DT 29265 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29265

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29265

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

Hello, everyone.  I found today's crossword to be a fairly straightforward and enjoyable solve.  I have no idea who the setter might be, but they are most welcome to add a comment below so we know who to thank.  It feels like a while since I've welcomed any new commenters to the blog, so if we have any lurkers out there thinking about posting their first comment, today would be a good day to delurk and share your experience with the puzzle. 

In the hints below most indicators are italicized and precise definitions are underlined.  Clicking on the answer buttons will reveal the answers.  In some hints hyperlinks provide additional explanation or background.  Clicking on a picture will enlarge it or display a bonus illustration.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

 

Across

1a    Soldier's  uniform (7)
REGULAR:  A double definition.  Other definitions include even, routine, and fixed     

5a    Hard to cry over American (7)
CALLOUS:  Link together cry or shout, the cricket abbreviation for over, and an abbreviation for American

9a    Check container vessel (5)
CHURN:  The abbreviation for check is followed by a vase-like container

10a   Great air-cooler finally kept wine cold (9)
FANTASTIC:  Concatenate a device that cools by moving air, the last letter of (finally…) kepT, a usual wine, and the single letter for cold 

11a   Regard tree outside university -- pity top's chopped off (10)
POPULARITY:  A tree of the willow family containing (outside) the single letter for university is followed by pITY from the clue with its first letter deleted (pity top's chopped off)

12a   Started to avoid good head (4)
BEAN:  A synonym of started has the single letter for good deleted (to avoid good) 

14a   Noisy disturbances after this month's commands (12)
INSTRUCTIONS:  Some noisy disturbances come after an abbreviation meaning this month

18a   Sister entertains at group's pleasure (12)
SATISFACTION:  A contraction of sister contains (entertains) AT from the clue and is followed by a small, possibly rebellious, group

21a   Man, perhaps, is allowed to scratch tail (4)
ISLE:  IS from the clue is followed by all but the last letter (… to scratch tail) of a word meaning allowed.  The construction …, perhaps indicates that the definition here is by example

22a   I had energy to follow wife and roll out blanket (10)
WIDESPREAD:  Assemble the single letter for wife, the contraction of I had, the physics symbol for energy, and a verb synonym of roll out 

25a   Allow writer salary increase right away (9)
AUTHORISE:  A generic writer is followed by a salary increase from which the single letter for right has been deleted (… right away

26a   Chap's mistake to change direction at the end (5)
ERROL:  In a synonym of mistake change the last letter to another that represents the opposite direction when both are read as single-letter abbreviations 

27a   Oriental art seen all over the place (7)
EASTERN:  An anagram (all over the place) of ART SEEN 

28a   Doctor sees wound before daughter is bandaged (7)
DRESSED:  Chain together an abbreviation for doctor, an anagram (wound, as in twisted) of SEES, and the genealogical abbreviation for daughter 

 

Down

1d    Summaries given about headgear (6)
RECAPS:  A usual short word meaning about or concerning is followed by some headgear 

2d    Angry medic imbibing alcohol before end of day (6)
GRUMPY:  A usual abbreviated medic or doctor containing (imbibing) an alcoholic spirit is placed before the last letter of (end of) daY 

3d    Mixing online less creates isolation (10)
LONELINESS:  An anagram (mixing … creates) of ONLINE LESS 

4d    Direct both ways? (5)
REFER:  The answer is a verb meaning direct that's the same written forward and backwards (both ways

5d    Make prisoners terse over time (9)
CONSTRUCT:  Glue together some usual prisoners, the reversal (over) of a word meaning terse or abrupt, and the physics symbol for time

6d    Brain  food (4)
LOAF:  A double definition.  The food item is also an informal word for brain

7d    Won't he do the wrapping precisely? (2,3,3)
ON THE DOT:  The first four words in the clue are hiding (wrapping) the answer 

8d    Kisses can oddly spread illness (8)
SICKNESS:  An anagram (spread) of KISSES CaN (the odd letters of can) 

13d   Fancy the prom with sea air (10)
ATMOSPHERE:  An anagram (fancy) of THE PROM SEA 

15d   River rising -- it starts to inflate old nun's habit (9)
TRADITION:  Cement together the reversal (rising, in a down clue) of a Devon river, IT from the clue, and the initial letters of (starts to) the next three words in the clue 

16d   Friend supporting Spain set to be gutted, I guess (8)
ESTIMATE:  A friend or pal comes after the fusion of the IVR code for Spain, the outer letters of SeT (set to be gutted), and I from the clue 

17d   The least bad runners? (8)
ATHLETES:  An anagram (bad) of THE LEAST 

19d   Cunning to wear the man's suit (6)
HEARTS:  A noun synonym of cunning inserted in (to wear) a pronoun for "the man's" 

20d   Sum left Wendy regularly confused (6)
ADDLED:  Put together a verb synonym of sum, the single letter for left, and alternate letters (… regularly) of WENDY 

23d   Improve pieces penned by editor (5)
EMEND:  Some board game pieces are contained by (penned by) the abbreviation for editor 

24d   Short letter from school turned up (4)
NOTE:  The reversal (turned up, in a down clue) of a well-known public school 

 

Thanks to today’s setter for a fun solve.  I was especially entertained by 12a, 4d, 7d, and 17d.  Which clues did you like best?

