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DT 30654

by pommers  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30654

Hints and tips by pommers

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

Hola from Almoradí and a happy Canada Day to one and all. Falcon fancied the evening off as there are some festive things going on in Ottawa to celebrate Canada’s National Day so you’ve got me again!

I’ve given today’s puzzle an extra star for difficulty because, tucked away among the usual fairly benign stuff, there are a couple of real head scratchers.  Just as enjoyable as the normal Monday fare so I hope you all get on with it.  I have to say thanks to the setter for the excuse to include a couple of songs from Simon and Garfunkel!

As usual my podium three are in blue.  The definitions are underlined in the clues and the answers are under the “click here” buttons so don’t click on them unless you really want to see the answer.  Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

7a        New business celebrity with Trump, oddly (5-2)
START UP:  Take a word for a celebrity or leading man in a film and follow with the alternate letters (oddly) from TrUmP and split the result (5,2).

8a        Garfunkel’s playing good, serious composition (3-4)
ART SONG:  Collins defines the answer as “a song written by a trained composer to convey a specific artistic idea, as in projecting the mood and meaning of a poetic text” so I guess that makes it a serious composition.  You need Garfunkel’s first name (don’t forget the ‘S) and then a word meaning playing or working and finally a G(ood).  Never heard the phrase before but the wordplay is fair.

10a      Sun ruined ground without cover (9)
UNINSURED:  Anagram (ground) of SUN RUINED.

11a      Goods vehicle set off (5)
CARGO:  Goods on a ship are a common vehicle followed by a word meaning set off or leave.

12a      Sunglasses son removed for underworld boss (5)
HADES:  Nothing to do with Al Capone for once.  This is the god of the underworld in Greek mythology and he’s a slang term for sunglasses without the S (S(on) removed).

13a      Having no will to be seen in main test at Edgbaston (9)
INTESTATE:  A lurker hiding in (to be seen in) the last four words of the clue.

15a      The setter, having debts, is making beastly noises (7)
MEOWING:  How the setter may refer to himself followed by a word meaning having debts.

17a      Immoral person‘s fling with virtuous person? I’m not sure (7)
SHYSTER:  A word for fling, as in throw, followed by the usual two letters for a virtuous person and two letters representing a hesitation not UM but the other one.

18a      Are decent plays performed again? (2-7)
RE ENACTED:  Anagram (plays) of ARE DECENT.

20a      Tips of great Alpine mountains upon this range (5)
GAMUT:  First letters (tips of) the next five words.

21a      Prickly sorts caught first part of drama (5)
CACTI:  C(aught) followed by a phrase describing the opening part of a play.

23a      Fictional web designer in US city (9)
CHARLOTTE:  The eponymous spider in a children’s book by E.B. White is also the name of the largest city in North Carolina.

24a      Need law reforms for presidential policy (3,4)
NEW DEAL:  The presidential policy of Franklin D. Roosevelt is an anagram (reforms) of NEED LAW.

25a      Horses sheltering among soldiers (7)
MARINES:  You need some female horses and insert (sheltering) a word meaning among or inside.

Down

1d        Maybe Hannah‘s daughter hosted by friend in Italian city (10)
PALINDROME:  The word Hannah is an example of the answer.  It’s a word for a friend, the IN from the clue and an Italian city with a D(aughter) inserted (hosted by).

2d        Stagnant situation taken by economist as issue (6)
STASIS:  Another lurker hiding in (taken by) the last three words.

3d        Make vocal music including e.g. Scarborough Fair (8)
SPORTING:  A word meaning to make vocal music has inserted (including) what Scarborough is an example of to give a word meaning fair, as in a fair chance.

4d        Outlaw – outlaw pursued by detective over time (6)
BANDIT: A word meaning to outlaw followed by the two letters for a detective inspector followed by (over in a down clue) a T(ime).

