DT 29068 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29068

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29068

Hints and tips by The Mysterious Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty **** Enjoyment ****

 

Hello, everyone.  I found today's puzzle tougher than recent Tuesday puzzles.  I got only a few answers on the first pass through the grid, and I had to use an aid or two to get the grid filled in time to complete the hints.  It's also one of the most enjoyable Tuesday puzzles that I've blogged recently.  I would love to know who crafted this masterpiece and thank them, so if our setter is reading please consider posting a comment below.

That wish brings us rather appropriately to the results of last week's survey on whether our setters should be named or anonymous.  Thanks to everyone who participated.  The result was a clear 3:1 split in favour of identifying setters (154 votes for naming them, 51 votes for keeping them anonymous).  I've put a selection of comments and a recent Telegraph Puzzles Newsletter extract on the topic under the following spoiler box.  Feel free to continue this discussion in the comments below.  What do we think about Kitty's compromise suggestion made last week that setters of anonymous puzzles be named when the puzzle's solution is published?

Click here to see a selection of comments on the survey question

Some comments in favour of naming setters:

  • Knowing the setter adds to the enjoyment.  I'm 100% in favour.
  • I would like to know but purely out of curiosity. Ignorance of the setter's identity does not spoil my enjoyment of the puzzle.
  • No reason not to as far as i am concerned!
  • Those using this blog already know who the setter is about 60% of the time so publishing the name would ensure a level playing field for those solvers who don't access the blog.
  • There are good reasons for each way of doing things but on balance I think the Telegraph would do well to shuffle the back page running order and publish setters' pseudonyms alongside the solutions.
  • Wasn't sure which box to mark - I'd like to see the names alongside the solution the following day.  Best of both worlds!
  • Why not? They should be credited for their work, same as anything else that's published.
  • I think it makes the crossword more interesting to see who's set it and you can start to identify a setter's style.
  • Just out of general interest.
  • Nice to know.  I am not so aware of each setter's name and it would be good to get to understand them a little better.
  • It is always good to know your "opponent " !
  • Surely, after having worked hard to create a puzzle, setters would wish to be recognized.
  • Perhaps revealed together with the answers the following day?
  • Why would they want to be anonymous? Clever people who give other people a lot of pleasure. Their choice of course.
  • On balance yes - but if the setters want anonymity then fair enough.  I can't see why they wouldn't want the accolades they deserve though.
  • To give credit where it is due
  • I think I would prefer to know the setter but have been guilty of avoiding some setters but I recognize that I will improve at solving toughies if I overcome this.
  • Although I'm not much good at identifying setters, I do like it when I know who it is for some reason. I also like it when the setter "drops in" and leaves a comment
  • Yes it would be nice to pay credit to my daily adversary.
  • Not particularly bothered one way or another, but it would be nice to thank someone in person.
  • I'd be quite happy with the status quo but given the choice I'd choose to know the setter, it would make the challenge more personal and the appreciation of the puzzle would I feel be enhanced.
  • I would like to see a nickname or something. Would add something to it for me.
  • I'd really like to know who the setters are. They provide us with so much enjoyment week in week out it would be lovely to be able to express our appreciation to them by name. It's always great when a setter 'pops in' to the blog!
  • ...but not on the day of the puzzle - much more fun to see the identity the day after.
  • It's nice to know who you're going up against, and to give kudos when beaten
  • Why should cryptics be any different to toughies in this respect? From the blog some cryptic's authors are mentioned/ generally known. Why not all?  Some also visit the blog to comment.
  • It adds to the fun if one gets to know the setters' styles.
  • One can often spot the style of a setter and it would be good to have this confirmed with a name.
  • Recognition of "traits" of individual setters would add an extra level of interest and enjoyment to crossword solving.

Some comments in favour of keeping setters anonymous:

  • Part of the magic is not knowing the "style" you are facing on any morning. Switching days should also be encouraged so that more is added to the mystery.
  • I think part of the fun is to guess who is the setter
  • It allows you to muse upon who the setter might be.
  • Not really bothered either way. Why not leave it up to the setter
  • I like a bit of mystery !
  • Negative comments about a crossword can be so discouraging to the setter. Some setters do sign in and declare their hand from time to time. That's a treat, and an added bonus for the day. I think that it's better left to the setter to decide to declare him/herself.
  • Doesn't really matter to me.
  • Quite fun seeing if you can identify or at least see which ones are easier or more difficult and judge them against others
  • I think it would be a pity if the conversation about possible setters and the detection of who has set each puzzle ceases. Surely it is part of the daily fun to try to identify a setter even if there is a known pattern.
  • Adds to the fun using intuition to identify a compiler.  Names are not necessary.
  • I enjoy trying to guess the setter and it's really lovely when they pop in with a comment on the blog
  • It's nice to be kept guessing.  Why do we need to know everything about everything?
  • I'm not sure that knowing who has set the puzzle will help me solve it.
  • I would have liked a don't care option.  I just enjoy solving the puzzles without getting involved in 'spot the setter'.
  • I like that they are anonymous and you can guess who has complied it
  • It helps encourage a house style

