DT 26524 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 26524

by gnomethang  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26524

Hints and tips by Gnomethang

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***

Morning All!. Once again Gazza kindly offered me the chance to blog ‘on the day’ so thanks to him. I enjoyed this puzzle from (I presume) the mystery setter. I thought that some of the anagram indicators were very well chosen to maintain the theme of the surface reading. There are one or two possibly unfamiliar words but in each case the wordplay is clear.

Please 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           Beginner in galley managed it, a sorbet-like dessert (7)
{GRANITA} – A textured iced water dessert. Start with the first letter (beginner) of Galley, then add a verb meaning managed followed by IT and A in the clue.

5a           Boxer’s second name’s King (7)
{HANDLER} – Nicely diverting this one. The definition is ‘boxer’s second’ or the man in the corner. A slang term for ‘name’ followed by the usual Latin abbreviation for King.

9a           Gun — I oil parts gingerly (3,6)
{AIR PISTOL} – An anagram, indicated by ‘gingerly’, of I OIL PARTS gives a light gauge gun used in target competitions.

10a         Money secured by 12 (5)
{WONGA} – An informal term for money is a charade of a verb meaning secured or ‘achieved through victory’ and the abbreviation of the answer to 12a.

11a         Always getting century for team in the top flight (7)
{EVERTON} – The top flight here meaning the English Football Premiership. A charade of ‘always’ and a short word meaning ‘century/100’.

12a         Country in a state (7)
{GEORGIA} – I think we have seen this recently (in a Sunday puzzle I think). The name of both a US state and an Eastern European country.

13a         Wife and child, not I, in farm building (5,4)
{DUTCH BARN} – I was aware of the particular building but didn’t know that it is ‘a storage facility consisting of a roof and steel framework’. Start with an informal word for wife, then add a (Scottish) word for child with the ‘I’ removed.

16a         Delete article in Gaelic (5)
{ERASE} – Place an indefinite article inside a word for either Highland Scottish or Irish Gaelic. This will give a verb meaning ‘delete’.

17a         Cook some broccoli or beans lying around (5)
{BROIL} – An American term for ‘Roast’ is hidden (SOME of) and reversed (lying around) inside the remainder of the clue.

18a         One talks about last in sprint being the worse for wear (2,7)
{IN TATTERS} – The worse for wear  in the sense of ripped up, possibly having been pulled through a hedge backwards. Start with I, then a word for talks/chats around (about) the final letter of sprinT.

21a         Penetration, in a sense (7)
{INSIGHT} – Penetration may seem a tad oblique as a definition but think of it as meaning ‘understanding at a deep level’. The word is built from IN and one of our physical senses.

22a         Evergreen delivered by singer, half cut, gatecrashing a party (7)
{AVOCADO} – I didn’t know that this tropical plant was an evergreen but we should all be aware of its fruit. In any case we need half the word for a singer (half cut) inside the usual Crosswordland synonym for ‘A party’.

25a         Region around northern stadium (5)
{ARENA} – An easy starter clue. A region or space outside of Northern gives a stadium

26a         Almost hurt the feelings of composer, German composer (9)
{OFFENBACH} – A German born French composer is found by taking all but the last letter of a word meaning ‘hurt the feelings’ then adding an earlier composer. I bet you didn’t know that this is actually called the ‘Galope Infernal’!:
 ARVE Error: need id and provider

27a         What’s found in tatty old garment? (7)
{DOUBLET} – I had the answer for this but for the life of me couldn’t understand why. Then I realized that in ‘taTTy’ there is a TT. The first part is the cryptic definition (What’s found in taTTy); if you expand the TT to (6,1) you get a close fitting jacket from the 14th – 17th century.

28a         Hunter, horse put through awfully cruel runs (7)
{LURCHER} – An apposite bit of misdirection here, given the Grand National last Saturday. In fact the hunter is a swift hunting dog that is bred for hare-coursing. Place H (I think that the abbreviation comes from Heroin which is also known as H or ‘Horse’) inside an anagram (awfully) of CRUEL then finish with the cricketing abbreviation (sorry!) for Runs.

Down

1d           Enterprising leader of Indian state (2-5)
{GO-AHEAD} – An adjective meaning enterprising or progressive reads like the chief or leader of a holiday area (and state)  in India.

