Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30693
Hints and tips by Shabbo
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
We are off to North West Norfolk for a week as soon as I have finished this blog, so if there are any mistakes, I will correct them when we arrive at about lunchtime. I thought this was a fairly gentle offering from RayT, but enjoyable nonetheless. He creeps ever closer to breaking the five word per clue barrier – my quick calculation has this one at 5.15 words/clue. 2d wins my clue of the day.
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 Balance cost in Europe after reform (12)
COUNTERPOISE: anagram (after reform) of COST IN EUROPE.
9a Accepted, we hear, audibly (5)
ALOUD: homophone (we hear) of a synonym of accepted or permitted.
10a Cheers reflected praise for streak? (9)
ATTRIBUTE: two-letter informal word meaning cheers or thanks backwards (reflected) + synonym of praise. I struggled with the definition element of the clue, but think trait or characteristic?
11a Batman appears after detective’s confused (10)
DISORDERLY: abbreviation for Detective Inspector + s + synonym of batman (as in an officer’s personal attendant).
12a Just fine (4)
FAIR: double definition.
13a Hands very involved in marine forces (7)
NAVVIES: abbreviation for very inside generic term for marine forces.
15a Cash that is kept inside studies (7)
READIES: two-lettered Latin abbreviation for “that is” inside synonym of studies.
17a Forecast destruction following Left (7)
PORTEND: synonym of destruction after nautical term meaning left.
19a Hunts enemies bottling scrap (7)
FORAGES: synonym of enemies outside (bottling) synonym of scrap (think material).
21a Gemstone found in old china (4)
OPAL: abbreviation for old + synonym of china (CRS of “china plate”).
22a Explicit, even ruder, dancing round pole (10)
UNRESERVED: anagram (dancing) of EVEN RUDER outside (round) one of the poles.
25a Reversed retreat over current leader (9)
EDITORIAL: take a synonym of retreat (as in den) + abbreviation for over + synonym of current (as in sea) and reverse the whole lot.
26a Banished former partner with gentle touch (5)
EXPAT: two-letter word for former partner + synonym of gentle touch. The definition seems a bit limited as it can also mean someone living abroad voluntarily.
27a For rare tiger, wild cold environment (12)
REFRIGERATOR: anagram (wild) of FOR RARE TIGER.
Down
1d Bullies accepting Republican boasts (5)
CROWS: synonym of bullies (a verb) outside (accepting) single-letter abbreviation for Republican.
2d Bounder’s idea to pinch bottom! (9)
UNDERSIDE: hidden word (to pinch) within words 1 & 2. Neat.
3d Problems of shocking items clothing sweetheart (7)
TEASERS: stun guns used by the police (shocking items) outside (clothing) the heart of swEet.
4d Rodent exterminator eating large snake (7)
RATTLER: synonym for someone who eradicates rodents outside (eating) abbreviation for large.
5d Miss opening of Open University (4)
OMIT: first letter (opening) of Open + three-letter abbreviation of an American university.
6d Screaming and stamping catching Queen (9)
SQUEALING: synonym of stamping (as in attaching a mark signifying approval) outside (catching) a two-letter abbreviation for Queen (not ER this time!).
7d Guard retreat supporting battle (6)
WARDEN: another retreat (but not the one in 25a) after (supporting – this is a down clue) a synonym of battle, or perhaps more accurately, a series of battles.
8d Tries purchasing top of trouser suit (6)
HEARTS: synonym of tries (think court hearings) outside (purchasing) the first letter (top) of Trouser. Think playing cards for the definition.
14d Flexible and eccentric relative adopting son (9)
VERSATILE: anagram (eccentric) of RELATIVE outside (adopting) abbreviation for son.
16d Workers in a welcome consensus (9)
AGREEMENT: synonym of male workers inside A + synonym of welcome.
17d Force from cable in power line (6)
PROPEL: synonym of cable inside single-letter abbreviations for power and line.
18d Some resident in gaol creating depression (7)
DENTING: hidden word (some) within words 2, 3 & 4.
19d Weaker complaint over the French right (7)
FEEBLER: synonym of complaint upside down (over) + “the” in French + R.
20d Home counties girlfriend possibly demure (6)
SEDATE: abbreviation for home counties + synonym of “girlfriend possibly”.
23d Initially venomous, indeed poisonous European reptile (5)
VIPER: join together the initial letters of words 2-5 in the clue. The definition is the whole clue.
24d Put up cross in entrance (4)
DOOR: synonym of cross upside down (put up).
