DT 27919 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 27919

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27919

Hints and tips by Gazza

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment **

I’m still in a state of euphoria (and shock) after the magnificent performance by Wales on Saturday evening – bring on the Fijians next!

The bottom half of today’s puzzle seemed easier than the top (although I was handicapped by misreading ‘bottle’ as ‘battle’ in 7a – it really is time for a visit to Specsavers). This is not just a pangram, it actually has at least two of each letter of the alphabet – does that make it a double pangram? Let us know your thoughts.

If you click on any of the areas showing ‘Click here!’ you’ll see the actual answer so only do that as a last resort.

Across Clues

7a Major, OBE, lost bottle (8)
JEROBOAM – an anagram (lost) of MAJOR OBE. In the picture below is the smallest bottle really labelled a ‘girly’? I’ve never heard that term used – isn’t it a bit sexist?

9a Used at sea to carry ten over in mass migration (6)
EXODUS – an anagram (at sea) of USED contains the Roman numeral for ten and the abbreviation for an over in cricket.

10a Ornamental stone jardiniere initially manufactured, first off (4)
JADE – the initial letter of jardinière is followed by a verb meaning manufactured without its first letter.

11a Lorry can be deployed to deliver grain (10)
BARLEYCORN – an anagram (deployed) of LORRY CAN BE.

12a Fate of king is settled (6)
KISMET – bring together the chess abbreviation for king, IS (from the clue) and a past participle meaning settled or discharged (an amount due, say).

14a Remove a restriction on a French band on the radio (8)
UNFREEZE – one of the French words for ‘a’ is followed by what sounds like (on the radio) a decorative horizontal band on a wall.

15a Hold and name the Spanish boy (6)
NELSON – string together the abbreviation for name, a Spanish definite article and a young male relative.

17a Searches for people who’ll clean a chimney (6)
SWEEPS – double definition, the first a verb meaning searches (a room for bugging devices, for example).

20a With group on Scottish river, start on a journey (3,5)
SET FORTH – a group or circle is followed by a major Scottish river. In an across clue ‘a on b’ should really mean that a follows b (i.e. a is added on to b).

22a Get back control across Georgia (6)
REGAIN – a verb to control or curb containing (across) the abbreviation for the US state of Georgia.

23a Indication of disapproval mostly shown by one next to a police van (5,5)
BLACK MARIA – an informal phrase for a note or record of a misdemeanour or discreditable action put against someone’s name (5,4) loses its last letter (mostly) and has the Roman numeral for one and A (from the clue) appended to it.

24a Long account by ambassador (4)
ACHE – the abbreviation for an account or invoice followed by the abbreviated title awarded to an ambassador.

25a Deny any connection with row about pig (6)
DISOWN – a row or loud noise contains a female pig.

26a General behaviour in Manhattan thoroughfare (8)
BROADWAY – split the answer 5,3 and we have an adjective meaning general or non-specific and a word meaning behaviour or manner.

Down Clues

1d Source of annoyance to a vixen, possibly (8)
VEXATION – an anagram (possibly) of TO A VIXEN.

2d Close to Cadiz, unique area (4)
ZONE – the closing letter of Cadiz is followed by an adjective meaning unique or single.

3d Action film doctor’s got into (6)
COMBAT – a film or surface layer has one of the abbreviations for a medical doctor inserted.

4d There’s always hardly any after fine plant (8)
FEVERFEW – this is a plant of the daisy family (not one that I’d recognise, but my knowledge of plants could be written on a rose petal). A synonym for always and a small number or handful follow the abbreviation for fine (used to categorise lead pencils).

5d Stole fish, say, before beginning to grill something for breakfast, perhaps? (7,3)
POACHED EGG – a verb meaning caught fish illegally is followed by the abbreviation for ‘say’ or ‘for example’ and the first letter of grill.

6d Mineral and two pints, followed by unknown quantity (6)
QUARTZ – a unit of capacity equal to two pints is followed by one of the algebraic unknowns.

8d Make most of large tent (6)
MARQUE – a large tent without its last letter.

13d Man in play perhaps trapping female criminal (10)
MALEFACTOR – a man who could be appearing on stage (4,5) contains (trapping) F(emale).

16d Daughter, after working over staff, is held pending a hearing (2,6)
ON REMAND – the abbreviation for daughter follows an adverb meaning working (i.e. in operation), a preposition meaning over or concerning and a verb to staff or provide personnel.

18d Pelt nut, anti-establishment type (8)
SKINHEAD – charade of a word for a pelt or hide and a part of the body (above the waist!) that nut is an informal word for.

19d Inexperienced reporter interrupted by that girl, an angelic being (6)
CHERUB – a trainee reporter contains (is interrupted by) a feminine pronoun. This is obviously the word of the week – what are the odds that we’ll see it again tomorrow?

