Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30860
Hints and tips by Senf
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ****
A very good Wednesday morning from Winnipeg from where I must apologise to the meteorologists for doubting their accuracy in forecasting the end of the Arctic Deep Freeze.
For me, etc (I have to say that for Terence), somewhat different to the last couple of weeks, with some new anagram indicators, and once again I am not going to hazard a guess on who the setter might be.
Candidates for favourite – 9a, 15a, 26a, 1d, 3d, and 13d.
In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the Click here! buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
1a Book on tape father’s playing, about Mozart essentially (6,2,3,4)
TARZAN OF THE APES: An anagram (playing) ON TAPE FATHER’S containing (about) the two middle letters (essentially) of MoZArt.
9a Where ball might go after a foul now (2,3,4)
ON THE SPOT: A reasonably straightforward double definition.
10a Quaint old penny in Peebles river (5)
TWEED: A synonym of quaint and the single letter for an old (pre-decimalisation) penny for a Scottish river that flows into the North Sea in England.
11a Sheepdog’s without lead behind husband’s evergreen shrubs (7)
HOLLIES: A well know breed of dog used for herding sheep, with the ‘s but with the first letter deleted (without lead) placed after (behind) the single letter for Husband.
12a Note church with empty seats in alcove (6)
RECESS: the second note on the solfège scale, the two letters for the Anglican church, and (with) SeatS with the interior letters deleted (empty).
15a Mark’s chasing sailor making passes (8)
ABSTAINS: A type of mark (caused by spilt fluid?) with the ‘s placed after (chasing) the two letters used for a RN sailor.
16a People regularly love sport (4)
POLO: Alternate (regularly) letters from people, I’ll let you decide whether it’s odd or even, and the letter that represents love as part of the score in a racquet game.
19a Comedian Williams taking bin out before midday stroll (4)
ROAM: The first name of an (American) comedian (who played Mrs Doubtfire) with the letters of BIN removed (taking . . . out) placed before the two letters that represent the Latin based term for before midday.
20a Actor with more ground wanting English estate? (5,3)
MOTOR CAR: An anagram (ground) of ACTOR and (with) MORE.
23a Doctor to withdraw (6)
REPAIR: A double definition.
24a Pleasant introduction to Aesop with fine tale (7)
AFFABLE: The first letter (introduction to) of Aesop and (with) the single letter for Fine and the type of tale that Aesop is famous for.
26a Saw area next to East London town reduced by 50 per cent (5)
ADAGE: The single letter for Area before (next to) an East London town, well known for automobile manufacture, with 50% of its letters removed – I’ll let you decide which 50% – just for Terence, you will find a common synonym in the entry for the definition on p1357 of the BRB Revised 13th Edition and in the entry for the answer on p15 of the same.
28a Type of engine run in Potteries city by company, it’s said (9)
TWOSTROKE: The letter for a crickety Run inserted into a city in the Potteries placed after (by) a homophone (it’s said) of a synonym of company (as in as well as?).
29a British magazine finishes cutting first of reviews for film (3,4,8)
THE LADY VANISHES: A famous British magazine (that has been in print for 140 years) and a term for finishes (applied as a top coat?) with the first letter of Review deleted (cutting).
I’ll take any and every opportunity to include a picture of Catherine, Princess of Wales!
Down
1d I’ll leave a gift after small falling-out! (5,5)
TOOTH FAIRY: The folkloric figure who visits at night to exchange money or gifts for primary deciduous dentition – what’s the going rate these days; it was 6d when I was a little lad.
2d Treats ankle wound – from this? (11)
RATTLESNAKE: An anagram (wound) of TREATS ANKLE.
3d US drink with no chocolate in the middle? (8)
AMERICAN: A type of coffee drink, which I understand is diluted espresso, with the middle letter of chocOlate deleted (no . . . in the middle).
4d One dreadful pop song entertains rival (8)
OPPOSING: An anagram (dreadful) of POP SONG contains (entertains) the Roman numeral for One.
