DT 29153 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29153

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29153

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

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

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

This morning we woke to find a white frost. We thought we had had our last one of these for the season but nature had other ideas. At least a calm fine day has followed.

We found this Jay puzzle at the trickier end of his spectrum and have given it three stars for difficulty and even wondered whether it should have more than that. Lots of fun as usual with some rather scrumptious anagrams.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Carry drink left on board (7)
SUPPORT : A verb meaning to drink and then the nautical word for the left side.

5a     Group importing revolutionary rum fold (7)
PADDOCK : A synonym for rum or unusual is reversed inside a group that we associate with wolves.

9a     Language rejected by cryptographer (5)
ARGOT : A reversed lurker hiding in the clue.

10a     International relations destabilising Olympic day endlessly (9)
DIPLOMACY : An anagram (destabilising) of OLYMPIC DAy once the last letter has been dropped.

11a     Cycling Leeds roads will make you this! (6-4)
SADDLE-SORE : An all-in-one clue. The wordplay is an anagram (cycling) of LEEDS ROADS.

12a     Run off a quantity of cloth (4)
BOLT : A double definition.

14a     Establishment play for time beset by independent people (12)
INSTALLATION : The abbreviation for independent and a people or country surround a word meaning play for time or deliberately delay.

18a     Hears about policeman arresting Republican tenant farmer (12)
SHARECROPPER : An anagram (about) of HEARS and then an informal word for a policeman contains (arresting) R(epublican.

21a     Go out and send back couple carrying cross (4)
EXIT : The reversal of a word meaning couple or join together with string contains the letter shaped like a cross.

22a     Instigator of heavy metal in bell (10)
RINGLEADER : A heavy metal, atomic number 82, is inside a bell described by it’s function.

25a     Working dog getting hold of bird without delay (2,3,4)
ON THE NAIL : A two letter word meaning working and then ‘dog’ as a verb surrounds a female bird.

26a     Area in shade will be soil (5)
TAINT : Shade as in a slight colour contains the abbreviation for area.

27a     Ridicules date disheartened with fairground attractions
DERIDES : The first and last letters of date and then fairground attractions that could be merry-go-rounds or Ferris wheels.

28a     Full of regret about church magic (7)
SORCERY : The two letters signifying the Anglican Church are inside full of regret or repentant.

Down

1d     Poles initially expecting to be thin on the ground (6)
SPARSE : Poles that might be found on sailing vessels plus the first letter (initially) of expecting.

2d     Ornamental building needing a party space set up (6)
PAGODA : The wordplay works from the bottom (set up). String together ‘A’ from the clue, a two letter party and then the space to mind when getting on or off a train.

3d     Got the better of untalked-of criminal (10)
OUTFLANKED : An anagram (criminal) of UNTALKED-OF.

4d     ID subsumed by rising group trends (5)
TIDES : ID from the clue is inside the reversal of a group or band.

5d     Article in office journal cut (5,4)
PAPER CLIP : A journal like the one where this puzzle is published and then cut or trim.

6d     Decline work under medical professional (4)
DROP : A title for a medical professional and then an artistic work.

7d     Speaker has one old piece set to music (8)
ORATORIO : A speaker giving an address is followed by the Roman numeral one and then O(ld).

8d     Islands with shade — that’s the central point (8)
KEYSTONE : Another word for islands that we associate with Florida, and then tint or shade.

13d     A person who’s followed could be quiet and expert compiler of crosswords (10)
PACESETTER : String together the musical instruction for quiet, then expert or number one, and finally, Jay himself perhaps.

15d     Ends trials with men undergoing a change (9)
TERMINALS : An anagram (undergoing change) of TRIALS MEN.

16d     Help around new store, like a star (8)
ASTEROID : An anagram (new) of STORE is inside help or assistance.

17d     Jesting about one’s 1 Across on flight (8)
BANISTER : Jesting or amicable badinage surrounds the Roman numeral one and ‘S.

19d     Recommendation of a daughter on immorality? (6)
ADVICE : ‘A’ from the clue, the abbreviation for daughter and then immorality or sin.

