DT 28109 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
View closed comments 

DT 28109

by Miffypops  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28109

Hints and tips by Miffypops

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***

I have a busy day today so no time for illustrations. Normal service will be resumed next week. Thanks to Rufus for a very enjoyable but easy puzzle.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.

Across

1a    A sinful desire of one mind (6)
AGREED: A, from the clue, followed by one of the seven deadly (lethal) sins

4a    Film plot thus includes a rewrite of Racine (8)
SCENARIO: Place an anagram (rewrite of) of Racine inside our usual crosswordland word meaning thus.

9a    Temple of a deity in Pennsylvania (6)
PAGODA: Place the A from the clue and a word for our most supreme deity inside the abbreviation used to denote Pensylvania.

10a    Certain kind of proof produced by a photographer (8)
POSITIVE: This photographic proof is the opposite of a negative.

12a    Social worker takes one to be an opponent (4)
ANTI: In crosswordland we have two social workers, both insects, one makes honey and the other doesn’t. Try them both with the letter I (takes one) and see which makes a word.

13a    Flower that’s fresh, comparatively speaking (5)
DAISY: This flower is actually a flower and not a river as is often the case. It is an invader of lawns and is used in the phrase As fresh as a daisy

14a    The hot pot maker (4)
KILN: This is a cryptic reference to the oven a potter uses to fire his pots.

17a    Party fare provided by wise man going round America with car (7,5)
SAUSAGE ROLLS: Place a wise man often found wandering around things in crosswordland around the initial letters of the United States of America and add a rather posh car which signifies wealth (or stupidity. Often both)

20a    Get dressed and prepare to go on a drive? (4,4,4)
SLIP INTO GEAR:    Two definitions – the second being to prepare to go on a drive in a car

23a    New pear harvest (4)
REAP: Anagram (New) of PEAR. The answer means to harvest and not a crop that might be harvested. This clue caused some confusion last time out I remember

24a    In decimal it represents one cubic decimetre (5)
LITRE: A hidden word lurking away somewhere within the words that make up the clue.

25a    One who speculates in shares unsuitable for women (4)
STAG: This social gathering for men only is also a chappie who buys (shares in a new issue) and sells them at once for a profit.

28a    Surprise an enthusiastic archer? (4,4)
BOWL OVER: To suit the clue we need to split our answer 3,5. To suit the answer we need to split 4,4. An enthusiastic archer might have an infatuation with his weapon. I will stop right now. This can only end badly

29a    Consecrate Rodin works around area (6)
ORDAIN: Anagram (works) of RODIN around the letter (A)rea

30a    Swindle brought to light in defeat (8)
CONFOUND: Our usual swindle is followed by an adjective meaning discovered

31a    Volume of praise (6)
HYMNAL: An all in one cryptic definition of the book (volume) one might use during Songs Of Praise.

Down

1d    Value a quiet compliment (8)
APPRAISE: A direct from the clue. The musical term for quiet. To compliment. Al put together like a game of charades or constructing Lego.

2d    Terrible female removed from top position, as is proper (8)
RIGHTFUL: Remove the first letter of F(emale) from a word meaning Terrible or very unpleasant, serious or shocking

3d    Objects to extremes (4)
ENDS: A double definition.

5d    Athletics event, coast-to-coast — in Malta? (5-7)
CROSS COUNTRY: This long athletics event might traverse the whole of an island, any island. Why Malta? Why not?  Especially as this country is famous for George followed by the first word in the answer

6d    A file may be needed on this arrest (4)
NAIL: Another double definition the first what might be filed by a secretary when there is nothing else to do. The second referring to police work.

7d    Endlessly producing fruit (6)
RAISIN: Just for a change we can remove the last letter of a word (endlessly) the word is producing but think what you do with your children

8d    Seas, as once ranged around (6)
OCEANS: Anagram (ranged around)of AS ONCE

11d    Receive satisfaction from providing quarters for lions? (4,1,5,2)
TAKE A PRIDE IN: A double definition of how you might regard work done diligently and well or to house some lions which is not advisable to my way of thinking

15d    It isn’t true it comes to a moral conclusion (5)
FABLE: A story with a moral at the end. An all in one cryptic definition of such

16d    Student appearing in report to prosper (5)
BLOOM: Place another word meaning report such as the noise a cannon might make around the usual suspect for a L(earner)