5d I appreciate that needs crisp cut spuds (6)
TATERS: A two letter term of gratitude (I appreciate that) and (needs) a synonym of crisp (as in short in expression) with the last letter deleted (cut).
6d Lead on roof in Kent missing – and diamonds (6)
ENTICE: Kent with its first letter deleted (roof in . . . missing) and an informal term for diamonds (not playing cards).
7d Pastry I must hide in gym? (3)
PIE: I from the clue inserted into (must hide in) one of the sets of two letters for gym (class).
8d Team initially succeeded in denying Everton (4)
SIDE: The first letters (initially) of four words in the clue.
13d Put the lid on crumble in British hotel’s dish (6,5)
SCOTCH BROTH: A single word equivalent to put the lid on (as in stop) and a synonym of crumble (as in decay) inserted into the single letter for British and the letter represented by hotel in the phonetic alphabet.
14d Rough quality of Norse seas affected by onset of hurricane (10)
HOARSENESS: An anagram (affected) of NORSE SEAS placed after (by) the first letter (onset) of Hurricane.
17d Mostly act cool, nervously holding a cold drink (4-4)
COCA-COLA: An anagram (nervously) of ACt with the last letter deleted (mostly) and COOL containing (holding) A from the clue.
18d Colourful articles in paper that parties forming a union must brush off? (8)
CONFETTI: Shredded paper that a happy couple get ‘showered’ with once they have been ‘joined.’
21d Brownie maybe unaware macaroon’s eaten up (6)
CAMERA: A reversed lurker (eaten up) found in two words in the clue.
22d Republican in minor fair (6)
PRETTY: The single letter for Republican inserted into (in) a synonym of minor (related to crime?).
25d Voiced compassion for male deer (4)
HART: A homophone (voiced) of a synonym of compassion.
27d One card that’s inside pack on edge of table? (3)
ACE: A double definition – the second is made up of the inside letters of pACk placed before (on) the last letter (edge) of tablE.
Quick Crossword Pun:
HIKE + HATCHING = EYE CATCHING
28a – “Two’s company”
That’s how I saw it, Telemen.
Me too
And me Tom though did consider Senf’s reasoning – reckon either works
Two stars for toughness? maybe for you Senf, but I found this a right child with unmarried parents.
This just goes to firm up my theory that Wednesdays are the new Fridays, and this one proved it in spades!
Took me two goes and two cups of Rosie to get to the finish (which was the SW corner by the way)
Great clues nonetheless, with my two favourites being 1a, 29a and the very clever 1d.
Off to start building an Ark now as Sandhurst is under a deluge, and the cats had to swim up the garden just to have a wee.
Ta to Senf and our sadist today, can’t wait to see who it is.
A lovely mid-week guzzle. The two long ones stumped me but the rest fell steadily. I remembered that particular “saw’ in 26a and 28a was a lovely clue if clues can be lovely. My COTD is 15a because it fooled me. I had the sailor part but “making passes” sent me down the wrong path.
Thank you, setter for the fun challenge. Thank you, Mr. Mustard for the hints. Stay warm!
Excellent puzzle, a little more chewy than the last couple of days, good Wednesday fare. Plenty of gimmes & a generous dollop of anagrams, but quite a few clues requiring thought and careful parsing. Took a long time for me to get “Planet” out of my mind at 1a, so those first three down clues were among the last ones solved (1d LOI), but inspiration finally struck.
So, podium places to 1a, 29a (COTD for me) and 1d.
Many thanks to the setter – I too have no idea whatever, this did not feel like one of the regular setters. Thank you also Senf.
Me too with “planet”.
And me!
And me!
So many great minds!
I immediately dismissed ‘Planet’ as not having a Z anywhere in the title. That didn’t help, however: I somehow failed to spot for ages that ‘Mozart’ has an even number of letters, and being a letter short I couldn’t work out which of the other words to use as anagram fodder.
And me!
And me!
Me too, it might be quicker to hear from all that didn’t initially have planet!
