DT 30822 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30822

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30822

Hints and tips by Falcon

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

Greetings from Ottawa, where a spell of cold weather has enabled a portion of the Rideau Canal Skateway to open – its earliest opening since December 2018. This follows a couple of disappointing years in which it didn’t open at all two years ago and opened only for a very limited period last year. While we are experiencing cold weather, Edmonton – which would normally be experiencing temperatures as low as -50 C – is reportedly enjoying T-shirt and shorts weather.

Who do you think set today’s puzzle? Are we back to Robyn or is this the “another appearance quite soon” promised by X-Type last week. I’m leaning toward the latter, and despite possessing an abysmal record at recognizing setters, I might even venture a toonie on it.

In the hints below, underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions, FODDER is capitalized, and indicators are italicized. The answers will be revealed by clicking on the ANSWER buttons.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought of the puzzle.

Across

1a   Desperate option in poor start with many waves? (3,4,2,1,5)
ANY PORT IN A STORM — an anagram (waves) of IN POOR START and (with) MANY

9a   Force following one entering short route for vehicles (7)
TRAFFIC — string together the physics symbol for force, the footnote abbreviation for following, and the Roman numeral for one and insert the result (entering) a truncated (short) synonym for route or path to get a term for moving (supposedly) vehicles

10a   Heavy rock more adventurous on the radio (7)
BOULDER — the answer sounds like (on the radio) a word meaning more adventurous

11a   Shy men oddly rejected social lubricant (6,3)
CASTOR OIL — link together shy or fling, an abbreviation for lower echelon members of the military, and the even letters (oddly rejected) of SOCIAL to get a substance used as a lubricant (either medicinally or otherwise)

12a   Beatle starts to play an unplugged Lucille (4)
PAUL — the initial letters (starts) of the final four words of the clue

13a   Physician departs before October, lacking British base (6)
DOCTOR — the railway timetable symbol for departs precedes (before) OCTOBER from which one must remove (lacking) the abbreviation for British and the base of natural logarithms

15a   Appropriate to face your old secret? (8)
STEALTHY — appropriate or purloin and an antiquated word denoting your

18a   Rural air from the east a relative inhales (8)
AGRARIAN — reverse (from the east) AIR and place it inside (inhales) the A from the clue and a senior family member

19a   Fine pointer pursuing ptarmigan at last (6)
NARROW — place a pointer or directional indicator after (pursuing) the final letter (at last) of PTARMIGAN

22a   Head of pharmacy and son screening American character in Boots? (4)
PUSS — place the initial letter (head of) PHARMACY and the genealogical abbreviation for son either side of (screening) an abbreviation for American to get a storybook character who wears boots

23a   Not over one jab, yell out for sugar-coated treat (5,4)
JELLY BEAN — remove (not) the cricket abbreviation for over from ONE, then form an anagram (out) of the remainder plus JAB and YELL

26a   Lay magenta mat European’s keeping (7)
AMATEUR — a lurker, hiding in (keeping) the three words following the definition

27a   Mountain to go up? Mountain to go up? (7)
VOLCANO — a cryptic definition of a mountain that blows its top

28a   Some guys keep saving time after first couple of delays in large shop (10,5)
DEPARTMENT STORE — link together some or a portion, guys or chaps, and keep or retain and wrap the result around (saving) the physics symbol for time; then place all of this following (after) the initial two letters of (first couple of) DELAYS

Down

1d   Medicine ad I can’t broadcast (7)
ANTACID — an anagram (broadcast) of AD I CANT

2d   Dines with unknown poet (5)
YEATS — dines following (with) one of the mathematical unknowns

3d   Sick of fine Burgundy? (3-6)
OFF COLOUR — OF from the clue, the pencil symbol for fine, and what Burgundy is an example of in a crayon box

4d   Magnate‘s expression of surprise when carried by river briefly (6)
TYCOON — a British expression of surprise (which I needed to look up) inserted into a truncated (briefly) river in NE England

