Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30747
Hints and tips by Huntsman
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ***/****
The sun is shining & I’m resolved to venture back out onto the golf course for the first time since my tumble. The ribs are still not 100% so if the drugs don’t work I may not last the full 18 holes.
Today is only my second ever non Tuesday blog. I’m sure others will have found the puzzle far easier than I did as not only was it a pedestrian grid fill but I found one or two of the clues decidedly tricky blighters to parse. I did enjoy the solve however & suspect I’d have found it easier going had I not been required to write hints. Hopefully they’re correct but I make no promises…..
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 Around two mostly working gets inconvenient (8)
UNTOWARD: an anagram (working/mostly) of AROUND TWo.
5a Decent time to enter race (6)
CHASTE: insert (to enter) the single letter for Time into a type of race – think horses over the big sticks.
10a Made fast leap (5)
BOUND: a double definition – the former in the sense of secured.
11a Excited about political party after steps article put out (7,2)
STIRRED UP: the usual for about + a Northern Ireland political party both preceded by (after) a synonym for step/ steps minus (put out) the single letter indefinite article that goes before a noun.
12a On the radio, no-nonsense aristocrat (5)
NOBLE: a homophone (on the radio) of a synonym for no-nonsense. The only thing I can come up with would be a 2,4 phrase involving the shortening of a coarse term for nonsense.
13a Vibration pressures on ancestral houses (9)
RESONANCE: hidden (houses) in the 3 words between definition & indicator.
14a Celebrity party hosted by PM downing beer regularly (7)
STARDOM: remove (downing) the alternate letters (regularly) of bEeR from the PM then insert (hosted by) the usual for a party. Drinks paid for by Lord Alli presumably.
15a Frozen over, surface of device son fixes (7)
DECIDES: reverse (over) a synonym for frozen + the outer letters of (surface) of DevicE + the single letter for Son.
18a US university upset by Republican journalist’s broadcast (7)
RELAYED: R(epublican) + a reversal (upset) of an Ivy League university + the usual abbreviation for a senior journalist.
20a Crew from Belgium dressed in shabby clothing (7)
BRAGGED: the IVR code for Belgium + how you might describe the appearance of one dressed in shabby clothing. The definition is a verb (past tense) not a noun.
21a Bolton maybe answer moves to acquire retiring Liverpool player (9)
WANDERERS: think football – insert (to acquire) a reversal (retiring) of a possible term for a Liverpool player into an anagram (moves) of ANSWER.
24a Walk miles, getting snared? (5)
TRAMP: insert the single letter for Miles into a synonym for getting snared.
26a Sauna made boiling, to a loathsome extent (2,7)
AD NAUSEAM: an anagram (boiling) of SAUNA MADE. One of the few bits of Latin I know.
27a Removing all frills, sends gown as present (5)
ENDOW: link the 4th & 5th words in the clue having deleted the outer letters from each (removing all frills) for a definition synonym that is a verb masquerading as a noun in the surface.
28a One seeking tenant with character (6)
LETTER: double definition – I think.
29a Order withdrawn to purchase one half a dozen woollen garments (8)
KNITWEAR: start with a reversal (withdrawn) of a synonym for order or arrange in a set way into which you then insert (to purchase) the Roman numeral letter for one + 50% of the letters of the number that constitute a dozen. A real parsing head scratch for me.
Down
1d Pope starts to behave anxiously aboard vessel (5)
URBAN: insert the initial letters (starts to) of the 4th & 5th words in the clue into (aboard) into a non nautical vessel. Apparently there have been eight so called.
2d Second-largest digital coverage? (9)
THUMBNAIL: a cryptic definition – the digital coverage is on the body & it ain’t the tootsies.
3d Ned swayed when drunk in Sheffield club (9)
WEDNESDAY: an anagram (when drunk) of NED SWAYED. Football again & one of the city’s two sides.
4d Odd support for F1 champion initially missing podium (7)
ROSTRUM: a synonym for odd is preceded by (supports/under in down clue) a French four time World Drivers Champion, nicknamed The Professor, & winner of 51 races less the first letter (initially missing) of his name.
