DT 29320 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
View closed comments 

DT 29320

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29320

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

Despite the whole country being in lockdown we are still permitted to do our regular walking as long as it is only with people from ones own household. A two metre separation must be kept from everyone else. It is so reassuring in the midst of so much disruption to notice that the tides continue to ebb and flow as they always have done and the flocks of birds carry on just being birds. Be strong and keep well everyone.

Just like the tides and the birds, Jay continues to give pleasure.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Such creatures take food smothered in fruit (5,4)
GREAT APES : A fruit used for wine-making smothers a word meaning ‘take food’.

6a     A university will accept decline for so long (5)
ADIEU : ‘A’ from the clue and U(niversity) surround decline or expire.

9a     Exclusive small pen (5)
SCOOP : S(mall) and a pen usually used for poultry. The exclusive is a newspaper story.

10a     Charles Edward must accept one’s punished (9) 
CHASTISED : The four letter short form of Charles and then the three letter short form of Edward contains one as a Roman numeral, with its ‘S.

11a     Effective obstacle that’s quickly broken? (5,7)
SOUND BARRIER : An all-in-one clue. Synonyms for effective and obstacle give something that can be broken at high speed.

14a     Finished drink, finding common ground (7)
OVERLAP : A word meaning finished or ended plus drink in the manner of a cat, perhaps.

16a     Worker on set mostly looking happy (7)
RADIANT : Remove the final letter from a set also called a wireless, and follow this with a worker insect.

17a     Friends regularly showing sign of embarrassment (3)
RED : The second, fourth, and sixth letters from the first word of the clue.

18a     I’m off toast! (7)
CHEERIO : An informal word used either on departure or when proposing a toast.

20a     Pay out to cover American delay (7)
SUSPEND : The two letters for American are inside a word meaning pay out.

22a     Cash obtained by son — a full term at work (5,7)
SMALL FORTUNE : An anagram (at work) of SON A FULL TERM.

26a     Pay for picture, creating an impression (9)
FOOTPRINT : Pay for or treat and then a picture that is not the original.

27a     Identify delicate material found by back of shop (5)
PLACE : The final letter of shop and then a delicate material possibly coming from Belgium.

28a     Tailor having a bit of modesty left (5)
STYLE : A lurker, hiding in the clue.

29a     Made notes about worms (9)
NEMATODES : An anagram (about) of MADE NOTES.

Down

1d     Make a deep cut in good tree (4)
GASH : G(ood) and then a tree of the olive family.

2d     Love affair so begins, finally finding god (4)
EROS : The final letters of four words in the clue.

3d     Labour embraces works producing fertile ground (7)
TOPSOIL : Artistic works are enclosed by labour or hard effort.

4d     Expert turned up in case of poison nut (5)
PECAN : The first and last letters (case) of POISON surround the reversal of an expert or adept.

5d     Poets supporting strike-breaker keeping weapons here (9)
SCABBARDS : A person who works while others are on strike and then another word for poets.

6d     Turned out exhausted after a time (7)
ATTIRED : ‘A’ from the clue plus T(ime) and then a synonym for exhausted.

7d     Sets off researches forgetting victory in Europe (10)
INSTIGATES : Start with a word meaning researches or looks into, and remove from this the letters signifying victory in Europe.

8d     This actor may be unconscious and read (10)
UNDERSTUDY : Unconscious or influenced by an anaesthetic and then read at a university.

12d     Agrees to allow use of chavs in action (10)
VOUCHSAFES : An anagram (in action) of USE OF CHAVS.

13d     Delight oppressing a Conservative spilling secrets? (10)
REVELATORY : Delight or rejoice, then ‘A’ from the clue and an informal name for Conservative.

15d     Advancement in marketing? (9)
PROMOTION : A double definition.

19d     Soldiers left part of church seeing deterioration (7)
RELAPSE : Engineering soldiers, and then L(eft) and a usually semi-circular recess in a church.

21d     Star’s cooler patch on a tropical beach? (7)
SUNSPOT : A double definition. The first is a relatively darker than usual patch on a familiar star.

23d     Symbol of bear market’s origin (5)
TOTEM : A synonym for bear or carry and then the first letter of market.

24d     Democrat supporting battle for part of constituency (4)
WARD : A battle involving armies and the abbreviation for Democrat.

25d     Bits of garden furniture? (4)
BEDS : A double definition. The furniture is found in sleeping quarters.

Hard to pick a favourite as ever, but we will go with 11a.

Quickie pun    thumb    +    hind    +    sigh    =    the mind’s eye

Now we will get back to making the quince jelly we started before solving the puzzle. The quinces are huge. All cooked up nicely.

