9a where I couldn’t unpick the parsing, so thanks to the 2Ks for that.
    Tough but satisfying to finish.
    Thanks to all

  17. Way above my level I am afraid to say, although looking at the answers some very clever clues

  18. Finished it in rather longer than my usual time but there were several answers that I didn’t fully understand until I read these hints.

  19. I struggled with this and had to resort to Google to check a few answers as the GK wasn’t my knowledge. Got there in the end though.
    Top picks were 6d, 17a and 18d.
    Thanks to the setter and the 2Kiwis.

  20. Tough but enjoyed the challenge. Never heard of 27d , Didn’t know much about holiday Inn,but have seen number 6 and the spoonerism was straightforward. Favourite 12a . Took longer than normal but had a couple of sherbets last night so slightly befuddled this morning..
    Thanks to all.

  21. Tough hardly describes this offering, a DNF for me on 20 and 23 down, plus I needed the hints on a couple of others. I enjoyed the struggle even if I was beaten to a pulp. Thanks to all.

  22. Oh my goodness, what has happened? Overnight, the world has changed. Words no longer have any meaning for me.
    Suddenly, I appear to no longer have the lexicon of an educated man. I now seem to have only the merest grasp of language, like President Trump, or Glenn Hoddle.

    It is all because of this crossword, which has resulted in my eyes spinning within their axis. My pencil has withered in my hand, and I stare at the page in the manner of Tuppy Glossop gawking open-mouthed when stumbling across Madeline Bassett in a rose garden.

    Tricky crossword; needed substantial help from the twosome from Aotearoa.

    As Steve Cowling says: thanks to the setter for the challenge, and the TwoKays for their invaluable hints.

    Plus – all the very best to Steve Cowling and Mrs Cowling

    1. That scurrilous scoundrel is now selling Bibles at $59.99. My first reaction was that DT presented this as retribution for foisting him on the world stage.

  23. Definitely a **** difficulty for me. Got President for 1a straight away but Reagan eluded me until the very end. Also fathomed 20d from word shape, but had never heard of the film. However I loved the challenge so I also give it **** for enjoyment. Thanks to the setter and the 2 Kiwis.

  24. Blimey – a few options here!
    1)Wrong envelope day
    2)Wrong day – missed a couple of days and it’s Friday, already
    3)Marbles have gone walkies – I hope they find themselves soon
    4)Whatever will Brian say?
    Back later to see who else thinks about it!
    Thanks to the setter for the crossword (I think) and thanks and admiration to the K’s

    1. Yes Kath, I had the same feelings and more – see my misplaced reply to Comment 18 above.

  25. I wondered if I had overslept until Friday.
    That was quite a challenge, with e-help needed occasionally.
    When I struggle with such crosswords I don’t appreciate the cleverness until I look back, but not in anger. So, in retrospect I was able to enjoy this even more.
    Wet dog day in The Cotswolds.

  26. Perhaps the fact that Friday this week is a bank holiday has upset the normal order of things at Telegraph Towers. Certainly this puzzle seems trickier than what we normally get on Wednesdays. That said I enjoyed it – thanks to the setter and 2Ks.
    The clues I liked most were 11a, 17a, 19a, 1d and 7d.

    1. Maybe you’re right – something certainly seems to have upset the apple-cart today!
      A few new people commented yesterday – I do hope they don’t think today is a typical day!

  27. Decidedly a very tricky puzzle today. Another troublesome Wednesday puzzle again this week. Should have been a Friday puzzle IMHO.

    3*/2.5*

    favourites 1a, 26a, 30a, 3d & 8d — with winner 8d

    Thanks to setter and 2K’s for dealing with the blog/hints

  28. Oh my. We actually got about 2/3 of the answers on 1st pass and ground to a great big halt. Couldn’t work out 20d at all – so thanks to the 2Ks for explaining.
    A few that we didn’t like – the Spoonerism at 1a doesn’t work for us, I’d never heard of 27d (pommers had), and i really don’t see why the 1st half of 1d means insulting.
    4*/3* from us.
    Just having a bad day methinks.
    Thanks to the 2Ks and the setter for a tough workout.

