Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30850
Hints and tips by Mr K
a+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - +
BD Rating - Difficulty ***** - Enjoyment **
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I found this puzzle tough to solve and to parse and not a lot of fun.
In the hints below most indicators are italicized, and underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions. Clicking on the answer buttons will reveal the answers. In some hints hyperlinks provide additional explanation or background. Clicking on a picture will enlarge it or display a bonus illustration and a hover (computer) or long press (mobile) might explain more about the picture. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
1a Area outside Sunderland essentially writers chose for adaptation (14)
WORCESTERSHIRE: An anagram (for adaptation) of WRITERS CHOSE containing (outside) the central letters (essentially) of SUNDERLAND
8a Home for llamas, one large enough? (5)
TIBET: Can’t parse this one , so over to you. See Rabbit Dave’s explanation below @Comment 1. Thanks, RD!
9a A lot not working originally in dumps (8)
OFFLOADS: A lot or tons comes after (… originally) “not working” or “not on”
11a Figure outspoken detective denied having point of view (9)
RECTANGLE: Outspoken or frank minus the abbreviation for a Detective Inspector, all followed by a point of view or opinion
12a Women's shocked expression seeing one proceeding to court (5)
WOOER: The clothing abbreviation for women’s with an informal expression of shock
13a Square, partly Georgian, in Edinburgh (4)
NINE: The answer is hidden in (partly) the remainder of the clue
14a Worried by element beginning to spoon-feed newborn babies (8)
NEONATES: Putting the bits in order, join together a chemical element that’s a noble gas, a synonym of worried, and the beginning letter to SPOON-FEED
17a Suspect that rower almost is creating trouble (3,5)
HOT WATER: An anagram (suspect) of THAT ROWER minus its last letter (almost)
19a Fine food by the sound of it (4)
FAIR: A homophone (by the sound of it) of a synonym of food
23a Barely grateful for rent (5)
LEASE: Another word for grateful or satisfied minus its outer letters (barely)
24a Alert when showing dribbling skills, perhaps ... (2,3,4)
ON THE BALL: The answer might whimsically describe a footballer who is dribbling
25a ... Arsenal develop amazing energy (8)
MAGAZINE: An anagram (develop) of AMAZING with the physics symbol for energy
26a Stages of auxiliary work in retirement (5)
PODIA: An auxiliary or helper with the usual abbreviated musical work, all reversed (in retirement)
27a Marilyn Monroe was one from album Alan regularly pointed out (8,6)
PLATINUM BLONDE: An anagram (out) of ALBUM + [a]L[a]N (regularly) + POINTED
Down
1d Oasis sound inspires extremely adept English band (8,4)
WATERING HOLE: Sound or complete contains (inspires) the fusion of the outer letters (extremely) of ADEPT, the single letter for English, and a band or circle
2d Polish pin-up reaches point where comeback's impossible? (7)
RUBICON: A synonym of polish with a pin-up or celebrity
3d Catch and share new disease ultimately going around (6)
ENTRAP: The fusion of a share or ration, the single letter for new, and the last letter (ultimately) of DISEASE, all reversed (going around)
4d Admitting opinion briefly (6)
THOUGH: An opinion or idea minus its last letter (briefly)
5d Run cables across Spain, they may need testing? (8)
REFLEXES: Join together the cricket abbreviation for run, the IVE code for Spain, and another word for electrical cables
6d Deceive Robin maybe over short period of time (8)
HOODWINK: The surname of Nottingham’s Robin is followed by a short period of time
7d Old soldier - or cadet being trained? (7)
REDCOAT: An anagram (being trained) of OR CADET
10d Handout with instruction how to undo seat belt? (5,7)
PRESS RELEASE: The answer might whimsically be an instruction for how to undo a seat belt
15d Get involved in heartless attack (4,4)
TAKE PART: Another one that I’m throwing open to the commentariat See Rabbit Dave’s explanation below @Comment 1. Thanks, RD!
