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DT 29406

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29406

Hints and tips by Deep Threat

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

Good morning from damp and drizzly South Staffs.

A steady solve for me today, with no especial difficulty, but still just getting to *** time.

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           Shout ‘Vamoose!’ — coyote’s tail gets trapped (6)
SCREAM – A word which might be used to chase off a stray, wrapped round the last letter (tail) of coyotE.

5a           Passions and affairs covered by Eastern Echo? On the contrary (8)
FEELINGS – Put together an abbreviation for Eastern and the letter represented by Echo in the NATO alphabet, and insert the result into another word for brief love affairs.

9a           The deep connection between Italy and Libya? (13)
MEDITERRANEAN – Barely cryptic definition of the stretch of water between Italy and Libya.

10a         Attackers battle to block river crossings (8)
FORWARDS – The sorts of river crossings where you get wet, wrapped round a battle or series of battles. The attackers are members of a football team.

11a         Payment I rejected, in part or whole (6)
ENTIRE – Hidden in the clue.

12a         Taking turns, watch in raft, an all-round vast place (6)
AFRICA – Reverse (all round) the third, fourth, fifth and sixth words of the clue, then take alternate letters to get a large land mass.

14a         Doctor cycles about area, runs hardly at all (8)
SCARCELY – Anagram (doctor) of CYCLES, wrapped round Area and Runs.

16a         Soldiers on street — sister and agent heading back (8)
PERSISTS – Put together an abbreviation for street, an informal word for ‘sister’, and the short form of a commercial agent, then reverse the result (heading back).

19a         Canadian ready to knock over everyone in bar (6)
DOLLAR – Start with a bar or pole, insert a word for ‘everyone’, then reverse the result.

21a         Charm of spoken prayers (6)
PLEASE – The definition is a verb, and is a homophone (spoken) of some prayers or entreaties.

23a         Answer corresponded with 500 brought forward enough (8)
ADEQUATE – An abbreviation for Answer followed by ‘corresponded’ with the Roman numeral for 500 brought to the front.

25a         Telling shifts in human interactions (13)
RELATIONSHIPS – Another word for ‘telling’ or ‘recounting’ followed by another word for ‘shifts’ or ‘despatches (goods)’.

26a         University town’s giving Bill openings (8)
READINGS – This is the formal term for the process by which a Parliamentary Bill is enacted. A university town west of London, plus the ‘S from the clue.

27a         Bacon and his bust (6)
DANISH – Anagram (bust) of AND HIS.

Down

2d           Work out exit (4,3)
COME OFF – Double definition: to succeed (of a plan); or to leave the stage.

3d           Award goal — that hurts! (5)
ENDOW – A goal or aiming-point, followed by an exclamation for ‘that hurts!’.

4d           Mum retails recycled stuff builder needs? (9)
MATERIALS – Another short word for ‘mum’ followed by an anagram (recycled) of RETAILS.

5d           Places fostering growth of revolutionary lies (7)
FORESTS – Reverse (revolutionary) OF (from the clue), than add ‘lies’ or ‘reposes’.

Structurally complex forests better at carbon sequestration

6d           Cancel Times (electronic) (5)
ERASE – Some historical periods of time followed by Electronic.

7d           Twin, one with incoherent dialect found around north (9)
IDENTICAL – The Roman numeral for one followed by an anagram (incoherent) of DIALECT wrapped around North.

8d           Soldier, 17, in mess (7)
GENERAL – Anagram (in mess) of the answer to 17d.

13d         During delay, journalist must be located (9)
INSTALLED – Put together a short word for ‘during’, ‘to delay’ or ‘play for time’, and the usual crossword journalist.

15d         Put on afters — served up, disregarding time as directed (9)
ADDRESSED – ‘Put on’ or ‘supplement’, followed by the reverse (served up) of another word for ‘afters’ or ‘pudding’ without its Time.

17d         When erected, integral nest boxes expand (7)
ENLARGE – Hidden in reverse (when erected) in the clue.

18d         Old guitar group tracks (7)
SHADOWS – Double definition: the bank which started as backing for Cliff Richard; or ‘tracks stealthily’.

