DT 30647 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30647 (Hints)

by crypticsue  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30647 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)

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A grey morning brings another Saturday Prize Puzzle where there are two possible reasons why I found it slightly trickier than usual.  I will be interested to see what other solvers thought so that I can decide which one applies.

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

1,  5a and 10a  Muddled sister had an idea – one not as simple as she might pretend (6,4,4,4)
An anagram (muddled) of SISTER HAD AN IDEA plus ONE (from the clue)

11a         Sort of bob or crew cut? (8)
A type of bobsleigh or a workforce reduced to its lowest strength

15a         Fearless one with books about returning depression (8)
Another Roman numeral for one, with some abbreviated Books of the Bible, the usual ‘about’ or ‘on the subject of’  and a reversed (returning) depression,

23a         My French bird: it preys on rats and snakes (8)
The French word for my and a type of bird

26a         King Edward quit throne leaving British destroyed (10)
The regnal cipher of King Edward and what he did wen he quit the throne without (leaving) the abbreviation for British

28a         Be wrong in wanting amontillado? (6)
An adjective meaning lacking or short of (wanting) into which is inserted a verb meaning to make a mistake or sin (be wrong)

Down

2d and 14d  Simple having skinned minke whale at mismanaged zoo? (1,4,2,3,4)
An anagram (mismanaged) of the inside (skinned) letters of mINKe WHALE AT followed by a piece of land where animals are kept (zoo)

3d           Court success in one vehicle, close, parked between lines? (4,5)
One of the greatest tennis players of all time (court success)  – the Roman numeral for one, a type of vehicle, and a synonym for close ‘parked’ or inserted between two abbreviations for Line

5d           CO2? (6-2-7)
An abbreviated way of referring to an officer who is deputy to the head of a unit

20d         Intimate clothing becomes a zombie? (6)
What a zombie does when it becomes reanimated

22d         Black out in no time consuming whiskey (5)
An adverb meaning in no time ‘consuming’ the letter represented by Whiskey in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

24d         Small fruit for Lance (5)
The abbreviation for Small and a type of fruit combine to produce a lance with a lower-case L

 

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The Quick Crossword pun:   WRASSE  +  BERET    =  RASPBERRY

76 comments on “DT 30647 (Hints)”

  1. jolly little puzzle , not the hardest bar 9 ac. Amazing the myriad responses to ‘turkish commander’ which google can throw up whilst witholding the one which helps.

      1. Came here because I was struggling to parse 9a, your comment made me stare a little harder at the answer and then the penny dropped. Love it!

  2. Interesting, we don’t often get linked clues and although they don’t work well on the app they were fine enough and easily grasped. My biggest problem was caused by bunging the answer to 27a into 11a and it seemed to parse. Sorting that out took the longest although I also struggled to abandon the thought that 3d had to have a pee in it!

    1. Me too with 3d, held me up for ages and had to resort to word search in the end.

  3. Interesting puzzle today. Not too difficult but a couple to stop and think about.
    I’ve never used the saying 1,10,5 before… rather 1,5,10.
    Thanks to the setter and CS.

      1. The one I printed from the puzzles website has it as 1,10,5. That was one than held me up.

        1. And that’s the version I used to create the template for the Hints which I have now corrected. The paper version has the clues in the correct order

  4. Only slightly more challenging than last week IMHO. All fell nicely into place once the combo clues were cracked; but a pleasant start to the day nonetheless. I liked the elegant simplicity of 5d, but my COTD had to be 3d for the memories it brought back of all the jokes cracked about the subject on ‘Mock the Week’! Thanks to CS for the blog and the setter for the challenge.

  6. As others 1 5 10 threw me for a while until I realized the order was wrong. 5d my fav.

    Great puzzle, thanks

  7. Most entertaining puzzle.

    My favourite has to be 20d. Very amusing.

    Thanks to setter and crypticsue.
    .

  8. A bit of a poser today but enjoyable. A lot of head scratching going on here especially over 5d. I could not get some sort of gas out of my head. Clever clue. I have always said 1, 5, 10 in that order so no problem for me on that one unlike 26a, which took an age to arrive. It was the same for 11a. My COTD is 28a.

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

    1. i thought 1,5,10 had the opposite meaning and was a sort of spoof of the original saying

  9. A lovely start to Saturday, I enjoyed the multi word clues (1,5,10 is in the correct order in the digital edition) and anagrams. 9a took a while to work out as did 17d and 21a my last in.
    The weather must have heard me mention BBQ yesterday and of course is now not going to cooperate!