5d   Stupid oily nit getting in front of Bobbie Gentry (8)
NOBILITY — an anagram (stupid) of OILY NIT taking in (getting in) the initial letter of (front of) BOBBIE; ignore the misleading capitalization

6d   Swallow unwanted accompaniment to lettuce? (4)
SLUG — double definition; the first a gulp of an alcoholic drink and the second something that neither a gardener nor a diner wants to find on their lettuce

7d   Painter‘s art, seldom moving (3,6)
OLD MASTER — an anagram (moving) of ART SELDOM

8d   Brief time to recover in the right way (7)
MORALLY — an informal term for a brief period of time followed by recover or revive

14d   Unwelcome character in Casino, eccentric and sarcastic (4-5)
CARD SHARP — synonyms for eccentric (noun) and sarcastic

16d   Queen introduced to golf commentator, dropping one small flower (9)
AMARYLLIS — insert the name of a 16th century Queen of England, Ireland and Spain (or any of many other queens who shared that name) into the surname of a British golf commentator from which one of its two clothing symbols for small has been removed (dropping one small)

17d   Officer taking run before noon to get plant (8)
MARJORAM — an army officer containing (taking) the cricket abbreviation for run is followed by the time of day designation for before noon

18d   Praise a lad playing with pup (7)
APPLAUD — an anagram (playing) of A LAD and (with) PUP

20d   Fetching Triumph – problem being picked up (7)
WINSOME — a synonym for triumph and a word that sounds like (being picked up – by the ear) a maths problem

21d   Prime soccer team? (6)
ELEVEN — double definition, the first is a mathematical prime and the second an informal term for a soccer team based on the number of competitors on the field

24d   Some operator who inspires poetry (5)
ERATO — a lurker, hiding in (some) OPERATOR

25d   Fruit: prune, it’s said (4)
PEAR — the answer sounds like (it’s said) prune or reduce

I found several of the surface readings when taken together with the answer to be rather amusing. I will nominate one of these – 6d – as my clue of the day for the rather humorous – albeit unpleasant – outcome.


Quickie Pun: ERR + LEAP + HERD = EARLY BIRD


90 comments on “DT 30822
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  1. Slightly more difficult than is normal for a Monday, I thought but that is probably down to me. Putting the wrong poet in at 2d did me no favours so 1a took too long to crack even when I had the checkers. I was convinced my poet was write until I had an epiphany and saw the errors of my ways. My COTD is the queen being introduced to the golf commentator at 16d.

    Thank you, setter for the fun challenge. Thank you, Falcon for the hints.

      1. One of three quadruple homophones that I’m aware of (no plurals, abbreviations or third person singular present tense):

        right, rite, wright, write
        paw, poor, pore, pour
        awe, oar, or, ore

        Are there any more out there?

          1. I didn’t include it as peke is an abbreviation. But, maybe it’s used more than the full version. So, that could possibly go on this exclusive list.

            Either way, a fine spot by your good self,

              1. Hi RD

                I haven’t included the second one as bi is an abbreviation. But, for the same reasons above, it could go on the list.

                Looking at your first guess, you probably should have gone to Specsavers.

                You’ve got me thinking though…I know the 127 two letter Scrabble words (obvs) and ai is one of them. I don’t have a Scooby how to pronounce it but, having taken a quick look, it could well, like Brando, be a contender.

                So, let’s put your amended guess on the list too….ai, aye, eye, I

                Call it ‘an assist’

                  1. Go on then. As long as you promise to say ‘too quickly’ in future not ‘too fast’.

                    The latter is, of course, acceptable, but we must keep our standards up, Ardy.

  2. This was a nicely constructed puzzle on a friendly grid which is just what the doctor ordered for the start of the week.

    I’ve never heard of the 1a expression (a goodie) and my LOI was 18a that took me in to the next time zone as I couldn’t get arboreal out of my nut.

