DT 28202 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28202

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28202

Hints and tips by Kath

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating — Difficulty **Enjoyment **

Hello everyone. I’m not going to make any wild guesses about who set today’s crossword – it’s definitely not Ray T. I thought it lacked oomph and felt as if all its get up and go had got up and gone but that may be just a reflection of how I feel today – anyway, I’ve never even tried to set a crossword. As always I’m more than happy for anyone or everyone to disagree with me so what did all the rest of you think?

In the hints the definitions are underlined and the answers are hidden under the bits that say ANSWER so only do that if you need to see them.

Across

1a            A chirpy host excited fund-raising outlet (7,4)
CHARITY SHOP — An anagram (excited) of A CHIRPY HOST

10a         Daughter during dinner maybe will get award (5)
MEDAL — The one letter abbreviation for D(aughter) is inside (during) something of which ‘dinner’ is an example (maybe).

olympic_medal

11a         Dubious English queen with one noisy following (9)
EQUIVOCAL — A few little bits to put together here – begin with E(nglish), add two letters meaning queen – not ER this time – then the letter that looks like the Roman numeral for one and finish off with a word that means noisy or outspoken.

12a         Joy about origins of excellent victory — and exalted feeling (9)
ELEVATION — A word meaning joy or delight contains (about) the first letters (origins) of E(xcellent) V(ictory).

13a         A period recalled in stadium (5)
ARENA — The A(n) and a period of time reversed (recalled). I got into a slight pickle with this one for a short time although the answer had to be what it was.

14a         Interfere in Florida city broadcast (6)
TAMPER — A homophone (broadcast) of a city which is a popular winter resort in Florida.

16a         Abandoned ride with Celt insurgent (8)
DERELICT — An anagram (insurgent) of RIDE and CELT. To begin with I wasn’t sure which of ‘abandoned’ and ‘insurgent’ was the definition and which was the anagram indicator.

18a         Police on island about to probe law getting mockery (8)
RIDICULE — A reversal (about) of an abbreviation for part of our police force with the one letter for I(sland) are contained in (to probe) a word meaning a law or regulation.

20a         Poor sort of game discontented rabble (6)
MEAGRE — An anagram (sort of) of GAME is followed by the first and last letters (discontented) of R(abbl)E.

23a         A cricket club shown by artist in capital (5)
ACCRA — The A from the clue is followed by the two letter abbreviation for C(ricket) C(lub) and then the usual two letters for an artist – hopefully you’ll end up with the capital of Ghana rather than the capital of Morocco which is what I did – it wasn’t until nothing at all in that corner of the crossword worked that I began to doubt it. Please someone tell me that I wasn’t the only twit to do that . . .

7-day-ghana-holiday-coastal-tour-in-accra-283635

24a         Undertaking to play a great timeless tune (9)
GUARANTEE — An anagram (to play) of A GREAT and TUNE without its T (timeless).

26a         Overwhelming result scored via a lot of crosses? (9)
LANDSLIDE — This overwhelming result is one of a general election, the ‘lots of crosses’ being the ones on the ballot papers.

27a         Packed hotel welcomes credit? On the contrary (5)
THICK — The letter for hotel in the NATO alphabet is inside a word that means something has been bought on credit so instead of the ‘hotel’ containing (welcomes) credit it’s the other way round (on the contrary). This is just the kind of clue that gets me into a muddle when trying to write a hint.

28a         Popular account in document proving appropriate (2,9)
IN CHARACTER — The little word meaning popular is followed by a formal document written in evidence of something which contains (in) the usual two letters for AC(count.

 

Down

2d            Be shifty in countryside row (5)
HEDGE — Can’t do much more than say that this is a double definition.

2578614_f477cfb3

3d            Free film for distribution? (7)
RELEASE — I’m not sure if this one is another double definition or an all in one clue – either way it probably doesn’t need much explaining.

