Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30701(Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)
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A grey and murky day with more rain than we have seen for weeks and weeks. Add to that the arrival of chocolate Christmas tree decorations and stocking fillers on the shelves in Sainsbury’s and it must be August Bank Holiday weekend!
I though the Saturday Prize Puzzle was on the tricky side, with several linked solutions appearing all over the grid. It took a while to decide which clues to hint; some of the ones I didn’t include anagrams and cryptic definitions.
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
4a Juice in enormous quantity? (8)
An enormous quantity of a particular source of power (juice)
11a Crowd by sea in France drink … (6)
A crowd goes after the French word for sea
16a Hold instrument used in salon (8)
A wrestling hold or something used in a salon
19a English about to tuck into lean meat slice (8)
The abbreviation for English and a verb meaning to lean, the Latin abbreviation for about being ‘tucked’ into the latter
21a Not totally excellent beer, but close (6)
The definition can be defined in two different ways depending on how you say it. Here we want the concluding part of something – Almost all of a synonym for excellent and some beer
26a Labour candidate: he controls boxing clubs (8)
A Greek hero who was set twelve tasks of great difficulty and danger, known as the Labours of .. HE (from the clue), a synonym for controls ‘boxing’ the abbreviation for Clubs
Down
1d Greatly upset southern tile maker? (7)
The abbreviation for Southern and a maker of an item of clothing, the slang name for which is a tile
2d UN article needs Finnish backing in agreement (9)
UN (from the clue), an indefinite article, and a reversal (backing) of the Finnish word for the country of Finland or its language
5d Cosy up with German husband, arms dealer (8)
A reversal (up) of a synonym for cosy followed by the German word for with and the abbreviation for Husband
7d Performing in dull musical interval (7)
The usual two-letter performing inserted into dull or hackneyed
15d, 25a, 6d Should extreme effects of 17 8 appear no matter what? (4,4,2,4,5)
This expression meaning no matter what could also refer to the possible appearance of the solution to 17d/8a
20d Everything eaten by ruminant is green (6)
Everything ‘eaten’ by a ruminant animal
22d Prank not for Conservative (5)
Opposed to (not for) and the abbreviation for Conservative
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!
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The Quick Crossword pun: BRIDLES + WHEAT = BRIDAL SUITE
Cor! To quote Jamie Lawson…I wasn’t expecting that. I had a tough workout at the gym this morning followed by this one. I’m knackered!
I know that I’m in the minority when it comes to multi-worders splashed all over the grid but I really like it: it adds another element to the challenge. It took me a while for 15a/25a/6d to drop but, when it did, it all came together very nicely with my LOI being 21a.
There were some great clues with 17a/8a being a truly outstanding anagram. We don’t often see a low word count per clue on a Saturday but this was under six.
My podium is 19a, 26a and 22d.
Many thanks to the setter and CS.
4*/4*
At first I found it a bit confusing to navigate the linked clues via the app, but when the paper arrived it became easier
Do all the linked clues constitute a theme? 5d my favourite today when I picked the ending for 4a
Thanks to Sue and setter
That was hard and I had solved just one after the first pass. The second pass revealed just two more and I was about to give up and go and do something else when another one – 4d – appeared. The checkers from these few allowed me in. My COTD is the clever mug in Munich.
Thank you, setter for the guzzle. Thank you, CS for the hints.
Absolutely delightful. Best surfaces of the week. 24a is sharp, 26a’s definition is lovely and 13a’s nicely topical. A real Saturday treat, this. Many thanks to our setter and CS.
24a was my last one in and I’m still not too happy with it!
Ha! Why not? First or second bit? Or both!
I’ve never heard of that but it was in my dictionary.
2*/4*. This provided a very pleasant diversion on a miserable wet morning while waiting for the inevitable news that my cricket match today has been called off.
I agree with Sloop that this sort of puzzle is much easier to tackle on a piece of paper rather than online.
I didn’t know the first definition needed for 24a but a referral to my BRB put me wise.
My top picks were 9a, 26a, 5d & 18d.
Many thanks to the setter and to CS.
