DT 29177 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29177

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29177

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

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

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

We seem to have been all over the place lately. Health issues for a very good, long-standing friend has meant lots of to, from, and around Wellington trips for us. However we are both home again now so able to tackle this week’s Jay puzzle as usual.

The weather is at last starting to warm up a bit. One of us is actually wearing shorts today.

We found this puzzle at the trickier end of Jay’s spectrum and even considered the possibility of giving it 4 difficulty stars.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

7a     Son needs guts, ignoring a cause of great suffering (7)
SCOURGE : The abbreviation for son and a synonym for guts or valour has the letter ‘A’ removed from within it.

8a     Irritation caused by hollow cough and a smile (7)
CHAGRIN : The first and last letters (hollow) of cough, ‘A’ from the clue and then a broad smile.

10a     Points at a silly starter course (9)
ANTIPASTO : An anagram (silly) of POINTS AT A.

11a     Noise from family group beginning to grate (5)
CLANG : A family group, possibly with Scottish origins and then the first letter of grate.

12a     Common resources may see sailing vessel return (5)
POOLS : The reversal of a one-masted, cutter-rigged, sailing vessel.

13a     Shelter from sun then is unusual (6,3)
NISSEN HUT : An anagram (unusual) of SUN THEN IS.

15a     Scold daughter about tiny plant that causes hay fever (7)
RAGWEED : A three letter word for scold or tease, then another word for tiny and D(aughter).

17a     An amount of money reportedly for a dish? (7)
ANTENNA : ‘An’ from the clue and a homophone of a banknote that may have a picture of Jane Austen.

18a     Commander-in-Chief must arrest poor inmate filming? (9)
CINEMATIC : The three letters signifying a Commander-in-Chief surround an anagram (poor) of INMATE.

20a     Notes consequences (5)
MUSIC : A double definition. The consequences are what must be faced following a misdeed.

21a     Article written by Channel island statesman? (5)
IOWAN : The three letters signifying an island that is in the English Channel (but not one of the Channel Islands), and then the two letter indefinite article.

23a     Caught short and this may be beaten (5,4)
SNARE DRUM : When the answer is split 6,3 we have a synonym for caught and a spirit that could be ordered as a ‘short’ in a pub.

24a     Pay for former head to tour Italy (7)
EXPIATE : The two letter ‘former’ and an old or humorous word for the crown of the head contains the IVR code for Italy.

25a     Sort of pigment required by working lineman (7)
MELANIN : An anagram (working) of LINEMAN.

Down

1d     Opening heart, perhaps, and play this (5,5)
MOUTH ORGAN : An opening that could be where a river meets the sea, and a part of a living body that the heart is an example of.

2d     Complaints mature in case of grievances (6)
GRIPES : The first and last letters (case) of grievances surround mature or ready for eating.

3d     Argued with leader going for speakers ultimately with experience (8)
SEASONED : Start with a synonym for argued and replace its first letter (an R) with the final letter of speakers.

4d     Such clues may be an affliction (6)
ACROSS : A single word synonym for ‘An’ and an affliction that has to be borne.

5d     Wide bridges needing time and funds (3,5)
WAR CHEST : The cricket abbreviation for wide, then bridges or curved spans and finally T(ime).

6d     Care assistants will accept penalties given here (4)
AREA : A football clue. It’s a lurker.

7d     Pointed performance included in cost is cheating (5,8)
SHARP PRACTICE : A word meaning ‘having a point’ and then a performance or deed is enclosed by the cost of an item for purchase.

9d     Horologists must support free thing for such workers (5-8)
NIGHT-WATCHMEN : An anagram (free) of THING and then horologists described by the smaller timepieces they deal with.

14d     Writing bound to be a feat of athleticism (10)
HANDSPRING : Writing that is produced manually, and then bound or leap.

16d     Strange metal boxes people used for cheese (8)
EMMENTAL : An anagram (strange) of METAL surrounds (boxes) male people.

17d     Welcomes allegations — under a cloud at first (8)
ACCLAIMS : Start with ‘A’ from the clue and the first letter of cloud, and then allegations or assertions.

19d     Form of street canopy (6)
TESTER : An anagram (form of) of STREET.

20d     Ponder broadcast and slip inside for some breakfast (6)
MUESLI : What sounds like (broadcast) a word meaning ‘to ponder’ is followed by the two internal letters of slip.

22d     Shed tears seeing moderate Tory embracing party’s leader (4)
WEPT : The word used by Margaret Thatcher to describe a moderate Tory contains the first letter of party.

Too many excellent clues for us to pick a favourite.

