Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30794
Hints and tips by Senf
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
A very good Wednesday morning from Winnipeg where we will have a White Christmas as with approaching 30cms of snow on the ground, and probably more to come, we more than meet the criteria of at least 2cms of snow on the ground on Christmas Day. The snow doesn’t need to be fresh, and it can be weeks old.
For me, etc (I have to say that for Terence), I am grateful to the setter, presumably Twmbarlwm, for a reasonably straightforward solve as I got to this quite late last night because I attended a Commanders Holiday Season Reception (some years ago it would have been called something very different) at the RCAF base. So I apologise in advance for any typos, spelling mistakes, except for -ise endings, and other errors.
Candidates for favourite – 1a, 8a, 18a, 1d, 2d, 7d, and 23d.
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 Perhaps Whisky Society where everyone is late? (6,5)
SPIRIT WORLD: Upper case letters designed to mislead – the generic term for what whisky is a type of and a synonym of society.
7a Stretch old hat in interval (4,3)
TIME OUT: A synonym for stretch (in prison) and a synonym for old hat (as in known for a time).
8a Very warm aboard part of ship, a lot of people snapping? (5,2)
PHOTO OP: A three letter term for very warm contained by (aboard) part of a ship (as in a high deck at the stern of an old sailing ship).
10a Old life I abandoned for source of wealth (8)
OILFIELD: An anagram (abandoned) of OLD LIFE I.
11a Restaurant in Sardinia having vacated tables (6)
STRATA: The abbreviated name of a type of restaurant (which can probably be found in Sardinia) inserted into (in) SardiniA with the interior letters deleted (having vacated).
13a Delivered side of bacon (choice!) (4)
BORN: the choice of a side of BacoN in terms of the outer letters with a two letter conjunction.
14a Instrument GP suggests (5,5)
GRAND PIANO: what G and P can be single letter abbreviations for (suggests).
16a Cardinal repeatedly storing containers of tasty ice cream (6-4)
NINETY-NINE: A repeated cardinal (number) containing (storing) the outer letters (containers) of TastY – if it wasn’t getting late, I would make a comment about repetitious selection of first and last letters.
18a Bill the head teacher (4)
BEAK: A double definition – the first is illustrated, the second is old slang.
21a Drunk drinking with cheat now and then – why should I care? (2,4)
SO WHAT: A three letter nounal synonym of drunk containing (drinking) an irregular selection of letters (now and then) from WitH cheAt the single letter for With and some alternate letters (now and then) from cHeAt – thanks to Anorak at Comment 4 for straightening my brain out.
22a Missing starter, plate spread with lamb and piece of beef? (8)
MEATBALL: An anagram (spread) pLATE with the first letter deleted (missing starter) and (with) LAMB.
24a Second large olive, extremely good in alcoholic drink (4,3)
SLOE GIN: The single letters for Second (of time) and Large, the outer letters (extremely) of OlivE, the single letter for Good, and IN from the clue – selection of first and last letters, again.
25a Test, one in German around ten in the morning (7)
EXAMINE: The feminine form of one in German containing (around) the Roman numeral for ten and the Latin based abbreviation for in the morning.
26a Far less impressive than reported speed at sea that pirate has? (3,1,5,2)
NOT A PATCH ON: A three letter homophone (reported) of the unit of speed at sea and what a pirate has (covering an eye) – Hmm.
Down
1d Like corporal, I’m isolating, somewhat upset (7)
SIMILAR: A reversed lurker (somewhat upset) found in three words in the clue.
2d Sarcastic element in charge (6)
IRONIC: A metallic element and the abbreviated form of in charge.
3d Partisan not in later fighting (10)
INTOLERANT: An anagram (fighting) of NOT IN LATER.
4d Cried out at the end after seat tipped over (4)
WEPT: The last letter (at the end) of ouT placed after the reversal (tipped over) of a seat in a church.
5d Jumper and fine blouses? They’re high points (8)
ROOFTOPS: The informal short form of the name of an Australian jumper, the single letter for Fine, and a generic term for blouses.
6d Small scene showing turmoil around Moon (7)
DIORAMA: A synonym of turmoil containing (around) one of Jupiter’s moons which you will have to guess.
