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DT 29300

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29300

Hints and tips by Jay Gatsby

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Good Morning. The sun has got his hat on. Hip hip hip Hooray. Coventry City are sat sitting on the top of their division in the football league. All is well with the world. What more need I say?

Todays puzzle is a typical for a Monday. Nicely accessible. In a rare moment of madness I struggled to solve the anagram at 27 across which held me up on the down clues in that corner. But not for long. I noticed that the first two across clues seemed to connect nicely so I have chosen to illustrate that connection.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a    Platform may show disgust following application of pressure (6)
PODIUM: A noun meaning general or widespread hatred or disgust incurred by someone as a result of their actions sits after the abbreviation for pressure. Thank you google

5a    Bold disobedience intended after first half of demo (8)
DEFIANCE: The one intended is the one you are engaged to marry. He, she or whatever their chosen gender (he in this instance as the final letter is not repeated) comes after the first two letters (half) of the word demo. I fully support the BLT community although I usually leave out the lettuce and the tomato

9a    Has former PM tucked into hot South American breakfast dish? (4,6)
HASH BROWNS: Charade time. Begin with the word has from the clue. Take the abbreviations for Hot and South into which you need to insert the prime minister who followed Tony Blair. Now you all know I like some food in a puzzle but these things! What even are they? How did they ever get past the food police? No thank you, not on my breakfast

10a    Power line in front part of ship (4)
PROW: The abbreviation for power followed by another word for line. Both the wordplay and the definition make this one of the easiest clues ever written

11a    Play part storing renewable energy? (4,4)
PEER GYNT: An anagram (renewable) of ENERGY sits inside an abbreviation of part

12a    Insect discovered in place close to desert (6)
LOCUST: A noun meaning a particular position or place where something occurs or is situated is followed by the closing letter of the word desert. These insects are creating havoc in Africa with the worst plagues for seventy years

13a    Mother joining Church of England staff (4)
MACE: An endearing term for your mother (much favoured by our Monday setter – the term that is, not your mother) is followed by the abbreviation for the Church of England

15a    Side by side, move backwards secured by rope (8)
TOGETHER: A word meaning secured by rope which usually refers to animals contains the reverse of a verb meaning to move as in moving a piece in a bird game

18a    Make sense of arguments against? Correct (8)
CONSTRUE: A term for criminals is followed by a word meaning factually correct

19a    Stake needed, unlimited (4)
ANTE: remove the outer letters (unlimited) from a synonym of the word needed

21a    Fewer working class (6)
LESSON: A word meaning fewer is followed by a word meaning working

23a    So I heard broadcast where Ian Smith was premier (8)
RHODESIA: Anagram (broadcast) of SO I HEARD will give the name of a Southern African country that no longer exists

25a    Permit is required to enter Virginia (4)
VISA: Place the word is inside the abbreviation for the state of Virginia

26a    Spokesperson‘s opening snippet (10)
MOUTHPIECE: The opening through which one speaks is followed by a small bit of something

27a    Frequent red tape involved crossing Spain (8)
REPEATED: An anagram (involved) of RED TAPE also contains the letter E which is Spain’s letter in the IVR code. Whatever that is.

28a    Go by land that’s bleak (6)
WINTRY: A word meaning an attempt sits after an informal verb meaning to succeed in obtaining or achieving (something desirable), especially in the face of competition. Phew. That was tricksy to explain

Down

2d    Make a speech count supporting leader of Opposition (5)
ORATE: A word meaning to count or grade sits after the initial letter of the word opposition

3d    Popular couple at work (2,7)
IN HARNESS: A word meaning popular is followed by a word meaning to couple together.

4d    Victim in trade centre, unknown Republican (6)
MARTYR: A place where goods are bought and sold is followed by a mathematical unknown and the abbreviation for republican

5d    Entirely because of article on stadium (4,2,3,6)
DOWN TO THE GROUND: A phrase meaning because of is followed by a three-lettered determiner or article and another word for a stadium

6d    Match found about convict’s body (8)
FUSELAGE: A large-headed match capable of staying alight in strong wind sits around a convict or felon

7d    A chopped pungent savoury jelly (5)
ASPIC: Begin with the letter A from the clue. Find a word meaning pungent and remove its last letter (chopped)

8d    Lookout cross, went mad (5-4)
CROW’S NEST: Anagram (mad) of CROSS WENT

14d    Together years ago? (2,3,4)
AT ONE TIME: A double definition of which neither was much inclined to reveal itself to me.

