DT 28219 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28219

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28219

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

 

Kia ora from down-under. On our regular walks on the beach we always take a look towards the NW horizon. If the conditions are perfect we can occasionally see Mt Taranaki (aka Mt Egmont). Sunday was such a day. From where we were standing on the beach the mountain appeared as a perfect triangular cone that seemed to rise straight out of the sea. With the early morning sun lighting up the snow covered slopes it was a magical spectacle.
Still no ducklings to report.
Jay entertains us again with this puzzle.
Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Artillery officer‘s foolish raid in Wellington, perhaps (10)
BOMBARDIER :  Wellington is neither footwear nor our capital city but a type of aircraft and contains an anagram (foolish) of RAID.
images

6a     Napoleon’s campaign must reveal this dirty trick (4)
SCAM : A lurker hiding in the first two words of the clue.

9a     Took another form, subdued about a source of tension, (7)
MUTATED : A word for subdued or made quieter contains ‘A’ from the clue and the first letter of tension.

10a     Terrace of museum visited by the Queen (7)
VERANDA : A famous London museum known by the initials of a couple of earlier royals contains the cypher for our present queen.
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12a     Recreated Versace vision, seeing these on pins (8,5)
VARICOSE VEINS : An anagram (recreated) of VERSACE VISION. The pins in the clue are legs.

14a     Jiggery-pokery evidenced by Military Intelligence’s boss (8)
MISCHIEF : The abbreviation for Military Intelligence, the ‘S from the clue and a word for boss or head.

15a     Dive exercises incorporating breather (6)
PLUNGE : The organ of the body that does our breathing is inside the abbreviation for physical exercises.
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17a     Primate‘s indolence, dismissing nothing (6)
LANGUR : A synonym for indolence loses the letter that looks like a zero.
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19a     Detective’s characteristic — thinking of other things (8)
DISTRAIT : The abbreviation for a detective inspector with its ‘S, and then a word for a characteristic or peculiarity.

21a     Items anathema to a vegetarian family (5,3,5)
FLESH AND BLOOD : Two things that would not be part of the diet of a vegetarian.

24a     Gushed, seeing energy employed by two females (7)
EFFUSED : The abbreviation for energy, the repeated abbreviation for female, and then a word meaning employed by.

25a     Canned outside hotel and diluted (7)
THINNED : The letter represented by ‘hotel’ in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet is inside a word for canned or preserved.

26a     Only fools ultimately cheer in Spain (4)
SOLE : The last letter of fools and then the Spanish shout of approval.

27a     Land Rovers? (6,4)
ESTATE CARS : An all in one. The first word is land or property and the second is what Rovers can be examples of.

Down

1d     British Unionist member’s minor collision (4)
BUMP : The abbreviations for British, Unionist and a member of parliament.

2d     Doctor against breaking links gives reasons (7)
MOTIVES : A medical officer and then the one letter signifying against in sports matches or court cases, is inside links or connections.

3d     Slow-to-be-expressed ideas, but time during pudding (13)
AFTERTHOUGHTS : An informal word for a course that follows the main includes a six letter word meaning but, and the abbreviation for time.

4d     Took off in feat crossing channel (8)
DEDUCTED : A feat or action surrounds a channel or tube.

5d     Figures from folklore, topless personalities (5)
ELVES : Remove the first letter from a word meaning personalities or identities.
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7d     Commit prisoner on notice (7)
CONSIGN : A three letter convicted prisoner and then a notice imparting information or direction.

8d     Examines financial status of tight-fisted international on board (5-5)
MEANS-TESTS : A word for close with one’s money or tight-fisted and then an international sports fixture is inside the abbreviation for a steamship.

11d     Rebel, accepting gradual development, to make great changes (13)
REVOLUTIONISE : Gradual development as propounded by Charles Darwin is inside a word meaning to rebel.

13d     Electronic devices that could make armies flip (10)
AMPLIFIERS : An anagram (could make) of ARMIES FLIP.

16d     Agents repeatedly strike loudly for bread (8)
CIABATTA : The American international spy agency, and then what sounds like a word meaning hit repeatedly.
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18d     Essential massage is said to precede outbreak of flu (7)
NEEDFUL : An anagram (outbreak) of FLU comes after a homophone for a word meaning to massage or pummel.

20d     Notice study with Russian’s affirmative supplementary notes (7)
ADDENDA : A two letter notice, then a three letter room used as a study and the Russian word for yes.

22d     Closed union is set up to expose such models (5)
NUDES : A reversed lurker hiding in the first two words of the clue.
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23d     Poems soldiers regularly used (4)
ODES : The second, fourth, sixth and eighth letters found in ‘soldiers’.

