Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30752
Hints and tips by 2Kiwis
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
Kia ora from Aotearoa.
They must have been sleeping at Telegraph Towers while we were anxiously waiting for this puzzle to appear. It eventually did arrive about an hour late so we could then get on with our regular Wednesday task.
A few tricky ones again for us, with the NE quadrant the last to yield.
Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
1a Text-moving facility can put dates differently (3,3,5)
CUT AND PASTE : An anagram (differently) of CAN PUT DATES.
7a Pilots and cabin staff boasted behind first-class customer’s back (7)
AIRCREW : Boasted as a rooster might have done follows the letter and number for first class and the last letter of customer.
8a Criticise waste (7)
RUBBISH : A double definition.
10a Clumsy writer returns, inspired by Stephen King novel (5)
INEPT : A writing implement is reversed inside a Stephen King novel.
11a Mediocre cheese and game (9)
MOUSETRAP : The answer split (5,4) gives the name of a classic board game
12a Describe former boyfriend Frank? (7)
EXPLAIN : The two letter former partner and then frank or straightforward.
14a Take a bow, madam, and perform show (7)
BRAVADO : The exhortation to a female being urged to take a bow, plus perform or carry out.
15a Tried to upset City (7)
DETROIT : An anagram (upset) of TRIED TO.
18a Exit, presumably, not under cover (7)
OUTDOOR : The answer split 3,4 could be a way to leave.
20a Tech company getting hump? Better not upset it! (5-4)
APPLE-CART : The company founded by Steve Jobs and hump or transport.
21a Jazz trumpeter Baker accepts introduction to Acker Bilk (5)
CHEAT : The first name of trumpeter Baker contains the first letter of Acker
22a Half of UK capital is in good hands initially, and fairly spread out (7)
LONGISH : The first half of UK’s capital city, then the first letters of good and hands contain ‘IS’ from the clue.
23a Live Fringe show’s opening as well (7)
BESIDES : Live or exist, then a fringe or edge and the first letter of show.
24a Treatment of limbs by specialist suspended? (4,7)
TREE SURGERY : A cryptic definition of what a rope-hanging aboriculturalist might do.
Down
1d Separate sculpture at college (5,2)
CARVE UP : Sculpt with wood perhaps and then the two letter ‘at college’.
2d In Yorkshire reportedly, the pointer that’s used for forecasting? (5)
TAROT : How a Yorkshireman might audibly describe a pointer or indicator sign.
3d Name names unexpectedly, drinking with journalist (7)
NEWSMAN : The abbreviation for name, then an anagram (unexpectedly) of NAMES contains W(ith).
4d Alarm bleeper turboprop carries (7)
PERTURB : A lurker, hiding in the clue.
5d I’ll pay for letting reserve catch up with soldier, perhaps (9)
SUBTENANT : The short name for a sports reserve, then the reversal of a synonym for catch followed by a soldier insect.
6d Raised a Republican flag crossing East African state (7)
ERITREA : Starting from the bottom and in the order they appear in the answer we have ‘A’ from the clue, E(ast), R(epublican) and flag or exhaust.
7d Sweet manufactured as an edible line (7,4)
ANISEED BALL : An anagram (manufactured) of AS AN EDIBLE plus L(ine).
9d Greek philosopher in Post Office with boxes (11)
HIPPOCRATES : In or trendy, then the abbreviation for Post Office and wooden boxes.
13d Meat on tie awkward previously (2,3,4)
AT ONE TIME : An anagram (awkward) of MEAT ON TIE.
16d Exceed speed at sea in hair-raising style (7)
TOPKNOT : Exceed or surpass and a measure of nautical speed.
17d Instructs every one to enter brief trial (7)
TEACHES : A trial or assay without its last letter contains another word for every.
18d Month desperate reboot saves Mac at last (7)
OCTOBER : An anagram (desperate) of REBOOT contains the last letter of mac.
19d A few hours for public school runs? (4,3)
OPEN DAY : A cryptic definition of a time when novelty athletic events might be held. (We might have missed some subtle cleverness here).
21d Coarse teen regularly missing class (5)
CASTE : Alternate letters found in two words of the clue.
