Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30560
Hints and tips by 2Kiwis
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Kia ora from Aotearoa
We found this puzzle quite tricky for the Wednesday slot, particularly in the SE corner. There were plenty of penny-drop moments that made it another very enjoyable solve for us.
Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
1a Sound measure? (6)
FATHOM : A cryptic definition of the unit often used when measuring depths (sounding) at sea.
5a Suffer embarrassment as she will do when only he remains? (4,4)
LOSE FACE : The wordplay asks you how to covert the word ‘she’ to ‘he’.
9a It’s news about fight for place in court (7,3)
WITNESS BOX : An anagram (about) of ITS NEWS, and then fight in the manner of Joe Frazier.
10a Stood up to drill (4)
BORE : A double definition, stood up to or tolerated.
11a I squeeze into new suit for dessert (8)
TIRAMISU : An anagram (new) of SUIT contains ‘I’ from the clue and squeeze or compress.
12a Reluctant to say she has no heart (6)
AVERSE : Say or utter and the first and last letters of she.
13a Imagined being still single (4)
YETI : A synonym for still and Roman numeral one.
15a Point here duly covers state of bank account (2,3,3)
IN THE RED : A lurker, hiding in the clue.
18a Gear requiring cam to be reversed (8)
RAINCOAT : Reverse one word from the clue to get the familiar name for this gear.
19a Comfortable feeling sick? No question (4)
EASY : Remove the two letter abbreviation for question from feeling sick or nauseated.
21a Warnings about Conservative powers (6)
FORCES : Golfers warning shouts contain C(onservative).
23a Negotiate access by retired Russian (8)
NAVIGATE : The reversal of an archetypical Russian name and access, possibly to a field.
25a Nessie originally seen on salt lake (4)
TARN : Another name for a salt or seaman and then the first letter of Nessie.
26a Fan may see trouble following a lie having lost heart (10)
AFICIONADO : ‘A’ from the clue, then a seven letter word for a lie loses its central letter. All this is followed by trouble or fuss.
27a Banter about involvement with drugs (8)
REPARTEE : The two letter ‘about’, then involvement or role, and E(cstasy) twice.
28a Reluctant to admit mistake getting wine (6)
SHERRY : Reluctant or retiring contains mistake or go astray.
Down
2d Setting bail, one defence that might be offered (5)
ALIBI : An anagram (setting) of BAIL and Roman numeral one.
3d Put up with song beginning to note language (9)
HUNGARIAN : Put up as a painting may be, then a possibly operatic song and the first letter of note.
4d Mike is suitable and eccentric (6)
MISFIT : Mike from the phonetic alphabet, then ‘IS’ from the clue and suitable or appropriate.
5d Party concentrated, needing a lot of workers (6-9)
LABOUR-INTENSIVE : A political party and concentrated or very focused.
6d Still surviving on board ship, they may be needed (8)
SEXTANT : A word meaning still surviving often used to describe plants or animals, is enclosed by the abbreviation for steamship. There is an all-in-one nature to this clue.
7d Lie about strength of character (5)
FIBRE : A lie or untruth and about or referring to.
8d Charlie isn’t hers — changed names (9)
CHRISTENS : C(harlie) and then an anagram (changed) of ISNT HERS.
14d Develop complex (9)
ELABORATE : A double definition. The first a verb and the second an adjective.
16d Appearance of endless crisis on energy (9)
EMERGENCE : Start with a word meaning crisis and replace its last letter with E(nergy).
17d Loyal worker supporting Tory way (8)
CONSTANT : The three letter abbreviation for ‘Tory’, then a way or thoroughfare and a worker insect.
20d When keeping cover, reportedly is of use (6)
AVAILS : A synonym for when surrounds a homophone (reportedly) of a word for cover or screen.
22d Dance clubs dealing with gear regularly going missing (5)
CONGA : The card players’ abbreviation for clubs, then a two letter word meaning ‘dealing with’, then the first and third letters of gear.
24d House party in northern part of Turkey (5)
TUDOR : The northern part of Turkey gives us the first three letters. These surround a party or gathering.
