DT 27078 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
View closed comments 

DT 27078

by Gazza  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27078

Hints and tips by Gazza

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Good morning from a white North Devon. The lights have been flickering all morning so if this is the last you hear from me today you’ll know that we’ve had one of our fairly regular power cuts! Today’s puzzle is not as easy as last Friday’s but, I thought, still fairly gentle for one of Giovanni’s. Let us know how you got on.

If you want to see an answer you’ll have to highlight the gap between the curly brackets under the clue.

Across Clues

1a  Refinement of sailor when meeting soldiers in high spirits (11)
{ELABORATION} – two abbreviations, the first for an able seaman and the second for non-commissioned soldiers, go inside a word meaning high spirits or rapture.

10a  Expression of dismay in a county town when mother goes missing (5)
{AARGH} – A (from the clue) is followed by a county town in Northern Ireland with its middle two letters (an affectionate term for mother) removed.

11a  Son, member of family with double hesitation as slow walker (9)
{SAUNTERER} – string together S(on), a female family member and two hesitations.

12a  Like some tennis shots — how dad gets troubled with net! (3-6)
{TWO-HANDED} – an anagram (troubled) of HOW DAD and NET.

13a  Wizard publication given American backing (5)
{MAGUS} – the abbreviation for a regular publication is followed (given … backing) by an abbreviation for American.

14a  Old king returning to country, a legendary fighter (6)
{ROLAND} – this is a military governor under Charlemagne who became a legendary figure in medieval Europe. Single-character abbreviations for old and king are reversed (returning) and followed by a synonym of country.

16a  Old character in first half of play, the French girl (8)
{PRUNELLA} – a girl’s name comes from inserting a letter of an ancient Germanic alphabet inside the first two letters of PLay, then adding a French definite article.

18a  Being anonymous is indescribable (8)
{NAMELESS} – double definition, though really the same one twice.

20a  Burn the midnight oil maybe in period of residence at uni? (4,2)
{STAY UP} – a period of residence followed by an adverb meaning at university.

23a  Continue in the same line and race ahead (3,2)
{RUN ON} – double definition, the first a phrase used in printing to mean continue on the same line and not in a new paragraph.

24a  Bishop’s place is in a mess with work coming in (9)
{EPISCOPAL} – an anagram (in a mess) of PLACE IS has the abbreviation for an artistic work inserted.

26a  Moralist upset by new serious transgression (6,3)
{MORTAL SIN} – an anagram (upset) of MORALIST followed by N(ew).

27a  Like some architecture I love — pleasant, not English (5)
{IONIC} – I (from the clue) and the letter that resembles zero or love are followed by a synonym of pleasant without its final E (not English).

28a  Competitions set to run with man well organised (11)
{TOURNAMENTS} – an anagram (well organised) of SET TO RUN and MAN.

Down Clues

2d  Musical movement has some particular goal (5)
{LARGO} – this is a musical passage meant to be performed in a slow and dignified manner. It’s hidden (has some) in the clue.

3d  Island‘s reaction to unwanted wet weather? (7)
{BAHRAIN} – the name of an island state in the Middle East could be, when split (3,4), what you’d say when opening the door to go out on a wet morning (though in the UK you’d probably follow this with ‘again’).

4d  Live with uncontrollable desire (6)
{RESIDE} – a not terribly difficult anagram (uncontrollable) of DESIRE.

5d  Earth under you? The core is rumbling ferociously (8)
{THUNDERY} – if you count the question mark as a character then the answer is hidden at the heart (core) of the question.

6d  Seat of empire? (7)
{OTTOMAN} – double definition (and old chestnut).

7d  Baseball player and satirical editor — destructive types in combination (9,4)
{BATTERING RAMS} – combine the player with the big stick facing the opposing pitcher in baseball with the surname of not the current but the previous editor of Private Eye, who now edits The Oldie. My attempts to fit Hislop into the answer failed so I had to call on his predecessor.

8d  Rag fully recycled — when one acts thus? (8)
{FRUGALLY} – this is a semi-all-in-one with the whole clue defining the answer. It’s an anagram (recycled) of RAG FULLY.

