DT 28235 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28235

by Miffypops  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28235

Hints and tips by Miffypops

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

Having travelled abroad twice in September (Scotland and Wales) Saint Sharon and I have no wish to leave Warwickshire again this year with the exception of a trip to Nottingham to see Sir Van Morrison.

I had no problems with today’s offering from Rufus which all fell together nicely. We have been transported back in time with 6ac, 21ac and 18d all of which offer musical opportunities.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a    Compelled to use pressure in extremity (8)
ENFORCED: Place a noun meaning coercion inside an example of what an extremity might be

6a    Dramatist‘s method of payment without conflict (6)
COWARD: Place the initial letters of a type of payment (cash on delivery) outside a word meaning a conflict usually between countries to find the name of this vain playwright from the last century. Arthur and Violet’s lad.

  ARVE Error: need id and provider

9a    Prudence West is on Benedictine (6)
WISDOM: W(est) and IS straight from the clue and the name of a Benedictine. Dom is an honorific prefixed to the given name. It derives from the Latin Dominus. It is used in English for certain Benedictine (including some communities which follow the Rule of St. Benedict) and Carthusian monks, and for members of certain communities of Canons Regular. So now we know.

10a    Oil catch freely, being liberal (8)
CATHOLIC: Anagram (freely) of OIL CATCH

11a    Went back over and copied again (8)
RETRACED: To have gone back over the same route as before or to have copied something for a second time

12a    You can’t be sure when nursing them (6)
DOUBTS: A cryptic definition of feelings of uncertainty as felt by the apostle Thomas

  ARVE Error: need id and provider

13a    Supporters of family life waving weird banners (12)
BREADWINNERS: Anagram (waving) of WIERD BANNERS

16a    Conclusion is to include North Carolina for criticism (12)
DENOUNCEMENT: Place the initial letters of North Carolina inside a noun meaning the outcome of a situation, when something is decided or made clear.

19a    Support in reverse (4-2)
BACK-UP: With a space instead of the hyphen it gives a phrasal verb meaning to reverse a vehicle

21a    Confined space where those inside call out (5,3)
PHONE BOX: A cryptic definition of a public utility used to make calls in the olden days. These large red boxes were all over the place and were a good source of income for the juvenile delinquent that today’s blogger used to be.

  ARVE Error: need id and provider

23a    Sneak attending class with hesitation (8)
INFORMER: split 2,4,2 we begin with two words meaning to be attending a class followed by one of our usual hesitations. Not um. The other one.

24a    US state taking a right from another (6)
KANSAS: Find an American state and remove the letters A and R to leave another state. The first state is mentioned in Biblical tale of Noah. He looked out of the ark and saw the waters ebbing away.

25a    They’re for putting on for party people (6)
GREENS: In golf they are for putting on and it is the name attached to the political section of the ecology party.

26a    Pen catalogues for elegant writers (8)
STYLISTS: A pigpen is followed by a verb meaning catalogues.

Down

2d    Is included amongst those who are against rackets (6)
NOISES: Those against are the opposite to the ayes. Place the word IS from the clue in amongst them

3d    Alternative supported by the German command (5)
ORDER: A conjunction used to link alternatives is followed by the German word for the.

4d    Arrive with fresh request to give admission (4,5)
COME CLEAN: a word meaning to arrive is followed by a word meaning fresh to find this term meaning to admit one’s guilt.

5d    Determined detectives in action (7)
DECIDED: Place the initial letters of the Criminal Investigation Department inside a word meaning an action

6d    Located, we hear, and named (5)
CITED: A homophone based upon a word meaning located and indicated by the words we hear

7d    I hunt down suspect in murder mystery (9)
WHODUNNIT: Anagram (suspect) of I HUNT DOWN

8d    Resort is to arrange revels (8)
ROISTERS: Anagram (to arrange) of RESORT IS

13d    City area veto’s damaged proportional representation? (5,4)
BLOCK VOTE: An example of an area in a city particularly in America is followed by an anagram (damaged) of VETO. The letter S here in veto’s is superfluous and is only there to help the surface read

14d    Chill wine to go with last bits of turkey and cold game (3,6)
ICE HOCKEY: Chill here means to freeze. We then need a type of dry white German wine and the last two letters (last bits) of the word Turkey.

  ARVE Error: need id and provider

15d    Payment made for an old servant? (8)
RETAINER: A double definition.

