DT 30833 (full review) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30833 (full review)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30833

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 25th January 2025

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

Greetings from Kolkata. A straightforward and very entertaining Saturday puzzle from NYDK that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback.

Io, featuring as the answer to part of the wordplay in 20a, was discovered by Galileo Galilei and is the innermost of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons, the other being Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. I learnt from the net that these four moons were the first objects discovered to orbit a body that was not Earth or the Sun. Further, Jupiter has 95 moons that are official recognised by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). However, there are likely far too many more moons that have yet to be discovered since the giant planet has thousands of small objects in its orbit.

Skeleton, the answer to the clue of 21a, was known by me as also a winter sliding sport, through solving a puzzle in the year gone by. I further learnt from the net that skeleton and bobsled are not the same sport, although they are both winter sliding sports that take place on the same track and are governed by the same governing body i.e. International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation; the key difference is that in bobsled, athletes ride in a sled seated upright, while in skeleton, athletes lie face down on a smaller sled, sliding head-first down the track. Bobsled is typically a team sport with two to four athletes, while skeleton is an individual sport. Bobsled athletes steer using ropes within the sled, while skeleton athletes steer by shifting their body weight. There is also a third winter sliding sport called luge that is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds face-up and feet-first. Luge is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course. The skeleton sled is thinner and heavier than the luge sled, and skeleton gives the rider more precise control of the sled. Skeleton is the slowest of the three sliding sports, as skeleton’s face-down, head-first riding position is less aerodynamic than luge’s face-up, feet-first ride. All the three sports are included in the Winter Olympics.

While reading more about the little green men in the internet, the answer to the clue of combined 28a & 27a, I learnt that a former Israeli space security chief had claimed that there is “underground base in the depths of Mars” inhabited by green extraterrestrials.

Quill, part of the wordplay to the clue of 6d, took me down memory lane. In our house, my maternal grandmother used to rear hens and ducks and thus she hardly bought eggs from the market. She gave me the idea of writing with a quill. One day, she plucked out one from a duck and finely cut the end part of it, shaping it into a nib and I remember using that for writing, dipping it several times into the ink-pot of the fountain pen that I also had and used in school and for doing homework. It was the beauty of the feather that kept my interest in writing with it for quite some time. In those days, I saw people writing letters in a good gesture, using quills, for the local old-age people whose sons were working overseas, especially as seamen.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a          Goddess appears following credit crunch (6)
CRISIS: ISIS (goddess) as the major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion appears preceded by or coming after (following) CR (credit) as the abbreviation for credit, leading to the definition of an informal term meaning crunch or a crucial point or situation, typically one at which a decision with important consequences must be made

5a          Range of mushrooms about right to fill belly (8)
SPECTRUM: The definition of the range of colour produced by a prism or diffraction grating is fetched from CEPS (mushrooms) as the plural of a type of edible mushroom of the Boletus genus with a brown shiny cap and white underside coming from the other side (about) as a reversal in the across side followed by R (right) as the abbreviation for right to enter (fill) TUM (belly) as a contraction for tummy, a colloquial or childish term for a stomach

10a        Backed team stopped by court decrees (6)
EDICTS: SIDE (team) as a sports team retreated (backed) as drawn back as a reversal in the across clue interrupted by getting inside (stopped by) CT (court) as the abbreviation for court takes to the definition of the plural of an official order or proclamation issued by a person in authority, an example of which is a decree that is an official order having the force of law

11a        Nasty moment – one warm kiss leads to split! (4,4)
NEAR MISS: The definition of a phrase meaning nasty moment, close shave or narrow escape is reached from the leading or the first letters (leads) subject to leave or go away (split) of [O]NE [W]ARM [K]ISS

12a        Retiree’s seen pro-alien god moving mysteriously? (3-3,9)
OLD-AGE PENSIONER: The definition of a person who has reached old age and getting a pension, especially under a national system, an example of which is a retiree or a person who has retired from an occupation or profession, mostly at old age is arrived at from an anagram (moving mysteriously) of SEEN PRO-ALIEN GOD

16a        Vital article one friend finally read (8)
ANIMATED: The definition of an adjective meaning lively, vital or full of spirit is got from AN (article) as one of the indefinite articles, I (one) as the Roman numeral for one, MATE (friend) as an informal term for a friend or companion and the final or ultimate letter (finally) of [REA]D

