DT 29422

84 comments on “DT 29422”

1. Our Masters have been treating us leniently, so far, this week. The only obstacle in my way today was 1a, which I could parse, but just couldn’t see the word, even with the checkers. Other than that, completed in */** time.

   I did like 19a and 23a.

   Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

2. I loved this, not difficult but a very classy and clever offering. Being mean I’ve knocked off half a point for enjoyment due to the dreadful image 8d conjures up…yuk!
   1, 5 &27a plus 7d were the clues I’ve ticked for special mention.
   2/4.5*
   Many thanks to the 3 birds for the top notch entertainment.

   1. I absolutely agree with you Yuk. I cannot bear the word and actually put in Tag!

3. 2*/5*. Yes, MalcolmR is correct – three puzzles in a row at the easier end of the back-page spectrum. Today the hardest task was in trying to pick a favourite from so many good clues. So, once again, I’ll settle for a podium which comprises 17a, 27a & 24d.

   Many thanks to all three birds.

4. Friendly and as enjoyable as ever, although it would be nice to have the occasional crossword without the solutions to 20d and 22d appearing in them

   Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks

5. Another really straightforward and enjoyable crossword from Jay. I had never heard of 27a but the clue was sufficiently clear to give the answer and I’ve learnt something new. I thought 5d and 23a were the best of the bunch. Many thanks to the Kiwis and to Jay

6. Nice crossword, nice blog and the sun is shining Hurrah 😃 **/*** Favourites 1a & 5d thanks to the 2xKs and to Jay 👍

7. Jay continues this week’s easy time of it and gives us another fun run. 17a was unparsed as I had worked on wrong kind of game – clever misdirection – so perhaps I will opt for that as Fav. Thank you Jay and 2Kiwis.

8. Jay in benevolent mood. Enjoyable as ever. **/**** I liked 5a, 5d and 17a. Favourite 17d. Thanks to all.

9. Very close to read and write this morning. 17a was my favourite. Thanks to the setter and 2Kiwis.

10. Another Jay masterpiece. Really enjoyable as usual, especially such clever clues as 1,5,17, and 23a. But 3d (my COTD), 7d, and 15d are my top choices; I don’t know how Jay does it week after week, but he invariably captures my imagination. Thanks to all the birds! ** / ****

    Another great Toughie today too.

11. A relatively easier poser from my favourite setter but very good fun.l had made a mistake at 23 a by putting trample but could not believe that Jay would use so much of the answer in the clue so able to put myself right.Thanks to all.

12. A masterclass in how to present a thoroughly enjoyable and fun puzzle whilst being straightforward to solve. 17d would be my favourite if pushed to choose.

    Thanks very much to our three feathered friends.

13. No quibbling with 2 K’s **/****, excellent cluing throughout and a pleasure to solve.
    27a was new to me but there could only be one logical answer-one for the future.
    Liked 8d and the surface of 11a.
    The Toughie awaits!

14. Very Enjoyable thank you Jay, just enough to stretch the grey cells without being frustrating!

    Thanks to 2K for the hints, although pleased to say didnt need any of them this time…

15. Jay’s puzzles are never a 13a, another little gem today.
    Thought 17a was a clever double definition although I deplore the thought of the first definition as much as Stephen L does 8d! I also gave a big tick to the Quickie pun.

    Thanks to Jay and to our 2Ks – sorry we didn’t get a wildlife report from you but hope you’ve enjoyed your quiet week.

16. A more straightforward Jay but still had problems of my own making. eg Had “all said” for 21a so held up in SW. Very good cluing it’s just me.
    7d my COTD. Diet prevents a full English these days sadly.
    For a change, a lovely sunny warm ( for up here anyway) day so beach will be out & no sea dip for Biggles. Don’t suppose he’ll notice how cold the loch water is. A bit of a hike for me though.
    Thanks to Jay and 2 K’s.