18d    Check when others will take a shower (8)
RESTRAIN: These that are left (others) followed by what falls from the sky during a shower

19d    First love found by girl in a novel (8)
ORIGINAL: O (love) followed by an Anagram (novel) of GIRL IN A

21d    Language curve takes a big cut (6)
ARABIC: Place the words A BI(g) inside the word for a part of the circumference of a circle. The word cut tells us to lose the letter G from the word big

22d    Naturalist in ward for treatment (6)
DARWIN: An anagram (for treatment) of IN WARD will lead us to one of England’s greatest naturalists

26d    Very very fair (2-2)
SO-SO: Repeat our two usual words meaning very to find a fair result

27d    Wear down in fight (4)
FRAY: A double definition. The first being to wear down as in cloth or rope and the second being a bit of a scrap or a kerfuffle or even a brou ha ha

Can I please stop work now? Holidays soon. Can’t wait.

The Quick Crossword pun: rip+pub+lick=republic

56 comments on “DT 28109”

  1. Pleasant enough.
    Didn’t realise there was an “a” in the idiom in 11d.
    Only ate some 17a on Saturday. Such busy weekend with a wedding aperitif for 80 people in the afternoon. Had to eat the leftovers.
    Thanks to Rufus and to MP for a review a la mode de Bufo. But very entertaining nonetheless.

  3. Pleasant Monday fare with no problems, although I did leave 13a blank until checkers were in place to make sure that it was a 16d and not a river.
    Biggest smile came from 28a.

    Thanks to Rufus and also to the busy publican.

  4. Enjoyable offering, not very difficult although I got stuck on 13a, really should have got that one. Many thanks to Rufus and to Miffypops for 13a.

  5. For me, another ‘tricky’ Rufus Monday, somewhat self-inflicted, but still finished before lights out last night. I got completely ‘stuck’ on 11d and 15d partly because my first word of 20a was wrong. Once that had been identified and corrected, with the aid of several submissions to the puzzle web site, 11d was ‘fixed’ reasonably easily. 15d took a little longer, and I am still not sure I understand the parsing of the clue which I have taken to be that the first part is a lie (it isn’t true), which is a type of story, and the answer is a story with a moral to it – somewhat convoluted in my opinion.

    So I would give this one 2.5*/2* with a favourite of 17a.

    Thanks to Rufus and to MP.

  6. Splendid puzzle – in the end I got stuck on 13a and 14a and cheated, then kicked myself – doh. All good stuff and nice deception, many thanks Rufus and Miffypops.

  7. Very enjoyable and over rather quickly – for me – now I have no excuses and must get on with more important stuff – I hate vaccuuming. I hadn’t seen 28 a before and liked it. A good puzzle for new cryptic crossword solvers with the usual anagrams, multiple meanings, hdden words etc. I did the Guardian Prize a few weeks ago and it took me all day and that did feel like wasted time. Thanks Rufus and Miffypops.

  8. 2*/4*. Very nice entertainment for the start of the week. Many thanks to Rufus and to MP. Off now to tackle Silvanus’ Rookie puzzle.

  9. I agree this was fairly straightforward apart from self-inflicted problems so 2*/3* difficulty and 3* for enjoyment.
    I had the first word of 20a wrong – I’d already got 11d so that one was fine but it messed up 15d – dim.
    Having missed the 24a lurker I had to think about that one for quite a while.
    I liked 10a and 5d. My favourite was 26d.
    With thanks to Rufus and to Miffypops.

  10. Maybe not quite up to the high standard of one of my favourite setters but still a pleasant solve. Didn’t the tense go a little wrong in the latter part of 11d? Thanks to Rufus and Mifypops

  11. Finished it , but some unsatisfactory clues for me. 14a could be “oven”. 11d could be “have a…”. 20a- you can do this “out” in a car, but not “in” surely.
    I’m probably just in a bad mood because I’m off to the dentist.
    And btw, why can’t we have a Toughie on Monday?

    1. Because the Herculis GK puzzle is in the middle of the paper. Why not try the Rookie today?

      1. I’m not sure where the Rookie is….? I’m on a train, so hoping that someone leaves a Times or Grauniad behind :-)

        1. The Rookie is on this site. Have a look at the list of Recent Posts on the top RH side of the page.

          1. Thanks C S, but I’m working on a tiny phone, so web based entry is a bit tricky. Just found Friday’s Toughie in my bag though, so the little grey cells can keep working for a little longer.

