Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30950
Hints and Tips by Gazza
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****
Starting today I’m going to be your new Wednesday back-page blogger every fortnight alternating with Senf. I haven’t blogged a back-page weekday puzzle for many moons so please forgive me if my hints don’t come up to scratch.
We have a very entertaining puzzle today which is not too tricky and great fun. Many thanks to our setter (I have a strong suspicion of your identity).
In the hints below the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and indicator words (e.g. anagram indicators) are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the Click Here buttons.
Please leave a comment below telling us what you thought of the puzzle; do try to be positive and comply with the site etiquette which, if you’ve never read it, can be found under the ‘Comment’ tab on the site’s home page.
Across
1a Small biting insect bit (6)
SMIDGE: the clothing abbreviation for small and a biting insect found a lot in Scotland during the summer.
5a Heavenly place is seen in March (8)
PARADISE: IS inside a synonym of march or demonstration. March is falsely-capitalised to try to make us think of the month.
9a Italian tubes inside parts of frigate won’t fit (8)
RIGATONI: our diet may be getting boring because we had these Italian tubes in yesterday’s Toughie. String together the inner letters of the last three words of the clue.
10a Film star of the Forties even more stylish when undressed (6)
LASSIE: start with a comparative meaning ‘even more stylish’ and remove the outer letters (undressed). The film star is shown here (and it’s not Elizabeth Taylor).
11a Easily scared top celebs packing gun? (8)
ALARMIST: a term for the most celebrated show business stars (1-4) contains (packing) what a gun is an example of.
12a Dance, or hum Bacharach covers (6)
RHUMBA: the non-standard spelling of a Cuban dance is hidden (covers) in the clue.
13a D’oh! Been a daft lummox (8)
BONEHEAD: an anagram (daft) of D’OH BEEN A.
15a McEnroe periodically missed in pool (4)
MERE: miss out the even letters from McEnroe.
17a Liquid asset banks from Athens deposited in Switzerland (4)
CASH: insert the outer letters (banks) of Athens into the IVR code for Switzerland.
19a Maker of arrows for one Christian (8)
FLETCHER: as an example of the answer we need someone who had Christian as their surname.
20a Runs into M, recently retired soak (6)
DRENCH: insert the cricket abbreviation for runs into the surname of someone who used to play M in the Bond movies.
21a Far from rare congratulatory message (4,4)
WELL DONE: with a hyphen instead of a space this is the opposite of ‘rare’ when giving the waiter your order.
22a Very Young British Artist keeping river rats? (6)
VERMIN: start with the abbreviation for very and add the surname of one of the group known as the ‘The Young British Artists’ (YBAs) who came on the scene in the 1980s containing the abbreviation for river. The question mark indicates that rats are just an example of the answer.
23a Manage stronghold in which I escape on foot (3,3,2)
RUN FOR IT: a verb to manage or control and a stronghold or citadel containing I.
24a Magnificent second place finish I achieved at the end (8)
SPLENDID: string together abbreviations for second and place, a synonym of finish, I (from the clue) and the final letter of achieved.
25a Praise group we’ve left – left over the borders in Germany (6)
EULOGY: concatenate the abbreviation for the group the UK left in the last decade, abbreviations for left and over (from cricket) and the outer letters of Germany.
Down
2d Mum queueing here for the fast train (4,4)
MAIN LINE: an affectionate word for one’s mum and a phrase (2,4) meaning queuing.
3d Harangue clan after help rejected (8)
DIATRIBE: a synonym of clan follows the reversal (rejected) of a word for help.
4d The French No.1 book is flipping hot-blooded! (9)
EMOTIONAL: weld together a French definite article, NO (from the clue), the Roman numeral for 1 and a large book. Now reverse all that (flipping).
5d Eh? Aren’t down t’pit working? Get partying! (5,3,4,3)
PAINT THE TOWN RED: an anagram (working) of EH AREN’T DOWN T’PIT.
6d Husband enters – humbled, embarrassed (7)
ABASHED: the genealogical abbreviation for husband goes inside a verb meaning humbled or demeaned.
7d Problem for those who can’t close lids satisfactorily? (8)
INSOMNIA: cryptic definition. These lids are facial features.