Finally, in the May issue of the Telegraph Puzzles Newsletter (sign up here) our Editor Chris Lancaster explained his view:

This is a good question, and one that has vexed Telegraph Crossword Editors for some years. Solvers quite often get in touch to say that they have favourite compilers, and so would like to be able to watch out for puzzles by a particular setter; some even get in touch to say that they have particular compilers they don't like, so would like to be able to avoid their puzzles. Others point out that we publish the pseudonyms of our Toughie Crossword compilers, so it would make sense to be consistent across both types of crossword.

My own view is that for some solvers, the battle of wits between themselves and an anonymous, mysterious other person, the compiler, is what it's all about. If one knows the identity of a compiler before embarking on a crossword, one perhaps know something of what to expect, as most compilers have their own foibles that act as a kind of signature. Knowing a little in advance about what's to come, based on the compiler's name, would spoil this for those solvers. If retaining this anonymity adds to the enjoyment for some solvers, then that's a great argument for maintaining the status quo.

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In the hints below most indicators are italicized, and underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions.  Clicking on the the answer would be here buttons will reveal the answers.  In some hints hyperlinks provide additional explanation or background.  Clicking on a picture will usually enlarge it or display a bonus illustration.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

 

Across

1a    One domineering young man kicks over empty suitcases (10)
BOSSYBOOTS:  The fusion of a young man and a synonym of kicks containing (over) the outer letters of (empty …) SuitcaseS

6a    Rubbish material (4)
LAME:  When an acute accent is put on the last letter of the answer it becomes a sparkly fabric

10a   Exposed network where high-ups are found? (5)
ATTIC:  A network of crossed bars has its outer letters removed (exposed …)

11a   Still maintain ground faces east (9)
INANIMATE:  An anagram (ground) of MAINTAIN is followed by (faces) the single letter for east

12a   Badly behaved fashion star bit husband (8)
BRATTISH:  Make an anagram (fashion) of STAR BIT and append the genealogical abbreviation for husband

13a   Contest in search of mate (5)
CHESS:  A cryptic definition of a board game where getting to mate is the objective

15a   International row about church that's more annoying (7)
ITCHIER:  An abbreviation for international is followed by row or rank containing (about) the map abbreviation for church

17a   Dream of former England manager welcoming jeers occasionally (7)
REVERIE:  Don the former England football manager containing (welcoming) alternate letters of JEERS (jeers occasionally)

19a   Place to put piece from composer and leading lady (7)
HOLSTER:  Put together the composer of The Planets and the Latin abbreviation for the proper title of leading lady Elizabeth

21a   Swimmer curtailed children's game (7)
SARDINE:  A children's game involving squeezing into tight spaces has its last letter deleted (… curtailed)

22a   Upset  drink (5)
SHAKE:  A double definition.  The drink is usually made with milk

24a   Turn up after pub with English member of ancient sect (8)
PHARISEE:  After an abbreviation for the expanded form of pub comes "turn up" or "crop up" and the single letter abbreviation for English

27a   Ugly variety of eglantine (9)
INELEGANT:  An anagram (variety of) EGLANTINE (which I've now learned is a type of rose)

28a   Traditional European business (5)
TRADE:  The jazz contraction of traditional with the single letter for European

29a   Cute social media post cut (4)
TWEE:  A 280 character maximum length social media post has its last letter deleted (cut)

30a   Charitable event noble arranged (10)
BENEVOLENT:  An anagram (… arranged) of EVENT NOBLE

 

Down

1d    Animal's weary, by the sound of it (4)
BOAR:  A homophone (…, by the sound of it) of a verb synonym of weary

2d    Mocking of Alistair MacLean's third novel (9)
SATIRICAL:  An anagram (… novel) of ALISTAIR and the third character of MaCLean

3d    Unknown eight in German boat (5)
YACHT:  Join together one of the usual letters representing a mathematical unknown and eight in German

