DT 30958 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 30958

by Mr K  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30958

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty *** -  Enjoyment *****

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. I thought this puzzle was just brilliant, with the laugh out loud PDM produced by 14d bumping the enjoyment score up to a rare five stars.  Thank you, setter! I’m afraid that work commitments meant a another late start to producing hints, and so sadly I had no time to search for suitable pictures.  I hope that the commentariat will provide a few.

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    About time reveal each poll broadcast is confused (3,4,3,5)
ALL OVER THE PLACE:  An anagram (broadcast) of REVEAL EACH POLL containing (about) the physics symbol for time 

9a    Recalled celebrity purchasing half of little child's toys (7)
RATTLES:  The reversal (recalled) of another word for a celebrity containing (purchasing) one half of LITTLE

10a   Distinguished student amongst English staff returning (7)
NOTABLE:  The single letter for a learner or student driver is inserted in (amongst) the fusion of the single letter for English and a staff of office, and the whole lot is then reversed (returning)

11a   Delivery of letters old-fashioned, like cheques might be? (9)
POSTDATED:  A word describing “delivery of letters” with a synonym of old-fashioned 

12a   Airline employee, one involved in conspiracy (5)
PILOT:  The Roman one inserted in (involved in) a conspiracy or scheme 

13a   Fancy having drink with model (7)
SUPPOSE:  Synonyms of drink and of model 

15a   Complained when going round friend Ena or Gail's houses (7)
GROANED:  The reversal (when going round) of FRIEND ENA OR GAIL’S hides (houses) the answer 

17a   Emojis messily replaced (7)
SMILEYS:  An anagram (re-placed) of MESSILY 

19a   Vegetable broth cooked with peas since discarded (3,4)
POT HERB:  An anagram (cooked) of BROTH and PEAS minus a synonym of “since” (since discarded) 

21a   Coat shorn repeatedly from Icelandic animal (5)
ELAND:  ICELANDIC with its outer letters (coat) deleted twice (shorn repeatedly)

23a   Persuades departments to sack expert after scam (9)
CONVINCES:  Another word for departments (as used in France) minus a contraction meaning expert (to sack expert) comes after a short word for scam

25a   Young swimmer a little ahead of Rod (7)
TADPOLE:  A word meaning “a little” comes before a rod or stick

26a   Great plans spending day close to seaside (7)
INTENSE:  Plans or “means to” minus (spending) the single letter for day, all followed by the final letter of (close to) SEASIDE 

27a   Poor son Johnny maybe guards captured female soldiers (8,3,4)
STRAPPED FOR CASH:  The genealogical abbreviation for son and a country singer that Johnny defines by example (maybe) sandwiches (guards) the fusion of a synonym of captured, the single letter for female, and some usual abbreviated soldiers 

 

Down

1d    Adult rugby player, huge incidentally (7)
APROPOS:  Concatenate the single letter for adult, a rugby player who supports the scrum, and an abbreviation for a huge clothing size 

2d    Plant many hedges for all to see (5)
LOTUS:  A word meaning many contains (hedges) the letter indicating that a film is approved for all to see 

3d    Sporting arena, very old ground outside European capital (9)
VELODROME:  The single letter for very and an anagram (ground) of OLD sandwiching (outside) the single letter for European, all followed by a well-known capital city 

4d    Favour wine, dry, before starter of escalopes (7)
ROSETTE:  Join together a pink wine, an abbreviation meaning dry or abstinent, and the first letter of (starter of) ESCALOPES 

5d    Replace extremely deficient setter, maybe ashamed (7)
HANGDOG:  A word meaning replace or swap out with its outer letters deleted (extremely deficient) is followed by an animal that setter defines by example (maybe)

6d    Present piano you said Trump scratched at intervals (3,2)
PUT UP:  Glue together the musical abbreviation for piano, the single letter that sounds like “you” (you said), and alternate letters (scratched at intervals) of TRUMP 

7d    Clubman Dicky visiting A&E in this? (9)
AMBULANCE:  An anagram (dicky, as in “shaky)”) of CLUBMAN inserted in (visiting) AE from the clue. The definition refers back to the wordplay part of the clue 

8d    Heading off downcast, forced out (7)
EJECTED:  A word meaning downcast or sad, minus its first letter (heading off) 

14d   Flirt with former occupants of Buckingham Palace? (9)
PHILANDER:  The answer split (4,3,2) could, whimsically, describe former occupants of the Palace. Brilliant!