Once again 1a set the tone for the puzzle and is our favourite this week.

Quickie pun     honoured   +    hate    =    on a date

64 comments on “DT 28219

  1. After the floodgates opened last night, beautiful sunshine has returned. I’m about to go sit in my back yard (which might lure the clouds back, but worth a try)

    I particularly enjoyed Vercase’s vision and the vegetarian family

    last one in was the primate

    Many thanks Jay and many thanks 2Kiwis

  2. A real gem of a puzzle today 12a absolutely brilliant as 21a also. Thanks to the setter and sorry 2Kiwis didn’t need your assistance today and I agree with your rating ***/****.

  3. Another good one from the Wednesday Wizard. I started this too early and found it quite hard, but after a little more sleep things came much more easily.

    I am sure I’ve met the primate before, but I am also sure that if it had been a quickie and I’d only had definition and checkers, he’d have eluded me.

    I liked 21a. 24a made me laugh and is my favourite.

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis.

  4. A later than usual start because of other commitments last night, but completed in, for me, a reasonable time and probably faster than usual for a Wednesday puzzle.

    Two educational clues, 17a and 19a; although, like Kitty, I am beginning to think that I have heard of the primate before and probably in a similar clue.

    Equal favourites – 10a and 3d – with joint runners-up – 12a and 21a. 3d was my last one in and when the penny dropped the sound of it hitting the floor would have awakened the dead.

    Thanks to Jay for a good Wednesday work-out and to the 2Ks – **/***

  5. I really enjoyed this puzzle. A good mix of the straightforward and some that required some thought.

    2*/4* for me today.

    Thanks to 2k and setter as usual.

  6. Took me a while but managed it without hints Never heard of 17a, last one in for me too. Looked it up then saw 2K’s photo -quite cute! Glad to hear that others had the same difficulty with it, thought I was being stupid.
    Very enjoyable. Thanks to setter and 2K’s.

  7. An OK effort but rather spoilt for me by 2d and 5d both of which I thought very weak. I think the setter must have borrowed Giovannis weird word dictionary for 17a and 19a.
    Thought the clue for 1a was somewhat pedantic. The rank is the lowest non-commissioned in the British Army and certainly doesn’t warrant officer status.
    Not my favourite crossword.
    **/*
    Thx for the hints

  8. Plenty to like today and nothing too taxing. 3d, 27a & 21a top clues for me. 17a guess-n-check was last in.
    Thanks to all as ever.

  9. Did well enough today to brave my first comment – loved 21a and 27a. Needed a bit of help from 2kiwis – but largely for clarification.

    1. Welcome from me too. You don’t need to be very brave to comment here – everyone is very friendly and helpful and no-one ever makes anyone else feel dim. I do remember, though, just how long I was reading the blog before I dared to comment. Keep commenting, please. :smile:

    2. Hello Sophie. I joined this blog not too long ago after struggling with these puzzles for many, many years. It was my husband who actually found it. You will love it, and don’t be shy about adding your comments. Everyone is so nice, and it is great to find a community with a common interest.

  10. Very enjoyable solve. Just about finished in 2* time so **/**** from me. 17a was new – 19a had to be the answer but I needed to verify. Favourites were 21a and 27a. Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  11. Thanks to Jay and to the 2 Kiwis for the review and hints. The view of the mountain sounds great. I was in the Lake District last week, and had some good views too. A super puzzle from Jay, a great mix of clues. I had new words in 17&18a, but got them from the wordplay. I was a bit stuck at one point, luckily an old chestnut came to the rescue in 10a. Favourite was 27a, but 12a made me laugh. Last in was 17a. Was 3*/4* for me.

  12. Pleasantly undemanding today. Thank you Jay and 2Ks. 3d was obvious but I failed to parse it properly going for thinking during pudding rather than but. 17d unknown to me but not hard to fathom. **/**.

  13. Pleasantly warm after yesterdays storms so no complaints .Somewhere around a **/*** for me.
    Put distract in for 19a as it basically means to divert attention and distrait was either new or consigned to my delete box !, it obviously fits the clue better.
    Did’nt think that 5d worked very well, fine apart from this. Thanks 2 k’s for the pics -10a looks like the terrace outside the Buck Pal souvenir shop ? I was there for the ‘tour’ a few weeks ago -excellent, and the nudes must be Rubens-some of his paintings were displayed in the Royal Gallery.

