DT 30721 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30721

by Huntsman  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30721
Hints and tips by Huntsman

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment ***/****

Another gentle guzzle off the AP production line. Although I didn’t think it quite hit the heights of last week I found it perfectly enjoyable. There was only the one parsing head scratch so I’ll be interested to see if that was just me.

Lovely weather here in Harpenden so no prizes for guessing what I’ll be doing this afternoon.

In the following hints, definitions are underlined, indicators are mostly in parentheses, and answers are revealed by clicking where shown as usual. Please leave a comment below on how you got on with the puzzle.

Across

1a Group of supporters following a new team (3,4)

FAN CLUB: F(ollowing) + A (from the clue) + N(ew) + a synonym for team, especially in a sporting context.

5a Annoys aristocrats in street? On the contrary (7)

PESTERS: on the contrary means it’s the abbreviation for street that is inserted into members of the nobility.

9a Male deer maybe spotted something with sharp teeth (7)

BUCKSAW: a term for a male deer + a synonym for spotted. The something with sharp teeth isn’t another critter.

10a Cur liked new doughnuts primarily going more jammy (7)

LUCKIER: an anagram (new) of CUR LIKEd (Doughnuts primarily going).

11a River not bad temperature for mouse (9)

INTROVERT: an anagram (bad) of RIVER NOT + the single letter for Temperature.

12a European opening competition (5)

EVENT: E(uropean) + a small opening.

13a Use social networking site in plane, say, on the way back (5)

EXERT: insert the new name for Elon’s site into a reversal (on the way back) of plane in the arboreal context.

15a Hospital operation put an end to game (9)

HOPSCOTCH: H(ospital) + the abbreviation for operation + a word meaning put an end to.

17a Celebrity’s fabulous heavenly body (9)

SUPERSTAR: a synonym for fabulous + a heavenly body that twinkles.

19a Start some homebrew in celebration (5)

WINCE: hidden (some) in the last three words of the clue.

22a In favour of wearing an item of protective clothing (5)

APRON: AN from the clue surrounds (wearing) a preposition meaning in favour of.

23a Unfortunately all masters almost suspect something (5,1,3)

SMELL A RAT: an anagram (unfortunately/almost) of ALL MASTERs.

25a Quietly return to judge (7)

PRESUME: the letter for soft or quiet in music + a synonym for return to or restart.

26a Studio swallowed story by director finally (7)

ATELIER: a synonym for swallowed + a story or fabrication + the last letter (finally) of directoR.

27a Record reduced by 50 per cent – a great deal! (3,4)

NOT HALF: a truncated (reduced) synonym for record or take down + the fraction that is 50%.

28a Hole in trunk perhaps is torn carelessly by student (7)

NOSTRIL: an anagram (carelessly) of IS TORN + the single letter for student.

 

Down

1d Fantastic cut in price makes you feverish (7)

FEBRILE: insert (in) a truncated (cut) slang synonym for fantastic into another word for price.

2d Kiss amorously then fasten garment (7)

NECKTIE: an informal term for to kiss amorously + a synonym for fasten.

3d Something cowboy might throw, upset in cross altercation (5)

LASSO: hidden in reverse (upset/in).

4d Headwear cricketer put on that opener’s lost (6,3)

BOWLER HAT: the person delivering the ball to the batsman/woman + (t)HAT (opener’s lost).

5d Navigate vessel around current lake (5)

PILOT: insert the single letter for current (physics) & for Lake into a non nautical vessel.

6d Scared, Charlie moves lower and lower – this cannot be criticised (6,3)

SACRED COW: take SCARED in the clue & move the letter Charlie represents (NATO phonetic alphabet) lower (in a down clue) then append crosswordland’s other favourite lower. Neat surface.

7d Demanding one fellow supports former lover (7)

EXIGENT: the Roman numeral letter for one + a synonym for fellow preceded by the usual for a former lover.

8d Remove sign of damage (7)

SCRATCH: double definition – the latter very annoying on your vinyl.

14d Insect eaten by ultra wild adult spider (9)

TARANTULA: insert (eaten by) an insect who lives in a colony into an anagram (wild) of ULTRA then append the single letter for Adult.