18a        Painter having bizarre traits (6)
ARTIST: The definition of a painter or draughtsman is obtained from an anagram (bizarre) of TRAITS

20a        Boss attending satellite TV workplace? (6)
STUDIO: STUD (boss) as projecting boss, knob or pin going to (attending) IO (satellite) as a moon of Jupiter and the most volcanically active world in the solar system forming a charade guides to the definition of a workshop for photography, cinematography, radio or television broadcasting, the making of sound recordings etc

21a        Bob going downhill – painfully thin appearance? (8)
SKELETON: Double definition; the second referring to something reduced to its basic or minimal parts or with a painfully thin or emaciated appearance that takes to the first denoting a skeleton bob that a sportsperson rides, in a winter sliding sport, down a frozen track with face lying down and head-first riding position

22a and 14 Down            Film format grated with me, a Eurosceptic (2,4,4,5,5)
IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE: An anagram (grated) of a combo of FORMAT and (with) ME A EUROSCEPTIC leads to the definition of a 1953 American science fiction horror film, the first in the 3D process from Universal-International

27a        See 28 Across

28a and 27 Across          Race from the 2 Down in meadow flanked by dwarves? (6,5,3)
LITTLE GREEN MEN: The definition of a type of men imagined as originating in parts of the universe other than our earth, an example of which could be as a race from the Red Planet, the answer to 2d is got from GREEN (meadow) as a small area of grassland, especially in the centre of a village, an example of which is a tract of grassland, either in its natural state or used as pasture or for growing hay surrounded (flanked) by LITTLE MEN (dwarves) as referring to dwarves or people of short height

29a        Force breaches defences (8)
RAMPARTS: A charade of RAM (force) as a verb meaning to roughly force something into place and PARTS (breaches) as another verb in the third person present tense singular form meaning divides, splits or breaches guides to the definition of the plural of a defensive wall of a castle or walled city, having a broad top with a walkway and typically a stone parapet

30a        See people at such council meetings? (6)
SYNODS: A cryptic definition of the plural of the meeting or assembly of the ecclesiastical council and sometimes also the laity or the lay or ordinary people in a diocese or see that is the political jurisdiction of a bishop

Down

2d          Bolshevik aircraft on time – in another world (3,6)
RED PLANET: RED (Bolshevik) as a revolutionary or a person who favours sweeping changes, variously applied to radical, republican, anarchist, socialist, communist etc, an example of which is a Bolshevik who is a violent revolutionary Marxist communist followed by PLANE (aircraft) as short for aeroplane or airplane, that is any heavier than air power-driven flying-machine, an example of which is an aircraft i.e. any structure or machine for travelling in the air placed upon (on) T (time) as the symbol for time in physics in the down clue forming a charade takes to the definition of the sobriquet of the fourth planet from the Sun whose surface is orange-red because it is covered in ferric oxide dust and whose actual name is Mars

3d          Networking platforms misrepresented Mosaic ideal (6,5)
SOCIAL MEDIA: The definition of all the networking platforms and apps that allow people, creators and businesses to communicate with one another, create online communities, exchange ideas and share content is derived from an anagram (misrepresented) of MOSAIC IDEAL

4d          Woman in uniform is given lift in south-east (5)
SUSIE: The definition of a feminine name of Hebrew origin that means ‘lily’ and is a diminutive form of Susan, Susanna or Suzanne is arrived at from a combo of U (uniform) as the letter represented by Uniform in the NATO phonetic alphabet and a reversal in the down clue (given lift) of IS from the clue going upwards (given lift) placed inside (in) SE (south-east) as the abbreviation for south-east

6d          Order feathers on breaking quill? (5)
PREEN: The definition of a verb meaning of a bird, to tidy and clean its feathers with its beak is obtained from RE (on) as a commercial jargon used to indicate ‘concerning’, ‘regarding’ ‘on’ or ‘about’ splitting or getting inside (breaking) PEN (quill) as a long, thin object for writing, an example of which is a quill that serves as a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather of a large bird, especially a goose

7d          Dog sent up in big rocket (5)
CORGI: The definition of a Welsh breed of dog, having a foxlike head and short legs is part of or hidden inside (in) [B]IG ROC[KET] seen going upwards (sent up) as a reversal in the down clue