16d Love oddly ignored society set up in county (8)
DEVOTION: Even letters (oddly ignored) of SOCIETY are reversed (set up) and inserted in a county on the south coast of England
18d Old Labour promotional film Virginia plugs (7)
TRAVAIL: Another word for a short or promotional film containing the abbreviation for the US state of Virginia
20d Forsake reckless behaviour (7)
ABANDON: A double definition
21d Burn flag after deposing European king (6)
STREAM: A flg or pennat minus (ideposing) the single letter for European and the Latin abbreviation for king
22d Foreign correspondent very severe about Portugal (3,3)
PEN PAL: Very severe or punitive containing (about) the IVR code for Portugal
Thanks to today’s setter. Which clues did you like best?
The Quick Crossword pun: CHEWED + AROSE = TUDOR ROSE
5*/5*. I found this extremely challenging, especially in the NW corner, but it was so enjoyable that it was well worth the effort of teasing out the answers with PDMs aplenty.
I suspect that this is the handiwork of Mr Smooth but with his Toughie hat on, although why not on a Friday?
Any single one of these clues would be worthy of the mantle of favourite, but I am not going to risk the wrath of Kath by listing them all.
Many thanks to Silvanus (?) and to Mr K.
Mr K, having just read your review, my interpretations are:
8a – the answer is the home for llamas with only one L.
15d – take a two word phrase (4,5) meaning “attack” and remove the middle letter (“heartless”)
P.S. I think that the first two words need to be underlined as the definition for 1a.
Well done Dave, good explanations/reasoning
Welcome to the blog, Steve M.
What did you think of the puzzle?
Welcome from me, as well, Steve M. I hope we hear from you again. 👍
No, the word outside is the instruction the put the anagram around the ER.
Indeed, thank you pommers.
So was this one of yours Silvanus?
Thanks, pommers, that makes sense. Although “outside” is necessary for the surface, I was misled regarding the parsing, which doesn’t need it as the ER can be treated as part of the anagram fodder.
Thanks, RD. I’ve edited the blog to direct readers to your fine explanations.
I agree with Mr K that this was tough. I thought ****/** and with apologies to the setter not particularly satisfying although it did have its moments. I needed the hints to understand 8&27a and 1,3 and 10d with 14a a new one for me but just guessable! I thought 12a rather good. Thanks Mr K and the setter.
I can’t parse 8a or 15d either
Welcome to the blog, Victoria B.
See Rabbit Dave’s explanations at comment #1.
What did you think of the puzzle?
Welcome, Victoria B. Please do comment again.
Is the parsing of 8a not the home country of a llama with one of the letters l removed? I had a shower of confetti when I submitted the grid with this mountainous country
8a take an L off llamas and it’s the home of the priests that live there…..
15d stick an a in and you get a term for attack I suppose
15d remove the middle letter of phrase (heartless) meaning to destroy or dismantle.
A winger might do this to a full back, colloquially
Totally agree with Mr K, 5*****/2** a lot of reverse engineering going on!
I concur with RD’s assessment of who today’s setter is but I only found it somewhat more challenging than yesterday’s Toughie. Plenty of careful thought required to decrypt many of the clues but that is to be expected on a Friday. 3.5*/4.5*
Candidates for favourite – 8a, 1d, 2d, and 10d – and the winner is 1d.
Thanks to Silvanus, for it must be he, and thanks to Mr K.
Happy Friday to all:
Thanks, Senf. Given your RAF background, maybe I could persuade you to include the theme from either 633 Squadron, The Battle of Britain or even TMMITFM (see below) in your Sunday blog to mark Mr Goodwin’s centenary?
Consider it done!
Goody! 👍
After the first pass, things looked uphill, but gradually it opened up and was eventually completed. I am also struggling to parse 8a and 15d. Otherwise there were some cracking clues, 2d and 5d for a start. Despite the parsing problems, a very enjoysble crossword. Thanks to whoever the setter is, and for the hints.
Good fun. I liked deconstructing MM, one going to court among others. All very fair clues, albeit a step up from recent days.
Thanks Mr K, I’ll have a look at the hints now, and also to the setter of course
I sat down to this at 5.30 this morning and maybe it was just the benefit of a good night’s sleep and that first cup of tea, but I had the fortune to tune-in straightaway (in the S, having just put in all the bars, at 22d) and swift progress was made in a northerly & clockwise direction, such that this took scarcely more time than an early-week crossword (so a 2* at most), with great enjoyment and much satisfaction on completion.
