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DT 28466

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28466

Hints and tips by Kath

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

Hello everyone. There’s no doubt at all that this is a Ray T crossword. I didn’t think that it was one of his more difficult ones but, as always, I’m more than happy for anyone or everyone to disagree with me. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on today.

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

Across

1a            Boob gets married — I use catcall crudely (12)
MISCALCULATE — A verb to boob or make a mistake – the one letter that means married is followed by an anagram (crudely) of I USE CATCALL. I’m sure you’re all fed-up with hearing me say this but a nice long answer across the top is a really good start.

9a            Fancy chair occupied by male after little time (9)
SWEETMEAT — This ‘fancy’ is a little cake – a chair or sofa contains the one letter abbreviation for M(ale) which is preceded by a short word meaning little and the usual one letter for T(ime).

10a         Light captured by Monet or Chagall (5)
TORCH — Our first lurker, or hidden answer – he’s in the middle of the last three words of the clue.

11a         The compiler’s left to provide meaning (6)
IMPORT — How the setter could refer to himself is followed by the nautical word for left.

12a         Company soldier died protected by second soldier (8)
COMMANDO — The usual two letters for company are followed by another two letters that mean a short space of time (second) – these contain (protected by) a soldier and the one letter abbreviation for D(ied). Phew – I do hope I’ve made some sort of sense of that.

13a         Encore of Queen record with Plant (6)
REPLAY — Start off with the one letter abbreviation for the Latin word for a Queen, then an old kind of vinyl record which was played at 45rpm but had two tracks on each side rather than just one like a single and finish that off with a short word to plant or put down – ignore the misleading capitalisation of Plant. Please, someone, tell me that I wasn’t the only one to spend ages trying to justify REPEAT.

15a         Thin and starving finally after fish (8)
GANGLING — The last letter (finally) of (starvin)G is followed by a verb that means fishing (after fish).

18a         Seaside town beginning to be fashionably left-wing? (8)
BRIGHTON — The first letter (beginning to) of Be and then an adjective (5-2) meaning trendy or in keeping with the latest ideas or fashions.

19a         Drive round the bend following British car (6)
BANGER — The one letter for B(ritish) is followed by a verb to drive round the bend or infuriate.

21a         Tars at sea circling lake in vessels (8)
ARTERIES — An anagram (at sea) of TARS contains (circling) one of the great lakes.

23a         Former politician effectively chasing work in retirement (6)
POWELL — A reversal (in retirement) of the usual two letter abbreviation for a musical work is followed by (chasing) a word meaning effectively or skilfully.

26a         Carbon measurement should offer certainty (5)
CINCH — The chemical symbol for C(arbon) and then a short measure of length (measurement) in pre-decimal times.

27a         Old judge catching one with trap to begin (9)
ORIGINATE — The one letter abbreviation for O(ld) is followed by a verb to judge or evaluate which contains (catching) the letter that looks like the Roman number one and a kind of trap or snare.

28a         Drunken bore’s posture becomes unruly (12)
OBSTREPEROUS — An anagram (drunken) of BORE’S POSTURE.

 

Down

1d            Bank below motorway’s more obscure (7)
MISTIER — A motorway that goes from London to the north, with its ‘S, is followed by (below in a down clue) a bank or row.

2d            Fast-rising odds gathering support (5)
STEEP — The ‘odds’ here are racing odds (a two letter abbreviation) and contain (gathering) a support, the golfing kind.

3d            From oaf, term at Harvard produces results (9)
AFTERMATH — Our second lurker – hiding in the second to fifth words in the clue. I didn’t see this for ages.

4d            Munch cold cut (4)
CHEW — The one letter for C(old) and then a verb to cut or chop down.

5d            Coastal area lacking imagination, we hear (8)
LITTORAL — A homophone – this adjective sounds like another that means lacking imagination or colourless.

6d            Symbol of support on head of Mohican (5)
TOTEM — Support is followed by the first letter (head of) M(ohican). I can’t find anything that makes the first four letters of the answer = support. We had it quite recently meaning ‘raise’, I think. Has anyone got any ideas.

