Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30815 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)
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A very cold and frosty morning brings another straightforward Prize Puzzle from NYDK, providing, of course, you don’t take into account another of his now ‘trademark’ linked anagram clues. You can see how I dealt with 1a etc when you read the hint!
Please ask for help if you are stuck on clues I haven’t hinted, but before doing so, please read the comments that appear before yours, so that you are not duplicating questions, and make sure you obey both the instructions in red at the end of the Hints and the blog’s Comment Etiquette – Big Dave’s Crossword Blog)
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also”. Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.
Across
1a, 9a, 26d, 27a, In Stuttgart, French historian mistaken? So said 16! (5,2,8,4,7)
Ignoring the first clue, I filled in the rest of the grid in very short order and went back to the start . Although you might not realise it, especially today when I have three blog posts to prepare, I do have a life outside crosswordland and so, knowing that I needed something said by 16a, I went to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations to remind myself of his various words of wisdom, put the correct one into the grid and then checked that this could be an anagram (mistaken) of IN STUTTGART FRENCH HISTORIAN. Yes, I know it is ‘cheating’ but ….
15a Commander horrified – good person lost (4)
An adjective meaning horrified without (lost) an abbreviated good person gives us an alternative spelling for a Turkish commander
16a Remember a couple? He brought us Jim and Huck (4,5)
Remember or record and an archaic word for two (couple)
24a Sun’s glowing coverage for The Crown? (6)
Part of the sun, or a type of crown
25a Help to bind NT with OT and Clootie’s last remedy? (8)
A synonym for help ‘binds’ NT, OT and the last letter of clootiE are then added
29a Telephone informers about potential lead (7)
A reversal (about) of an abbreviation for telephone and some informal informers
Down
2d M-madness? (4,4)
Madness on a major highway perhaps
8d Maintaining correspondence for a sailor capsized? (3,4)
In favour of (for) and a reversal (capsized) of A (from the clue) and a sailor
11d Important Viking – giant among best friends? (5,4)
The name of one of man’s best friends does seem to imply that he could be an important Viking
14d Copy crazy strip cartoon where ducks make escape? (10)
An anagram (crazy) of STRIP CARTooN where the two letters used to indicate ducks in cricket scoring ‘make their escape’
20d Conflict nevertheless good for tusked creature (7)
A conflict, a poetic word meaning nevertheless and the abbreviation for Good
23d Jack one dispensing milk shake (6)
The abbreviation for Jack in a pack of cards and something that dispenses milk
As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out!
Please read these instructions carefully – they are not subject to debate or discussion. Offending comments may be redacted or, in extreme cases, deleted. In all cases the administrator’s decision is final.
If you don’t understand, or don’t wish to comply with, the conventions for commenting on weekend prize puzzles then please don’t leave a comment.
The Quick Crossword pun: INDIE+ PENDANT = INDEPENDENT
Cor! That was hard work.
Not knowing the quote didn’t help but I thoroughly enjoyed working it out as the checkers slowly dropped. A fun part of the crossword.
I guessed 6d and, having looked it up afterwards, got lucky.
(Redacted – why not come back and ask the question and explain your further thoughts on this clue on Friday, after the closing date for entries)
My podium is 10a (smooth) 2d (random but I love it), and 3d (neat).
Many thanks to Rood Bonk and CS.
4*/4*
Curses.
I tweaked my comment as it had naughty step potential but there are no flies on our Sue.
Apologies.
No such thing as cheating if you’re preparing three blog posts. Well done, Sue !
👍
Hi R Mac
Is this post to do with my comment?
Forgive me if I’m missing the obvious.
3*/3.5*. The odd nature of this enjoyable puzzle suggests it is the handiwork of NYDK. I found the NE corner considerably harder than the other three quarters added together.
Fortunately, I recognised 1a from a combination of 16a and the enumeration, and I trusted the setter without the tediousness of checking the anagram fodder.