We’ll pick our last answer to sort out, 26a, as our favourite.
Quickie pun anna + stick + hold = a nasty cold
A Wednesday puzzle? Righto chum.
That was straight out of the toughie drawer in my book.
Will have to see the hints to see how 5a works, easy to hoy in the answer, but as to the why of it, I’ve no idea.
Who’ll be the first to quote 5d as their description of the whole thing?
Not really one for me today, maybe just a wavelength thing, but I seemed to struggle at every turn. Roll on tomorrow……
I suppose lose face must mean lose the first letter
I found today’s offering rather tough. I had solved only three after the first pass and then, like yesterday, I stared at it for ages with no lightbulbs coming on. Eventually, it began to reveal itself but it was a tortuous solve for me. I’m not sure of some of my answers so will need to check the hints and I thought 18a was very devious. I’m sure others will have enjoyed it but not for me, I’m afraid. I did like the house party in Turkey at 24d and the sound at 1a but for me the pick of the day is the Quickie pun.
My thanks to the setter for the brain mangling. Thank you, 2K’s for the hints.
Still wet in The Marches so there will be yet another squelching through the fields for Hudson and me.
How are things Steve?
Hi, DG. Things are not bad. They could be better but, then again, they could be worse. 😊
I’m with you all the way, Steve. And it’s only Wednesday.
2.5*/4*. This was great fun – an excellent mid-week back-pager.
I thought that the definition and wordplay for 16d were too “same-sidey”, but that apart this was all good with 5a, 13a & 18a my top picks. 5a was tough to parse and 18a was my last one in and favourite.
The Quickie pun was a mystery to me, and I’ve driven Mrs RD mad by saying the three words out loud in strange accents to no avail. {Thanks to the 2Ks for putting me out of my misery. It doesn’t work down south!)
Many thanks to the setter and to the 2Ks.
Perfect for a midweeker.
My LOI was 26a which threw me for a good while. Then the synonym for ‘lie’ hit me. An excellent clue which is on my podium with 5a (great fun) and 19a.
Many thanks to the setter and Le Touquet.
3*/4*
Horrid puzzle, with my worst performance in months, Wednesday or not.
All fairly clued (5a a bit dodgy, perhaps) despite my personal failings. 4.5*/2*
I usually refrain
From comparing
Our back page with
A Toughie.
But today’s puzzle is
An exception.
This was a Toughie
In all but name.
Got there. unaided but in
5 plus* time.
Brilliant clueing throughout.
Thanks setter and the 2Kiwis.
Reasonably straightforward and generally lightish back-pager, perhaps from a setter not regularly seen in this spot (I have no idea), so a lack of familiarity with their clueing style may explain some of the perceptions of it being more challenging? My main complication was in having written most of the answer for 11a into the spaces for 9a: the crossings-out made for a confusing mess on the page in the NW. I was startled to see that all ships still need to carry a working 6d – and that someone on board needs to know how to use it. In 24d while the answer & parsing were obvious I found the instruction to use the “northern” part of Turkey a little out of place – while the answer is vertical, the clue is horizontal, so how can it have a northern part?
Otherwise a decent enough puzzle, with podium places going to 13a, 28a & 20d.
1.5* / 2.5*
Thank you to the setter and to the 2Ks
I thought likewise about the northern part of Turkey but didn’t comment in case there was,in fact, a part of northern Turkey called Tur, and not wishing to show my ignorance!
Whereas I am quite relaxed about the regularity with which mine is put on display!
“Lightish”???
Mustafa is at another level when it comes to solving crosswords, Merusa. You rarely see him give a 4* rating for difficulty.
Maybe he should be called ‘Masterfa’
We are not worthy.
I would in no way claim to be at another level, Tom, I get stumped just like anyone, and am light-years away from the solving abilities of some of our regular bloggers & posters: the true masters are the like of CS, Gazza & Dutch et al, who solve – but more importantly parse & understand! – the toughest of clues. However I’m quite happy to spend several days solving an Elgar or Osmosis Toughie (a recent Osmosis took me a week), when several years ago I would struggle to get even a single answer. Today I was fortunate to tune-in to the back-page setter’s wavelength from the start, but I can’t in all honesty sit down and write that a puzzle was harder than I had actually found it.
