DT 30734 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30734

by 2Kiwis  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30734

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

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

Kia ora from Aotearoa.
It has been busy here lately. As well as having a series of miscellaneous health appointments we have had family staying with us. We have just delivered them to the railway station for their homeward journey so we can now get back to our regular routine, starting with the Wednesday blog.
A veritable delight of a puzzle this week which all went together smoothly for us.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a    Yankee installed in new penthouse, part of triangle (10)
HYPOTENUSE : Anagram (new) of PENTHOUSE which contains Y(ankee).

6a    Old and locked up without care initially (4)
AGED : Locked up or behind bars without the first letter of care.

10a    Some occupy occasionally revolutionary South American native (5)
COYPU : A reverse lurker hiding in the clue.

11a    Spanish artist absorbed by very drunk man’s mindless destruction (9)
VANDALISM : The abbreviation for very and an anagram (drunk) of MANS contain a well-known Spanish artist.

12a    Brochure showing yearly rate allowed (8)
PAMPHLET : The two letters meaning yearly, then the rate or speed using imperial measures and allowed or permitted.

13a    Academic protecting the old man at top of field (5)
DOYEN : A senior academic contains an obsolete version of the definite article.

15a    Meet and pay in full (7)
SATISFY : A double definition. Meet or fulfil the requirements of.

17a    Taxman confused about first of claims for pet, maybe (4,3)
MANX CAT : An anagram (confused) of TAXMAN contains the first letter of claims.

19a    Tried leaving hospital with strange body part (7)
EARDRUM : Tried in a court of law without its initial H(ospital) and then strange or peculiar,

21a    The essence of love by Italian dynasty (7)
ROMANOV : Someone from the Italian capital and the two central letters of love.

22a    Picked up post and something for dinner (5)
STEAK : A homophone of a post or pale.

24a    Hungry – that’s common sense after wild party (8)
RAVENOUS : A slang word for a wild party and then four letter common sense.

27a    Work in lab coat dealing with plants? (9)
BOTANICAL : An anagram (work) of IN LAB COAT.

28a    Nothing bad about supplier of oil (5)
OLIVE : The letter that looks like zero and the reversal of bad or sinful.

29a    Beer measure? (4)
YARD : A novelty drinking glass which is also an imperial measure.

30a    Warning better about golf index? (10)
FOREFINGER : A golfer’s warning shout, then better or of higher quality contains G(olf).

Down 

1d    Wine writer with no answer for love (4)
HOCK : A somewhat derogatory term for a writer has its A(nswer) replaced by tennis score love.

2d    Financial officer may see student leaving drama teacher (9)
PAYMASTER : Remove the student driver letter from an alternative name for a drama teacher.

3d    Mostly genuine politician and president (5)
TRUMP : Genuine or real without its last letter and a Member of Parliament.

4d    Book covers of Tolstoy? A gimmick (7)
NOVELTY : A fiction book and the first and last letters of Tolstoy.

5d    Second man cut off retreat (7)
SANCTUM : An abbreviation for second then an anagram (off) of MAN CUT.

7d    Serious and ultimately very dirty (5)
GRIMY : Serious or austere and the last letter of very.

8d    Tiny fall about one sixtieth of a degree short (10)
DIMINUTIVE : Fall or plunge surrounds Roman numeral one and what is a sixtieth of a degree (or even a sixtieth of an hour), without its last letter (short).

9d    Number once getting praise with an expression of hesitation (8)
LAUDANUM : Praise or extol then ‘AN’ from the clue and a two letter hesitation.

.
14d    On the face of it, troubled boys listen (10)
OSTENSIBLY : An anagram (troubled) of BOYS LISTEN.

16d    Creating a remarkable end to match? (8)
STRIKING : An all-in-one clue. The definition is ‘remarkable’ and the match here is a fire-lighting one.

18d    Bewildering argument against joining (9)
CONFUSING : A word for an argument against and then joining or bringing together.

20d    Mythical bird caught in low country (7)
MOROCCO : A mythical bird from Arabian legend and the cricket abbreviation for caught are enclosed by a bovine low.

21d    Reassess leaver possibly going round university (7)
REVALUE : An anagram (possibly) of LEAVER contains U(niversity).

23d    Apple perhaps may be one raising game, having missed start (5)
EATER : Remove the first letter from the name of somebody employed by bird shooters.

25d    Girl I complain about (5)
NAOMI : The reversal of ‘I’ from the clue and complain or beef.

