DT 30803 (Full Review) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30803 (Full Review)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30803

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 21st December 2024

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

This particularly tricky Saturday Prize Puzzle was the work of NY Doorknob

Please let us know what you thought

Across

1a           Try to please cool wife stuck inside (4)
FAWN – W (wife) ‘stuck inside’ FAN (cool)

3a           Fix a soft drink – Stateside lawyer makes cocktail (4,6)
PINA A COLADA – PIN (fix) A (from the clue) COLA (soft drink) DA (US District Attorney)

10a         See 16 Across

11a         Uncomplaining character in visits to Iceland (5)
STOIC – Hidden in visitS TO ICeland

12a         Dictator’s sinister observation post? (5)
EYRIE – A homophone (dictator’s) of EERIE (sinister)

13a         Is it the right change? (9)
NINEPENCE – A reference to the expression ‘right as ninepence’

14a         Celebrated barman, very French, about to bring in fish (8)
SCHUBERT – A reversal (about) of TRES (the French word for very) into which is inserted CHUB (fish)

16a/10a  Out to lunch, drunk met by tearful lieutenant’s woman (6,9)
MADAME BUTTERFLY – MAD (out to lunch being an original US informal way of saying this) and an anagram (drunk) of MET BY TEARFUL

19a         See 27 Across

20a/26a   Probably out on Italy’s lakes (2,6,2,3)
AS LIKELY AS NOT – An anagram (out) of ON ITALYS LAKES

22a         Wretched daughter especially worried outside emergency room (9)
DESPERATE – D (daughter) ESP (especially) ATE (worried) goes ‘outside’ ER (Emergency Room)

24a         Hamster’s nemesis? Rodents in retreat run! (5)
STARR – A reversal (in retreat) of RATS followed by the cricket abbreviation for Run.   A reference to the Sun newspaper’s 1986 front page headline “Freddie Starr ate my hamster!”

26a         See 20 Across

27a/19a   One saying Dante had is revised now as cliché? (2,4,3,3,3)
IN THIS DAY AND AGE I (Roman numeral for one) and an anagram (revised) of SAYING DANTE HAD

28a         Duck seen in ruined US coastal city (10)
TUSCALOOSA Did you look at the checking letters and see what was left to insert from an anagram (ruined) of US COASTAL and O (duck), or did you just go straight to an online anagram solver?

29a         Strongly advise pumping gallons into Yorkshire river? (4)
URGE – The abbreviation for Gallons pumped into the Yorkshire River URE

Down

 

1d           Tale marvellous – extremely labyrinthine? (5)
FABLE – FAB (marvellous) and the extreme letters of LabyrinthinE

2d           TV transition saw three-D broadcast (9)
WATERSHED – An anagram (broadcast) of SAW THREE D

4d           Baby tracks men on foot (8)
INFANTRY – INFANT (baby) RY (railway tracks)

5d           Some person in company on estate (6)
ANYONE – Hidden in compANY ON Estate

6d           Food transport vehicles? (9)
OESOPHAGI – Parts of the body that transport food

7d           Trouble with sailors below deck (5)
ADORN – ADO (trouble) below which goes (in a Down solution) RN (Royal Navy, sailors)

8d           A Republican, Dubya’s Dick, imprisoning male opponent (4-5)
ARCH-ENEMY – A (from the clue) R (Republican) CHENEY (the surname of the Vice-President under George W (Dubya) Bush

9d           Wilder element that’s inherited? (4)
GENE – The forename of the actor Mr Wilder or an inherited element

14d         Leap to one’s feet? Refuse to budge! (5,4)
STAND FAST – Leap to one’s feet quickly

15d         Mammoth, black, roaming Earth: weapon needed! (3,6)
BIG BERTHA – BIG (mammoth) B (black) and an anagram (roaming) of EARTH combine to give the nickname of a German First World War howitzer

17d         King needs drink before kiss with Queen (9)
ALEXANDER – ALE (drink) X (kiss) AND (with) ER (the regnal cipher of our late Queen)

18d         Answer SOS to save finest building material (8)
ASBESTOS – A (answer) and SOS (from the clue), the latter ‘saving’ BEST (finest)

21d         Better to enjoy an evening here? (6)
CASINO – A cryptic definition of a place enjoyed by betters

23d         Martians at last in American airspace (5)
SINUS – The last letter of martianS, IN (from the clue) US (American)

24d         Bargain vasectomy? (4)
SNIP – A double definition

25d         Poem Frost read out? (5)
RHYME – A homophone (read out) of RIME (frost)

 

 

5 comments on “DT 30803 (Full Review)
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  1. A mixed bag . ‘As likely as not’ means the odds are even, not probably. ‘Ate’ for worried was very obtuse,
    I enjoyed Starr and Schubert, some other lovely clues. Happy Christmas

  2. Thank you CS for your review and hints on the day, I am usually in need of some hints

    Somehow I dug 28a out of my brain (how and when I learned it will be one of life’s mysteries but I will confess to searching for it to see if it was correct)

    Are you baking for tomorrow’s naughty step … I don’t mind what 😀

    Best wishes to all and grateful thanks to all bloggers for your time and effort that goes into your posts

  3. Thank you, CypticSue. Having read your explanations, I know understand all the answers. I can’t actually remember what questions I still had about my full grid on Saturday (was that really only 6 days ago?), but whatever they were, you have answered them!

    (It might have been 16a/10a, in which I hadn’t spotted the partial anagram.)

    I like the ‘snow replacement’! That would’ve been (half) handy yesterday, for spotting one of the answers in the backpager …

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