9d  Weep on stand, hugging dad — fantastic football team! (7,6)
{CRYSTAL PALACE} – start with a synonym for to weep and follow this (on, in a down clue) with a stand (in a market perhaps) containing (hugging) an affectionate term for father. Then finish with an informal adjective meaning fantastic.

15d  Learner, university girl, entertaining trendy celebrity (8)
{LUMINARY} – string together a) the letter used to identify a learner driver, b) U(niversity) and c) a girl’s name (that of one of the Tudor monarchs, say), then insert (entertaining) an informal adjective meaning trendy or fashionable.

17d  Nincompoops getting so little right, legal adviser found (8)
{ASSESSOR} – I didn’t know, before consulting the BRB, that this is a legal adviser who sits beside a magistrate. Another word for nincompoops is followed by SO (from the clue) and R(ight).

19d  Wish to have a board game is far in the past (4,3)
{LONG AGO} – a charade of a verb to wish or yearn, A (from the clue) and the name of a Japanese board game.

21d  Touching performance in hat (7)
{TACTILE} – put a performance (on stage, say) inside a slang term for a hat (because it’s something that goes over-head).

22d  Unknown pub, one with a showy garden feature (6)
{ZINNIA} – this is a plant of the daisy family with bright showy flowers. String together a) a mathematical unknown, b) a synonym for pub, c) I (one in Roman numerals) and d) A (from the clue).

25d  Wine or beer? There’s nothing in it (5)
{PINOT} – a measure of beer with the letter that resembles zero or nothing inside it.

The clues I liked best were 3d, 7d and 8d. How about you?

Today’s Quickie Pun: {BEAM} + {OWNING} = {BEMOANING}

59 comments on “DT 27078”

  1. Polished off with relative ease.
    Yes, agree **
    Issue with 7d – he/she is not the……but is the…..
    (Tense implies present ……)
    Many thanks setter and Gazza

  2. No real difficulty in this one today, although it did take me a little longer to complete than normal for a Friday.
    Thanks to Giovanni, and to Gazza. 3.5* on both counts.
    Happy Birthday to Derek!

    I’ve just finished the toughie, and my head now hurts!!

    1. Thank you Jezza!
      We had a good dinner last night.
      Today it is dreadfully cold so I am in the apartment with the central heating set at 22
      degrees C.

  3. 70 percent completed and then I fell foul of the left hand side. I couldn’t fit ingrams into any combination of words and became obsessed with babe Ruth as a baseball player.

    Enjoyable but difficult, so a 3.5*/3* for me.

    Far too snowy to get up so I puzzled in bed today

  4. 14a’s legendary status had previously passéd me by but the legendary R I for 7d hadn’t
    (Not sure that will travel well though)
    Agree with the ratings .
    Thanks yet again .
    Lovely sunny day in North Yorkshire and the temperature has leapt to -1C .

  5. My aversion to proper names in crosswords is given full rein here. The satirical editor left his chair 27 years ago – OK for those of my generation, perhaps, but hardly fair for those under 40; and it hardly comes under the heading of general historical knowledge which should be familiar to all.

    1. He’s still an editor and is presumably still satirical (though I don’t subscribe to his current organ).

      1. True, but if the organ, to use Private Eye’s terminology, is called The Oldie, I think my point remains valid.

      2. I do subscribe to the Oldie and would say it is a good read on most occasions & it can claim to be the first member of the Fourth Estate to reveal that evil monster J Savile before any other editor showed their cojones by taking up the story.

    3. I wonder how well known the Oldie editor is to the large number of followers in sunnier climes

      1. Not known at all but, thanks to Internet, if you work out the clue, you can google the name. I just love the Internet, so much information out there.

  6. 2*/3* for me. In addition to gazza’s favourites, I liked 10a too. Thanks to both the Gs for the usual excellent Friday service.

    Like jezza, I have just finished the toughie, found it very entertaining with the correct level of toughness , and so, no, my head doesn’t hurt at all.

