ST 3069 (Hints)

70 comments on “ST 3069 (Hints)”

1. 3*/4*. Medium strength and good fun today.

   I would have said that 26a was an American term. Collins sort of agrees but Chambers disagrees.

   13a was my favourite with 3d in second place.

   Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.

2. Not too stiff a challenge today with this puzzle but it was still sufficently tricky for me to enjoy it (**/****). I managed to parse them all today but was not sure of 14d so thanks to Senf for your help with that. I particularly liked 13a, 15a, 3d and 6d. Thanks to Dada also. We have had a lot of rain and a couple of thunder storms in the last few days, which have served to lower the temperarure from the high of 35 Celsius on Tuesday and Wednesday. Much more comfortable

3. Took a little while to get my 20a ducks in a row but otherwise quite 3d.
   Think I liked the long answers best of all with 13a coming out on top.

   Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the Sunday hints and the Trini Lopez ‘blast from the past’.

4. Another Sunday treat. The long clues providing the framework to whistle through the rest. Loads to enjoy 15a 17a 18d 13a. Thanks to Dada and Senf

5. 13a the stand out clue from many worthy candidates this damp morning. I found the puzzle slightly more difficult than usual but still hugely enjoyable and rewarding to solve. Cricket looks like a partial washout but thankfully we have some rugby to enjoy this afternoon, although watching live sport without a crowd is a little dispiriting. I wonder how the players feel?

   Many thanks to Dada and to Senf.

6. No issues with Senf’s verdict of benevolence – pretty 3d & 19d. That said I just couldn’t see 1d for some reason & am now rubbing the bruise from the hefty kick I gave myself when I read the hint. 13a was my favourite today & also particularly liked 6d & 23a.
   Thanks Dada & Senf.
   Ps Further shout for Gazza’s NTSPP which is excellent fun & notice not that many comments from the regs.

7. I thought that Dada was being rather kind to us today. 6d was my last one in. I had the wrong constitutional in my head because of the “crisis’s”. Favourite clue was 13a. Thank you Dada and Senf.

8. An enjoyable work out this morning. ***/*** I particularly liked 3d and 15a. Favourite is 13a. Not sure I really understand 10a even with the hint. Thanks to all. Overcast on the South Kent coast but still warm. My eldest son, who lives in Tilsit town, tells me it was stupidly hot there yesterday. Having been here during the heatwave, he was hoping it would be cooler “up North”. Not so.

9. Got there in the end, a real mixture of straightforward clues and some real tricksters.
   I cannot fully parse 4d, 1d, 15a, 7d, 10a and 19d even with the hints although I am confident my answers are correct.
   Enjoyable but frustrating.
   ****/***
   Thx to all

10. Enjoyed this one, considering no Dada is 3d for me. Though I did get there in 3* time, about par for the course.
    Thought 26a weak, don’t think many use them these days.
    15a my COTD with 13a r/u.
    Thanks to Dada & Senf for hints, always entertaining and enlightening when needed. I would never have returned to enjoying the ST puzzles without your help.

    1. Should have read “not 3d for me”, too anxious to get on with tiling the shower, or not, as the case may be.

11. Dada in a less than usually quirky mood today. 13a outstanding, with 18d I was looking for a few more Shakespearean references but perhaps not. 27a lovely little un’. I tend to agree with Senf that maybe Dada has been to the far end of the thesaurus today but fair enough still good fun and a steady solve today.
    Thanks to Senf and Dada.
    I seem to recall a version of If I had a Hammer by some psedo celebrity from a reality tv show that has kind of spoiled that song for me.
    20a ironic personally.

12. Dada in good form today, with a witty and enjoyable puzzle. I especially liked 15a, 13a, and 23a. Glad to hear that your scorching weather has been tempered some and that many of you have had some rain, which we seem to be getting plenty of right now along the Carolina coasts. Thanks to Senf and Dada. ** / ****

    I really enjoyed the Gazza yesterday.

    1. Did you have a bash at his Graun prize yesterday Robert? I found it utterly impenetrable…..

       1. I gave it one quick look and opted for Gazza’s instead. Haven’t returned. May try the Everyman, though.

          1. Everyman much more to my liking – pretty straightforward & enjoyable

             1. It took me forever but I got there in the end. 7d held me up the longest. Very good puzzle.

13. This is an example of the sort of puzzle my evening paper used to regularly issue with several 3d clues to give everyone a good start, but then a weave of more and more complex clues. For me 1d and 13a were the most irksome. I liked 13a and 22a.

14. Not altogether 3d for me but 19d. Needed help parsing 23a and 1d. 19a would have caused less of a problem if I had got the right angle. Fav was 6d when constitution penny dropped. Thank you Dada and Senf.

    1. Just noticed my faux pas – meant 19d of course re right angle.

15. Very enjoyable and reasonably straightforward. For a few of the clues the answer was easier than the parsing. I’ll single out 23a and 3d for special mention.

16. An enjoyable tussle that caused me a few problems but perseverance payed off. I had not heard the term at 13a but the clue was fair and gave the answer. Agree with Senf that it is a very clever clue but my COTD is 23a, which had a slick misdirection.

    Many thanks to Dada for an enjoyable morning’s entertainment. Thanks, Senf for the hints.

    On a completely different note, whichever member of this blog recommended Zipvit Glucasamine gel with emu oil I wish to say a huge thank you. Mrs. C’s knees are benefitting greatly from it.

    1. Is the Gel for joint pain, any joint?

       1. Well, I fell a few weeks ago (must take more water with it) and hurt my shoulder. Mrs. C. suggested I try the gel and, within an hour of applying it, my shoulder was greatly improved. I’m not saying it works for everyone. It just did for us.

