DT 28442 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
View closed comments 

DT 28442

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28442

Hints and tips by Kath

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating — Difficulty ***Enjoyment ****

Hello everyone. It’s definitely a Ray T Thursday – it has most of his trademarks although I didn’t notice much innuendo. I thought it was quite tricky but always find it hard to judge difficulty and enjoyment when I know I’m doing the hints so please leave a comment telling us how you got on today.

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

Across

1a            Awkward English gathered around boozer, right? (11)
EMBARRASSED — Start off with the abbreviation for E(nglish), follow that with another word for gathered or collected which contains (around) a place to have a drink (boozer) and R(ight).

10a         Republic with north-east bordering China (5)
NEPAL — The abbreviation for N(orth) E(ast) followed by a little word meaning a friend – China being cockney rhyming slang here.

11a         Leader that is leading paper in row (9)
CHIEFTAIN — The two letter abbreviation for that is in Latin and another abbreviation for a newspaper (the pink one) are contained in (in) a row or sequence.

12a         Lay bare in sun’s heat? Heavenly! (9)
UNSHEATHE — Our first lurker of the day indicated by in – the answer is hidden in the last three words of the clue.

13a         Jack up using beams, reportedly (5)
RAISE — A homophone (reportedly) of beams.

14a         Little hooters? (6)
OWLETS — These ‘hooters’ are birds rather than noses or any other of its meanings.

16a         Most extreme leader in some bother gathering support (8)
STEEPEST — The first letter (leader) of S(ome) and a bother, or nuisance, contain (gathering) a support – the ‘golfy’ kind.

18a         Defraud people — it’s a gift (8)
DONATION — A little word meaning defraud – not con, the other one – is followed by people or race.

20a         Scruffy artist facing time in silence (6)
RAGTAG — The usual two letters for an artist are followed by a verb to silence or stifle which contains (in) the one letter abbreviation for T(ime)

23a         Doctor in North America uses anaesthetic (5)
NUMBS — A two letter abbreviation for one of the qualifications of a doctor is contained in (in) N(orth) and the two letters for America.

24a         Cutting fish, worker holds end of kipper (9)
TRENCHANT — A freshwater fish contains the last letter (holds end) of kipper and after that you need a worker insect.

26a         Trite ‘Amen’ with resolution to close (9)
TERMINATE — An anagram (with resolution) of TRITE ‘AMEN’.

27a         Revs turning old motor (5)
SERVO — An anagram (turning) of REVS is followed by the abbreviation for O(ld). I’d never heard of this but the BRB had.

28a         Pair on alert, frolicking in common (11)
PROLETARIAN — An anagram (frolicking) of PAIR ON ALERT.

 

Down

2d            Miserable or pining, exhibits sulks initially (5)
MOPES — A Ray T special – the first letters (initially) of the first five words of the clue. Not quite sure what to underline as the definition here. 

3d            Top lieutenant accepting soldiers in disorder (7)
AILMENT — Two letters meaning ‘top’ are followed by the abbreviation for lieutenant which contains (accepting) some soldiers.

4d            Tell Church is uplifted in ceremony (6)
RECITE — A ceremony or ritual contains (in) a reversal (is uplifted) of one of the usual crosswordland abbreviations for Church.

5d            Steps too much, twisting heel (8)
STILETTO — These steps are the sort that are built into a wall or fence and they’re followed by a reversal (twisting) of three letter abbreviation meaning too much. How anyone stands up in these, let alone walks, is a mystery to me.

6d            Implement found in garden for certain (7)
ENFORCE — Our second lurker (found in) – it’s hiding in the last three words of the clue. Implement here is a verb – a pity it’s not my missing trowel which is almost certainly to be found somewhere in the garden.

7d            Defiant trade union is out around Britain (13)
INSUBORDINATE — An anagram (out) of TRADE UNION IS which contains (around) B(ritain).

8d            Blatant bloke provided Ecstasy on street (8)
MANIFEST — A bloke or chap is followed by a conjunction meaning provided, or on condition that, the one letter abbreviation for E(cstasy) and then the abbreviation for street.

9d            Testing a vino I fancy for research (13)
INVESTIGATION — An anagram (fancy) of TESTING A VINO I

15d         Monument left with blemish (8)
LANDMARK — The one letter abbreviation for L(eft) is followed by a little word that means with or also and, finally, a blemish or scar.