8d A bit of horticulture? Yep, at Chelsea covering for The Observer (8)
EYEPATCH: hidden (a bit of) in the clue.
14d He’s bald, no flowing hair like this (3-6)
ASH-BLONDE: an anagram (flowing) of HE’S BALD NO.
15d Regulars in amiable, cheap bars here in the Indian Ocean (8)
MALDIVES: the even letters of amiable followed by a term for cheap disreputable bars.
16d Letter to specialist concerning tiger finally captured in wild (8)
REFERRAL: start with a preposition meaning concerning and add an adjective meaning wild or untamed containing the final letter of tiger.
17d Impolite when breaking wind – this needs refining (5,3)
CRUDE OIL: a synonym of impolite goes inside (breaking) a verb to wind or loop. Very amusing!
18d Deputy Governor initially running for election (8)
STANDING: a word for a deputy or substitute (5-2) and the initial letter of governor.
19d Dissident group following battle (7)
FACTION: the abbreviation for following (as used in literature to refer to following page or pages) and a synonym of battle or combat.
The clues which appealed most to me were 9a, 20a, 25a, 17d and 18d – how about you?
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The Quick Crossword pun: GYM + RAT + CLIFF = JIM RATCLIFFE
An enjoyable romp for a Wednesday but it did take two cups of coffee and hot buttered toast with Gentleman’s Relish. On the first pass, I didn’t solve any until I came to the Christian arrow maker at 19a. I then got the congratulations at 21a but then nothing. The long 5d came to my rescue giving enough checkers for me to get going. My last in was 20a and a huge grin arrived as I saw it. A great clue and is my COTD.
Thank you, setter for a fun challenge. Thank you, Gazza for the hints and cartoons. Welcome to Wednesdays.
The chilli plants are ready for repotting so I’ll be getting on with that now.
Good morning all. Today’s crossword was a joy for me to solve and managed it in 1* time – a first! Favourites were 10a, 19a, 5d and 8d and I award it **** for enjoyment. Many thanks to the setter and Gazza for the hints – loved the cartoon with 16d!
Welcome to the slot Gazza – I think the notion of your hints not coming up to scratch as unlikely as mine on a Tuesday being error free. Great cartoons as per.
Thought today’s 24a guzzle absolutely top drawer – very witty & full of cracking glues. A quick reappearance for the pasta at 9a which featured in yesterday’s Toughie. I had ticks all over the shop but if forced to pick a fav it would have to be the Forties film star. Thought the Quick puzzle also very good & a rare pangram 4d.
Thanks to the setter (Hudson my hunch).
Ps Dharma over in t’other place more demanding but also very entertaining.
I don’t think one should criticise any Hinter. You all do a splendid job and I don’t suppose the pay is very good 🤭
Yep, a Friday puzzle wrapped in a Wednesday cloak again, very tough but great fun.
Took me a while to see where the wind bit came in with 17d, fooled by the presumed pronunciation I supposed, but that after all was the aim of it.
My two favourites today are 25a and the very clever 20a. Great puzzle, many thanks to our setter, bravo!
Outstanding.
My guess is that it’s the work of Hudson. So……Rock rocks!
To make a sentence out of the letters in 5d is a truly fine effort and I didn’t know the spelling of 12a.
There were some absolute beauts but I’ll go with 13a (lummox is such a good word as is the answer), 14d and the brilliant 17d.
MT to H & G.
2*/5*
A strange feeling on my Tuesday evening, after 29 straight Wednesday blogs since the 2 Kiwis retired all I had to do was solve the puzzle for my own enjoyment. Like Steve C, a very slow start, without anything fishy, then it was off to the races at warp factor 10. 2.5*/4*
Candidates for favourite – 1a, 5a, 3d, 18d – and the winner is 1a.
Thanks to whomsoever and Gazza. Now I have to remember it’s my turn next Tuesday evening.
A slow start until I became attuned to the compiler’s wavelength. The SW took as long as the remainder to finally sort out, but the podium of 15d, 20a and 22a were excellent. A real doozy of a puzzle. Thanks to compiler and thanks and welcome to Wednesdays to Gazza.
A pleasant romp through crossword land today with one exception. I couldn’t parse 20A for the life of me and having seen the hint I realise why, not having seen any of the latest Bond movies.
Favourite by a mile for me was the famous hound at 10A.