    My podium is 11a, 4d and 27a (a PDM. Oops! Sorry Dodger)

    Many thanks to Batman (or Mr X) and Falcs.

    3*/3*

    1. TD,

      2 things:

      You’ve never heard of 1a?

      why on earth (i’ve toned that down) do you know the 127 two letter Scrabble words . please don’t say because you play scrabble

      1. Absolutely!

        It didn’t take long to learn them and it saves having to look them up all the time.

        A brilliant, brilliant game.

        1a is indeed a new one for me.

        Yes, I am hanging my head…

  3. Nice challenge for a Monday. Completion not helped by being convinced the 21d prime team was Albion (duh). Then the mountain went up and all was clear. Thank you setter and Falcon.

  4. More challenging than normal for a Monday and personally I thought some of the surfaces strange. Not a big fan of 16d – golf commentators are a little niche surely?
    3*/2*

    1. I have never watched or followed any golf, I couldn’t name any current golfers or say when or where big tournaments are or which club to use for what — yet somehow I’ve still heard of the 16d commentator. I’ve no idea why, but I’d say they’re one of those people that transcend their niche into general knowledge, and so are as reasonable to use in a clue as anybody. (Especially a clue that good!)

  5. I enjoyed this one.

    A couple that slowed me down; 21d – I was initially looking for a specific name of a football team, and last one in, 18a.

    Thanks to the setter, and to Falcon for the write-up.

  6. I’m glad Falcon was blogging today: this took me far longer to solve than any other recent Monday puzzle! I was trying to find a specific painter for 7d, wondering if there might be an artist I hadn’t heard of called Tom Alders or Ted Morals.

    My favourites were all consumables: the fruits, wine, and lettuce accompaniment, from 25d, 4d, and 6d.

    I’m less keen on the really long answers, because the wordplay seems less relevant: 28a jumped out at me from the definition and enumeration that the rest of the clue wasn’t needed, and for 1a I just waited until I had enough checking letters for the answer to be obvious, again not bothering with the anagram.

    Thank you to Falcon for the blog, and today’s setter for the challenge.

  7. More Mondayish than last week – 2*/3.5*

    But, as to who the setter might be – all bets are off!

    Candidates for favourite – 27a, 4d, 16d, and 17d – and the winner is 17d.

    Thanks to whomsoever and Falcon.

  8. Reasonably light & well-judged for a Monday. Top half went in swiftly, bottom half only slightly slower. Hon Mentions to 27a, 16d & 17d.

    Not convinced this is a Robyn – too many anagrams for him, I felt. Good surfaces, an amusing if slightly dated feel to the clues (Peter A, Bobby Gentry, Triumph, Lucille), and a feeling of satisfaction on completion.

    Thank you Setter and also, of course, to Falcon.

  9. Slightly trickier than we usually get on a Monday, I thought. Thanks to our setter and Falcon.
    The clues I liked best were 15a, 3d and 6d.

  10. A thoroughly enjoyable and pleasingly testing puzzle for a Monday slot. As is often the case, the long’uns went in fairly swiftly and they formed the basis of the solve, with plenty of checkers for other clues. I cannot improve on Gazza’s selections for a podium. Great fun. Many thanks to our setter and Falcon.

  11. A few slightly awkward surface reads perhaps, but an enjoyable Monday puzzle.
    10a, 15a and 3d got my ticks.
    Thank you setter and Falcon.

  12. I’m often slow off the mark on a Monday, as I don’t generally bother with the weekend offerings and am therefore a bit rusty, but I struggled more than usual today. The clues were perfectly fair though with the only exception perhaps being the golf commentator, who to my shame would have eluded me for hours without the checkers. I found the south easier than the north, largely due to some chuck-ins like 18d and 28a providing a good framework. Thanks very much to the setter and to Falcon for the helpful explanations.

