Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30828
Hints and tips by Falcon
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Ottawa where today I am covering my regular shift. Last week I was working Smyler’s shift in return for him having covered for me the previous week. I realize that I neglected to acknowledge this and thank him for agreeing to do the swap, so I will belatedly do so now.
The weather system that Senf described on Sunday is now arriving here although it has likely lost some of its bite en route. Sunday evening, as I write this, it is currently -12C heading for -19C (it will feel like -25C with the wind chill). That is absolutely balmy by Winnipeg standards (Oh, how I love to make our readers in Florida shudder!)
I presume today’s puzzle is the work of Robyn. I was well on the way to a one star finish until I hit the southwest quadrant which took as long to complete as the other three quadrants combined. However, in hindsight, I can’t explain why this should be the case. And I must not neglect to thank the setter for the name check in the Quickie pun.
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 At work, so a pertinent task for PowerPoint users? (12)
PRESENTATION — an anagram (at work) of the three words preceding the definition
9a Fixed rate certainly right for financial manager (9)
TREASURER — string together an anagram (fixed) of RATE, an informal adverb denoting certainly, and the single letter for right; Rabbit Dave is bound not to like the adverb which Collins describes as “mainly US and Canadian”
10a Wise bird circling island? (5)
ERNIE — a bird from the Quickie pun containing (circling) the single letter map abbreviation for island
11a In Paris, is that lady an old Persian queen? (6)
ESTHER — prefix a French verb meaning “is” to an English pronoun meaning “that lady”
12a Start to dye one’s hair, creating anguish (8)
DISTRESS — line up the initial letter of (start to) DYE, the Roman numeral one, the possessive S, and a lock of hair
13a Rant from yours truly, engaged in commerce (6)
TIRADE — insert (engaged in) a pronoun that the setter (yours truly) might use to refer to themself into another word for commerce
15a A pound taken from Antipodean national (8)
AUSTRIAN — remove (taken from) the A from the clue and the letter used to represent a pound sterling from the name for a citizen of one of the Antipodean nations to get the name of a citizen of another nation
18a Dog‘s barking bored bishop, for example (8)
DOBERMAN — an anagram (barking/crazy) of BORED followed by what a bishop is an example of in a board game
19a Winter sport equipment includes extremely resplendent garments (6)
SKIRTS — place some winter sport equipment around (includes) the outer letters (extremely) of RESPLENDENT
21a Transmits banking advice for salaries (8)
STIPENDS — a synonym of transmits containing (banking/storing) a helpful hint
23a Knight clad in silver and gold – a kind of fabric (6)
ANGORA — the chess notation for knight contained in (clad in) the chemical symbol for silver, all of which is followed by the hereldic name for gold and the A from the clue
26a Arsenal’s wingers regularly earn time on the ball (5)
ALERT — this is a charade of the outer letters (…’s wingers) of ARSENAL, a regular sequence of letters taken from EARN (the solver is left to figure out which of the two possibilities to select), and the single letter for time
27a Endorsing article rambling across two pages (9)
APPROVING — a grammatical article and another word for rambling bookend (across) two instances of the footnote abbreviation for page
28a Something to eat for a picnic? (1,5,2,4)
A PIECE OF CAKE — the entire clue is a cryptic definition that incorporates two precise definitions, the first literal and the second figurative
Down
1d Long-suffering postman that is not disheartened (7)
PATIENT — concatenate an animated postman, the abbreviated Latin term for that is, and NOT with the letter at its heart removed (disheartened)
2d Something that happens still on 3rd of October (5)
EVENT — line up a synonym of still and the 3rd letter of OCTOBER
3d Cockney, maybe, and European equally affectionate (4-5)
EAST-ENDER — string together the single letter for European, an adverb meaning equally, and another term for affectionate
4d Quiche possibly bitter (4)
TART — double definition, the first a noun and the second an adjective
5d In Leicester, minuscule railway station? (8)
TERMINUS — a lurker, hiding in (in) words 2 and 3 of the clue
