DT 28183 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28183

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28183

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

Today seems to be one of those days when everything happens at once. Arranging quotes to have double-glazing installed, getting a satellite dish installed, buying online some golf clubs for a friend and making pumpkin soup for visitors coming tomorrow all seem to be encroaching on blog writing time. Persistent light rain has caused postponement of other outdoor things that were on today’s list so looks like it will all come together with only minor interruptions. It is nice to have the time to savour a Jay puzzle without the need to rush.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Leather women must wear wild-haired (7)
RAWHIDE : An anagram (wild) of HAIRED includes the abbreviation for women.

9a     Pebble-dasher? (8)
CATAPULT : A cryptic definition of a device used for firing small stones.
images

10a     Return dirty look on holiday, say, without hesitation (4,3)
REEL OFF : A word meaning to give a dirty look is reversed and is followed by a word for on holiday or not at work.

11a     Drink provided after a serving of tripe (8)
APERITIF : A two letter word for provided comes at the end of a word made with A from the clue and an anagram (serving) of TRIPE.
imgres

12a     Coming from Senegal or Eritrea in great numbers (6)
GALORE : A lurker hiding in the third fourth and fifth words of the clue.

13a     Anger following new report about European collection (10)
REPERTOIRE : A three letter word for anger comes after an anagram (new) of REPORT that contains the abbreviation for European.

15a     The limits of home rule must be present (4)
HERE : The first and last letters (limits) of two words in the clue.

16a     Brown agrees to change such a garment (9)
DUNGAREES : A word for a shade of brown and an anagram (to change) of AGREES.
images

21a     Have a quick look and stay back (4)
PEEK : A word meaning stay or preserve is reversed.

22a     Popular vote‘s direct outcome united majority at first (10)
REFERENDUM : A word meaning to direct or point to, then a word meaning an outcome or goal and the first letters of united and majority.

24a     Makes changes to notices covering workers (6)
AMENDS : Male workers are inside publicity notices.

25a     English male, browbeaten, is moulded into shape (8)
EMBOSSED : The abbreviations for English and male and then a word meaning browbeaten or ordered about.
imgres

27a     Doctor said, caught in racket, to show contempt (7)
DISDAIN : An anagram (doctor) of SAID is inside a racket or loud noise.

28a     Rubbish from supporters drinking a French wine (8)
LEAVINGS : A from the clue and the French word for wine are inside supporters that could be holding up your table.

29a     Just a little fly trapped in sink, oddly (7)
SMIDGEN : A type of small fly is inside the first and third letters of sink.

Down

2d     Visual aid materials of gallery employed by experts (8)
ACETATES : A well-known art gallery is inside a word for experts.

3d     Blessed lobby had to pay (8)
HALLOWED : A lobby or entrance-way and then what is due as a debt.

4d     What’s left of Diversity? (10)
DIFFERENCE : A double definition. ‘What’s left’ defines the relationship when you subtract one number or quantity from another.

5d     Typical American perhaps that gets in somehow as president (4)
WASP : A typical American could be described as a white Anglo-Saxon protestant. Hiding in the clue.

6d     Flier‘s role to protect from within (6)
PARROT : A word for a role such as an actor might play surrounds the two central letters (within) of from.
imagesimages

7d     Dog brush cut short (7)
CURTAIL : A worthless dog of low breed and then a brush as you might find on a fox.

8d     Tense up seeing nurse cradling pet (7)
STIFFEN : The abbreviation for a State Enrolled Nurse surrounds a word for a minor disagreement.

11d     Cheered a dud Apple developed (9)
APPLAUDED : An anagram (developed) of A DUD APPLE.
images

14d     Their mum’s a different cause of much pain (10)
RHEUMATISM : An anagram (different) of THEIR MUM’S A.

17d     Very good odds on loan I finally arranged (8)
SPLENDID : The abbreviation for a type of odds offered by bookmakers, then a verb meaning to grant a loan, I from the clue and the last letter of arranged.

18d     A journalist shouldn’t miss this evidence of phone out of order (8)
DEADLINE : The answer needs to be split 4,4, to understand the wordplay.

19d     Insect found under cheese, in a word (7)
BRIEFLY : A French soft cheese and the insect found in the clue for 29a.

20d     Quirky start on round (7)
OFFBEAT : A three letter word for the start or beginning of a race perhaps, and then a round as a policeman might perform.

23d     Mostly remain after game gets rough (6)
RUSTIC : A word meaning remain or cleave to loses its last letter and follows New Zealand’s national game.
imgres

26d     Sharpness is an advantage (4)
EDGE : Double definition.

The cryptic definition of 9a gets our vote for favourite this week.