4d            Article is encapsulating second academic work (6)
THESIS — The definite article and the IS from the clue contain (encapsulating) the abbreviation for S(econd).

completed-thesis

5d            Waste in much of piazza bordering messy den (8)
SQUANDER — Another word for a piazza or an area surrounded by buildings without its final letter (much of) contains (bordering) an anagram (messy) of DEN.

6d            Forestall old boy through note (7)
OBVIATE — The usual two letters for O(ld) B(oy) are followed by a little word meaning through or by way of and then the seventh note of a musical scale.

7d            Unusual pub item, barrel, not to be disturbed (13)
IMPERTURBABLE — An anagram (unusual) of PUB ITEM BARREL.

8d            Southern church perhaps involves ministry full of intrigue (8)
SCHEMING — The one letter for S(outhern) is followed by one of the many two letters meaning church and then a two letter abbreviation of the Latin that means perhaps, or say, which contains (involves) another abbreviation, this time the one for MIN(istry).

9d            Prepare for action keel scratched at sea (5,3,5)
CLEAR THE DECKS — An anagram (at sea) of KEEL SCRATCHED

15d         Practice for a GP? (8)
MEDICINE — This practice is the profession of a GP or family doctor. I’ve really been scratching my head about this one – I keep thinking that I must have missed something but, if I have, I’m still missing it.

17d         Far from speeding like a bullet, possibly? (8)
SLUGGISH — A slang word for a bullet is also a pest in the garden which moves very slowly in a slimy kind of way – yuk!

sluggish

19d         Clubs with reason to struggle become rough (7)
COARSEN — The abbreviation for C(lubs) in cards is followed by (with) an anagram (to struggle) of REASON.

21d         Flexible direction keeps Liberal in charge (7)
ELASTIC — One of the points of the compass (the one to the right) contains (keeps) the abbreviation for L(iberal), finish that off with the usual two letters for I(n) C(harge).

22d         Rush in professional life (6)
CAREER — A double definition the first being to rush or move very fast.

25d         Journey close to home for meat dish (5)
TRIPE —A journey or outing is followed by the last letter (close to) of (hom)E.

I liked 8d. My favourite was 17d because it made me laugh.

The Quickie Pun:- BRED + STYX = BREAD STICKS

58 comments on “DT 28202

  1. 1*/2*. For me this lacked any zip, and I echo Kath’s comments even to the point of picking the same favourite – 17d.

    Thanks to Mr Ron and to Kath.

  2. Thought this was going to be a write in some hopes did pretty well then got stumped on SW corner, but after coffee and a quick peer through Rogets it all dropped into place. I have to say not quite the usual standard it lacked something. My favourite also 17d but also liked 9d.
    Thanks to Kath and Ray T. Definitely */** for me.

  3. I concur with Kath’s views on this one – thanks to her and Mr Ron.
    I think that in 15d you’re meant to think that GP means Grand Prix but, since 95% of solvers will think of GP meaning a doctor rather than cars going round in procession, I thought it was a poor clue.
    I also disliked the ‘orrible ‘omophone (though there’s an even worse one in the Toughie!).

    1. The homophone works for me (and the Collins on-line dictionary).

      Both have the same phonetic spelling (ˈtæmpə) and (ˈtæmpə)

      Not an “R” in sight!

      :unsure:

  4. I didn’t really think anything at all while solving this so I probably agree with Kath about the lack of oomph. As per 23ac. I can see Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) springing to mind and misdirecting folk. 2d always makes me wonder if George Snr and George Jnr (US Presidents) stand in a line with the rest of their families do they form one of these.
    Thanks to Kath for the hints and tips and thanks to the setter.

    1. 23a – I had the artist (RA) and the cricket club (BAT) – bingo – quick as a flash – I had the capital of Morocco! Oh dear! I know that it doesn’t quite work but it seemed a pretty good idea at the time! :oops: and :roll:

        1. Thanks – what a pity it was wrong and managed to mess up the whole of the bottom left corner. I also think it probably had a spare A floating around somewhere. Oh well, you can’t win ’em all!

