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DT 30771

by Shabbo  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30771
Hints and tips by Shabbo

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

Good morning, dear puzzlers.

I thought this was quite tricky in parts, but all scrupulously fair, of course, and very elegant. 13a and 16a held out the longest for me and my ticks included 6a, 14a, 25a, 30a, 1d, 4d, 15d, 18d, 22d and 26d.  I also loved the Hertfordshire themed Quickie Pun. My CoD is 30a – quite brilliant.

In the blog below, the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED and the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the “Click Here” buttons.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on and what you thought of the puzzle.  Please also try to be positive – it’s only a bit of fun.

Thank you, setter.

Across
1a It may lead to penalties and, unusually, prison sentence (5,4)
EXTRA TIME synonyms of “unusually” and “prison sentence”.  I was unsure about the first synonym, but Chambers defines it as “beyond, extraordinary, additional”.

6a Heraldic insignia that is withdrawn by military forces (4)
ARMS take a word meaning “military forces” and remove (withdrawn) the abbreviation for “that is”.

10a Likelihood Norwegian’s back penning musical work (5)
RONDO a hidden word backwards clue (back + penning).  Our solution is lurking back to front within the words “likelihood” and “Norwegian”

11a Ballet posture using square beam, not quite moving (9)
ARABESQUE anagram (moving) of SQUARE BEA(m).  “Not quite” invites us to remove the final letter of beaM.

12a Sailor wearing hard hat is unfriendly (7)
HOSTILE there are various abbreviations for sailor much used by setters.  This is perhaps less common and is the abbreviation for Ordinary Seaman.  Put this inside a single-letter abbreviation for hard (think pencil lead) and a slang word for a hat.

13a Island restricts parking in a showy manner (7)
SPICILY I messed around for far too long trying to get Scilly to work here. Oh well! We need to think of a more suitable island and stick the abbreviation for parking inside it (restricts).

14a On high moorland briefly become too warm (8)
OVERHEAT synonyms of “on” + “high moorland” without the final letter “briefly”.

16a Spare pence added to float (5)
SKIMP put the abbreviation for “pence” at the end of a work meaning “float” (or glide lightly over”).

19a Opening speaker (5)
MOUTH double definition, with a bit of lateral thinking required.

21a Wrecker of boat sure to be condemned (8)
SABOTEUR anagram (to be condemned) of BOAT SURE.

24a I blunder when following southern mountain ranges (7)
SIERRAS a charades (or Lego) clue. Add together I + synonym of “blunder” + synonym of “when” and put the whole thing after (following) the abbreviation for “southern”.

25a Loathsome bowler’s capacity perhaps to trap Essex’s opener (7)
HATEFUL “I can’t do this clue, I know nothing about cricket”, I hear some of you cry.  Well don’t worry, no knowledge of cricket is required. The bowler here is one that you might put on your head and a “bowler’s capacity” is a cryptic way of describing “as much as can be put in an item of headwear”.  Put this word outside (to trap) the first letter (opener) of Essex.

27a One could take a flight from here? (9)
STAIRWELL a cryptic definition. The setter wants us to think about airports, but the solution is actually part of a building.

28a Unpaid broadcasting son rejected (5)
OWING a word meaning broadcasting (as in scattering, sending out or disseminating) and remove the initial S (son rejected).

29a Small amount of time in US state wife spent (4)
IOTA think of a US state having four letters, remove the W (wife spent) and replace it with T (time).

30a Performance of substandard track on the radio (9)
PORTRAYAL “on the radio” here indicates a homophone. We need to add together homophones of a word meaning “substandard” and a word meaning “track”.  A beautifully smooth and misleading surface read.  This is as close to crosswording perfection as you can get, in my humble opinion.

Down
1d Little creature, awfully rare moth, circling woman’s head (9)
EARTHWORM anagram (awfully) of RARE MOTH outside (circling) the first letter (head) of Woman. This clue paints a lovely picture of a flying creature, but the creature we are after is to be found much lower down.  Neat.

2d Challengers maybe defeat favourites finally (5)
TANKS another word for defeat (or thrash) + the last letter (finally) of favouriteS.