 


The Quick Crossword pun:  DUE + YEW + MINED = DO YOU MIND?


42 comments on “DT 29265

  1. Not too difficult but very enjoyable. As per, I was left with three 4 letter words at the end, the last one in being 12a which I guessed from the wordplay and then checked the synonym.
    I’d never come across the abbreviation in 14a though the solution was obvious.
    I liked 21a (great surface) and 19d but top spot goes to the cracking lurker at 7d.
    2*/3.5*
    Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K for his usual entertaining review.

  2. Nicely testing. Not sure about vagueness of 26a. Initially used two l’s rather than two r’s in 4d which caused problems. No Favs although some like 22a were fun to work out. Thank you Mysteron and MrK.

  3. Nothing too difficult in this pleasant puzzle. My last in and favourite was 8d.
    Thanks to the setter, and to Mr K.

    Hopefully pommers is not affected by the weather in Spain. I have seen rainfall in Valencia this morning unlike anything I have ever witnessed before. I am glad our house is at the top of the hill.

  4. A crossword of two halves. I started out with only one clue solved in the top half, so I moved to the bottom half and quickly finished it. Finishing the top half took me into *** time and I don’t really know why, apart from the fact that some of the clues were rather vague. 1 a was a particular problem, as I had two words, both beginning in ‘reg’, which could have been the answer and was unable to decide which until I finally got some checkers. Not an entirely enjoyable puzzle (**) as I have seen better sets of clues. Thanks to Mr K (loved the cat picture) and to the setter.

  5. 2*/3*. I’ll go along with Mr K’s assessment that was fairly straightforward and enjoyable.

    No particular favourite and no hmms.

    Many thanks to Messrs R & K.

  6. The excellent lurker at 7d was my COTD in this very straightforward but eminently enjoyable puzzle. Everything went in very smoothly with no hold-ups. My only gripe, such as it is, is that it was over too soon.

    Thanks setter and Mr K for his usual top Tuesday blog.

  7. Slight hold up with 5a where I was thinking more in terms of weeping and wailing – saved by getting the checker from 5d.
    No real favourite but an enjoyable solve.

    Thanks to Mr Ron and to Mr K for the review. I was just about to make some lunch but that 6d pic has put me right off the idea!

    1. When I was growing up, our cook made the most de-lish calves 6d, my fave. Now that I’m an adult and won’t even eat mammal of any sort, I agree with you.

  8. A very 1A puzzle, although I also liked the well disguised lurker on 7D. It seems the name 26A is down to around 800th in the baby naming game today- so maybe a bit obscure – except of course the mighty Mr Flynn from the days when screen idols really were, well – idolised. Thanks to Mr K for the entertaining hints.

  9. Reasonably straightforward although it took a while for the penny to drop on 4d my LOI, completed at a gallop – **/***.
    Favourite – 22a.
    Thanks to the setter and Mr K.

  10. Nothing to trouble the horses today, all done in a straight ** time.

    Thanks to the setter and Mr.K.

  11. Agree on the well disguised lurker in 7d. Cannot say the puzzle was 10a but I did finish it to my 18a

  12. Most enjoyable. I did like the lurker at 7d although, if I am honest, it was a bung in at first – only saw it after I had written it down. Also enjoyed 10a, 11a and 21a but my COTD is 12a, which was the last in. All in all, a welcome break from marking post gradate essays. :smile:

    Grateful thanks to the setter and to Mr. K for the hints, which were not needed today but I always read them anyway.

  13. I found this very straightforward so it’s an early start for the Toughie today. My favourite was 10a.

  14. Finished without help of any sort. First thought was “you must be getting brainier” to which reason answered “you don’t get brainier in your 70s. Think of another possibility.”

    Enjoyable to finish unaided but the pleasure will only be real when it’s a puzzle from the Don or Ray T.

    Thanks to Mr K for the wonderful illustration of 22a, and his blog and to the setter.

  15. I found this one average (just about) difficulty but also enjoyable. Favs: 7d and 14a, simply because it uses a rather old-fashioned abbreviation for “the current month”, which was still going strong in the 70s and 80s when I had to write lots of business, contractual and legal letters. 2.5* / 3.5*

      1. Yes, absolutely. I worked, on a 6-month contract, for a firm in 2001 who still added E&OE after the price at the bottom of a quotation and that’s something I’d never seen before. Apparently it means “Errors and Omissions Excepted” and is used to reduce legal liablilties for incomplete/incorrect info or pricing supplied within a quotation.