6d Drug I banned for flier (5)
HERON: remove (banned) I in the clue from a semi-synthetic opoid made from chemically processed morphine. Shabbo would no doubt have given you a pic of the bird but here’s some Neil Young instead.
7d Country star tackles mounting bill (5)
SUDAN: insert a reversed (tackles/mounting) abbreviation for a bill or poster into the solar system’s central star.
8d Particular focus of comedian revealed (9)
EXPRESSED: a synonym for particular or specific + the central letters (focus of) comEDian.
9d Failed to attend film, we hear (6)
MISSED: a homophone of a synonym for film. Nowt to do with cinema.
14d What snooker players may do is crazy to Americans (9)
SCREWBALL: split the wordplay 5,4 for a shot in the cueist’s repertoire giving you a word for crazy over the pond – the term for a whole genre of brilliant comedies of which It Happened One Night, Bringing Up Baby & His Girl Friday are among the best.
16d In court little Harriet’s most talkative (9)
CHATTIEST: place a nickname for Harriet + the possessive into the abbreviation for court.
17d Stroke pet, perhaps bad to bite softly (3-6)
DOG PADDLE: man’s best friend + a word that can mean bad as in to become rotten but is more usually associated with confuse. Insert (to bite) the musical letter for quietly between the two.
19d Increase in pound banker overlooks (6)
DEEPEN: a word for a pound or enclosure preceded (overlooks/down clue) by a river flowing through North Wales & Cheshire.
20d Rings carrier, airline receiving estimated million bonus essentially (4,3)
BEST MAN: insert (receiving) the abbreviation for ESTimated + a single letter for a M(illion) into a UK airline then append the central letter (essentially) of boNus.
22d Vocal group that stops tennis match? (5)
NONET: split the wordplay 2,3 for what would prevent meaningful play on the court.
23d Avoid shaven-headed kid (5)
ELUDE: remove the first letter (shaven-headed) from kid or deceive.
25d Might enemy prisoner run following capture finally? (5)
POWER: the abbreviation for an enemy prisoner taken in conflict + the last letter (finally) of capturE & R(un) in cricket.
I think I’ll give 14a the nod today for its topicality & award podium spots 14&20d. I also rather liked the 2 football clues & thought the 13a lurker well disguised. Please let us know which clues you liked best.
This morning’s listening has been the sophomore album from Aaron Frazer called Into The Blue. I may well go & see him play in London tomorrow night. Here’s the title track of it
Today’s Quickie crossword pun: NEWS + ELAND = NEW ZEALAND
Superb!
Such an enjoyable tussle which I won…just.
So many great constructions and stacks of brilliant surfaces is screaming Mr Smooth at me. 3d is an excellent anagram and I always love a seven letter word that has four pieces of lego (20d).
I put in ‘rally’ for 22d thinking ‘back of the net’. But then realized that a tennis rally doesn’t stop a match. It’s a great clue that goes on my podium along with 14a and 14d though I will change my mind once I have posted this as there are too many to choose from.
Ta muchly to Mr S and Hoots mon!
4*/5*
Thank you to the setter — I enjoyed this, and got there in the end, with many potential favourites.
24a was one of those, for “getting snared”. Huntsman, the tense would be wrong if you were looking for a word that means ‘getting snared’ (so don’t do that!). But ‘getting snared’ means ending up in a trap — so simply put the miles in a trap to get the answer.
I also particularly appreciated the singers stopping the tennis in 22d, the non-nonsense aristocrat in 12a, and the audacity of “Crew” as the definition in 20a.
Thank you for explaining 1a, where I hadn’t spotted that it was an anagram. But I think it’s the final O which needs crossing out, not the R. And for 29a, which I was nowhere near working out any part of of the wordplay. I still don’t understand why “steps” plural works in 11a.
I hadn’t previously encountered that variant of the stroke in 17d, only knowing it by a slightly longer name. I was grateful 26a was an anagram, otherwise I’d’ve spelt it wrongly (with a U as the penultimate letter).
Quite re 1a – don’t think I’d woken up then.