  13. I don’t think even an early bird would get the worm if it was trying to work out the Quickie pun.

    And to annoy Brian, why so many golfing clues. Good God you would think it was a religion.

  14. A few doubtful surface reads but the only problem I had was of my own making – not reading the clue properly and putting in the wrong second word of the sugar-coated treat. Ticks awarded to 1&15a plus 3&20d.

    Thanks to our setter, X-Type feels like a good call, and to Falcon for the review – will you be donning your skates?

    1. I’m thinking about dusting off the skates. I haven’t skated since undergoing back surgery a few years ago. Contrary to Smylers’ suggestion that I was AWOL last week playing hockey, I was actually merely providing information and other assistance to those attending the games. Unfortunately, Canada did not fare well in the tournament, being eliminated in the quarter finals by Czechia for the second straight year. We invented the game and taught other countries how to play it — and now, it seems, some of them do it better than us!

  15. A tad trickier than a normal Monday I felt. I managed the golf commentator but 18a was a new word for me.

    Top picks for me were 17d, 3d and 6d.

    Thanks to Falcon and the setter.

  16. I, too, am in the trickier than usual for a Monday camp. The SW held me up considerably until I twigged 19a/20d. I thought 27a was particularly good and it forms part of my podium alongside 3d and 18a. Thanks to compiler and Falcon

  17. This one didn’t seem to flow for me though others disagree so it might just be my Monday morning brain fog!
    Absolutely positive it wasn’t Robyn though.
    **/**
    Thanks to setter and Falcon

  18. 2.5*/3.5*. Based on a very small sample size of two, 2025 Monday back-pagers have been stepped up significantly in difficulty compared with 2024. Despite a few strange surface readings, I did enjoy this, and like YS @12, I can’t do better than echo Gazza’s selection of 15a, 3d and 6d for my podium.

    Many thanks to probably X-Type and to Falcon.

  19. For me this was definitely on the tricky side for a Monday, which was disappointing as I was short of time! 18a was a new word and although it was well clued I could not see the answer as I thought it would be a word I knew. I also struggled to get 15a my last in. I don’t know cricket commentators but did guess the right plant. The rest was well clued and the anagrams and long clues helped me keep going.

    Many thanks to the setter and to falcon for the hints

    1. Hi MTF

      Just to demystify 18a for you (couldn’t resist), it derives from the Latin for field.

      It’s where the word ***iculture comes from.

      1. And there I was thinking it had something to do with modern farmers, who being put upon by governments, supermarkets, walkers, & trespassers alike, yet for the love of the land remain involved in aggroculture …

          1. I met a lady who had moved from London to our rural idyll and complained to me that there were no pavements in the countryside and there were animals in the fields. Also, there were far too many tractors. 🙄

            1. I’d love to meet her as these sort of people are hilarious.

              She should be in a Harry Enfield sketch.

                1. Dear Fat Controller,
                  Have you read today’s obituary of Britt Allcroft?
                  Please don’t change your name to Sir Topham Hatt to satisfy the “Woke”.
                  I am NOT woke – so stirred from my slumbers as my hackles rose.

              1. I witnessed a funny thing in a country lane about 18 years ago. I was walking along a narrow road in the middle of nowhere when I came across a long, deepish pond at the side covered in frogspawn with a small lay-by next ot it. As I approached, a chap in a car pulled up and nonchalantly proceeded to fill about 8 buckets with frogspawn, put them in is car and drive off. I was mystified by this – why would anyone want so much frogspawn?

                  1. No there’s no punchline, it’s not a long joke. Just the latest in my series of occasional scintillating anecdotes which are very well-received on here. You may recall previous ones on fascinating subjects including very small tarpaulins, sheep lying down in fields and Plasticine doll autopsies. :-)

            2. Did she also complain about church bells? 😊. It’s like those people who insist they want to live in the center of town and then complain about traffic noise. There’s none so strange as folk.

              1. My pet hate (well, one of them ..) is people who buy a house adjacent to a cricket field and then complain when cricket balls land in their garden.

