DT 28964 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
View closed comments 

DT 28964 (Hints)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28964 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

I was somewhat overwhelmed by the generosity shown last Saturday.  My thanks go to all concerned, especially the two Janes, Mr K and Chris Lancaster.  I hope to be adding some pictures later.


As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, have been selected and hints provided for them.

Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also”. Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.

A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.

Some hints follow.

Across

1a    Game commander advanced position (10)
A card game is followed by a commander

6a    Fellow feeling secure? (4)
Two definitions – a noun meaning “fellow feeling” or empathy and a verb meaning to secure or bind

11a    Time after trial to pen the last word in witness statement (9)
Put T(ime) after a trial and then around the last word in, typically, a prayer

21a    What’s bust it? an iceberg’s fragment (7)
Hidden (fragment) inside the clue is something described by the whole clue

24a    Providing a fine crossing (9)
The A from the clue and F(ine) are followed by a verb meaning crossing water

25a    Name adopted by one famous acting style (5)
N(ame) inside (adopted by) the surname of a famous actor

26a    Cheat, say, repelled magistrate (4)
A two-letter verb meaning to cheat is followed by the reversal (repelled) of the Latin abbreviation for say / for example

27a    Tinier boys disorderly, being drunk (10)
An anagram (disorderly) of TINIER BOYS

Down

1d    Independent religious group following bishop to create schism? (6)
I(ndependent) followed by a religious group and preceded by (following) B(ishop)

2d    In LA, professional killer in charge upset celebrity (3,3)
… “in LA / Los Angeles” indicates an Americanism

3d    Take a walking holiday? Then Mrs May might do this! (2,2,3,7)
A cryptic definition of what Prime Minister May did back in 2017 (and wished she hadn’t!)

7d    One manages old piece of poetry with little hesitation (8)
O(ld) is followed by a piece of poetry and a two-letter word of hesitation

8d    Let off appointment college introduced (8)
An appointment around (introduced) a famous college

9d    Artillery and cavalry unit’s what’s needed to restore power (7,7)
Some artillery followed by a horse used by the cavalry

15d    Showing embarrassment, put up with drummer catching daughter in bold action (7-2)
You don’t see this word for months or years and then it comes up twice in the same week! The reversal of a colour indicating embarrassment is followed by a famous drummer around D(aughter)

16d    Show anger over help for Egyptian city (4,4)
The reversal of a five-letter show of anger is followed by a word meaning help

17d    Poet with gift for sorting out quibble (8)
An anagram (for sorting out) of POET with GIFT gives this archaic verb meaning to quibble

20d    Words introducing unknown religious belief not generally accepted (6)
The shortened form (4’1) of some words of introduction followed by a mathematical unknown

22d    Copyright article about Irish terrier (5)
C(opyright) and an indefinite article around IR(ish)

The Crossword Club is now open.


Could new readers please read the Welcome post and the FAQ before posting comments or asking questions about the site.

As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out!

Please read these instructions carefully – they are not subject to debate or discussion. Offending comments may be redacted or, in extreme cases, deleted. In all cases the administrator’s decision is final.


The Quick Crossword pun: hype+itched=high-pitched


51 comments on “DT 28964 (Hints)

  1. Struggled with 6A , 17D new word for me and SE corner caused a delay .
    Enjoyable but no outstanding favourite although the old chestnut 10A raised a smile .
    Thanks to everyone , hope the snow is not too bad wherever you are .

    1. I still can’t figure out 6a 😕. Could it have anything to do with opinions as well as feelings?
      Took me an hour to dig myself out of the house yesterday. I ache like crazy today, probably need to shovel more often!

  2. 6a was a problem for me too. Many thanks for the hint, which suggests that I am thinking along the right lines. Otherwise this was a reasonably gentle puzzle for a Saturday Prize Crossword.

  3. 2*/3*. This was a pleasant diversion for a cold Saturday morning with only a couple of clues putting up much of a fight. 17d was my favourite as it’s a great clue for a wonderful word that I haven’t come across for a long time.

    The surface of 25a seems a bit iffy, and I think it would make more sense by simply inserting “for”, i.e. “… famous for acting style”

    Many thanks to the setter and to BD.

    1. I agree about 17d, but I was convinced it had another letter in it. Where I got that from I have no idea, but it held me up for some time. Grrr.

