Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27474 (Hints)
Big Dave’s Crossword Club
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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.
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.
Some hints follow:
Across
1a Blood pressure’s about to kill off muscle (6)
Put the abbreviation for Blood Pressure and the S from ‘S around a verb meaning to kill off
4a I speak ill of West Indian perhaps (8)
The I from the clue followed a verb meaning to speak ill of
10a Caught odd bit of musician’s set (5,4)
A six-letter verb meaning caught followed by an adjective meaning odd or strange
12a Tie up ship just right around bar (7)
A verb meaning to tie up a ship and a word meaning just right or Exactly to the purpose all reversed (around)
18a In correspondence with friend about artist joining the French Left (8)
A friend around the usual two-letter artist and followed by the French definite article and L(eft)
23a One held without women in Plymouth landmark (7)
A pre-nuptial party to which women are not invited inside a famous Plymouth landmark
27a One saint catching fish, going by place associated with Angel (9)
I (one) and S(ain)T around a popular Crosswordland fish followed by a two-letter word meaning going by gives the location of this North London Angel
28a Sprains something to do with hip in simple transport (8)
A verb meaning sprains or twists followed by a hip or fruit of a member of the rose family
29a Card game — pontoon perhaps (6)
Two definitions – a card game and a structure of which a pontoon is an example
Down
1d Get seen missing Penny, madly in love (8)
Start with a phrasal verb (2,7) meaning to get seen and drop the P(enny) from the second word
5d Group left in certain parties frequently inundated area (8,6)
A group or collection and L(eft) inside a word meaning certain or partial, as in “to a certain extent”, and parties or celebrations gives this area which was in the news recently for being flooded
7d See code is broken by European (7)
This see or bishopric comes from an anagram (broken) of CODE IS followed by E(uropean)
9d Ample librarian becoming star of Romeo and Juliet perhaps (5,9)
An anagram (becoming) of AMPLE LIBRARIAN
16d Can batsman put together a helping hand for Cook? (3-6)
A can followed by one of the two batsmen at the crease at the start of the innings
17d Native American evokes retiring Princess (8)
Sounds like (evokes) an adjective meaning retiring or timid followed by a Princess
21d Checked over Heath’s foreign car (7)
The first name of former Prime Minister Heath preceded by a foreign make of car
24d Fool swallowed by chasm (5)
A fool around the BY from the clue
The Crossword Club is now open. Feel free to leave comments. I’ll be back around lunchtime, as it’s the Village Café and Market today.
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The Quick crossword pun: {rustle} + {crow} = {Russell Crowe}
Morning Dave, thanks for the nice early hints, I needed them for the first part of 10a, other than that I thought one of the easiest crosswords for a while…once again IMHO!!
All done while waiting for my car to be serviced. Last in was 17d – not happy with that one! Thanks to The Setter and to The Reviewer.
Little confused by 17d – thought I had it but worried that 5th letter is an ‘*’ when the clue suggests an ‘*’…?
Welcome to the blog Cunning.
The ‘sounds like’ applies to both parts.
I’ve edited your comment – please don’t quote individual letters of the answer.
Thanks and sorry!
No big problems today but very enjoyable esp 21d (sorry Kath!).
Needed the hint to work out why 12a was correct and spent ages trying to get Gateshead into 27a, idiot!
Thx to all.
Why 21d Brian? I wonder if you mean 16d because of the crickety bit of the clue.
You are quite right, it’s the problem with typing on an ipad.!
Agree not too difficult today but still enjoyable , so, */*** for me . Top NW corner last to be completed which contain some good clues .
2*/4* for a very enjoyable start to the weekend with lots of clever and entertaining surface readings.
I’ve never come across the specific use of word meaning “to kill off” as part of the obvious answer for 1a but the BRB confirms it as US slang! Also I’ve never come across “vid” in 25a, which I guess is also slang, but it didn’t stop me solving the clue.
