DT 28970 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28970 (Hints)

by Big Dave  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28970 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club

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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    Visit happening regularly at short intervals (8)
Two definitions – the first being to visit often

9a    A final song for Scotsman (8)
The A from the clue and words meaning final and song, split as (1,4,3), gives a forename that often, but not always, indicates Scottish descent

11a    Familiar-sounding activity before service? (7,1,4)
This activity happens before many church services – it certainly does in our village!

15a    Edward leaving to increase foreign money (6)
Remove the two-letter shortened version of Edward from a verb meaning to increase

16a    Scoff as article gets penned by Sue’s partner (4)
… for the benefit of overseas solvers, this is Sue Perkins’ partner, the one with the unpronounceable surname, on The Great British Bake Off – until it moved from the BBC to Channel 4 (at which point Mrs BD and millions of others stopped watching it!)

21a    Talk about son, occasionally filthy, showing virtue (8)
A four-letter verb meaning to talk casually around S(on) is followed by the even (occasionally) letters of FILTHY

27a    Notice said ungulate that’s found in the main (8)
What sounds like (said) a verb meaning to notice is followed by an ungulate (creature with hooves)

28a    Man reorganising the rodeo (8)
This male forename is an anagram (reorganising) of THE RODEO – one forename in a puzzle is one too many, this is the second one!

Down

2d    A good one might be welcome relief (8)
When preceded by the word good, Chambers defines this phrase as welcome relief – what more can be said?

3d    A fourth window? (12)
This window could be a fourth of a whole window!

 

7d    Look in two-thirds of summerhouse (4)
Take the first four letters of a six-letter word for a summerhouse

8d    Comedy hair curler found between beginning and end of day (8)
A hair curler in between the outer letters, beginning and end, of DaY

16d    By the way it indicates important stage in one’s life (8)
Two definitions

17d    Dress up with band, not Queen, one boasts (8)
The reversal (up in a down clue) of a four-letter word meaning dress or clothing is followed by a band from which the Queen’s regnal cipher has been dropped

19d    Keeper‘s fee? (8)
Two definitions – someone who keeps something and fee payable to secure a priority of claim on a someone’s services,

25d    Help alphabetise clothes (4)
Hidden (clothes) inside one word in the clue

The Crossword Club is now open.

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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!

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The Quick Crossword pun: stork+curse=stalkers

82 comments on “DT 28970 (Hints)”

  1. A straightforward solve this morning with nothing really to frighten the horses.

    Thanks to BD and setter 1.5*/3*

  2. 1*/2.5*. I found this pangram very light but fun despite a few slightly strange surfaces, particularly 8d.

    I didn’t know “scoff” in 16a could be used as a noun. It sounds American to me in that context, but I can’t find any evidence to suggest that provenance.

    No doubt Miffypops will approve that the band in 17d is not Queen.

    3d was my favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter and to BD.

      2. That’s interesting, Sue, and has made me look at the BRB. I’ve always understood that the noun was derived from the surname of a French chef – and I can’t say any more than that for fear of contravening the house rules! However, if you think that I’ve crossed the line, please feel free to delete my comment and I’ll promise not to spit out my dummy.

        I didn’t have any problems with this puzzle and it would seem that other contributors have found it to be straightforward too.

        1. Interesting – that’s what the interweb says … I’d agree with Wahoo about the slang – and then the BRB says something different. Still wherever we think it comes from, we won’t forget it in future.

          I’ll let the Redactor in Chief decided about deletions, if any

  3. This was over all too quickly this morning. Some gimme clues and others which looked puzzling at first sight. Last two in 9a and 7d both of which I enjoyed. Nice to meet another Scot who is not one of the usual two. Also liked 11 and 15a and 2 and 5d. I would say */***

  4. This was very mild/straightforward, with quite a number of elementary clues and not many that put up much resistance. Not really my cup of tea, but I’m sure lots of people loved it and that’s what matters. 1* / 2*

    * On top of that, earlier I saw a sandwich board at the side of the A6 near Buxton with the hand-written heading: LABRADOODLE PUPPY’S FOR SALE. Grrrrrr…

  5. Enjoyed every moment . Only hitch was with 16D as put in the wrong first word .
    A few excellent clues with 2D my favourite .
    Yet another sunny day in the Canary Islands but cannot watch the rugby !!
    Thanks as usual to everyone .

  6. Not my favourite puzzle of the week – quite a few ‘umms’ on my print-out.
    The simple 18d rather appealed although it’s doubtless a chestnut and I appreciated the 1a triple.

    Thanks to our setter and to BD for the club. Any sign of those birthday bash photo’s seeing the light of day?

    1. I resisted the temptation to remark last time you made this request, but following on from Jose’s puppy’s above, unless the photographs are in possession of something, surely we are waiting for photos.

      1. Hi Sue,
        I’m sure this one has come up in conversation previously but can’t remember the outcome. I was using the apostrophe in place of the missing ‘graph’ in the full word – is that incorrect?