7d            Running topless and making an impression (8)
PRINTING — A word that means running flat out or as fast as possible without its initial ‘S’ (topless).

8d            Crush bottom in endeavour to wear skimpy costume (6)
THRONG — The last letter (bottom in) of (endeavour)R is inside (to wear) a skimpy costume – a very skimpy pair of knicks.

14d         Untouched can must be gripped by force (8)
PRISTINE — Another word for a can is contained in (must be gripped by) a verb to force or lever.

16d         Beautify a girl with some sprucing up (9)
GLAMORISE — An anagram (sprucing up) of A GIRL with SOME.

17d         Wood covering empty mango’s top … (8)
FOREMOST — A large area of land covered in trees (wood) goes round (covering) the first and last letters (empty) of M(ang)O.

18d         … bough with top of bough spread (6)
BRANCH — The first letter (top of) B(ough) is followed by a spread (a mainly American word) or estate.

20d         Arbitrator’s swallowing deceit from substitutes (7)
RELIEFS — This arbitrator, with his ‘S, is the chap with the whistle in football etc and he contains (swallowing) a deceit or untruth.

22d         Recovery establishment helping addicts’ behaviour initially (5)
REHAB — A Ray T special – the first letters (initially) of the remaining words of the clue. I never know what to underline as the definition in these kinds of clues.

24d         Muse seeing her reaction, oddly removed (5)
ERATO — The even letters (oddly removed) of the third and fourth words of the clue.

25d         Obscure English coin (4)
DIME —A word meaning obscure or indistinct followed by E(nglish).

I liked 23a and 7 and 22d. My favourite was 18a.

The Quickie Pun:- RAW + CAN + ROLE = ROCK ‘N’ ROLL

86 comments on “DT 28466

      1. Oh dear – I confess to getting RSJ’s a bit confused with BFG’s. :unsure: Well, they sound a bit alike, don’t they?

    1. This usage of ‘tote’ has appeared several times over the last few weeks – worth remembering.

    2. I see there are Tote bags for supporting good causes. Related in some way I assume? Or perhaps just coincidence.

  1. Lovely puzzle to start the day. All the RayT hallmarks of lurkers and initials and nice long anagrams to get going. Loads of innuendo as usual to brighten up the day. Favourite was 15 which was last in as I was chasing up the wrong tree. Also liked 3 5 7 9 22 23 24 and 28. Many thanks to RayT and to Kath for the photo in 1a!

  2. 3*/4*. Good fun with all Ray T’s usual trademarks. I agree with Kath that it was slightly more tricky in places than normal. 15a was my favourite with its clever use of after which initially leads you to think that a fish will need to go before the last letter of starving and made even more devious as the answer has the same first and last letters!

    I don’t understand the relevance of left-wing in 18a.

    Many thanks to Ray T and to Kath.

    1. From Collins Online:

      right-on

      1. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]

      You can describe someone as right-on if they have liberal or left-wing ideas, especially if you disagree with them or want to make fun of them.

      1. Thanks, Jose. I had checked my BRB in which the definition is “absolutely correct; trendy, …” without mentioning specific political ideas.

  3. You invite contrary views to your own, Kath, and hence I will say that I personally found this distinctly taxing but hugely enjoyable nevertheless. West went in first then East was a bit of a battle. Not sure 15a clue indicates present participle of fish or am I missing something? I’m not sure either about support in 6d. Lots of goodies but no stand-out Fav. Thank you RayT and also Kath for getting me off the hook on a couple e.g. Missed anagram for 16d.

    1. D’oh I have only now sorted 15a which of course makes my reference to “present participle” completely irrelevant.

  4. Puzzles can be difficult but if the answer has some element of humour , it is enjoyable. 5d illustrates that.

    When a clue requires a lot of “filling” into a synonym and the definition is quite stretched , it’s more tedious than fun. 9a for example.

    I’m glad it is Kath writing the blog ,and not pommers , re 8d. No offense pommers !

