Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30776
Hints and tips by Senf
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****
A very good Wednesday morning from Winnipeg. In his comment last Wednesday, following the 2Kiwis’ retirement, Gazza wrote ‘a new blogger will be taking over the Wednesday blogging chair.’ I would be interested to know what dictionary he uses to define new as in my nearly eight years as a Prefect, to use the 2Kiwis’ term, I did substitute for them a few times. So, for the foreseeable future I will be here on Wednesdays while continuing to be ever-present on Sundays :-)
As to who the setter might be – as my ancestors would say, ‘je ne sais pas.’
Candidates for favourite – 13a, 16a, 25a, 1d, 15d, and 22d.
In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the Click here! buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
1a Stick with free point giving initiative (8)
GUMPTION: A three letter verbal synonym of stick and (with) an anagram (free) of POINT.
5a Look back on higher cost of maintenance (6)
UPKEEP: A synonym of look reversed (back) placed after (on) a two letter synonym of higher.
9a Love boss to import new plant (8)
OLEANDER: The letter that represents love as a score in a racquet game and a synonym of boss (at work) containing (import) the single letter for New.
10a Witty exchange in urban terminology (6)
BANTER: A lurker (in) in two words of the clue.
12a Challenge from group of monks of high standing? (4,5)
TALL ORDER: A single word for high standing and a collective noun for a group of monks.
13a What may follow bride in coach? (5)
TRAIN: A double definition – the first is part of a bride’s dress.
14a Instrument oddly broken by leader of orchestra (4)
OBOE: The ‘odd’ letters of BrOkEn placed after (by) the first letter (leader) of Orchestra.
16a This may be blown as crossing street (7)
WHISTLE: A synonym of as containing (crossing) the abbreviated form of street.
19a Believe what small hippopotamus may do? (7)
SWALLOW: The single letter for Small and what a hippopotamus of any size may do as elucidated by Flanders and Swann – for me, the clue does not exactly ‘say’ what it wants to ‘say’.
21a Gets a place to stay (4)
DIGS: A double definition – the second used to be, and may still be, sought by students.
24a Country game broadly using regulars (5)
RURAL: The two letters for the 15 players a side oval ball game and three regular letters from bRoAdLy.
25a Obligation welcomed by clerics through another’s experience (9)
VICARIOUS: The acronym for (financial) obligation contained (welcomed) by a term for (CofE) clerics.
27a Characteristic applied to second channel (6)
STRAIT: A synonym of characteristic placed after (applied to) the single letter for Second.
28a Recommend a change of VAT code (8)
ADVOCATE: A from the clue and an anagram (change of) VAT CODE.
29a Harp on about Oliver, say (6)
ORPHAN: An anagram (about) of HARP ON.
30a Hope for view (8)
PROSPECT: A double definition – the first might relate to a chance of something happening.
Down
1d Writes for golf presenters (6)
GHOSTS: The letter represented by Golf in the phonetic alphabet and a synonym of presenters (of a morning news programme on TV?).
2d Thin cloth mostly used to wrap English oaty dish (6)
MUESLI: A type of thin cloth (of gauzy appearance) with the last letter removed (mostly) containing (to wrap) the single letter for English.
3d T dance? (5)
TANGO: The letter T in the phonetic alphabet.
4d Late deliveries expected? (7)
OVERDUE: A single word descriptive term for deliveries, of any kind, that have not arrived by their expected date or time.
6d Quietly settle on night after cooking trifle (9)
PLAYTHING: The letter that indicates musical quietly, a three letter synonym of settle all placed before (on) an anagram (after cooking) of NIGHT.
7d Demands in which Tory oddly pulls out (8)
EXTRACTS: A synonym of demands (repayment of a debt?) which contains (in which) the odd (oddly) letters of ToRy.
8d Burning pile spotted up in mountains (8)
PYRENEES: A term for a pile of combustible material (that used to be used for a cremation) and the reversal (up) of a synonym of spotted – the illustrated canine is associated with the mountains.