8d          Abdicate leaving son to rule (5)
REIGN: RE[S]IGN (abdicate) as to abdicate, renounce or give up, especially power, as of monarchs and emperor or duties and obligations not including (leaving) S (son) as the genealogical abbreviation for son takes to the definition of a verb meaning to rule or exercise sovereign power or authority

9d          Reform backer, despicable person, odorous animal (7)
MUSKRAT: A charade of MUSK (reform backer) as the surname of the US billionaire who showed his interest in backing the UK Reform Party and whose full name is Elon Musk and RAT (despicable person) as a colloquial term for a despicable person directs to the definition of a musk-shrew or a musky-smelling Indian shrew, known also by the name musquash

13d        Ultimate consumer’s rudeness almost criminal (3-4)
END-USER: The definition of the ultimate consumer of a finished product deduced from an anagram (criminal) of RUDENES[S] that is having most of the letters (almost)

14d        See 22 Across

15d        Precisely where to press? (2,3,6)
ON THE BUTTON: Double phrasal definition; the second being one of the obvious answers to the question ‘Where to press?’ indicating a button that needs to be pressed to perform a certain action, without being very specific like ‘the yellow button on the top right corner’, ‘the green button on the bottom left corner’ or the like, that guides to the first that is colloquially for adverbs meaning precisely, exactly or punctually

17d        Figure of speech in sonnet’s last line (5)
TROPE: The definition of a figure of speech, properly one in which a word or expression is used in other than its literal sense is framed from the last or terminal letter (last) of [SONNE]T (sonnet’s) followed by ROPE (line) as a strong, thick line or cord or a line formed out of a row of fastened objects or a local linear measure of 20 feet

19d        Toboggan taken round slum cleared snow? (9)
SHOVELLED: SLED (toboggan) as another term for sledge i.e. a drag or wheelless structure for conveying goods, especially on snow, formerly for taking the condemned to execution, an example of which is a toboggan i.e. a long narrow flat sledge turned up in front, used on snow and ice surrounding or encircling (taken round) HOVEL (slum) as a small or wretched dwelling, an example of which is a slum that is a squalid overcrowded house or a neighbourhood leads to the definition of a verb in the past tense meaning cleared snow with the help of a tool that looks like a spade with a short handle from the path of moving vehicles to enable free flow of traffic

20d        One to inform about wife who swaps partners (7)
SWINGER: SINGER (one to inform) as a slang North American term for an informer placed around (about) W (wife) as the genealogical definition for wife takes to the definition of a slang term for a person who engages freely in group sex or in the swapping of sexual partners

23d        Best start for Chris Rea on motorway (5)
CREAM: The definition of a noun meaning the best one or most essential part of something is got from the starting or initial letter (start) for C[HRIS], followed by REA from the clue placed upon (on) M (motorway) as the abbreviation for motorway in the down clue

24d        Delicious food in fashion are we told? (5)
MANNA: The definition of a noun denoting delicious food for body or mind is fetched from MANNER (fashion) as the fashion, method or way in which anything is done serving as a homophone heard by the audience (are we told?)

25d        Flying boats? (5)
FLEET: Double definition; the second being a noun referring to a number of ships or boats under one command or sailing together that leads to the first an adjective meaning swift, winged or flying

26d        Beauty marks deep cover agents (5)
MOLES: Double definition; the second referring to undercover or secret agents, especially in the military, as hired by a state to obtain information about its enemies or spies, especially in the industry, each spy successfully infiltrating a rival organisation and obtaining industrial secrets from competitors that guides to the first denoting the plural of a small spot or raised mark on the skin that is also known as a nevus or a beauty mark or beauty spot

There were several clues that I liked in this puzzle such as 5a, 11a, 28a/27a, 30a, 2d, 6d, 7d, 9d, 15d and 20d; 9d being the top of them all. My prayers to the Almighty for the eternal rest and peace of BD and my thanks to NYDK for the entertainment and to Gazza for the assistance. Looking forward to seeing you here again. Have a nice day.

3 comments on “DT 30833 (full review)
Leave your own comment 

  1. 3*/4* ….
    liked 8D “Abdicate leaving son to rule (5)”
    interesting to hear about the claim of the Israeli space security chief !

  2. Any chance of showing the explanation but keeping the answer hidden? It spoils our enjoyment of the solving by seeing the answer first. Thanks.

    1. As I said last time you raised this, because the full review explains the parsing in full, there is little point in hiding the solution. The full reviews of prize puzzles have been like this ever since the beginning of the blog, sixteen years ago

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