DT 28726 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28726

by Miffypops  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28726

Hints and tips by a hypothermic Miffypops

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

It is Monday and it is the turn of Chris Lancaster to set today’s puzzle. (Not Dada as I ascribed it to originally). It is another Monday morning delight. Just enough to stretch the imagination with a few penny-drops and doh! moments. The Quickie Pun is a good one too.

Congratulations to Coventry Rugby Club who were presented with a trophy for winning National League One on Saturday in front of a crowd of 3,577 people who were wrapped up against the arctic conditions and one idiot in a thin Coventry replica shirt.

As usual here are some hints and tips to help you to solve the clues you might be struggling with or to help you understand answers you have but cannot see why. Definitions are underlined and wordplay is explained.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a    Leave the Titanic, perhaps — and its orchestra? (7,4)
ABANDON SHIP: Split 1,4,2,4 we have a description of the orchestra on the Titanic. Split 7,4 we have the captains order to leave the liner.

9a    Sailor and soldier with queen (9)
PRIVATEER: Begin with the lowest ranked soldier and add Queen Elizabeth’s regal cypher

10a    Kiss and cuddle in club (5)
SPOON: Of two people, to behave in an amorous way or the name of a golf club with the loft of a modern nine iron.

11a    Settle a match? (6)
ALIGHT: A from the clue and an example of what a match is

12a    Some yeti going around national park (8)
YOSEMITE: Anagram (going around) of SOME YETI

13a    Former partner left at sea? Send overseas! (6)
EXPORT: Split 2,4 we need your former boyfriend girlfriend wife or husband together with the nautical term denoting left

15a    Pressure provided by affair is trivial (8)
PIFFLING: A three part charade. 1. The abbreviation for pressure. 2. The two-lettered conjunction suggested by the word provided. 3. A short spontaneous sexual relationship

18a    Betrayal? It’s in the bag (8)
SHOPPING: We need a word meaning the act of informing on someone. Dobbing them in. Ratting on them. Grassing them up. This is also what we put in a bag after making purchases.

A husband went to the police station to file a “missing person” report for his missing wife:
Husband : -I lost my wife, she went shopping hasn’t come back yet.
Inspector : -What is her height?
Husband : -Average, I guess.
Inspector : -Slim or healthy?.
Husband : -Not slim, but probably healthy.
Inspector : -Color of eyes?
Husband : -Never noticed.
Inspector : -Color of hair?
Husband : -Changes according to season.
Inspector : -What was she wearing?
Husband : -Not sure, either a dress or a suit.
Inspector : -Was she driving?
Husband : -Yes.
Inspector : -Color of the car?
Husband : -Black Audi A8 with supercharged 3.0 litre V6 engine generating 333 horse power teamed with an eight-speed tiptronic automatic transmission with manual mode. And it has full LED headlights, which use light emitting diodes for all light functions and has a very thin scratch on the front left door… and then the husband started
crying…
Inspector: -Don’t worry sir,…We will find your car.

19a    Hospital not quite secure, one’s admitted (6)
CLINIC: Begin with a verb meaning to settle a deal or confirm a contract. Remove its last letter. (Not quite). Insert a letter that looks like the number one

21a    Copper left argument about items of clothing (8)
CULOTTES: Begin with the chemical symbol for copper. Add the abbreviation for left. Reverse (about) an argument 3,2

23a    Live article carrying firm warning (6)
BEACON: Begin with a two-lettered verb meaning to live or exist. Place the indefinite article around the abbreviation for a firm or company

26a    Head‘s working and working to get Independent on board (5)
ONION: Use twice a two-lettered term meaning working (working and working). Place between then the abbreviation for Independent

27a    Cold playing golf in open space (9)
CONCOURSE: Use the abbreviation for cold. Add where you might be if playing golf split 2,6

28a    Set in stone what stylists might have done? (3,3,5)
CUT AND DRIED: A double definition. The first being definite, decided and completely settled. The second being what a hairdresser might do to your hair.

Down

1d    Pacify monkey eating greens (7)
APPEASE: A three lettered large primate is wrapped around (eating) some garden vegetables

2d    Liberal put in jail with no defences or excuse (5)
ALIBI: Place the abbreviation for Liberal inside the middle two letters of the word jail (with no defences)

A woman didn’t come home one night. The next morning she told her husband that she had slept over at a friend’s house. The man called his wife’s 10 best friends. None of them knew anything about it.

