DT 30972

72 comments on “DT 30972”

1. Hi Falcon,
   You have the wrong word in the hidden answer for 20a.

   1. Also, I read the quicke pun as “a covered space in which one may park one’s car” ? No?

      1. That’s how I see the pun, AD.

         1. Yes, it is the covered space for parking – I can’t see how it could be stretched to sound like a floor covering, even with an Ottawa accent…See you again soon!

            1. It is that dastardly non-rhotic R. Speaking with a rhotic accent, when I see an R, I sound it and neglect to insert an R where none exists.

   2. As far a the puzzle goes – I found this considerably trickier than Mondays of late. I had to use some electronic help. I had no problem with the mathematician in 7d, but as for the character in 13a – well I have read the book, but it was a *veerrry* long time ago, so I had to ask Google the names of the characters.
      Having said that I found this difficult, reading over the clues now, I can’t understand why…
      Many thanks to Falcon and to the setter.

   3. Arthur,
      Thanks for bringing those instances to my attention. As I was literally falling asleep at the keyboard last evening, it would be a miracle if there were no errors.

      With regard to the Quickie pun, once again my rhotic accent tripped me up. As for 20a, CLUTCH seems to me to be an equally valid answer — although undoubtedly used more in a sports context than the one chosen by the setter.

      1. Hi F

         As you say, clutch is an oft used sporting adjective, eg a clutch putt but I haven’t heard it being a noun in the expression X has used, ie ‘When it comes to the clutch’

         So, I don’t think it’s a valid answer unless you have an example.

         1. How about “Once again the star player came through in the clutch, scoring the winning goal with mere seconds remaining on the clock.”

            1. That’s a good example of it as a noun but it doesn’t fit the expression that he’s used ‘When it comes to the ******’

               So, his answer is the only valid one.

         2. TDS, according to three allegedly incontestable sources (i.e. Chambers, Collins and me), “clutch” as an adjective meaning “critical/crucial” is uniquely North American.

            1. Thank you for that, RD. I guessed the adjective had an American origin. I assume that you’ve told me that as a bit of background information?

               I’m glad you said ‘allegedly’, btw.

               I still can’t get over smidge/smidgen.

               Clowns.

2. Getting the homophone mathematician base over apex certainly didn’t help completing this tricky Monday offering, but it was certainly entertaining. Haven’t seen an 8d for ages, but I suppose they still exist. The clues that made me smile the most and form my podium are 9a, 13a and 3d in top spot. Thanks to compiler and Falcon.

3. This wasn’t easy.

   I started off swimmingly but slowed down at the end with it being a DNF as 13a was beyond me. I didn’t know the literary name nor the term and have never heard of the synonym for 27a.

   My podium is 20a, 1d and 11d,

   MT to X-type (?) and Falcs.

   3*/3*

4. Very much what I have come to expect for a Monday puzzle – slightly more challenging than what follows tomorrow but as enjoyable as ever which makes me think this is an X-Type production – 2*/3.5*

   Candidates for favourite – 12a, 13a (a good job Terence is away trying to avoid being arrested by ICE), 3d, and 14d – and the winner is 13a!

   Thanks to X-Type, or whomsoever if it is not he, and thanks to Falcon.

   P.S. I concur with Arthur Dent on the interpretation of the Quickie Pun.

   1. I agree that 13a should go on ice pending the return of The List Curator.

      1. Oh no,it should be quietly forgotten so that he doesn’t find out about it!

5. Good challenge! Favourites: 20 & 2a and 16d. Methinks the quick one is car port.

   1. Favourites should read 10 & 22a !! Can’t find an edit comment option!

6. I am relieved to see that early commenters found this as tricky as I did. Definitely a wrong envelope day. Good fun though, and an excellent cranial workout to kickstart the week. Unusually, I picked a very good anagram, 6d, as my COTD.

   Thanks to our setter for a great challenge, and to Falcon. We are joining you in the 30s later this week.

7. Fair enough for a start to the week, no issues from me.
   I had to confirm my answer to 13a though the book in question is easily identifiable from the clue.
   My other two picks are 12a and 27a, where I guess the term for friends is more common in some areas than others. It is certainly well used where I come from.
   Thanks to Falcon and the setter.