Quickie pun     chore     +    collate    =    chocolate

55 comments on “DT 29177

  1. Not my best performance, in fact my worst for a back-pager for some time. It was mainly the SE corner that held me up, and I had to resort to electronics to buy a couple of answers that allowed me to complete the grid.

    I saw the anagram at 25a and thought “No, you’re thinking of melatonin”. I got the second word of 23a, but couldn’t recall the first. 14d is just a stretch too far for me.

    I would have had a whinge about the dish in 17a, until I spotted the question mark.

    Perhaps I was just short of sleep.

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2 Ks.

  2. I thought this was going to be really tricky but, once I got on the right wavelength, it was finished in ** time. It was quite enjoyable (***/****) and 9d, 8a and 21a were my favourites. The former really amused me, once the penny
    dropped. So thanks to Jay andto the 2 Kiwis.

  3. 3*/4*. What is there left to say about Jay’s puzzles? Brilliant again!

    My podium comprises three in a row: 20a, 21a & 23a.

    Many thanks to Jay & the 2Ks.

    1. Doing this late in the day I have to agree with you word for word.

      Thanks Birds.

  4. Could anyone explain to me why 19d is a canopy. Thanks really enjoyed today’s puzzle and once I got going was fairly straightforward even though I can’t see the meaning of 19d

      1. And those beds sometimes found in hotel suites with hangings at the ‘pillow’ end only are a half-tester

    1. And it’s worth trying to remember it because it an oldie but goodie and will no doubt appear again.

  5. Jay hasn’t let us down–another fine and entertaining puzzle. Some of our younger brethren might have a problem with 13a. I hadn’t heard of the gentleman at 21a, but easily worked out. Favourites were 5d, 6d, 14d and 8a with 20a streets ahead of the pack.

    1. The person in 21a is not any particular person but someone from a specific state. cf Texan.

  6. I’m having a new kichen fitted and I don’t know if I was distracted by that but I found this really difficult , the hardest back pager for a while.
    I’d never heard of 14d but guessed it from the checkers and got 24a (also new) from the wordplay. Couldn’t parse 3d, that’s because I had “reasoned”….doh! so a bit of an off day for me.
    I’ve ticked 8a plus 4, 6 and 22d for special mention.
    4.5*/3*
    Many thanks to Jay and to the 2Ks for their excellent explanations, a couple of wich were needed today.

  7. Mr Wednesday as reliable as ever. 4d made me smile thinking of CS’s assertion that with a Jay crossword it’s invariably easier to start with the ‘downs’ but my top two comprised 20&23a.

    Thanks to Jay and to our 2Ks. Our postman is still resolutely wearing his shorts – I suspect he must have extremely hairy legs!

    1. With the exception of about four days, I’ve been wearing shorts here in ‘tropical’ Shropshire since the end of March. No doubt I’ll have to give in sooner or later, but I can’t bear to be in long trousers these days. Nice Jay crossword puzzle – most enjoyable . . . . as per usual. Thanks Jay and 2Ks. :-)

  8. Trying to start with the Downs, going in either direction, did not work today and completion was ‘randomly erratic’ with a couple of ‘Acrosses’ followed by a couple of ‘Downs’, et seq, for completion at a fast canter – ***/***.
    Favourite – 7d – although I suspect it is an oldie but goodie.
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  9. Hit the deck running with the across clues. Mistake on 21a (a former Irish prime minister) until corrected when the checkers all went in and I remembered the other island is spelt with an M not an N. Stupid! Overall **/**** which was about the same with today’s Toughie which I can recommend. Thanks to all three birds.

  10. Bit of a tussle. Downs were easier. Thought 5d was clever.. Needed hint for 21a I was on the wrong islands. I’d never heard of 19d, but it is in BRB.

  11. Just forgot to swap the first letter of 3d. Silly. Took me a moment to remember there was another Channel Island. Incidentally, Lundy is in the Bristol Channel. I wonder when that will be used to confuse us?

  12. Not my best day by a long chalk.
    Lots of bung ins and electeonic help required.

    Thanks to the setter and the 2 Kiwis.

    Is anyone else wondering which one is wearing shorts?
    My money is on Colin…for no particular reason.

  13. Help! I cannot get rid of the stuttering on the iPad. I know it’s not the DT (for a change!); the recent Apple update is to blame, but…
    I have d/l the DT app on several occasions but nothing seems to work.
    Nobody else appears to be suffering…
    Any suggestions please? And no, I am not going back to the print version!

    1. The problems are well documented and work is apparently under way to issue fixes, so you could just put up with it until patches arrive – great
      You have two other options: Uninstall the update, which may well prove problematic; Back-up all of your data (ie cloud sync) and factory reset your device, then turn auto update off
      A headache either way

      1. Thanks LR. I was afraid that those were the only options!
        Where is the documentation please?

        1. The reset is usually under settings>general or similar but in terms of exactly how to do it, it’s device specific so you’ll need to Google that I’m afraid
          For more info just Google iPad update problems (13.1.2) – you are not alone!

