DT 28455 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28455

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28455

Hints and tips by Senf

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

A very good Friday morning from Winnipeg.  My second of two turns substituting for the resting and relaxing Deep Threat.  I think that pommers picks up the reins again next week.

A typical and very enjoyable Giovanni, still not sure if it’s Giovanni’s ‘new’ persona – perhaps Lady Jane can advise again, with three anagrams, two lurkers, two homophones, and a sprinkling of oldies but goodies/recent repeats. A splendid end to my Thursday which was mostly spent at a very enjoyable corporate golf outing.

My favourite is 3d.

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

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a    Paddy joining African party with English shows self-restraint (10)
TEMPERANCE: A synonym for paddy (as in rage), a South African political party, and the single letter for English.

6a    Self-satisfied son, one taken for a fool (4)
SMUG: The single letter for son and a synonym for someone taken for a fool.

9a    Intervention when cold is caught — this being taken? (10)
MEDICATION: A synonym for intervention containing (is caught) the single letter for cold gives something that might be taken for a cold.

10a    Liveliness of brother crossing island (4)
BRIO: The three letter shortened form of brother containing (crossing) the single letter for island – a recent repeat?

12a    Map reveals lake in hollow (4)
PLAN: The single letter for lake contained by (in) a synonym for hollow – LRB verified.

13a    Firm came down to meet one about partnership arrangement (9)
COALITION: The usual two letters for a firm, a synonym for came down (dismounted), the Roman numeral for one, and a two letter synonym for about.

15a    Father’s attempts to make small cakes (8)
PASTRIES: The two letter familiar term for father, the possessive S from the clue, and a single word for attempts to make.

16a    Bricklayer cum jazz musician? (6)
WALLER: A ‘tongue in cheek’ double definition where the ‘?’ applies to the first one; the second is a US jazz musician.

18a    Attract only some apprentices (6)
ENTICE: A lurker (only some) found in apprentices

20a    Mass dumped in waterway in a Swiss region (8)
CANTONAL: A mass that is 2240 lbs inserted (dumped in) into a type of waterway – note the complete underlined definition.

23a    Most gossipy woman’s appearing in court (9)
CHATTIEST: The two letter abbreviation for court containing (appearing in) the first name of an actress (who appeared with Eric Sykes) and the S from ‘s for is.

24a    When speaking, regrets trick (4)
RUSE: Homophone (when speaking) of regrets.

26a    Our gentlemen must suppress this desire (4)
URGE: A lurker (must suppress this) found in the first two words of the clue.

27a   Record reversal of very good policy for establishing control (10)
DISCIPLINE: The term for a vinyl record, the two letters for a very good person reversed (reversal), and a synonym for policy.

28a   Flipping thing that occurs at Lord’s before play (4)
TOSS: What precedes the start of play at Lords, or Old Trafford, or . . .

29a   Deem Uranus somehow to be very large? (10)
UNMEASURED: Anagram (somehow) of DEEM URANUS for something that has not yet been established – hence the ‘?’ at the end of the clue.

Down

1d    Small thanks given to this writer, being dull (4)
TAME: The two letter synonym for thanks and the objective pronoun for this writer.

2d    From what we hear, honours for monkeys (7)
MEDDLES: Homophone (from what we hear) of honours is a synonym for monkeys (or interferes).

3d    Strange behavior that is noticeable in The Oval? (12)
ECCENTRICITY: Nothing to do with cricket, so ignore the capitalization at the end of the clue; a double definition (I think) – the first is the behavior that might be exhibited by someone who is idiosyncratic.

4d    A totally sober person longed to be with partner? (8)
ATTACHED: A from the clue, the two letters that indicate a totally sober person, and a synonym for longed.

5d    Church faces test in relation to its singers (6)
CHORAL: The generic two letters for church and the type of test that does not require answers in writing – once again – note the complete underlined definition.

7d    Military poet of ancient Rome (7)
MARTIAL: A double definition – a synonym for military and a Roman poet who was known for his epigrams.