16d Beer supply rising in China (9)

PORCELAIN: reverse (rising/down clue) a word for beer + a synonym for supply (food produce for instance) then append IN from the wordplay.

17d Raise the pitch of stringed instrument held by nurse (7)

SHARPEN: insert (held by) a stringed instrument into the abbreviation for a trained nurse.

18d Ideal total (7)

PERFECT: double definition.

20d Reminder about missing mackintosh initially? More like an anorak (7)

NERDIER: an anagram (about) of REmINDER (missing the first letter of Mackintosh). Neat surface with the definition nowt to do with clothing.

21d Hospital department next to HR with a large entrance (7)

ENTHRAL: our usual Hospital dep’t + HR & A from the clue then append L(arge).

23d H Rider Haggard novel left on female’s mantelpiece (5)

SHELF: the Haggard novel + L(eft)+ F(emale).

24d City guides on the radio (5)

LEEDS: a straightforward homophone (on the radio) of a synonym for guides to finish with.

 

I’ll award podium places to 6,20&21d with 9&26a just missing out. Please let us know which clues you liked best.

 

 

Today’s Quickie crossword pun: SEE + ERR + CHINS = SEA URCHINS

 

 

 

52 comments on “DT 30721”

  1. A delight from start to finish. Mind you, I was halfway through the across clues before I solved one so thought I was in for a battle. However, the downs came to my aid and gave several useful checkers. The fantastic cut price at 1d was a bung-in as was the social networking site at 13a. I will need to check the hints to check these two. I liked the hospital operation at 15a but my COTD is scared Charlie at 6d.

    Thank you, setter for the fun and I hope your offering has set the direction the rest of the week will take. Thank you, Hintsman for the hunts.

    Beautiful autumnal day in The Marches with bright sunshine and a pleasant chill in the air with mist drifting across the River Severn.

  2. Summer is at last here in Sandhurst, albeit a bit late, we’ll have to see how long it lasts (or more likely doesn’t).

    I thought this was very tough for a Tuesday, or maybe it’s me just getting old and losing some little grey cells.
    New word for me at 1d, had to check the answer was right, and still haven’t the foggiest how 11a works so will have to see the hint.

    Great puzzle and very entertaining, my two favourites were 6d and the very convoluted 16d. Many thanks to our setter today.

  3. An excellent crossword for an early-weeker with so many good surfaces. The prof is in fine form.

    My LOI was 25a as I struggled to justify the synonym for return.

    It’s all booting off at the base of the podium but I’ll go with 2d (titter ye not), 6d and 16d.

    Many thanks to AP and Hoots Mon!

    2*/4*

  5. 6d was very neat and my favourite pick from a worthy selection of possibles. I thought our regular Tuesday setter was on excellent form, and provided a good and fair grid to suit most solvers.

    Many thanks to AP and The Hintsman.

  6. Who needs an alarm clock when there is an early morning late Summer thunder storm rumbling around?

    For me etc, over the last few weeks, Anthony Plumb seems to have reset the bar, upwards, on what is Typically Tuesdayish while maintaining the enjoyment level – 2.5*/4*

    Candidates for favourite – 15a, 5d, 8d, and 17d – and the winner is 5d.

    Thanks to Mr Plumb and Huntsman.

  7. East complied without much hassle but West held fire for longer however all’s well that ends well. 26a Fav. Being somewhat of a Luddite 13a was not parsed by me. Altogether another stress-free cruciverbal Tuesday – presumably back to the drawing board from midweek onwards. Thank you MrP and Hintsman.

  8. Enjoyable challenge. The north west corner caused me a few problems, as I kept thinking incisor for 9a, even though I knew it was wrong. When I got 1d, things fell into pla ce. Thanks to the setter and for the hints.

  9. This took me a while to get into and then flowed in a stop and start way!

    Top picks for me were 6d, 15a and 2d. I also liked the Quickie pun.

    Thanks to Huntsman and the setter.