Quickie pun abut + earn + gust + hello = Abbott and Costello
Hmm. I had more question marks than ticks on the paper today. I managed it but found the parsing eluded me for a few. For example, 14a did not make sense for me but I’m sure the hints will reveal all. I didn’t know the jazz trumpeter at 21a and I took an age to work out the soldier in 5d. Neither do I see where “hump” comes into 20a.
No matter how I pronounce the Quickie pun, I cannot make it sound like anything.
Thank you, setter for the guzzle but I’m afraid it didn’t float my boat. That is more than likely down to me and I’m sure others will thoroughly enjoy it.
Thank you, 2Ks for the hints, which I will now read in order to answer the question marks on my paper.
Quickie pun made me seek out this classic
Quickie Abbot and Costello
Welcome to the blog, PhilR.
Thanks, PhilR but it still just doesn’t quite work for me because of “gust”. Ah well, I suppose that’s what a pun is all about.
Welcome to the blog and hope to see you commenting again. 👍
Not down to you, I had problems with the same clues, plus others.
Delightful, I thought. 14a’s dead smart, 21a’s surface is sublime and 3d reads brilliantly. 2d, 9d and 16d are all fun and the quickie pun was a hoot to boot. I’m not sure 19d quite lands but this was a real treat. Many thanks to our setter (he had me at Acker Bilk!) and the 2Ks.
For me 19d was the only cloud in this otherwise sunny puzzle. I do hope the setter pops their head in at some point and can clarify the parsing.
Not surprised you highlighted 3d – great surface as you say, and right up your straße!
Haha! i’m so gad you agree re 19d, though I did feel a bit of a heel. You know me too well. 3d was absolutely my cup of splosh, as you say. It was like looking in the mirror! I’m pretty sure Twm will pop in at some point, yes.
I presume that 19d means a few hours for public access that a school lays on.
Undoubtedly, yes. But did it 100pc work for you?
Yes, it seems ok. The setter obviously wanted to have ‘public’ next to ‘school’ for deceptive purposes so it’s difficult to see how the clue could have been phrased better.
I do take your point. And there’s the play on “runs” as well, obviously. Quite a tricky one to clue, I imagine. It may prove to be one that grows on me!
I’m sorry to say it didn’t work well for me.
Me neither
Nor me
An Open Day is usually when parents can visit a school in advance of their children potentially attending. Schools of course have fetes, plays, concerts etc which are open to the public, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an Open Day being open to the general public, be it state or private school.
Which is why the clue doesn’t really work for me. As I said, the only cloud!
I’m largely with you MG but … Chamber it!
The BRB says ‘a day on which an institution (especially a school) is open to the public, usually with organized exhibitions or events’.
Have you all seen my take on it under Mhids post below (no 8)?
I have, Tom. It’s an interesting idea but if that were the setter’s intention the final word of the clue would surely have been run (singular) rather than runs?
Let’s hope the setter pops in to clarify.
Hmm, you’re probably right, G.
Saying that, at an open day there’ll be more than one try-out as many
children turn up.
Am I clutching?
Ha, I think you are clutching, yes. But valiantly! I very nearly made the same comment as Gazza (and I’m sure he’s right) but you could, just about, argue that an open day was a series of try-outs. I reckon it’s unlikely, mind. Twme will tell, I guess.
We like ‘twme will tell’, Alpingtons.
Let’s see what Tumblicious says…assuming it is him, of course.
I can’t gainsay the BRB, Gazza, so the setter clearly has that on their side, but in the real world I’d be amazed to find any school which on an Open Day is open to the public as opposed to a specific group of people, such as parents of prospective pupils, whatever Chambers says. It remains the one poor clue in the grid, IMV.
A lovely puzzle, an absolute blast, and as I had the fortune to tune-in to the wavelength right from the start this was a N-S solve with no hold-ups, other than realising a minor biffed error at the end of 24a before reading 19d. All GK within grasp and I managed to bring the trumpeter swiftly to mind; it took a few seconds to dismiss Socrates as a possibility, however at least that gave me an excuse to replay the great Python song, below. COTD the truly brilliant and laugh-out-loud 2d, with remaining podium places to 14a & 16d, though it seems unfair not to also mention 7a & 9d.