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

  10. Fun if slightly odd, I thought. And I seem to be on my tod here. Twas ever thus. That “she” in 1/5/10a is a tad cheeky. It’s there for the surface, obviously, but has the definite whiff of padding. And I felt a few surfaces were rather clunky, eg 2/14d. I did enjoy 9a but 27a is borderline (for me) and 20d is surely a step too far! Thanks to the setter (I’d love to know who it is) and CS.

  11. This was on the money for a weekender: multi-worders (a couple across the puzzle – hurrah!), gentle GK though 3d and 11a may catch out some and good humour (eg 20d – loved it) on a friendly grid.

    I was immediately drawn to 5d and was determined to get it with no checkers. Alas, it wasn’t to be. I love lateral jobbies ike that. Great fun.

    Lots of splendid surfaces like 26a, 27a, 28a, 8d and 22d.

    My podium is 9a, 5d and 7d.

    Many thanks to the setter and she of the crypt.

    2*/4*

  12. Super little puzzle with lots of anagrams. My COTD was def 5d, lovely misdirection.
    Last in was 17d but only because of my stupidity!
    Thx to all for a fun puzzle.
    ***/****/

  13. A quite testing guzzle but very enjoyable nonetheless i liked the 1a 10a 5d combination , which I kept rhinking about as I got a few checkers in and the letters just fell into place. My two favourires, how, were the 9a geographical lego clue and the well-misdirected 11a rhbks to CS for the hints and to the compiler for an absorbing and amusing SPP

  14. I made heavy weather of this for a while, and in truth I was sometimes barking up the wrong tree when searching for an answer. I can only put this down to some clever misdirection by the setter, as nothing was obscure or unfairly clued. 9a was my final answer and favourite. Good fun.

    Many thanks to our Saturday setter and Sue.

    1. Welcome to the blog

      For me, the definition in the BRB (Chambers being the dictionary that the Telegraph prefer) does work with the clue. You can return on Friday when the full review is published and discuss the matter then

  16. Wah! Wah! and Wah! again. The 1,10,5 business had me in torment and woe for an eternity. One simply cannot tolerate such egregious errors. I am writing to Mr Lancaster, Mr Sunak (copy to Mr Starmer), The Archbishop Of Canterbury, and Taylor Swift. Heads must roll. There must be multiple sackings! Firings! Summary dismissals! I shall not rest until those responsible are drummed out of the country into permanent isolation. Like a modern day Anchorite, they will be allowed bread and water, in return for twenty hours each day reciting the Holy Rosary, and attending Confession. Let them suffer the consequences of this most heinous act of depravity.

    Tricky crossword, but an enjoyable solve.

    *** Much love and sympathy to Dave P

    Thanks to the setter and Siouxie Sioux

    1. Thank you. We will more than likely get another dog but there will only ever be one Emmy.

      1. Each one is so special, but then the next one comes along and you love her/him just as much.

      2. Dave P so sorry to have read about the loss of Emmy your dear 4-legged friend. We have adopted dogs for 49 yrs and I have wept many tears upon losing them. I have also said there will never be another to give such unconditional love but been proved wrong many times over. Sadly, we lost our Jack back in April and we are now of an age where many rescue homes won’t consider us for adoption. But we are hopeful that there is maybe an elderly dog out there who would like to join us for a few years. We can still do 3 mile walks if they are up to it and if not there is a nice flat field with some very interesting scents! Thinking of youDaveP. Take good care.

        1. Thank you for your kind thoughts. I hope you find an older dog needing love and affection.

    2. Your secretary (AKA H no doubt) must be kept very busy typing all these letters.

    3. Indeed! In my opinion, at least 10 of those 20 hours should be spent by forcing them to listen to Des O’Connor LPs on a loop. That’d teach ’em!

    4. Well said, Terence. Nothing will make up for my time wasted trying to fit my answer in that order.

  17. I had the same problem as some others. When I printed the crossword the first clue was broken down as 1, 10 across and 5 across which doesn’t make sense. Favourites were 5 down and 3 down. ****/*****

  18. Looked a bit daunting at first glance but it was just a question of getting onto our setter’s wavelength. Top three clues for me were 23&26a plus 5d.

    Thanks to our setter – that piece of American door furniture looks like a reasonable bet, and to CS for the hints.