5d        Supports criticism over leader in Sunday Times (6,2)
STICKS BY:  A slang term for criticism followed by an S (leader in Sunday) and then a word which can mean times as in 2 x 4.

6d        Express disapproval of right philistine (4)
BOOR:  Philistine as in an ill-mannered person.  It’s what you shout to express disapproval followed by an R(ight).

7d        Perhaps Lionel Messi in a Euros match, strangely (5,8)
SOUTH AMERICAN:  Anagram (strangely) of IN A EUROS MATCH.

9d        Del and Rodney, for instance, behind London theatre – they travel a lot (13)
GLOBETROTTERS:  You need Del and Rodney’s surname, with an S on the end as there are two of them, and put it after (behind) a famous London theatre.

14d      Trying case of assault, then appealing (10)
ATTEMPTING:  AT (case of AssaulT) followed by a word meaning appealing or luring.

16d      Fancied a strong drink, tucking into one beside sea (8)
IMAGINED:  Take the A from the clue and a strong drink, often taken with tonic, and insert them into (tucking into) the letter that looks like one and the usual abbreviation of the sea that’s just down the road from where I am.

17d      Team member wants intro from Sex Pistols? (8)
SIDEARMS:  Another word for a team followed by a member, as in part of your body, and then an S (intro from Sex) gives a term describing pistols.

19d      Approach large deer and tiger, say, from the south (6)
TACKLE:  A large deer and what a tiger is an example of are all reversed (from the south in a down clue).

20d      Al Gore eats in great quantities (6)
GALORE:  Take the GORE from the clue and place it around (eats) the AL from the clue.

22d      Possibly lower large hood (4)
COWL:  The animal that lows followed by L(arge).

Podium today is 3d, 17d and 29d with 3d on the top step.

Quick crossword pun:

WAUGH     +     TERSE     +     QUAYS     =     WATER SKIS

71 comments on “DT 30654”

  1. Pommers is right about this being a tricky Monday but some brilliant clues here. 9d was amusing but 1d gets my COTD although 17a and 1&4d were also stand outs. The four anagrams helped and my last one in was 17a which was elusive. I hadn’t heard of 8a but it was gettable. Great start to the week. Thanks pommers and our clever setter.

  2. A relatively straightforward affair with a couple of bear traps hidden away. Failed to get 8a – I’ve also learned something new – and defeated by 3d’s Strawberry Fair, which took me an age to parse even when I had the answer. Left me in a bit of a [gar]funk[el], but pommers’ hints provided a bridge over those troubled waters.

    I do like these puzzles with a theme. ***/****

  3. Is it Friday already? cos that was tough.

    Never heard the term at 8a, but couldn’t be much else, favourites of the day for me were 1d and 23a, a very pretty city that we visited on the way to Lake Lure, the lake that was in the film Dirty Dancing. We stayed at a place called ‘The lodge on Lake Lure’ the most snobby and unfriendly place we have ever stayed in the US, which was very out of character for the southern states, most places are absolutely lovely..

  4. The Monday slot is such an important one as it needs to put people in the right mood for the cruciverbal week. Rufus truly owned this meaning Campbell had big shoes to fill which he did with aplomb. So, the pressure was on Robyn who has more than done the job. What a great triumvirate!

    This was another splendid puzzle with plenty of great surfaces, making it hard to pick a podium but I’ll go with 1d, 17d and the clear winner, 7d.

    Many thanks to the aforementioned and Pommers.

    2*/4*

  5. A bit on the tricky side – I even struggled with The Quickie! I don’t understand 3d even with the hint. Nor do I understand where “boss” comes into 12a. I had totally forgotten the fictional web designer so needed the hints for that one. I have never heard of Mr. Messi so I suppose he has something to do with football. I gather there’s something big going on in that sport at the moment. So, a bit of a mixed bag for me but I did like Del Boy and Rodders visiting the theatre and that is my COTD.

    Thank you, setter for making me work. Thank you, pommers for the hints.