7d Players sliding, adjusting to the pitch? (11)
TROMBONISTS: The players are musicians who ‘control’ their instruments using a ‘slide.’
9d A shade dejected, having to support show-off (7-4)
PEACOCK-BLUE: A colour that indicates being dejected placed after (having to support) an avian used to descbribe a show-off.
12d Popular time to grab a city flat, regardless (2,3,5)
IN ANY EVENT: The two letter synonym of popular and the single letter for Time contain (grab) all of A from the clue, a two letter abbreviation for a (US) city, and a synonym of flat.
15d Sat right on the rocks, balanced (8)
STRAIGHT: An anagram (on the rocks) of SAT RIGHT.
17d Wife visiting physicist in Harlow, maybe (3,4)
NEW TOWN: The single letter for Wife inserted into (visiting) the surname of a (famous) physicist (who watched apples falling from a tree) – the definition was the fourth of the communities intended to help alleviate the housing shortages following the Second World War, beyond the green belt around London.
19d Shunning doctor so naive (7)
EVASION: An anagram (doctor) of SO NAIVE.
20d Associate starts to adjust temperature, tetchy about cold hotel (6)
ATTACH: The initial letters (starts to) of six words in the clue.
23d Still Game: crack up! (4)
SNAP: A triple definition to finish – the first is what the illustrated item might be used to produce.
Quick Crossword Pun:
HOE + LEEK + OAST = HOLY GHOST
I don’t think I‘ve found a crossword less enjoyable than this for a long time, The verbose clues hindered the solving. The archaic definitions, ‘’beak!’’, even if they were justified by the wordplay of the clue reduced the pleasure of the solve. I completed about fifty percent of the grid under my own steam and then resorted to electronic help. Even though I could parse the clue following the online help my overwhelming reaction was, so what.
I didn’t resort to the hints as I found the puzzle so unenjoyable it wasn’t worth waiting for them but I have an immense regard for whoever took on the task of providing them.
Thanks to Senf for their hints.
This was a great test which smacks of Mr Tumble though it reminds me of my favourite setter Jay. So, who knows.
I had to wave the white flag at 11a, as the abbreviated term was out of my reach, and I couldn’t parse 13a. Other than that, things went in smoothly.
I liked ‘containers of tasty’ as a technique and the Lego going on in 24a was at another level: five pieces in a seven letters must be a first.
There are so many clues to choose from but I’ll go with 7d, 9d and the brilliant 14a, my COTD.
Many thanks to Mr T and Senf.
3*/4*
Jay?? Couldn’t be further from his style.
Hi M
I’m not that sure of Jay’s style.
All I know is that Jay’s hit ratio on quality clues is second to none as they flow beautifully and I had many ticks in today’s that reminded me of him. Some clues, admittedly, probably aren’t his constructions e.g bacon and the restaurant.
So, it’s more than likely the work of Tumbleweed who loves to push the envelope that I applaud.
No way is this a Jay.
We like the rhyme!
Okay, what’s happened to the ink-saver slider? the one good idea that appeared last week has now gone again, and consequently we now have to shovel more money at likes of messrs H & P as the thing now appears in full shiny black. Can we please have it back, it worked!
Anyway, to the puzzle, there’s only one word for it, World Class.
Great fun throughout with plenty of misdirection, the only query I have is does tables means 11a, maybe in the BRB there’s a listing, but I ain’t got one.
I know a really great joke about 16a, but sadly can’t tell it here.
My two of the day will have to be 8a and 26a, well done to our setter, great entertainment.
Stuck with tables vs 11a too
Some lateral thinking required – in the singular, layer is in the BRB definitions for table and the answer. So, tables to layers to the answer.
For 11a, I think the geological term ‘water table’ would be an example.
The ink-slider thing may be my fault. I suggested to Telegraph Towers yesterday that since it is not working for *everybody* they might at least put it back the way it was until they can fix it properly. Then at least we can all print something.
Sorry, Tipcat.
No thanks. From the minute that box appeared we couldn’t print at all from Safari and I know others couldn’t on other platforms. So I really don’t want to ever see that box again.
