Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30596
Hints and tips by 2Kiwis
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Kia ora from Aotearoa.
Thanks Gazza for filling in for us last week while we were away on a ‘jaunt’. We have put a picture at the end of this blog which will explain where we were and what we were doing on our jaunt. It was an awesome experience and well worth the effort.
A most enjoyable solve for us today with a couple of tricky pieces of wordplay to keep us amused.
Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
1a Blunder from star footballer, almost winning (4,2)
MESS UP : A famous Argentinian footballer without his last letter and a two letter word for winning.
5a Most unpleasant sparkling wine in Robin’s home? (8)
NASTIEST : Robin here is a bird and its home surrounds a type of Italian sparkling wine.
9a Torquay hotelier I caught by a church (8)
BASILICA : The forename of a TV Torquay hotelier, then ‘I’ from the clue, the cricket abbreviation for caught and ‘A’ from the clue.
10a Bobby Charlton, on pitch, prompts English rejoicing initially (6)
COPPER : First letters of six words in the clue.
11a Tabloid calls for old timers? (8)
SUNDIALS : A particular tabloid newspaper and then calls on an old-type telephone.
12a Plan he abandons finally (6)
INTEND : Start with a 2,3,3 phrase meaning finally and remove the ‘HE’ from within this.
13a Boost fixed green issues, occasionally (8)
ENERGISE : An anagram (fixed) of GREEN and alternate letters from issues.
15a Telegraph journalist is employed (4)
USED : How the setter refers to his employer, and a senior journalist.
17a Prow of boat running north — it’s on the Rhine (4)
BONN : The first letter (prow) of boat, then a two letter ‘running’ or ‘in operation’ and N(orth).
19a Fancy hairstyle, with length cut, creates frenzy (8)
HYSTERIA : An anagram (fancy) of HAIRSTY(l)E with its L(ength) removed.
20a Respect received by compiler? I’m dancing about (6)
ADMIRE : A reverse lurker, hiding in the clue.
21a By the sound of it, person eating may explode (8)
DYNAMITE : A homophone. Split 4,4 it can be heard as a person eating and a synonym for may.
22a Figures defending alien beliefs (6)
TENETS : The first of the two digit figures contain the movie alien.
23a Features Cockney intellectuals on the radio (8)
EYEBROWS : Start with a word for intellectuals and in Cockney fashion remove the initial H to get a homophone of the answer.
24a Domestic returns and dons tailored suit (8)
DIAMONDS : The reversal of a domestic servant and an anagram (tailored) of DONS.
25a Band holding record back is prominent news story (6)
SPLASH : A cloth band contains the reversal of a 33rpm record.
Down
2d People rescued, you heard, in northerly spot with grotto (8)
EVACUEES : Working in the reverse direction (northerly) we have spot or observe, then the letter that sounds like ‘you’ and a grotto.
3d Taken for a ride in sleigh, catching breeze (8)
SWINDLED : A sleigh or toboggan contains breeze or zephyr.
4d Amassing stamps from foreign letter recently (9)
PHILATELY : The 21st Greek Letter, then a synonym for recently.
5d Ed Sheeran’s playing with Sting, creating issue for viewer (4-11)
NEAR-SIGHTEDNESS : An anagram (playing) of ED SHEERAN’S and STING.
6d Recount catastrophic defeat (7)
TROUNCE : An anagram (catastrophic) of RECOUNT.
7d European therefore consumes squash or coffee (8)
ESPRESSO : The abbreviation for European and a two letter word for therefore contain squash or squeeze.
8d Knock back tea loudly — drink quickly holding pot (4,4)
TURN DOWN : The letter that sounds like (loudly) tea, then a pot or vessel followed by a word meaning drink quickly.
14d They run small devices connected to computers (9)
SPRINTERS : The abbreviation for small, then the devices connected to computers that cause so much trouble for people like us who like to solve Cryptics on paper.
15d Bananas, nuts and date not consumed (8)
UNTASTED : An anagram (bananas) of NUTS and DATE.
16d Say Arab and American will show narcissism (8)
EGOMANIA : The two letter abbreviation for say or for example, then a person from an Eastern Sultanate and A(merican).
17d Starmer’s lot turned up right in royal residence (8)
BALMORAL : The reversal of the party led by Starmer and right or principled.
18d Scientist’s embracing wife in Telford and Milton Keynes? (3,5)
NEW TOWNS : The scientist associated with gravity, with his ‘S, contains W(ife).
19d Hard speech cut, one appearing in Hamlet (7)
HORATIO : The abbreviation for hard and a speech without its last letter.
4d is our favourite today. We also appreciated the clever wordplay in 2d and 12a.