    1. Re 1d: as in the expression “Okay, let’s not get XXXXXXXX.” in response to a rude remark.

  29. An excellent Wednesday puzzle that should have been on Friday’s back page – but no complaints from me. Fine, clues, a good/toughish challenge and a very enjoyable/satisfying solve. Difficult to pick a favourite from this assemblage of clues but I’ll plump for 30a, which surely features the brilliant jazz pianist Chick Corea. 4*/4.5*.

    1. Chick used to play with a brilliant bassist called Stanley Clark, one of my favourites.

  30. This seems to have had mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it.
    I liked all four of the big clues and unusually for me, the Spoonerism at 1a wins CoD. Still chuckling now.
    Some GK required, but all reasonably accessible from the wordplay.
    Setter, please reveal yourself. Let me rephrase that…setter, please identify yourself.
    Thanks to the setter and the rather damp Kiwis.

  31. Blimey! That was certainly a tussle and unexpected for a midweeker. So many good constructions with all the techniques on display. 20d was out of my reach but, other than that, it all went in…eventually.

    As Friday is a Bank Holiday, I’m hoping that we don’t get the usual battering. If we do, I’ll be toast come the weekend, what with yesterday’s ‘tough than usual’ jobbie.

    The great thing is that it’s 5 o’clock somewhere as I have earned it!

    My podium is 1d, 4d and 6d.

    Many thanks to the midweek martinet and Le Touquet.

    4*/4*

  32. I’m with the majority today, this took lots of electronics (usually reserved for Friday), but I thought it a superb puzzle, lots of good clues.
    My favourite, 8d for its excellent misdirection.
    Rain again here on The Downs after a bright & windy start.
    Thanks to the setter (no idea) for the exercise and the 2Ks for their usual first-class review.

  33. The toughest puzzle for a long time for me and a slow solve indeed.
    Took a while to parse 1d, 6d was a brilliant clue- when the penny dropped!
    A sprinkling ot top notch clues.
    Favourite and last in was 20d the best clue for ages.
    Going for a ****/*****, many thanks to our setter

  34. The full ***** for enjoyment for me. I thought it a terrific guzzle helped no doubt by having no problem with the required GK – if anything found it slightly easier to parse than yesterday’s AP production. The Spoonerism went straight in & can’t say I noticed the R problem. Loved all the film, tv, music & poetry ones in particular. ✅s aplenty – 17,22,29&30a plus 6,7,8&15d my top four of each.
    Thanks to the setter (all in Robyn) & to the 2Ks
    Ps I see it’s farewell to The Toughie from the digital edition but at least it can still be accessed on the old site.

      1. Realise that MG – I can’t abide the new site & while I’ve no issues with old I much prefer (iffy enumeration of multiple clues notwithstanding) doing the puzzles as presented in the digital edition. Bit of a Luddite I guess….

  35. I wish I could honestly say I found this gentle, enjoyable or within my capabilities. I can’t. To be honest, I’ve had more fun at the dentist. I think Mr Lancaster is having a laugh at our expense. I managed a paltry 5 answers on my own, with 3d being a gift for those of us on this side of the pond. But to be fair, I do see that the Toughie is rated even higher for difficulty today, so perhaps this is just the lesser of the two evils. Kudos to the 2Kiwis for being able to solve all of this.

  36. I haven’t posted for a week or so as been busy and only managed a couple of puzzles finishing in the evening. Today I thought I’d be back on track but gosh it seems hard. Have I lost it ? I’ve currently done barely a quarter but hoping I can finish it in between clearing up after an infestation of blowflies (Yes yuk 😱Think somethings dead in my ceiling space! ) . Thanks to the setter for the challenge , and the 2Ks whose help I am sure I will need.

