DT 26223 – Hints – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 26223 – Hints

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26223 – Hints

Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club

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Some hints to get you started.

Don’t forget that you can give your assessment of the puzzle. Five stars if you thought it was great, one if you hated it, four, three or two if it was somewhere in between.

As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them. A full review of this puzzle will be published on Thursday, 29th April.


Across

1a    Chart second half of photo (5)
Photo?????

12a    King from Borneo (6)
… the King of the Fairies, no less, is an anagram of Borneo

14a    Saint not going beyond another saint (7)
Don’t forget that Saint can be abbreviated to S as well as ST!

23a    Second turn I included might be screened (1-5)
… perhaps one starring Ronald Reagan!

26a    Letters of credit helped the lady (5)
The lady is hidden inside (letters of) credit helped

Down

2d    Track British-American coach (7)
A track used by a train is followed by B(ritish) and an American to get a lightweight coach powered by a diesel engine that runs on said track

3d    Dad’s holiday? (9,5)
… they don’t come much less cryptic than this!

7d    One is stupid to continue (4)
.. could be Milligan, Sellers or Secombe!

9d    Third degree sunburn? (6)
… finish a race after gold and silver

18d    Upsetting experience in Sumatra strangely headed off (6)
Strictly speaking the subsidiary indication is incorrect – it should have said “Sumatra headed off strangely” – an upsetting experience is an anagram, indicated by strangely, of (S)UMATRA

22d    Bird to suffer after beginning of July (4)
Bird here is Cockney rhyming slang, bird-lime, for time and here you are looking for where that time is served by putting a word meaning to suffer after the first letter (beginning) of July

The Saturday Crossword Club will open at 10.00 am (after Sounds of the Sixties on BBC Radio 2). Membership is free and open to all. Feel free to leave comments or ask questions before that time.

Please don’t put whole or partial answers in your comment, else they may be censored!

70 comments on “DT 26223 – Hints

    1. Hi Wizweg – welcome to the blog.
      5d Bird’s short time with another heron (7).
      You want a two-letter word for a short time followed by an anagram (another) of heron.

  1. Hi all and a happy sunny saturday to you all you crossworders:-)
    Nice and easy today for a saturday except i am a bit bewildered by 11A- would I be right in assuming a name for a small person?
    Cheers

    1. Yes, as in you little ******. The clue is a double definition with the other part being a jet (of water).

  2. Ta Big Dave, you helped me on the last two I got stuck on. 18d and 23a. Happy Birthday for couple of days ago. The comments also add to my education – hadn’t heard of the ‘Brenda’ reference before. I’m learning interesting stuff on this blog!

  3. Finished and enjoyed on a sunny morning. One query…. think I must have 14a wrong as 3d is now not spelled right?!

  4. Oh! just realised what it is!! all ok now. Off to get my hair cut and back for the ‘Not the Saturday’ :-)

  5. A gentle start to Saturday, with no problems with any of the answers, and I particularly liked 7d which reminded me of: [Seag***] “I’ve just made myself a peer.” [Moriarty] “Great! I’ll get down on the end of it and start a concert party.”

    1. Hi all, struggling as a newbie with 8d and 24 a, any help appreciated as my grass needs doing!

      1. Welcome to the blog Donut

        24a Searching examination, it’s acted out (4,4)
        This examination is an anagram (out) of IT’S ACTED

        8d People with pride sit fidgeting showing unselfish interest (6-8)
        A word meaning people, often preceded by general, is followed by an anagram (fidgeting) of PRIDE SIT to get a hyphenated word meaning showing unselfish interest

      2. Donut, for 8d you need a word for the populace at large followed by an anagram of pridesit. The definition is ‘showing unselfish interest’

        24a is an anagram – indicated by ‘out’ of itsacted. The phrase required means a make or break examination.

          1. How you feeling after yesterday gnomey, ready to go again? i think you did a really good job, congrats :)

  6. How can you say its easy and gentle? Its a real swine today, not the usual great Saturday puzzle.

    1. Glad to see somebody else is struggling and it’s not just me. I hate it when everybody says how easy it is when I’m stuck. Maybe the sun is overheating my brain!

      1. Ditto Nora. Everyone says oh I finished this before the cornflakes landed in the bowl – makes me feel thick and then I daren’t ask for help. Stop showing off you clever people!!!

  7. Still struggling with the last few (got lots of answers but no idea if they are right as I can’t make head nor tail of most of the clues!). Can’t see 14a, the only saint that fits is Stephen but that messes up 3d and just what is it with this jet of water and an unimportant person. And lastly any help with 25a would be appreciated. This thing is taking hours and is getting under my skin! GRRRR

  8. It took me quite a while to get going today, but now all done, except 25a. I have letters 2 & 4, but the options for the others are endless and I can’t come up with the answer. Someone give me hint please!

  9. Barrie,

    14a – Think of a saint associated with 40 days of rain. The usual abbreviation for saint is not used in the clue, there is a one letter alternative. The remaining wordplay is from “not going beyond” – if you don’s go beyond, you stay within.