Cracking clues throughout, maybe one or two very slightly strained surfaces. A generous dollop of anagrams and some nice cryptics & bits of lego. Podium places to the very clever 8a, brilliant 12a, and my FOI, 22d, for its great surface, with runner-up 1d – not a band whose music I ever managed to like.
It’s all very well Arsenal developing amazing energy, but all our main strikers are now off with major injuries, so the next few months will be nerve-racking!
Thank you setter (Zandio?) and Mr K
Oh dear. Far too much electronic help required today for it to be entirely pleasurable, but sheer determination got me there in the end. Like Mr K the one I couldn’t parse was 8a but reading Rabbit Dave’s explanation it was a very clever clue. Unusually for me my favourite was the anagram at 27a, since it was a little devious in it’s construction. Podium places for 26a and 6d. Thanks to our setter and Mr K.
Very hard. With perseverance I finished it but little enjoyment. *****/*.
Tough indeed and guesswork rather than interpretation of the wordplay was what enabled .me to fill in some of tbe clues.by isolating the defi nition. 1a was a clevey hidden anagrm a d 9a a clever lego clue. My favourite clue, however, ws the cryptic double definition at 10a. It wasnt precisely an enjoyable guzzle but I obtained some satisfaction out of finishing it. Thanks for the mega-challenge mr compiler. Thanks to Mr K for the hints(that must have been a tricky job) which I shallnow read so as to understnd the parsing of some of the clues.
I have been developing my crossword skills for nearly four years and recently completed my first ever crossword with a difficulty rating of **** but with this one, I couldn’t even get the answers with the help from Mr K. I felt the setter was a bit harsh with the clues. I still don’t get the llamas clue but at least I got to know two words I’d never come across before, courtesy of 14A and 26A.
Your comment went into moderation as you included your surname in your alias – both should work from now on.
There is plenty of discussion on (l)lamas (one large enough) in the comments above.
I enjoyed today’s offering. I must have been on wavelength for once. I parsed 8a as the third word without its “L”, which is the country where the Dalai is. I see others parsed it the same way. There were plenty off clues vying for the top spot but I will nominate 6d as my COTD.
Thank you, setter for the fun challenge. Thank you, Mr. K. for the hints.
Perks chasing a fly.
Great photograph! I like the antler handled walking stick too.
Made by a friend for my 60th birthday. It’s a twisted stick as well. He made a horn whistle to go with it.
I am sure the Dalai would love to be there but since the Chinese annexing of 8a he is usually in India (Dharamshala)
Is that an enormous Easter egg in next door’s garden?
No it’s their rotating summerhouse! Cost them thousands and they rarely use it.
I thought this was excellent. I must have tuned into the setter’s wavelength because I didn’t find it too tricky. My last in was 5d.
Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K.
2*/4.5*.
Now for a peak at Osmosis in the other puzzle.
I was so careful not to write peke, I skipped over peek!
I needed the help on here to parse 15d but apart from that found it tricky but enjoyable. I also took 3a to be the home of the Dalai lamas but still don’t understand the one large enough part unless it refers to Mt Everest.
Top picks for me were 1d, 6d and 21a.
Thanks to Mr K and the setter.
I took it to mean that only one “L” was enough, Madflower.
Thanks Steve. That makes total sense now 😃
[*** REDACTED ***]
Thx for the hints
Oh, Brian don’t shout. It upsets me so.
Brian, you will be disappointed as you will ‘run into him/her (this setter) again’ quite often!
Another song for Brian (apologies to Lennon and McCartney):
I just sigh when words won’t fly
My, oh my
On this Friday my old brainbox sighs
Wonder why.
I must ask Brian
Why he’s an angry guy.
It’s only fun and that is all
Why should you feel the way you do?
It’s only fun and that is all
But it’s so hard
Hearing you
Hearing you.
👏👏
Brian, you are now in moderated status. Your future comments will require approval by a blog editor. Any comments that would require redaction to comply with BD’s comment etiquette will simply not appear.
Please keep commenting Brian. I look forward to reading them!
He will but under moderation. 😊
Go easy on Brian.Perhaps he suffers from some form of autism. I’m sure he doesn’t intent to be offensive.
Another puzzle with very different reviews.
Some found it very hard others not so. But a good Friday challenge nevertheless
I thought it was not looking promising on first glance but the bottom half went in and finished in the NE in good time.