17d         Fellow bowled unreasonably, spinning the whole game (8)
FOOTBALL — F(ellow) is followed by a reversal (spinning) of the cricket abbreviation for B(owled) and a short word that means unreasonably or more than is desirable and then another little word meaning the whole or total. Phew – that one caused a spot of bother.

19d         Check one with Queen getting more irritable (7)
TESTIER — A verb to check or examine is followed by the letter that looks like the Roman numeral for one and the usual two letters for our Queen.

21d         Plaintiff upset about copper’s hesitation (7)
ACCUSER — Begin with a reversal (upset) of the two letter abbreviation of the Latin for about, follow that with the two letter chemical symbol for copper, with the ‘S, and finish with a hesitation.

22d         Go over middle of area covering fossil fuel (6)
REPEAT — The middle two letters of aREa are followed by (covering) a fossil fuel that I always associate with Ireland.

25d         Courts having a case unresolved (5)
ATRIA — The A from the clue is followed by a case or hearing without its final letter (unresolved)

I liked 12 and 23a and 5d. My favourite was 6d, mainly because of my missing trowel!

The Quickie Pun:- VERSE + EYE = VERSAILLES

64 comments on “DT 28442

  1. 4*/4*. Quite a tough challenge but very enjoyable indeed with all Ray T’s usual hallmarks.

    16a was my last one in with part of the delay due to my fixation that the last four letters must be “rest” as a cue support.

    17d was my favourite.

    Many thanks to Ray T and to Kath.

  2. Same as RD above for difficulty but a *** for enjoyment. Bit too much time required. I have 17d but can’t figure it out. I am sure some helpful person will set me right. Fav?.. maybe 25d. Pretty good week this one.
    Thanks to setter and Kath

    1. I can’t do any better than Kath’s review. Just follow what Kath has written step by step and you should arrive at the answer. Although, as she says, :phew:

  3. I haven’t done the crossword yet, but would just like to say thank you to BD for my birthday banner. It is much appreciated. :)

  4. Yes, very difficult (for me) and I’m in debt to the blog for pulling me out of the mire. Some lovely long anagrams that gave me a start but I was struggling throughout.

    Golf at 12.38, it looks like it will be a scorcher, I think I’ll take my trolley and plenty of water!

  5. Happy Birthday SL! Liked this puzzle, just about the right level for me. I found it difficult to see ‘too’ as ‘unreasonably’, but bunged it in anyway. I thought I spotted some Ray T innuendo in 14a, but it is probably best to say no more. Thanks to all.

  6. Oh, how I enjoy Mr. T + Kath days!
    I was a bit slow to pick up on the 3d disorder and the 5d steps but no other problems to report.
    Remembered 27a from the car dashboard warning light concerning 27-assisted brakes.

    Plenty of ticks including 5,6&17d but my favourite (although it’s probably a chestnut) was the 14a little hooters.

    Devotions to Mr. T and many thanks to Kath for squeezing this into her busy week.

    Many happy returns to SL.

    1. Lady Jane – I would say definitely rather than probably for 14a being an oldie but goodie.

    2. Lady Jane – I would say definitely rather than probably for 14a being an oldie but goodie.

  7. Mostly based on 19d, I assumed this was a most enjoyable Ray T puzzle. Some head scratching, especially in the NE (which required electronic assistance) and I did not get the parsing of 16a so thanks to Kath for explaining it – I totally missed the golfing support. A sprinkling of oldies but goodies helped – **/****.

    Favourite 25d.

    Thanks to Ray T and Kath.

    And, Happy Birthday to the Lad.

  8. Found this quite challenging after a run of easy solves. Thanks to Kath for helping me to parse 16a which I got only because of the checking letters. The support mentioned in the clue always seems to elude me though I have encountered it several times before.

  9. Best of the week so far and a ***/**** for me, loads of my favourite charades , a couple of well concealed lurkers and just enough anagrams to maintain the momentum.
    17d took a bit of parsing and I liked 25d.
    Thanks to setter, and Kath -is10a Everest base camp ?-one of my sons did the hike two weeks ago, great weather from the photos.