4d    Love last bit of ravioli covered in offal and ham? Definitely not! (7)
OLIVIER:  The letter that looks like a love score in tennis is followed by the final character of (last bit of) raviolI contained by (covered in) a type of offal that supposedly pairs well with bacon.  The definition refers to this rather accomplished chap

5d    Lecturer whipped cheat with little hesitation (7)
TEACHER:  An anagram (whipped) of CHEAT with a short sound of hesitation

7d    Rock with bands that could make an entrance (5)
AGATE:  Split (1,4) this banded rock could be an entrance

8d    The day before the end of production, perhaps Spielberg quits? (4-6)
EVEN-STEVEN:  Assemble "the day before", the end letter of productioN, and a first name which filmmaker Spielberg defines by example (perhaps Spielberg)

9d    Find record number of balls (8)
DISCOVER:  A synonym of audio record with the standard number of balls delivered consecutively by a bowler in cricket

14d   Hint right's revamped overnight coverage ... (10)
NIGHTSHIRT:  An anagram (… revamped) of HINT RIGHTS

16d   ... suffering from a lack of balance? (2,3,3)
IN THE RED:  A cryptic definition.  The lack of balance here is financial

18d   Emphasise mass maybe must absorb energy prior to charge (9)
REITERATE:  What a religious mass is an example of (mass maybe) contains (must absorb) the physics symbol for energy and is followed by charge or cost

20d   Put back two types of fabric (7)
REPLACE:  Stick together two types of fabric.  The first is a corded cloth popular in crosswordland, the second is a delicate ornamental fabric

21d   Surprise, as Leeds and Leicester do (7)
STARTLE:  The answer split (5,2) describes something that LEeds and LEicester have in common

23d   Singer had electrifying clothes (5)
ADELE:  The combination of the second and third words of the clue hides (… clothes) the answer.  This delightful clip has 23d auditioning as a 23d impersonator.  A longer version can be found here

25d   Start unseemly riot around noon (5)
INTRO:  An anagram (unseemly) of RIOT containing (around) the abbreviation for noon

26d   Criminal  tendency (4)
BENT:  We have a double definition to finish.  A slang word for criminal, and tendency or inclination

 

Thanks to today’s setter for a very enjoyable solve.  My list of ticked clues is long: 19a, 1d, 2d, 7d, 16d, 21d, and 23d.  If I had to pick a favourite it would be 19a.  Which clues did you like best?

 


The Quick Crossword pun:  COMMON + TERRY = COMMENTARY


75 comments on “DT 29068

  1. Fantastic , 2D my COTD , last in 6A .

    Thanks Mr K and congratulations to the Setter .

  2. I would go along with our blogger’s comments about difficulty and enjoyment, and would also back his judgement on 19a as a worthy favourite, although 2d ran it extremely close. A very rewarding solve.

    Thanks to both Misters involved.

  3. I found this to be a steady solve, completed in **/*** time. Last one in was 21a, not a game I ever recall playing.

    COTD goes to 4d.

    Thanks to Mr K. and the setter.

  4. Last one in 6a. Took me ages to work it out.
    Another day when I’d say the Toughie was marginally easier.
    COTD 19a

  5. Enjoyable and a bit tricky, mostly 3*.
    Had to surrender on 6ac. *a*e, very little chance of ever getting it, even electronically
    Also 22ac. S*a*e. Again a remote probability of guessing.
    So thanks Mr K for those 2 hints.

  6. A double wrong envelope day! This and the Toughie could trade places quite easily. Completed at a slow canter – 3.5*/2.5*.

    Candidates for favourite – 19a, 16d, and 18d – and the winner is 16d.

    Thanks to the setter and Mr K.

  7. Wow – this one certainly woke up the old grey matter!
    As is often the way, it was a couple of the shorter answers (6&22a) that took the longest time to crack but this was a most enjoyable and very satisfying solve.

    Can’t pick a favourite, it would be easier to isolate the very few that didn’t make the podium. Like Mr K, I do hope that the setter pops in later to acknowledge his work.

    Many thanks to our setter for an excellent puzzle and to Mr K for an equally excellent blog. What a brilliant clip you gave us for 23d – the expressions on the faces of the unsuspecting contestants were worth their weight in gold!

    Very interesting to read the results of the survey – seems to me that Kitty’s idea would satisfy both camps. I do hope that our crossword editor might consider this as a way forward.

