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DT 28816

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28816

Hints and tips by a generous Miffypops

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

I found this puzzle from Dada rather tough but very enjoyable. I quite like his style and often solve his puzzles in The Grauniad.

Today’s hints and tips are provided by Miffypops. I hope they help if needed. Definitions are underlined and the answers can be revealed by clicking on the greyed out click here boxes.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a Bound to break track record in competition (11)
SHOWJUMPING: Place a word meaning to bound or leap inside a word meaning one’s place in a sporting or other contest

10a Cool river for big animal (5)
HIPPO: Cool as in down and dirty with the sweet young things. The river exists only in northern Italy where it is severely depleted by drought

11a Feelingtouch (9)
SUSPICION: A double definition both nouns.

12a Juvenile error loading old weapon (9)
STRIPLING: The old weapon is what David used to slay Goliath. This includes a verb meaning to stumble often followed by the word up

13a Star sign’s last — might one go after the fishes? (5)
HERON: This star is a person much admired for their courage. He precedes the last letter of the word sign. One of these regularly visits our river.

14a A painful thing admitting hospital afloat no longer? (6)
ASHORE: Begin with the letter A generously donated by our erudite setter. Add a painful place on one’s body. Bung in the abbreviation for Hospital.

16a Split by a pass, flankers in live game (8)
LACROSSE: Split 1,5 we need a pass of the ball from the wings to the centre close to the goal. This is placed within the outer letters (flankers) of the word LivE

18a Witness old boy with tennis player, perhaps? (8)
OBSERVER: Begin with the abbreviation for an old boy of some school or other (why anybody wants to have any more to do with school once one has left is beyond me). Add the chap or the grunter hitting the ball at the start of each game in a tennis match. I doubt that Miss J Hunter Dunn grunted whilst playing tennis

Miss J. Hunter Dunn, Miss J. Hunter Dunn,
Furnish’d and burnish’d by Aldershot sun,
What strenuous singles we played after tea,
We in the tournament – you against me!

Love-thirty, love-forty, oh! weakness of joy,
The speed of a swallow, the grace of a boy,
With carefullest carelessness, gaily you won,
I am weak from your loveliness, Joan Hunter Dunn.

Miss Joan Hunter Dunn, Miss Joan Hunter Dunn,
How mad I am, sad I am, glad that you won,
The warm-handled racket is back in its press,
But my shock-headed victor, she loves me no less.

Her father’s euonymus shines as we walk,
And swing past the summer-house, buried in talk,
And cool the verandah that welcomes us in
To the six-o’clock news and a lime-juice and gin.

The scent of the conifers, sound of the bath,
The view from my bedroom of moss-dappled path,
As I struggle with double-end evening tie,
For we dance at the Golf Club, my victor and I.

On the floor of her bedroom lie blazer and shorts,
And the cream-coloured walls are be-trophied with sports,
And westering, questioning settles the sun,
On your low-leaded window, Miss Joan Hunter Dunn.

The Hillman is waiting, the light’s in the hall,
The pictures of Egypt are bright on the wall,
My sweet, I am standing beside the oak stair
And there on the landing’s the light on your hair.

By roads “not adopted”, by woodlanded ways,
She drove to the club in the late summer haze,
Into nine-o’clock Camberley, heavy with bells
And mushroomy, pine-woody, evergreen smells.

Miss Joan Hunter Dunn, Miss Joan Hunter Dunn,
I can hear from the car park the dance has begun,
Oh! Surrey twilight! importunate band!
Oh! strongly adorable tennis-girl’s hand!

Around us are Rovers and Austins afar,
Above us the intimate roof of the car,
And here on my right is the girl of my choice,
With the tilt of her nose and the chime of her voice.

And the scent of her wrap, and the words never said,
And the ominous, ominous dancing ahead.
We sat in the car park till twenty to one
And now I’m engaged to Miss Joan Hunter Dunn.

John Betjeman

20a Sweet animal, reportedly (6)
MOUSSE: The dessert is a sickly smooth light mass in which the main ingredient is whipped cream and egg white. The animal is an elk.