2d           Accept a fresh cut (5)
{AGREE} – To consent or accept. A plus a word meaning fresh or naïve that has the last letter removed (cut).

3d           I do it foolishly, being a fool (5)
{IDIOT} – Another easy starter clue. A foolish anagram of I DO IT gives a fool.

4d           Cooked neat new North American dish (7)
{ANTENNA} – The surface reading makes this clue quite tricky as one must ‘lift and separate’ the definition (dish) from the culinary reading of ‘North American dish’ having seen cook at the start. In fact the dish is a radio transmitter/receiver and is an anagram (cooked) of NEAT followed by N(ew), N(orth) and A(merican).

5d           Henry has information about oxygen and iodine, perhaps (7)
{HALOGEN} – A group in the periodic table of chemical elements, of which iodine is an example (perhaps is required to denote the definition by example). A diminutive of Henry and a short word for information surround the chemical symbol for oxygen.

6d           Oriental wife in favour of being put in home in a woody part of Hampshire (3,6)
{NEW FOREST} – An area of Hampshire famous for its horses. E (eastern or Oriental) and the W(ife), together with a word meaning ‘in favour of’ are placed in a bird’s home.

7d           Old count in tomb below ground (9)
{LANDGRAVE} – A new word for me. An old count in Germany is a charade of a synonym for tomb underneath (below in a Down clue) a synonym for ground or floor.

8d           All are drunk on English beer (4,3)
{REAL ALE} – One for the CAMRA buffs (yes, you Mr Tub!). A phrase for cask conditioned beers is a drunk anagram of ALL ARE.

14d         Not the groom’s wedding tackle! (9)
{TROUSSEAU} – This one made me laugh!. All the kit/paraphernalia (tackle) that is associated with the bride, not the groom at a wedding. It usually comprises clothes and linen and derives from a French word for ‘bundle’.

15d         Object of quest — go high with Hillary (4,5)
{HOLY GRAIL} – The object of Sir Lancelot’s quest. The wordplay is an anagram (high) of GO and HILLARY. It is not common to split the anagram fodder in a clue but the most common way is to use this construction: XXX (anagram indicator) WITH YYY means ‘put XXX and YYY together and then make an anagram’. Here’s some help from Tim the Enchanter:
ARVE Error: need id and provider

17d         Bandit has gear in belt (7)
{BRIGAND} – An archaic word for a bandit. A word for gear/kit inside a noun meaning belt or sash.

18d         International trio playing anthem (7)
{INTROIT} – This probably unfamiliar to some – it is the anthem sung at the beginning of a Mass in the Roman Catholic church. We need a common abbreviation for International followed by an anagram (playing) of TRIO.

19d         Reprimand after end of workout could make one weepy (7)
{TEARFUL} – An informal word for a reprimand after the last letter (end) of workout leads to an adjective for weepy.

20d         Suffocate son and parent (7)
{SMOTHER} – A similar construction to the previous clue; S for Son and one of your parents for a verb meaning suffocate or stifle.

23d         Proprietor may be worn out shutting close to one (5)
{OWNER} – The man or woman who holds the keys. An anagram (out) of WORN outside (shutting) the last letter (close) of one. Shutting here can be thought of as enclosing, i.e. going around the outside of something. Boxing can be used in the same way.

24d         A Welsh wood, flooded (5)
{AWASH} – To finish we have a charade of A, the abbreviation for Welsh and a tree which leads to an adjective meaning flooded or inundated.

I wavered between 3 and four stars for enjoyment and looking at my solving time I decided on three stars for difficulty. My favourite clues included 1d, 28a, 8d and in particular 14d. See you all for the Sunday review this Friday!.

The Quick crossword pun: {walk} + {rhymes} = {war crimes}

55 comments on “DT 26524”

  1. Good puzzle today, thoroughly enjoyable. Have never heard of 1A before but after figuring out the answer, a quick Goggle confirmed it. I thought the German composer in 26A was actually Welsh (as in do you come here offen B***?).
    Enjoyed 13A, 17A, 5D, 7D, 8D (as I drink it regularly), 15D, 18D but my TWO favourites today were 27A and 1D.

  2. Most of this fell into place fairly quickly, apart from my last two, 5a, and then 7d, which took me a little while to fathom.
    Thanks to setter, and to gnomethang for the review.