6d Undisguised clergyman turning up in part of Bible (5)
OVERT — the abbreviated title for a clergyman reversed (turning up in a down clue) contained in (in) the abbreviation for of one of the two collections of books constituting the Bible
7d Renoir, if touched up, is not as good (8)
INFERIOR — an anagram (touched up) of the first two words of the clue
8d Make logical arguments, dealing with a child (6)
REASON — link together two letters denoting dealing with or in the matter of, the A from the clue, and a male child
14d Religious teacher and Irish priest yakked (8)
RABBITED — a Jewish religious teacher and an exiled fictional Irish priest
16d Imitating aristocrat welcoming a monarch (6,3)
TAKING OFF — a disapproving informal term for an aristocrat wrapped around (welcoming) both the A from the clue and the title accorded some monarchs
17d Vehicle willing to tour front of dangerous bridge? (4,4)
CARD GAME — a motor vehicle and an informal adjective meaning willing or ready surround (to tour or go around) the initial letter of (front of) DANGEROUS
18d Expel from the pub that Diana owns (6)
DISBAR — the answer, if numerated (2’1,3), would denote a pub owned by Diana
20d Small kitchen item with oddly golden, glittering adornment (7)
SPANGLE — lay out the clothing symbol for small, a cooking vessel and the odd sequence of letters (oddly) taken from GOLDEN
22d Devour pate and starter of unappetising crackers (3,2)
EAT UP — an anagram (crackers) of all of PATE and the initial letter of (starter of) UNAPPETISING
24d Franco-German agreements for the board (5)
OUIJA — string together French and German words denoting agreement
25d Sin initially suppressed in part of church (4)
APSE — a non-specific term for sin LAPSE with its initial letter removed (initially suppressed)
Epilogue …
Quickie Pun (Top Row): BURR + DOVE + PRAY = BIRD OF PREY
Another great start to the week from Robyn. I was fooled for a while by 11a wanting it to begin with “en” until I realised I was looking at the wrong word in the clue. I liked Dianna’s pub at 18d and yours truly having a rant at 13a. However, my COTD is the picnic at 28a.
Thank you, Robyn for the fun challenge or to whomsoever if another compiled it. Thank you, Falcon for the blog and hints.
I agree Steve. I too expected it to start en. Until I remembered The Queen E from the bible & then it made sense.
Fun and gentle, with many potential favourites. I’m split between a couple with tenuous Ilkley connections: John Cunliffe, the creator of 1d’s long-suffering postman, used to live here (though I never met him); and 18a made me think of our friend David from church who used to be the Bishop of Barking — which sounds like some kind of insult, but is an actual real job title.
I also really liked 17d’s dangerous bridge, my last in, as well as 14d’s Irish priest, and 2d’s October 3rd (which is National Techies Day in the USA, in case anybody wishes to get a present for Mr K).
5d’s appearance is well-timed because it reminded me to get a dictionary out and flaunt it at Another Member Of The Household Who’s Generally Much Better At Spelling Than I Am: yesterday I said ‘minuscule’ was spelt thus, AMOTHWGMBASTIA was claiming otherwise, and I’d forgotten to claim my victory.
Thank you to Robyn? and Falcon, and Happy Penguin Awareness Day to all who celebrate.
Straightforward Monday fare with my tea still pleasantly warm by the end. I liked the surface of 21a, got a smile from 17d which needed all the checkers to drop, and my favourite was the lovely 24d (is there anybody there?). LOI was 10a because the question mark was too far from the definition for me to see it was a ‘by example’ clue. You live. You learn. */***
Watch that tea reference mate, I mentioned it once and got some really nasty comments for implying the puzzle was too easy.
“Pleasantly warm” not “hot”. Saying it was still hot would definitely put me in smug territory.
Plus: it was too easy. *checks window for arriving horde of flying monkeys*
No worse than ‘my only hold up was breaking my pencil’ as far as I can see.
A gentle start to ease us in nicely for the week.
The etymology of the board in 24d has nothing to do with the European agreements. It’s an Egyptian word meaning ‘Good luck’. It’s just a coincidence that one of the agreements is on the board in English.
To quote Mr Micklewhite…..not a lot of people know that.
My podium is 9a, 14d and 24d.
Many thanks to, I guess, Robyn and Falcs.
