DT 29010 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29010

by Falcon  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29010

Hints and tips by Falcon

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

Greetings from Ottawa, where several days of above freezing temperatures have started to have a noticeable effect on the snowbanks.

I logged into the Telegraph Puzzles website this evening (Wednesday) to a nasty surprise. I hadn’t realized that Britain has not yet moved to summer time and — as Canada has already done so — we in Ottawa are only four hours behind you rather than the usual five hours. Thus I had to wait until 8:00 pm to access today’s puzzle. Fortunately, RayT is in a gentle mood and I was able to solve the puzzle in record time, thereby partially compensating for the delay.

In the hints below, underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions, and indicators are italicized. The answers will be revealed by clicking on the ANSWER buttons.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought of the puzzle.

Across

1a   Bodice needs adjusting containing one’s unruliness (12)
DISOBEDIENCE — an anagram (adjusting) of the first two words of the clue containing a Roman one

9a   Docker night and day inside hold (9)
STEVEDORE — place the night before and D(ay) inside a verb meaning to put aside for future use

10a   Lover sensitively penning poetry (5)
VERSE — the first two words in the clue are concealing (penning) the answer

11a   Very large quarry for predatory bird (6)
OSPREY — the size designation found on a very large garment and a meal for this predatory bird

If you visit Nature’s Food Chain Caught in Action you will see that my feathered friend has scored a small shark that is still tenaciously holding in its teeth the fish it was expecting to dine on.

12a   Fine hose put on thigh lastly (8)
HAIRLINE — a hose that does not deliver water follows (on in an across clue) the final letter of thigH

13a   Fruit also saves mother time (6)
TOMATO — a colloquial term for one’s mother and T(ime) contained in another word for also

This image is worthy of an encore appearance

15a   Prophecy about to be found in wood (8)
FORECAST — embed a preposition meaning with regard to or concerning in an area covered by trees

18a   Team facing Spanish team of stars (8)
SIDEREAL — a general term for a team and a specific Madrid football team

19a   Most fit old man’s upset before examination (6)
APTEST — reverse (upset) a colloquial term for one’s father and append an examination

21a   Pillar of America consumed by boasting (8)
BALUSTER — wrap some ostentatious boasting around A(merica)

23a   Harry is naughty then good with Queen (6)
BADGER — string together a synonym for naughty, an abbreviation for good, and the regnal cipher of Her Majesty

26a   One initially acquires competence taking on roles (5)
ACTOR — the initial letters of the final five words in the clue; the entire clue is a cryptic definition of a sort in which the wordplay is embedded.

27a   Trouble with part for love (9)
ADORATION — a noun meaning trouble or fuss followed by a fixed allowance or share

28a   Without adult moulded earthen vessel anyhow (12)
NEVERTHELESS — an anagram (moulded) of EARTHEN VESSEL containing (without or outside of) A(dult) E(a)RTHEN VESSEL with A(dult) removed (without)

Down

1d   Detectives run around bend (7)
DISTORT — short senior detectives (including the S) trailed by a reversal (back) of a verb meaning to move at a steady, brisk pace

2d   Small painting’s start holding small brush (5)
SWEEP — S(mall) and the initial letter of Painting wrapped around a Scottish word for small

3d   Ale takes action on English yeoman (9)
BEEFEATER — another term for ale imbibes an action or deed and E(nglish)

4d   Ruin atmosphere that’s on the up (4)
DOOM — reverse (up in a down clue) an atmosphere or state of mind

5d   This could signify a lift for Trump! (8)
ELEVATOR — … or anyone else in North America

6d   Caught past fielding position (5)
COVER — the designation for C(aught) on cricket scorecards followed by an adverb meaning at an end or beyond a limit

7d   Put tackle in hot water (8)
IRRIGATE — place some gear or equipment in an adjective denoting hot (under the collar)

8d   Premier accepts explosive command (6)
BEHEST — an adjective denoting first in rank absorbing the abbreviation for H(igh) E(xplosvie)

14d   Thrash metal duo soften (8)
MODULATE — an anagram (thrash) of the two middle words in the clue

16d   One’s plan adequately describes walk (9)
ESPLANADE — a lurker hiding in the first three words of the clue

17d   Steep charge supporting staff (8)
MACERATE — a per-unit charge follows (supporting in a down clue) a staff that serves as a symbol of authority; steep is used in the sense of to soften by soaking

18d   Underground deviation with transport going north (6)
SUBWAY — start with a charade of the deviation of a ship or aircraft from its course and a large public transport vehicle; then reverse the result (going north in a down clue) to get a North American underground railway

20d   Crowds seeing run in revealing underwear (7)
THRONGS — the designation for run on a cricket scorecard in some very revealing underwear

22d   Minister to split moving right to centre (5)
SERVE — in a word meaning to separate or isolate, move R(ight) from the end to the centre

24d   Show man’s broadcast (5)
GUISE — sounds like (broadcast) another word for man’s

25d   Attack anyway, taking on Stoke’s centre (4)
BOUT — a word meaning anyway or 28a containing the centre letterof StOke; this attack is medical in nature

My podium finishers are 12a, 27a , and 22d with top honours going to 27a — could the clue be alluding to a 25d of erectile disfunction?

