DT 29127 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29127

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29127

Hints and tips by Victor Nosefairing

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Good morning from Nosefairing House.  All seems well with the world as all of the right teams all won at Rugby over the weekend.  Today’s puzzle has enough about it to keep you all amused and to kick-start the puzzling week.  I have just waved off Heather as she rides her Brough Superior home to Bradford.  A lovely person and a lovely machine.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

7a    Include abnormal clones, ewes originally (7)
ENCLOSE: Anagram (abnormal) of CLONES plus the initial letter (originally) of ewes

9a    Criminal‘s mansion at home (7)
VILLAIN: A large an luxurious house is followed by a two-lettered word meaning at home

10a    In readiness round French resort (2,3)
ON ICE: The round letter is followed by the name of a town on the French Riviera

11a    Urge one running meeting to supply a stroller (9)
PUSHCHAIR: Use force as in physically shove, followed by the name given to the controller of a meeting. Here is my grandson Ethan in his

12a    Withdraw article by further individual? I don’t think so (4,3,5,3)
PULL THE OTHER ONE: A word for word four-part charade. 1 A synonym of the word withdraw as one might with a plug. 2 The article used to refer to a person, place, or thing that is unique. 3 A word meaning further (I needed the dictionary for this one) 4 A word meaning individual

13a    Daughter to interrupt ramble, father backing plan (4,3)
ROAD MAP: A word meaning to ramble or wander sits around the abbreviation for daughter. The is followed by an endearing term for your father that is reversed (backing)

16a    Very happy after first of rib-ticklers told (7)
RELATED: A word meaning very happy sits after the first letter of rib-ticklers

19a    Advent: preachers disposed to give one this? (7,3,5)
CHAPTER AND VERSE: Anagram (disposed) of ADVENT PREACHERS

23a    Going from place to place, I drove during stint abroad (2,7)
IN TRANSIT: Begin with the letter I. Find a word meaning drove or managed. Place that word inside an anagram (abroad) of STINT. Add this to the letter I and split what you have to suit the enumeration of the clue.

24a    Traveller heading for Rome and beyond (5)
ROVER: The initial letter (heading) for Rome is followed by an adverb meaning beyond

25a    One against appearing in experiment of little importance (7)
TRIVIAL: The letter that looks like the number one together with the abbreviation for versus (against) sit inside a test or experiment

26a    No cigar manufactured is additive-free (7)
ORGANIC: Anagram (manufactured) of NO CIGAR

Down

1d    Not up to scratch? Better than that at golf! (5,3)
BELOW PAR: A term that describes a golf score which is less than normal is also used to describe a poor performance generally

2d    Energy shown by second Greek character turning up (8)
MOMENTUM: A very short period of time (second) is followed by a reversed Greek letter, the twelfth in its alphabet

3d    Worker from agency joining the French church (6)
TEMPLE: A short term office worker is followed by the French for the

4d    Old hat, cover used in garden (6)
CLOCHE: A bell shaped ladies hat is also the name of a protective cover for garden plants

   

 

5d    Loafer set on (8)
LAYABOUT: When split 3,5 this idler becomes a term meaning to attack

6d    Deceptive and ridiculous U-turn by European (6)
UNTRUE: An anagram (ridiculous) of U TURN has the abbreviation for European attached

8d    Cold then hot, poorly with this? (5)
CHILL: The abbreviations for cold and hot are followed by a term meaning poorly

9d    Holidaymaker, Italian wearing form of protection for the eyes (7)
VISITOR: a movable part of a helmet that can be pulled down protect the eyes contains the two-lettered abbreviation for Italian

14d    A racket, commotion, over source of meat (8)
ABATTOIR: Begin with the letter A from the clue. Add a racket used by a sportsman. A cricket racket perhaps. Now add the reverse of a civil disturbance. Surely the source of meat is the animal itself not the place in which it is slaughtered

15d    Alas, pro misplaced umbrella (7)
PARASOL: This summery umbrella is an anagram (misplaced) of ALAS PRO

17d    Enhanced power of guy in bank (8)
LEVERAGE: The power by which Archimedes claimed the earth could be moved is also a financial term used by bankers Can be made by putting a three -letter word meaning to guy or tease inside a an embankment built to prevent the overflow of a river. Thank you to Sandra Brewster for pointing it out

