DT 27014 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 27014 (Hints)

by Big Dave  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27014 (Hints)

Big Dave’s Crossword Club

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Our latest monthly puzzle has been published today.  Why not have a go?

As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, have been selected and hints provided 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           Demonstrator caught in a short fall of rain? (6)
A difficult clue to explain – it looks like a double definition, but “caught” suggests a homophone.  Maybe it was intended that the demonstrator was an archaic spelling that sounds like the short fall of rain.  Whichever way, I don’t like it at all.

9a           Strait-laced teacher first’s scarf (4-6)
An adjective meaning strait-laced, or more accurately old-fashioned, preceded by a senior teacher

21a         Crowd — I’ll get out of lift (4)
Drop the I (I’ll get out) from a lift or winch

22a         Not happy with this record on so late! (4)
To get a word meaning not happy, follow this record with on/so/late

23a         Little imp returned in passing (5-5)
A word meaning little followed by an imp reversed (returned) – passing in this context is an adjective

26a         Air display (6)
A double definition – to air or flaunt and a display or pageant

Down

2d           Obsession with falcon seen above mount (5-5)
A charade of a small species of falcon and an equine mount

3d           Get in first round in boozer (4)
A verb meaning to come first followed by the round-shaped letter

6d           The spy is losing this watch (4)
Drop TH..IS from the first three words

8d           Composed and delivered number loudly (6)
Split as (3,3) this sounds like (loudly) delivered or spoke a number – the further I get through this puzzle the less I like it

15d         Rodent catcher allowed to go in rickety vehicle (10)
Something to catch a rodent which is larger than a mouse with a verb meaning allowed inserted (to go in)

16d         Ruminant’s face covering plant (5-5)
A hairy face covering belonging to a ruminant?

24d         Man coming up from provinces (4)
This man’s name is hidden and reversed (coming up from in a down clue) in the last word of the clue

The Crossword Club is now open. Feel free to leave comments.  I’m off to the Village Café and Market for a cup of tea and a slice of cake.  Back in a couple of hours.

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

The Quick crossword pun: {decor} + {eighteen} = {decorating}

77 comments on “DT 27014 (Hints)”

  1. Morning Dave, I’m with you on 1a, if it’s a double definition what is the word ‘caught’ doing there!? No real like clues today and a few I don’t know if they were clever or not e.g. 8d and 22a. As for 10a how is ‘remove’ an angram indicator? Last one in was 16d as I think it isn’t split 5/5 but just one word, got stuck on ***** for the first word for ages!!! Not much help needed today but not sure if I enjoyed it either, thanks for hints Dave tho I didn’t need them today :-) Nice and sunny here at the moment

    1. Chambers gives 16d as (4’1-5). as one word the apostrophe wouldn’t work.

      The ODE gives (4’1,5) and the SOED gives (4’1,5) and (10) – take your pick.

            2. I’ve put oatmeal cookies in the naughty corner. As for 10a I think they put ‘remove’ in the sense of re-move, to move again. Tricky!
              Enjoy the sunshine :-)

            3. I didn’t see your comment before it was edited but wouldn’t mind betting that it was the same word that I got stuck in my head too – something that I spend a lot of time cutting all summer!!

    1. I agree with Sweet William’s comments and, although I gave it an ‘average’ mark, I didn’t find this puzzle particularly testing and, for that reason, I’m slightly disappointed with this morning’s fare.

  4. My play moves into the theatre this weekend, and I am soothing approaching first-night nerves by doing this puzzle. I managed to finish it thanks to your explanation especially for 24d. Didn’t like 1a either much, though it was first in. Kept reading 9a as ‘teacher’s first’ which slowed me down. 22a was tricky but fun. I didn’t like 19d much, wasn’t sure I had it right. I enjoyed 14a and 8d. So many thanks to you, BD and to the compiler. :-)

      1. Heaven help me, Mary, it’s “As You Like It” and I’m directing. We’ll be in a small theatre in Coppet, near the famous chateau once home to Madame de Stael. thanks for your good wishes.

    2. Good luck – or are we supposed to say “Break a leg”? Maybe that’s just to the actors – who knows – I certainly don’t!

    3. I did most of this really quickly (for me) and then it all went horribly wrong in the bottom right corner which took ages.
      I quite enjoyed it but perhaps not as much as I do sometimes. I didn’t understand why my 8d was what it was and I’m really not happy with my answer for 19d – it does mean twisted, as an adjective, but I really don’t get the fleeced bit. I did have to look up ‘jinking’ in 20a – it’s certainly a new anagram indicator for me.
      I did like quite a few of these – 17, 22 and 23a and 7, 15 and 16d.
      With thanks to Cephas, or Mr Ron, and BD.

      1. 19d – The first letter is an abbrevition for about and the remaining letters are another word meanng fleeced as in conned.

        1. I suppose because it means to take a sudden turn collywobs as a winger in rugby might do, can’t think of any thing else, it’s an odd one for sure

            1. It’s an anagram of Real Madrid collywobs, to give you a ‘winger’ or something that flies

  5. Apart from 1a (which although painful was not so much as paying for two new front tyres fitted while I solved this in some very nice sunshine), I quite enjoyed what I presume is a Cephas puzzle.

    I can recommend both the NTSPP and the MPP too.

  6. Interesting one today. I still cannot see 22a despite the clue. I am guessing that the word I have in mind is the right one. Liked 11 and 16.

    EDIT: Doh! Penny just dropped !

