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DT 28227

 

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28227

Hints and tips by Deep Threat

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Good morning from South Staffs on a sunny September day.

Not too much piety from Giovanni this morning, but the usual requirements for some General Knowledge – and a novel (to me, anyway) clue construction at 13a.

In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the ANSWER buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.

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

7a           More than one wild animal in river by vessel delights (14)
HIPPOPOTAMUSES – Put together a word for ‘in’ or trendy, the Italian river which is a frequent visitor to crosswordland, an earthenware vessel, and ‘delights’ or entertains.

ARVE Error: need id and provider

9a           Sober and at ease, consuming water (10)
RESTRAINED – The sort of water that falls from the sky is placed inside a word for ‘at ease’ or relaxed.

11a         Quiet time to get something to read? (4)
PAGE – The musical symbol for quiet followed by a long period of time.

12a         What fuels boiler? (3)
OIL – An all-in-one clue, where the answer is found inside bOILer.

13a         What you see in cycle velodrome at different heights (5-5)
SPLIT-LEVEL – This is like one of the clues in ‘Dingbats’. The answer is literally what you see in cycLE VELodrome.

16a         Girl, one facing endless peril (4)
IRIS – The Roman numeral for one, followed by peril or danger with its final letter missing.

17a         Six books in a set sitting beside mature wine (7)
VINTAGE – Put together the Roman numeral for six, the letters denoting one of the sets of books in the Bible, and a verb meaning to mature.

18a         These played harps, but not the harp-playing types! (7)
SERAPHS – (The)SE from the clue followed by an anagram played of HARPS, with ‘the’ removed.

20a         Celebrity that’s knocked over by despicable people (4)
STAR – Reverse the sort of despicable people who may be said to desert a sinking ship.

21a         Household collections famous Frenchman featured in odd bits of text (10)
TROUSSEAUX – The plural form of the traditional collection put together by a bride-to-be. The odd-numbered letters of TeXt are placed either side of a French philosopher.

23a         Garland from the French island (3)
LEI – The French definite article followed by an abbreviation for Island, giving us a Hawaiian garland.

Image result for lei

24a         After first half of month perform in sport (4)
JUDO – The first half of the name of a four-letter month, followed by ‘perform’.

25a         Greek character thus transformed Italy, showing ability to bring harmony? (10)
MUSICALITY – Put together a letter of the Greek alphabet, the Latin word for ‘thus, and an anagram (transformed) of ITALY.

28a         A lot may be about to be getting a hit from above? (5,3,6)
UNDER THE HAMMER – A cryptic definition of where a lot in an auction sale may be said to be.

Down

1d           Manoeuvring of vehicle makes pet run riot, then collapse (5-5,4)
THREE-POINT TURN – anagram (collapse) of PET RUN RIOT THEN.

2d           See best standing on head (4)
SPOT – Reverse (standing on head, in a Down clue) an informal word for ‘best’.

3d           Within a part of India lurks unknown artist (4)
GOYA – A former Portuguese colony in India, wrapped around an algebraic unknown.

Image result for goya

4d           Scheme to set bar up in secluded seaside location (7)
CONNIVE – Another word for a bar or pub is reversed (set up) and placed inside an inlet of the sea.

5d           Belts with ammunition stop soldier moving (10)
BANDOLIERS – ‘To stop’ or forbid, followed by an anagram (moving) of SOLDIER.

Image result for bandolier

6d           Sue being agile, catching one pet? (10)
SUPPLICATE A word for agile or lissom, wrapped around the Roman numeral for one and a furry pet.

8d           Laundress might need to shift gloopy yellow stuff (7,7)
ENGLISH MUSTARD – Anagram (need to shift) of LAUNDRESS MIGHT.

Image result for english mustard

10d         Go off hill after climbing (3)
ROT – Reverse (after climbing) the sort of hill which is especially found on the moors of Devon.

14d         Bury run, leader in race being unwelcome visitor (10)
INTERLOPER – Put together a word for bury, an easy running gait, and the first letter of Race.