  8. This puzzle was a bit different today !, certainly not the usual Tuesday solve, some tough parsing and some excellent charades 8d and 19a.oh and 24a
    Thoroughly enjoyed the romp-thanks setter.Going for a ***/****
    Last in was 6a, tossed up between lace and lame and picked the right one.
    Thanks Mr K for the blog pics.

  9. For those of you that are puzzled by today’s reference to the Mysterious Mr K, here is a quote from the Telegraph’s June Puzzles Newsletter:

    “Thank you to all readers who entered our May competition in which we asked for a clue for the word CREAM.

    “The shorter-than-normal word resulted in a large number of entries, and a correspondingly large number of different approaches. From the entries we have come up with an unlikely looking Venn diagram representing fans of a certain 1960s supergroup headed by Eric Clapton, people with fond memories of middle-distance runner Steve Cram, and lovers of a 1996 Wes Craven horror film (in which various people whose name begins or ends in the letter ‘S’ are bumped off, for clue-writing purposes).

    “With honourable mentions for Mr W. H. Kaye of Bradford, Phil Anderson of Godalming, Neil Rainey of the Isle of Lewis, Ken Middleton of Durham, and the mysterious Mr Kitty (no address supplied), this month’s top three clues are as follows:”

  10. I thought this was very tricky, with a couple of unobvious anagram indicators (fashion and ground) making the usual easier clues harder to find. The same goes for the excellent lurker 22d, which along with 10a and 16d make my podium. I needed help to parse a couple, the very clever 21d and 21a (never heard of it or played it either) and didn’t know 7d. I’m guessing the setter isn’t in the first flush of youth but then again, neither am I!
    4/3*
    Many thanks to the compiler and to Mr K for his excellent review.

    1. Hi, Stephen. I now have it on good authority (his) that today’s setter is our Editor Chris Lancaster. I won’t attempt to guess his age, but he’s certainly younger than the average Telegraph cryptic solver.

      1. Aha – so now we have it from the mouth of Mr Ed himself! That presumably also means that he will have looked at the results of the survey, hope it’s given him food for thought.

        Now that you have outed yourself, Mr Ron, it’s nice to be able to thank you personally for an excellent puzzle.

        PS Stephen – I think it’s safe to say that our editor has a few years on you but still has a long way to go before he’s as ancient as many of us on the blog!

            1. Thanks, Jane & Mr K. I’m afraid I’m too young to really remember the manager at 17ac (I’m 48), but hopefully it was a slightly different way to clue a word that’s been clued many times previously.

              Survey results noted …

              1. I am old enough to remember the Revie Plan he was part of at Manchester City! A mixed blessing as I recall. Like “push and run” at Spurs a few years before, it worked well until teams found out how to counter it.

  11. A really challenging puzzle. Like many others, I didn’t find many answers on the first pass. After getting a foot hold on the SE corner, things picked up and I realky enjoyed (4*) completing this crossword, albeit in 3* time. Favourite clues were 1a, 24a, 8d and 21d. Thanks to Mr K for the hint confirming that 12a was correct and many thanks to the setter.

  12. Thanks to Chris Lancaster and to Mr Kitty for the review and hints. A very good puzzle, I was left with about half a dozen to solve, and they took longer than the rest of the puzzle. 2d had me barking up the wrong tree, I read all of Alistair Maclean’s novels when I was about ten years old. I have a CD by 23d, and remember when the football manager in 17a was sacked by England. 1a took me ages to unravel, as did 6a. My favourite and huge penny drop moment was 8d. Super puzzle, was 3*/4* for me.

    1. Heno, he wasn’t sacked by England. For some strange reason, he left of his own accord to manage the UAE.

      21d coincidentally (?) he played for both Leicester and Leeds.

      1. I noticed that connection too Stan and wondered if it was a coincidence. Also probably the most famous (ignoring Brian Clough’s 44 days), and certainly the most successful, manager of Leeds. As a 13 year old Leeds fan, I recall thinking that the UAE move was a very odd choice.

  13. Very enjoyable, thanks Chris!

    Took longer than usual, 23d took a while for the penny to drop.

    To save some time I confess I used some digital help for the anagrams and the retrospectivley simple 6a I had to use the hint, other than that a bit of head scratching felled the clues one by one.

    Favorite was 8d, made me smile.

