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DT 30891

by Shabbo  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30891
Hints and tips by Shabbo

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

 

A most enjoyable puzzle and it’s definitely not one of RayT’s, so that leaves…
Ticks from me are awarded to 13a, 15a, 20a, 1d, 7d and 17d, with a double tick to 27a.
Great stuff!

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 The Italian not upset by overacting in musical (8)
HAMILTON: “the” in Italian and “not” turned upside down (upset – as in overturned) after (by) a synonym of overacting (Definition 2 in Chambers). My research tells me that the musical covers the history of the early United States. I probably should have known that, but I didn’t.

5a Want expensive article, mostly (6)
DEARTH: synonym of “expensive” + definite article without the final letter (mostly).

10a Bay of Bengal initially has attraction, son conceded (5)
BIGHT: the initial letter of Bengal + synonym of attraction without the initial S (son conceded).

11a Oppose bank customer’s action to avoid humiliation (4-5)
FACE-SAVER: synonyms of “oppose” and “bank customer”.

12a Expression of sympathy mother especially welcomes (5)
THERE: a hidden word clue (welcomes).  Our solution is lurking within words 4 & 5.


13a Left with bill covering NHS dentist’s primary treatment? (9)
ABANDONED: take a two-letter bill or poster and put it outside (covering) a grade of treatment in NHS dentistry, which seems to cover a check-up or an examination and not much else. New to me, but gettable and a lovely clue.

14a Joined college, provided with necessary material about one (7)
UNIFIED: three-letter abbreviation for a place of higher education + synonym of “provided with necessary material” outside (about) I (one).

15a Very legitimate request (7)
SOLICIT: synonym of “very” + synonym of “legitimate”. Neat.

18a Financial reparation second crackpot rejected over time (7)
DAMAGES: abbreviation for Second + synonym of “crackpot” (it can also be an adjective) backwards (rejected) outside (over) a word meaning time or epoch.

20a Discussions in club between Scottish and Welsh bankers (7)
DEBATES: as we learnt a few weeks back, there are five rivers (bankers) in the UK and Ireland bearing this name, two are in Scotland and one is in Wales.  Put another word for club inside (between) the rivers.

21a Salesperson you reportedly suggest to be trustworthy (9)
REPUTABLE: abbreviation for salesperson + homophone (reportedly) of you + synonym of suggest or propose.

24a Brief switch round (5)
REMIT: a type of switch reversed (round).

26a Exclude account that plugs fanciful stories (9)
OSTRACISE: abbreviation for “account” inside (plugs) an anagram (fanciful) of STORIES.

27a At no point has Republican exhibited earlier courage (5)
NERVE: a synonym of “at no point” with the abbreviation for Republican moved closer to the beginning of the word (exhibited earlier). Very neat.

28a Headgear for executioner? (6)
TOPPER: a double definition – a posh hat and a slang word for executioner.

29a Gets flustered describing feature in engraver’s works (8)
ETCHINGS: anagram (flustered) of GETS outside (describing) a facial feature.

Down
1d Addiction, rather hard to overcome (5)
HABIT: a synonym of “rather” (two words) with an abbreviation for Hard at the start (overcome).

 

2d Element corruptly using me to follow graduate (9)
MAGNESIUM: anagram (corruptly) of USING ME after (to follow) abbreviation for Master of Arts (graduate).

3d Characters from large Northants town needing no introduction (9)
LETTERING: abbreviation for Large + a town in Northamptonshire without the first letter (needing no introduction).

4d Careless old worker receiving fines (7)
OFFHAND: abbreviation for Old + synonym of worker outside (receiving) abbreviation for Fine twice.

6d Caught out, stopped being relaxed (5)
EASED: a synonym of “stopped” without the initial C (caught out).

7d Bird managed to catch five mice ultimately (5)
RAVEN: synonym of “managed” outside (to catch) Roman numeral for fiVe + the last letter (ultimately) of micE.  We should see plenty of these huge birds when we visit the Highlands of Scotland in May.

8d Greek historian, too rushed when working (9)
HERODOTUS: an anagram (when working) of TOO RUSHED reveals a Greek historian and geographer who lived from c.484 – c.425 BC.  I am ashamed to say that I hadn’t heard of him.

9d Takes part in brawl? Crumbs! (6)
SCRAPS: double definition.