        1. The BRB has photo n (pl photos)

          My mum was a great one for rubbing out apostrophes on signs outside shops (not just greengrocers). I do miss her but I’m really glad she’s not here in the era of the misuse of the word ‘myself’

          2. Oh I so agree about the misuse of ‘myself’. I’ve decided it’s linked with the general ignorance of when to use ‘me’ or ‘I’.

  7. Steady solve today only problem was the final letter of 17d, which I bunged in wrong and the pesky 4 letter clue with vowel checkers at 7d which stumped me for a while. I too liked the different Scot and took a while to parse the foreign currency. Thanks to BD and setter.

    1. Very similar to my experience. Fid not put the wrong last letter into 17d as did not parse but was doubtful about the spelling so checked the dictionary. Ditto 7d. Last one in and recitation if the alphabet required. A recognition of the pangram would have helped. The parsing of 15a was slow to come but satisfying when it did.

  8. Excellent puzzle. Nothing too taxing but great fun for all that. The DT must be making amends for Thursdays horror :-)
    Thx to all
    **/****

    1. Brian, surely you must include Friday’s as a horror also ?
      That was a true stern test, as confirmed by the majority of comments !

  9. I didn’t find this as straightforward as earlier commenters but it went in very smoothly after a slow start. Once I realised it was a pangram the gaps in the grid filled in much more quickly. 15a my LOI and 3d was my favourite; such a great word.

    Thanks to our Saturday setter and to BD.

  10. Nothing special today but a pleasant enough way to kick-off a relaxed (?) rugby-laden weekend. Fav was 11a in spite of service leading me astray to begin with. Thank you Mysteron and BD.

  11. A relaxed and enjoyable puzzle, a welcome relief after the quasi-Toughie on yesterday’s back page. Thank you to the setter and to BD for the hints. I now know what a 3d looks like.

  12. Close to being the proscribed term, completed at a fast gallop – 1.5*/2*.

    I had no idea who Sue was but I was able to identify her partner/solve 16a reasonably easily with the checker from 3d and the ‘article.’

    Candidates for favourite – 21a, 16d, and 25d – and the winner is – 16d.

    Thanks to the setter and BD.

    (A weekend of rugby watching started yesterday evening with the Austin Elite losing to the Toronto Arrows in the nascent Major League Rugby – somewhat below the standard of the 6 Nations!)

  13. Fairly gentle with a couple of minor hiccups. Few clues involved any 8d. A pot- boiler for me.
    Thanks to setter & BD for hints.

  14. Gentle and quick solve. 2d made me smile the most, so that is my favourite.

    Those windows were very practical for letting the cigarette smoke go out.

    Ta to all.

  15. Having recovered from the ordeal of the back pager yesterday, this was a really enjoyable solve for a wet and windy morning up here in Bonnie Scotland.

    9a was particularly enjoyable bearing in mind the innumerable different variants of this we come across up here.

    I would nominate 3d for COTD as it brought a smile to my face, 16a was one of the last in as I was not familiar with the slang in the clue.

    Thanks to all

  17. I much prefer GBBO without *** and Sue.
    And, today’s QC pun is rubbish, isn’t it. To coin GBBO’s Prue Leith, not worth the newsprint.

    1. Welcome to the blog Carol

      We used to watch it in spite of Paul Hollywood, and swapping the lovely Mary Berry for the arrogant Pru Leith was the last straw.

      1. I haven’t seen the new series yet, but from your remarks, I think I’ll give it a miss – loved Mary Berry

  18. Fun whilst it lasted. Missed the fact that it was a pangram. 2d and 16d were favourites for me. Thank you setter and BD.

  19. Completed it over a solitary lunch (husband at rugby!) and everything fell into place except for 9a which kept me guessing for a second cup of coffee. Stupid really, as my son in law is one!

  20. All done by the end of breakfast, so a lot of fun, and a relief after yesterday, when I threw in the towel. I also put it in the wrong word for 16d, actually twice, so a lot of overwriting (I use a pen), but when 27a went in, and I found out the name of the mystery Sue’s partner (not familiar with TGBBO being in South Florida) it all fell into place. Thanks to setter for providing something I could actually solve all by myself, and thanks to Big Dave for the hints,

  21. I won’t comment about whether it was too easy or hard for me because clearly from the comments one persons ‘easy’ is anothers ‘Blank look, saying “Gawd knows! I haven’t a clue!”‘. The latter is all too often me when I first start a puzzle. Which is a silly comment to make as LSH says ‘You haven’t a clue? You do know it’s a crossword right?’.

    So let me just say that I enjoyed it but it was over very fast. Overall I prefer puzzles like Friday’s which I thought was brilliant. Took me ages but I did get there and I love those penny dropping (or Homer Simpson ‘Doh! moments) when I figure out an answer that was in front of me all the time.

    I enjoy the ones I can’t complete as well. I love this site for the explanation. As I have said before I think at at least once a week I learn something new because of the crossword. Now retaining the newfound knowledge is a different matter, often it goes the same way of the location of my glasses or why I went upstairs etc.