16d was my favourite, especially with my 60th season of playing cricket starting tomorrow (I was very young when I started!) – no rain please! The amusing 27a was my last one in.
Many thanks to Mr Ron and to BD.
I agree with your comments, Dave, and particularly the use of that word which is undoubtedly American slang and I’d argue that an English writer wouldn’t use the word. My congratulations to you on the longevity of your playing career and I can perhaps now guess the reason for your nom-de-plume – at least it’s not ‘Ferret Dave’… I hope the sun shines for you today and for many seasons to come.
Thank you for your kind wishes, Cara. My one regret with my life-long love of cricket is its weather dependency, particularly in England!
A straightforward and enjoyable puzzle to start the weekend. Thanks to setter and to Big Dave for the hints which I did not need today.
Finished 8.30 am very enjoyable 4-5 dead chuffed typical Saturday crossword
At last, a puzzle I could complete before lights out this week. Very enjoyable, thanks to the setter and to BD although no hints were required.
I really enjoy the Saturday puzzle which is odd because we rarely know the setter so there would not seem to be a pattern, and this one was no exception. However, I really did not understand how the answer to 18a meant ‘in correspondence with’. Many thanks BD for the hints – one or two were very welcome
This was a very doable puzzle today, which made it all the more enjoyable for us. Thank you to the setter and to BD. Hope the weather for the rest of you is better than it is here in Scarborough where it is dull, rainy and not all that warm.
Thank you setter for a confidence booster which was good fun. Thanks BD for the hints. Suffolk tomorrow for 2 weeks – it never rains there !
I agree with the general consensus – not too tricky and very enjoyable. 2* difficulty and 4* for enjoyment.
For some reason 10a was my last answer.
9d took a while – Romeo and Juliet made me think of Shakespeare and Dire Straits (not necessarily in that order) but not the third possibility.
I needed the hint to explain the answer I had for 17d – I missed the fairly unusual (to me anyway) homonym indicator.
I’d never heard of 5d before the events of the last few months so wouldn’t have got that one six months ago.
I liked 23 and 26a and 1 and 3d. My favourite was 13a.
With thanks to the setter and BD.
Thanks for update on Poppy yesterday Kath, good to know she’s ok
Despite being a regular watcher of Sky News, I had never heard of the “frequently inundated area” in 5d, and I needed the hint to complete that answer (my last one in). I loved 17d, probably because I enjoy puns! I thought there were some clever clues, and found the puzzle reasonably easy – except for 5d!
No problems, but a reasonably amusing little puzzle. 2*/3* by my reckoning, but no particular favourite clue. My thanks to the setter for filling at least a bit of a wet Saturday in Cornwall, and to BD for the hints (albeit not used on this occasion).
I’m sure I’ve seen the “Ample Librarian” somewhere before … but still a very clever clue!
So quiet here today considering the weather is so lousy and cold…actually looking forward to flute tooting in church later!!!
Yes – it is quiet today. It’s been quite noisy for the last two or three days. Beastly weather here too but not as bad as yesterday was.
All done, quite early for me ☺️
Although I know the answer to 27a because I live in London, I’m not sure how the clue gets me there. This feels like a bit of a cheat.
Very enjoyable today. Thank you BD and setter.
Well done Carrie
For 27a you need 1 and the abbreviation for saint around a four letter fish at the end of this add the two letter word for going as in working…at least that’s the way I see it, or as Dave says going by meaning going by a means of transport..I’m confusing myself now !!!
All done and dusted for once without resorting to the hints, but have not completely broken my duck as I used BRB and thesaurus to finish
Thanks as always to BD for the hints…reassuring to know they’re there!
Having lived very close to 27a I got that in fairly easily
Thanks BD for help with a few including 5d (how thick can I be!) and 18a. Recent days’ puzzles have not really hit the spot for me so ***/** today but thanks anyway Mr. Ron. Real April day in W. Sussex – sunshine and showers but COLD however garden not much fun recently as we endure overhead noisy new flight path trial (6 months) out of Gatwick – heaven forbid it should become permanent.
