DT 30772 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
View closed comments 

DT 30772

by Mr K  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30772

Hints and tips by Mr K

+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - +

BD Rating  -  Difficulty *** -  Enjoyment ***

Hello, everyone, and welcome to Friday. Today we have a most enjoyable puzzle of typical Friday difficulty. The use in the grid of every letter but X indicates that it is likely the work of proXimal. 

In the hints below most indicators are italicized, and underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions. Clicking on the answer buttons will reveal the answers. In some hints hyperlinks provide additional explanation or background. Clicking on a picture will enlarge it. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

 

Across

1a    Exterior of empty cafeteria in decline (6)
FACADE:  The outer letters (empty) of CAFETERIA are inserted in decline or diminish

4a    Check old boy renovated castle (8)
OBSTACLE:  The abbreviation for old boy with an anagram (renovated) of CASTLE 

9a    Period of operating Muppet film set at regular points (6)
UPTIME:  Alternate letters (at regular intervals) of MUPPET FILM SET 

10a   Worry in attempts to make pacts (8)
TREATIES:  A synonym of worry inserted in attempts or goes 

11a   Sample speciality wraps Greek character originally sourced (9)
FORETASTE:  A speciality or strength contains (wraps) both a Greek letter and the first letter (originally) of SOURCED 

13a   Post Office locker without much room (5)
POKEY:  The abbreviation for Post Office with a thing that locks a lock (and hence, whimsically, a “locker”)

14a   Needing to change size - after power tool for fiddly jobs (4,2,8)
PAIR OF TWEEZERS:  An anagram (needing to change) of SIZE AFTER POWER

17a   Agreeing not to continue career with IT, resigns (7,2,5)
CALLING IT QUITS:  Link together a career or vocation, IT from the call, and a synonym of resigns 

21a   Spoke about five backing singers (5)
DIVAS:  Spoke or voiced containing (about) the Roman five, all reversed (backing) 

23a   Transport opening from rear on a track (9)
AEROPLANE:  Putting the bits in order, join together A from the clue, the reversal (from rear) of an opening in a sweat gland, and a track or path 

24a   Turning pan containing fat fowl (8)
MALLARDS:  The reversal (turning) of pan or criticize harshly containing a type of fat 

25a   Sportsperson runs after receiver (6)
FENCER:  The cricket abbreviation for runs comes after a receiver of stolen goods 

26a   Leaning position gaining power for cyclist ultimately (8)
APTITUDE:  In a synonym of position, the physics symbol for power is replacing (gaining for) the final letter (ultimately) of CYCLIST

27a   Remaining disgruntled leaving in the morning (6)
UNUSED:  Disgruntled like Queen Victoria minus (leaving) the abbreviation for “in the morning”

 

Down

1d    Downy winged creature circling university very loudly (6)
FLUFFY:  An annoying winged creature containing (circling) both the single letter for university and the musical abbreviation for very loudly

2d    Sound from pet barking at a curlew (9)
CATERWAUL:  An anagram (barking) of AT A CURLEW 

3d    Agricultural deity encountered among hoofed animals (7)
DEMETER:  A synonym of encountered inserted in (among) some hoofed animals 

5d    Hardly setting base down before server passing one drink (6,5)
BARLEY WATER:  In a synonym of hardly move the letter representing the base of the natural logarithms down one position, and follow that by a server in a restaurant minus (passing) the Roman one 

6d    Case for racket turned up, sufficient for squash (7)
TRAMPLE:  The reversal (turned up) of the outer letters of (case for) RACKET is followed by sufficient or plenty

7d    Beam of light hit facial feature on king (5)
CHINK:  A facial feature with the chess abbreviation for king 

8d    Remark is penned by established writer (8)
ESSAYIST:  Remark or vocalize and IS from the clue are together inserted in (penned by) the abbreviation for established

12d   Protected Farage in conflict with dudes (11)
SAFEGUARDED:  An anagram (in conflict with) of FARAGE DUDES

15d   Mouths busy crane fed in tangled nest (9)
ENTRANCES:  An anagram (busy) of CRANE inserted in (fed in) an anagram (tangled) of NEST

16d   One nursing commercial objective upset world of scholars (8)
ACADEMIA:  The playing card that’s a one containing (nursing) an informal word for a commercial, all followed by the reversal (upset) of objective or goal 

18d   Immediate and popular way to obtain bronzed look (7)
INSTANT:  A usual sort word for popular or trendy is followed by the abbreviation for a way or street containing (to obtain) the bronzed look one gets from exposure to sunlight

19d   Many a Parisian welcoming politician with support (7)
UMPTEEN:  A French word (Parisian) for A containing (welcoming) both a usual abbreviated politician and a support for a golf ball

20d   Scoffed starters of jellied eels before daughter (6)
JEERED:  Concatenate the initial letters of (starters of) JELLIED and EELS, a poetic word for before, and the genealogical abbreviation for daughter

22d   Clean sides of the toilet all over (5)
VALET:  The outer letters (sides) of THE with an informal word for toilet, all reversed (over) 

 

Thanks to today’s setter. Which clues did you like best?

