DT 100002 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 100002 (Hints)

by Big Dave  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 100002 (Hints)

Big Dave’s Christmas Crossword Club

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Merry Christmas – I hope some of you get around to tackling this web-only puzzle.

As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select a few of the better clues and provide hints for them.

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.

Could new readers please read the Welcome post before asking questions about the site.

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

Across

1a    Restrict Christmas goodies (6)
As a verb this means to restrict but as a noun it’s a basket full of Christmas goodies

14a    Party room? Maybe for midnight feasts (4)
A charade of a party and the abbreviation for R(oo)M gives a place for midnight feasts in a boarding school

25a    One way to cool punch (4)
The first of these definitions is a way to cool, for example, soup and the other is a punch

31a    Joyous quartet leave celebration (6)
An adjective meaning joyous is created when you remove IV (Roman numerals for four / quartet) from a celebration

Down

1d    Celebrated form of mahogany (8)
This Scottish celebration is an anagram (form) of MAHOGANY

2d    Chop up bird cooked and eaten at Christmas (5,3)
The bird in the second part of the charade is usually prefixed with MAG

11d    Waits here! (5,7)
These waits are an archaic term for people who welcome in Christmas by playing or singing out of doors at night

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16d    Geese highly regarded as a group (5)
A flock of wild geese in flight!

19d    Winter dance thrown for enjoyment? (8)
What could be a dance in the winter is actually something thrown for the enjoyment of the thrower rather than the victim!

27d    Bet it’s neat rum! (4)
This fixed stake put down by a poker player (bet), usually before the deal, is an anagram (rum) of NEAT

Feel free to leave comments.

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

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23 comments on “DT 100002 (Hints)”

  1. A very happy Christmas and a solving 2011 to all regulars to Big Dave’s fantastic site, and all the help I have received over the past year from Libellule,and Mary to mention just a few.

  2. Merry Christmas!! got to go now in middle of a sports tournament with grandsons and a glass of asti …………..byeee – laters :) Ooh eaten too much!

    1. A pleasant festive puzzle today – thanks to the setter. I forgot all about ‘waits’ from last year!. I was also unaware of the meaning at 16d until I dragged it from the back of my head. Thanks to BD for the hints too!.

  4. Is anyone else having a problem trying to set up an account for the free seven day trial at the Telegraph puzzles website?

  5. I was successful in signing up for the 7 day trial and have thoroughly enjoyed the online only puzzles today, although saying that I may still be trying to work out the Elgar Enigmatic next Christmas. This was a fairly quick to solve Cryptic but great fun. Thanks to setter and reviewer.

  6. Magaged to finish an enjoyable meze of a crossword inbetween BBQ’ing the turkey – very juicy! I assume that 11d is akin to the choir of King’s College doing their Christmas number, but I still can’t find the link to waits?

    1. Digby, it is an old word for just that answer. Possibly from the Old French ‘waitier’, ‘guaitier’ or ‘guetter’. Possibly also Old High German – Wahta from wacht. A plural noun for people who welcome in Christmas by playing/singing out of doors at night.

  7. Love the illustrations Dave, hope your day was good, I didn’t get round to this today, maybe tomorrow……..thanks once again Dave

  8. Hello, Telegraph Puzzles Editor here. Many apologies to anyone unable to take the free trial for the Telegraph Puzzles website. I believe the problem stems from the sheer numbers of people who have taken out a trial subscription in the past two days. I am sorry if you have been inconvenienced. If you have the patience, try signing on tomorrow (Boxing Day) or on Monday or Tuesday.

    All the Christmas Day puzzles will remain permanently available, and the prize puzzles will not pass their closing dates until January 6 or later.

    If the problem persists, you can contact me over the bank holiday at xmaspuzzles@telegraph.co.uk, or after the bank holiday contact Customer Services at telegraphenquiries@telegraph.co.uk.

    Apologies again to anyone who has been unable to complete their signing-on.

    Phil McNeill

  9. In the reference to 27D above, the crucial last word has been omitted from the clue, although it’s in the hint.

    Another nice festive crossword – the DT setters are on form this Christmas!

  10. Greetings & the salutations of this festive season to one & all. Enjoyed this in between making sure the aged Ps had plenty to eat & drink. 1a was the last one in & took a while to arrive at. I only got 11d from remembering the time when I lived in York & they were still referred to as that word by my grandparents.

  11. I too have never come across the word ‘waits’ in this context!
    Found this a bit trickier than normal for a Monday but that’s probably due to 3 days misbehaving in Benidorm!
    Backhome now so maybe I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.
    Thanks to the setter and BD.

  12. Chambers for Christmas – Hurray! Though it’ll take some time to get the hang of. Didn’t seem to have the ‘flock of geese’ word in – luckily I remembered it! Thoroughly enjoyed all the clues but still struggling with 10a and 6d – if anyone’s there an extra clue would be great. Might have a go at today’s now.

    1. 6d: Look for an anagram. The definition is something that occurs after the weather warms up following snowfall. Quite a good all-in-one.

    2. 10a: Start with an 8-letter word for decorations that you might put up for someone’s birthday party, then drop the R(un). I’m not sure of the definition though, presumably something that comes in packets that aren’t available to children?

        1. Thanks, Gazza. I’d just come back on here to provide an update after I found the relevant definition in Chambers. Sorry if I misled anyone.

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