Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30853
Hints and tips by Huntsman
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty */** Enjoyment ***
A lovely sunny day here in Harpenden though still on the chilly side so golf can wait until it warms up a wee bit. I’m off to meet Shabbo for a spot of lunch & a pint at The Brocket Arms in Ayot St Lawrence so no doubt will hear all about his adventures in the Cape.
A typically Tuesday puzzle which I found pretty straightforward other than one slightly tricky parse. I assume it’s an Anthony Plumb production as it certainly felt like his style of clueing.
In the following hints, definitions are underlined, indicators are mostly in parentheses, and answers are revealed by clicking where shown as usual. Please leave a comment below on how you got on with the puzzle.
Across
1a Stressed cook smashed pie (10)
EMPHASISED: an anagram (cook) – SMASHED PIE.
6a Applaud cold drink (4)
CLAP: C(old) + a verbal synonym for drink.
10a Caught by ruffian’s punch (5)
CLOUT: the cricket abbreviation for C(aught) + another word for a ruffian/yob.
11a Traders from market express regret primarily with shouts (9)
MERCHANTS: the first letters (primarily) of the 3rd,4th &5th words in the clue + a synonym for shouts.
12a Reaction from press on alternative energy (8)
RESPONSE: an anagram (alternative) of PRESS ON then append E(nergy).
13a Portly, slow, short European (5)
LARGE: a truncation (short) of a musical term for slow in tempo + E(uropean).
15a This could be a craft I sculled on a regular basis (7)
ARTICLE: a synonym for craft/guile + I from the clue + the even letters (on a regular basis) of s(C)u(L)l(E)d.
17a Becoming woman’s rear squeezed by code-breaker (7)
TURNING: insert the final letter (rear squeezed by) of woma(N) into the surname of WWII’s famous Bletchley Park mathematician & computer scientist.
19a Bugs – burrowing beasts (7)
BADGERS: a double definition.
21a Church vicar forgetting middle of benediction (7)
MINSTER: remove the central letter of bened(I)ction from a synonym for a vicar.
22a Criticise right answer son found in books (5)
ROAST: a wee bit of lego involved – R(ight) + an insertion (found in) of A(nswer) & S(on) between the the abbreviation for a biblical set of books which we can safely conclude won’t be Brian’s bedtime reading.
24a Haughty American leaders in Republican oration gloat during tirade (8)
ARROGANT: A(merican) + a nounal synonym for tirade/polemic into which the initial letters (leaders in) of the 5th, 6th & 7th words in the clue are inserted (during). A politically apposite surface if ever there was one.
27a Former lover almost swearing about ordinary outing (9)
EXCURSION: the usual two letter informal noun for a former lover + a shortened (almost) synonym for swearing/uttering profanities with O(rdinary) inserted (about).
28a Novelist’s wrong (5)
AMISS: double definition – the son’s literary output exceeded that of his old man in my view.
29a Stuff oddly seen in Star Trek (4)
SATE: the alternate letters of S(t)A(r) T(r)E(k).
30a Shows salesman’s bearing grudge (10)
REPRESENTS: an informal abbreviation for a sales agent + a synonym for bearing/feels bitter about.
Down
1d Every account’s limited by what? (4)
EACH: the two letter abbreviation for account inserted into (limited by) an exclamation used to express inquiry or surprise.
2d Blighter pens rubbish, editor complained (9)
PROTESTED: insert (pens) a synonym for rubbish/nonsense into a word for blighter/nuisance then append the usual abbreviation for ED(itor).
3d What thespian might do at college? Misbehave (3,2)
ACT UP: what a thespian is required to do + a term for being at college or university. Misbehaviour can lead to being sent down.
4d Claim men seem somewhat huge (7)
IMMENSE: hidden (somewhat) in the opening three words of the clue.
5d Sneer at drunk getting sober (7)
EARNEST: an anagram (drunk) of SNEER AT. Neat surface.
7d Row river vessel (5)
LINER: a synonym of row/queue + R(iver).
8d Travellers gorge on mixed greens (10)
PASSENGERS: gorge has nowt to do with overeating but rather a route through mountainous terrain. Append an anagram (mixed) of GREENS.
