DT 29162 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29162 (Hints)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29162 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club

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Whatever else you do today, don’t miss a fabulous new NTSPP from our very own Gazza, coming up at midday.

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

1a    Some worship a god adored here? (6)
Hidden (some) inside the clue

4a    Woman from Hawaii maybe is country queen (8)
IS followed by a word for a country and her majesty’s royal cipher

11a    Graphic about one Conservative holding a record (9)
A two-letter word meaning about, I (one) and C(onservative) around (holding) the A from the clue and a record

13a    Two legs used in cricket constantly (2,3,2)
Repeat (two) the two-letter word for the leg side in cricket

14a    Discovered having real ale, possibly taken unawares (6,2,3,3)
A word meaning discovered followed by a phrase (2,3,3) that could mean having real ale

21a    Letter delivered after shift (7)
One must press the shift key to get this kind of letter

24a    Old boy in woolly drawers — the clothes people wear! (9)
The abbreviation for Old Boy goes inside an anagram (woolly) of DRAWERS

27a    Born and died without one being desired (6)
The feminine form of an originally French word meaning born followed by D[I]ED without the I (one)

Down

1d    It makes perfect surgery perhaps (8)
Two definitions – the first replaces “it” in a well-known idiom

5d    Ticking-off, seeing make-up applied by hand? (4,2,3,5)
What might happen if a colloquial word for make-up is applied by hand

6d    A prisoner turning over in stir (7)
The A from the clue followed by a prisoner with the IN reversed (turning over)

7d    Fifties rocker’s supported very well in Russian square (5)
A fifties rocker follows the Russian for “very well”

 

 

8d    Engineers corps are not able to withdraw (6)
The Royal Engineers are followed by a word meaning “not able to”

15d    With no going back, that group finish rallying (2,3,4)
The reversal (with … going back) of NO followed by a four-letter pronoun which represents “that group” and a word meaning to finish

16d    Sanctioned cadet, smashed eating kind of mushroom (8)
An anagram (smashed) of CADET around (eating) a kind of mushroom

20d    Female wears different sizes, small causing grimaces (6)
… this female is (usually) a farm animal

22d    Super criminal that all too often takes in coppers (5)
An anagram (criminal) of SUPER

The Crossword Club is now open.


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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: fault+knocks=Fort Knox


79 comments on “DT 29162 (Hints)

  1. Well that is another zero score for me. I submitted with what I see is a wrong answer for 6d. No wonder I couldn’t parse me answer. 14a fave here. Thanks to BD and setter.
    I may not have time to come here v often next week. I am following the Yorkshire World Cycling Champs. Internet access permitting I will have a go at the puzzle most days and read the blogs but may not have time to comment.
    They are all appreciated and thanks to all the sloggers and betters and commentariat.

    1. I also bunged in the wrong answer for 6d which I couldn’t parse so checked with BD before submitting.

    2. I very nearly did the same but I remembered BD’s advice from many years ago – if you can’t make sense of your answer then it’s probably wrong.
      Also many years ago there was a clue which I can’t remember now but the answer was a kind of coat – ‘duffle’. If you did exactly as the clue told you to do you got the less common but alternative spelling – ‘duffel’ – it you just piled in and got the wrong one it really messed up one corner of the crossword.

      1. The only problem with that is that some setters use words I never heard of , though Giovanni seems to have stopped doing that recently .

  2. Lovely crossword but struggled at the finale with the SW corner – two clever clues there, both needing the benefit of hints from BD, thanks! **/****
    Good news for Margaret – full marks last Saturday, so just awaiting my Amazon voucher!

    1. Me to HJ, that’s a good few weeks now. I’d like to think they’ve cracked it – fingers crossed!

  3. Got through alone and unaided, though I was very glad of the hints to confirm the parsings.

    Nearly came a cropper with 6d but saved myself just before I checked with BD.

    Thanks to the setter and to BD…..despite your hint for 20d….

  4. A game of two halves crossword. The clues in the NW and SE were pretty straightforward but the NE and SW were more tricky. I have finished the puzzle but there were four clues that I bunged in without being able to parse them. Thank you for your hints for 6d and 21a, BD, which I got completely wrong. Just into *** for difficulty and ** for enjoyment. Favourites were 14a and 5d. Thanks to the setter

  5. Very enjoyable challenge with some very clever , some may say sly , clues eg 6D & 7D , my joint favourites .

    Thanks to everyone.

  6. I fell two short today, after *** time. The two I missed were 20d and 21a, and so both get my vote for COTD. 4a was a bung-in and needed BD to parse it.

    Thanks to the setter and BD.

  7. Please can someone put me put of my misery with 7d? I have the answer but can’t fathom what it had to do with Russia. I must be missing something or maybe it’s some obscure knowledge I don’t have.
    Otherwise a lovely crossword, I also fell into the 6d trap at first. Favourite clue 21a. Thanks to all concerned.