Quickie pun mane + tonne + ants = maintenance
What an excellent crossword that smacks of the midweek master and my favourite setter, Jay: the brevity of RayT (well, not quite) combined
with the smoothness of Silvanus on a friendly grid with no ‘wey hey!’ words.
My LOI was 12a which I failed to parse.
It’s nigh on impossible to choose a top 3 but I’ll go with 18a, 21a (love it) and the outstanding 5d (how cool is that anagram. Well spotted, Jay!)
Many thanks to ‘The Man’ and Le Touquet.
2*/5*
Hello Tom. Solvers from Yorkshire would understand 12a – it’s as they speak. But southerners (posh or not) struggled.
A very fair comment, Pipsqueak, which MG touched upon with his Boycs comment below.
Talking of Geoffreys and all things posh……Port out. Starboard home. Posh with a capital P…o….s…h….posh.
Lionel Jeffries – legend
I’m sure many of you know that port was originally larboard which is a lot easier to remember (l for left). But, as larboard and starboard rhymed, it caused huge confusion with the sailors. So, they changed the loading side (larboard) to port, i.e the side of the port.
There endeth the lesson from Fr Thomas.
Tom. I remember it simply by left/port both have 4 letters. One of the theories (maybe not true) is that “Port Out, Starboard Home” refers to passengers paying extra to get the most desirable/cooler cabins on steamship journeys to (out) India and back (home).
I do like that theory and hope it’s true. (see below my reply to tmesis)
PS. Are you au fait with the “tm” word in my comment to MG below?
An abso-blooming-lutely wonderful puzzle. I evidently got out of bed on the right side (even if waking at 4am …) for after a busy morning so far I tuned in to this super puzzle from the off. An incredibly fair challenge. Great surfaces. I appear to have ticked fully half the clues, and chuckled my way through from top to bottom.
Could not help reading LOI 12a with a mock Geoffrey B. accent when the penny dropped and the parsing leapt forward. Podium really needs extending in several directions today, but instead I shall limit to 9a, 23a & 17d.
1.5* / 5*
Many thanks to the setter, whomever you are please come back every week when they’re at this standard! And thanks also to the 2Ks – what a great experience and view!
Excellent tmesis there, MG! The only word in English to begin with tm.
You’re not wrong, J. A great word.
Its root is the Greek ‘tem’ meaning cut. Goodness knows why and when the ‘e’ got binned.
Poor ‘e’.
Why and when may be in doubt
But where was probably Yorkshire.🙂
A splendid shout, Falcon!
It is funny that Yorkies take the e out of many words and use it on its own….eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
E’Ba gum Trebor isn’t the Yorkshire cry for more mints but it is a reversal of Robert Mugabe!
We do love that one, Sloops. A classic.
For me this was 2*/4.5* for a very enjoyable mid-week puzzle. It seemed to take an age for the parsing penny for 12a to drop, and that one gets my vote as favourite. A special mention too for 5d.
Many thanks to the setter and to the 2Ks.
Excellent mid-week fare.
Very cunning lurker at 20a.
Very clever 12a.
And loved 4d which
Is my COTD.
So, 2*/5*
Many thanks, setter, and
The 2Kiwis especially
For the 4d picture.
Lovely puzzle. All clues in except 12a, and having read the hint I’m pretty sure I’d never have got it in a month of Sundays.
Delightful surfaces all round. Slight grumble over 15a ‘Telegraph’ and ‘us’ (but then concluded it was fine). Favourite was the Cockney 23a, as it gave me a bubble (bath). ***/****
I queried it in my mind as well. As from my point of view it’s they or you
A gem that only lasted post first 7d as Work loomed, the footballer always escapes my memory and that was the only hold up requiring instant to kick start my memory
Thanks to setters and 2K’s
A superb highly enjoyable puzzle – thanks to our setter and 2Ks.
I’ll restrict my plaudits to 10a, 2d, 3d and 5d with my favourite being 12a.
Oh what a wonderful midweek challenge, even the sprinkling of double unches didn’t put me off – 2.5*/4.5*
Like RD, the parsing of 12a took an age to get from ‘it has to be’ to ‘why it is.’
Candidates for favourite – 11a, the aforementioned 12a, 4d, and 18d – and the winner is 11a.
Thanks to whomsoever and the 2Kiwis – what an amazing ‘jaunt.’