8d    Good game with the French must include stout basic principle (6,4)
GROUND RULE: The single letter for good, the favourite two letter game (for ruffians, played by gentlemen), and one of the forms of the French for THE containing a synonym for stout (in relation to the shape of a person’s body).

11d    Is smart phone designed for antisocial types? (12)
MISANTHROPES: Anagram (designed for) of IS SMART PHONE.

14d    Bit of bread for those who can afford caviare? (5,5))
UPPER CRUST: Only those to whom the answer applies may be able to afford caviare.

17d    Imitation of historical rebel, leader of insurgents captured (8)
PASTICHE: A synonym for historical and one of cruciverbalists’ favourite rebels containing (captured) the first letter (leader) of Insurgents.

19d    What could be great as riot controller (4,3)
TEAR GAS: Anagram (what could be) of GREAT AS.

21d    When row follows end of session it’s less pleasant (7)
NASTIER: A two letter synonym for when after (follows) the end of sessioN and a favourite synonym for row.

22d    Great number, say, being eaten by wild animal (6)
LEGION: Two letter abbreviation for a Latin term for say contained by (being eaten by) the king of the jungle.

25d    Wait on, needing time to finish (4)
TEND: The single letter for time and a synonym for finish.

Back on Sunday as usual.


The Quick Crossword pun: beech+where=beachwear


68 comments on “DT 28455

  1. 3*/3*. Reasonably challenging and enjoyable. 14a provided a nice touch of humour and was my favourite, with 2d & 3d also in the frame.

    I was mildly surprised to find 16a in my BRB. It’s not a word I have ever come across before for that profession.

    Many thanks to Giovanni and to Senf.

    1. Having seen the part of your comment that 16a is in the BRB (which, for some reason, I could not find when I was writing the hints), I thought I might have to revise the hint. But, as the BRB definition does not specifically mention bricklayer, I consider that it can be left as is.

  2. Quite enjoyable and a good challenge, favourites 2d and 14d. I couldnt get 16a and couldnt find the word in any dictionary either 3*/3* Many thanks to Giovanni and to Senf

  3. I think it has to be ‘new’ Giovanni again, Senf – not a religious obscurity in sight!
    Beg to differ with you about 3d having nothing to do with cricket – I thought it was rather apt (sorry, RD – I’ll buy you a drink in January!).

    I was a bit slow to work out the full parsing of 21d but everything else was fine.
    Podium places went to 6a plus 2,3&14d.

    Thanks to DG and to Senf – thank you for slotting Friday blogging duties into your schedule to cover DT’s hols.

    1. I’m obviously being thick but I too am can’t work out significance of The Oval in 3d.

        1. As Senf indicates in his hint, it is a fine example of ‘misleading capitals’

        1. Thanks Senf and CS. I worked around the shape when solving but term for elliptic didn’t occur to me – bit slow today! 🤔

  4. Okay but nothing special. Haven’t heard of bricklayer in 16a nor poet in 7d. Not sure if all of 14d can afford caviar! Faute de mieux 8d is Fav. Thanks Giovanni and Senf.

    1. Hi Angellov,
      16a’s a bit of a stretch but a bricklayer is more than likely to be building a wall?

        1. Think you’re more likely to come across it in reference to a ‘dry stone waller’ – a term that I think is quite familiar.

  5. Enjoyed today’s puzzle and a **/**** for me. only . Bunged in 16a when I had the checking letters in place, I was surprised to know that this was a word for a bricklayer and vaguely remembered the properties of an ellipse/oval- apart from this top draw!-clever surface for 29a and 14d brought a smile.
    Ready for a sunny weekend for a change.

  6. Just held up in the NE as I wrote Golden Rule in 8d.
    Soon corrected when 10a was solved.
    Favourite 19d.
    Thanks to the Don and to Senf for the review.

  7. Struggled a bit in the SE and I even needed the hint for 11d which was obviously an anagram but I just couldn’t see it.
    I did like the pseudo cricket clue and had prepared some mathematical definitions of oval but smarter correspondents than me have parsed that clue already. it remains my COTD.
    Hoping for a better run at tomorrows as I wait for the dentist to 27a me for a poor flossing technique.
    Thanks to Senf and the setter

    1. Welcome to the blog

      PI for good comes from pious – you’re not the first person to enquire about this!