17d    Wrong premise for making rules (7)
EMPIRES: Anagram (wrong) of PREMISE

18d    Mr A to Z in composing? (6)
MOZART: Anagram (in composing) of MR A TO Z. I have been listening to this geezer quite a lot lately particularly this piece.

  ARVE Error: need id and provider

20d    Turn up with mother’s cats (5)
PUMAS: these large black cats can be found by reversing (turns) the word UP and adding a word meaning mothers similar to pa’s for fathers

22d    Lack of excitement, yet Eastern nun is disturbed, I must conclude (5)
ENNUI: Take the E from eastern. Add an anagram (is disturbed) of NUN and finish off with the letter I, again from the clue.

Reviewed to the fine singing of Mr Bob Dylan and his album John Wesley Hardin’.

The Quick Crossword pun: high+tree+sun=high treason

70 comments on “DT 28235”

  1. 1*/4* for the usual Monday fun. 25a was my last one in and favourite.

    Many thanks to Rufus and to MP. What an enjoyable and eclectic selection of music!

  2. Agree with Miffypops **/**** as a little more difficult than the usual Monday gentle start to the week and some really well thought out clues, liked 7d and 18d my favourite.
    Luckily missed the golf ,attended a golden wedding party-how can you take seriously a captain who wears raised sunglasses on his head in the studio !

    1. B. Ignoring the outcome you missed three or four of the best singles matches you would ever wish to see. The sound was superfluous so turned it off & “missed” the boorish crowd comments.

  3. Many thanks MP – the musical obscurities rival Giovanni

    if you want, you can read the anagram indicator in 13d as “is damaged”, then no need to have an orphan ‘s.

    Enjoyable puzzle from Rufus – many thanks as always

  4. Lots to enjoy in the usual Monday style. As is my habit, I made more of a meal of the easier clues than the harder ones.

    I think the ‘s in 13d is fine as part of the anagram indicator: VETO is damaged.

    My last in, with an auto-kick, was 25a. That’s the last time that sense of “putting” misleads me, I swear!

    7d is a very neat anagram, but 4d is my favourite today for a few reasons.

    Have to go and make myself useful in a sec so will watch the videos this evening. Already smiling at the 21a one though.

    Many thanks to Rufus and the musical Miffypops.

    1. That meaning of putting fooled me as well Kitty. I parsed half of the clue properly and threw out an invitation for help but BD chose to edit so thank you BD

      1. Prime candidate for a bung-in, which I’m pleased to report, I didn’t.

        I’m getting more strict with myself regarding bung-innyness and word make-uppance. It’s going well-ly, methinks.

        1. I think that although I quite like your ‘bung-innyness’ it’s to be avoided. BD’s mantra is, “If you don’t understand your answer then it’s likely to be wrong.”
          The best example that I can remember was from a very long ago Saturday crossword (I think) – it was an across clue right up in the top right hand corner (again, I think). Isn’t it funny what your brain remembers and what’s even funnier, not to mention even more inconvenient, is what your brain forgets.
          I can’t remember the clue but the definition was a kind of coat – there are alternative spellings of the word – there’s ‘duffel’ and then there’s ‘duffle’. If you did what the clue told you to do you got the right one – if you just ‘bunged it in’ and got the wrong kind then you were completely sunk in the top right corner.

          1. Exactly. Have glibly posted how simple the solution is, only to find I’ve got it wrong too often, usually by a letter or so.
            My time in Wales was some kind of epiphany.
            Now a purist.
            Thanks for your response,Kath. :smile:

  5. A nice very straightforward romp for a Monday morning.

    1*/4* today.

    Thanks to all for their efforts!

  6. Enjoyed this and managed all but one – 25a. Needed help from MP and relieved to see that I wasn’t the only one to struggle with it. Despite it stumping me it’s my favourite.

    Thanks to setter and MP.

  7. Straightforward Monday fare with fewer anagrams than on Friday. Rather liked 16a. Thanks to all concerned/

  8. Enjoyable and mostly straightforward, although it took longer than normal to get going for some reason.
    25a my COTD. It was a pity our Ryder Cup players couldn’t master Hazeltine’s as well as the US did. Great matchplay golf in the matches they showed though.
    Thanks to Rufus and MP for hints.

  9. Tarnation – I would have said that I never get fooled by that ‘putting’ but I did today! Would have been my favourite clue if Rufus had left out the second incidence of ‘for’ which didn’t seem necessary and somewhat spoiled the surface read.
    In the event, the honours go to 21a – very nicely described.

    Took me a while to get going with this one but enjoyable once I’d found the way in.
    Thanks to Rufus and to MP.

