Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30689(Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)
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The day had a slight autumnal feel about it when I set off to do the shopping and buy the paper, but it is warming up quite nicely now
I got on the setter’s wavelength quite quickly so the crossword didn’t take that long to solve. I had to think long and hard about which clues to hint as I know some people are bound to think I should have given more. This is, however, a Prize Puzzle so I can’t hint everything (and once again I’d ask people to read the red instructions before commenting) but there are anagrams, lurkers and cryptic definitions to be sorted out in many of the clues I didn’t hint.
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
1a Clean energy for listless person (4)
A verb meaning to clean and the symbol for Energy
6a Evil personality in cloak we’re told (4)
The unchecked letter isn’t helpful but I decided we needed the evil personality in a Scottish novel as the homophone indicator (we’re told) follows the verb meaning to cloak
10a Bowler’s on target? (3,5)
Something the bowler aims at (on the on side of the cricket pitch) to try and bowl the batsman out
13a Hot dog Dorothy loved entirely (2,4)
Hot or fashionable and the dog Dorothy loved
15a Crack English force entering castle (6)
Although the wordplay is quite straightforward – the abbreviation for English and the symbol for Force, the latter inserted into (entering) a castle – I have included a hint to stop all the ‘I didn’t know crack could mean ….’ If you look in the dictionary, you’ll see both words can mean try or attempt
21a Fertile moral tale needs no introduction (6)
A moral tale without its first letter (needs no introduction)
25a Seen? The writer had to be heard! (4)
A homophone (to be heard) of ‘the writer (speaking about themselves) had
Down
1d Others arrived to receive British comedian (9)
Insert the abbreviation for British into another way of saying others arrived
2d Stain puts Feds in Hell (7)
A synonym for hell or its lowest depths into which is inserted another name for the US Federal Agents
5d Obscure iron wheels in Slough (5)
The chemical symbol for iron inserted into a marsh (slough)
6d Angry holding pose, thought twice (9)
Angry or impassioned ‘holding’ pose (for an artist perhaps)
12d Compensation agreed, settled around November (9)
Agreed, of one mind and a synonym for settled or satisfied, the latter going around the letter represented by November in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
14d Recovering new idea in Bond initially ignored (2,3,4)
The abbreviation for New and a recurrent idea inserted into BOND (from the clue) without the B (initially ignored)
20d Current despondency endless in White House (5)
The symbol for electrical current and some despondency without the final letter (endless). The capitals in White House are there to mislead!
As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out!
Please read these instructions carefully – they are not subject to debate or discussion. Offending comments may be redacted or, in extreme cases, deleted. In all cases the administrator’s decision is final.
If you don’t understand, or don’t wish to comply with, the conventions for commenting on weekend prize puzzles then save yourself (and me) a lot of trouble and don’t leave a comment.
The Quick Crossword pun: INNER + TENSION = INATTENTION
Satisfying sunshiny Saturday puzzle. I liked the mix of clues apart from the crickety one which was an educated guess. I did not know the synonyms in 15a and 2a but e help confirmed I had the right answers. My favourite was 20d!
Many thanks to the setter and to CS for the hints
Not the easiest of Saturday puzzles but some great clues in 2a and 10a (both lovely cricketing clues, the former being one of the great ‘English’ batsmen) and 13a and 9a because they both made me smile.
Last in was 12d which was very logical but held me up.
Thx to all for an excellent weekend workout.
***/*****
Super Saturday puzzle with some great clues in 3a and 10a (both cricketing clues, the former being one of the best ‘English’ batsman of all time). My other accolades go to 9a and 13a as both made me smile.
Last in was 12d, very logical but held me up for ages.
Thx to all.
***/*****
So good you had to comment twice!
👏👏
Doesn’t that faux pas deserve the “naughty step”?
Myriad classy, well-written and eminently solvable clues in this offering. I liked the two long ones among the several nice examples, but the neat cryptic definition at 10A took my fancy.
Thanks Sue, thanks setter.
A fairly straightforward forward yet quite elegant puzzle for a cloudy morning here in Shropshire. I thought the clue mix was about right, and my favourite was the topical 20d. Great stuff.
Thanks to our Saturday setter and Sue.