9d Urchin led astray but not upper-class kids (8)
CHILDREN: an anagram (astray) of uRCHIN LED (not upper-class).
14d Awfully smug with her bar food (10)
HAMBURGER: another anagram (awfully) of SMUG WITH HER.
16d Animal from ancient city in fashion (8)
CREATURE: insert our favourite Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia into a synonym of fashion/design.
19d Where camper might be initially insolent on purpose (9)
INTENTION: the camper’s 2/4 sleeping accommodation + the first letter (initially) of I(nsolent) & ON from the clue.
20d Beach view includes a small fish (7)
SEASIDE: a slightly tricky parse. A verbal synonym of view/make out surrounds (includes) A from the clue + S(mall) + the two letter variant spelling of a fish (more usually 3 letters) also known as an orfe.
21d Jack’s horse carrying present king (7)
MARINER: insert a two letter synonym for present/attending into a female horse then append the regnal letter for king.
23d I bet here, perhaps a Conservative enters drunk (5)
ASCOT: A from the clue + a term for a drunk with C(onservative) inserted (enters). The finest performance I’ve ever seen or likely to see at the Royal meeting.
25d One who betrays German writer (5)
GRASS: a double definition – a synonym for a rat/squealer then the surname of a German writer mostly known for his darkly comic anti-war novel, The Tin Drum – memorably filmed by Volker Schlöndorff to deservedly win the Palme d’Or.
26d Sunbathes topless, making poses (4)
ASKS: remove the first letter (topless) from a verbal synonym for sunbathes.
No particular favourite today but I’d award podium spots to 15&24a + the rather neat surface at 5d. Please tell us which clues ticked your boxes.
Today’s Quick crossword pun: TOR + NAP + HEART = TORN APART
This morning’s listening has been some swamp blues from Tony Joe White. Have always loved his guitar playing. Here’s a track off one of his later albums
Just right with a good balance of write-ins and ponderers. I loved the surface of 1a, which went straight in. The shouting traders at 11a raised a smile and so did the swearing lover at 27a. My COTD is Jack’s horse at 21d
Thank you, setter (the professor in the library?) for a fun challenge. Thank you Hintsman for the hunts.
Beautiful, sunny day in The Marches but still a tad on the cold side.
A lovely sunny day here too but the dogs water bowls still frozen solid!
Never mind, DG – it’s going up to 14 degrees on Thursday. I’m sorry to hear about your arthritis. Ask your GP for codeine because it can be taken with paracetamol. The idea is you alternate them every three hours.
I agree Steve. I did manage to get a prescription for codeine, in a pill that is combined with Tylenol (Paracetemol). However it is classed as an opiate over here, and doctors won’t prescribe many, or continually. Perhaps it is different in the UK.
It is. I get it on repeat prescription and I have loads of codeine but I do reserve it for the bad pains. I hope you get relief soon, DG.
Is it me or has 20d got a bit of a flaw in it? The letters don’t really fit the clue, we seem to have an E missing.
I’ll read the hint to see if I’ve grabbed the wrong end of the stick (wouldn’t be the first time)
All in all enjoyable though, but no real favourites today.
A two letter Ide? not in my river chum!
Nor mine but fortunately remembered getting caught out by it before
Of all the fishes I’ve ever caught, my favourites are Roac, Perc, and the mighty Pik.
😊
It’s even sunny in the corner of Herts that features less obviously in the DT’s lists of best places to live. I might yet go so far as to observe my allotment, although it may still be too cold to do any actual digging. In the meantime, today’s crossword was a most enjoyable affair with some pleasing literary references (I’m not that keen on either Amis pere or fils, but the latter was certainly the more interesting writer). Thanks very much to the setter and to Huntsman for explaining why I thought there were too many instances of the letter e in 20d before I stuck my head over the parapet.
A gentle and enjoyable stirring of the LGCs (much) earlier this morning, for which many thanks to the setter.
Surprised to see 4 anagrams in 5 clues. Some lovely surfaces, leading to my COTD, 21a, and runner-up, 5d.
