Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30857 (Hints)
The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)
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Happy Thinking Day to Weekend Wanda and all other members (former or otherwise) of the Girl Guides Association.
I can’t decide whether I found the NY Doorknob’s Prize Puzzle tricky because I was trying to solve it in the half dark in the middle of a power cut, hoping that the power would return soon, or whether working out the anagrams in the linked clues took longer than usual, even after realising the connection to 2d. The power and the internet keep, separately, coming and going so I have done some quick hints and am not going to even start looking for illustrations, so that I can schedule the Hints before the power goes off again :(
Please ask for help if you are stuck on clues I haven’t hinted, but before doing so, please read the comments that appear before yours, so that you are not duplicating questions, and make sure you obey both THE INSTRUCTIONS IN RED at the end of the Hints and the blog’s Comment Etiquette – Big Dave’s Crossword Blog)
Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also”. Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.
A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.
Across
1a Device used at sea in western islands failed (8)
The abbreviation for Western and an anagram (failed) of ISLANDS
9a Mostly reliable sailor with yen to be separate (8)
Most of a synonym for reliable, a sailor and the abbreviation for Yen
10a Villein returned company artwork (6)
A reversal (returned) of a medieval person bound to work on the land (villein) followed by the abbreviation for company
16a University plugging dissertations in old Greek (7)
The abbreviation for University ‘plugging’ some dissertations
25a Judy’s husband calling for joke’s end (9)
The husband of Judy the puppet and a calling or occupation
28a Coffee reps ruined Standard Oil? (8)
An anagram (ruined) of REPS and the oil company formerly known as Standard Oil
30a Satellite states across the pond (8)
The name of a satellite of Jupiter is formed by the abbreviations of four different American (across the pond) States
Down
1d Blown as three sheets to the wind? (6)
Squandered or a slang expression meaning extremely drunk – and yes, RD, the BRB does say the latter meaning is esp US)
4d Queen Vic, in south-east, offers employment (7)
The regnal cipher of our late Queen and VIC (from the clue) inserted into the abbreviation for South East
6d Point of quarrel? (9)
The pointed part of a quarrel
8d Director succeeded in twenties, extolled to begin with (8)
The abbreviation for Succeeded inserted into some sets of twenty, the letter that begins Extolled being added at the end
15d Tube often jam-packed? (5,4)
A cryptic definition of a jam-packed tube often enjoyed at tea time
20d Takes evening courses? (4)
An archaic way of saying takes an evening meal
23d Channel changer hard to locate? (6)
A nice double definition
As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out
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The Quick Crossword pun: DINNERS + TEASE = DYNASTIES
I found today’s guzzle a tussle but an enjoyable one. For once, the linked clues did not phase me and I got 14/19a early on. However, 5a/11d/13a took a bit longer. The third linked clue at 22/26d raised a smile but my COTD is the jam-packed tube at 15d.
Thank you, NY Doorknob (Could it be anyone else?) for a fun prize challenge. Thank you, Cryptic Sue for the hints.
I’m still stuck on it!
A very enjoyable puzzle with a nautical theme running through it. The linked clues were excellent with the 5a, 11d and 13a combo raising a smile in particular. However my podium comprises 28a, 25a and 16a in top spot. Thanks to NYDK and CS
2.5*/2.5*. Three quarters of this went in smoothly but I struggled for a while to complete the NW corner.
Is “Sky” necessary in 22/26? Also, I would have said that both 28a & 20d needed some indication of archaicism.
25a was my favourite.
Thanks to NYDK and to CS. We had a power cut in the early hours of Friday morning. As it was at 1 am, it didn’t interupt any crossword activity but it did disturb our sleep as it triggered our intruder alarm. I hope this is not the shape of things to come.
Sky is an essential part of the anagram
D’oh. I’ll have to put that one down to lack of sleep on Thursday night. Thanks, Sue.
A very enjoyable crossword, where I seemed to be on the setters wavelength. I got the first linked clue early on, and as soon as 2d was solved, the other two linked ones followed. I believe the quote from 14a etc is a painful part of Danish history, the battle of Copenhagen in 1801, where almost the entire Danish fleet was “confiscated” as a result. Anyway, my COTD is 15d, but there were several candidates. Thanks to the setter and to crypticsue for the hints.