  11. Thanks to Miffypops for sorting out 25a for me. Guessed the answer from the second part of the clue but though the first was some kind of Wellington boots. How silly.
    Thanks to Rufus too.

  12. No problems today apart from 17d, I can see it’s an anagram but was has Empires to do with rules? Surely Empires is a plural noun and the answer calls for a verb.
    Best clue was def 25a, made me laugh out loud.
    Thx to all

    2. Brian, both the definition and the answer for 17d are plural nouns.

      The second definition of empire in the BRB is “supreme control or dominion” = rule.

      1. … and Chambers Thesaurus has under empire:

        noun
        supremacy, sovereignty, rule, authority, dominion, command, government, jurisdiction, control, power, sway

      2. Empire = rule is listed in Collins Online, in both the dictionary and thesaurus. I know they haven’t quite the same prestige/authority of the BRBs but it’s a good place to look if you only have access to the net whilst solving.

    3. Brian. Yes, 25a is a very clever and amusing clue. That and 18d were my favourites of many excellent clues.

  13. Thanks to Rufus and to Miffypops for the review and hints. A nice start to the week. No problems except for 25a,needed the hints for that. Didn’t twig either definition, should have got the first one given that I was watching the Ryder Cup last night, but read the word as placing and not the golf term. Very good clue. 21a made me laugh, but my favourite was 18d. Was 2*/4* for me. Beautiful sunny day in Kenwood.

  14. A nice sunny morning Monday crossword.
    I got terribly snarled up with my last few answers – couldn’t do 16 or 21a or 17d for ages – still don’t really understand 17d.
    I didn’t untangle 6a the right way – not that it was very tangled up – saw the ‘card’ as the method of payment and didn’t look any further. Dim.
    I liked 12 and 24a and 14d. My favourite was 21a.
    Thanks to Rufus and to MP.
    Just in case there’s anyone who hasn’t ‘met’ it PHONE BOXES is an anagram of ‘XENOPHOBES’.

    1. Kath,
      Like you I had card in 6a & needed MP’s hint to sort me out.
      However, is COD the “poniard” of payment methods? Can’t remember when I last saw it on an advert & would never have thought of it without the hint.

  15. Not sure I’m familiar with 16a without the ‘ce’ so spent far too long gawping at that blankly, which held up 15d (was unsure of that, too) and that pesky 25a pun caught me out. Double D’Oh!!

    Anyway 21a raised a smile, but 25a is my winner for today for successfully hoodwinking me despite my having considered the correct word.

    Many thanks to all as ever.

  16. I find I was in good company as I was also fooled by “putting” AGAIN, I can’t believe I was taken in by this. Like Kitty, I promised myself last time that I would remember it, but it was my last one in and is my fave of the day.
    Mr. 6a had a home in Jamaica, he and his mates would arrive at the airport in jackets and ties, but by the time they arrived at Immigration, they were all in lime-green or pink trousers and wildly gaudy shirts! Those were the days, they were always so pleasant.
    I digress, thanks to Rufus and to M’pops for his entertainments.

    1. Oh dear, Haiti is getting hammered and Hurricane Matthew hasn’t really arrived there yet. This is going to be a disaster for them.

    2. Very interesting reminiscences, Merusa. I believe his house on Jamaica was called “Firefly”, I remember seeing film of it (overlooking the sea) in a documentary many years ago.

      1. Yes, Firefly is in Oracabessa, east of Ocho Rios (Jamaicans call it Ochie!) and he is buried there. Ian Fleming also had a house in Oracabessa called Goldeneye, and there’s a book by Matthew Parker of the same name. It’s a good read and describes the past life in Jamaica very well.

  17. Nice gentle start to the week, with no problems. Highly enjoyable stuff from Rufus, certainly streets above the dire rugby matches shown live on tv over the weekend. So many good clues but 13a is my favourite.

  18. The usual uplifting Monday delight from Mr. Squires, superbly entertaining,

    Three clues stood out for me, 12a, 25a and 7d, what a fantastic anagram.

    Many thanks to Rufus and to Miffypops (great musical choices!).

  19. Good to be challenged a bit more than usual on a Monday. North fell into place ahead of the South where to finish I needed MP’s help with 25a even after the last few days of disappointing activity in Hazeltine. I await a first-hand report on the shenanigans there when my sister returns from Minnesota tomorrow. I wonder how many 21 acrosses are still in use – we have one in the village. Thanks Rufus and also MP particularly for the two great musical interludes (6a and particularly the Amadeus’ Concerto). ***/***.