Clues were fair and a nice amount of misdirection. ***/*****. Thanks to all
Pretty tricky (as Friday puzzles should be) but very enjoyable. Thanks to our setter and Mr K.
Top clues for me were 8a, 12a, 26a and 6d.
Thought this Friday puzzle was gentler than a lot of them can be. Thought there may be a bit of a Valentine theme, but not to be.
1.5*/3.5*
Favourites 13a, 24a, 27a, 6d & 21d — with winner 13a
I got a good chuckle from 10d too!!
Thanks to setter & Mr K.
I found this a lot easier than yesterday’s puzzle for some reason. Maybe the flu bug is finally receding? Thanks Mr K for explanations for 8a and 15d – really liked 5d and 6d (great word!) and thanks to the setter.
Very proud to complete this without help, even managing to parse 8A and 15D! I will admit to some reverse engineering to parse possible answers.
Thanks to the setter.
If this was indeed the work of Silvanus I found it considerably more testing than his Toughie yesterday. Indeed, this would not have been out of place if it had appeared in that slot towards the end of the week. But, unlike some of our usual suspects, just because it is difficult and testing doesn’t make it a bad puzzle, merely harder to solve. A few years ago I would have not finished it; now, having learned to treat each word and phrase within the clue on their own merits, and looking for hidden meanings and different synonyms, I can approach tough crosswords with confidence. That is due in no small part to the help offered on this site. So don’t give up, persevere and you will eventually win through.
As for a favourite, it is a pin job, and the winner is 11a.
Thanks to Silvanus, or to whomsoever compiled this gem, and to Mr K.
“A few years ago I would have not finished it; now, having learned to treat each word and phrase within the clue on their own merits, and looking for hidden meanings and different synonyms, I can approach tough crosswords with confidence. That is due in no small part to the help offered on this site.”
That is so very true, YS – having had decades away from crosswords myself, when at last I returned to the fold I could barely do a Monday grid, and this site has been quite invaluable for its advice and assistance. Daily practice may not make perfect, but it certainly makes for a great degree of confidence when picking up a new crossword … at least until I start reading the clues!
With this wonderful site BD’s legacy is quite remarkable, and he has given us all so much.
Ooof, that was hard going after sailing through yesterday’s offering. I got there in the end by deducing/guessing the four long answers at the edges and then working inwards. The bottom half actually wasn’t’ too bad but I found the NW particularly tough. Thanks very much anyway to the setter for forcing my slightly hungover brain cells into action and to Mr K for the invaluable assistance with some of the parsing.
Many thanks to Mr K for his Hints and Tips and to everyone solving and commenting.
RD is spot on regarding 8a and 15d, I’m sorry that our blogger was left scratching his head on those two. I am very flattered that two of my fellow Telegraph setters have privately congratulated me on the clue for 8a, so those solvers who liked it are in very good company!
I don’t normally include musical links when commenting, but today I am going to make an exception. Next Monday marks the centenary of the birth of someone whom I have always considered to be one of our finest ever film composers, but who perhaps doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. Tomorrow afternoon on BBC Radio 3 there will be a tribute programme to him. He contributed scores to dozens of films, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, with 633 Squadron, The Battle of Britain, Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines, Force Ten From Navarone, Hitchcock’s Frenzy and Where Eagles Dare (the answer to 1 Across in last Monday’s back-pager, by coincidence) being some of his most memorable compositions. But his versatility is shown, I think, by these two very different compositions, which I hope you’ll enjoy. The first was used in a series of four Miss Marple films in the first half of the 1960s. The second was the theme for a very strange film set in the Canadian wilderness starring Oliver Reed, called “The Trap”. It was later used by the BBC as the theme music for their coverage of the London Marathon. I give you the great Mr Ron Goodwin. Have a good weekend, everyone.
Hello Silvanus. Thanks for the puzzle and for dropping in to comment. I was falling asleep as I completed the hints, which deprived me of several penny drop moments that would certainly have raised my enjoyment rating. In the light of day my 2* looks very harsh.
Thanks, Mr K. I think we all have days when the solving process is easier than others, sometimes it’s down to tiredness, sometimes it’s due to other factors. I think we all appreciate how you still find the time to provide the hints every Friday when you have your day job to juggle as well.