Just right for a mid-week puzzle. I do hope that this is Jay back in his regular spot. Whoever the setter is it was brilliant throughout. I twigged 12a straight away but it took longer than it should have for the penny to drop with 11a. There are ticks all over my paper highlighting the clever and misleading clueing. First one in was the long anagram – respect to the setter for spotting that one. I can’t choose an overall favourite today but I liked 12a, 24a, 2d 4d and 16d, as well as all the others! Thanks to our setter and the 2 Kiwis ( Wild horses would not get me up in a balloon 🎈🎈)
What a great puzzle! I am rubbish at Guess the Setter, but I think this might be Silvanus having a rare Wednesday outing?
2d and 12a took me a while to parse, but well worth the effort.
Ticks for 11a, 12a and 24a with COD to the wonderful anagram at 5d.
Thank you setter and the Kiwis. I hope you enjoyed your hot air balloon trip.
Most enjoyable puzzle with spot on cluing, last in was 12a, which I failed to parse-thanks 2K,s.
Favourites were 9a,2d,24a and especilly 10a.
Going for a **/****,liked the quickie pun-must look up 9a-new to me.
12a was my last to parse too, with 24a my top clue. This was a really enjoyable puzzle with some good twists and turns to keep us on our toes. Could it be a Jay production? Hopefully the setter will come on later to claim ownership of this little gem.
Thanks to whomsoever and the 2Ks.
Top marks for our setter – brilliant puzzle and barrow-loads of laughs! The rescued people held out until the end but my brain was definitely in gear for the remainder of the solve. Almost churlish to pick favourites from such a great selection but the ones that particularly caught my eye were 11,12&23a. I do hope our setter calls in to take a well-deserved bow.
Many thanks to him and also to our 2Ks for the review – pleased to hear that you enjoyed your hot air balloon trip, I did one quite a few years ago – courtesy of my then employers – and I can still vividly remember it. Sadly, one of our number was so terrified that she spent the entire time curled up in a corner of the basket, sobbing quietly!
I found the 🚠 up to the top of Table Mountain a trial – everyone else was at the windows while I was in the middle thinking of Richard & Clint in Where Eagles Dare – what a wuss
Strangely enough, cable-cars worry me far more than the balloon trip did – and I was stone-cold sober, honestly!
I think I need to add the ‘jaunt’ to my bucket list but I have been on two impressive cable car systems without any problems – the Ngong Ping 360 cable car on Lantau Island in Hong Kong ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngong_Ping_360 ) and the Sandia Peak Tramway in Albuquerque, New Mexico ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandia_Peak_Tramway ).
This is Ngong Ping 360:
We too did the one to Lantau Island. Guess you climbed the steps up to the Giant Buddha when you got there?
All 268 of them, very slowly! :smile:
I did one in Queensland.
The eerie silence and birds flying past were what I remember most.
And landing was a bit bumpy.
I thought this was very good – 4* for enjoyment.
My only slight quibble (and I know that I am on my own when it comes to my opinion on GK in a cryptic puzzle) is with 9a.
The reference to “Torquay hotelier” was obvious to me – I often watch the repeats, and have the entire collection on DVD, but does it have a place in a cryptic puzzle that should be possible to solve by anyone who wants to have a go? My 18 year old son who is not bad at solving cryptic puzzles just shook his head with confusion and laughed…
Perhaps it is just me, but over the last few years I have noticed more and more GK creeping into these puzzles. I do not think that was the case 10 or 20 years ago. I still have a couple of DT compilation cryptic puzzle books that I took on holiday with me around 20 years ago, and they contain very little (if any) references to GK.
I know I am on my own on this one, but hey-ho… it is not going to stop me from my daily puzzle fix :)
Thanks to the setter for a most enjoyable puzzle, and please excuse my waffle…..
You are not alone in the ‘We hate GK in a crossword’ camp, Jezza, though I’m very much in the other one. It’s most certainly here to stay.
Under 1% of solvers are under 30 and we all love Flowery Tw*ts. It’s a case of knowing the audience.
Also, there’s no harm in your son learning about one of The UK’s superstars and his place in British comedy history.
Hi TDS65
Thanks for the reply – John Cleese is very well known by my son, and my 13 year old daughter… I doubt they will ever forget my attempt at the “silly walk” (which did my back no favours). My point was (and obviously futile) should someone be expected to know the “Torquay hotelier”. Enough said from me…. I will shut up :)
We sooooooooooooooooooooooooo need to see your silly walk, Jezza.
Hear, hear, Tom! I welcome a bit of GK in a cryptic puzzle, especially if it’s to do with geography. Only in one or two clues per crossword, mind.
I take your point about GK especially with the younger solver, but when I started with this infuriating past time at much the same age as your son is now, I suffered with a lack of GK of the then current times, but now – as Tom mentions ( below or above) – I’m of an age where the majority of specialised knowledge is of my era or rather the setters are nearer my age!
