Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28473
Hints and tips by Deep Threat
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning from South Staffs. My thanks to BD, Senf and Pommers for minding the shop while Mrs DT and I have been on our travels in Belgium and France, and apologies to Jean-Luc that, once again, our plans to visit Hyères did not come to fruition.
There are some nice bits of misdirection in today’s Giovanni, but nothing too obscure. The long anagram at 5d was last in for me, mainly because I hadn’t spotted the definition.
In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the ANSWER buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
1a Sell famous footballer, divine in the middle (6)
PEDDLE – A famous Brazilian footballer of the past, wrapped around the letters found after the name of a theology professor or divine.
5a Extend piece of writing provided by publicist (8)
PROTRACT – The three-letter acronym for the person in charge of publicity in an organisation, followed by a piece of writing, often of a political or religious nature.
9a Repeated accident location in nursery rhyme? Fancy that! (4,4)
WELL WELL – The location where Jack and Jill came to grief, repeated to get an expression like ‘Fancy that!’
10a Inside pub is the man who gets soaked? (6)
BATHER – Put THE (from the clue) inside another word for a pub.
11a Psychologist meeting German woman in the mountain (8)
JUNGFRAU – A Swiss psychologist followed by the German word for a woman, giving us a Swiss mountain.
12a Little people in air flying round to entertain me (6)
GNOMES – These chaps were always in Zurich when I was younger, doing strange things in international finance. Reverse (flying round) a musical air, and wrap the result around ME (from the clue).
13a Awful beer’s out, for certain (2,2,4)
TO BE SURE – Anagram (awful) of BEER’S OUT.
15a Some deer track heading west — something in the wood? (4)
TREE – Hidden in the clue in reverse (heading west).
17a Europe’s foremost expert returns, being invited (4)
BADE – An abbreviation for Europe followed by a word for an expert (often seen followed by ‘hand’), the whole lot then reversed to get ‘invited’ or ‘commanded’.
19a Where you may see Derby County, fortunate after losing start (8)
KENTUCKY – Nothing to do with football, despite the surface reading, but rather a place where a particular horse race is held. Start with a county in SE England, then add ‘fortunate’ without its initial letter.
20a Loose stones, any number forming barrier (6)
SCREEN – The mass of loose stones which may be found at the bottom of a mountain or cliff, followed by the algebraic symbol for ‘any number’.
21a Something flowing endlessly — it is a nasal problem (8)
RHINITIS – A large European river minus its final letter, followed by IT IS (from the clue).
22a Trick unfortunately enticed knight to come out (6)
DECEIT – Anagram (unfortunately) of E(n)TICED, with the chess notation for a knight removed.
23a Poignant act of tactile person (8)
TOUCHING – Double definition.
24a Surprising dangers eating cold meat (5,3)
SCRAG END – Anagram (surprising) of DANGERS wrapped around (eating) Cold.
25a Festival always poetic taking place across a street (6)
EASTER – This is a major Christian festival, now mainly known for chocolate eggs and fluffy bunnies. The poetic version of ‘always’ or ‘ever’ is wrapped around A (from the clue) and the abbreviation for ‘street’.
Down
2d One who has the will to get things dealt with (8)
EXECUTOR – Cryptic definition of the person responsible for dealing with a deceased person’s estate.
3d Member of conference was first to turn up, coming to eastern entrance (8)
DELEGATE – Start by reversing (turn up) a word for ‘was first’ (in a race), then add Eastern and an entrance.
4d Flower comes with message about end of affair — very bad (9)
EXECRABLE – The ‘flower’ is some water flowing in Devon, and is followed by a telegraphic message wrapped around the last letter of ‘affair’.
5d Like some fat pal involved with nature study carrying duck (15)
POLYUNSATURATED – Anagram (involved) of PAL NATURE STUDY and the letter which looks like a duck scored at cricket.
6d Learner getting excellent name when taken in by elder? (7)
TRAINEE – The elder here is made of wood and grows elderberries. Insert the two letters which look like an alphanumeric indication that something is excellent, plus an abbreviation for Name.
