DT 100011 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
View closed comments 

DT 100011

by 2Kiwis  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 100011

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

BD Rating – Difficulty ***– Enjoyment ****

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

Merry Christmas everyone. Or in Maori ‘Meri Kirihimete’.

As today is a Wednesday we (at least those of us who get it from the Puzzles site) do still have a Jay puzzle to solve and enjoy.

New Zealand’s special Christmas trees, pohutukawas, have put on a very colourful display this year so we could not resist adding a few very recent photos taken in front of our house. (A click on these pics should enlarge them.)

We enjoyed the Quickie pun too.

 Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Dancer buys a new something for sweet (6,5)
BRANDY SAUCE : An anagram (new) of DANCER BUYS A.

9a     Setting required for a selfie? (9)
AUTOFOCUS : A clever all-in-one which describes both a setting on a camera and the mindset of the selfie photographer.

10a     Communication from mother cutting fiction, rejected (5)
EMAIL : A familiar word for mother is inside the reversal of a fiction or untruth.

11a     Dish offered by heartless gaoler of old (6)
TURKEY : Remove the central letter from an old name for a prison officer.

12a     Eyes like this seen oddly in secret (5-3)
CLOSE-SET : The first and third letters of ‘seen’ are inside secret or hidden.

13a     Smart and very quietly absorbed in study from the east (6)
DAPPER : The two letter musical symbol for very quiet is inside the reversal of study as a university subject.

15a     Feature of a newspaper chief with column (8)
HEADLINE : Chief or principal plus column or row.

18a     Sort of material that might extend, putting year on prison sentence (8)
STRETCHY : An informal word for a prison sentence and then Y(ear).

19a     Hesitated, being employed by father (6)
PAUSED : The male equivalent of the mother in 10a and then a synonym for employed.

21a     Exercise in burning logs here perhaps (4,4)
OPEN FIRE : An all-in-one clue. A 2,4 phrase meaning burning contains the abbreviation for physical exercise.

23a     Man entitled to be on board? (6)
KNIGHT : Two types of man to find here. One bears a bestowed title and the other appears on a chess board.

26a     King and queen finally become informed (5)
LEARN : A king from Shakespeare followed by the last letter of queen.

27a     False beliefs of French in souls transformed (9)
DELUSIONS : The French word for ‘of’ and then an anagram (transformed) of IN SOULS.

28a     Hunk, perhaps needing metal rings for appliances (11)
DISHWASHERS : A hunk or attractive person and then metal rings often used in association with nuts and bolts.

Down

1d     Survive in part of garden that’s blooming! (7)
BLASTED : Survive or endure is inside the part of a garden where plants are actually growing. (Note the exclamation mark after blooming.)

2d     Special terms must include change (5)
ALTER : A lurker, hiding in the clue.

3d     Unlike poor friend, left with no end of approval (9)
DIFFERENT : An anagram (poor) of FRIEND (L)EFT once the last letter of approval has been removed.

4d     Bag for plunder? (4)
SACK : A double definition.

5d     Crime may be so like some clues (8)
UNSOLVED : The clues you have not yet got around to, will fit this description.

6d     Quits after abandoning start of rugby game (5)
EVENS : The version of rugby that is the national sport of Fiji loses its first letter.

7d     Head must accept restriction in range of colours (7)
PALETTE : An old term for the crown of the head surrounds a restriction that could apply to a tennis serve.

8d     Talk up cuts in what might accompany 11? (8)
PARSNIPS : Reverse a word for chat informally and then cuts, probably with scissors.

14d     Standard, as men cooked cheese (8)
PARMESAN : Standard as a golf score might be, and then an anagram (cooked) of AS MEN.

16d     Doing as is set out will offer identification of condition (9)
DIAGNOSIS : An anagram (set out) of DOING AS IS.

17d     Desperate search will include a day for such a game (8)
CHARADES : ‘A’ from the clue and D(ay) are included in an anagram (desperate) of SEARCH.

18d     Last of alcohol to be put into hot cake (7)
STOLLEN : The final letter of alcohol is inside hot or illegally lifted.

20d     Hates trials supporting defence’s case (7)
DETESTS : Another word for trials follows the first and last letters (case) of defence.

22d     Given penalty having invested energy in discovery (5)
FINED : The physics symbol for energy is inside a word meaning discovery.

24d     Elk’s good for starter, and this should be cooked! (5)
GOOSE : An alternative name for an elk has its first letter replaced by G(ood).

25d     Not many will cross line winged (4)
FLEW : The abbreviation for line is inside ‘not many’.

We always have trouble picking favourites in Jay’s puzzles so instead will nominate all the clues and answers that allude to this special day.

Quickie pun    sand    +    irk   +    laws    =    Santa Claus

 

27 comments on “DT 100011”

  1. Many thanks 2xK’s, and a very happy Christmas to you too, though by now you have eaten your Christmas dinner, I imagine.
    Nice comfortable Christmas crossword from Jay, just right before the drinking and eating starts.
    Happy Christmas all, and to Jay for wonderful puzzles throughout the year.

  2. Greetings to all .

    The proverbial game of two halves today for me as the top held out far longer than the bottom . Enjoyed the solve and completed well before the first invader arrived .

    Thanks to the 2 birds as usual .

