Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30672
Hints and tips by pommers
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Hola from Almoradí where summer is in full swing and last Saturday the temperature apparently topped out at 39.4°C! Phew, that was Hot with a capital H!
Today we have another excellent Monday offering which I hope you enjoyed as much as I did. There’s only five clues involving anagrams this week but there are enough gimmes to get you going.
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
1a Where drinkers go, turning up with emptied beers (4)
PUBS: Take the UP from the clue and reverse it (turning). After that you need to take all the internal letters out of the word beers (emptied). Join that lot together and you’ll get the places where drinkers go.
3a Man following e.g. Brad Pitt is an evildoer (10)
MALEFACTOR: Another word for a man and an F(ollowing) is followed by what Brad Pitt is an example of.
9a Frenchman’s refusal to eat doughnut when lunch is taken? (4)
NOON: A Frenchman’s word for NO placed around (to eat) the letter that looks like a doughnut. Around here lunch is taken at around 1400 or even later!
10a Coffees he’d drunk in an irritated state (7,3)
CHEESED OFF: Anagram (drunk) of COFFEES HE’D.
11a Ultimately Boris, breaking rules, steps down (7)
RESIGNS: S (ultimately BoriS) is inserted into (breaking) a word for rules, as the King does.
13a What gold may do – gold, but not old rubbish (7)
GLITTER: Remove the OLD (but not old) from the word gold to leave the G and follow with the type of rubbish you might find lying around in the street. How many thought it was just the O(ld) that needed removing?
14a Sir Andy and competitors in Scottish sports venue (11)
MURRAYFIELD: The surname of Sir Andy, the tennis player, followed by a word for the competitors, in a horse race perhaps, to get the rugby ground in Edinburgh.
18a England ties strangely free from complications (11)
DISENTANGLE: Anagram (strangely) of ENGLAND TIES.
21a Asian language, almost 50 per cent English, in part of Indonesia (7)
BENGALI: Take the first three letters from the seven letters of ENGland (almost 50%) and insert into (in) an Indonesian holiday island.
22a Monarch on public transport, earning money in the street (7)
BUSKING: Take a bit of public transport and follow with a monarch.
23a Is the MP for Barking stern with peers? (10)
REPRESENTS: Anagram (Barking) of STERN with PEERS.
24a Tips for Paris include seeing ace tower’s location (4)
PISA: First letters of (tips for) the next four words of the clue.
25a E.g. Instagram site backed – popular, good and attractive to consumers (10)
APPETISING: Three letters for what Instagram is an example of followed by the SITE from the clue, but it’s backwards (backed). After that you need a word for popular or fashionable and a G(ood).
26a Upper-class twit in a group of soldiers (4)
UNIT: The single letter for upper-class followed by another word for a twit.
Down
1d View of old queen wearing hat (8)
PANORAMA: O(ld) and an R (queen) are inserted into (wearing) a type of hat. At first I thought that old queen was going to be ER, d’oh!
2d Tools for searching online for herbivorous animals (8)
BROWSERS: Double definition.
4d That girl’s after top grade in a series of tests (5)
ASHES: A word for that girl, not her but the other one, including the ‘S is placed after the letter for the top grade to give a series of test matches played between England and Australia.
5d Holly or Laurel say, never harming the environment? (9)
EVERGREEN: A word for the type of plant that both holly and laurel are examples of would, if split (4,5), be a phrase which could mean never harming the environment.
6d People with reservations in the morning in diner, as arranged (11)
AMERINDIANS: These people live on the reservations. You need the two letters for in the morning and follow with an anagram (arranged) of IN DINER AS.
7d Grew fond of Dorothy’s dog, going round Oklahoma (4,2)
TOOK TO: You need the name of Dorothy’s dog in the Wizard of Oz and put it around the abbreviation of Oklahoma and split the result (4,2).
8d Farage’s new outfit a little threadbare, for many(6)
REFORM: A lurker hiding in (a little) the last three words.
12d £1,000 yearly housing cost for family member (11)
GRANDPARENT: A slang term for £1000 followed by two letters for yearly and then what you pay to lease your house.
