DT 30684 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30684

by pommers  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30684

Hints and tips by pommers

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

Hola from Almoradí where things are now quieting down after the Fiesta.  There were four parades last week culminating in the Moors and then the Christians on Friday and Saturday evenings. It’s all very spectacular but very loud with brass bands and drummers and they go on very late.  The downside is that they start in the street right outside our apartment!  At least we get a good view from our balcony!

Maybe it’s just me having a good day but I found today’s puzzle to be the easiest back-pager for quite some time. I only missed one of the acrosses (19a) on first pass and then got all the downs.  I’ll be interested to see who found it the same.

As usual my podium three are in blue.  The definitions are underlined in the clues and the answers are under the “click here” buttons so don’t click on them unless you really want to see the answer.  Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a         Service provided in mountain range (6)
MASSIF:  A church service followed by the usual two letter word meaning provided.

5a         Applaud what hip-hoppers do, over time? Rubbish (8)
CLAPTRAP:  What you do with your hands when you applaud and hip-hopper’s music placed around (over) a T(ime).

9a         AC/DC cancel touring America twice yearly (8)
BIANNUAL:  Another way of referring to someone who is AC/DC and a word meaning to cancel placed around (touring) an A(merica).

10a       Prefer a virtuoso’s opening in quartet (6)
FAVOUR:  The A from the clue and a V (Virtuoso’s opening) in a word for a quartet.

11a       Head for platform like X for entertaining activities (8)
PASTIMES:  P (head for Platform) followed by a two letter word meaning like and then a word for X as a mathematical symbol, as in 2 x 4.

12a       That lady’s in health resort, one found in the Himalayas (6)
SHERPA:  A word for that lady, not she but the other one, in the usual health resort.

13a       Canine that hunts following bullock and badger(8)
FOXHOUND:  F(ollowing) followed by another word for a bullock and then a word meaning to badger or harass.

15a       Really unknown cleric from the east (4)
VERY:  An algebraic unknown and a cleric are reversed (from the east).

17a       Chanel‘s business doubled (4)
COCO:  The abbreviation of company (business) twice (doubled) to get the fashion designer’s first name.

19a       Sinner and I party behind vicar’s back (8)
IDOLATER:  A charade of the I from the clue, the usual party, a word which can mean behind and an R (vicaR’s back).

20a       Painkiller one swallowed after work (6)
OPIATE:  The letter that looks like one and a word meaning swallowed or consumed after the usual two letters for work.

21a       Raised tax in English city in Yorkshire, briefly (8)
ELEVATED:  The tax that is known as IVA in Spain is inserted into (in) an E(nglish) and a city in Yorkshire without its last letter (briefly).

22a       Zero variety in Trump’s complexion? (6)
ORANGE:  The letter that looks like zero and a word for a variety give you the colour which is said to be that of Donald Trump’s face.

23a       Sides in Indian battle doing nothing (8)
INACTION:  IN (sides in IndiaN) followed by another word for a battle or military engagement.

24a       Carol catches Don using profanities (8)
SWEARING:  A word meaning to carol placed around (catches) another word for don, as in don your clothes.

25a       Praises evangelist lax etiquette holds back (6)
EXALTS:  A lurker hiding in (holds) evangelist lax etiquette but it’s backwards (back).

Down

2d         Do I have the ability to drink cold cordial? (8)
AMICABLE:  A phrase (2,1,4) meaning do I have the ability or can I placed around (to drink) a C(old) to gey a word for cordial as in friendly, nothing to do with a drink.

3d         Bless City fans going crazy (8)
SANCTIFY:  Anagram (going crazy) of CITY FANS.

4d         Bewildered clodhopper arrested by G-man (9)
FLUMMOXED:  Start with another word for a G-man or FBI agent and insert (arrested by) another word for a clodhopper or clumsy person.

5d         Dismissing minor complaint over long Rushdie novel (4-11)
COLD SHOULDERING:  A minor complaint that affects the passages in the head followed by (over in a down clue) and anagram (novel) of LONG RUSHDIE.

6d         Illegally took ring covered in awfully cheap diamonds (7)
POACHED:  The letter that looks like a ring is inserted into (covered in) an anagram (awfully) of CHEAP and then a D(iamonds).

7d         Film with John Wayne and rhinos oddly well done (3,5)
RIO BRAVO:  Alternate letters (oddly) from RhInO  gives the first word and the second is a word used as an exclamation meaning well done!

8d         Doorway and door stripped off for temporary convenience (8)
PORTALOO:  Another word for a doorway or entrance followed by OO (door stripped off).

14d       One dreamt, strangely, what one might see in Paris (5-4)
NOTRE DAME: Anagram (strangely) of ONE DREAMT.