    Thanks to Kath and RayT.

    1. I think those days are thankfully gone Una. The illustrations are regularly praised these days.

  5. This took a fair bit of teasing out, but was well worth it. Kath – I put your alternative answer for 13a, and wrote ‘check later’ alongside. Needed the blog to fully see ‘after fish’ as well. Nice to see topless runners, crushed bottoms and skimpy outfits! Thanks to all.

  6. NE corner nearly R&R, SW corner a little more taxing, NW corner even more taxing and SE corner completed only with Kath’s help with 23a and 25d. This wasn’t a game of two halves it was one of four quarters. Enjoyable nevertheless. Thank you Ray T and Kath.

  7. Worry not, Kath, I was also trying to justify the wrong answer for 13a and reluctant to put in 6d although that’s now been reasonably justified by Spindrift.
    Don’t think I knew the coastal area – waited for all the checkers on that one.

    Lovely stuff as ever from my favourite setter with 7d winning by a nose.

    Devotions to Mr. T and many thanks to Kath for an excellent blog – you’ve obviously managed to unscramble the ‘new Granny’ brain and even I must be improving as I knew it was Thursday!

    1. Do you two new grannies know the names of your grandsons yet? Or are you keeping it secret?

          1. I will leave Jane to tell you all the name of her grandson – it’s her news not mine. I bet she’ll be here later.

            1. That was not written as “pooh”, but iPad’s interpretation of “ooh”. I shudda, orta checked.

            2. Sorry – late back in tonight. New parents on this side have chosen Theo Xander for their babe. I think the Xander is by way of a nod to me as, had either of my girls been boys, my name of choice was Alexander.

              1. I approve of those names too! I love the choice of older names, you must all be thrilled

      1. I too have a new Grandson, hence my late posting. Baby Oscar was born in Brisbane at 12.17pm our time. I managed most of the crossword whilst waiting for news. I found it very enjoyable and have just finished it off after all the excitement. The skimpy underwear are flip flops where my daughter lives, and she also has a mango tree in her garden, so quite apt for me. Thanks to Kath and the setter.

        1. Welcome to the new Granny club. I’ve decided that I’m going to be Nannie – partly because my Dad’s Mum was our Nan and also partly because without its first letter it was the name of our Collie.

          1. I’m not exactly a “new” Grannie, I have three other grandchildren. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do ours, we have two in Surrey as well as the two in Australia. I am known as Grandma.

        2. Congratulations, Jaydubbs. I’m sure a fourth grandchild is just as exciting as the first.

  8. After a flying start with the top half of the puzzle, things became more difficult and I ended up agreeing with Kath on a**/***/****.
    As usual with Mr T, a plethora of witty clues and well thought out charades.
    Hard to pick a favourite, but I did like 15a, and the surface of 10a.
    Like others , the left wing seemed superfluous ,I just assumed it related to the in fashion Mr Corbyn !

  9. I didn’t find this too tricky to complete, but I failed to understand my answer to 15a until I read Kath’s review; ‘after fish’ – nice touch!

    Thanks to RayT and to Kath.

  10. */** – another straightforward Thursday puzzle, a sprinkling of oldies but goodies/recent repeats but it did not seem to have too much sparkle and I was able to complete it at a gallop.

    I can’t remember the clue involved, but, about half way through, I thought ‘Brian won’t like this puzzle’ – we shall see.

    No obvious favourite for me today.

    Thanks to the Ray T and Kath.

    1. Senf,

      As a matter of interest, which of today’s clues do you think belong to the category of “oldies but goodies/recent repeats?”

      1. Not so much clues, but definitions and answers with variations on clues – 18a, 21a, 6d, 8d, 24d – or, maybe, I am just hallucinating.

  11. Re 15 across;

    I went through a 4 stage process;

    1. There could be an obscure troplcal fish called a ” ganglin ”

    2. Therefore it must be Friday ( or Donday, as we call it here :)

    3. I was then told by ” she who must be obeyed ” that it was actually Thursday.

    4. The penny dropped:) .

    D’oh!

