Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30874
Hints and tips by Mr K
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BD Rating - Difficulty **** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday.
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. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
1a Tiresome MP out collecting papers after noon (4,8)
POST MERIDIEM: An anagram (out) of TIRESOME MP containing (collecting) the abbreviation for identity papers
9a Old man flipped card quickly (5)
APACE: The reversal (flipped) of an informal word for old man or father is followed by the name of the playing card with one pip
10a Story involving camel's strange fur (4-5)
LIME-SCALE: An untrue story containing (involving) an anagram (strange) of CAMEL’S
11a Move by river east of capital to see bird (10)
BUDGERIGAR: Link together move or stir, the capital of Latvia, and the map abbreviation for river
12a Male camp in Stuttgart expelling the French (4)
STAG: The German (in Stuttgart) word for a (prison) camp minus (expelling) “the” in French
13a Larva from strand oddly missed by staff (7)
TADPOLE: Even letters (oddly missed) of STRAND with a staff or rod
15a President one interrupts finally with success (7)
TRIUMPH: The current US President containing (…interrupts) the Roman one is followed the last letter (finally) of WITH
17a Returned gross cheese in fabric (7)
TAFFETA: The reversal (returned) of gross or obese is followed by a Greek cheese
19a Plain couple that is nursing rook (7)
PRAIRIE: The fusion of another word for couple and the Latin abbreviation for “that is” is containing (nursing) the chess abbreviation for rook
21a Diamonds on edge of rough grass (4)
RICE: An informal word for diamonds comes after the first letter of (edge of) ROUGH
22a Posh meals unwrapped by Conservative girl (5-5)
UPPER-CLASS: Some evening meals minus their outer letters (unwrapped) are followed by the single letter for Conservative and another word for girl
25a Fish in batter eaten by cruciverbalists a bit off (9)
WHITEBAIT: Batter or beat contained by (eaten by) a pronoun that could stand for us cruciverbalists is followed by an anagram (off) of BIT
26a Carried in tidal flood crossing close to London (5)
BORNE: A tidal flood or wave containing (crossing) the final letter (close to) of LONDON
27a Release key guards near yard on purpose (12)
DELIBERATELY: A key on a computer keyboard contains (guards) release or free, and that’s all followed by the single letter for yard
Down
1d Cloth softly put down (5)
PLAID: The musical abbreviation for softly with put or set down
2d Poem ex-soldiers recalled about docker (9)
STEVEDORE: The reversal (recalled) of the fusion of a generic poem and some ex-soldiers is followed by a short word meaning about or concerning
3d Sickness some people from Asia caught (7)
MALAISE: A homophone (caught) of the people from a particular Asian country
4d Stuff and nonsense mostly widespread (7)
RAMPANT: A synonym of stuff with all but the last letter (mostly) of an informal word for nonsense or rubbish
5d Medicate deer with lowered energy? (4)
DOSE: In some female deer, the physics symbol for energy is moved towards the end of the word (lowered)
6d Steal more weird rubbery material (9)
ELASTOMER: An anagram (weird) of STEAL MORE
7d Chatter with a bishop in right moment (6)
RABBIT: Concatenate the single letter for right, A from the clue, the chess abbreviation for bishop, and a moment or short interval of time
8d Extent of stage spanning new empty trench (6)
LENGTH: A stage in a competition containing (spanning) the single letter for new, all followed by the outer letters (empty) of TRENCH
14d Flawed officer using force for the first time (9)
DEFECTIVE: In a police officer physics symbol for force replaces the first occurrence of the physics symbol for time
16d Cross isle with Carib agitated (9)
IRASCIBLE: An anagram (agitated) of ISLE CARIB
17d Hollander on vacation in Bury maybe confused (6)
THROWN: The outer letters (on vacation) of HOLLANDER inserted in what Bury defines by example (maybe)
18d Pacify parrot being fed greens (7)
APPEASE: Parrot or copy containing (being fed) a green vegetable that comes in pods
19d Picks wrong claret under pressure (7)
PLECTRA: An anagram (wrong) of CLARET follows the physics symbol for pressure
20d Some twisted legalese US nerd follows (6)
ENSUES: The answer is hidden in the reversal of (some twisted …) LEGALESE US NERD
23d Display stripped part above beam (5)
ARRAY: PART minus its outer letters (stripped) is followed by a beam of light
24d House film sets periodically in rotation (4)
SEMI: The reversal of alternate letters (periodically in rotation) of FILM SETS
Thanks to today’s setter. Which clues did you like best?