  10. (Great music choices as always!)
    Excellent challenge of a guzzle which I found a bit of a challenging challenge. I would describe myself as an 11a but I think the synonym of ‘mouse’ is not pleasing to those of us who simply enjoy a quiet life, and keep ourselves to ourselves. Don’t quote yer BRB at me!

    Lovely evening yesterday at the memorial/celebration, at the Savoy Theatre, for my old friend and colleague Steve Brown who died earlier this year. Lots of old pals, and acquaintances from my old days writing comedy at the BBC, and at Central TV for Spitting Image. The show was stolen, jointly, by Laura Mvula and Steve’s seven year old granddaughter, Margot.
    Afterwards I handed over the deeds to the house in order to pay for drinks at the American Bar in the Savoy.

    Thanks to the setter and Andy On The First Tee.

  11. A lovely puzzle.
    I was held up slightly on my LOI at 13a by trying to make tweet work. Get up to date, Shabbo!
    Thank you setter and Huntsman. Enjoy your golf this afternoon.

  12. Nicely lean, this. Fun surfaces, as always: 2d, 15a, 19a, etc. 6d’s bonkers but it’s a lovely construction, 16d’s cunning and 27a’s “record” had me foxed for a moment. Does it need that extra WP? It probably reads better with it, to be fair. Very enjoyable. Many thanks to our setter and Huntsman. Cracking tunes, chief. I love that John Lee track. But it would be remiss of me not to add this superlative cover. He does go on a bit, mind!

      1. Och, you’ll never hear a complaint from me about a John track. I’m very fond of this cover though. I caught George live in New Orleans once. And the gig was exactly as you’d imagine – bourbon-soaked madness!

  13. A top-notch puzzle from our Tuesday setter – thanks to him and Huntsman.
    The clues I liked best were 1a, 15a, 1d and 6d.

  14. Terrific Tuesday puzzle, not as easy as some but great fun, 6d my favourite and 25a last to fall.

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

  15. That’s much better. A considerable improvement over yesterday’s somewhat weird offering. Lots of great clues, some obvious others much less so. Just the right level to finish over a cup of coffee.
    Many thx to the setter and for the hints.
    **/****

  16. I do think the professor has dialled up the difficulty a little in recent times but that better prepares us for whatever we have to face later in the week. I always run screaming from anything relating to social networking sites and IT in general so 13a looked like a no-go area but suspecting what the plane might be lifted me over that hurdle and on to a conclusion in a respectable time. Top three here were 13a (so proud of myself!) 27a and 6d.

    Thanks to Mr Plumb and to Huntsman for the review.
    I see that we have a new setter on Toughie duty – I wonder whether he’s the weatherman who goes walking!

    1. Hi Jane. It’s a setter you know by another name. Looking back, you found his recent-ish NTSPP “quite a challenge”. I look forward to hearing how you got on with this one!

  17. I thought at first that this was going to be one of my AP dnf’s. However one clue, 14d, seemed to unlock the setter’s wavelength and from then on it was a steady and enjoyable solve. Many good clues, so I’ll pick 11a, 14d and 17d as my podium. Thanks to AP and Huntsman.

  18. Enjoyable, slightly tricky to me. Having owned a 9 across for most of my life I have never heard it so described. While checking whether a 2 down is actually a garment I was taken aback to find that Chambers Crossword Dictionary lists 501s as a four-letter piece of clothing. How do you put that into a grid?
    Thanks to Setter and Huntsman, but please will people stop using the word “guzzle”, it is driving me up the wall!

    3. No way will the term “guzzle” be dropped. As Daisygirl says, it honours a dear friend of this blog. Try using it yourself, Tumbert and get used to it. 😊

  19. Definitely not a typical Tuesday offering, at least not for me.
    Tricky with more than several questionable parsings as well as actual answers to the clues. Very much a head scratcher. Last in was SW

    3*/3* for me

    Favourites include 5a, 6d, 8d, 21d & 23d — with winner 23d
    Smiles for 9a, 23a & 24d

    Thanks to setter (AP?) & Huntsman

  20. Another enjoyable guzzle today so thanks to all for that. However, I am really really angry. Apparently the cryptic is moving to the Puzzles Site. WHY? I pay a full subscription and I expect to be able to see the whole paper on my Kindle. The reason I am so fed up with this is at the moment I can see the whole puzzle on the screen and half the clues, so I scroll up and down the clues. BUT, on the puzzles site I can only see one clue at a time which makes solving extremely tedious and difficult. If it aint broke, no need to fix it. I’ve given up trying to do the Toughie for this reason. I pay a lot of money to Telegraph Towers and cannot understanding the point of this – LEAVE IT WHERE IT IS. Rant over.

