DT 29275 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29275 (Hints)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29275 (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

1a    Still the same as one entertaining 1960s teenager (10)
A word meaning one or together around (entertaining) a three-letter 1960s teenager

10a    What sea may do to ship (4)
Sometimes the short answers are the hardest to find! – TO from the clue followed by our usual ship

16a    Old king whose seat’s in Edinburgh? (6)
Two definitions – the second being a feature of Edinburgh

20a    Scene about short musical work united people (8)
A scene goes around a short musical work and U(nited)

23a    Returning with sailor, popped outside for something to eat (9)
The reversal (returning) of W(ith) and a three-letter sailor inside a verb meaning popped

26a    Like coming round naked (4)
Start with a word meaning coming round after being asleep and drop its outer letters

27a    Critical sort of mood (10)
Two definitions – the second being a grammatical term

29a    Doctor later calls for crystal dispenser (4,6)
An anagram (doctor) of LATER CALLS

Down

1d    Free and occasionally funny party (4)
The even letters (occasionally) of a word in the clue followed by a party

3d    Tailor designs wrong item of clothing (8-4)
An anagram (tailor) of DESIGNS WRONG

5d    It’s adopted by heartless foe? (6)
Start with a foe, drop its middle letter (heartless) and insert (adopted by) IT from the clue

8d    Crush bowl made of clay (not hard) (10)
A bowl followed by an adjective meaning made of clay without (not) the H(ard)

14d    Bigwigs initially need directors to supply teaching aid (10)
The initial letter of B[igwigs] followed by a need and a collective word for the directors of a company

17d    Support pay for others (8)
A verb meaning to pay for and a word meaning the others

21d    High-rise accommodation for workers? (3-4)
… in this old chestnut, the workers are insects

22d    America briefly unsettled European region (6)
An anagram (unsettled) of most of (briefly) AMERIC[a]

25d    That woman’s protecting one next in line (4)
The pronoun meaning that woman around (protecting) I (one)

The Crossword Club is now open.


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The Quick Crossword pun: tube+hacker=Chewbacca


77 comments on “DT 29275 (Hints)

  1. Pleasantly entertaining and straightforward this sunny morning. A couple of the short answers delayed me a tad, but otherwise all was plain sailing. I liked 23a best of all, with an honourable mention for 11d.

    Thanks to our Saturday setter and BD.

  2. 2*/2.5*. A pleasant puzzle for a sunny morning, which I enjoyed mostly with only an occasional hmm. It all fell into place quite smoothly apart from a couple of answers in the SE corner.

    I don’t think 13a quite works because the definition really needs an apostrophe but that would ruin the surface which has to be misleading for a good cryptic definition. (I’m sorry if that comes across as a bit opaque, but I can’t explain it any better without the risk of being sent to the naughty corner). I also think that the definition for 23a is a bit vague and there are a couple of iffy surfaces.

    My podium comprises 26a, 2d & 21d.

    Many thanks to the setter and to BD.

  3. My iPad timer is telling me that I didn’t take as long to finish this as it felt at the time. There were a couple where I really felt that I’d never get what the setter meant. However, with the assistance of the Thesaurus for a couple I got there in the end.

    Really liked 11d and 8d. Wasn’t keen on 23a.

    RD couldn’t 13a be plural which disposes of the need for an apostrophe?

    Many thanks to BD and the setter

    1. Perhaps, Margaret. I used to do it a lot in the 60s and never used more than one for that activity!

      1. I did it in 1969 with 2 other girls all over Australia. We used to go to a police station and ask if we could sleep in the cells! We were all just 20 so very naive. We didn’t realise this activity was illegal in Victoria and we were literally run out of town. The lovely young policeman charged with driving us was so delightful he gave us his mother’s address some way away and rang her to say we were coming! Now of course the three of us have just turned 70 and its a different world. Thank God there were no mobiles as my parents would have freaked had they known what we were/ up to. Back to the puzzle, finding it a bit tricky, 6 left but haven’t looked at the hints yet but thanks to all. I’m delighted we are finally OUT.