The surface of 25a seems utterly bizarre. Can anyone explain what it is supposed to mean?
My top picks were 24a, 28a, 2d, 3d & 14d.
Many thanks to NYDK (?) and to CS.
Not a clue about the surface – it doesn’t read well but I did notice [interesting but too helpful not to be redacted]
the clue is in the other letters.
A great SPP but my heart sank when I saw the first clue was a five word answer spread over four slots. Still, I ignored it and got on with the rest, which was entertaining. I haven’t come across the spelling of 15a before and I know nothing of Hebrew so I had to await checkers before 6d could be entered. I had to check my answer with Mr. G and, fortunately, it was correct. I have never (redacted) so am at a disadvantage when they are featured in a clue as in 3d.
I eventually sussed out 1a, 9a, 26d and 27a.
My COTD is the incompetent player at 19d.
Thank you, setter for the puzzle. Thank you, CS for the hints.
Sorry, CS.
Any cake? 🎂
My earlier comment is apparently “awaiting moderation” so I wonder if I used the wrong email address for it?
It’s there now, but with a random avatar. 🤔
I went back and edited your email address – but I can’t find the rabbit avatar!
Thank you, Sue. My correct email address seems to pick up my rabbit avatar for me.
Getting 16a certainly made the linked clues easier, even if the order of insertion is wrong on the puzzles site. I thought 12a was very clever but 2d and 8d took me an age. Overall, I thought this quite tough but good fun.11d is my cotd. Thanks to NYDK and CS.
I think 1a should be 1a, 9a, 26d, 27a
The clue order is correct in the paper but the version on the Telegraph Puzzles site (which I use to create the blog template) has them in the wrong order which is why it was not shown correctly in the hints)
What did you think of the crossword?
Correct, that threw me too, as I couldn’t make work.
It does seem worth making more clear that 1a is incorrectly formatted. It should be 1a, 9a, 26d, 27a, for anyone else equally confused as I was.
Edit: oops, beaten to it.
But also, can anyone explain 13a to me?
Oops, beaten to it.
But also, can anyone explain 13a to me?
In 13a ‘stormy’ is an anagram indicator and the ‘ducks’ isn’t the thing you think it is!
And to think I used to live in Stoke…
[redacted]
That seems quite a tricky construction, but I am always glad to have a little to chew on in the SPPs. Probably NYDK as RD says, and there are some very nice clues today. I will plump for the linked items (with that great anagram) but the supporting cast is indeed strong.
Thanks Sue and setter.
Poor Sue.
She’s busier than Scotty, beaming someone up to ‘The Step’ every other minute.
And trying to help Mr CS finish the extremely difficult Christmas jigsaw, and make macaroni cheese and….
One thing’s for sure, you won’t die of boredom.
Your work ethic is matching Stakhanovite’s!
Huge respect.
You must sleep like a baby.
Once I worked out the author, the linked clue was a straightforward bang-in – though it is the only one of his that I know!
For some reason I found several of the clues tough going, but now that is complete I’m not sure why. It took me an aeon to parse 8d, 14d and 29a which was my last in and I’ll make COTD or the ‘groan’ moment
Thanks to NYDK for the post Christmas SPP workout and Sue for the blog.
I think the multi word clues are a clever ploy to sell more papers on a Saturday. I found this easier to navigate with pen rather than stylus or keyboard.
17d 18d 19d are my sequential podium candidates and as I can’t pick between them I will leave them in that order.
Thanks to NYDK and CS
Au contraire, multi word clues are a real turn off for many of us.
I wouldn’t disagree with you EnergeticImpatiens but they are easier to deal with when you have paper in front of you and can do _ _ _ _ _ / _ _ / _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ etc. in the margin, filling in checkers as you go
One of the many reasons I don’t use the app. I prefer the paper for the same reasons, SJB.
But you have to put up with all the other rubbish in it at a lot more than the cost of an A4 sheet of paper.