20d         Confirms visiting cricket matches (7)
ATTESTS – A preposition indicating that one is visiting a place, followed by some international cricket matches.

22d         Hammered after failing to get first bit bolted down (5)
EATEN – Remove the first letter from ‘hammered’ or ‘thrashed’.

24d         College certainly not over for some workers (5)
UNION – An informal word for college or university education, followed by the reverse (over) of a word meaning ‘certainly not’.


The Quick Crossword pun REED + YORE + MINED = READ YOUR MIND

98 comments on “DT 29406

  1. Made a note of ***/*** on completion and so concur with DT.
    A good old fashioned back page Friday Cryptic , quite a bit of head scratching required to unscramble some tricky parsing and a very satisfying solve-thanks setter and DT for the pics-nice to see the sleeve of the first Beatles album, remember buying it !
    Hard to pick a favourite, liked 23 and 25a,

  2. I found this very tricky but managed to finish unaided. However needed to read the clues to understand 5d and 16a. Thought some clues were rather weak like 21a. Nonetheless enjoyed it and it certainly stretched the little grey cells more than the last few days! Thanks to all. Please send some rain to North Norfolk. Just had to rush outside – a juvenile blackbird was trying hard to yank a geranium cutting out of its pot! Little so and so.

  3. This was a lengthy struggle for me as I found some of the clues impenetrable. I had to resort to guesswork in some cases, which is a bit frustrating and not very enjoyable (5*/1*) I just cannot seem to get on this compiler’s wavelength . I didn’t have any favourite clues but 27a ranks as one of the poorest clues wver in my book. Thanks to DT for the hints which hekped with half a dozen parsing issues. To the compiler, thank you for your efforts.

  4. Not easy but quite classy and enjoyable, one of those puzzles where the checkers and a hunch for the definition were probably more help than the wordplay. I made steady progress but came to a bit of a halt in the SW where I needed all the checkers to get 26a, my last one. Not that keen on 22d where I think the synonym is a bit stretchy and 18d is clever but a bit dated.
    I really liked 1, 5 and 16a and they make up my podium.
    4/3.5*
    Many thanks to the setter and to DT for the top notch entertainment.

  5. Cracking puzzle. Needed the explanation for 5d. 12a took me ages to work out. Obviously couldn’t make sense of alternate letters forwards but didn’t take in the “turns” part for a while. I’d agree with DT’s ratings. Many very good clues but favourite is 18d. Thanks to all.

  6. 3*/3.5*. This was an enjoyable puzzle of two halves for me. The top half went in very smoothly on course for my 2* time and the bottom half proved to be quite a challenge (4* level) to bring my overall difficulty rating to 3*. There did seem to a lot of going backwards, and, in many cases, divining the answer from the definition and checkers was the easy part and working out the parsing needed a lot of head-scratching.

    25a was my favourite with 18d in second place.

    Many thanks to the setter (Zandio?) and to DT.

  7. I actually thought this was a little bit below par for a Friday back pager -**/*** for me. Thanks to setter and DT.

    Podium places to 16a, 19a and 5d

    If you fancy a “word game”, or two or three, try Elgar’s Toughie today. Great fun and in the circumstances it just had to be a pangram.😀

    1. Is it really a pangram? I still have 7 to go but am lacking x, j , z, k ! What a treat, though.

      1. Got all those missing letters above finally but missed the SxxxxxxE theme, darn it!

  8. My ratings are the same as RD above. Many thanks to the setter for an enjoyable puzzle, and to DT for the write-up.

  9. Although I got the correct answer to 12a (guesswork) I still don’t understand how even after seeing the hint. Could someone literally spell it out for me. How can you reverse the 4 words? Thanks for any help.

    1. The four words are ‘watch in raft, an’. Reversed, we have ‘na tfar ni hctaw’. Take the alternate letters, starting with the second.

        1. I also thought that this was a very clever clue. I had huge problems with the bottom half of this crossword but got there in the end with lots of help from DT. Clue of the day: 3 d, it made me smile. Thanks to the setter and DT. Nothing much better to do on a damp day in South Cheshire.