8. A very good Monday teaser, a workout for the LGCs. Think Falcon spot-on with the ratings. Did not know that was how the name of our old chum at 7d was pronounced, despite his relatively frequent appearances, but the clue was scrupulously fair. Took ages over 11d, over-complicating things by trying to use each of ‘loud’, ‘bass’ and ‘about’ in several different cruciverbal ways. The ship’s timber rang only the faintest of bells – too quiet certainly to awaken any crew member for their watch. Can remember 8ds in considerable numbers from our frequent house moves in the 70s & 80s – very useful things, but now largely replaced by cardboard boxes – lighter and more convenient for all concerned.

   Honours to 4a, 18a, and 3d. Many thanks to the setter and Falcon

9. 3*/3*. Definitely on the tough side for a Monday, although I didn’t help myself in the NE corner by putting in the mathematician’s name instead of the answer.

   Thanks to the setter and to Falcon.

   1. Bother, the edit option hasn’t appeared so I can’t add the missing apostrophe. 🥺

      1. I’ve added it for you

         1. Thank you, Sue. Now I can relax. 🙂

10. A fast start and overall pretty straightforward except for the 13a address, which is not only a word that’s new to me but also not in Chambers 21st Century Dictionary (though presumably it is in the BRB). Thank you to Falcon for explaining that one (fortunately we’d read the relevant novel to our eldest last year), and to the setter for the fun.

    I especially liked the 9a bush, 24a’s current church official, 25a’s playful person, 2d’s van, and 7d’s mathematician.

    Falcon
    Ensures we all can
    Unravel clues’ mystery
    While learning about today in music history

    I’m not having much luck with these clerihews, as I keep making references to things that bloggers often do but haven’t on the specific day I post — Shabbo calculating Ray T’s words per clue, Mr K posting cat photos, and now Falcon telling us about a song that was a hit on this day in a previous year. I’m guessing the absence of the latter (and pictures) indicates that this crossword was late in appearing on the Telegraph Puzzles website, thereby reducing Falcon’s window for solving and blogging.

    1. Let’s see if I can provide an ersatz substitute for today’s missing feature:

       On this day …

       … in 1981, Ghost Town by The Specials was number 1 in the UK singles chart, where it would remain for another fortnight. It was written by keyboardist Jerry Dammers based on his experience of urban decay encountered as the band toured the country.

       Lead vocals are by Terry Hall who died in 2022, shortly after co-writing Emily Smiles with Ian Brodie of the Lightning Seeds:

       1. If one finds oneself at a loose end in Coventry, one can visit the small but very pleasing music museum and sit in the car used in the Ghost Town video – well, the front half of it anyway. There’s also a room dedicated to local band The Primitives, which we were shown around very enthusiastically by a lovely woman who turned out to be Tracey’s (the singer) mother.

    2. Hi Smylers – Your presumption about 13a being in The Crimson Tome is correct.

    3. Does it matter that it references the blogger’s style/ personality in general and not necessarily something reflected on that day in the guzzle? You are making it hard for yourself!
       Smylers is the best of dads
       He spends much time with all his lads.
       But when the boys have gone to bed
       The guzzles then invade his head.
       That’s not very good of course as I don’t know whether you have lads AND lassies or if it should be both instead of all. But it is general rather than specific to the day. Shall I just shut up? 🤭

       1. Thank you!

          I think that to truly qualify as a clerihew the first line is supposed to be just the subject’s name and nothing else (which then means that the second line has to rhyme(ish) with their name).

    4. Can you clarify,please. I thought BRB was Chambers (mine is a big red book anyway). What exactly is the BRB, then?

       1. The BRB (Big Red Book) is indeed The Chambers Dictionary. Not to be confused with Chambers 20th/21st Century Dictionaries, which are more compact lexicons.

       2. The term BRB specifically refers to The Chambers Dictionary. As Jose says, Chambers 21st Century Dictionary is a more compact lexicon but I would not consider it to be merely a compact edition of The Chambers Dictionary. When I looked into this question several years ago, I clearly recall reading that Chambers 21st Century Dictionary was compiled by an independent editorial team working largely from separate, more modern source material. However, I am currently unable to find any reference to support that.

          What is now known as The Chambers Dictionary was first published in 1872 based on an earlier 1867 work. It contains many dialectal, archaic, unconventional and eccentric words, and is noted for its occasional wryly humorous definitions. On the other hand, in Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, “the focus is on the English that people use today, and definitions are given in straightforward, accessible language”.

          There is often a variance in entries between the two dictionaries, with the newer publication lacking the archaic meanings of the older one, and the older one lacking the more modern meanings of the newer one. It is also not uncommon to find spelling differences between the two dictionaries, in particular when it comes to compound and hyphenated words.