15d         Member getting very friendly with name not provided is recognised (10)
LEGITIMATE – A member of the human body, followed by ‘very friendly with’ with the Name removed.

19d         Fellow hiding love is a bit more wet (7)
MOISTER – The full spelling of the form of address used for a man, wrapped around the letter which looks like a love score at tennis.

22d         Son meeting father in spring (3)
SPA Son, followed by an informal word for father.

26d         Heartless trick will make you gossip (4)
CHAT – Remove the middle letter (heartless) from a word meaning trick or swindle.

27d         Writer that one associates with a certain Mary (4)
LAMB – As in ‘Mary had a little …’

Image result for charles lamb


The Quick Crossword pun SAUL + TANNER = SULTANA

64 comments on “DT 28227

  1. I found this puzzle quite difficult to solve in places and was held up by a couple of clues (21ac and 5d) – spelling 7a incorrectly didn’t help though…

    13ac reminded me of the type of device Virgilius occasionally uses – but I could easily be wrong.

    Thanks to DT and Giovanni 2.5*/3*

  2. A Giovanni-lite offering today, but an enjoyable solve. Liked 13a . The four long answers around the outside provided a good start to completing the rest of the grid. Thanks to all concerned.

  3. 2*/3*. I enjoyed this more than most Friday back-pagers in spite of a couple of candidates for clunky clue of the month. Most of this fell into place quite easily but I was held up slightly by a few clues on the right hand side. 5d was a new word for me and my last one in.

    7a, 13a, 25a & 8d deserve special mentions, but 18a was my favourite.

    Many thanks to Giovanni and to DT.

  4. An enjoyable and not too difficult puzzle to round out the work week completed comfortably before lights out last night – **/*** for me.

    13a was a little mysterious and, while I had the correct answer, I needed DT’s hint to explain it.

    Favourite a toss up between 28a and 8d. I think I will have to go with 28a as the non-anagram of the two.

    Thanks to Giovanni and DT.

  5. Going for a ** difficulty (including one * for the grid ) Although there were more lengthy clues than normal , the short clues were usually not very taxing and supplied the requisite checking letters. Agree with the *** for enjoyment.
    7a was an amusing charade-loved DT’S video- is this the one from Fantasia?.
    6d was the last in as I initially failed to spot the definition and thought Sue was on the outside, viz su——-e, saw the light eventually.
    Looking forward to the weekend.

  6. An enjoyable puzzle today. 7a was a plural I don’t normally use or recognise but BRB confirmed it. Needed the hints to parse 13a but overall a very pleasant solve. Thanks to The Don and to Deep Threat for the review.

    1. Strangely enough 7a in plural form actually appears in print on p17 in today’s DT in an article about Ed Balls’ dancing style!

  7. Not too difficult overall but I did miss the required definition of 13a (written over two lines in the printed version, of course!) and managed to make a real meal out of 8d. The first checkers in made me think of egg yolks for the gloopy, yellow stuff and then I came up with ‘butters’ to fit the checkers in the second word. I now have a store of synonyms for ‘laundress’ which I shall doubtless never need!
    Kudos to any setter who can fit 7a into a puzzle and to the blogger who can illustrate it so well.
    Top places for me go to 13 & 28a.

    Thanks to DG, who let us off lightly on the obscurity front today, and to DT for an excellent review.

    Many happy returns to Hilary – enjoy your special day.

  8. Thought this extract from a letter in yesterday’s paper may amuse/shock:

    “A little while ago I saw a woman driving a car on the A31 in Hampshire with a newspaper folded over the steering wheel and a pen in one hand as she completed the crossword.
    However, I had time to see that it was the Telegraph crossword. So that’s all right then.”

    1. What if she’d driven over a raised grid which caused her to look down, veer across the carriageway and crash square into another vehicle?

    2. If he could see it was the Telegraph he must have been dangerously close or had 30/20 vision. Might be more of a comment on his driving rather than her obvious ability to multitask.
      Question is was it the Toughie? – that would have been impressive.

  9. For me, the longest time to solve this week. Needed the blog to fully explain 13 a (very clever though), and 7a (should have seen that one). The last letter of 21a held me up for a while. Last in 4 and 5 d. Thanks to DT and The Don.