  19. The combination clues gave me quite a bit of bother, especially the across ones as the order was incorrect on the app.

    Other than that, the clues didn’t give me too much grief. 27A was my favourite.

    Thanks to the compiler and the hint provider for their efforts.

  20. A most enjoyable SPP which must surely be the work of Mr Bringloe so a Toonie out of my pocket to see if I can win. I was put off for a while, but not too long, by the 1a, 10a, 5a/1a, 5a, 10a c*ck-up but it didn’t spoil the enjoyment.

    Candidates for favourite – 15a, 25a, 5d, 20d, and 22d – and the winner is 5d.

    Having glanced at the NTSPP, I doubt there is enough caffeine available for me to be able to solve it!

    Thanks to NYDK, or whomsoever if my Toonie does happen to go down the drain, and thanks to CS as usual.

  21. It might have made things a little easier if the first clue had been listed in the right order. On-line it was “1, 10 Across and 5 Across”. Playing fair with your customers is usually a good principle. 😡

  23. Really enjoyed this puzzle. Took quite a while to get into but with a few checkers it came together slowly and surely. Glad there was a hint for 28a because the answer couldn’t be anything else but I couldn’t see why. Always love a combination clue but my favourites were 9a, 26a and 3d. Thanks to the setter and CS for the hints.

  24. Another tricky Saturday puzzle this week that required a little head scratching and my thinking cap. I also think there is an error in 1,10 5a clues in word placement … and that made it a little tougher to get going. Should have been, as has been noted in other comments, 1,5,10 … bit of a screw up there.

    2*/3.5*

    Favourites 26a, 28a, 3d, 5d & 20d — with winner 5d
    Smiles from 11a, 13a, 25a & 7d

    Thanks to setter & CS for hints/blog

  25. Rattling good guzzle on a sunny afternoon. So that is what pigeons get up to us it? Never have cared for them much. I am beginning to be spooked by the number of lurkers just gently sticking their heads above the parapet. Delightful people who love the blog but know too much about us. Big Dave is BIG! It is getting closer to the annual splits pose with copy of the DT of the day to prove it is not a fake. I must get George to cut the grass and hire a crane to get me up again. Huge thanks to the crafty Setter and the infatigable Cee Ess.

  26. Very nice indeed. I’ll go with Senf on this one, as NYDK’s signature seems to be forensic exactitude spiced with a touch of madness. 9A probably shades it for me today, but there are some gems dotted about this lovely puzzle. I looked up Sea Pigeon, which is not a bird as far as I know, but is a horse that won quite often back in the seventies and eighties, so quite a spot for the ‘frolicksome’ anagram. Many thanks CS and Donny, if it be he.

  27. Very enjoyable with a good range of clues. I liked the misdirections and those that were a tad chewier than others. Perfect for a Saturday before I have to shift and stack a ton of logs due any minute now. Cotd must be 5d. For some reason it just shouted its answer to me. Thanks to compiler and CS.

  28. A dnf for me, found it difficult,and not a fan of linked clues. I resorted to Danword to finish it which defeats the object of doing it really. Spent ages on the 1,5,10 combination trying to think of an actual personas it says” not as simple as she might pretend”. Still you can’t win them all and it makes the ones I do manage to complete all the sweeter. Thanks to all.

  29. A very enjoyable guzzle today. My LOI was 27a but I just couldn’t parse it until suddenly the penny dropped with an almighty crash followed by a loud groan from me.
    Lots to like today with top picks being 9a, 21a, 5d and of course 27a.
    Thanks to CrypticSue and the setter.

  30. Took a while to get going but fairly routine in the end. Enjoyable nonetheless. 9a both the last in and favourite, once the penny dropped. Not entirely sure I like 5d as a clue, and for a while I was convinced I’d made a mistake somewhere around 3d, being unable to find a valid word that fit the checking letters.

  31. We got off to a pedestrian start then slowed to a crawl then temporarily grinding to a halt before eventually limping over the line, in short unlike most we didn’t find this easy at all. LOI was 9a. Favourite was 5d. Thanks to the setter and CS.

  32. Hello. Many thanks for all your comments, and to Sue for the hintypoohs.

    Cheers
    NYDK

    2. Thank you, NYDK for great guzzle that got the grey cells working.
      Thank you for popping in. 👍

    3. Thanks Donny. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
      Thanks also to Sue for the hints.
      5d my runaway fav.