    Thanks to Mr K

  14. All but 18d which had me scratching my head but got there in the end. Nobody mentioned 18d

    1. Welcome to the blog, Ronnie, and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the puzzle.

  15. This was definitely on the tougher side, and I needed a few too many of Mr K’s excellent hints to complete. Wasn’t impossibly difficult, so I did enjoy the challenge, thank you setter, but satisfaction level wasn’t high, as I prefer to complete without help,

  16. 4/4. What a delightful puzzle if quite tough for a Tuesday. My favourites were 2&16d with the former taking it by a nose and not least having spent a while on Wikipedia reviewing his books 🙂 before the penny dropped. Thanks to Mr K and the setter.

  17. Tough but thought the clues were blisteringly good. Sort if puzzle that pushes one to raise their game. Thanks to all.

  18. Agree that this was tougher than normal, but very enjoyable for all that. Many thanks to Chris.

    Last one in was the final word of 16d and loved the penny drop moment.

    Always enjoy your blog, Mr. K, so thanks for that too.

  19. Thank you Chris for the crossword, and Mr K for the invaluable hints. I think I got more than is typical for me at the first pass (but my average is very low!).

    I laughed out loud when I finally got 21d, so that’s my favourite today.

    29a was the subject of a recent cluing competition in The Guardian‘s crossword blog — some other fun clues for that word there.

    1. Very enjoyable, though it took longer than today’s Toughie. Thanks Chris and Mr K.
      Interesting reference above to 29 where Porcia, yesterday’s Rookie setter, gets an honourable mention

  20. Blimey, that was tough going, very satisfying to complete.
    ****/***.
    Thanks to setter and toMr.K, I needed confirmation for 6a.

  21. Blimey that was hard but hugely enjoyable. I couldn’t complete the NE corner, missing the rubbish material and the rock.
    No fave today, too much choice, maybe 16d but not sure.
    Thanks to Mr. Lancaster and to Mr. K for helping me complete it.

  22. I have to say this was not my scene at all but I pressed on regardless and got there in the end. Prior to being made aware of the identity of the setter I wondered if it was perhaps from a first-timer. I would quibble over some including 6a, 13a and 4d. I did however like a couple – 1a and 8d. 24a was a bung-in as I failed to parse it. Thank you Messrs. Ed and K.

  23. The 1’s across and down held out for the longest. They required a full set of checkers and a peep at the hints before they fell. I must have led a different childhood as 21a was new to me. Our childhood games involved running around playing British Bulldog or swinging over (and occasionally into) the river along with marbles and conkers in season. I don’t think I would have liked to be crammed into a small space with friends fed on a diet of Tizer and beans on toast for too long.
    7d gets my nod as it brought to mind the joke
    What does a geologist have at the bottom of his garden?
    …. 7d
    Thanks to Mr K and setter

    1. We were in our front room some years ago when a scrap merchant lifted our gate off its hinges and put it on his cart. I didn’t say anything in case he took a fence

  24. Solved with the cloud covered sunrise at silly am. I don’t get the ellipsis between 14 and 16d. 14d doesn’t seem very cryptic at all. There is an obvious anagram indicator followed by definition preceded by fodder. Thanks to our illustrious editor for the workout over both the cryptic and the quickie. Thanks to the mysterious Mr Kitty for the review. Just when did anybody add an adjective to their blog name?

  25. A super-duper puzzle! It’s one of those which, once started, are very difficult to put down. **** for my enjoyment. Top of my selections are 19a, 4d, and 8d, closely followed by 13a and 16d.

    Very many thanks, Mister Ron, for such a lovely entertaining crossword. The wordplay was really clever and good fun!

    Very many appreciative thanks to Mr K for the excellent review. I’ve never come across the children’s game and am grateful for the enlightenment. 6a was my last in and it was good to find it confirmed. And, apart from a careless slip in 1d, there were no further problems.

    Re whether or not to name the Cryptic setters, I think Kitty’s compromise suggestion is actually a very good idea. I was most pleased to find out the identity of today’s setter. The style of the puzzle felt very familiar and kept me conjecturing throughout the solve.

  26. Slow start but then accelerating to the end. 14d seemed a bit dubious with part of the clue in the answer.

  27. Hard to believe this was a Tuesday crossword! There I was thinking ‘I’ll just get this over with and then…’ sometime later I completed it realizing that it had been a very good challenge indeed. 21d was my favourite.
    Thanks to CL, and to Mr K for the review. I’m still against revealing the setters… I don’t care!

  28. Well that stops you in your tracks. An excellently worded & constructed crossword tonight, more than its share of difficult clues, but they were all very enjoyable.
    4*4*
    It did take 3 different sessions to complete.
    Grateful thanks to setter & Mr K for the much needed direction.

