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DT 28501

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28501

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ****

 

Kia ora from Aotearoa.
                 Rain, rain and more rain. We even suspect that the power outage that caused us to have a candlelit evening recently was caused by water getting into part of a transformer where it should not have been. This sort of weather causes disruptions to all sorts of activities but luckily cryptic crosswords can still be appreciated and enjoyed.

Jay delivers the goods once again, a little towards the trickier end of the spectrum we thought, and a real groan provoking Quickie pun.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     This is why broadcast is unacceptable opinion (6)
HERESY : We have a 4’1 synonym for ‘this is’ and the letter that sounds like (broadcast) why.

4a     City beach element that is to disappear (3,5)
SAN DIEGO : A four letter word for what is usually found on a beach then the two letters signifying that is and a short word meaning disappear or leave.

9a     Look undaunted, seeing that man sent back inside (6)
BEHOLD : The personal pronoun for ‘that man’ is reversed inside a word for undaunted or brave.

10a     Scheme of church to welcome new prison (8)
CONSPIRE : The abbreviation for the Anglican Church surrounds an anagram (new) of PRISON.

12a     Lethargy during court case? (8)
INACTION : Split the answer 2,6 to understand why it means during a court case.

13a     Fatal, having ultimately changed sides to get weapon (6)
MORTAR : The last letter of a word meaning fatal or deadly needs to be changed from L(eft) to R(ight).

15a     Put squeeze on directors for advertising material (8,5)
SANDWICH BOARD : Put squeeze on or even make a snack using two pieces of bread, and the collective word for a group of directors.

18a     Liberal lad bit upset, seeing cannons shot here (8,5)
BILLIARD TABLE : An anagram (upset) of LIBERAL LAD BIT.

20a     Shabby-sounding and singular complement to mince (6)
TATTIE : We are looking for a Scottish name for the vegetables we associate with mince. The singular version of this sounds like something shabby.

22a     List dyes for repacking treated artificially (8)
STYLISED : An anagram (for repacking ) of LIST DYES.

24a     Drink part of profit — I repaid after getting a return (8)
APERITIF : A reversed lurker hiding inside the fourth, fifth and sixth words of the clue.

25a     Bundles of corn accepted on board ship (6)
STOOKS : A word meaning accepted or obtained possession of is inside the abbreviation for a steamship.

26a     Turn, oddly reluctant to cross (8)
TRAVERSE : The first and third letters of turn (the odd ones) and then a word meaning reluctant.

27a     Inventor‘s lack of affectation rejected (6)
EDISON : Reverse the answer and split it 2,4 to find the lack of affectation.

Down

1d     Why bridges must bear cross (6)
HYBRID : A lurker hiding in the first two words of the clue. (It took us a while to spot this one.)

2d     Tries again to pre-empt a student’s dry run (9)
REHEARSAL : Tries again as in a law court, then ‘A’ from the clue and the abbreviation for a learner.

3d     It’s frowned upon by some purists but one is to happily cohabit (5,10)
SPLIT INFINITIVE : A cryptic description of a grammatical construct commonly exemplified by the introduction to the Star Trek programmes.

5d      Excitedly eager to know more since the opening of gallery (4)
AGOG : A word meaning since or some time in the past and then the first letter of gallery.

6d     Bemused, blame doubt developing after dance party (15)
DISCOMBOBULATED : A dance party popular in the 1970’s and then an anagram (developing) of BLAME DOUBT. (One of our all-time favourite words)

7d     Be first to support old flame (5)
EXIST : ‘First’ written as the Roman numeral one and two letters, follows (supports in a down clue) a word for a previous partner.

8d     Take manual control of extra attraction at fairground (8)
OVERRIDE : Extra or more than required is followed by a type of fairground attraction like a merry-go-round.

11d     Conflict in river crossing at the front (7)
FORWARD : A military conflict is inside a way of crossing a river where there is no bridge.

14d     A church gallery’s visual aid material (7)
ACETATE : ‘A’ from the clue, then the Anglican Church and a well known South Bank Gallery.

16d     Hates to maintain lads must eat one (9)
AVERSIONS : Maintain or state, then lads or male offspring includes the Roman numeral one.

