DT 30621 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30621

by Shabbo  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30,621
Hints and tips by Shabbo

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

And it came to pass that the waters receded from the land and Shabbo was able to stop building his ark and settle down to write hints on another fine RayT puzzle.  The master of brevity has excelled himself again with an average word count of only 5.3 words per clue and, in case of doubt, he has also left his calling cards in 22a (Queen) and 5d (swEetheart).  When I completed the puzzle, I was going to suggest that brevity, whilst admirable, leaves little scope for cryptic definitions, misdirection, humour or PDMs (penny drop moments).  Having now finished my blog, I withdraw this comment unreservedly.  There were smiles aplenty for me, in particular 10a, 11a, 21a, 25a, 3d, 6d, 17d & 19d.  Great stuff, Ray – thank you!

In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle.

Across

1a Damages nose on impact, unfortunately (12)
COMPENSATION: anagram (unfortunately) of NOSE ON IMPACT.

9a Due to win, goal’s included (5)
OWING: a hidden word clue (included).  Our answer is lurking in plain sight within words 2, 3 & 4.

10a Bond conceals a cold temperament (9)
CHARACTER: nothing to do with 007.  A synonym of bond (think deed) outside (conceals) A + abbreviation for cold.

11a Crush coriander lastly in food consumed (10)
DISHEARTEN: the last letter (lastly) of coriandeR inside (in) synonyms for food and consumed. The R is actually in “consumed” rather than in “food”.

12a Charge current for motor vehicle (4)
TAXI: synonym for charge (think levy) + abbreviation for current.

13a One’s pragmatic about American’s first agenda (7)
REALIST: two-letter abbreviation for about + first letter of American + synonym of agenda.

15a Tracking temperature being unwell (7)
TAILING: abbreviation for temperature + synonym of “being unwell”.

17a A new dope in European city (7)
ANTWERP: A + abbreviation for new + synonym of dope (as in dimwit).

19a Democrat winds up showing insecurities (7)
DANGERS: abbreviation for Democrat + synonym of “winds up”.

21a Curses desperate character welcoming Republican (4)
DARN: the lead character from The Dandy who was partial to cow pie outside (welcoming) abbreviation for Republican.

22a Support Queen even being wealthy? (10)
PROPERTIED: synonym of support + regnal abbreviation for our late queen + synonym of even.

25a Man, single, employing eager vacuous escort (9)
CHAPERONE: informal synonym of man + synonym of single (think cricket) outside (employing) first and last letters (vacuous) of EageR.

26a Initially made using score in concert? (5)
MUSIC: take the initial letters of words 2-6 and join them all together.  The definition is the whole clue (an “all-in-one” or “&lit” clue).

27a Food shop site’s cleaned out (12)
DELICATESSEN: anagram (out) of SITES CLEANED.

 

Down

1d Punches caught on mouth (5)
CLIPS: abbreviation for caught (cricket again) + part of the mouth.

2d Charm is teasing me somehow (9)
MAGNETISE: anagram (somehow) of TEASING ME.

3d Scrap in bar swallowing lager finally (7)
EXCERPT: synonym of bar (as in “apart from”) outside (swallowing) last letter (finally) of lageR.

4d Second time catching story’s most boring (7)
STALEST: abbreviations for second and time outside (catching) synonym for story’s.

5d Pull apart sailor embracing sweetheart (4)
TEAR: synonym of sailor outside (embracing) the heart of swEet.

6d A corset is undone in bar (9)
OSTRACISE: anagram (undone) of A CORSET IS.

7d Criminal swindle beginning to require flier (6)
CONDOR: synonyms of criminal (a noun) + swindle (a verb) + first letter of (beginning to) Require.

8d Slipping cutting head off fish (6)
ERRING: remove the head (first letter) from an Omega-3-rich oily fish.

14d A large bird fed every second (9)
ALTERNATE: A + abbreviation for large + a type of sea bird + synonym of fed.

16d Fool is amusing or eccentric (9)
IGNORAMUS: anagram (eccentric) of AMUSING OR.