The Quick Crossword pun:  SEIZE + TRAIT = SEE STRAIGHT

47 comments on “DT 30772”

  1. Friday Fun! – right on wavelength for what must be the work of pro_imal using his 25-letter alphabet – **/*****

    Candidates for favourite – 13a, 25a, and 5d – and the winner is 25a.

    Thanks to pro_imal and Mr K.

  2. This was excellent and a satisfying solve. Being an X-less pangram indicates the setter who gave us some brain manglers along with smiles and dropping pennies. I didn’t know the deity but she was quite gettable if the instructions were followed. Because of the misdirection in 14a – I spent ages going through all the power tools I knew – that is my COTD with 5d running a close second.

    Many thanks, proXimal for the fun. Thank you, Mr. K. for the hints and pusskits.

    1. The picture at 21a reminded me of this by Rossini.

      1. One of my favourite clips – so refreshing to see a different side to the ladies personalities. One gets the impression that they thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

      3. Thanks for that Steve, I’d never heard that version. This is the one I’m familiar with:

    1. …and I also had “wines” as the second word in 5d.
      Those two mistakes slowed me down somewhat, but it was an enjoyable puzzle and a decent Friday challenge.
      Thank you setter and Mr K.

  4. Quickly realised that it was going to be a pangram or an almost pangram when a few less common letters were inserted. The puzzle was a suitable level of difficulty for me on a Friday.

    No real favourites – just pleased to finish.

    Thanks to setter and Mr K

  5. Gosh I found that tough but got there in the end. No real favourites – just happy to finish it! Thanks for the hints Mr K and to the setter

  6. A good tester to finish the week.

    There was lots of Lego and letter-moving on display with 5d being a perfect example of the latter…all change! That took me forever to parse.

    My podium is 21a, 12d (a splendid anagram) and 19d.

    Many thanks to Pro imal and Mr K.

    3*/4*

  7. Many thanks to proXimal for a most entertaining puzzle.
    There were only a couple of pauses – the first was arranging the anagram fodder at 2d (not a word I have ever used), and the second was with the parsing of 23a (trying to get the wordplay in the right order). 2*/5*

  8. Welcome to Friday! Some real headscratchers here, especially for me, in the NE. Must be my blind spot. I struggled to parse a few, 23A being a prime example. Lots to like, but my favourite today is the noisy pet at 2D.

    Thanks to Proximal and Mr K.

  9. Fortunately 1d leapt from the page, and from there most of the puzzle pretty much answered itself at a Mon/Tues rate of knots, slowing down in the SE where the last few were slightly more chewy, but overall still quite benign from Proximal. Mentally – but not actually – writing in ‘estuarine’ for 15d from the definition did not help with 25a, but once I’d read properly the instructions in 15d it all became clear. Podium to 20d, 1a & 15d with runner-up 5d.

    Many thanks to Proximal and Mr K – with all his felines in attendance today!

  10. A superb puzzle and a joy to solve. I don’t have a particular favourite clue, but I did find 15d kind of curious, in that the answer equates to the first word of the clue and an another anagram of it could quite easily suggest the second word – meaning ‘busy’, that is. Thanks to the X-less one and to Mr K.

  11. A fairly tough solve but I did manage to complete this cimplex guzzle, although I wasn’t too sure of the parsing of some clues. I liked the agricultural goddess at 3, the letter substitution clue at 26a and the cunning misdirection of the tool clue at 14a. Thanks to ProXimal for a good challenge and to Mr K for rhe hints and pusskits.

  12. Somewhat easier than yesterday, and pleasing to solve. For 15d I hastily put down estuaries, as it seemed vaguely plausible. That held me up on 25a until I realised the two anagram indicators. With proXimal, I now know two setters. COTD is 14a for me. Thanks to the setter, and for the hints.

  13. Well, I thought that was a smashing puzzle. Less of a slog than yesterday and jam-packed with of wit and fizz. Not going to pick a single clue, but liked the misdirection in 20d, and the surface of 22d, and the fat fowl in 24a, and the cleverness of 26a. Needed help to parse 23a, and I was (far too) pleased with myself for understanding 5d without resorting to the hints.
    ****/***

  14. Hugely enjoyable. Lovely spot in 14a. 25a, 27a and 18d all read beautifully. Mildly unusual to see two indicators in 15d – fun and refreshing. Many thanks to our setter and Mr K.

  15. Hey Larry, the guy goofed up, airplane’s only got eight letters!

    Ah, I can still hear my old mate Sam from Philadelphia, a Fellow engineer I met when I was on a training course in San Francisco, yell first, think later.

    Well this is the only setter that I can always guess (yes, well done Sherlock), and the puzzle was an absolute joy, prefect for a Friday, tough but doable.

    My two of the day have to be Sam’s plane, and the brilliant 5d, very clever, chapeau Mr X.