As to the ink, I sympathise because we used to spend a fortune, and time, always running to the store for another cartridge. And then we got an Epson with an ink tank… hallelujah. Bought it in July 2023 and haven’t had to buy any ink since – and we do a lot of printing. Literally worth its weight etc.
Lovely puzzle, with last one in being 1a as I was sure it would start with ‘Scotch’ after getting the first letter!
**/****
[I think the middle of 21a should be parsed as ‘with’ = W plus alternating letters of ‘cheat’ = HA]
Agree with you on 21a, that’s how I read it, makes far more sense.
Me too
+1 for 21a
Hint revised – thank you,
Great fun today. I especially enjoyed 6d, 7d, 9d and 23d. 18a was v jolly too. Many thanks to our setter and Senf.
Apart from 13a, which I disliked intensely, this was a challenging tussle with some good misdirection and humour. Joint favourites were 7 and 9d.
Thanks to both our midweek setter and Senf.
I enjoyed the challenge today, and apart from needing help to parse 4 I managed to complete it. I completely missed the lurker in 1d and needed help to explain 11a. I had many aha moments and must confess I had no answers at all for ages then started from the bottom right corner. On a different day I can see I might have lost hope but today ai had time to revisit it. I will have 7d as a favourite as my son plays the answer and I have a soft spot for it, thanks for the music clip Senf.
Many thanks to the setter and to Senf for the hints.
À propos of not very much but thinking of multi-instrument ensembles of the same instrument, not quite the 41 (I think) ‘sliders’ in this piece, but the ‘background’ music at the Reception I attended yesterday was provided by a quintet from the RCAF Band, which is based in Winnipeg, drums and four saxophones of various ‘sizes’ from soprano up.
Oh dear, I suspect this is another compilation from my bete noire, hence the dearth of ticks awarded here. On the plus side, I rather liked 9d and I’m quite partial to a 16a, although with ‘proper’ ice cream, not the whipped-up confection our reviewer depicted!
Thanks to Twmbarlwm for his efforts and to Senf for the review – hope it’s not proving to be too onerous to be stuck with having to solve every clue!
That is the only variety of 16a that Google Images ‘sells’!
A very entertaining midweek puzzle – thanks to our setter and Senf.
On my podium I’ve placed 13a, 16a and 9d.
Good manners precludes me from giving my opinion of this crossword. Suffice to say although completed it was not my cup of tea by a very long way.
Thx for the hints
****/0
See, you can express your opinion emphatically without being discourteous! Well done.
Who are you, and what have you done to Brian? 😁
You’re not wrong.
I think your opinion must coincide with mine.
As it probably did last week when you were redacted.
Lots to like today. 21a, 22a, 25a (Took a while to remember that there was a female ‘one’ – I only did a month of German at uni!), 26a, 5d, and 23d (finally worked out it was a triple definition, as per Senf!)
Going to nominate 5d as Fave du Jour, just because!I
V many of thanks to the setter (alphabet soup?) and to Senf.
A very nice Wednesday puzzle. Good clues provided a reasonable challenge. No stand-out favourite but I will give a special mention to 5d. 3*/3.5*.
A laboured solve in well above my usual back page solve time but enjoyable nonetheless. Had to check the moon & was slow to parse one or two but got there eventually. 26a reminded me of Captain Pugwash & Cut-Throat Jake & of course there was recollections of 23d’s brilliant cast of characters (Navid & Winston my favs). Top 3 for me in no particular order were 13&16a + 5d with narrow misses for 7&9d.
Thanks to the setter (T probably) & to Senf – great clip for 7d.
Ps can’t resist posting Patti Clayton for 22a
Is that Patti Clayton singing?
That’s what You Tube says. Came across the song on a great Calvin Russell album
excellent fare .today Almost perfect blend of everything good that a crossword should be, Anagrams, lurkers, misdirection. A thoroughly enjoyable solve with 1a and 6d my CsOTD. Honourable mentions to 6d and 7d.
A very sound puzzle which I thought was sufficiently challenging for a Wednesday, although it seems to have split the room, judging by the comments above.
I originally had 13a ending with an E, being the final letter of choice, but when the computer told me that I had got one wrong, I tracked it down and changed it to the much more parsable N.
I’ll probably go for 14a as my CoD.
Thank you setter and Senf.