17d     Remove such a painting (8)
ABSTRACT : A double definition. The painting could be a work by Jackson Pollock.

19d     Unusual issue that’s likely to succeed (4-2)
ODDS-ON : A word meaning unusual and the same issue we met in 16d.

21d     Letter from volunteers supporting article (5)
THETA : Soldier volunteers come after a definite article.

23d     Appreciates somewhere to stay (4)
DIGS : Double definition.

It took us a long time for the penny to drop with 3d so that is our favourite today.

Quickie pun    sores     +    hedges    =    sausages

90 comments on “DT 28501

  1. Raining here too, despite it’s supposed to be summer. Thanks for the hints for 1ac and 1down

    1. Welcome to the blog Adelma. 1ac and 1d were my last two in as well. In that order. Once I had sorted the grammatical clue.

  2. I solved yesterday’s puzzle just before going to sleep and today’s upon waking. Lovely puzzle from Jay as usual. The top left was last in. Thanks to the 2ks for the blog.

  3. 3*/5*. Perfect!

    As I worked through this I kept finding clues where I thought “this one will be my favourite”, so in the end it was a real struggle to select one. My final choice is that the bronze medal goes to 4a, silver to 6d, and top of the pile is the wonderful 3d.

    Many thanks to Jay for a great puzzle (and for confirming that I am a purist), and to the 2Ks for their usual excellent review.

  4. My first thought was ‘brilliant’ what a puzzle.
    Failed to start in the usual NW corner ,just meandered around the grid gradually solving the excellent clues.
    Finally returned to the NW and saw 9a,the B’ was the key to the rest, a bit like a cornerstone on a building.
    Really liked 1a and 1d. As for 3d, I worked out the second word from the checking letters and guessed the first, instinctively knew it was right-not sure why !
    Going for a ***/***** like BD.

  5. I was a little brain dead when I tackled this excellent Jay puzzle so quite a lot of head scratching and staring down required. For example, with the checkers for 23d (my last one in), I had to ‘run through’ the alphabet for the unchecked letters until I arrived at something that made sense – ***/****.

    I have to go for joint favourites today – 15a and 3d – although 3d might just have the edge, and 15a might be an oldie but goodie.

    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks. Summer is taking a holiday in Winnipeg today – wet and windy with temperatures in the middle/high teens.

        1. We could certainly do with a bit of your 42 degrees – if the weather watchers are correct.

          1. No – 42C is way too hot for me. When we were in Melbourne with friends eighteen months everyone was saying it was going to be 42C on a particular day and with northerly winds – I was dumb enough to think, “Oh, that’s nice – it’ll cool things down a bit”. Oh dear!

      1. We’ve had glorious sunshine in Northumberland all afternoon.Lovely walk along Hadrian’s Wall. I was unable to find a DT this morning, but too tired tonight to attempt the crossword anyway. I will save this one for a rainy day.

  6. Lovely crossword from Jay as expected on Wednesday **/**** 😃 Favourite was 23d and 15a thanks to the 2xKs for the amusing illustration and their entertaining blog 🤗 It is very wet in the UK as well and we are in the middle of Summer 😢

  7. A sparkling offering which floated my whole flotilla. My notes included: 6d – ‘Bravo!’, 15a – ‘got me going’, 18a – ‘Brilliant’, 4a ‘Sweet’, 7d go two ticks, 24a v.g. (took longer than it should have to spot), 3d – three ticks (though I have seen this before somewhere).

    One of the best DT Cryptics I have tackled in recent times. Many thanks to the setter (Jay, is it?) and K2 for the assistance with 1d for which I was in love with ‘Heroic’ for some reason but knew deep down was flawed.

    This was a treat. Thank you.

  8. No doubt about the COTD for me – the excellent 3d. The whole puzzle was a delight, and I thought Jay excelled himself this week. I thought it fairly straighforward but right up there at the top for pure enjoyment and satisfaction, so 2*/5* overall.

    Many thanks to Jay for a wonderful crossword and to the 2Ks for their entertaining blog.

  9. Completed without hints from the Kiwis but needed my spelling machine for a few. Was pleased with myself getting 6d first but 1a and 1d were last in. 27 a a guess. I don’t see what side is to do with affection? Lovely puzzle, thanks Jay.

