Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30880
Hints and tips by Mr K
+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - +
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. In some hints hyperlinks provide additional explanation or background. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
1a Comedians in show to enter in disguise (3,3,7)
THE TWO RONNIES: An anagram (in disguise) of IN SHOW TO ENTER
9a Makes great flipping scene outwardly whenever in school (9)
MAGNIFIES: The fusion of the outer letters (outwardly) of SCENE, a synonym of whenever, IN from the clue, and another word for a school of whales is all reversed (flipping)
10a Jar with money left inside (5)
CLASH: A generic synonym of money containing (… inside) the single letter for left
11a Bungling current record attempt ultimately (5)
INEPT: Join together current or fashionable, the abbreviation for a record between a single and an LP, and the final letter (ultimately) of ATTEMPT
12a Fair number heading off (4)
EVEN: A number less than ten, minus its first letter (heading off)
13a Knocks over box (4)
SPAR: The reversal (over) of knocks or strikes
15a Left-winger in team vacated spot month before (7)
MARXIST: The Roman numerals that are synonymous with a football team and the outer letters (vacated) of SPOT are both preceded by (… before) the abbreviation for the current month
17a Ball from good lofted shot ruled out of bounds (7)
GLOBULE: Cement together the single letter for good, a lofted shot in tennis, and RULED minus its outer letters (out of bounds)
18a Gains control over golf tournament (7)
MASTERS: A double definition. The winner of the golf tournament is awarded a green jacket
20a Oddly, Phil every new day would get drunk (3-4)
PIE-EYED: Take the odd letters of PHIL EVERY NEW and follow that with the single letter for day
21a Attack American papers pursuing Republican (4)
RAID: The single letter for American and the abbreviation for identification papers both come after (pursuing) the single letter for Republican
22a Brief role pressing case for underrated sport (4)
JUDO: A synonym of role minus its last letter (briefly) is containing (pressing) the outer letters of (case for) UNDERRATED
23a Miscreant I conclude is inspiring caper (5)
ANTIC: MISCREANT I CONCLUDE is hiding (inspiring) the answer
26a Ground nuts near starter of anchovies (5)
ARENA: An anagram (nuts) of NEAR with the first letter of (starter of) ANCHOVIES
27a Pub and empty hotel next to river (4,5)
FREE HOUSE: Link together empty or available, the letter represented in the NATO phonetic alphabet by hotel, and a usual river
28a Rogue lives close to sister and flogs trees (6,7)
SILVER BIRCHES: Combine together an anagram (rogue) of LIVES, the final letter of (close to) SISTER, and flogs or canes
Down
1d Issue raised over this writer's plaque ages ago (4,10)
TIME IMMEMORIAL: The reversal (raised, in a down clue) of a verb synonym of issue is followed by a contraction for “this writer’s” from their perspective, and a plaque or remembrance
2d Old comic that's below par (5)
EAGLE: An old comic periodical is also the name given to achieving two strokes less than par on a hole on a golf course
3d Places you'll find spare tyres, reportedly rubbish brands (10)
WAISTLINES: A homophone (reportedly) of another word for rubbish is followed by a synonym of brands
4d Object wearing torn old clothing (7)
RAIMENT: Object or goal inserted in (wearing) torn or ripped
5d Money saved from temping gets entirely used up (4,3)
NEST EGG: The answer is hidden in (from) the reversal (used up, in a down clue) of TEMPING GETS ENTIRELY
6d Desire entrancing female? Get rid of wife! (4)
ITCH: An entrancing female who’d be good at spells, minus (get rid of) the single letter for wife
7d Character has doubts occasionally with unknown tax (5,4)
STAMP DUTY: Character or mark with alternate letters (occasionally) of DOUBTS and a letter that can stand for a mathematical unknown
8d Author Chris slackened working (7,7)
CHARLES DICKENS: An anagram (working) of CHRIS SLACKENED
14d Staggering effort penning article on that woman's ancestor (10)
FOREFATHER: An anagram (staggering) of EFFORT containing (penning) a grammatical article is all followed by a word meaning “that woman”
16d Out of practice state distrust in essential nurses (9)
RUSTINESS: DISTRUST IN ESSENTIAL hides (nurses) the answer
19d Rearrange dance (7)
SHUFFLE: A double definition. Rearrange a deck of cards, perhaps
20d Saw bishop parking car previously (7)
PROVERB: Before the chess abbreviation for bishop (previously) comes both the single letter for parking and a brand of car
24d Feeling irritated, at heart that hurt (5)
TOUCH: The central letter (at heart) of IRRITATED with an exclamation meaning “that hurt”
25d Defensive line formed by half-cut London footballers (4)
WALL: One half (half-cut) of the name of a London football club currently playing in the Championship
Thanks to today’s setter. Which clues did you like best?