Lovely weather here in the Cotswolds so I shall venture out on my e-bike after lunch.
Thanks to the setter and Gazza for the hints.
Me too re 20a due to lack of Bond knowledge but had bunged in.
My comments exactly parrot what Pawn has said above. SW took an age but it was a delightful guzzle to solve. Thanks to all. Loved the cartoons too.
Ooh, sorry, should read Prawn above, not Pawn!
A lovely puzzle which involved a bit of head scratching and a second cup of coffee.
I am not ashamed to say that I biffed the wrong answer for 6d and I did not know the alternative spelling for 12a.
I looked in horror at 10a, my LOI, as my knowledge of all matters cinematic is extremely limited. My fears were unfounded though, as even I knew the K9 star.
Smiles for 9a, 20a, 7d and 8d.
Thank you setter and a warm welcome to Wednesday working to Gazza.
A lovely puzzle. On the first pass I thought it would completely defeat me but it opened up steadily for a really satisfying solve with loads of excellent clues. Slight quibble and genuine query about 10a which was the only clue I couldn’t get. On the one hand it is a clever bit of misdirection and I went down the rabbit hole of trying to remember who the (human) film stars of the 40s were. On the other hand James Bond isn’t the star of the films. Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Daniel Craig are the stars. On that basis possibly the clue doesn’t quite work as the answer should be Pal (according to google). Perhaps the rules are different for dogs and perhaps I am being ridiculous? Interested to know what any of the more experienced bloggers think.
You are right, SC.
But, I think the setter can get away with it as my guess is that this star was called their character name on and off set for the rest of their life which is not the case with actors.
Ha-ha, that’s a truly inspired bit of pedantry, Slowcoach — I love it!
Handily, I’m terrible at films, so I presumed I wouldn’t be able to think of the 40s film star and therefore didn’t get held up by the distraction of thinking about humans, or indeed actors of any breed: I just tried a few ‘more stylish’ synonyms until finding one that could be suitably undressed.
I went through the same process of elimination as Smylers.
Apparently ‘Pal’ aka ’10 across’ played the title role 6 times, but there were several pooches that filled in for the starring role across the film and TV franchises. Interestingly all were male!
😂
Most 24a! I loved this, with too many clues to mention all the highlights — basically all the ones others have mentioned above, including the 10a film star (a clue I got straight away on my first pass) and 20a’s M (one of my last in).
Lots of fun innovation, yet also reasonably straightforward: I had a full grid faster than usual, which is appreciated on a busy day.
And thank you to Gazza for the hints, especially for explaining 19a’s Christian, of whom I wasn’t aware (and probably won’t remember). I’ve also learnt that ‘harangue’ (3d) can be a noun as well as a verb, and where 15d is.
A lovely puzzle today. I didn’t do yesterday’s Toughie so 9a was a new one to me and I really liked it.
Top picks for me were 17d, 9a and 10a. I also think lummox is a great word.
Welcome to Wednesdays Gazza and thank you for the blog. Thanks too to the setter.
Some clues in this one that didn’t quite hit the spot for me but plenty of others that did so I’m happy enough with that. My outright favourite was the forties film star with other ticks going to 17,19&20a.
Thanks to Hudson(?) and to Gazza for the review – really pleased that you’ve brought the cartoon selection over to Wednesdays with you – the one accompanying today’s 16d was priceless!
Highly entertaining. 7a and 10d my favourites.
Very entertaining with 17d and 20a my first and second place favourites. I needed a little help with parsing a couple.
Many thanks to the setter and to Gazza for the hints
An excellent puzzle. Many thanks to the setter, and to Gazza for the write-up.
20a made me smile at the thought of Judi as a toper…
What a fantastic puzzle. This week has been an absolute treat (cue an absolute pasting from RayT tomorrow!) brilliant clues and lots of chuckles – just top notch all round. Also kudos to Gazza for the cartoon fun and to Steve Cowling who’s chillies are much further ahead than mine!
A really enjoyable, relatively friendly, Wednesday backpager
Too many clues I really liked so I’ll just say a big thank you to Hudson and to Gazza
I just reiterate what everyone else has said. Terrific guzzle with breaking wind the icing on the cake so to speak. Many thanks to inspired setter and thanks to Wednesday Gazza for the hints and cartoons.