    1. This was a difficult crossy, JM, that would sit nicely in Friday’s slot.

  37. Really enjoyed this, though undoubtedly challenging throughout, and I was grateful (finally) for the Christmas a few years back when I rather reluctantly sat down to watch Holiday Inn! Also lucky to have bought a few ELP albums when young. Very easy to see how without the requisite bits of GK this would be VERY difficult to finish! Many thanks.

  38. I have started this but no where near finished. I came on to see if I had gone mad but can see the 2 kiwis struggled so feel reassured. I will try a bit longer and then look at one or two hints. I am just not getting going.

    thanks to whoever set this tormentor and to the 2 kiwis for managing to finish and provide hints, I don’t know how you do it.

  39. Morning all.
    So it was not just us. It is always reassuring to find that other people have also struggled with puzzles that we have found taxing.
    We do agree that the Spoonerism, amusing as it is, does not quite work for us either.
    Cheers.

  40. Very hard but got there in the end. It took a while for the Holiday Inn reference to come from deep within my memory! I think 1a needs a homophone indicator to work properly. And why was Palmer ignored?!

  41. Crikey that was hard! Managed just 6 in bed this morning, but very slowly it all came together although I had to read some of the hints to understand how I got there. All in all good fun. Still a bit unsure where ‘Hastings’ comes into it. Thanks to the setter for the brain mangle and the 2 Ks.

    1. ^ I always assume posts like this – unfamiliar name, and no reference to anything in the crossword – are generated by bots. I could be wrong.

    1. Well that’s another wedge of cash in the bookies satchel – back to busking outside of the Co-op.
      Nice to see T pop up again so soon after his last one.

      1. Ha! When there’s quirk (and I mean that as a compliment!) involved, he’s a pretty safe bet. I say that now, of course, having not had the nerve to stick my neck out earlier. Hopefully, he’ll pop in. He will, surely?

  42. Brilliant puzzle when you read the hints for the 3/4 of the clues that refused to present anything resembling sense to those of us still labouring in the dunces’ corner accoutred in the usual hat and dim face.

    So thanks to the 2Ks and to the setter. No cross words today on the grounds of their unprintability.

  43. So far beyond my abilities I didn’t get one clue before abandoning this.

    No doubt some enjoyed this, but I am now off to eat some crayons. I’m obviously too thick to do anything else with them.

    Thanks to all.

    1. Don’t get one stuck up yer nose like I did when I was small, Grandma had to get it out with a crochet hook!

          1. My kid brother had a habit of sticking things in his ear when very young but can’t recall a crayon being one of ‘em

  44. Thanks all, and especially to 2Kiwis for the blog.

    I was hoping the friendly grid with every solution having more than 50% checking letters, plus the four long perimeter solutions, would be helpful as the solve progressed and take the edge off any difficulty.

    In response to some specific comments:

    Phrases usually have more than one phonetic Spoonerism, and ‘resident pray gun’ would indeed be one of them; but swapping the initial letters gives us Rresident Peagan, and we can presume Spooner – who supposedly made these mangled transpositions speaking in haste, rather than writing them down(!) – wouldn’t have trilled the double-r!

    Max Hastings currently has a column in The Times. (He used to edit the Telegraph, of course, and he also had a column there, but that was a while ago.)

    The reason Palmer wasn’t mentioned at 6d is because the clue wouldn’t work! Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey are known as ‘Lake poets’

    Holiday Inn is an old one of course, but notable for including the first appearance of Bing Crosby singing White Christmas, still the world’s best-selling single today. And Astaire’s tap routine is particularly memorable:

    1. All makes sense and thanks for popping in. Quick question, though, please. Were you not at least tempted to go with Fraser, over Max? You might have thought that was too hackneyed, of course.

