DT 29210 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29210 (Hints)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29210 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club

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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

8a    American university with current opening for moderate (8)
The three-letter abbreviation for an American university is followed by the symbol for electric current and an opening in a fence or wall

9a    Old boy, boring perhaps, certainly not square (6)
The abbreviation for Old Boy is followed by a word that could mean boring when applied to a story like this

12a    Story to introduce the German songs (6)
A story or fabrication followed by the German definite article

13a    Quiz score? (6,9)
A parlour game and one-time radio quiz show

18a    Room occupied by old bag (7)
A room goes around (occupied by) OLD from the clue

21a    Just over 23 degrees below here? Often more! (9,6)
This line is drawn at just over 23 degrees of latitude from the South Pole, but the temperature inside the area it covers can be more than 23 degrees Celsius below zero

25a    Notice worker eating cake that’s rich (8)
a two-letter notice and a worker insect go around (eating) a cake

28a    Cherish sinner — he must be converted (8)
An anagram (must be converted) of SINNER HE

Down

1d    Fish pub served during harvest (6)
A pub inside a verb meaning to harvest grass

2d    Drink, hot, acceptable in tube (6)
A verb meaning to drink a small quantity followed by H(ot) and A two-letter word meaning acceptable

4d    Drinker’s obvious hangover? (4,3)
a cryptic definition of a “feature” of many heavy drinkers

6d    Down flier? (8)
Could be an unhappy flying creature

16d    Structure in Steinbeck shows genius (8)
Hidden (shows) inside the clue

17d    Might we need this one as pot boils? (8)
An anagram (boils) of ONE AS POT

22d    Contractual addenda for travellers (6)
Two definitions – additions to contracts and travellers on horseback

23d    Does it conceal seamy side of our habits? (6)
A cryptic definition of the part of an item of clothing that covers up the seams

The Crossword Club is now open.

If you would like to solve a better puzzle than this one today, look no further than our NTSPP from Kelotoph.


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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!

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The Quick Crossword pun: sow+work+rout=sauerkraut


63 comments on “DT 29210 (Hints)

  1. 2*/2*. Nothing here to frighten or excite the horses.

    I don’t think 21a is strictly accurate as latitude is measured from the equator so it’s actually just over 66 degrees.

    Thanks to the setter and to BD.

  2. An unfriendly grid with 16/28 clues having no starter, but the 4 x 15 letter double answers were welcome to get things started. Liked 21A, 5D. A**\**** for me. 16D took me much longer than it should – proving – if I needed proof – that I am not 16D.
    Thanks to all for the hints

  3. As Senf might say, galloped away with this puzzle. 4D, xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx? I guess its fair. Anyway I quite enjoyed the solve so thanks to the setter and BD.

    1. I’ve edited your comment as it doesn’t quite fit with the red instructions! However, I will say that I’m not sure how you equate the bit I’ve crossed out to the solution :scratch: but we’d better not discuss it any more today

  4. I am not sure 21A is hinted correctly as it is not related to temperature – unless I am reading the clue wrongly?

  5. Very enjoyable and solved in my normal Saturday time. I really liked the long cryptic clues. My last one in was 27a and I had to use the Thesaurus, I don’t think I’ve ever heard that word before.

    Many thanks to the setter and BD

  6. Straightforward, comfortable to solve and entertaining while it lasted. No obvious favourite but I thought 21a was clever. Definitely at the easier end of the Saturday Prize Crossword spectrum.

    Thanks to our setter and BD.

  7. Refering to your edit. I got the three letter word wrong. Should have paid more attention to the clue. Apologies.

  8. Past the post before noon! Almost set myself on a 5d by my assumption that 21a was ********; thanks BD for putting me straight. A satisfying solve, fave being 13a for the lovely wave of nostalgia. Thank you setter & BD

  9. A reasonably gentle puzzle, completed in **/*** time. I found it reasonably enjoyable (***) but found some of the clues a bit vague and, since I do the crossword in the newspaper, had to pencil things in lightly until I found enough checkers. I liked 21 and the very long clues. Thanks to BD and the setter

  10. Compared to recent SPPs, quite straightforward although I did get hung up (not over!) on 4d, and on reflection I think we have seen it before, completed at a gallop – 2.5*/3.5*.
    Candidates for favourite – 5d, 6d, and 22d – and the winner is 6d.
    Thanks to the setter and BD.

    So, are you all ready for Dada’s first anniversary puzzle tomorrow?

      1. Agree – his last Graun wasn’t much fun, but the Sunday offerings here have been steadily improving in my opinion

  11. This started as a very casual solve for me. I got 10/14 across clues on the first pass and a similar number for the downs.