A man didn’t come home one night. The next morning he told his wife that he had slept over at a friend’s house. The woman called her husband’s 10 best friends. Eight confirmed that he had slept over, and two said he was still there.

Now, THAT’S friendship!

3d    Hot temperature in faulty adapter? One could be lethal (9)
DEATHTRAP: Anagram (faulty) of ADAPTER around the abbreviations for Hot and Temperature

4d    Require massage, we hear (4)
NEED: A word meaning require is a homophone (we hear) of a word meaning massage as you might massage dough when making bread.

5d    Musical chairs mostly played around particular day (8)
HARMONIC: Anagram (played) of CHAIRs minus its last letter (mostly) wrapped around the three-lettered abbreviation for one of the days of the week.

6d    Old-fashioned grandpa’s second-hand clothes (5)
PASSE: The word clothes is indicating a hidden word. The answer is hiding within the words of the clue

7d    Sing about English herbal remedy (7)
GINSENG: Anagram (about) of SING followed by the shortened word English

8d    Command underling to support party (8)
DOMINION: A unimportant servile person is placed after our usual suspect for a party

14d    Poor complain endlessly about king’s broadcast (8)
PROCLAIM: Anagram (poor) of COMPLAIn minus its last letter (endlessly) wrapped around (about) the Latin abbreviation for the king

16d    Lie from policeman working undercover, possibly? (9)
FALSEHOOD: Split 5,4 The answer might suggest a policeman posing as a criminal or mobster.

17d    Brisket perhaps that’s sold too cheap? (8)
UNDERCUT: A description of a joint of meat is also a word meaning to offer goods or services at a lower price than a competitor

18d    Criminal sources something sweet (7)
SUCROSE: Anagram (criminal) of SOURCES

20d    Challenge Tory over care (7)
CONTEND: Use the abbreviation for a member of the Tory party and add a word meaning to care for or nurse someone

22d    Turning up at home, getting into bed, is pick-me-up (5)
TONIC: place a word meaning at home inside a word for a small bed and reverse what you have. For the best effect add Gin, Ice and a slice of lemon

24d    My American soldier’s dog (5)
CORGI: Find a word meaning my or blimey and add our usual suspect American soldier

25d    Rule 100 should be dropped soon (4)
ANON: Find a general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged and remove the letter that denotes 100 in Roman Numerals

Good fun all the way through. A pleasure to solve and review.

Quickie Pun: Monday+Pyre+Fun=Monty Python

 

59 comments on “DT 28726”

  1. I found this all fairly straightforward, completed in ** time. My only two issues were parsing 19a and 16d.

    Many thanks to Dada and MP.

  2. Loved the clip of Spoonful MP, Jack Bruce had a magnificent voice, alongside Clapton’s guitar it still sounds great.
    Right on song with the crossword for a change.
    LOI was 27a.
    Thanks all.

    1. I agree with you, HIYD. As well as having a great voice, Jack Bruce was one of the best ever electric bass players – a perfect foil for Clapton before he went soft.

      1. Agree with you both ,didn’t he play a fretless one?
        My favourite base players were John Entwistle and Andy Frazer, as you know both were in groups with only one other guitarist and played a sort of lead /rhythm when required.

        1. John Entwhistle was always my favourite, Paul McCartney was pretty good too.

  3. A perfect start to the working week. Can’t pick a favourite, but 15a is a delightful word.

    Had to get the quickie pun from MrK as I had no clue. Hmmm.

    Thanks to the setter and MP.

  4. A very pleasant and comfortable start to the solving week. 16d was my favourite from 21a and the evergreen 1a. 2* /3.5* seems about right.

    Thanks to Dada and HMP.

  5. Delightful and fun start to the week, lots to smile about and thoroughly enjoyed solving.
    Thanks to Dada and MP

  6. The answer to 10a is what we now call a 3 wood (or metal in modern parlance), most certainly not a nine iron.

    2. Hello David. Like all things internet the information can be all over the place. What i wrote in my review came from wherever. I have now found this – The golf club called a “spoon” was the wooden-shafted club in (primarily) pre-20th Century golf history that was most equivalent to today’s fairway woods of various lofts – 3-woods, 5-woods, 7-woods.