16d    Actor bad at reading (9)
TRAGEDIAN: Anagram (bad) of AT READING

17d    Mike installed inside carriage for broadcast (8)
TRANSMIT: The abbreviation for Mike sits inside a verb meaning to send (carriage)

20d    One failing to attend meal — ring wife (2-4)
NO SHOW: A generic term for food is followed by the letter that looks like zero and the abbreviation for wife

22d    Bar stocking old Italian wine (5)
SOAVE: A stretch of a synonym of the word bar contains the abbreviation for old

24d    At home aggressive dog may make one suffer (5)
INCUR: A two-letter term meaning at home is followed by a term used to describe an aggressive dog.

Quickie Pun base+inns+treat=Basin Street


 

56 comments on “DT 29300

  1. As MP says, a nice straightforward puzzle to start the week. All over in */** time, with just the match in 6d that was unknown to me, from French I am guessing. I also took some time to solve 27a.

    Many thanks to the setter and MP.

  2. An excellent start to the solving week with this nicely straightforward puzzle. I liked two of the anagrams, 11a and 16d, but my favourite was 5a.

    Thanks to our Monday setter and MP.

  3. I only needed a hint for 11a so two star difficulty for me. Not sure about the hint for 4a – I think it’s an anagram of energy in the abbreviation for part not par.

    I’ve never heard of the outdoor match before in 6d so I appreciate the hint’s explanation because I couldn’t understand where the extra ‘e’ came from.

    Many thanks to MP and the setter.

  4. Sorry MP. Breakfast is not the same if I don’t have 9a. I’m a fan, but only if they are nice and crunchy, and not soggy because they’ve been sitting in a tin all morning at the breakfast bar. Am American breakfast wouldn’t be the same without them. I did try to do things with “may” before I got the right PM. I managed to get a word for “match” and for “con” for 6d, but I seemed to need an extra “e”. I don’t know where it comes from. I’ve got lots of ticks, so enjoyed this gentle solve. Many thanks to the setter and to the great Gatsby.

    1. The match has a double E at the end Florence.

      Don’t the moon look good, mama

      Shinin’ through the trees?

      Don’t the brakeman look good, mama

      Flagging down the “Double E?”

      Don’t the sun look good

      Goin’ down over the sea?

      Don’t my gal look fine

      When she’s comin’ after me?

      1. Thanks MP. I was googling it as you were typing. The above comments re 6d must have come in whilst I was typing my comment. I’ll try and remember the word.

    2. I’m a fan of 9a too, maybe a bit heavy for breakfast. I like to cook them as rosti- yum yum.

  5. Although I just finished in 2* time, 5d held me up because I have never heard that particular euphemism used for that meaning before. Surely 8d is the place for the lookout not the person? I thought some of the clues were a bit weak but 9a and 11a were good. Thanks to MP for the hints and to the setter. Is the latter a new setter? The style seemed unfamiliar.

  6. Nice and friendly for a Monday – strangely, my last two in took just as long as the rest put together!

    Thanks to the setter and Mr Gatsby

  7. A gentle way in which to launch into the new cruciverbal week. NE corner was last to come to heel. Am more familiar with musical association so stupidly needed prompt for 11a as play. 5a was Fav but I also liked 21a once I had given up trying to justify lessen. Will be interested to discover who the setter is but thanks to him/her anyway and also to MP.

  8. A nice gentle start to the week. I was struggling to get the i in 6d until I realised I was spelling it incorrectly thereafter I learnt a new word for match ! Favourite clues were 9a and 21a.

    1. Me too. 6d was my last in & the iPad stated incorrect. Reveal mistakes indicated the offending i.
      Needless to say I’d never heard of fusee either. Otherwise nicely straightforward with 11a taking the honours as COTD for me.
      Thanks to all.

  9. I’m old enough to remember 23a. Would the younger ones have to resort to Google?
    If only everything was alright with the world thanks to Coventry City!

    1. 23a took on its current name a day after my 3rd birthday†, but I still got it: clearly it was still talked about for some time afterwards.

      I do feel the clue is the wrong sort of ‘general knowledgey’, though: the definition is so clear and unambiguous that if you’ve heard of Ian Smith then it’s too easy and you don’t need the wordplay; and if you haven’t heard of him, it’s bafflingly meaningless.

      Thank you, everybody — a fun read here today, both the hints and the comments.

      † I’ve just looked this up — I’m not claiming I was aware of this as a 3-year-old!

  10. I couldn’t quite get into the groove with this one. Not sure why. It just did not sit easy somehow but I cannot put my finger on what I didn’t like. Perhaps it is just the old Monday morning feeling? I did not follow 12a at all even though I believe the answer to be correct. I’m sure the parsing is obvious but it’s not to me.