21d No time for article about cake (6)
ECLAIR – an anagram (about) of AR[t]ICLE without the abbreviation for time.

22d Motive in serious crime leader’s denied (6)
REASON – a serious crime without its leading letter. Either an old chestnut or a hardy perennial depending on your point of view.

24d Assistant in a team, no saint (4)
AIDE – a team (1,4) without the single-character abbreviation for saint.

None of the clues really stood out for me today. What did you think?

Today’s Quickie Pun: JUNK + SHUN = JUNCTION


86 comments on “DT 27919

  1. Good morning everybody.

    An uncharacteristically early start for me was rewarded with a very straightforward solve.

    The only minor hiccups en route were 14a (I guessed the band) and 4d (new to me but obvious from the clue).

    **/***

    Thanks to setter and to Gazza for his review.

      1. I didn’t know that. I know of the plant but not its medicinal properties. Always good to learn something new.

      2. Thankyou

        By pure coincidence I had a particularly bad headache all weekend and didn’t sleep a wink last night hence today’s early start.

  2. Mmm. Not sure what to make of this. Not difficult. But no real spark? The double pangram was very clever. Gazza’s comment re hardy perennial made me smile.

    Held myself up by misspelling 7a. How can you misspell an anagram? For goodness sake woman.

    It might grow on me.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Gazza for a great blog.

    Edit..I quite like the ‘girly’ bottle of Champagne. What would the male equivalent be?

  3. I’ll go for a 2*/3* on this one – no real stand-outs but I did quite like 13&18d.
    Only slight hold ups came with 10&14a and getting the vowels in the right order in 7a!

    Thanks to Mr. Ron and well done, Gazza, for spotting the double pangram. No, I hadn’t heard of the ‘girly’ before – not enough for this girl. http://bigdave44.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_negative.gif

  4. **/*** not a lot to add to other comments, however, one man’s meat…… I thought that 18d was clumsy and forgettable. I think that mre should seek some help for his headache, that is an unacceptable period for a headache to last. Hope all is well.

  5. 1*/2.5* for a pleasant but untaxing pangram. I expected the pangram after solving my first three clues 1d, 2d & 7a, and, although I noticed two Js, two Qs, two Xs and two Zs, a double pangram never occurred to me. Well done setter, and well spotted, Gazza!

    Many thanks to Mr. Ron and to Gazza – great cartoon to accompany 15a!http://bigdave44.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_yahoo.gif

  6. **/*** for me. Having got a J, X and V early on, I suspected a pangram which increased the enjoyment trying to spot where the others would be. Never heard of 4d but worked it out and looked it up. 19d makes an appearance 2 days running!

    1. Yes, 4d was a new one to me but it was the only word my Wordsearch program came up with from the checkers.

      Quite easy today, lots of anagrams and pretty straight forward clues.

      Off to golf – they’ve been hollow tining the greens so it’s likely to be a bit of a mixed bag but it’ll be worth it err.. next year sometime! http://bigdave44.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/smiley-phew.gif

  7. Relatively easy for me (perhaps I am getting better at these!), enjoyable but not over exciting puzzle. Spotted one pangram early on but not two !.

    2.5* /3*

    Thanks to setter and Gazza for interesting hints.

    1. Welcome to the blog, Sue.
      Yes – see the FAQ for the explanation of pangram. In today’s puzzle there are least two instances of each letter of the alphabet in the completed grid, so it is a ‘double pangram’.

  8. No huge problems but several that I needed a full explanation ie 10a, 16d and 24d. Not easy but enjoyable nonetheless. Now off the play golf whilst the sun is shining.
    Thx to all

  9. A little too R & R for my liking. Loved the pangram x two = Clever setter. Unlike Michael and Brian I will be avoiding golf today and every day for the rest of my life.

  10. Was a bit run of the mill today and agree with Rabbit Dave’s 1*/2.5 *, and Hanni’s comment that it lacked ‘spark’.5d reminded me of the little gypsy girl when asked by her teacher what was the main reason for the extinction of the dinosaurs replied -Poaching !.Thanks Gazza for the usual amusing pics -loved the 15a nelson series, one of my favourite songs is Willie Nelson’s Day Of The Preacher which was part of the soundtrack from the highly rated Edge Of Darkness, anything with Joanne Whalley in it is fine with me.

    1. You’ve got good taste, Beaver – Joanne Whalley to look at and Willie Nelson to listen to, but not the other way round!

  11. I enjoyed this crossword, I thought it very similar to yesterday’s */*** although I put cone not zone in 2d ( I was always looking for somewhere near Cadiz) Liked 7a, 15a, 25a & 6d. Thanks to Gazza for nice blog ? And to the Setter

  12. No real hold-ups here, though coddled was my first thought for 5D, quickly discarded because I couldn’t make it work. I totally missed the pangram, let alone the double! Pleasant solve, so thanks to the setter and to Gazza for the review.