    1. Why no beach if it is warm? I would have thought that would be a draw – or would it draw too many others?

       1. D.
          Yes it will be heaving with visitors from the adjacent caravan village & the car park only takes 15 cars. The A9 is busier than we have ever seen it the town is packed out. It is summer so it is how it should be only more so. This year as we have become the Costa del Cloud too with staycationers (apologies to all).
          I wonder when the first “Kiss me quick” face mask will be available?

          1. ☹️

17. Thanks to Jay and the 2 Kiwis – their parsing of 2nd part of 12a raised a smile all my ****ing has been on land the idea of doing it for wildfowl would be a new challenge!!!

18. An enjoyable puzzle from Jay although I did struggle with a few. However, as I use to find Jay very difficult, the fact I struggled with only a few is a huge improvement. I think you would be hard pressed to find wildfowl inland unless there is a river nearby. I thought 10a was neat and tidy but my COTD from a plethora of good clues is 17d. 28a is a new word for me.

    Thank you, Jay for the enjoyment. Thanks also to the 2Ks for the hints.

    The barley has been harvested so plenty of open space or Hudson to race across. Not for long, though. Barley fields don’t stay harvested for too long before being replanted.

    1. SC
       From “Nice little earner” as the endodontist might say.
       Nice to hear Hudson in racng form. All this attention Lola is getting, the hounds should have a mention occasionally.

       1. Quite agree, LROK! I think we should give daily reports on Hudson and Biggles.

          I was an endodontics in the NHS Community Service – that was a nice little earner, Regular income with sick pay for six months if on long term illness and 32 days annual paid holiday.

          1. Mind you, I like hearing about Lola.

             1. Me too re Lola.
                We always had cats & dogs but Mrs LrOK is on a sabbatical at the minute saying she is too old to start with another kitten especially as our old rescue dog (Bella) might not take too kindly to one.
                Except for getting regularly ticks nothing much changes in Bigglesland. Daughter’s dog (fox red FT Lab.) visiting at the moment: she definitely wears the trousers when here. Biggles just lets her ger on with it except if she tries to get his food of course.

                1. A couple of years ago we were looking at a kitten up for rescue when visiting our veterinarian for our own elderly cat. We were just looking, not ready to take on another one at that time. Then this man (another customer) came up behind us and remarked loudly that we were too old to adopt a kitten or puppy. Although privately we agreed, having decided we would eventually adopt an older animal next time, we didn’t thank him for his “advice”.

                   1. How rude! After a max of seven cats, I’m down to two and I’m not allowed any more! I do understand, but I miss having cats in their “spots” all over the house.

          2. We definitely need daily reports from both Labs and Lola. I look forward to them.

    2. Agree , although I couldn t understand the ‘s on officer’s.

       Other than the fact I had a stone bonker on Riga and the anagram it still doesn’t seem quite right to me.

19. This week is ‘stuck’ on Monday! But that will probably end tomorrow. A most enjoyable Jay puzzle completed at a fast gallop – 1.5*/5*.
    Candidates for favourite – 26a, 18d, 20d, and 23d – and the winner is 20d.
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

20. Good fun at the easier end of the spectrum. Wednesday’s puzzle is usually very good from Jay. My top 3, not in any particular order are !a, 17a and 18d.
    Toughie is relatively simple today too, if anyone’s interested.

21. On puzzles.telegraph all my answers in the Quickie seem to have disappeared. A bit of a mystery (22a) but the grid is now symmetrical. No complaints, but Why change it?

    1. Just looked at the paper version via PressReader … the online version is now the same as the dead tree version.

    2. I completed the quick last night along with both sudoku online, and came back for my crosswords only to find the quick crossword was reading open but I still got the 150 points.

22. Did anyone else see the definition in 4d being “broadcaster”? Then an anagram (dangerous) of raid, followed by the “o” from oddly gives a wireless solution. It worked with 1a but the royal flunky didn’t fit so I had to think again.