    1. Scarborough is an example of a port; to make vocal music is to sing. Insert ‘port’ into ‘sing’ to get sporting. If you’re behaving in a sporting manner, you are being ‘fair’, which is the definition.

      Hades is, mythically, in charge of hell. He is the boss of the underworld.

        1. Thanks SC for posing the question re 3d and thanks Anorak for explaining my bung-in!

    2. No wonder I didn’t get along with the Quickie – I put “ports” as the answer to 8a and, as it worked, I didn’t think it wrong. 😳

    3. You’re so lucky you’ve never heard of Mr. Messi, an Argentinian soccer star who was bought by Mr. Beckham to play on the Miami team.

      2. Though, unusually, footballer is a second career for him. He first came to note doing important work in getting children reading.

  6. I thought this was right out of the top drawer, albeit a little tougher than we have come to expect for a Monday. 3 and 9d were my co-favourites from a very wide selection of possibles.

    Thanks, presumably to AP, and to supersub pommers.

  7. I found this an Al Dente Monday, just enough difficulty to give it a bit of a bite
    5 and 6d were the last in but not by much
    Thanks to Setter (Robyn?) and thanks to pommers for giving falcon the night off and for the S&G I bet you pleased Jane’s ear more than I did yesterday

  8. A lovely puzzle with a good selection of easier clues and ones to give the brain cells a workout.
    Hadn’t heard of the term in 8a but it was clued well.
    Lots to like with this puzzle so top picks for me were 17a, 23a, 9d and 3d.
    Thanks to Pommers and the setter.

  9. Made heavy weather of this, but what a delight it was! I could kick myself for not seeing 2d straight away, instead embarking on a redundant journey into Google to find out the names of Hannah’s 2 daughters only to draw a blank. Thank you Robyn for the battle if it be you and Pommers for standing in.

    1. It seems to me that pommers has combined the 5d clue with the 6d hint. So no 5d hint and no 6d clue.

  11. Yesterday, I described the Dada puzzle as ‘Monday on a Sunday’ now we have the opposite ‘Sunday on a Monday’! 3.5*/2.5*

    Smiles for 11a, 23a, 1d, and 9d.

    Frowns for 8a and 3d!

    Thanks to whomsoever and pommers.

    With very best wishes to our esteemed editor following his revelation of being diagnosed with MND in the Newsletter yesterday.

    1. Yes, it was very sad to hear Chris’s news. Thoughts and best wishes to him. Puts a few grumbles about the odd crossword into perspective really.

      1. Commiserations to Chris. I was very sorry to hear his news. My thoughts are with him

    3. That is dreadful news. I, too, would like to offer CL my best wishes at this difficult time.

    5. Again I agree with your Sunday/Monday description, Senf, in that this was a puzzle I managed to complete swiftly, as I’d expect to be able to do on Sundays, whereas traditionally I’ve struggled on Mondays!

      And of course I also agree with your best wishes for Chris Lancaster.

      Thank you to the setter, editor, and blogger. My favourite was 3d’s Scarborough Fair, and I also liked 1a’s new business. Talking of 1a, anybody wishing to see a ‘star tup’ should’ve come to Skipton Sheep Day yesterday:

      1. Bah (or do I mean Baa?), that’s come out the wrong way up. Let’s try that again:

    6. That is very sad news indeed. Very sorry to hear that Chris is having to deal with this. Really does put things into perspective. Here’s hoping some helpful treatment is offered.

    7. I, too, send best wishes to Chris Lancaster, so sorry to hear of his diagnosis.

      1. Very sorry to hear about CL’s diagnosis. I’ve personally known a couple of people with it, one still alive after 10 years that’s very rare though. It puts into context my travails with this crossword.

  12. There are some cracking clues in this very enjoyable puzzle. Thanks to the setter and pommers.
    I knew neither the 8a serious composition nor the 23a fictional web designer but both clues were solvable.
    My ticks went to 17a, 25a, 1d and 5d with my favourite being 3d.

