DT 30581 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30581 (Hints)

by crypticsue  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30581 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)

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A day of possibly record-breaking temperatures – it was already 18 degrees when I went shopping at 7.45 this morning – brings what I thought was an extremely enjoyable Saturday Prize Puzzle, with lots to make the solver smile- which gives me a very good idea as to the name of the setter.  Several of the Across solutions combine to amuse – I particularly liked the idea of a 30a 31a :D

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.

Across

1a           Party line repeated for Barbie, perhaps … (4)
A party and the abbreviation for Line ‘repeated’

4a           … Ken, legend, cooked with wok! (9)
Not Barbie’s boyfriend, or even a wok-using cooking legend, but an anagram (cooked) of LEGEND and WOK

10a         Shocked? Adult seemed to protect toddler initially (9)
The abbreviation for Adult and seemed in the sense of gave an impression into which is inserted (to protect) the initial letter of Toddler

16a         Swift’s heartless attack (4)
Remove the ‘heart’ from a synonym for swift

28a & 12a Girder to be rigged outside with adjustable spanner? (5,6)
An anagram (rigged) of GIRDER TO BE goes ‘outside’ the abbreviation for With

31a         Fish and cask ale for starter? (4)
A type of barrel (cask) and the starter of Ale

Down

2d           Support melting away? At risk here! (2,4,3)
Where a polar bear might be if his support was melting away – he could be in a potentially difficult situation (at risk)

4d           Pirate joke for audience? (4)
A homophone (for the audience) of a verb meaning to joke

6d           Private Pike, he was a plant? (8)
The actor who played Private Pike or the name of a fragrant plant

9d           Savagery: it’s seen in North African region (9)
IT (from the clue) inserted into a coastal region of North Africa

19d         Toes here broken? Stretcher needed! (8)
An anagram (broken) of TOES HERE – a splendid surface reading”

27d         Crook knight bundled into sack (4)
The chess abbreviation for knight inserted (bundled) into somewhere to sleep (sack being a slang word for this)

 

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The Quick Crossword pun:    CONSTANT + TYNE   = CONSTANTINE

 

86 comments on “DT 30581 (Hints)”

  1. A great guzzle for a Saturday. I loved the 1a and 4a combination with the rather devious misdirection. Great to be reminded of Pink Floyd. I recall an American TV presenter interviewing them and asking which one of them was Pink. My COTD is the dessert wine at 14d.

    Many thanks to the setter for the fun. Thank you, CS for the hints.

    1. Not such a daft question Steve, as Bob Geldof did play the character ‘Pink’ in the 1982 film.

  2. I emailed Chris Lancaster about the closure of the old site and he kindly and promptly responded…. I don’t think there is much chance of saving the old site but he did say that there are some enhancements to be made with regard to printing the puzzles, including font changes. These will happen very soon and before the old site closes. Some other print enhancements will follow in the longer term. Here’s hoping!

    1. Thanks for the info. The font is the most important feature that needs changing as far as I am concerned and it could have been done almost as soon as the ‘new site’ was launched.

      One of those things where the ‘web site designers’ should be told to work with their design and see how they get on with it.

      As I have not yet received ‘the Doomsday e-mail,’ perhaps CL will enlighten us all with some ‘real’ news, even though it’s news we don’t what to hear, in the next Newsletter.

      1. P.S. The most recent e-mail that I have received from the DT is a reminder of my ‘last chance’ to ‘Sign up for Lunch Hour with Nigel Farage’ on Monday! :negative:

    2. Thank you for this Moonraker. As ever I’m behind with my solving but I read yesterday’s comments about the new Puzzles site and I completely agree. I do the Quick Crossword and Codewords as my ‘warm up’ routine for the main event and I can honestly say that the Codeword is virtually impossible to do without going cross eyed. It’s absolutely awful. The grid and the boxes where you put the letters are the same size and font and therefore merge in to each other. Do the site developers, and indeed our esteemed editor, ever try to use these sites they design?
      While I’m here I’d like to say what a very good week of Cryptics we’ve had this week. Many thanks to all the setters and hinters.

      1. Completely agree regarding Codewords – it genuinely gave me a headache yesterday – nothing to do with it being quite tricky!

      2. I suspect the site designers are fresh out of uni and have little idea of the problems faced by more mature solvers, and undoubtedly cannot believe that many of us still prefer to print and solve. They have grown up in a world where everything is done on line.

        1. When I select print in the app, it produces a pdf file to print. When in portrait the clues are quite small, but if I rotate the iPad to landscape the clues get bigger. Not sure if that makes them big enough for everyone, but I thought I’d mention it. If it does help, you would need to select landscape in the print menu before printing of course.

    4. Can you give me his email address please, as I am more than distraught that the old site is closing. Thanks.

      2. I wrote to him again yesterday, but am still awaiting a reply. I imagine he is rather inundated right now.

    5. The new site, as you have seen, tells you when a letter is wrong. That is OK by me but the format of the site is very irritating.