    A great clue, many thanks to RayT and Kath.

  12. Yes Kath I too spent a lot of time justifying the same word and to my shame gave up and bunged it in. I was totally taken in by the capitalisation. The learning curve curves on and on in my case.

  13. 2*/4* for this very enjoyable Ray T offering on this damp Thursday morning. I appreciated the misdirection in 15a like others once the penny had dropped, but my favourite was 18a.

    Thanks to Ray and to Kath for her review.

  14. Many thanks to Kath for the review.

    A very enjoyable puzzle from RayT … I particularly liked the use of “after fish” in 15a.

  15. I found this trickier than usual and confess to not having come across 5d before. 18a is not so much an old chestnut as a fully grown tree!
    Like the device at 15a, but what an awful word. The surface of 2d amused me today; many thanks to Mr T and to Kath

  16. Thanks to Ray T and to Kath for the review and hints. A very enjoyable puzzle, that I found quite tough. I had a brainstorm and put in branding for 7d. Needed the hints for that, and for 17d, couldn’t see the definition, and for 21a which I would never have got. Nice to see 18a again. 22&25d made me laugh, but my favourite was 18d, brilliant. Was 3*/4* for me.

  17. This one made a poor bear’s head hurt…thank you for the hintage

    Will now attempt the toughie as really cannot be bothered to do anymore work today

  18. Thank you RayT. Every one a winner. I smiled all the way through this puzzle. There was a time when this would have taken all day to be unfinished. Not so now though. Thanks to Granny Kath for the review.

  19. I don’t think I’ve enjoyed one of Mr T’s puzzles more than this one, it had all his usual trademarks and 15a (my LOI) misdirected this solver very cleverly. I found the bottom half a fair bit trickier than the top, but it wasn’t down to stretched synonyms this time. My two joint-favourite clues were 19a and 8d.

    Huge thanks to RayT and to Kath.

  20. Truce! I can’t spend any more time on this, so I gave up and took Kath’s hints and tips. I left some in the SE corner undone, just couldn’t fathom what it was all about. A lot were just bung ins and needed Kath to tell me why they were correct.
    Thanks to RayT and even more to Kath for unravelling that lot.

  21. This was lots of fun for me. Some meatier bits made it a harder than the average back pager, I’d say.

    The last couple of answers had to wait for my brain to awaken while walking in the park: 15a, followed by 5d, which I then promptly checked out in my Big Red App.

    I thought 12a clever, and liked my old stamping ground 18a (if it’s a tree then, well, I like trees). My favourites today might just have to be the 7d/8d pair.

    Thanks to RayT and to Kath.

  22. Well over my head, but many thanks to Kath for unraveling this and providing a super set of hints.
    My retirement ‘do’ tonight, so lucky that this crossword falls on a day when I have no time this evening.
    Thanks to Ray-T too.

  23. OMG Another Ray T that I really enjoyed! It was obviously one of his more straightforward ones but I for one am thankful for that.
    Not sure I quite agree with anger for ’round the bend’ in 19a, bit of a stretch.
    New word for me in 5d, don’t remember that one before.
    Thx to all.

    1. Brian – you never fail to amaze me.
      Are you seriously saying that you enjoyed another Ray T crossword – at last – another unlikely convert.
      Well done to you. :good:

      1. PS – re 19a – it’s not ’round the bend’ = anger. It’s drive round the bend = anger or enrage or infuriate etc.

  24. I agree with Angellove, in that I too found this distinctly taxing. If it was homework I think I would have got a “Could do better” from the teacher. With the exception of the 28a anagram I had to work hard for every answer, so big thanks to Kath for her hints. Hopefully tomorrow’s setter will be more on my wavelength.

  25. Excellent fun from RayT once again. We enjoyed the misdirection with the fishing in 15a as many others did too it seems. Clue word count checked and spot on.
    Thanks RayT and Kath.

  26. Time was limited today and I got three clues all by myself. For about 50% of the others I parsed the clue more or less correctly. With the hints and filling in the gaps I got about halfway before more writing beckoned.

