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DT 30959 (Hints)

by crypticsue  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30959 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by crypticsue)

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I can’t make up my mind whether this crossword was tricky for a Saturday Prize Puzzle or the combination of a  busy and exhausting week coupled with  the high temperature this morning made my brain not quite as well as ‘normal’

Please ask for help if you are stuck on clues I haven’t hinted, but before doing so, please read the comments that appear before yours, so that you are not duplicating questions,  and make sure you obey both THE INSTRUCTIONS IN RED at the end of the Hints and the blog’s  Comment Etiquette – Big Dave’s Crossword Blog)

Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also”. Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.

A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.

Across

1a           Join touring band with Italian maestro? Fancy that! (4,1,5,3)
A verb meaning to join into which is inserted (featuring) a band and an Italian composer

10a         See that workers will restrain Musk for example? (5)
An archaic or poetic word for see inserted into (restrained by) some workers

20a/14a  Cheers actor Tom feeding Sri Lankan cat? (6,1,7)
The surname of an American actor ‘feeding’ someone from Sri Lanka and a big cat

23a         Walk a long way carrying the relative (10)
A verb meaning to walk, a long distance ‘carrying’ THE (from the clue)

27a         Pair to skip overture in escape (5)
Remove the abbreviation for pair from an overture

28a         Carol has a means to enter a mile heat (4,2,1,6)
A (from the clue), a means to enter, A (from the clue), the abbreviation for mile and  a synonym for heat

Down

2d           Chapter in story set up striking effect (5)
The abbreviation for chapter inserted into a reversal (sent up) of a story

4d           Bowler wants this knocked over square leg (7)
A square number and an informal leg

7d           `Uninformed where Noah’s creatures were sheltering 500? (2,3,4)
Where Noah’s creatures were ‘sheltering’ the Roman numeral for 500

15d         The French songbirds at once offering Xmas classic? (3,2,4)
The French definite article, some songbirds and a synonym for at once

20d         Uncle in Stowe keeps small horse, Shetland for instance (7)
The eponymous uncle in a book by Harriet Beecher Stowe ‘keeps’ a small horse

25d        Peers inside a box? (4)
A group of one’s equals sworn to reach a verdict from their ‘box’

As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out

Please read these instructions carefully – they are not subject to debate or discussion. Offending comments may be redacted or, in extreme cases, deleted. In all cases the administrator’s decision is final.

If you don’t understand, or don’t wish to comply with, the conventions for commenting on weekend prize puzzles then please don’t leave a comment.

The Quick Crossword pun:  BUCHAN  + EARRING  = BUCCANEERING

 

60 comments on “DT 30959 (Hints)”

  1. With a couple of references to the most wonderful time of the year, I reckon this SPP has been found down the back of the sofa after six months.
    Not to worry though, as it’s far from being a turkey. 
    With plenty of well wrapped clues to rip open and admire, this one’s a cracker.
    Top of my tree was 4d with 1a, 11a, 20a and 23a adding sparkle to the occasion. 
    Thanks to the setter and his little helper, CS.
    This was just what I wanted.

  2. I fear there will be grumbles from the members of THE LIST committee at having to be dragged in yet again on a gloriously hot Saturday – but 20d must surely be discussed?

    1. p.s. CS – in your hint for 28a you have used one of words for the answer instead of the synonym for it.
      Can you send yourself to the naughty step?

        1. Nor from the shade of a tree in the garden. Thank you for correcting, if only I was still allowed to eat cake, I’d cut myself a slice

  3. As FrankieM says, above, a couple of slightly incongruous clues for the summer solstice but that didn’t affect the enjoyment if this puzzle. Cotd for me is 26a, but plenty to choose from. So a 20a/14a to our compiler (NYDK?) and CS.

  4. I must admit I was surprised to see seasonal reference on the day of the solstice but there you go.

    I found the guzzle a bit of a struggle but, like CS, I put it down to the heat. I only managed three on the first pass so not a great start. Then 1a hit me and its six checkers got things moving. I’ve not come across 20d before and wonder if Terence has it in the museum. The one that made me laugh out load was the Athenian at 6d and that is my COTD.