  29. Two of the shorter answers, 6a and 22a were our last two to get sorted. The name in 17a was also new to us.
    Yes, quite tricky for a Tuesday but all good fun.
    Thanks Chris and Mr K.

  30. Mrs LJ observed the abject lack of enjoyment in my demeanour as I solved this, took it away and binned it. Mrs LJ always knows best!

    1. It’s very sad that you and Mrs LJ didn’t appreciate such a clever crossword.

      Hope you put it in the recycling bin!

      Who would be a compiler … only to receive such negative comments.

  31. I’m in favour of Kitty’s suggestion that there should be an option to see who the setter was after the puzzle is done.

    1. Welcome to the blog, John. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on naming setters.

  32. Challenging, but enjoyable.

    Held up at the end for ages by:

    23d – AGAIN a “simple” lurker catches me out, and I can only say, well done Setter!

    6a – where I finally gave up.
    As a personal grumble, I don’t like answers with accents – although worse yesterday with the EL NIÑO clue – (ñ is not an n with an accent, it is a different letter)

    Whinge over, thank you Mr K for the entertaining blog and explanation to 24a.

    1. Thanks for that, Hastalosco. I thought about 6a for quite a while when writing the hints, and eventually I decided that it could be viewed as a variant of those clues where inserting punctuation or a space in the answer gives a phrase or a different word that can be described by wordplay. Today’s 7d and 21d are like that. Adding an accent to a letter doesn’t feel that different than, for example, inserting a hyphen or a space next to it.

  33. I agree with Hastalosco about accents. 6a had me stumped and in the end I settled on ‘cane’ even though in my heart I felt it was wrong. 21d was a lovely clue. 3*,4* today

  34. I just hope we don’t get too many like this, I managed to get 8 on my own,finally gave up and went to the hints. Any more like this and I will have to revert to the sun or mirror crosswords.😢

    1. Hi, Dave. This was a hard puzzle. However, we don’t get many like this on a Tuesday and it will probably be months until another one comes along.

  35. I’m encouraged to see people still posting at this time of night, I’ve just caught up again. I agree with all the comments about 6a a little unfair for a back pager let alone a Tuesday. Yes 2d for me. Thanks to setter and Mr K.

  36. An excellent puzzle! Great clues, a good challenge and very enjoyable. Favs of a first-rate bunch: 10a, 2d and 4d. 3.5* / 4*

      1. Hi, Jose. I don’t know what the convention is in a case like 6a or even if there is one. After a lot of pondering, I took the view that LAME (rubbish) and LAMÉ (material) are different words because neither is an alternative spelling for the other. They only become the same thing when entered in the grid. 8d needs an E at the start, not an É, so I underlined “rubbish” as the definition and left “material” as wordplay.

        If anybody reading knows what the conventions of cryptic grammar have to say about a case like this, please explain it in a comment.

        1. Mr K. Thank you for answering my question, even though it was asked belatedly. I understand that the letter E and E with a tilde/accent (or whatever the correct term might be) are not the same and not necessarily interchangeable. I had this down as a double-definition simply because such omissions/contrivances/grammatical jiggery-pokery are what setters can (just about), or could previously, get away with in cryptic clues. I have seen similar instances before over the years. But I’m quite happy to accept your explanation – it does sound plausible enough. So, thanks again.

          1. Never too late to ask a question, Jose. Every comment gets emailed to the blog author, so we will always see them no matter when they’re posted.

  37. Thanks for your reply Mr. K.
    I cannot disagree, it is of course within accepted convention.
    I think essentially it comes down to personal preference.

    1. Thanks for commenting, Robin. Looks like you’re getting caught up with the puzzles? :)

      1. This is as far ahead as I get, as I have to battle the wife for the dead tree version of the DT.

  38. Finally I’ve registered for comments because this crossword was stunning, hard and excellent. Mr K’s help viewed after completion.

    Christopher Lancaster clearly thinks Leeds is too easy for Revie so he links it with Leicester because it starts with LE.

    You’re a better man than I am!

  39. My friend and I finished this in about XXXXXX – struggled with 6a – but over the moon to see it given ****/**** . The G&T helped a little. . . . .
    Thanks to all involved.

    1. Welcome to the blog, SueCee, and hello to your friend. Thanks for sharing your experience with the puzzle. I’m afraid that I’ve had to redact your solving time because site policy is that we don’t post them. I can tell you that on a puzzle of this difficulty your time would be significantly less than the average. Glad that the G&T helped your solve. I find that a margarita is also quite effective.

Comments are closed.