15d A bit raffish, in essence, showing suspicious quality (9)
FISHINESS: Another lurker this time hiding (a bit) in raffish, in essence.
16d Noting I twice fixed car engine part (8)
IGNITION: Anagram (fixed) of NOTING and two I’s (I twice).
17d Big star concerned with dating, upset (3,5)
RED GIANT: Two letters for concerned with or about followed by an anagram (upset) of DATING.
19d Northern Russian stripped off in part of Europe (6)
IBERIA: Take an inhabitant of northern Russia and remove the first and last letters (stripped off) and you’ll get the part of Europe where I live.
20d Quickly grab coat of satin put on a young setter? (4,2)
SNAP UP: SN (coat of SatiN) followed by the A from the clue and then a word for a young setter, or any sort of dog.
22d Keep playing cricket for club (5)
BATON: If split (3,2) this club would be a phrase meaning to keep playing cricket and not declare.
My podium today is 11a, 8d and 22d with 11a on the top step.
Quick crossword pun:
WHACKS + SAND + WAYNE = WAX AND WANE
An enjoyable start to the week although it was not without a few hurdles. I had not heard of the term at 6d and I didn’t get the parsing of 23a until I had pondered over it for ages. Fortunately, the big circle of metal dropped with a loud clang followed by a slapping of the forehead. I tried for too long to fit all family members such as “father” into 12d. My COTD is the coat of satin at 20d.
Thank you, setter for the fun challenge. Thank you, pommers for the hints.
Talking of 23a’s parsing, I think the “for” should be underlined as part of the definition as well, in order?
As in: “Lindsay Hoyle {is the MP for/23a} Chorley”.
You’re probably correct. I’ll change it.
Thanks. I’ve no idea what the words “in order” are doing in my previous comment; apologies to anybody trying to make sense of them.
I live here and I’ve never heard of 6d.
Pleasant but slightly quirky Monday fare. I counted 6 anagram related clues and they and the two lurkers helped a tricky grid. I hadn’t heard of the dog but that was easy with the cross checkers. I enjoyed the topicality of 11a given the headlines today. 21a was well constructed but my COTD was my last one in 19d. I thought */***. Thanks pommers and our setter.
You hadn’t heard of the dog?! How can that be possible Surely even pre-school children know the term “pup” for a youn … oh, wait, there’s more than one dog in this puzzle; I see what you mean. Sorry, ignore me …
No problem – my issue is I have never been a fan of or interested in the Wizard!
Yeah, that’s completely reasonable, NAS — everybody’s interested in different culture.
But when I first read your comment, the dog clue that sprang to mind was 20d, in which the required dog knowledge is the word “pup”!
DD2’s dog Stanley (aka Stan the man)had to be put to sleep 2 weeks ago after 10 expensive days at the vet. Other dog Baxter and DD2 pining so a new baby schnauzer is arriving in 10days. To be named Jeff! I suggested Brian for a bit of alliteration but was firmly told Jeff Baxter is a famous musician. I’m completely ignorant but I bet some of you trendy youngsters know who he is.
What a gorgeous little chap! If I didn’t have working springers, a standard schnauzer would be high on my list of “what to get next” dogs.
I love all dogs but I’m a lab lady!
Youngsters?! Not having heard of Jeff Baxter, but looking him up, he was in the Doobie Brothers, whose debut hit is from 1974, several years before I was born:
Apparently he was known as Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter, so there’s a handy 3rd name to use if DD2 gets another dog (or, indeed, a skunk).
What a lovely photo! Thank you for posting it.
And before that Steely Dan – a truly great guitarist.
And thank you for the Doobie Brothers clip, Smylers, part of the soundtrack to my ‘roaring twenties’!
Ah, well in that case you must be one of the trendy youngsters that DaisyGirl was asking about, Jane!
Surprised you’d not come across Dorothy’s dog before. He’s a fairly regular visitor to crosswordland.
No problem – my issue is I have never been a fan of or interested in the Wizard!
