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DT 30895

by Huntsman  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30895
Hints and tips by Huntsman

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty *   Enjoyment ***/****

Another glorious day here in Harpenden & perfect for ⛳️. Instead I’ve the twin joys of the osteopath & visit number 4 to the dentist to look forward to – not cheap but at least The Donald’s looking after my pension pot.

Any that found Monday’s steak a bit chewy will savour the filet mignon served up by the Prof today –  it cuts like a knife through butter & was very tasty. Nowt to 1a the horses & it shouldn’t present too much of a 14d. I doubt many will need any hints (hopefully correct) + there are the usual music clips for those interested.

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 Fear a large weapon (5)

ALARM: A from the clue + Large + a synonym for weapon.

4a Concerns at home with setter’s barking (9)

INTERESTS: the usual two letter term for at home + an anagram (barking) of SETTERS.

9a Tesla ran badly after temperature change (9)

TRANSLATE: an anagram (badly) of TESLA RAN preceded (after) by Temperature. A topical surface to be sure.

10a Spanish golfer, covering river, put the ball into play (5)

SERVE: insert (covering) River into the nickname for the charismatic 5 time Major winner. If only he had, instead of pull hooking his ball into the water on the 15th at Augusta in 1986, a third Masters would surely have been his. Jack’s 18th Major helped ease my disappointment somewhat.

11a Attorney shortened long case (7)

ATTACHE: the legal abbreviation (shortened) for ATTorney + a synonym for long as in yearn/pine for.

12a Pub with free ales oddly removed casks (7)

BARRELS: another term for a pub + the even letters (oddly removed) of fReE aLeS. My type of hostelry.

13a Deal with story about Charlie, king (6)

TACKLE: a synonym of story around (about) Charlie (NATO phonetic alphabet) & King (chess abbreviation).

15a Counted down primarily before record finished (8)

DEPENDED: the two letter abbreviation for a record longer than a single but shorter than an album with typically between 3 – 6 tracks is preceded by (before) the first letter (primarily) of down. Append a synonym of finished.

18a Darts? Ugh – awful game! (8)

DRAUGHTS: an anagram (awful) of DARTS UGH. Gotta disagree with the Prof on this one – you can’t beat a bit of Luke the Nuke in the Premier League on Sky Sports of a Thursday night.

20a Alligator rapidly swallows capsized bird (6)

PARROT: hidden (swallows/capsized) in reverse.

23a Still considering housing the Parisian (7)

SILENCE: a conjunction synonym for considering/because surrounding (housing) the French (Parisian) article used with masculine nouns. Cue another iconic scene from The Graduate.

24a Hospital with garden alcove for nurse (7)

HARBOUR: Hospital + a garden alcove ideal for sitting in & doing the crossword while enjoying a glass of something.

26a Relatives husband ignored in visits frequently (5)

AUNTS: remove (ignores) Husband (genealogical abbreviation) from a synonym of visits frequently (as a spirit for example).

27a Create awareness? Be reasonable! (4,5)

MAKE SENSE: link synonyms for create/generate & awareness/consciousness. Del Boy’s assurances to a sceptical Rodney in trying to convince him one of his hare-brained schemes is a good idea springs to mind.

28a Valuable possessions tar reuses at sea (9)

TREASURES: an anagram (at sea) – TAR REUSES.

29a Nice-sounding Mini parked in street (5)

SWEET: ignore the capitalisation as nowt to do with the motor – insert (parked in) a synonym of mini/small into the abbreviation for street.

Down

1d Pulled cart and patted frisky pony initially leaving (9)

ATTRACTED: an anagram (frisky) – CART pATTED less the first letter of pony (initially leaving).

2d A bit cut off (5)

APART: A from the clue + a synonym of bit/piece.

3d Annie, perhaps, is calm moving around university (7)

MUSICAL: an anagram (moving) of IS CALM surrounding (around) University.

4d This writer’s male servant’s topless pictures (6)

IMAGES: the nominative singular pronoun that this writer may use when referring to himself + Male + a name for servants less the first letter (topless).

5d Maiden enthralled by singers quavers (8)

TREMBLES: insert (enthralled by) Maiden (cricket abbreviation) into the highest vocal singers in a choir – and I always thought chocolates, flowers & champagne did the trick.

6d Keep restrained manner (7)

RESERVE: double definition.

7d Cave in Russia, to the north, with substance on the walls?

SURRENDER: reverse (to the north/down clue) the IVR code for Russia + the term for a coat of plaster or cement mortar applied to a surface.

8d Appears manuscript is under bishop’s seat (5)

SEEMS:  the two letter abbreviation for ManuScript goes below (is under/down clue) another word for a bishopric.

14d Coppers possibly collaring regulars in Lille – difficult situation (9)

CHALLENGE: nowt to do with the gendarmerie – insert (collaring) the alternate of LiLlE into a term for loose money/shrapnel.