And me
For me, and I stress for me (© Senf) I found this rather tricky, with each answer needing to be teased out. Solving the top and bottom glues opened the guzzle up somewhat.
We were at Stamford Bridge last night as the Mighty Chelsea overcame Southampton who had the worst defence I’ve seen this season, and that includes Morecambe – who put up a better fight. I had predicted 0-0 amidst much derision from my friends, and as it finished up 4-0 to Chelsea I think we can say that my future as a TV pundit is assured. It’s my view that the experts on TV tell you what is going to happen in a game, and then, later, give you all the reasons why that didn’t happen.
The Youngster has ‘borrowed’ H’s car, and thus H has taken ‘our/my’ car so I am marooned looking out at that very special drizzle in which England specialises. (The Youngster’s car is out of commission; it’s a long story)
Thanks to the setter and The Mighty Man From Manitoba and his bloomin’ Big Red Book
I’m hoping United have the same success as Chelsea did last night Terence but I’m not holding my breath!
I found the guzzle tricky too. I’d decided 1a was Planet of which made no sense! I thought 1d was the best glue. No idea who the setter is but thankyou for the struggle! I definitely needed your hints Senf.
2*/4*. I’m going to follow Senf’s example in not hazarding a guess on today’s setter. Whoever he/she is, it was great fun and nicely pitched for the middle of the week.
My podium selection is 19a, 1d & 13d.
Many thanks to Mr. Ron and to Senf.
A nice midweeker that went in fairly smoothly, though I got slightly bogged down in Portsmouth and Southampton until 29a hit me square between the eyes.
Having done some Google action, I am now fully aware of a Brownie which was based on The ‘Brownie Characters’ from a book. Bizarrely, it was invented by a Mr Brownell of Kodak. I also like the coincidence of a Kodiak Brown Bear and a Kodak Brownie. ‘Kodak’ was a made-up name by the creator of 21d, George Eastman, who loved the letter K as do I because it’s a great Scrabble letter.
Anyway…..
My podium is 7d and the two cryptic definitions: 1d and 18d.
Many thanks to the setter and Senf.
2*/4*
I thought this was about perfect for a Wednesday crossword with just the right amount of chewiness offset by a few gimmes. The two long films went in fairly quickly, (29a was particularly good), but my favourite was 1d. Great fun.
Many thanks to our midweek setter for the challenge and to Senf.
Fairly tricky I thought but enjoyable. Once I got 1a the top went smoothly, the south was more testing and several were answered without understanding the parsing. The anagrams were excellent. 28a was my favourite once I twigged.
Currently on the m25 heading to visit family, the rain is biblical at the moment and a boat may be more appropriate than a car.
Many thanks to the setter and to Senf for the hints.
An entertaining puzzle requiring quite a bit of thought in places – thanks to our setter and Senf.
For my podium I’ve selected 28a, 29a and 1d.
Well, that was a very enjoyable tussle this morning which I would still have been doing had I not resorted to a hint in the NW, which opened the corner up for me. I went for 1d, though I think any of the others would have given me the same result. I don’t know why 1a held out for so long since I had the R very early on and was well aware that I needed to include a Z. A matter of seeing what you expect to see and, as others have said, planet was the word uppermost in my mind. Favourite today was 18d sharing the podium with 9a and 28a. Thanks to our setter for the absolute pleasure and Senf for making sense of some of it for me.
I enjoyed this but it wasn’t plain sailing by any means. Last to fall was 25d.
Top picks for me were 28a, 1d, 29a, 21d and 18d.
Thanks to Senf and the setter.
I found that reasonably tough, although I was distracted by various low-level annoyances here in wet west Herts and therefore not at my best. A number of the clues nevertheless shone through my ill-humour, for example 1d and 29a. I too struggled to see past “planet” in 1a, while 28a and much of the south detained me for much longer than should have been the case. Thanks very much to the setter and to Senf for some particularly helpful parsing tips today.
A guess-fest for me today.