20d     Rather narrow-minded about head of religion (6)
PRETTY : The first letter of religion is inside narrow-minded or nit-picking.

23d     Talk about Liberal repeatedly causes annoyance (5)
GALLS : An informal word for talk or chatter contains the abbreviation for Liberal, twice.

24d     Pay attention to river rising below hospital (4)
HEED : H(ospital) and then the reversal of the ubiquitous ‘fourth letter’ river.

Our favourite today is 5a.

Quickie pun    wart    +    surname    =    what’s-her-name

70 comments on “DT 29153

  1. I managed to finish this in *** time, without any aids, although I thought I might have to resort to an anagram solver. It was a steady workout, with the south falling faster than the north.

    I always thought that 25a referred to the amount of money, rather than the amount of time, and is 16d really a star?

    One of the last to fall for me was 8d, and is therefore my COTD.

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  2. Another very enjoyable puzzle (****) just completed in ** time.there were a lot of really well-constructed clues so it is difficult to pick a favourite. 5a, 9a and 11a appealed to me. Thanks to the 2 Kiwis and the setter.

  3. 2*/4.5*. Another in a long line of very fine Wednesday back-pagers.
    I needed my BRB for two clues. I didn’t know that 12a could be a quantity of cloth, and 18a was a new word for me.
    11a was my favourite with 5a & 5d in close contention.
    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  4. It’s Wednesday, it’s Jay and the Kiwis and all is well with the world

    Another fine Jay crossword – 11a was my favourite too – so thanks to the aforementioned birds.

  5. A ***/**** for me. Thanks to the 2 Kiwis who helped me see why the clues I didn’t parse but fitted in were correct with their excellent parsing. Many thanks to Jay for an excellent puzzle and an enjoyable solve.

  6. like MalcomR i wonder about the definition of 25a but it means something again to me, that quibble aside a lovely puzzle.

  7. Relieved to see that I wasn’t alone in doubting 25a, I suppose it’s all down to how we would use the phrase ourselves.
    I was ridiculously slow to get 17d – nicely led down Jay’s garden path!
    Plenty of podium worthy clues but my favourite has to be the Quickie pun.

    Thanks to Jay and to our 2Ks – bet those little ducklings were chilly this morning.

  8. Hmm – this did not ‘feel’ like a typical Jay puzzle to me as it seemed to lack some sparkle and probably took a little longer than usual – ***/**.
    I did like 22a and 13d.
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  9. I thought this was good fun. Solved in my 2* time. Favourites were 11a, 1d and 8d with 17d in top spot. Nice one Jay.

  10. Concur with the 2K’S ***/****,excellent cluing throughout.
    Thanks to RD regarding 16d.
    Guessed 12a- I will remember it for another time.
    Liked the surface of 11a and 22a.Thanks all for the pleasure.

  11. No e-help needed today. I, too, wondered about 25A. 11A and 18A were my favorites. Thanks to the 2Ks and Jay.

  12. I thought this was a smasher. I obviously clicked onto Jay’s wavelength from the off and everything fell into place. */***** , Really liked 17d, COTD for me. Many thanks to Jay and the two Kiwis.

  13. A lovely crossword which was a pleasure to solve. 5d was my favourite.
    Thanks of course to Jay, and to the 2K’s for their review.

  14. I often make heavy weather of Jay’s puzzles but today was different if a bit prosaic. Favs were 25a and 13d both of which were engaging to work out. In spite of regarding myself as a country bumpkin I had not heard of 18a. The Quickie pun raised a giggle. Thank you Jay and the 2 Kiwis.

  15. As usually happens on Wednesdays my last half dozen answers took longer than the rest of the crossword.
    I confess to one total screw-up – I had ‘padlock’ for 5a – dim, totally dim! I knew it didn’t fit the definition, I got as far as wondering how ‘old’ could possibly be rum and I still didn’t twig. Oh dear! I’m very ashamed.
    Oh well, moving on now, I was slow to get 12 and 28a and the second word of 5d.
    I’m not sure that I’ve met the tenant farmer before.
    I liked 11 and 25a and 13d.
    With thanks to Jay and to the 2K’s.

