DT 29225 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29225

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29225

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

Really mixed weather here at present. At times beautifully fine and warm and then a few days of blustery stormy conditions, changing hour by hour, before it clears again. We’ve missed the worst of it once again but other parts of the country haven’t fared so well.

Best wishes to CrypticSue for the competition this weekend and to all those going to the peripheral events.

All the usual qualities that we expect from a Wednesday puzzle from Jay.

 Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Shed tears seeing power grabbed by 4 (4)
WEPT : A synonym for the answer to 4d includes P(ower).

3a     A bit of blue as sunset mist dispersed (10)
SMUTTINESS : An anagram (dispersed) of SUNSET MIST.

9a     Condition to be rejected in kitchen cabinet? (4)
ACNE : A reverse lurker hiding in the clue.

10a     Impressions will include second team rebels (10)
DISSIDENTS : Impressions made on a surface by blows surround S(econd) and another word for team. (Problems parsing? You might be looking at the incorrect ‘impressions’)

11a     Sick calf found in bothy maybe suffering from too much drink (4-3)
HALF-CUT : A bothy or simple outhouse contains an anagram (sick) of CALF.

13a     Innocent girl at home needing information before backing European Union (7)
INGENUE : String together the two letter at home, a three letter informal word for information, and the reversal of the two letter abbreviation for European Union.

14a     Scamps tease when pinching cake (11)
RAGAMUFFINS : Tease or josh, and then a two letter synonym for ‘when’ encloses a type of cake.

18a     Trace lost post to find vehicle using tracks (11)
CATERPILLAR : An anagram (lost) of TRACE is followed by a post or supporting column.

21a     Thanks hotel after endless comfort for animal (7)
CHEETAH : Remove the last letter from a verb meaning comfort, then a two letter informal thanks plus H(otel).

22a     Be inclined to follow Tory challenge (7)
CONTEND : The three letter contraction of a Tory’s political party is followed by be inclined or figuratively lean towards.

23a     Origin of neuralgia found in moving dry fuel in cold (10)
UNFRIENDLY : An anagram (moving) of DRY FUEL IN also includes the first letter of neuralgia.

24a     Cousin must ignore American strike (4)
COIN : Remove the two letters indicating American from the first word of the clue.

25a     Two regulars covering street level (4-6)
EVEN-STEVEN : A word for regular is placed both before and after the abbreviation for street.

26a     Rumour of one willing to purchase shed for stock? (4)
BYRE : A homophone (rumour) of a person wishing to make a purchase.

Down

1d     Survives war, and these must be repaired (8)
WEATHERS : An anagram (must be repaired) of WAR and THESE.

2d     Write on science and the study of ‘Crime and Punishment’ (8)
PENOLOGY : Write, expressed by the instrument used, and then a facetious word for science generally.

4d     The majority must accept one gets damp (5)
MOIST : The Roman numeral one is inside a word for the majority.

5d     Witness may be more irritable about Formula 1 (9)
TESTIFIER : The short way of writing Formula 1 is inside another word for more irritable.

6d     Stomach upset? Dieting is no different (11)
INDIGESTION : An anagram (different) of DIETING IS NO.

7d     Newly developed online meteorological feature (2,4)
EL NINO : An anagram (newly developed) of ON LINE.

8d     Investigate European vote in county (6)
SUSSEX : A slang word meaning to investigate or understand, then E(uropean) and the letter used to mark a ballot paper.

12d     Such reading matter may see stoic scrimp desperately (5,6)
COMIC STRIPS : An anagram (desperately) of STOIC SCRIMP.

15d     Far from slender odds? Definitely not! (3,6)
FAT CHANCE : A word meaning far from slender and then odds or gamble.

16d     Really upset about travel metaphor, perhaps (8)
ALLEGORY : A two letter word for travel is inside an anagram (upset) of REALLY.

17d     Study source of ceremonies in native American belief (8)
CREDENCE : A native American tribe surrounds another name for a study room and the first letter of ceremonies.

19d     Southern firm exploit northern dish (6)
SCOUSE : S(outhern) then a business firm and exploit or utilise.

20d     Picture framed by police if less turned up? (6)
SELFIE : A reverse lurker hiding in the clue.

22d     Left in chamber to produce young whales (5)
CALVE : A chamber that is usually underground contains L(eft).

11a is our favourite for today. 