7d Impressive building suffering harm, a lab (8)
ALHAMBRA – Anagram (suffering) of HARM A LAB.
8d Book, full of anger, beginning to seem tedious (8)
TIRESOME – A big, heavy book wrapped around another word for anger and the first letter of Seem.
14d Erudite drunk holding court? Goodness! (9)
RECTITUDE – Anagram (drunk) of ERUDITE wrapped around an abbreviation for ‘court’.
15d Deposits drunk in part of ship (8)
TOPSIDES – Anagram (drunk (again)) of DEPOSITS.
16d Nurse finally meets doctor with fast car, an amorous type? (8)
EMBRACER – Put together the last letter of nursE, one of the sets of letters indicating the holder of a medical degree, and a generic word for a fast and competitive car.
17d Said to secure the possibility of adapting book for film legally (2,6)
BY RIGHTS – A homophone (said) o an expression (3,6) which is what you would have to do to be able to make a film out of a book.
18d Editor rising up, one who’s spoken for rebelliousness (8)
DEFIANCE – Reverse (rising up) an abbreviation for EDitor, then add a man who is engaged to be married.
19d Carrying on, top man secures English record (7)
KEEPING – The sort of top man that Henry VIII was, wrapped around English and one of the formats of a vinyl record.
The Quick Crossword pun PAUL + HOOTING = POLLUTING
Nice gentle exercise to execute over breakfast in the shade of a garden umbrella. North was first to go in. Parsing for 6d eluded me so thanks DT for sorting that and TVM Giovanni for the entertaining puzzle. No particular Fav. 😅
I thought that this was another very enjoyable and benign Giovanni puzzle, not sure what pace it was completed at as I had to take a break to do other things part way through – ** or ***/****.
Three candidates for favourite – 19a, 20a (I remember the loose stones from a Scout Camp in the Lake District), and 18d. And, the winner is 19a for excellent obfuscation.
Thanks to Giovanni and DT – welcome back after your period of rest and relaxation.
A tricky little devil that took me longer than usual. All fairly clued though. See you on Monday
I am with you on that, MP. Half way through and much scratching of head so far, and much more to come
Talking of scout camps, I seem to remember we were always given 24a to make Irish stew when I went on them. Nothing much here to frighten the horses even at the event referred to at 19a which is definitely the clue of the day
Pretty good 4d and 14d took some time to sort out but otherwise nice and gentle.
No favourites today although 24a brought back fond memories of my mothers cooking.
Thanks to Deep Threat and the Don.
Having struggled with the toughie for a considerable length of time first, this one all fell into place very nicely.
19a got my vote; many thanks to Giovanni and to DT.
3*/3*. I did enjoy this but I am not sure how difficult it was. Mrs RD and I are staying with friends in Wales for a few days and, whilst I was trying to solve this, our hosts were practising a line dance for “Stayin’ Alive” in readiness for an 80s’ themed fancy dress party tonight which was somewhat distracting.
Welcome back, DT. I needed your help to unravel 6d, for which many thanks. Many thanks too to Giovanni.
Now I need to learn the dance!
Be careful RD it sound as if your friends may be clinically insane.
You are spot on there, MP
A typical Friday puzzle. Good clueing making for an equally good challenge.
19a was my favourite. 3/4* overall.
Thanks to Giovanni, and to the returning DT for the review.
I struggled to get this one going, but once I was on the right wavelength it fell into place in **/*** time.
The NE corner was the last bastion to fall.
Many thanks to Giovanni and DT.
Thanks to Giovanni and to Deep Threat for the review and hints. A very enjoyable puzzle, nothing too difficult. Last in was 10a. The NE corner being the last to fall. I liked 5d, but my favourite was 21a. Was 2*/3* for me.
Usual excellent offering from the Don, he is obviously feeling kind to back pagers at the moment, no odd words and no religious clues (I don’t count 25a which is now almost wholly secular to the vast amount of the population including myself, I just wish they would stop moving the damn thing). However, he makes up for it in the Quickie with two religious clues and an odd word for a type of painting.