    Thank you, NYDK for the Saturday challenge. Whether or not it will release The Mythical is anybody’s guess but I doubt it will wing its way to me. Thank you, CS for the hints.

    It’s warm and overcast with thunderstorms threatening here in The Marches.

  5. Not the easiest ever Saturday crossword, and I needed a couple of sittings to finish it. Still struggling with the last word of 1a. However, there are plenty of good clues, with 15d the absolute winner. Genius. Many thanks to the setter and for the hints.

  6. Couldn’t see 25d despite having two of the letters in it, as it was my last one in, always the little ones that catch me out…

  7. This was pleasantly tricky in places and cheered up what has become an overcast and damp Saturday. Mrs YS is on the gate at a garden opening and it always rains when she is on duty. Back to the crossword – the slightly weird Yuletide references aside, this was terrific fun, with 25d was final entry and favourite, ahead of 20d.

    Thanks, presumably to Donny, and to Sue.

  8. Just like today, this was a scorcher!

    NYPD Blue has put together so many good surfaces that Mr Smooth and Il Professore would be proud of.

    20a/14a is great fun:

    1. Saying that Tom was a Cheers actor was excellent deception
    2. It was a superb surface
    3. Tom and cat in a clue are always linked but not in this case
    4. I got a namecheck

    I’m a huge fan of strewn multi-worders (cue the haters) and the ironic timing of the Christmas-themed clues on the longest day just adds to the fun.

    Mr Musk is many things and I can now add 10a to this list.

    I couldn’t get the usual initial for ‘quiet’ out of my brain in 18d as I had the third letter in place. Great word, btw.

    Nigh on impossible to pick a pody but I’ll go with the Sinhalese moggy, 4d (I love cricket) and 28a for its construction and surface.

    MT to Rood Bonk and she of the crypt.

    2*/5*

  9. I started with a bung in of a phrase that fit 1a but deleted it as it couldn’t be, some time later I returned and 1a the composer and the joiner leapt out.
    I think 20d is too useful a word for it to be consigned to THE LIST, it is too similar to other words that occur in most crossword blogs.
    Thanks to Setter and CS (and Prolixic for monitoring the blog whilst Sue eats her own cake)

      1. Poor you Sue. Life without cake, particularly lemon drizzle is hardly worth living.
        Is the cake embargo forever or just for now ?
        Temporary I hope.

        1. Forever as part of my body generally deciding to fall to pieces. Mr CS is the only one enjoying the new regime as he did need to lose weight and is getting slimmer while you watch

    2. I agree with you about 20d, Sloops.

      Its root plus the suffix ‘graphy’ is a common word.

  10. Well that was tough with some new words, poets and films from 1978 upping the difficulty for me at least.
    Almost gave up in the south but perseverance paid off in the end.
    Podium 6d, 18d and 16a.
    4*/4*
    Thanks to all.

  11. Rafther teicky for a SPP and I dont rhink it was the het, as I completed the guzzle qt 3.30 am, having been woken by noisy Saturday nught revellers. That’s the problem with leaving the bedroom windows open- but ir was deliciously cool. Thecompiler briefly confoundeed mewith my bete noir twofer, a multwordclue (9d,24d) that was a film I had never heard of. However, with Mr Google’s help, I got there ibtge end. 3d was quite clever and 5d was a good nissing letter clue. I hadn’t heard 20d bwfore but my knowledge of geography enabled me ro work it out abd that is my COTD. Thanks ro CS for the hints and to the compiler.

  12. Ah, well. My run of success has come to a very sticky end. Half done and it’s lunch time already. I could put it down to the 35 degrees or the rock concert I participated in last night, but no, simply defeated. And to think, Saturday used to be the day that everyone could do. How times have changed!

      1. With my as yet nameless band we played versions of classics, Little Red Rooster, The Thrill Is Gone, that kind of thing. I thought we were really good until my granddaughter showed me the video…. still, as the audience wouldn’t recognise good from bad, a great time was had by all..