23a Topping in cake is not gooey, initially (5)
ICING: This topping is formed by using the initial letters of five consecutive words in the clue. The answer is as sickly as the one above.

24a Scoffing ten, bun eater remarkably buoyant (9)
EXUBERANT: Anagram (remarkably) of BUN EATER including (scoffing) the letter which represents ten in Roman Numerals

26a Dusk near, female given shelter by giant (9)
NIGHTFALL: Begin with a noun meaning near. Find a synonym for the word giant (or just a bit bigger than average) insert the abbreviation for female.

27a Story penned by an outsider (5)
ALIEN: A story or fib is placed inside the word an from the clue

28a Add one litre, tap turning (11)
INTERPOLATE: This is a new word for me and nearly (only nearly mind) had me reaching out for a pencil and paper. The answer is an anagram (turning) of ONE LITRE TAP

Down

2d That woman, employing leaders in youth programme, becomes very excited (5)
HYPER: The initial letters of the words youth programme are placed inside a pronoun meaning a female

3d Monster fiction? (7)
WHOPPER: A double definition both of which are reminiscent of comics from the fifties and sixties

4d Guy loses coat, and is strangely silent (6)
UNSAID: Begin with the U from the word guy minus its outer letters (loses coat) Add an anagram (strangely) of AND IS

5d Student getting good in pub game, operation looking up (8)
POSTGRAD: Place the abbreviation for good inside a once popular pub game involving small pointed missiles and a circular target with numbered divisions. Add the abbreviation for operation. Reverse what you have as indicated by the word up

6d In Brunei, the regime is not one thing nor the other (7)
NEITHER: The answer lies within the words of the clue lurking with intent.

7d Book, first of several in the hairdressing establishment belonging to Scotsman? (13)
THESSALONIANS: Begin with the word THE from the clue. Add the first letter of several. Add what a hairdresser works from. Add a regular crosswordland Scotsman’s name along with the letter that attributes ownership of goods to him. The book is one from the Holy Bible

8d Terrible joints, we hear, for those writing regularly (8)
DIARISTS: Split 4,6 (yes I know there are only eight letters in the answer, bear with me here) we have a word meaning dreadful (think Mark Knopfler’s old group) and the joints connecting your hands to your arms. Said quickly these two words sound like (reportedly) people who write daily journals.

9d Various units entering flat (13)
UNINTERESTING: Anagram (various) of UNITS ENTERING. This one did not have me almost reaching for a pencil.

15d Seaside town is obliged to cover up swindle (8)
HASTINGS: A swindle such as that in the popular old film with the ragtime piano music starring Robert Redford and a bloke whose name I cannot remember is placed inside a verb meaning to be obliged to do a specific thing

17d Make green tea after brewing (8)
GENERATE: Anagram (after brewing) of GREEN TEA

19d Not left off? Absolutely correct (5-2)
RIGHT-ON: Do as the clue says. Not left means the opposite of left. Not off is also its opposite.

21d Garment top of the pile? (7)
OVERALL: This workwear garment could be split 4,3 to suit the second part of the clue

22d Stop being palindromic? (4,2)
PULL UP: A Phrase meaning stop is a palindrome. This means that even without the answer you can add checkers to other clues.

25d Very famous fighter on the way (1-4)
A-LIST: Begin with a famous boxer who last fought in 1981 against a man I met a couple of years ago in Blackpool. Add the abbreviation for a way or public thoroughfare typically lined with houses. Split 1,4 we have what this boxer would have been right at the top of in his lifetime

Did you like this puzzle?

Quickie Pun: hiss+tang+bull=Istanbul


 

46 comments on “DT 28816

  1. Definitely harder than the usual Monday fare. It was completed in ***/**** time.

    COTD 8d, for the dire homophone.

    I was unable to parse 1a or 12a, so many thank to MP for the explanations and Dada for the puzzle.

