DT 26059 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 26059

by Big Dave  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26059

Hints and tips by a Grumpy Old Man

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

For those of you expecting Tilsit today, he has been pining for the lovely nurses at the Calderdale Hospital so much that he has gone back to see them for a couple of days.  What he has missed is a pleasant but fairly easy puzzle, which should please a lot of you!

Don’t forget that the answers are inside the curly brackets and can be revealed by selecting with the mouse. Leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
Across

1a Type googly confused in a scientific study (10)
{EGYPTOLOGY} – confused tells you that an anagram of TYPE GOOGLY is needed to derive this scientific study of the language, culture and history of ancient Egypt

6a Finish work on street (4)
{STOP} – a word meaning to finish is derived from OP (work) next to (on) ST(reet) – there was debate yesterday about this construct; I don’t like it because it results in A = B on C meaning BC or (as here) CB

9a Dupe kind companion (7)
{CONSORT} – a charade of CON (dupe) and SORT (type / kind) gives a companion

10a Have a look at cricket, perhaps, around start of play (7)
{INSPECT} – a word meaning to have a look at is derived by putting INSECT (cricket, perhaps) around P (start of Play) – nothing whatsoever to do with sport!

12a Scoff in the stable? (3,4,1,5)
{EAT LIKE A HORSE} – a cryptic definition of to eat a lot

I once demolished a sausage sandwich in The Hungry Horse for a bet – eight large sausages inside a small loaf of bread

14a Conforming to what others are doing at home before move (2,4)
{IN STEP} – a phrase meaning conforming to what others are doing is a charade of IN (at home) and STEP (move)

15a Extremely large depletion in fuel (8)
{COLOSSAL} – a word meaning extremely large is derived by putting LOSS (depletion) inside COAL (fuel)

17a Devil-may-care Royalist (8)
{CAVALIER} – a double definition of this mounted opponent of the Roundheads

19a Streak across mud getting immersed (6)
{SMUDGE} – this streak is hidden (immersed) inside across mud getting

22a Poet in den, unimpressed? Not one for changing (6,7)
{EDMUND SPENSER} – this well-known poet is an anagram (changing) of DEN UN(I)MPRESSED without the I (not one)

24a Foreign author describing English author (7)
{THOREAU} – an anagram (foreign) of AUTHOR is placed around E(nglish) to get this American author, poet, naturalist and leading transcendentalist

25a Hermit showing up before child (7)
{EREMITE} – another name for a hermit is constructed from a charade of ERE (before) and MITE (child) – the “up” here looks like padding

26a Part of film is serious, according to report (4)
{REEL} – this part of a film sounds like (according to report) real (serious)

27a Tenacious priest sent abroad (10)
{PERSISTENT} – a word meaning tenacious is an anagram (abroad) of PRIEST SENT

Down

1d What some engravers find easy to do, and the rest hard? (4)
{ETCH} – What some engravers find easy to do is a charade of ETC (and the rest) and H(ard)

2d A city on the Hudson taking ages to accommodate the Queen (7)
{YONKERS} – a city on the Hudson river is derived by putting YONKS (ages) around ER (the Queen)

3d Got partnered at pool? (4,3,6)
{TOOK THE PLUNGE} – a double definition

4d The Parisian excursion could make one express oneself vehemently (3,3)
{LET RIP} – a charade of LE (the, French / Parisian) and TRIP (excursion) gives a phrase meaning to express oneself vehemently

5d Do good, supporting Girl Scout providing help for a blind person (5,3)
{GUIDE DOG} – here DO and G(ood) are preceded by (supporting, because this is a down clue) GUIDE (Girl Scout) for this animal that provides help for a blind person

7d Forms of creative beauty initially touch souls (3,4)
{THE ARTS} – these forms of creative beauty come from T (initially Touch) and HEARTS (souls)

Health & Safety Warning
Listening to this may make you start tapping your feet!

ARVE Error: need id and provider

8d Paunchy Petty Officer billeted out (10)
{POTBELLIED} – a word meaning paunchy is constructed from PO (Petty Officer) followed by an anagram (out) of BILLETED – Chambers gives this as (3-7);  there does seem to be some inconsistency here – we recently had HOUSE(-)SIT as (8) in ST 2503 and (5-3) in T 230

11d Who may be in the classrooms, working? (13)
{SCHOOLMASTERS} – old hands will know this anagram (working) of THE CLASSROOMS, which is bound to come up again

13d County town’s victory over another (10)
{WINCHESTER} – the county town of Hampshire is a charade of WIN (victory) and the county town of the ceremonial county of Cheshire – for those who haven’t noticed Cheshire no longer exists and has, for some reason known only to administrators, been replaced by two unitary authorities: “Cheshire West” and “Chester and Cheshire East”


16d Ruses are shattering nerve (8)
{REASSURE} – an anagram (shattering) RUSES ARE gives a word that means nerve – well, a word that is in the same section as nerve in the Thesaurus if that’s all that is required for it to be a synonym!