My BP went down when I stopped reading the DT…
I don’t read The DT – just do the guzzles. 😊
Thank goodness. I thought I had entered an alternative universe where numbers and letters no longer had meaning. How long did I spend trying to fit the ‘phrase of the day’ into the boxes as instructed on the puzzles site?
Not long, actually, but nevertheless, the person(s) responsible should be arrested and held in the Tower Of London for the rest of their days. They should be fed with gruel, and allowed only water, and each day be forced to complete The Sun’s Kwik X-Word.
I have already written a stiff letter to Mr Lancaster, Mr Starmer, The Archbishop Of Canterbury (whoever that is these days), and Taylor Swift.
Great guzzle, enjoyed meandering my way through it.
Thanks to the setter and the ever reliable Super Sue.
Just realised the advantage of picking up paper rather than stylus today has led to an easier solve. It would have taken quite some time to cram the answers in the order indicated on the puzzles app. I do think a lifetime in The Tower of London on gruel and water is a bit of a stiff sentence, maybe an occasional glass of 22a may help the typesetters see the error of their ways
Tut, tut Terence – you might end up in the Tower for not giving Sir Keir his correct honorific!
Terence, you might want to consider escalating this matter to an even higher authority. I have heard from a very reliable source that a certain Mr Musk is about to be appointed as Supreme Overlord of the Entire Cosmos.
Jamaicaman seh, the higher the monkey climb, the more him expose!
🙂
Do you ever get a reply from Taylor Swift? Might be worth a bob or two one day.
Phew that was tough. I paid my puzzle subscription this morning but that puzzle alone was nearly worth the cost. 11d and 19d both made me laugh. I had to check 6d with an electronic aid. Last two in were 10a and 29a (thanks to CS for the hint to 29a). Even though I rarely comment I greatly appreciate the comments on this site.
Very annoyed as I completed all but 29a, couldn’t get the last three letters so resorted to Dan word. What an ass so simple😡
The wrong enumeration for the multiword answer threw me for a while, but all came good in the end. It was that combination that I liked for my favourite, together with the linked clue at 16a. Like others, my final entry was 29a. The less said about 25a the better. That aside, I enjoyed the challenge and it helped cheer up a dreary morning.
Many thanks to our setter and Sue.
Very very hard puzzle not helped by failing to understand my answers to 7d, 13a (where does ducks fit in?), 8d and a totally unknown word for me in 6d which I had to google.
Very little fun, just a hard slog but probably not helped by my currently suffering from flu!
I dread puzzles set by this setter.
*****/*
Thx for the hints
Get well soon and, while you are doing so, look up duck/ducks in the dictionary
Feel better soon Brian.
I hope you’re back to full health soon, Brian. 👍
Oh dear – there’s an awful lot of bugs around at the moment. Get well soon.
Temporarily confused by the disorder in 1a, etc – how can such a thing get past the editors in one medium when it is correct in another?
Otherwise an enjoyable SPP offering from NYDK – **/****
Candidates for favourite – 10a, 28a, 5d, 11d, 17d, and 18d – and the winner is 11d.
Thanks to NYDK and CS.
I’m a bit confused. Were 9 and 27 deliberately swapped? The online read 1(a), 26(d), 27(a) and 9(a). I worked it out once I realised and figured out what 9a was, by which time I’d filled in most of the rest.
As discussed above, it is just an unfortunate error in typesetting. It happens occasionally. Today the newspaper version is correct and the online version transposes the order. I hope it didn’t spoil the puzzle too much
Had the digital (incorrect) version of 1a etc. So filled in the rest of the grid and then spent 5 times as long trying to unscramble the c*ck up 🤬
Apart from that I found it all quite gentle, but really no excuse for the error in my opinion.
Thanks to to the hinter – had unraveled it by the time they were up but always enjoy reading them
End of rant!!
I cannot truthfully say I enjoyed this, however it seems I am in a very small minority.