76 comments on “DT 29320

  1. I fairly flew through this albeit with a little e help to confirm 29a….until I hit 25d which seemed to take as long as the rest of the puzzle put together!
    24d is like the proverbial London bus…you don’t see it for ages then it crops up twice in a matter of days.
    Podium places go to 26a, the mildly topical 23d and the well disguised anagram 22a. A pleasure to solve
    2/4*
    Many thanks to Jay and to the 2Ks for a great review.

    1. The well disguised anagram at 22ac was my last one in without me realising it was an anagram

  2. 2.5*/4.5*. The world seemed almost normal this morning. A warm sunny day with cloudless skies and an excellent Jay crossword to boot. Then “ping” and more news arrived about the C-virus. Down to earth with a bang.

    I didn’t know the answer to 18a could be used to propose a “toast” and I really struggled with 22a as I didn’t twig for a long time that it was an anagram. I noticed the repeated use of “supporting” to indicate part of the wordplay to be placed under another part in a down clue, but that didn’t take the gloss off a very fine puzzle.

    I’ll nominate 22a as my favourite as it put up the biggest fight.

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  3. I’ve just come back from my regular walk – the sun is shining, all the signs of spring are there and the birds are tweeting away – a nice escape from the virus gloom for an hour or so

    I started off well but found a couple of clues tricky so ended up about 3.5/4. I am slightly concerned that this crossword and another of the three I’ve solved this morning contain solutions indicating going away – in this one 6a, and 18a – I do hope there isn’t any significance to this.

    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks

  4. It was **/**** from me in this very enjoyable Jay crossword. Like RD I was held up by 22a because I didn’t immediately see it was an anagram, one of many fine anagrams in this puzzle. 5d and 11a were good too. Many thanks to the Kiwis and to Jay. I’m enjoying my regular walks too. As you say, it’s reassuring to see nature ticking over in a normal way.

  5. Jay at his gentlest today I thought. Breezed through in just over ** time with all answers fully parsed for a change. 22a was my last in & was forced to use pen & paper to sort out the anagram. Knew the pesky blighters in 29a – they were responsible for turning all the newly relaid greens on the Abbotsley golf course to mush. 11a & 13d were my picks of today’s assortment.
    Thanks to all.
    Ps loved the Quickie pun though had to say it a few times before the penny dropped.

  6. An enjoyable puzzle which I managed to complete before the excellent hints arrived. I,too, did not spot the anagram in 22a and this was the last one in. Great stuff with the sun shining, having already walked the dog and taken pics of the May blossom.
    Thanks to the setter and to the 2Ks. When will I be able to go fishing?

    1. May blossom? It’s only March! You must be further south than me. There’s only blackthorn flowering in the hedgerows here, it flowers before the leaves come, may flowers after. 😊

  7. I found this quite tricky and a bit of a head scratcher which impinged on the enjoyment, completion was at a fast canter – 3*/2.5*.
    Favourite – 10a.
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks – isn’t it wonderful that Mother Nature is blissfully unaware of what we humans are going through and is there to provide some rest and relaxation.

    1. I think Mother Nature is totally aware of what is going and she enjoying the significant drop in pollution levels, since we are not all out there driving around, running factories etc.

    2. At Le Jardin, the orange tree and the jasmine are in full bloom.
      And nobody can enjoy the beautiful scent.

  8. A comfortable Jay this morning.
    The only holdup was the anagram at 12d, that was the LOI.
    29a needed checking in the dictionary.
    Lots of mumbling regarding the current situation, perhaps we have got a bit soft. This is the biggest crisis since 1940 and we should realise that and pull together.
    Thanks for the hints and to Jay for the challenge.

    1. Like you, 12d was the last, and I had to refer to my 1872 dictionary to find the word. Hadn’t the strength to lift the Chambers after that. I was under the illusion that it was a sort of guarantee, not an agreement. My wife was under the belief that 29a was a sort of flying insect, and that put me off the answer for a bit. I blamed the virus for the contretemps, but all is now well! However I’m now exhausted after obeying the rules and only venturing out to the newsagent today to get supplies (and the last two days’ reserved D.T. ) and doing all the puzzles in both. Next visit Saturday, but then I’ll have two days to recover!