    Rumour has it that East Kent won’t get as much snow as the rest of the country although iIt is blooming cold. To counteract my stir-crazyness, I have just printed off some more crosswords to solve one-eyed while baking a chocolate stout cake.

      1. Not sure how much there will be much cake left by tomorrow – No2 son had emergency appendectomy on Wednesday (we are certainly getting our money’s worth from the NHS in this house) and he has decided that the only way to restore himself to full health is by consuming chocolate in any form whatsoever. :)

      2. Ah, me too! Perhaps more than one is needed as I’d be happy to join the queue. Glad to know you’re on the mend, CS.

  7. Fairly straight forward solve today, but I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as the usual Friday offering, a bit more laboured than usual?

    Still no matter whiled away some time on a cold morning.

    Thanks to the 2Gs.

  8. The Don does it again. Not easy, but eminently solvable with some wonderful cluing and excellent surface readings. I thought 7D very clever, although I think some younger people might struggle with it. My favourite today was 10A – normally my answer to any tricky question from the wife (doesn’t always work as it normally results in crossed arms and toe-tapping).

    Things looking a tad white outside, maybe 2 inches so far with more forecast – my footholes on my path from when I went to get the paper are nearly filled in again ! Interesting thing is trying to work out what’s under the strange lumps that are in my back garden.

  10. 2/4 for me as ell and as always on Friday very well constructed. No weak clues and many that ring a smile. Now to venture out to feed the Llamas in the driving snow any Thx to Giovannni and to Gazza for a couple of explanations.

  11. I have not attempted this crossword yet as I have work to do (lots of it) I have read the first three clues across an 11ac has made me laugh. Bring it on.

  12. Thanks to the 2 G’s, a very well constructed puzzle which was very enjoyable. Lots of favourites 1&10a & 3,7,9d. Started with11a, finished with 3d. Was 2*/4* for me. Snowing in Central London, hope it doesn’t get too heavy, my thoughts are with the people in rural areas.

  13. Thank you Giovanni – enjoyed that, new words for me rune,magus, zinnia and never heard of Roland ! but still managed to finish with help from BRB. Thanks Gazza for the review. RHS was first in then ground to a halt. Discovered that an hour of orange and lemon slicing for the first batch of marmalade was the inspiration needed to get 7d – which seemed to sort out the LHS. Sky News Weather says its not snowing here till late pm – it snowed during the night and has been snowing all morning !

  14. I must finally be getting used to Giovanni’s style, as I didn’t find this one too taxing and thoroughly enjoyed it. After congratulating myself on solving 22D (knowing nothing about gardening) I asked the wife if she’d ever heard the word, only to be told that it was a flower – if only she could understand the wordplay in the clues as well, we might have a winning team. Thanks to the 2G’s.

  15. Wasted far too long trying to force Hislop to fit in 7d. Last one in 16a. Agree 2/3 for me as well. Many thanks to setter & to Gazza for some great hints.

  16. Very enjoyable puzzle from Giovanni and a very entertaining review from Gazza, my thanks to both. I am now off for a walk along the Esplanade in the delightful winter sunshine, a beautiful if cold day up here in Fife.

  17. Found this slightly trickier than yesterday (which was completed on a day trip to The Lake District). Possibly trickier because I had to fit some work into the morning as well. Playing football outside with the children was a bit chilly. Fortunately there is not too much snow about up here yet. Regards to all.

  18. Best crossword of the week for me really enjoyed it and a **/**** ,Took a while to get 7d and when i did , probably my favourite clue. Remembered 14a from my childhood ‘Pictorial Knowledge encyclopedia-he was a soldier with a funny helmet on! Struggled to spell 10a ,as i don’t think i’ve seen it written down-maybe in a DC comic when a villain meets his end.Snowing in Cheshire,saw PI film yesterday, visually stunning-must visit Chester ZOO.