    1. I don’t know where it is – I just asked the nice helpful Mr Google Images for a pic of Nepal.

    2. My daughter was there in March. Don’t think the photo is of the base camp, though. That is much higher.

  10. Unlike others I find that I can usually “tune in” to Ray T So found today enjoyable and satisfying.
    Lurker 12a my COTD.
    Always forget men for soldiers (was trying to use RE – a stupid blindspot) so 3d was LOI.
    22d took too long even though in NI last week was in a pub with peat bricks piled up at the side of the fireplace. Was taught that peat strictly is not a fossil fuel so I didn’t associate the two.
    Thanks to Ray T and Kath for review.
    Echo best best wishes to SL on your birthday. Come back soon.

  11. A very Happy Birthday to SL – I do hope you’re celebrating in style – I’m sure you are! :smile:

  12. Don’t know what happened there. My comment disappeared into the ether.

    As I was saying, a decidedly tricky but most enjoyable puzzle from Ray T, which took a while to get into. A slow start, only five on the first pass, then pennies dropped with regularity.

    25d my favourite and 3.5*/4* overall. Many thanks to Ray and to Kath for a fine review.

    I woke echo Birthday Greetings to my Shropshire neighbour, and hope very much he returns to regular commenting soon.

    1. Re disappearing comments; refreshing the page immediately before you post resolves that issue.
      Alternatively, If you have already typed out your post, hit the back button twice, and your post will be there, and will then publish immediately.
      Hope that helps.

  13. Nice to have a Ray T puzzle. I feel as though we haven’t had one for a while! All the usual trademarks were present and correct and made for an enjoyable solve. 5d, once I understood the parsing was my favourite. 3/3* overall.
    Thanks to Ray T, and to Kath for her review. May your trowel come to light quickly.

    1. Hmm – don’t know about my trowel. I think he might have gone off with my secateurs which have also now disappeared. Damn. :sad:

      1. First place to check for secateurs; compost heap – I’ve certainly done that, more than once.

  14. Another most enjoyable puzzle from RayT. I liked 13 – nothing like a bit of self advertisement! Some interesting anagrams round the outside and 2 nice lurkers. All the RayT hallmarks as usual.

  15. I’m still not sure what all the fuss is about with Ray T, although I did find this puzzle enjoyable except for 17d which was clunky. Thanks Kath and setter.

  16. Very enjoyable, a nice Thursday tease. Liked quite a few as usual; 12a, 2d, 14a and more, but I’ll plump for 18a for top spot, just.
    Thanks to RayT and to Kath for the review – 6d was just for you methinks!
    PS Many Happy Returns, SL :smile:

  17. Not one to frighten the gee-gees but a lot of fun. **/**** from us.

    A nine letter lurker in a twenty five letter clue is pretty good IMO. That one and Kath’s lost trowel were our favourites.

    Thanks to RayT and Kath.

  18. Off to flying start with 7d and 9d and then no problem in the South but the North was another story and several Kath nudges were required there. Always forget the china synonyms as in 10a. IMHO 17d somewhat clumsy but 5d went from unfathomable to Fav after parsing help. Thank you to RayT and to Kath for your considerable help in the North.

  19. ***/****. First read through was worrying but once I got a toe hold it unravelled nicely. Thanks to Ray T and Kath for the review.

  20. Thoroughly enjoyed this despite all the head scratching. Thanks Kath for explaining 17d – felt sure I had the right answer but absolutely no idea why?! Missed the lurker in 6d – doh!!!

    1. Welcome from me too – please keep commenting. It’s always nice to have new people around this very friendly blog.

  21. Every time I think I’m “getting” RayT’s wavelength, I get my balloon burst.
    I had a lot of bung ins having no idea why they were correct, e.g., 10a(I forgot the China bit), 16a and 17d. I never did get 1a, 2d and 3d, though I feel I should have solved 1a.
    Never heard of 27a, but Google knew it.
    Fave was 14a, though I rather liked 25d also.
    Thanks to RayT and to Kath for her unravelling some of them for me.

  22. Hurrah 😃 Can I really have solved a Ray T without any hints!! I don’t believe it ****/*** 😜 Liked 18a, 23a & 5d. Big thanks to Kath for her lovely blog and to Ray T for giving us a solveable and enjoyable crossword 👍

  23. I thought this was definitely at the tougher end of the RayT spectrum, no bad thing in itself but it seemed harder than normal to make progress.

    My favourite was 23a.