Quickie Pun: EASE + TENDERS = EAST-ENDERS

67 comments on “DT 29010”

  1. I really enjoyed this fairly gentle Ray T puzzle. A healthy dose of innuendo throughout with the lurker at 16d emerging as my favourite of many.

    Thanks to Mr T and Falcon.

    We are off to Birmingham later to see and hear crosswordland’s favourite conductor and the CBSO perform Beethoven’s Ninth in a charity concert this evening.

  2. All the hallmarks of a Ray T puzzle except for degree of trickiness. Completed at a gallop with, for the second Ray T in a row, no use of the white space on my sheet of paper – **/****.

    Favourite – a toss-up between 12a and 20d – and the winner is 12a.

    Thanks to Ray T and Falcon.

    And, congratulations to another member of the Thursday blogging trio, pommers, for winning this week’s on-line solving prize.

  3. 2*/4.5*. I found this very enjoyable and at the easier end of RayT’s spectrum with too many great clues to try to pick a favourite.

    Many thanks to RayT and to Falcon.

  4. I didn’t find this gentle, but I never find a RayT gentle. 18a was new to me though I got it from the wordplay. I still don’t understand 12a. Thank you for the challenge RayT and thanks too Falcon.

      1. Thanks Senf. I understand what the full answer is. I don’t understand how the word after the “H” relates to “hose”. I’m just being particularly thick. I know two sorts of hose…one that pours water, the other is worn. I’m waiting for the penny drop moment.

          2. Hmm – not sure about that – whenever I used to do it all the air seemed to come out and I ended up with a flat tyre. :sad: I don’t do it any more!

        2. Collins English Dictionary defines hose as a flexible pipe, for conveying a liquid or gas. This particular hose is one you might use to inflate your tyres.

  5. No serious hold-ups today but plenty of enjoyment. Needed help to parse 1d and 18d. Like YS, my Fav was 16d when the penny dropped. In 7d not sure the hot synonym works if not under the collar. Thank you RayT and Falcon.

    1. Oxford Dictionaries Online provides the following usage example: “her reply came boiling out of her, hot with rage”.

      1. That’s OK if there is ‘with rage’ or ‘under the collar’ after hot but IMHO hot standing alone is not really an irate synonym. 😏.

  6. This was quite mild by Ray T’s standards, but with great clues giving a very enjoyable solve. 15a: did anyone else notice that there were 3 contenders for the “about” (from the clue) in the middle of the answer – RE, C and CA? Favs from a fine bunch: 12a, 18a, 21a, 7d. 3* / 4*

  7. Agree with all most above, and enjoyable but mild Ray T. I ticked quite a fe but will go for joint winners – 14d and 12a. Today’s Toughie is quite benign today as well.

  8. This fell into the “slowly but surely” category but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’d never heard of 18a and 17d but guessed them from the wordplay and checkers and Mr Google did the rest so that was satisfying. I liked 9a for no other reason than the sound of the word (Steve adore) but my podium places go to 7d, 23a and one of the best lurkers I’ve ever seen 16d. 3*/4*

    Many thanks to Falcon for his well illustrated and crystal clear blog and to Ray T for a quality puzzle.

  9. I am unable to get onto the puzzle website as it says their http is no longer valid! Anyone else having the same problem? I am currently in the US.

    2. Same problem in the Caribbean. Apparently their encryption certificate has expired! Fingers crossed they will renew it soon.

      1. Thanks Dave! Found a way in (thanks to my IT literate husband)…just reset the date on your laptop to yesterday (ie: before the certificate expired) and bingo! today’s puzzles are there.

  10. Me too – my browser will not load it as it says its security certificate is invalid or expired! Help!

  11. RayT is always a tricky solve for me. Got going quickly but struggled with the southeast corner.
    Thank you to setter and hinter.

  12. Cannot open the puzzles page on the Telegraph page today. My iPad says it cannot connect to a secure server, and iPhone says this site may be impersonating puzzles.telegraph.co.uk”… and won’t open either. Anyone else having this problem today?

    1. Yes – I had the same problem. Firefox wouldn’t allow me in at all, but Edge allowed me to override the warning, so it’s worth trying a different browser.