Quickie pun    beast    +    wrong    =    be strong

74 comments on “DT 28183

  1. 19d is my favourite. I found this quite tricky in places.
    Thanks to Jay and the Kiwis.Oh and by the way , we’re having persistent light rain here too.

  2. Enjoyed this but just couldn’t ‘see’ where the ‘ro’ in parrot came from!!!! Duh!!!! and had never heard of ‘dun’ for a shade of brown either! thanks to the 2Ks for the blog today :-) … hope the sun’s shining wherever you are, it’s certainly not here! :-(

    1. The sun came out about half an hour ago in West Sussex. Perhaps it’s on its way to you wherever you are.

    2. Ditto with parrot. It was my last one in but I could not parse it. I did know the shade of brown so got that one.

  3. After yesterdays fairly easy offering, this came as a bit of a shock. I found this very tricky. I dont understand the cryptic for 8d (does tiff = pet?) also baffled by the descriptions for 2d and 5d.4*/2.5* Many thanks to Jay and especially to 2kiwis for the much needed hints.

    1. tiffs and pets can both be fits of sulkiness or ill humour.
      2d’s were used to make presentations before PowerPoint was invented
      5d A typical American is described as White Anglo Saxon Protestant

      1. I realise what an acetate was used for but thats not the definition of the word is it? I have to say if thats the definition of a typical American, then I have met an awful lot of them who dont fit the bill.

        1. But not many Presidents who have not fitted the bill….I can only think of 2, JFK and the current one.

      2. Sorry missed your comment of yesterday as we are away on holiday. Don’t have access to the paper only an iPad and the Toughie is not featured. They puts lots of other rubbish in but for some reason the DT doesn’t like the Toughie.

      3. 8 d. State Enrolled Nurses haven’t existed for decades. Time to stop referring to them in clues.

          1. Thank you very much – who are you calling old?! :sad: Only joking.
            Not that I was an SEN – I was an SRN.

        1. Yes – you’re quite right but, as an SRN (now called an RN) I’ve given up on this one – I’m just grateful to be called a nurse of any kind as long as it’s not a ‘bedmaker’. Sorry – this goes back about six months but still rankles with me.

    2. It’s been a long time since I used 2d as a visual aid…. I used to jam the photocopier by melting the wrong kind.

      1. Horrible memories coming back now…..the tellings off I’ve had from secretaries….

  4. I had a good go at this but could not solve 9a or 6d.
    And having seen the hints I doubt I would ever have got them had I puzzled on until doomsday.
    I can now see 6d, but 9a….does dasher really mean what it has to for this clue to work?
    I suppose it just about does as in ‘he dashed the plate against the wall’…but it was a stretch too far for me.

    Many thanks to the 2 Kiwis and to the setter.

    1. Like Ora I managed it all except 9A and 6D.

      Was this enjoyable as a crossword? Not sure. Strangely though I thought it was only 2* difficulty.

    2. I was stuck on the same two – I had the answer for 6d but couldn’t see why. As for 9a, it’s rare for me to dislike a Wednesday clue, but there’s a first time for everything. In terms of enjoyment, there were fewer clues than usual that made me smile.

  5. I also found this quite tricky in places.
    I got into a terrible muddle trying to see why 22a was what it obviously had to be.
    28a was my last answer – got into a pickle with that one too.
    I’d never heard of the typical American in 5d apart from its other meaning – the stingy stripey one – hate them.
    I liked 16 and 29a and 2d. My favourite was 14d.
    With thanks to Jay and to the 2K’s.

  6. A couple of head-scratching moments over the dirty look and the pebble-dasher but otherwise fairly plain sailing.
    Biggest smiles came from 7&19d – nice to see a new take on the cluing of crosswordland’s favourite cheese.

    Many thanks to Jay for a good puzzle and to the busy 2Ks for their usual well-illustrated review. The final programme in the NZ series shown here last night centred on the recovery programme for the Kakapo – how appropriate that 6d put in an appearance today!

  7. Many thanks 2Kiwis for managing the blog despite everything else going on.

    I liked 10a for the definition being disguised by using typical crossword instructions.

    Also liked 15a

    Less keen on 7d and 9a

    Many thanks Jay

  8. For me this was normal service for a Jay … up until the last handful, which were just that.

    It took me longer than it should have to work out 6d. 9a was my last in: I was clueless and on the verge of cheating when it hit me. The others that I was slow at were all in the SW. I also checked wasp in the BRB for the American bit, but the answer was clear.

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis.