11d Bully admitting Republican boast (4)
CROW: A synonym of bully containing (admitting)M the single letter for Republican.
15d Welsh lake sounding similar to a Russian instrument? (9)
BALALAIKA: A Welsh lake, also known as Llyn Tegid, a homophone(?) (sounding) of a single word for similar to, and A from the clue – perhaps I am ‘missing something’ but, for me, the homophone is not a word in its own right.
17d English like this about journalists and drink (8)
ESPRESSO: Repetition radar blip – the single letter for English and a two letter synonym for like this containing (about) a collective noun for journalists.
18d Look Greek wearing trendy item for shock (4,4)
HAIRGRIP: A synonym of look (as in appearance) and the abbreviation for Greek all inserted into (wearing) a synonym of trendy.
20d Refrain from exercising, we hear and flourish (4)
WAVE: A homophone (we hear) of a single word for refrain from exercising (one’s right?).
21d Liverpool supporter maybe chilled when turning up for tiebreaker (7)
DECIDER: The reversal (when turning up) of all of a colourful term for a Liverpool supporter and a single word for maybe chilled.
22d Only accepting bill for comfort (6)
SOLACE: A synonym of only containing (accepting) an abbreviated form of a synonym of (financial) bill.
23d Rise obtained by verbal agreement (6)
ASCENT: A homophone (obtained by) of a synonym of verbal agreement.
26d Space north of Surrey for accommodation (5)
ROOMS: A synonym of space and the first letter (north) of Surrey.
Quick Crossword Pun:
PURSE + UNABLE = PERSONABLE
For several weeks now I’ve said that Wednesday has become the new Friday, and nothing in today’s offering has changed my view on that.
Took two separate stabs and two cups of tea to complete this one, with the NW and SE corners going in last.
Some really cleaver clues, with 25a and 18d being my two favourites.
Off to set up a pulley system in the garden now to make refilling the bird feeders easier, probably get frostbite!
My bird feeders, hanging from a thing like a coat stand, have not been touched for two months. Sparrows and Dunnocks not seen any more because we have masses of crows and jackdaws around. It is so sad.
Same here Daisy, just as soon as you put something out, you get a mass gathering of Jackdaws and Magpies in the trees all daring each other to go first.
Then as soon as one descends, they all do and the songbirds never get a look in.
My bird feeders are squirrel proof which keeps most of the big birds off (the woodpecker can manage but a jackdaw couldn’t). If they’ve not been touched for a while they need emptying, cleaning and refilling. The birds won’t touch anything that’s gone a bit off, and that does happen with all the rain we’ve had
That’s sad
I live in Royston and over the years I’ve trained the crows and magpies to disappear when ever they see me. I agree regarding the decline in sparrows, but we have resident dunnocks. Additionally plenty of goldfinches as well as visiting chaffinches. Blackbirds are significantly down on last year but we still see half a dozen in the morning (they adore mealworms and sultanas scattered on the ground).
Good luck in getting your songbirds back
Sorry to hear that, DG. Our bird feeders are visited regularly by Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Long Tailed Tits and Robins. The ground feeders are Blackbirds and Fieldfares with the latter bullying (not cowing) the former. Wrens often visit and we occasionally see a Goldcrest in the shrubbery.
If anyone dares to say “That’s a lot of tits, Steve” they must go straight to jail and not pass Go.
Quite agree about Wednesdays, my least favourite cryptic day now.
Anyone who can write clues for the words in 1a and 15d is a genius. Although a relatively easy puzzle there was enough to make it interesting. I also liked 27a and 16a. My COTD 6d.
Off now to wrestle again, with the Thai written language, which as well as placing vowels, before, after, above and underneath the consonant they are pronounced after, also omits them completely in a number of words. The Thai word for massage although pronounced with vowel sounds has none in its written form.
Thanks for the hints and to the setter.
Brrrr! It’s blimin’ cold. My gloves weren’t good enough to keep my hands warm on my morning run as it was minus something when I set off.