Wow that took some sorting but it was well worth it. Those linked clues were very clever but somewhat confusing. My fav was 7d.
Thx to all
****/****
I am so glad you liked it Brian, despite the Biblical and Greek knowledge required. I also thought it was a cracker.
That was fun! 2d gave up its secret quite early on so the ‘multis’ followed quite quickly. The only clue that gave any real pause for thought was 12a. **/****
Candidates for favourite – 10a, 12a, 30a, 1d, and 2d – and the winner is 12a.
Thanks to NYDK, for it must be he, and CS.
A very accessible puzzle today and at the time of writing no comments about it being a disgrace as a prize puzzle. I doubt it will last. 25 and 30a my two vying for CoTD for which I declare a photo finish still awaiting the stewards decision.
Thank you to CS and NYDK for their sterling work on a sunny Saturday in North Yorkshire.
What an absolute treat, best fun (albeit a real brain mangler) in ages.
Linked clues a joy, although 14/19 didn’t take much effort after 2d went in.
My last one in was 20d, which was a guess between two possibilities, so hope I’ve opted correctly.
My two of the day were 6d, and the brilliant 30a, I had a list of letters all over the page to get this one, if you’ve got it, you’ll know why!
Many thanks to our setter today, world class darts.
I wish to complain in the strongest possible terms (again). First, Cryptic Sue (I really do believe this is a nom de plume) takes a weekend off to spend time with her family, and then today she misses giving a hint for the one clue I needed (12a despite me having all the checking letters… duh! I solved it after further thought). I have, as usual, written to Mr Lancaster, The Archbishop Of Canterbury (vacant), Mr Starmer, and Taylor Swift. For some reason their replies never seem to reach me. Perhaps MI5 is intercepting my mail.
Terrific crossword. Solving 2d early on allowed the long ‘uns to become bung-ins.
Thanks to NYDK and dear Super Sue (I hope you had a lovely time in Northern Ireland with your new grandsons and other grandchildren)
Your comments always brighten the day 🙂
I think Terence needs to widen his list of people to whom he can complain. Mr Lancaster certainly, but why not add say, King Charles, Lady Gaga, Ant and Dec – people with real influence. Indeed, what about Mr Trump – if anyone will help, he will.
Include Elon Musk, he’s a Bond Villain, and will have them eliminated!
We had a lovely time, although if we hadn’t wanted to meet the tiny grandsons in Southern Ireland, we would definitely have waited for warmer weather. With the babies in Co Louth and the older two in Co Fermanagh, it was a good job we hired an economical car as we did cover a lot of miles to see both families
Thank you for cheering my day, Terence.
You always do.
Nice nautical theme, as blogged.
22 26 caught my eye (the good one) as it seems to refer obliquely to the idea that the answer was indeed misheard, but no more on that I’ll wager until Sue’s full review. There were quite a few nudges in seaward direction, and it was nice to see EastEnders getting a cameo. That’s a show I’ve always somehow contrived to miss, even in all those years.
The usual fun stuff from NYDK, well-written, and I’ll probably go with the themed clues for top spot(s). I’m running 15D up the flagpole however, which is, well, very tasty indeed.
Thanks Sea-Sue, and salty setter.
Broadcast always gets me as I automatically think homophone but it is quite often as here just an anagram indicator.
Great fun, just the right mix of clues for me. I did need the help of hubby for 2, he does have his uses. The anagrams were well hidden and right up my street. I enjoyed the linked clues too.
Many thanks to the setter and to CS for the hints.
Our setter’s penchant for linked clues in evidence again today, fortunately they were easy enough to unravel. Top clue for me was 25a with a nod to 10a.
Thanks to NYDK and to CS for not allowing a power cut to stand in the way of producing the hints – a dedicated blog lady indeed!
This was hard work but great fun.
I thoroughly enjoyed the sprawling dooberries (sounds like a tribute act), especially the historical relevance of ‘misheard’ that JV mentioned above.
I biffed 20d, not having a clue what it meant. So, I was pleased to see it’s an archaic jobbie.
I didn’t know 8d’s fifth letter. So, that’s one to note.
Lots to pick from but I’ll go with 2d and all that sailed in it.
Many thanks to NYDK and CS.
4*/4*
It was all going swimmingly, until I came to a sudden halt in the NW corner. Once I finally twigged 12a (which had been my initial thought but had dismissed), the others all fell into place. Favourites have to be 15a (to which I am rather partial) and 12a. Thanks to NYDK and CS.