The order of the multi-word clue was incorrect as others have noted, but with the exception of a handful of clues, I didn’t enjoy the rest.
I ask myself rhetorically whether the price to pay for a long clue scattered around the grid is perhaps to compromise on the rest of the puzzle.
Thanks to the setter, and to CS.
What a great way of saying that you’re not a fan of multiword clues, J.
Love it.
Multi-worders are most definitely divisive.
The online boo-boo, fuelling the haters’ fire, hasn’t helped the outcome of NYDK’s trademark application.
Hi T
I’m not a hater of multi-word clues but it didn’t float my boat today.
My (rhetorical) comment was that if a setter is hell-bent on including one in a crossword, he or she is inevitably limited in options for the rest of the puzzle.
Just my opinion and not intended as a slur on the setter.
Gotcha.
Apologies for misunderstanding.
I don’t think it compromises the rest of the puzzle.
I know I am a mere mortal but my advice to him a few weeks ago was to limit the monster answers to one per crossword which he has done today.
But it still clearly rankles quite a few people.
Maybe he should include one every two or three crosswords?
Oh, who knows.
Either way, I’m a big fan of them.
The 1a order confused me for a bit until it became obvious what it should be, very fair puzzle except for that.
Took longer than most Saturday ones, with 29a last in, fooled by the ‘about’ today.
My two of the day were 25a and the brilliant ducks in 13a.
Off to sip a Pina Colada and sunbathe now as I saw a glimpse of sun earlier.
The 1a horlicks & the iffy surface at 25a aside this was great fun. The Hebrew needed post solve confirmation & can’t say that I knew the multi-word answer was attributable to 16a but otherwise pretty straightforward. 28a stirred memories of a thoroughly abject display. Plenty of podium possibilities but I’ll plump for 2,3&14d in no particular order.
Thanks to Donny & the ever busy Sue.
I print the on line version and dutifully wrote out the anagram verbatim and added the checkers as I solved the clues. I found 25a absolutely non sensical as well.
3*/1* – sorry NYDK, not for me.
Thanks to Sue for the hints.
[Seriously – how many times do I have to redact similar comments that really should wait until Friday?]
A lot of people have said they don’t know what Clootie’s last remedy is. So, I thought I would tell them.
Apologies if I’m being slow out of the traps but I don’t see how the definition helps people to answer the clue.
I did wonder whether to leave it. I think I’m going to lie down in a darkened room for a while
No problem.
If people look up the definition, all will become clear.
Hello,
Does anyone know what happened to the grayscale slider when printing? It’s not there anymore.
Cheers.
I wish it was back as well to save on the astronomically priced ink, but some people using non-google searchers said it stopped them printing at all, so therefore it’s just back to the old one!
Thanks for that.
I’m on the fence with this one. The wrong order of the multi worder slowed me down until it became obvious there was an error. My favourite was 13a. Thanks to the setter and Sue.
Like several others, I ignored 1a and got on with the rest at my usual plodding pace. I liked the ‘ducks’ clue and was pleased to see hints were there for my last 2 in. Thank you to the setter and to CS. And CS if you consider you ‘cheated’ for the multi word clue then I must confess I cheat most days. I think you should call it research!
I agree. I would call it research or excellent time management. If I didn’t do the same on most days I would get little else done. Enjoyed the puzzle and thanks for the hints.
Immediately got 16 and then 7 down and once I had the * in 8a the 1a anagram became apparent ! I’ll finished the rest later !
Welcome to the blog, CJ.
Welcome, CJ. I do hope we hear from you again. 👍😊
I didn’t get where I am today…
Without welcoming you to the blog
I didn’t get where I am today with two black eyes.
Stuff that legends are made of.
Mrs CJ
Truly great….and super.
Thank you for that, Sloops 👏👏
Great! Super! 🤣
I found this a challenge but I did enjoy completing it. I spotted the error in 1a early on so left that clue till I had the checkers. There were a couple in the south that held me up till the end but after the penny dropped I could not see why. I also checked my Hebrew answer after completion.