Needed Senf’s help for loads of parsings.
Filled the grid but not very satisfying when I cannot work out why.
Thanks to the setter and big thanks to Senf.
Somehow this fell into place more easily than the quickie, which I found a challenge.
It’s a wavelength thing, and today was a good day. Thank you setter and Senf.
Tough enough for me to wonder if it was Friday but cleverly constructed, as I could appreciate when the penny dropped. 1a was a great anagram and 27a a great legoclluue and it helped enormously when rhose two long clues were filled in. My COTD was, however, 28a, very clever ibdeed. Thanks to Senf of the frozen wastes for the hints and to the compiler.
Many thanks to the setter for the entertaining puzzle that required some thought in places.
3*/3* for me.
I assumed that the definition of of 20a was just the word estate, as the E(nglish) needs to be removed from the fodder.
Agreed. The Mini Countryman was my parent’s first car on retiring from India in the early 60’s!
PS Thanks to the puzzler and Senf!
parents’
Lol, LNL!
A crossword nicely at my level — doable, but not too easily. Thank you to the setter for creating it, the editor for selecting it, and solvers who are at other levels (in either direction) for putting up with it; hopefully one that suits you will be along soon.
I particularly liked 20a’s English estate and 28a’s Potteries city, but my favourite is 21d for having both a brownie and a macaroon!
Thanks also to Senf for confirming what ‘needs’ is doing in 5d.
Narrowly missed the ‘planet’ trap, saved by the mention of the essential part of Mozart. I had a couple of hmms which put me in mind of Twmbarlwm being our setter but then went on to thoroughly enjoy the solve which made that doubtful. Fond memories of my first 21d which was indeed a Brownie – 125 if I remember correctly. Sadly, after the first burst of enthusiasm, it didn’t get a great deal of use as I couldn’t afford either the cost of films or the developing of same. To be honest, the pictures I took weren’t exactly sparkling anyway!
Nice to see The Hollies again – used to cost us 2s 6d to see them performing in the local Town Hall on Saturday nights back in the day.
Top clues for me were 15,24&28a plus 1&6d.
Thanks to our setter for the trip down memory lane and to Senf for the review – I understand that the 1d gets stung for £1 per visit these days!
I think it’s safe to say that you won’t be joining the ‘Mr Tumble Fan Club’ anytime soon, Jane.
It’s still just me and ten boxes of signed photos at the moment.
Great shout 😄
Maybe this crossword will make her consider it.
Keep ‘em coming.
It was crackerjack, as always. I meant to comment yesterday cos I loved it. But life just got in the way! Ugh.
Got off to a bad start by biffing Santa Claus for 1d, although it was clearly never going to work. Things flowed reasonably smoothly after that with one eye on the cricket. After a slow start, Afghanistan appear to have scored far too many runs. If we chase them down it will make for an entertaining afternoon.
Oh, the puzzle. Good fun with plenty of smiles. I will go for 1a as my CoD.
Thank you to our mystery setter and, of course, to Senf.
Off to a flyer as 1a (Chuck Heston didn’t occur) & my fav, 1d went straight in. The top half was a swift grid fill & then things slowed up considerably as brain fog took hold. By the time I staggered over the line the solve had taken nearly as long as yesterday’s Toughie. Very much enjoyed the puzzle.
Thanks to the setter & to Senf
Although completed I struggled with some of the wordplay but having seen Senfs explanations I really don’t know why, they are all very logical. Just my aging brain I suspect.
An enjoyable puzzle (it must be it has a cricket clue!).
Thx to all
***/****
This Wednesday puzzle easier than the first two puzzles of the work week, at least for me.
2*/3.5*
Favourites 9a, 10a, 24a, 6d, 18d & 21d — with winner 21d
Smiles from 11a, 24a & 5d
Thanks to setter & Senf
USA checking in. Unknowns for me are the 140 year old magazine, estate, and the dish at 13D. Thankfully the crossers and chewy wordplay led to a completion. I’m a lifelong anglophile and am delighted to find myself learning new facts and expressions daily.