  10. The most challenging of this week’s offerings but still reasonably straightforward. Found getting the answers a good deal easier than understanding the wordplay & needed DT to parse both 5d & 12a, both of which I really ought to have spotted with a bit more patience. Must say I thought 9a a rather weak clue but liked both 25&26a. Had a quick peek at the Toughie & it looks very much Premier League material I fear – the read through yielded 1 answer.
    Thanks to the setter & DT.

  11. Lots of reverses, with 12a taking the cake, in this tricky but enjoyable Friday grid. Finished without any aids but had to confirm the rock group in 18d (thought I remembered them and Mr G approved). The bacon is new to me over here, but everything else just slotted nicely in. I really liked 1, 6, 19, and 26a, as well as 2d. The gold went to 19a. Thanks to Deep Threat and today’s setter. ** / ***

    13 to go on the Elgar. Hope springeth eternal.

    1. Robert, Danish refers to where the bacon is from, not a type of bacon. Being a huge supporter of local farmers I only buy British bacon which is delicious from my local butcher.

      1. Thanks for the info, Manders. We like the Canadian bacon here: good neighbours!

      2. Oh how I wish we got it here. American bacon is like English streaky bacon, more fat than bacon.

      3. Just like to endorse your support of local farmers and any sort of British food (hope that’s allowed).

    2. Crikey Robert – good going on Elgar. I gave it 10 minutes (got 3) & switched to Tramp in the Guardian which was nicely challenging but much more doable for the likes of me.

      1. I’ll try the Tramp later, Huntsman. Thanks for the tip. Only 7 left with Elgar but I’ve clearly hit a wall. Hope you’re well today and have a good weekend. It’s our 4th of July tomorrow and everything around Charleston is SHUT DOWN. 53,000+ new cases in the country yesterday. Kiawah is verboten.

  12. I did manage to solve this alone and unaided….which was a surprise to me after my first pass yielded only 6 answers.
    I also managed to parse all but 2d so no hurrah for me today but quite a big well done as I thought it was very difficult.

    I don’t like clues like 8d where you have to have solved another clue to get the answer.
    But I did (eventually) like a lot of the rest of them…..particularly 18d.

    Thank you to the setter and to Deep Threat .

  13. Agree that this was the trickiest puzzle of the week, but all the better for it I thought. Some excellent, thought-provoking clues, of which my favourite was 19a. One of those crosswords where I bunged in a few and parsed them towards the end, which pushed out my solving time. Great stuff.

    Thanks to our setter and DT.

  14. Definitely not my favourite puzzle of the week as I seemed to be regularly thinking ‘well, I suppose it must be’.
    Not to worry, plenty more puzzles to come!

    Thanks to our setter and to DT for the review and the music clips – nice to see Jet Harris again, definitely one of my pin-up boys in my early teens.

    1. Jet Harris featured in a local variant of rhyming slang as in the following,
      “I’m Jet Harris I think I will have a Stan Butler”
      Jet Harris = Hank Marvin = Starvin Stan Butler = Reg Varney = Sarnie

      1. Good grief, John, that’s a bit of a stretch. Thanks goodness Cockney is usually more penetrable!

        1. In the same way that backside = Aris
          Arse = Bottle and glass
          Bottle = Aristotle

          1. What’s the use of the Artful when all the Stoke goes down the frog on pig’s?

            1. … lost your Nanny and titfer, Brahms and rhubarb up the apples to Uncle

  15. I really wrestled with this and finally threw in the sponge and sought help in the NE – have other things to do. Eastern Echo as indicator in 5a is a bit of a cop out. 16a was Fav when it finally came together. As directed in 15d baffled me. Thank you Mysteron and DT.

    1. Why is Eastern Echo a cop-out as I really liked it?

      Is it breaching a crossword law?

      Apols, if so.

      1. I didn’t understand Angellov’s comment either. Eastern and Echo as wordplayfor ‘E’ are perfectly standard.

        1. I think the cop out is inventing something (a newspaper?) called ‘Eastern Echo’ for convenient abbreviations
          A bit like using random names in anagram fodder

      2. I thought it was an excellent clue too, which DT didn’t quite do justice to in his hint.

        1. According to Google there are newspapers called the Eastern Echo – not ones that are household names but I don’t see a problem with using the title in a clue. Clue would be dodgy if EE was used as an abbreviation for Eastern Echo (as so far as I know it is not a recognised abbreviation unlike FT which is often to be found in crosswords. However E is a must used abbreviation for East and Echo is part of the NATO alphabet. All in all to my simple mind this makes an excellent clue.