13a took ages to see but is now my favourite.
Many thanks to NYDK and to CS for your hard work in providing hints despite being so busy.
Oh dear I perhaps forgot to post my original comment so I’ll now have another go. My initial reaction was a long-faced one to another pesky multi-word job which I just ignored and let it sort itself out as solution of the rest of the crossword progressed. SE was toughest corner for me. Not sure that ducks is synonym for 13a and indeed whether 2d is necessarily on an M. My mind turned to another Mrs. Simpson for 3d. Joint Favs 28a and 23d. Thank you Mysteryone and the ever-faithful CS.
Can’t say that this one really floated my boat but I still found enough goodies to make up a podium. 1&28a plus 11d share the honours today.
Thanks to NYDK, presumably, and to the ever busy CS for bringing us the hints.
I used to enjoy the Saturday prize puzzle, but the inclusion of these long multi-word anagram clues has totally destroyed any pleasure I get from even attempting the solve. The best I can do is try to solve all the other clues, and then hope that divine providence will reveal the long-uns. But it’s no longer fun, and I have no chance of even going for the mythical.
Sorry NYDK – not my cup of tea. Thanks CS for the hints.
Like others I ignored 1a and did the rest of the puzzle. Got hung up on a different Mrs Simpson and needed to check my Hebrew.
Top picks for me were 13a, 11d, 23d and 18d.
Thanks to CrypticSue and NYDK.
Even though there is only one multi word clue/answers, I am going with NYDK for this one. Too bad someone messed up the word entry sequence, at least in the online puzzle, as that confused matters more. Figured it out anyway, but had to get two of the words to figure out the saying.
Favourites include 1a etc, 13a, 16a, 2d & 20d with winner, partly due to the unintended mix up was the 1a,9a,26d & 27a saying.
Smiles from 13a, 22a & 18d
Thanks to NYDK & CS
Happy New Year y’all!
Like many, I found this pretty tough but got there in the end having worked out 16A and the required reorder of the 1A etc mess.
My biggest holdup was the parsing of29A…doh!
Thanks to CS for the sterling work (enjoy your lie down in the darkened room…) and to DYNK for the mental work out!
Cheers!
My heart sank when I first saw this guzzle as I hate linked clues doing it digitally. However, it all fell nicely into place. LOI was 29a which I don’t think is a particularly good clue. Anyway, thanks to the setter and to CS for doing a sterling job with her redacting pen!
Very difficult not helped by having the wrong ending on 14d. 6d is my cotd as it gives me a new word to use in conversation.
We found this pretty straightforward despite having to check 15a and 6d but both fairly clued. Favourite was 3d. Thanks to NYD and CS.
I recognised the spread out answer but didn’t realise it belonged to 16A so I had to get help from Mr G for that one. Luckily, didn’t notice the error with the order of grid locations so that didn’t add to my woes.
Otherwise, a pretty untroubled journey through the rest of the puzzle with the exception of 6D which was unknown to me and I thought would be an immediate entry to The List ™. Nothing really floated my boat, so the podium is empty here.
Thanks to NYDK and to CS for the hints.
And an alternative spelling of same, so looking it up didn’t help me.
You’ve changed your alias – you used your full name before but both will work from now on
What did you think of the crossword?
I have no qualms about cheating. I doubt compilers construct crosswords without recourse to electronic aids and the internet, so why not deconstruct them with such help ;-). Today plenty of Googling. Most Americana goes over my head and I don’t know any Hebrew, for example. I started putting 1a in the wrong boxes, before I realised the enumeration is in the wrong order. And my mind started to wonder what the record is for most letters in an answer to a crossword clue. Without wishing to tempt NYDK, apparently, Enigmatist once had just one across clue in a puzzle! I’ll try to remember to pop in for the full review as 13a seems odd to me, but it may be a regional thing. Overall, I found this to be quite a slog, but as CS thinks it’s straightforward, perhaps I wasn’t really in the mood. Nevertheless thanks to the compiler from NY and to CS for the hints.