Many thanks indeed to the setter and of course to the 2Ks
Last one for me was 14a, never heard of bravo with an ‘A’ at the end before, but for a bloke who’s never been to an opera or recital, I’ve never had much cause.
Found this one easier than yesterday, and really enjoyed it especially 11a, remember this from the 60s, never played the actual game though, just built the contraption and caught the mouse a few times.
My two of the day were the above 11a, and old Hippo at 9d.
Off to my autumn hobby now, leaves, leaves and more leaves!
A significant step up in difficulty from the previous two days – I thought the Stick Insect Toughie the easier of the two puzzles. Liked all 4 peripheral long ‘uns but my fav had to be 21a as it prompted me to play some of Baker & Bilk – I wasn’t familiar with the synonym & it required a post solve check however. Very enjoyable.
Thanks to the setter & to the 2Ks
Ps love Van’s cover of Acker’s Evening Shadows
A bit trickier than the last two days but an enjoyable puzzle. Thanks to the setter and 2Ks.
I especially liked 14a, 24a, 2d and 16d.
An excellent midweeker: lots of splendid surfaces, some nice humour, a bit of lateral thinking and a couple of new terms, i.e mediocre cheese and applauding a female performer.
The answer for 22a brought a smile to my face and I missed the synonym for hump. Being a fan of Sergeant Bilko helped me get 21a.
All in all, an enjoyable solve.
My podium is 7a, 3d and 16d,
Many thanks to the setter and the 2 Ks.
3*/4*
Loved it all apart from the hmm at 19d. I’ll be interested to learn the intended parsing and hope the setter pops in to help. Throughout, the answers came easily enough but the parsings were another matter altogether. I didn’t know that ‘brava’ was the female of ‘bravo’ and had not heard the phrase ‘mousetrap cheese’, though Mr Mhids had. I do take issue with the fact that crossword compilers in general seem to think that we folk from Yorkshire all speak so sloppily – brilliant clue though! Difficult to choose an overall favourite today so I’ll mention 20a, 22a, 3d and 9d. Thanks to our setter and the 2 Kiwis.
Hi Mhids
I read it as:
‘A few hours’ for the second part, i.e 24 of them
‘Public’ as the first bit
‘A school run’ is ‘a try-out’ or ‘trial run..
That’s an interesting take, Tom. Maybe. I just took it to mean the hours/day a school (might) run/manage for the public. But who knows? This clue has certainly caused some chatter. So maybe it’s actually a cracker after all? Nowt worse than dull, obviously!
I interpretted run in the sense of a quick trip or visit (“make a run into town for supplies”). Thus the answer is a period of a few hours when (a limited segment of) the public can visit the school.
This was pleasingly testing and beautifully clued, the one exception being 19d which others have already discussed. There were plenty of very good clues from which to pick a favourite, mine being the clever 14a.
Many thanks to our midweek setter and the 2Ks.
This was H-A-R-D. However, I enjoyed the challenge (© Steve Cowling).
Wait a minute… Who’s on first?
Thanks to the setter and TheTwoKays
2.5*/3*. Apart from 19d, this was a pleasant puzzle. I found a significant difference in difficulty between the LHS, which fell into place smoothly, and the RHS, which put up quite a fight. We are having some extensive 24a today, which made that clue a bit of a doddle for me.
I’ve never heard of the trumpeter in 21a but he was simple enough to track down with the aid of Google.
My podium comprises 14a, 3d & 9d.
Many thanks to the setter and to the 2Ks.
Not for me today but I did get a laugh out of the Yorkshire pointer!
Thanks to Twmbarlwm, presumably, and to our 2Ks for the review.
.. all I can say is .. there must be lots of Yorkshire men out there since no ones commented on 2d .. I’m thinking it’s maybe arrow but .. “ay ba gum” … I can’t get it! I’m also still lost with the parsing of the bravo lady at 14a and 19d was 8a for me.
Apart from that a good puzzle. Thanks to setter and 2 kiwis. COTD 11a .. which must have been the worst board game ever conceived!