Quickie Pun: TELLERS + WHIFFED = TAYLOR SWIFT
I thought, quite wrongly, this was a Silvanus until I got to 3d and then checked the wordcount. We’re really being spoiled this week. A slight shame, perhaps, about the two “retreats” but this was crackerjack. 2d’s fun, 8d’s smart and 11a’s great. Many thanks to RayT and Shabbo.
It is probably ok to use retreat twice as long as it clues different words or wordplay
Very petty quibble, I know, and it didn’t spoil the enjoyment one jot. But two very similar synonyms just jarred a tad. Maybe I just need another coffee!
Mine’s a short black no sugar
Good man. It’s the only way to take it!
Known here as “American” coffee!
Eeew no an Americano has too much water for me – more a lungo 18g coffee in 56 – 60g out (an espresso but not quite as thick)
Mr. T at his best but I did find a couple somewhat tough. Whatever possessed me to enter “backtrack” at 25a I have no idea because it was just plain wrong. Engage brain first, Cowling! Too many good clues to be able to pick out one for the podium but the snake eating rodent exterminator at 4d raised a smile.
Thank you, Ray T for the fun. Thank you, Shabbo for the hints and enjoy your break in Norfolk.
Thought I was going to have my usual Ray T struggle but it turned out more benign than first appeared. I only had to resort to the BRB to see what a 24d backwards was. It was a churchy clue so out of my range of knowledge. I wasn’t too sure of the synonym for bullies but the hints sorted that out, not too sure of its accuracy but hey ho!
Thx to all
***/***
A game of two halves. The bottom half of the grid fell into place fairly quickly but I found it very hard to get a start on the top half. It didn’t help that I had the wrong ending on 1a, jumping to the conclusion it was a musiccal term ubtil I checked the anagram fodder. FZavourites were the 1a angram, the 11a lego clue and 13a, a lovely word that has survived it’s origin in the canal building 18th century rhanks to Ray T for achallenging guzzle and to Shabbo for the hints.
Mastery.
Solved at a steady pace with 11a pushing me into the next time zone.
Regarding 27a, the reason why a d was put inside the word that keeps our food cool is absolute rubbish; it really is….
”They wanted to mimic the spelling of similar words that had the same sound, such as bridge, ledge, dodge, fudge, and more”.
Clowns.
Lots of clues to choose from for the silverware but I’ll go with 1a, 1d and the splendid 2d.
Many thanks to Brian Brevity and The Shabster.
3*/5*
If it was “frig”, people (especially youngsters) would pronounce it to rhyme with twig. If “frige”, people would pronounce it to rhyme with oblige. So, thinking philosophically, “fridge” is probably the best option.
I do not agree, J, me old chum.
Should vestige be spelt vestidge?
We stick with the original.
The ij sound is fascinating as it can be spelt nine ways:
age – manage
edge – knowledge
ege – college
iage – marriage
ich – sandwich (debatable)
idg – fidgit
idge – bridge
ig – digit
ige – vestige
The joys of the English language.
I can see your point, me old cock sparrow. Fridge is a short form of reFRIGerator using the 4-letter sound of “frig”. It’s informal/slang and doesn’t need to conform with the conventional rules of grammar/spelling. Frig is not only slang but vulgar slang and frigE doesn’t cut the mustard because the E isn’t part of the original 4-letter sound. So, fridge it became. I suspect the D sneaked in there accidentally/incidentally or did “they” have a formal meeting to decide it? Maybe they did!
I guess you’ll not agree – but it’s worth having a bit of a debate about it.
Absolutely!
The root of vestige is the Latin vestigare and it’s very common to replace the ‘are’ with an ‘e’.
So, the same goes for ‘frige’ which is what it should be. But us Brits can’t handle that. So, we had a meeting and inserted a ‘d’ like we did with ‘judge’ that derives from the French ‘jugemere’ (note the first e for the word judgement not judgment!)
We’re a disgrace.
Very interesting, Tom. I’m glad we had a chat about it – I’ve learned something new. Etymology isn’t really my thing – I’ve always been very into raw semantics. So, “fridge” doesn’t bother me – but I can see why it might irk you.
You bet it does.
Grrr….
I’m actually quite chillaxed about it.
Can I squeeze chillaxed by you?
Not many modern portmanteau words pass my lips (don’t get me started on guesstimate!) but this one I like.
Could just as well be
Ghwrodj
in a ghoti kind of way…😉
I had pennies instead of readies but the rest went smoothly
Noel Coward famously said, ‘Very flat, Norfolk.’ I prefer John Betjeman’s quote, ‘I am still reeling with delight at the soaring majesty of Norfolk.