    Thanks to Mr. Terrell and to Kath, and a very happy birthday to SL, soon to reappear in the blogging chair I believe, which is great news.

  24. A very satisfying level of difficulty that slowly and surely yielded all its secrets. Good fun from start to finish and we will go with the well hidden lurkers as our top clues. Word count checked and all in order.
    Thanks RayT and Kath and happy birthday SL.

  25. Thanks to all of you for the nice comments today – I’m glad that at least some of you thought this was a tricky one – now I need wine and food, in either order.
    Feeling somewhat lacking in sleep and off very early tomorrow morning with a friend, a sister-in-law and a friend of hers to hear our Elder Lamb speak at the Hay Festival – proud Mummy!!!
    Back tomorrow but probably very late by the time we all get home from Hay-on-Wye.

  26. Oh dear, another tricky day, but I will blame it on the antibiotic and probiotics I am currently taking, must be that, right? COTD was 27a simply because being married to a die hard RC model plane enthusiast (when he’s not flying them, he’s building/repairing them) the word servo appears in the conversation quite often ☺️

    However I struggled with most of the clues and would have been lost without Kath’s hints, ta very much.

  27. I thought that was another fairly straightforward one, horses for courses I suppose. Last in 5d, where I was on the wrong path for far too long.

  28. Evening all. Many thanks to Kath for the analysis and to all for your comments. Much appreciated.

    RayT

    1. Hi Mr. T – thank you so much, both for the puzzle and for popping in to ‘see’ us.

    2. Just finished, thankyou Ray T. . I was determined not to cheat- the dishes are unwashed and the bairns are unfed- but I have completed.

    3. I may not be able to get a handle on your puzzles all the time, but I am very impressed that always find time to pop in and say howdy, very much appreciated.

  29. Thank you all for your best wishes on the occasion of my 40th Birthday :cool: Much appreciated. I will be back with you in the blogging chair over the next 3 Wednesdays whilst the 2K’s are exploring Australia. I will do my best to maintain their high standard – but that will depend on how the Lions progress during their tour :)

    The Lions that is – not the 2K’s :)

      1. Hi – Tonto McTavish (great non de plum btw). Very astute of you to notice that I am not wearing very well – I blame it on a very hectic paper round in my youth :)

  30. Everything went well until the last three in the SE.
    20,21 and 27 were my last in and was going to bung in turbo in 27a until I cracked the other two.
    The long anagrams were solved without pen or paper but I should have really as I managed to write unsubordinate in 7d.
    Thanks to RayT and to Kath.

  31. I found it hard and not one of my more enjoyable Rays – but then not many of them are. I struggled to finish, but had no great sense of achievement. I thought 12a masterful, though. Thanks to Ray and No-trowel Kath. 4*/2*

    1. And a very happy birthday to Kath – maybe a complete set of hard-wearing premium tools is awaiting to be unwrapped …

  32. A real struggle with Ray T was this. I battled for much of the evening, my efforts leaving me in need of the hint for just 22 d. I simply couldn’t get the fossil fuel required.

    Mind you, getting this down to one (less than one, technically), was quite satisfying.

    ****/**** from me. Thanks to Ray T and to Kath for 22 d.

    1. KW as I said peat is not a fosssil fuel technically (as no geological pressures are involved in its formation) so a “double technicality” – or a Freudian slip.

      1. Noted, Lab, I now know what constitutes a ff. Peat is simply dried out old vegetable matter by the looks of things, so obviously no geological pressure required, merely a spade and elbow grease !

  33. I just noticed in my post above, I intended to type “less than one”, but it’s come out as “less of han one” ! Should have checked it, blame it on night work !

      1. Hi Bd. Despite the explanations for 17 d, am perplexed as I use the abbreaviation OTT for ureasonable rather the TOO it would seem from the answer. Can you assist a thicky please?

        1. A capital J for Jersey sent you into moderation

          Like OTT, too also0 means to an excessive, or unreasonable, degree

  34. Excellent, excellent, excellent – a cracker from Ray T! Significantly challenging and very enjoyable. 4*/4.5*

  35. Struggled with this one. Only eight answers and a few bits on my own. Hints yielded a few more but had to resort to revealing the answers although I did then see how the answers came to be. Off my scale in difficulty and not much to enjoy. Thank you Kath for revealing the mysteries and Ray T for almost totally flummoxing me.

Comments are closed.