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DT 28393

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28393

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

 

Kia ora from Aotearoa.
Rain, rain and more rain! About a week ago a tropical cyclone hit Queensland in Australia and caused considerable damage and much flooding. The remnants of that weather system have now moved across the Tasman and we are getting day after day of drenching rain with some strong winds at times. Although the river in front of our place is running high with the floodgates upstream now open, we are unaffected and hunkering down indoors.
Jay has given us just the right puzzle for a rainy day.
Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Thoughtless charge following popular Conservative spin (13)
INCONSIDERATE : String together the two letter word for popular, the three letter abbreviation for Conservative, a word meaning spin or prejudice, and a word for a charge.

9a     Highest level of pay corporation rejected (3,6)
TOP DRAWER : This one you have to read in reverse order (rejected). A six letter word for pay or recompense and the corporation that a middle-aged beer drinker might have.

10a     Ready after engineers work on renewal (5)
REFIT : Army engineers, and then ready or able.

11a     One way of broadcasting a source of danger in port (5)
RADIO : ‘A’ from the clue and the first letter of danger are inside a South American port.

12a     What 15 do, we hear, in ceremony (4)
RITE : A homophone of the activity of the answer to 15 across.

13a     Island prisoner becomes object of veneration (4)
ICON : The one letter abbreviation for island and then a word for a prisoner.

15a     Authors showing attributes initially overlooked (7)
SCRIBES : Find a synonym of attributes when it is used as a verb, and remove the first letter.

17a     Break a saucer in pieces? (7)
CAESURA : An anagram (in pieces) of A SAUCER.

18a     Relation with a rarely empty store (7)
GRANARY : An elderly female relative, ‘A’ from the clue and then the first and last letters (empty) of rarely.

20a     Competent head of state assassinated (7)
SKILLED : The first letter (head) of state and assassinated or murdered.

21a     Exclude all inhabitants of home city (4)
OMIT : The two central letters (all inhabitants) of each of the last two words of the clue.

22a     Smile — spirit’s about right! (4)
GRIN : Mothers’ ruin contains the abbreviation for right.

23a     Nothing left to cover fire (5)
INGLE : A lurker hiding in the first two words of the clue.

26a     Degree of intensity in effort to sell (5)
PITCH : A double definition. An effort to sell is known as a sales *****.

27a     No parking for individual connected with joint (9)
ARTICULAR : Take a word meaning individual or distinctive and remove the abbreviation for parking from the front of it.

28a     Cleaner reprimands person in tears (6-7)
CARPET-SWEEPER : Reprimands or puts on the mat, and then someone who is crying.

Down

1d     Protesting sure changes those sharing special objectives (8,6)
INTEREST GROUPS : An anagram (changes) of PROTESTING SURE.

2d     Managed fish, eating gutted plaice (5)
COPED : Plaice is gutted by removing all of the inside letters, and what is left is inside another type of fish.

3d     Transport offered by limited circle within club (6,4)
NARROW BOAT : A word meaning limited or not broad, and then the circular letter is inside a club that a cricketer might use.

4d     Direction where nurses’ responsibilities lie? (7)
INWARDS : Split the answer 2,5 to find the places where nurses usually work.

5d     Reinvention of Cartier is unpredictable (7)
ERRATIC : An anagram (reinvention) of CARTIER.

6d     A wife getting lines wrong (4)
AWRY : ‘A’ from the clue, then the abbreviation for wife and railway lines.

7d     Left cafe excited about university producing the intended result (9)
EFFECTUAL : An anagram (excited) of LEFT CAFE contains the abbreviation for university.

8d    Leader of movement‘s regular support with regard to uprising (8-6)
STANDARD BEARER : A word meaning regular or customary, then one meaning support or carry, and finish with the reversal of the abbreviation meaning with regard to.

14d     Half of oxygen may produce such a shape (10)
SEMICIRCLE : The chemical symbol for oxygen when cut in half will produce this geometric figure.

16d     It is clear playing is natural (9)
REALISTIC : An anagram (playing) of IT IS CLEAR.