I suppose I could have printed a paper copy from the app but considering the theme a waste of paper and ink, when the hard copy arrived it was much easier to peruse the linked clues whilst thinking about the clue that sent you there, and a better picture of any checkers that appear
Like Tom I found this unexpectedly tricky especially down south & completion time was comfortably the longest of the week excluding the Toughies. Not usually a fan of the multi-worders/linked solutions but on this occasion thought they were crackers. At the risk of incurring the wrath of Sue & banishment to the step (is it covered & what cake is there?) one of ‘em is the title of an excellent 2017 Oscar nominated film – great story, taut screenplay, terrific leads & a super soundtrack – highly recommended if not seen. Podium spots awarded to 26a plus 5&18d.
Thanks to the setter (Donny maybe) & to Sue.
A very tough guzzle to get into with all the linked clues, until I realised that there was a linking theme. The penny drop made a loud clang. I liked the long anagram at 4d and the lego clue at 26a. The best clue for me, however, was the double meanibg at 24a. Thanks to CS for the hints and to the compiler
What’s an eye rhyme?
BRB (Revised 13th Edition) Page 548, RH column.
Good job you asked that because I’m going to amend the hint as here we have one word that can be pronounced differently
An eye rhyme is two words that look the same but are pronounced differently eg borough and cough
I did. Collins online defines one alternative as “without stopping” which surely fits with “Keep pace?” . The other makes it a double definition, one of which is a new word to me. Still not sure to be honest.
Thx for the hints but I think I would have more chance of knitting fog than completing this one. Way out of my league.
*****/0
Me too…
Tricky guzzle indeed. It was vital to get a bit of a start as the subsequent checking letters were invaluable in pressing onwards.
I’m pining for California. In a month we didn’t see a drop of rain, and we could plan our days knowing that the weather would be kindly. Since returning, we seem to have encountered nothing but grey skies and (today) torrential rain.
*Looks up properties in Pacific Palisades*
Well, maybe we’ll settle for England after all.
That’s to guest setter, Greta Thunberg, for today’s guzzle, and, of course, Siouxsie Sioux.
I was just about to credit Miss Thunberg for today’s puzzle but you have beaten me touit
Haven’t heard that one in a while & would have struggled to remember who sang it – great tune
I liked the environmental theme – we should all be thinking about that. Also enjoyed the 11/12a linked clues, and the chained clues which added to the challenge. Did not like 1d, probably since I did not pick up on the cockney rhyming slang reference, which I thought a bit obscure and was LOI.
Otherwise an enjoyably SPP for a typically miserable bank holiday weekend. COTD 26A, beautifully constructed.
Thanks to setter and Sue.
24a – by the time I got all the checking letters, two answers sprung to mind – both equal on their merits as far as I could see. The trouble is, which one to complete this prize crossword and send it in. Can’t decide which of the two is right. Anyone else faced with the same dilemma?
Look them up in the dictionary
A bit of a head scratcher for me; perhaps the fog we had yesterday morning permeated into my brain, but a very good example of a SPP. With 15d/25a/6d and 17d/8a it’s probably safe to say that this is NYDK’s work.
Candidates for favourite – 19a, 26a, 1d, 5d, 19d, and 20d – and the winner is 26a.
Thanks to NYDK, or whomsoever it is not he, and thanks to CS.
Enjoyable while challenging today, and the green theme very appropriate for me as I’m on my way (by public transport!) to what is claimed will be the lowest carbon gig of its scale ever staged!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn497kq89jdo
2d and 26a my favourites
I don’t see 1d as CRS
Yep, I thought that too. But I would never quibble with CS!
Had to sit up and pay attention for this one, certainly didn’t find it a stroll in the park. I was miles off track with the 4a juice until 4d came to my rescue and, like RD, needed to consult the BRB for the alternative meaning of 24a.
Think my top three were 26a plus 5&18d.
Thanks to our setter – NYDK? and to CS for the hints.
As others have pointed out, the multi-word answers spread all over the grid are hard work using the app! I had to resort to a pen and sheet of paper to help me out.
Otherwise, I found today’s puzzle to be clever and very enjoyable. 9A was my pick for top spot with 5D a close second.
What a wonderful summer we are having (not). Perhaps we should all move to sunnier climes.
***/**** Thanks to Greta and CS for the hints.
I almost hesitate to say that it’s sunny and 20° in Cheshire! Didn’t help with the guzzle though.
It’s been a beautiful day in The Marches as well. I didn’t dare say anything as everyone else seems to be rained on. Now you have, Bijou I feel I have company. 😊
A real struggle for me. Usually I have this feeling if I have correct answers but some of these I’m a bit lost on. 18d 24a 10a 1d. Not on the same wavelength I think.