  9. Just what I needed today a nice gentle outing in crossword lamd. I needed assistance from the hints beleive it or not for 27a and 25d how to look an idiot in 30 seconds. It strange how the sometimes blindingly obvious flummoxes one.
    I am at last getting to grips with the electronic version of the newspaper, during the current emergency access is allowed. So tomorrow will go for it.
    We still have the incomers here at the moment, one actually knocked at the door and asked if I had pototos!!
    I hope you can imagine my polite but firm response.
    Many thanks to the 2ks hope they are keeping safe and to Jay, keep safe. Finally to all of you in the crossword blogosphere keep smiling.

  10. Very enjoyable. The top was quite straightforward but the bottom half asked a few questions. Last in was 21d, could not see the cooler bit but the clue was very accurate – thx for the explanation in the hints. Nice to see a science clue for a change from the usual arty ones.
    Thx to all
    **/****
    PS Good to see the iPad electronic version working properly again even if it does still suffer from the slowing down bug.

  11. Made rather heavy weather of 12&13d which meant the SW section was the last to fall – still most enjoyable though with Mr Wednesday in charge.
    Plenty of contenders for favourite but 26a just edged it for me.

    Thanks to Jay and to our 2Ks – amazing how we instinctively turn to Mother Nature for comfort in times of stress.

  12. A wonderful puzzle from Jay with a huge enjoyment factor. I needed the hint for 12d but the rest fell into place reasonably well. The SW corner held out the longest but once I got 26a the rest followed. This gave me all the checkers for 22a but, like others, still could not see it was an anagram. There is a clear indication that it is an anagram but I missed it. I couldn’t get “small footing” out of my head. My COTD is 11a.

    Grateful thanks to Jay and to the 2K’s.

    Lovely day in Shropshire as well. Spending it cleaning the car – a task last done about fifteen months ago!

    I mentioned I had The Blackout Book in an earlier post. Many of you may know this conundrum from it but for those that don’t it may while away a few moments.

    Three sisters have an elderly aunt. When she dies she leaves them a string of 19 pearls with instructions on how to divide the pearls between them.
    The eldest sister is to get half.
    The middle sister is to get a quarter of the pearls.
    The youngest sister gets a fifth.
    Try as they might, the three sisters could not work out how to divide the pearls between them so they went to see their aunt’s solicitor.
    He smiled and solved the problem immediately.
    How did he do it?

    Stay Safe. Stay well.

    1. Cut them into little bits perhaps?

      If your Lab is anything like our long-departed dog I imagine you probably got enough dog hair out of the car to knit a jumper

      1. Yep! I made the mistake of taking out the dog crate! :negative:

        No, the pearls are not cut up in any way.

    2. I imagine it was originally a string of 20, but the solicitor had kept one in lieu of his 5% fee, leaving 10 for the eldest, 5 for the middle, and 4 for the youngest.

    3. Well by my reckoning:

      If eldest gets half (but we can’t do halves) so she gets 10 – she’s happy because she got more than half of 19
      Middle sister gets quarter (but we cant do quarters either) so she gets 5 – she’s happy because she got more than a quarter of 19
      Youngest gets a fifth (but we can’t do fifths either) so she gets four – she’s happy because she got more than one fifth of 19

      10 – 5 – 4 and everyone’s happy

    4. Yep you got it right except the aunt really did leave nineteen pearls (according to the Blackout Book), the solicitor had his own, added it to the nineteen and, as LBR says, he gives each daughter half of the twenty, a quarter of twenty and a fifth of twenty. He then puts his own pearl back in the draw. However, I like Owdoo’s idea that it was commission – much more likely.

      The portions do not add up to a whole. :good:

    5. Borrow a pearl. You now have 20. Half is 10, a quarter is 5 and a fifth is 4. Distribute these to the three sisters and return the borrowed pearl to its rightful owner. I accept there is a fallacy here but I am sure the three sisters went away happy!

      1. You are quite correct, all sisters were happy. Apart from the youngest who is fed up of always being last in line. She becomes Margaret Thatcher! 🤣🤣🤣

  13. 12d held me up for a while before I realised it was an anagram. 25d took forever! Other than those, no real problems. I did have to check the spelling of 29a to make sure I hadn’t just made it up. Favourite 13d.

  14. I enjoyed this and was pleased to do it in one sitting. I sometimes try to answer a clue only if there is a checking letter (usually starting NW), and I did this today. I believe it is called a ‘read and write’ but I may be wrong. Favourite was 12d. Thanks to the Setter and for the review. Stay safe.

    1. If after the first read through of all across and down clues I had more than half of the clues solved.
      And after the second read through of acrosses and downs I only have three or four answers left to write in.
      And those answers fall into place without any problems.
      I would declare the puzzle a read and write.

      But it is a term that is generally disliked among the commenteriat. What is easy for one may well prove to be a stinker for someone else.