      1. Good evening, ALP, me old cocker spaniel.

        I assumed Mr Tumble chose Hastings because it’s also a place where you would find a telegraph pole.

        1. Well, yes. But surely there’s some poss clever fun to be had with Fraser Nelson’s Column, no?

          1. FN possibly crossed my mind – I wrote the puzzle back in October so all I really remember is needing to avoid an anagram for 2 of the long clues. I wanted a well-known newspaper columnist whose surname was a town, as a town would obviously have a telegraph pole, as Tom says. A bit daft as most places have several telegraph poles, but there we are. Nelson is a place in Lancashire but not as well-known as Hastings in E Sussex and the extra element of Admiral Nelson’s Column would have needed a different wording altogether. (You may recall there was a ’90s BBC sitcom called Nelson’s Column with John Gordon Sinclair as a journalist called Gavin Nelson – so maybe a bit of an old joke that might not be worth over-egging.) And finally for anyone still reading this, Max Hastings was also a BBC Foreign Correspondent and has written and presented several TV programmes, appeared on Question Time etc., so a much more prominent figure.

            1. Fair point, of course. It would have needed a rewrite and could have been a bit of a groaner to boot. I’m not sure Max is “much” more prominent these days, though. But he’s certainly a journalist/historian of note. Anyroad, great puzzle, ta lots.

    2. Thank you so much, Twmbarlwm — that was great! I loved the quirkiness, with so many potential favourite clues, for lots of different reasons. 4d was my favourite of the ‘way in’ answers I got on the first pass, and 19a of the ‘penny drop’ answers that eluded me for ages.

      I’ve no idea how long this took me (because I opened the tab, then went on a trip, came back to it, and the timer had clocked up several hours before I’d even started!). It felt like a while, but not in a frustrating way, a few answers at a time gradually revealing themselves. All the general knowledge seemed reasonable to me, though I’m glad I didn’t try to solve this with the 11-year-old. The answer to 27d isn’t a word I know, but it was solvable through being a lurker.

      Weirdly, Holiday Inn the film was the first thing that popped into to my mind on reading 20d, despite my never having watched it — but, stupidly, I ignored that thought for several more passes.

      The grid was indeed very much appreciated. I wish all crosswords were this much fun!

      Thank you to the Kiwis for hinting — especially 22d, which somehow I failed to spot.

  45. Great crossword. Getting started was slow.
    Got 27D by wordplay alone but word was new to me. 8D was a challenge. I thought of Max. After an hour only 20D remained. I gave up. Just seen the answer! Duh!

    However, highly enjoyable!!!

  46. Well that was a challenge! Got there in the end without looking at the hints but quite a lot of other e-help and loads of grey matter. Still only Wednesday, thought we had got to Friday already!

    Got back this afternoon to find an unexpected package on the door step, another Telegraph pen and pad set. Just about a year since I got my last one, guess one prize for 100 Sat/Sun prize puzzle entries is not a bad rate! Still think the DT playing cards I got in the 1970s was a far better prize even though I don’t play that game.

    1. Finally got there in the end unaided but much more slowly than usual and at the cost of not fixing the blind in the marital bedroom. Mrs Moon is not happy;I’d promised it would be fixed well before dinner!

    2. Apologies for affixing my comment to your post. I had intended to post it as an independent item!

      1. No problem, we all make little mistakes like that from time to time. And living alone I don’t have to worry about fixing blinds….

  47. Good evening

    I see from the above that Twmbarlwm has claimed authorship of today’s crozzie. By crikey, it was a tough one! Have been attempting it on and off (work permitting) since half 10 this morning!

    I’ve certainly had a few moments today where I’ve felt the need to kick myself. I think, though, that the mother of all “kick me” moments occurred when my brain FINALLY tumbled to 30a. Despite heavy competition, that will be today’s COTD. I must also acknowledge the addition of 27d to my vocabulary, knowing that the only time I am ever going to use that word again is in a future crozzie…

    Thank you Twmbarlwm for the brain-mangling you’ve put me through today! Thank you also to 2Ks, whose explanations were necessary especially in the case of 20d.