  13. I think it is very clever to have a double pangram without resorting to crazy words. Congratulations to the the setter. This was gentle but enjoyable, good surfaces, I liked 11a (Lorry can be deployed), 12a (Fate of king is settled), 23a (police van), 24a (Long account by ambassador) and 8d (make most of large tent)

    Many thanks setter and Gazza, not sure I’ll be able to listen to Willie Nelson anymore.

  14. The Hindi Times crossword 11335 by AfterDark featured a quadruple pangram – but has a few place names.

    1. Hi Dutch! Where/how do you get the Hindi Times crossword? I used to do the Hindu Cryptic when I lived in India…

      1. Don’t know – there’s an active Facebook community called cryptic crossword society where people post clues they write for the rest to solve, based in India but quite a few international contributors, and that’s where I found this titbit.

        How nice you’ve lived there – I have yet to visit.

  15. **/***
    Quite straitforward. No real holdups. For pangram lovers, there’s another one in the quickie, so that makes three.

    Great golfing weather today. Best all year. Helps take the mind off the rugby!
    Thanos to setter, and to Gazza for the blog and pictures. Has anyone ever seen a jeroboam?

  16. Mum and I managed with just two hints today, and we usually struggle with Tuesday puzzles. We feel smug enough to have an extra cuppa and a digestive.

    1. I think the way the two of you are getting on with solving, an investment in a packet of chocolate digestives may be in order, plain ones are just so un-celebratory.

    2. Well done to mum and you. You’ll soon be completing them – then you’ll qualify for a chocolate hobnob. :D

        1. Choco liebniz go quickly around here.

          I’ll don my tin hat and say I don’t digestives, hobnobs or custard creams.

    3. Forget the tea and biscuits Peta. A nice drop of something much stronger and a plate of Montgomery Cheddar and crackers to suit.

      1. Well done from me as well, you’ll both be zooming through the toughie in no time at all. I support (get it? http://bigdave44.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_whistle3.gif) mp’s recommendation for something stronger.

        I also enjoy some chocolate covered biscuit and raisin ‘man fuel’ which is currently playing havoc with my waist line due to ASDA selling them @ £1 for a three pack.

  17. Straightforward enough with cleverly set clues….We might even crack open a 7a as we’ve got all of our children here at the moment.
    5 of them plus a friend.
    Thanks to Gazza and possibly Mr Ron. **/***

  18. Thanks to Mr Ron and to Gazza for the review and hints. Realised quite early that it might be a pangram, but wouldn’t have even thought of a double. Well spotted Gazza. Favourite was 11a, my favourite album is John Barleycorn by Traffic. Last in was 25a, was checking for any missing pangram letters before the penny dropped. Was 2*/3* for me. Glorious sunshine in Kenwood.

  19. I have never spotted a pangram yet, let alone a double one! – Perhaps in years to come I might acquire the knack. I suppose you should be suspicious if a”z” makes an appearance. Found this one easier than yesterday’s. 1*/3*. Thank you Gazza and setter.

  20. No horses were scared during the solving of this puzzle. An enjoyable enough solve with thanks to Gazza and setter */***

  21. Tuesdays are turning out to be enjoyable puzzles.
    I spotted the pangram but not the double! Well spotted Gazza.
    My fave was 23a. I did need to check the spelling of 7a.
    Thanks to setter and to Gazza.

  22. Quite an enjoyable romp though today’s back pager, on the back page.- whatever next! Had pangram radar on after 1 & 2d and 7 & 12a went in then double pangram radar after 12a. No particular favourites today but 15a did remind me of the Billy Connolly ‘Ivan the Terrible’ story when he was still funny.

    Thanks to the Tuesday Mr Ron (I have my own idea) and Gazza for his review.

    1. Think that makes you the only person other than Gazza who spotted the double – apart from overtaxed who made it a treble with the Quickie!
      Watched the youtube but, sadly, felt Billy was already on the way down by then. Such a shame – his tales about his Scottish upbringing were so funny. I went to see him ‘live’ years ago and all he did was to come out on stage, stand under a single spotlight and repeat ‘f*ck’ over and over again for about twenty minutes. The majority of the audience fell about laughing – I just walked out. http://bigdave44.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_negative.gif
      Intrigued about your ideas for today’s setter – care to share?

      1. Hi Jane – yes he was funnier in his early days when it was purely observational and unscripted humour. Re the setter – I am keeping my head below the parapet. I am not renowned for being correct. http://bigdave44.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_cool.gif

    2. Ha! Amazing. The pretzel is a joke I’ve told since undergraduate days ( 70s). It was always a popular joke and I’ve often been asked to deliver it (after a few), some people still see it as a signature (I do have other jokes). Different names (mikolovski was the name of my wrestler), and Connely does has his charm, I’m glad he did this – as they say, the old ones are the best ones.