  15. Last ones in were the two anagrams in 12d and 22a as, like many, I failed to spot the indicators straight away.
    The rest fell in quite smoothly although I must admit to writing Stipend for the Pay in 20a before realising my mistake.
    Thanks to Jay and to 2 kiwis for the review.

  16. A nice puzzle which I did in two stints. 12d was a sticking point that held up the SW.
    Discovering the anagram in 22a opened it up and the rest filled itself fairly quickly after a second caffeine injection. I too was a bit puzzled by the second definition of 18a and have only just realized what set I was required to start 16a with, but both were bunged in as it could only be so.

    Thanks to J and 2K’s

  17. My dream is to finish a ‘cryptic’ answering all of the clues in order. This was a close as I have ever come – 13d spoilt it. Bit like being 2 inches away from a hole in one, which I have also never achieved. * for difficulty but an enjoyable solve. Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks for the review and explaining the quickie pun which I could not see.

  18. Another gentle but thoroughly enjoyable puzzle from Jay. Lovely smooth surfaces and a good clue mix. A joy from start to finish. To be different I rather liked the anagram at 29a.

    Thanks to all three birds.

  19. Another pleasantly pleasing outing from Jay. Only 22ac took my time. I didn’t spot the anagram indicator and took too long working out which words fit with the checkers. Thanks to Jay and to the 2Ks for the review and pictures
    Solved nicely before a phone call advising me about what I need to do to close my pub down for an extended time.
    Go teach your Grandmother to suck eggs.
    As far as I am concerned I’m on holiday for the foreseeable future.
    I’ll think about Saint Sharons position when she has finished today’s list of jobs.

    1. Manufacturing a nice beer shampoo perhaps. It’s supposed to be good for your hair.

      1. A number of pubs are doing food and drink ordered over the phone and delivered locally. Just a thought.

        1. There are five other pubs in our village. They can offer whatever services they like. I’m on my holidays. I’ve already found a live recording of The Incredible String Band done for John Peel.

          1. Happy days. There’s only one pub in my village, I’m not sure what they’re doing.

          2. How can you have five pubs in one village? That must be about ten people to a pub? That must at least be a town, a fairly largish one at that.

          3. When they forced us to close down, the deal was to put our staff on partial unemployment benefit for which we largely contribute through different social charges.
            Now they want us to use our staff holiday pay allocation to reduce the government cost for such a measure and pay everyone as if nothing happened.

        2. Our local is offering a takeaway menu. If, like me, you are self isolating they will take your order and payment over the phone. A time for collection is agreed and they leave the food by the door of the pub in a secure container.

  20. Along with everyone else I thought it was a most enjoyable crossword and I particularly liked 29a, interesting that there were so many different ‘favourites’. Am I being picky to say I thought 17a was a bit of a let down?
    Otherwise luverly jubberly. Thanks to all.

    1. In the setters defence it can’t be easy to come up with a brilliant clue for 3 letters with 2 checkers.

  21. Brilliant puzzle and possibly an even better blog.Needed the hint to parse 12d. But otherwise able to complete a Jay puzzle for the 4th week running.This might be at the easier end of his range but for a novice great satisfaction

  22. Jay at the top of his game. You all have said it all, I think: Brilliant surface readings, delicious anagrams, masterful sense of ‘style’ (nice clue, that one, a sweet little lurker). 6a was my LOI but not quite the cream of the crop like so many others. Podium stuffers: 6a, 12d, 7d (& 11a, 21d).

    Glad to know that the 2Kiwis are out there enjoying the blessings of nature; all of our parks and beaches in Charleston County have been closed for the duration, alas. Stay well Kiwis, and all of you. (I just heard that Prince Charles has the virus. Steady on, Sir!) With much gratitude to Wednesday’s Great Kahuna, Jay, and thanks to the Kiwis for the hints.

    1. I did it again; I’m sorry. 6d was my last one in. ‘Turned out’ in a Edwardian sense of being natty, perhaps?

  23. I’ll have to remember 29a for future reference, should I ever need it again. Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  24. Hello all – me again after what feels like a long time – I hope everyone is as OK as is possible at the moment.
    What with one thing and another there hasn’t been time for crosswords in the last week or so.
    I think I’m out of practice – I found the bottom half of this one pretty tricky, mainly the bottom left corner.
    Most of what I would have said has been said already but I really enjoyed today’s crossword very much, as usual on Wednesdays.
    Too many good clues to pick any in particular so I’ll leave it at that.
    Thanks to Jay and to the K’s.