14d Paint actor nude, for a change (9)
UNDERCOAT: I recognised that this was an anagram clue and immediately tried to get something to do with “decorate” to work, but our definition here is a noun. Anagram (for a change) of ACTOR NUDE.

16d Warren in November wearing a trilby, strangely hot! (9)
LABYRINTH: abbreviation for November inside (wearing) an anagram (strangely) of A TRILBY + abbreviation for Hot.

17d Boat is able to cross a West Country river (9)
CATAMARAN: synonym of “is able to” outside (to cross) A + the river that for much of its length separates Devon and Cornwall.

19d Flipping doctor blocking legal action is present (6)
SUBMIT: one of the abbreviations for doctor upside down (flipping) inside (blocking) a synonym of legal action.

20d European record established day before, most learned (7)
DEEPEST: a Lego or charades clue.  Join together an abbreviation for European + an abbreviation for an Extended-Play record (a single to you and me) + abbreviation for ESTablished after (day before) an abbreviation for Day.

22d Stake, each way? (3,2)
PUT UP: a two-word synonym of stake whichever way you look at it – i.e. it’s a palindrome.

23d Hint pastime essentially comes ahead of career (5)
TRACE: the middle letter (essentially) of pasTime + a verb meaning career or rush.

25d Pours from cup’s sides, maybe audibly (5)
TEEMS: a homophone (audibly) of a synonym of cup sides

 Quickie Pun:  CONSENT  +  TRAIT  =  CONCENTRATE

44 comments on “DT 30891”

  1. A lovely straightforward puzzle and solve, with no real hitches. 13a’s parsing was a bit niche but I hope that one of our members in particular was able to take some amusement from that clue. 25d threatened to unseat this rider when I decided that “seeps” was logical (cup’s sides = cp’s = seeps = pours … ish) but, already having 24a in place, I had to look elsewhere and stayed in the saddle.

    Honours to 15a, 3d & 17d – had to include the latter really, as that river wends its way through the valley below me, keeping England safely at a distance!

    Many thanks to Setter (Silvanus for my fiver) and Shabbo

  2. 2*/5*. YESSSSS! It must be Dream Thursday. Beam is in the Toughie chair and there is no doubt in my mind that this is a Silvanus production – super-smooth and a joy from start to finish.

    I failed to parse 13a as I couldn’t shake off the stupid theory that “NHS dentist primary treatment” meant “ND”, but the answer was obvious.

    With ticks all over my page, 27a is in first place.

    Many thanks surely to Silvanus, and to Shabbo.

  3. I’ll help Shabbo out – if ‘it’s definitely not one of RayT’s’ then it has to be the smooth member of the Thursday partnership, although I have to say it felt a little more Fridayish than Thursdayish – 3.5*/4.5*

    Candidates for favourite – 1a, 5a, 20a, and 17d – and the winner is 17d.

    Thanks to Silvanus and Shabbo.

  4. Another paper wasting puzzle today, why when we have a clear 2.5 inches of blank paper left at the bottom of the clues, must the last one have to go onto a separate sheet? Surely someone at the Telegraph can sort this out.

    As to the puzzle, a couple of queries, is a timer really a switch? I know it can act as one or be linked to one, but I found this a bit of a stretch.

    Also I had put ‘seepy’ for 25d, as that’s exactly what you get from saying the two sides of cup, saw my mistake though, but bet I’m not the only one who fell for it.

    The rest of the puzzle was top notch, really hard, but really clever. Didn’t know the bubble at 8d but couldn’t really be much else when the other letters were in it.

    My two of the day were 28a and 3d.

    Off outside for fresh air now as the head cold is still persisting after nearly 6 days, hope to shake it soon before the local Tesco runs out of Paracetamols!

    2. I too had 25 d wrong. Having solved 28 across first I confidently entered seeps for 25d and was mentally congratulating our compiler for producing a witty and inventive clue! Of course ended up with a dnf and was disappointed to see the compilers actual solution!
      Lots to like though with 5a, 20a on the podium and 16d top of the pile.Thanks to Silvanus for yet
      another excellent crossword and Shabbo for the blog.

  5. A rricky guzzle but nonetheless enjoyable. I appreciated both the letter substitution clues with a geographical connection at 10a and 3d together wirh the Lego clue musical at 1a and the anagram at 26a. Thanks to the compiler and to Shabbo for the hints.