16d Cleaner put off by grand medical department (9)

DETERGENT: a synonym for put off + Grand (slang abbreviation for thousand) + the usual hospital department.

17d Ship bearing right flag (8)

STREAMER: insert (bearing) Right into a nautical vessel.

19d Book group (7)

GENESIS: a double definition – the first book of the Bible & a prog rock band who became mainstream.

21a Checks answer – Republican lies (7)

ARRESTS: Answer (as in Q&A) + Republican + a synonym of lies/relaxes. Another topical surface.

22d Drinks Arab leaders announced (6)

SHAKES: a homophone of the term for Arab leaders.

23a Classy vehicles turned up (5)

SMART: the vehicles to be reversed (turned up/down clue) are urban rail transit.

25d Big cat previously squeezing cub’s middle (5)

OUNCE: insert (squeezing) the central letter (middle) of cUb into a synonym of previously. This wee one is cute for the time being.

Today’s Quick crossword pun: TOR + FEE + KNOWS = TOFFEE-NOSED

I rather liked the simple 18a so I’ll pick that as my favourite today & stick the two politically topical surface reads with it on the podium. Please let us know which clues ticked your boxes.

 

This morning’s listening whilst preparing the blog has been some Elles Bailey. I saw her on Friday night at a sell out gig at The Stables in Wavendon & she went walkabout during a rousing rendition of this song as her encore

 

41 comments on “DT 30895”

  1. For me, etc, back to the original Typically Tuesdayish for a very enjoyable challenge from Anthony Plumb – */****

    Candidates for favourites – 12a, 23a, 29a, 5d, 8d, and 16d – and the winner is 5d.

    Thanks to Mr Plumb and Huntsman.

  2. Perfection for a Tuesday.

    The prof has put together a beaut which will please all-comers.

    I couldn’t help smiling when I saw the reappearance of 1a so quickly and the smile stayed on my boat race until 25d.

    It’s all booting off at the base of the podium but I’ll go with a single 12, a double 14 and a triple 18 to make it a pub-themed treble.

    Many thanks to the aforementioned and Hoots! (v v happy you chose my most favouritist album of all time in 19d)

    1*/5*

  3. Really nice and fairly gentle puzzle which was a welcome relief after I got completely stuck yesterday. COD 7d for the clever misdirection of the definition and LOI 24a for the unusual but correct synonym. Thank you setter and Huntsman

  4. Not for me this one. Not sure why, but felt rather deflated and unsatisfied when the last one went it. Several clues felt overly simplistic, and the surfaces a little rough (e.g. 1d). */**

  5. Gentle and benign, pleasant while it lasted, but unexceptional. Highlight 14d.

    Thank you to setter and Huntsman – especially for the Richard Hawley video (I’m a sucker for anything with a span’l in it, even a long-tail) and excellent Elles Bailey piece – one to put on the playlist.

      1. Thank you for introducing us to Elles Bailey, Huntsman; I hadn’t heard of her either.

        I also hadn’t heard of Wavendon. Wikipedia says its population is under 800 — how many people were in the audience?

        1. Good to see you in the Ilkley Gazette double-page spread. Thank you for mentioning.

        2. The main auditorium holds about 400 – great acoustics & comfy seats. The Stables was built in the Seventies by Cleo Laine & Johnny Dankworth – now staffed by volunteers

          1. That’s impressive to have a venue that seats more than half the village! Sounds like a great place.

            I see The Longest Johns are playing there in June; they were great fun when we caught them last year supporting Bellowhead.

  6. Nothing too difficult here but beautifully elegant and superbly clued from our uber-reliable Tuesday regular. The topical 21d was my favourite fir its simplicity.

    My thanks to AP and The Hintsman.

  7. Always enjoyable. 9a and 21d topically tickled me. Many thanks to our setter and Huntsman. Cracking clips, as ever.

  8. A very approachable guzzle, quickly completed without oroblems i liked the 24a and 29a Lego clues and the reverse lurker at 20a. Thanks to Huntsman for the hints and to our Tuesday compiler. Down to freezing point here this morning but warming up nicely now

  9. What an excellent puzzle that was. I started at PB type speed although was held up for a little while in the SW. I chortled for quite some time at 19d when the penny finally dropped, even if it was embarrassing that it had taken so long when half of the double definition is a guilty pleasure that I have kept returning to for nearly 50 years. Thanks as ever to our Tuesday setter for a typically enjoyable solve and to our hinter for the (as ever) tasteful and apt music etc. selections.

  10. Very enjoyable. I’m going for three oldies but goodies for my podium in 5d, 16d and 22d. They can fight amongst themselves for the positions. Thanks to AP and Huntsman.

  11. Very gentle and entertaining puzzle – thanks to our setter and Huntsman.
    For my podium I picked 15a, 7d and 19d.

  12. Very light and most entertaining. Perhaps DT Towers got the days mixed up at the start of this week?
    Thank you setter and Huntsman – I’m sure the the dentist will be lot more fun than a game of golf!

