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DT 29322

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29322

Hints and tips by Deep Threat

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

Good morning from an eerily quiet South Staffs. I hope the coronavirus is keeping its distance from you all.

It’s not often that I award **** for difficulty to a back page puzzle, but this one took me into that time bracket. Some unusual constructions and some stretched definitions both contributed to the difficulty for me. I shall be interested to see what others make of it, but my feeling is that this would have been at home in a  midweek Toughie slot.

In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the ANSWER buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a           Times following up proposition Queen is not a good Samaritan? (6-2)
PASSER-BY – Put together an amorous proposition, the regnal cipher of our Queen, and a word which, like ‘times’ is a multiplier. The result is what the priest and the Levite were to the man who fell among thieves in the parable of the Good Samaritan in St Luke’s Gospel.

5a           Beat schoolmaster, getting time inside (4)
STIR – This is ‘beat’ in a cookery sense. Insert Time into the form of address traditionally used for a male teacher.

9a           Spring in France — nation rioting, university seized (8)
FOUNTAIN – The IVR code for France followed by an anagram (rioting) of NATION wrapped around University.

10a         Fitting bolster back on (6)
PROPER – A verb meaning ‘to bolster’ followed by the reverse (back) of a Latin word for ‘on (the subject of)’.

11a         Time of love, love? Love, love! (8)
MIDNIGHT – ‘Love’ here is the tennis score, Put four of them together and you get a time in 24-hour clock format which is the answer to this clue,

12a         Oddly taking things off in train, Bob doing strip (6)
RIBBON – Alternate letters (oddly taking things off) of tRaIn BoB dOiNg.

14a         Running hot and cold, divine liquid covers ices, melting (10)
INDECISIVE – Anagram (liquid) of DIVINE wrapped around an anagram (melting) of ICES.

18a         Victory number one turned series (10)
SUCCESSION – Another word for a victory followed by the reverse (turned) of a short form of ‘number one’.

22a         Two Europeans having couple of pints inside run out to see match (6)
EQUATE – Remove the R (run out) from a two-pint measure, then put an abbreviation for European either side of the result.

23a         Agreeable rustic houses either side of Liverpool (8)
PLEASANT – A rustic person with one of the end letters of Liverpool inserted.

24a         Heated camphor used when going bye-byes, possibly? (6)
BOILED – What you use to ‘go bye-byes’ wrapped round something which may be an extract of camphor.

25a         Popular remix of ‘So Vain’ becomes offensive (8)
INVASION – A two-letter word for ‘popular’ or ‘fashionable’ followed by an anagram(remix) of SO VAIN.

26a         Sparklehurrydropshatter! (4)
DASH – Quadruple definition. The third one is a drop of liquid added to a mixture.

27a         Likely cost of this person’s cracking country pile (8)
ESTIMATE – A country property wrapped around the short way of writing ‘this person is’.

Down

2d           Rather thick, putting an R in ‘investigate’ (6)
STURDY – Put an R into another word for ‘investigate’ or ‘research’.

3d           Demand rising, business gathering cheers (6)
ENTAIL – Reverse (rising) another word for ‘business’ (as in the old TV programme ‘What’s My —?’) and insert a two-letter short word for ‘cheers’ or ‘thank you’.

4d           Radiance of British justice (10)
BRIGHTNESS British followed by ‘justice’ or ‘fairness’.

6d           This writer involved in craftier novel, not a great (8)
TERRIFIC – The pronoun for ‘this writer’ inserted into an anagram (novel) of CR(a)FTIER without the A (not a).

7d           ‘Bottled in Devonshire’, pub licences state (8)
REPUBLIC – Hidden in the clue.

8d           Frenzied title boxing gave a buzz (8)
DERANGED – A document which may show title to a property wrapped round ‘gave a buzz’.

9d           Celebrity footballers on camera, taking centre (4)
FAME – The two-letter acronym for the football governing body in England, followed by the middle letters of caMEra.

13d         They fly around stormy Polar Sea, bearing north-east (10)
AEROPLANES – Anagram (stormy) of POLAR SEA with North-East inserted. They’re not flying around so much at the moment.

15d         Gather disorder splits island where Boney was held up, … (8)
ASSEMBLE – Start by wrapping the Mediterranean island where Napoleon was first exiled around a word for ‘disorder’ or ‘confusion’, then reverse (held up) the result.