Re the getting snared I kinda knew I just wasn’t thinking correctly.
Can’t amend as about to bully off on the links
Smylers, re 11a, “stair” can mean either a single step or a series of steps.
Thanks. I still can’t get it to work — in every sentence I’ve tried, I need to append either -s or -case to make it sound right for indicating the entire flight — but clearly you are right.
Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
I wish, I wish he’d go away…
Ye gods I haven’t heard that for 60+ years
Antigonish by William Hughes Mearns. It inspired Bowie’s song “The Man Who Sold the World”
With regards to ‘crew’ – surely the past tense of ‘crow’ (brag) is ‘crowed’ (bragged)?
Dictionaries say it’s either — hence Silvanus’s splendidly misleading, yet perfectly correct, use of it here.
It also featured in a I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue round where one team had to provide sound effects to a story narrated by the others. The storytellers started with:
and the other team made appropriate cock-a-doodle-do noises, before the first team continued their sentence into:
Whoever came out with that one is a genius.
Thank you, S.
Re 22d, a nonet does not necessarily have to be a group of singers. It is usually used to refer to a group of musicians (singers or instrumentalists) but it can also refer to any group of nine people.
Completed after what felt like a big battle, but feeling very satisfied that I got to the end. For me this felt to be just at the edge of my abilities (2 years ago Monday was the edge of my abilities!!) I am very grateful for Huntsman explaining the parsing of a couple that I could not explain (29a being the main one). I did not know the Pope name so had to check after. I3a is brilliantly disguised and 14a my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Huntsman for the hints.
Yes, as per TDS above that certainly was great fun (here we go again with fun!) with amusing surfaces however I still failed to parse a few viz 14a, 29a, 2d, 4d and 7d but bunged in. A trio for the podium is 12a, 20a and 17d. Thank you Mysteryone for fun puzzle and Hintsman for helpful hinting – hope you are able to complete the round.
I thought this was excellent; it had a very fresh feel to it – I have no idea who might have set it.
Many thanks to the setter, and to Huntsman for the write-up. 2*/5*
Ray T’s alter ego on Toughie Duty, I wonder if this is a Dream Team Thursday. I couldn’t decide as I found it quite tricky but I am somewhat preoccupied with family ‘matters’ – 3.5*/3.5*
Candidates for favourite – 14a, 20a, and 14d – and the winner is 20a for the definition which initially led me in the wrong ‘direction.’
Thanks to whomsoever and Huntsman – I hope that you could get a full round in.
A little stickier than usual for a Thursday which pushed out my solving time, but it was all the more enjoyable for the battle. This was a great challenge, full of wit and ingenuity, with 14a my favourite for the mental picture it produced as I solved it.
Many thanks to our setter and The Hintsman.
Oh, you had me at Big Bill. Huge hats off, fella. I’m sure there’ll be grumbles about 12a’s hom, but 20a (brilliant) provided a valuable language lesson. Relieved to see 14d’s odd word order got changed (the “may” was in an entirely different position last night).
24a’s clever, albeit slightly annoying, 29a’s smart and 4d’s great. 14a reads beautifully, too. Thanks to our setter (Silvanus, surely?) and Huntsman.
Brilliant! So many cleverly contrived clues, the lego ones are always my favourite. The lurker at 13a kept me pondering for a very long time,it was so well disguised both within the clue and the surface reads. The sports clues always leave me looking for something too complicated and I spent a while trying to get an anagram out of Americans, so it wasn’t until that penny dropped that 21a became obvious. I thouroughly enjoyed the tussel and there is a surfeit of choice for podium places. I’ll go for 14a, 29a and 20d in no particular order. Thanks to our setter and Huntsman. Enjoy your game – you deserve it after that!
I solved this last night and then revisited it this morning. What a brilliant puzzle.
Super smooth surfaces and smiles aplenty.
Ticks all over the place make it far too difficult to choose a podium of three.
My LOI was 29a, which took some parsing.
Thanks to our very clever setter and to Huntsman. Enjoy your golf this afternoon.