  13. Well that was about as easy as yesterday’s was hard, simply sailed through.

    Not one bit of scribbling on the paper next to the grid which is always a sign that it was a piece of cake.

    No real favourites today, just a nice easy ride, roll on tomorrow…..

  14. Another gentle delight from the prof who’s certainly got this consistency business down to a fine art. Top scorers for me were 18a plus 6&8d. That young player seems to have single-handedly revived interest in darts as a spectator sport – good for him.

    Thanks to Mr Plumb and to Huntsman for the review – hope your bank balance soon recovers from the shock of the dentist’s charges!

  15. Mostly completed in a medium sort of time, but I needed the hint for the 11a case, where I didn’t know the abbreviation (thank you, Huntsman), and I still haven’t got 24a, even with the hint and photo — so there’s still a possibility that completing this is beyond me.

    I do like how, following last Friday’s discussions, the clue for 7d works with the definition being either ‘cave’ or ‘cave in’ — keeping everybody happy! My favourite is the 14d coppers.

  16. Marked change from yesterday .. and an enjoyable solve .. especially sitting in the sun .. found I was putting in the answers and then working out the word play on several.
    Cotd was 22d .. made me smile!

  17. Well Tuesday seems to have become the old Monday in difficulty these days, and enjoyable it was too.
    Lots of nice and funny, (amusing, that is) clues.

    1.5*/4* for me

    Favourites include 12a, 13a, 15a, 14d & 16d – with winner 15a
    Smiles and laughs for 9a, 18a, 20a & 22d

    Thanks to AP & Huntsman

  18. 1*/4*. As ever, Senf has coined the most apposite phrase for Mr Plumb’s Tuesday puzzles – typically Tuesdayish.

    15a was my favourite with special mentions for 18a, 9d & 21d.

    Many thanks to AP and to Hintsman.

  19. A gentle puzzle today.
    Top picks for me were 19d, 15a, 24a and 7d.

    Thanks to Huntsman and the compiler.

  20. Nice to find a friendly puzzle waiting for me at the breakfast table this morning. COTD to 15a, simple,but clever. I fell into the obvious trap at 17d, which made 28a impossible. Surprised to see 1a as we just had that, but no complaints. Thanks to setter and Huntsman. The Donald is ruining our savings over here, bigly.

  21. Filet mignon with a side of gratin dauphinois. Melt in the mouth. All done speedily and can now attend to other business. Many thanks to setter and Huntsman.

  22. I also thought ‘typically Tuesdayish” © etc. etc. etc.

    Very enjoyable read and write throughout but rather embarrassed to say I did a ‘bung in’ on 11a and got it wrong! Duuurrrr, back to Infinidim Enterprises for me today.

    Thanks to the Prof and Huntsman.

    1. It’s a great debate amongst Genesis fans, Gee Dubs. I embrace both.

      The world was nervous (as were the group!) when they released their first ‘after-Peter’ album. However, everyone’s fears were allayed when we heard the first 10 seconds of track 1 ‘Dance on a Volcano’. What an opening and what a song!!!

      1. The band were worried that there’d be a mass Exodus of fans, that the album wouldn’t do the Numbers, and they’d all be out of a Job?

        1. Absolutely. They were so scared.

          They even thought of being an instrumental band as they couldn’t find a singer that could match him (an impossible task – I love his voice).

          So, up stepped an extremely reluctant Mr Collins from behind the drums who did a half-decent job.

          1. Saw them on the last night of their Trick of the Tail tour of US, Canada, Europe & UK at Stafford Bingley Hall in 76 at the tender age of 14, with my older stepbrother. Bill Bruford took the drums.

            1. It’s safe to say that I’m well jel.

              We love Chester but Bill is right up there.

  24. A filet mignon indeed! A swift solve in the fading sun for me. Enjoyable whilst it lasted. Thanks to setter – and Huntsman

  25. Phew, that took me quite some application but it was fun wth the West succumbing first. Thanks AP and Huntsman.

  26. Well, that was a ‘lovely walk’ (with a nod toTerence) through today’s crossword. Nothing too taxing and which could only have been improved with a mention of Bullet Baxter or Mrs McKenzie!
    Thanks to the setter and Huntsman for the 1* rating 😏

  27. 1* / 3.5* Light and enjoyable puzzle, liked 19d (not the band), 7d and 18a.
    Thanks to setter and Huntsman

  28. I have the answer to the difficulty conundrum, move Monday’s setter to Friday and move everybody else forward a day. Simples. I really rather enjoyed this, I don’t need to be put through the wringer early in the week. LOI was 14d not just because it was but I was led up the garden path thinking coppers were pence but 13a disabused me of that notion. Favourite was 24a. Thanks to AP and Huntsman.

  29. It’s all been said, very enjoyable. I liked too many to have a favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Huntsman for the hints

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