15d       Energetic Russian chap housed by you in France (8)
VIGOROUS:  Take a Russian man’s name and insert into (housed by) the word for you in French.

16d       Do some pondering right before playing Man U tie (8)
RUMINATE:  Start with R(ight) and then an anagram (playing) of MAN U TIE.

17d       Best starters from top eatery – amazing refreshments (5,3)
CREAM TEA:  The first word of the answer means best and the second is made up of the first letters (starters from) of the next three words of the clue.

18d       Old compiler thus, with trim clothing, leaves the closet (5,3)
COMES OUT:  You need an O(ld), a word the compiler may use to refer to himself and a word for thus or in this way.  Around that lot (clothing) put a word meaning to trim or slice and split the result (5,3).

19d       Bury bags for example, maybe two or three (7)
INTEGER:  A word meaning to bury placed around (bags) the two letters meaning for example gives a word for a whole number.

Podium today is  9a, 24a and 6d with 6d on the top step.

Quick crossword pun:

YEW     +     FORE     +     REAR     =     EUPHORIA

79 comments on “DT 30684”

  1. What a strange grid with its double unches but the guzzle was most enjoyable. There are two where the parsing evades me so I will need the hints to make sense of them. I don’t see how “bullock” fits into 13a nor do I see the parsing of 23a. Other than those, I had ticks all over the paper but my COTD goes to AC/DC cancelling their American tour.

    Thank you, setter for a great guzzle to start the week. Thank you, pommers for the hints. I now understand 13a and 23a. 😊

  2. This was on the money; a perfect start to the week. Great constructions with a bit of humour thrown in: Trump’s complexion is hilarious.

    I love that 9a can also mean twice a year. It causes all sorts of confusion.

    There are so any contenders for the podium, like the blanket finish in the men’s 100 metres last night, but I’ll go with 9a, 19a 16d.

    Many thanks to Robyn and Pommers.

    1*/5*

      1. My very pedantic English teacher of yore was at pains to remind us that “biannual” means “twice a year” and “biennial” means “every two years”.

        1. …which makes complete sense.

          We’ve only got ourselves to blame that 9a, meaning every two years, is an entry in dictionaries as they only put words in that are in common usage.

          We’re a bunch of fools.

        2. Ha! I failed, 100 years ago, to get my first job at a local paper after sitting an utterly impractical written test in which one of the questions was “what’s the difference between biannual and biennial”. I went the wrong way and lost out to a bloke with a congratulated double first in Classics from Oxford, who obviously knew the right answer. He may have got the job, but he lasted about 5 minutes in post. There’s a moral in there somewhere..

          1. It begs the question why a guy with a double first in Classics from Oxford applied to work in a local paper.

            At least this utterly impractical written test managed to separate the wheat from the chaff.

            So, it wasn’t all bad.

            1. Nowt wrong with local papers Tom! He became a priest and was apparently very good at it. He was basically a Boris, albeit with morals. Big brain, no nous.

            2. A lifetime ago, an acquaintance at Oxford who had read Classics (he took his degree but certainly didn’t get a double first) was so relaxed about life he made your average coma patient look overly busy and active. Said friend wanted to defer making a decision about what to do as a “proper” job for as long as possible and retain (and afford) as much of his sybaritic lifestyle as he could, so became a “bin man” when he went down. From what I recall he stuck at it for a surprisingly long time, certainly longer than ALP’s rival on the local rag!

                1. Not at all! I was torn between “bin man” and the more politically correct ‘person’, ‘refuse collector’ etc. Mind you, when one considers the quality of so-called journalism on local news sites these days (usually owned by Reach) maybe it could indeed be an appropriate euphemism, possibly to accompany “barrel-bottom scraper”.

                  1. Ha! I wasn’t totally sure as I have, sadly, certainly come across a few “journalists” who did rifle through people’s bins for tittle-tattle. And worse. As for Reach … *shivers*

  3. Generally a benign and very enjoyable puzzle, though my cause was not helped by having plumped for “Grand” in 7d without reading the clue – an Easy mistake to overlook – and having initially gone for …ive rather than …ion in 23a, which gave me pause for thought at 18d. Top three 24a, 4d and 8d, but had to include this gentle gem for 9a

    Many thanks to Pommers and to the setter, great puzzle to start the week.

    1. Mustafa, I too was initially thinking around the river for 7d although that in fact ends with an “e”).

        1. … which is why I suggested it was an Easy mistake to make … ;)

          I am happy to be in such exalted company!