I found this extremely tricky and couldn’t parse at least six of my answers but I did finish in the end. Another sunny day here in Norfolk but it looks a little chilly outside. Thanks to the setter and to Huntsman for explaining how I got there.
I found this one tough, but perhaps not quite as hard as yesterday’s. However, I did have to reveal 3 answers via BD, as I just could not get them.
I need to find a way of blocking pictures on this page as once again the blogger has revealed the answer of a clue (20d), which I find extremely irritating.
As well as having to reveal three I also had to come here for extra hints on 5 clues.
An enjoyable puzzle. Looking forward to tomorrow’s one.
4*/5*. This proved to be quite a challenge, but a tremendously enjoyable one. Parsing 29a took me a long time.
With ticks all over the place, my podium comprises 20a, 7d, 14d & 20d.
Many thanks presumably to Silvanus and to Hintsman.
I’m afraid I had to resort to the hints to finish this one. I found it too much of a struggle to be enjoyable not helped by entering “curveball” for 14d. I knew I would be struggling after I had solved four only on the first pass. Sorry but not for me.
Thank you, setter for the brain mangling. Thank you, Hintsman for the much needed hunts.
What a difference a day makes. Torrential rain in The Marches all day yesterday but bright sunshine and clear skies today.🌞🌞
Very enjoyable. I looked at it before bed last night and realized I needed to have a fresh start. If was tough but enjoyable so. Many candidates for cotd., 14d I think my favorite. A comment above said it seemed fresh and I think that summed of up.
Wow – I can chalk up another Dream Team day!
Not an easy solve but perhaps not quite as tough as the last one Mr Smooth brought to us? An embarrassment of clues vying for the podium but I have to give a slot to the flier having left him out of the equation last time, he is partnered today by the shabby crew from Belgium and the rings carrier.
Many thanks to Silvanus and to Huntsman for the hints – take care out on that golf course today.
A cracking Thursday puzzle – thanks to our setter and Huntsman.
I particularly like the deceptive definitions of crew (20a) and rings carrier (20d) as well as 29a and 14d.
I shall join the club with 29a as LOI and last to parse properly but I enjoyed the tussle
Liked the football clues and the music choices were inspired too
Look after the ribs today AH
Way out of my range. Some clues make sense but most are way too complex for me.
*****/**
Thx for the hints
Not for me this one, I got very little enjoyment from it and I think 14a I is one of the weakest clues I’ve seen in a long time – ooer, I’m beginning to sound like someone else! Honestly I’m a happy chap! Love you all! Thanks to everyone! 😀
I got completely bogged down in the E and had to resort to three hints to get me going again. Undone by a Silvanus puzzle once more! As is to be expected from this compiler, there were some cracking clues. My podium comprises 5a, 14d and 26a. Thanks to Silvanus and Huntsman.
Pope Urban .. who knew eh?
I’d fortunately heard of him because we have friends who live near a St Urban’s school (in north Leeds). Though now you mention it, that’s St Urban rather than Pope Urban … oh, a quick check of Wikipedia confirms that it was Pope Urban I who was canonized, so they are actually the same person. Phew!
I’ve never seen a St Rural anywhere, though …
Crossword rule #103 … pope(s) and opera(s) are almost always Urban and Norma! There’s got to be a limerick in there somewhere..
In that case, on behalf of non-Urban Popes, I suggest:
Norman king surrounds Pope? (7)
No takers?
The ‘Pope’ is the one currently 21 not out overnight in Multan, and the king our current monarch.
There have been eight Pope Urbans in all!
A really excellent puzzle, this. Great clues and a pretty rigorous challenge providing a satisfying tussle. Too many fine clues to pick a favourite – could be any one of at least half a dozen. 3.5*/4.5*.
Do you mean……’it could be one of at least twe’ , me old cocker?
Yes, yes. Very clever. Maybe a bit too clever. Everything felt a little clunky and laboured to me.