  5. Nothing special about today’s offering. i managed to finish it without any help, but a bit uninspiring for me.There was a clue last week which referred to liver being meat, which it isnt.Today the answer for 25d is not a meat dish either, same setter? 2*/2* Many thanks to Mr Ron and to Kath.

    1. Offal isn’t it?
      Used to be a tripe shop near us when I was a lad (the Hovis days). Never see it now.
      Saw it being “made” once & could never could face tripe & onions again.

      1. Tripey Hayes had a stall on Coventry Indoor Market. I always wanted Mum to get some when I was little but she never did.

        1. I know how you feel – when I was a lad I wanted to be a surgeon when I grew up and kept asking my mother to get me a sheep’s brain from the butchers so I could “dissect” it, but she never did. Can’t understand why…

      2. Yonks ago I used to go often with my father to Simpson’s Restaurant in the Strand, London (now part of the Savoy Hotel) and one of their specialities was Tripe à la Mode de Caen which he invariably ordered and enjoyed – yuck! I could hardly bear to watch him eating it. It wouldn’t be considered PC nowadays but in those days there was but one dining-room at Simpson’s where ladies were permitted.

        1. In the late 50s, when I was a lad, I used to go to go on holiday with the family to my aunty Phyll’s who lived in Cove, near Farnborough. On the way back, we used to pay visit to my mother’s (very elderly) aunty Minnie in Stratford on Avon and she always regaled us with tea and brawn sandwiches – and they were horrendous! We all had our different ways of “disposing” of these monstrosities – I used to sidle off surreptitiously to the toilet, sarnies in hand, where I used to break them up, wrap them in loo paper and flush them away. My dad’s chosen method was to sneak off to admire the garden where he either chucked them behind the dense shrubbery or pushed them into the soil and craftily buried them with his foot. But my mother used to eat them with zeal – mind you, even today her idea of a delicious snack is to get a thick slice of raw, chilled black pudding out of the fridge and eat it with a mug of tea.

  6. I waltzed through this one aided and abetted by having effortlessly getting off the mark with the four long solutions around the perimeter however not much fun was had along the way. No Fav(s). In fact the Quickie was more entertaining as it at least had one or two GK type clues. Wonder who is Mr. Ron today to whom I’m afraid I offer tepid thanks but warm ones go to Kath. */*.

  7. As Kath and others have already said, this was rather lacking in fizz. Nothing really stood out during the solve although I did discover that it’s not easy to spell 7d in vertical fashion!
    17d raised a smile.

    Thanks to Mr. Ron and also to Kath for providing the ‘fizz’ in the review.

  8. All been said: it was there so I did it sort of day for me.
    Thanks to setter & Kath. Refreshing to know the experts bark up the wrong tree sometimes. Problem I find then is convincing yourself it isn’t the right tree!

  9. I’ll go for 26 across as my favourite in this straightforward Mysteron offering. Perhaps any lack of excitement is down to the fact that we are regularly spoilt by fine crosswords on such a regular basis? That said, this was 2*/2*’for me.

    Many thanks to the setter and Kath for her fine review.

  10. Well it was a little 17d, initially thought that 15d was going to be ‘practise, until 14 down fell.
    Agree with a **/**.
    Solved Tuesdays on the train to London and Wednesdays on the way back-went for a short break-no computer,really enjoyed both puzzles.
    Took my Tesco club card instead of my Nat West credit card- same colour-ATM spat it out !
    Went to see Showboat-terrific singing/dancing and Buck Pal tour-what an art collection.

  11. Lacklustre, a grind through to the bitter end, I’m sorry to say. Never mind, there’s always tomorrow. ***/* from me.

  12. I whizzed through the top half, thinking I might be about to break my time record, but then slowed to a crawl in the bottom half and limped over the line like that American lady in the Olympics 5k semi final, but with no Kiwi to help me on this occasion.
    Thanks to Kath for an enjoyable review and to Mr Ron for the puzzle. 3*/2* for me today.

