Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30,615
Hints and tips by Shabbo
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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***
I found this tricky in parts, with lots of word building which kept me on my toes. This is definitely not the work of RayT, so over to you, dear reader, to hazard a guess at who our compiler is today.
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.
Across
1a Chicken sandwich, next to fish, left out E number(6,9)
YELLOW SUBMARINE: synonym of chicken (as in cowardly) + three-letter word which is slang (originally US) for a sandwich + a type of fish (related to a swordfish) without the L (left out) + E = a strong contender for the worst ever Beatles song.
9a Turned out daft and ignorant (9)UNTUTORED: anagram (daft) of TURNED OUT.
10a Ingredient lengthy menu shows(5)
THYME: a hidden word clue (shows) – words 2 & 3 are concealing our answer. Take your time and you will find it.
11a General first to salute that female soldier(7)
SHERMAN: first letter of Salute + a word meaning “that female” + an uncommissioned soldier. Add that lot together to find a general from the American Civil War who had a type of tank named after him.
12a A strong river current around area where Cairo is(6)
AFRICA: a Lego clue comprising six Lego “bricks”: A + abbreviation for strong (think forte in music, perhaps?) + abbreviation for river + abbreviation for current + abbreviation for around (or about) + abbreviation for area. Clever. I don’t think I have ever seen a clue involving the assembly of six individual letters.
15a Banter as golfer’s standard shirt starts to rip embarrassingly at the front(8)
REPARTEE: the “standard” score for a golfer + a type of shirt with the initial letters (starts to) of Rip Embarrassingly at the front of the clue.
16a Idle napper(4)
LOAF: double definition. The first is a verb and the second is a slang word meaning “head”.
19a Moonwalking, Armstrong? Right(4)
LIEN: Armstrong here is the first man to walk on the moon. His given name is then reversed, indicated by “moonwalking”, which Mr Google describes as “a backslide in which the performer glides backwards whilst their body actions suggest forward motion”. Michael Jackson made this dance famous and I will practise it as soon as I have finished this blog.
20a Wrap horror movie(4,4)
CAPE FEAR: synonym of wrap (think cloak) + synonym of horror.
23a American or European keeping quiet on the beach(6)
ASHORE: abbreviation for American + OR + abbreviation for European outside (keeping) a two-letter word meaning quiet or hush.
24a Enthralled by English exercise, men finally get into Pullman, perhaps(7)
ENTRAIN: the final letter of meN is found inside (enthralled by) an abbreviation for English + a synonym of exercise. The definition means to board a train, which may, or may not be, a Pullman. Other trains are available.
26a Dish from Portugal delayed(5)
PLATE: abbreviation for Portugal (as seen on car registration plates) + synonym of delayed.
28a Cider and lager – possibly Cobra – before something to eat(9)
SNAKEBITE: a reptile (of which cobra is an example) + another word meaning something to eat. Join them together to make a revolting “co*cktail” which has now hopefully gone out of fashion.
29a At the end, Leyton Orient with a totally bungled home draw(8,7)
NATIONAL LOTTERY: N (final letter of Leyton) + an anagram (bungled) of ORIENT A TOTALLY. I originally thought that “home” was superfluous, but I think it is there to indicate “national”.
Down
1d Solver’s without question for setter(5,5)
YOURS TRULY: the solver is you, so “solver’s” would be yours (spoiler alert!) + a synonym of without question.
2d Landlord going over smooth printed text(11)
LETTERPRESS: a word meaning landlord (someone who lets) on top of (this is a down clue) a word meaning smooth (think ironing). Chambers describes the definition as “a method of printing in which ink on raised surfaces is pressed”.
3d Be cleverer than blooming Sting!(8)
OUTSMART: word meaning “blooming” + word meaning “sting”.
4d Part-time journalist, good person to cover fraud(8)
STRINGER: abbreviation for saint (good person) + a fraud – perhaps an athlete performing under an assumed name? I was not familiar with this definition. Chambers notes it as “a journalist employed part-time by a newspaper to cover a particular (esp remote) area”.
5d Confusion where kipper’s seen with batter(6)
BEDLAM: a word meaning “where kipper’s seen” (a kipper here is someone sleeping) + synonym of batter (as in beat or punch).
6d E.g. Hamilton players performing to score?(6)
ACTORS: cryptic definition. Hamilton is a musical.
7d Biscay occasionally appearing remote(3)
ICY: every other letter (occasionally appearing) of bIsCaY.
8d Temperature dropping, contest all square(4)
EVEN: synonym of contest dropping the abbreviation for time.
13d Something that goes with Bill via Peter, possibly helpful(2-9)
CO-OPERATIVE: we need the second part of an expression (bill and ***) being a dated term signifying lovers kissing or talking intimately. Add to that an anagram (possibly) of VIA PETER.
14d Often, Ferry curls lip(10)
EFFRONTERY: anagram (curls) of OFTEN FERRY.
17d Unwelcome correspondence from friend Hardy to Spooner(4,4)
HATE MAIL: Spoonerise words meaning “friend” and “hardy” (as in **** and hearty).
18d Clothing retailer George, maybe second in order of preference(4,4)
NEXT BEST: popular clothing retailer + surname of George, the great winger from Northen Ireland who terrorised defenders in the 1960s/70s.
21d Little brother suppressing cry of triumph in Spanish dance(6)
BOLERO: abbreviation for brother outside (suppressing) a three-letter word which is a cry of triumph in Spanish.
22d Carelessly erased written evidence of long division here?(3,3)
RED SEA: an anagram (carelessly) of ERASED reveals the stretch of water which was “parted” in the book of Exodus in the Old Testament.
25d Frank spread out(4)
OPEN: double definition. I originally had this as a triple definition, but I think it is “only” a double definition.
27d Drawing Hogarth keeps?(3)
ART: hidden word (keeps). The answer is concealed within Hogarth.
Quickie Pun: KNEW + ROE + SEES = NEUROSES
