DT 28477 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28477

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28477

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

 

Kia ora from Aotearoa.
              We are having a rather nasty wintry storm system moving up the country at present. It has already dumped significant snow in many parts of the South Island and is now moving towards us. Many roads have been closed and ferry sailings across Cook Strait have been cancelled because of the conditions. This is a rare occurrence. We are booked to do the crossing on Friday so have our fingers crossed that the worst is over by then. We are just going to be away for one Wednesday this time.
We found this enjoyable puzzle from Jay a little more gentle than last week’s.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
 

Across

1a     Research area of a politician chasing work in America (10)
LABORATORY : The American spelling for manual work, then ‘A’ from the clue and a right-wing politician.

6a     Did the butterfly show on the outside in the morning? (4)
SWAM : Don’t be fooled into thinking this is an insect. The first and last letters (outside) of show and the two letters denoting before noon.

9a     Excited lad coming into dollar fortune such as this (3,4)
BAD LUCK : An anagram (excited) of LAD is inside an informal word for a dollar.

10a     Number, for example, found in Bury? (7)
INTEGER : The two letter abbreviation meaning for example is inside a synonym for bury. The capitalisation is just there to mislead you.

12a     Less than the cost of transporting part of plane? (13)
UNDERCARRIAGE : A word meaning less than or below and another word meaning cost of transporting.

14a     Circle inscribed in the name alongside slate monument (8)
PANTHEON : Start with a word meaning slate or criticise, then ‘the’ from the clue, the circle-shaped letter and the abbreviation for name.

15a     Flutter around unfriendly accommodation for the military (6)
BILLET : A flutter or wager includes unfriendly or not well.

17a     Sort of bag used for eggs (6)
CLUTCH : A double definition. The second is a collective word for a number of eggs.

19a     Boundary that secures advantage in hospital dispute (8)
HEDGEROW : Start with the abbreviation for hospital, then a word for an advantage and finish with a synonym for a dispute.

21a     Prancing horse on stilts came a cropper after a flutter (4,4,5)
LOST ONES SHIRT : An anagram (prancing) of HORSE ON STILTS.

24a     One ponders, having weak King with Queen (7)
THINKER : A word meaning weak, then the chess notation for king and Her Majesty.

25a     Chose to cross line blind drunk (7)
PICKLED : A word meaning chose or selected contains the abbreviation for line.

26a     Understands one’s love for these pets (4)
DOGS : Take a word that means understands and substitute the tennis score love for the Roman numeral one.

27a     Growth of teenager trained by soldiers (6,4)
ORANGE TREE : Lowest ranking soldiers and an anagram (trained) of TEENAGER.

Down

1d     Order will come after leader’s first rounded projection (4)
LOBE : The first letter of leader and an order that might be given out in the New Year’s Honours list.

2d     Travelling people‘s place for sleeping — nothing posh at home (7)
BEDOUIN : A piece of furniture where one sleeps and the letter signifying nothing, then the letter signifying posh and the two letter word for at home.

3d     Where working hands must be on the move constantly (5,3,5)
ROUND THE CLOCK : These working hands are to be found on a timepiece.

4d     Film shot on river with ducks needing time to become established (4,4)
TAKE ROOT : A word for a film shot or sequence for a movie, then the abbreviation for river, cricket score ducks (two of them) and the abbreviation for time.

5d     Missing starter, characteristic area dish with curry (5)
RAITA : A word for a characteristic loses its first letter, and then the abbreviation for area.

7d     Bird dog’s happy to do this? (7)
WAGTAIL : Split the answer 3,4 to get the action of a happy dog.

8d     Warm to Kent after moving — Cranbrook perhaps (6,4)
MARKET TOWN : An anagram (after moving) of WARM TO KENT.

11d     Changing group for the shortest round trip (7,6)
TURNING CIRCLE : A word for changing or rotating and then another word for a group.

