DT 29081 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29081

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29081

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

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

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

We seem to have got rid of our wet, grey, winter weather for a while. At present we are having a spell of calm, clear, frosty days. The temperatures are a couple of degrees colder overnight but much more pleasant than dour and damp.

Jay had us working quite hard with this one. We were making no progress at our usual starting point in the NW so moved on to the NE and around the grid from there, finishing off where we normally begin. All good fun once again.Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Accommodation allowance including fare originally between New York and LA (6,4)
GRANNY FLAT : A Russian doll type clue. The first letter of fare is between the letters denoting New York and Los Angeles. All of this is inside an allowance or beneficence.

6a     Film on European saga (4)
EPIC : The abbreviation for European plus a slang word for a movie.

9a     Moralistic type managed to protect Italian after backing up (7)
PURITAN : Start with the reversal of the word ‘up’, then the abbreviation for Italian is inside managed or controlled.

10a     Have an effect, seeing Gemini, unusually, welcoming power (7)
IMPINGE : An anagram of GEMINI (unusually) contains P(ower).

12a     Go over before quiet son gets mixed grill (5-8)
CROSS-QUESTION : Go over or traverse and then an anagram (gets mixed) of QUIET SON.

14a     Trouble that comes at bath time? (3,5)
HOT WATER : What comes from one of the taps when filling a bath.

15a     Test on fluid sort of arrangement (6)
FLORAL : The abbreviation for fluid and then a test where pen and paper are not required.

17a     Badly wants company checks (6)
COVETS : The abbreviation for company and then checks or examines.

19a     Nice reshuffle of seat plan (8)
PLEASANT : An anagram (reshuffle of) of SEAT PLAN.

21a     Delivery panic to ruin mobile working (13)
PRONUNCIATION : An anagram (mobile) of PANIC TO RUIN and then the two letter word for working or in operation.

24a     Reluctance to move home — age holds it back (7)
INERTIA : The two letter at home and then a long period of time (age) contains the reversal of ‘it’ from the clue.

25a     Give up evil calls (5,2)
DROPS IN : Split the answer 4,3 to find give up and evil.

26a     Children may be shot small (4)
TOTS : The shot is a spirit measure, plus S(mall).

27a     Downer of French worker packing iron (10)
DEPRESSANT : The French word for ‘of’ and a worker insect contain iron or make smooth.

Down

1d     Doctors covering area must get breaks (4)
GAPS : Doctors in general practice contain A(rea).

2d     Order the majority of tropical fruit (7)
APRICOT : An anagram (order) of most of the letters of TROPICA(l).

3d     Citizen bound to be heard in charitable organisation (8,5)
NATIONAL TRUST : A citizen or someone belonging to a country and then a homophone (to be heard) of bound or tied up.

4d     Searched around at home, exhausted (8)
FINISHED : Searched, perhaps using a baited line, surrounds the usual at home word.

5d     Something cast in gold for so long (5)
ADIEU : The chemical symbol for gold surrounds something cast in a game of craps.

7d     Bag taken from here in Naples turned up (7)
PANNIER : A reversed lurker hiding in the clue.

8d     Conservative lists delayed new start (5,5)
CLEAN SLATE : A single letter abbreviation for Conservative, then lists or tilts plus delayed or after the appointed time.

11d     Millions up, USA lost for being faint-hearted (13)
PUSILLANIMOUS : An anagram (lost) of MILLIONS UP USA.

13d     Rumour of European objective for border crossing? (10)
CHECKPOINT : A homophone (rumour) of a particular Eastern European and then an objective or aim.

16d     Old newspaper article about name for plant (8)
OLEANDER : The abbreviation for old and a newspaper article usually written by the editor surrounds N(ame).

18d     6-0 — fast and furious (7)
VIOLENT : The Roman numeral six, the letter that represents zero and then the fast that precedes Easter.

20d     Medical condition of drivers around unstable mines (7)
AMNESIA : The drivers’ organisation that is not the RAC surrounds an anagram (unstable) of MINES.

22d     Carbon charge for old banger (5)
CRATE : The chemical symbol for carbon and then a charge or cost.

23d     Ravel‘s measure of pace (4)
KNOT : The measure of pace relates to a vessel at sea.

Several clues in the North West corner challenged and amused us and we will settle for 1a as our favourite this week.

Quickie pun    beers     +    port    =     be a sport

38 comments on “DT 29081

  1. 1.5*/4.5*. That was a light delight and great fun from start to finish, proving again that difficulty and enjoyment are not necessarily linked.

    Jostling for podium positions are 1a, 14a, 25a, 18d & 23d but almost every clue came into contention.

    Brilliant! Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  2. First and last were my favourites in this excellent Wednesday offering from Jay, 1a and 23d. A terrific mix of high quality clues made this a thoroughly enjoyable solve. Great stuff.

    Thanks to all three birds.

  3. The NW corner baffled me too, so I got a foothold in the SE and worked my way back to it. It was a **/**** for me and my favourites were 8d, 18d and 17a. Thank you to Jay and the two K s for reassurance on 15a and 20d.

  4. A few old chestnuts but very enjoyable generally. Started with the down clues in SE and it all progressed from there. **/**** with 1a and 12a in joint first place. Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks. Your weather (grey, wet and cold) sounds like England and is a bit of a shock to my system compared with my normal weather in the Caribbean!

  5. Spot on my wavelength today and agree with RD’s comments and rating.
    I started as usual in the NW corner and never looked back-1a was my favourite but terrific cluing throughout and a special thanks to Jay and of course the 2K’S.
    Sunshine today-the mood has lightened .

