DT 26594 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 26594 (Hints)

by Big Dave  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26594 (Hints)

Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club

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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.

Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also”.

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

Across

1a           Negotiating off-shore traffic (5-7)
A hyphenated word meaning negotiating is an anagram (off) of SHORE followed by traffic or commerce

11a         Decline to lose a prize (6)
Drop the initial A (lose a) from a word meaning to decline or wither to get a prize given for winning an event

15a         Gas display where hot air is discharged on set? (4,4)
A charade of gas or idle talk and to display gives a program on TV where “hot air” is discharged

23a         St Peter in penitence phase (6)
This hidden word gives our setter’s alias!

28a         Radio distortion renders Rene frenetic (12)
This distortion on a radio is an anagram (renders) of RENE FRENETIC

Down

1d           Drop hat off car roof (7)
An anagram (off) of DROP HAT gives a roof added to a sports car

2d           Page found in correct order (5)
… on the right-hand side

7d           Endlessly short-tempered piece of music (8)
Drop the final Y (endlessly) from a word meaning short-tempered to get musical note, equal to half a minim

22d         Get to know king and knight (5)
A word meaning to get to know is a charade of Shakespeare’s most famous king and a knight in chess notation

25d         Musical phrase played repeatedly very loudly after religious instruction (4)
This repeatedly played musical phrase is created by putting the musical notation for very loud after the abbreviation of Religious Instruction

ARVE Error: need id and provider

The Crossword Club opens at 10.00am.  Feel free to leave comments.

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

The Quick crossword pun: {can} + {did} + {eight} + {tours} = {candidatures}

Thanks to the setter for pointing out that the pun covers the first four answers.

63 comments on “DT 26594 (Hints)”

  1. Not the hardest Saturday puzzle, but enjoyable. I found out today what the setter’s name means! Thanks to him, and to BD.I liked the couple of car related clues too.

  2. Good morning Dave from a lovely sunny warm (at the moment) West Wales, have just done the crossword in the garden, as Toadson says not the hardest but hard enough for me and others I would think, got stuck on top left hand corner for a while! a 2/3* for me today, no real fav clue but lots I liked thanks to 23a for a very pleasant solve which renewed my faith in my solving abilities a little :-) good luck everyone and enjoy the tennis today, by the way anyone know where Kath is? not ‘seen’ her last couple of days

    1. Morning Mary. I was stuck in NW corner so I applied Mary’s Law and went to the SE corner and all fell into place! I see the setter is signing his work now. Liked 1a and 1d when finally achieved but best was 9a. i wonder how many put sprouting in? Thanks to setter for a nice start to the day.

      1. Hi UTC I always start there, more often than not it gets me going, glad not just me stuck in the NW :-)

  3. Thanks to the setter for the puzzle and BD for the hints – 13a and 16d probably favourites. Why do I think we are missing a Youtube clip of ‘Smoke on the Water’?.

          1. I always think of Corporal Jones when phrases like that in 18d appear anyhere :D

  4. Thanks to Dave for hints on 1a and 15a when I’d stalled. Quick finish after that, particularly liked 16d.

  5. Nice one today, tricky to start but then gradually fell into place. Learnt a new word today, 2d is not one I have ever come across before. Best clue for me and Mrs B was 1a, very clever. Thx to the setter not only for the puzzle but for including his Nom de plume in 23a :-)

      1. As a few have said, started slowly and fell into place over the day yesterday. (Was making a rabbit hutch and fetching said bunny most of Saturday). We wanted to call him Stoo or Starsky but the man himself settled on Buzz (as in Lightyear, his fave). “Buzz Bunny” not too bad though. I had the wrong word for 18a for a while, then sussed that it was wrong as 17d is an absolute classic anagram clue, and my checking letter didn’t work. One hasty rethink later…. 2d a new word for me. The root word in 7d reminded me of my grandad, who my Nanna always used to say was this.

  7. Thanks BD, I should have got that. I’ve finished so it must be easy but none the less enjoyable for that. Started slowly but speeded up as the clues fell into place

  9. A warm, sunny day here in Geneva too, and I’ve completed this puzzle sitting on my balcony. Didn’t find it too dificult once I’d sorted myself out. I got into trouble by putting another four-letter word at the start of 15a, and a different sign of a receding wave, once seen in baths after washing dirty children, at 18a. There weren’t any clues that amused me as much as yesterday’s, but if I had to pick a favourite it would be 3d. Many thanks to the saintly compiler and to BD.
    Bon weekend. :-)

  10. This is another one of those cryptics that proves that just because something is quick and easy to solve (apologies to those who didn’t find it so) doesn’t mean that it isn’t very enjoyable. My clue of the day, for obvious reasons, is 23a – many thanks to him for all the fun – my blue marker will be in use in the review for lots of today’s clues. Thanks to BD for the hints too.