          1. It’s a good job we all know what the answer is, otherwise this is a dodgy thread and no mistake, Officer.

  4. A real mixture of straightforward clues and some real fiendish ones as in 27a (what on earth is a grammatical mood?) and 23a (where is the indication to use only the first letter?). I wonder if the setter is a Douglas Adams fan (16a and 28a)? My fav was 29a, very clever.
    Thx to all
    ***/***

    1. The single letter you need in 23a is an abbreviation which has appeared many times in crossword clues before

    2. 23a It’s an abbreviation.

      Ps Very wise of BD to remove the banner that was displayed late last night (or was I dreaming?) … it would have annoyed about 48.11% of the population.

      1. It was scheduled for an hour either side of midnight (I was out celebrating!) – I just couldn’t let the occasion pass. I believe that a large percentage of those who voted both for and against were not dyed-in-the-wool campaigners, so i would dispute your 48.11% figure. I feel sorry for those who, like that Japanese soldier, are still fighting yesterday’s battle instead of embracing the new challenges.

        1. Oh, disappointed that I missed your banner. Might be across the pond but still followed the last 3 1/2 years very closely. We were there on holiday when the referendum took place and it was very interesting talking to the locals each evening in the pub.

          1. I didn’t see your banner either as I was also out celebrating and didn’t finish the crossword until this morning. For the far less than 48.11% who can’t accept the result get over it. Google Eagles get over it.

    3. In 27a I didn’t say it was a grammatical mood, I said it was a grammatical term – look at the BRB – “Noun: 3.A verb in the ********** mood”.

      For 23a W has been an accepted abbreviation for With in thousands of puzzles.

      1. 23a Have the rules regarding prize puzzles changed since leaving the EU?

        You have just given away part of the answer.

      2. I agree – used in other situations. One example for a priest with two parishes – Rector of Shufflebottom w. Little Standing.

  5. I got badly held up by a few 4 letter clues with rather vague definitions and in the SE, where I selected the wrong 4 letter option for the second part of a clue. This derailed everything else. A mixed bag of a puzzle (***/**) with 27a as my favourite. Thanks to the setter and to BD for the hints.

  6. Brilliant,I feel much better today. Thank You to those who agreed with me about yesterday’s difficulties. I liked 27a, I remembered it from school, but must admit I had forgotten about the Oxford comma.

  7. A very pleasant SPP, not sure how long it took as I had a long break for an evening supper meet-up so I will put it down as **/***.
    Favourite, even with it’s indefinite definition – 23a.
    Thanks to the setter and BD.
    Now for multitasking on the MPP, NTSPP, and the first two 6 Nations games after my version of a Full Monty for sustenance.

  8. Sorry, forgot to say my thanks to both the setter and BD, although I did not need the hints, I much enjoy the blog.

  9. Late start here after partying well into the small hours.
    One of the short answers was slow to fall and I certainly tried to fit the other 1960s teenager into 1a but no problems elsewhere.
    11d has to be my favourite because it reminded me of my very high ranking RAF neighbour who has a silver frame bearing his rank on display, inside which is a snap of him on the beach with rolled up trousers, making sand-pies with his young granddaughter.

    Thanks to today’s setter and to BD for the club.

  10. An entertaining puzzle today although, like others, a couple of the short answers took some time to fathom out. I am still not sure if I solved 12a correctly. My favourites were 1a and 23a. I thought 16a would have been more at home in another type of crossword.

    Very windy here in Shropshire – “winds of change” maybe?

    Grateful thanks to the setter and to BD for the hints.

  11. Really enjoyed today’s puzzle with the exception of 16A. Surely that clue belongs in the Quick Crossword or the GK at a pinch. I fail to see anything cryptic about it. However the Setter more than redeemed himself with 8D which is pure magic. Many thanks to Setter and BD.

  12. I certainly got held up with some of the four letter answers and had the wrong second word for 13a which made 8d impossible until I saw my mistake.
    20a took ages for no particularly good reason as did the 29a anagram – couldn’t think of what kind of ‘crystals’ were being dispensed. :roll:
    I liked 10a and 4 and 5d. My favourite was 13a – my sister and I did lots of it in the late 1960’s and early 70’s much to our Dad’s horror!
    Thanks to the setter and to BD.
    I now have lots of choices – the MPP (which I suspect is an already lost battle), the NTSPP and I didn’t even get round to looking at the crossword yesterday so still have that too.