26d    Declare a recess, holding back (4)
REAR : A lurker, hiding in the clue.

Spoilt for choice today with ticked clues, but we really liked the disguised definition of 9d.

Quickie pun    grey    +    tidier    =    great idea

83 comments on “DT 30734”

  2. A bit of a mixed bag for me today. The west went in relatively smoothly but the east was more of a tussle. My podium comprises all across clues, 1, 10 and 11. Thanks to compiler and 2K’s.

  3. A true guess the setter Wednesday. Nevertheless (we haven’t seen that in a puzzle for a while), a very enjoyable mid-week challenge – 2*/4.5*

    Candidates for favourite – 11a, 12a, 21a, 8d, and 9d – and the winner is 12a.

    Thanks to whomsoever and the 2Kiwis.

  4. 11 and 12a were my co-favourites from this highly entertaining and enjoyable puzzle this morning. A great clue mix, with only a handful of anagrams, this was perfect midweek fare.

    Many thanks to our setter and the 2Ks.

  5. A bit Monday for a Wednesday and too many anagrams, but at least we weren’t short-changed on the number of clues in the grid and this was an amusing, enjoyable & rapid romp. Hon Mentions to 12a (nice surface & lego), 30a (for the red herring), & 16d (for the amusing cryptic all-in-one).

    Thank you setter (no idea, money left in wallet) & the 2Ks

    1. Did you see my middle-of-the-night appreciation of your comment about George and ‘oaring’? You know us too well!

  6. A top-notch midweek puzzle – thanks to our setter and 2Ks.
    Plaudits for 13a, 19a, 21a, 9d and 23d.

  7. 2*/4.5*. I thought this was the best Wednesday puzzle for quite a while, a real pleasure to solve.

    I can’t quite make the instructions in 1d work. “Wine writer with love for answer” would make more sense. 15a seems a bit same-sidey, and wouldn’t 16d work without “creating a”?

    I had lots of ticks with 12a my runaway favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter and to the 2Ks.

    1. Hi RD

      Re 16d, my thinking is that ‘creating’ is a synonym of the answer (****** a chord) which I found quite neat even though the clue works without it.

      1. Interesting. My way it’s definition + wordplay. The setter’s and your way, it’s an all-in-one.

        1. You’re probably right.

          I think creating being a synonym is a coincidence.

    2. My thinking on 2d is as per yours RD and your clue would be a definite improvement – it’s a dreadful British wine term anyway.

  8. I enjoyed this puzzle with ticks all over the place.
    Having to pick just a few they are 30a, 9d and 1a.

    Thanks to the 2Kiwis and the setter.

  9. A brisk grid completion albeit the parsing of 8&23d took a wee bit longer. YS expressed my thoughts perfectly & I’d just add 30a to his picks for my podium with quite a few others having been in contention.
    Thanks to the setter & the 2Ks
    Ps super Django Toughie highly recommended

  10. Annoyingly, I had to look at the hints for 22a and 23d as I was on the wrong track for both of them. Even then I have never heard of an apple referred to that before. But hey, I am not a native English speaker, although I lived there for 35 years. My candidates for best clues are 10a, 11a and 19a.

  11. A lovely little romp, this. 11a and 30a floated my boat. And I’ve got a very soft spot for 1d. Many thanks to our setter and the 2Ks.

  12. This enjoyable guzzle fell into place reasonably quickly and I loved the well thought out anagrams. I loved the mathematical one at a The well disguised lego clue at 30a was another gem. Other great lego clues were the old fashioned remedy at 9d and the geographical clue at 21d. Many thanks to the compiler for a delightful crossword and to the Kiwis for the hints

  13. 7d last one in and I got it wrong, one letter out. Did anyone else do the same thing? A very enjoyable puzzle today ; lots of good clues but 8d, and 30a my picks.
    Many thanks to all.

  14. What a superb puzzle from our setter, do hope he pops in to take a bow. Well nigh impossible to restrict the number of clues worthy of a podium place so I’ll just settle for putting 12a on the top step with almost all of the others jostling for the remaining places.

    Many thanks to the setter of the day and to our 2Ks as they luxuriate in a bit of peace!