          The online Search Chambers website is based on Chambers 21st Century Dictionary. There are paid Android and IOS apps based on The Chambers Dictionary.

11. Waiting for passport control at Eurotunnel and the staffing of the French controls are minimal plus they have gone back to stamping every passport.
    Great crossword but my answer to 20 across differs from that given by Falcon in the hints. My podium choice is 13 across. Will have to use that word at least once this week.
    Thanks to all . A bientot.

    1. Good luck with using it in France!

12. That was a straightforward guzzle until it wasn’t. I was held up by 10a, 13a, 27a and 7d because I didn’t know the mathematician. Other than those, it was an enjoyable solve with a few smiles dotted along the way. I liked the bootleg discs at 3d and the long golf course at 14d. It’s difficult to pick one for the podium but I will go for the female flier at 22a.

    Thank you, setter for the fun challenge. Thank you, Falcon for the hints.

    1. Mathematicians joke that many things in their field are named after the second person to discover them, after Euler — on the grounds that it would get too confusing to name any more things after him. For crosswords, Euler’s number 2·718281828 is often relevant, because it’s the base of natural logarithms, so gets clued (rather loosely) as “base”. Wikipedia has a list of several dozen other things named after him.

       1. Hi, Smylers. I’ve heard of Euler but I’ve been pronouncing his name incorrectly for years. No wonder I couldn’t get 7d. 😊

    2. I had problems with exactly the same as numbered by you above 😊.

13. Like RD I initially bunged in the surname of Lennie, the maths bod, before realising my error but at least I now know how to pronounce him. Otherwise I found it a reasonably straightforward solve so I guess it must have been a case of tuning in & on wavelength. I’ve belatedly come to the conclusion that golf courses that require a lot of well struck tee shots & a significant carry over tall fescue/water hazards to locate a 14d are no longer for me – golf balls ain’t cheap & it quickly ceases to be fun if you’re dobbing it into the rubbish.
    11d was my fav today.
    Thanks to the setter & Falcon

    1. It was the thought of just such courses as you describe that caused me to add the word “generally” to the hint.

14. I found this difficult today, but then again, with the exception of yesterday, I’ve struggled with quite a few cryptic and toughie puzzles over the last week or so. It’s been flipping hot in our part of Spain recently, and I blame that heat for putting a dampener on my mojo

    Thanks to the setter and to Falcon.

15. Had to check on the boatman as it’s been a very long time since I read the book and the mathematician was slow to appear but those were my only sticking points. Topping the board today were 9&26a plus 3&14d.

    Thanks to our setter, X-Type? and to Falcon for the review – trying not to think about that heat making it’s way across to us……….

16. A fun start to the crossword solving week. I do enjoy the current Monday offerings which require a bit of mental exercise but then I suppose that’s the point of the exercise. Also, I learned how to pronounce the name of a certain Swiss mathematician. My favourites today were 2d and 14d and I thought 12a was very clever.

17. A little tricky – I’ve heard of the book published in 1889 but never read it. Fortunately the checkers came to the rescue and the reversal of the answer made sense. Also unaware of the pronunciation of the mathematician and the word for friends. However, it all came together nicely.
    3*/4*
    Good start to the week.
    Thanks to X Type and Falcon

    1. You should read the book, SL8 – it’s very funny.

       1. Can I echo that please.
          One of my earliest recollections was of my father reading me the book when I was a small child. The scene where Uncle Podger attempts to hang a picture was the first time I realised that it was possible for mere words on a page to make you cry with laughter.
          I later read it for myself as a young man, and haven’t re-read it since (but now I am thinking of doing so again).

18. Again Monday presents anything but a smooth kick-off to the cruciverbal week but with a couple of electronic dips I got there before reading hints but can’t say I really enjoyed the challenge, Suppose 4a is a “fitting”. A limited knowledge of the German lingo helped me with the pronunciation of 7d. Even knowing the boatman didn’t ring the old address bel in 13a. Misread 11d so was trying to use “f” for loud. Thanks Mysteryone and Falcon.

19. A good start again for this (non) work week with this Monday puzzle. A few tricky spots that gave pause for thought, but overall went smoothly.

