DT 29219 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29219

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29219

Hints and tips by KiwiColin

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

In last Friday’s Toughie puzzle by Sparks we learnt a new word ‘aval’. Today I have a chance to use it. We have a rare solo blog because Carol is away in Wellington for a few days on mainly aval duties.

A few days concerted effort last week got the house re-decoration out of the way. All accomplished in fine weather without mishap or delay which was very pleasing and the place looks so much better for it.

Plenty to enjoy once again from Jay and a rather good Quickie pun that took a while to get until I considered the possibility of more than just the top line of the grid. 

 Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Distinguishing feature of hotel brand accommodating everybody (8)
HALLMARK: The letter represented by hotel in the phonetic alphabet, a three letter word for everybody and a brand or label.

5a     Clever clogs losing shoe, feels pain (6)
SMARTS: A word meaning clever and then the letter that is left once a wooden shoe has been removed from ‘clogs’.

9a     Mental aberration dismissing start of balmy weather event (9)
RAINSTORM: Start with a description of a mental aberration and remove the first letter of balmy from its beginning.

11a     Pair of mothers welcoming good soft rock (5)
MAGMA: G(ood) is enclosed by the the repeated use of a short familiar word for mother.

12a     Job facing a student of letters (6)
POSTAL: A job or work situation, ‘a’ from the clue and the letter displayed by a student driver.

13a     Suffers from a case of gas, stifling horrible noise (8)
AGONISES: ‘A’ from the clue and then the first and last letters (case) of ‘gas’ enclose (stifle) an anagram (horrible) of NOISE.

15a     First go red and blue for example (7,6)
PRIMARY COLOUR: A synonym for first or initial and a way of saying go red or blush.

18a     Liable to steal clear and end grief, possibly (5-8)
LIGHT-FINGERED: Clear or not dark or clouded and an anagram (possibly) of END GRIEF.

22a     Isolated appearances reveal cuts (8)
OUTCROPS: To reveal or expose and cuts or shortens.

23a     Military display work on body (6)
TATTOO: Double definition. Some people describe the work on body as artwork.

26a     Conscious of a revolutionary green source of energy (5)
AWARE: ‘A’ from the clue, the reversal of a word for green or inexperienced plus the first letter of energy.

27a     Designer needing skill to incorporate hectic working (9)
ARCHITECT: A synonym for skill surrounds an anagram (working) of HECTIC.

28a     Works hard to see constituencies adopting women (6)
SWEATS: W(omen) is inside parliamentary constituencies.

29a     Scientific study encompassing many branches (8)
FORESTRY: A cryptic definition of what is also known as sylviculture.

Down

1d     Sailors paid, oddly, in anticipation for dance (8)
HORNPIPE: A word for optimistic anticipation encloses the service to which sailors may belong, plus the first and third letters of ‘paid’.

2d     Diamonds stolen from landowner’s hiding places (5)
LAIRS: Remove the card player’s abbreviation for Diamonds from generally Scottish landowners.

3d     Cosmetic used by nameless man covering a sign of injury (7)
MASCARA: Remove N(ame) from the word ‘man’. This surrounds ‘a’ from the clue and the mark left once a wound has healed.

4d     Decay surrounding old part of tooth (4)
ROOT: Another word for decay contains o(ld).

6d     Souvenir pieces impounded by London police ring (7)
MEMENTO: Chess pieces are inside the three letter London police force and lastly, the ring shaped letter.

7d     Doctor ordering triages between runs (9)
REGISTRAR: The cricket abbreviation for runs is placed both before and after an anagram (ordering) of TRIAGES.

8d     Thin European crushed by boxes (6)
SPARSE: E(uropean) is underneath (crushed by) boxes as a verb in a pugilistic sense.

10d     Colour in detail on game having been given a lift (8)
MAGNOLIA: A reversed lurker hiding in the clue.

14d     Unfortunately it’s a dopy state that’s as far from perfection as possible (8)
DYSTOPIA: An anagram (unfortunately) of ITS A DOPY.