Anyway, this made me earn my keep and was therefore a satisfying solve. The 5a/8d comby pushed me into the next time zone.
Lots to pick from for the silverware but I’ll go with 19a, 28a and 29a
Many thanks to the setter and Senf,
4*/4*
Blinkin’ Harry! It’s inordinately brass monkeys here, too.
Great line, J!
Being follicularly-challenged doesn’t help my cause….or is it follicly-challenged…or follically-challenged?
I’m going with this first one as it makes more sense or does it?
Help!
For me, this was a fairly gentle solve. My only problems were of my own making. It took me a while to realise that ‘groom’ was not the answer to 12a, though I think it fitted the clue fairly well, and I never have been able to spell muesli, which held me up momentarily in the NW. Podium places today for 1a, such a lovely word, 25a and 15d. Thanks to our setter and Senf. The hippopotamus 🦛 song had me singing along and improved my mood for the day!
I had the same problem as you with groom, which did fit until trying to accommodate the down clues
A wonderfully amusing and very gentle puzzle for a fresh Wednesday morning – Dartmoor in the distance looks glorious under sunlit blue skies and with a light dusting of the white stuff on the higher slopes. A brisk completion from N to S with horses relaxed throughout. Broad grin at the wonderful 15d (not sure what the problem is, Mr Prefect?) and amid a plethora of other ticks I’ll put 19a and 25a with it on the podium, with runners-up 16a, 1d & 6d.
Many thanks indeed to the setter (not Twm today, I suspect?) and of course to Senf, too.
A challenge with a couple of mind benders thrown in. Do the outside three letters in 11d really mean bully? Mind you, it is better than “bag” from my first thought of “brag”. I thought 18d somewhat complicated and it took ages for me to work it out. My COTD is the burning pile in the mountains at 8d. On the whole, an enjoyable solve.
Thank you, setter for the challenge. Thank you, Senf for the hints and welcome to Wednesdays. The 2Ks have a worthy successor. 👍
I’m wondering if the three outer letters refer to bully beef?
From the BRB:
Bully – to oppress cruelly
The ‘three letter word’ – to subdue the spirit of
Close enough for government work?
Ok but how does a cow become a bull in order to bully? 🤔
I had the same problem with 11d.
I found this a bit sticky in places and needed a break in the middle for some brain food to get over the line. It was well worth the effort though, and turned out to be a very satisfying and rewarding solve, with 8 and 18d sharing top spot.
Many thanks to our midweek setter and to Senf.
Oh, Gazza’s such a tease, isn’t he? He led us right up the garden path there! Welcome again, Senf. This was great fun. Re the brilliant 15d, I think you’re right. The old rule was, I believe, that homophones had to be real word > real word. Happily, that rule would seem to have been relaxed of late. But it’s not an issue today, is it? The first part of the hom is fine as a place and the second is just a (dialect) word. No? Or perhaps I’m missing summat! Anyroad, lots of smiles today. 25a tickled me too. Many thanks to our setter and our new/old boy.
The pseudohomophone effect, that is, the finding that non-words that are pronounced like words (e.g. MEEN) take longer to reject in a lexical decision task than other pronounceable non-words (e.g. NEEN), has been used to support the hypothesis of phonological receding in lexical access.
And that came from a 1982 explanation.
Blimey, that’s mouthful! Who said that back in 1982? I *think* the upshot is that homophones used to have to be real words, both ways, in the Tel, but seemingly now this rule has – at least occasionally – been relaxed. However, as LAIK is in the dictionary, it would have passed muster in either case. That’s pretty much the size of it, no?
Just right for a Wednesday backpager.
Thanks to the setter (I wonder if my guess will be right) and to Senf
A brisk solve that only took marginally longer than the previous two days & a perfectly enjoyable one too. Like MG I couldn’t see anything wrong with 15d – it was my pick of the clues if only because it’s the name of the hotel I use in Sandton when golfing in Joburg & I love Lara’s theme song in Doctor Zhivago. 19&25a plus 6&8d other particular likes.
