DT 29207 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29207

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29207

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

Over the last few days we have missed some of our regular beach walks because of various routine dental and medical appointments. Far less interesting to write about in the preamble so we’ll move straight on to today’s Jay puzzle. Much more fun.

 Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Feeling experienced by daughter after broken heart? (6)
HATRED : An anagram (broken) of HEART plus D(aughter).

5a     Courage and instinct about politician no one backed (8)
GUMPTION : The two letters for a politician are enclosed by the part of the body where intuitive feelings are said to arise (instinct). Then, the reversal of ‘no’ from the clue and the Roman numeral one.

9a     New pine kitchen? An awful bore (4,2,3,4)
PAIN IN THE NECK : An anagram (new) of PINE KITCHEN AN.

10a     Avoid putting favourites back on team (8)
SIDESTEP : Start with another word for a team and then the reversal of favourites that could be cats and dogs.

11a     Try blocking extremely spurious cuts (6)
SHEARS : The first and last letters of spurious surround (block) try in a law court.

12a     Small flat sort of poker with one ring (6)
STUDIO : One of the variants of poker as a card game followed by the Roman numeral one and the ring-shaped letter.

14a     During drinks, got up for flowers (3,5)
TEA ROSES : A word meaning got up is inside the drinks that might accompany cucumber sandwiches.

16a     Manxman perhaps needing company to replace is 23 (8)
COLANDER : Start with the word for a Manxman derived from the geographical nature of his home, and replace the IS at the beginning with the abbreviation for company.

19a     Temple leaving returning sea-dog appalled (6)
PAGODA : A reversed lurker hiding in the clue.

21a     Improve behaviour of soldiers with criminal record (6)
REFORM : Engineering soldiers and then an informal word for a criminal record.

23a     Riddle of second coach (8)
STRAINER : The abbreviation for second and a coach who might assist a sports team.

25a     Strikers perhaps full of iron with time before games (6,7)
SAFETY MATCHES : A three letter word meaning perhaps or for example surrounds the chemical symbol for iron and T(ime). The second part is games or sporting contests.

26a     Action taken about Welsh river estuary ultimately is naive (4-4)
DEWY-EYED : A four letter word for an action taken surrounds a Welsh river that forms part of the boundary with England, and finally the last letter of estuary.

27a     Busy editors, ignoring Independent, walked purposefully (6)
STRODE : An anagram (busy) of ED(i)TORS without the abbreviation for independent.

Down

2d     Nominate a parking issue (7)
APPOINT : ‘A’ from the clue then P(arking) and issue or discussion topic.

3d     Promote and congratulate with no pressure (5)
RAISE : Remove the abbreviation for pressure from congratulate or laud.

4d     Current deal, say, that’s floating around (9)
DRIFTWOOD : A current or slow flow and then what deal as a carpentry material is an example of.

5d     Fall apart, having won kitty with nothing in (2,2,3)
GO TO POT : Split the answer 3,1,3 and read the central character as a number rather than a letter.

6d     Gathers the writer set off (5)
MEETS : A personal pronoun and then an anagram (off) of SET.

7d     Seem upset wearing G-string for such a melody (5,4)
THEME SONG : An anagram (upset) of SEEM is enclosed by a skimpy item of underwear.

8d     This will produce a corn if fused (3,4)
OAK TREE : An all-in-one clue. Join together (fuse) two words in the clue.

13d     Bore just netting female insect (9)
DRAGONFLY : A bore or something tiresome, and then F(emale) is inside just or barely.

15d     Breaking up as a part needed for equipment (9)
APPARATUS : An anagram (breaking) of UP AS A PART.

17d     Finished second even without regulars to supervise (7)
OVERSEE : Finished or completed then S(econd) and alternate letters from ‘even’.

18d     Took for granted going topless and continued (7)
RESUMED : Remove the first letter from a word meaning took for granted.

20d     Shift editor treated wounds (7)
DRESSED : A shift as an item of clothing and then the abbreviation for editor.

22d     Friendly final check before end of day (5)
MATEY : Final check in a chess game and then the last letter of day.

24d     Divine liquid from Norwich originally (5)
ICHOR : And once again we finish up with a lurker, hiding in the clue.

Lots of ticks again this week but we will go with 13d as our favourite.

Quickie pun    for    +    thus    +    Tate    =    fourth estate

39 comments on “DT 29207

  1. Having normal blood-pressure today, this was done in a straightforward manner in a **/*** time.

    No bung-ins, no dubious synonyms and no GK; a lovely little challenge.

    Many thanks to the setter (Jay?) and the 2 Ks.

  2. Agree a straightforward puzzle today – no surprises. A**/*** thanks to the two kiwis. No wow! moments but quite enjoyable

  3. Took me a while to get a good foothold but once I did it all came together nicely and with it my appreciation of the skill of the setter…a sublime puzzle, I can only second Malcolm R’s second paragraph.
    Podium places in a strong field go to 21a plus 7 and 22d. 3*/4.5*
    Many thanks to the 3 birds for their excellent works.
    Ps..Was hoping we may have got a clip 4d by Travis…beautiful song.

  4. Another excellent Jay puzzle. My favourite clue was 4d once the penny dropped, which took a while because I mistakenly put in dearth for 1a. **/**** for me. Many thanks to the Kiwis and to Jay.

  5. What a joy of a puzzle so thank you Jay. So many contenders for favourite clue, but 12A made me laugh so the winner for me. Thanks to the 2Ks.

  6. A true Wednesday delight completed at a gallop – **/*****.
    Candidates for favourite – 10a, 25a, and 4d – and the winner is 25a.
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  7. Agree with others that this was Jay close to his best. Some excellent clues, with the rekrul at 19a coming top of my pile of goodies. In truth, I could have picked virtually any clue and been satisfied with my choice. Great fun.