3d Get rid of horrible boils in a hospital (7)
ABOLISH anagram (horrible) of BOILS inside (in) A + abbreviation for Hospital.

4d Probably doctor is ready to bandage adult (1,4,3)
I DARE SAY anagram (doctor) of IS READY outside (to bandage) abbreviation for Adult.

5d Pass Europeans going round circuit, close to pits (6)
ELAPSE abbreviation for European twice outside (going round) a synonym of circuit + final letter (close to) pitS.

7d Is quieter working a necessity? (9)
REQUISITE anagram (working) of IS QUIETER.

8d Worn-out digital recording, by the sound of it (5)
SEEDY a homophone (by the sound of it) of a digital recording that was introduced in the early 80s as an alternative to vinyl.

9d Order soap? (6)
SERIES double definition.

15d Formerly employed by taxi firm, worker that’s enthusiastic (9)
EXUBERANT synonym of “formerly employed by” + a taxi firm (booked via a smart phone app) + synonym of worker (an insect).

17d Assistant lawyer and friend drinking a lager abroad (9)
PARALEGAL three letter informal synonym of friend outside (drinking) an anagram (abroad) of A LAGER.

18d Unmarried male composer attends function in retirement (8)
BACHELOR German Baroque composer next to (attends) a synonym of “function” backwards (in retirement).

20d Repeatedly discovered that area enthralling artist in capital (6)
HARARE both “that” and “area” need to be discovered i.e. have their covers (first and last letters) removed.  The result of this is then put outside (enthralling) the usual abbreviation for artist (Royal Academy).

22d Best soldiers under the sun? (7)
OUTDOOR best here is a verb, meaning to outperform.  Add on a two-letter abbreviation for soldier.

23d Crashed out of games upset after false lie’s regularly stated (6)
ASLEEP school games lesson upside down (upset) after the odd letters (regularly stated) of fAlSe LiEs

24d American over on Hawaii eating small rice dish (5)
SUSHI abbreviation for American upside down (over) on top of two-letter abbreviation for Hawaii outside (eating) abbreviation for Small.  I don’t think I have seen the “zip code abbreviation” for Hawaii used in a crossword before, but it is, of course, perfectly legitimate.

26d Wiping top of lamp, rather delicate (5)
FAIRY take a word meaning “rather” and remove (wiping) the L (top of lamp).

Quickie Pun:  SANE  +  TALL  +  BUNS  =  ST ALBANS

67 comments on “DT 30771”

  1. There were a few stumbling blocks but otherwise an enjoyable guzzle. I thought there was a grammatical error in 6a thinking “insignia” is plural so “is” should be “are”. However, the clue wouldn’t work if that were the case. I knew the word at 11a but not that it was a ballet move. My COTD is 8d because of the penny drop it produced.

    Thank you, setter for the challenge. Thank you, Shabbo for the hints.

    The Quickie pun was groanworthy.

  2. Barring a few in the NE this was a pretty straightforward and rapid solve, owing in no small part to the excessive number of anagrams, more than one fifth of the clues overall. I remain less than entirely convinced by 16a, and thought that even with the ? 8d was somewhat loose. OTOH there was plenty to enjoy and much wit, with some very good surfaces. COTD 30a with runners-up 11a (lovely combined surface read and answer with a well-spotted anagram) and 20d.

    Thank you to the Setter and to Shabbo too of course.

    1. I wondered about 16a but I suppose if you think of skimming milk you are taking the floating cream off – still somewhat tenuous!

      1. I agree, DG – to me “skim” is active/moving, while “float” is passive/stationary. Although the BRB gives of float “vt to separate by flotation [..] to pare off (eg turf)” I still find it difficult to equate float and skim. However it’s in The Bible, so it must ” by definition”(!) be acceptable as a synonym.

  3. I found this puzzle very hard work and had to leave the NE quadrant unfinished until just now. Nothing wrong with the clues, it was all the fault of my ageing brain. 13A took far too long as the correct island escaped me. Loudest clang was when the penny dropped for 6D and that became my favourite.

    Thanks to the setter for the workout and Shabbo for the hints.

  4. On the whole I found this fairly straightforward, although I slowed down in the top right corner. The two that required the most thought were 8d and 9d.
    Thanks to the setter for an enjoyable puzzle, and to Shabbo for the review.