16d     Trouble with a kid being uncomfortable (3,2,4)
ILL AT EASE: Trouble or misfortune, ‘a’ from the clue and kid or josh.

17d     Cleverly laid Tory off (8)
ADROITLY: An anagram (off) of LAID TORY.

19d     Chap concealing weapon must get something to wear (7)
GARMENT: A somewhat posh man surrounds a general word for a weapon.

20d     Stone from Ulster incorporated into fireplace (7)
GRANITE: The part of UK often referred to as Ulster is enclosed by the part of the fireplace that holds the actual fire.

21d     Confused situation resulting from gold found in abundance (6)
MORASS: The heraldic word for gold inside abundance or large amount.

24d     What doctor will do for delicacy? (5)
TREAT: Double definition the delicacy might be given as a reward.

25d     Parrot‘s speech offensive to some extent (4)
ECHO: And once again we finish with a lurker hiding in the clue.

Quickie pun    plague    +    whose    +    beret    =    play gooseberry

55 comments on “DT 29219

  1. Reliably enjoyable as we’d expect on a Wednesday – there was even a bit of start with the Downs going on

    Thanks to Jay and the one K

  2. 2*/5*. A light delight from Mr. Consistency which fully deserves a 5* enjoyment rating even though I think some purists might not like Ulster = NI.

    29a was my last one in as it was a scientific discipline that didn’t come immediately to mind.

    26a was my favourite.

    Many thanks to Jay and Colin.

  3. Another fine puzzle from Jay with a few tricky ones in the SW corner (**/****). I liked 18a and 1d but there were lots of other great clues. Thank you to KiwiColin for a solo on the hints. I can’t believe I missed the reverse lurker but bunged it in anyway. Thank you to Jay.

  4. Mostly straightforward but with a handful of v challenging clues (for me)…..1d and 22a particularly….anyway, got there in the end and enjoyed the puzzle, thanks to all

  5. I thought this was brilliant though more than a little tricky…and all the better for it.
    Some real penny drop moments including 9a, where I’d spent ages looking for an anagram of “aberration” without the letter B
    and the brilliant reverse lurker at 10d. I’ve also ticked 12, 13 and 29a plus as potential podium places.
    3.5*/4.5*
    Many thanks to the 2 birds for their excellent works.

  6. Great stuff from Jay as per normal. So many excellent clues it seems disingenuous to pick just one, but I will go for 13a for the schoolboyish giggle it elicited.

    Thanks to the aforementioned and the singular Kiwi.

  7. Today’s challenge was really enjoyable. I stupidly failed to fully parse three clever clues resulting in 1d, 5a and 22a being bung-ins. 11a new one on me. My Fav was 16d. The Quickie pun is a winner. Thank you Jay and KiwiColin

      1. Molten rock is called lava, when it issues above the surface and magma, when it is below the surface, where it cools slowly to harden into rocks like granite, dolerite etc.

  8. He never lets us down -another great puzzle from Jay.
    Took me a while to spot the lurker in 10d and, like RD, the 29a branch of scientific study didn’t come easily to mind.

    Too many podium places to list them all so I’ll just say thank you to Jay for the excellence and to ColinK for the review – liked your choice of illustration for 18a. So relieved to hear that you both survived the re-decoration work without incident!

  9. I found this more tricky than usual for a Jay Wednesday with no ‘starting assistance’ from the Downs, completed at a gallop – 2.5*/3*.
    29a got quite a large Hmm.
    Candidates for favourite – 15a, 16d, and 24d – and the winner is 15a.
    Thanks to Jay and Kiwi Colin.

      1. Well, the BRB says that 29a is a science and, perhaps curiously, an art.
        My Hmm was over the clue itself, not the best one of the thirty on offer today.

  10. The Quickie Pun takes first place today!

    Thanks to KiwiColin for explaining the final letter in 5a … being a smart arse I was looking for something far more complicated.

  11. A * for the top half and a *** for the lower half , so a ** difficulty with a **** enjoyment .
    Difficult to find a favourite, going for a lurker for a change as 10d was last in and the reason I struggled to parse the obvious answer.
    Thanks Jay and KC-liked the 22a pic.The quickie pun amused.

