DT 29132 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
View closed comments 

DT 29132 (Hints)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29132 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

4a    Clocked if this would be locked? (8)
How the first word in the clue becomes the last one!

9a    Adam’s place is in procession (8)
The IS from the clue inside a procession

10a    Highly regarded guide sticks with coverage of some roads (4,4)
This “guide” is high up in the night sky – some sticks are followed by the three-letter coverage found on many roads

12a    He saves when flying (8)
A cryptic definition of a comic hero

16a    Ring Conservative clubs — a revolutionary is about to create incident (8)
This is an example of how any word may be constructed by combining its constituent parts into mumbo jumbo – the ring-shaped letter is followed by C(onservative), C(lubs), the A from the clue, the reversal (revolutionary) of IS and a two-letter word meaning about

19a    ‘Robinson Crusoe’ cancelled due to holidays? (8)
Split as (4,4) this would be a reason to cancel a play

21a    Material from two volumes about the Spanish and French (6)
V(olume) and V(olume) around the Spanish definite article and followed by the French for “and”

24a    Something off the vegan menu that Adam gave up? (5,3)
An item that would not be found on a vegan menu is something that Adam allegedly gave up in order to create Eve

26a    Redesigned dungarees with small cut seen as too youthful (5-3)
An anagram (redesigned) of DUNGAREE[s] without (cut) the S(mall)

Down

1d    Good behaviour in Christmas period ended abruptly — nothing unusual (7)
The shortened (ended abruptly) form of the month that includes the Christmas period followed by O (nothing) and a three-letter word meaning unusual

3d    Beat poetry, unfinished — and half of that is filling (6)
Most of (unfinished) a word used for poetry around (is filling) the first half of TH[at]

5d    A man makes dinner for these ladies (8)
A truly dreadful not very cryptic definition of these man-eating monsters

6d    Duck — ruddy, that is — diving? On the contrary (5)
A three-letter adjective meaning ruddy followed by the Latin abbreviation for that is, all reversed (diving – on the contrary)

14d    Making garment sleeveless, apparently, could be irresistible (9)
This could be, but isn’t, a verb meaning to removing the sleeves from a garment

15d    Monarch personified by the I, VI and VII of this name (8)
Take the first, sixth and seventh letters of the name of this monarch to get an abbreviation, found in The Usual Suspects, which personifies her as Queen and Empress

18d    In most corresponding, the first letter becomes central, being sincere (7)
Start with an adjective meaning most corresponding and move its initial (first) letter to the middle

22d    The work of Mr Kipling / Was nigh severe when tippling (5)
An anagram (when tippling) of most of (was nigh) SEVER[e]

If, like me, you derived no enjoyment whatsoever from solving this puzzle, why not try today’s NTSPP?

The Crossword Club is now open.


Could new readers please read the Welcome post and the FAQ before posting comments or asking questions about the site.

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!

Please read these instructions carefully – they are not subject to debate or discussion. Offending comments may be redacted or, in extreme cases, deleted. In all cases the administrator’s decision is final.

If you don’t understand, or don’t wish to comply with, the conventions for commenting on weekend prize puzzles then save yourself (and me) a lot of trouble and don’t leave a comment.


The Quick Crossword pun: ark+tick+role=arctic roll


70 comments on “DT 29132 (Hints)

  1. Enjoyed the challenge , last in 4A ( initially wanted to put in a word relating to a car dashboard ) and my COTD 21A just beating a few others .

    Thanks to everyone

  2. Pleasant and comparatively plain-sailing but IMHO there are one or two iffy clues including 5d. Liked the unusual style of 18d clue. Fav was 14d with 25a a close second. I’m too thick to parse 12a. As for KFB my last to go in was 4a – d’oh when the penny dropped. Thank you Mysteron and BD.

      1. I too rather liked 5d. It’s a reasonably obscure/misleading description of the answer. Not a bad clue at all.

  3. Like Dave, I thought that 5d was an awful clue but I did like the misdirection in 6d because a ruddy duck is a [little] diving duck and, once you’ve seen one, the memory will stay with you because it has a blue beak. Cricket, football and rugby – I’m really spoilt for choice today.

  4. I struggled today, and had to give up with three to go, as my bath water was getting rather chilly. Luckily all three were hinted above, but I still needed some help with 18d.

    Thanks to all.

    1. I have to ask – do you solve using a paper version, hoping that it won’t get soggy, or using an iPad or similar and hoping that you won’t get what No 1 son used to call when he was very small “electronicked’?

