DT 28132 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28132 (Hints)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28132 (Hints)

Big Dave’s Saturday 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.

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”. Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.

A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.

Some hints follow.

Across

1a    Set Heath back like a member of the House of Lords (10)
The reversal of the three-letter first name of former Prime Minister Heath followed by an adjective describing how a member of the House of Lords is formally dressed

6a    Restrain youngster crossing road initially (4)
This youngster is usually the offspring of an animal like a bear or fox – put it around the initial letter of R[oad]

10a    Second villain taking small wood decoration (9)
A charade of S(econd) a four-letter shortened version of a villain, a small wood or thicket

15a    Work with the grain (6)
A gently cryptic definition of a verb meaning to separate the grain from the husks – the surface reading is intended to suggest planing a piece of wood

19a    Point out clearly what you shouldn’t need to do in paperless office (8)
Split as (4,4) this is something that you shouldn’t need to do in paperless office

21a    Controlling influence deployed in emergencies (8,5)
Looks complicated but it’s simply an anagram (deployed) of IN EMERGENCIES

24a    Outwit dealer, perhaps using public spirit and pressure (9)
This verb meaning to outwit the dealer, or one of the other players, in a game of whist comes from a charade of an adjective meaning public, an alcoholic spirit and P(ressure)

27a    It’s normal to hold gun mostly for what sentry does (5,5)
An adjective meaning normal or usual around (to hold) the first two letters (mostly) of GU[n]

Down

1d    Chapter head for a penetrating study (4)
The A from the clue inside (penetrating) a study

2d    Weapon carried in street over minor matters (7)
A weapon or firearm inside (carried in) the reversal of the abbreviation of ST(reet)

3d    Check with regard to concrete support (13)
A charade of a four-letter verb meaning to check, a preposition meaning with regard to and some concrete

5d    Wound up holding top-class currency (5)
The reversal of a small wound around the single-letter that represents top or upper class

8d    Cricketer has to secure tons in derbies (6,4)
A cricketer is followed by HAS around (to secure) T(ons) to get these derbies that are worn on the head

16d    Gets vessel holding starter of guacamole for jumbo spread perhaps (8)
A verb meaning gets or gains and a cooking vessel around the initial letter (starter) of G[uacamole] – this jumbo is an aircraft not an animal

Wingspan

 

20d    Golf tournament spot, reportedly somewhere far out in the main (4,3)
A UK golf tournament followed by what sounds like (reportedly) a verb meaning to spot

23d    Breeding establishment boss (4)
Two definitions – a horse-breeding establishment and a protrusion (not an employer!)

The Crossword Club is now open.


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The Quick Crossword pun: sundaes+cool=Sunday School


70 comments on “DT 28132 (Hints)

  1. Birthday wishes to Hannibal from kittiwake. :)

    I thought this slightly more substantial than most Saturdays, but maybe I’m still a bit slow today. Time will tell. Thanks to the setter for the puzzle and to BD for the blog.

    Happy Caturday to you all. :bye:

  2. Thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle and agree Kitty that it was more substantial than most Saturdays.

    Thanks to BD and setter 2.5*/4*

  3. I also thought it was a bit more challenging than the usual Saturday offerings – but managed in 3* time. I was hung up on 1a and 1d for quite a while until the penny dropped,

    Always seems that it should have been easier in hindsight!

  4. Happy Birthday, Hanni and Happy Caturday, Kitty.

    Apart from 10a I found this reasonably enjoyable with the SE corner proving a bit tougher than the rest. I suspect the abbreviation for villain has come from beyond our shores.

    Many thanks to Mr. Ron and to BD.

  5. Like George, I contrived to complete the puzzle without having put in the answers for 1a and 1d and, when I ********** what the answer was for 1a, I’m delighted to say that there was a ‘Eureka!’ moment which has been missing in a lot of recent puzzles and I’m still smiling.

    1. Caravaggio, I’m sure that I would have been sent to the naughty corner for such a comment!

      p.s. I always wonder why you only leave a single comment … always on Saturday?

        1. The full answer to 1a appears in your comment – unless I’ve got it wrong?

          1. That’s very observant of of you because I wasn’t aware that I’d used that verb; I didn’t want to repeat the expression George had used but it did – with a loud clang! And you’ll now see that the offensive word has been edited out.