Thank you, silvanus for a great puzzle and for popping in.
You’re very welcome, Steve. I’m glad you were “on wavelength” today when quite a few seemed to struggle.
Started this late last night and did about half, then came back to it late tonight after a busy day. Almost did it unaided, so I am improving! Needed the hints to explain some of the solutions, however. Many thanks. I enjoy a challenge these days!
Mixed bag of opinions here today, for what it’s worth I really enjoyed it – tough yes, but I managed to complete it unaided even if there were a couple of answers I struggled to parse so thanks to Mr K and others for their reasoning.
****/****
Phew! I’ll have to go for *****/***** which is a rating I never gave while in the blogging chair.
Finished today’s Osmosis Toughie faster than this one!
Fav has to be 8a among a ptethora of goodies.
Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.
Great puzzle. Got it all in apart from 15 d where with my checkers I was hoping to find “date “ in the answer as it is Valentine’s Day. True we had already had a nod in that direction in other answers.Lots to love my voter is 8 and 12 across and 2 and10 down.Thanks for giving us such an enjoyable runaround mystery setter and Mr. K for not leaving us in the lurch.
That was extremely tough but I just did not want to concede defeat on this, and I’m glad I didn’t now it’s complete. Much was reverse engineered, 27a a case in point. I also spent far too long on 10d until the obvious hit me between the eyes. I’m now off for a lie down with a damp towel. My cotd is 8a. Pure genius. Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.
Loved it! I have to admit I wasn’t initially sure whether to applaud or howl at 8a and I had my money on Zandio, because it is very quirky. But, on reflection, it’s brilliant. Delightfully unusual – funny and smart. Many thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.
Managed to subscribe again to the puzzles online but have deleted the app, which ceased to work.
Initially thought I was a little rusty so glad to see many though it was a struggle
5*/4* – enjoyable non the less
25a, 10d and 15d favourites today.
Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K
I still do not understand 8a. Could someone help me with a great crossword? I believe it must be me.
Thank you to the setter and Mr K
Llamas are South American. Lamas are from an Asian country. So only use one L (abbr for large) in llamas to get to the country for lama (Dalai variety)! Hope this helps
Thank you!
What time is it? Tell me it’s Drinks o’clock as this tore me apart. I am battered and bruised…..and then some!
I have never reverse engineered so many clues and crawled over the finish line, meaning it was too hard for me to enjoy. Not getting 1a for yonks certainly didn’t help my cause. ‘Outspoken detective denied’ is beyond my capabilities. I’d’ve gone with something like ‘hearing drunk point of view’ (I’ve haven’t thought about the ‘figure’ bit).
But, who am I to suggest alternative cluing as I am not worthy. Mr Smooth’s parsing is truly a work of art.
My podium is 1d, 2d and 16d.
Thank you to Silvanus for the mauling and Mr K for his splendid blog.
5*/3*
Gosh what a slog. I agree with MrK’s summary – in fact my assessment was a little less kind. A real slog and no enjoyment for me. But that could just be sour grapes on my part as I was well and truly thrashed by the setter today. Did finish but half of my answers were not parsed.
Thank you to MrK for the hints and to RD for shining some light on 8 across – which, now I understand it, is my clue of the day.
Yes, it is Friday. Quite a struggle although 1a went in pronto (I am anagram aficionado ). I have to admit to a guess for 8a but of course when the penny dropped it was a brilliant clue. My last one in was 12a, I really didn’t see the proceeding to court, I suppose because I don’t use that particular exclamation, but very apt on the 14th February. I asked George if he knew what day it was. He gave me the date. Well? Oh, happy Valentines Day darling. That’s what you get after 67 1/2 years. But he’s very sweet and I have been such a dismal failure at training one husband I don’t think I could tackle another. So I’ll keep him. Many thanks to The Brilliant Silvanus (that sounds like a magician, which I suppose you are to some extent) and to Mr K. I loved the fact that you admitted to doubts over 8a and 15a 🥰
Changing the subject completely had a funny visit this morning from a man who came to check our solar tubes. The woman who made the appointment said the visit was free. Nothing is free. The man was very nice, a bit effusive, looked in the boiler room, noted the burglar alarm and told us that since last June we had saved 18 trees. When he left George asked him where he was going next and if he could help him. He didn’t seem to know, looked in his phone and said it was an AL postcode . ?. Why do I feel uneasy and vulnerable?