I like a sprinkling of GK.
I have learnt an awful lot from such clues.
And they can sharpen one’s solving skills.
It’s just as fair as sports related clues for those of us with zero knowledge in that arena. We often get clues that require specialized knowledge, that’s just par for the course. Given the age of many of us, I would have thought 9a would not be too difficult to solve.
¿Qué? I know nothing!
I’m not a huge fan of GK in a puzzle Jezza, but think it is fair enough if you can get to the answer through another route. In this case, with the checkers and a pretty clear indication of -ICA at the end of the word, then it’s not a huge step to think of a synonym for church.
I freeze when I see a Shakespeare reference but 19d is a fair clue as the wordplay leads easily to the answer.
Don’t get me started on GK clues with no other route in though…
Any fans of Pointless will know Richard Osman’s opinion on people who said “that is before my time”.
On one hand I think it helps expand one’s knowledge but, on the other hand, sometimes GK is massively obscure or specialist knowledge.
Having said that, I think GK should stay.
Solved during my venesection (Tony Hancock’s armful) at the Royal Free. Cynthia, the delightful phlebotomist, was fascinated with the explanations as to some of the whys. 12a was a bung in & move on but reading through the comments I went back & successfully parsed. A super guzzle & a pleasure to solve from first to last. Ticks all over the shop but if forced to pick a winner 2d just pips 12a for pole position.
Many thanks to the setter (Robyn, Jay or Mr Smooth & 5 bob says it’s Robyn) & to the 2Ks – your balloon trip must have been great – very jealous though I’ve no head for heights.
Like most 12a was last in but 15a ? What a stretch and for me the worst of the 25 . However the crossword was very enjoyable and had many contenders for the podium. 23,24 and 8 receive the the medals. Thanks to all.
Loved it – certainly the most enjoyable fill for some time. Thought 5d anagram was genius and 24a my COTD.
Thanks to all
Well for me, another Wednesday puzzle that did not float my boat again this week. I find the clues leave me rather disatisfied even when I know the answer is right but the parsing is nowhere to be found.
More frustration than enjoyment … at least for me.
3*/1* today
Clues to like include 5a, 9a, 25a, 17d & 18d – with top clue 9a
Thanks to setter and 2K’s for sorting this out.
Wit and sparkle by the bucket load. A joy from start to finish. I understand the GK debate about 9a, but being of a certain age, I still think it funny. There were so many great moments in that programme, but the vision of Basil with a large garden gnome, I think, in pursuit of a certain builder is priceless. But my cotd goes to 21a being shades of Monsieur Creosote and a waffer thin mint. Thanks to compiler and 2K’s.
What a wonderfully neat and enjoyable solve with just the right amount of head scratch. I could not parse 1a , as no idea about the footballer (GK ..grrrr) so that was a bung in. My favourites were 11a and 23a. Is 7d joining the ranks of The Serengeti ? Thanks so much to the setter and the 2Ks.
Great puzzle. 9a my favorite.
An enjoyable guzzle with a few tricky ones, particularly in rhe NW. My favourite was the lego clue at4d, followed closely by the nod to FawltyvTowers at 9a. The long anagram at 5dwas pretty good too. Thanks to the setter and to the high-flying Kiwis for the hints.
That was as a puzzle should be, lots of fun and just the right amount of trickiness. I was DNF at 10a, to my everlasting shame. I should have got that, where was my brain? At least I now know a lot about Bobby Charlton, whatever good that may do me. The NW corner held me up, and, yes, it took ages for 1a to fall, and that man is here in Miami. I bunged in 12a, now I get it, ain’t it clever? My fave is 9a, I don’t care, just the thought of him makes me laugh.
Thank you setter for the lovely start to my day, and to the 2Kiwis for unravelling a lot, particularly 12a.
I echo the near universal aclaim for this enjoyable puzzle. The photo illustrating 9a drew a smile with its schoolboyish quasi-Spoonerism. Question to lingualists: what do you call a Spoonerism in the middle of words? Thanks to the setter and high flying 2Ks.
What?
A proonersism?
🙂
I suspect what’s on the sign might be described as a subtractional anagram. There were a few as I recall, and one episode had a full anagram.
Concur with 2*/4* review, this puzzle was a joy to solve. Favourites were 12a, 24a and 4d. However spent far too long working out what type of ‘suit’ 24a was – tried to work round morning suit, dinner jacket etc. when suddenly the penny dropped that it referred to a playing card suit. Many thanks to the 2Kiwis and the setter.
I found this one really difficult – not sure if it’s wavelength or whether the marbles seem to be having a little rest – either way it seems to have taken ages.