    1. Welcome to the blog

       More often than not when a clue needs a ‘broadcaster’, it is always a good idea to see of the one used today ‘fits’

    2. Welcome, Sir Harry. Yes, that’s exactly how I saw it. Great diversion. Held me up for ages.

       1. Yup me too. It held me up on 11a needing to start with D and the Royal assistant.

    3. Welcome to the blog SH. I fell into the same trap re 4d.

    4. Welcome from us too Sir Harry.

23. Not the hard landing that I expected but I did get overconfident and rushed into the wrong answer for 24d which meant that I couldn’t fit in what I knew had to be the right answer for 26a. Serves me right!
    I liked so many – 1a, 5a, 5d & 7d we’re favourites but altogether, a very enjoyable tussle. Many thanks to Jay and the Kiwis.
    A slight flattening of the upward curve for this week but not yet a disaster!

24. Most enjoyable but I must confess I needed help from the two Ks for 11a, 27a, and the first word of 8d, so not a red letter day for me – but a terrific puzzle nonetheless.
    Mrs Terence (henceforth known as ‘H’) informs me we are to go for another “lovely walk” after lunch. I’m assured we will be back before Chelsea’s vital game against Liverpool tonight.
    Lola will be left in charge in our absence; though as she is asleep under the ivy at the moment, I am not expecting her to take any messages.
    Thanks to Jay ‘n’ 2Ks.

    1. You won’t have a Spanish Santa in goal tonight (& the other 10 might turn up too) so you might need Lola’s sympathy.

       1. I fear the worst LROK! We need three points from two games to be sure of a top four placing so we will probably lose to Wolves at the weekend too…!

25. I agree with everyone that it was another very pleasant workout. I did not know 27a but it had to be. Had a bit of a shock doing the quickie whilst waiting for George to bring out the coffee (the Bible does say He Brews) a small thrush is a ROBIN? Is that correct, ornithologists? The name by which I am commonly known is the Scottish word for songthrush but I have never aligned myself with robins! Not that I have anything against them but shall now have to look at them differently as we are, it seems, related. Thompson does not want to be left out of the Pets Page and wants you to know she is lying under the bench. Thanks to all the birds, robins and thrushes included. P S all the talk about Greengage Summer – I must tell you that our old greengage tree is LADEN and if you have never tasted a Cambridge ‘gage you have missed a little bit of heaven.

    1. Yes, that one stumped Mr BL this morning. He had to look it up as we were both mystified by this one,

    2. I agree about greengages – amazing. We used to have one but the birds couldn’t resist pecking when they were almost ripe and by the time they were really ripe every little hole that the birds had pecked had a wasp’s backside sticking out of it. As one who’s not great with wasp stings I was extremely careful, specially when cutting the grass – a wasp in the hair didn’t appeal.

       1. We have a mulberry tree, Kath and when the mulberries are ripe it is a brave person who will venture under it to mow the grass. Wasps galore and red stains.

    3. Welcome to the daily diary, Thompson, we look forward to your input. Cheers, Sadie.

26. Hi Daisy,
    Robins do come under the broad umbrella of thrushes (as do blackbirds, redwing, fieldfare, nightingales and several others) although they are thought to be closely related to the Old World flycatchers.
    Unless you’re commonly known as ‘throstle’ I think you may share the Scottish name for a Mistle Thrush!

    I do envy you a laden greengage tree – we only got one good year of harvest before the local birds subsequently beat us to it! By the way, I’ve almost finished Greengage Summer and it’s well worth a read. Rather ‘different’ and something of a slow burner but quite fascinating.

    1. Oops – didn’t press the ‘reply’ option firmly enough. Sorry, Daisy!

    2. Yes I agree. Our Reading Group did it recently. Names are a damned nuisance. All the Angus girls are Margaret. So we are all known by our second names which means that you have to be alert when the receptionist calls out Margaret. The Scottish word for song thrush is the Mavis (see Robbie Burns) which is a shame because I have difficulty singing in tune! That is about the depth of my bird knowledge but I knew Jane would fill in the gaps. An added confusion is that my brother and my husband never call me anything but Mugs for reasons I won’t go into but goes back to my brother’s days at Rutlish School and a box brownie. That’s why I like to be Daisy in my imagination.