  10. Bottom half went in OK & all would have been straightforward if I not parsed 7a as wanting a long word for “delights”. Penny dropped when a couple of checkers were in place.
    Liked 13a & is my COTD. 27d may well feature in someone’s blog I think.
    Thanks to setter & DT for hints that clarified a couple of my questionable interpretations

  11. Once I got into the swing of this puzzle, I had no problems completing it quite steadily. A couple of the clues I thought to be convoluted and not entirely satisfying but as a whole an enjoyable solve.

    2*/3*, I would say.

    Usual thanks to all.

  12. Quite tricky but enjoyable for the most part. One or two clunky clues, not as difficult as some of the puzzles set by Giovanni. 2.5*/2.5* Many thanks to DT for the hints.

  13. Like RD I enjoyed this more than I do most Friday cryptics.
    Like Jane I got in a hopeless mess with ‘eggy custard’ in 8d.
    I had 20a the wrong way round to begin with but 14d sorted that one out.
    I could only think of ‘Mary, Mary quite contrary’ with 27d but got there eventually.
    Thought we were going to have the Flanders and Swan song for 7a.
    I liked 1 and 4d. My favourite was 18a.
    With thanks to Giovanni and to DT.

    Happy Birthday to Hilary.

    Off to London this afternoon to collect Elder Lamb’s cats who are coming to stay with us for a week – the thought of a lengthy journey in Friday rush hour on the M25 with two very vocal cats – oh dear! :sad:

      1. I know – I’m just being a bit dim today – it’s the thought of the M25 this afternoon – well, that’s today’s excuse. :sad:

        1. Waiting for letter on Monday re so & so’s letter of dd: this afternoon on M25 saw woman doing the Toughie with two cats mieowing away in the back: worse still she was looking at BD’s blog for hints.

  14. 18 across easily my favourite clue from this Giovanni offering. I thought at first this was going to take a while, but once the long answers were in the rest soon followed. The slowish start pushed me into 2.5*/3* overall rating.

    Thanks to The Don and DT.

  15. Thanks to Giovanni and to Deep Threat for the review and hints. I found this very difficult. Needed the hints for 7,8a & 8d. Was 3*/2* for me.

  16. Re 27D. Surely Mary refers to Charles Lamb’s sister, with whom he wrote “Tales from Shakespeare”?

  17. The Don in gentle mode made it ** for us and **** enjoyment if just for 7a and 13a. Like Kath we put 20a in the other way round – still think the clue is a bit weird!!!
    Thanks to DT & the Don for a nice workout.
    PS pommers says hi too

  18. Usual brilliant Giovanni crossword. Not his trickiest but very enjoyable.
    Needed the hint to explain 13a, missed the anagram in 8d but the best clue for me was def 7a, a real smile clue with everything you need to solve it there in the clue.
    For me **/****
    Thx to all.
    PS really nice to have had 5 crosswords this week rather than 4.

  19. Very enjoyable solve with a few smiles on the way. 7a was a good example and unusually for me I liked the anagram in 8d. I got 13a but not sure about this type of clue. Anyway, thanks to the setter and DT for the review.

  20. Enjoyable puzzle from the Don and one that I found easier than most of his offerings. I liked 7a but 28a edged it as my favourite. Funnily enough 19d caused me the most problems as I kept wanting to put an n at the end and could not figure it out for ages.

  21. This is the best one since last Thursday with good, challenging clues and a very enjoyable solve. 13a is an innovation. 2.5*/3.5*

  22. Apart from 19down…which I thought was ‘Dowsier’…i. e….one who seeks water…today was relatively easy going for a Friday….
    Thanks to Giovanni and Deep Threat.

  23. Nothing too tricky or too obscure today, Giovanni in fairly benign mood I thought.

    13a and 18a were cleverly clued, but my favourite was 8d as the anagram took quite a while to unpick.

    Many thanks to Mr. Manley and to DT, and a good weekend to all.