The Quick Crossword pun: PARCEL + EASE + HOARSE = PARSLEY SAUCE
Not too demanding but not too entertaining either which would suggest that of the Friday Triumvirate this is most likely a Zandio production – 2.5*/2.5*
Smiles for 10a, 26a, and 3d.
Thanks to Zandio, or whomsoever if it is not he, and thanks to Mr K.
Some pictorial support for 1d:
Thanks for the picture Senf.
Brilliant, just right for a Friday, very cryptic, very entertaining.
My favourite today was 25a, well done Mr setter, a gem!
Straightforward enough. I see the quickie is a pangram.
Thanks
A fitting end to the week which I didn’t find too difficult. The anagram at 1a was a great help and the top half proved no problem. The south of the puzzle was a little more challenging with some lovely misdirectional clues. I needed the hint to parse 25a – very clever. ( The A needs including in the anagram part of the hint) Favourite today was 17d, sharing the podium with 19a and 2d. Thanks to our setter and Mr K.
Quite straightforward today but very enjoyable to solve. I didn’t know 10a was hyphenated; I have only ever seen it as one word.
Thanks to the setter and to Mr K
It’s been a funny old week for me in crosswordland, with Tuesday and Wednesday’s offerings being of Mondayish difficulty and Thursday being Fridayish.
Today, for a pleasant change I actually finished a Friday puzzle with no need of the hints – hooray!
I thought 10A and 14D very clever and both reinforced my admiration of the skill of the setters.
Thanks to all.
**/*****
Not too tricky for a Friday but the SW required more pondering
1d was probably my favourite today, maybe because the Bee’s are Scottish by descent (I am entitled to wear the MacLean Tartan)
Or it could be it reminded me of Steve Martin when he was really funny (Dead Men Don’t Wear 1d)
Normal Friday with the toughest puzzle of the week for me. Solved bottom to top, but with lots of head scratching and many a parse not understood. Methinks this is likely a Zandio production given my difficulties.
3*/2* for me
Favourites 1a, 13a, 15a, 2a, 5d & 19d — with winner 1a
Thanks to Zandio & Mr K.
I solved it top to bottom! Although I did think the bottom was easier.
4*/2.5*. I found this quite tough possibly because I find it difficult to get on the right wavelength when the surface readings are intrusive.
I failed to parse the first syllable of 25a because I was convinced that the definition must be “fish in batter”.
14d was my favourite.
Thanks to the setter and to Mr K.
RD has said it all for me.
Thanks to compiler and Mr K.
Very enjoyable – thanks to our setter and Mr K.
My top clues were 12a, 25a and 14d (and the Quickie pun).
Perfect for a Friday: tough but doable.
I’m impressed that some of you found it fairly straightforward as I had to work at it, especially the west that took me into the next time zone.
My podium is 1a, 10a and14d.
Many thanks to Zandio (?) and Mr K.
4*/4*
Phew – found this a really difficult solve – took longer than the rest of the weeks puzzles combined. Looking back, I’m not sure why as it was all perfectly fair and above board. No favourites – just happy to have finished it!
I’ll second … just managed it! Feels good having finished.
A lot of fun, over all too soon (indeed by about 5.30am!). Honours to 27a, 14d & 3d.
Many thanks to setter and Mr K both.
I found this tricky and was pleased that I managed to complete it without the hints.
I also thought 10a was a single word.
Top picks for me were 17a, 19d and 2d.
Thanks to Mr K and the setter.
Not too tough for a Friday, despite a slow start to the day resulting from a night out with rather younger ex-colleagues. Fair and clever cluing throughout, with 3d my favourite. Thanks to the setter and to Mr K for explaining a few solutions that I’d chucked in.
Nice for a Friday and a bit easier than a usual Friday, for me. Loved 11a, 17a and particularly 25a. Thanks to setter and Mr. K for the parsing of 12a.