    Thanks to the setter and to MP for the hints, Grieg and Mr. Armstrong. (Even though I don’t use them, I think an Oxford comma could have gone there!) :grin:

    1. Five letter word (origin Latin) for place plus close (last letter) of desert.

  11. I struggled with the NW corner today, my usual starting place. and returned to it when the other quadrants were solved at a steady pace.
    Last in was 11a and going for it as my favourite!
    Around a **/*** and as most bloggers say , an enjoyable start to the week.
    Thanks to Jay for the aptly chosen quickie pick.

  12. The first time I ever had the 9a breakfast item was in San Francisco in 1978. I was astonished by it as we watched them cooking everything on the griddle in front of us. Together with fried eggs and crispy strips of bacon, it took up half the plate and was made with shredded potato piled up and pressed down freehand fashion. Home fries, although not my favourite, also worth a mention.It was a great brekkie, only let down by the tall (but soggy) pile of buttered toast, the jam (jelly) and the plentiful (but weak) coffee.
    Later in the 80s we got used to Rosti cooked within a metal ring mould. That seems to have disappeared.
    Today’s 9a, as served in British hotels and cafes and available at the supermarket, bears no relation … it’s a square or triangular tablet of mash already fried, frozen and heated up. Very disappointing.

    I was wondering what our North American colleagues on here think about this? They have to be shocked by this Brit version.
    I’ve become a bit of a connoisseur of the US breakfast as one of our offspring lives in California. Not many bar diners there now, but great if you like avocado, sourdough (Yes) and weird egg white omelettes (No).

    1. I have a friend who makes egg-white omelettes and gives the yolks, the most nutritious parts, to the dogs!

    2. You can’t beat a good skillet, with two eggs, hash, breakfast potatoes, and hot sauce. Add extras as you like.

  13. I got the answers in too many cases without really knowing why. M..P. soon put me right.Thankyou..I wonder if you can remember the season when Coventry and Port Vale tussled for promotion all season.As a Stoke fan l ,fear we will be playing both next year.

  14. For the first time in ages I managed this with no help from dictionaries or thesauri, electronic sources, or hints and answers. For me that’s * as difficulty rather than time is my scoring method. 26a my favourite in a not too exciting puzzle.

    My thanks to setter and blogger.

  15. I struggled with this I’m afraid. Never heard of the match, despite having a collection of over 100 Victorian match strikers. I know a lucifer! I didn’t get 11a and 19a was a bung in. However, thanks for the hints and the mental challenge.

  16. Completed alone and unaided…hurrah for me!

    How can anyone not like 9a?

    We discovered them in a tiny eatery at the end of a fishing pier in Southern California in 1979. It was about 6am, the sun was rising, the fishermen were coming in for their breakfast and I have never forgotten how delicious they were. Sadly, even in the US, I have never found better ones, or even ones that compared to them. Happy memories.

    Thanks to Miffypops and to the setter.

  17. I’m old enough to remember 23a too! Failed to work out the play in 11a totally. I think I’ve had the odd glass of 22d way back when. Not the best as I recall. Other than that, no real problems today. 28a clue pretty weak and the extra e in 6d gave me pause. Without the explanations here, I’d frequently be none the wiser why some answers are the answers.

  18. Hash browns over here are a staple when one forgoes grits, usually, like three times a week. Too bad, Jay Gatsby, that you find them so odious. (I’ll bet Daisy Buchanan, a good Kentucky girl, enjoys her hash browns!). What a terrific Puzzle, rich with anagrams and clever trickery. My last two in were 5d (an expression I don’t we see much over here) and 26a, which is my COTD. Other podium stars were 5 and 11a. Grieg’s music to 11a is one of the wonders of musical achievement–much better than the play itself. Thanks Jay Gatsby and the setter. **/****

  19. Far above my solving capability I’m afraid, only managed 4 answers before giving up in disgust. Yet another very difficult back pager, one in a long line recently.
    *****/*
    Thx for the hints

  20. A few clues were a struggle here, but only needed to resort to electronic cheat for three of them in the end. 6d was one of them. 14d also stumped me for a long time as I had different starting words, but all with same last word that I knew was correct. In fact even using the electronic cheats it never brought up the correct answer. Very strange.
    Favourite clues 21a & 23a
    Thanks to setter and MP

  21. This was quite friendly for me, just a couple needed e-help, 6d was not one of them; when I saw f-s with a g at the end, I immediately thought of airplane body – probably because of my airline history.
    I was stuck on 11a, one of my very faves, and could not unravel 12a, but what else could it be?
    I had the anagram at 27a written in circles and still found it tricky.
    Thanks to Mr. Scott and Jay Gatsby for his hints and tips, and the Peer Gynt and Louis! Off to find my PG to play the whole thing.