  24. Should have written the letters down in 8d as I ended up with English Custard (crème Anglaise bien sûr).
    Last ones in were 6d and 21a also.
    Liked 13a.
    Thanks to the Don and to DT for the review.

      1. So glad J-L and others you have confessed to this. I was embarrassed when I saw the right answer and was not going to admit my mistake. Spent so long trying to make a longer word beginning with Egg that I could not think beyond custard. Been away this weekend and only done this in drabs just finished now to an accompaniment of snoring from the next room.

  25. Nicely testing with NE corner last to fall. I suppose 6d can mean sue. Bunged in 13d and 18d and then needed help to parse. Surely 21a usually refers to brides’ collections of clothing, lingerie and linen but I guess household items might be included – how unromantic! Missed the anagram in 8d. Thank you Giovanni and DT. ***/***.

  26. After a late night and a busy morning this was rather a slow one for me, but it all came together steadily and enjoyably.

    I liked 13a among other things.

    Thanks to Giovanni and DT, especially for the 7a clip.

  27. I really enjoyed this, though I shot myself in the foot by putting in 26d incorrectly, even though I had the right answer. Sloppy, I deserved the lengthy time it took me to get 28a and then 27d, my last in and so easy!
    Everything else was all tikai babu; loved 7a 13a and 18a, I can’t choose a fave.
    Thanks to Giovanni, and to Deep Threat, especially for unravelling 13a.

  28. Great fun. About half the clues seemed really easy, but the rest brought the difficulty up to 2*. Certainly 4* for enjoyment, and I particularly enjoyed 9, 21 and 25a. Thanks to the Don for the puzzle, and to DT for the review. And happy birthday to Hilary!

  29. Thank you to everybody who has sent birthday greetings, it has been a difficult few weeks but things are sorting out nicely. Thanks to BD for the banner. OH ordered an authentic Daily Telegraph for the day I was born, have only glanced at it but looks like fascinating reading. Hope to be back crosswording on a regular basis. Your kind words have made a great difference. :rose:

  30. Having just completed it I do feel the Quick Crossword pun is rather far-fetched but I suppose it depends on how you pronounce the words.

  31. Nice crossword to greet me on my return from holiday where I only had “The Times of Malta” to grapple with 😎 **/*** thanks to Giovanni and to DT especially for explaining the subtleties of 13a 🤔 Liked 7 & 21a

  32. Gosh what a struggle I had with this one. Needed a lot of electronic help as well as the hints.

    Still, I was better than yesterday.

    Thanks to the setter and to Deep Threat.

  33. Yes, the Don in gentle mood! No complaints though as it was still a pleasure to solve. 7a was my favourite simply because I have never seen that word in a DT back pager. Cue five hundred people telling me otherwise!
    2/3* overall.
    Thanks to the Don, and to DT for his review.

  34. 8d was slower to reveal itself than one would expect but at least we did get it right in the end. Plenty to enjoy and keep us smiling so we are happy.
    Thanks Giovanni and DT.

  35. 8d and 18ac held out at the end, though much of the rest went in without too much of a struggle. An enjoyable puzzle to end the week from the Don.

  36. A great crossword, having gone through the hints, sadly I was far to knackered to attempt it!! I have to start crosswords in the morning!!
    Thanks DT for great explanations, and to Giovanni for the puzzle.

  37. A lovely crossword today, I enjoyed many of the clues. I didn’t quite complete it without the clues and fell 4 short – 9a, 28a, 3d and 27d. I’m rubbish when it comes to art and literature.

    I’m slightly ashamed to say that knowledge of 5d comes from Call of Duty vernacular! I also had to look up the definition of 21a which is a new word for me but I was able to solve from the clue.

    My picks were 7a, 13a (once hints helped parse), 21a and 8d. My favourite today was 18a. ***/**** as I needed the hints to complete.

  38. Took me longer than it should, and ashamed to say 8d held me up for a while, although we can get it and do use it over here. Was trying to make an anagram out of the wrong letters. Thanks Deep Threat for helpful hints. Oh dear, one of those awful “ality” words in 25a across, not a fan of this addition to words so that you can use one word instead of the usual two.

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