    1. Oh must have missed the hint! Thanks. I did think it must be that but my translation into Russian came up with something very different 😟

  8. The only one which gave me a problem today was 6d, I put an answer in but couldn’t fully parse it, but once it was in my brain couldn’t deal with any other word. So thanks to BD for rescuing me from submitting a dud and thanks to the setter for an enjoyable ride.

  9. Narrowly avoided the 6d trap and paused for thought over 7d.
    Rather liked the old boy in woolly drawers, so I’ll award him top billing.

    Thanks to our setter and to BD for the club.
    Oh goody – a Gazza NTSPP to enjoy!

  10. A bit humdrum with no real Fav but overall a pleasant enough challenge with the South coming through ahead of the North. 15d nicely cryptic. Not keen on 20d if I have parsed it correctly. Tried to utilise a Russian square in 7d. Thanks Mysteron and BD.

  11. By recent Saturday standards, I think I can use the descriptor that BD first used for some Tuesday Toughies from a particular setter – yes, this was Fluffy, completed at a gallop – **/****.
    Favourite – a toss-up between 13a and 5d – and the winner is 13a.
    Thanks to the setter and BD.

  12. Having read the comments about 6d I thought I ought to check my answer only to find that the grid on my iPad App was completely blank! I submitted my answers earlier this morning and the DT said thank you so hopefully they got it, including my correct(?) answer.
    My iPad has been a bit erratic for the last week and I’m not sure if it’s the App or the iPad or a combination of the two. The iPad, like me, is getting a bit older and a bit slower…..
    A nicely challenging Saturday Puzzle and thank you BD for the review.

  13. 20D was my bung-in but soon sorted when I initially couldn’t solve 21A, which turned out to be my favorite in the end, along with 12A and 24A. Thanks BD and today’s setter. The Gazza puzzle is a treat to look forward to!

  14. Thank you for the hints, Dave, because, like some of the other contributors, I could very easily have put in an incorrect answer for 6d. A major problem today was attempting to complete the puzzle while being distracted by the rugby; the rugby’s finished for the day and so have I.

  15. Hmm, a bit of a poser today with me having to bung in quite a lot. I see 6d has been discussed so I think my bung in must be wrong. The answer I gave certainly made no sense. Thanks for the Buddy Holly video – what would he be producing now had he lived, I wonder.

    No favourites apart from, maybe, 21a, which was quite clever and needed a certain degree of lateral thinking.

    Grateful thanks to all concerned.

    I thought the pun was quite bizarre today. Certainly not one of the best.

    1. The pun certainly does not work for me…but I am from Scotland, so the puns often do not work for me.

      1. No problem! I often know I have the right answers but still cannot get it. I will say it over and over to myself with different emphasis on vowels etc but it can still evade me.

        I still think today’s pun stretched credibility somewhat.

  16. Everyone talks about “parsing” a clue. At the risk of seeming dumb can someone explain what this means?

    Ta!

    1. Hi Steve,
      In relation to crosswords ‘parsing’ simply means breaking a clue down into its component parts to arrive at the answer. It’s a way of indicating – ‘I didn’t just bung in what would fit, I worked it out from the wordplay’!

      1. Thanks, Jane that explains it. I find I have been doing that all along but just didn’t know it was called “parsing”. I knew that “to parse” was the breaking down of a sentence into its component parts but did not know it extended to crossword clues.

    2. To parse a clue means that you analyse all the wordplay to get to the solution … if you do that there will be no need to bung-in the answer.

      I’m sure that the cognoscenti on this site will provide a better definition.

      1. Your definition is eminently understandable, Stan. Still doesn’t help me with today’s 6d mind!

            1. It sounds as if you don’t have the correct answer. I was at sea after reading BD’s explanation, so I consulted my thesaurus and found the correct answer – then I had my road to Damascus moment!

          1. Assuming that you have the correct checkers in place, there are only two possible words that will fit here (well, three if you count one that most of us have never heard of!). Follow BD’s instructions and enter the ‘A’ from the clue followed by someone detained at her majesty’s pleasure whose first two letters – IN – have been reversed.
            Stir yourself into action, Steve!

            1. Flipping heck! The light has dawned! Thanks for the pointers everyone, especially Jane whose advice I took and stirred myself!

  17. Managed it on my own today with husband at rugby. However having scratched myself doing harvest flowers this morning I managed to smear blood all over the grid so don’t think I had better send it in…….?

  18. Putting the incorrect answer in for 20d held me up for ages and not thinking about 6d didn’t help my cause either. A definitely bad day at the office! However with help from BD I eventually completed.
    24a was my favourite.
    Thanks to the setter foe a very sneaky challenge! And thanks to BD for the hints!

  19. Got the wrong phrase in 14a which held me up for a while.
    All done now.
    Thanks to big Dave and setter.
    **/***

  20. A thoughtful crossword today that required open wavelength solving. Parsing of a couple of the clues was troublesome (6d mentioned ) but this was eminently solvable with focus & concentration… my heavens I’ve just said that to my daughter about her homework 😳😱
    2.5*/4*
    Thanks to setter & BD for the review.