17d Shanghai sailor on Channel (6)
ABDUCT: a neat bit of work by RayT using capital letters to his advantage.  A two-letter abbreviation for sailor + a synonym of channel (ignore the capitalisation). With the definition “Shanghai” appearing as the first word of the clue, the setter is able to trick us into thinking that we are looking for the city, whereas we are actually looking for a verb.

18d Newspaper’s on about saving public image (7)
PERSONA: hidden word (saving) clue – our answer is concealed within words 1-3.

19d Rub out keeping page empty (7)
DEPLETE: synonym of “rub out” outside (keeping) abbreviation for page.  The definition is a verb masquerading as an adjective.

20d Allure of speed, quicker oddly (6)
SEDUCE: the odd letters (oddly) of SpEeD qUiCkEr. The definition is a verb masquerading as a noun.

23d Writer of one’s biography written up (5)
IBSEN: a hidden word upside down (written up – this is a down clue). Our writer can be found lurking upside down in words 3 & 4.

24d Fabulous creature is still single (4)
YETI: synonym of still + the same single that we came across in 25a.

 

Quickie Pun:  PLEA  +  STAY  +  SHUN  =  POLICE STATION

63 comments on “DT 30621”

  1. Perfect.

    Lots of humour (21a, 25a & 6d) with an abundance of splendid surfaces. What’s not to like?

    My podium is 10a, 14d and 24d though I will probably change my mind the second I have posted this.

    Many thanks to RayT and Shabbs.

    2*/5*

  2. Well, I thought this was smashing, although I failed to complete unaided. I was cross with myself for not seeing the then ‘obvious’ solutions to 13a and 3d. I suspect it will be ever thus. Narrow favourite was 8d though some of the other surfaces were sublime (6d got a smile). 3.5*/4*

  3. ‘Aha’ I thought when I woke up this morning feeling fine, ‘something tells me I’m into something good’.
    And it was.

  4. A great guzzle today. I love the worthwhile challenge of a Ray T puzzle.
    Last one in was 22a.
    Top picks for me were 17a, 22a, 14d and 17d.
    Thanks to Shabbo and Ray T.

  5. What a difference a day makes……

    An excellent puzzle from RayT. Lots and lots to like but favourite has to be 17a because of the twerp.
    My ancient aunt’s favourite word for people she disliked…..and there were more than a few.

    Thanks to RayT and to Shabbo.

  6. Top entertainment from one of our favourite setters, with his usual wit and commendable brevity. Great surfaces, as always. 21a is undoubtedly a chestnut but was my top clue this morning.

    Thanks to Ray T for a most enjoyable challenge, and to Shabbo.

  7. Great guzzle with some grand glues for sure, but very challenging for me. I finished only with the help of Shabbo.

    Spendid lunch for H’s birthday yesterday, but (of course) an absolute deluge meant we had to postpone the lovely walk.
    This evening is her mystery trip,so she has gone orf to the hairdresser.

    Thanks to RayTee and Shabba-dabba-doo

  8. The Master of Brevity at his very best! 3*/4.5*

    Candidates for favourite – 13a, 17a, 27a, 14d, and 19d – and the winner is 14d.

    Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo – from the weather warnings over here, I might need a quick course in ark building!

  9. For me, Ray T at his most benign today. I was on wavelength from the start and completed without reference to Mr G or a trip to the bookshelves. Thoroughly enjoyable throughout with his trademark succinct clueing and lots of smiles. Favourite was the lego clue at 14d while the amusing 17a and 25a share the podium. Thanks to Mr T and Shabbo.

  10. This was true 1a after yesterday’s battle! I did take far too long to adjust my pronunciation of 11a to accommodate the last bit of coriander and wasn’t familiar with the nounal use of ‘allure’ but our setter always does his homework as a quick check confirmed.
    Biggest laugh came from the European dope but I thoroughly enjoyed the whole solve.

    Undying devotion to Mr T and many thanks to the ark builder for the review – just one slip-up today in that you depicted an imposter in place of the real 007!

    1. I like to be up to date, as you know, Jane, but I shertainly know who you are referring to!
      Having said that, I believe Daniel Craig’s successor has already been announced…?

      1. Is it now a ‘done deal’? The only person with a ghost of a chance of persuading me is The Night Manager aka Tom Hiddleston whom I think was suggested some time ago.