    That did leave me with a few that remained incomplete, partly because of the lack of first letters, until my time had gone into the ** window.

    Still, any Saturday completed without aids is a winner in my book. (I am easily pleased).

    Thanks to the setter and BD.

  12. ELectronic help needed for 4d otherwise OK for me.
    Very enjoyable on this cold dank day.

    Thanks to the setter and to Big Dave.

  13. A straightforward and enjoyable puzzle today, which I managed without hints. My COTD is 6d because it made me chuckle. A refreshing change from my lack of success with the offerings of the last few days. I also liked the pun today.

    Grateful thanks to the setter and Big Dave for their hard work.

  14. Just about back in the land of the connected following an attack by scammers on Wednesday – beware of any phone calls purporting to come from Amazon!

    I certainly didn’t know today’s 27a and worried a bit about 21a but I thought 3d was a clever construction and smiled broadly at 4d.
    Thanks to our setter and to BD for the club.

    PS Some time ago, one of our contributors posted a link to an excellent free ad-blocking site. Unfortunately I lost it when my ‘man-who-can’ had to clean up my computer. If he pops in today – or anyone else can remember what it was – I’d be eternally grateful to get it reinstalled. I’ve tried several alternatives but none of them are as successful.

    1. Ad Block Plus is pretty good, but some sites won’t function properly

      I do deliberately click on ads occasionally, just to help pay for free sites that rely on the revenue they generate for the webmaster; it’s only fair

  15. At last. A crossword with enough r and w to get started and one or two to make me think. Last ones in were 8a and 2d. How daft am I? I love clues like 13 where no word is wasted. What a pleasure to see how all the clues are parsed. In the last few Saturday prize crosswords I’ve been left quite cross because some clues just didn’t quite work imho. (Where h stands for humble). Thanks to all the usual suspects. I’m off to buy some radiators!!

  16. Have completed this puzzle whilst whiling away some of the time waiting for our elder son to return home from India later this evening. Clues and answers to 11a, 5d and 6d didn’t help the nerves very much, but Flightradar tells me that he’s safely over Armenia just now. A much simpler prize puzzle this week, but enjoyable enough nevertheless. 13a made me chuckle, but 6d ended up being my favourite today. Thanks to BD and setter.

  17. Straightforward, though 2d held me up for a bit. 6D is my top pick. Thanks to the setter and RD.

  18. Pleasant pre BaBa match solve, was not fully on wavelength at first, but a quick retune & the horses stayed steady.
    2*/3.5* , I did like 21ac
    Thanks to setter & BD for review

  19. Gentle for a Prize puzzle but enjoyable nonetheless. Lots of nice anagrams to get you started. My fav was 21a.
    Was 12a in the correct tense. The BRB defines it in the singular?
    Thx to all
    **/***

    1. The 12a answer is plural (BRB Revised 13th Edition, Page 883) so it matches the definition in the clue.

  20. Very enjoyable puzzle, I loved the four 15-letters especially the very clever 3d.
    Mostly completed at a good pace, with half a dozen hold-ups. But I had a quick glance first thing this morning, then returned to do the puzzle later, and the Puzzles app tells me I took over 4 hours to complete it. There must be a way to pause the timer?
    Thanks to all, have a good weekend.

  21. Definitely not as tricky as some of the recent Saturday crosswords have been.
    I admit to not having the first idea about what 21a was about but checking letters shouted it at me.
    2d held me up for far too long and was my last answer.
    I liked 13 and 24a and 1,4, and 23d. My favourite was 6d.
    I hope that I’ve forgotten about the pic for 4d before we get to supper time! :sad:
    Thanks to the setter and to BD.

    1. Kath, you are the only one, so far, that has mentioned 23d, which made me chuckle, and is my favourite among the many!
      Thanks to the setter for a fun romp, and, as always, to BD.
      This site never fails to make me smile!

  22. I am back online after investing in a new(ish) PC.
    Todays puzzle was a fairly straightforward Saturday with plenty to love.
    Despite having a 4d it was LOI and had a different (wrong) ending for a while.
    Hope to be back online a bit more now but pressures of time/work/elderly parent mean I may have little time for doing puzzles or chatting here but I will at least lurk and appreciate the efforts of all here.

    1. Welcome back, John, it’s good to see you commenting again. I can sympathise with you regarding real life pressures which I am also suffering with at the moment, but at least I have retired which offers a partial solution and something I can highly recommend when you reach the point when you are able to stop working. Good luck with everything and it will be nice to hear from you on the blog as and when you can find the time.