16d         … captured and tied up (8)
OCCUPIED – Double definition: land under the control of an invading army; and ‘engaged in an activity’.

17d         Anxious struggle to get wife off ship (8)
RESTLESS – Remove the Wife from the front of an other word for ‘struggle (with)’, then add the usual crossword abbreviation for a ship.

19d         One joining military force since getting over shooting expedition (6)
SAFARI – Put together the Roman numeral for one, one of the armed services, and another word for ‘since’, then reverse the result (getting over).

20d         We can admire the craft in this Bernstein song about November (6)
MARINA – Insert the letter represented by November in the NATO alphabet into a love song which is found in  Bernstein’s West Side Story.

Best Price on NH Collection Genova Marina in Prè + Reviews!

21d         Overcome in Lourdes, one supporting saint (4)
STUN – An abbreviation for ‘saint’ followed by the way they say ‘one’ in Lourdes (which is in France).


The Quick Crossword pun BENDS + TOKES = BEN STOKES


 

107 comments on “DT 29322

  1. A pleasantly challenging puzzle for a sunny morning. Some of the clues certainly took some teasing out, but they were gettable, and, for me, increased the enjoyment. In no particular order, I really liked 11a, 13 and 20d.

    Thanks to our Friday setter and DT.

  2. Very tricky although I might have been distracted by trying to ‘conjure up’ an X-less pangram (which was also missing J, K and W) so I conclude that the setter is not proXimal. However, as enjoyable as it was tricky – 3.5*/3.5*.
    Candidates for favourite – 1a, 22a, and 15d – and the winner is 15d.
    Thanks to the setter and DT.

  3. I agree with DT, this could easily have been a Toughie. I managed three corners, but had to get help for the SW. Some very tenuous clues there, I thought.

    Many thanks to the setter and DT.

  4. I heartily agree that this was much tougher than normal and had to resort to pen and paper to work out some of it.

    As I had writing implements to hand I noted down those which gave me a hmm. 11a, 24a, 3d and 19d. EDIT: What I should have said was I needed DT’s help to parse 11a and 19d.

    I really liked 22a and 26a. My last one in was 17d.

    Many thanks to the setter and DT. I hope the crossword is keeping everyone from going stir crazy. It’s being kept away from my kids that I find difficult. Stay safe everyone.

  5. The most positive thing I can say about this puzzle (****/*) is that it was a challenge. The clues were convoluted almost to the point of incomprehensabity and some of the synonyms were over-stretched. There were more groans than gasps of delight, as the clues fell into place. It was like a toughieas DT said and I’m amazed that I finished it albeit wiith 4 guesses, one of which was wrong. Anyone else put destressed for 17d? Thanks to DT for unravelling some for me and to our compiler.

    1. I have to agree – synonyms have been v stretched. My wife says I’m peeved, dead right.

    1. Thank you – my inner pedant was demanding that I too raised this objection.
      A tough workout beautifully elucidated by DT

  6. I had to have a quick look at the top of my printed page to make sure I hadn’t printed out today’s Toughie first rather than the back-pager. I thought that this was about as tricky as I can remember any back-pager but the trickiness came from clever wordplay rather than obscure vocabulary, which is as it should be. I enjoyed the solving process.
    My podium contains 11a, 22a and 26a.
    Thanks to the setter and to DT for the blog.

  7. A good challenge. Best “standard” crossword for some time Really enjoyable. Favourite clues 8d and 17d and 22a.

  8. At the trickier end of the back page spectrum – possibly not helped by the slightly odd grid with the double unches in the corners.

    I did like the quadruple definition 26a and 24a because my grandpa used to swear by camphorated oil for all sorts of ailments

    Thanks to the setter and DT

    1. I agree about the grid. In my view double unches appearing at the start or end of a solution are unfair on the solver.

        1. “double unches” = pairs of adjacent unchecked squares. 1a has a double unch at the start, 27a has one at the end.

          1. Thank you Mr Kitty. Now I understand CS’ comment about double unches in the corners as in the start of 8d and the end of 15d too.

  9. Pleased to see that DT has seen fit to give this a **** difficulty rating. I panicked after the first couple of readings as it had yielded only 3 answers but they were teased out eventually in just shy of ***** time. 8d was my last in & I reckon that one alone accounted for 20% of my solving time. 22a was my pick from a number of excellent clues. Thanks to DT & to the setter.
    Ps – anyone else struggling with the Grauniad cryptic ?