Nice easy, enjoyable solve today. Thanks to setter.
Whew, wotta relief! At long last a puzzle that didn’t have me tearing my hair out. Thank you, thank you setter! I did need the hints to understand the why of 17d, so clever. I enjoyed this so much, I really can’t choose a favourite. Thanks to BD for review.
A very enjoyable puzzle which I finished without having to resort to Big Dave’s hints. 2*/4* for me feeling much happier than yesterday after my dismal performance on DT27,473. So I am reconciled with Cryptic puzzle solving! 27a was my favourite. I too had never heard of this expression for “to kill off” but fortunately it did not stop me from solving the clue. Beautiful weather today in Hyères…
Many thanks to Mr Ron and to BD.
I hated this crossword! Parts were too easy and the rest was so obtuse I gave up! Very frustrating to read regulars’ comments about how easy today was … Give us beginners a break!, thank you for clues and tips nonetheless
We all struggle, and it takes time to tune into the wavelength of the setter.
How can we help?
Thank you tantalus! Any clues to 9d anagram would be great!! Then I might do some others on the bottom half …
There’s a picture clue for 9 down – hovering over my pictures can provide information!
Hi Manuela, just because we are regular commenters here doesn’t mean we are experts by any means and a lot of us like myself for example have only been doing these for a couple/few years, we are so pleased when we can actually achieve one without the hints, it doesn’t happen very often, I try to be careful to say that it is only IMHO (in my humble opinion) when I think a crossword is easy, so don’t be put off, we are all friendly and I’m sure you’ll find none of us mean to come across as smug, rarely a day goes by when I don’t need some sort of help be it from the blog, or books, google, electronic thesaurus etc.
I enjoyed this one with only minimal help from hints, when my brain gave up. Late start after miserable round of golf followed by 2 pts of very acceptable real ale. Could that account for the brain failure? Satisfied now. Thanks to setter and DT.
V. Enjoyable puzzle.
Thanks for hints, not needed this time.
Thanks to setter.
Thank you tantalus! 9d clues would be helpful for some of the others I cannot make sense of? I twigged the anagram immediately but …
I’m still stuck on 9,….any hints?
hi Effie see Dave’s clue and hover your mouse over the picture if you still can’t see it
Thank you Mary, I was thinking Shakespeare…hovering was necessary!
I started providing a few gimmes several years ago. There have been arguments both for and against continuing the tradition, but it’s still there! If you are really stuck then you can get 3 or 4 answers to get you going, but that’s where it ends – and that applies to comments as well.
No problems except for 5D. I could see the second word but the first eluded me even with the checking letters. The crossword perils of being away from the Mother Country too long, perhaps. Thanks to the setter and BD.
Thank you Dave for the hints on 10a, 12a (all reversed hints still cause trouble for me) and 28a which I doubt I would have got without considerable head scratching. Like everybody else I enjoyed it but some of the clues were obscure at least for me.There were very few write- ins.1a for example , I thought of the answer right away but I found it very difficult to justify from the clue.Thanks to the setter.
I have been attempting the D. T. Cryptic crossword since I was 16 yrs old now 75yrs and I am in no way an expert
Me too, only I’m now 76, so I have a year ahead of you. Shouldn’t we be whizzing through them now like The pros?
Good morning! Having discovered your brilliant website I went to the “Welcome post” – but nothing is there! I know it’s not necessary to get hints on the crossword, but now I am curious! I will look again another time. Regards Lynda
Welcome to the blog Lynda
Sorry about that – an attack of the gremlins, but it should be OK now.
Doing this one a couple of days late due to a very busy weekend.
I didn’t find it as straightforward as some of you, possibly due to the fact that I didn’t get the two long down answers until late on and I had problems in the NW corner with 1d, 10a and 12a.
It all went in eventually though and provided a few smiles as the pennies dropped.
Thanks setter and BD for the blog.
Bigdave, you’re wonderful.
Welcome to the blog Robin.