13d     Copper that’s invested in dodgy pet deals took a risk (10)
SPECULATED : The chemical symbol for copper is inside an anagram (dodgy) of PET DEALS.

16d     Attacks group working to support drink (4,4)
SETS UPON : A three letter group, a word meaning drink or consume and a two letter word for working or in use.

18d     University note victory and good economic recovery (7)
UPSWING : The abbreviation for university, a note added to the end of a letter, a word for victory and the abbreviation for good.

20d     Snake gets right under nipper’s toy! (7)
RATTLER : A nipper or young child’s toy for shaking and then the abbreviation for right.

22d     Mistake made by English bishop over gold (5)
ERROR : The abbreviation for English, then the abbreviation for the title of a bishop and the heraldic symbol for gold.

23d     Tool for cutting a nap with no end of ballyhoo (4)
ADZE : ‘A’ from the clue, and then a synonym for nap has the last letter of ballyhoo removed from inside it.

We liked the use of butterfly once and flutter twice in the clues so nominate these 3 for special mention.

Quickie pun    summer    +    highs    =    summarize

61 comments on “DT 28477

  1. 3*/5*. Yet another in a long, long line of nicely challenging and highly enjoyable Wednesday offerings. It took quite a bit of thought to decide which the correct second letter for 26a should be and that together with 14a were my last ones in.

    I loved the definition for 6a, and 12a was my favourite.

    Many thanks to all three birds. Talking of birds, 7ds are frequent and delightful visitors to our garden.

      1. Yes, Una. We have a Koi pond and the wagtails love splashing about around the edges.

  2. Been waiting for this to check 23d. Had not heard of this and had a couple of possibilities for the answer! I suppose if I had gone through the alphabet long enough I would have got it. Some excellent clues and breezed through them. Last two in before the final problem were 21a and 27a. Completed on train apart from the aforementioned. Spoiled an excellent crossword for me but my fault I should have persisted until I got to the end of the alphabet. Thanks Jay and 2Ks for putting me out of my misery with 23d

  3. PS I should have added with substituted letters (26a) I always go the wrong way!

    1. Me too.

      I’m a bit the same with crossroads too…..if anyone ever goes on a journey with me , they are well advised to take the opposite direction from the one I (confidently, of course) choose.

      1. Me too with directions. If I’m driving with my nephew as a passenger he says “your way” for right, “my way” for left and his latest for straight on is “our way”.

  4. Very enjoyable puzzle today after yesterday’s disaster.
    Spirits definitely have been lifted.

    Only problem I had was with 26a , see above.

  5. After yesterday’s travails this was welcome relief. 7d made me smile as did the
    illustration for 26a. Standout clue for me was 11d. The setter must be applauded for the precise and succinct clues and the 2Ks for their excellent blog.

  6. Thanks to Jay and to the 2 Kiwis for the review and hints. A very enjoyable puzzle, which I found quite tricky. Was completely beaten by 14a and 3d. Also needed the hints to parse 26a. I was amused by 23d, thought 6a was very subtle. I got 18d letter by letter. Favourite was 8d, a penny drop moment, when I realised it was an anagram. Was 3*/3* for me.

  7. Agree with PLR , back to normal.
    Found this solve to be straight forward today, right on my wave length and a **/**** .
    Liked the surface of 14a, and 15a, and many more.
    Unlike RD, no Wagtails but woodpecker,goldfinches, nuthatch and the usual suspects, costs a small fortune in seeds and nuts!

  8. I enjoyed this, especially some neat misdirections. And the long answers.

    Thanks to the 2Ks, but I was hoping that someone would explain the point of the “slate”. Maybe I’m being dim?

  9. I found it tricky but enjoyable. 24a was my first one in.
    I stayed in a hotel just behind 14a. I love Rome , fabulous city.
    There were so many good clues that it’s quite hard to select just one.Perhaps 7d or 6a or 17a .
    I thought I heard something about an earthquake in NZ late last night.

