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DT 29167

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29167

Hints and tips by Deep Threat

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BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Good morning from South Staffs on a cloudy, grey day.

Nothing too obscure in today’s Giovanni, and a rather clever construction in 5d, where the answer was obvious, but it took me a while to spot how the parsing worked.

In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the ANSWER buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

8a           Ferry soldiers back repeatedly (2-2)
RO-RO – Start with the usual abbreviation for soldiers who are not officers, reverse it (back) and repeat. This is the sort of ferry where you drive on at one end and off at the other.

9a           Ellington? Not his first instrument! (3)
UKE – Remove the first letter from the title usually accorded to this famous musician, to get a small plucked instrument.

10a         An examination in a chamber (6)
ATRIAL – The indefinite article followed by another word for an examination, especially one in court.

11a         Problem involving upper-class person acting insincerely (6)
POSEUR – another word for a problem or puzzle, wrapped around the letter which indicates ‘upper-class’.

12a         Mythical daughter, opponent no longer with us (8)
ANTIGONE – A four-letter prefix, often used on its own to indicate an opponent of something, followed by ‘no longer with us’ or ‘having left’. The answer is the daughter of Oedipus from Greek mythology, and is also the title character in a play by Jean Anouilh.

13a         Fresh thought about helping to restrict opposing team (15)
RECONSIDERATION – Split the answer (2,3,4,6) and you have the Latin abbreviation for about or concerning, another short word for ‘opposing’, a sports team, and a helping of food.

15a         Country fellows settling in a sort of valley (7)
ARMENIA – A (from the clue) and a drowned valley wrapped around some fellows or chaps.

17a         Eccentric, like policeman who has finished duty? (7)
OFFBEAT – Split (3,4) this could describe a policeman who has finished his foot patrol.

20a         Severest edict to upset employees in shops (5,10)
STORE DETECTIVES – Anagram (upset) of SEVEREST EDICT TO.

23a         Game that gets the French going round a monument? (8)
LACROSSE – The French definite article wrapped around A (from the clue) and the sort of monument often found in graveyards.

Image result for lacrosse

25a         Gas supplying energy to most of Kent region (6)
ETHANE Energy followed by the former Isle at the east end of Kent, with its last letter removed.

26a         Scoundrels against Her Majesty — one swears (6)
CURSER – Some scoundrels or dogs followed by the Queen’s regnal cipher.

27a         Big bird from Cornwall heading west (3)
ROC – Hidden in reverse (heading west) in the clue.

28a         Secure hair (4)
LOCK – Double definition, the first a verb, the second a piece of hair.

Down

1d           Moody Maureen got out of bed (6)
MOROSE – A short form of the name Maureen, followed by ‘got out of bed’.

2d           Loose men terribly in need of company? (8)
LONESOME – Anagram (terribly) of LOOSE MEN.

3d           Dawn working hard to bring fresh hope for the economy? (7,8)
SUNRISE INDUSTRY – The first word of the answer is another word for ‘dawn’, the second another word for ‘working hard’. The whole is a new and rapidly-growing business sector, often involving electronics.

4d           Once again locks up fellow among left-wingers (7)
REMANDS – The usual left-wing politicians wrapped around another word for ‘fellow’.

5d           Graduate briefly employed by Birmingham school (6,2,7)
MASTER OF SCIENCE – The short form of this university qualification is hidden in BirminghaM School.

6d           It’s correct to go after loud alarm (6)
FRIGHT – The musical symbol for ‘loud’ followed by ‘correct’ or ‘accurate’.

7d           Murderer in hut, concealing body initially (4)
CAIN – Remove the first letter (initially) of Body from another word for a hut, and you get the first murderer in the Bible. He killed his brother Abel.

14d         Cells seen as round with very small area (3)
OVA – Put together the round letter, Very and Area.

16d         Revolutionary member of political party mostly offering nonsense (3)
ROT – Remove the final letter (mostly) from the informal name of one of the main UK political parties, then reverse (revolutionary) the result.

18d         Bishop came down hard on diocese with casual attitude? (8)
BLITHELY – Put together the chess notation for a bishop, ‘came down’ (as a plane or bird might), Hard, and the East Anglian diocese beloved of crossword setters.

19d         Deep down that somehow engages listener (2,5)
AT HEART – Anagram (somehow) of THAT wrapped around the organ used for listening.

21d         Sartre turned out to be most unusual (6)
RAREST – Anagram (turned out) of SARTRE.

22d         Girl from French city undermining continental community (6)
EUNICE – The initials of the continental community we are supposed to be leaving, followed by city on the Mediterranean coast of France.