  13. Wow that was a mental workout but well worth it. What a great guzzle. LOI was 25d. The parsing of some took a lot longer than the solving but when I’d worked them out they became favourites (sorry Kath).

    Top picks for me were 1a, 17d, 28a, 20/14a and 20d. Lots more could have joined them though.

    Thanks to CrypticSue and NYDK.

  14. Was it me or was it NYDK or was it the effect of the heat and humidity (32 degrees before the ‘feels like’ was added on) on my Friday evening? Probably the last of the three which made the solving something of a grind but I got there in the end.

    Candidates for favourite – 2d, 6d, and 25d – and the winner is 2d.

    Thanks to NYDK and CS.

  15. This was a stinker in more ways than one .. Xmas references at the wrong Solstice 😤. Answer to 1a doesn’t have the last three letter word attached …certainly not in the BRB.
    Never heard of the answers at 18 and 20d and unfamiliar with the characters referred to at 18 and 22a.
    On a plus … I liked 16a.
    I’m just off now to see if I can get a musk at Sainsburys
    Roll on tomorrow.

  16. Well so much for gathering the committee on Teams! That won’t be happening again after this morning’s meeting. It was set up by Miss Gomshall (secretary) so that committee members would not need to travel during this heatwave, but there were several incidents before the quorum that remained voted 20d on to THE LIST (temporarily placed on the plinth between haragake and archimandrites).
    We were unable to hear from Colonel Bagshot as he left the mute button on throughout. This led to MIss Abinger being overcome with rage and the meeting was suspended until she was persuaded to refrain from swearing.
    I really don’t think Teams meetings are the way forward for the committee.

    Thanks to NYDK and PC Security (anag)

  17. Well, that was something of a ‘wrong time of year’ puzzle with both a fruit and a film I’d never heard of thrown in for good measure. Ah well, it must have come from the brain of the US doorknocker!

    On the upside, it’s now delightfully cool here with even the occasional drop of the wet stuff falling on the thirsty garden.

    Thanks to NYDK for a rather different SPP and to CS for the hints. How sad to be a baker par excellence and not to be allowed to taste the fruits of your labour.

  18. A bit of a struggle for me today.
    Eventually got all the answers but could not parse several…..fortunately, the cruelly cake-deprived crypticsue had hinted them, so it all came clear.

    Thanks to the setter and to crypticsue.

    Very warm here, but not at Southern levels. Muggy and overcast too, so no doubt rain is coming.

  19. I was pleased to see a NYDK puzzle today with a couple of multi word clues. I loved the parsing on 20/14a … very clever! New word in the NW for me.

    2*/5* for me this week … my second 5* for enjoyment.

    Favourites 11a, 20/14a, 23a, 7d & 19d — with winner 20/14a
    Smiles and a laugh for 1a, 26a, 7d & 21d

    Thanks to NYDK & CS

  20. North was reasonably pain-free but South was a different matter. Of course tried to use wrong word for 27a.
    Unless I am missing something 20d doesn’t call for meaning of solution word merely the construction. Thank you setter and CS & Co.

  21. Trickier than some Saturdays but still enjoyable but it did take longer than usual and I was defeated by 17d, which I don’t mind as you can’t know what you don’t know, similarly I had to check the answer to 10a. We have just had the smallest amount of rain but there may be a little more to come.

    Many thanks to the setter and to CS for the hints

    1. Yes , I am watching the tennis from London (Queens) and there has just been a little rain there but thankfully not enough to stop play.

  22. Excellent puzzle with a lot of wintry references for a steamy summer day.

    Loved the Athenian, but the Uncle in Stowe my clear favourite.

    VMT NYDK and CS

  23. Not heard of 10a, 18a, 9&24d, 18d or 20d. Supposer from those we made heavy weather of this. Favourite was 17d. Thanks to NYD and CS.

  24. Strange one today. I closed it out in the end. 20d could only be one answer but I did not get the Uncle in Stowe connection. Gen Knowledge shortfall and I never google.

    My last in was 25d. Did not spot it until I got 26a. Nice to see a bit more of a challenge on a Saturday.