          1. Not exactly a broadly recognised organ being a student newspaper of Michigan University!

            1. I understand that it’s not a famous rag but it’s nowhere near a cop-out.

  16. Just as l hoped that l was getting a bit better at these puzzles l ran into this one.I found myself mechanically reading the words and just not on this wavelength .With the clues was able to get there and appreciate the skill the compiler showed.Thanks to the compiler and to D.T.I remember seeing The Shadows when they were still called The Drifters.Seems very dated now but they were very good back in the day.

  17. I seemed to have a lot of bung-ins today, and work it out later. I struggled too much with this one to find it enjoyable. It’s made me realise that I still have a long way to go in solving cryptic crosswords. Thank you to the setter for the effort put in. I know that it’s not possible to please everyone. Thank you too DT for the review, particularly the explanation of 12a.

  18. This was way too difficult for me. :phew:
    I can see that there are some very clever clues and admire the setter and anyone who can sort it all out but I didn’t really enjoy it very much.
    12a had to be what it was but I didn’t have the first idea why, and only just understand having read the hint.
    I liked 16 and 25a.
    Thanks to whoever set this one and to DT for the very much needed hints.

      1. I’m really disappointed that Brian didn’t post today, I’d been so looking forward to it!

  19. Having struggled and ultimately abandoned the quickie, then first read through, I felt a Guardian day coming on, but I persevered.
    Lots of bung-in’s today, so not the most enjoyable of the week.
    I will probably get more fun from perusing the hints.
    Thanks all.

    1. I hear the batteries on the ‘Brianometer’ getting charged!!
      Having read the hints, some poor clues IMHO.

      1. Agree Hoofit. And when I can’t get the answer from the hint, I know it is way above my head. Too hard for me. I did persevere and finish but only after a lot of hints. Thanks for those Deep Threat. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

    2. Tramp in the Graun is well worth a look Hoofit – much easier than yesterday’s horror

      1. Thanks, will do, as long as I can get it finished in time for Charlton/Millwall tonight!!!

        1. I’m in the poor hints camp too Hoofit. I thought it was just me not being on the compiler’s wavelength.

          1. I think/hope that you mean poor clues rather than hints – DT will be getting a complex!

            1. Sorry. Hastily written as I tried to cook a curry with lots of ingredients added ib quick succession! I did indeed mean the clues. DT’s clues were my lifeline today as I had half a dozen bung-ins to check to see if I’d parsed them correctly.

  20. Another one that nearly caused me to throw in the towel. I found it difficult and struggled with too many for it to have been enjoyable. Some of the clues were clever, though and I appreciated 12a despite have to resort to the hint from DT.
    I have no favourites because I struggled with the majority of clues.

    Many thanks to the setter for the puzzle and to DT for the much needed hints.

    As today’s Toughie is Elgar, I may well not even look at it. I never get anywhere with Elgar and I have had too much of a struggle already today. :grin:

  21. A struggle today for me. Top half OK but bottom particularly SE different story.
    -Got there in the end, needed help with 25a, with few checkers spent ages looking for anagram.
    Not over-enjoyable for me with not much humour. An “it was there so I did it” sort of solve.
    Thanks to setter & DT for clearing a couple of things up.

  22. Perhaps it was because, as I usually do with Elgar Toughies, I solved that before the cryptic (Elgar days are the only days I do this as I always think the ‘supposed to be’ harder puzzle should follow the ‘easier’, but I can’t wait to do the Elgar) , but I didn’t find this one particularly difficult, like DT I took a 3* time – I suppose if I was to pick a favourite it would be 18d as it took me back several years when I realised which group it was

    Thanks to the Friday Mysteron and DT

    1. Congratulations on finishing the Elgar! I’ve still 7 to go but may have to throw in the towel.

  23. I am with Jane on the many “well I suppose it must be” moments but I got there, in the end, thanks to DT’s hints. 11a was particularly annoying as I was looking for some sort of lurker but took rejected to mean it was a reverse lurker! Synonyms in 2d a bit stretched too but still a good puzzle with an appropriately Friday amount of head-scratching.
    Thanks to DT and setter.