Thanks also to Huntsman – enjoyed the Albinoni very much and were it not for YT would have to dig out my CDs to listen to a lot more today. Glorious stuff.
Very enjoyable and just right for a Tuesday. A slight degree of literary and scientific knowledge required – the writer at 25d was new to me – but all very fairly clued. Podium places today for 17a, 24a and 21d. Thanks to our setter and Huntsman.
I started swiftly then really slowed down getting the last few. Thank you to Huntsman for explaining the shortened fish (I tried to use the “small” in the clue to shorten it, but then went from having an E too many to being an S short) and the German writer, and to the setter for the puzzle.
My favourite couple were 8d (“gorge”) and 19a (“bugs”).
Am waiting for my car to have its MOT, so thought I would tackle the puzzle before discussing at greater length with Huntsman over a pint at lunchtime.
Most enjoyable, with the north going in much more quickly than the south.
Lots to enjoy and RayTesque brevity.
Thank you setter and Huntsman. Mine’s a pint of bitter, please!
Firstly, thanks to those who explained yesterdays Spoonerism, Tom in particular. I saw the thread too late in the day. Now I know that it is not only the first letters that can be exchanged! Useful crossword knowledge. Back to today, where I agree with the difficulty rating. I liked 11a, 21d and 25d. Thanks to the setter and to Huntsman for hints.
Hi, Leif. Spoonerisms are sound-based, rather than being letter based. Swap over the first sounds of each word to create the new words. This may be one letter, more, or a different number of letters in each, and the spellings of the parts of the word that haven’t changed in sound may be different as well — for instance ‘shoving leopard’ → ‘loving shepherd’. Basically completely ignore the letters and spelling for spoonerisms and just think about the sounds!
I’d like to see someone shoving a leopard.
It might be preferable to watching someone loving a shepherd
Great fun at */**** with oodles of anagrams and a few lurkers. I enjoyed the misdirection in 26d trying to link sunbathing and posing. My favourite was 17a. Thank you Huntsman and setter. I expect others know but I haven’t a clue and haven’t looked at the comments yet.
1*/4*. This was light but good and very enjoyable.
Many thanks to AP (?) and to Hintsman.
An entertaining Tuesday outing (in spite of the rash of anagrams in the down clues) – thanks to our setter and Huntsman (I enjoyed seeing Frankel in his pomp once more).
My podium picks were 24a (primarily for the surface), 21d and 26d.
Some charming surfaces (12a, 5d, etc). Very taken with 28a (couldn’t agree more with you, H) and 26d. Many thanks to our setter and Huntsman. Enjoy those pints chaps!
Unless another setter has ‘stolen’ his Quickie Grid, definitely an Anthony Plumb production today – **/****
Candidates for favourite – 15a, 19a, 1d, and 26d – and the winner is 1d.
Thanks to Mr Plumb and Huntsman.
Beautifully clued, cleverly concise and highly enjoyable. I’ve not much to add other than my selection for favourite, which was 5d.
Many thanks to. presumably, AP, and The Hintsman.
Fine puzzle today which means of course the finished article was all my own work.. Two days with good quickie puns so a feeling of contentment spreads over me, Thank you Mr Plumb and the sporting rider.
Something of a curate’s egg for me today although, judging by previous comments, perhaps it’s just me being a bit grumpy. Top two for their surface reads were 24a & 9d with a smile for the Quickie pun.
Thanks to our setter, Mr Plumb I presume, and to Huntsman for the review. Enjoy your lunchtime pint with Shabbo.
A nice variety of clues wirh different sorts of GK Erequired, which I appreciate. I luked 25a and 28a, both of which incorporated GK very cleverly but my COTD was thw double definition at 18a. Thanks to the compiler for a cery enjoyable guzzle and to Huntsman for the hintsCc.
Was consulting my lawyer about 13a as I thought the setter was referring to me. However, I am not very short so my team of legal experts advised that I should not continue with my action.
As usual on a Tuesday, the bins have been abandoned rather than returned, so my weekly task of retrieving them is to be my pre-luncheon exercise. How long ago seem the days when a man in a leather smock hoisted up a full metal bin on to his shoulder, carried it out to the lorry, emptied it, and then returned it to the exact spot from which it came.