24d         Plant on a wall pruned and growing upwards (4)
ARUM – Remove the final letter (pruned) from something (such as a painting) which is ‘on a wall’, then reverse the result (growing upwards).

Image result for arum lily


The Quick Crossword pun CHEEPS + KATE = CHEAPSKATE

41 comments on “DT 29167

  1. I sailed through most of this and then the last few held me up a lot. As always on a Friday, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

    Thanks to DT for the explanation to 5d and 24d. I stymied myself for a while in putting the wrong first word for 5d which I couldn’t parse, but then I couldn’t fully parse the correction either. My favourite was 18d.

    Many thanks to all.

  2. Disagree with the comment “nothing too obscure”. There were a couple I found very obscure! Never heard the word for a drowned valley and 3D was another new term for me. I”m old enough to know 9a but too old for 3D! Favourite 7a. ***/**

  3. Very rainy in my bit of the county, so a Giovanni puzzle was the ideal way of whiling away the time. Several bung ins, especially 5 down, which now it has been parsed for me just has to be my clue of the day. Well up to the standard of puzzle that we have come to expect and appreciate from Mr Manley. My thanks to him and also to DT for some very helpful parsings.

  4. Nothing to disturb the horses in this crossword although I did have to use the grey cells in the lower section. Some interesting clues of which my favourite was 5d which I didn’t fully understand the parsing until I read the review.
    Thanks to Giovanni, and to DT for the explanations!

  5. No huge problems except for the drowned valley in 15a (RIA to me is Radio Immuno Assay). 5d was the cleverest clue which I got from the checking letters but needed the hints to explain the Birmingham School. My fav was 25a.
    Thx to Giovanni for an excellent puzzle and to Deep Threat for the likewise hints.
    **/****

  6. Difficult words for me 12a 25a and parsing of others; 5d would never have been guessed.
    So finished with BD’s help. ***/***

  7. Agree with earlier comments 😃 **/*** I arrive at the answer to 5d but could not understand why 🤔 Thanks for the explanation Favourites were 25d and 18d 🤗 Thanks to DT and to Giovanni 👍 Nice grid on the Quick Crossword

  8. First puzzle completed since returning from holiday a week ago. Taken all this time to get back in the swing. I too didn’t understand how I got 5d so thanks for the explanation. Great puzzle.

  9. 5d my clear favourite once the coin hit the carpet. Like others, the final parsing eluded me until reading the review. As is often the case with a Giovanni puzzle, the odd obscurities were gettable through his concise wordplay. No problem as it is always good to learn a new word or phrase.

    Thanks for the tussle and enjoyment to The Don and to DT, especially for the 5d explanation.

  10. Slow start today mainly due to the internet access here in sunny and very hot Majorca . The crossword got off to a fast start though but , like others , 5D needed DT’s explanation and 12A verification . My COTD 17A .
    Greetings to everyone especially DT & Big G .

  11. Completed without hints. 15a was a bung in but I’ve since discovered drowned valley in BRB. Liked 5d- spotted mini lurker without hint!. Thanks to DT and Giovanni.

  12. Nice friendly Friday inside back pager – my hold up wasn’t the mini lurker in 5d but parsing 7d as for some mad reason (I blame Mr CS wittering in the background) I was trying to conceal the B in a hut!

    I wonder who else besides me remembers the daughter in 12a from their French A-Levels rather than a specialist knowledge of Greek mythology?

    Thanks to Giovanni and DT

    1. That 7d held me up too, eventually I bunged in the only murderer I could think of with only four letters.

  13. Another nice puzzle from G. All the left half and half of the right side went in nice and steady then I ground to halt and had to finish it off at home after leaving the bus, taking the difficulty rating up to 3*. Good clues, a reasonable challenge and very enjoyable. I got slightly delayed with 22d because the only word I could think of to fit in with the 3 checkers was EUNOCH! Then I realised it must be a girl’s name. Fav: 5d. 3* / 3.5*

  14. Giovanni gave me more cause for thought today than usual but, as ever, all very stimulating and enjoyable. NE quadrant last to yield mainly due to stupidly not tumbling to 7d chestnut and failure to fully parse 10a. Presumably MP easily recognised one of his aliases in 12a. Valley in 15a new to me. Thank you Messrs. DG and DT.
    After brief interlude of no problem now back to having to fill in my name/email.

  15. Remembered the valley but like others failed to parse 5d, and also 7d for good measure, managed to parse 3d,new to me also.
    Everything else was fine!
    Somewhere around a ***/***’Had Chirps Kate in the quickie -never mind there’s always tomorrow.