I particularly liked 11a and 23a and 2 and 7d. I think my favourite was 19a.
With thanks to today’s setter for the crossword and to the K’s for their hints and pics.
Kudos to the setter today, a very enjoyable Wednesday puzzle. Much better than I anticipated as our printer churned it out. Almost all my own work, but succumbing to hints for 2d and 16d when brain cells would not cooperate. Close call on COTD between 11a and the clever anagram at 5d. Thanks again to the setter and the 2Kiwis. Congratulations on the balloon ride.
1a. Blunder (4,2) = something(four letters) UP
Ohhhhh! 🤦♂️ Anyone got a rubber, please?
( and a hat-tip to The Two Ronnies :D )
Always worth watching again no matter how many times I have seen it!
Definitely!! Ronnie C would have written in my first thought for 1a 😜
I join others in congratulating the setter on a brilliant puzzle and also in being foxed by the parsing of 12a (though it now seems so obvious!….)
As others have said, what a joy to solve!
Ticks all over the place. Only one I didn’t really like was 15a, which is somewhat overused. Hoped that it might have a reference to my favourite character in The Flowerpot Men (We..)
I think I have to plump for 5d as the favourite, both as a sufferer and in admiration of the inventive ‘anagrist’.
Thanks and kudos to the setter and to the 2Kiwis, now safely back on earth. (Jealous!)
What fun that was, completed before we went out to lunch, so it has been a good day and fortunately much warmer. I loved the puzzle, a couple of clues took a while to grasp with 12a last in. 9a was my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter for such a great mid weekend and to the 2kiwis for the hints.
Tricky but enjoyable 😃 ***/**** with many clever clues but my favourites are: 1, 11 & 23 across and 3 down 👍 Many thanks to the 2 x Ks for their explanations and to the Compiler 🤔
Morning all. Good to see that so many enjoyed this as much as we did. This week all the UK GK was familiar to us, even the footballer and the geography in 18d, both of which usually have us reaching for Google assistance. Hope we see the setter appearing soon to take a well-deserved bow.
Cheers.
A bit of a curate’s egg with the Southern half coming on board far ahead of the top. I DNF thanks to 22a and 8d holding out until the end when I had to seek help. I need 4 places on my podium which includes 25a, 21a, 23a and 14d. Thanks to whomever the setter may be and to 2Kiwis.
Good evening
What a tremendous crozzie today; some superb examples of misdirection, 10 & 24a especially, and a brilliant backwards lurker at 20a.
The only one I couldn’t properly parse was 2d; so although I deduced the correct answer, I couldn’t fully justify it to my inner critic!
19a, 24a, and 5d all in contention for COTD, however I must hand it to 9a, if only because I kept trying to fit the surname of the Torquay hotelier to the solution instead of his first name. D’oh!!!
Many thanks to our compiler and to 2Ks.
Although I finished it in not much longer than my usual ******, I didn’t understand 2D, 12A and 15A and had to come here for tte explanation. I must remember that “Telegraph” means “us” in future! I groaned at 23A.
You’ve changed your alias which sent your comment into moderation. Both versions will work from now on.
Please don’t discuss solving times – see Comment Etiquette #6.
Many thanks, all – looks like Huntsman’s bang on the money again.
As this is likely to be my last Wednesday back-pager for the moment, I did want to drop in to heartily thank the inestimable 2Ks and say what a genuine pleasure it’s been to be blogged by them on so many occasions. It really has made the Wednesday gig a joyful one.
Hope everyone has a great week!
Thank you Robyn. We’re glowing with embarrassment at such praise.
It has been our pleasure and privilege to be able to blog your puzzles.
Colin and Carol.
I’ll look forward to bumping into you both at other times of the week for the moment – and over in the Toughiesphere too, of course!
A truly excellent puzzle, Robyn. I was convinced it was Jay, my favourite setter.
It looks like I now have two but don’t tell Kath.
5d is a brilliant anagram!
Thanks again.
I do hope this doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing less of you in the DT. Great puzzle.
Ps still battling with your Graun guzzle from yesterday.
Thank you for taking ownership of this gem. I look forward to more from you, whatever day they appear!
Thank you so much, Robyn, a really excellent puzzle.
V Many thanks, Robyn, for a terrific puzzle!
Enormously enjoyable solve today.
Need the hint to parse 12a as did many others.
The bag of wind kicker took a while to get as 2d eluded me for ages.
Thanks to all.
Sorry to be so late but just in case anyone is still reading I wanted to say that I hope Robyn returns to the back page this was such a good puzzle
2*/5* ….
liked 23A “Features Cockney intellectuals on the radio (8)”
amongst several others.