Try solving 7d when your wife tells you that Dorothy’s dog was called Coco! 🤣
I found this both fun and swift — which I don’t take for granted on Mondays, with some recent Monday backpagers being a real struggle, and taking longer than some Toughies!
I particularly liked the political commentary in the surfaces of 11a and 8d, the “series of tests” in 4d (though I note that both the dictionary I checked and the Telegraph‘s own style guide spell it as ‘Test’ with a capital T), 12d’s housing cost, with 22a’s monarch on public transport being my favourite.
Thank you to the setter for the enjoyment, and Pommers for being the safety net without which I wouldn’t have embarked on the puzzle.
And 22d just makes me wonder whether that is indeed something that Jimmy Anderson will do. Previously he had indicated that once he stopped playing for England he’d play for Lancaster, and once he stops for Lancaster he’ll play for Burnley. But since his actual enforced “retirement” from England, he’s kept quiet about whether that will actually happen.
Great puzzle, thanks to all involved
I stopped by for help with 19D, geography obviously not my strong subject. I’d never heard of the answer and assumed it was somewhere in northern Russia, so couldn’t make the clue work properly on my own
Never heard of 6d either (and neither had the anagram solver I usually use!) but got it on my own with patience
An enjoyable start to the cruciverbaling week with nothing to overtax the brain cells – **/***
Candidates for favourite – 13a, 14a, 22a, 2d, and 12d – and the winner is 22a.
Thanks to whomsoever and pommers.
2*/4*. Light and great fun to start the week.
I’ve never heard of 6d but the answer was obvious from the anagram fodder and checking letters.
My understanding is that false capitalisation is OK but not the reverse, so 4d doesn’t work as the wordplay refers to Tests not tests.
13a reminded me of my English teacher who instilled into us that the quote about gold should refer to “glister”, which is how Shakespeare wrote it.
I can’t fault pommers’ top picks of 11a, 8d and 22d.
Many thanks to Robyn (?) and to pommers.
RD – it would seem that the staff at Chambers are not cricket aficionados and you should consider writing to them about the entry for the 4d on page 85 of the BRB (Revised 13th Edition) which refers to test matches supporting the way the clue is written.
Maybe we had the same English teacher – certainly sounds like it!
13a – I hear my mother again.
With you on 6d, a rather unpleasant Americanism I suspect.
As per Smylers, Mondays are not always so for me but today’s was an encouragingly enjoyable way to kick off the cruciverbal week. Joint Favs 23a (after penny-drop) and 22d. Thank you Mysteryone (I’m hopeless at identifying setters) and pommers.
Nicely balanced for a Monday with a couple of clues that demanded some thinking around the parsing before gaily bunging in an answer as I found later in trying to complete the grid. A bit of revision sorted it out in the end. My podium comprises 3a, 6d and in top spot, 12d. Thanks to compiler and Pommers.
A pleasant and very gentle start to the week, with very few left to complete after the first read through. Honours Board features 11a & 7d for the surface reads, with the splendid lurker & surface of 15a taking the final place.
Many thanks to the setter and Pommers – I certainly don’t envy you your heat: a steady 15C – 18C in the summer suits me perfectly!
You wouldn’t do here, that’s our winter nighttime temps!
First walk without the aid of painkillers after my gall bladder op on Thursday, two miles and all went well, the rest can now go into the bin.
Like others a new word at 6d, but couldn’t be much else. No real problems apart from an irresistible urge to force ‘punjabi’ into 21a, but I’m pretty certain that’s what the setter wanted me to do. No real standouts today, but I did like 3a, very clever.
I remember that with one jab
Of my needle in the Punjab
How I cleared up dysentery
And the dreaded beriberi
But Tipcat here was really foxed
(And he wasn’t alone)
Boom diddy boom diddy boom diddy boom etc etc. they don’t write ‘em like that any more.
A typical Monday puzzle to start the non-work week off gently. One word I had never heard of in NW. Last area completed was the SW.