An enjoyable puzzle today, despite my not caring for linked clues…..sorry if this offends.
Thanks to the setter and to crypticsue.
At last the weather has improved a bit here . The sun has made an appearance after what seemed like
an eternity of foggy, overcast, very cold days followed by heavy rain. Apparently we have more heavy rain to come but at least i can enjoy an hour or two of sunshine.
As always I enjoyed the challenge of the linked clues which were not too difficult once I found the key. Great fun all round, perfect for a sunny Saturday.
Many thanks to Donny and Sue.
I thought this was a brilliant prize crossword today and will nominate 12a and 30a as favourites.
2*/5*
Thanks to Sue and NYDK.
I was sure 1d is used ubiquitously to mean that, surprised it is mainly American.
I took was surprised, but thought I’d better mention what the BRB said
For me, 1d doesn’t need a septic indicator as it has been used on these shores since I was a nipper.
Even I don’t regard 1d as an Americanism!
If it passes the ‘Ardy Test’, then all is well.
What a corker of a puzzle. I thoroughly enjoyed it but it was by no means easy.
Lots of smiles all round.
Top picks for me were 15d, 2d and 5/11/13 combo.
Thanks to CrypticSue and NYDK.
Another great offering from NYDK for this Saturday puzzle. Got the first two multi-clue puzzles quickly with the third a little later on in the puzzle. Lots of other great clues in this too.
2*/4.5* for me
Favourites were the 3 multi-word clue/answers as well as the linking word to all three, 2d.
Also liked 27a, 4d & 15d
Thanks to NYDK & CS
Finally admitted defeat with just 30a remaining unsolved. Thank goodness for the hints (and that it was one of them). I never would have got there myself so thanks to CS for putting me out of my misery. Thank you also to the setter
Guy from across the pond here…30A is a genius clue, say I.
I cannot remember a more enjoyable Telegraph cryptic
The answer to 22 and 26 down was not known to me but a splendid anagram made it gettable. Thanks (ta!) to all who blog and comment regularly here!
Thanks to all who
Welcome to the blog, Scout.
Welcome to this fabby bloggeroony, Dib Dib Dib,
I forgot to put 30a on my podium as it is a belter though it took me a while to parse.
To quote ‘The Price is Right’, now that you’ve ‘Come on down!’, keep those comments coming.
Dyb Dyb Dyb Dyb, as all true scouts would say
“Your best will be twice as good as any ordinary boy’s best. “Do your best” is the Cub’s motto. Then keep your two hands up while the leading Cub calls to the Pack, at the top of his voice: “Dyb-dyb-dyb-dyb” (meaning Do Your Best).”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Howl#:~:text=Your%20best%20will%20be%20twice,(meaning%20Do%20Your%20Best).
Ah! That makes sense.
After all these years….
Welcome, Scout and I do hope we hear from you again. All are welcome. 👍
Brilliant. Like Tipcat, 20d was my LOI but I think I have plumped for the right one so shall be awaiting another pen. Speaking of which, we haven’t heard from out Two Kiwis – I wanted to apologise to them for not being able to do more than make faces at them on the Birthday Bash Zoom – there was far too much noise going on. Perhaps SJB has spoken to them since then. Too many ‘favourites’ to choose but I do like the jam packed train. I think I am becoming a bit of a cruciverbal nerd because this morning George said he had dreamed he was running around naked looking for his clothes. I thought for a bit and then wrote down for him ‘Ribbon with knight instead of mother initially naked’ 8 letters. I reckon that is worth another pen. Many thanks to NYDJ and Madame CeeSue.
Love the clue, Splitseez!
Lovely puzzle. Not particularly fast but very steady and helped by getting 2d and the linked clues quickly 5(a) my favourite. I didn’t know what a villein was and although I’d guessed 30a was a satellite of Jupiter I didn’t know the names of any so needed help from google in the end. Thank you to setter and CS.
Lovely puzzle & theme. Straightforward until 18&20d. Very slow to twig the traitor & even slower the other. Liked the proximity of the answers to 7&8d to each other but fav was 15d – thank heavens I don’t have to suffer that any more.
