DT 29183 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29183

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29183

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

A brisk southerly blowing here today. On our regular walk this morning we could have (should have) reversed the direction of our circuit, but being creatures of habit, we chose to put our heads down and battle into the head wind on the ocean beach third of the route. Bracing and invigorating!

All the usual Wednesday fun from Jay. We completed this within our 2 star time but there were several answers in the bottom half that gave us pause for thought.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Independent young reporter in state should see development (10)
INCUBATION : I(ndependent), then a three letter word for a junior reporter is inside a state or country.

6a     Group offering advice after son shows evidence of healing (4)
SCAB : The abbreviation for son and then the acronym for Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

10a     Reputation of old party sure to be exposed (5)
ODOUR : O(ld) then the two letter party or get-together and the middle two letters (exposed) of sure.

11a     Soldiers will be this ignorant having lost one source of news (9)
UNIFORMED : Find a word for ignorant or not ‘in the know’ and remove one of the instances of the first letter of news.

12a     Old account describing renovation of chair (7)
ARCHAIC : The abbreviation for account surrounds an anagram (renovation of) of CHAIR.

13a     Treat with contempt as showing signs of exhaustion (3,4)
RUN DOWN : A double definition.

14a     Imaginative log quietly growing (12)
ENTERPRISING : Log or write into a list or diary, then the musical letter for quietly and growing or moving upwards.

18a     Plant that’s traditionally seen at breakfast? (5-3-4)
BACON-AND-EGGS : The wordplay is a classic breakfast dish.

21a     Help for newsreader reporting traffic congestion? (7)
AUTOCUE : The answer when split 4,3 sounds like (reporting) a long line of motor vehicles.

23a     European setting one boxer in bronze (7)
ITALIAN : The Roman numeral one and the boxer aka Cassius Clay is inside the colour obtained by sunbathing.

24a     Popular accountant stifled by banal complex (9)
INTRICATE : The two letter popular and then the acronym for a Chartered Accountant is within a synonym for banal.

25a     Joint covering end of ski lift (5)
HOICK : The final letter of ski is inside a joint that is often used as a base for soup.

26a     Prison lift (4)
NICK : A double definition. Two informal meanings here. The second one could also be to ‘half inch’.

27a     Where you may find children with no class? (10)
PLAYGROUND : A general description of the part of  school used by children when not in a teaching room.

Down

1d     Line offered by Boris, panicked about answer? (6)
ISOBAR : An anagram (panicked) of BORIS contains A(nswer).

2d     First-class option (6)
CHOICE : A double definition.  The first is a ‘youth’ word for desirable.

3d     Disallow winning golf shot, getting concession (10,4)
BARGAINING CHIP : String together synonyms for disallow or prohibit and winning or obtaining, and then a golf shot that lifts the ball into the air in the hope that it will land on the green.

4d     Law enforcement staff? (9)
TRUNCHEON : A cryptic definition of a police baton.

5d     Coppice material seeing boost in Eire regularly (5)
OSIER : Alternate letters found in three words of the clue.

7d     State agents must arrest a married bloke (8)
CAMBODIA : American spies surround ‘A’ from the clue, M(arried), and an informal bloke.

8d     Repartee may be poor — at home with a case of gangrene! (8)
BADINAGE : Poor or not good, then the two letter ‘at home’, ‘A’ from the clue, and the first and last letters of gangrene.

9d     Establishment figure discovered in the RAF upset about head of government (8,6)
FOUNDING FATHER : A synonym for discovered, then ‘in’ from the clue. Next comes the first letter of government and finally, the reversal of RAF surrounds ‘the’ from the clue. (That took
some putting together!)

15d     Summary with bank opening late must be just so (9)
PRECISELY : A brief summary is followed by bank or depend on without its first letter (opening late).

16d     Slight injury of a supporter is no different (8)
ABRASION : ‘A’ from the clue, then a female undergarment supporter and an anagram (different) of IS NO).

17d     Delighted, seeing European Commission interference (8)
ECSTATIC : The acronym for the European Commission and then interference on a radio transmitter.

19d     Note story with universal setting (6)
MILIEU : A note on the sol-fa scale, then a story or untruth plus U(niversal).

20d     Last of casualties has bare wound (6)
SNAKED : The final letter of casualties and then bare or undressed.  (It helps when you pronounce wound to rhyme with sound.)