I came back to cryptics about 4/5 years ago following a 2-decade absence, and for a while it was a struggle. Daily practice helped, sticking at it helps me even more, but above all trying to make the time to do three puzzles a day and reading the blogs here and on Times For The Times to understand the way clues are written and solved, how the rules work, and how the wordplay and definitions can be hidden. Oh – and not taking it too seriously!
There’s a great bit in Colin Dexter’s foreword to Don Manley’s “Chambers Crossword Manual” where he relates a train journey he took with DM from Oxford: before reaching Reading (23 minutes – it’s taken me longer than that to type & edit this reply!) DM had completed The Times, The Independent, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. Now that’s what you call a Master.
Forgive me, MG. I meant a master amongst us lot. Completing each of those four cryptics in under 6 minutes is truly bonkers.
Maybe I’m being thrown by your rating criteria as you often give 1, 1.5 and 2 stars when the rest of us give 3s, 4s and 5s though I appreciate we may have different parameters. I remember you once went to the rooftops about a crossword, calling it ‘Excellent’, but only gave it 3 stars for enjoyment. I do smile when you use the ‘Less than’ symbol. I’m waiting for this one to turn up ≤.
If today’s was lightish, then I’d be curious to know what adjective you would use for one of Campbell’s easier ones as today, for me, was nowhere near light. So, I can understand Merusa’s ‘Lightish?’ comment.
….or have you already used ≤? I have a feeling you may have done.
Right up my street today but had to turn my brain power up a notch when I got to the SE corner, which took me as long as all the rest to work out. I found the top half problem free once I sorted the spelling of 11a. The bottom contained some cleverly misleading and amusing clueing, my favourite being 26a, which held me up the longest, supported by 18a, a noisy PDM and 25a, a great surface read. Thanks to our setter and the 2 Kiwis. I managed without your hints eventually but loved the picture of the puddle jumping youngster.
PS. Yet another dreadful howler in Plusword today in the paper, which I see has now been corrected online. 👎
Thanks for confirming that, we don’t go online.
Ah, I did it online and wondered whether the cyclist was somebody we were all expected to know, and why it was an anagram that involved moving only one letter — I guess a last-minute fix explains that.
Tougher indeed today but enjoyable.
With the exception of 5a, where I was unable to parse as above and could only find peace by contriving a post dinner party scenario where she removed her make up when all guests had left and only he remained! (Rather gender stereotypical but the grey cells wouldn’t let it lie!).
Thanks to setter and 2Kiwis.
A top-notch midweek puzzle – thanks to the setter and 2Ks.
My ticks went to 5a, 13a, 26a, 6d and 17d (and the Quickie pun).
This certainly made me sit up and take notice! All very clever stuff although I felt that a few of the surface reads lost out owing to the complexity of the wordplay.
Top three here were 5,13&27a with a special award for the light-hearted Quickie pun.
Thanks to our setter – Robyn would be my guess – and to our 2Ks for the review.
Guess what – it’s raining again………….
Goly, a long breakfast guzzle! Funnily enough held up more by the parsing than by the answers.
For example failed to see the lurker in15a for ages. Oh senility, thy name is Lurker!
But the funniest was the time spent trying to fit the letters c, a, and m into 18a. It wasn’t until I actually read it out to myself that the penny dropped from a great height!
I think fave of the day must be 26a, wonderful clue!
Many thanks to the setter and the 2Ks down under.
An excellent midweek puzzle with fine clues providing a good challenge and much enjoyment. Favourite: 5a. 3*/4*.
A mixed bag of responses thus far. I found myself in the group of strugglers, and I still can’t work out the parsing of 5a. I just can’t 1a it.
It took a long time to see the light in 18a and the lie in 26a eluded me for too long.
It’s a wavelength thing, I’m sure, but it’s interesting to see how other minds work.
Thanks to 2Ks and setter.
5a seems to be very popular but unless I am missing something, which is entirely possible, it doesn’t make the top of my leaderboard. That honour goes to 18a. Overall a nicely tricky puzzle with some inventive clueing and most enjoyable.