That’s actually quite creepy. Did you have any notification that someone would be coming to check your solar tubes? We’ve had workmen digging up the roads supposedly improving cables for the internet. I had a cold caller trying to sell me a new package from a company I’ve never heard of. He informed me our landline and current internet package with Virgin would cease in 7 days if I didn’t do something. Guess what – 9 days later and we’re still connected! Take care.
T. A. N. S. T. A. A. F. L.
As Robert A Heinlein would say
Good afternoon all. Well, I’ve finally finished this puzzle, although I had to take several breaks from it to clear my head of (mostly wrong!) ideas. It was a ****/**** for me – a real challenge which I actually enjoyed. 1a and 14a were my downfall so thanks Mr K for the helpful hints. Loved 8a, although even that took some time to solve. I was convinced Peru had to fit in somehow until the word shape gave me T as both starting and ending letters. My husband reminded me of a rhyme he learnt at school and which used to make our children laugh:
The one L-ed Lama, he’s a priest
The two L-ed Llama he’s a beast,
But I bet a silk pyjama,
That there is no 3 L-ed Lllama! 🤣🤣
Thanks to Mr K and Silvanus
Great rhyme! Thank you :-)
Ay up. Pip’s got competition.
Excellent work!
Just back from a 3-yearly bone density scan in Llandudno hospital where I was delighted to find plenty of parking spaces as the builders who seem to be in almost permanent residence there had already packed up and gone home for the weekend!
Great diversity of opinions on this one from reading the blog, speaking personally I loved it – especially when the proverbial coins dropped with regard to 8a. Ticked clues aplenty with rosettes handed out to 14&24a plus 10d. The last of those put me in mind of No.1 daughter who, at about 4 years of age, taught her 3 year old sister how to unfasten her seat belt. I wasn’t best pleased!
Many thanks to Silvanus and also to Mr K for the review.
Good afternoon
I must fully concur with our esteemed blogger: this was a fiveser, without a doubt. I have just managed to complete the crozzie today, although I needed Mr K’s hints to solve 9a and 5d. I didn’t help myself by becoming convinced that OUT formed the first part of 9a! I deduced 27a without fully understanding how the clue worked.
Many thanks to Mr K for the hints and explanations, and of course to the fabled Brain Of Silvanus for the (titanic) challenge.
This was tough but silly me thought llama and lama were just two interchangeable but different spellings of Buddhist clergy . Never gave it a second thought !!
The crossword today was a real curates egg, the bottom half conceded quickly but 3,4 and 11 held me up and I needed the hints . So a did not finish for me.I did think lack of sleep was responsible for me finding this hard but clearly not., many of you were also challenged
Hardest one for a while
Thanks to all
A great crossword congrats to the setter. Didn’t take me too long but I did have to pause and revert back a few times (I find that a “reset” helps).
Nice job!
Like ALP & MG I suspected Zandio’s dabs might well have been all over this corker. No wonder I enjoyed it so much now that I find out it’s another off the Silvanus production line. Oddly I found it immeasurably easier than his Toughie yesterday. The grid fill edged only a shade over 1.5*time though figuring out a couple of the whys (8&11a) took a while longer. Enough contenders to populate at least two 26a – the Frankie Howardesque 12a my clear fav with 8&11a + 2,21&22d other particular likes.
Thanks to Silvanus (spotted Joan Hickson, who went on to play Marple, was in the film) & to Mr K.
forgot to include 1d.
Thanks, Huntsman. Joan Hickson was definitely the best Marple for me. Allegedly, Agatha Christie was far from impressed that Margaret Rutherford portrayed her creation as a dotty old lady, but she clearly held no grudges against the actress, as she dedicated “The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side” to her when it was published the year after “Murder She Said” (clip above) was made.
Preferring audio to video in some cases when it comes to drama (easier to do other things while listening than watching), I would put June Whitfield close to if not top of the list as Marple, and I now hear John Moffat as Poirot rather than David Suchet!
Thank you for the great puzzle – I had mistakenly thought it might be one of the other Friday triumvirate.