  15. Getting a little trickier as the week progresses which is just as it should be. Straight in with 1a – ‘ the square on the………. is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides ‘ took me back at least 65 years. Shouldn’t think I’ve ever used the word since! Lovely puzzle throughout with a good mix of clues. The golf one did need the Kiwi’s help. Lots to choose from so favourite is 9d supported by 13a- what a lovely word that, again, I can’t remember using in years, and 20d. Thanks to our setter and the 2 Kiwis.

    1. The things we learned at school! I have been waiting years to use the phrase non solum sed etiam!

  16. Cracked this cracker of a puzzle without too many problems on this cracking day in NE Scotland.

    Favourite for me is 30a.

    Thanks to the setter and the 2Ks

  17. I found I was reverse engineering many of today’s clues with answers coming first followed by the parsing. Despite that, it was an enjoyable solve that required some lateral thought. For once, I remembered the other meaning of number. 3d is a blatant lie. I had the wrong ending for 18d and that held up the solving of 30a. My COTD is 16d because it’s the nearest to The Mythical I am ever likely to be.

    Thank you, setter for the conundrum. Thank you, 2Ks for the hints, which I will now read.

    Late on parade today because of a visit to the podiatrist who used to be called chiropodists.

    1. Thank you for your comment re 3d! I feel I’ve said so much on the subject I’m getting a bit boring, but, oh, it needs saying so badly, and again and again.

    2. 100% agree that 3d is a blatant lie, and goes for his sidekick also. Hope this clue was written tongue in cheek.

      1. This is what happens when you take clue surfaces to be real/factual and too seriously. The only word in the clue that refers to the answer is the definition: president. The first 3 words are a misdirectional contrivance (admittedly mischievous) to accommodate the cryptic wordplay. The “and” is a link. The surface read doesn’t mean the setter is making a sincere statement – much tongue-in-cheek involved I suspect.

        1. Whoa! What exactly did you say? That was way beyond this tiny brain’s intellectual level!

        3. That’s why I said “tongue in cheek”…. And it really is no laughing matter over here.

  18. A perfect Wednesday puzzle. It will no doubt get trickier tomorrow, just in time for my blog!
    I share RD’s thoughts on 1d and 16d and I thought that the surface read on 8d was a bit odd.
    Ticks aplenty though and CoD to 12a, so thank you setter and the Kiwis.

  19. I notice a lot of praise for 12a but isn’t it an example of the frowned-upon ‘definition makes wordplay’?
    I’ll add my recommendation for the great (and not too difficult) Django Toughie.

    2. I was thinking there is a difference between making and showing. In this case, doesn’t the answer show the wordplay?

      1. I’m not convinced. I think that ‘definition shows wordplay’ is pretty much the same as ‘definition makes wordplay’.

  20. Three successive smooth joy rides unusually today for a Wednesday – we may pay for it later in the week! Only headscratcher was 9d which is new to me but faute de mieux, as they say, I nearly bunged in a yellow tree. Nearly all goodies so no particular Fav. Thank you Mysteryone and the 2Kiwis. Nice simple Quickie pun too.

    1. You obviously didn’t mis-spend your youth reading Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer and others writing about Georgian dowagers – 9d was the go-to drug to cure the vapours!

  22. Following various recommendations above, I tackled Django’s Toughie and absolutely loved it!
    Thanks for the tip.

  23. Super dooper crossword. I was held up in the south west, but once I saw the light in 16d I was able to enjoy 22a, followed by 23d.
    Many thanks to the setter and our friends on the other side of the world.

  24. Wednesday is here, but the solve isn’t like the last two days. A tough one for me today.

    3*/3*

    Favourites 1a, 17a, 29a, 3d, 16d & 18d — with winner 18d
    Smile from 29a, 3d (him … yet again, ugh!) & 4d
    Three new words for me all in the upper half, so they didn’t help the solving process either.

    Thanks to setter & 2K’s

  25. When I first started today I thought I was going to be in trouble but it just took a little bit longer to get going.
    The scarcity of angrams certainly make a difference, for me anyway, and I do rely on using them to start off.
    I liked 1 and 12a and 4 and 14d. I think my favourite was 9d.
    Thanks to whoever has set today’s crossword and to the K’s for the hints.

  26. About right for Wednesday I thought, lots of interesting clues with a good mix of types, I had 11a as my favourite but really could have picked about 10. Raining again here so no prospect of doing any garden tidying so I may be brave and peak at the toughie later (but then will almost certainly end up abandoning it….the word toughie has the same effect on my brain as spooner it seems)

    Many thanks to the setter for the fun and to the 2 kiwis for the hints.