  25. Lovely puzzle with peers inside a box as a fantastic clue. Thank you CS and NYDK

  26. I found that significantly harder than the usual Saturday standard. Looking back, it must have been a wavelength thing as there’s nothing massively tricky there, bar a couple of unusual words and the odd bit of general knowledge (which I was lacking). Favourite was 7d.

    Thanks to the setter and CS.

  27. Trickier than usual for a Sat prize puzzle or at least it was for me on a sweltering 26a first tee. The whys at 1&20/14a took a bit of teasing out & in addition to forgetting the novelist I’ll admit to be not entirely sure why Shetland was an example of the answer. I’d only have been able to name one of Edith’s brothers too. 25d my last in too & the biggest head scratch.
    Thanks to Donny & to Sue.

  28. First comment from a long-time lurker.

    I’d sum this one up as clever and amusing. Thought it was going to be a puzzler at first then finished in one sitting other than 25d which came to me as I made lunch. The answer to 20d leapt out at me from the across clues then I had to figure out why.

    Could the the out-of-season clues be a nod to it being six months away?

    BTW 25d is listed as 25a in the hints at the time of posting this.

    1. Welcome to the blog, Greygray.
      Now that you’ve de-lurked I hope that we’ll get lots of comments from you.

      1. Thank you.
        To date I’ve usually come here to have a clue explained after getting the answer or point me in the right direction when I’ve not been able to get a handle on a clue by the next day.

        1. Welcome from me as well, Greygray. It would be great to see you commenting regularly. 👍😊

    2. I agree with you Greygray about the “why” of 20d as per my comment in 20 above.

  29. Well I really had to work at this one, but thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. I’m giving it a 4*/4.5* rating, stacks of brilliant clues with deception, obscure to me general knowledge and multi worders. Favourites are two short ones 6d and 25d, and also the 20a/ 14a combo
    Thanks to Sue and NYDK

  30. Thanks Sue & NYDK

    I’m including in my podium selection, as I tend to, all the linked clues, though as usual with NYDK, other clues are available. 11, 13 & 18A (my personal favourite) tickled my fancy, as did 3, 4 & 20D.

    Great stuff.

  31. I enjoyed this puzzle finding it quite chewy but not overly so. As others have mentioned it did feel like it was 6 months too early. I always groan when I see the linked clues but managed to solve them early on getting a good foothold on the grid. Thereafter it was a steady solve , and I was pleased to parse 18d to get the word that I had heard of but didn’t know what it meant. Thanks to setter and CS.

  32. A pleasant solve and about 85% completed before I had to use CS’s hints. Nearly made a complete horlicks of 10a, thinking of a Cathedral city in Northern Italy but the rest of the clue did not work. Also, nearly had the wrong word in 27a, thinking of a place at the top of the M6.
    Strange to have festive clues in June, there was another either last week or the week before.
    Anyway, thank you to the setter and CS for the hints.

  33. A belated thanks to all who commented, and to CS for her usual works.

    Cheers
    NYDK

  34. Even more belated than NYDJ (many thanks for the excellent guzzle) due to grandson and wife staying for a pre birthday celebration. On the tiles in Cambridge last night and lunch with them and dd2 today it was a relief to sit down and tackle this and Sunday’s two. I put in a film at 9/24 but couldn’t really reconcile it with Australia or Ian Holme but hey, who wants more pens? Thank also CeeSue for your cheerful notes.

  35. I was away most of the weekend, so only just got round to tackling this beastie of a solve.

    I found this extremely challenging. Many of the hints left me none the wiser. I can never be bothered to wait until Thursday for the full explanations, so resort to another site for the answers. Several are still completely baffling.

    I wonder if anybody wins the mythical when there are offerings such as this.

  36. Spent ages on 10a as had only possible solution but couldn’t figure out why and hint confirmed I was correct. Eventually penny dropped and I think it’s been used before quite recently as now seems familiar. Agree with seasonal comments but also elements of another festivity in there!

  37. 4*/3* ….
    liked 5D “Primeval bats , not large, one out for blood (7)”

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