  6. Happy birthday Hanni – hope you have a lovely day and are going to do something nice to celebrate.
    I agree that this was a bit trickier than some Saturdays.
    !0a eventually popped into my head so I must have met it before but I got into a muddle untangling it – if I tried to explain why I’d be heading for the naughty corner so I won’t.
    The 12a anagram took too long because I guessed the first word which was wrong.
    8d took ages too, for obvious reasons. Oh dear – both cricket and golf in the same crossword – no wonder I found it trickier than usual.
    I liked 15 and 21a and 2 and 7d.
    With thanks to Mr Ron and to BD.
    MPP and NTSPP later on – I really like alphabetical crosswords but have only ever done the ones set by Hieroglyph.

  7. Definitely trickier than most Saturdays but an enjoyable interlude. Just finishing getting our van ready for a trip down to Devon for a few weeks, ready for travel tomorrow. Thanks to the setter and to Big Dave for the hints.

  8. Good afternoon everyone and Happy birthday to Hanni.
    Found it a bit harder than usual too.
    Specially in the NE corner as 7d (international body) gave me some unlikely checkers for 10a (second villain) and 15a (work with the grain).
    Both these words were nee to me.
    Talking of new words, I hope that everybody knows Roland Garros now that Andy Murray has won.
    Thanks to the Saturday setter and to our favourite host for the blog.

  9. I am not going to go against the concensus either as I found this tricky but hugely entertaining and great fun. No particular favourites and even the new word (for me) at 10 across was obvious from the wordplay. Overall 3*/4* from me with thanks to Mr Ron for a fine workout, and as ever to BD.

    What l lot of birthdays we have been celebrating on this site recently. Enjoy your day, Hanni.

  10. Have a very, very Happy Birthday, Hanni, hope you have a super day. Love the Thelwell rider in the banner.

    This was most definitely tricky for a Saturday, and I wasted no time making a dog’s dinner of it.
    I got 19a wrong, then I couldn’t read my own writing and thought that 24a started with a different letter, and ended up with two bung-ins at 16d and 24a which were clearly wrong. Outright carelessness on my part.
    I knew 10a as I had one on my keychain for years, until some rotten sod stole it.
    Fave was 21a.
    Thanks to the setter and to BD for the hints today, needed them.

  11. Good afternoon everybody.

    Don’t usually try the Saturday puzzle, preferring to have a crack at the one in another place that usually presents a musch stiffer challenge. This, though, proved very tricky and finished with four unsolved so

    ****/***

  12. Really enjoyed today’s offering. Some R and w and some to tax the brain. Perfect! Happy Birthday Hannibal and thanks to the setter for an enjoyable Saturday offering, and BD for the blog. Going to enjoy this beautiful weather, a welcome change from recent days 🙂☀️☀️

  13. What a rather nasty piece of work. 13 letter obscure anagrams are surely nobody’s idea of fun and clues like 10a are rather too cryptic for my taste I’m afraid.
    Not sure what 21a was until I looked it up and 10a is a totally new word both as a whole and the word for a wood.
    Managed to finish it but with very little pleasure today.

      1. Your comments are going into moderation and need amendment because you’re putting a question mark rather than a full-stop in your email address.

  14. ***/***. Thank goodness for anagrams. Without these I’d never have got started but once a few letters were in the ball started to roll. Thanks to the setter and BD for the review. Matt Fitzpatrick is showing the field how to manage a golf course.

  15. Whew, just finished it. Glad I had an eraser at the ready today as most answers were put in and rubbed out.
    Must admit I don’t like this sort of crossword because as well as obscure clues there is obscure wordplay to go with them, which adds up to
    uncertainty and guessing.

    Thanks to setter and BD for much needed hints today.

    4*/2*

  16. I have no idea whether this is trickier than normal Saturdays or not. All I can say is that it wasn’t a R&W and I had a few problems in the NE..particularly with 10a..had to drag that from the memory bank. I did enjoy it though. No favourites but a nice solve.

    Many thanks to the setter and to the lovely BD for a blog.

    Thank you for all the birthday wishes. Out for a quietish meal later and cocktails with the girls tomorrow (that could be messy)!

    BD…I love my banner..the cartoon is brilliant….that could have been me as a child.