Thx to all
I did not find this all that easy as some have but it was well clued and once I managed to unscramble 5d I made swift progress. 19a was undoubtedly my top clue but I liked 4d too.
Tricky in parts , more like the old Friday puzzles , going for a 2.5/4 *.
Lots of excellent clues,19a took my fancy today, also 11a but I think I’ve seen it before.
Liked 5a ,thought we might have had a pic from DT showing a damp parrot !
Thanks all, ready for the fray tomorrow.
Deep Threat – since when did Jack and Jill fall down the well? Surely Ding Dong Bell pussy’s down the well!
I also wondered about that!
The well on the hillside (or hilltop, it’s not clear) is where Jack fell down and Jill came tumbling after.
Quite right MP. I wonder which nursery rhyme Giovanni had in mind. I thought the other one as the well is referred to in it. I am now waiting for someone to complain about 24a on behalf of younger solvers!!!!
You can’t really describe the well in ‘Ding, dong, bell’ as an accident location – the cat was put in on purpose! So I would guess that it was ‘Jack and Jill’ that Giovanni had in mind – which is why I wrote the hint that way.
The nursery rhyme that I learned says nothing about the source of the water. Perhaps it was a spring?
Quite right Mr K. While we are about it why do people assume Humpty Dumpty was an egg? Nowhere in the nursery rhyme does it say so.
I agree, I got mentally stuck on hill, as that is where they fell. I don’t think the rhyme even mentions where they went to get a pail of water… They didn’t fall down the well of that I am sure.
Enjoyable but certainly not as easy as others found it.
I bunged in 22a but had no idea why, so thanks DT for unravelling that.
I needed all the checking letters to solve 5d, knew it was an anagram but didn’t know which letters.
Thanks to Giovanni and to DT for a pleasant start to my day.
Not sure whether my solving is improving or whether I am more relaxed this week, but this was another enjoyable solve completed without aids. I was left with four 19a and 19d, 1a and 4d. Suddenly 19a came to me after I failed to make either Pride Park or its predecessor the Baseball Ground fit! 19d was easy once I had the first letter. Reached for the BRB for the last two – but got 1a as soon as I thought about the double D. 4d then fell in although for some inexplicable reason is did not “get the message”. Anyway all done and I shall now look forward to reading the rest of the comments. Thanks Giovanni and DT.
Another anagram fest – all very fair and enjoyable. The only one that gave me time to pause was 17a – I can see it but can’t help thinking it’s a bit dubious IMHO.
Spoiled for choice this afternoon Cricket from Lords and the Irish Open from Portstewart. Can’t wait for the Rugby tomorrow – should be a cracker!
4d – when was the last time anyone sent a cable? A few too many anachronistic clues lately.
Although I eventually got the answer I just did not see Cable. I was trying to make email fit!
Very enjoyable puzzle. Very hot in Maidstone today. Completed between trips to relax under the garden umbrella, then inside to see some of the test match and Murray’s on this afternoon. Thank God for my SkyQ box so I can record the lot and try and catch up. **/** for me. I liked 5d and 17d but 19a was my favourite. Back to the test match for a while now.
I’m in the ‘I found this quite tricky’ camp. Could be because I am listening to the test on the radio and fielding phone calls at the same time, but this was certainly a 3*/3* and I may be underestimating the difficulty. Lots of impressive misdirection, of which 19a is a fine example and my COTD.
Many thanks to The Don and to DT.
Forgot to name my favourites. I am with the majority so far I think with 19a in pride of place. Also have rings round 12 and 20a and 18d.
My repetition radar was busy for the second Friday in succession, very surprising indeed to see the same anagram indicator appearing in successive clues.
My top three were 19a, 24a and 2d.
Many thanks to Giovanni and welcome back to Deep Threat. A good weekend to all, the heat should at least abate somewhat after today.
Found this at the easier end of the Giovanni spectrum. I liked 8d, 18d, and the original 19a, which I’m picking as favourite.