  24. I tend to agree with Kath and RD ( if you can work that out).
    Some of it was ** difficulty, but I didn’t have much fun with it…
    …the taller, thinner SW section was interminable **** and I enjoyed than even less.
    I did try a few reversals and alternate letters in 12a, but just didn’t go far enough – thought it was some obscure desert, which led me astray with 13d, and so on, and so on. I thought 26a was limp.
    Sorry to setter, I just wasn’t on your track today and thanks to DT for explanations. A dim day for me.

  25. I’m with Willieverlearn and Florence on this one. My usual synapses seemed to have become disconnected and I just couldn’t get started on many of the clues which, when I sought DT’s help, weren’t that obscure after all. Rather a frustrating experience but hopefully a learning one. Thanks to DT and the setter.

  26. Hello, compiler here. Thanks for taking the trouble to discuss. Should I say which clues Chris Lancaster, the Telegraph Crossword Editor, liked best? I don’t suppose Chris would mind. The curious thing is that, of the three clues that he went for, only one seems to have been chosen here. Chris’s picks were 9a, 27a, 5d. I love a hidden, so if I had a choice myself it might be 11a or 17d (apparently there are such things as integral nest boxes), but I don’t suppose I should get a choice! Thanks to Deep Threat for the analysis and for linking to my favourite track connected with 18d — what a classic record and video. Have a good weekend, all.

    1. Thank you for popping in, Zandio and also for the puzzle, which beat me, I’m afraid. Nevertheless, it was a great crossword. Hopefully, I have learned a few things from it.

    2. Hi Zandio,
      Quite a lot of ‘new builds’ these days have specially constructed bricks placed immediately below the eaves to allow Swifts somewhere to nest. Maybe those count as being ‘integral nest boxes’?

    3. Enjoyed your nice puzzle, Zandio, and thanks for visiting us. Surprised at CL’s top thee clues. I thought 19d was. as we say over here, Top Dollar!

    4. Thanks from me too Zandio.
      It’s the sign of a quality puzzle when there’s a diversity of favourites.

    5. Yay, of the few I was able to solve, 9a was one of them. So glad it was a fave of Mr. Lancaster’s!

  27. I agree with Kath and Bluebird. I completed about two thirds of this and then ran into the buffers. Just not on the right wave length. One of those days where I’m very grateful for the explanations so thanks to DT and to the setter for demonstrating that I still have a lot to learn.

  28. Well it seems I was not alone in having a bit of a struggle, I put it down to my knee being REALLY
    unbearable today. I really struggled with last night’s bath time toughie too, but never give up, never surrender! So cold and dull in Cambridge today that I made a soup for lunch. Wind coming from Siberia and all the petals coming off my Rambling Rector – I bet Terence is deploying all the paperweights. This time last year we were at Stewards and Remenham with no idea what problems lay ahead of us,This is only the second missed Henley in 67 years and I have all the badges to prove it! Thanks to all the setters and hintgivers this week You are doing a grand job.

    1. So sorry about your knee, Daisygirl. I can sympathise because I suffer from systemic arthritis. (I earlier mistakenly sent my concern for you to BusyLizzie! She must wonder what has happened to my brain.)

    2. My gravatar is of Saint Sharon and I about to set of for The Regatta a few years ago.

      1. Wah hay – you know what Henley is all about then! The charm is that it never changes, the loos just get more sophisticated! Were you an oarsman too? We have George’s no 5 blade up on a beam in the sitting room. St Sharon looks lovely, we ladies always like the opportunity to dress up.

        1. Not an oarsman. Always let the girls take the oars. Much more fun. We did have a fine day at Henley. Their Rugby club is a favourite too. As is the butchers shop next to the pub and the fish restaurant opposite.