  5. The NE was my downfall into a dnf as I needed Shabbo’s hint for 13a. I still don’t get it. I’m obviously missing something as I don’t see the answer as being a synonym of the clue. Likewise I thought 9d a bit of a stretch. That said, I thought that the remainder was excellent. My cotd is 15d. Thanks to the compiler and Shabbo.

    1. I thought this was Friday material .. I had ti check the day!
      I was stuck at 13a, 8d, 9d & 26d.
      13a island is Sicily with P for park inserted. Spicily is in the BRB as a synonym for showy … mmmm 🤔.
      9d was fair, order of things and a soap opera series on TV .. not that I watch any of them.
      Cotd 19a .. the penny dropped quite quickly on thus one. Least favourite was 30a with the homophone .. I’ll to practice my Dorset or Zummerzet drawl to get that!

  6. Superbly elegant and scrupulously fair. I really liked 1a, 6a, 25a, 30a, 18d and 22d. Tis a long list I know, but fair’s fair. Very nicely done. Many thanks to our setter and Shabbo.

  7. Our favourite Anglesonian should be very happy today. Ray T’s alter ego on Toughie duty and this somewhat challenging back pager has to be the work of the other half of her Dream Team 4*/4*.

    Candidates for favourite – 1a, 24a, 30a, 5d, and 23d – and the winner is 30a.

    Thanks to Silvanus, or whomsoever if it is not he, and thanks to Shabbo.

  8. Pleasingly tricky in places, this was a puzzle that kept on giving. Great fun to solve, with some elegant clues and gentle humour. For my COTD, I will select the excellent 30a.

    My thanks to our setter, (Silvanus?) and Shabbo.

  9. An enjoyable challenge and briefly had a squadron of the 2d challengers under my command in another life.

    Favourites today are the 29a small amount and the aforementioned 2d challengers. The phrase at 4d reminded me of The Railway Children where the man with the horse and cart repeatedly used this phrase much to the annoyance of Mother.

    Thanks to the setter and hinter.

  10. I’m with Eeyore – another laboured solve but at least I can draw some comfort from our esteemed reviewer’s difficulty rating. At the moment my average back page solve time, much like my golf handicap, seems to steadily climbing. Enjoyed the puzzle & found lots to like. Another early vote for 30a as pick of the clues with podium spots for 8&20d. Enjoyed the Quickie pun too.
    Thanks to the setter & to Shabbo.
    Ps off to The Stables tonight to see The Sound of Springsteen – no idea what they’re like but if they’re half as good as Nearly Dan, the last tribute band I saw at same venue, it’ll be a good evening. Saw a tremendous performance from Saoirse Ronan in a fine addiction recovery film set on the Orkney islands last night in the cinema – a young actor who seems to get better with every film she does.

    1. It’s okay, Huntsman, you can still call her an “actress” here, although on Fifteensquared you might find the Guardianistas clutching their pearls at that term.

      If the Oscars and BAFTA retain categories for “Best Actress” and “Best Supporting Actress”, I think we can safely ignore whatever PC terminology the BBC, ITV, Sky and The Guardian try to tell us is the new normal, without fear of triggering a Non Crime Hate Incident report.

      Don’t get me started on “batter” for batsman though…

  11. 4*/5*. Surely this splendid puzzle must be the handiwork of Silvanus?

    It was certainly challenging with the SE corner proving particualrly tough, but it was a joy to solve from start to finish.

    30a was my favourite of many ticked clues.

    Many thanks to Mr Smooth (?) and to Shabbo.

  12. Like others the NE required a couple of pauses for thought. I rather liked 27a and 22d. Thanks to Shabbo & today’s setter.

  13. I had to work for it but got there in the end.

    My LOI was 26d which only dropped when I got 30a, my COTD. The other two to make it on the pody were 15d and 18d.

    I see another bare ‘capital’ has made an appearance. At least all three checkers were consonants and letters 1, 3 and 5 which makes it easier.

    I’m guessing a false lie is a truth?

    Many thanks to SilvyWilvy (?) and Shabbingtons.