19d     For example, a wagon must reverse a certain distance (7)
YARDAGE : Another clue to be explained in reverse order. The abbreviation meaning for example, then ‘A’ from the clue and a horse-drawn freight wagon.

20d     Boys welcoming a thankyou for compositions (7)
SONATAS : Male offspring includes ‘A’ from the clue and the two letter informal thank you.|

24d     A depression mostly overcome by doctor’s lively dance (5)
GALOP : A general practitioner includes ‘A’ from the clue and a word for depression without its last letter.

25d     Vehicle fuelled by hydrogen is cleaner (4)
CHAR : A motor vehicle includes the chemical symbol for hydrogen.

We like the two backward clues today, 9a and 19d.

Quickie pun   quay    +    pan     +    iron    =    keep an eye on

56 comments on “DT 28393

  1. Only 17a held me up, never heard of it. Otherwise nowt too tricky today. Like the simple 6d. We’ve seen 11a recently, I’m sure.
    Many thanks to setter and to 2Ks

    1. ‘A’ Level French Lit in the 1950s brought 17a back to mind, thanks to Racine.. I knew that old bore would come in useful some day.

      1. Yes 17a was a new word to me too, my Anagram program failed to find it but my Wordsearch program came up with the goods – isn’t technology a wonderful thing!

        Very enjoyable puzzle today – I didn’t understand the wordplay for 24d but the blog put my mind at rest – thanks for that.

      2. Thanks for that nugget of education, Harport – can’t say I like his style much!

    2. Re 11a:
      Mon 13 Mar 17 DT 28373 Send message to a daughter in port (5)
      Thu 23 Mar 17 DT 28382 Bare grip holding plug over wireless (5)

  2. Coffee pot was still warm at the end of this one. Clue that possessed the most awesomeness was 14d. **/***. Thank you to the setter and to NZ. Just off to celebrate the arrival of the new Tax Year.

  3. I needed the 2kiwis’ help with the SE corner and 17a was new to me. Clue of the day was 19d, beautifully clued. Thank you, Jay and our antipodean friends.

  4. 2*/4*. I agree with everything the 2Ks have written except to say that here in London this is the right puzzle for a sunny day. I would add 21a & 28a to the 2Ks’ selection of 9a & 19d as the picks of the bunch, with 21a taking my accolade of favourite.

    17a was a new word for me and 24d was my last one in.

    Many thanks to the three birds.

  5. Nice sunny April day here in the east of England, at first I thought the crossword was a breeze until I arrived in the SE corner and of course 17a just to the north 😨 I got the answer to 14d after much deliberation but honestly how obscure can you get 😬 Ergo ***/*** Thanks as always to the 2xKs ( who appear to have inherited our Spring weather 😰) and thanks to Jay Favourites are 18 & 28a 😜

  6. A dry but somewhat chilly day here – nice to stay in where it’s warm and solve the crosswords.
    Don’t think I’ve come across 17a before but it did ring a distant bell once the checkers were in place so maybe it was buried in the dark recesses of the grey matter.
    Like 2Ks, I enjoyed the two reversals but my podium places went to 21&28a plus 4&6d.

    Thanks to Jay for a fun puzzle and to the two sheltering Kiwis for their usual high standard of review.

    PS To judge by the lack of scribbles on my paper, the Micawber Toughie should be ‘do-able’ for many back-page solvers – don’t think it took me any longer than this one and it was quite a joy – I’ve ticked an inordinate number of answers!

    1. You are a nuisance, Jane. I’ve got lots of stuff I should be doing today, and now I shall have to do the Toughie first …

      1. Mmm…

        That didn’t take long but was good fun. It’s non-tough but enjoyable Toughie week so far.

      2. My hobby horse again – how I would love to have a go at a Toughie – had a reply from the DT suggesting I subscribe to the Puzzles page. I don’t see why I should be penalised ‘cos I buy the digital version of the paper on an annual sub. ( yes I know it’s cheaper, and you don’t get owt for nowt as they say over t’border uup ere.
        Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed today’s easy one – thanks for the review Two Kiwis, and other amusing contributors.