  6. A very enjoyable puzzle,for me, of two halves. Off to a good start with 1 and 5a, the top part went in smoothly. I struggled to make headway further south but the anagrams, which you know are not my bag, at 24 and 16d, came to my aid and all finally fell into place. I needed Shabbo to parse 19d for me but now don’t know why I didn’t see it. I had to dredge 10a from the depths of my memory and 8d required Mr Google’s help. Lots of ticks today so no overall favourite but potential podium places for 1a, 11a, 13a, 18a, 24a and 23d. Thanks to our setter for the absolute pleasure and Shabbo for your help.

  7. It was a good puzzle although I lthought 20d was stretching it! My first enter, 1a, I put in Iolanthe, don’t, I know, a bit high brow so it took me a time to get it as I dislike musicals. I liked the puzzle otherwise. Why does everyone call puzzle guzzle!

  8. Super puzzle with ticks all over the shop. Pretty straightforward other than the parsing of 13a which required a bit of investigation – access to NHS dental treatment but a distant memory sadly. I only knew the historian at 8d because of Michael Ondaatje’s novel, The English Patient, which was so brilliantly adapted & directed by Anthony Minghella (who lived in my road in Hampstead) – Kristin Scott Thomas flirts with Ralph Fiennes right in front of her hubby in the telling of one his stories.
    Thanks to Silvanus (got to be surely) & to Shabbo

  9. A very entertaining puzzle – thanks to Silvanus (it must surely be one of his) and Shabbo.
    I didn’t know the NHS treatment in 13a (are there any NHS dentists left?).
    For my podium I’ve selected 15a, 27a and 4d.

  10. Very clever guzzle indeed. A little beyond my meagre skills, but I enjoyed seeing the light when I looked to Shabbo for some help in places.
    I tried to convene the committee to consider 8d but they all reported that they were too exhausted by the recent onslaught of nominees to even give a care about this smarty pants from Halicarnassus.

    Thanks to the setter and Shabba-dabba-doo
    Today’s crossword soundtrack: Jackson Browne – Lawyers In Love

  11. This took me a long time to break into but once I did I thoroughly enjoyed it, the anagrams were particularly good today with excellent misdirection. I did not know 8d but that did not detract from the enjoyment. I had 16d as my favourite.

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

  12. Superlatives seem to be the order of the day judging by earlier thoughts, and I certainly wouldn’t argue with any of the my fellow commenters. Absolutely top drawer, with 16d my top pick.

    Many thanks to Silvanus for an enjoyable challenge, and to Shabbo.

  13. Enjoyed today’s guzzle with a 3*/4* from us.
    No outright fave though but 15a and 27a lead the way.
    My only slight issue was with 1a. I thought ham was to overact – not overacting. But it didn’t stop us getting the answer.
    Thanks to Sylvanus and Shabbo.

  14. Another vote here for this being a Mr Smooth production, which means it’s another Dream Team day for me with Beam over in Toughieland. What a fortunate man our setter is if he has current knowledge of the charges made by NHS dentists, a very distant memory for most of us these days.
    Don’t feel bad about not knowing the Greek historian, Shabbo, I had to investigate him as well!
    Top clues for me were 21&28a plus 1,7&23d.

    Many thanks to Silvanus for another excellent puzzle and to Shabbo for the review.

  15. Enjoyed that, it was a steady and not too troubling solve. Having said that, I had several that I wouldn’t go beyond pencilling in until proved by checkers.

    I had the same trouble as RD with ‘NHS dentist’s’ giving me ‘nd’. Per tipcat I also had ‘seepy’ for 25d!
    And I agree with pommette on 1a, that ‘ham’ wouldn’t come from ‘overacting’.

    Thanks to Shabbo for parsing on 13a, 14a and 25d. Only just got 14 even now! I had ‘provided’ on its own giving ‘if’, so then the explanation didn’t work. At [probably] the fifth reading, now I get it, thanks Shabbo.

    I spotted the two pager from our friends at DT so manually took screenshots and pasted into a Word template to print on a single page! A pain but do-able.

  16. It took three goes at this puzzle to get to a finish. Perhaps because of my laboured attempt, I found it less satisfying than some commentators. My cotd is 11a. Thanks to Silvanus and Shabbo.

  17. After my bragging about how easy I found yesterday’s puzzle, karma dictated that I should struggle today. It all fell into place reasonably well once I had a few checkers, but those few checkers took a while to emerge. I’m blaming the fact that I feel somewhat under the weather, I think as a result of a cold rather than last night’s trip to Southwark to see the engaging play about Wilko Johnson. My favourite clues were 15a and 1d. Thanks very much to the setter and to Shabbo for the help with some parsing.