      1. There must have been a gremlin at work as we had corrected that typo and made a couple of other minor tweaks before it was published. Thanks for taking care of it Gazza.

    1. I made the same mistake and had to revisit the clue. My eyes are really getting bad.

  10. Very enjoyable, though 25a held me up disproportionately. The quickie pun I had to say aloud several times, then chuckled a lot when it finally dropped!

    It was nice to see mention of a particular Greek island in yesterday’s quickie as I’m actually looking across the water at it from where I’m currently staying.

  11. Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this one and, like RD, kept thinking ‘this one will be my favourite’ as I worked my way through.

    The podium is very crowded – 1,4,15&20a plus 3,6&19d all getting medals. 6d gets a special accolade because. like 2Ks, it’s one of my favourite words, 20a gave me the biggest smile and 3d – my last one in – was extremely clever.

    Speaking of 3ds – I suspect that I’m one of the worst offenders. Others (TS in particular) used to chastise me for them but I think even they have given up now!

    Many thanks to Jay for a superb puzzle and to 2Ks for a beautifully illustrated review. How did you manage to get a photo of the sign outside MP’s establishment to depict 15a?

    1. Hi Jane,

      As you’ve made quick work of this one, perhaps you’ll have the time to try another one somewhere else this afternoon? ;-)

      1. I was just going to recommend people did that. Also Arachne is in good form in the Graun, Monk (Sparks) ditto in the FT. (just to mention a few of the puzzles I’ve solved today)

        1. Thanks, Sue. Unfortunately, not for the first time, there seem to be a few gremlins causing difficulty in accessing my puzzle on the Independent site.

          As a special courtesy to Jane, the setter is happy to email a copy of the puzzle if you or BD provide me with her contact details?

        2. I enjoyed the Arachne (had to accept a bit of help!) but haven’t looked at the Monk. Could be beyond my capabilities but I’ll give it a try.

      2. I’d love to, Silvanus but – as I’ve just commented in the ‘other place’, the Indy site is playing up and will only bring up their Quickie. Others are having the same problem.

  12. This put up a fair amount of resistance and at times left me decidedly 6a. Once I bunged in 3a, 1a and 1d which had held me up for along time finally gave in. Could someone please explain the bit about ‘one is to happily cohabit’ in 3d.

  13. I agree with the rating of *** for difficulty, took me ages to get going then it steadily came together. I thought it was a really good enjoyable puzzle with 4a being my favourite. No carping today😀.
    Thx to all

  14. Well, I guess the rotten weather has to be my feeble excuse for having dragged my feet very badly on this one? At best, a 3*. I especially liked 3d – which must surely be a chestnut? Is Mr. Kitty on board right now?

    1. Hi, bonkers. The real chestnut is “To sleep, perchance to dream? (10)” INFINITIVE, which has appeared twice on the back page and once in the Toughie.

      Today’s 3d construction has been seen in the Telegraph as:

          DT 25354 To separately live is such (5,10)
          DT 26018 Construction to really care about? (5,10)
          TOUGHIE 6 Error to carefully avoid, for example (5,10)
          TOUGHIE 138 Lips to endlessly pucker and home to mostly discover it — I’ve just done this twice! (5,10)

      The variant that I liked best is this one by Paul in Guardian 23514: “Construction put in to really annoy, perhaps (5,10)”

      1. Possibly the most famous example is ” to boldly go where no man has gone before”, although I don’t recall seeing it in a crossword – cue a Star Trek themed puzzle anyone?

        1. Now nerds everywhere are firing up Crossword Compiler. Heard Deanna’s horse went there? (4), perhaps?

  15. We’ve been having some serious power outages in Hyeres over the weekend but the reason was the extreme heat day and night putting too much pressure on the underground cables.
    Some shops and restaurants had to throw all their stock away.
    Almost 90 days without rain and counting.
    As for the crossword, it was a real Jay joy.
    Last one in was 25a. New to me.
    Favourite was the one before ie 24a.
    Thanks to Jay and to 2ks for the review.