  16. Lovely jubbly! For me this x-less pangram was a 2*/5* puzzle which provided a splendid finish to the week.

    1a was my favourite of many ticked clues.

    Many thanks to proXimal and to Mr K.

  17. Great puzzle and I got the spelling of 2d right. Fell at the misdirection of 26 a. and felt happy about it because it was such a cunning clue. Our cat pictures were all agape today. Will fish out my favourite cat picture sometime next week. Many thanks all round

  18. A very enjoyable Friday puzzle – thanks to Messrs X and K.
    For my podium I’ve selected 13a, 5d and 18d.

  19. What an enjoyable Friday puzzle from the X-less one. Hard to play favourites but eventually narrowed it down to 11,17,24&27a.
    Many thanks to proXimal and to Mr K and his feline entourage for the review.

  20. Wrote ‘phew’ in the margin after this tussle but thoroughly enjoyed it all the same. No idea why I couldn’t see the anagram in 14a after all but it was still my favourite. Don’t remember ever seeing 2d in a puzzle before, am I right Mr K? Thanks for the explanations needed for 14a and 22d and a big thank you to Mr ProX.

  21. Hallelujah – finally bang on wavelength for bizarrely nigh on the quickest solve of the week. Didn’t even clock the fact that it was an X-less pangram until entering last in 14d. Very enjoyable indeed & made all the more so for not struggling to see the obvious like most of this week. Ticks aplenty- 1,14,17&26a + 3,5,8&16d particular likes.
    Thanks to proXimal & to Mr K

  22. Top entertainment this morning with a multitude of excellent and well-crafted clues. With such a superb grid it is tough to find a winner, but 1a went in fairly quickly and remained a favourite throughout the solve.

    Many thanks to proXimal and Mr K.

  23. Just right for a Friday, on pangram alert as soon as the tweezers went in. Lots of clever misdirection. I really must learn to take each word separately. Had I done so I would have spent less time looking for power tools, speciality wraps ( I was feeling hungry!) and careers in IT. Lots of ticks today so no absolute favourite but I liked 2, 16,19 and 22d. Thanks to Proximal and Mr K and his pussycats.

  24. Absolutely first class guzzle and with a plethora of Pusscats. 27a was my last one in for some reason – I know I have said this before, but has anyone ever been gruntled? I am pretty pussed off to read in the DT that a verbose AI granny has been christened Daisy. Don’t any of you dare say a word. I am also worried by the pokey Post Office, having had a flyer this morning telling us it is cheaper to buy our Christmas stamps on line! What are they trying to do? I put daisies against 13,21 and 25a (nice to see one of George’s sports mentioned) and 2,7,12 and 16 d so I won’t choose a favourite today. It is a glorious day here, I spent the morning in the greenhouse potting up geraniums to bring into the conservatory whilst the Pocket Rocket cut down the roses. I am now exhausted – I am getting too old! Have a lovely weekend everyone, I shall be at the Bazaar all Saturday morning 🙁 many thanks to Messrs Setter and Kay.

    1. Hi Day Zee

      Do you think it’s a coincidence that AI is in your name?

      Hmm…..

      I love unpaired words, e.g disgruntled, ruthless, uncouth. The opposites all exist but, for some reason, aren’t used anymore.

  25. A lovely puzzle and I must have been on the right wavelength as I found this a lot less tough than yesterday’s.

    Lots to like and top picks for me were 14a, 13a, 5d and 25a.

    Thanks to Mr K and Proximal.

  26. For me, this was a ‘not my cuppa’ kind of puzzle.
    Way too many clues with unfathomable parsing for me.
    Maybe it is just me being a bit thick. I almost followed the advice in 17a too!

    3*/2.5*

    Favourites 17a, 25a, 1d & 7d — with winner 17a

    Thanks to proXimal & Mr K

  28. Thoroughly enjoyable and right on my level. Makes a change from Fridays usually escaped Toughie. Last in was 22d which needed the hints to explain the wordplay but my fav was 14a.
    Thx to all for a great puzzle.
    **/*****

    1. So good of you to pop in, proXimal, excellent puzzle out of your top drawer of back-pagers, many thanks.

    2. Thank you for popping in to say hello, proXimal. It is always appreciated when setters do so. A wonderful puzzle to end the working week. Have a good weekend.

  30. Surprised myself by actually completing this thanks to a couple of unparsed bung-in solutions (23a and 27a) and finally sorting the convoluted 26a. 3d deity was unknown to me (thanks MrG). Last in was 22d as in any case that and toilet always grate with me. Thank you proXimal and MrK.

  31. My original post has never appeared.
    In summary… fantastic Friday puzzle, lots to enjoy especially 14a.

    Many thanks to ProXimal and to Mr K for the hints and kitties.

  32. Really enjoyed this challenge today. One of the least difficult of the week for me. What a difference getting on the wavelength makes!

    Slightly embarrassingly, I need the hint to parse 14a.

    Thanks to all.

Comments are closed.