Eeee, it’s t’arrow, Big eck … reportedly indicates the homophone, giving you the answer. At 14a it’s bravo to a man, brava to a woman. Like actor & actress, batsman and batswoman. Vive la difference!
Excellent puzzle today with clues that made sense when solved. The exception was 14a as I didn’t realise that Bravo was a male cheer so was unaware of a female version, something I have learned today. The other was 5d which was just a poor clue. Best clue for me was 20a.
Thx to all
***/****
First head scratcher of the week and I was unaware that there are different words for cheering a woman as opposed to a man and hadn’t heard of bilk before but still an enjoyable solve even if I had to get a bit of antipodean help.
Thanks to setter and the 2 Ks
I struggled to parse 19d but see I’m not alone on that. 21a was a new term for me but I was aware of the female form of bravo.
Top picks for me were 2d, 20a and 7a.
Thanks to the 2Kiwis and the setter.
I really do not know what it was but I really did not enjoy this puzzle one bit. To be honest, I found it to be dull and uninspiring.
Oh well, let’s see what tomorrow brings.
For me a typical Wednesday offering with some strange clueing that didn’t make a lot of sense to me. About and half dozen or more that I will need to read the hints for to see if I can reverse engineer them.
3*/3* for me
Favourites 1a, 20a, 22a, 24a & 9d — with winner 20a as it made me smile.
Thanks to setter (Twmbarlwm??) and the 2K’s
Really sorry, but I didn’t enjoy this, not sure why. I’m hesitant to whinge when our bloggers do such a fantastic job, but I am still seeing all the answers when I open the email which has only been happening for the last week or ten days. The email tells me that the blog has arrived for that day and it used to have ‘comment’ on the top left to click on and go straight to comments. Perhaps some clever person can fix it? Anyway thanks to the setter and the 2Ks.
It is in bloggers hands, they need to put a page break in between the preamble and the rest of the blog or not delete it from the draft blog when they revise it
Several goodies (Favs) including 20a, 21a (although I did need help with Baker), 2d and 9d but there were a a couple of hmms e.g. 22a, 5d and 19d. Cruciverballing certainly enables one to live and learn – I was unaware of female show. Altogether an enjoyable piece of work. Thank you MrT (?) and the 2Kiwis.
Definitely trickier than the last 2 days for me but I got there and enjoyed it. 2 new synonyms in 20a and 21 an and I needed the hints to parse 14a. I rather liked 9d and it will be my number 1 for today.
Many thanks to the setter and to the 2 kiwis for the hints
Yet again this is beyond me and I didn’t enjoy it all – I’m rapidly getting to the point of giving up on crosswords and finding something else to do, although I’ve said this before . . .
In the meantime I quite liked 12 and 22a and 1 and 17d. No particularly favourite today.
Thanks to today’s setter and to the 2K’s for the hints
A smart puzzle have to say , which I finished but had to check a couple of parsings. Agree 19d is questionable. Is mediocre cheese a term I don’t know ? Brava was a new word for me at 14a. Spent a while trying to construct an anagram for it , but got there in the end. Didn’t know tree branches were limbs. Thanks to the setter and the 2 ks.
I’ve never heard a Yorkshire person say 2d and I have lived many a year amongst these folks.Didn’t like mediocre cheese , still don’t . I found the left / east tricky. 14 first part never heard of but it couldn’t have been anything else.
This didn’t really float my boat but did like 24a .
Thanks to all.
14a and 19d were bung-ins for me as I was unaware of the female bravo and I don’t remember any adult races taking place on 19d when I was at school but it was a long time ago. Those gripes apart I thought this was about right for a Wednesday. Favourite was 9d. Thanks to the setter and 2K’s.
Another Wednesday, another strangely clued puzzle, including 1a, 14a, 18a and 22a. But 7d has me totally lost, a rooster crows, so how does crew fit in the answer? Very little enjoyment except for 1a, 20a (got that one despite the clue) and 9d. 2d was completely groan worthy. Sorry not for me today. Thanks for the 2Ks.
The rooster crew at six o’clock this morning
As an alternative to CS’s clarification, it’s the past participle (I think that’s the term!) of “crow”, as in “brag” or “boast”, so … the politicians crew over their election results and the crew crew having won their race.