                  1. Tom thanks for the background to the answer, always good to learn something, whether I remember it is another thing.

                    Your tales remind me of the lady who moved in next to us (in a conservation area) and then proceeded to announce she did not like trees or want the ones in her garden or the garden beyond hers. Somehow she got permission to fell them (very tricky as you need planning permission) and built a conservatory. She then moved out a few months later and sold the house as she didn’t like it.

                    1. We absolutely hate people like her….with a passion….and then some.

                      How did she get the permission???

                      Annoyance badoyance.

              2. I used to be Tower Captain at a local church and a lady who had moved into the village from Birmingham complained bitterly to the vicar about the bells. She said “They make too much noise!” His answer? “They are meant to”.

            3. I saw a complaint on our local Facebook page from a lady who was complaining about the noise farmers were making harvesting with combines one summers evening asking why they didn’t work normal hours like everyone else!

              1. A lady moved in to a local village and asked the farmer to keep the cows off the pavement outside her house when they went to and from the milking parlour. He explained the impossibility, so she put flower troughs on the edge of the pavement.
                Oh dear! The cows ate the flowers and still walked on the pavement. Silly cows.

  20. Lots to like for a start of the non-work week puzzle today.
    Lots of smiles throughout this grid.

    1.5*/4*

    Favourites 1a, 12a, 22a, 23a, 4d & 5d — with winners 1a & 22a
    Smiles from 10a, 12a, 27a & 21d

    Thanks to setter & Falcon

  21. The strange surface readings made this more difficult than most Monday puzzles and , despite working out the answer to 16d , I still have no idea who the golf commentator is. However, I liked the 1a phrase and the 20d lego/homophone clue. The 18a lego clue was ver also. Thanks to the compiler and to Falcon for the hints .

  22. Flew through this (compared to normal) with only a couple of hold outs requiring an epiphany moment. More of the same most welcome.

  23. I felt like I was solving my first crossword, I was so out in left field. Obviously brain not in gear. At the end I was 7 DNFs and I needed copious help from Falcon. Oh well, tomorrow is another day. Fave was 24d.
    Thank you setter, I promise to try harder. Of course, many thanks to Falcon for his help, what would I do without you.

  24. Doesn’t feel like a Robyn, and definitely trickier than most Mondays, but we’ve had some that were more chewy than this, so I’m not complaining. Got off to a good start with 1a, a well known saying and my nomination for COTD. Alas my total golf knowledge includes having heard of Tony Jacklin, Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer but certainly not any golf commentators. Pretty sure 23a hadn’t made it across the pond when we left in 1982, think it was just jelly babies then. Never heard of 4d expression as a surprise. I should have been quicker with 16d as I have two on my kitchen counter right now, a red and a pink. And the best thing here, when they are done, I can plant them in the flower bed where they will perform every year. Thanks to setter and Falcon.

    1. To be fair to Peter Alliss, he was a successful professional golfer before he became a commentator, but his golfing achievements were a very long time ago: three British PGA Championships, five top-10 finishes in The Open, and played on eight Ryder Cup teams.

  25. A *** for difficulty, not helped by misspelling that miserable poet’s name but pleased to decipher 16d given my total ignorance of flowers. Thank you compiler and Falcon including that sad old classic from Bobby gentry!

  26. Greetings from Edmonton, where indeed we are ‘suffering’ unseasonably warm (low single digits) temperatures. Needless to say, ice is not at all stable (three trucks out ice-fishing have sunk at a local lake). But the weekend promises a return to near normalcy, with forecast ‘highs’ of -18.