  16. For me the most enjoyable Friday puzzle for ages. One or two obscurities that you expect from this setter but offset by the brilliant 5d and 13a. Not sure the wordplay in 17a is applicable these days as when was the last time anyone saw a policeman (or woman oops) on foot patrol!
    Many thanks to Giovanni and to DT for their excellent works.

  17. Put in the answer for 5d but even after reading hints still do not see it. Must be thick even after doing Telegraph cryptic for 10 years!!!

  18. ***/****. Another cracking Friday puzzle. Like others I got 5d but didn’t see why until the hints (thanks DT) so this got the podium place. Had to google my thoughts around 12a but I did remember the drowned valley in 15d (Southampton was the example in that geography lesson). Thanks to Giovanni for a great mental workout.

  19. As ever on a Friday, all at sea with this, could have stared at this until Christmas and would not have finished.
    I must be a bit thick as there were plenty of obscutities for me!
    Thanks for the hints and Mr.G for the usual Friday comeuppance.

  20. Really enjoyed this but not easy, required a lot of lateral thinking.
    Like everyone else, I bunged in 5d with no clue why it should be, it just fit, so thanks DT for the unravelling – how clever is that?
    I didn’t know 3d but it was easy enough to work out with the checkers and google, likewise the ferry.
    However, I did remember the valley and mythical daughter.
    Thanks to Giovanni, that was a lot of fun, and to DT for explaining 5d, that was a goodie.

    1. Regarding the mythical daughter, was the male equivalent, Antigonus, not MP’s alias in a recent blog ?

      1. I’m not that well up on mythology, but I do remember Antigone, remotely. Yes, MF’s pseudonym was Antigonus, I was not familiar with him, but my autocorrect changed his name to Antigone when I was typing it and I remembered it from I don’t know how long ago!

  21. Arrived at the answers for 3&5d but have never come across 3d previously and have to join others in admitting to not being able to parse 5d.

    Thanks to DG and to DT for the blog. Haven’t heard that Elvis song before!

  22. I got off to a cracking start today but after solving half of the clues I ground to a halt. None of my parsing gave credible answers. I found some answers quite alien. I have never heard of “Ro-Ro” and completely forgot about the area in Kent. Not one of my favourites but it is Friday and puzzles on this day are often obscure.

    Sunrise moment?

    Many thanks to the Setter and to DT for the hints – I needed them today!

  23. I just don’t get on with Giovanni at all, I struggled and gave up, too many obscurities for me !
    I will keep trying though.
    Thanks to all.

  24. Late on duty today,,, thought this was very workmanlike where it just had to be solved.
    New expression in 3D .
    3*/3*
    Thanks to Giovanni & DT for review & hints.

  25. For me a *** for difficulty, several obscure words, but these were guessable. Thanks for the hints, as mentioned above, several were most assuredly needed !

    ***/***.

  26. This was a *****/* for me. I did even worse than yesterday (which was a *****/** for me).

    The DT is not worth £2 if I don’t enjoy the crossword. I will start scanning the crossword before purchase from now on.

    1. Don’t give up, Banana, I’ve been at it 35 years and am still learning, though increasingly competent. If there’s a Waitrose near you, do as I do. A free Telegraph with purchases over £10, so I get 3 or 4 a week via this method.

      1. I believe I pay L32 a year for the puzzles online, that’s about 8p a day, I think that’s quite reasonable. Admittedly, when you’re on a budget, I am, it’s quite a lot to find at one time!

  27. It’s getting too late to write a lengthy comment now so I’ll keep this one short.
    I didn’t find this too tricky – certainly not as much as usual Fridays for me.
    I wasn’t sure if the ‘bit of Kent’ was fair but no-one else has complained about it so I’ll shut up.
    5d had to be what it was but I would never have found it – husband did – well done him – he can’t even do cryptic crosswords!
    I did rather like the 24 ‘plant on the wall’ but clue of the day was 5d – never seen anything like it in my crosswording life!
    Thanks to Giovanni and to DT.

  28. Thanks to DT for the explanation for 5d – I got it, but didn’t know why. 5d has to be COTD, followed closely by 12a. Thanks to DT, and the setter!

  29. I’m rather late to this, I realise.
    Having been born and raised in Kent, with my late father being a cross-channel ferry captain, I had no problem with the ferry or the Kentish area. Other clues foxed me, however, and I had a few bung-ins and needed help. The sort-of-lurker in 5d was quite wonderful and gets my COTD now that I understand it!
    Thanks to Giovanni and DT.
    Now to move onto Saturday’s puzzle….

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