  10. Started my day with a very early cash dash to fund deliveries from friends , new & old , and relatives so enabled an early start to the crossword which turned out to be much needed also. As already mentioned above , this was a crossword where completion brought satisfaction but the journey itself was a little bumpy .
    Regarding the clues , were a few likes eg 22A and dislikes eg 24A .
    Thanks to the Setter for the stiff challenge and DT for the hints .

  11. I felt I was out there on the edge of things throughout this very tricky and edgy puzzle, and I was pushed into **** time before giving up on the ‘camphor’ clue and seeking electronic help (2 letters). There were some first-rate clues, but my goodness, some of the surfaces were just clunkily worded. I liked these for the podium: 1a, 22a, 11a. Very tough puzzle; great challenge; OTT witty. Thanks to the setter and especially Deep Threat for his clarity. (I had no idea who ‘Ben Stokes’ is since we poor blokes over here are too provincial to appreciate cricket.) **** / **

  12. Took a while to get on this one’s wavelength. Got there in the end–a good challenge. 11a in first place for me.

    1. The hint works for me but maybe you need to put a colon in the middle of the four loves to see it

      1. Explain 11a across please. I got the answer because it was the only word that fitted but I still don’t get the connection with tennis scores!

        1. In tennis when it’s 1-0 the umpire calls ‘one – love’ [rather than one – nil] so love = 0

    2. It is strictly incorrect and never used on schedules – is 27 March 0000 midnight March 26/27 or midnight March 27/28?

      1. Midnight 27th March is at the end of 24h of the 27th – 00:00:01 would be that time at the start of the 28th [I think..] :wacko:

        1. Or it may be the start of the 24h of the 27th? This is why airline, and I presume others, never use 0000 on schedules.

          1. Whilst midnight and 00:00 are synonymous, in my opinion it is only the term “midnight” which is the source of any date ambiguity, not the use of 00:00. The use of four zeros (rather than 24:00) seems to me a clear attempt by the 24 hour clock system to signal that it is intended,by convention, to be the start of a new day. After all, annually around the globe there is a celebration of the start of a new year at the precise moment the clock hits that time so it would appear most people are happy to accept this convention.

  13. Absolutely spot on for a Friday back pager or a Tuesday Toughie. Not helped by sixteen of the (only) twenty eight clues having an unchecked first letter. A delight from slow start to slow finish. Last one in 17d which I couldn’t see with all checkers and the double SS. As often with down clues I can’t get them when written vertically so I deleted 27ac and wrote the checkers for 17ac in there. The answer revealed itself immediately. Thanks to the setter for the entertainment and thanks to Peter for the review. I went to see John Fogerty at the O2 in Greenwhich last year. Great songs. Awful concert.

  14. We’ve seen easier Toughies for sure – 11a a bit cheeky. Enjoyed the challenge
    Thanks to setter and DT

  15. 26a could be seen as a quintuple or septuple definition. There are also three dashes in the clue.

  16. I found this very tricky and needed a fair bit of electronic help and DT’s help to parse a few…eg 9d where I had F not FA for footballers and couldn’t understand why “ame” was not the exact middle of “camera”..doh!!
    I thought 7d was a great lurker, the quadruple definition at 26a brilliant and 8d very clever.
    Thanks and my admiration to DT for the review and to the setter too.
    5/3*

  17. Finished but with lots of help help. Not sure I should give my opinion of this puzzle, it could be libellous!
    Suffice it to say it has no place on the back page, would be a struggle on the Toughie.
    *****/minus*
    Very unpleasant in the extreme.
    Thx for the hints

  18. After a good run of solving, this one stopped me in my tracks. I did not like it at all and found many clues way above my level. I had to use a lot of the hints and still did not understand some – 11a for example. This has been mentioned above but it wasn’t until I read Stephen L’s explanation that I got it. Absolute zero enjoyment with this one. I have occasionally got further with the Toughies.

    Thank you to the setter and to DT for the much needed hints.

    I didn’t get very far in the Quickie either.

    Please keep safe and well, everyone.

  19. Come on you lot it wasn’t that bad. I only ever do the back page as I find the toughie dispiriting. This was no where near toughness. Took me a while to finish but I’ve nout more todo. So thanks to the setter and DT.

