DT 28555 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28555

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28555

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

 

Kia ora from Aotearoa.                

It is all go for us this week. It is still school holidays here and we’ve had groups of grandkids and their friends staying with us for a few days each. While all this has been going on we have also been getting ourselves organised and packed for our trip to India. We leave early on Sunday morning and will be away for three weeks so there will be other bloggers having the pleasure of  writing the hints for Jay puzzles.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Run in election, Attorney-General having been rejected (6)
GALLOP : Working from east to west (being rejected) we have a word for an election and the abbreviation for Attorney-General.

5a     Independent group following worker’s protection against infection (8)
ANTIBODY : Firstly a worker insect, then the abbreviation for Independent and a group or organisation.

9a     Sadly many pensioners will have no answer for sources of income (5-8)
MONEY-SPINNERS : An anagram (sadly) of MaNY PENSIONERS, after the abbreviation for answer has been removed.

10a     Sophisticated girl coming out on song (8)
DEBONAIR : The three letters for a young woman ‘coming out’, then ‘on’ from the clue and another word for a song.

11a     Contents of wordy article printed by popular decree (6)
ORDAIN : The three central letters (contents) of wordy, then the indefinite article and the two letter word for popular.

12a     Hit, and unable to move across river (6)
STRUCK : The abbreviation for river is inside a word meaning unable to move or firmly wedged.

14a     End of promotions should come after flogging lots (8)
LASHINGS : The last letter of promotions follows a word for flogging with a whip. (We always associate the answer with Enid Blyton and ginger beer.)

16a     Managing director reveals someone owed a debt (8)
CREDITOR : An anagram (managing) of DIRECTOR.

19a     Oxygen’s needed by fool grabbing tail of savage cat (6)
OCELOT : The chemical symbol for oxygen, then the last letter (tail) of savage is inside a word for a fool.

21a     Irish county town’s beginning to make wine? (6)
CLARET : An Irish county and then the first letter (beginning) of town.

23a     Left section in action (8)
DEPARTED : A four letter word for an action surrounds a section or portion.

25a     Coins once found by men on board belonging to crew (6,2,5)
PIECES OF EIGHT : The men on board could be pawns or bishops, next a two letter word meaning belonging, and then a rowing crew.

26a     Cut down on relaxation after December — right? (8)
DECREASE : The three letter abbreviation for December, the abbreviation for right and then a word for relaxation.

27a     Speaks about system of voting for wets (6)
SPRAYS : The letters for a proportional representation system of voting are inside a synonym for speaks.

Down

2d     Give weapons to others in support (7)
ARMREST : A word meaning give weapons to and then a synonym for the others.

3d     Fast bowler’s second is slow (5)
LENTO : ‘Fast’ as a time of not eating. This is followed by the second letter of bowler.

4d     Bread wrapper taken from work? (3,6)
PAY PACKET : A cryptic definition of the means by which wages might be delivered.

5d     Dress is concerning, held in disgust (7)
APPAREL : A two letter word meaning concerning is inside a verb meaning to disgust.

6d     Label covering new and old dance music (5)
TANGO : The abbreviation for new is inside a type of label, and then the abbreviation for old.

7d     Engineers employed by poor business may be on this, financially (9)
BREADLINE : An all in one clue. Army engineers are inside a three letter word for poor and then a synonym for business.

8d     Smart dogs regularly fed with a cut of beef (7)
DASHING : The first and third letters from dogs surround ‘A’ from the clue and a cut of beef often used for making soup.

13d     Slip perhaps reporting to battle full of energy (9)
UNDERWEAR : Reporting to or subservient to, and then the abbreviation for energy is inside a prolonged period of fighting.

15d     Station crowd gets breaking news (4,5)
STOP PRESS : A word for a station, possibly on a rail line, and then crowd or push together.

17d     Strangely asleep after run, showing setback to recovery (7)
RELAPSE : The abbreviation for run and then an anagram (strangely) of ASLEEP.

18d     Wine resurrected in Lancashire? (3,4)
RED ROSE : A type of wine defined by its colour and a word meaning resurrected or got up.

20d     Too full of themselves at first, for all to see (7)
OVERTLY : A word meaning ‘too full of’ includes the first letter (at first) of themselves.

22d     Health e-tailers must enclose letter (5)
THETA : A lurker hiding in the first two words of the clue.

24d     Chap that’s understood? (5)
ROGER : Double definition. The second is used in radio communications.

Our favourite today is the one that needed most head-scratching, 4d.

Quickie pun       arise     +    mile    =    a wry smile

54 comments on “DT 28555

  1. Today is indisputably a day of crossword heaven!

    2*/5*+! This was back-page perfection …
    … and now for another posthumous Petitjean Toughie. :smile:

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  2. It felt a bit more awkward than usual to me today, and I wasn’t altogether happy about using “employed” in 7d to mean the engineers being inside the poor business. However I did like 16a having not seen this smooth use of “Managing Director” before. Many thanks to the setter and the 2Ks. Enjoy the holiday!