A good midweek puzzle, 1.5* / 4* rating, a pleasure to complete.
Favourites small 1a, 23a rats and last one in the brilliant long haired canine at 10a
Thanks to Gazza and setter
Well so far this weeks puzzles have been pretty easily approachable with no issues, and this Wednesday puzzle is no exception.
No weird or obscure words for me in this.
2*/3.5*
Favourites 5a, 10a, 23a, 5d & 7d — with winner 7d along with a chuckle too.
Smiles for 13a, 2d & 15d
Thanks to setter & Gazza
3*/4*. A middling puzzle in terms of difficulty which provided a very enjoyable challenge. I was surprised that 1a got past the editor as that abbreviation is not in the BRB.
My podium comprises 20a, 17d & 18d.
Many thanks to the setter and to Gazza.
I’m starting to lose respect for the BRB unless you have an old version, RD.
The abbreviation in 1a has been around for many years.
It’s not in the current (but still considerably out of date) edition of the BRB, Tom. A fortnight or so will see the 11th anniversary of The Revised 13th Edition, the current edition.
I don’t know if this particular abbreviation of ‘bit’ is in the current Collins English Dictionary (complete, unabridged) but at least it was issued on 31st August 2023 and so is not yet even 2 years old.
I’ve felt for some time now that the DT should switch to Collins if Chambers can’t be bothered to bring out an updated physical dictionary.
Which abbreviation are you all discussing? I’ve looked again at 1a (and Gazza’s hint) and the abbreviation it uses is S = small — and I really can’t see that being controversial!
I think that what’s being discussed is that the answer to 1a isn’t in the BRB, although it is in Collins and the ODE.
I can’t believe it doesn’t have it as an abbreviation.
From now on, in my household, the BRB will be known as the Backward-looking, rubbish book.
(there’s better out there)
It ain’t rubbish old chap, just a little bit out of date (like me!) – I shall always have a warm spot for the BRB’s willingness to include “some less than objective definitions” over the years, for example:
ASBO: a court order that places restrictions on people with restricted social skills (2006 ed)
Channel Surf: to switch rapidly between different television channels in a forlorn attempt to find anything of interest (2003)
Mullet: a hairstyle that is short at the front, long at the back, and ridiculous all round (2003)
Vamp: a featherless bird of prey (1901)
A fine defence, MG, but…nah.
Having quickly asked half a dozen muckers, they all think, unprompted, that not having the abbreviation is an absolute nonsense, sorry, rubbish.
Ah, thanks, Gazza. I hadn’t realized that counted as an abbreviation!
The word in the BRB has “n” on the end, which is how I have always used it.
Cracking puzzle, tackled much, much earlier this morning. Many thanks to setter and Gazza – welcome to your new slot and thank you for the as-ever excellent cartoons!
Can’t remember when, if ever, I have enjoyed a DT Cryptic more. Numerous clues just hit the spot including 21a, 2d, 7d and 17d. SW was slowest to acquiesce. Thank you Mysteryone and Gazza whose cartoons in hints are always spot on. I came up with more stylish otherwise I would never have identified 10a as a “film star”. Many thanks lovely setter and Gazza
What an absolute joy of a puzzle. I was laughing and enjoying the clever misdirection in so many clues.It is hard to pick a favourite but will go for 7 down. Was thinking of an obscure ( note the pun ) medical condition. Last in was 10 across .
Three cheers for our setter and well done Gazza
I’ll also go for 7d, with the next one as a clever lurker. Thank you compiler and Gazza
10a, 25a and 17d were my picks in this enjoyable midweek romp.
Thanks to the setter and Gazza.
Loved the cartoons.
Just joining in the general acclaim for a supremely enjoyable puzzle. 20A and 25A gave me the best laughs.
VMT Setter and Gazza.
A 3* for me , was it the wine or me? Got there eventually, dinner is somewhat delayed. Thanks all
Must have been on the right wavelength as I strolled through this with barely a pause for breath and a very pleasant walk in the park it was too. Favourite was 19a. Thanks to the setter and Gazza.
This is my favourite of the week so far. Funny how some setters are on my wavelength and others not. Plenty of smiles to be had here, particularly 13a (now that’s definitely my wavelength! 🤣)