18d Virginia, and a member of an American secret fraternity, leave hurriedly (7)
{VAMOOSE} – a charade of VA (Virginia) and MOOSE (a member of an American secret fraternity) gives a word meaning to leave hurriedly – quite what possesses grown men to belong to these ridiculous societies has always been beyond me

20d Do Royal Marines kill rodents? (7)
{DORMICE} – here a charade of DO RM (Royal Marines) and ICE (kill, American gangster slang) leads to these rodents, the best known of which lived in a teapot at the Mad Hatter’s party

21d Holiday in a secluded spot (6)
{RECESS} – a double definition

23d Lifeless boy band finds direction (4)
{WEST} – one of life’s great mysteries is who buys all the recordings by this bland and uninteresting boy band, but remove LIFE (lifeless) from WEST(LIFE) and you have the answer to this clue, if not the answer to my query

Health & Safety Warning
Do not listen to this dross if you are driving
as it may send you to sleep!

ARVE Error: need id and provider

Not much of a workout for the brain cells today – roll on Friday!!

32 comments on “DT 26059”

  1. A good puzzle which I did in about an hour with minimal help. I agree with you about 6a, favourite clues 8a and 4d. Got 24a without knowing why, didn’t think of ‘foreign’ as an anagram indicator. The same kind of literary clue amused me very much in 22a. This was fun :-)

  2. Messed up on 24a but thought that was the case as I would have needed to change the spelling of 18d.
    Liked 2d and 13d

  3. I enjoyed parts of this but not as much as yesterday’s. Got stuck for ages on 23d and still don’t understand it even though I have the answer and know that the definition is direction but the wordpplay escapes me. Will be interested when the down clues come up.
    Enjoyed 22a and 15a and 2d.

    1. Clearly you are not young and hip enough (or rather have better taste than most ;-) ) to know your Boy Bands, pick your favourite and make it ‘lifeless’.
      Not my favourite clue (or Band!).

      1. Definitely not hip enough – not very good with pop music at all so really struggle with anything like that. Don’t like that clue and will take your word on the band.

  5. A gentle crossword today but very pleased to see my home town being mentioned.

    My wife reckons 12a was created for me!

  6. Nothing too taxing today, which is just as well as I’m short of time! :smile:

    I thought 10a was cleverly constructed, but agree with you BD that the word “up” in 25a is unnecessary, (especially as it misled me at first), and also not keen on nerve = reassure in 16d.

    1. A fairly easy one today. Got stuck on 24 a because I didn’t think of ‘foreign’ as an anagram indicator. I didn’t like 16d either.

      Can anyone explain how the ‘got partnered’ bit fits in with the answer to 3d?

        1. Isn’t ‘taking the plunge’ a reference to getting ‘hitched’ or married? (to a partner)

          The pool is referring to a swimming pool.

  7. Gentle enough today though it seems to be another week where the crosswords are getting easier as the week goes by. My favourite was 3d. A quick question, why the “Grumpy Old Man” in the title today? It does not seem to fit the mood of the review.

      1. Agree with you about the synonym. Surely the others are simply signs of your being a person of discernment and refinement!

  8. Nice and pleasant today, I wonder if Barrie will be happy?
    My favourite clue 20d just because of the surface reading…

  9. easy enough today except for 22 across which even with all the other letters i couldn’t get – he may be a well known poet but not one i knew of before today (but then i am not really in to poetry)
    and 24 across which i guessed at becasue of all the other letters but had never heard of him either

  10. Best of the week so far but would perhaps take issue with 7d, I thoughts souls and hearts were separate concepts as in ‘winning their hearts and souls’???

  11. never heard of the poet but otherwise – yes yes yes i liked it :) but nerve=reassure?? hope Tilsit doesn’t bother those nurses for too long…..thanks once again Dave, thought maybe 23d was a little thoughtless in view of Stephen Gatelys death but do appreciate thes are put for publication in advance

  12. Breezed through the whole puzzle “happily” until I got to 23d. Guess my age is telling because I could not name one boy band!

  13. I enjoyed this tremendously – Seems to be a lot of moaning about the boyband clue- come on everybody – whilst I realize that the telegraph crossword may be the preserve of the middle aged surely most people must have heard of this band! I am no fan of boybands but the compiler should not be castigated from moving away from the usual types of cart, religious references and other obscure things known only to crossword fanatics. I would have said that 22a and 24a are far more obscure references than one of the biggest selling bands of the last 15 years. There were some really good clues there- 10a, 8d, 20d. Well done compiler.

  14. Seems everyone had a lot to say about todays xwrd. never heard of 24a, guessed at 22a. 7d bit dodgy. Other than that a lovely midweek installment. i may burn the midnight oil to try the toughie, so if anyone is online later….. lookout :evil:

  15. Straightforward today but didn’t think much of 16d. Obviously an anagram but expected it to be the name of a nerve so couldn’t quite see why ‘reassure’ was correct until I looked at your blog! It’s not very convincing as a synonym even ithough it’s in the thesaurus.

  16. So I’m not an old hand,and therefore hadn’t seen it before,but I thought 11 down is a brilliant clue, in that it is both the definition and the mechanics. My late brother Jon would have approved.

Comments are closed.