22d     Half of them will have trouble getting message (5)
EMAIL : The second half of the word ‘them’ and then ‘have trouble’ or ‘be unwell’.

21a was our last one in and is our favourite today.

Quickie pun    pause    +    whole    =    poor soul

43 comments on “DT 29183

  1. I would have had this done in a straight ** time, but I made a mistake with 5d which made the NE impossible. I could have sworn there was a word OSTER. Oh well.

    Otherwise a very enjoyable time was had solving this Jay puzzle, so thanks to him and the 2Ks.

    1. There is a word ‘ostler’, who, in past times, was employed to care for horses at an inn.
      I also was thinking along those lines.

  2. Unlike Malcolm I had no trouble with 5d, not least because I’ve spent the last two days helping Mr CS pollard a very large twisted willow tree

    A nice Wednesday puzzle – thank you to Jay and the 2Ks

  3. Very enjoyable for me too. The last two (19d and 21a) took me far longer than they should have done and I can’t now see why.

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks

  4. I knew I had made a major mistake when drink was the only possible answer for 25a. Thanks to the hints from the 2Kiwis I managed to sort it out. Thanks to Jay and the NZ helpers for a challenging morning.

  5. That was a pleasant challenge. Failed to parse 10a and 19d, tried to justify presence of Ely in 15d and for some time was working on injury for 20d and different last 2 letters for 25a. SE last to come to heel not helped by using groups in 27a – silly me. Fav was 4d. Thank you Jay and 2Kiwis.

  6. a lovely puzzle. last one in was 21a as with all the checkers in place all i could see for some time was article.

      1. And me, I then tried reading the clue instead of chucking in any old word that fitted, in this case article and it fell into place.

    1. I had attaché for help or aide. Couldn’t parse it and take it out of my head either.
      Failed completely.

  7. I did check with the BRB over the definitions of 10a & 19d but should have known better than to question the meticulous setting of our Wednesday compiler!
    No particular favourite today but 1&23a get extra points for the delightful illustrations.

    Thanks to Jay and to our 2Ks, who sound as though they’ve blown away any suggestion of cobwebs!

  8. Held up in the SE corner and had trouble parsing a few even with the answer in. Thought 18a should be the other way round. 21a favourite. Ta to all.

  9. Apparently continuing a developing trend of not starting with the Downs in either direction for completion at a gallop – **/***.
    Favourite – 3d.
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.
    P.S. The Donnybrook Toughie is quite ‘accessible.’

  10. Thanks to Jay and to the 2 Kiwis for the review and hints. A very enjoyable puzzle from Jay as usual. I had no major holdups, must’ve been on the right wavelength. I hadn’t heard of the plant in 18a. Last in was 7d, 21a made me laugh. Favourite was 4d. Super puzzle. Was 2*/4* for me.

  11. Fun, a delight to complete and enjoyable. It is a Wednesday puzzle from Jay so not much more needs to be added. 21a raised the biggest laugh so that is elevated to my COTD.

    Thanks to all three birds.

  12. Spot on today from Jay and deserving of a ***/****.
    Liked the NW corner, where I always try to start-especially 1a.
    Last in was 25a-the joint eluded me for ages.
    Favourite was the 9d charade.
    Most enjoyable solve thanks 2 K’s for the pics.

  13. My experience was similar to the 2 Ks. Whilst I finished in ** time, the clues in the bottom half gave me some problems. So thanks to the Kiwis for help in parsong 21a and 23a. The synonym at 14a is a bit of a stretch but 8d and 20d were enjoyable so thanks to the setter.

  14. I’d come across the poached egg plant, but not the 18, although it had to be what it was.

    9d took me ages to put together, but my last one was 25a because I was obsessed with looking for a human joint rather than what it was and the answer was a bit out of the ordinary, although I have been known to say it.

    I thought it was a beautifully put-together puzzle which put me into 3* without aids, although I should have done better.
    Thanks to setter and our intrepid NZ friends for the parsing hint at the end of 15d.
    What a pleasure it would be to have a beach walk available nearer than 100 miles away.

  15. I didn’t understand the ‘ely’ bit of 15d, so thanks for the explanation, a bit of stretch!
    19d was a bit of a bung-in, I forgot the note! That needed to be checked with Google.
    Otherwise usual excellence from Jay.
    Many thanks to 2xK also.