  14. Lovely crossword but, again, I found it quite tricky – I seem to be having a particularly dim week.
    1a took for ever – thought of boots, thought of NZ North Island capital – how could I not? – thought of dukes but didn’t know it was an aircraft.
    I was slow to get the 12a anagram and hadn’t heard of the 17a primate – or I’ve forgotten it.
    3 and 13d were my last two answers – 13d gave me temporary IT blindness as I thought I was after some obscure kind of computer.
    I’m a bit surprised by the number of people who hadn’t met 19a before.
    I liked 14 and 19a and 8 and 16d. My favourite was either 12a or 3d.
    With thanks to Jay and to the 2K’s.
    Still hot in Oxford – off to have a natter with some friends later on – they just happen to have a pool . . .

    1. You are never dim. Couldn’t get more dim than this. Pencilled in bomber next to ‘raid in’, had too many letters so left alone. Looked at the review. Now have bruises on my ankles from the second day of kicking myself.

    2. Nobody who takes a turn at solving and providing hints for these puzzles could ever be described as dim Kath.

    3. Oh dear, Kath, what’s happening to us. I picked a ‘crickety’ one amongst my ‘likes’ a few days ago and now you’ve gone and done it today. I think we need to get a grip……….

      1. If any of the ones that I liked today are ‘crickety’ then the ‘cricketiness’ of it has completely passed me by! :unsure:

    4. I have of course heard of 19a but that didn’t stop me from at first putting in a wrong seventh letter to make another word which was almost parsable.

  15. Add me to those unfamiliar with 19a. However found this very pleasant all round. Nice mixture with nothing mind-numbingly difficult.
    3d COTD with 24a close for me.
    Weather has taken a turn for the better I’m pleased to say.
    Thanks to setter & 2Ks for the succinct hints.

  16. Enjoyed this. The primate was new but easy to work out, the rest was fine.
    There were so many fun clues: 10a, 21a, 27a, but my fave is 1a.
    I must be getting better with Jay’s puzzles, I usually struggle with them.
    Thanks to Jay, and 2Kiwis for the hints, especially for the NZ snapshots, look forward to those.
    BTW, isn’t it RayT tomorrow? Oh, dear.

    1. I imagine so…A few good days on the bounce, so it’s back to earth with a bump tomorrow….

  17. Slow start with a quick finish once I solved the 12a anagram; even with the hint I was still going down the wrong road, thinking of things supported by legs. Then others fell into place. Stumbled at 21a for a while, thinking of all meat related items. Crafty clues by Jay today, designed to lead one astray. Thanks Jay and 2KiWis. NZ sounds like a dream, will have to put on our bucket list.

  18. Apart from 1a,3d and not knowing 17a I guess it all went ok. I don’t use the word ‘afters’ when it comes to dessert, but then I don’t eat dessert. I just make dessert and feed it to everyone else. Thank you Jay and the 2KWs.

  19. No trouble with the second word in 19a but the one in 7d took a while for some reason.
    It was my last one in to complete this very enjoyable crossword.
    Thanks to Jay and to 2ks for the review.

  20. What a lovely puzzle from Jay with plenty of 14a contained within.
    My spelling let me down for a while over 1a and I would never spell 10a like that although I seem to recall that we’ve had that debate before.
    I think 9a cropped up in another puzzle quite recently – within the last few days?
    3d was my last one in – needed all the checkers before the right ‘desert’ came to mind.
    Top clues for me were 12,14&21a plus 3&11d.

    Many thanks, Jay, it was great fun. Thanks also to 2Ks for the pictorial review and the news from your morning walk – you are indeed lucky.

    1. The 9a you’re thinking of was ‘mutation’ and was in last Thursday’s crossword – I seem to remember that it caused grief!

  21. 2 good puzzles in a row. Really enjoyed this one, albeit whilst watching the Paralympics. Well done again to team gb. Off to the theatre now.

  22. Finished this off after a major shopping expedition. **/****. No hints needed but thanks for explaining 16d; I was looking to put an f in for quite a while!

  23. Good evening everybody.

    Mostly straightforward today. I didn’t know the animal at 17a but guessed that must be the solution. Couldn’t really see the logic for three other solutions.

    ***/**

  24. Another solo effort, as they all will be this week until Mrs Sheffieldsy leave number one daughter’s and joins me at the weekend. Pretty much in the not too taxing box, but good fun to boot so 2*/3*.

    Early on there was a surfeit of the letter ‘V’, so I was was looking out for more, but that turned out to be the lot. 21a was my favourite.

    Thanks to the 2Ks and Jay. Is KiwiColin one of the 2Ks operating alone?

    1. Yes KiwiColin is one of the 2Kiwis. The other one is KiwiCarol . So you see the 2Ks are in truth 2Cs. You two obviously enjoy the process of solving puzzles together as we do. Cheers.

      1. Ha ha, excellent. Thanks for the clarification! And, yes, we love doing crosswords together. The sum of the parts and all that, I think.