  8. Not sure why, but I didn’t enjoy this so much today. It’s one of those crossword self-fulfilling prophecies for me – if I get 1 across immediately, I know I’m going to struggle. I’m still not sure why 22a and 19d are right, but they’ve got the right number of letters in so that’s good enough for me today! Thanks to BD (hope you enjoyed the cake) and fellow strugglers. Blue sky here in Birmingham after a very wet morning. Time for trip to the pub to see if my mates have left anything for me to do in the Times…

  9. Anyone else having problems downloading the iPad edition today? When I open the app, I am shown yesterday’s cover, but no way of getting to today’s issue. First time I’ve seen this particular problem!

    Thanks in advance

    1. Yes it was a bit flaky this morning.
      Double tap to reveal icons, close them and start again needed two goes this morning to get it to show.

      In extremis, delete app and reinstall, loses archive doing that though.

      I wish the Telegraph would get this sorted, loads of other newsstand publications don’t have this problem.

      1. Not had that problem but the letters don’t always go in first time since the last update. Also, incidentally, going from the gallery pictures I can’t open the galleries menu directly.

  10. Hi one and all. Still waiting to get 19d otherwise all okay. 1a – I thought “c” was somewhere inside the answer as is usually typical and linked to cricket themes.

    1. 19d has stumped me as well. but once I’ve cracked it then I should be able to finish with 23a.

      1. Steady the Buffs! Thanks to Prolixic’s hint to Kath I solved 19d then the pfennig dropped for 23a. All in all a tad clunky I thought but it passed a cold wet Saturday morning so thanks to the setter & to BD.

  12. Bit of a nightmare for me, this one…..

    Still can’t get 19d, even with checking letters. Was there a man like this who lived in a house like, this who walked a mile like this, and crossed a stile like this? If so, what has that to do with fleeced?

    The only reason I know and use 15d is in crosswords. Before it appeared a few weeks ago I had never come across it…..

    1. For 19d see Prolixic’s reply at comment #4.

      I didn’t put this clue in the main hints as I thought it was easy – guess I was wrong.

      1. Still doesn’t help.

        There was a 19d man and he walked a 19d mile,
        He found a 19d sixpence upon a 19d stile.
        He bought a 19d cat, which caught a 19d mouse.
        And they all lived together in a little 19d house

        Is there a clue in the above old rhyme?

  14. Thanks BD for the 23a hint. I finally got it after you said “passing” was an adjective. Still can’t see what 19d or 5d might be! Struggled with this one today. Agree with everyone’s comments re 1a.

      1. 19d you are looking for a word for twisted, put the one letter abbreviation for ‘about’ in front of a 6 letter word for fleeced as in robbed

      2. Thank you Mary! Was trying to fit something into the 3rd month of the year. Since that didn’t fit 2 of the 3 checking letters I was at a dead end! Got it now.

      1. Hi Mark, it’s a wonder you haven’t been red carded and sent to the naughty step, we’re not supposed to give alternative clues , never mind if you are I’ll keep you some cake, there’s only me here today :-)

          2. Oops…. I seem to be learning the rules as I go along….one naughty step at a time.

            To be honest, I still don’t know how you get the first letter, but I managed to google all the letters after that to discover it meant “to fleece”. It’s a good word….I will be dropping it into casual conversation some time during the week.

            1. The “rules” are outlined in the post.

              The first letter of 19d is the single-letter abbreviation of the Latin for about. The two-letter abbreviation of the same word also crops up frequently.

  16. Finished. I marked this irritating because it was. I can’t believe it was Cephas. I was very unenjoyable

  17. Not too hard today, not too enjoyable either, though. I thought 8d (last in for me) and 22a were poor, but quite liked 23a and 15d. Never heard of 16d , so thanks to Mr Franklin, my electronic helper. 2*/2*.

  18. Well I can’t get 8d despite the hint (it’s possible that I have some of the checking letters wrong) and I am also stuck on 20d (22a as well, but I’m hoping that 20d will give that to me…)

    I enjoyed some of this, but many of the clues left me uncertain as to whether I had the correct answer or not. One of the things I enjoy most about cryptics is the fact that when you’ve got the answer, you *know* you’ve got the answer. I didn’t get that today…

    With thanks anyway, as always, to setter and to BD.

    1. 20d Excitable seducer fails to initiate contract (6)
      The definition is contract as a verb and it’s an anagram, indicated by excitable, of seducer less its initial letter.

      1. Doh – I had worked out that it was an anagram, and I had the answer, but for some reason I couldn’t see past the wrong version of “contract”.

        Still confused about 22a. What is the definition? “Record” (As underlined in the hint) or is it “To get a word meaning not happy” as described in the hint?

  19. Just back from a 10 hrs shift on site. sorted this one out on the tube coming in to South Kensington. a couple of grimace but fun enough. thanks to the setter and BD.

  20. A relatively simple puzzle this Saturday.

    Faves : 9a, 20a, 22a, 2d, 7d & 16d.

    Very mixed weather now in NL – central heating comes on every morning.

  23. I thought this 10a horrible at first as I did not achieve more than a couple on first read through.

    Armed with my new copy of BRB Thesaurus (which has already proved a worthwhile investment), I made progress and managed to complete it this morning.

    I had 19d as cheated at first but when I got 20a realised the error of my ways.

    Thanks BD as ever for the hints, loved the one for 22a, really made me smile and 7d encouraged a grin too.

    1. Well the answer I have (which I am by no means certain is correct) is the sort of swimmer you might find on your plate (surrounded by chips) followed by the A of the clue…

      That was my penultimate one in.

      1. I see it now. Thanks.
        Wrongly assumed the clue “a tailpiece” meant that the word ended in A . However the compiler was after a word meaning tailpiece or the ending of a musical composition. Never heard of it before though.
        Can go to sleep now.

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