1*/4*
The OED disagrees with you, Tom: it says 24d’s etymology is uncertain, and lists 3 unsubstantiated explanations for it, including both of those you mention.
Hmm, interesting.
Does this Wikipedia entry trump (!) The OED?
Etymology:
The popular belief that the word Ouija comes from the French (oui) and German (ja) words for yes is a misconception. In fact, the name was given from a word spelled out on the board when medium Helen Peters Nosworthy asked the board to name itself. When asked what the word meant, it responded “Good Luck”.
I’ve just realised that I have printed the answer, Falcon. Apologies.
If you delete it, I can repost without mentioning it.
Sorry, once more.
I don’t think that is a crime from Monday to Friday inclusive (I would never say “Monday through Friday”.)
That’s for sure!
And this version (à la Droopy) makes me mad…..’Monday thru Friday’.
Hmmm, an anybody-can-edit website where a user has added a sentence starting “In fact”, or a dictionary produced by trained lexicographers who thoroughly research their entries and check each other’s work — who to trust? Maybe it depends on whether you’ve “had enough of experts”?
But when I wrote questions for Only Connect, every fact in an answer had to be referenced by 2 sources, and WIkipedia was not accepted by the question editor as a reliable source.
It would be nice to know where the dickos got their info from *
In my post below, I have said that I’ve read it and heard it from many people over the years.
So, it looks like it’s the old classic….”We’ll never know”.
* Can I get away with ‘dickos’ or is it ‘dickoes’? Let me check on Wikipedia…
Our setter must have looked in the BRB which firmly believes in the Franco-German agreement.
I thought the ‘good luck’ story was nailed on as I’ve heard that version so many times over the years.
Hoo nose.
Like Falcon, I was cruising through this as if it were a 28a until I hit the SW and hopes of a PB evaporated. I did enjoy 18d mind you. Thanks very much to Falcon and to the setter.
Very enjoyable, and proof that even the most gentle puzzles, when so expertly crafted, can be very satisfying indeed. I groaned at 26a – our wingers may earn time on the ball, but our strikers need to hit the back of the net more often, our defence is creaking, and I fear our season may already be over. Ho humm, it could be worse, we could be the Spuds!
Plenty of ticks, so podium places to 16a, 21a, 18d & runner-up 14d.
Many thanks indeed to the setter and to Falcon
This has to be one of my fastest solves ever, but none the less enjoyable for that, and more than made up for by the quickie which must have been approaching my slowest solve ever! No overall favourite, so 10a, 18a, 21a, 1d and 17d can vie for places on the podium. I’d better not attribute this to Robyn as I was wrong last time I did so, but thanks to whomsoever and to Falcon. No help needed today but Father Ted raised a laugh.
I sailed through this puzzle until I hit the SW quadrant and then juddered to a halt. Eventually I got to grips with it and staggered over the line. COTD 18D.
The temperature this morning at 6.30 a.m. when I joined the Tai Chi gang gathered at the local exercise park was a chilly 21 degrees C which meant a number of the Thais arrived in cardigans and with various other extra layers of clothing.
Thanks for the hints and to the setter.
Reasonable for Monday and quite enjoyable to solve. Best clues for me were 3d, 17d and my LOI 24d. It took me ages to get that. Thanks to the setter and to Falcon for the hints.
Excellent puzzle. Thought the Quick one if anything the more demanding of the two. 21a my fav with podium spots for 14d&18a as they brought to mind two great comedy shows.
Thanks to Robyn (surely?) & to Falcon
Phil Silvers is in my top five with Oliver Norvell Hardy, Groucho, Eric Morecambe and Tommy Cooper.
He was a genius in Sergeant Bilko.
1*/4*. This was light and fun as it should be on a Monday with 28a my favourite.
Without thinking it through, when I first looked at 15a I wondered if A could be the definition as the abbreviation for the answer. A quick check in my BRB revealed the following seemingly illogical information: “A” can stand for America and American; Australia and Australian; and Austria but not Austrian. Then I realised it didn’t matter for this clue as the definition was not A. 🤔
Many thanks to the setter (Robyn?) and to Falcon.