    1.5*/4* for me

    Favourites 15a, 1d, 3d, 6d, 8d & 14d — with winner 3d with 14d runner up with a chuckle.
    Smiles for 1a, 25a & 19d

    Thanks to X-Type and Falcon

20. A tricky little number today. I remembered the mathematician but had to pause before I twigged whether it was him or the homophone that was wanted. Similarly, in the clever 13a, I caught on to the form of address immediately, thought I could remember the name from reading the book 60 years ago, and rhenchecked it with Mr Google. The cryptic definition at 3d and the anagram at 6d were also fine clues. Thanks to the compuler, I really enjoyed the variety and challenge of the clue types today. Thanks to Falcon for the hints, difficult to do when feeling less than on top form, I imagine and you have my sympathies

21. Tricky for a Monday but still very enjoyable. I was defeated by 13a and annoyed that I struggled so long with 11d having missed the anagram indicator. 3d was my favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Falcon for the hints

    1. Ditto for me with 11d.

22. I thought that this puzzle was spot on for a Monday 😃 **/**** Favourites: 9a & 27a with 5d & 11d Thanks to the Compiler and to the Falcon 🤗

23. It’s not you Falcon, this was tricky today, and if you find it difficult there is little hope for us mere mortals. I don’t even think 4a is light fitting, versus a lamp shade bulb, switch etc would be IMHO. Never read the 13a book, and would have forgotten even if I had, maths was never my thing (except for all things accounting) and I don’t understand 12a, neither the clue nor the hint. Not my best effort, but then I was up and out before breakfast this morning for an ultrasound. Oh for the gentle Mondays of the past. Thanks to setter and Falcon.

    1. The answer is a metal and it’s constructed with a word for ‘choice’ as in ‘she got choice seats at the theatre. And the word is split so contains the letter a and another metal.

24. The NE resisted for ages especially the boatman! Thank you compiler and Falcon

25. Not too tricky but with a few head scratchers, nevertheless enjoyable. Didn’t know 23a but had to be what it was. Favourite was 3d. Thanks to X-Type and Falcon.

26. I did try to comment at lunch time but my mobile phone was playing up and I was just typing nonsense. (Some may think that I just type nonsense anyway)
    I thought the guzzle typically Mondayish – .I liked the long anagram and was convinced that the lady flyer was Amy Johnson and would not have thought of
    ‘oppos’ as friends exactly but otherwise no angst. Nice quickie pun as well. 4a is my favourite. Many thanks to Messrs. Setter & Falcon.

27. I’m not sure if this was tricky or I just found it awkward as I had small amounts of time to keep coming back to it so it wasn’t a cohesive effort.
    23d was new to me regarding the ship and I guessed at 13a having not read the book.
    Top picks for me were 7d, 12a, 20a and 9a.

    Thanks to Falcon and the setter.

28. I’m afraid this one was not for me. I got to 19d before getting an answer. Not a chance of discovering this setter’s wavelength so off out for the evening.

29. Forgive me, but is lamppost not normally two words?
    We (my wife and I) failed also on 7d and 11d. J.G.S.

    1. I have always thought it to be so, JGS. 👍

    2. Both The Chambers Dictionary and Chambers 21st Century Dictionary show 4a as a single word. On the other hand, in Collins English Dictionary, the primary spelling is hyphenated with the single word version being given as an alternate spelling.

30. I thought all was going well to begin with . . . ! Convinced the beast of burden was an ass and spent far too long cogitating over plants 🤔. Struggled to finish without reading some of the hints. Many thanks to X-Type and Senf (we could do with some of your warm weather here please in the North-West).

31. For the first time in months I have finished the Monday crossword which is now so different to those halcyon days of Campbell. I realised I was going in the right direction when after finding the first few across clues yielded nothing but turning to the down clues provided many checkers which with the very minimum of electronic help saw me over the finish line. My clue of the day has to be 14d since I pride myself on being as being as much against golf as Brian is/was against religion and on my ignorance of any points or terms. It was the checkers that won it,

    Thanks to the setter and to Falcon.

32. That was some workout. Started it watching the TdF and crossed the line watching the Giro Women.
    Let’s hope for an easier passage tomorrow.
    Thanks to all!

33. 1.5* / 3* although the mathematician and boatman were tricky I found the rest was quite straightforward.
    I’ll go for bootleggers at 3d for favourite
    Thanks to setter and Falcon

34. I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle. As a Tyke despite being in Bangkok I can confirm that Sirrah is still a salutation used at least in the area of South Yorkshire I was raised in. Very much in the manner of mate or pal, although I have to admit the person I heard it using most frequently was my grandfather who spent his formative years in Derbyshire.

35. 3*/3* ….
    liked 13A “One of three boatmen returning in old address (6)”

36. This one was easy. 30971 was fairly difficult. 😳

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