  22. I solved this before the blog opened and am surprised to see so many positive comments about it. Despite not being particularly difficult it wasn’t really my cup of tea. I didn’t like 11a and to me 14d doesn’t work as a double definition. I parsed it as “ago” being the definition……At one (together) + time (years) =ago.
    Thanks to the setter and to MP for his usual fun review

  23. Yes – a typical Monday crossword – not too tricky, not too easy and quite enjoyable.
    I can’t help wondering lots of things – a) why did several of us have trouble with the not very difficult 27a anagram b) how do you make 9a’s and, finally, c) what on earth is the point of an omelette made from egg whites? As my old Nan used to say, “there’s nowt so queer as folk”!
    I’m also old enough to remember the person and the place in 23a.
    Not sure that 28a is necessarily bleak – at the appropriate time of year it can be beautiful.
    I enjoyed 5a and 3 and 14d.
    Home alone until Friday – it’s cold and I’m getting a cold. Grump, grump . . . sniff! :sad:
    Thanks to the setter and to MP in his latest disguise.

    1. I agree re omelette made with egg whites. My friend does it because of the high cholesterol count in the yolks, but the yolks have all the goodies! So she gives them to her dogs. I like hash browns as rosti, you can google it. You have to use oodles of good butter, not the butter we have here which has a lot of water. I use Irish butter.

  24. Favourable Monday serving, that would have been solved so much quicker if I had not put the wrong 3 letter word in 14d. This pushed me over time ☹️
    2.5*/3.5*
    Thanks to setter & MP for review

  25. Slow start but fast finish. No standouts for me although I did like 11 a. I like the fare in 9a when cooked well. Nice to see another blogger from BC, not far up the road from me. Thanks to the setter and MP. I’m back to watching the bird life as we sail down the coast of Chile. Can’t wait for the Horn and Port Stanley before heading to warmer climes.

  26. I found this puzzle more difficult than usual and I struggled to get properly on the setter’s wavelength. 5 down went completely over my head, having never heard the expression before. Not my favourite puzzle of late by any means, but at least I did complete it – albeit at a very slow crawl. Thanks to the setter for the challenge and to MP who’s parsings came in very handy.

  27. At the risk of trying to teach a draughtsman how to sharpen a pencil I justified 5d as “It suits me completely/entirely” or “It suits me “the answer” and 14d as together 2,3 plus year 4 letters = ago. I completed this unaided with the exception of needing the hint to fully parse 6d as I’d never heard of the match. Lots to like and I’m going to go with 5d for favourite as no-one else seemed to see it like I did. Many thanks to the setter and MP.

    1. Fat Pat has taken the paper home from my pub. My iPad is on charge. It is 14 and a half hours since I solved this puzzle and my hint for 5d is too far up this blog to scroll to to look at what you are saying. Sorry old chap. It’s just the way the music makes me roll.

  28. 22d we had a bottle of this last evening, first time for about 30 years! Despite the snobbery, quite enjoyed it.

  29. Apologies as usual for chiming in late from the South Pacific🌴🌞🌴very unlike 28a. Fairly straight forward Monday fare. No real standouts but it took a while to figure out 11a was an anagram. The Y in 4a provided the light bulb moment. Finally, thanks Jay for the photo to illustrate 5a. This famous photo was of the 100 meters medal presentation at the Mexico City Olympics in 1968. I’d like to provide some background if I may. They say no one remembers the person who came second. I do in this instance. It was Peter Norman from Melbourne. He died recently and I believe Tommie Smith (the Gold Medalist) flew out to Australia to attend his funeral. Smith and John Carlos (the bronze medalist) always appreciated Norman’s support for the US civil rights movement that was at its height in 1968. Norman was barred from going to the Munich Olympics for his position by the Australian Olympic Committee. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on that. Looking forward to 29301 in a few hours🦇

    1. Thanks for that. I meant to say what a wonderful anagram indicator renewable is for the word energy. I was 13 in 1968 and was so proud of those who saluted on that podium.

      1. You’re still up ‘Jay’ but I guess you will be calling ‘time’ at your pub soon. I’m looking forward to calling in for a pint or two and talking some rugby when Mrs Flyingfox and I do a canal trip next year.

    2. That is a wonderful story. I didn’t know that, we are not a lost people, there is still good in us.

  30. Couldn’t get on this setter’s wavelength and didn’t find the clues I did manage to get particularly inspiring so I couldn’t be bothered to finish it.

  31. A standard Monday for me. No real hold ups and nothing too obscure.
    Food fun, thanks to the setter and MP.

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