      1. I use the paper version, if I tried to use any electronics, it would be “electronicked” the first time out.

        I do make sure that I have two pens though, in case one malfunctions, because having to get out to get another one is very annoying!

  5. Strewth todays is very tricky not helped by a tricky grid. Needed the hints today.
    Too difficult to be really enjoyable, all a bit of a trudge.
    Thx for the hints
    ****/*

  6. 3*/1*. I found this moderately tough but far too wordy and lacking in sparkle for my taste. I thought 12a & 5d were particularly poor but I did quite like 4a & 14d.
    Thanks to the setter and to BD.

  7. This came together fairly easily apart from some delays – 12a (it cant be that simple) 5d (weird) and 22d (nigh?)

    4a was first in and I wrongly selected a fatal word which was quickly corrected when I had a couple of others.

    No favourite today although 10a was clever. **/**.

    Thanks to setter and BD. Enjoy the break in the rain if you’ve got it.

  8. Thought this was a rather unusual puzzle for a Saturday and not sure just how much I enjoyed it.
    Podium places given to the ones that made me smile – 19a plus 1&14d.

    Thanks to our setter and to BD for the club.

  9. Like some, not the most enjoyable of crosswords today. Full grid and the back page location were positives, although like most, winced at the solution to 5D. Can understand the solution to 15D, although many moons ago, an old History teacher at an old fashioned Grammar school taught up to only use a regnal number when there were two or more, but in the case of a single named monarch, never use a number. That logic makes a mockery of the answer of said 15D.

    1. There’s no number involved. The last letter of the ‘personification’ is a letter not a number.

        1. Must admit when I saw the hint comment about The Usual Suspects I thought it was referring to the movie! Funny how the mind works.

      1. My answer was a bung in, had no idea how to parse, though I did suspect it had to do with letters rather than numbers.

  10. I don’t like to criticise our setters but this was a bit of a slog. Not too difficult but a grind to complete. I failed to identify a favourite but had plenty of options for stinker of the day.

    Thanks setter and BD.

  11. Did about three-quarters without help but required BD’s guidance for the rest. Like BD and Brian say, not very enjoyable.
    As I’ve never tried the NTSPP I’ll give it a try.
    Thanks as ever BD

    1. A most emphatic seconder, here. Perhaps Brian should have looked at ‘quatrain’ as a collection of letters rather than a ‘need to know’!

      1. Exactly! Think cryptically Brian, no general knowledge required. Not for the first word of the clue anyway …)

  12. I found it unusually difficult to get ‘in tune’ with today’s puzzle. Will follow the recommendations and print off NTSPP later. Thanks to all.

  13. Not a joy for me and, like others, I did not like 5d. I actually submitted it without realising that I had not filled in 17 down.

    Thanks to all involved.

  14. Agreed that 5d, was a bit odd, needed the hints for this and 18d, still can’t parse 15d. I eventually managed to find the usual suspects but that didn’t help me. Navigating this site only seems to be possible on my phone by going to site map. From this I can find the home button to get to the hints. I had to do a Google search within the site to get to usual subjects. Thanks to BD without whom I could not have finished.

  15. Am I the only solver to find 15d very unsatisfactory as a clue, in that the wordplay only helps you to get the answer once you’ve, er, got the answer?

    1. Perhaps it would have been slightly better had the setter referred to ‘her’ name rather than ‘this’ name?

    2. Exactly Gazza but also the sequence in the clue should in any case surely read I, 11 and VI rather than 1, VI and VII or am I missing something?

      1. Both would work (and they mean virtually the same) but they are different and they are both in The Usual Suspects.

    3. Absolutely Gazza, surely the wordplay only becomes apparent when you know the answer??

    4. Seems to me you can take your pick of questionable clues here – no disrespect to the setter but we see better clues in MPP, NTSPP and even Rookie Corner at times
      Perhaps CL is unsuccessfully experimenting with something ‘different’? (Sorry Chris, not having a go!)
      Could just be me, but Paul on a bad day springs to mind :smile:

  16. Oh dear – now I feel sorry for today’s setter – I do hope that he or she doesn’t read the comments.
    I quite enjoyed this – I admit to getting completely stuck in the top left corner – almost gave up but didn’t due to bloody-mindedness.
    Not very many anagrams which, for me, always makes things more difficult because I like them (and can usually do them)
    I liked 21a and 1 and 17d. My favourite was 25a – any answer with that ending makes me laugh – don’t know why but it just does.
    With thanks to the setter and to BD.