  48. A DNF for me…I had no idea about 20d. Sorry Twmbarlwm, I can’t say I enjoyed this one, just too hard and for me, slightly too obscure. I did like 6d, I knew none of the Lake Poets would be the answer and unusually, I thought the spoonerism was good (I usually detest them!).
    Thanks to Twmbarlwm and the 2Kiwis for explaining some of the answers.

  49. Time Waits Momentarily Before Answers Reveal Long Words Mainly

    A wacky, cracking puzzle for me. 1d, 8d,18d,20d and all the long outsiders were my faves

  50. Oh dear, what a lot of Googling! (Well at least one learns stuff that way!)
    But generally a v nice puzzle, and once the brain had a bit of help, the parsing fell nicely into place. It took a while for example to realise that the 1a Spoonerism is for pronouncing rather than spelling. We’ve had something similar to 1d not so long ago, so that helped. Good to see Hugh Laurie again, and a little nudge to Huntsman and me in 17a!
    Nice to see a 28a mentioned, one of my favourite animals.
    Actually there are so many to like, it’s hard to choose a winner, but I’ll plump for 4d, for reminding me that I was a chemist some 60 years ago!
    Very many thanks to Twmbarlwn and to the 2Kiwis.

  51. Hmm. The spoonerism just about passes muster, 9a took some parsing, can’t see that power = arm, never heard of the unindicated, obscure, for me, American TV programme, the journalist in 8d or the 1942 film in 20d. A number of other clues were bordering on toughie difficulty with numerous visits to Google to verify answers. Not what is expected or wanted on a Wednesday. No real favourite, just glad to finish. Thanks to T and 2K’s.

  52. Didn’t enjoy or finish this. Same remarks apply to yesterday’s crossword. If I cannot complete tomorrow’s offering, I shall be off to my doctor.

  53. Good evening folks.
    Well that was a toughie for this newbie compared to my beginners luck yesterday. I did manage to solve 7 clues on my own and a further 4 that I worked out the correct clue type but needed the hints without revealing the clues, so that was OK. A lot of the others I couldn’t solve as I am not proficient in Crossword English. The Tree Resin and African resident I would never get anyhow.
    I solved the President Reagan at 1a but I still haven’t worked out how the starting ‘P’ got into that position. Can anyone help there please? Additionally, I don’t think a Pagan is an atheist so that put me off a bit and thinking along the lines of Ronald Ray-gun as he was known at the height of the arms race!
    Another question – how does the letter ‘U’ represent the word POSH – head scratching here 😁
    On a personal level I was self-chuffed at solving Nuclear Reaction, Caprice, Obtrude and Noh
    Onwards and upwards
    Think I will invest in Chambers Crossword Dictionary at the weekend

    1. Hi Sam,
      Well done on getting that far on what was a tougher than usual puzzle.
      If you go through all the comments above you will find lots of discussion on this particular Spoonerism and Spoonerisms generally so its worth having a browse through these. There is also discussion about Atheist = Pagan and we share you Hmmm on this one
      U and non U are terms coined in the 1950s for ‘Upper class’ and ‘Non upper class’. It’s an often used technique by setters to clue U as POSH. Worth remembering.
      Well done on progress so far. You’re doing well.
      Cheers.

      1. As a Ps. There are two books that have no place on our bookshelves. They are BRB (Big Red Book or Chambers Dictionary) and Chamber’s Crossword Solver’s Dictionary. They have no place on our shelves as they spent the entire time out with us where they are always close to hand.