Late to the fray today so have had the chance to catch up on the comments about 19d. I’m in the hmm camp notwithstanding the rationalisation put forward. I would not have got it without the hint so it delayed completion. It wasn’t helped by bunging in the wrong ending to 24a. That said, an enjoyable tussle. My cotd is 7d. Thanks to compiler and 2K’s.
Morning all.
Interesting discussion on 19d. Let’s hope the setter pops in for clarification. Incidentally, the picture we chose for it was taken at Eton some years ago. You might possibly recognise one of the runners.
Cheers.
I solved the puzzle ( albeit with a bung in at 19d)
But cannot solve the runner recognition.
Ill have wild stabs at either Edwina Currie on the right or Diana second from left.
The latter. Well done.
Shwmae all, I always thought mousetrap referred to stale cheese; oh well, hard Cheddar on me!
Welcome to the blog, Robert.
Shwmae to you Robert.
Welcome
This had way too many obscurities or new words for me to be able to solve. 11a is new and who knew that women had their own version of bravo?
Anything or anyone to do with jazz is beyond me. The only musical genre which I cannot listen to at all.
2d was lost on me as was 19d.
Enjoyed the rest of the solve though.
Thanks to all.
Thank you 2Kiwis, and thanks to solvers and commenters.
As requested, and at the risk of over-explaining, 19d ‘A few hours for public school runs’ is just a cd that depends on an apparent surface reading of time spent on eg cross-country runs, or races in a Sports Day, at a public school, with ‘runs’ as a noun.
The literal definition of the solution is ‘A few hours for [the] public [that] school runs’, with ‘runs’ as a verb, meaning manages or organises. The two elisions don’t impair the grammar.
Some schools have a 19d where all are welcome as a PR and community outreach exercise, state schools being funded by all taxpayers.
Thanks Twmbarlwm, it all makes sense now.
On the contrary it’s as clear as mud to me – my 19d bung-in is still unparsed
I am surprised to see so much negative comment above. I solved it this evening and really enjoyed it. Perhaps the couple of glasses of wine earlier helped.
Thank you Twm and the Kiwis.
Thanks. Saw both possibilities. Liked your crossie!
19d A few hours for public school runs?
Could this be a double definition.
A few hours for (the) public would be an open day.
And an open day would be something a school runs but other organisations also run. Hence the ?
Anyway congratulations to the compiler who beat me with 14a which I couldn’t parse and thanks to the 2Kiwis for helping me. Brava is a new word for me.
Nick, that 19d interpretation makes more sense to me – thanks.
Good evening
It’s taken me most of the afternoon and well into the evening to wade through today’s crozzie and read all of your comments.
I found this a reasonably pitched challenge for a Wednesday, albeit with a few sticky patches similar to those that you have already mentioned.
I’m still not entirely sure about 19d (my last to fall) even though I correctly deduced it; I also needed a little help parsing 5d.
COTD: 21a and 2d take joint honours.
Many thanks to our compiler and to 2Ks.
I was busy yesterday morning (frantically trying to finish cutting out elephants to make an anniversary card for Spouse before breakfast), but on learning this was a Twmbarlwm puzzle, made sure to do it today — and was pleased that I did, for this was a delight.
And thank you to the Kiwis for the two I needed help understanding: for 14a I was among the many here previously unaware of the female variation, and in 5d “catch up” caught me out.
I’ve never played 11a, but it always looked fun on 1980s TV adverts — a board game with a physical contraption as part of it.
I liked 7a’s word for ‘boasted’ making another appearance after our discussion about it in last Thursday’s Silvanus puzzle. Other potential favourites included the flag raised in 6d, 9d’s Post Office boxes, and 18a’s presumed exit. Thanks, Twm.
PS: 19d seems fine to me. We’ve recently been to some 19d-s, and the schools in question have been open to the public. While the intent of the evening is to provide information for parents and pupils considering choosing that school for next year, there was absolutely no restrictions on who could come in and wander around — they were effectively open to the public.
4*/3* ….
liked 21D “Coarse teen regularly missing class (5)”