  3. Hi Gnomey excellent review, well done, needed your help desperately with 5a and 7d, aways thought 5a was ‘second’ or ‘corner’ also didn’t know the desert at 1a, like yourself although I had the answer to 27a I just couldn’t see why, spent ages trying to figure it out without success, brilliant clue! :-) About 3 to 4 star for me today as some really tricky ones
    Other favourite clue 26a

    1. Meant to say didn’t like 22a it doesn’t seem right that you can cut a word in half like that and use it!

      1. Its allowed Mary but thinking about it now it isn’t quite so common on the back page. I had a feel for the answer but did stop for a while before I worked out the whole construction.

        1. There seem to be more and more clues lately where they just chop off the beginning or end of a word, these are my least favourite type of clue, seems like cheating to make a clue fit somehow, (I know its not) :-)

  4. Got more than halfway with this one before giving up and turning to the hints. 13a would have been a lot easier if I hadn’t had (4,5) firmly fixed in my thinking. Sometimes wonder if I’ll ever be able to see the wordplay clearly …

    Thanks to setter and Gnomethang for clear explanations.

  5. Thanks to the Gnome for the excellent review of a very entertaining puzzle. My favourites were 27a, 1d and 14d.
    PS I’m not really “kingly” – in fact I’m quite common :D

    1. How Odd! – I spotted that when checking for errors. Either I failed to hit save or else I replaced the G with a G!.
      Your servant, sir!

  6. A very enjoyable crossword today with lots of good clues, favourites 13 1 and 26a, 5 19 and 14d. Can someone enlighten me about 10a? It is not in my dictionary or thesaurus and I’ve never heard the word before, otherwise A.O.K. Thanks to the mystery setter and Gnomethang for concise and helpful hints

      1. The word has been adopted by City types, usually in their twenties in an attempt to be “down” with the East End boys & failing miserably.

  7. I thoroughly enjoyed this crossword. Just what you want on a Tuesday morning.
    It is always pleasing when the less familiar words (and 7d which I have never heard) can be worked out from the wordplay.
    Favourite clue would have to be 27a. Knew the answer but a long wait for the penny to drop.

    Thanks to the setter and to Gnomethang for the highly entertaining review.

  8. Fairly swift start, then got completely stuck! Needed Gnomethang’s excellent hints for SW corner and finally finished. One or two word sI’ve never come across before – 10a and 7 & 18d bu tmy electronic friend confirmed they were genuine!! Don’t much like 2d – agree (ha ha) with Mary that sometimes chopping words just to make them fit seems a bit contrived but must learn to look for those. Good puzzle – now suppose I must tackle the mountain of mail and then go shopping. Boring.

  9. I thoroughly enjoyed this one – would have given it 2* difficulty and 3.5* enjoyment myself. There were a few clues that weren’t exactly old ‘marrons’ but their solutions had appeared in crosswords in the recent past, eg 10a and 12a. Thanks to the mystery setter for the early morning entertainment and to Gnomethang for entertaining me at lunchtime with this review.

    The Toughie is gettable so give it a go.

  10. Decent crossword and a nice review.

    Very glad to see Tim put in an appearance to help with 15D.

    Thanks to the setter and gnomethang.

  11. This was fun! Nothing too taxing and well within my morning coffee limit. The Quickie was tougher.

    * Didn’t know 10a but the wordplay was clear and I didn’t bother to check.
    * Didn’t know 1a but the wordplay was clear and I didn’t bother to check.
    * Didn’t know 13a but the wordplay was clear and I didn’t bother to check. Adding it to my collection of courage, widow, going, double and other pejoratives (said proud Dutchman)

    Fav definitely 15d for its neat Himalayan surface!

    Thanks to setter & Gnomie!

  12. i thought quite difficult after an easy start, I’m not usually at it so early in the day . Definitely needed the helpful hints to finish it off
    Re 18d :we also sing them in the Anglican church : lovely one this last sunday.

  13. This was quite difficult for me, but as has already been said, the wordplay was quite clear and the words could be checked. I got 14d and 15d from the checking letters and hadn’t seen the anagram in 15d without G’s hint. Best clue has to be 27a. Thanks to setter and Gnomethang for the review

  14. I found this to be quite a mix of the old and new. Clues like 25a and 20d were familiar to me, whereas I hadn’t heard of 1a, 7d or 18d before. Thanks to the setter and to Gnomethang for the funny pic at 11, the jolly video at 15, and my wonderful namecheck at 8d. You may not be surprised to know that was one of my first ones in! It’s put me in the mood for Thursday when I’ll be judging the Tuckers Maltings beer festival in Newton Abbot…

    1. Mr Tub

      Your first comment ended up in the spam folder – no deleted. Perhaps the filter thought you were trying to advertise the Beer Festival!