      There were various types of spoons in addition to the standard or basic one. The “baffing spoon” was a higher-lofted version, akin to a 7-wood, for use when golfers needed to loft the ball higher, on a steeper angle.

      Sometimes the spoon was identified by its shape, such as the “long-nosed spoon,” whose wooden clubhead was, yes, longer from heel-to-toe and more angular at the toe end; or the “bap spoon,” whose clubhead was snubbed or bulbous in shape.

      A golfer carrying multiple spoons might refer to his long spoon, middle spoon and short spoon, where the length referred to shaft length.

      In pre-20th century golf, the wooden-headed club used from teeing grounds and off the fairway was most often the “grass club” or “grassed club.” Spoons were the alternative for longer shots in which the golf ball might be sitting down in a depression or down in rough, or otherwise not necessarily in a good lie.

      Somewhere in all of this lies the truth. Thanks for commenting

    3. Yes indeed it’s for use on the fairway or driving on short holes whilst surely a 9 iron (or niblick?) is for lofted shots of some 100 yards? ⛳️🏌️‍♂️

  7. Some lemon squeezy fun to kick off the week whilst taking one’s mind off the depressing wind and rain. No hold-ups apart from my stupid failure to parse last five letters of 21a. Liked 15a. Struggled for ages with Quickie pun without success but having seen MP’s revelation think I can be excused – not one of the best. Thank you Dada and MP.

    1. I so rarely can solve the quickie pun, I usually don’t bother, but today I solved it immediately and loved it! How different we all are, it always surprises me.

  8. Slow out of the starting gate but I picked up speed and finished comfortably at a gallop – **/***.

    Favourite – a toss-up between 18a and 8d.

    Thanks to CL(?) and GMoLI.

  9. I sort of miss ‘straightforward Mondays’ – this one took me about the sort of time I’d expect on a Friday. The usual entertaining crossword you expect from Dada (although I did have more fun with his alter ego in today’s FT)

    You’d have to have very odd pronunciation to make the pun work IMHO

    Thanks to Dada and MP

  10. Great start to the week but still interesting with plenty of good clues. Being a nerd a version of 1a appeared in 28636, oops enough of that. Another superb result for Exeter Chiefs.
    Thanks to Miffypops and Dada

  12. Just dropping in to say that it’s not Dada today; he was last Monday (and will be next Monday).

    1. Thanks Chris. Does this mean that this is one of yours? Setter spotting is never easy. Alternate weeks shouldn’t be difficult for me.

    2. Does that mean that we should be thanking your good self for today’s fun or have you added another setter to the Monday mix?

      1. It is one of Chris Lancaster’s Jane. I only have two setters to alternate and I have messed them up.

        1. Dada and I will continue to alternate (at least that’s the plan). Apologies for the Quick pun; you were spared the longer version, which had the next two across clues as:

          – Whipping
          – Layabouts

          1. Ha-ha that would have been a pun too far.
            Thanks for today’s challenge, Chris. Very enjoyable.

  13. 2* / 4*. As MP says, good fun all the way and a pleasure to solve.

    My short list for favourite: 1a, 15a & 16d.

    Many thanks to Mister Ron and to MP.

  14. Another dollop of Monday fun from Dada that caused no problems here.

    Podium places awarded to 15&18a plus 16&17d.

    Thanks to Dada and to MP for the blog. Hope you’re going to be able to contain your excitement for a while yet, MP, the new Abba tracks aren’t due out until later in the year.

      1. Think you’ve already used that excuse quite recently to explain your non-participation in a notable event. Time for a new one before we start to question your honesty!

        1. As Woody Allen said, ‘I’d love to, but I’m washing my hamster’s hair that evening’.

  15. Agree , another delightful Monday delight . 1a opened the door with a big smile . Will paraphrase into my forthcoming quiz at the Village Hall .
    Well done to Coventry’s win in the cold and also to Cardiff City at Hull . If they reach the Premier , I expect staying there for , at least , 3 Seasons .
    Autumn , Winter & Spring !
    Well done to everyone.

  17. A terrific puzzle in so many ways, I particularly liked 15a, 19a, 28a and 3d.

    “About” certainly proved its versatility to setters today, appearing as a reversal indicator, a containment indicator and an anagram indicator.

    The quickie pun was so awful it made me laugh!

    Many thanks to Mr Ed and to the hypothermic one.