  9. Also found NE corner tricky: & needed 2Ks clear hints to complete.

    Never heard “pet” used as in 8d but guessed it. Extremely cryptic description of 9a – my mind was not flexible enough to get there. The acronym in 5d I haven’t heard & feel was out of place in what otherwise was an excellent, thoroughly enjoyable test for me.
    13a my pick having tried to fit “rant” for anger into the answer.

    Thanks both to setter & 2Ks.

  10. That was fun. Thank you Jay and the 2Ks particularly for several great illustrations. I too needed help to parse 6d. Pet synonym in 8d new one on me. Liked 18d, 7d and 11a amongst others. ***/***.

  11. Well, having put cataract for 9A (made sense to me!), 7D was a no go. Mastiff fitted but didn’t work, of course. Otherwise, no problems. No favorites today, but I did enjoy the puzzle. Thanks Jay and the 2Kiwis.

  12. I enjoyed today’s crossword. There were some interesting clues where a little leeway had to be utilised but that was no bad thing, so yes, most enjoyable.
    Maybe it’s not PC… sigh…. but my fave was 5d. I had initially tried BUSH but that didn’t make sense; then fortunately the grey cells came to my rescue.
    2/3* overall.
    Thanks to Jay, and to the 2K’s.

  13. Back in uk after sailing around Greek islands, done my stint now hey ho for retirement.
    Found this quite tricky with some good word play. Thanks to 2 kiwis and to Jay.
    Looking forward to blogs again, by the way defor the boxer pup is fighting fit, although not so much of a pup now.

  14. As usual some grumbles from me.

    My bugbear is not noticing anagram indicators so when I see Doctor in a clue I immediately think of GP, MD etc but today it is a @*%%$@# anagram indicator – 27a.

    Can anyone explain why pet is a minor disagreement – 8d?

    Can someone explain why you are supposed to put W into an anagram of haired – 1a?

    I have to say that Leavings is a word I have never used – 28a

    Favourites were 18d and 19d.

    1. Hi Bluebirds – CS explained the ‘pet’ in her reply to Pete @ 3 above.
      As for 1a – you need the ‘W’ as the abb. for ‘women’ – as explained in the 2Ks hint.
      Don’t worry – I fell for the ‘doctor’ as well!

  15. Enjoyed the crossword. A good challenge. I couldn’t complete 9a and 6d. Thanks for enlightening me !

  16. Is pet a northern expression – are we southerners disadvantaged by our birth origins? I went to Birmingham once – it was very nice. Very enjoyable – apart from pet!

    1. Like you Steve in StA and as a Southerner reading CS’ explanation for 8d absolutely no bells were rung although solution had to be.

      1. As a Lancastrian I don’t recognise it either & as I recall in the North East it is a term of familiar greeting.
        Scotland perhaps?

  17. An interesting puzzle today. NE corner had me stumped, 9a and 6d last in (with, I must confess, help from the 2Ks). Favourite 27a, nice misdirection.

  18. Oh dear. In a rush to get 18d in to finish I put h******* in. Wondered why it didn’t make sense. Favourite was 19d. Thanks all. **/****

  19. Sailed through this but ran aground on 6d and 9a so ***/*** 😢 Thanks to the 2xKs and to Jay Really liked 19d & 29a 😉 Bring on Thursday! 😳

  20. I found this tricky in places too, 1a in particular took far longer to unravel than it should have done in reality.

    Jay’s usual high standard of cluing again in evidence, my two favourites were 5d and 18d.

    Many thanks to Mr. Mutch and the 2Ks.

  21. 4/3. The 4 for difficulty relates mainly to the NE corner. Missed the lurker in 9a and didn’t recognise the term pet=tiff, but I will in future. 6d was a bung in so needed the 2Ks hint to explain (many thanks). The rest of the puzzle was fine so thanks to the setter. Much needed rain today but good weather returns tomorrow.

    1. … I meant 5d not 9a which by the way I knew as white Anglo Saxon male rather than Protestant.

  22. I will add my name to those who found this quite tricky in places. That said, it was a very enjoyable and challenging puzzle from Jay, with 7 and 18 down my joint favourites.

    3*/4* overall, with thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  23. Good afternoon everybody.

    This puzzle put up quite a fight but ultimately yielded. I thought 28a was rather weak. 6 and 7d and 27a I couldn’t see why but the hints here have now put me right. 8d I don’t see how pet is relevant and 9a was a stretch of language too far for me.

    Still it made a decent back page puzzle, especially after yesterday’s too gentle one, and just about in three star time so

    ***/****

  24. I really enjoyed today’s apart from 9a which I thought too stupid for words!
    No real difficulty, 1.5 but *** for enjoyment.
    Shame about that damn catapult, dasher indeed!
    Thx to all

  25. ***/*** for me as I struggled with several clues, especially 9a – boo ! I didn’t get 1a for ages, either, which annoyed me . Was looking for “wild-haired” : (
    Still don’t understand 4d – or 26a as “leavings” for me as a war-time, kid meant next day’s lunch ! Haven’t been able to concentrate this afternoon either, as holding “open house” this evening and am wondering which will be worse : nobody turning up, hordes descending on us ! At least the sun is now shining here oop north.