  10. Superb as ever. Thanks to Jay and to the 2Ks for pointing out the substitution in 26a

  11. Very enjoyable – I got 26a the wrong way round just like quite a few others, no obscure words and only a couple of anagrams – really good fun!

  12. Very enjoyable, completed at a gallop – */****

    Candidates for favourite – 6a, 9a, 2d, 7d, and 23d – and the winner is 9a.

    Thanks to Jay and the 2 Kiwis.

  13. I agree this wasn’t difficult and was very good.
    Like several others I get in a dither about which way to go with clues like 26a – this time I got it right but it was only a guess.
    6a had to be what it was but it took me for ever to see why – it’s the one swimming stroke that I really can’t do.
    I’ve never heard of Cranbrook so googled it – I sometimes wonder how we would have done this kind of clue in pre-internet days.
    I’ve never heard of the 21a expression either so needed lots of letters in before I got that.
    I liked 6a (eventually) and 21a (because of the mental image of a prancing horse on stilts) and 2 and 7d. My favourite is one of those.
    Thanks to Jay and to the 2K’s – I hope your weather calms down and allows you to get across to the South Island and that you have fun.
    I didn’t get round to yesterday’s crossword but gather from earlier comments that it was a bit of a little piglet – might have a go later.

    1. Regarding 21a, the image I now can’t get out of my mind is Miffypops’ latest avatar in which he appears to lost rather more than his shirt …

    2. Yes, yesterday’s was a piglet! I wonder who the setter was? I wish they’d own up.

  14. Very enjoyable. Penny – drop moment of the week for me was 6a: I spent a good while thinking about butterflies emerging from some stage in their development or similar. Thanks to all.

  15. Nice crossword easier than last Wednesday with (as always) lots of lovely clues😃 **/**** Liked 12a, and of course 7d (is the illustration of a European Grey Wagtail? I know in Australia they have Willie Wagtails 😳) Favourite 6a Big thanks to the 2xKs and to Jay. Good luck for Friday 💨🌨

    1. Jaylegs, yes the illustration is of a grey wagtail – a rather strange name considering how much yellow they have on their bodies.

  16. Welcome relief after yesterday’s horror. I found this to be bang on the right wavelength and it all flowed nicely.
    I liked the use of the ‘Americanism’ in 1a, and 23d was a new word to me, though easy enough to work out from the wordplay. I needed a hint to understand 26a. Last in was 27a, which took an age to sort out.
    Thanks to Jay and 2xK’s

  17. Another tricky one but a million times easier than yesterday’s horror.
    I did need the hints to explain the answer to 26a. Where is the indication that a substitution should take place, I do dislike these leap of faith clues?
    However, I really liked 7a which had me puzzled for a while but Mrs B saw it straight away. She tells me that 17a is clever too but having no idea what a clutch bag is, I was a bit at a disadvantage. All in all this was very much a joint effort today.
    So for us ***/***
    Thx to all. Hope the weather in NZ improves, my friends in Napier tell me it has been a wet winter so far.

  18. Oddly I found this quite easy and I’m sure it’s all about being on the right wavelength particularly after yesterday’s shocker,which I gave up on.

  19. As a newbie really enjoyed this one with one exception as struggle to see the answer to 27a being a growth. I mean I suppose it is but then anything alive could be described so. Probably me being dim. Loved 7d and 3d.

  20. Nothing demanding today. Over a bit too soon sadly, but nice while it lasted. 3d was my fave although it is a bit of an old chestnut. 2/3* overall.
    Thanks to Jay, and to the snowbound 2K’s for their review.

  21. Well, that’s more like it! So many fun clues, I loved it.
    There’s so much good stuff here, hard to choose a fave, but I’m going to go with 26a, just because.
    Thanks to Jay, you have made my day, and to 2Kiwis for a lovely blog. I hope your weather improves soon.

  22. Jay proves again that a relatively simple puzzle, slickly clued, can be very entertaining and enjoyable.
    Many thanks Mr Mutch and to 2Ks. */***

  23. A very pleasant puzzle with neat misdirection (e.g. 6d). Favourite 14a. Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks for the review.