Favorite for me 18D… The same stuff that falls across my pixel 8 screen upon a successful solve!
Somewhat more difficult today but nonetheless very enjoyable. I agree with comment #16 regarding the parsing of 20a.
Too clever by three quarters. And if it can be thought ** then too clever by two halves.
Very enjoyable guzzle today although the SW held out for a while. I was a ‘planet’ as well although I could see it should have a Z in it. I wonder if anyone else has a slight problem with Senf’s blogs? When I open it, unlike other bloggers, there is no ‘continue reading’ or ‘comment’ button to click but it goes straight to the hints and all the answers are already uncovered. So if I want to read the comments first I have to shut my eyes and madly scroll through to the bottom and find the ‘comment’ button. I’m not explaining this very well and its not too much of a bother but I feel I have cheated somehow if I accidentally see one of the answers. Be interesting to see if this happens to others. Anyway, thanks to the setter and to Senf. Despite a gin clear night only managed to spot the obvious planet but none of the others. Won’t be possible tonight as overcast and freezing.
Yes, I have the same problem and also scroll furiously to get to the end.
We managed 4 planets last night, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus.
I also find the answers revealed so I now ignore the email
But you can’t bypass the email to get into the site!
Why not just bookmark the site (or add it to your favourites) so that you can come here without using the email?
I’ve never signed up for the email and don’t get notifications of replies, so rely entirely on that short cut.
My first read-through yielded one single answer. Much head-scratching and a couple of unneccesary detours later I had about 3/4 done, but was reduced to staring moodily at the remainder. Had to go to the dentist, but when I return I basically filled in all the remaining answers with no hesitation. Strange!
In the end I did enjoy it, although it took a lot longer than I expected, so ***/**** for me (and I stress…etc.).
Many thanks to the setter, and to Senf for the mercifully unneeded hints which I will now read.
Another one caught in the “planet” trap, until the penny finally dropped. Thoroughly enjoyed wrestling with this guzzle as I watched the deluge of hailstones turn our garden white! Thanks to the setter and Senf for a few much needed explanations.
Certainly not straightforward but a steady solve.
Favourites 1d, 20a and 28a.
3* / 4*
Thanks to setter and Senf
Surprisingly, I found this much friendlier than most Wednesdays and rather enjoyed it overall. Did need some hints to tease out a few answers, but it was a lot of fun today. Thanks to setter and Senf.
Felt like we were back in the 1950s for a lot of that.
Can’t really pick a clue I particularly enjoyed, ****/**
Thanks
Being in a rush I put Planet of the Apes…no wonder I couldn’t get first 3 down….nice puzzle though….wasnt to hard if I wasnt such a numpty..😅
I put this about level with the last two days for difficulty (tricky). 29a was a double never heard of, the film and the magazine so had to check them. No real favourite but if pushed I’d go with 6d. Thanks to the setter and Senf.
A tough challenge that needed two whiskies tonight. Don’t like 5d as a word but enjoyed the rest of it. Top spot to 2d. Thanks to setter and Senf.
Just starting out on cryptic crosswords so needed help with every clue! I hope I’ll get there one day!
Welcome to the blog. We are here to help! Please visit and comment often.
Thanks to Senf for the review, and to all solvers and commenters.
My intended meaning of “company, it’s said” in 28a refers to “Two’s company, three’s a crowd”, as rogueElement @1 said.
Another day where I failed miserably to find the wavelength. Only looked at this today as I was out and about yesterday. Wrote in the checkers for a couple and solved two before conceding defeat.
It feels like I’m a crossword beginner this week so far.
Having gone through the hints I couldn’t help but laugh at the “famous” magazine. It may be 140 years old but that does not make it famous. I suspect it is only famous for posh ladies and possibly their husbands. 🤪
Most of us have weeks like that. Just keep ploughing on and it will get better.
4*/4* …
liked 18D “Colourful articles in paper that parties forming a union must brush off ?(8)”