18d    Slim, well-to-do famous actress (8)
DIETRICH: A verb meaning to slim by eating less is followed by a term meaning well to do or wealthy

19d    Fabric: chapter on suggestions heard (6)
CHINTZ: The abbreviation for chapter is followed by a homophone of what you are reading right now

20d    Disastrous time with smoke rising (6)
TRAGIC: The abbreviation for time is followed by something that may be smoked but reversed (rising)

21d    Belief unacceptable round island (6)
NOTION: A term 3,2 meaning unacceptable sits around the abbreviation for island

22d    Black and yellow top missing (5)
RAVEN: A word meaning lacking in courage needs to have its first letter removed (top missing)

Quickie Puns:

Top line: farmer+sees=pharmacies
Bottom line: peer+singly=piercingly


 

71 comments on “DT 29127

  1. A fairly straightforward Monday offering. Completed in an easy ** time. The north was easier than the south, but as soon as 19a fell, the rest followed.

    For that reason, 19a is my COTD.

    I’m happy with 14d. You would source meat from that place.

    Many thanks to the compiler and VN.

  2. Thank you very much for the hints, but on my iPad the solutions are showing up uncovered before the hints from 3d onwards!

  3. A gentle start to the week. North almost R & W but slightly more application required in the South. Fav was 19a for its smooth surface with 18d running up. Not sure about use of single letter part of a hyphenated word in solution as per 16a. Great to hear MD (RIP) performing LM. Thank you Mysteron and MP.

  4. A nice Monday puzzle – thank you to the man with many names for the blog and the setter who does a double quickie pun for the crossword

  5. Woo, first time finishing by myself without using ‘reveal letter’ button! (Second time ever for finishing a backpager without needing to come here for any hints, and definitely the fastest I’ve ever completed one.)

    So I’m guessing it must be at the simpler end of the range today. Thank you, setter.

    Thank you Miffy Pops for explaining the one I hadn’t worked out — having used ‘preachers’ in the definition for 19a, it didn’t occur to me to try anagramming it as well.

    Interesting that the first word in the answer for 19a appears in the clue for 19d (to indicate the abbreviation of the word in 19a), and that a synonym needed for the wordplay in 20d appears in the clue for nearby 26a.

    My favourites are 10a and 11a.

  6. No problems with this amusing and gently pleasent puzzle except having to confirm my guess of 4d was correct after having all the checkers in.
    I liked 21d in particular along with 12 and 16a but not sure that 14d is in the best of taste, or as our reviewer says, strictly accurate.
    2*/2.5*
    Many thanks to MP for his usual crystal clear review and to the setter for brightening up this decidedly autumnal feeling morning.

  7. Another lovely start to the week 😃 **/**** very straightforward but so many clever clues 🤔 Difficult to choose 5d & 11a perhaps! Big thank you to the Setter and to Vulcan Nosecone, will have to listen to the musical cornucopia later 😉

    1. Very good Jaylegs but it was the Victor Nose Fairing that gave me the name I used when chatting up the girls all those years ago when I worked at Dunlop Aviation and Aerospace

  8. Another really enjoyable solve to start the week.
    I have obviously made parsing 17D more difficult than need be as I had a word that I thought could mean bank with another word I thought could mean ‘to guy’. I suspect those meanings could be a figment of my imagination as haven’t checked them out.
    Many thanks to all.

    1. My first comment, having lurked for years. I agree with Sandra – guy = rag, bank = levee. Thanks to setter and Mr VN.

    2. 17d I thought the same as you … a 3-letter synonym for to ‘guy’ inside a 5-letter synonym of a ‘bank’.

    3. Thank you Sandra. I thought I must be missing something and the only name I could find was Vera. i will amend the hint.

  9. Not for the first time recently I am picking another anagram, 19a, as my favourite this morning. Lovely smooth surface and concise clueing. Quite brilliant IMHO. A very pleasant start to the cryptic week.

    Thanks to our Monday setter and MP.

  10. No answers or hints needed today so very pleased with myself for once. 12a and 19a my favourites today. Unfortunately it will be downhill all the way to next Monday if past weeks are any indication.

  11. A wonderful puzzle to start the week and, like others, I finished it without visiting the hints. That does not happen often so feeling quite smug. 12a and 14d were my personal favourites.