      I’ve just tried again and the problem is still there. I have pdfs of today’s puzzles – let me know if you would like them.

      1. Oh yes please. The cryptic and also the quick if you have it. Wonderful, thank you.

    2. Mr Lancaster, if you happen to visit today and see my message, I have reported the problem to digital services and have a case number 18200672. It is very strange as everything else on the Telegraph opens. Oh woe is me.

  13. Another fairly gentle romp for us today – although we ended up with 3 that we couldn’t solve. But after a bit of head scratching got them all and decided we were just being a bit dim :whistle:
    3* / 4* for us though.
    Thanks to Ray T and Falcon

    PS pommers can access the site on both Chrome & Firefox with no problems. But I can't – same as everyone else

    1. Is it possible that the security certificate was issued by a company in California and thus expired at midnight Pacific time? I’m glad it did not expire at midnight British time or I would have been in a fine pickle!

  14. I thought that was fairly gentle for a Ray T although I was pretty slow with my last few answers.
    I missed the 16d lurker for ages although did manage to spot the other one.
    Not many anagrams today.
    I particularly liked 18 and 23a and I think my favourite was probably 5d.
    Thanks to Ray T and to Falcon.

  15. Big Dave has been busy helping those who cannot log on today. It’s times like this that make me glad that I still do the back page crossword in the paper! I enjoyed the Ray T puzzle today, particularly the lurkers and 9a, which reminded me of my grandfather, who was a 9a before qualifying as a river pilot. Thanks to Ray T and Falcon.

  16. Lovely puzzle today so thanks to RayT. Thanks also to Falcon for the hints. The Toughie today is quite gentle. Please have a go and tell us what you think. There is a corking lurker.

  17. Had a quick dither over the placing of America in 21a and was rather slow on the uptake with the 12a hose but everything else went in smoothly enough.
    I well remember being educated about 18a by the Chief Telescope Engineer at Jodrell Bank – he even wore a wristwatch that he’d adapted to show 18a time.

    I’ll put 12a on the top of the pile, just because it fooled me for a while.

    Devotions to Mr T and thanks to Falcon for the blog.

    PS If anyone has time, the hint for 28a needs a tweak.

    2. Re: 28a. Very well spotted Jane. The answer was so obvious I followed Miffypops’ advice and avoided the use of paper and pencil. That proved to be a major faux pas on my part!

  18. */****. Really enjoyable solve with all the usual Ray T innuendo (thank you). Loved 1&12a and 7&20d. Thanks to Falcon also for the review and for rising to the challenge of a picture for 20d 😎

    1. Of course, there was always the option of several pairs of sandals to help illustrate 20d – but at least we know on that particular beach there is always somewhere to park one’s bike 😊

      1. My search for appropriate illustrations returned some promising sounding ones from Australia, only to discover that in Australia a thong is an inflatable air mattress in the shape of the footwear of the same name.

  19. Whilst a mild very enjoyable romp from Ray T I still got held up in the NE corner, having finished it I’m wondering why!
    CoD has to go to 16d.
    2.5*/4*, thanks as ever to a helpful Falcon & Ray T for an entertaining head scratcher.

  20. Yes, indeed, a very, very benign RayT. I solved it all with the exception of 17d and 25d, so I feel pretty chuffed.
    Fave was the splendid lurker at 16d with 18a close behind.
    Thanks to RayT and to Falcon for helping me over the finish line.

  21. Another excellent puzzle from RayT. The clue word count was even tighter than usual with no more than 7 words in any of the clues.
    Thanks RayT and Falcon.

  22. Yes truly a benign puzzle today 😃 ***/*** although I did need the hints for two 😬 Favourites 18a and 7d 😉 Thanks to Falcon and to Ray T

  23. Firstly, a big thank you to Big Dave for sending me the pdf versions this morning, when the puzzles page wouldn’t open on the DT. Second, see the page now back up and running, so thank you to the wizards at the DT.
    A benign Ray T it might be, but it defeated me today. Was a nice challenge but although I thought I had my thinking head on, it just eluded me.

  24. Evening all. Many thanks to Falcon for the dissection and to all for your comments.

    RayT

  25. Nice crossword even though it was fairly gentle. 7d was my favourite.
    Thanks to Ray T, and to Falcon for the review!

  26. Thanks to Ray T and to Falcon for the review and hints. I enjoyed this one, but found it very tricky at the end. Was four answers short, but couldn’t see any of definitions. Even after I looked them up, I couldn’t see the wordplay. So needed the hints for 12a & 7,17&25d. I liked 18a, but my favourite was 23a, a right Royal clue! Was 4*/3* for me.

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