The Quick Crossword pun: JADE + EVE + ANTS = J.D. VANCE
A splendid and surprisingly gentle finish to the week with my money being on the Silver Fox.
Like yesterday, 1a kicked things off very nicely, putting a smile on my face, as they are undoubtedly the best comedy pair these shores have produced. (Wise was rubbish). The other three biggies also fell quickly, meaning that I had a nice frame to work with.
I had never heard of the synonym for the aquatic school in 9a which has, therefore, been noted.
My podium is 1a, 3d and 5d.
Many thanks to the aforementioned and Mr K.
2*/4*
Agree about Ernie Wise, how Eric stuck with him I’ll never know.
I suppose he liked the straight man not cramping his style.
Eric wrote to Glenda Jackson, having won her second Best Actress Oscar in 1973, saying…Stick with us kid and we’ll get you your third.
Peanuts!…Arsenal!…Not now Arthur.
Legend
That was a lot of fun! Found myself starting in the mid-south spotting 22a as I noted all the multi-word clues, albeit starting with ludo (my role in life / my lot in life) and wondering that it was a sport – but then again, so many interests are now classed as “sport”! Solved from there in a reasonably untroubled and broadly AC direction, but my LOI was 9a, with something of a groan when that penny dropped. Some great surfaces and misleading grammar, such that I had to remind myself to read every word in a clue on its own.
Ticks everywhere, but shall limit to 15a, 9a, 24d & runner-up 1d
Many thanks to the setter (Silvanus, I’d say) and of course to Mr K
Beware if printing the Toughie – yet again a DT Fail with it going to 2 pages, the fourth of 9 puzzles this week.
In the days of the good old Telegraph Puzzles site, the grid on the print out was 3½” x 3½” and there was ample room in the squares to fill in the letters; the new site gives us a grid measuring 4½” x 4½” with larger type for the clues which goes a long way to explaining why we have to check every time before pressing print
Indeed, Sue, and the problem is compounded by being unable to instruct “fit to page” when printing – the scaling doesn’t work. I print puzzles from the DT & Times at only 60% of full size (saves ink, leaves more thinking space on the page) but because the DT’s template has been designed so ineptly, that still doesn’t allow any clues destined for page 2 to be drawn up to page 1.
Today, printing p1 first then carefully re-inserting it before printing p2, at least resulted in 26d appearing on the same page, albeit upside down in the bottom left hand corner, thus using some of my scribble space – a valuable commodity with an Elgar puzzle, or a “Hendo” as someone called them on TFTT yesterday!
I’m surprised that you are having printing problems. Our paper is smaller than yours, i.e. not A4 and actually 8 x 10, and yet I have had no recent problems printing from my iPad. Once in a while I do get the odd puzzle that insists on putting the final clue on the reverse, but quite rarely.
Hi BL,
That is the problem that is bothering folks — clues (usually only one) printing on a second page. It occurs far more frequently with the Toughie than with the back page puzzle (3 or 4 times this week, it seems).
A fine example of a Friday back pager which two shiny new King Charles Loonies are saying is the work of the smooth member of the Friday Triumvirate – 3.5*/4.5*
Candidates for favourite – 22a, 27a, 28a, 4d, and 19d – and the winner is 27a.
An humungous groan for the Pun which was probably heard all across Manitoba, possibly all across Canada – not one of our favourite neighbours.
Thanks to Silvanus, or whomsoever in the unlikely event that my Loonies go down the drain, and thanks to Mr K.
Kittens (not mine just a random picture from Google) that I am naming Barker and Corbett:
A really nice puzzle and relatively accessible for a Friday (which I don’t usually complete). Lots of nice clues and I particularly liked 1d and 9a though I’ve never heard the word for a school of whales do couldn’t parse this. Thank you to setter and Mr K.
I thought this Friday puzzle a little easier than normal this week, but there were plenty of stumbling blocks nonetheless. One answer I had never heard of though, but with cross-check letters worked it out.
2.5*/3*
Favourites 1a, 20a, 27a, 3d & 14d — with co-winners 1a & 3d
Thanks to setter (Silvanus?) & Mr K.
A very elegant and gentle finish to the week. 1a and 1d provided the foundation to the solve for me. 1d makes my podium alongside 5d and 28a. Thanks to compiler and Mr K.
2*/5*. A truly splendid finish to the week with every clue an absolute gem.
My only hold-up was with the Quickie pun, which completely defeated me.
If you twist my arm to pick a favourite, I’ll settle for 1d.
Many thanks surely to Silvanus and to Mr K.