    1. Weren’t the Australians in “The Sundowners” movie sharecroppers? Great movie, I think from the ’60s.

      1. That’s not a film that I’ve even heard of, let along seen. Sundowners I have heard of – you’d be surprised how early the sun goes down when we’re staying with our friends in a little place called Eden!

        1. I loved it, don’t know if it’s stood the test of time, starring Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr.
          Sundowner chez Merusa is when Sadie gets her dinner, she won’t eat alone.

  16. Just completed it I found this a bit of a struggle but enjoyable, someti es the struggles are more enjoyable than the right ins (few and far between for me)
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks

  17. Not a pleasant puzzle. 16d is absurd, an asteroid resembles a star in no way shape or form. 5a is a new word top me (bit like cognomen in the Quickie). Not too difficult but def not for me.
    **/*
    Thx for the hints

    1. …but the literal meaning of asteroid is “like a star”, even though it is nothing like a star!

      1. No sorry, slip of the finger. I meant 9a, argot. Had to look it up in the BRB. DT crosswords certainly do improve ones vocabulary. 😊

    2. Brian, 16d. With the greatest respect, you should really pause a while and do a little research before commenting. You own a BRB and it clearly explains that asteroid = star-shaped/star-like, plus RD has also highlighted that meaning in his reply at #1, above.

  18. A good challenge today, ***/***. I needed the hint for 12a, otherwise unaided.
    Thanks to all three birds.

  19. I managed to finish this in *** time, with my normal aids. I thought it was a ‘bitty’ crossword. A few of the clues made little sense to me, e.g. 25 across, and ithe 2KWs explanation after the event helped but I’m still left with a feeling of dissatisfaction.
    Still, that’s my problem.
    Thanks to Jay, the 2KWs and BD for starting the blog in the first place

    1. 25a made up of three words – on, tail and hen – the last one inserted. The phrase resulting means without delay or immediately or promptly often associated with a payment

      1. Thank you. But I still don’t like it as a clue. Seems very contrived to me.
        Put it down to me being old and grumpy!

  20. Thanks to Jay and to the 2 Kiwis for the review and hints. A very nice puzzle as usual from Jay. No major holdups apart from the NE corner. Was eventually beaten by 12a, which I thought was foot. Had not heard of the cloth measure. I liked 11&14a, but my favourite was 17d. Was 3*/3* for me.

    1. I don’t think that ‘bolt’ is a measure of cloth – it’s how material is delivered ie on a big roll. BRB isn’t helpful – had to check because I’m really not sure what I’m talking about. :unsure:

      1. You’re right, it’s not really a “measure” as it is the wholesale way it’s delivered, then you cut bits off it.

          1. Ooh – we live and learn – thanks – never heard of it.
            You go into a material shop and there isn’t enough on the roll so they say’ “I’ll just go and get another bolt out” but I never knew what it meant.
            (Then they don’t have another bolt so it’s back to square one!)

            1. Having sewn many a traditional canvas poled marquee, I can tell you a bolt is 45m plus 10% shrinkage – about 50m

              It was once 100 yards but the flame retardant rules (early 80’s) added too much weight when FR treated, so calico or polyester lining material was 100m but 4oz canvas was that much less. A 40ft gable end uses about 4 bolts cut at the hip angle, and a middle section (40×20/15) uses only two

              I got into lots of trouble once because I flippantly asked my girlfriend if she could drop off a pair of her knickers at the yard, because we were short of the lining material for a 100′ x 40′ marquee. She was not impressed, and dumped me. Such is life

              1. Silly girl, lost a treasure. Bet she regretted it……eventually :-)

                1. That’s a very kind notion, thanks Carolyn. Last I heard she was in the fabric recycling trade making hot air balloons in Calgary. Apparently, she recycles her bras too, but last time out it was a dead heat between two Zeppelins
                  Lovely to hear from you :rose:

                  1. Ow ow ow ow ow! Ouch! I have had two major operations on my tummy this summer and as the old joke goes, it only hurts when I laugh and you just made me laugh for several minutes! Though my GP says that is actually good for me and my tummy. :-)

  21. Not my favourite recent Jay but a good solve. No real hold ups although 15d last one in. I had a few candidates for the answer to 12a including bale and roll which weren’t quite right before I hit on the right one. Favourites 11 and 25a and 17d. Thank Jay and 2Ks although I managed to parse them all today. Unfamiliar words such as 18a were possible to build up. I thought 9a may have caused more difficulty especially if the lurker was missed.