Quickie pun      plaice    +    enter    =     play centre

47 comments on “DT 29225

  1. This was a nice puzzle last in being 26a. My favourite was 25a. Pleasant distraction from commute.

  2. It is lovely and fine and sunny here today but far from warm – the car is still covered in frost!

    The Jay crossword was, as we’d expect, fine and sunny too – impossible to pick a favourite so I’ll just say thank you once again to all three birds

  3. I found this to be relatively friendly but hugely enjoyable with nothing remotely obscure, just clever and concise cluing.
    Because I solved them one after the other, I couldn’t help but be struck by the (unintended I’m sure) unfortunate combination of 3a and 4d! 😉
    In a strong field podium places go to 11a, the great reverse lurker at 20d with top spot being 25a…it had to be with my name!
    2*/4*
    Many thanks to the 2 birds for their excellent works.

      1. A bit like the “Moist Towelette” the size of a postage stamp which is all you get to freshen up with on a long flight. Very nasty
        (but about as nasty as the airline meal that precedes it I suppose)

  4. Lovely puzzle from, I assume our regular Wednesday setter. Loads to enjoy, but achievable, for me at any rate. Favourite of many goodies is 26a.3*/4*. Thanks to the 2ks and setter.

  5. Corker of a puzzle today. 3a my favourite as the surface reading is so different to the answer. And for the pedants – 3a is my favourite as the surface reading is so different from the answer.

    My thanks to Jay and to the country people of the winning test team.

  6. The usual Wednesday excellence from Jay. Everything beautifully clued, and very welcome after yesterday’s difficult puzzle, though I have put that down to the continued man-flu!
    Lovely day here in Kent, as CS has already remarked. The garden is getting a much needed makeover at the moment, so the fine weather is good for the three lads on the case as well.
    Thanks Jay and 2xK.

  7. I missed the pedagoguery (if that’s the right word) from yesterday’s 81 comments, an enjoyable read.
    Started off today with my first two clues inserted, 1A and 1D, being wrong (and they seemed such a perfect fit for the clues). Recovered from that poor start and finished without any further stumbles.
    A 2*/3* with a few nice clues 11A, 14A, 24A, 20D.
    Thanks to the 2Ks, sorry about your weather, but it saved us from a whitewash on the cricket pitch earlier this week 😁

  8. A fine puzzle for a fine day. As often happens on a Wednesday it is impossible to pick a favourite. Thanks to Jay and to the 2Ks.

  9. Wednesday equals excellence and great enjoyment. As others before me have said, picking a winner is almost impossible, but if in doubt, go for the rekrul at 20d.

    Thanks to Jay for the fun and the 2Ks.

  10. **/***** says it all.
    Favourite – a toss-up between 10a and 15d – and the coin has landed on its edge.
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  11. I do look forward to our regular weekly date with Jay – excellence assured.
    The definition of ‘a bit of blue’ made me smile as did 14a – a term much favoured by my old Granny and usually directed at me!

    Thanks to the indefatigable Jay and to our 2Ks for the review. Mixed weather here as well although without your warm spells.

  12. Nice one Jay. 3a/5d combination went straight in thereby facilitating steady progress apart from going for present tense in 1a and a lack of familiarity with 2d which caused a slight hiccup in NW corner and I was slow to realise a verb was called for in 22d. Not sure about tracks in 18a. Thank you to Jay for his enjoyable challenge and to the 2Kiwis for being there, as always, in case of need.

  13. Really enjoyable puzzle today, lots to smile about, favourites 7d, and especially 20d – a clever rekrul which I’d failed to spot so thanks due to 2Ks for pointing it out.

  14. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one to think about two different ‘impressions’ for 10a. I liked the over indulgent sick calf as well. Thanks to Jay and the 2 KS.

  15. Enjoyable puzzle but I don’t understand 24a. What has strike got to do with coin? There is nothing in the BRB that shows coin with a meaning to strike. Probably me being dense!
    Thx to all
    **/****

    1. Coin is a verb, I think, you can ‘coin’ a sixpence, or ‘strike’ a sixpence. Or that’s how I saw it.

      1. You still think in shillings and pence? So do I! I described someone the other day as “nineteen shillings to the pound” and they looked at me blankly.

    2. Strike as in mint or make, and coin or originate a phrase, for example
      *edit* as Hoofit says, coin here is a verb

  16. 2*/4.5*. Very busy today and running late, but just popped in to say that this was a typical Wednesday puzzle – absolutely brilliant. Favourite 25a with nods to 3a & 14a.