  20. Very enjoyable and fairly straightforward but needed to look up 17d which had to be right but it’s meaning was obscure to me. Thanks to the setter and MP for the review.

  21. I thought that was an excellent Rufus offering, no hints needed. Lots of nice clues. After the hammering in the Ryder Cup (for which great credit is due to Davis Love and the American team, if not always their supporters) my favourite was 25a, very clever use of ‘putting’.
    There were a few anagrams, and 8d had to be dredged from the back of my mind.
    I have not looked at MP’s hints yet, but they always brighten up my Mondays, though today has been a beautiful day in South London.
    My partner has been awarded her PIP application, so many thanks are due to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau for their fantastic help.
    Thanks to MP in advance and Rufus for the puzzle.

    1. Out of interest, what’s the ‘S doing on the end of ‘veto’ in 13d??? Doesn’t it read ok without it?? I assumed it was part of the anagram???

      1. Hi HIYD,
        Pleased the PIP must have been very welcome at the moment.
        As regards “veto’s ” see comments in #3 above.

    2. Interesting MP, that you refer to the state mentioned in the Bible by Noah. The first car was mentioned in the Bible also: “…and Moses came down from Mount Sinai in his Triumph…”

  23. After a fraught and busy day so nice to come home to a glass of cheeky red and this Monday offering. Clues were grade 1 as is MP’s blog. Rate this 2.5/4.5 Top clue is without doubt 25A Well crafted and a smiler to boot.

  24. Add me to the list for 25a, now burnt in memory (I hope) for future reference. Apart from that nothing too demanding, sincere thanks to Rufus and Miffypops.

  25. Totally off topic – something called Palikan has installed itself on my computer. Anyone know how to get rid of it?

    2. Jane, I tried to send you a link, but the website would not allow me to post it. If you google remove Palikan, you should find some help.
      Moral of the story : Beware ‘free’ software, though I would have expected your virus software would have detected it.

      1. Please be wary of any advice on the internet that asks you to download specialised software as often it asks for payment before finishing the job. Malwarebytes should be ok, but only download it from a reputable site, and even then be careful at every step that you refuse to accept any other software that is offered.

        1. Agree. Had severe problems that made laptop impossible to use. Downloaded Malwarebytes and it fixed completely. A bargain and you can put it on three machines for the one price. Already had Macafee but that did not help.

    3. Thanks guys – I seem to have managed to get rid of it, although it took me ages to find any instructions that I could understand!
      By the way, Lizzie – I do have both Malwarebytes and Avast, it managed to get through them both.

      1. It might sound incredible but I have neither a firewall nor antivirus software on my 15 year old computer, hardly receive any spam in my mailbox.
        I don’t think the Internet knows that I am connected.

        2. You are probably running a version of Windows the under-stone dwellers can’t be bothered infecting. It’s sometimes an advantage to be “behind the times”!

      2. Well done!!
        Burning at the stake would be too kind to the people who come up with this stuff…

  26. Very enjoyable but like a few people came unstuck with 25A. I thought it might be briefs. Oops! 13 A was a pleasing anagram as was 7D.

  27. One of Rufus’ gentler offerings I thought. Putting at 25ac had me fooled for long after I’d finished the crossword, a very nice bit of misdirection. An enjoyable start to the week.

  28. Good evening everybody.

    A joint effort today and over very quickly. Wasn’t keen on 17d.

    **/na

  29. A gentle, but amusing, start to the week: 1*/3*. 16a was my favourite, and I wonder how much longer 21a will work – it’s years since I saw anyone in a phone box! Thanks to Rufus, and to Miffypops.

  30. Wow, 25a certainly is the COTD! So many of us had it either as last one in or favourite. Me included! I did laugh when I realised what the answer was.
    So that was favourite and overall 2/3.5*. An excellent start to the week.
    Thanks to Rufus, and to MP and his juke box.

  31. I know you’re not supposed to bung things in unless they made sense, but I put repeated into 11a, and it made sense to me. NW corner took a bit of unscrambling.Thank you setter for an enjoyable puzzle and Miffypops for the review. I now know what Dom means.

  32. Although not overly difficult, this on was very enjoyable with lovely, smooth, well-written clues. Amongst many favourites were 13a, 25a, 7d and 18d. Good fun! 1.5*/3.5*

  33. Checked the blog today to see how many others’ last in was 25a. Gratified to see that three quarters of the posters were with us. ******* minutes for all but that one, then another seven hours to ponder and finish!

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