I got a fair bit of the bottom half, which I enjoyed but I needed Senf’s help for much of the top. I got the ice cream after seeing a large display model on Bargain Hunt which sold for over £100! As I’ve lived in Harlow most of my life 17d came very easily, but it is no longer referred to as a new town. Thanks to the setter and Senf.
Huntsman summed up this puzzle nicely as “a laboured solve” and like Jane I, too, have a dearth of ticks on my page. Perseverance was needed to get to a completion, although I’m hazy on some parsings, so I’ll consult the hints for confirmation or correction as the case may be. 7d raised a rare smile so is my cotd. Thanks to compiler and Senf.
3*/2*. Curate’s egg Wednesday for me again. There are a couple of dodgy surfaces and a dubious anagram indicator in 3d. 9d is “same-sidey” as the avian in question provides both the shade and the show-off.
14a was my favourite.
Thanks to the setter and to Senf.
For me, and I stress for me (™ Senf), by jiminy I found this a tricky fellow and I’m most grateful to Senf as I had to fall back on a couple of his (as always) splendid hints to reboot my way into this riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Great fun to unravel, and I feel it is better to view a devilish guzzle as a learning experience rather than an opportunity scorn the setter.
Some superb glueing – the sliding players; the pirate; people snapping.
Thanks to the setter and The Man From Manitoba
Not a barrowload of fun today but somehow I made my hesitant way through it. NW stickiest patch not helped by 11a abbreviation and too clever by half 13a plus 16a which I just managed to recall but I do wonder if they are familiar to worldwide bloggers. Sliding pitch in 7d didn’t mean a thing to me but with all the crossers it had to be. 5d jumper is becoming a bad penny. Anyway enough whinging and here’s to more simpatico cruciverbal times ahead. Thank you MrT and Senf (for being a port in a storm).
Interesting reading the comments above as I found this challenging but entertaining
4*/4*
11a LOI
14a favourite
Held up by 1a as convinced first word would be single as in single malt?
Thanks to senf and setter
So for a Wednesday puzzle this was only a tad more difficult than the Tuesday puzzle, I thought.
1.5*/4*
Favourites were many but I chose 1a, 8a, 14a, 16a, 21a & 7d — with winner 7d
Lots to like and smile about … too many to mention.
Thanks to setter (Twm?) & Senf
‘Beak’ is much better known as archaic slang for a judge, not for a teacher. As in ‘up before the beak’, which is to make a court appearance.
And of course Beaker was Dr Bunsen Honeydew’s lab assistant in the Muppets
But, when the BRB is consulted . . .
I don’t know what the BRB is, but have to assume I don’t have one to consult. It can be found as a definition for a male teacher on Google, but a bit of digging is required. I only said it was much more commonly used in legal parlance, not that it was incorrectly used in the clue.
For BRB, see FAQ #12.
I am in the group who found this a bit of a struggle to solve. I had to resort to professor Google for 11a. The parsing of some of the clues took a long time, for example 8a I had no idea about this part of a ship, and never heard of 18a as a nickname for a head teacher, so I hesitated a long time to write the obvious answer. COTD is 1a for me.
Just when I thought I’d got a handle on Toombarloom’s offerings, he comes up with this! Swimming in molasses again. Oh dear, I was DNF with four, all in the SE, but others I bunged in made no sense. I have no idea what 16a has to do with icecream, must be Britspeak. I guessed at 11a, but totally at sea there, I dare say that Senf, my fave hinter, will explain. I did like 7d, 9d and 24a. Oh well, “tomorrow is another day”.
Thank you Toombarloom, if you are the setter. I’ll now read your hints Senf to understand what this was all about.
Merusa, you’re right about 16a hence my comment in 20 above. It’s derived from a Cadbury’s product along the lines of their similarly named chocolate confection.
I was enjoying this puzzle but had to get off to a warm hub and provide entertainment. Then it was the dread Tai Chi. I was so bored in that hour and longed to get back to our puzzle. Made the rendezvous- vous at 5 pm. It went smoothly apart from 11a when it was necessary to look to Senf. Perhaps it was falling at the last hurdle that made me huffy about the answer but it felt to be a stretched synonym. Applause for 6 and 7 down and a cheer for 26 across. Thanks all round.