Thanks to Giovanni for the solving fun, and welcome back and thanks to DT.
Quite tricky for me partly because I am uncomfortably hot despite measures to alleviate it. Certain amount of electronic help as brain not functioning very well but nevertheless most enjoyable (suffering from 21a i think). Several favourites but too many to pick from. Have a great weekend.
Sorry forgot my manners thanks to Giovanni and DT.
I forgot too. I often do. But all setters and bloggers can take it as read that they always have the thanks of OA and MP and many others
***/***. Started slowly but got on the right wavelength eventually and marched through until I got to 19a which held me up for ages. This was COTD for me once I got past the misdirection. Thanks to the Don and DT for the review.
Enjoyable crossword completed while watching the test match on tv. Lots of good clues but 19a my favourite. Thanks to dt and the Don.
Not too tricky for a Friday although I was a long way down the across clues before I had a single answer.
I agree about the nursery rhyme – definitely “Ding Dong Bell” and a wet Kitty.
I missed the ‘endless river” bit of 21a and just thought it was a permanently dripping nose.
I liked 11 and 12a and 4d. My favourite was the runny nose.
Thanks to Giovanni and to Deep Threat.
Need to water the stuff in the greenhouse but last time I looked it was 42C in there . . .
Take a wet flannel and a fan with you, Kath….
I’ve been sitting in the allotment dealing with a glut of soft fruit. It’s 30C up there. Ribena apparently takes 95% of British blackcurrants…we must have the rest. Neither the gooseberries nor the blsckcurrants need any sugar added, which is amazing…constant heat will do that.
Oooh, gooseberries! Wish I could get those here.
I’ve picked SO many gooseberries in the last two or three weeks – love them – beastly spiky little things to pick though. There is a particularly good ‘pattern’ (what a non-cook friend of mine calls a recipe) in the Delia “Summer Collection” – our Younger Lamb will travel miles to get here if I promise her one of those. Bribery or what?!!
That sounds mouth watering. When my friends lived in Compton Dundon in Somerset, I would visit a couple of times a year and she had a gooseberry bush that had my name on it. If I missed the season, she would always freeze some for me. Happy days.
Ah – a wet flannel – a plan so cunning that you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel (sorry whoever I nicked that from – Monty Python?)
At least our fruit is in the garden rather than in an allotment which may not be very close so involves a trip.
I’ve already picked enough Tayberries to last us all winter for crumbles etc – haven’t yet picked red currants – if I don’t do it soon i.e. tomorrow the pigeons will strip the bushes.
Etc etc – the trials and tribulations of being a gardener.
Sometimes it is an advantage not knowing much about UK football as the misdirection in 19a did not occur to us at the time of solving. We did know the 1a footballer though. A well constructed puzzle with plenty to enjoy.
Thanks Giovanni and DT.
About the right level of difficulty I thought. 9a gave me a laugh, and I haven’t heard of scrag end for a few years (it always sounds to me like it should be said in a strong Yorkshire accent, but that’s probably just me). Ta to all involved today.
Enjoyable, and reasonably straightforward, with the NE corner last to fall. By chance 20ac appears in a very similar form in today’s i mini-cryptic, causing momentary deja-vu.
I had a momentary vision of stopping by the meat counter in my local supermarket in S. Florida and asking for some scrap end… the look I would get might even be worth it ☺️
I found this another tricky day, but good fun nevertheless.
Right on the 1*/2* borderline, although it felt rather tougher, and 3.5* for enjoyment. 12a was my favourite, although 5d merits an honourable mention. Thanks to the Don, and DT.
Yesterday was a doddle compared to this, got absolutely nowhere, slowly.
Thanks all.
Having gone through DT’s excellent hints, it’s only because I missed every anagram going. As a consequence, it was impossible for me to solve.
Thanks DT for the explanation.
This was excellent, as usual from G. A decent challenge, good clues and very enjoyable to solve. 19a was a great clue and I liked 14d a lot – crafty misdirection, using Goodness! as a false exclamation.
I forgot – 3*/3.5*.