  21. This was a really hard workout for me, needing copious use of e-help, but I found it hugely enjoyable. There were so many red herrings and I followed every one. I did need BD’s help to unravel some of them. I just loved it all, that doesn’t happen often with such a tricky puzzle.
    I thought 14a was really smile worthy, like Jane I also liked the old boy in woolly drawers, so much to like.
    I had to visit BD’s mine of information for the crickety bit at 13a.
    Thanks to our Saturday setter and to BD for his hints and pics, needed today!

  22. A dead heat for me today between 24a and 6d for COTD. Overall a real pleasure to solve and very enjoyable. Some nice misdirection to increase the fun.

    Thanks very much setter for the challenge and to BD.

  23. After battling with 6d, which I solved after help from Jane, Stan and Merusa I have to now declare this to be my COTD.

    A very clever clue. Thanks to the setter.

  24. Don;t really care about the rest of the puzzle but 7d made me very angry. It was STUPID in the extreme. xx in Russian means yes IT DOES NOT MEAN VERY WELL. I am having to contain myself in saying what my opinion of this setter is. It would only get redacted by BD.

    1. In Chambers Thesaurus, under yes, you will find “adv, interj.: right, quite, absolutely, certainly, agreed, of course, affirmative, very well, sure, indeed, all right, OK, definitely, by all means, rather, yah, aye, ja wohl; Scot ou ay old yea colloq. yeah, yep, and how”

  25. I really enjoyed this one and I still have Gazza’s NTSPP to look forward to.
    I would have fallen into the 6d trap but couldn’t make sense of it so didn’t.
    Had a spot of bother with 11a because it was so obviously an anagram – but it wasn’t. Dim.
    Lots of very good clues including 14, 21 and 24a and 20d so my favourite is one of these.
    Thanks to the setter and to BD.
    Think I’ll see if my will-power is up to saving Gazza’s crossword until tomorrow – probably not.

  26. So much early talk about 6d threw me into a panic, and I had to check the review. I was fine for once. That’s not usually the case. Today’s puzzle was a good mix of fair clues and head scratchers. Thank you setter and BD. Can I justify watching “Strictly” after watching so much rugby today?

      1. This came on the tele after we crossed the pond, so have never understood the national obsession with this program, and the British Bake Off thingy too. That said, you still produce the best TV dramas and wish we could get more of them over here.

    1. Florence – ignore MalcolmR completely and watch “Strictly”! I love it!
      I think there are quite a few closet watchers of it so I’m going to “out” them and say that I know for a fact that CS does and I’m pretty sure that BD and Mrs BD also do.
      I hope you enjoy it – at least it’ll keep my sticky little paws off the NTSPP until tomorrow!

      1. Oh dear me, me too. Definitely not a closet watcher. It’s faithfully recorded every week so I don’t run the risk of missing a single minute!

  27. One of those puzzles where there are a few gaps, put it down, come back later and everything makes sense. Well except for 16d as I have never heard of that name for a mushroom so had to resort to electronic help. Also fell into the 6d trap, like a lot of others. So all done, and enjoyed. Might have a go at Gazza’s NTSP later. Thanks to setter and Big Dave. That’s three good days in a row, so holding breath for what Dada will offer tomorrow.

  28. Hard work but very enjoyable. Was almost foxed by the fungus in 16d and then found it in the recesses of the memory bank but had to google it to be sure. My last two were 20d and 21a which were solved only with help from BD- thank you. Didn’t quite understand 13 across or what it had to do with cricket?

    1. BD’s hint tells you what it has to do with cricket, it is also one of the definitions of the two-letter words in your solution, although you will have to search for it in amongst all the others in the dictionary

  29. A charming puzzle , the south east corner caused me the most problems, as in which grimace, I initially opted for another one.
    Thanks to all concerned .

  30. At last I’ve managed to complete the crossword on the day I got the paper- hooray! As usual I was very grateful for some of the hints but managed most on my own. Missed Strictly as had to rush round to babysit granddaughters as son in law cut some of his fingers very badly and my daughter had to get him to A and E. All okay now and I’ve thrown the mandolin thingy out. Many thanks to BD and the setter.

  31. 7d is a genius clue – it took an hour to crack it. Unfortunately, anyone younger than 70 would be unlikely to parse this.

  32. Very enjoyable, beaten by 6d…new ones for the memory banks, the mushroom and Russian for ‘very well’ (ho ho).
    Thanks all

  33. A few wrong ones yesterday, eg 6d like many, and 15d so couldn’t square up 25 and 27a. If it wasn’t for the hints I’d be sunk! Thanks BD. Enjoyed the puzzle but annoyed with myself for being a bit thick!
    12a was the best in my view, especially as PC people might get worked up about it!

  34. Almost there with my trusty Franklin device and eschewing BD’s hints but I still can’t find a sensible answer to 3d! Grrr! Help!

      1. Thank you, you wonderful person, for putting me out of my misery! It was the contained element that had me snookered.

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