My thanks to our midweek setter and the 2Ks.
Can’t really say I enjoyed this puzzle at all. Parsing was not obvious even when I knew the answer was correct. Way out of my wavelength and I should have just stopped … but I didn’t. Issues must be mine in the fact I am not on this setters wavelength.
3*/2* for me
Favourites were 15a, 19a, 23a, 2d & 6d — with winner 19a
Thanks to setter and 2K’s who had to plough through this one
This was a bit of a struggle but got there in the end. I think I liked the lurker at 15 best. A relief to sit down and have something to get my teeth into. George gone to Addenbrookes as he is in more trouble with his head, I spent over an hour on the phone trying to sort out a MyChart instruction to go in for an operation early April (message on my iPhone but not on my computer) but no biopsy results, surgery knows nothing and hospital knows nothing. Does not even have my proposed hospitalisation logged. Did I imagine it all? Isn’t life hard enough when you are old? And then I read they have changed the name of Ladies Day to Style Wednesday!!
Sorry, rant over but apart from shouting at Radio 4 there’s no one else to shout at. Rant over. Many thanks to Setter and Kays.
Style Wednesday?
Goodness me.
Hang in there, DG, as The Big G needs you.
Sorry to hear of your tribulations with Addenbrokes. Used to live in Cambridge so I sympathise. One of the reasons we moved to the North East, superb NHS service. Diagnosed with colon cancer, 3 weeks later operation! Follow up regularly, now 5 years clear, thanks Cramlington, you were fantastic.
I was also lucky with my NHS treatment. Like you I had the same diagnosis and treatment and this morning I was contacted by the hospital to say that after 5 years I was clear. So also good, hope you hear from Addenbrooks soon Daisy.
On the down side I couldn’t do the guzzle today!!
Huge congrats on being out of the woods for five years, Bijou.
Thankyou!
So pleased you and Bijou are clear, Brian. 👍
What a shambles Daisy. Do hope things can be sorted for you and George at Addenbrookes and appropriate treatment will be forthcomoing followed by a good recovery. Best wishes to you both.
I hope things get sorted out speedily for you both.
Hey there, George’s girl
Everything so sweet it has to be
Everyone you meet can always see
The joyfulness inside you.
Hey there, George’s girl
Why do all of us just wonder why?
Could it be that natural grace or is it that
cheerful air?
Your always busy propping and never
stopping to sigh
So chase those busy nurses and fly
A little bit.
Hey there, Daisygirl
There’s no other (some have tried)
Bring out all the love you have and,
Please don’t change, you see
The world just loves the real Daisygirl
Come on Daisygirl
Chin up Daisygirl
Come on Daisygirl.
That’s a really clever version of the song – and an accurate compliment to Daisy Girl.
Crossword was a bit tricky – favourite clue was the well hidden lurker at 15a. Thanks to setter and 2 Kiwis
Outstanding, Pipsqueak!
Bloody brilliant. And I seldom swear!
That really made me smile, I wish that was all true, you only know what I tell you 🤭Feeling a bit more relaxed now but still haven’t got an answer, they were going to ring me back but of course they didn’t. Grrr.
Oh dear, DG! What a tale! I hope it is sorted out soon.
Thinking of you. 🌹
You are all so kind. My lovely BDF (Big Dave Family)
Do hope all turns out well, that the hospital phones you back etc.
Sounds much like mine on the south coast.
They never phone back, their clerical work is appalling, there is no continuity, you never seethe same dr/consultant twice, all the non medical staff are volunteers who bravely battle their inefficiency, their A and E is something else.
Take care.
Definitely on the more difficult end of the Wednesday spectrum. One for finding the definition and not getting tangled up in the at times absurd wordplay. Unnecessarily complicated in my opinion.
Not my fav although completed in a reasonable time.
***/**
Thx for the hints
Far too complicated to say anything approaching even mere civility.
Thanks (?) to the setter and unqualified thanks to the 2Ks for laying the cord which aided my finishing the crossword maze and my comprehension of it.