  22. I struggled with most of the far SE corner and put “on the ball” at 25a. I always assumed the correct answer ( thanks Ks) meant “exactly” rather than “ without delay”…..

    I thought 5a was quite a well known word, unless you don’t go in the country or have never watched racing on TV or even have never watched Jurassic Park, where T Rex’s had their own 5a……well, they’re not very good at sharing a bedroom.

    11a my favourite as I’m currently watching the Tour of Britain and it’s an excellent anagram. I once nearly got that, but it wasn’t in Leeds and was wholly to do with getting lost.

  23. Jay hasn’t let us down, another super solve, with a plethora of choices for fave.
    Growing up in Jamaica, we didn’t have much access to readymade clothes, so we went to a store and chose our material from a “bolt” of cloth and a dressmaker made it up for you.
    I liked 9a, 11a, 18a, 22a, and so on, can’t narrow it down.
    Thank you Jay for the fun and to the 2Kiwis for the review, particularly the “snapshot” of your part of the world.

  24. Well I thought this was a really good solve today. I really enjoyed it and it made me rootle deep in the depths of my memory bank for a couple. Only slight quibble is with 25a as like several others I have never come across that meaning of the expression. I was ‘on the ball’ initially.
    Thanks to all.

  25. I did find this a little tougher than recent Jays.
    17d last today, I was being too literal and thinking of bits of aeroplanes rather than what was required. As a Yorkshire cyclist 11a is my absolute fave clue and I will nick the Kiwis pic for an avatar.
    Thanks to all three involved. That was fun.

  26. Enjoyable but tough from Jay today, with thanks to the 2Kiwis for the needed hints. We’ve always used 25a to mean exactly right, rather than without delay, but it seems it comes from an old term for immediate payment. Seen 18a in lots of books set here in the US, mainly the southern states. Wasn’t familiar with the 9a language, but bunged it in anyway.

  27. I have not quite finished and will use the clues here for the last few and try very hard not to peek at the answer. I agree, very tricky in spots but I am so pleased, for the first time in weeks….months?…. I have managed the bulk of it in just a few hours whereas since getting out of hospital it has taken me at minimum of 3 days most of the time, if at all. My thanks to the setter, Big Dave, you 2 lovely Kiwis and everyone else here.

    We heading towards winter of course and I have started to get the house and garden ready. Still very warm today though. Alan has a day off and is out hunting. With a chain saw. Various trees on our property fall down last winter and have dried out nicely. We have changed our 25 year old living room furniture and instead of going with the classic Arthur Negus (3 piece suite) we have succumbed to the temptation of 2 recliners and opposite another 2 small armchairs. I need some side tables and plant stands so he has been slicing up medium and small tree trunks for the bases with wider slices for the tops. He just needs a few more. Hunting with a chain saw is easier than hunting with a bow or gun, trees don’t run very fast :-)

    1. So lovely to hear from you as I was starting to worry as you hadn’t commented for a while.

      Hope your health continues to improve :rose:

      1. Thank you. I still get awfully tired and can’t drive for the foreseeable future, or fly so can’t go and see my American grandchildren nor across the Atlantic as we had sort of planned. My hair has been bothering me, falling out, or as Alan says molting. So I too advice from a friend who has had cancer and I have cut it very short. She is right, already it seems to be falling out less because the weight of the hair is not there. I don’t really have the looks for elfin, Mia Farrow I am not, in the last hospital where they finally fixed me they wanted to stick some tube through my nose into my stomach and asked if I had had any plastic surgery, well that made me laugh out loud. Do you really think that if I could have afforded plastic surgery I would have picked this one!?
        I don’t like wigs or even hats but have been experimenting a bit with scarfs, which I explained to my brother. My brother, not the world’s most politically correct man said ‘No don’t bother faffing about with scarfs, just go with the full burka.’ The diplomatic corps must be crushed that he never decided to join.