  29. Finally overcame the challenge of this one, really tough for me, and I needed several hints to solve some clues. Of course a special doh moment with 18d. My brain must be getting addled. Nevertheless a class crossword thanks to DT and setter

  30. I found this to be a real struggle and I feel that it was mostly down to me, after I seen the parsing I really liked 12 across as well as 9 across.

    Stay safe everyone

    TTFN

  31. ****/*. I didn’t enjoy this at all. It seemed very convoluted to me, more like a toughie. Thanks to the setter and DT for the hints which were much needed.

  32. Just had to glance at 1a to get it, so thought this is going to be good. Not so! Really struggled and threw in the towel with five to go, including the infamous 12a, which I thought must be right but couldn’t work out why, so thanks to DT for the explanations.
    1a took me right back to living in Arizona’s Sonora desert, where we never shouted at coyotes but enticed them with a bit of meat which was invariably taken by a road runner!

  33. I’m with Kath and the Strugglers on this one. It seemed to take ages but I got there in the end. I couldn’t find the hidden lurkers so thanks to the setter for hiding them so well and to DT for uncovering them. It’s beer o clock and I intend to do the weekend proud. Play nicely children and I will see you all on Monday

  34. Note to Miffypops if you do get to Exeter try to pick fine weather (rare) the west faving facade of the Cathedral look glorious as the sun is setting.

    1. Exeter has been on the list for a while now. When it all calms down we will do something. I’m not used to the bank balance rising all the time.

  35. If I had stared at this for the rest of the year I would never have solved it. Waaay above this tiny brain’s ability. I solved 9a immediately and not much else, even then I had to look it up to find out how many n’s, t’s and r’s and what order to put them in.
    Just not on Zandio’s wavelength today but appreciate his hard work. Thank you DT for solving it for me!

  36. Not my cup of Earl Grey! I found the clues far too convoluted and the answers not at all obvious. I’m afraid I gave up after the top half. Thanks to the setter and DT.

  37. We enjoyed this and felt pleased that we had guessed the setter correctly.
    Thought 12a particularly clever.
    Thanks Zandio and DT.

  38. I went to bed last night (AEST) with a few to go in in the SW corner. Just gone 0715 where I am. It’s amazing what fresh eyes do. The remainder went straight in. Too many interruptions yesterday including a trip to the opthomologist who put drops in my eyes. I was unable to focus on smallish print for quite a few hours. I found this a crossword of two halves. The top half went in in * time but the bottom half, took me ages. Some clues were exceptionally well hidden, eg 12 a and 17a. My COTD, 19a. Took a while to equate money with ready. Thanks to the setter and thanks to the 2Ks for his/her identity. And thanks DT for the extras, particularly the music. The Fab Four and the Shads, what more do you want?🦇

    1. Bob Dylan. Tom Waits Neil Young and Leonard Cohen. Ronnie Lane too

  39. Thanks to Zanido and to Deep Threat for the review and hints. When I first looked at this, I didn’t think I would get anywhere near it, but I 16a ed and got there in the end. 18d was a real penny drop moment. Favourite was 9a for the misdirection, I finally fell in (pun intended) with the setter’s meaning of deep, and solved it. Needed the hints to parse a few. Was 3*/4* for me.

  40. Well – this one took me all day, off and on. Just finished it unaided a few minutes before the witching hour. I liked the challenge. More like a Toughie. Some very fine cryptic clues. It think I’ll give the gold medal to 19a.

  41. Had no time to do this as a virtual funeral (sad) in the morning and a visit to a very much alive friend in the afternoon which stretched. Did this in the middle of the night and completed without hints in a shortish time to my surprised. 9a straight in but I liked it. Others rather complicated eg 12a. Favourites 19 and 23a and 5d. Thanks DT for unravelling 12a for me. Thanks Settee and congratulations for silencing Brian. With regard to Danish as a child my mother always considered this the best, along with Danish butter. Now I think people associate Danish with pastries. How things change.

  42. Framboise did warn me that Fridays were getting trickier.
    The bottom half took a while to sort out.
    Liked the reversed clues in 12a and 16a.
    Thanks to Zandio and to DT.

  43. 3*/4*…..
    liked 19A “Canadian ready to knock over everyone in bar (6)”

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