  13. An enjoyable guzzle with just enough of a challenge tkeep the solver interested and a knotty NW corner that I l2ft tull last. My favourite was the well-misdirected 1d but I also liked the 7d anagram and the 3d lego clue. Thanks to rhe compiler and to Pommers for rhe hints. Hust been for an appointment to have my ears syringed a curious sensation. I’ll at last be able to rurn the TV and radio volume down and stop asking people to repeat what they’ve said I can recommend it

    2. I had mine done last Thursday. Wax stops my hearing aids from working. I’ve bought some drop which is supposed to stop to building up if you use it once a fortnight. That will save me £60 at Specsavers.

  14. I seem to have found this somewhat trickier than others and took quite a while to get on the setter’s wavelength. Our Open Gardens weekend was a fantastic success and the village welcomed literally hundreds of lovely people. There are some super pictures on the Cley Harbour Facebook page. Thanks to the setter and to Pommers. I’m not a football fan but I watched for about ten minutes. It appeared (to me) that we spent most of the time kicking the ball backwards to the keeper, I thought the idea was to kick it forwards towards the goal at the other end!

    1. So glad you had a good day, it is so rewarding when people turn up and support you.

  15. I evidently got out of bed on the right side this morning, for I tuned-in to today’s setter straight-away (7 left after first read through) and this puzzle appeared very light, even for a Monday. 8d felt a bit like “green paint” but it’s in the BRB, so a new one for the memory banks, I hope; I thought 13a had a great surface but it was a shame that ‘test’ had to appear so openly in the clue. OTOH plenty of smiles and good surfaces reads, with podium places to 23a (COTD), 1d & 3d.

    <1* / 2.5*

    Thank you to the setter and to Pommers

  16. I rarely find Mondays a walk in the park but today it was nearly and very enjoyable at that. North led the field minus 17a slang with which I needed a prompt as I did with 8a and 2d. Didn’t understand 23a web association. 1d Fav. Good fun. Thank you Robyn and pommers. So sorry to know about CL MN diagnosis and I send him warm sympathy and good wishes. How right he is about puzzling being a great form of escapism.

  18. Relieved to see that I wasn’t alone in being unfamiliar with 8a, thank goodness it was easy to construct! The same was not true of 3d which was the last to fall. My favourite by a long way was the fictional web designer and I also ticked 17a plus 9&17d.

    Thanks to our setter – Robyn? and to pommers for the review and very pleasant music clips.

    I’d like to echo Senf and send my very best wishes to Chris Lancaster as he tries to come to terms with the dreadful diagnosis he’s received.

  19. A sparkling start to the week. I don’t see how COTD can be anything other than 7d, for the surface and synchronicity. There were many more smiles and sweet PDMs including 1d and 19d.
    LOL 8a, a clever construct
    Many thanks setter and pommers.

  20. Feeling groovy after completing this tricky but fun guzzle. Many examples of very clever glueing.

    Yesterday afternoon’s England game was a trial to watch. I think Mr Southgate and his team should club together and send us all flowers and chocolates as a form of compensation.

    Thanks to the splendid setter and the equally agreeable pommers in Vega Baja del Segura.

  21. Some tricky little devil’s in the east held me up for a while, but all in all a good challenging start to the week. Cotd for me is the witty 9d. Thanks to compiler and Pommers.

  22. Nice start to the week with this Monday puzzle.

    1.5*/3.5*

    Favourites 13a, 15a, 1d, 9d & 19d — with winner 9d
    Smiles for 18a, 23a, 1d & 22d

    Thanks to setter and pommers
    Very sorry to read in the newsletter of CL’s diagnosis of MND. Sad news indeed. Thoughts are with him.