  8. Very nice stuff from the Don and no obscurities in sight :smile:

    **/**** from us. Not sure about favourite, it’s either 3d or 23a with 16a up there on the podium.

    Thanks to the Don and Senf.

  9. So nice to be taking a few days off work and have time for all the puzzles. 14D was my favorite, though I don’t like the fish eggs. Thanks to Senf and Virgilius.

  10. Much more than a 2* difficulty for me – don’t know why but it just was – possibly something to do with the low anagram count.
    The 14a bricklayer/musician was my last and I only got it when I looked up a list of jazzies.
    I was slow with 8d – guessed the first word from the checking letters then tried to make ’rounders’ the game – oh dear – but got there eventually.
    I’ve never heard of the 7d poet.
    I didn’t understand the oval bit of 3d – still don’t really – I assumed it had to be something to do with shapes and geometry.
    The 29a anagram took ages.
    I now know the names of more kinds of monkey than I need to.
    I liked 6 and 15a and 11d.
    Thanks to Giovanni and to Senf.

  11. Best puzzle of the week for me. A few easy clues, a few head-scratching moments, and a big smile at 14d. I haven’t seen caviare spelt with an ‘e’ before, but then I don’t buy it or eat it. Many thanks to The Don and to Senf.

  12. A very pleasing and pleasant workout for a busy Friday morning / afternoon. The two that threw me were 16 & 20ac – got the answers but had to check. The other one that I nearly tripped over was 28ac as I very nearly wrote in ‘coin’ (at least was in the right ballpark, as it were). I will go with 3d as my favourite of the day.

    Thanks to Mr Manley for the puzzle and to Senf for his excellent review.

    I have been at the hospital this afternoon to see the haem, heamat…..the blood doctor and Mrs SL says that I look quite pale – not surprised as the amount of blood taken seems to be much more than an armful :( Have a good weekend all.

  13. First class puzzle, best of the week. My only struggle was working out the answer to 27a, couldn’t see the very good as PI (pious presumably, not sure the two are synonymous but perhaps just in crosswordland).
    Best clue for me was 3d, not a cricketing clue but after this weeks result I’ll take anything I can get! Who was the idiot at Cardiff who decided to prepare a slow turner for the world’s best spinners, beyond belief!
    Thx to all

    1. Who was the idiot that picked Sophia Gardens for a World Cup semi-final in the first place? In Cardiff we have a world class facility for Rugby & Soccer in the Principality Stadium. Sophia Gardens can’t begin to compare with at least 4 grounds outside London, either for the quality of the pitch or the ground facilities.
      That said when you bat worse, bowl worse and field worse than the opposition you tend to lose cricket matches – unless D/L comes to your rescue.

  14. A good crossword to finish the working week! Took a while to get going but everything from then on seemed to speed up. 16a when the penny dropped was my favourite. 3/4* overall.
    Thanks to The Don, and to Senf for his review.

  15. Completed this fine crossword before driving to meet some fellow site users in Ludlow for lunch. They have yet to reveal themselves but I keep working on them.

    3d was my favourite of many top clues, and overall I rated this 3*/4*. Many thanks to The Don and to Senf for his review.

    1. Keep up the good work of ‘working on them’ – according to the WordPress stats there have been over 2,100 viewings of today’s blog; so, there must be a whole 22d in hiding.

      1. Yes – I agree, work on them, YS, and ask them really nicely to come out of hiding.
        I often wonder why people look at the blog without commenting – I did it for a while but then got going and haven’t stopped since.

  16. Found this a little tricky in parts 😟 ***/*** Favourites 14 & 22d Didn’t gel with 7d & 16a though the music made up for it 🎼🎹 🤗 Thanks to Senf and to Giovanni

  17. Thanks to Giovanni and to Senf for the review and hints. A very enjoyable puzzle, that I found very tricky. Needed the hints for 20,27a & 17,22d. Good misdirection in 3d. Favourite was 16a. Was 3*/3* for me.