Not by any means a doddle but a very approachable guzzle. I liked the long anagram at 8a and the crptic definition at 22a plus the crickety clue at 10a, which, to my surprise, I got right away. Many thanks to the compiler and to CS for the hints.
This required a bit more teasing out than is usual for a Saturday and was therefore an enjoyable solve with my LOI being 5d – what a great word!
19a took longer that it should have done and clues like 7d are always good fun.
I took an age to get 10a and 16d and biffed 8a.
My podium is the aforementioned Barry Biffer, 4d and 12d for its construction.
Many thanks to the setter and CS.
3*/4*
A bit of a let down after the excellence of the Thursday and Friday back pagers but enjoyable nevertheless.
Candidates for favourite – 9a, 5d, 14d, and 17d – and the winner is 9a because it did make me smile.
Thanks to whomsoever and CS.
Lots of clever clues today, but overall the puzzle was strangely easy to crack, I thought. 17a, 25a and 5d make a personal podium – all worthy of top spot IMHO. The only personal fly in the ointment was 12a, an expression I never use, I think maybe as a legacy of hating Latin at school! Thanks to setter and Sue for the blog.
A good puzzle with a few words I don’t usually use daily! 2d my Cotb
Just loved this puzzle. 13 d and 20 a. came top of the many great clues. My disappointment is seeing the answer immediately when looking at the pictures in the hints section. This happens often in the week but it seems particularly wrong when we are doing a prize crossword. It must be difficult not to give too much away immediately and it is generous of those who give their time and brain power to those who need a nudge – but no more than a nudge please. Many thanks to our cunning compiler and to Crypticsue.
A typo in your email address sent you into moderation
Somewhere on the site is the justification BD gave for including pictures with the weekend Prize Puzzle Hints but I can’t find it.
I’m with Senf in that this was something of a let-down after Thursday and Friday’s back-pagers. No reflection on today’s setter, simply that I found those two outstanding.
Smiles today came from 17a and 18d.
Thanks to our setter and to CS for the hints.
Presumably a return of last Sat’s setter. More double unches! A curious but enjoyable mix: a sprinkling of chestnuts and a little chew. 9a’s fun, 10a too and 1d’s smart. I do think 7d is debatable. Not in my house! Thanks to setter (Cephas again?) and CS.
This was a pleasant rather than sparkling puzzle, edged into the shade by the excellent fare we have had this past week. That said I did like the 8a anagram, 22a made me smile but cotd goes to 16d. Thanks to compiler and CS.
Didn’t really enjoy this one despite being able to finish it unaided. Unlike Crypticsue I obviously wasn’t on the setter’s wavelength and found it a bit of a slog.
But, thanks to Crypticsue and the setter, as I always appreciate the effort you put in regardless
Well that was certainly weird, can’t say I liked it, any ideas who set it?
I commented a while ago, but it seems to have gone AWOL. 🥺
I found this weeks Saturday puzzle much easier than the last couple have been. A little lateral thinking required and grey matter put to use as well.
1.5*/3.5* today
Favourites include 1a, 17a, 22a, 1d & 20d — with winner 1d!
Smiles from all the above and 9a … naturally!
Thanks to setter & CS
I struggled to get into this. Read the first few across and down clues and decided to start at the bottom and work up.
LOI was 10a as I knew what the thing was but couldn’t remember what it was called.
Top picks for me were 9a, 20d and 13a.
Thanks to CrypticSue and the setter.
I thought this was ideal Saturday fodder,done sitting in the garden on a balmy, fresh day. CS is right, there is an autumnal feel to the air. Where is the year going? Several amusing clues, 11,13a and 2d but my favourite was 18d. We still have three 3ds in the next village doing motorbike repairs or some such – I have never had cause to investigate. Must have been a great piece of design and manufacture – or does that put me on the naughty step? Sufficiently vague I hope. Many thanks to Mr. Setter and CeeEss
So nice and vague that I had to come in from the garden to look at the crossword and see what you were on about
Good afternoon
Crikey, that was a canny struggle! All done, albeit a bit of guesswork required for 10a (what do I know about cricket? Two words, the second is “all”…😉) – and I thought 1a was a verb, not a noun. Plus CS’s help needed in the parsing of 12d; although, of course, it’s quite clear with hindsight.