  18. A surprisingly straightforward solve from Mr S and an enjoyable one it was too..

    Like many others, I had no idea about the dentistry term and am struggling with justifying 24a.

    My podium is 1a, 29a and 1d.

    Many thanks to Silvy Wilvy and Shabbers.

    2*/4*

    1. 24a – my hint was somewhat brief. Apologies.
      Brief here is a noun and its synonym (the solution) is “something submitted for consideration”. The reversal is of a type of switch which turns something on or off at a pre-determined time.
      I hope this helps.

      1. Thanks Shabbs.

        I was okay with the brief bit. I was echoing Tipcat’s comment.

  19. Not a RayT puzzle this week and as per the norm for me on his off weeks, I had trouble with some of the clueing as well as figuring out parsing on many of the answers.

    3*/2.5*

    Favourites 27a, 1d, 3d, 9d & 16d — with winner 3d
    Smiles for 27a & 22d

    Thanks to setter & Shabbo

    1. If you’re missing RT I am confident you will enjoy today’s Toughie under his alter ago, Beam.

      It’s a lovely puzzle in true RayT style, and very approachable.

  20. Just a POI. EP stands for extended play and was comprised of 4 tracks instead of the usual 2 on a single.

      1. Welcome!

        IIRC an EP was the same physical size as a single but contained 4 tracks, 2 per side as Winckley said and played at 33rpm rather than 45rpm to fit in the extra time in that same physical size.

  21. Agree with the difficulty rating, the executioner’s headgear being last one in – great clue. Thank you compiler and Shabbo

  22. A steady solve for me although I had to check 10a meant bay and I guessed at 8d. I’m fortunate to still be registered with an NHS dentist and have just had a check-up so 13a wasn’t an issue for me.

    Top picks for me were 26a, 16d and 29a.

    Thanks to Shabbo and the setter.

  23. .. finally acknowledgement in crossword land that the Dee is a river in Scotland and not just the ooze that meanders in parts of North Wales and Cheshire.
    Good luck to Shabbo on raven spotting in Scotland .. as come May undoubtedly the mist, rain and drizzle or clouds of midges will be manifest and I will be in the thick of it on Lewis!😊

  24. Many thanks to Shabbo and to everyone commenting.

    I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

  25. Very tricky for me today, so needed lots of your valuable guidance Shabbo. 1a is excellent, well worthy of a look (if you are a Disney + subscriber 😁….and if you’re partial to rapping as a musical style)

  26. Good evening

    First visit this week: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are working days for me, and were particularly busy as my employers entrust me with the job of mentoring new ccolleagues.So I’ve failed to get anywhere near a crozzie since Sunday.

    On to today: a particularly benign offering from the Brain Of Silvanus; he had me beaten last time, but not today. All done, with only 13a proving a little tricky in the parsing.

    COTD is 16d. Many thanks to Silvanus and to Shabbo.

    So,

  27. I almost 13a this as I thought it was a wavelength issue. Glad I didn’t as this was a great solve. Funnily enough 13a was a bung in once I had the checkers. Needed the hint to parse.

    Thanks to all.

  28. A nicely chewy puzzle today after the last 2 days completed in 3 goes in between chores. I prefer
    them like this as it keeps the brain working throughout the day. Dog walking , house and garden work doesn’t need a lot of grey matter in the main! Had to check the parsings for 13a and 18a , the latter being an ‘of course ‘ moment. Thanks to Silvanus for the fun and Shabbo.

  29. 2*/4* Clever and witty clueing throughout, very enjoyable.
    Favourites 20a bay, 13a NHS dentist and 15a request

    Many thanks to Silvanus and Shabbo

  30. 1a I originally put in Oklahoma.
    OK. not upset
    LA. The Italian
    HOMA Overacting O Ham

    1. That is a fine effort, DK, and has potential to be a clue one day 👏

      You must have got yourself in a right pickle with the down clues off it!

  31. Didn’t know the musical but fairly clued or the dental treatment so a complete bung in but it couldn’t be anything else and couldn’t see what ‘cup’s’ had to do with 25d. Apart from those most enjoyable. Favourite was 18a. Thanks to Silvanus and Shabbo.

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