Thanks to Donny & Sue
Just read the hints & realised that I’d not parsed 30a – very clever
Enjoyed that today. Thanks, setter and Sue. As a London commuter, I quite liked 15d! And as a Classicist, the Greek and Biblical references were satisfying. Did anyone else notice this: I wonder how usual it is for pretty much half the answers to end in a vowel?!… Have a great weekend, all! Vic
Hi VC
I have never looked at how often words end with a vowel. From now on, I’ll look out for crazy percentages either way.
Keep on posting!
Hi Tom – thanks. Apologies for my somewhat random comment. I didn’t want to get told off for giving anything away, so couldn’t quite explain it fully as I wanted! But if you look back at the answers to yesterday’s crossword, there were quite a few words that ended in – shall we say – less common vowels for English words to end in. I just thought it was noticeable! Looking back, do you concur?… Cheers! Vic :-)
Unusual for me, the linked clues didn’t faze me today, and completed most of today’s puzzle unaided. I even knew the film director which is also unusual for me. An enjoyable challenge from start to finish. Welcome back CS, glad you had a good visit with the grandchildren. Thanks for the hints to get me to the finishing post and to NYDK.
After my struggles with yesterday’s puzzle, today was a pleasant stroll through crosswordland. I was held up for a bit with solving 18D, mainly because I misspelt 29A. Whoops!
Favourite by a mile was 30A, which I failed to parse at first, but when the penny dropped, I thought
” what a clever clue”.
Thanks to NYKD for the entertainment and CS for the hints.
I feel exactly the same, Acrostic but a lot of other solvers seem to enjoy the linked clues so I suspect they are here to stay i liked the crypric definition at 6d, the tratir anagram at 18d and the geographical clue at 21d. Thanks to CS for the hints and to the compiler (sorry, but linked clues don’t float my boat to continue the nautical theme(
Good puzzle but still no fan of linked clues.
27a was a bung in. No real problems anywhere else. Lots to like. Favourite was 30a. Thanks to NYD and CS.
Very enjoyable, just the satellite held me up.
Not sure of the parsing.
Thanks Sue, clever stuff, the Satellite.
Finally finished but was surprised that nobody mentioned 18d as difficult. It was my last one in after trying to solve it as an anagram. Of course I might have ended with the wrong answer.Enjoyed the tied in clues and there was lots to like.Delighted by 30 across. Have had it in my sights.
Wonderful to be outdoors today. A passer- by took a picture of the flower bank at the front of the house. It is meant to look natural but it is cunningly contrived so at least one person was convinced.
If I ever win the mythical it will come in John’s name because the download is on his computer. Thanks all round.
A real Saturday challenge, I keep saying I like linked clues but it took way too long to crack these. Needed help for 30a and had never heard of 20d in that context.
Favourites 3d and 15d.
Thanks to CS and Setter
An enjoyable Saturday, but I’m a bit unsure of the parsing on part of 12A. One of the two-letter notes seems to end in an “i” according to spellings I can find online, but I need it to end in an “e” to fit with what I think is the correct answer (and to tie-in with 3D). Is the note ending in “e” a common alternative spelling, or have I misunderstood the parsing altogether?
Hi, Cryptic Mike. If you look up the spelling you expected on Chambers online, you’ll see both variants are listed — and indeed the one used in the crossword is first.
Smashing. Thanks Smylers
Thank you NY Doorknob for the puzzle, and CrypticSue for explaining a few of the answers. This was trickier than usual, and I had to look up ‘villein’ for 10a, but hopefully I will remember that.
My favourites were the 3d Headingley spinner and 4d Queen Vic.
Some cracking clues here – top of the list 30a, joined by 15d & 18d.
Thank you Donny and CS
Thanks all, thanks Sue.
NYDK
Very late to the party as I was occupied with other endeavours yesterday. I really enjoyed this puzzle. I actually twigged to the intent of 14/19 (though I couldn’t complete the phrase before doing a bit of research) before solving 2d. Of course, that gave me 2d. I see that no one seems to have commented on the connection of 16a to the theme.
Posted very late as i had my daughter with me this week.
As I often do on a Saturday nowadays, I found this very hard and was a dnf. A better showing than normal though.
New words to me in 12a and 20d. Needed to use other means to parse or get several clues.
Enjoyed the challenge though.
Thanks to all.
Took this one away with me to Malawi and just done it – very enjoyable but quite tricky in parts