  27. Well, my fun week continues! How can fault any of this treasure … or am I just chuffed that I was able to solve it? My only hmmm was 21d, I can’t imagine saying that, it sounds clumsy. Solving 1a upon reading it makes it my fave for a good start. I did well until the SE, I’ve no idea why, but I needed just one bit of ehelp there. It took ages to understand 22a, I was stuck on “mail” for “post”; note to self, what happened to lateral thinking?
    Thank you setter for this gem, please take ownership. Thanks 2Kiwis, I needed your help to unravel a few.

  28. I enjoyed this puzzle. My podium is 9d since it uses the word number. I have never been able to think of another word that can mean two completely different things when one letter of the word is not pronounced. Thanks to the setter and the 2Ks.

    1. Hmm, that’s a good challenge, DD.

      I wonder if there is one out there.

      I’m going to down tools for the next five minutes….

        1. Number means both a digit(s) and an anaesthetic with one pronouncing the b and one not.

          DD was wondering if there is another example of a word that can be pronounced differently if one of the letters is silent.

          2. How about buffet as in self-service snacks and buffet meaning batter/pound by the sea or wind?

  29. I just received this today … anyone else get it? What in real terms does this mean?? Is it just changing the name of the Telegraph Media Group??? There must be a deeper reason for this.

    “We are writing to let you know about a change regarding your Telegraph subscription. As of 29 September 2024, Telegraph Media Group Holdings Limited provides your subscription and manages your personal data. Previously, this was handled by Telegraph Media Group Limited.

    Please be assured that this change won’t affect how you access our journalism, or how you pay for it – and you don’t need to take any action. There are no other changes to your subscription terms and conditions, or to our privacy policy.

    Kind regards,
    The Telegraph Subscriptions Team”

    1. I got it also. At first I thought here we go another price increase. But it seems much ado about nothing.

  30. A mixed bag for me today, starting out with feeling very confident which evaporated two thirds of the way through. 3d is so untrue it would be laughable if the stakes were not sky high. If something is very dirty I would say it was filthy, the 7d answer is something less than very dirty. The 20d bird had me completely lost. Plus a few answers that had to be reverse engineered. Otherwise enjoyed, and not as tough as some Wednesdays. Just not as enjoyable as Monday and Tuesday. Thanks to setter and 2Kiwis.

  32. Morning all.
    Looks like most people agree with us on the enjoyment factor in this puzzle. That is always pleasing to see when we wake up on a Thursday morning and read all the comments. Sure the setter will be pleased too.
    Cheers.

      1. Thank you so much for popping in to claim ownership of this excellent puzzle. Hurry back with another one, Jay!

      2. Oh wow! It wuz you! Thank you so Mutch, it was such a treat. Come back again. I love you.

      3. Well that is a real surprise. It explains a lot for us why we found this such an enjoyable solve. Great to have you back.

      5. Wow! No wonder it was such an excellent puzzle. Just like Wednesdays of yore!

        PLEASE keep them coming!

      7. Great to know the identity of the provider of today’s delightful exercise. Thanks again Jay – please come back soon.

  33. Nice solvable puzzle 😃 ***/**** Favourites 10a, 8d and 23d, a trio of amusing puzzles so far this week Thanks to the compiler and to the 2xKs👍

  34. Been out to lunch today so only just done the guzzle – what a pleasant post-prandial occupation. I think the triple ice cream must have inspired me ( sticky toffee pudding with custard sent George to sleep). Just fun from top to bottom – even Brian liked it. Many thanks to the Setter and the Tookays.

  35. What a fine crossword, thanks Jay!
    27a made me smile as almost 50 years ago to the day, I started ‘work in lab coat dealing with plants’.
    Thanks to the Two Kiwis too.

    1. A fine effort! 👏👏

      Respect.

      And 25 years ago was the year of the film ….Moonraker! (we like the symmetry)

      I assume your alias is linked to it?

  36. Good evening

    I started the crozzie before leaving for work this afty, and rattled through the top half; however, when it came to attempting the bottom half, it was a different story! Suffice to say that they’re all done now, with only a few little struggles. Only one that I couldn’t properly parse – I just couldn’t see it! – and that was 23d. 8d caused me to pause three times before writing it in, because it meant 21a ending in a V, and nothing ends in a V!

    COTD: joint honours to 9d (classic misdirection) and my last to fall, 30a.

    Thank you to Jay and to 2Ks.

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