  33. I found this very tricky, not helped by getting the answer for 1, 10, 5 across and writing it in in that order. When I solved 7d I knew that had to be right so changed it all again to the right order. I was nearly DNF in the SW when I had my epiphany at 17d and got some checkers. There was a lot of fun along the way; 5d was a huge penny drop moment with a guffaw, I also liked 9a, welcome back Turkish commander, but I think the biggest laugh was 20d, how funny was that?
    Thank you NYDK for the fun, and CS for unravelling some tricky ones.

  35. The incorrect sequence of 1,10,5 almost made this a non starter for me. In the right order I would have got this very common phrase. Unlike almost all above, I was swimming against the tide, finding most of the clues weird or unhelpful, such as 11a. Can’t parse 17d either. Needed hints to verify some of my answers, so clearly I was on another planet. Not my cup of tea. Thanks to setter and to the always smarter than the average bear, CS,

    1. Actually I have no right to be grumpy today, as I reached 365 days on my current Wordle streak this morning. Hooray – but it does add a bit more pressure when solving to try to keep it rolling.

      1. Wow that is some achievement. I did not realise that if you miss one day you start the run again ! That’s a bit tough if circumstances really prevent you from having a go. Just have to say I got it in two this morning 😊

        2. I lost my streak a couple of weeks ago, when I just forgot all about it. I’d got up to 119. Before that I was up to 245 and the same thing happened (having managed to keep it going whilst in hospital having surgery). Grrrrr. I’m now on 15. Such a long way to go to catch up. I also got it in 2 today, DG – and yesterday, amazingly.
          As for the crossword – I am struggling to get anywhere today. Nonetheless, thanks to the setter and to CS, whose hints I will certainly need.

        3. Yes, I found out just before we went on holiday that a day missed and you start all over. But luckily we always had Internet coverage.

  36. Fairly steady solve. Noted the discrepancy between digital newspaper 1,5, 10 v puzzle website 1, 5, 10 : v off-putting.

  37. I sailed through most of this. Needed checkers before getting the long ones. I was a bit slow on 6d 3d and 12a. Favourites 15a 3 16 17 and 22d. I must be the only person for whom the penny dropped on 9a. I could not think of an island that fitted. I know the commander, I thought of islands but not the right one. I think I now possibly have got the island. I won’t forget again. Nice to have a novel prize puzzle. Thanks NYDK and CS.

  38. A very enjoyable puzzle today. Some fell into place quite easily and others took longer. Not helped by putting the wrong word in for 1a. Only realised nearly at the end when struggling to get 3d. That will teach me to slow down when entering the first clue so confidently! Many thanks to NY Doorknob and CS. Sorry Sue but we have had a lovely sunny day here in the NW (for a change).

  39. An average puzzle, my attitude not helped by seeing the messy and incorrectly enumerated clueing across multiple lights of the early across and down clues,.

    Parsed “1, 10, 5” slightly differently, CS – an anagram of the four words with ‘one’ on the end. Otherwise it’s a poor anagram that includes one of the words ‘unsorted’ as part of the answer, IMV.

    COTD 5d with runner-up 7d

    1.5* / 2*

    Thank you NYDK and CS

  40. This one has nearly killed me – really, really, really hard, in my opinion anyway.
    I’m not very good at all the numerous faffing around with answers all over the place – in other words I hate it!!
    The answers that I did appreciate included 9 and 23a and 3 and 4d. My favourite was 8d.
    With thanks to NYDK for today’s crossword and to CS for all hints, specially the ones I needed!

  41. Struggled initially but once I’d got enough to help me figure out the multi word clues it all fell into place. Pleased with it as this last week or so has felt like my solving was regressing!

  42. Glad to see a solvable Saturday crossword.

    I enjoyed this somewhat. 9a was loi and it took a while for the penny to drop as to why the answer was correct. Had a chuckle at the slightly dubious 20d.

    Thanks to all.

  43. I’m afraid I seem to be falling out of love with DT crosswords (chacun à son goǔt?) and this was no exception. Horrible with no redeeming features for me although I did in fact find East achievable Thanks for trying to entertain NYDK but more particularly TVM to CS for your usual lifesaving help.

    1. I fully understand what you mean. I did enjoy this puzzle and had huge satisfaction when I solved a clue, but I’m finding these puzzles a bit like hard work. I want to be entertained, that is why I pay for the privilege, when I have to work this hard I expect them to pay me.

  44. Took me until the end to latch on to 9 across. I needed the alternate letters to complete it.

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