        1. Although both of your comments made me smile, you have strayed into alternative clue/hint land so…

    1. Me too – can’t wrap my brain around that one. Otherwise a pleasant and gentle puzzle. Can’t remember the last time I heard of a 14d being used in this country, they’ve been replaced with clever techy stuff.

  13. All has been said I believe, pleasant coffee time puzzle with no great hold ups.
    2*/3.5*
    Thanks to BD & setter for pre rugby diversion.
    Now to try & finish yesterday’s puzzle,,, uhm?

  14. ***/***. I too struggled with a couple of the four letter answers. Got there eventually. Enjoyable for a cold, wet and windy Saturday morning. Thanks to all.

  15. This was a question of pressing on regardless and gradually getting on stream. I was in the end left with two four-letter words (12a and 26a) with which I needed assistance to finish. Perhaps my concentration on matters cruciverbal has been less than complete as I have at the same time been watching tennis from Melbourne and then RU from Cardiff. Thank you Mysteron and BD.

  16. A pleasantly enjoyable & pretty straightforward solve in a shade shy of 2.5* time. Plenty of clues to like but pick of the bunch for me were 1a & 8d. Thanks to all.

  17. I found this pretty friendly until I got to the SE corner, that took twice as long as the rest of the puzzle.
    I was held up by 17d, eventually giving in and using e-help.
    Fave was 29a, crystals indeed; followed by 23a and 6a.
    Thanks to our Saturday setter and to BD for his hints and pics.

  18. Another enjoyable crossword. 8d and 29a clues of the day for me. Thanks to the setter and Big Dave, as ever.

  19. A bit tougher than last Saturday, and most answers came smoothly, with a few hold outs. We were teenagers in the 1960s but not one included in 1a, nor the others either. Might be old now, but what a glorious time to be a teenager. We were so much luckier than our parents and grandparents. Thanks to BD and the setter.

  20. A delightful puzzle which reassured me that my brain cells are functioning after yesterday’s offering. Today Wavelength definitely in tune. 23a solved by answer popping into mind and refusing to be silenced. I realised it was correct once I had read the clue more closely to prove it.

  21. All very straightforward apart from 12a (which eventually dawned) and 26a which was my LOI and annoyingly I had to resort to electronic help. Apart from that, very enjoyable.

  22. Lovely puzzle – a couple of hold ups, but otherwise smooth going. Thanks to all!
    Or should that be “holds up”? Like brothers in law, you understand. 🙃

  23. Obviously I’m going to be one of the last commenters, I didnt start until late and then got interrupted by match of the day with only three to go but I got there. Re my comment above check out The Eagles Get Over It, well worth a listen. As usual the blog as interesting as the crossword. Many thanks to all involved.

  24. Thanks to the setter and to Big Dave for the hints. I found this very tricky, but quite enjoyable. Needed the hints or electronic help for 1,10,12,27 and 4,5, 8,17d. Was 4*/3* for me. Still can’t get 12a.

  25. This encompassed all that I like about the DT Saturday crossword. Clue that made me smile most has to be 8D. However, I agree with a previous correspondent elsewhere, the short clues can be the hardest. Thanks BD for the explanation for 26A. It couldn’t be anything else, but as how to get it? Maybe my brain was elsewhere, a proud Yorkshireman readying for a Wales victory? Achieved both then, a completed grid of a ‘back-pager’ and a stunning victory for the Men in Red. Would have celebrated the exit, but after so long waiting, it seemed to have slipped me by…..

  26. More than 24hours later but I STILL can’t get 12a. Please would somebody help me? Rest of it was lovely, 13a bringing back youthful memories …

  27. Saturday was too busy so have left it for today. Unfortunately still can’t get 8d, which makes me suspect 6a and no hint for that-can anyone help without being cast into disrepute. The rest of the puzzle worked out fine!!

    1. I don’t believe it ! Minutes after l posted this, 8d came to me, and then my original 6a -which fitted perfectly, became wrong….and anything else will be a guess.
      Thanks to BD and except for 6a, well done Mr Ron.

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