    25a – The A-Z reference section in the back of a book shares a name with one of your fingers.

    11a – See my comments in post 2 above.

    1. Thx for the help, all finished now although 11a still eluded me for some while. PHEW this was a toughie! By the way anybody any idea why all of a sudden the site doesn’t hold my name and email address anymore? It’s very irritating.

    2. Thx for the help. What is the problem with the site? My name and email are no longer held and posts don’t show up. Has something changed?

    1. Sorry – above. This thing with WordPress not remembering your Name and Email is irritating.

    2. 25a – that’s a possibility I didn’t come up with … too obvious I should think! Thank you!

  10. Am I right in saying todays is a pangram? I think so, i enjoyed todays with a lot of quick sharp answers :) last one to go in was first half of 8d! site still playing up not retaining info on names, email etc. ?

    1. Agree with you Mary – think it is a pangram.

      I stuck on 15d the longest as kept wanting to put poirot in!!! Once I got 14a I was okay.

      Liked your hints Dave – thanks. Didn’t need them but found them amusing – especially 23a.

  11. I hadn’t finished the first pint after golf before completing this. Apart from 1a holding me up (ugh!) there wasn’t much to hold one up.
    Thanks to the setter.

  12. A typical Cephas challenge but over too quickly. Sunny Hertfordshire and good luck to anyone running tomorrow.

    1. 22 Singular physical exercise in short coat (6)
      The physical exercises are usually in the plural, which is why the setter has said singular, then add IN to get the short coat

      (your comment needed moderation because of your new email address, which is why it didn’t appear straightaway. I’ve deleted the duplicate)

  13. Just got 11a and am now feeling ridiculously smug: I’ve only recently graduated to the Telegraph from the regional daily and this is the first time I’ve managed to finish it. This blog has been a great help in getting into the swing of it, so many thanks. If I hadn’t just spent the last two days at the Tuckers Maltings Beer Festival I’d be having a little drink now to celebrate…

  14. Have I said something wrong ? Went to make this comment and I wasn’t there any more. Hope I’m still welcome because you help me along every Saturday/Sunday depending on domestics !

    Anyway, just wanted to say that I finished in record time considering I’ve been driving all morning, that 13a made me really smile, 11a made me groan and I still don’t understand where the monkey comes into 19a.

    I go

    1. We do seem to be having a few problems with comments at the moment, but I don’t know what’s causing it.

      The monkey is the 4th-6th letters of the answer.

      1. Easy once you’ve had it explained !! Thanks Dave, I can carry on preparing for an exhibition tomorrow with an easy mind – if not simple !!

    1. 6d Talk covering healthier worker in a fuel industry (3,6)
      It’s all in how you split the wordplay from the definition!
      A colloquial work for talk (3) is followed by a word meaning healthier (6) to get a worker in a fuel industry, namely the industry indicated by the first word – that should rule out coal and electricity, giving you a choice of two

  15. I had Bittern for 5d short time (bit) another bird (tern) or even B for bird and it – short ti/me. After 7 gruelling hours I have completed the mental marathon, and finished weary, somewhat scarred but just as satisfied as first across the line.

  16. At the risk of ridicule from everyone who found this a doddle – please help me with 3d, 10a and 17a.
    Bottom of the CC today Mary. In fact totally feckless never mind clueless.
    Helen

    1. NO NO NO! Don’t answer that. I’ve managed them – you might have heard the penny dropping. I’m so ashamed. Can’t believe I didn’t get Dad’s Holiday. Hanging my head in shame :-(

  17. We finished unaided and I enjoyed this more than usual. NW corner came last, by which time I realised I needed to fina a home for a Q and a Z.

    I still enjoyed reading this afterwards.

  18. Hi there, only bought paper late last night and am sat on bed doing crossword. Found this week and last week more difficult than usual and wouldn’t have finished it without this blog. Still don’t understand where the answer to 1a comes from. Can anyone explain please?

    1. Hi Susie – welcome to the blog.
      If you expand the abbreviation “photo” to its full 10-letter form, then the answer is the last 5 letters.

  19. Thanks for the hint to 23a across we thought the single letter must be something else untill we found the letter in 25a

  20. Thank you. It was just too obvious and I couldn’t see it!! Guess I need some brekkie to get my brain going! What’s the first letter of 23a?

    1. Hi susie not alowed to give part answers for prize crosswords but it comes after A in the alphabet :)

  21. 26,223 on 24.4.10 was Ok until 9d. Took me ages but perhaps we might get a tanning in 2012. Cheers Raygee.

  22. 4a, the last one. Think i’ve got it, but just can’t see where adult comes into it……

    1. 4a I am past the adult stage (5)
      The definition is “the adult stage” – Chambers gives “the last or perfect stage of an insect’s development”

  23. Thank you PatsyAnne for saints name.Sailed thru otherwise! Enjoying great weather here in Cheshire. Best wishes to all.

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