  20. What a struggle.
    Got through to the end but an awful lot of bung-ins.
    Far too difficult for me to enjoy it.

    Thanks to DeepThreat for his excellent explanations.

    And thanks to the setter,but can you make it less hard next time please ?

  21. 4*/4*. Tough? Yes. Enjoyable? Very!

    I don’t need to say anything else other than “ditto” to Gazza’s comment @7 even down to my podium choices.

    Setter – reveal thyself and take a bow!

    1. PS. 11a reminded me of this when I was having my time of love, love, love, love:

  22. This one certainly took some unravelling and wasn’t solved in one sitting. A few of the surface reads caused a bit of eyebrow raising, as did one or two of the definitions.
    A flash of inspiration gave me 1a but it took a long while for the light to dawn over the parsing of 11a. Think I’ll award first place to the latter if only for the sense of satisfaction when I finally ‘clocked’ it!

    Thanks to our setter – any chance you might pop in to own up? – and thanks to DT, who never knows what’s going to turn up on his shift these days!

    1. Well, you might enlighten me on 11ac! I did not like this crossword at all … perhaps I have the COVID or I am going into the first stages of isolation madness.

      But thanks to setter and DT for explaining virtually all of it.

      On to the Toughie😎

      1. Actually I just went back to DT’s explanation of 11ac and the penny dropped. Not my day!

        1. Yes, I must have scrolled past that. Nevemind, just a bad day at the office👀

  23. I did not solve a single across clue on first pass but it all came together in reasonable time. An enjoyable challenge. Thanks to DT and setter.

  24. I have trouble with 11a but a nice crossword and agree it could be a toughie.

  25. This pne eas firmly in my stinker pile nothing seemed to give me a foothold fir some reason 1a went in first being pretty eady for me and the followed by strangely 22a. This was one of the hardest puzzles thst I have come across in the Telegraph.
    It ess definately a case for electronic assistance fir several clues. I am looking forward to Saturdays offering, it might follow that friday being a stonker, saturday might be slightly milder. One lives in hope.
    Very peaceful here at the moment, we are dreading an influx of trippers and surfers on the weekend especially if the weather holds. So us locals will batten diwn the hatches again.
    Thanks to DT and setter. Stay safe everybody.

  26. Completed ok, but with zero enjoyment.
    I don’t attempt the Toughie as I don’t have the bandwidth in my day to spend doing crosswords, so I don’t really want to find one on the back-page.
    This was like the bad old days of Dada, don’t bother with the wordplay as it’s too obscure, try and find the definition, solve like the quick crossword then see if the wordplay makes sense.
    I am gratified that it was rated ****.
    Come back Giovanni.
    Thanks all.

    1. That’s my modus operandi 40-50% of the time anyway especially where the Toughie is concerned. Hoi polloi yesterday & midnight today – bung it in & move on….. Far too cryptic for my decrepit brain cells

  27. Yup, I agree with everyone that this was jolly tricky and I needed the hints – very often just by clarifying the word you are looking for sharpens the mind. I suppose if the crossword was easily doable every day we wouldn’t like it so a good challenge every now and then is good especially now we need the distraction. Thanks.

  28. I’m with you, Hoofit. I feel cheated when the back pager is like today’s. Normally I enjoy the crossword and feel I get my money’s worth, but not if it is as obscure as this.

  29. I really enjoyed this and finished it in the end BUT like others, although I filled in 11a correctly had no idea why. A very clever clue. I do disagree that this was more difficult than the Toughie as I only get about half of that on a good day. Thanks to all.

  30. *****/*. Not my cup of tea at all. I got several of these without understanding why they were correct. Thanks to DT for unravelling my bung-ins and the setter for the hardest back pager I can remember.

  31. I had to go all the way down to the SE corner before I could fill anything in (23a). I really struggled with this one. Quite demoralising. Thanks to the setter, who has clearly enjoyed setting it, but a bigger thanks to Deep Threat for unravelling it all, and helping me out.