       1. Far be it from me to correct the famous Mr Burns – perhaps there’s a difference in the dialects used in various parts of Scotland? Welsh is even worse as my elder daughter found out to her cost – the word used in South Wales for a cake is a rather rude expression in the North Wales area. Not helpful given that her night school university course in Bangor (N. Wales) used the vocabulary of South Wales.
          ‘Mugs’ obviously has an interesting story but I think in your shoes I’d probably prefer Daisy as well!

    3. Yes, Rumer Godden can be a bit “different” but I do like her books.

27. Another pleasant solve, although I did need three hints to finish. Getting the answer wrong at first in 26a didn’t help. My COTD has to be 3d as my Dad served in WWII as a proud member, serving in Burma, Egypt and Italy. We have one treasured photo when he and one of his five brothers managed to briefly meet up between campaigns. Thanks to Jay and 2Kiwis for an enjoyable crossword session today.

    1. Lizzie my father was in North Africa in the 17th 21st Lancers and came up through Italy Monte Casino etc. But Burma is something else, my father always said the boys in the Burma campaign had it really rough. Seems so long ago now!

       1. Yes, he would never say much about the war at all. He did comment one time that he liked Italy the best as it “had good cover”. I often wonder what their generation would say about all that is going on now,

          1. Golly yes. With all that has happened in our family in the last three years plus Covid plus Trump plus political correctness I am always saying thank God my parents are no longer with us!!! (Although at the moment I have to confess , I want my mummy!)

             1. If you’ve had enough of Der Gropenführer, what about us poor folk across the pond? Did you see he had another about turn today?

                1. Yes indeed masks are now recommended and perhaps rightly so with Covid19 cases increasing exponentiallly in Florida, etc.

28. I run out of things to say about Wednesday crosswords – they’re always good and the only variation is the difficulty level – I agree that today’s is at the easier end.
    I’d never heard of 27a or I’d forgotten it which is probably more likely.
    Yet again I forgot that ‘F’ can be following.
    I thought that 19a was a bit yucky.
    I liked 17 and 23a and 2d. My favourite was 18d.
    Thanks to Jay and to the K’s.
    Back to the garden – might have a go at the Toughie later.

29. Got bogged down in the SE corner. Actually found the Toughie easier. I must admit 19a made me feel really nauseous!

30. Most enjoyable puzzle.27a doesn’t appear in my BRB, but ir was published in 1998! Always pleased to hear about Thompson who sounds very like my late lamented Maisie, who made it to twenty, but had similar digestive problems. Thanks to Jay and the kiwis.

31. This was a nice steady solve which ground to a halt, until 9 down my PDM and then a solving splurge occurred, I agree with MalcomR living across the pond you have to be careful when you talk as words have different meanings.

    Thank you to Jay and the 2Kiwis

32. Had tab end for 8d , tab (le). BRB defines schedule as such. Missed ‘following’

33. I am so impressed with everyone finding it easy today. It’s seems to have taken me absolutely ages, and I came unstuck a few times. I’ve had to do another session of batch baking, so have just looked at the crossword for five minutes at a time whilst making cakes and checking the oven. I’ve managed much better in the last few minutes when I’ve had time to just sit down and work things out. 3d was my clue of the day. Thank you Jay and the 2K’s.

34. Jay as good as ever.
    Thanks to him and to 2Kiwis for the review.

35. Solved earlier today before a lovely day on the golf course. Usual quality offering from Jay. Agree it was at the easier end of the spectrum though I didn’t solve it especially quickly. Last in was 27a – obvious from the wordplay but still took me a while. See Gazza has declared the Toughie doable for lesser mortals so if anything like yesterday’s cracker I’ll have a look later tonight.
    Thanks to Jay & the 2Ks.
    Ps Also did Monday’s Graun cryptic this morning which I thought was a real corker.