  17. Obviously done something silly in SW corner as I cannot make any sense of 18d, hoping for hint but it was not to be.
    Happy Birthday Hanni loved the Thelwell cartoon can imagine it was perfect for you.

    1. You may need your shin pads for 18d – the definition is ‘old war’ and it is simply an offence ‘over’ an

  18. I thought this was a bit trickier than some Saturdays. I dragged up 10a from the deep recesses of my mind, finally tumbled to 11d but spent ages on 1d before it clicked and then it was so obvious I felt rather a twit. I liked 1a and I do enjoy anagrams so bearing in mind my problem with 1d, I would say ***/*** for me. Thanks to setter and BD.

  19. Hi all from a warm and sunny Tenerife. Put my old netbook in the case at the last minute. Got here evetually after a bit of problems. We were delayed an hour at Alicante and pommette was convinced we’d miss our Madrid connection but the pilot put the pedal to the metal and got us there in 45mins so we had plenty of time.

    Pretty good stuff today and by no means a walkover. I think **/***would be about right. Fav was 21a simply because I remembered the term :smile:

    Thanks to the setter and BD and Happy birthday to Hanni.

  20. Yes, a bit stiffer than most Saturday prize puzzles, but nothing to frighten the nags (which I’ve just gone to check on in the field and I can report that they’re all fat, dumb and happy). 2*/3.5* is about right. I enjoyed 1a in particular, but 9a made mr smile too – reminding me of the “Not the Nine-O’Clock News” courtroom sketch in which all the legal terms are mispronounced.

    Thanks to Mr Ron and BD, and best wishes for a splendid birthday to anyone who is having one.

  21. Thanks to the setter ( Shamus?) and to Big Dave for the hints. I’m still not finished 4 to get. Haven’t looked at the hints so far. Really tricky, but most enjoyable. Had never heard of 21a, but after making the first word, I guessed the second. Back later. Happy Birthday Hanni.

  22. Hooray finished without the hints. Realised that I had 19a wrong. Once corrected I was able to get 16d. Favourite was 1a, which was my antepenultimate. Was 4*/4* for me. Have a great weekend all.

  23. Sigh, too tricky for me today. Giving up as I cannot put off starting the holiday packing any longer…

  24. Blimey, that was a tricky one. My time was completely off the scale, a definite three pipe problem.

  25. Found that a bit tough.

    I’m struggling to parse 21a. It looks like it should be an anagram, as hinted above, but the 10th letter of the answer seems to be missing from the fodder. Or am I blind?

    Thanks as always to BD for the blog and the hints, and happy birthday to Hanni.

    1. Re 21a, never mind. The online version of the puzzle wants a * instead of an * (or perhaps it accepts either a * or an * in that slot – I can’t check now that I have submitted). That wrong answer accepted by the site didn’t make a lot of sense to me, but at the time it made more sense than the correct answer I had never heard of. I should have checked my BRB, because it’s all explained in there.

  26. Happy Birthday to you
    Happy Birthday to you
    Happy Birthday dear Hanni
    Happy Birthday to you.
    I’ve been singing all day today so thought I would carry on. Hope you had a lovely day.
    Thank you setter for such an enjoyable puzzle. 21a was new for me, and favourites were 9a and 16d. 26a was last in, but only because I worked my way slowly down. Thank you BD for the review.

    1. Thank you Florence :rose:

      Yes I did…not long back from a meal out with friends. Lovely.

  27. I found it tough too – only a couple of clues on first read through. Need some e-help to solve the SW corner – never heard of 21a.

  28. Another tough one today.
    I managed to finish, but only with copious use of BD’s hints, many thanks for them.
    I have never heard of 21a and had to use an online solver to get to the answer, shame.
    Thanks to the setter, disastrous trip round the golf course today, trying out a new backswing…
    Enjoy the weather tomorrow, promises to be lovely.

  29. Very nice, it felt like a Rufus , but I am the world’s least expert on these things.

    Weather continues glorious. Apparently something to do with jet streams.I hope the jet stream stays just where it is for 3 months.

    Thanks to all concerned.

    1. I don’t know how you came to that conclusion, Sam.It had a fair sprinkling of anagrams, no mention of ER, and the clues were kinda straightforward.