  23. Like NASA 17a was the last one in, I couldn’t stop thinking of tipster. 1d was definitely my favourite once I fell in, great misdirection there. I have been guzzling but not necessarily having had the time or opportunity to comment. A Great start to the week, many thanks to the Smooth Setter and Pommers.

  24. This wide range of topics made me smile, and started the week well.
    Was a famous 20d 15a?

  25. Wow, very tricky for a Monday! I did quite well to start, having a lot of checkers was a great help with the really hard ones. To be fair, eg 8a, I’d never heard of it but the clue was perfect, I just had to google that there was such a thing. I had lots of bung ins, I’m glad to see they were right, so thanks for the explanations pommers. I rather liked 23a, 7d amused too.
    Thank you setter for the fun, and pommers for unravelling so many.
    Anyone else watching tennis? It looks like Alcaraz is playing a white Rasta, have you ever seen anything like that?

    1. I found some tricky bits today too! But I enjoyed it overall. I was watching Alcaraz and his opponent was very interesting, he didn’t make it easy for the Spaniard. Radicanu not sparkling again.
      Thanks to setter and Pommers for a great guzzle.

      1. I too was umpressed with the Estonian player, who gave Alcaraz a run for his money desoite having very little match-play experience of tournaments at this leveel by the sound of the commentaey.

        1. Yes, his play was impressive, but his weirdness kept diverting my attention. It probably put Alcaraz off a bit. Who does that with their head?

          1. I had the same thought about Lajal – a good performance but what a sight! He took an extended “comfort break” presumably needed time to sort his hairdo!

  26. I cringed at first, as this had all the appearances of being a stinker, on a Monday no less. But thankfully it did all come together, despite the strange 8a and 17a (has anyone ever used the first three letters to mean throw?). Surprisingly I did enjoy the tussle. Thanks to setter and Pommers.
    P.S. There is no hint for 6d – just in case anyone needs?

  27. All going smoothly until Al Gore … grrr. All best wishes to Chris Lancaster, our great editor

  28. Very enjoyable, I do like Robyn’s puzzles. Everything you need to solve the clue is usually contained within.
    Struggled a little with 3d and 17d but it was me being dense. My fav was 1d, so clever 😀
    Thx to all
    **/****

  29. Firstly & most importantly best wishes to Chris. Wasn’t aware until reading thro’ the comments & such shocking news. As for the guzzle well it’s another Monday belter from Robyn presumably. Solved crack of sparrows & like MG happily tuned in immediately. The sheltering among synonym at last in 25a was a little slow to yield thus thwarting a sub * time finish. Ticks aplenty – 15,17&23a plus 1,3&best of all 17d all particular likes but there really wasn’t a dud to be found.
    Thanks to Robyn & Pommers

  30. I rather enjoyed this. I didn’t find it that difficult, so I was very surprised to see the rating of *** for difficulty. It’s normally the other way round for me.

    Penultimate one in was 3d and LOI was 25a.

    Thanks to all.

  31. That was great fun, more of a challenge than many Mondays with some head scratchers and slightly unusual answers. I thought 13a was well disguised and 12a brilliant but there were too many others to mention and I can’t pick a favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Pommers for the hints.
    Kindest thoughts and best wishes to Chris Lancaster.

  32. Good evening

    Thoughts and prayers for Mr Lancaster

    Thank you to our compiler and to Pommers for today’s crozzie and hints.

  33. First of all my best wishes to Chris Lancaster.
    A tricky crossword and too hard to cope with when watching tennis at the same time.
    I liked 12 and 21a and 16 and 20d. My favourite was 15a.
    Thanks to today’s setter for the crossword and thanks to pommers for today’s hints.

  34. I found this hard in places and have to admit to nodding off three quarters of the way through, not a reflection of the puzzle just worn out after yesterday’s traumatic match. I had to check 8a. Favourite was 4d. Thanks to the setter and Pommers.

  35. 3*/4* …
    liked 16D “Fancied a strong drink, tucking into one beside sea (8)”

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