  3. Lots of music today – Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull came to mind but I think I will be on the naughty step if I post them here
    I also had another Geordie spanner in mind whilst listening to Lindisfarne and MK’s new album
    Thanks to Setter and CS
    I “played” this on the phone on both sites on Android and it was OK but when the old site closes my Sunday night/morning toughies are going to be very tricky with the new site not working on my laptop

    1. Im tempted to say my favourite puzzle this year. Many thanks to the the setter.
      Particularly enjoyed the dual Barbie, Pink Floyd and private Pike clues.
      But disappointed that i cant spot the link to Jethro Tull. ??

  5. This was very enjoyable and on the money for a Saturday.

    I liked the gentle GK and there were lots of excellent surfaces that makes picking three tricky but I’ll go with 14d, 15d and 22d.

    ‘Don’t tell him, Pike’ is on the podium of the best TV one-liners along with Eric’s ‘I’m playing all the right notes etc’ and Fawlty’s classic ‘Care for a rat?’

    Many thanks to the super Saturday setter and super Sue.

    2*/5*

  6. Straightforward and very enjoyable, one of the best SPPs ever.

    Candidates for favourite – 17a, 30a, 2d, 15d, and 24d – and the winner is 24d.

    Thanks to whomsoever, NYDK?, and to CS.

  7. A pleasant and gentle puzzle for a windy day. Loved 17a and 6d, v clever.
    Shame the electronic DT page will not allow submission.Thx to all
    **/****

  8. I never did like Pink Floyd so that was a ‘guess and check’ but everything else slotted in nicely.
    Top three here were the Orient Express, the harassed wife and her badly behaved son.

    Thanks to our setter – NYDK sound about right to me, and thanks to CS for the hints.

  9. We have been blessed with some wonderfully entertaining puzzles this week, and this one is right up there amongst the best. The 28/12a combo was very neat, but 14d takes my top spot.

    Thanks to our Saturday setter for the fun, and to Sue.

  10. An excellent puzzle. The one that took the longest was 19d.
    I liked 4a, and 20a was pretty good too.
    Thanks to the setter, and to CS.

  11. 1.5*/4*. This was a light and excellent puzzle to start the remarkably warm weekend off with a lot of smiles.

    With plenty of ticks to choose from, first place goes to 15d.

    Many thanks to the setter and to CS.

  12. Wavelength 100%.
    Certainly SPP lite.
    Loved, especially
    4a.
    Many thanks setter
    And CS.

  13. Very enjoyable. Lots of stuff to make you smile. If you want another enjoyable challenge, try Carpathian in the Guardian

  14. Very enjoyable puzzle – no obscure GK and plenty of smiles.

    Like the Floyd references, probably my favourite band of all time.

    Thanks to today’s excellent setter.

  15. Very friendly. 28/12a’s a fun combo, 14d made me smile and 19d (clever, albeit oddy annoying!) grew on me. But 17a tickled me the most. Thanks to setter and CS.

  16. I’ve gone wrong somewhere because 5d is giving me a very odd two letter word for 20a. It’s obviously me as no one else has mentioned it!

    2. It might look like a very odd word but combined with the first two words of the solution, it does describe a basic education

    3. Jonathan, if you Google your answer including the “very odd two letter word”, all will be revealed.

    4. I’m another Jonathan who couldn’t crack 20A with that very odd two letter word. Having read the comments above the penny has just dropped though.

      A cracking puzzle so thanks to the setter and CS.

    5. Took me ages before the penny dropped. One of the most awkward answers I have ever seen.

  17. That was good fun with a collection of neat clues. I am not up on his series but 6d suddenly dawned on me. IMHO 19d is a bit muddly. Joint Favs (sorry Kath!) 1a and 30a. TVM Mysteryone and CS.

    1. I’m having trouble with Quickie 22a/20d but wonder if others have made their solutions cross-check?

      1. We aren’t supposed to discuss ‘other crosswords’ in case people haven’t solved them yet. All I can tell you is that my crossing letters work but you need to find the correct synonym for the clue in 19d

        1. D’oh Sue I have just sorted it. I did in fact have correct synonym for 19d but had bunged in wrong 22a (that’ll larn me!) whilst ignoring fact that I hadn’t filled in 23d hence 20d wouldn’t work – all very stupiid but phew it’s finally solved. Anyway many thanks for your guidance 🤪.

  18. Lots to like in this great Saturday puzzle except the fact that, initially, on the “Horribly Awkward Telegraph Entertainment Site”, the crossword & other puzzles were not updated until well after midnight PST and I was half way through the puzzle that I had printed from the old site, (bang on midnight PST), that is to be discontinued. A great start for the future … ‘nuff said … for now.

    2*/4.5* for me

    Favourites include 28/12a, 17a, 20a, 6d & 14d — with winner 20a
    Smile s for many including 4a, 17a, 28/12a, 14d & 15d

    Thanks to setter & CS for blog/hints

  19. I thoroughly enjoyed today’s guzzle with the top picks being 14d, 15d and 19d.
    Thanks to the setter and Cryptic Sue.