  6. I was pleased to finish this, in *** time. There were points where I thought I might have to resort to electronic help, but I persevered and was rewarded with a complete grid.

    The NW was my biggest stumbling block, but after a short break, completed the Quickie and then returned to the main arena, that corner too succumbed.

    COTD is certainly 1a.

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  7. At the risk of sounding like a stuck record, another peach from Jay, who has become my favourite setter.
    It took me a little while to get going but I quickly gained momentum once I had.
    I ticked 1, 24 and 25a for special mention in a very strong field but my top spot goes to 18d, brilliant. 3*/4*
    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks , haven’t read the review yet but I’m sure it will be as good as ever on Wednesday.

  8. Just completed on train. Last few had me guessing but favourites when the penny dropped especially 12a which I should have got sooner as I have done a lot of it in my time. Last one in and another favourite was 13d. I remember the one called Charlie. Thank you Jay and 2Ks. Just looked at the hints to check I was right with a couple of the 4 letter words

  9. My only real problem was the correct spelling of 11d. Found this flowed much better than yesterday’s and was much enjoyable for it. Ta to all.

  10. On the whole a very enjoyable crossword if you ignore the part anagrams which should assigned to their own circle of hell.
    Thought 20a was a little weak but really liked 23d and 18d, elegant clues.
    **/***
    Thx to all

  11. 23d bit problematic – kept thinking of the composer. Also 27a, trying to fit in fe. 18a favourite same as everyone else. Great puzzle thanks to Jay and Kiwis

  12. Reading the comments, several solvers reported problems with the NW but I
    found that section quite straightforward!
    Not sure about the Ravel connection in
    23d?

  13. Superb crossword. Got off to at a slow pace but then accelerated nicely to the finish.I especially liked 1a, 12a, 13d, 18d with 23d getting top marks from me. Thanks Jay. Good luck to our Kiwi friends against the South Africans today.

    Incidentally, the Tuesday relatively easy Toughie seems to have appeared today rather than yesterday!

  14. 2.5/5. What an excellent puzzle. A few head scratching moments but once the penny dropped all went well. So many good clues it’s difficult to single one out but I think 13d was elegant and concise. Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  15. **/**** Loved most of this, especially 25a as we endured such last night when we oldies were ready for bed !
    Cleverly constructed clues could have been quite tricky but somehow Jay and I were on the same wave-length – so thanks for a fast and fun-filled hour .

  16. Thanks to Jay and to the 2 Kiwis for the review and hints. Another beauty from Jay. The most enjoyable solve of the week so far. Started with 9a, finished with 23d. Lots of great clues. Took me ages to get the fodder in 21a. Joint favourites were 1a & 18d. Was 2*/5* for me. Brilliant puzzle.

  17. Hectic day , daughter’s birthday lunch , bowls match this evening , finished crossword earlier and will read comments later .

    A 6A with lots to admire and 18D a classic and stand out clue .

    Thanks to everyone .

  18. Jay’s puzzles are so brilliant because you seldom have a bung in, unlike other days. Once you have the answer, you know it’s correct, not a word wasted in the clue.
    How can you choose a fave amongst that lot? Though 1a, 23d and 18d do deserve a mention.
    Thanks to Jat and the 2Kiwis for the fun.

  19. Lovely crossword.from the master. As Merusa says, you know when the answer is correct. 1a was my favourite.
    Thanks to Jay, and to the 2K’s for the review.

  20. Nice crossword with plenty of interesting clues 😃 **/*** Favourites 17a & 25a 🤗 Thanks to the 2x Ks and of course to Jay

  21. Ooh I really liked that , wonderful mixture of clues with some clever wording & a modicum of head scratching to bring this very entertaining challenge to a close.
    2.5*/4.5*
    Grateful thanks to Jay & the 2KWs for review & direction on the 2 clues that stumped me.

  22. Another crisp white frost to greet us this morning so the promise of a clear calm day to come.
    In the background the cricket match with South Africa is at a very tense stage. Hope you’re all cheering for our lads.

    1. :phew:
      What a cliff hanger leading to a great finish – and the right result for you!

        1. This is limited-over one day cricket, not the five day test match game. It can be a very nerve racking experience when it is as close at the finish as this game was.

  23. Wonderful Wednesday puzzle. As others most difficulty in NW. I needed a hint for 1a but after that the rest fell in. Thanks to Jay and 2K’s.
    7d 18d joint top on my podium.

  24. For some reason I was very slow off the mark today but the North eventually fell into place followed more slowly by the South. Overall I enjoyed the challenge. A couple of 4-letter words caused slight problems because, as others above, I was working on the musician for 23d and the slangy 6a abbreviation didn’t occur to me. Joint Favs were 25a and 18d. Thank you Jay and 2Kiwis.

  25. Just thought I’d say hello if anyone’s listening. I started late as usual and struggled but having finished it I can’t for the life of me see why. At least I’ve done this one on the day. Thanks to all concerned. Sweet dreams.

  26. NW almost defeated me – almost. Thanks to all for reassurance regarding the tricky ones. I’m tired of winter already.

  27. 4*/3*…….
    liked 25A (give up evil calls) & 18D (6-0 — fast and furious).

  28. This one was a bit tough for me especially 21 a which had me stumped as I wasted time thinking there was a short two-letter word for delivery in front of the anagram instead of a two letter word for working at the far end!!!. Oncce I read the hint, all became obvious!
    Thanks for the fun!

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