    Many thanks to all concerned.

  12. Completed earlier before a successful trip to sort out my mobile phone , very enjoyable .

    The NE corner held me up slightly but solving one soon revealed all .

    My favourites 11A and 20D .

    Thanks to everyone

  13. Well this puzzle had **/*** written all over it, sound enjoyable start to the week .
    Not heard of stroller in this context before-must be too old.
    Liked 18d thought of the actress before parsing for some unknown reason
    Off to see the shrew tamed tomorrow at Stratford-‘reverse casting’ I understand !.
    Thanks all.

  14. Nice crossword, the only one that puzzled me was 17d, didn’t get the banker bit but thanks to hints for explaining it. My fav was 18d.
    Thx to all
    **/***

    1. PS Had a chance today to follow CS suggestion about the NTSPP and I am not sure I even understood the instructions! Bizarre!

  15. Another good start for a Monday and a good warm up for the week. I agree with the BD rating. The north-east corner was the last to be filled in. 12a has a familiar ring to it. I’m sure we’ve had a similar clue and answer recently🤔My favourite: 19a. Thanks to the settler and VN. 🦇

  16. Surely, 17d is the US word for riverbank with that 3-letter word in it. The 3-letter word is a synonym of guy, apparently – to mock, make fun of.

  17. Gentle introduction to the week. Some nice clues including the two long ones but I’ll go with 22d as my favourite.
    Thanks to the setter, and to the man of many names for the review.

  18. Only my second ever post. Last time I posted was the first time I had completed the crossword without using any of the hints! This was a few years ago. Well today I managed it for the second time! No doubt aided by the extra time I have had to solve it, sitting in the van waiting for the rain to pass. So I absolutely loved today’s puzzle. Need to buy another paper this week since the Monday puzzle usually lasts me until Thursday when I finally admit defeat haha.

  19. Hurrah!
    Completed alone and unaided today!

    Thanks to Miffypops for unravelling the clues and to the setter.

  20. About time I said hello and, especially, thank you to all the good people here providing hints and advice (and, of course, the setters). I’m lucky to have free online access to the puzzles at my employer’s here in Austria, so have taken to solving on a regular basis. As to today’s offer: really tried to fit ‘cliche’ into 4d, as I was not familiar with either of the two terms alluded to. Well, as a non-native, at least I have some excuse. Otherwise, a straight solve. Thanks again. Martin

    1. Hello, Herlesmartin. I’m a native English speaker† and I’ve only learnt 4d recently — specifically since last Christmas, when we bought our 6-year-old the Cottage Garden board game, and it transpired that a 4d is a vital part of tessellating flowerbeds. (Sleeping cats may also be used to fill in awkward spaces between plants.)

      † Possibly a native French speaker is actually what would help here …

  21. Good afternoon all. I comment infrequently but thought I would join in today. I found this relatively straightforward although the NE corner prevented me from completing in 1 pint time so I agree with the 2* rating. I wonder if anyone else uses the asterisk:beer classification. Hard to pick a favourite but I did like 22d.

  22. **/****. A very enjoyable puzzle all the better as, due to laziness, couldn’t be bothered to print a copy and did this on my iPad for the first time ever. 19d my COTD which also opened up the Southern half of the puzzle. Thanks to all.

  23. 2 Americanisms in today. Funny how we view these askance yet accept the French or other Continental bits.

  24. Enjoyable puzzle. South east corner went in first. Seriously held up by 1d because I thought the first part was ‘under’. Thanks to setter and MP for excellent hints

    1. Moi aussi re 1d
      The app sometimes starts with the down clues (when there is a 1d but no 1a) so it wasnt until I had gone through the downs that I discovered the problem with 7a

  25. Many thanks to Crypticsue for answering my question about BRB. Should have guessed. Yes, I have it of course.

  26. I thought that was fairly straightforward – it feels quite a long time since I’ve been able to say that.
    I got into a bit of a pickle with 2 and 14d but can’t see why now – dim, just for a change, I expect.
    While I was doing it I felt as if there were lots of anagrams but there aren’t.
    I liked 12 and 19a. My favourite was 17d.
    With thanks to today’s setter and to MP in disguise.
    Quite a few new commenters today – welcome from me too. I admire anyone whose first language is not English who can do cryptic crosswords.