Sailed happily but then hit the rocks with 11 d. Which should have come to me and then had to apply finger screws as punishment for not getting 29 a. Must go and look Clootie up although I did get the answer to 25 a. Clootie / Clooti must have some relevance ? Strangely enjoyable puzzle and many thanks.
Hello. It was an NYDK production. Sorry about the online mix-up with the enumeration, hope it didn’t bother too many of you too much.
Thanks as usual for all the comments, and to Sue for the bloggie.
NYDK
Thank you for the guzzle, NYDK and for popping in to say hello.
Great guzzle – thoroughly enjoyed it 🥰
So at first glance thought it was going to be a DNF , then got my brain in gear and things then slowly slotted into place. I thought there were some lovely lateral definitions , and found it an enjoyable solve in not too bad time.Confess I did cheat for 1across etc. Thanks to NYDK and CS.
The first clue had me gnashing my teeth and decided to totally ignore and press on with the rest. Sadly not helped by zero knowledge of Hebrew and minimal of golf courses and Turkish commanders. After all that, I returned to the first clue and quickly realised from my checkers that the 1a, 26d, 27a and 9a list was quite wrong, which apparently is down to the DT and not the setter. So overall a bit of a slog and very little enjoyment here. Thanks to NYDK and to the amazing CS.
It seems quite a few bloggers have joined you and me with the first clue which rather negates the setter’s idea of setting a crafty mindbender!
I eventually worked out the long one; the incorrect ordering of the clues certainly did not help. Northeast got me down, I’m still not certain! But it’s only a bit of fun! I shall come back and have a look when the full hints are out. Thanks sue and setter
Thank you NYDK, I do like these multiple word solutions. But the potential lead foxed me so thanks also to CS for the explanation.
I enjoyed this in a strange sort of way, big anagram was a challenge and tried (redacted – please do not include wrong solutions in your comment) and didn’t work as an anagram! Good Saturday challenge
Oops sorry, didn’t realise
First one in was 3 down and last one 11a, not a fan of that clue. Thank you to setter and hinter.
A really enjoyable and hard workout today.
Like others I groaned at 1a. But was worth it when I had enough checkers to solve.
Needed Google for the second part of 28. Say no more…
Needed the hint for 29a but should have got this.
Thanks to all.
Personal preference but I’ve had quite enough of linked clues now and I’m not really enjoying Saturday crosswords at the moment, they’re quite tough going for me. Hopefully Dada will be kind to us tomorrow.
Thanks anyway NYDK and thanks to Sue for the hints.
Dada fans will be getting a double-dose today. As well as the cryptic that Senf is blogging as we speak, he has brought us Sunday Toughie 154!
13a, confusingly “xxxxxxxxxx” fits here! But it’s the wrong species 😀😀. Very rare to get a double possibility from the same clue I think.
This threw me real curve ball as we say here…
What a lot of comments! I started out well at lunchtime (George had gone to rugby at Hertford) and I had just finished and made one comment when my techy neighbour came in to install windows 10 on my computer and the rest of the day was lost. I am in despair. All my old systems have gone and I don’t know where I am. But just popped on at bedtime when no one is going to read it to say thanks to NYDJ and Seesue great guzzle although I had to Google the Hebrew and I could only find a version without the last letter but bunged it in anyway. (Hopefully avoiding the naughty step). Phew.
I particularly liked 3d’s return message, 23d’s milk shake, and 9d’s maintaining correspondence. Thank you to setter and hinter/redactor. I look forward to the discussion on Friday!
Also not a fan of multi linked clues. Tough but steady going.
I too discovered the mistake on the linked anagram. Hate all types of linked clues.
Welcome to the blog
4*/3* …
liked 12A “Second-rate villain’s Irish accent (6)”