  4. Either we are getting better at this or this was a pretty gentle one … we do like feeling clever every now and again! Thanks to setter for an enjoyable and cheering puzzle and BD for the hints. 🙂🙂

  5. Great stuff for a bitterly cold Saturday morning. I really enjoyed the topical 3d although the surface and quality of 17d is hard to beat. Overall an enjoyable and rewarding solve.

    Thanks to our setter and BD.

  6. This was very good, not overly difficult but with mostly fine clues providing a nice solve. I’ve ticked 21a, 24a, 26a, 8d, 17d and 22d. 2.5* / 3.5*

    1. 15d fondly reminds me of “Ripping Yarns”, that great TV series of the 70s starring Michael Palin.

  7. ‘Oh what a beautiful morning’ ! A definite nip in the air but above freezing (just!) and wall-to-wall sunshine. Horsham has been fortunate to avoid any serious snow although not too far away in places like Winchester it has been a different story. This challenge was undemanding but entertaining nevertheless. NW corner last to yield. As with comments made above parsing for 6a hung fire. Not too keen on 25a or 20d. Top of my list was 3d followed by 15d and 17d which are both such nice words. Thank you
    Mysteron and BD.

  8. I’m with Jose, thoroughly enjoyable. The only clue that i can’t fully parse is 19d, i can see the ‘intended’ but the rest escapes me.
    I take it from 3D that the setter is a remainer!
    Thx to all
    **/****

    1. Dear Brian

      Whilst resisting the temptation to call 19d a chestnut, I will say that variations of this clue/solution have appeared probably more times than you’ve had hot dinners.

      Look at your solution and consider how adding a ‘knight’ might provide the money

  9. Nice puzzle for a prize only real problem was 6a. Same pesky four letter clue as last week in the same place too! I suspect I have bunged in a wrong answer as I had two plausible answers and after a glance at the hints I suspect I have gone for the wrong un.
    Thanks to BD and setter.
    I must go and give Phibs MPP a go as it was his last MPP that was that stunning quadruple pangram.

  10. The online site rejects my answer to 3d which I have clearly answered correctly… A few which I needed hints for but largely OK.
    Thought about coming last Saturday but since I had been up in town the day before decided not to. Maybe next year.

  11. Well, I am going to go against the flow and say that this was not a lot of fun.

    However, I did like 3d and 9d partly for being long non-anagrams.

    Thanks to the setter and BD.

  12. Gentle and enjoyable last night.*/***.

    I thought 21a had a nice surface to it, or maybe not.🙂

    No predictions for today’s game in Dublin?

    Thanks to setter and BD.

  13. Like others struggled with 6a, & thought I could justify another answer but BD’s reasoning makes much more sense than mine.
    Too often I miss the relevance of “introduced” in 8d so that was next-to-last in.
    Otherwise straightforward I thought, **/*** enjoyment

    Thanks to setter & BD.

  14. Nice way start to the day before tackling the NTSPP and MPP.
    Thought the wording of the clue for 11a was a little unfortunate and am not convinced about the part of speech used in 27a, otherwise all went well.

    Like RD, I’ll opt for 17d as my favourite – simply because it’s a great word!

    Thanks to our Saturday setter and to BD for the club. Looking forward to seeing the photo’s.

  15. Although our wind chill isn’t anything like that being experienced in Chicago, it is still a day for staying indoors, so when you’ve done this, the NTSPP, and the MPP, you might like to pop over to the Graun, where today’s Prize Puzzle is a Brendan (Virgilius) where he is on his usual splendid form

  16. I enjoyed this. Not over taxing but struggled with 6 and 26a and 7 and 17d. Managed without hints and thought 6a to be well worded once I had parsed it. At one stage I was going to quibble at the use of a proper name till I properly parsed it. I found 17d somewhere at the back of my brain. 26a the last in after none of the usual magistrates would fit. Thanks BD as although I got it I did not properly parse. Not being sure of the pronouncing of the answer I had a different word for cheat. Therefore clue much better when I was directed to my mistake. Favourites 10a and 7 and 9d. Much shorter than my usual list

  17. Like a couple of contributors above, I still don’t know which of my two possible solutions should go in 6a. Any more hints -xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx?

    Other than that, a thoroughly enjoyable romp.

    Thanks to setter and BD.

    1. Although you had to be redacted for giving too much information, I can tell you that the answer to the question I just crossed out is ‘yes’

      1. Thank you Sue, and apologies – I did try to be cryptic but was unable to avoid my first ever trip to the naughty corner!