    2. Caesura, iambic pentameter, Dylan Thomas, Phillip Larkin are all things my teachers failed to teach me about. Poorly schooled by poor schoolteachers.

      1. Ah, but you sing in your chains like the sea, even if they did f*** you up, your schoolteachers

        1. Fern Hill. Why did nobody tell me about Fern Hill? Well their ignorance shines through. My “teachers” should hand back their salaries and pay back their pensions and just **** ***

          Ooh. Not the infant and junior school ones. They taught.

  7. Quite tricky for me, although I managed to finish without any help, I did need the hints to understand how I got there. The cryptic for 14d and 24d were particularly difficult to work out, the penny only dropped with the aid of 2kiwis. Favourite was 28a. 3.5*/3* Many thanks to the setter and especially to 2kiwis.

  8. My hold-up was 17A also. Altogether enjoyable, with 14D my favorite. Thanks Jay and the 2 Ks.

  9. After much head-scratching, 21a proved to be my COTD. Like many others, 17a was a new word, although very gettable from the wordplay, and 24d my last entry. I really enjoyed the whole puzzle, a delight from start to finish. I took a little too long finishing off, but that merely extended the enjoyment, so 2.5*/4* from me overall.

    Many thanks to Jay for a splendid workout and to the 2Ks for their review.

  10. As usual my last four answers took ages.
    I never did get as far as understanding why 14d was what it had to be.
    I’ve never heard of 17a – it’s not even lurking at the back of my brain – just not there at all and it made me doubt my 8d.
    I liked 18 and 20a and 6 and 24d. My favourite was 28a.
    Thanks to Jay and the 2K’s, specially for explaining 14d.
    I really want to try the Micawber Toughie but had better do a bit more in the garden first.

  11. When one is au fait
    with Jay
    what is their to say?
    Everything is OK
    So thanks to Jay
    And those from A O tear O A

    The narrow boat Rachel pictured at 3d is a regular visitor to Canalside LA

    1. Yaye, yaye,
      Thanks to Jay
      Finished without help Today
      Even tho’ 17 was a word
      This simple soul
      Had never heard!!!!!

  12. A clever but straightforward puzzle from Jay which didn’t give us any problems – a very satisfying solve for a sunny Wednesday in London. Thanks to J and the 2Ks. 1.5/4

  13. A later than usual start on today’s puzzle, because of going to a (ice) hockey match, added to the need for some head scratching and the only way to solve 17a was with electronic assistance – 2.5*/3*.

    Standout favourite 14d, but I did like 18a as well.

    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  14. The usual pleasant offering from Jay , manageable but not too easy.
    The weather here is dry but still quite nippy.
    Thanks to Jay and the two Kiwis.

  15. So sorry to see the cyclone damage to a beautiful part of the world.
    Completely agree with the rating today, very enjoyable.
    The only problem was 17a, don’t remember coming across this word before. Tried an anagram solver online and that didn’t recognise it either. I think Jay must have borrowed Giovannis odd word dictionary 😀
    Thx to all.

  16. Hola from the Mar Menor – we’re at the flat getting it ready for guests. Bright & sunny but with a chilly wind here.
    Fairly straight forward for us but had to confirm 17a like most others.
    Thanks to Jay & our antipodean bloggers.

  17. A lovely crossword with 21a my favourite. SE corner held me up, not helped by there being two possible answers to 14d. Thanks to Jay and the 2 Kiwis. **/****

    1. Sad to see him ‘go,’ but 88 is a good number to end on. Just read the obituary on DT on-line. I remember listening to Saturday Club when I was still in short trousers. A truly great radio presenter who was always welcome in my house.

      1. He was on the radio when I was a kid, he only packed up his radio show a couple of months ago. The airwaves are poorer for it.

      1. Golly. Dead or alive? Well he is only heading in one direction the same as the rest of us.

    2. DT on-line report has been ‘updated’ and obit has been removed. Apparently, BBC mis-repoprted.

        1. Et c’est une folie a nulle autre seconde
          Que vouloir se meler de corriger le monde.

          (From le Misanthrope).