Worra lorra fun! Absolutely brilliant, a “follow the instructions and you shouldn’t go wrong” sort of puzzle, or at least so I thought until reading some of the comments above. I evidently had the fortune to tune-in from the start for this was a swift solve and posed no problems: the little “GK” was very mainstream (ie I could remember it), arangmas leapt from the page unbidden, and the evident wit shone through, 12a being a laugh-out-loud moment. Podium to 12a, 20a & 22d with runners-up 17d & 20d.
Many thanks & chapeau to the setter (I lost my fiver yesterday, so today’s stays in my pocket), also of course to Huntsman: hope the golf went well.
Whilst not a fan of the puzzle today on a non RayT week, there were a few clues that I enjoyed, the rest not so much. A case again today to me not being able to get on setters wave length. and parsing understanding for some clues.
Favourites were 21a, 2d, 3d, 6d & 20d — and winner today 2d
Smiles from 18a, 2d & 22d … as well as smiles/chuckles at all of the favourites too.
Thanks to setter & Huntsman
Very tough one, and I was dissatisfied with some of the clues. Perhaps the wiser of you can tell me what I’ve missed?
(i) 17d – I don’t see how you can replace ‘bad’ with the synonym for it in the answer. Bad is an adjective, the answer is a verb.
(ii) 2d – where does ‘second-largest’ come in?
Picky, maybe, but precision is important, and makes the clues fair. Agree with Smylers that 24a is perfectly ok, though quite tricky to untangle.
****/***
I’m sorry that you found two clues particularly unsatisfactory.
Chambers gives “addle” as both a verb and an adjective, so a setter is obliged to go with what the BRB says.
If your toenail represents your largest “digital coverage”, what would be the second-largest in size?
Thanks you for taking the time to reply. I’m aware of ‘addled’ being an adjective, but not without the final letter. However, I’m not going to argue with either you or Chambers on that one!
On the toenail, and having just removed my sock, I’d say ‘technically correct but too clever by half’
Having had one big toe amputated and the other has a shrunken nail, my 2d is definitely the largest. 🤣
Many thanks to everyone commenting and of course to Huntsman, great to have you swapping blogging days with Shabbo this week as I knew I’d be in equally safe hands! The choice of film clips is excellent.
If ever I needed confirmation that it is a near impossible task to keep everyone happy, the divergence of opinion about 14a was fascinating. It ranged from several nominating it as a favourite clue to someone saying it was the weakest clue they’d seen for a long time. One person’s meat, etc.
See you all again soon!
I thought this production of yours today really was of excellent quality. 10 months into the current year, I would say that for me, it has been the most enjoyable puzzle of 2024 (so far)!
It certainly gets my golden buzzer.
Well said.
Thank you very much, that’s high praise indeed.
Thank you, silvanus. Sometimes I can solve your puzzles and, as today, sometimes I can’t. Cest la vie! Mind you, the fact I had both covid and flu jabs this morning might have had a bearing. 😊
I hope you suffer no side-effects, Steve. At least the weather is better for you (and Hudson) today
I never do, silvanus. Unfortunately, I have an infected blister on my foot so, despite the lovely weather, a long walk with Hudson is out of the question. Thank you for the good wishes – they are greatly appreciated. 👍
Thanks for popping in as per Silvanus. Will I ever live down the fact that I had the temerity/stupidity to query the tense in one of your clues. Don’t know why I didn’t immediately peg the puzzle as one of yours – all the signs were there. Enjoyed it much more reading back through it without having to think about producing hints.
Too late at night to say anything other than thanks to Setter Sylvanus and more thanks to Hintsman who was crucial to the solve today! 3 d favourite as I was proud to get a footbally clue.
Nice crossword 😃 with lots of clever favourites! ***/**** 21a, 2d, 6d, 17d and 22d 👍 Thanks to Sylvanus and to the Huntsman hope you enjoy your 🏌️
Sorry everyone,
Again, this one is too much for me – after today and yesterday and what I know will be like tomorrow I think I’ll have a rest.
Thanks to Silvanus for the crossword and thanks to Hintsman for his hints.
You and me both.
Me too I’m afraid
And me!
Got there in the end without help – unusual for the excellent Silvanus! Thank you Huntsman and hope you enjoyed the 19th hole today
3*/5*
Thursday is becoming my favourite day of the week. Very enjoyable, with enough easier clues to gain a foothold.