  23. Very easy and a little uninspiring I thought. */**. Like Gazza I was over the moon after Wales’ fantastic win. Are we both Welsh do you think? Spent my youth sitting in the stand with my dad watching Lanelli play at Stradey every Saturday.

      1. What do you mean? Llanelli – oops! Sorry about that, and I lived there for 21 years would you believe.

  24. */*. Not an enjoyable solve despite it being pretty much R&W. Thanks to the setter and Gazza for the review.

  25. Nice and easy! Well done to the setter for the double pangram which if course I had not spotted. Many thanks to Gazza for the review – I first filled in Jamboree for 7a which was silly as it had nothing to do with bottle, nor did it use the right letters in the anangram. */**

    1. Amazing! I am seriously impressed. I never do the quick crossword but I realise it’s the same compiler. The double pangram must take up most of the grid!

      I also think it is special to have a double pangram cryptic that is gentle. My hat off to the setter, respect.

  26. Too many anagrams for my taste. 1*/2*, l think, and if l have to pick a favourite it’s 15a (but only because it’s nearly October). Still, thanks to the setter and reviewer.

    1. My anagram count is just five so just about average I’d say. I think one gets the impression that there are more because 4 of the 5 are clustered at the top.

  27. Late to tackle this, as the lovely settled weather has meant that exterior painting has firmly relegated crossword solving into second place today.

    I had spotted one pangram but, despite the over-abundance of exotic letters, it had never occurred to me that there was a second one, immense credit to the setter in achieving this rare feat.

    No stand-out clues, and a fairly gentle solve. Two very gentle ones in a row now, we are certainly going to pay for it on Thursday and/or Friday I reckon.

    Many thanks to both setter and Gazza.

  28. 7a and 9a straight in, then got in a pickle over 5d. Made things difficult by putting in coddled egg!!! Why I have to make things so complicated I shall never know. Once sorted, everything else was fairly straightforward. Thanks to setter and to Gazza. Thanks too for explaining about a pangram. I shall look out for them in future.

  29. We had not noticed the second pangram. Stopped looking after having checked for the first one. It all went together smoothly and rapidly for us. Our thoughts at the time were that it had a Shamus feel about it and as we were lucky enough to guess last Tuesday’s setter, will see if we can score two weeks in a row. Good fun to solve.
    Thanks Mr Ron and Gazza.

    1. Hi 2Kiwis,
      If you remember last Wednesday’s Quickie Pun there was a difference of opinion on what the answer should be. I’ve just had a look at the ‘official’ answer on the online site and they have it as ‘future’ – so you were correct and those of us who thought it should be ‘fuchsia’ were wrong.

      1. Well that is a surprise.
        We had not noticed the fuchsia possibility when we wrote the hints but when you pointed it out, thought that it was the better answer.
        Cheers.

      2. I give in about the fuchsia last week – one chance to be right and, yet again, I was wrong. http://bigdave44.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_sad.gif It seemed quite a good idea at the time.

  30. Well, that really was a piece of cake (lemon drizzle?) hence not much satisfaction or sense of fun. Thanks Mr. Ron and Gazza. */**. http://bigdave44.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/icon_neutral.gif

    1. You’ve obviously never had a piece of my lemon drizzle cake. This comment purely refers to cake – its some 14 hours since I solved the (actual) back pager and I’ve blogged the Toughie since so can’t remember a lot about the former.

      1. I was certainly not casting any aspersions on your lemon drizzle which I understand is delicious but unfortunately it has not been available on occasions when I have served time in the naughty corner. (I tried to reply to you last night but got a message to say BD “had changed servers” – all seems to be well now).

    1. I reckon all those eggs bunged up the site! Just when I was trying to enlighten you all with the fool-proof method of poaching them.

    2. We were moved from Ramjet to Thundercracker overnight, which may explain it. I was advised there would be no interruption of service but what that didn’t take into account was Cloudflare, the caching site used by the blog, which was still pointing to the old ip address until I changed it at 7:30 this morning.

  31. */****
    liked 7A
    completed without hints or electronic aids, which is unusual for me-perhaps because I was ensconced in a cramped airline seat, which made it difficult to have anything other than the back page opened-not that I am suggesting that the DT should convert to tabloid

  32. Tried posting several times in the small hours last night as usual, only to be told that the site had “moved to a different server” and I had to “clear my “dns”. I had no idea what that meant so I was unable to share my detailed, yet life affirming and amusing thoughts. Suffice it to say that, yes, I did spot the double pangram; yes, I too thought it a quite simple puzzle; yes I congratulated the setter on his craftsmanship and, yes, I thanked Gazza for another fine example or the blogger’s art.

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