16d   More able to support unfashionable clothing seller (9)
OUTFITTER:  An adjective meaning “more able” comes after (to support, in a down clue) unfashionable or “not in” 

17d   Detectives right to flee ruthless criminal (7)
SLEUTHS:  An anagram (criminal) of RUTHLESS minus the single letter for right (right to flee) 

18d   Hide from opponents on island (7)
SECRETE:  Two abbreviated bridge opponents are followed by a Greek island 

19d   Work over, books provided comfort essentially for bishop (7)
PONTIFF:  Fuse together the reversal (over) of the musical abbreviation for a work, the abbreviation for a set of religious books, a synonym of “provided”, and the middle letter (essentially) of COMFORT

20d   Implore discontented employees to cut wood (7)
BESEECH:  The outer letters (dis-contented) of EMPLOYEES inserted in (to cut) a type of wood 

22d   Peach-like fruit reportedly showing wilt (5)
DROOP:  A homophone (reportedly) of a word describing fruit that, like a peach, is fleshy with a stone

24d   Dance about grabbing leg, aching ultimately (5)
CONGA:  The Latin abbreviation for about or approximately containing (grabbing) both another word for the leg side of a cricket pitch and the final letter (ultimately) of ACHING

 

Thanks to today’s setter. Which clues did you like best?

The Quick Crossword pun:  WHOLLY + COAST = HOLY GHOST

71 comments on “DT 30958”

  1. Well that was a struggle and no mistake.

    Very tricky clueing and convoluted answers from the start, but all gradually fell into place.

    My two of the day were 23a and the superb 14d which has got to be in with a chance of clue of the month.

    Off to hose down the cats now to keep them cool, they pretend not to like it, but I think that’s just a show…..

    1. Agree with 14a. Could be interpreted as Phil and ER, or Phil and ‘er. Did anyone else see it that latter way? Well I did, and I’m sticking with it!

      2. Exactly how I saw it.
        ER or ‘er.
        Best clue I’ve seen in a long while.

        1. You’ve changed your alias (from Sparky) so this needed moderation. Both will work fom now on.

  2. Brilliant! Two shiny new King Charles Loonies on this being the 201st work of the Smooth member of The Friday Triumvirate – 2.5*/5*

    Standout favourite of the year – 14d!

    Thanks to Silvanus, or whomsoever in the unlikely event that it is not he, and thanks to Mr K.

    Some kitties attempting to 24d:

  3. A puzzle of two halves for me as I whizzed through the north and needed to think a bit more deeply about the south.
    14d I’m sure will get plenty of votes as it is a super clue. 27a and 17d join it as runners-up on my podium.
    Very enjoyable with many cracking surfaces, many thanks to the setter and Mr K.

    1. ‘Tis a funny old game, crossword solving. I finished the south in good order and then struggled mightily with the north (particularly the NW).

  4. An excellent and enjoyable guzzle to end the week. 19a held me up for ages because, although I had the answer, I have never thought of them as vegetables but I suppose they are. An old favourite turned up at 25a and is as regular as “Orchestra” and “Serengeti”. Plenty of ticks but the COTD has to be the brilliant 14d.

    Thank you, setter for the Friday fun. Thank you, Mr. K. for the hints,

  5. I don’t normally comment, but I really enjoyed this one. It had such good surfaces and plenty of cunning trickery to tax my grey cells. It was brilliant and like Senf, my favourite was 14d, which only fell after lots of thought and finally a chuckle. My only query is how the answer to 4d can be a synonym of ‘favour’. Perhaps one of your illustrious band might enlighten me please?
    Thank you so much setter for an enjoyable ride and thanks to Mr K.

      2. When I was nobbut a child before the war Daddy would take us to Putney to see the Boat Race and he bought us ‘favours’ big ribbon rosettes to pin on. I was always the only one to choose the pale blue! We would then go and have afternoon tea in Kunzles.

  6. This was a super puzzle, enjoyably straightforward for a Friday (given the Toughie today is by Osmosis), and it was a good “wake up” for the LGCs.

    14d superb, my COTD and would have been COTW had it not been for yesterday’s Django Toughie, the 5a in which is probably also COTY. Other podium places to 21a & 27a.

    Many thanks to setter (yup, Silvanus for my money) and Mr K

  7. Well I sailed through this, which is most unusual for me with this setter, if Senf is right in assuming it’s Silvanus. Absolutely loved 14d. Clue of the week/month/year indeed! Thanks to setter and Mr K.

  8. Yes indeed, like Frankie above me, I conquered the north, but the south staged a rebellion that took a fair while to overcome. A lovely challenge, and proof that it is possible to compile a guzzle without calling upon The Hanseatic League.

    I have an app that identifies birds, so after hearing a strange, throaty cry, with great speed I grabbed my phone and hit on the app. I thought, “My goodness, that is an unusual bird call. It must be a rather rare specimen…”
    The result is pictured.

    Thanks to all involved.