An enjoyable solve, not too difficult for a Friday, greatly helped by the four peripheral clues, even though two and a half were anagrams. I needed Mr K’s help to parse 22a as I had wanted to use the case of ‘pressing’, though I did wonder what ‘underrated’ was doing there and if it was a subjective opinion of the sport of Judo! The word gam was new to me in all its meanings, though presumably that’s where we get ‘gammy leg’ from. Too difficult to choose a favourite today but I’ll mention 1, 14, 20, 24 and 25 in the down clues. Thanks to our setter and Mr K along with all submitting pusscats for our enjoyment.
Gammy and game can both mean lame
As others have said, gentle for a Friday. Today, I started the guzzle in the Middle East and worked my way steadily westward.
I lovwd the lurker at 6d, the comical anagram at 1a and the Lego clue at 28a. The latter reminded me of my dad, who was so busy admiring these , as we drove through a forest that he nearly rear ended the car in front. The answer to 28a has been used as a euphemism for,’Keepyour eyes on the road” ever since thanks to Mr K for the hints and to Silvanus (?) For alovely Friday crossword.
Most enjoyable. I stupidly put the answer to 15 a in the 18 a slot because they both had the same starting letter. That flummoxed me and added a level of difficulty. Just breasting the finishing line with17 a. Not completed and had to go to Mr. K for a hint. Best in show went to 2 down closely followed by 3 down.
Thank also to our witty setter.
What fun that was, always nice to manage to complete a Friday puzzle even if ai could not parse a couple (I did not know the whale school). The long clues round the outside really helped and I chuckled at 3d.
Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K for the hints.
I needed Mr K’s help to parse 9a, as the school of Wales was new to me, and 22a.
I couldn’t decipher the Quickie Pun so thanks for that too.
Top picks for me were 27a, 3d and 15a.
Thanks to Mr K and the setter.
A cracking Friday puzzle – thanks to our setter and Mr K.
I have lots of ticks including 10a, 15a, 17a and 3d.
Seemed so much more on wavelength than yesterday. Never heard of the gam and initially bunged in ludo without thinking before deciding it wasn’t a sport. Will go with 1d, 6d and 27a as favourites today.
Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K
2*/4.5*
As Prawn commented, this was an elegantly clued puzzle, which surely marks it as being one from the Silvanus stable. He always makes it look as though compiling is an easy matter whereas in truth I’m very sure that it isn’t!
He did seem to have his foot on the ‘gentle’ pedal for one of his Friday offerings – with the exception of the Quickie pun, which had me worried for quite some time and had me double-checking my answers to all the relevant clues. I’ll never forget that man’s arrogant behaviour when Zelensky was being grilled by Mr Trump at the White House.
Sorry – leave politics out of it, Jane!
So much choice for podium spots today with the nod eventually going to 27a plus 1&3d with a mention for the brilliant duo at 1a.
Many thanks to Mr Smooth aka Silvanus, and also to Mr K for the review.
I’m in the ludo/gam class, the latter sounds like a good scrabble word. What a fine end to the week, so many good clues. 1d is favourite but honourable mention to 17,27,28a and 3,5&20d. The lurkers/ rekruls were well disguised. Thanks to Messrs Setter and Kay. Would it be sour grapes to say that a certain recently exonerated lady appears to have put on weight? OK, scrub that bit it is unworthy of me. But it did cross my mind. Have a good weekend, folks!
There have been several occasions recently where I intended to comment – but I thought I ought to(re)introduce myself first.
I used to do the DT back-pager regularly, with colleagues, some years ago and, whilst I was never a prolific poster, I did frequent this site. I might add that (whisper it quietly) I even managed to win the mythical pen! Circumstances changed, real-life got in the way and I fell out of the habit of doing the crossword.
Recently, I rediscovered the joy of cryptics and have started once again to do the back page. I am not yet match-fit (it’s surprising how much you forget) but it’s coming back to me. I’ve even managed a couple of the (easier) toughies. Having got back into solving, I have found that some of my favourite setters (e.g RayT) are still around and, although many are not, there seems to be a good range of top-notch setters to enjoy.
I have been returning, of course, to this site and, whilst I was shocked and saddened to find that our esteemed leader is now hosting the Cruciverbalist’s Convention in the sky, I am gratified to see that it is as friendly, welcoming, and helpful as ever. A tremendous legacy and a tribute to BigD.
This comment will almost certainly go into moderation because I have absolutely no idea what my screen name used to be, but once someone puts that right I will feel that I can then contribute again, now that I’m getting back into the swing of things (although it still won’t be often!).
A hearty welcome back, Arthur. You used to be ‘ArthurDent’ with no space so you’ve remembered pretty well. Both variations will work from now on.
We look forward to lots more comments from you.
Hope to see you on here regularly now.
Hello, nice to see you’ve Hitchhiked back here, Arthur. Do keep commenting.
An enjoyably accessible solve for a Friday with several sporting references.