Thanks to the setter and Andy In The Pub With Shabbo.
I remember (as a lad of course!) the dustmen doing that and my parents used to get coal delivered and another leather smocked he man used to lug sacks full of the stuff and empty them into our coal bunker with his face covered in black soot like an extra from Mary Poppins, what the state of his lungs were like I hate to think, but then we didn’t think about that sort of things in those days did we?
I used to help my Dad on the dust round in the school hols when I was about 14, hardest work I’ve ever done, ate like a horse, and then slept like the dead afterwards.
That was an enjoyable cant. Always like literary references so pleased on that score. It all seemed done and dusted when I realised 26 down was not completed. It really is those short ones that can be difficult. Got there unaided when the light came on after a second cup of coffee. Thought 14 d was really clever with the anagram also being part of the answer.Off to Paracise now and sending a grateful Thankyou as ever.
A fine day in The Cotswolds. The sun is shining, the air is fresh and the sheep are happily grazing. What more can a fellow want?
Oh, I know – an entertaining crossword.
I am in heaven.
Thank you setter and Huntsman.
A pleasant stroll through crossyland with no hold-ups. It’s always a joy to solve the prof’s puzzles.
I didn’t know our Tuetonic chum though I feel I ought to as he won a Nobel prize. I need to read more.
Prizes go to 1a, 2d (blighter is such a good word) and 5d.
Many thanks to the aforedooberryed and Hoots!
1*/4*
Zipped through much of this puzzle in top gear and then seemed to have lost a gear or two and limped over the completion line. My cotd is the witty 17a. Thanks to AP and Huntsman.
Loved this one and one it seemed of two halves. The top was almost R&W but the bottom proved a little trickier esp for 22a whose answer was clear but the wordplay defeated me.
Thx to all
**/****
Like Smylers I got off to a great start and thought I was going to have a day where I just go through filling in answers. But no, I had my comeuppance and got bogged down in the south east. I could only think of sits for poses and the novelist stumped me although of course I know him. So thanks for those two hunts, Hinter. Off to Book Group to discuss Miss Benson’s Beetle which I enjoyed but I know others did not so it should be a good discussion. The new computer has just been delivered so I am awaiting kind next door neighbour to come and set me up. No more news except that the arthritis in my right hand is reducing me to tears. Paracetamol doesn’t even go near it. Any hints? Many thanks to Messrs Setter and Hintsman – I would like to be a fly on the wall when you are having your pints!
I empathise re your hand pain, Daisy. I find the small joints more painful than the larger ones. A warm wheat bag, heated in the microwave brings temporary relief and some hardy folk alternate with ice packs! I must admit to being on more heavy duty painkillers than Paracetamol which seem ineffective. Best wishes
DG I also suffer from bad arthritis. I’m prescribed Naproxen for it – I have to remember to take a capsule an hour earlier that lines the tummy. Dr Mark Porter gave a lecture last year and lambasted Naproxen saying it was too dangerous! I talked to him afterwards and said that I took it and it was the only thing that helped but he was unsympathetic and couldn’t suggest an alternative.
I was once told avoiding red meats will help, maybe worth a go?
Sorry about the arthritis Daisy. Paracetamol’s equivalent over here – Tylenol – gives me hardly any relief, and I am not allowed to take NSAIDs. One pain doctor shrugged his shoulders when I asked him for help and said there was no magic pill. Lovely. Like Mhids I find alternating a heat pad and then a few hours later with an ice pad is the most help, plus exercising the problem area. I have found Will Harlow (physical therapist in Farnham) to have the most helpful on line tutorials on the right and wrong exercises. Perhaps you can look him up on your new computer.
The heatwd wheat pack helps me with arthritis, Daisy and i eat red meat only twice a week for my main meal of the day. I find Boots rubbing10% Ibuprofen gel into the affected area very useful as I cannot take Ibuprofen by mouth while taking blood thinners. other sufferers I know find Turmeric supplements are good. Good luck!
Yes, I forgot to mention the gels, that really does help too. Merusa often complained about her “Arthur Itis” to me, it was always got us laughing.