    1. Hi MM, re 4d – simply put, what’s left after a subtraction; in a similar way a snooker player may look at the scoreboard to calculate the difference of the scores before deciding what to go for. That and ‘diversity’ = difference, hence the double definition.

      Have a good evening.

        1. We think that it is to misdirect you into thinking of the dance group led by Ashley Banjo of that name.

  26. This was no walkover – so rather slow and heavy-going for me.

    Favourite was 17d; the word defines itself, and I used to love Lego. Overall **/***

    Thanks to all.

  27. Enjoyed solving, but could not quite complete without 2KWs helpful hints, thanks! 19d was favorite, with 3d being close behind. Prime hold ups were 9a, 28a and 6d.

  28. Good morning everyone. We were woken this morning by thunder and lightening so looks like the chance of golf today is rather remote.
    We wonder how many noticed that we managed to include one of our favourite Toughie setters as an attribution for the pic for 6d. Roger Plillips who originally came from NZ , besides using Notabilis in DT Toughies, also uses Kea for The Listener puzzles and Nestor in The Independent. The Kakapo that Jane mentions in comment 6 is a flightless cousin of the Kea. But perhaps that is all too much information.
    Enjoy what is left of your Wednesday everyone, we’re just starting our Thursday. :bye:

        1. We almost had another typo in the hints that we picked up during proofreading. In the hint for 5d the word ‘white’ had an S instead of a W for its first letter. It made quite interesting reading. :smile:

  29. This felt tricky in places, but went in in a time closer to ** than ***. I wasn’t that fond of the cryptic def at 9ac, which was my last one in, but the rest was all fair and above board.

  30. Last to yield were 28a and 23d.
    Not sure that I liked 28a actually.
    1a brought a smile and 6d was very clever.
    Thanks to Jay and to 2kiwis for the review.

  31. I was looking forward to tackling this when I got home from a day’s work today. It was certainly tougher than normal for a Wednesday puzzle, and, although I really enjoyed most of it, overall it seemed slightly less consistently excellent than we have come to expect from this setter. An alternative (and perhaps more likely!) possibility is that I am being over critical as a result of being dog tired, having got up at 5 am to travel through Blackwall Tunnel which was something I used to do regularly when I was working full time.

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  32. 2Kiwis, you are bang on the mark with ***/****. A very enjoyable crossword, pitched on the tricky but doable side. I very much liked 9a, 10a, 11a, 13a, 17d, and 19d. I learned that pet and tiff are synonyms today. As an experienced teacher, 2d came to me quickly and nostalgically. Thanks to all involved.

  33. Like others I found this tricky in places, completely guessed 9a and 6d from the checkers so thank you for the explanation. I got off to a bad start by trying to put 11d into 11a – and wondering why an obvious answer wouldn’t fit – but did get there in the end, even if not sure how.
    Thanks to Jay and 2Ks.

  34. Quite enjoyable …..apart from the NE corner which defeated me! I thought 1a was quite amusing and I liked 29a. Haven’t blogged for a while although still doing the puzzles….good to see all the ‘regulars’ are still around!!

    1. Nice to ‘see’ you again. I think that most of us ‘regulars’ are pretty much fixtures.

  35. I have managed to finish today’s offering. I just don’t know where I have put it, so can’t comment further, other than to say thank you 2Ks and Jay. I can remember that Brieant and offball were definitely not right.

    1. In a very strange echo of Florence’s comment, I have done the same. Except I know where it is…it went for re-cycling. I seem to remember it was tricky in parts and that I enjoyed it.

  36. Tricky in several places, and I needed a few of the 2xK’s excellent hints. Quite pleased, having spent most of the fitting kitchen cupboards. Absolutely cream-crackered.
    I don’t understand 9a, but what the hell!!!
    Plaudits to 25a.
    Thanks so much to the 2xK’s and to Jay for a challenging puzzle.

  37. Thanks to Jay and to the 2 Kiwis for the review and hints. A super puzzle from Jay as usual. I was completely beaten by 9a, which was last in, and my favourite. Was 3*/3* for me.

  38. I did solve some clues myself but this was mostly beyond me. But all became clear with the help of the hints. So thank you 2kiwis and to the setter.

  39. This was trickier and better than the first two of the week – very enjoyable to solve. 3*/4*.

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