  12. I found this harder than the experts. Certainly not ** which was the same as the rating for Monday and Tuesday. Failed in the SE corner as I could not see 25d and consequently 29a.
    Very enjoyable though, thanks to Jay and Colin for the hints.

  13. Light but fun. Needed the hint to explain the ‘green’ in 26a, should have seen it, it was clearly clued.
    My favourite was 29a, very clever.
    Thx to all
    **/***

  14. Enjoyed this while waiting for the Toughie post. Agree 29a isn’t really a Beatie “ology” but liked 23a – there are so many of them these days.

  15. 22 a gave me a long pause for thought. Like many others was unconvinced about 29a. Couldn’t see what else it could be. Favourite 18a.

  16. Managed this while waiting while the gas man cometh. I filled the grid pretty quickly but had a few that were a bit harder to fully understand. similar questions to Hoofit re. 29a meant it was LOI. 17a had several possible anagrams but it was the last one that fitted the definition. and I wanted a goat in 16d for a while. 26a too was filled in before I understood the revolutionary green bit.

    Thanks to KiwiCol and Jay

    The gas man has cometh so I imagine my go at the toughie will not be as smooth.

      1. A long and arduous process that took all afternoon (the gasman that is) the toughie is still a long way off but as our heating and hot water has been restored for first time since Sat I think I will take the toughie to the bath…

        Singing as I go

        ‘Twas on a Monday morning
        The gas man came to call
        The gas tap wouldn’t turn, I wasn’t getting gas at all
        He tore out all the skirting boards
        To try and find the main
        And I had to call a carpenter to put them back again
        Oh, it all makes work for the working man to do!

  17. A **\**** enjoyable. Agree on the hmm for 29A, but some nice clues. Completely missed the lurker at 10D as I had the game as ‘Long’ as in ‘Long Game’, detail was ‘aim’ having been given ‘a’ – all very clumsy until I saw 1K’s hint. Thanks to alll

  18. Thanks to Jay and to Kiwi Colin for the review and hints. Once again another excellent puzzle from Jay. I was totally on the right wavelength, so no hold ups. 29a made me laugh, but my favourite was 7d, so elegant. Was 2*/4* for me.

  19. A virtual hat trick of nice and solvable puzzles Hurrah 🤗 My favourites were 15a & 16d 😃 Thanks to Colin and to Jay

  20. Finished this, apart from 25d, on the bus from Wells to Bristol. However, in a moment of madness I’d put “ancestry” in for 29a – even less of an “ology” than the real answer! Which, when I saw the error of my ways, explained why I was having so much trouble with 25d. Very enjoyable puzzle, with no real problems (other than self-inflicted) or need of help with parsing (which is most unusual). Many thanks to Jay and the One Kiwi.

  21. Lovely Wednesday, another Jayday. I always enjoy his offerings, I did think this one a tad trickier.
    I solved 10d ‘cos “it had to be”, missed the reversed lurker completely.
    I shamelessly used electronic help for 29a, and when I saw the light, I had no problem with it, in fact, I think it’s rather clever.
    I had so many ticks for potential fave, so I’m going to choose 11a, I just love to say it!
    Many thanks to Jay and to ColinKiwi for the entertainment and pics.

  22. A brilliant crossword – I agree with KiwiC’s rating.
    When I read the clue for 29a the answer was my first idea but wondered if it was a bit obvious.
    I started off trying to use ‘clear’ as part of the 18a anagram but then realised that was wrong – we have a very lovely oral hygienist who is incredibly gentle but I’m not sure he appreciated it when I told him that he was 18a.
    I hate 23a’s – always wonder at what point they become self-harming.
    Unsurprisingly 25d was my last answer.
    Too many good clues to pick any in particular so I’ll join stanXYZ and go for the lurker as my favourite.
    With thanks to Jay and to the 1Kiwi.

  23. The top half went in very easily and the lower half wasn’t that far behind in this lovely crossword from Jay.
    No real favourites.
    Thanks to Jay, and the 1K for the review.