      1. I thought it was another problem with the dreaded iPad! Perhaps I shouldn’t have flung it out of the window after all!

  15. Really enjoyed this one even though it had football, cricket AND boxing in it! I needed the hints to explain 17a (completely missed the fact that it was reversed in the middle of the clue) and 27a. 14d made me laugh and so did the clip for 26a – didn’t know what the music was called but many years ago we used it in the hospital Christmas pantomime and I was amazed to find out that I can STILL remember all the VERY rude words that were put to it!
    I liked 13, 26 and 28a and 14 and 19d.
    Thanks to the setter and to Gnomie for the hints – will be singing the old pantomime song for the rest of the day! :grin:

  16. Straightforward and not very taxing but very enjoyable. Thanks to the setter and to Gnomethang for a superb review.

  17. Afternoon Gnomey – great review, thanks muchly.
    I too struggled for ages to justify 27a, now the penny’s dropped I think it’s become my favourite!
    Thanks to the setter for a great crossword

  19. Btw I’m quite late completing this as I’m in Canouan in the grenadines. So five hours behind you all xx

  20. A very enjoyable and not too taxing puzzle. There were a few old chestnuts in it.
    13a, 22a, 26a, 27a, 4d, 5d, 7d & 15d were best for me.

    Got Jean Auel’s last book in the Earth’s Children series (in English) so am getting down to that now – very fine series.

  21. I am only just now getting a look at this.

    Had to use hints for 1a and 5a so have a start but as I am not thinking clearly,it will take most of the evening–but heigh-ho, what’s the rush?

    I will probably still finishing it at breakfast, just before I get the next one!

  22. Enjoyed this one, lots of fun. The mystery setter must become more identifiable! There aren’t many 11a supporters. Ooops!!!

  23. Very enjoyable puzzle today and quite hard going.7d was new to me . 13a was my favourite though. I think that Blackpool F C have 10a (dot com) as their shirt sponsor these days. Thanks setter and an excellent revue by Gnomethang.

  24. Thank you, Gnomethang and Spindrift, it was a term I had never heard, one to put in the memory bin, you never know when it might be useful. Sorry to be so late thanking you but haven’t been on line since sending my reply, I do hope you get it somehow or you’ll think I’m awfully rude !!

    1. Hi Brendam
      I wouldn’t have got this apart from some recent TV adverts about *****.com where you can get short term unsecured loans if you’re a bit short. Wouldn’t recommend it though!

    2. We received the thanks with thanks, Brendam!. A small tip if you would permit:
      If you hit the ‘Reply’ button directly in the (e.g. Spindrift’s) reply the response is nested and the logical thread is maintained.
      Having said all that, I mucked up posting this today and was rescued by BD!

  25. Enjoyed this today, needed the review for 1a and 18d. used an ‘electronic aid’ for 7d, and needed the review again to justify 27a (a very clever clue, as it turns out). Thanks to setter and Gnomethang.

  26. Some very easy clues today! Then some new words as well! Very enjoyable!

    11a – Howard Kendall (?) seems very happy with his new back four!

  27. Plain sailing today. 27a a new construct for me and very good on first encounter. Thanks to both.

  28. Enjoyable today, if mostly straightforward. I didn’t like 7 or 14d but there were plenty of good clues. Thanks to the setter and for a v nice review.

  29. Went googling for a clue, and found you! Will not be a stranger, as this is awesome! Got a lot of answers with your help, but still a few on my own.
    Still can’t get a couple, but will learn from tomorrow’s paper why not!

    You’re a very clever person Gnomethang, and so are those who cracked it quickly!

    1. Welcome to the blog Susie babes

      The answers are hidden between the curly brackets {}, just select with the mouse – no need to wait until tomorrow.

    2. Thanks and Welcome Susie babes. Unfortunately I cannot take all the credit, that goes to the setter and Big Dave for setting the site up. There are plenty of people here who are capable of rendering the same explanations in the blog, in fact you could too if you stick around!

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