  2. Mostly straightforward, my last two taking nearly as long as all the rest put together.

    I think there should be some indication that the student in 5d has been abbreviated

    Thanks to Dada and MP – my favourite has to be 10a and not just because of our Gnome’s favourite river :) It did catch my eye as the piece of paper came out of the printer, the dead tree version of the Daily Telegraph not having arrived in East Kent this morning before I had to start work :(

  3. Unlike MP I found this tough but not particularly enjoyable and had most difficulty in the North. Too many wordy/laboured surfaces. Monday’s are not my favourite cruciverbal days. More dodgy anagram indicators. 8d was my Fav as it provided a LOL moment. Thanks setter (Dada?) and MP.

  4. I am firmly in the fairly tough but enjoyable camp this morning. 8d provided the laugh out loud moment, and 10a was my favourite. I share CS’s slight misgivings about the student in 5d otherwise no complaints.

    Thanks to Dada and MP.

  5. A struggle for me initially but then the bottom half started to flow with their links enabling the top section to be completed eventually .
    Pleased to complete before the hints but not one of my favourites puzzles . Hope others will enjoy though .
    7D & 28A needed to be confirmed electronically .
    No big smiles so no COTD for me .
    Thanks to everyone .

  6. I found this puzzle somewhat odd and difficult to parse,
    Going for a ***/** as like Angellov I did not enjoy it.
    Last in was 5d and like Crypticsue I thought it warranted an abbreviation.
    Favourite was 10a,thanks to MP for the blog pics-was 25d the result of the Henry Cooper famous left hook ?

  7. Not good with homophones so did not get 8d. Despite knowing the pub game (once popular Miffypops?) did not solve 5d. Thank you for the non-grunting Miss Hunter Dunn – were more Wimbledon females like her!

    1. It is popular live and popular on TV. Popular as spectator sport but when do you ever see anybody actually playing darts?

  8. 3* / 3*. I did enjoy this but I thought it was a slightly unusual collection given the now established 2018 style of Monday back-pagers. While most of the clues conformed to the new normal, a handful, notably 5d & 7d, were rather convoluted and would perhaps have been better suited to a Toughie.

    Incidentally, although I don’t condone it, I’m afraid that the 5d abbreviation has become much more commonly used than the word itself.

    8d was my favourite.

    Many thanks to Dada and to MP.

    1. If I put the solution to 5d in a site I use on a daily basis, first of all it asks me whether I mean something that is 4, 4 and then all the results all mention the full word rather than the abbreviation

  9. I didn’t enjoy either last Thursday’s or Friday’s so this one was a welcome start to the new week. Tough but with lots of smiles.
    Thanks to MP for his usual entertaining blog and to Dada for the excellent puzzle.

  10. Bit of a toughie for me. 16a and 8d were last in after a lot of head scratching and checking the review. I want keen on the 5d abbreviation. 3d and 22d were favourites. Thank you Dada and generous Miffypops.

  11. Is a 5d actually a student?
    I found this quite challenging but enjoyable.
    Thanks to MP and setter.

  12. Slogged through this one. I got there in the end. The JB poem made my day. Thank you ☺️

  13. The bottom half went in quite quickly, the top half took a bit of solving, but seeing as the cricket finished early I had a bit of spare time…
    I do enjoy clues like 8d that make me groan out loud.
    Thanks to Miffypops and the setter, I’m looking forward to next Monday.

  14. This was a bit more challenging and better than the usual Monday puzzle. The clues were mostly excellent and I’d have to nominate 4d as my favourite. Vey enjoyable! 3* / 4*

  15. Thanks to the setter and to Miffypops for the review and hints. I enjoyed this one a lot, but found it very tricky. Needed the hints for 11a, I can never get double definitions, I had “intuition” originally but realised it was wrong when I solved 4d. Also needed the hints for 8d, and to parse 5d. Was 4*/3* for me.

  16. I would echo Jose’s remarks, in addition to 4d I also ticked 20a and 19d.

    Many thanks to Mr Halpern and the generous one.

    P.S.
    I liked the photos of Muhammad Ali in the West Midlands, interesting that his first visit saw fish and chips consumed in Coventry, but on his second there was Nuneaton? ;-)

  17. I’m with all of those who thought this one was very enjoyable and pretty tricky – I found the bottom half easier than the top.
    My last two answers were 12a and 8d.
    It took me ages to realise that 23a was a first letters thingy – I’m used to looking out for them with Ray T but often forget with other setters.
    Lots of good clues particularly 10a and 8d – no complaints about the homophone, so far at least.
    With thanks to Dada and to MP.
    Was just thinking about cutting the grass which seems to be beginning to grow after all the rain in the last few days but I think it might be about to pour again, not that I’m complaining.