  24. A fairly typical Jay puzzle I would venture, not too tricky but full of elegant clues and always highly entertaining.

    My favourite has to be 26a for its clever simplicity, but I also warmed to 8d having visited the town in question only last year. I can think of several places in Kent that are more suggestive of a market town than the “Capital of The Weald”, so I wonder if Jay has a local connection somehow?

    Many thanks to Mr Mutch and the 2Ks, I hope the weather abates for you.

  25. Entertaining stuff as usual on a Wednesday but it must have been the most benign Jay puzzle for quite a while. We missed 1a on first pass but got all the rest of the acrosses. Then we missed 1d but got all the other downs. 1a now obvious from the checkers and a few moments thought and 1d revealed itself. */**** from us. Fav was 7d but 6a is worth a mention along with 26a, to mention just a few.

    Very enjoyable while it lasted so ta mutchly to Jay and the Kiwis. Hope the storm abates by Friday. I hate ferries in storms – rather be on Firenze!

  26. Hurrah! I’ve done it again, all on my lonesome. Does this mean I’m getting better at the DT crossword?! Don’t tell me the clues are getting easier 😬! Favourite was 3d. And 26a/7d just because I love those furry beasts.

      1. Not quite. But it does make me think I Am not suffering “pregnancy brain” After all!

    1. Yes it does. Yay!
      Saturday’s and Sunday’s crosswords are always good fun too.
      Warning: They are slightly* addictive.

      *remove word

    2. Well done. It’s a good feeling to finish – happens to me now and again too 😄 Yesterday was very tricky though I had to give up.

  27. I loved this offering. The investment I made with the effort to solve it paid a good dividend in enjoyment. I had a few dodgy moment and a few rethinks but got there in the end without use of the hints. My favourite is 3D My rating is 3/4.5 Thanks to 2K for the blog.

  28. Thanks to Jay for a kinder puzzle, after yesterday’s which left me feeling really stupid. I didn’t know the tool in 23d, and stumbled on 27a and 11d as I clearly took the wrong fork in the road on both clues. Thanks to 2Kiwis for the hints to help me finish. Too many clever clues to pick a favourite.

    Wish we had wagtails here, woken this morning by Blue Jays as usual, pretty birds, but they missed the singing class, and just screech. Not exactly bird song material.

    1. I was very familiar with the tool as there’s a place in Jamaica called Axe and Adze, in fact, I believe there are two or more. Who knows why.

  29. Morning all.
    We’re just out of bed to be greeted by what the radio news describes as “thrashed by wild weather”. Weather related disruptions to all sorts of transport all over the country. Looks like another day of hunkering down in front of the fire with our fingers crossed hoping that it all moves away in the next 24 hours so we can make our journey south as planned.
    Not surprised that lots of people wondered which way the substitution worked for 26a. We did have it right when we solved the puzzle but did check up by revealing a letter on the web site when we were writing the hints to be absolutely sure.
    Cheers.

  30. Yesterday I started then went off to the shops, totally knackered when I got home and abandoned it. Today started badly but after a cup of tea and a crumpet i picked up my trusty pencil and managed to get all but two answers. Thanks to Jay for bamboozling me and thanks to 2Kiwis for sorting me out.

  31. Took a while to get going but got there in the end – some excellent clues but a few odd one’s thrown in just to keep us groaning! Had to che check a few answers with BD to understand why the answer was what it was!

  32. Can’t really believe I actually finished this because I made such a slow start. I did however in the end thoroughly enjoy the whole work-out. Thought 27a and 11d a bit iffy and also adding an “r” for 20d. Needed help to parse 14a. Fav when the penny dropped was 3d. Thank you Jay and also the 2Kiwis who hopefully will continue to keep warm and cosy and will manage to safely cross the Cook Strait on Friday.

    the snake in 20d.

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