Lots of fun clues, with a middling sort of difficulty for a Friday. I thought 14d’s flawed officer was so clever, with a great surface reading, and 19d did a very good job of making me think ‘picks’ was a verb (but, bafflingly, without an S in the anagram fodder). I also particularly liked 2d for its surface of ex-soldiers reciting poetry, 25a for “we”, and 24d both for the film not being ET and also it being one of those clues where I sceptically followed some instructions with an unpromising set of letters and was surprised when a valid answer popped out!
Thank you to the setter, and for teaching me that 21a is a grass.
And thank you to Mr K; I needed your help with 12a (where I hadn’t thought of prison camps) and 27a (where I hadn’t thought of that sort of key, despite pressing the one required several times during solving). The 10a anagram beat me as well, whereas 6d wasn’t a word I knew but I somehow I managed to get out of those letters anyway.
Oh, and the things in 22a aren’t meals — they’re a mug of something hot before bed, possibly with a biscuit!
The things in 22a aren’t meals. How so?
Maybe it’s a regional thing as we use this term for our evening ‘eats’ (I had to). ‘Dinner’ is more formal for us southern softies. Well, it is for me.
You probably should have put ‘for me’ after your comment.
Yup, the perennial debate Tom, and everyone is right… as long as they agree with thee and me!
Well, I put an exclamation mark, to show I wasn’t entirely serious.
Yes, I think it’s a regional thing: I’ve only heard folks from Down South use it like that. Obviously in reality none of us are right or wrong. But it jars when a southern term is used in a puzzle as though that’s the way we all use it.
Or maybe the clue including both “posh” and “Conservative” should be interpreted as some kind of Home Counties indicator?!
In the 1950s, my greedy relations in London (who were neither posh nor Conservative!) had four meals a day at very precise times: breakfast (8 am), lunch (1 pm), dinner (6.30 pm) and supper (9 pm). Three of these were substantial slthough the supper generally was light. Very surprisingly, they weren’t at all overweight!
An interesting reply, S, especially your last line. Very funny.
The ! was so far down the sentence that I thought it was to do with the bit about the biscuit.
I think the complier choosing the word ‘meal’ as a synonym for ‘supper’ is fine. He had to use something. I wouldn’t look into it too much.
Well we have supper at home at about 7.30 but we go out to dinner.
Sorry, enjoyed the guzzle, thanks to all.
Southern softies? Oi, steady on. We have lunch and then dinner – I’ve never thought about it. It doesn’t matter really what you call it as long as you don’t gesticulate with your knife. We went to a fairly formal dinner on Monday and the man opposite me cut up all his food and then ate everything with his fork, elbow on the table. I suppose that makes me an old fogey. Incidentally, where does High Tea come into all this?
A fine question, Day Zee.
Check it out…
The “High” Table:
The term “high tea” refers to the height of the table and chairs where the meal was served, which was typically a substantial, working-class meal eaten after a long day of labor.
Differentiating from Afternoon Tea:
In contrast, afternoon tea, which is a lighter meal, was often served in a more relaxed setting, on low, comfortable chairs or sofas.
Working Class Meal:
High tea was a hearty meal, often including meat, fish, or baked goods, served at the end of the workday, while afternoon tea was a lighter snack or treat.
Modern Usage:
Today, the term “high tea” is sometimes used interchangeably with “afternoon tea” outside of the UK, but in Britain, “high tea” is still understood as a more substantial evening meal.
I used the term southern softy as my northern chums have called me that for yonks.
An excellent Friday puzzle (from Z?); fairly tricky in plces with fine clues providing an enjoyable tussle. Favourite clue: 14d – very clever! 3.5*/4*.
It feels like ‘long time no see’ Jose – and if so, welcome back!
About right for a Friday with 25a my final entry and 14d my favourite. Good entertainment all round.
Thanks to our setter and Mr K.
I too am guessing this is a Zandio production as I can almost never understand his clues. Today was no exception. After inking in a pitiful few, I followed the advice of a long time ago commentator to ignore the clues and find the answers. Reverse engineering, and it does work. Congrats to all above who finished without copious help, and to Mr K. Missed the cat pictures, they are often the best part of Friday puzzles.
No cats, but Gazza’s cartoons are always sure to raise a smile even if you aren’t reading his blog for assistance with clues, BL, and his Toughie Blog today is no exception – some crackers!