  18. Difficulty up a notch from recent Mondays with two or three holding out on me for a while.
    The abbreviation in 5d didn’t worry me overly – as RD commented, it’s become very commonly used in recent times.

    Top three places went to 10a plus 3&8d.

    Thanks to Dada and to MP – enjoyed the Ronan Keating clip.

  19. ****/****. This took a more time than usual but was a satisfying solve. My favourite was 7d because I got this with very few checkers. Thanks to the setter and MP for the review.

  20. I found parts of this puzzle quite tricky but generally enjoyed it. Thank you for the words of Joan Hunter Dunne. I had to learn it by heart when I was 11 (nearly 60 years ago!) and remembered most of it!

  21. I was looking at pawnees for 8d, which would have worked if it had fitted the definition and had the right number of letters!!

    A bit trickier than the usual Monday fare but an enjoyable solve.

    Gave myself a pat on the back that I managed to remember something from the Bible without looking it up, although the wordplay was pretty clear.

  22. Got there in the end with this one….but it took a lot of puzzling out.
    Got the Bible reference without looking it up, so perhaps all those long, long hours at Sunday School were not entirely wasted…perhaps.

    Thanks to Miffypops and to the setter.

  23. Blimey that was hard! I found the south to be more solvable than the north. I needed to go to the hints for 1a to get me going again, though never did get 5d or 8d.
    M’pops, how could you forget Paul Newman? He was super dishy, but thank you for the Miss Joan Hunter Dunn poem, one of my fave JB poems. Remember the old Hillmans?
    Even though I didn’t get 8d, I think that’s my fave, but 10a was right up there, particularly as I managed to solve it on first run through.
    Thanks to Dada and to M’pops for his help in finishing this toughie.

    1. I’m afraid that I don’t find either of them dishy but thanks for reminding me of the other name.

  24. Yes, quite tricky in places. Monday would seem to be the new Thursday … only Thursday is still there, nice and Thursdayish, in its proper place between Wednesday and Friday.

    I was surprised by the murmurings about 5d – academic friends often talk of their 5ds, and Chambers supports my experience that it’s a(n informal) word in its own right now.

    My favourite is 13a, partly because I like watching our local ones (spotted a young one on the walk in today) but also because it’s clever. I’d like to see a 1a 10a!

    Thanks to the setter and MP.

  25. OMG. Comment totally disappeared when I hit submit. Stupidly got 3 wrong (camel 10a, intuition 11a and ebullient 24a) which held me up until I looked at Miffypops hints. And I think the other actor in the movie in 15d was the gorgeous Paul Newman. 8d was definite COTD.

  26. Very Graun-like in construction I thought and decidedly tricky.
    Thanks MP and Dada

  27. Oh dear I must try to find time earlier in the day it is tomorrow already. Busy busy day. I enjoyed this, loved 8d it made me laugh – I have been one since I was 16, writing EVERY day! I do like your technical terms Miffypops, like ‘bung in’. Thanks for your comments and may I say smugly that I did know the word at 28a! Also liked the wordy clue for 7d. I used to be able to recite all the books of both testaments, that’s what a grammar school in Wimbledon does for you.

  28. I much enjoyed this. I needed the hints for 11a and 5d. I just couldn’t think of the right synonym for 11a. Otherwise I had no problems.

    Appreciative thanks to both Dada and Miffypops. I thoroughly enjoyed the John Betjeman, too!

  29. Well, for a Monday that was quite demanding. Tricky but fair. 8d was my favourite.
    Thanks to Dada, and to MP for the review.

  30. Appreciated MP’s hints for this one, and the JB poem !
    Liked the floating bun eater in 24A.

  31. That had a lot more meat on the bone, but after a couple of false starts in the NW – cantered home like a prize …… Showjumper !!! :)

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