Thanks to the setter & to the Wednesday ‘new’ boy – reckon I’d have cleaned up if I’d run a book on who it was going to be.
I don’t see any problem with 15d either. It’s a great clue involing a synoym of similar from the clue triggering a homophonic (or is it homophonous?) syllable in the answer (LIKE = LAIK). Fine by me …
* Should be :”similar to”.
Sounds like a homophone to me! Even in Яussian?
His on earth did you get that R to go backwards?
No idea if this is how Jepi did the Я but composing the comment in MS Word first and selecting from the Cyrillic alphabet in ‘Insert Symbol’ then copy and paste into a blog comment works.
On the iPad keyboard, (bottom line, to the right of the “.?123” key) you can select a number of different alphabets.
Русская and Français for example?
Every day is a school day!
An enjoyable puzzle – thanks to our setter and our new Wednesday blogger.
I’m not very keen on 3d.
I think the deliveries in 4d are cricket-related.
Top clues for me were 5a, 12a and 20d.
me too with cricket in 4d
I definitely thought 4d related to pregnancy. If not that or possibly cricket it is not a cryptic clue just a synonym surely. I found this tough!
Could 3d be a DD? I can’t decide.
For me a gentle solve , which was surprising given last Wednesdays was quite a tricky beast. Thanks to setter and thanks and welcome to Wednesday Senf.
Fairly gentle for a Wednesday, I thought, but an enjoyable solve.
I liked the giant monks at 1a, the hippo doing what hippos do at 19a, the golf journalists at 1d, the mountain fires at 8d and the pay rise at 23d.
The Welsh lake might suggest that Twm is our setter today. Maybe he will confirm or deny later.
Thank you Senf.
Ha, I think 15d’s a double bluff. No way this was Twm!
You are probably right. Not really his style.
I saw the definition for 1d as “writes for”.
Me too.
And me.
Moi aussi.
Et moi aussi
Firstly, a big thank you to Senf for agreeing to step into the 2Ks shoes, the wage increase will doubtless come in handy for buying all those Christmas presents!
Wouldn’t like to chance my arm as to the authorship of today’s puzzle – I started out with a few ‘hmms’ that made me think it was Twmbarlwm but then handed out half a dozen big ticks which rather changed my mind. Certainly a setter who likes to use anagrams in the Quickie!
Thanks to whomsoever, particularly for 16,19&25a plus 1,8&15d, and thanks again to Senf for the review.
Talking of the Quickie, Jane the pun didn’t quite work for me but it is of course down to pronunciation and that has been discussed at length.
”I started out with a few ‘hmms’ that made me think it was Twmbarlwm but then handed out half a dozen big ticks which rather changed my mind.”
I think it’s safe to say that Mr Tumble ain’t your most favouritest setter, Jane.
How on earth did you guess! I used to really enjoy his BD compilations but his style seemed to change when he got the call from the DT.
His style is definitely – or, as I see so often, defiantly (what is that about?) – marmite.
You’ve probably worked out that I’m a tad random. So, it’s right up my ‘Hmm, interesting’ strasse as opposed to your ‘Hmm…’ strasse.
There’s pushing the envelope and there’s pushing the whole stationery cupboard which he most certainly does.
A fine Wednesday presentation. Moderate-ish difficulty for this day, great clues and a nice solve. Favourite: 15d. 3*/4*.
This new blogger seems a decent sort of fellow. I hope he sticks around.
My day never seems to quite unfurl as planned but my intention today is to go nowhere; watch a Margaret Rutherford movie (Miss Marple, I suspect); and fall asleep while reading Craig Brown’s ‘A Voyage Around The Queen’. All after a hearty luncheon. Since all of our building worked has been completed (for now) I’m rather content in my downstairs study, looking out onto the garden. However, as I write this H and The Youngster are in conversation with a ‘bathroom specialist’ upstairs and I fear more building noise is going to be upcoming. But, at least, not today.