I agree, MG. June was a good audio Miss Marple. I prefer audio drama as well because you set the scene in your own mind. I am currently listening to Dracula.
After Brian’s reaction to yesterday’s beautifully crafted (in my opinion) puzzle, I did wonder what his reaction to today’s would be – now I’ll never know (though can probably guess)!
Thanks to the setter, but unfortunately it did not float my boat. Massive thanks to Mr K without whom I’d still have a half-full grid.
When I first looked at this puzzle over a cuppa this morning I really expected to be batting on a very sticky wicket indeed, having solved just 1a, 1d and 23a, before delaying the ‘innings’ until after we’d attended a funeral in the Black Country. Once home and over a spot of lunch, I picked up from where I’d left off earlier and was delighted to find how (relatively) quickly the solutions slotted in. I loved 8a and 23a, but 27a has to be my personal favourite of many superb clues, closely followed by 10d. No checking the hints, I might add, but thanks to Mr K for your efforts and thanks also to Silvanus for a tremendously entertaining Friday puzzle. P.S. for Huntsman – You mentioned yesterday’s Toughie, I’m still struggling to complete Dave Gorman’s Wednesday Toughie, with five clues still to solve, lol.
[*** REDACTED ***] Thx for the hints. Please leave Brian alone. He and TDS65 are the only reasons I look at the site.
Really, Corky? So you don’t use the site for the crosswords? 😊
I managed about half, took a break, got a few more, then looked at Mr K’s hints for a couple more. This then gave me some valuable checking letters to finish the puzzle. I’m always encouraged when the blogger is stumped to parse a clue as I realise I’m not the only one who struggles, even if mine is an almost daily occurrence rather than a blue moon one for our esteemed bloggers. Very many thanks to Mr K and the very clever Silvanus.
I m finding this tough so just checked in here to feel the vibe with over half to go . Glad to see I m not the only one. Onwards and upwards ! Resisting looking at hints at the moment. Thanks Silvanus for the work out and Mr K who no doubt will help me later.
Phew finished ! Now to revisit some parsings 😀
Thanks Silvanus but too tough for me, managed to get loads of answers without knowing why … agree with Mr K ‘s rating
Tough for us too. 8a was a bung in but managed to parse everything else. Favourite was 11a. Thanks to Silvanus and Mr. K.
Pretty depressing that over 30 years of solving didn’t help much today.
I had the correct anagram fodder for 1a and 7d but still couldn’t get them.
Kudos to all the geniuses who could solve this beastie!
Thanks to all.
I’m normally just a lurker and it must be a few years since I last submitted a comment. I found this puzzle tough and was pleased to solve it unaided although several of my answers were unparsed so thanks to the setter and to Mr K and Rabbit Dave for the explanations.
I’ve noticed recently that whenever someone new submits a comment it is met by “Welcome to the blog. What did you think of the puzzle?” I do feel that this could be interpreted as a reprimand, suggesting that the blogger should only be commenting on the puzzle itself and not on whatever it was that they had chosen to say. Perhaps etiquette requires a comment on the puzzle first but there’s a lot of chat on here about other stuff; the weather, health, cats and Brian to name a few. A newcomer may not initially feel confident enough to comment on the puzzle. Give them time.
It’s not meant as a reprimand. It’s meant as an encouragement to comment further.
I’ve never looked upon it as a reprimand, Gramphil but more of a curiosity about what the new commentator thinks of the puzzle. It is always interesting to get new viewpoints.
Welcome back, by the way and please keep commenting now you have re-delurked (is that even a word?)
It’s not a word, SC. but, to quote the legend that is Ken Wolstenholme, SC, it is now!
🤭
As a still relative newcomer (1 year ). There are a few nice people who welcome new bloggers. I felt encouraged when I first commented to be acknowledged by those few if nothing else as it could feel an intimidating space. I think the only thing that gets reprimanded is breaches of the etiquette ! Thanks to those nice people. You know who you are !
Thanks for the welcome back. I’ll try to delurk! I appreciate that it isn’t meant as a reprimand. I just feel it could put people off but it could just be me.
An arrrrgh from me, I did finish but not a satisfying puzzle and the parsing was helpful. Let’s go back to Wednesday. Thanks all
I’m merely an occasional commenter. Didn’t enjoy this one in the slightest. And I like Elgar puzzles, so go figure. I think this one just lacked the wit to go with the complexity that was being offered.