  27. I initially thought that this was going to be one of those really straightforward Monday puzzles but the more I got into it, the more teeth I discovered. It was a very enjoyable solve.
    One query however in 2d I don’t think a physicist would be too happy to equate energy and momentum 🤓
    Thank you to all involved as always.

  28. A very late start today so I’m grateful for a friendly puzzle. Great fun, loved it, particularly as my fave types of clues are 12a and 19a.
    I had no problems today, though I must say I didn’t like 14d, I prefer not to think about those and never eat mammal.
    Faves are the ones above, but mention must be made of 18d, fabulous lady and love her version of Lily Marlene, thanks VN for that.
    Thanks to our setter and reviewer super VN, glad you explained why! A really WOW pic of Ethan.

  29. It’s already been said by others but I will concur with the gentle start to the week with a few moments of pause on the trickier bits. I didn’t need the hints but still appreciate them and the pics and musical interludes. Thanks to Setter and Victor Nosefairing.

    I did get to see the Vulcan XH588 on its last flight and if you have a pot of money I think they are flogging a Vulcan Nosecone that has been converted into a coffee table.

    1. Mr Victor Nosefairing is about as likely to get a Vulcan Nosecone coffee table as Mr Bee is to get a wasp coffee table

  30. A really pleasant solve to get the week going with a good assortment of clues.
    2*/4* with favs as 18d, & 19ac .
    Thanks to setter & MP the man of many alias for review.

  31. Another lovely Monday crossword and my thanks to the setter – I just love these things. But even more my thanks to Miffypops in yet another of his fun alter-egos for his great hints (which thankfully I don’t have to resort to too often), but mainly for the great links he bungs in his reviews. Today I spent a wonderful hour falling in love again with Marlene Dietrich, but primarily, about four months ago he introduced me to Tom Waits – sublime – after nearly eighty years of loving all sorts of music I’d never heard of him. As a return favour Mr Nosefairing, may I suggest the great Josh White. It might be a favour re-paid but I bet you know about him already.

  32. I couldn’t for the life of me think of an actress ending in “rich”. Well caught out, along with 20d “smoke rising”. They were my last two in. Many thanks setter and Miffypops. Welcome to the newbies and those returning to the site.

  33. A lovely start to the week with nothing to frighten the horses. Thanks to setter and Miffypops. Mr BL would love to own a Brough Superior, didn’t Lawrence of Arabia have one?

  34. We too, as beginners, have ‘lurked’ for a time – enjoying the blog every time we have completed a puzzle. Until today we have never even started a puzzle on the day it’s published let alone finished it! But today we did – so we felt compelled to join the blog – but don’t expect to hear from us very often! We also need to share with you our separate reactions to 2d. J said ‘It’s momentum’. ‘Nonsense’ D said. ‘Even in crossword land they wouldn’t confuse such different mathematical concepts as Energy and Momentum. But I was wrong! Very enjoyable puzzle – favourites 13a &19a.

    1. The (online) LRB gives these synonyms for momentum:

      momentum
      n
      impetus, force, energy, impulse, drive, power, driving-power, thrust, propulsion, speed, velocity, impact, incentive, stimulus, urge, strength, push

  35. I hope your friend arrived home safely on her elderly motorcycle.
    I always thought that it was spelt ‘raquet’ and that ‘racket’ was a vulgar Americanism. Having lost all of my dictionaries in various moves, and not trusting online ones, I am unable to confirm the proposition.
    Thanks for the help.

  36. Whistled through this earlier today. Favourites 10 13 and 25a and 14 and 18d. I was just left with some parsing I found difficult and which extended my time to 1.5. Luckily did not put in my first thought for 1d which was “under”. Answer was obvious when I had a second look. Assumed “second” was “mo” in 2d which left me with a very long Greek letter. Like MP I oversimplified the parsing for 17d. Also enjoyed the two long ones which also provided some good checkers especially the condiments.

  37. Thanks to the setter and to Miffypops for the review and hints. A nice gentle start to the week. A really enjoyable puzzle. My only hold up was my last one in 6d, took me ages to spot the partial anagram. Favourite was 1d. Was 2*/3* for me.

  38. 1/3….missed the second pun in the quickie…
    liked 22D “black and yellow top missing”

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