  19. This was more of a 3* difficulty for me if only because of 16a and 7d. I ended up with both answers but completely unable to understand why. A lovely puzzle as always on Fridays.
    Top left corner would have been easier if I could spell the first bit of 4d but sorted that out fairly quickly. I’d never heard of 14a. No other real problems.
    I liked 10a and 3, 5, 8 and 25d.
    With thanks to Giovanni and gazza.
    Lots of snow here – ended up coming down a hill almost sideways – not going anywhere else today! It sounds as if other places in the country are much worse than it is here – hope that Mary isn’t headfirst in a snowdrift – Wales sounds awful.

    1. Not quite Kath, not as bad here as some places but internet only just come back on after over 24 hours!

  20. I did have a bit of a struggle with this, but managed to finish it with help. Enjoyed 10 and 14a, also 16a once I’d worked it out, though Miss Scales is the only one of that name I know. Had never heard of the football team at 9d, but worked it out from the letters. Thanks for the fun to G&G.

    I hope Derek is celebrating his birthday lavishly and wish him many happy returns. :-)

  21. Hamburgers=Shergar’s bum

    Sorry for the off topic post; I felt compelled to share this.

    As for today’s puzzle, I confess I was not familiar with the satirical editor (does this mean I am young?!)

    1. I think a logician would say that there is a fallacy there. I don’t, knowingly, eat horses but it does not follow that I am a vegetarian.

  22. Gazza – a belated thank you re yesterday’s Toughie. I solved it within the 15 min period and thought I had deleted my plea for help – apparently not!

  23. Knocked this one off rather quickly as have to prepare for my celebratory dinner tonight.

    Not one of The Don’s hard puzzles.

    Faves : 10a, 16a, 24a, 3d, 7d & 9d.

    Still very cold here in NL.

      1. Many thanks Gazza!

        I never know where we are going as my daughter keeps the location as a surprise – but they are usually excellent.

        I have a big wad of DTs to hand over to her – we share the paper regularly.

        I love doing the crossword as it keeps your mother tongue topical – it is amazing how language alters with time!

          1. Greetings gnomey!

            The meal last evening was very good – a six course combination of Dutch and French cuisine.

            My daughter selected the venue from the Dutch restaurant guide “Lekker” which annually lists the top 500 restaurants in NL.
            Lekker in Dutch means tasty or nice in English.

            As I have had to give up driving my car, I don’t get around much any more – Alphen was a small town when we first came to Holland many years ago – and I was amazed to see its present sprawling extent!

            Today it is exceptionally cold – real winter!

            When winter comes can spring be far behind?

            1. Belated 90th birthday greetings Derek, our internet was down all day yesterday! Hope you were thoroughly spoilt :-)

            2. Glad it was all good, Derek. I am well versed in “Lekker” from my niece and nephew – I believe the literal translation is “Licky” which I find rather charming!

  26. I really liked this today and got on fairly quickly except for 7d .I was sure Ian was in it somewhere. However having got the answer with the help of Mr. A , I then was able to get 14a. I did put Prunella in, but didn’t know why. Thanks to Giovanni & gazza .
    Happy Birthday Derek.

    1. Many thanks Annidrum!
      We had an exceptionally interesting dinner last night at a restaurant in Alphen a/d Rijn.
      Here it is very, very cold but sunny today.

      a/d = aan der -which means “on the” and Rijn is the Dutch spelling of the river Rhine.

  27. I enjoyed this, even though had to do some hard thinking! 3d brought a smile. Thanks to all. I read in the DT about the snow everywhere, hope all are well and warm! I am firmly keeping my mouth shut and not complaining about 60F temp here, but grumpy nevertheless.

  28. Hated it, couldn’t do it (which is probabaly why I hated it!) Just a personal winge – probably out of practice as have been “down under” for a month. Hey ho – lousy timing with the weather. That’s life, I suppose.

  29. Enjoyed this, nice workout. 3d brought a smile. I read in the DT about the foul weather and hope all are safe and warm. I won’t complain about our 60F temp, but I grumble nevertheless. I DO NOT LIKE THE COLD.

  31. The usual enjoyment factor from a Friday Giovanni. Thanks to him and to gazza. The only thing I had to look up was the first letter unknown in 22d!.

Comments are closed.