  18. Enjoyed this, still a benign Giovanni.
    Lots to like here, but I didn’t think that 17d is really “imitation”.
    I don’t know a lot of jazzies but 16a was among them, so in it went. I needed all the checking letters to get the 11d anagram.
    I rather liked 14d but fave was 3d, even though it took a long time to get it.
    Thanks to Giovanni and to Senf for subbing again.

  19. Lost my first effort – must remember to “refresh” every time I tune in.

    Two sittings with West just falling in the East proved more stubborn. Had to confirm the poet & I always forget that Pi association.
    17d my COTD with 2d R/U.
    Thanks to Giovanni & Senf – glad you enjoyed the golf. My County Championsip on Sunday -12 hours of waiting for something to go wrong. At least according to the forecast it shouldn’t be the weather (could be the forecast though).

    1. Three phases of a corporate golf outing:
      1. Pre-golf lunch – drink beer and eat.
      2. Play golf and drink beer, plus the occasional wee dram of Scotland’s finest from personal hip flask.
      3. Post-golf dinner – drink beer and eat.

      Primary objectives – raise some cash for a worthy cause and have fun – both achieved!

  20. Fairly straightforward and enjoyable as ever, finishing in the NW corner. Pleased to guess 16ac correctly.

  21. I do the paper version and have different wording for 11d which no-one else has mentioned – “Awfully smart phonies – people we don’t like”. Anti-social types is a more correct definition I think.

    1. It is not unusual for there to be a difference between clues in the print and on-line versions. What is unusual is that, today, it has taken so long for it to be commented on. Thanks for doing so.

    2. Oh – hadn’t noticed the difference between the paper and on-line version.
      I also do the crossword in the paper but it was so obviously an anagram that I didn’t notice it was wrong. Surely 11a’s are not ‘people we don’t like’ so much as people who don’t like us, or anyone else come to that. Who knows – I certainly don’t. :unsure:

      1. Agreed Kath. A M*********e is a a person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society. Mind you true M**********s would not be high on my list of likeable people.

      2. K. 11d: Yes, I agree with you about the paper version clue. The answer is a fairly common word but not as frequently-heard as misogynist (a woman-hater). But, funnily enough, the word misandrist (a man-hater) is hardly ever read or heard at all. Is this because we’re such lovely, likeable beings? :-)

        1. Nope – it’s because we women have a huge arsenal of suitable words to fit the bill !

  22. 2d held me up as googled lists of types of monkeys! Otherwise **/*** thanks to all.

  23. Only a semi-benign Don for me – but then it’s been a hard six-night week. I enjoyed it, though, and in these dark days, the mental distraction is most welcome. Thanks to Senf and Giovanni – and to all of you whose comments I always enjoy, and occasionally agree with. 2*/4*

  24. Failed today with the NE corner stumping me. Mind you, I had no time for a revisit after watching son playing in the O2 Arena tonight. I could not get past Golden Rule and feel a bit dim tonight. Humbling sometimes.

  25. 27 across in 28,455. Could you please explain why PI is a good person. Everybody here baffled. Thank you.
    Brian.

    1. Brian is the alias of a long-standing commenter on the blog. Could you please modify your alias so that you don’t get confused with him?
      See Crypticsue’s response at comment #9 above for ‘pi’.

      1. Sorry, don’t know how to find comment 9 or how to change my alias. Need spoon feeding. Unless you mean the cryptiscue remark about misleading capitals, in which case I’m none the wiser.

        1. Just use a different name than Brian, e.g. BrianB.
          Pi is short for pious and means deeply religious or godly so ‘good’.

            1. You don’t need to go anywhere – just use a different name the next time you leave a comment.

                1. Welcome to the blog Basher. I am sure that you will find it a valuable resource in your crosswording experience.

  26. You have a different clue for 11d than appeared in my paper, although similar and with the same answer.

    1. Welcome to the blog

      If you read all the way to the end of the comments on this post, you’ll see that there’s been a discussion about the different clue in the paper already.

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