Favourite today – the crewing Belgians
Than you Silvanus and to huntsman for clarifying a few
Nope, not for me. So much for my hoping for a RayT puzzle today. After just a handful going in at first pass, I got a bit further with some hints. Sorry, when the hints need to be lengthy and involved, then the clue itself is far too tough. As Kath says, after yesterday, and the anticipated Friday puzzle tomorrow, I think I’ll take a break. Perhaps for good if the DT insists on presenting two difficult puzzles on the same day and ignores those of us who enjoy (and have for donkey’s years) something more user friendly. We are not, and never will be, Toughie solvers. Thanks anyway to Silvanus and Huntsman.
BL – RayT is today’s Toughie as Beam, but while it is 100% RayT, it is not an especially “tough” Toughie, indeed it’s very approachable. If you like RayT’s style of clueing it’s a cracking puzzle, just bear in mind there won’t be any anagrams.
I agree. I had a quick look and immediately solved a few.
Couldn’t make it today. Foot op. Too much running. Just out of general anaesthetic and nice to see that everyone enjoyed it and without disrespect to the setter that I didn’t miss a RayT!
Pip pup
Well, you could knock me down with a feather!
I was expecting lots of ‘wrong envelope’ accusations. Perhaps my brain was still on Greek time, as it took me ages to get a foothold in this puzzle. Once I had some checkers in, things speeded up, but not by much.
Nothing to complain about, all the clues were perfectly accurate, but cunningly constructed.
Hats off to Silvanus, and thanks to Huntsman, although I could have done with the hints at 7am when I was doing battle with the puzzle. 😁
****/*** for me.
Too hard for me today…and too masculine with all that sport….
Struggled through NW, SW and SE corners but could not get a foothold on NE at all.
I did , however, like the lurker at 13a and the frills being removed.
Thanks to the setter and to Huntsman.
Good evening
By the cringe!! That was a toughie, if not officially a Toughie. No surprise to discover that today’s crozzie was the work of the Brain of Silvanus.
It took me ages to find a way in; eventually, three quadrants revealed themselves, but I stumbled when it came to the NE. After a long interval, I came back to it and got there.
Two parsings eluded me: 11a and 29a. My thanks to Huntsman for sorting me out. COTD is the lurker that I very nearly missed at 13a.
Many thanks to Silvanus for the challenge.
I had to go out this morning but only solved a handful before leaving. I thought I’d do battle when I returned, alas, I was on my knees in surrender within ten minutes. That was way beyond my ken, maybe I’m just getting a bit old and the brain is slow!
Thank you Silvanus, and Huntsman for helping us chug along! I see no one has taken ownership of yesterday’s puzzle.
I’m late today been busy and with 3 clues still to go thought I’d check in to see if 20a – ‘crew’ was a typo. Seems not – what a clever clue. As others I did not know that was a word as a verb. Anyway best crack on with my final 3. Generally I found the west went in fairly ok , but have struggled with a few in the east. Thanks to Silvanus for a very smart puzzle and Huntsman. I may need you for my last few !
Back from golf, a couple of scoops & a pleasant meal at The Gate in Arkley. Managed the full round & from losing the first 5 holes to some splendid golf we managed to scrape a 2&1 victory. Pleased to have had the opportunity to blog a puzzle from one of my Dream Team of setters even if I didn’t clock it as one of his & allowing for the fact that I was thinking no such problems on a Tuesday when pondering the whys.
A hot bath beckons then the Toughie if the eyelids hold out.
Needed the hints to parse 29a and 8d, completely beyond me, most of the rest I found extremely difficult. Enjoyed the challenge as ever. Favourite was 4d. Thanks to Silvanus for the mental beating and Huntsman.
That was hard but I finished it albeit with question marks all over the place! Many thanks to Huntsman for the explanations and to Silvanus for the workout. Is 14a the first time our new PM has featured in clue?
3*/4* ….
liked 14A “Celebrity party hosted by PM downing beer regularly (7)”