  27. I’ve been out all day (Royston Ladies Luncheon Club etc.) so late again! Oh dear, but a good guzzle if I had not confidently started to write Vesuvius – well
    I was almost right. Somebody back there said is Golf a religion and I suppose it is, to some. I am in the ‘Know Nothing
    About Golf” (or football, or cricket etc) club but I put in 18d because I know the flower so I suppose it is horses for courses.
    1a went in straight away , 20d was last one in. 17d is favourite. Despite the problems with computer I have finished my
    Parish Profile on our local Tibetologist and sent it off to the editor, just time for a quick gin before going into Cambridge
    for an Arts Society lecture on the Empress Josephine. I never seem to have time for housework……
    Many thanks to Messrs Setter & Falcon.

  28. Golf commentators? Luckily I do know some plants although it’s hippeastrum these days. Like others I also got the wrong poet so it took far longer than it should!

  29. A late post as (against my better judgment) I was persuaded to take the bats out of winter storage & make up a fourball at the fine course on the Downs at Dunstable. Winning 2up having been all square at 16 was some compensation for needing to be defrosted once back in the sanctuary of a warm bar. Am now rewarding my endeavours with cod, chips, garden peas & a pot of tea in Harpenden’s top notch chippy & have just about warmed up.
    I had this pegged as by X-Type but as he’s not popped in to claim it maybe it isn’t. Enjoyed the solve & lovely to get an appearance for Peter Allis, who was every bit as delightful in conversation as you would have expected him to be & a wonderful commentator. Fav here was 15a.

  30. Had to leave the bottom half until after work but I got there in the end. I knew the commentator but have a fear of the plant. They are too much like a cross between a Triffid and the Little Shop of Horrors plant Audrey? We had one growing in the bathroom once, it grew so fast that one night it fell over into the bath while I was in it! I can’t abide the things now.
    Thanks to Falcon and Setter

    1. I meant to add that Andrew Cotter is filling Peter Alliss’ shoes admirably, if he could bring his dogs along for a walk the course they would be on a ratings winner

    2. Your plant dropping into you bath, SJB cannot compare to a huge black spider dropping out of the tap while I was in the bath. You have never seen a guy get out of a bath so quick! 🕷️🕷️

      PS I love the exploits of Olive and Mabel.

  31. I found this quite hard. Monday is no longer the least hard of the week for me.

    Needed the hints to parse 9a and 28a. For 9a I was putting RAF (force) f (following) and I (one) into tc. This obviously doesn’t work so no surprise I couldn’t parse.

    18a just defeated me as it is a new word for me.

    16d was never going to solved by me as I had not heard of the commentator nor the the flower.

    Thanks to all.

  32. Good evening

    Crikey! That was definitely trickier than the average Monday crozzie; there were several times this afty/evening when I thought I’d have to admit defeat.

    However, persistence and tea paid off in the end. I wasn’t the only one to find 18a a bit of a struggle, but (*cliché alert* – HowOOOOga!! Attention RogB!!) the penny dropped eventually, and this was my last to fall. 15a was a lovely piece of misdirection, and takes joint COTD with the commentator and the Queen at 16d.

    Many thanks to our setter and to Falcon.

  33. I’m also in the ‘a little trickier’ camp, I needed the hint to parse 9a as like Bananawarp I was convinced the force was RAF. No crosswords for 3 days so perhaps a little rusty, i still have them to do. Still, lots to like and picking a favourite is hard but I’ll go with 16d as I knew the commentator and the flower. Thanks to the setter and Falcon.

  34. A tricky one today. I thought 9a a bit convoluted and the golf commentator was a bit obscure though I had heard of him. Liked 11a and 3d however. Thanks to setter and Falcon.

  35. Thank you to the setter and Falcon. Started with 1a well known here on our western stormy shores. That allowed us to make short work of the top half of the puzzle. Jelly bean started as jelly baby, which made us peckish! 6d was more of a yuck moment!
    Top pick 12d. An enjoyable start to the week.

  36. As much as I love racing through on a Monday (makes me feel cleverer than I am 🤓), quite enjoyed a bit more of a challenge, although needed more help than I would have liked. Sometimes I’m just not on the right wavelength.

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