          Note the caesuras in the middle of both lines.

  18. Silly me putting GRANDMA for 18A that will teach to read the clue properly which then mucked up 19D Doh! Otherwise an enjoyable romp new word for me 17A figured an anagram but needed freedictionary.com to help come up with the answer. That will be **/*** from me.

  19. Another excellent Jay creation, I was held up for far too long with 14d, which meant that the SE corner took longer than the rest of the puzzle combined.

    My three ticked clues were the two involving cleaners (28a and 25d) plus 19d.

    Many thanks to Mr. Mutch and to Colin and Carol, really sorry to hear about your diabolical weather.

  20. First impression was one of extreme foreboding but gradually pennies began to drop and I can hardly believe it is mission accomplished. Am reassured that I’m not alone in forgetting 17a and finding the final hurdles to be in the SE corner. Thank you Jay and the saturated 2Kiwis – West Sussex has wall-to-wall sunshine.

  21. Two great puzzles in two days, one after another.
    I needed the hint to understand 14d, how clever is that! I also needed gizmo to get 17a, then I had to look it up.
    Lots to choose a fave from, but I think 14d is it, with 18a following a close second.
    Thanks to Jay and to the 2Kiwis for their hints. Hope the weather soon improves.

  22. Took forever to spot the lurker in 23a.
    14d and 24d were last ones in.
    Very enjoyable.
    Favourite is 18a.
    Thanks to Jay and to 2ks for the review.

    1. OMG (G stands for goodness btw)… I did not realise that was a lurker. Gave up trying to fathom that one. What a sneaky excellent luscious lurker.

  23. Zoomed through most of this until progress slowed considerably in the SE. Never heard of 17a and, even though it was clearly an anagram, with there being a few ways to insert the unchecked letters to create plausible-looking words I needed aids for that one. Not wild about 14d – in all common fonts the symbol is closer to elliptical than round. No standout favourite, but I did enjoy most of the puzzle and all of the review. Thanks to Jay and to the 2Ks respectively.

  24. Morning everyone. Not yet daylight here but it looks like, although the rain has eased off it is still literally blowing a gale so maybe another ‘hunkered down’ day in prospect.
    When we were solving only one of us, Carol, knew the answer for 17a so it was not surprising to see that it was new to many solvers. An anagram with checkers for 4 of the 7 letters makes it very gettable though.
    Cheers.

    1. Re: 17a – I wrote out several possibilities and decided whatever it was, I didn’t know it.
      So… just ‘click here, look it up and be educated’, was my thought. Not a fan of anagram solving software etc; don’t see the point. Harport pointed me in the right direction and now I know
      something I didn’t know yesterday. It’s another aspect of the blog which I enjoy.
      Well done Carol; hope the weather blows over.

  25. Well I don’t feel quite so silly now, for not knowing the 17a word. Hadn’t forgotten it, just never seen it before. Plus 14d held me up. 1a fell straight in. Good puzzle overall. Thanks for the hints to the Kiwis and hope you stay warm and dry.

  26. One that felt harder than it was, the long answers in particular looking a little intimidating at first. Finish time about the ** shown above, with the SE corner taking the longest. 17ac was new to me and I guess most solvers. :-)

  27. 23a was last one in and that’s because I missed it was a lurker and could not parse it! Thought 14d slick and clever and enjoyed 28a. Thanks all.

  28. Slightly trickier than usual from my favourite setter, but some crackers in there: 28a was terrific; 14d was sublime, but 21a, my LOI, was just brilliant. Thank you Jay and C&C. 2*/4*
    Now some homework for the Australians in the morning and then to airport to collect my youngest son who’s been in Canada for a couple of years. I can’t wait

  29. Tricky in the SE corner, I thought, but much to like, very late, work is getting in the way.
    Thanks all.

  30. Almost up to date….
    Good crossword as usual from Jay. 28a was my favourite. 2/3.5* overall.thanks to Mr Mutch and those hunkered down far away for their review.

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