  3. Was looking for seasonal clues but not much turned up. A nice puzzle to start this special day a 2*\3* for me. Hmm’d at 18A, but most clues had good surface reading. Thanks to the 2Ks – lovely tree blossom – not much colour here in Southend-on-Sea, unless you count the amber and red of beer and wine :-) Merry Christmas to all on this page.

  4. I managed the bottom half quite well but the upper held out for quite a while. An enjoyable puzzle and a diversion from preparing Christmas Dinner.

    Thank you to the setter and the 2K’s for the hints.

    Lovely and sunny here in Shropshire.

    Merry Christmas to one and all. :good:

  5. Thanks for blogging on Christmas Day. A nice seasonal puzzle to begin the madness. Interesting to note that the odd letters of parsnips are also the odd letters of wassail and both suit the Christmas theme. Thanks to Jay for the puzzle also. Merry Christmas to one and all. It must be time for a pint

  6. I haven’t looked at the puzzle, hints or comments yet but just popped in to say, “Hello” and “Happy Christmas” to everyone and thanks for doing the hints to the K’s.
    Back later, I hope, if there’s time – I’m sure there will be. :unsure:

  7. This made a pleasant diversion before the Christmas festivities start in earnest. Favourite – the Quickie Pun!

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks, and a very Merry Christmas to all.

  8. Bit too tricky for me, needed lots of help. Just can’t seem to get on the setters wavelength these days. Must be encroaching senility.
    There don’t seem to be too many DT crosswords that are within my ability. It’s probably just me but I get the impression that we being given more difficult puzzles on the backpage these days.
    Thx for the hints without which I would not have finished.
    ****/**

  9. A gentle and partly seasonal offering from Jay this Christmas morning completed after a long walk to make me feel virtuous enough to start the over-indulgence. Always a pleasure to solve his puzzles, and this was no different.

    Thanks and seasonal greetings to all three birds.

  10. Fortunately for those of us who rely on the dead tree version of the DT, there are kindly folk around who will ensure that we don’t miss out on our daily dose of puzzles on high days and holidays – and lovely people like the 2Ks who manage to produce blogs for us to enjoy in the midst of their own celebrations.
    No stand out favourite today but I did rather like 9&21a plus the Quickie pun.

    Thanks and best of festive wishes to Jay and also to the 2Ks – your ‘Christmas Trees’ look wonderful.

  11. Agree with KFB & Steve re the top half being a good deal trickier than the bottom. 9a was my last in & held out for quite a while which is more than can be said for the Quickie where I was forced to give in (with coincidently 9a being a new word to me). Like Rabbit Dave loved the phonetic connection to start.
    Having had a brisk walk in lovely bright sunshine the eating (& drinking) can now begin……

  12. A very Happy Christmas to all from Winnipeg where, according to Environment Canada and by virtue of the snow on the ground, we have a White Christmas, but no more snow in the forecast for a few days.
    A slower than usual start for a Jay puzzle then, after a long pause to attend a Christmas Eve service, completion was quite speedy. So, at a guess – 2.5*/3.5*.
    Candidates for favourite – 13a, 5d, and 18d – and the winner has to be the 18d cake!
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  13. As previous setters remarked the top half was much more difficult than the bottom. Needed a lot of help which even though the hints didn’t unlock. Not too much fun. Bah Humbug. Thanks to the two Kiwis and to Jay.

  14. No paper here so had to just read through the clues and try not to see the hints – still entertaining so thanks to Jay and 2Ks for blogging today
    Hope everyone is suitably stuffed with roast, veg and wine
    I put mine in nice and early but forgot to turn the oven on, so I’m still waiting. D’oh!

  15. Spent the morning phoning absent friends, Wales, Scotland, NYC and Jamaica, to wish them Christmas greetings.
    North was much more difficult than South, but I did enjoy it. I needed the hint, actually I had to “click here” for 9a.
    As always, I loved Jay’s puzzle, maybe the cake was fave. Not keen on 1a, I prefer crême anglaise!
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis for my Christmas entertainment.
    Merry Christmas to all of you out there who help to make this site so friendly and so much fun.

  16. All seems to have gone blissfully quiet so I just crept off in peace to do the crossword.
    The peace won’t last so this might be a quick comment!
    It was a lovely crossword and not too tricky for a busy day although I had trouble with 8d – having not got 15a at the time ‘sausages’ would have fitted but it just wouldn’t play properly.
    I don’t see why someone (can’t remember who) went hmmm about 18a.
    My favourite was 28a – we would still be in a right mess without it!
    Thanks to Jay and to both Kiwis.
    We’ve had a very good and celebratory day – not just Christmas. Our beautiful Younger Lamb and her lovely chap went for an early Christmas morning walk and came back engaged!! We’re SO pleased and happy for them. :smile: and :good:

  17. Morning all.
    It is now Boxing Day here and a beautiful fine one it is too. We are away from home staying with our daughter in Wellington where we has a great festive day yesterday with more ‘adventures’ planned for today.
    Cheers.

  19. Printed this off early doors but didn’t get a chance to look at it until the nigh on terminal indigestion, and alcohol level had subsided to just about bearable. As others bottom half sailed in but troubles started in the top half.
    Thanks to Jay and 2 K’s
    I will have a look at the toughie and double toughie more in hope than expectation. After I have burned the image of MP in his underpants from my retina.

Comments are closed.