    I eventually got 1a, but spent a long time distracted by BOOB. Googling it just confirming my worst fears. (I expect the coppers to come knocking any minute now.)

    I liked 19a best. 3d made me laugh when I saw it. It took me ages to work out how 27a worked even when I was looking at the answer. Capitalising Plant in 13a really misled me, and doesn’t seem quite sporting.

    I find anagrams such as 28a surprisingly difficult. I knew what I should be doing, but looked at it until the letters swam before my eyes, but unfortunately they didn’t swim into the right pattern. 16d similarly.

    I can see I’m going to have to find out about things like the names of all the Muses and Fates.

    I didn’t understand the dots (what is their proper name? ellipsis?) … at the end and beginning of 17d and 18d. It suggested there was some continuity or relation that I couldn’t spot, even knowing the answers. Again it misled me, and seemed randomly unfair.

    1. The image at 13a of Robert Plant, lead singer with Led Zeppelin, doing an encore with Queen was, I thought, brilliant- and what cryptic misdirection is all about.

      1. I thought at first it was something to do with Robert Plant too, but then I thought … Telegraph readers?

    2. P. The ellipses are often used to link two (or more) consecutive clues that have a common theme (in this case, trees). 17d’s clue includes wood and 18d has bough/bough. 17d’s answer is FOREmoST and 18d’s is BRANCH. So, there is an obvious “tree” theme. Sometimes (not here) the linked theme is quite essential to solve one or both clues.

    3. Also, the ellipses link the two clues together so when read in continuation they produce a meaningful/logical surface but normally have no relevance to the joint cryptic reading/wordplay.

  27. Sort of got there in the end, but it was a struggle. I thought 9a was really mean!

    1. You’ve shortened your alias since your previous comment so this one needed moderation. Both versions will work from now on.

  28. Evening all. Many thanks to Kath for the analysis and to all for the comments. Much appreciated, as always.

    RayT

    1. Thank you for the crossword and thank you for calling in – I’m sure I don’t need to say it again but it is always appreciated.

      1. I agree, Kath. It makes all the difference when a setter pops in, somehow it makes the puzzle more personal. Thanks RayT, even though you are beyond me most of the time!

  29. On the tricky side I thought, though I was being somewhat harassed by the kids at the time so I claim a handicap. Last in the NW corner, with 5d new to me, and the synonym for 9ac the last I would have thought of.

  30. A fairly benign Ray T today I thought, in spite of 15a which was helped by the checking letters. 21a was my fave. 2/4* overall.
    Thanks to Ray T, and to Kath for her usual sterling effort.

  31. Thanks, again, to Ray T for his usual wonderful crossword and thanks to all for their nice comments.
    I’m off to bed now – this Nannie stuff is a bit tiring so :yawn: and night night everyone.

  32. Strangely, given my frequent stand-offs with Mr T, I found this an absolute doddle. A R&W with plenty to enjoy on the very short journey – for which I am most thankful, as I’m very tired now. I’ll pick the unpopular 9a as my favourite. Thanks to Kath and Ray, and good to see Perdix returning for another bash. 1*/4*

      1. Thanks Crypticsue – still slightly foxed – I thought right meant the opposite of left wing !

  33. General query – in all the years I’ve been doing crosswords I’ve never understood why sometimes two consecutive clues appear to run into each other – example in this one. No. 28466 – is/are 17d and 18d., with a row of dots …………… ………… appearing to join them together .Can anyone tell me why ? Thanks

    1. I’m sure someone will answer this better than I can but I think the general idea is that the two clues appear to be connected and the implication is that the . . . takes the place of a word (or maybe words).

    2. The ellipses … between clues … might indicate that there is a connection either between the clues or the answers .

      But there again, there may be no connection whatsoever!

      I normally dismiss them and treat each clue individually,

  34. I’d say this was about average for a Ray T, not his most difficult one. A good challenge compared to the Mon-Wed back-pagers and hugely enjoyable. 3*/4*.

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