  25. Good morning all. A bit of a panic this morning when the internet would not work at about 5am when we woke up. Turning the router off and waiting patiently while it re-booted, luckily, was all that was needed to put the world back in order. How did we all manage to exist in the days before the internet?
    We have been amazed at the reports we have been reading of the late summer weather in your part of the world. Not at all what we expect to hear from the UK, especially this late in the season.
    Enjoy what is left of your day, we are just starting the next one, :bye:

    1. 2Ks we in old South Wales have read the weather stories too. . We have had a few nice days but a poor September. My solar panels have produced less than 1/3 the electricity they produced last year & 2014 yet we are virtually half way through the month.
      Things can only get better I hope.

  26. Too many ‘contains’ or ‘dropped letters’ for my taste today. Thanks to the setter, and to the Kiwis for a word-taste of their wonderful country.

  27. A good puzzle that was easily within * time before I was faced with 3/12/14 and ran out of puff. **/*** for difficulty then overall. :-) Lots to like, more like this would be most welcome.

  28. Very enjoyable puzzle and blog. As a vegetarian who eats meat I could not quite see 21ac. Quite happy with the rest though. Saint Sharon and I walked from Portuairk to Sanna Bay this evening. Is there a nicer beach in Britain?

  29. Great crossword, fell three short, but no complaints.
    Needed hint for 17a, that didn’t help as I had correctly parsed the clue, so needed the answer, I had not heard of the primate, but it was gettable, but not as the synonym for indolence had long since gone west.
    Needed the hint for 16d as I could make no sense of the wordplay, totally my fault as I always forget the American secret service, racking my brains for MIS, Bond, Spy, etc., etc. Good clue.
    Needed the answer for 27a, I never get the all-in-one clues, even though the second word was clearly ‘cars’, I would never have got the first word as my brain was thinking along very different lines.
    Many thanks to 2xK’s for great hints and to Jay for the challenge, I have put it down as a score-draw.

  30. A nice midweek puzzle from Jay. Nothing too strenuous and lots to enjoy. 21 a was my fave and overall I think a solid 2/3*.
    Thanks to Jay and the two C’s for their erudite review.

  31. A challenge today for this relative newbie but with a fair amount of persistence and a few google searches (check on 17a) I managed to complete all but two – 16d and 27a. Fortunately the hints helped me get those two in. On reflection I really like 27a as a clue but unfortunately it’s was out of reach.

    Thanks for the puzzle and clues.

  32. Late on parade tonight but well worth the wait. Another cracker from Jay, with a terrific mixture of clue types. So many good ones it’s hard to pick a podium winner but I’ll go for 21 across with 12 across a very close second.

    2*/4* overall with many thanks to the three birds.

  33. Finally a crossword I could do this week!
    Had to check out the primate but had worked it out.

    Many thanks to the setter and to the 2Kiwis ….definitely needed some help with the parsings. Always been more of a guesser than a worker-outer.

    1. Hi Ora – That is a particular ‘primate’ that turns up quite regularly, so is worth storing away. But, never forget the alternative ‘primate’ in a religious context. Aren’t crosswords wonderful :yes:

  34. Having arrived safely in the NE without any police escort or ‘ excuse me sir – do you think you’re a racing driver?’ (to which the answer would have been – yes officer, you have called me Sir and I am indeed J Stewart) I managed to complete a lot of satisfactory work with no endorsements (Ed – they may take around 20 days or so to appear).

    Therefore I have finally managed to find the opportunity to have some ‘me time’ in the shape of todays puzzles. The (inside) back pager was very enjoyable and very much a ‘Jay’ production. The only thing I would say against it is, would setters please stop using the term ‘officer’ for non commissioned ranks. A Bombardier is not an Artillery Officer – he’s a Corporal. NCO’s in all the Armed Forces take a dim view of being taken for officers.

    Rant over.

    My favourite of the day has to be 21a – a nice concise clue

    Thanks to Jay for the puzzle and the 2K’s for their review.

  35. Enjoyed that. Thanks to setter and Kiwis. It started with a blooper though; since when has a bombardier an officer? They’re the poor b…..y infantry.

  36. Jay seldom fails to deliver (man phones restaurant and asks, “Do you deliver?” Restaurateur answers, “No sir, this is a vegetarian restaurant”) and this was no exception. All great clues, but primo inter pares was 12a. Thanks to the Ks and Jay for their efforts. 2*/4*

  37. At last I managed one unaided this week! Until today, brain was definitely not in tune.
    10a was my favourite; 1a by a long measure the worst. I’d love to see a Bombardier attempt to get into the Officer’s Mess, unless serving…

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