    2. Then there is……

        1. 2Cellos have done some amazing pieces. And there’s a great version of Thunderstruck by Steve’n’Seagulls but I’ve found myself unable to post a link to it, possibly for having already posted the above Youtube clip.

        1. Yet it is the same piece played in a different style. Lovers of the cello might not agree with you, Merusa. 🤣

  4. I found this harder than usual for a Monday but still enjoyable.
    4d my COTD as it is a great word and contains another belter.
    Top picks for me were 4d, 8d, 22a, 24a and 5a.
    Thanks to Pommers and the setter.

  5. Gentle but enjoyable */**. Thanks setter.

    I hope Hurricane Debby doesn’t cause too many problems for BusyLizzie this morning. I think Merusa is on the other coast.

    1. Yes, I’m fine, just some gusty breeze and the odd thunderstorm, nothing unusual. BusyLizzie is on my coast, just north by 50 miles or so.

    2. Thanks Wahoo. No, thankfully Merusa and I are both over on the south east side. Lucky again. But our local tv weather stations trying to whip everyone into a frenzy, as usual.

  6. I’m well behind with my solving today after my shenanigans with the NHS over the weekend.

    This puzzle was light and a joy to solve. Just right for a Monday, and my rating is 1.5*/4* with 4d my favourite – one of my favourite words.

    Many thanks to Robyn and to pommers.

    1. Sorry to (belatedly) read of your shenanigans, Rabbit Dave. I missed yesterday, so thank you for mentioning them again today so those interested can go back and look.

      Your conclusion of lovely people in a broken system sounds plausible to me. Hope the prescription does its thing.

  7. A gentle way to kick-off the cruciverbal week with many nicely cryptic clues. Bunged in 25a without realising significance of “holds”. 22a would seem to indicate Trump should change his makeup artist! I drew a blank on 18d. 5d is favourite when penny dropped after mentally working through Rushdie novel titles. TVM to whomsoever setter may be and to pommers.

  8. A gentle and amusing puzzle – thanks to our setter and pommers.
    Lots of clues to like including 5a, 13a, 24a, 4d and 8d.

  9. A very pleasant, gentle start to the week that was a joy to solve. Not difficult, just fun. My two favourites were the Orange Man and 4d.

    Thanks to our Monday setter and pommers.

  10. Very pleasant Monday puzzle – think my favourite was the temporary convenience.

    Thanks to Robyn, presumably, and to pommers for the review – they certainly know how to party in your neck of the woods!

  11. Definitely an odd grid but it did not affect the solving speed of a very enjoyable puzzle – 1.5*/4.5*

    Candidates for favourite – 1a, 10a, and 8d – and the winner is 8d.

    Thanks to Robyn(?) and pommers.

      1. Yes Merusa, the Rt. Hon. Michael Portillo erstwhile Conservative MP for Kensington & Chelsea and Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Defence Minister amongst other things but now very much involved in making documentary travel films for TV etc. and needless to say nicknamed “Portaloo”!

          1. We’ve watched many of his TV travel programs, mostly about train journeys – they are quite interesting.

  14. To respond to Pommers’s inquiry: ignoring 1a, I found this quite middling in difficulty, so definitely not “the easiest back-pager for quite some time”. Overall it took me a fairly typical time for a backpager, about the same as Zandio’s puzzle on Friday and just a smidgen longer than the Monday puzzle from July 1st to which Pommers awarded “an extra star for difficulty”. Twmbarlwm and Silvanus also set puzzles in July which I solved quicker than this one.

    Except I didn’t know the word that’s the solution 1a, and I failed to work out the 1st and 3rd letters from the wordplay, so I only got the answer with electronic letter-matching — which I suppose means I actually found this crossword impossible, and therefore harder than any I’ve actually completed.

    I also didn’t know the film in 7d, nor the book in 5d. Thank you to Pommers for explaining those — and particularly that 5d doesn’t actually have a book title in it! (I had the minor complaint as all but the last 3 letters, rather than as just the first word, and couldn’t make sense of the rest of it.) I’m not sure I’ve ever heard that verbal form of 5d, either.

    Also thank you for explaining 24a, where I failed to spot that “Carol” was a verb, and 8d, where (making the opposite mistake to in 5d) I had just the first 4 letters as the doorway.

    And thank you Robyn for the puzzle. My favourite few were 24a once Pommers had explained it, 2d (“cold cordial”) and 19d (“two or three”).

  15. Thoroughly enjoyable Monday morning fare!👍
    My COTD has to be 22A for the description of the ‘Marmalade Mussolini’!🤣
    Thanks to our setter and to Pommers for the blog ‘n hints.
    Cheers!

  16. I found this Monday puzzle a tad harder than normal. East went in without issue but West took somewhat longer. Maybe it is my issue today, not sure.