  32. Thanks to the setter and Deep Threat for the hints. After reading yesterday’s blog, I thought I’d try Miffypops’ method of solving, by trying all the downs, then the acrosses, then the checkers etc. While I agree that method helps you read all the clues properly, it didn’t really help on this occasion. I’ve resorted to my method of solving the first clue I can, then following the checkers. I’m still going after X minutes, where X is a large number. Back later 😁

  33. I found this far tougher than the average back-pager. A very enjoyable solve, with so many clues having smooth surfaces that cleverly disguised the wordplay and definition. Lots of originality on display too. Top clue for me was the brilliant 24a, with 11a, 22a, and 25a not far behind. Many thanks to the setter and to DT.

  34. In view of other comments l am delighted to have done the right side of this before seeking help.Absolutely agree with the comment that sometimes there has to be a really difficult one D.Ts help greatly appreciated and l love to admire the comments from those who did it without help.

  35. No aids and just one to go which I shall enjoy chewing over.
    Deeply satisfying as I would put it ***** for difficulty for me.
    Excellent clueing, eg 17d
    Do love this kind of real mental challenge.
    Many thanks to the setter and to DT for the review.

  36. I managed to solve only five, I then found myself using copious amounts of e-help, always a turn off for me. I have lots to do to detract from the self-isolation, so pool, here I come.
    On the plus side, I note that the enjoyers far outweigh the can’t-be-botherds , and I always feel that is what fairness is all about. Hopefully tomorrow is my enjoyer day.
    Keep well and safe, cheers to all. Thanks DT for unravelling that lot!

  37. Filled in SE.
    Then gave up,
    A joyless struggle.
    Looked at the answers – irked by their contortions.

  38. It’s been a glorious day in South Cheshire on day 4 of social isolation. My garden is more or less spring cleaned so what else did I have to spend my time on than this really challenging crossword? There were so many misdirections that one suspected that the signpost had been moved by a pesky person, nevertheless the crossword kept me engrossed for ages. Thanks to Mr Ron and to DT for explaining my bung-ins and giving me the solutions to the three clues which eluded me.

  39. Well, in common with the minority above, I would just like to thank the setter for an excellent brain-exerciser. Took me well into 4* time & 2 sittings (20 in the first sitting, final 8 in the second – 5* for me is 2 days!). Like many others 11a was a bung-in, thanks DT for the (now obvious) explanation. Adored 22a. 4*/4.5*. P. S. I also dislike double unches, & crosswords where the 4 quarters are linked by only 4 checkers, but this one worked for me.

  40. :phew: :phew: and blimey.
    I think this is the most difficult crossword that I’ve ever seen on the back page.
    I never did get 14a – ‘running hot and cold’ – had to be something to do with taps . .
    I can appreciate that it’s a very clever crossword but I confess it was too tricky for me to enjoy while I was doing it.
    With thanks and admiration to both the setter and the ‘hinty person’.

    1. PS Does anyone know how long we’re going to have all the lovely extra puzzles in the paper every day? I’ve been storing them up for when the weather goes ‘off’ again and I’m not going to be in the garden all day, every day.

      1. Hi Kath,
        I understand from CL that they’re scheduled to continue until the end of April with a possible extension depending upon how long the current restrictions remain in place.

  41. Hi all, hope you are keeping safe in these difficult times. I completed top left and bottom right then ground to a halt. Got a second wind and completed the top right but needed the hints to get me over the finish line. Thanks to Deep Threat. Favourite clue was 22ac which was one of my last in.

  42. Certainly tougher than usual but most enjoyable to solve. Scratched our heads for ages before the penny dropped for 11a.
    Thanks Mr Ron and DT.

  43. I thought it was just me.
    Spent more time on this than the toughie but on the other hand, I have nothing else to do.
    Thanks to the setter for filling an otherwise very dull day.
    Thanks to DT for the review.
    Stay safe.

  44. This was too tough, and unnecessarily so, IMHO. The clues could easily have been written cryptically without being so convoluted or obtuse. We pay for a week of cryptic puzzles, and it appears someone slipped in a spare Toughie instead today. Only got 4 answers at first pass. Did finish but only with the aid of Deep Threat’s hints. Best part of this puzzle was the 9a nostalgic Matt Monroe clip, what a beautiful voice he had, a very talented singer.

  45. In an attempt to flush out the setter I am going to hazard a wild guess that it was either Dada or our esteemed editor himself.

    1. . . . or X-Type – not sure if I’ve got his/her name right but I’m sure you all know who I mean – we don’t seem to get many of his/her crosswords but I know that when we do get one I, for one, always find them really difficult.
      PS – RD – I also got completely hung up on the Beatles in 11a – not helpful at all.