        1. Thank you for that and the explanation of ‘U’ I have a lot to learn.
          Reading through the comments it’s nice to know that seasoned solvers can also struggle over clues – that’s heartening for me 😁

      2. There are different dictionary meanings of ‘pagan’, and the fact that there can be pagan gods doesn’t mean that ‘pagan’ cannot be synonymous with ‘atheist’ in any respect.
        Chambers Thesaurus lists atheist as a synonym of pagan and vice versa. A definition of atheist in Chambers Dictionary is one who disbelieves in the existence of a god; one of the (many more) definitions of pagan in Chambers is someone who has no religion. So in one context, atheist can = pagan.

        1. Thank you for that info Twmbarlwm most interesting indeed. In my own mind I don’t equate atheism with paganism but this is a crossword puzzle and my understanding is that Chambers is our Bible so I will accept that as gospel.
          As a newbie I need to train myself in this style of ‘new think’ and crossword English rather than English English.
          Thank you once again for your time with such a detailed answer – much appreciated.
          I expect I will be asking a lot of daft questions in the weeks ahead, if you do see me struggling please feel free to chuck me the odd life-belt or two of advice.
          I enjoyed todays puzzle so thanks again

          1. Hello Sam. Thanks for attempting this one.
            We were all beginner solvers once, of course. I didn’t know what was going on with cryptic crosswords for a long time, but I read a few pointers and things started to gradually fall into place, and then I became addicted. Setters and solvers are really all in the same boat. Eg a few people who comment here don’t like Spoonerism clues, and I sympathise, because as a solver when I see ‘Spooner’ in the clue, I know I’ll probably just have to move on quickly and hope to get it towards the very end. However, they are occasionally handy for setters who are stuck for another idea, or who just want to do something silly (see 1a!).
            Using less familiar synonyms (pagan/atheist) that work only in one context and not in others is all part of the game, which is why having a decent dictionary/thesaurus can be invaluable.

            1. Haha I’ve just ordered a Chambers Crossword Dictionary (and manual ) from Amazon before I saw your reply.

          2. Hello Sam. I believe Chamers Dictionary (BRB, Big Red Book) contains more word entries than any other single-volume lexicon and is the preferred primary reference for setters and solvers of DT crosswords. But I’m not sure it is the absolute “bible”. Fairly often, definitions/close synonyms crop up (and they usually get discussed on here) which are not supported by the BRB but are listed in Collins Dictionary or the SOED – the two other main dictionaries that are acceptable (reluctantly to some) as an alternafive or last resort. Collins Online Dictionary is free for all to use on the internet.

            1. Thank you Jose, nicely helpful. I take it the BRB is the one that costs circa £35!
              I’ll be looking at downloading the Collins online today now, thanks again 👍😁👏👏👏

      1. Thanks Huntsman I remember the ‘You’ and the ‘non-You’ from my youth and should have realised this for myself but I have yet to re-awaken the right side of my brain to interpret crossword speak to substitute a U for You. It will come! 😁👍

  54. I solved 1a with a lucky guess. I figured it was going to be one of the incumbents of the house, which gave me the first word, and then my first guess at a six letter surname was spot on. I just visited here today to find out why it was right. I’m glad I did as I would have never thought of spoonerism, so thanks for that.

    Not looking forward to the imminent change to the online format of the puzzles. Too complicated. It’s changed for the Toughie, and I see the Cryptic transfer out of main newspaper is imminent.

  55. Sorry for this very late post and just want to say that I think this is a terrific challenge with 1a and 1d as super clues, thank you Twmbarlwm and also 2Ks for explaining the anagram component of 9a

  56. Looked at it this morning and couldn’t make head nor tail of it. Glad others were equally bamboozled

  57. I shall have to leave today’s crossword until tomorrow, having only just finished yesterday’s (if that makes any sense!). Phew! I need a good night’s sleep now. Like others, I struggled with understanding President Reagan/Resident Pagan and needed to consult google and a crossword solver to complete a few clues. A real challenge. Very good puzzle.

  58. 4*/3* …
    liked 19A “Socially distanced writers hit back after confinement (3,4)”

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