            1. You’ll have to remember next Monday that the Rookie will be available from midnight so you can print it off before you leave (if you are going to be on a train again next Monday,, that is)

              1. Hi CS and or Dutch/BD/Gazza etc.

                Please could one of you send me a PDF of the Rookie. I can’t access it even through a proxy server. Not sure why? Not been a problem before. Thanks.

  12. Very enjoyable to solve, even if it was a read and write in most cases. LOI was 14a, funny how the shortest clues can sometimes be the most elusive.

    I ticked three clues, 28a, 11d and 19d , as standing out. 5d nearly had a tick, but I thought the clue would have worked equally well, if not better, without “coast-to-coast”.

    Many thanks to Rufus and to Miffypops.

    2. 5d coast to coast. I took this to be a triple definition and gave it a big tick.

      3. Aha, thanks Gordon, that hadn’t occurred to me. It’s deserved tick is now in place!

  13. Pleasant as always from Rufus. Didn’t use a pencil for any of the anagrams.

    Really liked 20a and 11d but my favourite is the wonderful 13a.

    Many thanks to Rufus and to MP for a great but brief blog.

    Also congratulations to Ben Hobday (who made me cry), Michael Jung and the amazing Gemma Tattersall and the gorgeous Arctic Soul on their respective rides at Badminton over the weekend. Gemma’s SJ round was a masterclass in control.

  14. Monday fare of duck soup again but nonetheless enjoyable for that. Old habits die hard so, as were others, I was on the wrong track in 13a. Liked several including 5d and 11d (but agree with happy days and lostboy re tense). Thank you Rufus and MP. */***.

  15. Pretty standard fare for a Monday. Just a couple of small points. I agree with the others regarding 11d – the first word in the answer could be ‘take’ or ‘have’ but I don’t think either of those sit well with ‘Receive satisfaction’. I also think that 10a should be seen as a double definition with ‘Certain’ meaning positive and the ‘kind of proof produced by a photographer’ as the second. Anyway, it matters not. No particular favourites today.

    I am now going to redo my plaster / bandage repair on my right hand as the Mark 1 version hasn’t worked – don’t ask :negative:

    Thanks to Rufus for the puzzle and to our overworked publican for his review.

    1. At cricket yesterday we had a bizarre “plaster/bandage repair” needed by our skipper who somehow managed to cut his finger quite badly when putting the stumps in before the start of the match. He isn’t going to live that one down very quickly.

      1. Quite right the he shouldn’t live it down. I have seen many a cricketing injury but I have to ask…how on earth do you cut your finger putting the stumps in? Completely bamboozled on that one.

        SL were you playing with cricket stumps in your back garden? It’s OK…no one will judge you, much.

        1. Nope, no cricket injury here. Parked car in garage then shut garage door – then realised house / garage keys were still in car. Went round to the side of house only to remember that the gate was locked shut. If Superman can leap over buildings – so can SL – even with the help of a wheelie bin – not. Why did they put wheels on bins?

          I’ll leave the rest of it to your imagination :smile:

          1. That could never happen to me. I don’t have room in the garage to park the car :lol:

          2. For some time I have been trying to think of the most appropriate response to your current predicament. My first instinct was to ask why you just didn’t go and get the keys back and also realise that thing with wheels move? But that is unsympathetic and somewhat callous. It must have hurt and given you quite a shock. I’ve fallen of horses often enough. It hurts and is embarrassing. So after careful consideration I have come up with this..

            Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

            1. Thank you for your sympathy – but you didn’t actually post all your personal email to me. The full ending was actually.

              Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

              Soooooo funny. Please don’t think for one minute you are getting the slightest bit of sympathy for body surfing on a wheelie bin pretending you are Superman. Because it’s just really funny. Much like me falling off a horse. My only regret about the whole thing is that no one recorded the whole event.

              Cheers Hanni

      2. A dangerous game, this cricket. A neighbour of ours fell over on Friday and has broken his left wrist in two places. He’s now in plaster, going back to fracture clinic on Thursday and may have to have a plate put in. Just to complicate things he’s left handed, has a dog and two young school age daughters – it looks as if I might be doing a fair bit of dog walking, typing and ferrying his girls around for a while – nice to feel useful . . .