        1. Far too attached to the wall for Dada unless this was a Jekyll/Hyde composition; CL, nope, too convoluted – X-type? Maybe, we haven’t heard from him for a while and he does come up with some oddities

  46. Yep, that was a tough one! Only a few clues solved on a first look through but it mostly fell into place except a couple in the SW corner for which I was most grateful of DT’s hints. 22a I wouldn’t have got in a month of Sundays. Thanks to the setter for the challenge.

  47. I have solved Toughies in less time than it took me to solve this. Bit tormentful to complete in a decent time
    4.5*/2.5*. The time taken to solve totally diminished any enjoyment.
    Thanks to setter & DT for guidance & review

  48. We enjoyed this one, but only because we started it early and therefore gave ourselves all day to work it out. We agree that the SW corner was the hardest bit: 17 d was our last clue in.

  49. I feared the worst when I saw the layout of the grid (double unches and hardly any overlap from one quadrant to the next), but this ended up being my fastest solve of the week.
    There were very few proper nouns and hardly any British-specific knowledge was required. Made for a very friendly solve for an outsider.
    Favorite was 11a. Thanks!

  50. Today’s DT had me eating my own hair. Having worked out Boney wasn’t referring to M……..struggled big time. Roll on Saturday.

  51. Quite tricky but very enjoyable. We enjoyed coming back to it whenever we had a spare minute. Eventually completed with great satisfaction.

  52. Wow what a lot of comments – I’ll read them all later. Have to say this puzzle didn’t do much for me and I ended by needing help in the SW. A few clues including 1a, 24a and 25d were IMHO too clever by half and the cheers in 3d grated as usual. Anyway thank you Mysteron and indeed DT for hinting a strange one.

  53. If anyone is still up, I found this at the Toughie end of the spectrum but with some well constructed clues. Now I’m looking at BD I can say easy if you know how. I found myself going in an anti-clockwise direction from the SE corner. I had to raise the white flag just after 11a here in BNE with the SW corner incomplete. Had I got either 22 and 24a or alternatively 16 and 17d I might have been ok. I’ll put it down to the late hour. Thanks to the setter and Deep Threat for the insight. Finally, the award for Crooner of the C20 goes Matt Monro.

  54. Phew! I needed heaps of assistance today – very pleased to see many others did as well. I rather liked 1 and 23a. Thanks as always to DT, and the setter!

  55. Difficult grid – four mini puzzles and of course the double inches. I started in the SE followed by the NE. More or less a write in with some gimmes eg 13d. Had my progress continued I would have been well in 2* time. Unfortunately my progress did not continue but I got there in the end. Did check one or two of my answers en route round the grid just to make sure the checkers were correct. I uncovered only one answer in the hints which was 24a. This annoyed me intensely as I had the correct answer in mind earlier but did not parse it which was stupid. The connection with bedtime had come to be early and brought back nostalgic childhood member of camphor oil on the chest. I loved the smell and it was probably the “cure” for my whooping cough. As subsequently came up with balsam however as an all-in-one missing heated as the synonym of the answer. Best clues 11 and 22a. The latter has had a mixed response but I thought it brilliant. For 22a I spent too long trying to fit in two Ps or a Pt somewhere before I remembered Imperial measures. Also enjoyed 7 and 8d for the wordplay. Last one in was 3d having gone through all the possible letters which could fit in the unfilled spaces. Could not parse line for business but the hint brought back fond memories of What’s My Line. With gratitude to the setter. Please own up!

  56. Needed the blog to get the SW corner going. Still can’t understand 24 across. Sureley a time of 00.00 can not exist, just as infinity can’t? Top of any clock is 12, not 0.

  57. I’ll join the chorus of blimey what was that. I don’t mind tough clues but when attached to the style of grid which has 4 mini crosswords it feels extra tough. Filled the right side in with a bit of an effort but struggled on the left especially the SW corner. Pretty much had to go to the hints to get me going and even then still struggled. Oh well. Put it down to experience.

      1. Thanks Cryptic Sue though I am confused, my secret identity has been unmasked! I normally make brief guest appearances as Taking 5.

        1. You put your full name in the Name box when posting your comment. You can revert to the ‘old’ alias next time you comment

  58. 4*/4*……
    liked 9A ” spring in France — nation rioting, university seized (8) “

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