Plenty of contenders for COTD: basically, all clues ending in “?” this afty!
Many thanks to our compiler and to CS.
Mainly straightforward but with enough clues to make you think a bit. Favourite was 17a. Thanks to the setter and CS.
An enjoyable puzzle which gave my brain a good early morning workout.
Luckily, I read through my answers before submitting and found I had misspelt 1D, as my synonym was for arrive, not arrived. Phew, nearly missed out on a chance to win the mythical!
***/**** Lots to like, but I’ll give my vote to 7D.
Thanks to the setter and CS for the hints.
The puzzle wasn’t that tricky but the “whys” were. So many had to be, but why? I got the second word of 8a but needed help with the first. I did need some help with a few, eg 10a, a crickety clue always needs help. I liked lots, I liked 3a, 1d and 18d.
Thank you setter for the fun and CS for her help, especially on such a busy Saturday.
The least busy Saturday for a while. I’ve been sitting in the garden all afternoon
I too have had a comment go AWOL, but probably as I was commenting from a NT property with a dodgy connection, nevertheless a fine crossword. It took a walk round the new Italianate Garden at Beninborough and tea and scones before the SW finally dropped This turophile also smiled at 9a, 12d and 22a join it on the podium with 22a getting the gold
Thanks to Sue and Setter
Slow, slow, quick, quick, v slow. 12d and 19a took ages but got there in the end.
Not plainsailing for me but satisfying to work on and then all of a sudden voilà success. Fav 12d followed up by smileworthy 9a. 2d bunged in and validated later. Altogether a more entertaining exercise than the initial impression. Thank you to whomever and CS.
Well I got one found this a tricky little number maybe because I started well in bed and then had to stop. I restarted on a bumpy crossing by tender from our ship to go and see the wonderful garden at Tresco. The bumps didn’t help! However back at base it started to all make sense and finished with a flourish although never found Brian’s batsman. Anyway thanks to all.
I’m sure Rahmat Ali will be waxing even more lyrically than usual when he explains the link to the batsman
Well it may not have hit the heights of yesterday’s puzzle but I thought this one pleasantly diverting. 20d was worth the price of admission on its own for the mental image it conjured up of a thoroughly fed up JB slumped over the desk in the Oval Office with his head in his hands.
Thanks to the setter (Cephas I’d reckon too) & to Sue
Loved this one! Difficult to pick a fave as have got half a dozen ticks across and down.
I’ll plump for 3a, REDACTED (alternative clue)
Apologies! Was hoping for enlightenment in due course from Rahmat Ali. Many belated thanks to the setter and to CS.
Very entertaining … 1D and 20D are my faves.
internet down but back up briefly.
thanks setter and CS.
Not sure why you’ve changed your name but …
I’d understand the wordplay for 13d if it said ‘with Romeo’. ‘Without Romeo’ had me thinking to remove an R from something… Can someone help me out?
Without can, and often does, mean outside. So the anagram goes outside the Romeo
There is a green hill far away without the City Walls. Sang that so many times in Holy Week as a child and worried about the city having no walls.
Clifton Without is a suburb of York – it is the part of Clifton that is outside the city walls
I feel like I’m doing a different crossword to everyone else. Really struggling to get on the wavelength. I have potential answers to around half of the clues. Most of which I have only written in the checkers.
I think I have got as far as I can, but thanks to all.
I’ve had the great pleasure of solving all of this week’s DT dailies, and what a glorious selection they were. Some cracking work. I could have solved this one too, I suppose, but it wouldn’t have been much of a challenge as I know all the answers.
Thanks Sue, thanks all.
NYDK.
Many thanks to you, NY, puzzle much enjoyed.
Bon dimanche!
I was fairly certain it had to be you when I solved 9a in the Quick Crossword and was happy to have this confirmed when I solved the splendid Cryptic
I really enjoyed this puzzle with my favourite being 9A, which made me smile, once I had corrected my misspelling of the shelter in 3D.
Thanks to Sue and the setter,
Apologies for being late on parade and hope I’m not breaking any rules, but I think my answer [redacted – well you knew it would be] to 10a is far better.