    Mary – the Gnome is in a very naughty mode at the moment – his comment on my review of last Sunday’s puzzle is just one example of his current exuberant mood :D

    1. Gotsta have your fun where you can!. Regarding our conversation this week – 1d here and 1a in the Times today – there were at least two Times setters in Brum recently as well as our setter here – its a conspiracy I tells ya!

  11. Greetings from South Cheshire where the sun is cracking the paving stones. A thoroughly enjoyable puzzle from He who shall not be named and one of those puzzles where, in the case of 20d and 22d, one sees the answer and wonders why – and then the penny drops…

  12. Enjoyed today’s crossword seemed a little easier than usual. I also had to beat myself for writing the wrong first word in 15a, an idiotic error that threw the entire NE for a while. Although I have the answer I didn’t understand 8d entirely.

    Thanks BD for the hints even though they were not needed today.

    1. Hi nivag, 8d I think is just a three letter word for rod followed by another 3 letter word for line to give you a word for a small handcart

  13. Thanks to setter for an enjoyable, straightorward puzzle today. Favourite clues 27a, and 16d.

  14. Re the quickie pun – the setter should have told the typesetter and editor as only 3 words in the paper have italics. Also while in niggle mode – harrumph once again to the DT – the crossword ed should have a word with the head of advertising and point out that nobody, repeat nobody, looks at the back page of the Saturday paper for any other reason than to find the Prize Puzzle so they are wasting their time and whichever product it is’s advertising budget.

    Grump over – off to do the NTSPP over lunch :) , and then it’s more jam making :(.

    1. Or not, in the case of the NTSPP – I highly recommend Gazza’s puzzle to all – I will have to find another lunchtime diversion as I have already test-solved this one. Do give it a go!

      1. “I highly recommend Gazza’s puzzle to all” – So do I, I test solved it too.

        1. I, also, recommend the NTSPP from the poacher turned gamekeeper – aka Gazza!

  15. Hello all,
    I’m on trains again today. I solved this one quite quickly. No real favourites 23a was any easy spot and quite liked 21a. Sunny here…where am I…Yarmouth.

  16. Hi everyone – been absent on parade for a while – been to UK to sort out family problems. No back in glorious sunny Spain – glad you’ve got a good one in the UK too,
    Solved this much quicker than most Saturday xwords so it gets 3* or 4* from me. I agree with crypticsue – a good puzzle for me.
    My faves – 1a (beautifully hidden anagram) and 5d (didn’t twig boxer was an animal to start with!)
    Thanks to “the rock” for a lovely puzzle and to BD for the hints which I didn’t need today. Yippeee – although my own personal blogger pointed me in the right direct on a few.
    have a lovely weekend everyone

    1. I only pointed you at a couple! If the tennis hadn’t been about to start and you’d persevated a bit more you would have got the lot! I think a first for he who shall not be named!

  17. I know there was a clue to 23A but I still haven’t got it please can someone help me! Thanks!

    1. The biblical / Aramaic name for St Peter is hidden inside the last two words of the clue. Peter is also the first name of today’s setter, hence he uses this name as his alias when setting Toughies.

  18. An enjoyable crossword, easier than usual, but although I’m pretty sure I’ve solved 13A I can’t see why! Can someone please elucidate? Favourite clue was 16D

    1. You should have inserted a three letter word meaning staff as in piece of wood into what you get at the end of the month!

    2. 13a – The definition is “Take off” as in satirise. Wordplay is money (or salary) surrounding a synonym for stick or pole.

      Hope I haven’t confused you even more!

  19. Thanks to he who must not be named for the crossword. Not as tricky as someof his but still enjoyable.

  20. Thank you all – yes, I had the right answer for the take off. I had the wages but somehow missed the other part – I feel very stupid!

  21. Last Saturday there were 154 comments. Today – so far – only 45! Any reason for this?

    3. Probably because BD’s strict authority was missing and you had the more Libertarian gnomic idiocy – I let you all run riot!.

  24. I look back wistfully to the days when ladies played tennis with wooden racquets, used only one hand and were rarely heard on court. I wonder what Sharapova’s decibel rating is…

  25. Thanks to the setter & Big Dave.
    Very enjoyable, not too difficult, favourites were 5d, 15a &18d.

    1. Welcome back!

      Your comment needed moderation because you changed your alias.

      9a Salad plant in middle of night shooting up rapidly (9)
      A charade of a salad plant that is allegedly like lettuce but looks more like a bunch of weeds plus IN (from the clue) and G (the middle letter of niGht) gives a word meaning shooting up rapidly, into space maybe.

  27. Thank you Dave. Got it! Will change back to my previous alias – sorry!

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