    2. I’m with CS – lovely to hear from you and I hope that you carry on getting better. I had also wondered how you were getting on.
      I do agree that trees don’t run very fast!
      :smile: to you

    3. Welcome back. You’ve really been through the wars but I see you haven’t lost your sense of humour! Come back soon and give us another giggle!

      1. I will I promise. September 11th. That morning I was still working for the Globe and Mail usually as a lowly remote worker but was in Toronto that day. What had been planned was abandoned and I was put to work just coding to take out all images and go to text only because once the CNN site crashed people were hitting ours. What I saw in those images was horrible. Meanwhile Alan was on a United flight on his way to Omaha to help our middle son remove and build a new deck on his house. Though I had no idea, they got to the end of the runway and went back to the gate. My niece was on a flight to see my dad who lived in Barbados and my un-PC baby brother was in a meeting in DC with Bush Sr., Baker, John Major and even a Bin Laden, he was joining the Carlyle Group and was going to resign from Coutts.
        He said it was surreal. He and JM rented a car to get to NY because they figured that would be the first airport to reopen once the grounding was stopped.
        Our son Matt was waiting for Alan to arrive in Omaha and had not had the radio turned on. No Dad but he did see Dubya Bush land and go to Offut. Andrew says Bush Sr. went to the White House.
        And I was even more of a basket case than normal. Trains were cancelled here so I couldn’t get home. Called youngest son at home and explained. Then Alan finally got back from Pearson to the hotel – we did the classic Heathcliff/Cathy running towards each other thing, and (this will mean nothing to people who have never been to Toronto) jaywalked across Spadina and the Gardiner, sat and looked at the lake. Most of the business district had been evacuated but we had to stay of course. Not a plane in the sky. No traffic. For someone who has been associated with airlines her entire life, my Dad joined PanAm 3 days before I was born, it was the lack of planes in the sky that really struck me.
        Sorry, probably way more info than you ever needed.
        Oh and if you google Andrew Fisher Coutts Carlyle, do look at and have a giggle at the conspiracy sites, they are wrong but it is hilarious!

        1. I just reminded Alan of that day and he said ‘Ah, that explains it.’
          Me: ‘What?’
          Alan ‘Do you even know you are quietly singing and humming Kate Bush ‘Heathcliff, it is me I’m Cathy, I’ve come home I’m so cold, let me into your window.’
          Alan: ‘I keep hoping you will do the upside down splits, you studied ballet at school woman!’
          Me: ‘Dream on sunshine, dream on. If I could ever have got my leg up that high I suspect it would have killed you anyway.’

          My apologies to the lovely BigDave. I do sometimes tend to veer towards smutty humour. Warm up the naughty step.

          1. I’m sure BD (like the rest of us) will just be delighted that you are getting back to full chatty humour :yes:

  28. At the tougher end of the Jay spectrum for me.
    A couple of new words threw me out & I didn’t really like 9ac . But that aside it was a good tester which provided entertainment.
    4*/3.5*
    Thanks to Jay & 2KWS for review & assistance.

  29. Morning all.
    Surprised that so many people had problems with BOLT for ‘quantity of cloth’. It must be more commonly used here as we thought it was quite an obvious answer so only gave a very rudimentary hint for that one. For 25a we understand the phrase to mean ‘here and now’ which we thought agrees pretty closely with ‘without delay’ so were happy with that.
    Another chilly morning here but not quite a white frost out there. Looks like a fine day to follow.
    Cheers

  30. Bula from my (usual) part of the world🌴🌞🌴. I’ve called it time on this one as the golf course 🏌️‍♂️ beckons. I had three to go in the NE corner. I had my former fashion designer wife racking her brain over the myriad of names for folds in that line of work but to no avail. Now I see it, it was a good reminder to think outside the box. Then 8d and 12a then fell into place. My favourite: 11a, as a cyclist I can identify with the condition😜 Thanks to Jay for an enjoyable xw and 2Ks for their insight🦇

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