        1. It’s not yet decided – I’m still waiting to hear if my application has been successful.
          You never know, they might opt to go with a “more mature” Bond this time.

  11. What a difference a day makes! This was a delightful offering by Ray T and one I thoroughly enjoyed. Plenty to exercise the grey cells but all fairly clued and gettable with a bit of pondering. Beautiful misdirection at 14d, I thought, because I spent ages looking for a big bird and trying to get “albatross” out of my mind. Difficult to pick a favourite but if pushed I will go with the single man and his vacuous escort at 25a.

    Thank you, Ray T for the fun challenge. Thank you, Shabbo for the hints.

  12. Cliche corner well filled already : master of brevity, abundance/lots of humour, sublime, super surfaces, and if I waited even longer a cornucopia of cliches could be created. Enjoyable crossword with my only quibble being 22a. I am the owner of a bungalow with an upstairs, what passes for a summerhouse, a greenhouse, a woodshed and a garage. I could be called propertied but have barely any savings making me certainly not wealthy. The Duke of Westminster is certainly propertied and incredibly wealthy but that doesn’t mean propertied can also mean wealthy.

    Thanks to Shabbo and RayT.

    Are we likely to have signing in everyday ended soon?

    1. In defence of RayT, he did add a question mark at the end of the clue to acknowledge your assertion that not all propertied people are wealthy.

  13. Yes Steve – what a difference from yesterday when I simply threw in the towel. This was a barrowload of fun with just enough food for thought to make for an engaging challenge. Prior to getting any crossers I tried for sometime to justify hijack for 17d. Liked several clever surfaces including particularly 1a. Thank you RayT and Shabbo.

  14. I was right in my solving of 7 d but couldn’t parse it and felt 17d should be “kidnap l so that held me up .
    COTD? That has to be 16d

    1. A North American slang synonym of ‘fool’ is ‘dumbass’. I think the Latin equivalent might be ignor-anus.

  15. Another splendid puzzle from Ray T. Great clues and a decent challenge providing much enjoyment. Fav: 17d. 3*/4*.

  16. After many years of using the site, this is my first time at commenting.

    I marvelled at this crossword, and enjoyed every solve.
    Some great deflections, some great puns, personally (IMHO) I don’t remember a better crossword so it gets a ***/***** from me👍(and the courage to comment)
    It was all a favourite, but the standout clues for me were 11a, 22a (last in) and 3d.

    2. Welcome indeed – I’ll ask Kath to send you an official Ray T fan club monogrammed handkerchief to clean up your image!

    3. Welcome from me with the official fan club monogrammed hanky that Jane asked to send so that you could clean up your act!!
      Jane and I were both the equal RayT fan club. I used to do alternate Thursday crossword hints until I was unfortunate/dim enough to have a brain haemorrhage three years ago which rather put the end idea to that!! I do occasionally comment but my brain isn’t quite as “smart” as it was!
      Thanks Jane for the comment and (Gazza for reminding me that I’m still around!!)

      2. So glad you’ve checked in, Kath, I was so worried! Please pop in from time to time, even if you haven’t done the puzzle, just to say hello to your fans.

    4. Welcome, SG and I hope we hear a lot more from you. 👍
      Er.. would you like a tissue? 🤣

  17. Nice to have the fortnightly visit from RayT this week. He is always consistent with clues and wavelength I find. This puzzle was no exception.
    Yes, a couple of real head scratchers, but when the penny drops, it REALLY drops!

    2.5*/4.5* for me

    Favourites today 17a, 6d, 7d, 8d & 14d — with 14d being the very clever winner.

    Thanks to RayT & Shabbo for hints/blog

  18. Thanks to Mr T for the entertaining crossword and to Shabbo for the entertaining review.
    For my podium I’ve selected 10a, 6d and 14d.

    We haven’t heard from Kath for a few weeks – I hope she’s ok.

    1. I’ve been thinking about her and am concerned. Would it be possible for one of the village elders (thank you Robert!) to email her?

      1. Thanks Merusa – I’m OK and I do comment sometimes but don’t really feel as if I belong as I used do.

        1. Kath you are part of the furniture, if anyone belongs it is you, you have countless admirers on this site so no more of this “ don’t feel as if I belong”. You definitely do.