Very light for a Friday, but most enjoyable.
14d my CoD.
Thanks to Mr K and our setter.
Fairly clued. A bit obscure in parts but I worked backwards in several to get the answers. I liked the “fur” as it took me a while to twig but so satisfying when you do. Thanks All
**/****
Definitely Zandio with each newclue as impenetrable as the last. I agree wuth RD about the surface reads. The clues were very clever but it was a bit like pulling teeth to finish this guzzzle with satisfaction but ovariable levels ofenjoyment. However I liked the lego clues with a bit of GK involved at 1a, 11a and q25a plus the anagram with a GK component at 19d. Thanks to Me K for the hints, which I shall now read abd to Zandio for his customary Friday challenge
3* / 4* Perfect for a Friday and an excellent quickie pun. Favourites 19a, 15a and 19d.
Thanks to setter and Mr K
Made a bit harder work of this than perhaps the level of difficulty required. Can’t say I’ve ever really thought about it but now know rice is a grass & have never seen 10a hyphenated (well it isn’t on the Viakal). I’m in the enjoyable camp – 14d my fav & also particularly liked 12,15&27a along with 2,3&17d. Nice to see a rare pangram in the Quickie & with a cracking pun too.
Thanks the setter (Zandio presumably) & to Mr K
This took quite a while as I fell asleep halfway through – not the fault of the guzzle but a rather delicious lunch. My last one in was 3 d I could only think of malaria so thank you Mr K for your hints. I liked 12,19 and 22a and 26d. I got up in the night and put on my dressing gown ( or should I say peignoir – now there’s a word to work into a guzzle ) went out into the garden to see the moon. It was overcast, so I thought I would jump into the car and drive up to slightly higher ground (no hills round here). Got my handbag, let myself out and went to my car which was absolutely frozen up, thick ice on the windows. I knew I had a defrost spray in the car but at that point I thought, really ? Are you mad, woman? And I let myself into the house and went back to bed. Many thanks to Messrs Setter and Misterkay.
I woke up at 3.30 a.m. and peered out of an upstairs window that faces west. It was a perfectly clear sky and I could see the shdow creeping across the moon. By 5.30 a m a temperature inversion developed and a hard frost covered the roof tiles and cars. Disappointingly, the blood moon wasn’t visible through the haze over the sky. So you weren’t the only soul pottering about in the middle of the night to view the eclipse Daisy.
Not a guzzle, DL, but how about :
Flimsy gown? Margaret and Norma each have one, but not mother! (8)
Cracking clue MG🏎️
Brilliant!
Really enjoyed this solve today. Quite cheeky in places but much less difficult than yesterday for me.
Managed to bung in “place” for 1d which rather delayed getting 11a until I realised my mistake.
Thanks to all.
At my limits of ability today. I got there but needed a hint to get to the end and had to see the hints to parse a couple (obvious once I saw the hints). I did enjoy it and the 1a anagram got me off to a great start. I had 14d as my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K for the hints.
Completed this some time ago. Not had time to comment or read the comments but hello to all contributors and thanks to the setter and Mr. K.
Good evening
Finally hoyed the sponge in at half 10, after leaving and coming back to the crozzie several times since I started it at about 2:00. Normally time, tea, and my Lucky Green Pen see me through, but today they didn’t. Not even the LGP could help! A DNF with four solutions left; one of which was 25a, which I’d never have got in a million years!
I did enjoy the challenge, though. Although I don’t see a post from our setter, I’d have ten bob on it being The Mind of Zandio. My thanks to our setter and to Mr K.
First Friday I have completed without the hints although I didn’t understand all the parsing, used the checkers for some and my wife solved 14d and 17a using the precise definitions. Looked impossible when I looked at it on Friday evening but eventually solved the south. Looked again on Saturday evening and solved the north-west. Completed it at lunchtime today and felt great! COTD 11a for the Lego. Thanks to the setter and Mr K – and for the comments, which I always enjoy. ****/****
3*/4* ….
liked 15A “President one interrupts finally with success (7)”
Excellent crossword, worthy of **** difficulty!
3d is a great clue, but I struggled initially because I haven’t seen ‘caught’ as a homophone indicator before.