    1. You know, we do complain about the cost of the dead tree version everyday, the wasted paper in the bits we don’t read (Luxury, watches, sport etc) but when I read of the problems some of you have in the electronic version I think the paper is better for our blood pressure.

      1. I have the app but still get the paper. It’s traditional. My uncle used to do the DT cryptic every day and, as a child, I watching in awe as he folded the paper meticulously, light his pipe and settle down with the crossword and a pot of tea – no coffee in those days.
        I now copy the same meticulous folding and become very annoyed if an advertisement for expensive jewellery pushes the cryptic off the back page.

        1. I’m with you with the meticulous folding and my dear late dad would have been with you with the annoying adverts preventing easy access to the crosswords.

          1. Traditions must never be forgotten, GM! 👍
            There is nothing to compare with a newspaper on your lap.

  21. 3*/2*
    Didn’t enjoy this as much as others, found several clues rather convoluted eg 1d.
    28a favourite today

  22. I’m another in the “slightly more challenging than usual from The Prof” camp, but did enjoy this pleasant challenge, despite all the anagrams. It didn’t help that I wrote 12a’s answer in 13a’s lights and then told myself that 13a wasn’t going to be E_E_T as well and to look for other answers for 1d & 14d. Hummmm, little did I know. Some super clues with COTD 11a, runners-up 21d and 16d (once I’d abandoned thoughts of mate, pal, chum etc!).

    Many thanks to Setter and Huntsman

  23. I can’t get on with this at all, I’m so way off wavelength I’ve only managed the SE with spotty answers in the rest here and there. I might come back to it later, though I doubt it. I’m having to paint my house, instructions left by Godson of things that need to be done, and it’s pouring with rain on and off. There’s a man coming to cut back some bushes I hadn’t realised were against the wall, so must organise him and he speaks no English. I lead an exciting life!
    Thank you setter, I’ll read your hints later Huntsman.

    1. So relieved to read your comments Merusa, and another couple above as I found this a bit of a slog, with odd clues and strange synonyms, e.g. total = perfect? And a bit unkind to equate introvert with mouse I thought.

      1. Oh no, perish the thought! I can barely stand up, Daisy! I just find anything out of my routine to be “DRAMA”, and having to choose colours, arranging for bushes to be cut, and so on. The professional painters are coming tomorrow, they’ll do the work!

  24. Absolutely loved this today. Just challenging enough to make you think through each clue. Then the satisfying light bulb moment. Think you have to be on the same wavelength as setter, otherwise could be tricky. Entirely agree with Huntsman’s ratings. V enjoyable 😁

  25. Now I’ve lost my original comment – never mind – haven’t got the energy to write it all again.
    I thought it was a bit harder than the average Tuesday.
    I did like 15 and 28a and 14 and 16d (oh, that sort of China).
    My favourite WOULD have been 23a had we not found a HUGE dead (thankfully) rat in the compost a couple of days ago!
    Thanks to today’s setter and to Hintsman for his hints.

    1. Must admit that 28a bothered me for a while until I registered the sort of trunk required – I’d been thinking of a human torso!

      1. Not sure why I’ve gone into moderation or why my usual ‘Jane’ suddenly includes my surname. Ah well, hopefully someone will rescue me soon!

  27. I am late again. Changing the bed linen, Magazine Meeting followed by Book Group and a trip to the supermarket. I am too old for all this excitement. But I really enjoyed this, particularly 26a and 6,14d. 1d is very clever, it was a bung in until The Hintsman explained it. I also laughed at 23d. Many thanks to Messrs Setter and Hintsman. Do children still play 15a?

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