    2.5*/3.5* for today.

    Favourites 5a, 20a, 21a, 8d & 19d — with winner 19d
    Smiles for 12a, 22a, 8d & 18d

    Thanks to setter & pommers

  17. An enjoyable and gentle start to the week. Loved the Trump complexion reference – made me laugh out loud. I loved too 4d – the synonym of clodhopper that I haven’t heard for a very long time! Thanks to the setter and Pommers.

    1. Donald started “trump”eting and raised such a rumpus,
      Joseph started roaring and trying to think,
      Kamala started journeying without her compass
      As the world got close to the brink.

      (Apologies to AA Milne)

  18. Entertaining and not too difficult although I find that when the answers go in quickly it is easy to then slip up … as with assuming ‘opioid’ for a pain killer. Thank you setter and Pommers

  19. I found this a lot more than one star for difficulty, but I did finish with only ehelp for the Rushdie clue. I stupidly looked up all Rushdie’s books – well, I am a tiny brain, what else did you expect? There was a lot to like, 12a my first in, and 1a amused, but, natch, fave has to be 22a, he seems to be getting more and more that colour, too much time in the tanning bed.
    Thank you setter and pommers for his help parsing a few. I’ll now read what others thought.

  20. Certainly found this harder than 1*, but very enjoyable. My podium comprises 13a, 4d and in top spot for the giggle factor alone, 22a. Thanks to compiler and Pommers.

  21. Absolutely loved this. So good to start the week with a puzzle that brings a smile. Completed in record time and ably assisted by Graymattinha, my teenage helper. I did get confused when she repeatedly asked me, “Am I able?……”, “Am I able?…..”. “Able to do what darling?” …… doh!

  22. I always find Monday crosswords difficult – don’t know why – even though pommers said it was the easiest for ages I still thought it was tricky – certainly more than a 1* difficulty.
    I did like 5 and 13a and 4 and 19d. I haven’t decided a favourite yet – maybe I won’t.
    Thanks to whoever set today’s crossword and to pommers for the hints.

  23. Not impressed with the four religious references. For me one is too many.
    Spoilt what was in other ways a good puzzle.

      1. Ah, a fellow football-hater!

        The game itself ain’t too bad when it’s in full flow.

        Unfortunately, it’s played by clowns, watched by fools and talked about by chumps.

        2. Nothing like a sweeping generalisation, eh Tom?? I’m not a footie fan but I know some very erudite people including a professor of English and a doctor of chemistry who both played and enjoyed watching football. Hardly clowns or fools!

          2. Hi MR

            A sweeping statement, it most certainly was.

            It reminds me of Terry Bolam in the oh so glorious Likely Lads, when he proceeded to sum up the big nations with one disparaging word for each of them, followed by all his neighbours, friends and family.

            Basically, everyone on this rock was a buffoon other than him.

            A great scene, made better by Rodney Bewes’ reaction to each one.

              1. Nicely found, Gazza

                England flop
                England fail
                England five…..

                England flooded out!

                Marvellous

      2. I hate sport, and I do try not to be negative about related clues, but sometimes….

          1. Good shout.

            I always smile when I see a religious reference, picturing his grrr expression which must have been hilarious today.

  26. Re 24a, is there not a distinction between donning and wearing clothes? Donning is the act of putting on your clothes and wearing them is what you do after you have donned them.

  27. Agree with Pommers nicely straightforward 😃**/**** Favourites 20a, 8d & 15d Thanks to Pommers & the Setter👍

  28. I was very grumpy when I first tried to solve, probably because I knew I had a dermatologist appointment this morning. The man never fails to find somewhere he needs to attack with the freezing gun. Or worse, to biopsy. Managed a lot better when I got home, and a few hints helped me to the finishing line. In my ignorance I did not know the French mountain range, and I bunged in Pinched at 6d, which held me up. Thought 5d rather apt, a bit tongue in cheek? Thanks to setter and Pommers.

  29. Just finished, not easy to do whilst watching the olympics, I am blaming being distracted for finding this a bit harder than some Mondays. I did need the hints to explain a couple of my answers but this was great fun and just right for a Monday.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Pommers for the hints

  30. Not too difficult but not entirely straightforward either so just about right for a Monday. I agree with G at #26. Hard to pick a favourite but I’ll go with the energetic Russian in 15d. Thanks to the setter and Pommers.

  31. Good fun albeit gentle in the extreme. Another vote for 9a as pick of the clues.
    Thanks to Robyn (presumably) & to pommers

  32. 1*/4* ….
    liked 11A “Head for platform like X for entertaining activities (8)”

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