Thanks to Shabbo and RayT
RayT of course would prefer Noel’s brevity
The Master of Brevity as consistent as ever! 2.5*/4.5*
Candidates for favourite – 9a, 15a, 17a, 16d, 19d, 24d – and the winner is 9a.
Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo,
A pleasurable solve from the master of brevity. Having made a mess of my paper by beginning to misspell 27a, I am grateful to Tom for preempting my query about the ‘d’ in fridge. It seems strange to add a letter to the contraction of a word and the explanation is just plain silly. I’m glad I’m not learning English as a foreign language! I’ve chosen the lurker at 2d as favourite today for the splendid surface read. Podium places for 8d and 16d. Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo. Enjoy your holiday.
Well, the answer to 10a was a parsing mystery so thank you Shanno for resolving that one. I needed some extraneous help for 1a, a new word for me. Most enjoyable, Mr T, I knew it was you immediately I read 2d
*Shabbo!
I thought it was going to be a DNF for me but I gave myself a stiff talking to along the lines of, it’s a Ray T puzzle, you like those and you will finish it! And so I did with 11a and 6d finally falling.
Top picks for me were 11a, 2d and 19d.
Thanks to Shabbo for being there with the hints if I needed them and of course Ray T.
Yet another in a very long line of beautifully compiled puzzles by one of our favourite setters. It all seemed to flow quite nicely from the off, with no real delays in completion. As always, it’s tough to pick a winner, but I will go for 2d.
Many thanks to both Ray T and Shabbo.
25a – one of those clues where the answer appears before the parsing can be worked out, in my experience.
I can’t think why I struggled with 3d and 11a when they appear obvious after solving. Perhaps last night’s wine shared with an old friend has affected the little grey cells.
Overall a fine challenge for a Thursday.
Excellent, as usual, from Ray T. Great clues, a decent challenge and much enjoyment. Favourite clue: 2d. 3*/4*.
This was quite a challenge for me particularly in the North but I did enjoy it. I agree with Shabbo re a couple of iffy definitions – 10a and 26a. Scrap in 19a was not the first to come to mind. 2a was my grinworthy Fav. Thank you MrT and Shabbo to whom bon voyage to N. Norfolk (I can imagine some of your likely visits there).
Sorry, I of course meant 2D as my Fav.
2*/4.5* for a Thursday treat albeit with just a little hmm for the definition in 10a.
My top two in no particular order were 11a & 2d.
Many thanks to Ray T and to Shabbo.
Ray T as enjoyable as ever – thanks to him and Shabbo.
My rosettes were pinned on 25a, 2d and 16d.
Overall an enjoyable test from Ray T but 6D gave me no end of trouble. TBH, I’ve never come across QU as an abbreviation for queen, but the answer could be nothing else.
***/*** for me and I’ll nominate 2D for the top spot. Thanks to RayT and Shabbo.
Another top notch puzzle from a master of his art – he always brightens my day.
Quite a battle to divide up the spoils but eventually handed out rosettes to 1&11a plus 2&16d.
Devotions as always to Mr T and many thanks to Shabbo for the review – hope the weather in Norfolk is an improvement on what we have here today!
Your weather is coming our way next and on to Norfolk soon after
A steady classy RayT to enjoy this Thursday. Only 4 anagrams I count so slightly fewer than usual. Enjoyed the lurker in 2d and my favourite was the well constructed 25a. Needed the hints to understand the obvious so thanks Shabbo for 24d’s explanation. Et merci l’homme qui habite la France.
As often with Ray T I had a bit of a battle, it always takes me time to get my brain in gear and there are usually a couple of synonyms I don’t know, 10a and part of 11a today. I was pleased that I finished and some of the clues flew in, especially the anagrams and the lurkers 2d being my favourite. The different abbreviation for queen threw me for a while.
Many thanks to Ray T for the challenge and to Shabbo for the hints, have a good time in Norfolk.
Well, we get to enjoy another RayT offering again this week. A nice puzzle with logical clueing. A couple of head scratchers, but all came to light with a little thought.
2*/4.5* for me
Favourites include 13a, 17a, 3d, 4d, 7d & 20d — with winner 20d & 21a a close second.
Smiles from many including the winner as well as 15a, 21a, 3d & 16d
Thanks to RayT for a superb puzzle & Shabbo for hints/blog
Quite enjoyed this one, apart from putting in “underline” at 2d thinking it was with reference to some obscure bounding cricketing in term (a game I’ve never come to terms with), a well hidden lurker. I would however take issue with 26a. In my experience an expat is a Brit living voluntarily aboard who bemoans about how you can’t get a decent cup of tea here and that there’s never Watney’s Red Barrel stocked in the local suoermarket!