Thanks for the hints.
As far as I’m concerned it’s me vs the setter so I don’t regard a little e-help as cheating, though for me (and only me, I hasten to add) coming here to look at hints and tips before completing the puzzle I feel is somewhat cheating so I never check the blog until my grid is complete. A few weeks ago I commented that I couldn’t see myself finishing a Silvanus, but here today, after a struggle, I got there. Some reverse engineering was required and I needed Mr K’s hints to clarify some of the parsing, but I finished the puzzle and I regard that as a win. Thanks to Silvanus for a tough but enjoyable puzzle and Mr K for the hints.
I actually found this slightly easier than yesterday’s, but still lots of challenges. Loved 8a!
V many thanks to Silvanus for the puzzle (and for popping in) and to MrK for the blog.
Take Part…ridiculous answer…finished it with your help on 4 clues….not enjoyable at all…thanks for your honesty on admitting some answers flummoxed ya…Normally you guys astound me…but fair play to you…
I am debuting a new laptop (Dell Latitude 7490) at the same time as a new phone (Galaxy S24 Ultra) Getting to grips with Windows 11 and a new Android have somewhat curtailed my crosswording today. I didn’t find this as hard as some but I enjoyed it until about 3/4’s done, thereafter a bit of a struggle. Thanks to Mr K and Silvanus
Does anyone know how to get Grammarly as my spell checker in MSOffice 365?
More difficult than I enjoy. I made a mess by thinking 19a was “meet”, and I tried to make “strap” work for 26a. That held up the SE corner for a long time. Looking back on it there were some good ones. I couldn’t see the parsing 8a until I came here, but now I understand it I like it. I’ll try the toughie now – it should be easier.
I was pleased to see that others struggled with this, oddly I got a few of the ones that caused problems but ground to a halt in the north east corner and needed the hints to get going. I also needed help with the parsing of a couple. That said I enjoyed the challenge and learnt a lot from the experience. I do think 8a was very clever and the 1a anagram was a welcome start.
Many thanks to Silvanus and to Mr K for the hints .
A tough challenge but worth the effort. Certainly a 5/5 for me.
Many thanks to Silvanus and Mr K for the hints.
Phew that was tough, got there in the end with a bit of help.
4* / 4* rating
Thanks to Mr K and setter, great challenge really worked the brain cells
I thought it was a great puzzle and we were so pleased when the penny dropped on 8 across
Thanks Silvanus and to our tired blogger. I’ve been struggling with the DT Cryptic since schooldays in the 1970s and still only complete about 3 puzzles a week without hints. But today, wavelength clicked, pennies dropped and many wry smilesover brilliant clueing later, it was finished. 4*/5* for me. Loved it!
Started this on Friday evening and on a first run through only solved 13 and 25 and thought it was very difficult but to my astonishment I then quickly solved the entire southern section plus all the long ones round the edges. Had another go on Saturday evening and solved 6,7 and 12. That left eight unsolved but despite a few goes today I could not solve them although was tantalising close with a few (even though I have never heard of 14). I thought the clue for 5 was missing an e and gave an extra s so if anyone more experienced is still reading this I would appreciate a comment on that point as I feel I could have had a better chance (assuming my view is correct). Otherwise, as always your comments were re-assuring. Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K. Thought 1a was clever. *****/**
Given that flex means cables I now think 5d was only missing an e – but that was still a problem for me. Any comments appreciated (I know this is late so am not expecting anything this evening unless you’re in a suitable time zone and are still reading about Friday).
Cricket scoring abbr for run is R. Cables is FLEXES. E is country code for Spain. Put R and FLEXES around (or across) E, and you get REFLEXES, something which could be tested at the doctor’s. Hope this helps
Thanks for the prompt Sunday evening reply Jules. I thought the country code for Spain was ES, hence my confusion: your explanation is perfect with the country code E.
Enjoyed working through with the aid of the hints, for which Thanks !
liked 8A “Home for llamas, one large enough ? (5)”
I managed the bottom half unaided but without the blog I wouldn’t have known how to do the top. Thanks very much, Mr K and Silvanus (and all who unknowingly encouraged my efforts by saying they thought it was difficult today).