  17. I found it tricky to get on wavelength but did quite well once I was on.
    I found the NE the hardest, finally needing hints for 4a and 5d. I do agree that 5d is a bit gruesome.
    The 4d anagram was fairly easy to unravel once I had a couple of checkers, there are limited prefixes and suffixes with words that long.
    I liked 12a, my fave, but others deserve honourable mention, 14d and 21a for example.
    Thanks to our setter and to BD for helping me reach the final tape.

  18. Just to be pedantic (and aren’t we all) the photo of the duck (in fact a drake) in 6d is not a Common Eider, but a King Eider!

  19. Struggling with this hotch- potch of clues that seemed either downright poor mediocre or pointless, I was beginning to feel that the fogging after effects of anaesthetic and the hospital food here had permanently damaged my ability to do crosswords. Thank the blog, I am not alone in finding this puzzle a bit of a chore.

  20. Steady progress made in quarters anticlockwise from SW. I too wasn’t fond of 15d it seemed to demand a bung in and parsing after the event was optional. (As Gazza mentioned above)
    I did notice that 7d and 18d were anagrams of each other.
    Thanks to BD and setter.

  21. Still haven’t finished and glad to see I’m not alone in finding it tricky. 4a means nothing at the moment, so 5d and 7d are also meaningless!
    Any clues?

  22. Didn’t enjoy this much, certainly was the enjoyable Saturday I was hoping for to brighten a stormy afternoon. I think 16a is more of an event, rather than an incident, but what do I know? Given my performance today, clearly not much,

  23. I just don’t get 4A – not the clue nor the hint. I feel “a bit fick….” . Finished the rest reasonably quickly

  24. I cant set crosswords so I won’t be over critical of something I cant do, but I found that a slog, and not particularly enjoyable. Sorry.
    Thanks all.

  25. Pretty boring with some awful clues. However, I have enjoyed reading all the comments above. Thanks to BD and everyone else.

  26. Hmm, I was doubting my own solving ability today but I was not going to concede. However annoyingly 12a stumped me, so thanks BD. (Why didn’t I think of that?… D’oh!)
    Thereafter all was resolved in quick order. Favourite for me was 3d.
    Thanks to the setter, and to BD for the hints.

  27. Thanks to the setter, and to BD for invaluable help. I’ve been browsing through The Usual Suspects, which I’d done so months ago – very interesting!
    I liked 19a today.

  28. Not sure about this puzzle. Stuck on 5d overnight, but got there this morning once I realised I had got 4a wrong. xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx I was being too cryptic by half !!

    1. Please note the instructions in red at the bottom of the hints particularly the bit about not giving away solutions

  29. On the positive side sitting in the sun in St Mawes (note for MP sun not Sun), I thought there were some good clues and it was a challenge. Failure to get 12a not helped by wrong spelling of 2d. Needed the hint and have only just this minute realised where ‘saves’ comes in. Also needed hint for 1d. NE definitely the most difficult for me. Did not get the parsing for 15d but do now so thanks BD. Favourites the interlocking 21a and 22d.

  30. I am a relative newbie and so pleased to have got quite a way without BD’s help.
    I think I have 4a but definitely needed the hint. Still have not got 5d so maybe I haven’t got 4a at all! To the setter I thought there were some rather good clues. It must be difficult setting a real challenge for the experienced and novice alike. Thanks to BD and the Setter.

  31. An unenjoyable foray back into parsing the PC from Saturday after a year out whilst renovating my house. I did laugh out loud when I got 22d as I’d been thinking along the lines of “exceedingly good cakes”!
    My favourite was 14d

    1. You’ve used only your forename in the past so your expanded alias sent you into moderation. Both varieties will work from now on.

  32. Completed unaided except searching for a reason for 5d but thought 5d and 22d were terrible clues.
    Thanks to the setter and to the reviewer

  33. I’m about 4 days late on parade, but I didn’t acquire this one till yesterday (Tues) morning. I suppose it was a tad dour and one or two clues were a little iffy, but I found it a decent challenge and I did enjoy it a lot. I’d certainly prefer to have one like this than a soft and fluffy, unchallenging but “fun” puzzle we normally get on a Monday. Fav: 22d, which I thought was a pretty clever clue. 3* / 3.5*

Comments are closed.