  30. I finished it I finished it! Bouncy bouncy bouncy bouncy fun fun fun fun fun fun! I am Tigger……sorry I was a bit excited there. I did some last night, I print it off just after 7 p.m. our time, have a bit of a go, then again in the morning. Then we had an exciting trip out to Costco (it’s a weird kind of big box store where you can get amazing deals but must gird yourself not to buy a lifetime supply of paper cups that you don’t need just because they are 99c. Or a faux leather bar stool when you don’t have a bar. But stick to your list and buy summer essentials – super sized bottle of Tabasco and Clamato – ah for you non-converts to this Canadian tipple, there is NOTHING like a Caesar. Oh it also involves large amounts of vodka.

    So back to the crossword, I was down to a few before we went out to the car to go to Peterborough, I nipped back indoors as I realised one more. Then we went to Costco, then for lunch at Red Lobster and half way home on Highway 7 I spluttered ‘Eureka! ‘Husband growled and said WTF or some other ancient Anglo-Saxon expletive and I said ‘It’s A***i!! Funny I always though Gladstone was a xxxx…. and Disraeli was the ‘xxxx’

    I hope i haven’t broken any rules and given anything away clue-wise. Please feel free to edit or tell me off if I have.

    1. What a busy Saturday you have. I presume lunch at Red Lobster is red lobster? Sounds wonderful.

      And yes, I thought I’d better edit parts of your comment as they definitely fit into the too much information category.

      Hope your Sunday is just as much fun.

      1. RL is a chain that mainly serves fish and seafood but does also offer chicken etc. I had mussels. Shouldn’t because I have recently started experiencing the joys of gout.

        Thanks for editing the comment for me.

        It occurred to me that I can’t think of a word for that feeling when you think “Tada! I’ve finished the crossword. which in my case is always immediately followed by ‘Awww blast it I’ve finished the crossword’.

  31. well strangely I found this one of the easier ones, however even with the extra clue I can find no way into 19 across. It would be satisfying to complete it. Being a farmer and a devotee of the Antiques Roadshow may have helped with a couple.

    1. It’s difficult to add much to BD’s hint but the answer (as a verb) means to point out clearly which way to go or which route to take.

  32. I keep wishing for a bit more of a challenge on Saturdays and then this comes along to completely floor me. Some people are never satisfied! TVM anyway to whomever for the workout and to BD for much needed help. ****/***.

    1. Challenging puzzles are always good news for the blog – 17,490/6,424 page views/visitors last Saturday, 20,949/7,182 yesterday.

      1. That is just a ridiculous amount of views! But how brilliant. :yes: I meant to total the number of countries that people view from when I looked at the site stats at Christmas.

      2. Wonderful – I bet you didn’t know what you were starting all those years ago. :good: to you.
        I still find it amazing that so many people look but don’t leave a comment.
        What’s the biggest number ever on one day?

  33. Probably not worth posting a comment at this late stage, but what an enjoyable crossword. Difficult but challenging.

    1. Your comment needed moderation because you’ve used a slightly different alias from usual. Both variants should work from now on.

      1. Thanks, didn’t know if a new user name was needed on change of email address.

        1. The new email addresss would have sent you into moderation anyway so you could have continued using your old alias.

  34. Oh dear, after crafting my blog entry I go and forget to press Send. So for what it’s worth here is a re-write. I guess in a way my attempt at the crossword suffered in the same way as I worked out the correct answer to 20d but then put the first word in incorrectly.
    Bang goes another prize….
    In the circumstances I think I’ll nominate 7d as favourite. 2.5/3* overall for a slightly tougher examination than usual for a Saturday.
    Thanks to the setter and thanks to BD for the hints.

  35. Thank goodness for the hints and many thanks. Still had trouble with the anagrams and needed e-help with two of them. Not a puzzle to boost ones confidence.

  36. It took longer than usual, but managed it w/o hints. Some odd clues however. 21a came to me in a “eureka” moment when I looked it up and found the question!

    26a – I wonder which version is the required answer, as it was equivocal.

    As always thanks to setter for the challenge and BD for getting up early and doing it!

      1. Just seen your response BD, sometimes at the beginning sometimes at the end? Or is it always at the beginning ? Thx

  37. This one was a little more difficult than the normal Saturday prize and therefore better. I got 21a from the obvious anagram letters, but have never heard of a 21a before and I always appreciate discovering a new word or phrase. 3*/4*

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