DT Vintage 13

Daily Telegraph Vintage No 13
Hints and Tips by Sloop John Bee

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***     Enjoyment ****
(I don’t often do ratings – your experience may vary)

The Telegraph crossword has a long history of paying tribute to, and being appreciated by, British royalty. George V’s Silver Jubilee on May 6, 1935, was marked with a special puzzle offering “praise and thanksgiving”. Queen Elizabeth is said to have regularly devoted half an hour to the crossword. For the 100th birthday of the Queen Mother, a special Telegraph crossword about her life was commissioned, enlarged and carried down the Horse Guards Parade. If Her Majesty glanced at the crossword on the day she acceded to the throne, this is what she would have seen.

I expect that one or more of the other puzzles mentioned in the DT preamble above will appear here soon. I am sure Rossophile or Gazza would welcome assistance with blogs. “A volunteer is worth ten pressed men.”

Several things in this crossword wouldn’t be allowed these days, but I do like the image of The Queen having a go at this before heading off to her coronation.

Across

1a         Sometimes it’s quite a good wheeze to play it (10)
CONCERTINA: A musical instrument that may “wheeze” when played

6a         Change a fish to a berry (4)
SLOE: As the 2 Kiwi’s reminded me, this is a crossword no-no these days, an indirect anagram. you need to start with a fish found in Dover and environs and anagram it to the sort of berry that I have steeping in gin.

Thank you Carol and Colin, I will raise a glass to you when I have decanted the berries out

10a       This will stagger you, though the middle’s a winner (5)
FACER: Time for the BRB. an informal word for anything that staggers one, a sudden problem or difficulty, the middle of said problem contains a winning playing card.

11a       It’s a great help in cutting things fine (9)
MICROTOME: A cryptic definition of the instrument used for cutting thin slices for examination under magnification.

12a       This comes from the coals, and is good pickled (8)
ESCHALOT: A straightforward anagram (this comes from) of THE COALS

13a       The short distance that may get one time (5)
THEFT: The from the clue and an abbreviated distance of twelve inches, that may get you time in prison

15a       Don’t trust him, he may do you a bad turn (7)
TWISTER: A slippery or dishonest person who turns like a tornado.

17a       Bright remark mostly concerning two animals (7)
EPIGRAM: This bright remark starts with an unclued letter followed by two farm animals, one porcine and one ovine (male)

19a       Denoting a gland from third half of 29 across (7)
THYROID: An anagram of THIRD and half of your answer to 29 across

21a       They need sunshine, though they may be beyond it! (3,4)
THE PALE: In need of a tan or an idiom meaning unacceptable or outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour. I think this is from a fence that the British erected to keep the native Irish Riff-Raff outside Dublin.

22a       Combine or gain, I’m certainly lacking (5)
ORGAN: I can’t find a definition here, but combine two words from the clue and remove one letter.

24a       One of those blooming climbers (8)
CLEMATIS: A climbing flower.

27a       Understand how to add about her in turn (9)
APPREHEND: To catch the meaning of. A synonym of add contains a reversal (in turn) of her.

28a       As in general it warrants occupation (5)
LEASE: The document that warrants the occupation of a rented property. An American Civil War general contains as from the clue.

29a       It travels a lot, but is always kept on a string (2-2)
YO-YO: It travels up and down on a string.

This Turophile loves the fact that “Here Comes the Sun” is an anagram of “Mourns the Cheese”

30a       Upon it depends how great is the tax on one’s resources (10)
ASSESSMENT: Before PAYE taxation, an annual calculation of tax due to HMRC

Down

1d         A refreshing change of face (4)
CAFÉ: A place of refreshment that is an anagram of face.

2d         Her children are patently protected (9)
NECESSITY: A female inventor may use a patent to protect her invention, but then again 2d is the mother of invention.

3d         One thing at least that never tires of the daily round (5)
EARTH: Every day since the dawn of time our planet makes one revolution.

4d         Nimble chap who ought to be able to hold his liquor (7)
TUMBLER: An acrobat or container of liquor.

5d         Making a knot in it may often remind a man of his birthday (7)
NECKTIE: I guess these items that need to be knotted would remind someone of his birthday if that was the gift

7d         What is this may be a rattler (5)
LOOSE: If it rattles, it probably needs tightening.

8d         Disposition that is by no means odd (4,6)
EVEN TEMPER: The opposite of odd and one’s disposition or mood.

9d         What you can’t find now, you’ll have to make up for (4,4)
LOST TIME: To make up for things you were unable to fit into your schedule.

14d      Still capable of showing that Tito’s Aryan (10)
STATIONARY: An anagram (capable of showing that) of Tito’s Aryan. President Josep Broz Tito was topical at the time of this crossword and reminds me that after he lost a leg he coined the phrase “As much use as President Tito at an ar$e kicking party.”

16d      Soundly beaten, being partly only a lightweight (8)
TROUNCED: Part of the answer is a light weight equal to one sixteenth of a pound.

18d      Where there’s life there’s no call to this (9)
REANIMATE: If Frankenstein’s Monster is already alive there is no need to try to bring him to life again.

20d      The lady who was game at the last (7)
DUCHESS: The last five letters of this lady are a board game.

I do like The Stranglers…

21d      The rocker responsible for revolution (7)
TREADLE: How a sewing machine of an earlier era turns a rocking motion into a revolutionary one.

23d      Nomad the reverse of pig-headed (5)
GIPSY: This nomad is headed by a reversal of pig.

25d      A world-embracing volume (5)
ATLAS: A volume of maps of the world.

26d      And, finally, something to make you smile (4)
JEST: An object of laughter.