  24. Well it wasn’t till I read the blog that I realised why I had the answer to 10d – obvious really. Had a new hip on Friday afternoon and sent home on Monday afternoon so there will be a lot of sitting around for a while. Tried to tackle the Toughie but above my pay grade at the moment. I love this site and I have come on in leaps and bounds (well not literally with this hip!) and can finish the back pager most days so will now concentrate on doing some of the Toughie every day. Thanks to all concerned for this great site.

    1. Had one a couple of years ago, apart from the PT thrice a week, which was painful, had no problems ever since and it’s been fine. Now have a wonky knee but they say that is a much more difficult surgery. Get well!

      1. Had a new knee five weeks ago and very quickly out walking further each day weather permitting. A variety of exercises done regularly each day are also a great help.

  25. Morning all.
    I should ask for a show of hands of those who had to look up the meaning of AVAL but it might be quicker if those who did know the word raised their’s.
    I know the pic for 18a has nothing to do with the clue or the answer but did think it was too cute to miss the opportunity.
    Carol returns home this morning so back to normal again with solving and blogging. And it’s her birthday today but don’t tell anyone.
    Cheers.

    1. Reading your comment, I’m not sure whether I need to raise my hand or not, but I did have to look up AVAL. I am sure however there’s no apostrophe in theirs. :wink:

      And a very happy birthday to Carol, but don’t tell her I said so.

      1. I originally wrote theirs without an apostrophe and then added it at the last moment before pressing ‘post comment’. Oh dear.

    2. Good morning Colin (for you) and good evening from us and a very happy birthday to Carol.
      Honest Guv, never heard of ‘aval’ in my life but will now use it at every available opportunity.
      What with that one and ‘sylviculture’ I think you’ve either caught Ray T’s disease (thesauritis) or you’ve eaten a thesaurus for breakfast because Carol is away and you couldn’t be bothered to make your own toast.

    3. No looking up of aval here – but I did have to look up avuncular once and came across the gamut of similar words then
      Had to smile at the apostrophe boob, sorry KC
      (Psst… Happy Birthday Carol)

    4. I looked up aval in the dictionary, as is my won’t with every new word. I love learning new things.
      I also learned another word today while looking something up in the thesaurus, “tituppy”, don’t you love it?

  26. A lovely puzzle from Jay, and I am certainly no expert, but I didn’t find this particularly tough today. I must have been on wavelength. Thanks also to KiWiColin. Needed help in the north west corner, last in for me. COTD was 18a, and that was before I looked at the hints. Had a good chuckle when I saw the picture clue 😊

  27. Like Sarah BS I put ancestry in 29a and so stuck on 25d. I couldn’t see the wood for the trees!

  28. A really enjoyable & entertaining puzzle.
    Couple of clues held me up so
    2.5*/4.5*
    Too much to enjoy here so no clear favourites.
    Many thanks to Jay for a cracker & to KWColin flying solo for review

  29. I’m in the same time zone as KiwiColin, hence the late post. Hope it’s not too breezy in WLG for Carol. Wellington is my second favourite Kiwi city after Queenstown. Another good offering from J. Many ‘jump outs’ across the grid (e.g. 11 and 15a) and some ‘entry level’ clues helped with the harder ones. I agree that forestry is more of an industry rather than science. Looking forward to getting a head start on 29,200 in a few hours. Will it be a RayT?🤔🦇

    1. I had a Canadian friend in BC who had a uni degree in forestry, worked on Victoria Island, or is it Vancouver Island, in a logging forest, so I guess it’s a science.

  30. Although 29a was my last one in I think it is a clever clue. So many good ones. I went through it very quickly. Probably one of my quickest solves but very satisfying. Everything parsed easily apart from 5a so thanks Kiwi Colin for confirming. Very skilful crossword – thanks Jay

  31. 3*/5*….
    joint faviourites are:
    11A ” pair of mothers welcoming good soft rock (5) ”
    13A ” suffers from a case of gas, stifling horrible noise (8) “

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