11 across is not as posted above !
Restaurants in Sardinian are Italian restaurants…
You’ve extended your alias so this required moderation. Both versions will work from now on.
Is that a different version of the clue that you’ve found somewhere? If so I can’t see how it works.
How did you like the puzzle?
lol im not sure now
Well I thought I was getting the hang of Tumbledown but it seems not. I find some of the clues quite convoluted and my early morning brain. Maybe I should tackle his offerings in the evening. I managed to finish but I did need the hints for more than I would have liked. All not helped by the fact Hudson has a gastro infection and I’m having to clear up after him if I can’t get him out in time!🤢 I’ve never heard of 8a. I had the part of the ship but I could not make it work so that was one I needed the hint for. No COTD – just happy. to get over the line.
Thank you, Tumbledown for the bamboozlement. Thank you, Mr. Mustard for the hints, which were a great help today.
With regard to 6d has anyone seen the magnificent model train layout built by Rod Stewart?
Where is that?
I, too, found the puzzle heavy weather!
At his home, I believe.
Oh no, poor Hudson. I do hope he is better soon.
As it is my birthday today I was rather hoping for something friendly, but it seems the DT saw fit to present this one. Not a surprise, it being Wednesday. But a pat on their back as I was now able to print via Safari today so huge relief and gratitude for that. I am a “Wednesday’s child” so I really can’t find anything positive to say about the puzzle, will just reflect on the fact that we’ve had a good few days. Plus enjoyed a delicious breakfast out at our favorite French restaurant, to be followed by delivered Hawaiian pizza tonight as Peter is determined to keep me out of the kitchen today. We will be off out next Monday night celebrating his birthday, the big 80. Yes our poor kids, both their parents have birthdays right before Christmas…. Thanks for Senf for doing double duty yet again, what would we do without you?
Happy birthday! Raising a glass to you, health, happiness and good fortune!
Glad that you’ve had a good day other than an onerous guzzle (not the brekkie & pizza)
💐Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns of the Day, BusyLizzie 💐
Happy Birthday, BL! I hope you have a good one 🎉🎂🍾
BL, I can print with Safari too – well done the DT for fixing the problem!
Happy Birthday to you!
I omitted to say thanks to the setter and Senf!
Ageing is not for the fainthearted!
Thank you everyone 😊
Tricky puzzle and a bit anagram heavy for me, but with a sprinkling of clever clues requiring lateral thinking, so a definite thumbs up
Good evening
I see from the above that today’s crozzie is widely attributed to Twmbarlwm; I’m not sure, as it seemed a little less convoluted than his recent contributions. My two bob is staying in my pocket!
A good solve today, albeit not without some stumbles; the SE quadrant proving the trickiest and 22a the last to fall. I was determined not to write the solution in until I’d figured it out, which I eventually did.
22a and 13a are joint runners up, with 7d, which did make me chuckle, taking COTD.
Many thanks to Twm, if indeed it is him – I’m not convinced! I’ll nip back in later and see. Many thanks also to Senf.
This was pretty cheeky. I only had the checkers written in for quite a while. Then suddenly solved a couple in quick succession which gave me everything except 11a, so a dnf. I needed the hint to parse 13a too.
Thanks to all
Excellent clues 7d as favourite thank you Twmbarlwm (?) and Senf
Sailed through this till I ground to a halt in the NE corner. Would never have got 8a and 11a in a month of Sundays. Thanks to Senf for the blog.
Tumbledown’s latest effort gave my brain a good work out this morning, with a lot of clever clue constructions that I really enjoyed. I wasn’t familiar with the shade in 9D but Mrs E confirmed it for me.
My favourite was the pirate wear at 25A.
Thanks to the setter and Senf for the hints.
A quite superb puzzle, tuned in from the off and had no reason to lift pen from paper until the end. Absolutely brilliant from start to finish and a shame it was all over so quickly.
I’ll go for 1a, 13a, & 26a on the podium, but there were another two dozen-odd clues not far behind.
Many thanks indeed to setter (could be Twm but I’m not 100%) and Senf
3*/4* …
liked 24A “Second large olive, extremely good in alcoholic drink (4,3)”