    Favourites today 9a and 8d.

    Happy Weekend everyone.

  22. How come that in my 65 years I have never heard or read the word at 20a before (or may be never registered it before). I find it fascinating when others find new words. Maybe it just shows how our life experiences are all different.

    1. I had heard of it but I have no idea why. BTW 65 is a splendid age! I think so. Especially as I nearly pegged it at 58, again at 61 and then a year ago.

        1. Hope so! LOL. On the plus side it is a great reminder not to get upset about the silly stuff, or anything else really. Also I think Long Suffering Huby is getting a bit fed up with speeding along behind an ambulance on rural Ontario roads. Though when it does finally happen I have a funny feeling my last thought will be ‘Oh B*gger, now I won’t find out what happened next.’

    2. Andrew, there are 20a Boxes at the Royal Albert Hall which is the only reason I had heard of the word. It’s not totally clear to me why they are called that given Chambers’ definition of 20a, which is “a covered open arcade”.

  23. Bingo, a puzzle tailored to the tiny brains. Thank you, thank you, lovely Saturday setter for that. Instead of frying my brain, it was a nicely steady solve.
    So much to like, I think my fave was 11a with 2d the runner up.
    Thanks to setter and to BD for his hints and pics, how nice not to need them.

  24. Managed for once to finish without a hint working from the bottom up. Liked 2d and hadn’t heard of Sue or her partner…helped by Mrs Badger!
    Now looking forward to the rest of the Rugby!

  25. Probably for the first time ever I did spot that it was likely to be a pangram.
    9a caused a spot of bother and I confess to needing the hint to understand 15a – I hadn’t heard of the word for ‘increase’.
    I enjoyed the crossword today (I always do – it’s just that I enjoy some more than others) particularly 9 and 26a and 2 and 6d.
    With thanks to the setter and to BD.

  27. Straightforward with no horses disturbed. A bit like the Saturday puzzles of old. No real favourites.
    Thanks to the setter and to BD for the hints.

  28. Short but sweet . I was up until now unsure how to spell that Scotsman’s name . I’ll never get it wrong again .
    Thanks to all concerned .

    1. You may as it is one of those annoying names which has several different popular spellings

  29. A veritable breeze after yesterday’s sterner than stern test.
    8d is a great word, not found in everyday vocabulary !

    1.5/3. Thanks all.

  30. I was tired after a long day at work so wasn’t going to make the effort to do this (especially with yesterday’s fun free effort fresh in the memory) but I’m so glad I did. Lot’s of fun, nothing too taxing and as BD said a good mix of clues.
    9a,13a and the excellent 2d were my podium places. Thanks all.

    Incidentally my girlfriend worked for many years with “Sue’s partner” before she became well known and has often said what a thoroughly pleasant young lady she was.

  34. I see “pangram” mentioned again and wondered if the setters aim for this or is it accidental.

    3. If the setter had been victorious at scrabble prior to compiling the puzzle then I would estimate the likelihood of a pangram slightly more probable than if they had lost!

      As BD suggests, unlikely by accident.

      However, Mr K would probably be able to give odds based upon hazard….

    4. Welcome from me too, Dave.

      The short answer to your question is that most, if not all, pangrams are deliberate.

      The data supporting this conclusion is presented in the intro to my blog at http://bigdave44.com/2017/04/18/dt-28404/. The last chart shows that the number of puzzles that use all 26 letters is much higher than the number that use only 25 letters.

  35. second time this week that folk have been talking about a pangram – I know what a pangram is but can’t find the link to these 2 Xwords.
    17d I put the answer in straight away , understanding the first 4 letters of same, but can’t find a band to fit the second 4 – any other help gratefully received

      1. Thanks LAB…………………….. – senior moment, I had convinced myself I was looking for a Music type band, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    3. There isn’t a link as such in the crosswords – you just notice as you go along that you’ve used all the letters of the alphabet

  36. The picture clue for 3D contains the answer! Doesn’t that break your rules or do you assume everyone is too old and therefore long sighted to notice?!

    1. Have a look under the FAQ tab at the top of the page – Frequently Asked Question 9.1 is the one you want

  37. Had a busy day assuming I have the correct answer to 24d but don’t know the relevant Hungarian drink. Can anyone provide a hint please? I can then start today’s crossword!

          1. Clearly being dense on this one, just not got it. Is this not a Hungarian drink less the initial letter. Have I just got the word play completely wrong? Help please!

            1. The boss says that while discussion of alternative clues is forbidden, when readers ask for them, we are allowed to provide hints for clues not covered in the blog. My hint for 24d would be:

              24d   Approve of Hungarian tipple that has not been started
              A drink originating in Hungary with its first letter deleted (… that has not been started)

              If your answer is WXYZ and you want to know whether it satisfies the wordplay above, enter ?WXYZ in the OneLook search box and see what it returns.

              1. Hello again I didn’t know about how to search in Onesearch for a missing letter. Now finished. Many thanks!

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