  13. Not outstanding, but one to keep the grey matter ticking over.
    Thanks to all as ever.

  14. Having read Kath’s introductory comments and the first couple of very respected regulars (plus Rabbit Dave!) before tackling the puzzle, I didn’t expect that I would particularly like this one either, but, truth be told, I didn’t feel it was half as lacklustre as it’s been painted. It wasn’t a classic, I concede, but it was at least on a par with Tuesday’s puzzle I felt.

    The clues were generally snappy and economical with verbosity and my favourite,17d, was first-rate. I also warmed to 27a for its clever construction.

    Will Brian like it as it’s not by his least favourite setter I wonder?!

    Thanks to today’s compiler and to Kath.

  15. Romped through 99% of this only for Kath to tell me the compiler was’nt Ray T 😥 Came to grief by ending 17d in “like” so then spent at least a week trying to get a word to fit 28a 😳 Liked 11a & 23a. Thanks to Kath and the compiler.

  16. I enjoyed solving this or starting to solving this at 4pm Vancouver time and made slow and steady progress, I believe it is nice to start the evening/morning of with a cryptic.

  17. Hi Kath, you’re definitely NOT a twit! Rabat is a much better answer to that clue- also the cleverest!

    1. Welcome to the blog from me too and thank you for your comment – I do confess to being a bit of twit sometimes!
      Please keep commenting.

    2. Apart from not fitting with the checking letters, the reason that the answer is not Rabat is twofold.

      1) the “A” at the start of the clue would be redundant
      2) a cricket bat is never called a club, so it would need a question mark to indicate that there was something unusual going on

      1. Oh well, and oh dear, but I did get there in the end which is something :smile:
        1) I did say there was a spare A floating around somewhere
        2) I also said that I’m a bit of a twit sometimes
        3) As for the cricket ‘club’ – well, who knows – I certainly don’t and when I put it in I didn’t have any checking letters
        Onwards and upwards – to bed as far as I’m concerned

  18. We don’t feel quite as negative as some others about this one. We found it quite enjoyable and not too difficult. A **/*** from us.

  19. I definitely know the world is out of step with me because I enjoyed this puzzle. So much, indeed, the Telegraph Andriod app told me I had everything correct and that doesn’t happen often.
    Thanks to Kath for her review and to everyone else for their comments.
    PS love the cartoon attached to 1A. My sort of humour

  20. Only needed a tiny bit of help today, so a good day for me!

    Thanks to the setter and to Kath for the hints.

  21. I romped through this one! I liked it a lot, in the first place, it made me feel so smart. I’m always reading comments from the bright lot that a puzzle is easy-peasy while I sweat bullets, this one made me feel that I’ve now joined the elite! Even the anagrams almost solved themselves.
    i liked 5d and 9d, but I have to agree with most that 17d was the best.
    Thanks to the setter and Kath for the blog.

    I see that Mr. Trump is my pop-up ad above. I think it might be time to resurrect my 007/ER gravatar again.

    1. Glad to hear you are “getting there”. Amazing how our animals sense when extra tlc is needed. Bigsey would have loved Sadie’s company yesterday cooling off by the weir.
      Thinking he will make a good PAT (Pets As Therapy) dog as he is so soft with humans. Possibly just a bit too much puppy in him yet but we’ll see.

  22. I didn’t have any worries about today’s offering; I quite enjoyed it actually. Like several others 17d was my favourite and overall 2/3*.
    Oh, and like Kath, the capital of Marocco also featured for a while!
    Thanks to the setter, and to Kath for her impeccable review.

    1. Thank you – I’m hugely relieved that I wasn’t the only one with the wrong capital – it’s always nice to have a bit of company. :smile:

  23. Thanks to Mr Ron and to Kath for the review and hints. I must agree that it lacked a bit of sparkle. I had plugging for 17d, so couldn’t get 28a, but still needed the hint for both. Favourite was 18a. Was 2*/2* for me.