  16. Thanks to Jay and to the 2 Kiwis for the review and hints. One of the best puzzles that I can remember. It was an absolute joy from start to finish. I had great difficulty in selecting a favourite. I liked 4&13a, but my favourite was 1a. Last in was 1d. Was 3*/5* for me.

  17. I think it’s safe to say that no horses were even slightly alarmed during the solving of this puzzle. Very pleasant though so it’s a **/**** from us with 3d a clear favourite.

    Weather here is a bit odd today. We have severe thunderstorms and flooding to the north of us and we have severe thunderstorms to the south of us but here it’s 35C and sunny but very humid. Pommette’s gone for a siesta with the aircon.

    Many thanks to the 2Kiwis and Jay.

  18. Definitely a little trickier than usual today, but a great pleasure to solve. The favourite for me was 1d which eluded me almost to the end. 2/4* overall.
    Thanks to Jay and to the 2Ks for their review. We’re wet here, they’re wet there; just what is going on in the world?

  19. Relieved to see the difficulty rating. Definitely above my pay grade today. Got 5 answers filled in, including 4a (surprised it didn’t say US in the clue?) but then needed 2 KiWis hints to progress. Started with the pictures and then slowly all got filled in. A lovely puzzle for the brighter bods, but a challenge for me today. Hopefully something leant today.

    Didn’t even understand the Matt cartoon today, probably a bit of the U.K. news we missed over here? Bit preoccupied with you know who and his sabre rattling 😪

    1. Hi Lizzie,
      Sadly, there’s been an outbreak of norovirus in one of the London hotels housing some of the competitors in the World Athletics Championships. I think about 30 have already had to scratch from the competition. Trust Matt to find probably the only bit of humour in that!

    2. I’ve just had a look at Matt. A number of the competitors in the World Athletics Championship (in London currently) have been hit by the Novovirus.

    3. BL, isn’t you-know-who’s rant frightening? I’m wondering why the international community isn’t trying to pat him down a bit.

      1. Why aren’t the GOP doing something before it’s too late? And yes, please international leaders put some pressure on him to stop. Could someone close his Twitter account? Having just watched the movie 13 days again I am quite spooked.

    4. He’s been on holiday and much missed so I was delighted to find a second cartoon on page 4 too :D

  20. ***/*** for me today, as some tortuous clues but was smugly pleased at getting 3d at once ( though that gives away my inability to solve the first ones across !!
    1a and 1d needed hints, as for other solvers……..
    Squally northern city but going south-east soon so please keep the sun out down there……..

  21. Yet another wonderful Jay puzzle. My favourite is 1d, which is the finest example of lurking that I’ve ever met in a crossword. Thanks to Jay for the fun, and to the 2Ks for a great blog. I loved the 15a picture.

  22. I loved it, fun from start to finish. I found the SE corner took the longest, particularly 20a, had to use gizmo for help with that.
    I’ll go with RD’s choice of faves, 3d winning hands down, but I also liked 6d.
    Thanks to Jay and to 2Kiwis for the great review.

  23. Just read an article in the paper which says that apparently if I drink half a pint of beer before starting the crossword, my brain will be better able to solve it. Not sure what the boss would think of me having beer at 8 am when I start the backpagers but I suppose I could give it a try

  24. After a very good day yesterday, I’m with ‘busylizzie’ on this one! Of the 7 clues I solved prior to resorting to the 2K’s, 26a pleased me most! 6d was first in and then The others came hard. Still on a steep learning curve especially parsing lots of clues. But, never say die…..

    Thanks to the setter and 2K’s for the excellent hints.

  25. The latest in a long line of exceptionally good Jay puzzles, marred only very slightly for me when my repetition radar bleeped seeing “support” and “supporting” both used as positional indicators in the Down clues. Even the best are human!

    Like others, I am also going to lavishly praise (sic) 3d, but I also really liked 1a and 6d too.

    Many thanks to Mr Mutch and the 2Ks. Just checked on my garden water-butt, which was 90% empty yesterday, and now it’s overflowing. It doesn’t seem fair than Jean-Luc hasn’t seen any rain for three months, and many of us in the UK (and Colin and Carol in NZ) might currently be seeing three months’ rain in one go!