    2. So good to see you back with us – I do hope that your Mum is reasonably OK. I’d hate to think of her having to suffer and her son would, I know, be devastated.

  23. As I didn’t find this at all gentle or straightforward, I am clearly no 16d. Only got 3 answers on first pass. With perseverance and Big Dave’s hints, thank you, I almost finished, but did still need electronic help (hate to use) for 3d, my own stupidity being fixated on a specific occasion, rather than an overall term. Also for 27a, as I had never heard the term, having spent most of my physics lessons gazing out the classroom window 🙁. But I did have a good chuckle at 6d, and glad to report no 4d in this house. So in the end quite enjoyable, and thanks to the setter.

  24. For once I found this quite straight forward,but with some really witty clues.4d was close to home but made me laugh out loud.Not sure that I have 27a right and was pleased to see that my answer to 2d was confirmed by BD.I also was nearly scammed as Jane was and echo her advice.Thakyou to all the people who have got me to the point where I can start a cryptic with a good chance of finishing.

    1. An extra q has crept into your handle. BD has made it work, but it looks somewhat ungainly! Just saying

  25. Thanks to the setter and to Big Dave for the hints. A very enjoyable puzzle on quite an unusual grid. Managed ok, but got the second word of 4d wrong. Needed the hints to get 2d, I looked the definition in my BRB, and it didn’t list the answer. But when I looked up the answer, it did give the definition. I didn’t think that a tube was always a xxxxxx, but knew it could sometimes for that use. Favourite was 21a. Was 3*/3* for me.

  26. Thanks to the setter and to Big Dave for the hints. A very enjoyable puzzle on quite an unusual grid. Managed ok, but got the second word of 4d wrong. Needed the hints to get 2d, I looked the definition in my BRB, and it didn’t list the answer. But when I looked up the answer, it did give the definition. I didn’t think that a tube was always a xxxxxx, but knew it could sometimes be put to that use. Favourite was 21a. Was 3*/3* for me.

  27. Very much more benign than recent SPPs have been but I’m not complaining 😀

    Thanks BD for the hints and to the setter

  28. 1.5/2.5. This was a fairly straightforward SPP but enjoyable nevertheless. 21a was my favourite. Thanks to all.

  29. Thank goodness for a friendly SPP for a change! I, too, was fixated on the wrong second word at 4d, my last one in and only solved with techie help. Otherwise I felt this was most enjoyable; translation: I was able to solve it on my ownsome.
    I like multiple-word answers so this was hog heaven for me. Fave was 6d, but I also liked many others.
    Thanks to our setter and to BD for his hints and tips.

  30. 13a – I liked the “score” being the first word of the answer!

    I did wonder what was going to be underlined as the definition.

  31. I noted that the US spelling of 2d could have confused some folk, as this was my last one in, and the only hint I needed-thanks BD! Like many I was able to progress on this puzzle as It was back to ‘normal’ after a few tricky weeks. Thanks setter!
    Am I allowed to hint Doug at 31 above to think of highway accident?

  32. Well that cheered me up as I had not been doing as well as I should lately.
    5d was my favourite .
    Thanks to all concerned.

  33. 3d went straight in and that was soon followed by the three other 15-letter solutions which made for a helpful start right across the grid. Just one additive for my vocabulary today – 27a. No outstanding Fav but liked surface of 15a. Thank you Mysteron and BD.

  34. Well it’s nice to be back ‘doing the crossword’ once more after having to take time out.
    A gentle return which helped enormously. Although I see the gremlins are still with us – or is it just me?
    Thanks to the setter, and to BD for the hints.

  35. Thanks for the hints, Big Dave. I didn’t have long today, squeezing it in before dinner, so took a few hints after my second pass, which was enough to get me completed in time.

    I was most impressed by 3d. And I actually quite liked this grid, with its range of answer lengths including both extremes of 15 and 3.

  36. Horrified when opened this morning and I saw the grid. Hardly any first letters, but it seemed to break down nicely. Favourite 5D. Query over 2D is there an American version?

  37. Very enjoyable. Did not mind the grid. Loved the long answers. Did not know 27a but easy to get from the clue with a favourite shirt girl’s name and a favourite European. Favourites 8 and 13a and 4 22 and 23d.

  38. Is anyone else still having trouble submitting the digital crossword? When I type in my email address the box is surrounded by a blue highlight and will not permit my submission. I have followed advice from the support team with no success. I have no desire to take a snapshot and send by snail mail as this defeats the object of the exercise! Can anybody help me please?

      1. I too am having problems submitting the prize crosswords. I have e mailed support team and am waiting on their reply. If it works will post advice on here.

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