    4*/4*

  14. This took a while and the NE was last to fall. I was not sure about 16a and had to confirm after couple of other parsings but it was good fun and there were some great clues. I liked the anagrams, I would have found it much harder without them. 26d took a long time for the penny to drop. 30a was my favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Shabbo for the hints.

        1. The answer has three syllables, Hoots, i.e the first three letters, the following four and the final two.

          1. I’ve tried, but I do not pronounce “poor trail” and “portrayal” with any discernible difference – to me if the former has 2 syllables so does the latter, and if the latter has 3, then the former likewise. So the homophone works perfectly for me.

            1. Yep, that makes sense. Homophones always brings up this sort of conversation.

              For some bonkers reason, I pronounce betrayal with three syllables and 30a with two.

              What’s that about???

              Maybe because a betrayal is a bad thing. So, I want to emphasise its seriousness by making the pronunciation last that little bit longer, whilst looking at the guilty party over my glasses, shaking my head.

            2. A far more considered response than what would have been my ‘so what still sound the same’ 😀 Is trail 1 syllable or 2?

              1. Technically, trail is a single syllable word and so poor trail has two, while portrayal has three … technically!

              2. Uno like fail, rail and frail.

                I love that the 10 letter word scraunched is also one syllable.

      2. A very fair comment, V. But, setters always ask for a bit of latitude when it comes to hommerfones. In your case, they aren’t getting it which is absolutely fine.

        Often homophones cause a stir due to differing accents.

        Any homophone gets by me as I love tweaking words. It’s why I like the quickie pun as some really stretch it, à la Officer Crabtree in ‘Allo ‘Allo!

  15. Excellent! Seems like a Silvanus creation to me. Great clues and a decent challenge. Of a top-notch collection I’m pick 11a as my favourite. 3.5*/4.5*.

  16. Very enjoyable stuff – thanks to our setter and Shabbo.
    The NE corner was my last to fall.
    I have lots of ticks including 12a, 25a, 30a, 20d and 22d.

  17. Oh yes, Senf, this Anglesonian is very happy to see another Dream Team day despite the fact that the second member of the team is currently making life very difficult for me!
    I’m more than happy to go with the flow and place 30a on the top step today where it’s joined by 12a & 15d.
    13a is an interesting synonym, not the first one that sprang to mind but I know that Mr Smooth will have checked it out thoroughly.

    Many thanks to Silvanus for an excellent puzzle as always and to Shabbo for a first rate review.

    1. Forgot to say – apologies to the estates of Frank Muir and Denis Norden for pinching their ‘My Word’ ideas (above).

  19. Beaten by this one today, three separate visits and three clues to go, so will have to admit defeat and have a gander at the hints.

    My two favourites (so far) are 15d and 8d.

    Many thanks to our setter today.

  20. Thoroughly enjoyable though like others the north east held me up a bit despite getting 11a quite early on. Some nice penny drop moments. How fortunate we are to get these great challenges every day ! Hallelujah! I listened to Terence’s Podcast yesterday – my first one ever, I was a podcast virgin. He didn’t sound a bit like his comments in the blog. Much younger – where was the Curmudgeonly Compiler of The List and the reluctant taker of H’s Nice Little Walks? He sounds like a pussy cat. Anyway, back to bagging tags. Many thanks to bother Setter and Shabbo.

    1. Can’t recall anybody mentioning on BD but the Daily T podcast (Mon to Fri) is worth a listen to. Much prefer to the Rest is Politics with Stewart & Campbell.

  21. Not bother, both. Damned predictive typing I really should check. Bagging tags for the Bazaar on Saturday.

  22. I found this non RayT week puzzle more difficult than most. Some weird clueing again today for me, and several were bung ins.

    3*/3* today
    Favourites 21a, 27a, 4d, 8d & 9d with winner 9d

    Thanks to setter & Shabbo

  23. Many thanks to Shabbo for his excellent Hints and Tips and to everyone commenting.

    After yesterday’s news, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Colin and Carol for their stalwart service in blogging 500 puzzles since 2014. I do hope that we can still rely on them for more pictures of the stunning pohutukawa trees and other NZ flora and fauna in the future. Best wishes also to Merusa as she convalesces.

    See you all again soon!