That was a tough one .. I too noted the pallets of tinned sweets arriving in the local Sainsbury and I thought surely not .. 😤
This was a tricky puzzle with some answers leaping into the grid and others, especially the SW proving decidedly difficult. I’m still unsure of my answer to 21a even after looking at the hint. That said, a very pleasant pastime for a wet and grey Saturday. I’ll go with 11a as my cotd. Thanks to the compiler and CS for the hints.
That was a tricky one, just as well that it is pouring with rain here so I can’t be attending to the garden.
Top picks for me were 26a, 5d and 19a.
Thanks to CrypticSue and the setter.
I found this Saturday puzzle easier than the last several Saturday puzzles have been. One new word for me in this one.
2*/3.5*
Favourites 4a, 11a, 3d, 5d & 20d — with winner 20d
Smiles from the two multiple word clues as well as 9a & 21a
I thought the multiple word clues were cleverly put together around the same sort of current issues. I liked them both
Thanks to setter & CS
An unusual crossword today, some easy clues and some very difficult ones. It almost felt as if it was the combined efforts of two compilers (only a feeling, not a serious suggestion). It has kept me out of mischief for a while!
Clue of the day for me was 9A, thought it was lovely.
Easy clues…? There are no easy clues for mere mortals…!
A very enjoyable solve. I am with those who don’t see 1d involving CRS.
Well I think it has mostly been said. Tricky, clever, thought provoking. I liked the full musical interval and the German mug and the Labour candidate. George got quite irritable about the 15,25,6 combo but once we’d cracked it it proved to be helpful. Was planning to go k to town today but really? Getting wet and ploughing through trails of tourists? Nah. Favourite is 2d as George did a lot of good business there and several times I accompanied him. Many thanks to Setter and CeeSue. I wrote to our esteemed editor the other day and said I had noticed that the children of travelling families who attended school are henceforth being called Mobile Children. Does that mean, I asked in all innocence, that all other children will be known as Immobile Children? My letter was not published!
Finally finished, just as well it is too wet here to do anything outside. I thought this the trickiest Saturday crossword in a long while. I had 3 clues that held out for ages including 18d and 24a which was last in and may be wrong! Time will tell. Overall I liked the overarching theme and once the multiword clues came together the majority went in smoothly.
Many thanks to the setter for the challenge and to CS for the hints.
The weather featured in this puzzle and since the rain kept me in the house it gave time to get on top of this cunning joy of a puzzle. 9 a. went in early and such a good clue lured me on. Dear, brave Greta would have been pleased with it. So worth the effort because of the delight. Many,many thanks to the setter and CS
Solved travelling back from Dover in appalling conditions. Have been on the road for 5 hours and over an hour still to go! Tricky doing the long ones when you can’t see the whole clue. Nonetheless enjoyable so thanks to all.
An excellent work-out for me. The mini-theme is of the most pressing relevance to us all, in my view that is, and not just those enduring another Old Trafford Test, which was handled without overt opinion. Bravo for that (I think there might have been one expressed about Trump and Stone, however, hee hee).
I really enjoyed the phrasing of the first part of the double definition at 15 25 6, which I imagine took some thought, and all of the related answers were nicely done. Of the others there were many to like, 26A among them, but the podium spot for me today goes to the gloriously misleading 21A.
Wonderful puzzle, wonderful hints, thanks Sue and (presumably) NYDK.
An escaped toughie for us with a number of clues we weren’t keen on including the scattered clues (personal opinion). If I had to pick a favourite I’d go with 26a. Thanks to the setter anyway and CS.
Way beyond my capabilities, I only managed a handful before using ehelp. Not only was it tricky, but I had the wrong answer in 4a which held me up for ages. I can’t claim that I solved this, having used Sue’s hints copiously, but also had to resort to ehelp once I had some checkers. Thank goodness for the anagram at 4d, solved with ehelp, which helped. My top picks were all solved by me, 9a, 26a and 5d.
Thank you setter, and your invaluable help much appreciated Sue. The rain is coming down in stair-rods here too.
P.S. please note there’s no comment re 18d, just read my thoughts.
Once we got the linked clues it seemed plain sailing. I wish we could keep the Greta stuff out of crosswords. Is there no place safe from this rubbish?
Favorite 9a.