A very enjoyable Monday challenge which appears to have Robyn’s ‘fingerprints’ all over it – 1.5*/4*
Candidates for favourites – 10a, 11a, 28a, 1d, and 17d – and the winner is 11a.
Thanks to Robyn, or whomsoever if it is not he, and thanks to Falcon.
Read and write this morning. I liked 24d. Thanks to today’s setter & Falcon.
A gentle easing in to the crossword week with several smiles from some of the clues. Top marks here went to 12&21a plus 1&17d.
I’m guessing that this was a Robyn production so my thanks to him and also to Falcon for the review.
It’s pretty much an ideal Monday crossword-wise with Arachne in the Guardian and Robyn (I assume) here. Thanks to our setter and Falcon.
My ticks included 10a, 21a, 17d and 18d.
Thanks for the Arachne nod – I don’t always get round to the Graun but glad I did as her puzzles always a treat.
Very enjoyable with lots of fun clues. I liked many of the clues but 28a was my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Falcon for the hints.
Very enjoyable. Like others I, too, was held up briefly by the SW corner but after a bit of thought, it all fell gently into place. Many good clues from which I’ll pick a podium of 10a, 18a and 28a in top spot. Thanks to Robyn (?) and Falcon
A very gentle Monday, with some delightful moments. 24d had my brain barking up all the wrong alleys before I saw it. Great clue!
I was flying through this one until – like Falcon – I spent the same time again struggling with 17d and 21a for some reason, as when the penny finally dropped they were pretty obvious, but isn’t that the art of great puzzle setting? Something which Robyn is particularly good at!
*/****
Thanks to Falcon and Robyn (I assume)
Whoosh, what was that? That was your crossword mate!
Easiest Monday offering in yonks, over in a flash, will now have to find something else to do to keep me amused for a bit.
Ta to our setter today for a mild start to the week.
Pot, kettle, black. You suggest it was easier than a cup of warm tea! 🤣 Unfortunately I was not mystic enough to agree, as 24d took a while to emerge from the afterlife!
Guilty as charged!
A lot of fun. 28a my fav.
Nice gentle start to the week. A pure 28 across.
Cotd 1 down, reminding me of Ricky Gervais in “Life’s too Short”! 🤣
A swift solve for me and one of my quickest ever. 21a is a word I have heard of but never used and didn’t know the meaning , so learnt something. Lovely start to the week. Thanks to setter and Falcon
Great guzzle. Completed without help – a rarity for me.
Never mind The Gooner’s wingers, we’re off to Stamford Bridge to watch the Mighty Chelsea take on the Wolves of Wolverhampton (probably took a committee to decide on that nickname). My Chelsea are on a poor run and my 24d says we will be defeated tonight. It feels like a critical game – win and we hurtle back into the top four; lose and we are tumbling back down towards tenth and beyond (next game – away to Manchester City!)
Think of me in my thermals as you toast crumpets by your roaring fire.
Thanks to the setter and The Bird Of Prey in Odàwàg.
Oh ye of little faith. A resounding win to banish the recent poor form. Don’t they put the radiators on in hospitality? 😉
A lovely puzzle to start the week. I was away in Cornwall birdwatching at the weekend so did the two prize cryptics back to back last night but too late to comment.
I liked today’s quickie pun which was quite apt as we went to see a booted eagle.
Top picks for me were 21a, 17d and 10a
Thanks to Falcon and the setter.
A gentle start to the week until I got a bit held up in the south west. Then I spotted the barking dog – no, not a Dalmatian – and so it was game over. I liked 10a and 22 d amused me but no standout favourite today. The quickie pun gave me far more trouble – I suppose that is the opposite of hawk but I was looking at sales. Many thanks to Messrs Setter and Hinter both.
I found this Monday a tad trickier than has been the norm. Maybe it is just me. Nonetheless managed to get through it relatively unscathed, but had to put on my thinking cap in quite a few areas across the grid.
2*/3.5*
Favourites 15a, 19a, 23a, 2d, 14d & 24d — with winner 14d
Smiles form 2d, 3d & 24d
Thanks to Robyn(?) & Falcon
Splendid start to the day. Glad to see our setter used 24 d to know the 3 rd Oct was my birthday. Favourites 28 a. and 24 d. The consensus seems to favour thanking Robyn and of course Falcon
It’s my birthday too! Sadly ‘my birthday’ is more than 5 letters. And thank you Smylers for telling us it’s also National Techies Day in the USA.