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks (definitely not the 2K’s :wink:)

  17. This must be the first time (for me anyway) that a clue has been solved by the dog. Just one left to do when the beardie went to his toy box, fetched his Christmas Elfie and dumped it on the paper. Perfect timing. 20d filled in and crossword complete!!!! Many thanks for an enjoyable puzzle

  18. Jay showing his gentle side today! Certainly nothing to disturb the horses. I’ll go with 11a as my favourite.
    Thanks to Jay, and to the 2K’s for the review.

  19. A lovely Jay crossword here. Not a dodgy synonym or Americanism in sight. It wasn’t particularly difficult (**) but immensely enjoyable. It is hard to pick a ‘favourite’ as so many clues are good but I think I will go for the reverse lurker in 20d–it took a while for the penny to drop. Thanks to the 2 Kiwis. It sounds like the weather is being temperamental there. It is bitterly cold in rural south Oxfordshire. Thanks to Jay as usual.

  20. Universal praise today of a straightforward crossword with a high enjoyment factor-Jay seems to be everyone’s favourite.
    A **/**** for me also.
    No obscurities or weak cluing-Jay makes compiling seem easy-which we all know it isn’t.
    Liked 14 and 25 a, 11a my pick of the day-thanks all.

  21. Just one query. 22d asks for a plural yet the answer is in the singular.
    Another cold night ahead here in Kent. This morning started with freezing fog and horrendous traffic jams. The joys of winter!

    1. I had the same question. But then I saw the comment above that it is a verb, totally missed the “to produce” part.

  22. Did wonder about the dints/dents in 10a but was sure that Jay couldn’t make a mistake. He’s so perfect!
    Thanks to him and the 2ks for the review. I wonder if there’s a place on earth that doesn’t fall victim to an episode of freak weather.

  23. Same old, same old, Jay at his wizardry again. How does he keep it up, week after week?
    I loved it all, can’t pick a fave. I liked 14a, love the word, 11a stood out, as did 18a – I could go on and on.
    The only help I needed was 10a, of course I forgot that second impression and couldn’t see the “why”.
    Thanks to Jay and to the 2Kiwis for all the fun. Chilly here in Miami as well, heat on full blast!

  24. **/*****. Another delightful puzzle. Very solvable from such well constructed and fair clues. 18a was my favourite. Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  25. Morning all.
    The quickie pun gave us a bit of a run around. In NZ Playcentre is an organisation offering pre-school education so very familiar to us. We realised that it probably does not have this connotation in the UK so looked at a possible third word involved in the pun. Tried several options but couldn’t find anything that really worked. It would be very helpful if the DT could use italics on the puzzles website as we understand they do on the dead tree version.
    Also spent time looking for a pic for 26a that would show animals being kept underneath another building. Thought it would make retailers happy to see a byre and cellar together in one place.
    Cheers.

  26. Another fine puzzle from Jay. All that needs to be said has already been said. Thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks to Jay and thanks to The 2Ks for the blog. I remember doing the Quickie very early this morning and satisfied myself with placenta as the solution to the pun as soon as I entered the second word.

  27. Fabulous 2*/5*
    One of the most enjoyable weekday puzzles this year for me, it had it all!

    To Jay I doff my cap, grateful thanks to 2KWS for review

  28. Found this more difficult than the two earlier in the week😳 ***/*** Favourites 14a & 7d 😃 Thanks to the 2xKs and to Jay 🤗 Does anyone have the recipe for scouse 😉

    1. According to my favourite Liverpudlian (see below), it’s a thin stew made with scrag end of neck (or any other cheap meat), onions, cabbage and potatoes. Best served with a chunk of bread to mop up the gravy and brown sauce. Then there’s blind scouse, which doesn’t have the meat apparently.

      1. There’s a dish in Trinidad called “souse”, the base stock is “chicken or pig foot” and vegetables. It would be interesting to know if that came from northern English settlers and adopted by the slaves.

    2. Yes – Boiled unsaleable animal leftovers and any veg you can lay your hands on; add gravy, or lard and flour
      Enjoy

  29. An enjoyable puzzle and hard to pick a favourite but as I’m married to someone from Liverpool, I guess it has to be 19d!

    Being slightly pedantic, I think 7d is a climate feature rather than a meteorological one?

    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks

  30. Thanks, Jay and the K’s. Help not needed today but the blog and comments were still much appreciated and entertaining as ever.

    1. My dear old Granny had it just right – my parents always laughed when she called me a 14a and that allowed me to get away with things that I wouldn’t have otherwise been forgiven!

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