  18. I enjoyed this – translation: I could solve it without frying my brain.
    I did need the hint for 6a, I gather I’m not alone.
    My fave was 17d, lovely word.
    Thanks to our Saturday setter and to BD for his hints and pics.

  19. This took me slightly longer than the average back pager. I needed Mr Google to check the 17d quibble synonym and the hint for 25a. Other than that only 6a held me up where I had “xxxx” but couldn’t work out why it was cryptic. Then the penny dropped and a tiny little bit of moderation followed!
    My favourite was 15d which was dragged from the very depths of my memory.
    Thanks to setter and BD

    1. Redaction too – the instructions in red at the bottom of the hints clearly request that people don’t include wrong answers!

  20. Funnily enough I got 6a almost straight away but for the wrong reason, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    Loved 21a, got ehe answer from the nicely surfaced clue and only then did I spot the lurker as well! Needed the hint for 26a ,which I knew of well enough having been twice to Venice, but never really associated him with being a magistrate. Doh!

    Overall a very enjoyable puzzle, thanks to setter and BD.

    1. Please read the big red instructions at the bottom of the hints – commenters are asked not to say anything in the form of alternative clues etc

  21. Mostly straightforward but there were a few pesky clues that held me up for a while. Like several commentators on here 6a was the prime example!
    However, all done eventually.
    Thanks to the setter, and to BD for the hints.

  22. I can’t really add much more to what’s been said and written already, except to say that I found it very enjoyable while it lasted and very well clued. I can’t for the life of me see why Brian should query 19 down, but there again, that’s Brian for you! Personal favourites were 17 down and 26 across. Thanks to all :-)

  23. I usually save these for Sunday mornings, so I often don’t comment on Saturdays – it’s always interesting reading the reaction before doing the puzzle.

    Very pleased to hear BD was thrilled with the Bash. Thanks to him and a rather busy CS.

  24. I seem to be alone in thinking this, but I thought 4d was not quite the saying I know. It was obvious what the answer was but it threw me a bit.
    Fairly gentle jog otherwise. Last one in was last down clue which puzzled me for a while but was my favourite when the penny dropped.
    Thanks to both

  25. An evening plod, pleasant middle of the road solve.
    Required no 15d, 2*/3*.
    Thanks to setter & BD.

  26. Enjoyed this today, but my brain died in the south west corner. Had no problem with 17d at least, having heard that before. Thanks to setter and Big Dave for hints.

  27. A fairly gentle puzzle. I struggled at the close with 16d, but there was little elsewhere that was too tricky.

  28. Every time I go to comment we lose another wicket, what a hopeless bunch we are.
    Super crossword though I didn’t get 6a.
    The SE corner as the trickiest.
    Thanks all, at least we can play rugby.

  29. I remember seeing the actor in 25a in the pool in my club years ago .Irish people don’t do a big flap over celebrities , so I gave him the slightest nod of my head and everybody else completely ignored him .I got the feeling that he was just a bit grateful as he was unused to being completely unrecognised .
    I liked 1a , 6a , 18a and 21a among others .
    Thanks to all concerned .

  30. Thanks to the setter and to Big Dave for the hints. I found this very tricky. Perhaps my mind was on the Squash Tournament? Did the majority of it on the tube to Finchley Central, so probably not too difficult. However, I made it more so by having the last word of 3d wrong. So that stopped me from getting 21&24a. Had never heard of 17d or 22d, even though I got the latter from the wordplay. I got 6a by accident, thinking the xxxxxxxxx was a xxxxxxxx. Favourite was 26a. Was 4*/3* for me.

  31. As often, last to comment-blame it on the rugby. A good day if you support England! I couldn’t see Wales winning after the first half, but what a magnificent finish. Back to the puzzle most problems were as mine -SW corner and 6a. I was looking at Poets for 17d but 26a gave the last letter and then it fell in. Thanks for hint on 24a, BD and on 6a. Enjoyed it.

  32. As an idiot who is not great at crosswords but enjoys them immensely, I can’t fathom 15D. Any more clues?

    1. Welcome to the blog, JoJo.
      That was a prize puzzle from a few weeks ago and (since the submission deadline has passed) the full review including all
      the answers and explaining the wordplay has already been published. See here.

Comments are closed.