      2. Yes, absolutely. I worked, on a 6-month contract, for a firm in 2001 who still added E&OE after the price at the bottom of a quotation and that’s something I’d never seen before. Apparently it means “Errors and Omissions Excepted” and is used to reduce legal liabilities for incomplete/incorrect info/pricing supplied within a quotation.

  16. Nothing too difficult 😳 ***/*** but it did seem a trifle “awkward” 🤔 Favourites 18a & the lurker 😃 Thanks to Mr K and to the Setter

  17. **/***. Enjoyable while it lasted. 21a always makes me smile as the penny drops. Liked 7d and 12a. Thanks to the setter and Mr K for the usual fun review.

  18. I concur with a lot of the above 12a LOI as StevenL 7d among many I liked here I spent rather a long time making anagrams of the first 4 words and groaned when I realized it was a lurker in 1 to 5. 15d was a bung in and I only noticed the river after the event. Like Jane, I decided against a sandwich after seeing the pic for 6d.
    Thanks to Mr K and setter for the puzzle. I am off to see if I can drown this cold in a wee dram of Caol Ila

  19. I completed this but found it a strange combination of gimmes and head-scratchers. I think most of my problem was dimness. The answer for 5d came immediately but couldn’t get the “terse” bit – huh? Of course, it’s right there! Another hold up was the “vessel” in 9a – natch, it’s not just a verb, it’s a noun too. Really need to get the 12a working again.
    Lots to like here, fave was 10a, but I liked 22a too, particularly with the pic.
    Thanks to our Tuesday setter and to Mr. K for the fun review.

    1. Much fun, the 7d lurked was very good, and it was only having bunged it in and checking the parsing that I could see it.
      Apart from that, enjoyable Tuesday fare.
      Looking forward to going through the Dada hints courtesy of BD.
      Thanks all.

        1. I thought the phraseology in 12a was somewhat ambiguous! Those who know the lyrics of “walk on the wild side”, by Lou Reed will understand!

  20. Proof once again that Tuesday is a good day for crosswords.
    Short clues and smooth surface made the solving experience a real joy.
    Lovely charade in 10a. I do like a charade.
    Quite a few contenders for the first place but I shall go for 21a as favourite.
    Thanks to the wonderful Tuesday setter and to MrK for the review.

  21. 18, 22 & 25a were my favourites in what was a slightly trickier but nonetheless reasonably straightforward offering today.
    Thanks to Mr K for his review.
    Today’s DT Toughie is a DD (doable Dada) and good fun + the Guardian cryptic was excellent

  22. Bottom in first with top holding out. Last in 11a, needed all the checkers to sort it out. Can’t have been too hard, no external aids were consulted which makes it **.

  23. I found this a puzzle of 2 halves. The top went in ok but the bottom 1/2 caused a few problems. Overall though an enjoyable crossword. Thx for the explanation of terse in 5d, just could not see it. Some nice surface readings in 1a and 22a.
    Thx to all
    **/***

  24. I finished this in fairly short order before leaving the house this morning. I can’t remember much about it other than that it wasn’t overly testing.

    Many thanks to the setter and Mr. K

  25. I agree with everyone who didn’t complain! I found this perfect for a Tuesday, testing enough but perfectly doable. Favourite probably 11a as I have a friend who habitually pronounces the tree with the “u” no matter how many times I correct him, I’ve given up now. Many thanks to the setter and Mr. K.

  26. Really enjoyed this one, despite struggling to get on wavelength to start with. Once I got into the swing of it, half went in. On returning after errands, the rest followed although I did have a few thicko moments, not seeing 12a, and 6d strangely for quite a while. Spent too long on 21a trying to think of a man beginning with Is… duh. Thanks to setter and to Mr K. Pretty good Tuesday puzzle IMHO.

  27. I agree with Mr K and other comments: a straightforward solve more in keeping with Mondays’ level. My favourites: 10, 11, 22 Across and the two references to the noggin, 6d and 12a. Thanks to the setter and Mr K🦇

  28. I, too, attempted to make an anagram of the first three words in 7d – palm to forehead! Otherwise, no problems – fav 22a, love the cat! Thanks to Mr K, and the setter!

  29. I de-stressed with this puzzle after a drive back to New York City after a ski trip on Martin Luther King weekend. 23d was last to go in. My favourites were the 10 letter words. 13d and 22a both great.

  30. 3*/3*…..
    liked 2D ” angry medic imbibing alcohol before end of day (6) ” ….
    also liked the picture to 15D in the hints !!

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