Well I got one by myself and one from the hints. It’s going to be a long slog
I was interested to see that a lot of people found this one tricky. I found most of it much easier than a lot of them (although I am stuck on 24a). I usually eventually have to look at your clues for a few of them, but I have managed this one on my own up until 24a. Must be my brain, although I am gradually getting the hang of a number of setters. I agree though, with those who don’t like the multiple clues.
Welcome to the blog
Welcome, GJF! Please comment again. 👍
Finished! Thank you Sue I needed you. 🙂
I found that a very strange puzzle. Got all the mutli-word ones, plus the very long answer, right off the bat. Then completely ground to a halt despite having lots of letters in the grid. Got there in the end though.
26a the favourite by far. Excellent clue.
This is way too much for me and have had our family here today – that’s my excuse!
With thanks to today’s setter for the crossword and to CS for everything else today.
Thank all, and thanks Sue, yes it was me.
So linked clues not popular? Is that because they’re hard to cope with in the app, or online, or for some other reason?
Also: what is ‘the Greta stuff’?
Cheers
NYDK
Hi NYDK
I have no problem with linked clues, unless they are randomly thrown into the grid as a mixture of across and down clues (which they were today). The only way I could solve them was to write the enumeration on a separate sheet of paper. However, if the linked clues read next to each other in the grid, for example in today’s puzzle, 4a 8a 9a, I for one would not complain.
By the way, I enjoyed the puzzle.
Many thanks
Thank you NYDJ. Great guzzle, especially when I fell into 24a. Greta is the young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg who challenged governments to take action on matters concerning (oh dear , I really don’t want to go in the naughty step even if there is cake) what appears to have been uppermost in your mind when compiling this puzzle. Go figure, as they say across the pond,
I presume people are referring to Greta Thunberg and her commitment to addressing the impact of weather changes which seemed to be a bit of a theme today.
Welcome to the blog, Suffolk Lass.
For me they are harder to cope with in the app (on mobile phone at least)
When 15d etc refers you to 17d etc it is easier to glance down the paper version and see what checkers you have – on the mobile app you have to click backwards and forwards between clues. I imagine on a tablet or pc having both grid and clues on the same page would work but that will have to wait until I replace my antediluvian laptop
I am not a fan of linked clues. If you cannot get one, you are scuppered getting the others.
Hi Mr Knobby
I think linked clues are great fun but, for some reason, I’m in the minority.
I think people prefer them to be next to or below them which is s bit surprising as our minds are stretched and bent all over the place with anagrams and rekruls etc. There’s nothing linear about solving one of these bad boys.
Anyway….
Ta ever so muchly for a very enjoyable crossy. The 17a/8a anagram is sublime.
I loved the linked clues … it was all the others which I had problems with!
Variety in crosswords good, including having linked clues from time to time.
Having sobered up, I realize that I’ve mixed up ‘linked clues’ with split multi-worded ones.
I should know better than to post something after midnight!
Sorry about that.
I am also a fan of linked clues: if you get one of them there’s more chance you get the other which is not far off what a crossword is, i.e the more you solve the easier the other clues become.
Thanks for a fair but very difficult crossword. Mind you the Quikie wasn’t exactly quick.
I’m exhausted. 😊
Straightforward, even gentle, helped for me by the two highly irritating peripatetic clues being instant write-ins. Can’t say the Greta-lecture theme enamoured me – not very DT! . A 5d is a skilled craftsman, not a dealer, IME. 26a superb, followed by 12a and 24a.
Many thanks to NYDK and CS.
A couple of vocabulary-expanding clues here today, and a good challenge. Loved the mug in Munich and the Labour candidate.
Many thanks to Setter and Sue.
Well beyond my capabilities. Solved 2 clues before conceding defeat.
I still don’t understand why Saturday solves are often toughie level.
Surely it is because the are Prize puzzles. You have to work a bit harder to get a prize!
I was relieved to see so many other commenters also finding this tough. It took me 4 separate stings to complete, 2 before CrypticSue’s hints appeared, and 2 afterwards.
I don’t know anything about wresting, and very little about salons, so 16a was my final answer, once I realized that I had the wrong final 3 letters for 2d; it turns out I don’t know anything about Finland either. Thank you to Sue for sorting me out.
And a big thank you to NY Doorknob: that was great fun and a fantastic challenge (and it isn’t your fault I was so ignorant of Finland!). My favourite few included 26a’s labour candidate, 9a (“in Munich”), 11a (“Crowd by sea”), and the wonderful 24a.