36. I had half my comment done, answered the phone and chatted too long, now I don’t know where it’s gone. I’ll never master these techie things.
    Lovely Jay Day again, loved it all as usual. I needed a hint for 8d, think I’ve got it now.
    Fave was 18d, runners up 17d and 7d. I no longer eat mammal but I remember them well, delish.
    Thank you Jay for all the fun and the 2Kiwis for the review.

37. Morning all.
    Looks like Jay has been right on the money once again.
    When we read people’s reaction to 8d we feel glad we decided not to use a picture for that one.
    A cold windy day in store for us it seems. Will get a better idea in an hour or so when it becomes daylight here.
    Cheers.

    1. 2Ks
       Re 8d I remember my grandfather used to call them “dimps”. Not in BRB but is in Collins as a northern dialect term for a cigarette butt.

38. A perfect puzzle from Jay. Completed with no help at all, apart from checking that 27a was a real word. Thanks to the 2Ks, especially for the parsing of 17a which I interpreted differently. Last one in 22d, appropriately. So many good clues I couldn’t pick out a favourite. Roll on next Wednesday!

39. Thanks to Jay and to the 2 Kiwis for the review and hints. I enjoyed this one very much, superb puzzle. Just needed the hints for 27a, I had adpage, no wonder I couldn’t parse it. Favourite was 8d, was 2*/4* for me.

40. I’m in the “relatively easy” camp this evening, but no less enjoyable for that. 2K’s hint for 17a made me smile, it’s not normally wildfowl. I go ****ing, I’ve run ****ing lines and I employ ****ers and the main quarry is not wildfowl, unless one uses the old term for any large bird as a fowl but even that would be wrong. Pendants corner over. Curiously I believe that’s why a blackbird is called a blackbird. Fowl are large and birds are small and they are the only black bird. Ok I’ll stop. Favourite 17a. Many thanks to Jay and 2K’s.

    1. After reading the comments we have checked in BRB and were surprised to see that the first meaning of wildfowl refers to ducks. Our understanding of the word is more like the second entry which says ‘game birds’ which would be pheasants, grouse etc. That was what we were picturing when we wrote the hint.
       Apologies if we have misled some solvers.

       1. Your picture is correct and I wasn’t misled. I was just pulling your collective legs.

41. In re 3D, those guys in the pic are not Desert Rats. More likely some of May Stirling’s chaps.

42. I agree with all the comments. No-one seems to be anti. All went in swiftly. 27a was my last one in. Had never heard ot it, but it made sense and had to be right. It is a good clue that has to be right when parsed even if you have never heard of it. Favourites 5 and 23a and 3 17 18 and 23d. Not a lot else to say really except to thank Jay and 2Ks although did not need to check parsing today. I was particularly pleased that I parsed 17d and did not find anything to complain about.

43. I didn’t help myself at all today – I wrote the answer to 22d in 23d, which caused all sorts of problems! After I realised my mistake, all went in to perfection! Many thanks to the 3 birds – a delightful solve, on a somewhat cold, grey day here!

44. A light and breezy puzzle from Jay today which, as always from this setter, was a joy to solve.

    Thanks to all.

45. It’s good to see others in the morning after club. I don’t have any excuse to be late on parade other than I don’t get my newspaper until late morning and then by the time I’m able to have a go at the quickie and the crossword my brain doesn’t work as I’d like. However when I wake up the following morning I’m able to do both! Today’s Jay was fun and several ‘doh’ moments. I didn’t know 27 across. I enjoyed the 2k’s help and comments. Thanks for your help.

    1. Yes I’m pleased to see others in the morning after club. I start the crossword late evening and (hopefully) finish it when the early morning tea has worked its wonders (not very early though!) I didn’t get very far with this one yesterday evening, and still couldn’t see 17 and 27 a without the hints – thanks. I managed the rest with a bit of a struggle and a little electronic help.

46. Good times as usual for a Wednesday. Gold place goes to 17a, silver to 7d and bronze to 1a. Needed 2K help with 11a, 5d and 8d. Thanks, all, including the bloggers who I always find entertaining.

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