    1. Yes, I agree with you about Managing Director, although I was mildly surprised not to see Director capitalised in the clue.

    2. Wg. 7d, I think “employed” (as in taken up or taken on – or absorbed into) is OK as a containment indicator.

  3. Slightly more difficult than the last couple of days. 2*/3* for me. Thank you to Jay and the 2Ks.

  4. Morning all… good flowing solve with lots of great clues. NE last to go in. 23a probably gets the gold star. **/****
    Thanks to setter (who-he?) and The Kiwis. Off to lay more bricks and a stone greenhouse floor. Nearly done.

  5. Good puzzle, relatively straightforward. */****. All the clues were pretty good, but no standout ones for me.

  6. Straightforward, very enjoyable, and completed at a 1a – 1.5*/3.5*.

    Candidates for favourite – 10a, 11a, 23a, 3d, 4d, 18d, and 24d – and the winner is – I have no idea.

    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  7. It took me a while to get going but once I got a start it all went in very smoothly – very enjoyable!

    I’m waiting for the British Gas man to come and fix a new belt to our Condenser Dryer, the appointment is for between 12 and 6, so I expect him to turn up about five to six – call me cynical!

      1. Surprise, surprise the British Gas man turned up just after two – but after I’d phoned up and told them the belt had broken, he didn’t have a belt with him – and to add insult to injury he looked up my Dryer on his system and told me there was a safety recall on that model and he wasn’t allowed to work on it – aaaarrrgghh!

  8. For some reason a R and W today, as Hector above aptly puts it a ‘good flowing solve ‘. Going for a */****
    Loved 14a, one of my favourite words, so Bunteresgue !
    Actual favourite was 25a, lovely surface.
    Special thanks to setter who seems to have pleased all the bloggers-so far, and 2K for the pics, liked the elegant claret jug.

  9. All good stuff – particularly (as 2Ks commented) the Enid Blyton touch at 14a.
    9a provoked a ‘quickie pun’ from me – how very true!

    Thank you, Jay – a lovely puzzle – and thanks to our 2Ks for the blog. Hope you have a wonderful holiday, we’ll look forward to hearing all about it on your return.

  10. I enjoyed this so much today, probably because I managed to complete it, something not achieved for the last two days. Did not need the assistance of the 2 ks but as ever am so grateful they are there in the background. Enjoy your time in India, I lived there almost 60 years ago. Thank you Jay I enjoyed my morning waiting for my Christmas cake to cook.

  11. Great crossword lots of favourites, some head scratching. Just enough to keep the old grey matter in good condition.
    Pretty windy in North Cornwall dogs quite like it when crossword takes longer!
    Thanks to setter and the 2Ks.
    Over the couple of days it’s been quite hard to get on setters wavelength.
    I have high hopes for tomorrow.

  12. Good afternoon everbody.

    Very good puzzle today I thought. For what it’s worth I liked 8 and 14d most.

    ***/****

  13. What a horrible sloppy puzzle full of not quite right clues. I always struggle with Jays but this was just awful. For ****/-*
    Thx for the hints

  14. I enjoyed this, particularly 9a, 27a, 3d, 6d, 7d

    Many thanks Jay and have a safe and wonderful trip, 2K.

  15. Not too taxing today. The cut of beef was new to me but the answer to the clue was easy to derive. I cannot wax lyrical about this puzzle as some have done. I liked 7d and 27a.

  16. Very enjoyable with a number of Doh! moments – especially putting RIGHT for 24d without a second thought having got R_G_ _ causing some head scratching for 27a.
    And trying to find a Station from CROWD & NEWS before the penny dropped.

    A few enjoyable ones such as 10a & 21a added to the fun.

  17. Quite enjoyed this but for me nothing special. SE corner held out the longest. Clot that I am – failed to parse 19a. 3d gives fast yet another outing. Fav was 18d. Thank you Jay and the 2Ks (bon voyage and safe landings).

  18. As usual with Jay this took more passes than the Monday or Tuesday puzzles to solve. No real hold ups aren’t checkers wonderful. Thanks to Jay for the puzzl3 and also to The 2Ks. Have a great trip your Wednesday slot will be kept safe and warm for you.

  19. What a pleasure this was. Favourite clue has to be 16ac, fantastic, closely followed by 20d. **/***** for me. Many thanks to the setter and the 2Ks.

  20. After the Kitties have left, all the birds come out to play – and what a lovely sight it is too. A Jay, a couple of Kiwis and, over on the other side, a Pidgeon and an Italian Magpie!

    Flying high is the theme, indeed. I am with the majority who thought this an excellent crossword. 16a was very clever. I thought, surely that’s been done before, but I’ve consulted The Database and can’t find it. Other than that, there are many clues which would be favourite on another day, but I’ll restrict myself to just mentioning 19a. I’m happy to see that the Kiwis have been brave enough to include a lovely illustration. :)

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis. I hope you have a wonderful trip. We’ll miss you while you’re away but look forward to hearing all about it.