Thanks to the setter and The Man From Manitoba
I plan on being like a toffee wrapper on the sole of a shoe!
:good:
Great guzzle I only came unstuck on 18f and needed Senf to sort me out. Some really first class clues, jolly hard to find a favourite! Perhaps 1a. I realise that in my excitement at reading of a Birthday gathering in January I was so excited that I posted my guzzle comments on the wrong page. I was congratulating Smylers on his hints. Now I have to say thanks to Messrs Setter and Senf for today’s entertainment. Jolly cold here, I guess we are all in the same boat.
18d was my last in too so tvm electronic helper
Not quite, DG. The heating in my ‘boat’ packed up yesterday and goodness knows how long it’s going to take before it gets fixed. Currently trying to find a compatible new pump as the original one is, of course, no longer made!
This was a puzzle where perseverance paid dividends as it only got better and better as I stumbled through to completion. 1a and 1d were pure genius and constructing 15d was top drawer. So yes, I liked it a lot. My cotd is 6d. Thanks to the compiler and thanks and welcome to the Wednesday spot to Senf.
This seemed to be about a normal level of difficulty as most Wednesday puzzles that I tend to struggle with and with the setters clueing.
2.5*/3*
Favourites 12a, 19a, 25a, 27a & 15d — with winner 25a
Smiles from 13a, 19a & 29a
Thanks to setter & Senf
That was such good fun with a collection of fair and nicely taxing clues making for difficulty in pinpointing Fav(s) but my podium comprises 19a, 4d and 15d in no particular order. Many thanks to whomever for setting and welcome to Wednesdays Senf.
Nice puzzle. Northern half went in easily enough with more of a challenge in the south. I liked the small hippo but cotd was (last in) 29a as I didn’t see it as an anagram initially.
Thanks to setter and Senf.
I could be doing with Steve’s new fan heater today. Baltic in the “North”!
You are most welcome to it, B.E. I had to buy a 2KW heater because the specifications have been changed and nowhere stocked the 3KW heater I wanted. Carbon emissions and all that. The bedroom has three exterior walls with nothing between us and Breidden Hill about 5 miles away. It gets pretty parky and the 2KW heater barely touched it even on full power. I have now managed to source a 3KW from Amazon so should be warm this evening. It’s already -1C.
Welcome Senf to the Wednesday blog 👍 Nice clever Wednesday level Puzzle 😃 ***/****
Favourites 1, 5 & 30 across and 8 down. Thanks to the Compiler and to Senf, liked the Hippo song
Second day and I don’t think I disgraced myself! I was DNF in the SE, but that doesn’t worry me too much, and I had copious use of ehelp. Brain still a bit sluggish but getting there. I liked 1a, my Dad’s fave word, and 9a because I like it.
Thank you setter, and also Senf for the enlightenment, I’ll now read your answers for my half dozen or so missing in the SE.
Lovely to see you back.
Don’t fret about your brain being a bit sluggish, Merusa. You’ve been through a lot. It will all come back.
I struggled with this puzzle but still found it enjoyable.
Top picks for me were 15d, 19a, 1d and 3d.
Thanks to Senf and the setter.
Just right for Wednesday – warming is up for what’s to come later in the week. Anyone know who the setter is? Podium places for 25a, lovely word, 12a and in top place 29a for the nicely deceptive anagram.
Many thanks to our mystery setter and of course to you Senf for putting your hand up for even more work just to enlighten us all.
COTD, to prove I attempted this, is 19a
It proves you attempted 19a! 🤣🤣🤣
I approached this with some trepidation as I have found Wednesdays have become decidedly tricky, but this one was thankfully not so much. A few clues did not work for me, 11d, 15d and 18d. The latter because surely this is an 8 letter word in the UK (see Cambridge Dictionary). Thanks to the setter and to Senf. Two days a week Senf? My word, you are a glutton for punishment, and we all owe you a lot of thanks for stepping into the breach. Perhaps you could lean on those few who seem to find every puzzle gentle to take on Wednesdays?