  24. Well, I’ve done it at last; about *****, needed a bit of help for SE. Started off really easily, then slowly ground to a halt; good fun though :) ***/*** Thanks to Kath and setter.

      1. Sorry about that, and many thanks for advice. I’m relatively new to cryptics, so finishing one without help is quite an achievement for me.

        1. Welcome from me too and well done on today’s success.
          You’ll learn loads from this brilliant blog – if you don’t understand something all you need to do is ask and someone will reply pretty quickly. That sounds patronising – it’s really not meant to be at all.

  25. No great problem after writing out the down clues. My mind doesn’t work top to bottom but left to right.
    My only struggle was parsing 8d, missed the eg for perhaps! Thx Kath for the hint. I hope 23a didn’t discombobulate you too much.😉
    Thx to all.

  26. Got there in the end. **/** for me. 17d one of the last in and my favourite.
    Thanks all.

  27. Like many others it seems, 17d was our last in and favourite too. By the time we got to 23a we had enough checkers that we did not consider the Moroccan option but thought it was a clever interpretation by Kath to come up with that one. It all went together relatively smoothly for us. Did a bit of thinking about who the setter might be without coming up with any familiar possibilities.
    Thanks Mr Ron and Kath.

  28. On the first read through I had virtually all of the across clues so that made getting the down clues quite easy – especially the 2 long anagrams at 7 & 9d. Not a lot of sparkle to bring a smile to my face but -hey – an awful lot better puzzle than I could ever manage to set.

    Having said that, this is the second puzzle in as many days that we’ve had definitions alluding to meat / beef – liver and t***e are offal. In a homophonic sense they are not awful – some of the tastiest dishes can be made from the cheapest cuts. I trained as a butcher in my first ever job and liver, sweetbreads, hearts, kidneys etc were favourite buys and are delicious.

    Anyway, thanks to our Thursday Mr Ron for the puzzle and to Kath for her top blog and the illustrations – especially 17d.

  29. Very solvable but it lacked a little sparkle maybe. I also went down the capital of Morocco route! Also agree about 17d. Neat clue.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Kath for a great blog and pics.

  30. It sparkled for me. Very nearly finished it. Thank you Mr Ron, and to Kath without whose help I would not have finished.

  31. Zippy enough for a back page, I thought. Easier than usual for this time of the week, yes, but I like the variety show we are treated to.

    To anyone who wants some more oomph or fizz or sparkle (to borrow everybody else’s words – I fear I may have run out), I invite you to have a good go at tomorrow’s Toughie. :)

    I am in no danger of upsetting today’s reviewer – 17d is my favourite by a 26a.

    Thanks to the setter for a fine puzzle and to Kath for her special blend of effervescent review.

  32. My usual Thursday struggle, but did complete. I thought 17 d was amusing.

    ***/***

    Thanks to setter and Kath.

  33. Late today but now done. Was this the easiest back-pager for some time or was I just on form today. Only hold-up was going down the RABAT route. I reckon that’s at least a bit amusing whereas the real answer is a lego bore. Overall */** from me.

    Thanks to Mr Ron and to Kath for standing in yet again.

  34. Another in a recent line of non-wavelength crosswords, a feeble performance by me again.
    Thanks Kath, great hints, thanks.
    Thanks to Mr Ron for confusing the living daylights out of me.

  35. Didn’t find this dull, but also didn’t feel quite comfortable with arena in 13a, but bunged it in anyway. Didn’t know where the other n came from but now see that a can be a or an. Also didn’t want to put tripe in as sure it wasn’t meat. Tried for ages to make in agreement fit 28a but of course was wrong. Lastly, would never have come up with packed = thick? You live and learn. Thanks Kath for help with all of the above.

  36. Not much to say about this one – very run-of-the-mill and for me not at all challenging, but a good one for the beginners and novices. 1.5*/2*

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