    1. Whatever happened to the wedding? I suppose it had to be postponed, so sorry for the couple, what a let down.

      1. Yes – it had to be postponed – pretty awful, to put it mildly – they’re both still here with us in Oxford which is ‘interesting’ to say the least . . .

  25. I was really impressed by this puzzle. My last three in happened to be the three and only anagrams in the puzzle. I think this was a very intentional choice by Jay. He somehow knew which answers would be the trickiest so he crafted them in a similar style. Thanks all!

  26. Morning all.
    Rather surprised that so many people were held up by 22a as it was not one we expected to have caused problems. When we are writing the blog we often discuss which clues are likely to give trouble and try to give a slightly clearer nudge with these but 22a did not make the list here.
    We agree that the quickie pun is deliciously groan worthy and are still chuckling when we remember it.
    Cheers.

  27. What a lovely treat from Jay, thanks very much and also to 2Kiwis for the hints. Found this a steady solve, nothing obscure or sporty, so very enjoyable. Like several others, 22a was my last in as I too failed to recognise that it was an anagram. Until I got 19d, I was convinced the first word in 22a was shift…

  28. Just finished the Brummie cryptic in the Guardian which I thoroughly enjoyed. A wee bit more challenging than Jay today but very accessible & worth a look.

    1. I had a look…
      I romped through today’s Jay offering, looked at the Guardian and could not get one answer, which is about the norm for me.
      For some reason the crosswords in the Guardian are utterly beyond me.

  29. Another Jay gem, loved it. Like most, I didn’t notice the anagram at 22a, it just fit with the checkers.
    I was slow starting, but as I’m moving like molasses in winter I suppose that’s natural.
    I loved it all, but 11a was pretty clever so that’s my fave, and 26a needs a mention.
    Thanks to Jay and to the 2Kiwis for the entertainment. Imagine, the most of the world in lockdown, it hardly seems believable.

  30. Finally getting the hang of Jay puzzles and enjoying them too. Interestingly (if you’re interested that sort of thing, of course), 21d activity is at its lowest for about 200 years. Anyway, a glorious sunny day in Lancashire too, so made the most of my one walk per day. Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

    1. I recall reading something about the relationship between 21d activity and climate change. Sadly, I can’t remember the details – perhaps you can?

      1. I think it’s still up for debate but back in the 17th century there was a prolonged spell with very little sunspot activity which coincided with the Little Ice Age. I think there are some suggestions that there may be some cooling but not to Little Ice Age levels.

  31. Managed the left and right lower areas first with the exception of 25d that I just could not get. In fact it ended up being the last in. A duh! moment when the penny finally dropped.
    The top area took almost 2x as long as the bottom for me today.
    Favourites 1a, 10a & 13d

    Thanks to Jay & the 2K’s

  32. Another treat from Jay, which apart from a mild hiccup I finished steadily. I raced into the down clues which really helped me open the puzzle up.
    2.5*/4*
    Thanks to Jay & 2KWs for review
    As a note the DT was absent from the newsagents today…. problems with delivery apparently. As I subscribe for the newspaper I thought I would simply go online & print the necessary puzzles… NO! I had to subscribe to DT puzzles,,, uhm not happy!!

    1. If you have a DT subscription you may need to download the DT app and log in with your email and subscriber number. You should then be able to read all of the regular newspaper and solve The Cryptic and The Quick Crosswords but not The Toughie

  33. For once no real gripes with a Jay crossword from me, although I did think someone else had written the top half. Like others I struggled with the 12d anagram even with the checkers and I’d never heard of the 13d word so had to Google it. Unlike others 29a went straight in. A number of contenders for favourite but it goes to 11a. Thanks to Jay and 2K’s.

  34. Very late to the game due to the new restrictions. Pretty plain sailing but worth the wait on enjoyment scale. Favourite clue was 7d today. Thanks to Jay and the 2K’s.

  35. I dredged up 29a from somewhere deep in my memory banks, but didn’t have many problems today. Thanks to Jay, for an enjoyable solve, and 2Kiwis for a couple of confirmations. COTD has to be 1a, with 10a a close second!

  36. Been otherwise occupied all day but decided to have a go before retiring and I am pleased I did even if I don’t now sleep very well. Jay has done us proud today. Haven’t yet read any of the hints but will do so tomorrow (today In fact) before getting into 29321. 8d was a bung-in and on reading the hint feel perhaps it’s a bit liberal. Lots of clever clues but my joint Favs were 11a and 18a. Thank you Jay and the 2 Kiwis who are obviously under very similar restrictions to those to which we are having to adhere – not much fun but hopefully all in a good cause 😴.

Comments are closed.