  21. One more parsing would be most appreciated for a clue in Telegraph Xword book no 9, puzzle 66 and then that should be it for a while…holiday over !
    clue “Awkward situation when academic room’s put next to a gym”
    answer “scrape”
    the “scr” in the answer presumably comes from “academic room’s” in the clue, but for the life of me I cannot see why.

      1. Thanks Gazza and Jane-those suggestions had occurred to me actually, but I had thought that there must have been more to it.

  22. A lovely puzzle from Jay and a great blog from the two Kiwis , whom I hope have a lovely holiday.

  23. Thanks to Jay and to the 2 Kiwis for the review and hints. A super puzzle from Jay as usual. Not too tricky, with a few slightly tricky ones. Last in was 20d. Favourite was 4d. Was 2*/3* for me.

  24. Despite having such a backlog of DT crosswords, I couldn’t resist tackling this week’s Jay.
    Lovely as ever.
    Took a while to parse 20d for some reason.
    Favourite 25a.
    Thanks to Jay and to 2ks for the review.

  25. I’m in the super puzzle camp! Wotta treat, a plethora of clues that qualify as fave.
    I loved 14a and 25a, but 10a takes the cake, it just sounds so elegant.
    Last in was 20d, it couldn’t be anything else but I couldn’t see why – so thanks for the hint.
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis, have a great holiday!

  26. Jay’s puzzles are always a delight, but in truth I found this one a little undercooked and short of the usual sparkle one has come to expect, but I’m glad that others, Brian excepted naturally, derived much more enjoyment. Perhaps it was seeing that crossword cat yet again (the one beginning with “o” that isn’t a snow leopard) and noticing “full of” twice used as a containment device that put me off slightly, I’m not sure.

    My two favourite clues were 9a (great anagram) and 24d.

    Thanks to Mr Mutch and the 2Ks, I hope that you have a great time in India.

  27. I thought that this was well up to Jay’s usual high standard – thanks to him and to 2Kiwis for the usual high standard review with best wishes for an enjoyable holiday.
    Top clues for me were the clever 16a and 24d.

  28. Lovely stuff. Completed earlier before going out to lunch with friends. Jay on top form and so 2*/4* from me. Nuff said.

    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  29. Nice and straightforward 😃 **/**** favourites 21a 🍷13d Thanks to Jay and thanks and Bon voyage to the 2 x Ks

  30. Morning all.
    Pleasing to see that we manged to put it all together satisfactorily despite all the distractions going on in the background. The three teenage girls who have been here have now gone home and 8yr old Sam and his friend Aakash (who coincidentally is Indian) arrive today. We feel like we will be in need of a break by the time we board our plane on Sunday morning.
    We hope you all behave yourselves and play nicely while we are away.
    Cheers.

  31. Well, I enjoyed it! I thought it was a really pleasing crossword to complete. A few strange clues? So what? It’s still a good crossword. People are strange….
    16a top clue and 1.5/4* overall.
    Thanks to Jay. and the 2K’s for the review. Have an amazing experience in India; you will never regret it.

  32. A bit late commenting today so, as usual at this time, it’s all been said already – I’ll just quote Domus and say, “Super fun”.
    It sounds as if I found it trickier than most of the previous commenters, apart from Brian who just called it sloppy and horrible – Brian, this was neither ‘sloppy’ nor ‘horrible’ – OK, you couldn’t do it – why not say so?
    Whenever I find a crossword a bit difficult I count the anagrams – the fewer the anagrams the more difficult I’m likely to have found it – only three today – say no more.
    I got tied up with 16a – missed the anagram indicator and tried to include MD in something – who knows what – I didn’t!
    I think Jay must be, or have been, in a career to do with financial ‘stuff’ – most Wednesdays include something financial – just a thought.
    I particularly liked 25a and 7 and 17d. My favourite was 24a.
    Thanks to Jay and to the 2K’s – bon voyage.

  33. Lots of fun, with ** for difficulty about right. Last in 20d which I failed miserably to parse until I came here and kicked myself.

      1. Ditto with 20d. Answer obvious with checkers. Parsing not so.. Overall clever and witty I thought.

  34. Did anyone notice that 24D has the same answer as 2D in today’s toughie?
    Thanks to setter and 2Ks for the hints, have a great holiday.

  35. 1*/3* on balance. I liked 8d and 13d, but 14a – with its overtones of “Five go off to Camp” – was my favourite. Thanks to Jay, and the 2 Kiwis.

  36. Many thanks 2xK’s, have ben very tardy lately due to the new arrival of my second grandchild.
    Lovely crossword today, not too tricky. 25a my fav.
    Thanks to Jay too

    1. Congrats! Not that you really had much to do with it, but any grandchild is a bundle of joy.

  37. I’m starting to understand why so many people like the Wednesday puzzles. Jay has a particular wavelength that you have to get onto but once on it’s good fun. Agree with ** ****.
    Favourites: 9a because I liked the surface reading, 4d and 24d (made me chuckle when I got it).

  38. Thanks for parsing 20d 2Ks. Have a wonderful trip. I was in India this time last year, Super puzzle with lashings of good clues. Thanks Jay.

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