    1. I think you may need to report that sighting to the BTO, Terence, and possibly also the Kennel Club!

  9. A beautifully smooth puzzle with some cracking clues – thanks to our setter and Mr K.
    In addition to everybody’s favourite 14d I particularly enjoyed 11a, 23a, 27a, 5d and 16d.

  10. A real tussle but an extremely enjoyable one. Couldn’t for the life of me parse 14d until just now several hours later. I’m sure anyone in the south of England would have heard the clang as the penny dropped (apologies if that saying is still barred!)

    All round brilliantly clued and a whole.lot of fun.

  11. What a fantastic puzzle. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
    Top picks for me were 14d, 1d, 5d and 23a although many others should be included.

    Thanks to Mr K and the setter.

  12. 3*/5*. What a huge difference in difficulty between the top half (1.5*) and bottom half (4.5*). However, there was no difference in quality between the two halves – 5* all the way!

    Almost every clue was ticked, with 14d winning the top prize.

    Many thanks to Silvanus (who surely must be the setter) and to Mr K.

  13. Many thanks to the setter, Silvanus perhaps, and to Mr K for the write-up.
    A very enjoyable puzzle. I smiled at the surface of 7d, and my double tick goes to 17d.

    A busy day and a late start on the puzzles means that Osmosis will have to wait until early evening, before I watch the British & Irish Lions take on Argentina.

  14. What a delightful end to the working week selection of back-pagers – it has to be a Mr Smooth production. Class winners for me were 11&27a plus 3,4& 14d. Honourable mentions going to 26a plus 1&16d.

    Many thanks to Silvanus for the pleasure and to Mr K for the review.

  15. Enjoyed this. And the hints. Although I’m surprised no one has been foxed by the fruit in 22d. What on earth is a droop or homophone of such.

    1. Found it with Google Gemini. As someone else mentioned every day is a learning day

    2. It’s a drupe “a fleshy fruit with thin skin and a central stone containing the seed, e.g. a plum, cherry, almond, or olive.”

  16. A absolute cracker. A great mixture of the straightforward through to the obscure. Loved every minute if it. I particularly liked 1d and 7d but cotd by a country mile is 14d. Thanks to compiler and Mr K.

  17. Excellent puzzle and like the consensus here, 14d was easily the best clue I’ve seen in a long time – genuinely made me laugh when the penny dropped!
    Thanks to setter and Mr K

  18. I thought this was easier than yesterday’s offering. However the “subtractions” had me toiling in places so I had a few bung ins and needed the hint to parse 23a and still struggled to work out the expert .. until the “centime” eventually dropped.
    14d eventually made me smile after prince and princesses were ruled out. I also liked the Icelandic animal at 21a, although like the young swimmer this answer appears to be a regular in the crossword menagerie.
    Finally who knew about droopy stoned fruit … every day a learning day!
    Thanks to setter and Mr K.

  19. What a super puzzle and worthy of a Friday. Like so many others 14 down was the favourite . Pleased with 1 and 5 down. Any reference to emojis makes me feel annoyed. It is heartening not to see any on our site. The vote for setter seems to go with Silvanus and Mr. K who had quite an involved puzzle to tease out. Well done and thank you.

  20. A great puzzle for Friday
    Top half – 1*
    Bottom half – 3*
    Enjoyment – 4.5*
    Another vote for 14d as my LOI and COTD
    Thanks to all

  21. Like Anorak and in contrast to RD, I had trouble with rhe North rather than the,South. However, I ‘ll join the consenus and male tge LOL 4d my favourite clue, followed closeky by 17d wirh its well-disguised anagram fodder and rhe well-camouflged homoohone at 22d. Thanks to Mr K for the hints and to Silvanus for a guzzle that was thoroughly worthy of a Friday backpager

  22. Another easier than expected Friday puzzle this week. No obscure words, but some convoluted clueing though.

    2.5*/5*

    Favourites 12a, 21a, 7d, 14d & 17d — with winner and a laugh out loud for 14d … so good!!!
    Smiles for 12a, 17a & 1d

    Thanks to Silvanus(?) & Mr K

  23. What a lovely Friday treat although I did need help with the parsing of 23a. 14d is definitely my favourite but I also thought 7d was excellent.

    Many thanks to the very talented setter and to Mr K for the hints.

  26. I’ve had a tipsy turbo week and could hardly believe this was a Friday guzzle. 14d I agree is out and out favourite. I have a feeling that drupe went on The List some years ago. We’ll have to check with the Curator. Yesterday at Addenbrookes The anaesthetist finally told me yesterday that having a new knee would be extremely risky so am having to come to terms with that. 😢 Hey ho. Thank the Gods for Guzzles. And thanks to Messrs Setter & Kay. Have a good weekend everyone.