Initially a bit of a struggle to get going but persistence paid off and there were many excellent clues to keep me entertained. 25a was my favourite but I also liked 1a as I like the word!
Many thanks to the setter and to Senf for the hints, I do hope doing double duty is not too much for you. All of the bloggers who consistently provide us with the hints have my admiration and thanks,
It must be me this week because I have not been entertained as normal with the last 3 offerings. No laughs or moments of great admiration. It has just felt rather pedestrian. My mood is very up with lots happening but we never have the temperature in the house above 18 C. Perhaps that is the problem ? Sorry to sound curmudgeonly but last week it seemed that we were given some really great crosswords.
A typo in your email address sent you into moderation
Welcome to the Wednesday slot Senf. It is so pleasing to see the baby we have nurtured for a decade in such safe hands.
We, as usual these days, found a few tricky spots in this one but nothing to hold us up for too long in what was a pleasant solve.
Thanks setter and Senf.
Late on Parade here in Brisbane but I’ve been following the cold snap in the UK. A mate of mine who lives in Drumoig, Scotland made par for the day because on the 18th his ball bounced off a frozen pond onto a frosty green and into the hole! To the grid, I’m still struggling with 11a. It was a bung in for me and 14a (the other instrument) certainly helped but how Russian instruments starting with B are there? Yes Senf,11a, close enough for council work. Thanks to the setter and Senf🦇
The best thing I ever did was to give up golf but I once played Church Stretton, Shropshire on a very frosty day. The ground was like iron. The hole was a par 4 across a deep valley (it is nanny goat country) and the fairway dog legged to the right on the far side. I hooked my drive and it veered off to the left of the fairway heading for the rough but it landed on a frozen lump and shot straight up the fairway to the green. Because the ground was frozen solid it bounced along until it reached the green. It then rolled gently to the hole and stopped within four inches of it.
I holed in two.
That was a fluke. Most of the time I couldn’t hit the ball so that is why I gave up golf. It wasn’t until much later I discovered I was left eye dominant, which is not good for a right handed guy try to hit a golf ball.
Or anything else for that matter.
Steve, I gave up golf years ago too after my garage was broken into and my clubs were stolen (among other things). I never replaced them. I felt like putting an ad in the paper saying whoever you were, I despise your type but you did me a favour😜
I didn’t find this that straightforward, north more so than the south. Not helped in the NW by my inability to spell 2d, got 9a as soon as I checked and corrected my spelling. I enjoyed this challenge though. Favourite was the monks of high standing. Thanks to the setter and Senf. I’ll go back to doing battle with the toughie later which CS has rated as ***** for difficulty but I’m doing considerably better than my pathetic efforts yesterday.
Good evening
Crikey! That was hard – tough, even! I seriously considered hoyin’ in the sponge on several occasions; it took forever to get going, and when I did, it was a flurry of solutions in the RHS, while the largely inkless LHS stayed inkless for ages. The NW quadrant was the last part of to be solved; I needed those hints from Senf to figure out 9a and 1d.
Some cracking clues! I particularly enjoyed the misdirection in 1d and 18d; I’m putting 19a and 6d forward for joint COTD. My only quibble is the **/*** rating for difficulty. In my view, today’s a fourser.
Many thanks to our compiler – clearly not Twmbarlwm, although my bet would have been him; and to Senf, whom we welcome to the Wednesday slot.
Pleased to see others found this tough – really needed Senf to make sense of 5 clues!
Struggled with this one, not helped by being convinced that 18d was a clip.
Got there in the end with electronic and blog help.
Thanks to Senf and the setter.
Thank you to Senf for the help with this one, and thank you to the setter for the entertainment — and particularly for the clear wordplay in 9a, which is one of many plants I’m unaware of.
My top few were 21d’s chilled Liverpool supporter, 12a’s monks, 19a’s small hippo, and 1d for the deceptive 2-word definition.
3*/4* ….
liked 19A “Believe what small hippopotamus may do? (7)”