Oh dear, definitely not the Wednesday puzzle I was looking forward to with my breakfast. Having read the hint for 18a I realise that this is devious in places and clearly yet another one that got lost on its way to the Toughie slot. Never mind, I’ll save myself the headache and go and do some shopping therapy instead. Thanks to setter and 2Kiwis.
That was a truly tortuous solve, not up my straße at all. I needed the hints twice to get going again, usually I can get a foothold with ehelp but today I needed the hints. How nice to see 25a again.
Thank you setter for the brain mangling. Endless appreciation to the 2Kiwis for the help most of the way.
Ran up the white flag on this one with less than half completed. Clearly well off wavelength. Thanks to the compiler for the beating and the 2K’s for the hints.
This took me a bit longer but got there unaided. Got 5a but had to parse it from 2K’s. One has to get some answers in to see how the setter’s mind works so those first few can be difficult but crucial.
John used to work at Addenbrookes and I had breast cancer surgery there 10 years ago. It sounds as if Daisygirl is not benefitting from the prompt and efficient treatment that was the order of the day back then. At a worrying time you need all the help possible – so fingers crossed.
Thanks to an off piste setter and the useful hints.
I enjoyed that workout in two sessions with the West presenting the most hitches. Parsing was missing for several including 5a, 3d and 20d. Don’t think I have ever heard 21a warnings in the plural but then again why not – golfing terms seem to make regular appearances in these Cryptics. Tried initially to think around use of 24d as adjective before the House clicked. Thank you Mysteryone and 2Kiwis.
Morning all.
Quite a lot of thinking ‘outside the box’ required to sort out this one and then the challenge to put together helpful hints that don’t just give everything away. Hope we manage to get the balance right most of the time.
It is an interesting aside that because of our time difference, we are always solving the puzzles well before the hints are published so although we have been writing the Wednesday hints for nearly ten years, have never used anyone’s hints for our own solving.
Cheers.
Thankyou 2 K’s for your hints, I couldn’t have done it without you!
Nice puzzle! 26a was really good.
I spent too long over 18a, half-persuaded that the answer was going to be something I didn’t know lurking under a car bonnet, and then it was suddenly obvious….
Many thanks.
Finally got there after quite a mind mangling and needed the hints to explain the parsing of a couple. All makes perfect sense now. I had 26a as my favourite.
Many thanks to the setter and to the 2 Kiwis for the essential, and helpful hints.
Yes this was the proverbial Curate’s egg mainly straight forward but “yet” there were a few tricky ones 😬 Favourites 19a, 25a, 28a 😃 Thanks to the Compiler and of course to our friends in NZ
Not on the wavelength at all today.
Got two clues and popped smoke.
Thanks to all.
Solved this morning over a lovely full English breakfast (can’t resist if it’s on the menu) & before a blustery but mercifully dry round of golf & 5 extra holes. A pedestrian start but eventually tuned in for completion in *** time. Fully agree that difficulty was with the whys but all sorted after a head scratch or two. 26a my clear favourite with ✅s for plenty of others. Very enjoyable.
Thanks to the setter (Robyn I’m guessing) & to the 2Ks
The Quickie pun required a thick Glaswegian accent.
A bit late here today so, unsurprisingly, I think everything’s already been said.
Like lots of others I found it pretty tricky but I did really enjoy it too.
I liked too many to write a long list – I think my favourite was 26a.
Thank you to whoever set this one and to the K’s for their hints.
4/2. A much trickier puzzle than usual for a Wednesday and also not particularly enjoyable. My favourite was the lurker at 15a. Thanks to the setter and the 2Ks for explaining so much that I missed.
A genuine Toughie. I’m a bit out of sync, but I’ve just done yesterday’s Toughie with much more ease than this. Nevertheless, a good workout.
Tough for me (as others). Some quite unusual wordplay (a plus not a minus) and no obscure GK, so a big thumbs up….
Straightforward until it wasn’t, I think that just about sums it up. Some of this was toughie territory. Personally I rather liked 5a. Thanks to the setter and 2K’s.
3*/4* …
Liked 13A “Imagined being still single (4)” … once the penny dropped !