  27. For tipsy turbo read tipsy turkey, although I quite like the thought of a tipsy turbo. ( had to correct turbot. Is the world going mad?)

  29. As a regular lurker, I have just got to comment on this excellent end-of-the-week puzzle. For me (and I stress for all, surely!) COTD has to be 14d. It also happened to be my LOI and so rounded off an enjoyable afternoon tea and toast!

  30. What an absolute belter of a puzzle today! Another vote for 14d, surely the best this year. How do our wonderful setters keep coming up with such original clues. It seems only 5 minutes ago we were counting down the puzzles to get to 3000 and now we are nearing 4000! Thanks to all.

  31. I struggled with the south as did others. Also needed the hints to get 2d and 4d. My dictionary gave the 10th definition of favour as a description of a rosette rather than that word. It didn’t help. I thought a favour was a posy of flowers, which could be the 11th definition in my BRB.

    14d was a new word for flirt for me too.

    I did better than I often do on a Friday though.

    Thanks to all.

  32. I found this slightly easier than yesterday’s. I got there in the end with both but took less time today.
    Needed help with parsing 23a, though it had to be what it was.

    Add my vote for 14d as best clue …a cracker.

    Thanks to the setter and to Mr K

  33. Good afternoon

    Pen down after a braincell mangling of the finest order! Plenty to chew over here, not least the length of time taken to find a way in; the slow reveal quadrant by quadrant until almost grinding to a halt in the SW; and the excellent clueing.

    I had to look up the fruit reference in 22d, and I needed help parsing 24d owing to my complete lack of cricket knowledge and the on/leg reference. Runner-up for COTD is 15a; 14d wins by a mile!

    Thank you to Mr K for the hints; thank you to our setter – I suspect that the Brain Of Silvanus has been at work here, so I’ll nip back in later to see if I’m right.

  34. Many thanks as ever to Mr K and to all those solving and commenting. Much appreciated.

    May I wish everyone a good weekend. See you all again soon.

    1. Superb. Thoroughly enjoyed, especially everyone’s fave at 14d – mine too. Thank you so much. Look forward to seeing you again soon. Thank you too to Mr K.

    2. Brilliant guzzle, sylvanus. Thank you for it and for popping in. 14d goes on my list of favourite clues. 👍

  35. Quite splendid! Best crossword of the week by some distance. Not the quickest of solves but no real holdups as the pennies dropped steadily. Podium topped by 14d, my clue of the year so far. Almost every clue is worth the other places but I’ll go for 15 a and 5d my LOI.
    Congratulations to our compiler and thanks to Mr K

  36. All I will say is….

    14d

    To quote another legend, Stanley Unwin…deep joy.

    3*/5*

    1. What a legend he was! Nobody today could repeat his act.

  37. Really enjoyed this puzzle and finished it quite quickly for me. However I needed Mr K’s hints to explain the parsing for about four of the clues! Like many others fave clue was 14d – genius! Also liked 27a ‘strapped for cash’ although it was one of the clues I couldn’t completely parse. It’s a ***** rating from me, a great start to the weekend. Thanks Silvanus and Mr K for helping me out.

  38. No praise too high for 14D – an all time classic that I’m sure Her Late Majesty would have appreciated. Superb puzzle from Silvanus, and VMT Mr K.

  39. Well I as a lurker have to pop in and agree about the absolutely splendid 14d, I would say that is the Clue of My Life! And the rest was pretty good as well, completed in 2* time which for a Friday is unusual.

    1. Hi, PD. Now you have delurked please return and comment again. You are more than welcome. 👍

  40. Another snorter rolls off the Smooth production line. 14d worth the price of admission on its own & with plenty of ticks elsewhere.
    Thanks to Silvanus & Mr K

  43. Top half 1* bottom half 3* / enjoyment 4.5*, I think it’s all been said already and yes 14d favourite. Also mentions to 27a and 17a
    Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K

  44. I really liked the ‘coat repeatedly shorn’ and ‘extremely deficient’ indicators and the Trump clue. 14 down is probably hard for a compiler to resist, but it really is an old chestnut – certainly used by Araucaria a long, long time ago, and as recently as a few weeks ago by Kcit/Phi in the Independent. Great if you’re seeing it for the first time though.

  45. Too late to comment, really, but this was excellent (especially 14d) and finished unaided! I needed help with the parsing for a couple of clues (it took a while for the penny to drop with 23a, even with Mr K’s clue). Many thanks to all.

  46. Started this yesterday evening and continued with it on and off today whilst at the seaside. Completed unaided but needed the hints afterwards for some of the parsing (4d, 5d, 19d and 23a). Not previously heard of the ‘work’ construction in 19d but I am still learning. Liked 11a for its gentle elegance but another vote for 14d as COTD. Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K. ***/****

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