Thanks to setter and Shabbo. I’m now waiting for my £2400 “Union Dividend” to arrive!
Ah, Watneys.
There was many a time when I rocked up to a house party with a Watneys Party Seven and tiny can opener in tow, headbanging to the Ace of Spades when I had imbibed a fair bit of it.
Mr Kilmister, I salute you.
I did quite well in the south, but, oh dear, north had me flummoxed and I had to go in for Shabbo’s hint to get me going again, even then I was DNF with 6d. I was so fixated on ER, I completely missed it. Fave was 13a, but 25a and 26a were high on the list.
Thank you RayT, that was fun, and Shabbo for his help along the way.
I loved it – and, like Jane, RayT always brightens my day!
Somehow I seem to have lost count and wasn’t expecting RayT today so what a lovely surprise.
I started out with a wrong answer for 9a – don’t ask, but it would have really scuppered that corner.
I did like 9 and 26a and 3 and 4d. My favourite was 6d.
Talking, as I was, I’m noticing more and more ‘favourites’ instead of just the one allowed – in fact today I noticed SIX – I know this is like shouting in IT language but really . . .
Maybe we could try to keep to our one favourite or I might be pushed to get out my big stick!
Thanks to RayT for his crossword and thanks to Shabbo for his hints.
Shabbo have a good time in Norfolk where you won’t bump into me. We are presently in Guernsey going round Britain by boat. B….I Vodaphone have charged me data roaming saying I’m in France. Having awful problem logging into this site, have to do it the long way. Super duper guzzle today. At least can access that. Thanks to all..PS. Saved a small fortune catching a local bus that took us all round this lovely Island
One of my regrets, I never made it to the Channel Islands, they sound lovely!
Hi Manders
We are not in our usual apartment in Wells this time. We are even further away from Cley in Sedgeford, near Sandringham. We are close to Snettisham and there are a couple of “wader spectaculars” next week at 06.30. We will definitely get up early to see one of them. We have four kids and five granddaughters about to arrive, so we are making the most of the peace and quiet whilst we can!
Enjoy Guernsey. Sounds like a fabulous trip.
2d is a terrific lurker, thank you Ray T and Shabbo
Had to work hard on the top half, including on my favourites of the day 3D and 11A. Many thanks to Ray T and Shabbo.
To be brief: Beaten by 8d
COTD 24d
Evening all. My thanks to Shabbo for the decryption and to all for your comments. Much appreciated.
RayT
Good evening, Mr T, thank you so much for a really top-notch puzzle. Where would we be without you!
24d would have been my COTD for conciseness and brilliance if I had been clever enough to work out why it was the obvious entrance. First class MrT.
An enjoyable workout today from Mr T, never easy but always fair. Completed over two sittings, with a visit to the orthopedic surgeon in between. Sometimes it pays to take a break and let the grey cells mull it over in the background.
What a struggle. I needed help. Thank you!
I made harder work of some of this than I should have but got there in the end. I always love a Rayt puzzle. 13a is short for navigator and the are always pubs called the Navigation next to canals, I’ve been a number over the years. Favourite was obviously 13a. Thanks to Rayt and Shabbo.
Chuffed to have nearly finished a RayT is good drills for me.
The dnf was due to the batman part of 11a. I’ve not heard this term to describe one before. My versions of the BRB dictionaries and thesaurus don’t have it either, which probably means I need to upgrade. Still should have solved the clue though.
Thanks to all.
I made heavy weather of this one but as is often said , not sure why come the finish. I dipped in and out of it most of the day so maybe it was an element of not knuckling down and applying the brain . Good to have finished without hints. Thanks Ray T and Shabbo
Like TG I made hard work of this (4 pennies up north took a while to drop) but tackling it at 3am during another sleepless night didn’t exactly help. Got there eventually & enjoyed it nevertheless. 2d my fav.
Thanks to Ray T & to Shabbo – enjoy Norfolk.
Re 7d, as the blog suggests war and battle are not synonymous. A battle can be either a stand-alone event or part of a war.
Hi G
I think in day-to-day life, they work, e.g there’s a battle/war going on in the boardroom between the chair and CEO.
I expect stretched synonyms from Ray T but too many of these broke the elastic for my liking so ****/* for me. Thanks to Shabbo for the explanations.
Lots of intelligent fun but I did not appreciate banished as a definition of expat. And QU is hardly a usual abbreviation for Queen. But to be fair the positives outweighed the negatives. Thanks of course to the wonderful explanations.
4*/3* …
liked 23D “Initially venemous, indeed poisonous European reptile (5)”