  18. Went for a **/*** on completion, we all seem to think just the job for a Monday, the quickie pun amused
    1a was a fine start , I anticipated that 10a would not find favour in some quarters.
    So many good clues-liked 17d, clever surface for 24a-thanks all.

  20. 1a is a bit of a chestnut – along with arm aged Don, stand-in groom, do Ma in etc, but they never fail to amuse.

    Lovely start to the week, too many great clues to pick a favourite. Thanks CL and MP.

  21. Thanks to the setter and to Miffypops for the review and hints. A super puzzle to brighten up a freezing cold and wet Monday. Quite straightforward with a few to make you think. Just needed the hints to parse 21a, which was last in. Favourite was 12a, I had an image of the yeti running around the mountains. Was 2*/4* for me.

  22. This one is quite mild but the clues are mostly very well constructed and entertaining/amusing. 2.5* / 3.5*

  23. I haven’t got the hang of this setter yet and found this pretty tricky.
    Needed electronic help with about half of them…which is not good.

    More practice will help I hope.

    Thanks to the setter and to Miffypops.

  24. Have just done the quickie and I love the pun! It has brightened up a cold day for me!
    Thanks .

  25. This puzzle now seems to be the typical Monday offering and got off to a good start with top half going reasonably well. The bottom half was more testing with SW corner being the most tricky. Couldn’t sort the anagram for the Park in 12a so needed elctronic help for that, and also the last in. Completed without MP’s blog but never felt I was really on the setters wavelength for some reason?

    Clue of the day: 5d

    Rating 3* / 2.5*

    Thanks to MP and the setter Mr L.

  26. Not quite as straightforward as last Mondays but the tussle was rewarding. Struggled a bit with 18d (I had a diff anagram of sources) but once I got a couple of checkers it sorted itself out. I did like 24d and learned a lot about golf clubs. Thanks to Mr Ed and Mr pops particularly for the jokes and music clips.
    One of my favourite bass players is Sting. I am also a big Springsteen fan and this clip of Sting playing The Rising is one of my faves.

  27. I do like this setter, good fun.
    Fave was 15a; I do like words that sound like what they mean, can’t remember the name for that, I think Jane knows.
    Thanks to CL and to M’pops.

  29. While I still miss the gentle Monday start of the week, this one was slightly easier and more enjoyable than last Monday, with not so many holdouts. I actually found it tougher than yesterday’s which fell together nicely. COTD, despite being one of the last in, was 16d. Thanks to Chris and Miffypops.

  30. Lovely Crossword **/**** 😃 Lots of amusing solutions I liked 1a & 27a especially after this morning 😰 🏌️‍♂️Thanks to Chris and to MP especially for his usual musical “pot pourri” 🎸🎹🎺🎷

  31. A jolly romp. No help – human or electronic needed – apart from looking up a list of herbal remedies, not being into that sort of thing myself. Favourites at opposite ends of the spectrum in more ways than one – 1a and 25d. Only stickers were in the NE with 15a the last one in. Thanks Boss Setter, and MP for humourous hints which are worth reading even if not needed.

  32. I really enjoyed this one – all good clean fun.
    For no particularly good reason I got into a terrible muddle with 14 and 16d and I don’t think I found the rest of it as easy as others did.
    My favourite was either 15 or 18a and I wasn’t too keen on the Quickie pun.
    I did like the saga of the poor man with his lost car – made me laugh!
    With thanks to our crossword editor and to MP.

  33. Completed in ** time, and enjoyable throughout, a nice start to the week. Last in 14d.

  34. Better late than never. Since returning to Puglia the crosswords have all been a challenge … Something to do with two weeks in a car!!! But today after a pizza party, lots of good wine (and a drop of malt) and 29C I finally seem to be back to normal. Good solve and my favourite was first in at 1ac – not difficult but just stood out.

    Thanks setter and MP

    1. Correction. I put swoon in 10ac … And was too lazy to think about the club. Perhaps I’m not there yet!

  35. 15a was my fave in this very good Monday puzzle from Mr Ron. Mondays have certainly changed a bit in crosswordland! 4* for entertainment.
    Thanks to CL, and to MP for the review.

  36. Ok except that a monkey is not an ape (1d) and spoon may be cuddle but not kiss (10a) unless one has the neck movement of an owl!

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