  16. An excellent puzzle, as ever, from Jay. Please keep them coming!
    The SE corner resisted for the longest and I loved how we were deliberately enticed to pronounce wound incorrectly in 20d.
    I wrestled with attache and article for 21a, before the amusing solution revealed itself.
    Great fun and thanks to our Kiwi bloggers. Please tell your All Blacks to be gentle with our lads if we meet you in the Semi-Final!

  17. Bit trickier than yesterday but enjoyable nonetheless. Needed the hints to explain the bank in 15d and 19d was a struggle as I couldn’t unravel the clue or knew the definition of the answer. Got it in the end by the checking letters.
    Clue of the day and even the week for me was 21a. Didn’t really get the picture for 23a in the hints?
    Thx to all
    **(*)/***. (For 19d).

  18. Another Jay treat! It all went together nicely until I got to the SE corner. I’m not sure I’ve heard of 25a, sounds like a bumpkin to me. I put ‘hoist’ as the nearest I could get, made 20d impossible. I thought of the correct answer but dismissed it as making 25a strange. Shudda, orta put it in and used electronic help for 25a. Oh well.
    I liked lots, fave was 21a for the giggle, but 3d was pretty good too.
    Thanks to Jay and to the 2Kiwis for all the fun.

  19. Definitely one of those that felt more difficult while I was doing it than I think it was now, having finished it.
    Very few anagrams today.
    I’m not sure I’ve ever met 10a meaning what it does here.
    Like Bluebird I’ve heard of a poached egg plant but not 18a – maybe it’s the same thing – will look it up.
    25a took ages as did 9d and I couldn’t get one until I’d got the other, if that makes any sense.
    I’ve never heard of 3d.
    I liked 21a and 4d. My favourite was 8d – reminded me of the Wonderful Wogan.
    Thanks to Jay and to the 2K’s.

  20. Late on parade today nice crossword from Jay nothing to really scare me, lots of great clues and some head scratching. Clmpleted even at this late hour in good time.
    Thanks to the 2Ks and Jay.

  21. Morning all.
    As we predicted we weren’t the only ones looking at ‘article’ and ‘attache’ before working out the correct answer for 21a. A real chuckle when did get the right word. The 18a plant was something we had not met before but Jay had been very kind with the wordplay there.

    Cheers.

  22. Thanks to Jay and 2 Kiwis, an enjoyable puzzle today. Didn’t know the plants at 18a or 5d, and needed help for 25a. Laughed at 13a. As it is a chilly 87F and not too humid today here, thought I would go out and dig up some bushes the builder put it quite the wrong spot, and clean some windows. Aching back now, so was glad to sit down and finish this one.

  23. I quite liked this **/*** Although a stretched synonym for me in 10a jarred. Im sure I once used the word in 25a. But have never written it. Fell into the hoist camp which was clearly wrong. Needed the hints to check. I’m not sure about the joint either, is this still current? Nevertheless a big thanks to both, it helps me relax and concentrate foe a while.

    Can anyone help. I don’t get any response if I tick the box for keep me informed on this and other sites. I must have upset WordPress somehow.

  24. Seems I was on my own in getting hoist for 25a. Never heard of the base for soup. Obviously this made 20d impossible so I needed the hint. Then needed the hint for 25a.

    Otherwise reasonably straightforward, even without having heard of the plant in 18a.

    Favourite clue was 9d.

    ***/****

    1. I had hoist too initially, thinking maybe it had something to do with joints (eg bars/restaurants) and hosting people, but right answer finally clicked when I worked out 20d.

  25. As per my answer to Yellowolf, I didn’t get 21a.
    Unfortunately,,it wasn’t the only one.
    Failed on 25a. Knew of hoist but not the word in question.
    Thanks to Jay and to 2ks for the review.

  26. The left half fell into place quite quickly, no so with the right. Funny, my wife and I were out walking before I started this xw and she remarked that a flower we saw looked like ‘bacon and eggs’. First time I’d heard of it but how handy! Last to go in was 27a. So obvious when the penny dropped so it’s my favourite. Thanks to the setter and 2Ks for their extra info🦇

  27. Lovely puzzle from Jay as usual, and clever how he manages to make amusing contemporary references to Europe, Boris etc. Too many favourites to choose.

  28. 3*/4*…held up for a while in the SE
    liked 8D “repartee may be poor — at home with a case of gangrene! (8)”

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