        2. Kath, we love you! Of course you belong. I will never forget the kindness you showed me when I was taken ill a few years back. Who got in touch to see if I were ok? You, dear Kath.
          I always look forward to your comments so please keep them coming.🌹

  19. I thought that this was going to be a very benign offering from Ray T as the first half of this excellent puzzle positively flew in but then it became a tad more difficult and was only unlocked by two judicious nudges from Shabbo’s hints. 17a and 17d take my lower podium positions with 8d in top spot. Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo.

  20. What a great guzzle. Too many to choose as a favourite but if pushed I think 17a is good for a laugh.
    Thankyou to setter and hinter.

  21. Lovely crossword, 😃 **/**** Favourites 11a, 8d & 14d Thanks to Ray T and to Shabbo 👍 My only slight hiccup was 1d which I thought was “chins” ! 😳

  22. Who wudda thought, all these years later, that RayT would turn out to be one of my fave setters? This was fun all the way through, much needed after the brain mangling from yesterday. I did have to use an anagram solver for 2d, I was hung up in the NW so that helped to get me going again. I did get 22a with all the checkers and following instructions, but it seemed a bit Jane Austen-ish, perfectly allowable I hasten to say. My tops were 11a, 17a, which gets a +, and 25a.
    Thank you Mr. Breviloquence for the fun, and Shabbo for unravelling a few.

  23. A very enjoyable puzzle today especially after yesterday’s challenge which had left me feeling quite inadequate. Always a confidence booster to get 1a and a double whammy with 27a being also an anagram and nicely filling the bottom of the grid. My only hold ups were at 21a as I wanted to put an ‘s’ at the end and 22a as I didn’t like the ending! Many thanks to Ray T and to Shabbo.

  24. With such brevity RayT somehow still manages to slip in some cunning lurkers eg 23d. Thank you for a terrific puzzle and also Shabbo of course

  25. Evening all. My thanks to Shabbo for the decryption and to everybody else for your observations. As always, much appreciated.

    RayT

    1. Good evening, Mr T. Many thanks for another most enjoyable puzzle – so much appreciated.

    2. Thank you so much for restoring my faith in my solving abilities, Mr. T. A delight of a guzzle and no mistake.

  26. Best puzzle of the week so far, for me. I normally struggle with RayT offerings but found this quite benign. Thanks to all.

  27. Late comment sorry as solving the crossword on my train journey home. Great puzzle and with only two clues left to solve, I resorted to looking at Shabbo’s hints – thank you. Echoing some of the others, I was despondent yesterday too and gave up. RayT has restored some faith in my ability. **** for enjoyment and *** for difficulty.

    2. Welcome from me, as well, Swanseagirl. Please keep comments coming. 👍

  28. I have been out all day playing cricket so haven’t been able to post, but I wanted to pop in and say that I thought this was RayT at his very best. It doesn’t get any better than that! My rating is 2*/5*.

    Many thanks to him and to Shabbo.

  29. Good evening

    As soon as I clapped eyes on 5d, I knew I was in for another excellent challenge courtesy of the Mighty Mr T. He never disappoints!

    I had to take my normal course of action, which is to find a way in, get a couple of quadrants done, then go and do something else and let the subconscious get to work. In fact, I had to repeat the process, until finally 11a fell and we were all done. Kicking myself for failing to spot the lurkers in 18 and 23d!

    COTD: joint honours to 21 and 22a.

    Many thanks to Ray T and to Shabbo.

  30. Very late today as we have been visiting relatives, what a delight this was, as ever a true master at work. No particular favourites as all was very enjoyable and I was able to finish unaided.

    Many thanks to RayT and to Shabbo for the hints

  31. Crikey it’s a next day post – work & then golf then fell asleep on the couch when back. Loved the puzzle – a swift problem free solve but very entertaining. Good to hear from Kath in the comments.
    Thanks to Ray T for popping in & to 007 (you never know) for the review.

    1. I’ve edited your alias to one you’ve used previously to prevent your being confused with the other Brian.
      The clue you refer to appeared in DT 30620 not this puzzle.
      Capital means currency or money, escudo being the former currency of Portugal.

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