Nice little puzzle for an (almost) sunny morning here in Cheshire. Didn’t know the writer at 25d but it couldn’t be anything else. Thanks to the setter and Huntsman.
Good afternoon
A sunny afternoon in Didcot, and it’s almost time to get off my hint-end and go to work; happily, I can set off in the knowledge that today’s crozzie is complete.
Having said that, today proved an object lesson in thinking before committing oneself. I raced to enter SEAHORSE at 20d, then realised that I’d run out of squares!
A few little stumbles in the SW quadrant towards the end. 23d is COTD today.
Many thanks to the Prof and to Huntsman.
A Typical Tuesday puzzle for this week. Nothing to scare the horses today.
1.5*/4* for me
Favourites 17a, 24a, 27a, 18d, 20d & 23d — with co-winners 17a & 23d
I smiled at 19a, 18d & 23d
Thanks to AP & Huntsman
Very enjoyable and some nice moments – 15a for its misdirection, and 21a for its surface.
Enjoyable and fairly straightforward guzzle today. Two in the SE held out for ages – like DG #24, I couldn’t get ‘sits’ out of my mind, so I consulted the BRB which came up with right answer although I don’t really think basks means sunbathing. Anyway thanks to all – hope you and Shabbo enjoyed your lunch.
Straightforward but enjoyable thank you compiler and Huntsman, great music as always!
What fun that was, a lovely mix of clues including some excellent anagrams. I did need the hints to explain the parsing of 20d as I had no idea that there was an id option, one of go in my memory banks for future.
Many thanks to the setter and to Huntsman for the hints
Must be having a really bad day as I found this more difficult than everyone else, which is not normally the case on Tuesdays. A few answers jumped off the page so I have not totally lost the plot, but it was hard work for the most part. I am just so thankful to have these crosswords to think about as goodness knows, our daily news over this side of the pond is too distressing to contemplate. Thanks to setter and Huntsman.
Another straightforward puzzle with not much head-scratching needed! Many thanks to all.
I found most of this puzzle straightforward 😃 but three I found difficult to parse 22a, 21d & 26d 😳 So ***/*** Favourites 17a & 30a and 16d 👍 Thanks to AP and to the Huntsman for his explanations
Another enjoyable puzzle which I had almost completed before needing to go out. I liked the anagram at 1a which helped me get off to a good start. Re 16d having all the checking letters I couldn’t get Chester out of my mind but then obviously couldn’t see where an animal would fit in! 🙃. Last one in courtesy of the hints was 23d. I was so sure it must contain the letter ‘i’.
Many thanks to the setter and Huntsman.
Very much a rinse and repeat from Monday. Another one that wasn’t too difficult but enough in there to keep the brain whirring.
Thanks to the setter and Huntsman for the old one two 😉
A gentle and enjoyable solve today. I too wondered about the 20d parsing and did not know about the alternative spelling ! My favourite clue was 15a . Thanks to setter and Huntsman.
Very enjoyable and not too taxing, a perfect Tuesday offering. The sign of a good crossword I think is the multitude of favourite clues from everyone above.
1/2* / 4*
Thanks to setter + Huntsman
Was beginning to think 20d was slightly wrong in the parsing, tricky as you rightly point out huntsman. So something else learnt today. Thanks all
Didn’t get my paper until late afternoon as I had to take my car into the garage yesterday having driven back from Kibworth running on three cylinders. The garage kindly have me a lift home and picked me up today at about 4 o’clock. I attempted the toughie first and did most of it then did well on this in the north but the south was a different kettle of fish but managed to stumble over the line. Favourite was 27a. Thanks to AP and Huntsman.
**/*** At one with Daisy: solved top half quickly, had some battles in the sw corner then eventually fought my way into the se corner but could not solve 26d or 28a. Otherwise, enjoyed the puzzle with favourite 22a for the tight but accurate Lego.
I found this quite hard with 26d causing a dnf.
Not heard of the musical term, nor the short fish.
Maybe my brain is fried after a long day.
Thanks to all.
3*/3*
liked 26D “Sunbathes topless, making poses (4)” which was my last one in.