  20. Absolutely stonking guzzle today, too many favourites to name just one. I get this crossword and the little one but the sudoku etc.,have vanished. There is something saying the puzzles app is moving, tap here, but nothing happens. It also says as I am a subscriber I will still get these but thats a bit tricky if I can’t open the app. I will be livid if I can’t access the cryptic any more. Any ideas? Thanks to the setter and CS

  21. Good puzzle. Very enjoyable.
    I don’t have a subscription to the puzzles site as I only need the cryptic which is provided in the digital paper.
    Do I understand that the cryptic will disappear from the digital paper and the only way to get it is to take out a digital puzzles subscription. If so this is a poor show and I will therefore have no choice but to cancel.

    2. No. If you update your telegraph app there is a bar at the bottom of the first page of the edition
      Press the puzzle one and you get loads of puzzles including the cryptic crossword. You don’t need to have a puzzle subscription.

      1. How do you update the app. I can uninstall it and reinstall it but no way to just update it.

        2. Go into the App Store and it may say update or get. Click on that or it may just show you the arrow to download it

      2. But you do need the premium digital subscription package to get the puzzles (old or new). My mate threatened to cancel & got them added for a £1 for the year.

        1. I think you get 3 months free in fact I thought we only had digital but we have digital plus. It’s worth checking

  22. What a fantastic puzzle, I loved the combo ones and the multi word clues. Too much fun to have a favourite.

    Disappointed to find I could not submit the puzzle at the end (I am still completing in the digital version of the paper until they take it away from me) due to a glitch or because they are forcing us into the new puzzle site for such things.

    Many thanks to the setter and to CS for the hints.

  23. Nothing held us up to any length of time but none the less enjoyable for that. Another vote for 17a as favourite. Thanks to the setter and CS.

  24. Just testing.

    A comment I posted yesterday has failed to appear.

    In addition, I have just posted a comment on today’s NTSPP which also has failed to appear.

    Have I done something wrong?

      1. Both comments were in the spam folder. I’ve rescued yesterday’s comment which should show on the blog post

  25. Got into all kinds of bother with 15d which caused knock-on problems with 25a. Clearly a case of over-thinking rather than following instructions. That said it was all otherwise very enjoyable. I’ll go for a four letter cotd in 26d. Thanks to compiler and CS.

  26. I enjoyed this very much – not too tricky even for me until the last few answers.
    Lots of good clues including 1 and 4a and 2 and 14d. I think my favourite was 19d – reminds me of kicking our lawn mower when it wouldn’t start! Oh dear! Not sure if it should be my favourite!!
    Thanks to whoever set this crossword and to CS for the hints and pics.

  27. Good puzzle, favorite 14d. Also couldn’t submit from the paper but only from the puzzles section.

    I had the usual patronising reply from the DT regarding the transfer of the puzzles from the digital paper to the new puzzles section. Perhaps we should consider a boycot?

  28. A truly enjoyable Saturday offering, oh that they could all be like this. SE corner was the last to complete, and I did make hard work of a few clues for some reason. Found 20a rather awkward, but offset by the number of really good clues. I wrote to the two DT email addresses I posted yesterday and interesting to read today that Moonraker got a reply. Will just have to relish the rest of this month. Thanks to today’s setter and Cryptic Sue.

  30. What a wonderful guzzle. I’ve got ticks all over the place, but having just finished supper, I take the warning in 14d about DTs seriously!I
    V many thanks to the setter, and to the ever faithful CS.

  31. Lovely puzzle. Liked the Floyd clue but the album couldn’t hold a candle to TDSOTM or WYWH. 15d was my favourite.
    Thanks to the setter (Donny I’d reckon) & to Sue.

  32. Wotta lotta fun this was, perfect Saturday offering! I had never heard of Private Pike but had all the checkers so just bunged in a plant that fit. I had no problem with 20a, one of my first in. I know nothing about Pink Floyd, but a quick google sorted 17a. I had so many smilers, tops were 30a, 9d and 15d, I’ll toss a coin for fave.
    Thank you setter, you’re a star, and of course to our own CS for unravelling a few, especially 6d.

  33. Everyone has said everything so I will just agree it was a cracking guzzle and reiterate that I’m glad I have the actual paper. How much longer we can afford it I don’t know – it is a bit of a luxury. I went into town today and did most of the guzzle seated in a cosy tea shop whilst George was at the last Hertford Rugby game of the season. A shame that, when he goes off for lunch and the match I go into town and spend money. It works quite well. Many thanks to the wily setter and the lovely C.S.

    1. Love the ‘bit of a shame’ sentence, Day Zee.

      Very funny. 😆

  34. Absolute belter, with the humour-laden style pretty much giving the setter away: NYDK, this has to be you, right?

    Some corkers to choose from, but I’ll stick with the first two across clues for the set-up, and for setting the mood.

    Many thanks CS.

  35. A really enjoyable jaunt through Saturday crossword land. Lots of fun clues but my favourite is the adjustable spanner. Funny how Private Pike will always be remembered for ‘Don’t tell him Pike’ even though it was only said once!
    Thanks to Cryptic Sue and the setter for Saturday fun.

  36. Hello. Yes twas I. Many thanks to Sue, and to all for the comments.

    Cheers
    NYDK

    1. If you read the comments on both the weekend puzzle blogs,you will see that many others have reported the same problem

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