1.5*/4* for today
Favourites 14a, 21a, 4d, 12d & 16d — with winner 14a
Smiles for 1a, 22a, 16d & 22d … and a few more. It was a nice puzzle today. A fun solve.
Thanks to setter & pommers for hints/blog
Enjoyable Monday fare offering a few smiles along the way. Rosettes going to 11&22a plus 8&12d.
Thanks to our setter – Robyn? and to pommers for the review – can’t say that I envy you that heat but I would be happy if we had a dry day for once!
Gentle and enjoyable – thanks to the setter and pommers.
My top picks are 11a, 8d and 22d.
Nice start to the week 😃 **/**** Favourites were: 3a, 14a, 15d & 22d 👍 6d was a new word for me but gettable from the clue 🤔 Thanks to the Compiler and to Pommers
A great start to the week: lots of great surfaces with some nice humour thrown in for good measure.
I’ll go with the three that most others are choosing: 11a, 8d and 22d.
Many thanks to Robyn and Pommers.
1*/4*
A good start to the week although I had a bit of a brain freeze and it took me ages to parse 1a. Once it had defrosted all was ok. 6d a new word to me but easily resolved from the checkers.
Top picks for me were 3a, 8d and 22d.
Thanks to Pommers and the setter.
I agree that this was a great start to the week. My last one in was 6d as I was completely taken in by reservations, thinking of hotel guest or Doubting Thomas. Neat. We had 14a recently I think, funny how a word will recur. I’m going to throw my hat in with 3a as favourite. Many thanks to Setter and Pommers.
I have to go out so I’ll read the hints and comments later. A great start to the week, all very doable, though I did have to use ehelp for 6d. I had all the checkers but never thought of that. Fave was 21a, but I liked 14a too, that came from the deepest depths of my brain. I also liked 10a, how on earth did that mean that!
Thank you setter for the fun and pommers for his hints, I’ll read them later.
A nice puzzle, thank you to setter and Pommers. Like others I didn’t know the answer to 6d was a word, which I got but couldn’t parse.
Just heard on Countdown that today is National Spoonerisms day. Who dreams up these things?
Indeed it is, Sheila. It said so in Wordle. So, why not cop the petal on, find a nosy little cook, and tuck into this week’s DT crosswords. 😁
Where in Wordle? I’ve just looked and mine doesn’t say anything about Spoonerisms, thank goodness!
Waffle not Wordle.
Sorry! Corky is correct. I should have said Waffle. Apologies.
I’ve got company, another Waffler!
Me too Waffler and Wordler plus lots more! Opinions vary as to whether puzzles help to keep cognitive decline at bay!
Absolutely tops for enjoyment, with very entertaining clues. I hope the setter had as much fun creating them as I did reading them.
From a big field of challengers, I’ll go for 11A and 14A … can’t forget 22D though
VMT Setter and Pommers
I’ve enjoyed this crossword and didn’t have my normal Monday trouble!
Like lots of others I’ve never heard of 6d so that was a gap for a long time.
Somehow 14a jumped out of my brain and another couple of things came to help too.
I did know but couldn’t quite remember Dorothy’s dog – eventually got there! Our younger’s Lamb absolutely loved the Wizard of Oz when she was little.
I liked lots of these – 10 and 22a and 2 and 12d. My favourite was 15d – it’s the sort of thing that makes me laugh which is always good.
Thanks to today’s setter whoever he or she is and thanks to pommers for the hints.
I agree, a good start to the puzzling week and really enjoyed it. This time last year my runner beans were prolific, this year I’ve just 3 beans. There are no bees around and nothing is getting pollenated – anyone else having this problem. If so, what to do? Managed Wordle in 3 today despite having nothing at all in the first 2 tries. Didn’t know it was National Spoonerism Day, hey ho. Thanks to the setter and Pommers – missed the Farage lurker so it was a bung in.
My runners are doing just that, Manders. I can’t pick them fast enough. The raspberries are huge this year as well. Sorry you’re having trouble.
Apparently runner beans were once grown for the flowers only and nobody considered eating them.
Grrrr!