I solved some of this in Specsavers waiting for my appointment and finished it later. SW needed some head scratching but I got there. Thanks to setter for an enjoyable puzzle and Falcon for the hints.
I can’t claim my birthday is 3rd October because it’s today. 😊
Happy Birthday, Steve.
Ta. 😊
Celebrating with a lovely malt in bed while contemplating which book to listen to on Audible.
A nice start to the week 😃 ***/**** Lots of clever & amusing clues: 10a, 6d, 17d, 24. Thanks to Robyn and to the Falcon “shiver your timbers” 🥶
In the cool, cool, cool of the morning
This one seemed most fair
In the cool, cool, cool of the morning
Ere breakfast filled the air –
When the sitter’s setting a good one
And Falcon’s in the chair
You can tell them I was there.
A most enjoyable start to the week and great compensation for the hard slog that was the quickie. Too many favourites to choose from! Thanks to the setter and Falcon – the thought of -25° made me shiver. It’s a balmy 22° here!
I agree about the Quickie, Lanzalily. I think it’s the first time I have found it to be harder than the cryptic.
I’ve often found the so-called quick crossword to be harder than the cryptic: it feels like half of each clue is missing!
A lovely start to the week, with the only fly in the ointment being 17d, which was my last in, but offset by the LOL 16d. I’ve never thought of 23a as a fabric, only as a type of wool. A very fair and enjoyable puzzle proving once again they don’t have to be extra chewy to be fun. Thanks to Robyn and Falcon.
Re us Floridians being fragile when it comes to the cold, we are as Merusa says “hot house plants”. You take your orchid out of the warm conservatory and put it outside in the winter and it’s not going to be very happy either. We are definitely cold weather wimps.
Enjoyable and more straightforward than most. Many thanks to the setter and all who contribute to this blog – it has helped me so much in recent years.
Just caught Lizzie’s post, soooo true.we Floridians are wimps.
I had people in and out of here all morning, impossible to solve a crossword! I’ve finished, all done with Falcon’s help for my final three. I thank Dickens for 21a, and my neighbour for 11a, every now and then I call her Queen. My fave was 28a.
Thank you Robyn for the Monday fun, and Falcon for his help long the way!
……and I say thank goodness for Dickens.
Keep smiling, Merusa.
All went well but the wise bird took as long to solve as the rest of the puzzle … thank you compiler and Falcon
An enjoyable solve and a good start to the week. If I’m being honest, I thought the Quickie was harder in places! Many thanks to the setter and Falcon.
A pleasant start to the week, only hold up being 11a, wanting to start with en and not being familiar with Persian queens! A lot easier than the quickie.
Thanks to setter and Falcon
Oh dear! I needed the hint to parse 1a as I had ‘at work’ as present and couldn’t parse the rest, never thought of an anagram. Second embarrassing moment was that I’d entered an incorrect checking letter in 7d for 10a and even though I had the right bird it took me far too long to notice. I’m placing the blame firmly and squarely on the fact that I’ve pulled a muscle in my ribcage and painkillers just don’t seem to take the pain away. Favourite was 28a. Thanks to Robyn and Falcon.
You have my sympathies TG. After my ungainly but rather spectacular fall backwards on the 1st fairway at Porters Park not so long ago I bruised my ribs at the back & it was none too pleasant. Hopefully it gets better for you a darn sight quicker than mine did 🤞.
Good evening
An enjoyable solve and perfectly pitched for a Monday, with just enough going on, especially in the SW quadrant, I found, to stop you from taking Monday’s relative ease of access for granted.
10a and 18a tie for COTD.
Many thanks to Robyn and Falcon
Easy and interesting puzzle worthy of a Monday. Thank you Robyn and Falcon.
Candidates for COTD 28a, 3d, 1d and 17d The pick of them was 28a. LOI 11a, we also thought it began en!
2*/4* ….
liked 10A “Wise bird circling island (5)”