    1. Thank you for a great puzzle, silvanus. A couple stumped me but I think I’m getting better at solving your offerings.

    2. Thanks Silvanus. Another month or so and the Pohutukawa will be out again so we will try to remember to post a photo. And also thanks for yet another great puzzle.

    3. Thanks for the puzzle Silvanus … your clues sometimes really mystify me, but I plod along anyway!

    4. Does the exclamation mark after the word soon, imply that you might be on duty tomorrow? That was a rhetorical question btw :-)

      1. No, it doesn’t! I think you’ll find that the Puzzles Editor never schedules the same setter on successive days.

        1. Thank you for your kind response!
          That narrows it down to tomorrow’s compiler. Have a good evening!

  24. I was surprised to find I could answer most of these, given the **** rating above, almost making me not commit to paper and ink. Apart from some dubious definitions (13a, 2d and 26d) and my feeling that the tense is wrong in 28a, the rest of this was within my limits thank goodness. Thanks to Silvanus and Shabbo.

  25. I found this one really tough, answering only about half without help, and a few more with help. In the end I had to reveal half a dozen answers.

  27. Thank you Silvanus for referencing my hometown in the QC pun, chuffed with that. Absolutely brilliant puzzle, so witty and clever, loved 6d and 22d 👏. Thanks to Shabbo too.

  28. I solved the puzzle this morning but have only just been able to comment. I enjoyed it and started off at a canter only to be brought up sharply with the last 4 clues taking as long as all of the previous ones.

    My top picks were 15d, 2d, 19a and 8d.

    Thanks to both Shabbo and Silvanus.

  29. I’ve not had a chance to look at today’s puzzle so I’ll say thank you in advance to our setter and hinter.
    Having just read yesterday’s blog I’d like to add huge thanks to the 2 Kiwis for all their hard work and excellent hinting. 500 Blogs! That’s fantastic. Enjoy your relaxing Wednesdays.
    I also am so thrilled to see that you’re home Merusa. I hope you’re making progress and will be back to your fabulous self soon. You were missed.

    1. More chance of knitting fog than completing this Toughie. Some many clues make little or no sense at all. Having said that I did like 1a.
      Way out of my league.
      *****/*
      Bev little to enjoy in this one.

    3. Sorry that my hint was of no use to you. It is often difficult to write a hint without giving the answer away.

  32. As usual had restricted time as Tracy Chevalier came to East Grinstead today for a fantastic literary lunch. We all received her new signed book “The Glassmaker”.
    Back with the crossword. Great offering and yes it was a challenge but despite liking pussy cat pictures we certainly are not a bunch of pussy cats and enjoy a good challenge as long as it is a fair fight. Like many found the NE corner proved stubborn.I thought 6 a would be a specialist term and had no idea re. 8 d. When help came it revealed that 8 d was a fantastic clue and how I wish I had got there.Thanks to the two SSes , Shabbo and Silvanus. Most entertaining.

  33. I found this very heavy going and can’t say I enjoyed it that much.

    A dnf due to 13a, 8d and 9d. Even with all the checkers I would never have solved these.

    Thanks to all.

  34. Took me ages to get going but then gradually filled it in over the course of the day but ended with a couple of hiccups in the NE (I see I’m not alone in that). Not too sure about 13a, 16a or 8d. No particular Fav(s) today. One advantage of a late completion is that setters sometimes reveal themselves so thank you Silvanus and indeed also Shabbo who sorted the NE for me.

  35. I fairly ripped through this until I went to the pub for a prearranged meal with friends. On my return I found that someone had been in and swapped all the easy clues for difficult ones, the swine. So I made slow progress after that but managed to stumble over the line. Favourite was 2d. Thanks to Silvanus and Shabbo.

  36. I do wish setters would avoid homophones. They only work if you speak that way. I’d never have got 30a with my northern accent. Thanks Shabbo for the hints.

    1. I completely agree. Poor, properly pronounced in the Queens English, i.e. the language of Trueman and Boycott has two syllables, poo and er and could not possibly be part of a homophone for portrayal. Having said that I did solve the clue as I unfortunately have some southern friends.

  37. Very tricky but fair with a well disguised musical work lurker throwing me completely. Thank you Silvanus and Shabbo

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