I think I’ve heard of the whale school before in crosswords but still needed to check it.
25d predictably brought a smile to my face: nice to be referred to without the usual negative stereotyping. Half-cut I’ll take as I crack open a bottle of finest brown ale to steel myself for Elgar’s dreaded brain damage with the toughie..
Thanks to the setter and Mr K.
Nice and gentle for a Friday after yesterday’s much bigger challenge in my opinion. Didn’t get to comment on that due to other commitments! Loved 16d, as a 9 letter lurker managed to stay in the shadows for so long even though I had “rusty” in my head, the “y” stopped me seeing the hidden word. Thanks to setter and Mr K.
Many thanks to Mr K for his Hints and Tips and to everyone commenting.
I can say with absolute certainty that it was watching 1a as a schoolboy in the 1970s that inspired me with a lifelong love of wordplay. One of my favourite sketches by them is this one:
I wish you all a very good weekend.
Thanks for an excellent puzzle, although I found it harder than most of the above, definitely a 3.5* / 4*
Also couldn’t crack the quickie pun, but it’s a good un
Awash with golf and other sport so what was not to like! Had Sumo in my head for 22a having purchased tickets for the upcoming basho in London in October! Thanks to all.
As an aside I have just watched the 3 March episode of Modern Life is Goodish S6/Ep2. Crosswords and Big Dave to the fore in a cheeky amusing little sketch!
Surprisingly gentle for a Smooth production (& on a Friday too) though the parsing at 9a eluded me. As ever great fun to solve right from the off & with ticks against pretty well the lot of ‘em. If pressed for a pick 1d is hard to overlook.
Thanks to Silvanus & to Mr K
Just looked at the Quickie – great pun
I am just too tired to do this puzzle justice today. I’ve become a bit of an insomniac in recent years, compounded by my love of a good book. Waking at silly o’clock I am too often tempted to pick up whatever book I am currently reading, intending to limit myself to a few pages, but it’s never just a few pages. That’s my excuse for not finishing today. I enjoyed the 50% I managed unaided, but would never have got the 2d golf clue without Mr K’s hints. Thanks to himself and setter.
Mostly straightforward but got stuck in the NW, put me into 3.5* / 4*.
Favourites 28a, 15a and 2d when it finally clicked.
Thanks to Mr K and Silvanus
Also couldn’t see quickie pun but it’s brilliant unlike the man himself
Thanks MrK for the hints and Silvanus for a brilliant puzzle, full of misdirections! A warm welcome back to Arthur Dent
Good evening
Pen down, finally, after an epic tussle with the Brain Of Silvanus. I’ve been back and forward to the crozzie all afternoon and evening.
Of course, the standard of clueing was excellent. I needed a little help with the parsing of a couple, though.
Many thanks to Silvanus and to Mr K.
Very late on parade. Apologies. Setting up the rugby club for a big lunch tomorrow and then straight out to a quiz night. I know how to live!
It only took me a few clues to realise that this was a Silvanus puzzle and I loved it. As Jane said earlier, he makes compiling look ridiculously easy. It is not.
Absolutely first class. Take a bow, Silvanus.
Thank to you to Mr K for the whale school, the quickie pun, and the great choice of videos, and to Silvanus for the puzzle. And thank you to early commenters who labelled it as “gentle”, which is what persuaded me to give it a go. It was still a little beyond me — I used some electronic assistance to fill the grid, and even so it took me longer than any puzzle this week†.
My favourite was the half-cut footballers in 25d.
† Well, except for the day I started the Cross Atlantic on the train to work, finished it at lunchtime, and found the timer had been running throughout the hours in between!
I enjoyed this yesterday but as usual for Fridays life got in the way of commenting. I too grew up on 1a and loved them. I noticed Frankie spotted the nod to his team and hopefully Heno did too.
Thanks to Silvanus for a great crossword and to MrK for some inspired links. Bruce and The E. Street Band is my obvious favourite from when they were transitioning from a glorified bar band to superstars, I wish the cameraman had a bit more light to work with but you can still hear some magnificent guitar from Bruce and Stevie, piano from the The Prof and Clarence on top form too, with Max holding it all together at the back
Did not look at this until just before lunch today (Sunday). My usual comments: looked difficult but I quickly solved 1a and thereafter, tussled with the puzzle on and off at various times this afternoon. Did not get a fair bit parsing but understood enough so that as the checkers accumulated I eventually solved it all without using the hints. Too many good clues to pick a winner. Thank you to the setter and to Mr K for the hints, which I read afterwards for some of the parsing. Thank you also for the comments. Hoping at sometime to attempt the puzzles on the same day as everyone else! ***/****
3*/4* ….
liked 27A “Pub and empty hotel next to river (4,5)”
Yes, that was my favourite as well.