          1. Thanks again LR; it was the latter info I was referring to. I have no intention of messing with Mr Apple I can assure you!

  14. Thought Jay was going to beat me after only half completed but it’s amazing how a break can put a completely different complexion on the task in hand and hey presto I made it. 16d didn’t come immediately to mind because I thought there should be an ‘h’ before the final ‘al’? Didn’t make any difference but I began 3d with wrong letter. Liked the surface of 19d anagram. Thank you Jay and 2Kiwis.

  15. In spite of the machine problems still a lovely Wednesday which was great fun to solve. 7a was my top clue.
    Thanks to Jay, and to the Kiwis for the review.

  16. Some lovely clues today but some pushed the boundaries a bit. Yes I know the phrase “he’s got a lovely hand” in reference to his handwriting but it’s never used otherwise. 7and 9d with 24a my favourites today.

    Thanks to Jay and the two Kiwis.

  17. I thought this a very friendly Jay crossword – I just started at the top and …. As enjoyable as ever thank you to him and the 2Ks

  18. Usual standard of puzzle to be expected from Jay, although there were a few clues that didn’t ‘feel’ quite right (17a, 23a & 4d for example). Nevertheless, I enjoyed the solve with 24a as my favourite (amongst many others) due to it’s pithiness.

    Thanks to Jay for the puzzle and to the 2K’s for their blog.

    Unlike ‘Shropshirebloke’, I have to admit to having donned long trousers a few weeks ago – must be my age :yes:

  19. ****/****. I found this quite difficult but enjoyable. Needed electronic help to complete. My favourites were 23&24a. Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  20. Such a pleasure to have a Jay puzzle, I’m right on wavelength. I only had a problem with 21a, I followed the red herring all the way. I spent way too much time looking for a name to have an association with the CI.
    There were no more real problems, only 6d, natch, a football clue, but I knew it had to be a lurker.
    Like Angellov, I thought 16d had an “h”, but I just did what Jay told me to do.
    So much to like, fave 5d? Maybe, or 20a, or 23a – I give up, toss a coin.
    Thanks to Jay for the huge fun and the 2Kiwis for sorting 21a for me and explaining 6d.

  21. By the way, have any other iPad users noticed the DT site going really slowly after the recent update? It starts fine then slows right up on our 2 iPads.

    1. No but I have noticed problems with the new keyboard and the puzzles. I have to hit a letter twice to get it to enter and the delete function is now via the scissors?
      Not good.
      4.5* / 2 for the puzzle today, could work most of the wordplay out.

  22. Well above my level this, so much for volunteering to help with the hints!
    Pride comes before a fall, as they say.
    Thanks 2xK’s and Jay for showing my true solving ability.

  23. A hard slow but worthy effort tonight, with some difficult clues. The clues were all solvable but missed a couple of crucial ones, so made my own job far harder,,,, Doh!
    4*/4*
    Many thanks to Jay & 2KWS for review & direction

  24. Morning all.
    Quite a mixed response to this one. As we said in the intro it did take us somewhat longer to solve and parse than is often the case so we were expecting some solvers would be like us.
    Fine weather continues and forecast to get into the high teens today. Shorts for golf perhaps?
    Cheers.

  25. Really struggled today, but still enjoyed working the answers out using the helpful blog.
    Thanks Kiwis and Jay.

  26. Just couldn’t get on wavelength, in fact I think I was out in space… The two sports clues didn’t help either. To my 8d, I had to check too many hints (although that was one of the first I penned in), and I don’t think it was a terribly hard puzzle. Just me and lack of concentration I guess. Thanks to Jay and 2Kiwis. Just hoping I can do better tomorrow.

  27. Apologies for joining late. I was stumped with the SE corner thanks to 14d. Handspring? That’s a back flip for mine. I’ll chalk up another win for Jay. My favourite, 21a. Excellent misdirection. Now back to the rugby. Shame England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 v France 🇫🇷 is off. I’m sure MP will be miffed. Thanks J and 2Ks…🦇

  28. Right. Extremely challenging. Quite a number of solutions had to be mechanically found and, only then, could the clue be parsed. I managed to complete without Hints – but it took me two days. Lucky that I have time on my hands!

  29. Obtained Fri am, solved Fri aft. An excellent puzzle with fine clues providing a decent challenge and much enjoyment/entertainment. Favs: 21a – I was initially fooled (or maybe foolish) into thinking about those other islands, and 23a. 3.5* / 4*

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