    1. That’s what we worry about the most.
      The ground is so dry that a torrential shower would certainly have that effect. The water would just flow over.

  26. Tricky, but excellent crossword, I thought.
    I needed a nudge for 1a and 1d, but the rest was ok. 3d held me up for a while until the penny dropped, I seem to recall we did these in English at school with something called ‘floating participles’.
    Fav was 4a, very clever.
    Thanks to all.

    1. Participles aren’t the only things that are floating here in London today …

  27. As say the 2Kiwis, thank heavens for crosswords with weather like this but that doesn’t help my decorators who are here to do exterior painting of the house! Enjoyed this for scarcity of anagrams and good cluing including several contenders for Fav viz 1a, 15a and 19a. Thank you Jay and the 2Kiwis. Might now even succumb to a Sudoko! 🌧☔️😟.

  28. Following on from the recommendation by CS and my own subsequent experience, I would suggest to anyone with a bit of time to spare this evening to have a try at the puzzle from our own Silvanus in today’s Indy. The site seems to be working OK now so it’s available free online. I didn’t find it easy but it was well worth the effort.

      1. I did it this morning and would echo Jane’s view – a tad tricky but clever. Thanks Silvanus.

  29. Excellent puzzle, loved it. Various clue types masterfully executed; impossible to pick a favourite.
    Many thanks Mr Mutch and 2Ks.

  30. Morning all.
    When we look out the window there are stars twinkling in the pre-dawn sky so perhaps we are going to get fine weather today. Here’s hoping.
    We guessed when we were solving that it would be the NW corner and 3d that would give the biggest problems and the biggest smiles.
    We felt it was a real privilege and pleasure to share this excellent puzzle with you all.
    Thanks again Jay.
    Cheers.

  31. It’s now far too late for me to add anything new.
    I thought it was the usual delightful Jay crossword.
    I liked 27a and 3d. My favourite was 4a – it’s a long story!
    Thanks to Jay and to the Kiwis.
    Still raining here . . .

  32. Really enjoyed this and agree with 3*/5*. Too many clever clues to choose a favourite but one across particularly tickled me. As for the quickie my wife and I have failed for the first time in ages to complete it, can anyone assist with a hint or two re 2 down (if such is permitted to be asked for here)? Of course, one, or more, of our answers to the four crossing clues could be wrong but we have xxxxxxx(edited).

    1. Welcome to the blog Paulcroft.
      We don’t like to comment on the Quickie clues here in case it spoils it for people planning to solve it later. However we will suggest that you have another look at the answer you have for 1a. (We started off with that word too.)

  33. As a novice i often find myself too thick to finish by myself! But i love them and with your help, I’m improving. Many thanks indeed. 4a my fave (and worked out by myself!)

  34. Way over my head today. Couldnt do it. Good to be challenged. Looking at the answers here, I really admire 3d. **/***** for me.

  35. Into ***, if not **** territory. Last in 20ac, that I wanted to be TATTIS (S for singular), but the computer said no. We don’t call them that round here, is my excuse.

  36. What a great puzzle. Thank you to the setter and to the 2Kiwis.
    Like many others, 6d was a joy – one of my favourite words although my all time best word is grallatorial – so descriptive – haven’t seen it in a crossword yet but hopefully only a matter of time.
    I don’t understand the cannons in 18a but managed to get the answer anyway.
    Last one in was 13a but the penny (about changing sides) eventually dropped.
    Hoofit’s Matt link also much appreciated.

  37. Having amassed ten answers through the day, I elucidated 4a at 2300. Truly a (for me) eureka moment on the beach.

  38. I don’t normally comment on Mon – Wed puzzles, but this one was better than the norm and well worthy of positive observation. A reasonable challenge, generally excellent clues and very enjoyable to solve. 3*/4*.

  39. Given the level of difficulty, I am pleased to have completed two thirds of the puzzle in 36 hours or so.

      1. For some of the less adept, that is the measure of all things, especially when, frequently, neither the meaning of the clue nor of its answer is anything other than opaque, even on Monday. Qualification for Bletchley Park, if you remember and if it were not to have been apocryphal, was by cruciverbal time trial.

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