    Thanks to the Wednesday Wizard and the 2Ks.

  8. A really enjoyable puzzle. Top half flew in, bottom needed more time. Absolutely loved the 16a/23a combo, just a quick glance at the illustration(s) in the hints was enough to make me laugh. They, and the beautiful 13d, were my favourites today.
    Many thanks to Jay and 2Ks.

  9. Well, it´s been very long time since pommette and I last solved a crossword this quickly. As usual we went through the across clues in order but not as usual we solved every one of them. Then we went through the downs and solved all of them too. I think last time we did that was with an Observer puzzle about 2 years ago.

    Some elegant clues from Jay so I´ll go for */****.

    Thanks to Jay for the brief entertainment and to the Kiwis.

    P.S. House continuing to dry out and some new furniture arriving tomorrow. Unfortunately it´s from IKEA so I´ll probably be spending the whole weekend with screwdriver in hand :sad:

  10. As everyone is agreed this is a superb puzzle for a sunny day here in North Yorkshire. 16a, 23a, and 13d my favourites today. Thanks to the 2Kiwis and thanks to Jay, if indeed it is he, for giving me a boost in my puzzling confidence.

  11. This took some time to complete as usual some gimmies amd some real headscratchers, I quite liked 5a and 25a for some reason I tried to fit in something completely different but once 18d went in all followed in good order.
    Thanks to the 2KS and to Jay for another cracking puzzle.

  12. Ah, Wednesday is Jayday and in an extremely friendly mode! I’m a very happy solver.
    My only problem was a careless mistake on my part, I had the wrong last letter at 16a. I was a bit cocky and slung in an answer at 18d without really reading the clue properly, of course it was wrong.
    I agree with Young Salopian, any one could be a fave, all a lotta fun and I loved it.
    Thanks Jay, you’re a star, and the 2Kiwis for the review.

  13. I concur with all the comments above I think Jay is probably my favourite setter. How do you pick a favourite clue out of so many? If pushed I’d say 16a and 26a. Many thanks to Jay and 2K’s.

  14. Haven’t had time to do a crossword for several days – this was a good one to come back to.
    I agree with everyone today – a lovely crossword and probably at the more straightforward of Jay’s range.
    I got into a brief pickle with 13d as I thought the first six letters = bore which left me in trouble but it didn’t last too long.
    Clues that stood out for me today included 5a and 5, 7 and 8d. I think my favourite was 4d.
    Thanks to Jay and to the K’s.
    A quick question for any pedants of the grammatical kind – which is correct out of these two statements?
    “There is more than one” or “there are more than one”

    1. Depends on the rest of the sentence, I think – in your example ‘is’
      There is more than one way to make bread
      There are more than two ways to make bread
      There you go, worth tuppence exactly :smile:

      *I see RD beat me to it!*

    2. Thanks very much everyone – I knew someone would have the answer – not for me, I hasten to add, but for husband!

  15. Quite how Jay manages to consistently produce such enjoyable puzzles is beyond me – he makes setting look like a doddle. Rarely difficult but always a joy to solve
    Hats off and many thanks to him and to the 2Ks

  16. Agree with the consensus today.
    A Jay joy from start to finish.
    Good laughs at the a corn and small flat sort of poker.
    Thanks to the 2Kiwis for the review.

  17. Brilliant puzzle today, such a relief after yesterday. I loved 8d, 16a and esp 22a, all really clever clues. 24d was new to me, all I’ve got to do now is remember it!
    Thx to all
    **/****

  18. Huge thanks to Jay for a superb puzzle today, greatly enjoyed. Too many favourites to pick one, but had a chuckle at 9a. Was out planting in the garden before breakfast today, to get the coolest time of the day, and ahead on the forecasted rain at 11am, so this was a nice surprise with my morning coffee.

  19. Morning all.
    Although it is true that you can’t please all the people all the time, Jay looks to have come close to doing just that with this puzzle. Not too taxing and a lot of fun.
    Cheers.

  20. Completed painlessly in two sessions – a.m and p.m. So many nearly Favs but top of my list were probably 10a and 25a. Got 3a in the Quickie wrong which meant I couldn’t fathom the pun so thanks 2Kiwis for your guidance on that and Jay for much fun.

  21. Jay at his finest tonight,,, excellent surfaces
    2.5*/4.5*
    All clues worthy of mention
    Grateful thanks to Jay & 2KWS for review

  22. Very, very good and equally enjoyable.
    Not difficult, but beautifully clued.
    Thanks both.

  23. A lovely puzzle. Just perfect for the day as far as I was concerned. No favourites, because the whole puzzle was so well clued. Thank yous to Jay and 2 Kiwis.

  24. Sat down before dinner and finished most of it starting with 1a. Finished after dinner with a few needing a bit of thought eg 14 26 and 27a. Favourite 4d followed by the 16 and 23a combo followed by the short and sweet 12a. Thanks Jay. Best puzzle in days – witty with only one obscure word which was easy to get once I looked for a rekrul. Thanks 2Ks for confirming that I did not make any careless mistakes

  25. ***/*****. Superb puzzle. Nothing too obscure or requiring complex parsing. Best of the week for me and I’ll bet it won’t be bettered by Sunday. Thanks to the 2Ks and Jay for an excellent challenge.

  26. DEWY EYED NOT WIDE EYED.THROWN OFF THE SCENT.GOT DRAGONFLY BUT DID NOT FIT WITH WIDE EYED.I AM GENERALLY FOOLED BUT THAT CAN BE PART OF THE FUN

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