A joy of a puzzle today and a cryptic baptism for my post-A-level 18 year daughter. Loved explaining to her how it all works and she managed to find the answers for 9a, 10a, 13a, 14a, 18a, 22a, 24a, 1d, 2d, 4d, 5d, 8d, 12d, 16d, 17d, 19d, 20d. The rest was a joint effort. Thank you so much setter for making her first outing so enjoyable. And I will always be grateful to Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith for introducing me to the wonders of the cryptic world.
Graymatta, how lovely to hear of the baptism of a teenager into the wonderful world of cryptic crosswords. Very well done for encouraging her, and congratulations to her for doing so well on her debut.
Thank you Rabbit Dave. She is definitely on the right wavelength. Although she did give me one of her exasperated looks (🙄)when I got a little over-excited explaining lurkers 🤣. She is still a teenager after all and I am ‘annoying mum’.
I am glad to see it is graded 2 as I managed to finish it,an occasional achievement, in Greg’s whilst drinking tea.So the 2 is probably generous. so thank you Mr Blogger
As with some others in the blog 6d threw me thank you setter and Pommers
A gentle solve to start off the week which I very much enjoyed. Thanks to setter and to Pommers.
Very enjoyable puzzle. Mostly finished it last night in bed. 6d was a new one on me.
Enjoyed this. Too many goodies to chose from, but will go for 13a because a) I liked it and b) I take issue with the clue and the answer. Were the gold in question from The Merchant of Venice then the clue ought to read “…, but not old surgeon”. (Apologies to all, just a bugbear of mine, a little knowledge being a dangerous thing!)
Many thanks to the setter and to Pommers.
Nigel pips Boris for my pick of a fine bunch. Gentle but very enjoyable.
Thanks to the setter (Robyn perhaps) & to Pommers
Huntsman, I see you have used my name to link those two politicians and then mentioned a fine bunch. Hmmmm.
All in all a pleasant exercise with the exception of 6d, what a horrid word!
Thx to all
**/****
With the exception of 6d, that was a lovely start to the week. I did have to split it in two halves as we had to go to Peter’s knee replacement follow up appointment. So glad to be bandage free, and released from his walker, at least indoors. The benefit of splitting in two halves (the crossword, not the knee ☺️) is that the ones that elude me in the morning, reveal themselves later in the day. Amazed I knew 14a though. Thanks to setter and Pommers.
Spoke to DT and cancelled my sub today. Wasn’t tempted at £359, nor when they quickly dropped to $149. Thing is, the news from England really upsets me, and it is not the newspaper I used to love. But of course I will be taking out a puzzles sub, the very best part of the paper anyway.
What fun that was, I did not know the 6d word but had put it in anyway. A great mix of clues and 8d made me smile so will be my favourite. I hope this has kickstarted my brain back into action!
Many thanks to the setter and to Pommers for the hints
Many thanks to pommers for the excellent blog – and to everyone dropping in to comment. It’s particularly pleasing to hear about a teenager cutting her cruciverbal teeth on this puzzle – well done to both Greymatta and the new solver!
I’ll be on holiday after this week, so I hope everyone has a great summer.
Thank you for dropping in and the super puzzle. How nice to have a solve where you don’t feel at the end that your brain is hamburger meat. Have a great holiday!
Thank you Robyn for another great crossword. The first puzzle of the week plays a hugely important role and you have taken over the reins admirably, making it your own.
Have a fabulous, chillaxing break (can I get that ‘yoof’ portmanteau word by you?) and I look forward to your return in the autumn or whenever it may be.
Many thanks, Tom – some chillaxing is definitely on the menu! Actually, I should have explained better though – I’ll be away, but the puzzles will still be here as usual.
That’s a relief
Everyone wins.
Pip pip!
Yes?
Like it 👏👏
I agree with most commenters that this was pretty straightforward and the awfulness of 6d but this was a lovely start to the crossword week, long may that continue. Hard to pick a favourite but I’ll go with 25a. Thanks to the setter and Pommers.
2*/4* … very entertaining !
liked 11A “Ultimately Boris, breaking rules, steps down (7)”