  16. Nice start to the week 😊 **/*** some tricky clues. Thanks to MP & Rufus. Liked 5d, 11d & 28a 😜. Weather still lovely here in Cambs but very windy! 😎

  17. Good afternoon everybody.

    A joint effort today that started quickly but ultimately caused a fair amount of head scratching so will have to give it a three star rating.

    ***/na

  18. Thanks to Rufus and to Miffypops for the review and hints. I found this very difficult. Had the first word of 20a wrong & 6d wrong. Needed the hints for 1a, 10a which I’d never heard of, 30a, 31a also never heard of, 15d. Favourite was 24a, was 3*/3* for me.

  19. Managed to complete OK, but not straightforward for me, tricky in parts, but as usual enjoyed doing a Monday Rufus. At the moment I am starting the crossword later and later so always feel a bit rushed. Had negative in for 10a until 5d penny dropped.

    Some nice clues, liked 28a, but favourite today is 17a although it was a put in straight away it made me laugh.

    Overall 2.5* / 3*

    Thanks to MPOPS and Rufus as usual.

  20. I rather enjoyed this over the pre-prandial but no particular favourite. I’ll agree with MP’s ratings.

    Thanks to Rufus and MP

    P.S. If you fancy a slightly trickier one the Rufus puzzle in the Grauniad today is worth a look.

  21. Mostly straightforward, but I was uncharacteristically slow on a few, taking it into 2* time. My LOI was 15d, so I’ll nominate that for today’s honours board. Ta to Rufus and the overworked pub landlord. 2*/3*

  22. Enjoyed this today and felt “able” to do it. Even experienced the read and write phenomenon and felt very smug.
    Not for long though as got stuck on 14a…I had “oven” but kiln is so much better! Really stumped on 25a (hadn’t done 16d yet) so had to use the hints for that and for 15d…for goodness sake, so simple with hindsight!
    Liked 11d, 20a and 13a.
    Thank you Rufus and MP for the hints.

  23. Late on today, first Godson popped in in between flights from Jam to Barbados on Coconut Airways. Then my first physio session, so painful and I’m still teetotal!
    Loved this, as usual, but some were tricky and held me up. I never did get 14a and needed the hints.
    I loved 28a, 13a – oh! Too many to mention, but I think fave has to be 5d for the very clever triple definition.
    Thanks to Rufus and to M’pops, particularly for sorting 14a for me.

    1. Lovely to see you back, Merusa, and hoping that the home care proves to be the best option (I’m sure it will). Hope the pain eases – both that of the surgery/recovery and that of being TT.

      1. Thanks for the welcome. Being home is perfect, cats are all here and Sadie comes home on Friday – can’t wait!

  24. Late on parade today for this very solvable Rufus puzzle. Was 1.5*/3* for me with 5 down easily the best clue.

    Thanks to the aforementioned and the overworked MP for his review.

  25. Had its moments this one! Most of it was fairly straight forward but towards the end I seemed to have several clues with the letter ‘a’ involved. But I got there eventually.
    5d was a clever clue and therefore my fave, not that I’m clever I hasten to add. 2/3* overall.
    Thanks to the Monday maestro and the workaholic publican……

  26. Like crossword, like review: short and sweet.

    Thanks to Rufus and Miffypops.

    I don’t think I knew the first definition of 25a so extra thanks to MP for saving me the effort of looking it up.

  27. The short answers, the four letter ones and a couple of the five letter ones were the slowest to yield. A pleasant solve.
    Thanks Rufus and MP.

  28. Another feeble effort by your truly. Having completed the crosswords regularly for the last few weeks, the weekend offerings and this were utterly beyond me without the use of the hints and just about every crossword solving gismo known to man.
    Thanks to MP and the setter.

  29. One where 99% was plain sailing, and then there was 15d/20ac… Regarding the latter, I do many things with the gear-stick, but I’ve never been known to slip it into gear.

  30. There’s a landmark Pagoda at Reading Pennsylvania (atop MT Penn). I though this was the approach to 9a

  31. Always the last, but so enjoyable. Couldn’t have finished without Miffypops though – many thanks yet again. And to Rufus for bearing in mind learners like me.

Comments are closed.