          1. Thanks. I will get some to try!

             Be careful with the water. Too much can over power the healing effects.

             1. 

             2. That’s definitely the case with a good single malt…..

                1. I used this gel for a few years and got a lot of benefit from it before my hips and knees succumbed to what the quacks call ‘end-stage arthritis’. It’s good stuff.

                2. I agree that it will not help really bad cases of end-stage arthritis.

                3. I agree with you, there, Huntsman. Nothing should contaminate a good malt. As the Scots say, “the only thing you should add to a malt is another malt”.

             3. Are you back in the WI yet? There’s a thing called cannabis cream that’s readily available in Jamaica, and I’m sure all over the islands, that works for me. It’s better on tissue rather than bone, but it does work to some extent on arthritis.

    2. I think someone suggested it when I was having a moan about my knee. A year ago I would definitely have given it a go
       but I am now so far gone 🤔 I do not think it will help at all. I’m sticking with the hard stuff! I am sure it is worth a try for
       strains and general boosting.

       1. Hopefully they will schedule your op sooner rather than later. My hip and knee replacements have made such a difference, although I do cause quite a kerfuffle when I go through airport security.

          1. I had an exchange of correspondence with my surgeon last week after reading in the Saturday DT a letter from a woman who had been told
             of a Government directive refusing elective operations for the over 70s.. I wrote to him asking if this was indeed so and he said sadly yes, they
             have made the announcement on the grounds that there is an increased danger in operating on over 70s at this time. He is a lovely man and
             I know he will do it as soon as he can but the Nuffield have been taken over by Addenbrookes for oncology patients, I understand. I could
             swear at great length if I were not a lady !!! I was scheduled to go in on 23rd March.

             1. How frustrating! All we can do is wait for the Covid situation to pass or a vaccine to be available. Keep asing questions though. Sooner or later it becomes less difficult to do the op. than continue to fob you off. It pays to awkward sometimes.

    3. Sadly this doesn’t appear to be sold in the US. I have tried just about all the OTC gels for hip tendon pain. Can’t take any pain killers, but the doctor did give me a prescription pain killing gel, which also did nothing. Tried cortisone shot. So now having MRI next week. But at least I am still ambulatory so can’t complain. It’s just the price we pay for exceeding our three score years and ten.

       1. I’m not saying it works for everyone, BusyLizzie but, if you wish, I could use Big Dave himself to forward some. I will pay the postage to the US and send it to BD for him to send.

          Only if BD agrees, of course. If it contravenes the rules of the blog then that’s it. ☹️

17. I needed the hint for 19d as I put in a wrong answer. This meant I could change 27a to the right answer as well. The rest slotted in nicely.

18. On a first run through, I found the solutions to the down clues were much more forthcoming than the across ones. Solving the 4 long clues worked wonders for the remaining ones and all in all an enjoyable puzzle I thought. I liked 1 and 14d, as well as 15, 23 and 27a. Favourite is 1d – wish I was there at the moment: chance would be a fine thing! I agree that 26a seems a bit dated now: can’t imagine they get much use nowadays. Thanks to the setter and to Senf for providing the hints.

    1. I know I’m a dinosaur, but I use one as I do the puzzle in pencil and pencil in the wrong answers from time to time, as I did today!

19. Well, well I found this pretty horrendous! All went in very slowly and took me ages to get 3d. Last one in 19d as I too had the wrong angle. I kept reading the comments which was a mistake as everyone else seemed to find it quite easy. When I had finished I read the hints and wondered why I found it so difficult in the first place. Thanks to all.

20. I enjoyed this workout, it is always heartening to have a solid framework of four long clues top go at.
    23a gave me the most trouble and I was on the hypotenuse track for 19d until I fell in – nice misdirection.
    I asked yesterday, but rather late in the day, where is the lady in the geodesic house in Marmara? I hope
    she is OK. Many thanks to Dada and Senf on a very sticky day here in Cambridge. Yuksville.

    1. I saw your post about the Canadian lady. I hope she’s OK.

       1. Putting two and two together, are you MERyl in the USA ? Just a thought .

          1. No, Daisygirl! I’m one of those animal people, mad about my “children”. My last three labs were yellow Megan, chocolate Rufus, and black Sadie who is still with us. My nom de plume is the first two letters of each. My real name is Barbara, very mundane!

             1. 😊

    2. Maybe one of our bloggers with access to email details could drop her a quick line just to let her know that we’re hoping she’s OK?

       1. Excellent idea, Jane.

21. A very enjoyable puzzle today with some outstanding clues… total agreement that 13ac is the runaway favourite.
    2.5*/4*
    Many thanks to Dada for a perfect Sunday challenge & Senf for review

22. I was cruising a long going well then suddenly THUD! I hit a wall in the form of 18 down, bearing in mind my wife is Italian ans said” You should have asked me” all in all this was enjoyable, My COTD was 3 down, 15 across reminded me of an Expat who claimed she never heard of the word, after looking up Chambers she remembered.

    Thank you to the setter and to Senf for their efforts

23. A nice relatively easy offering from Dada today. **/****
    Clues for favourites today include 13a, 23a, 5d & 22d with winner 5d
    Thanks to Dada and Senf

24. ***/***. A good mix of clues and helpful long ones to get the ball rolling. 3d was my favourite. Parsing 4&19d was more tricky. Thanks to Dada and Senf. It’s going to very hot today methinks.

25. Too difficult for me today…needed a lot of electronic help as well as some clues, so not much enjoyment.
    I will keep soldiering on with Dada, though, as I am sure the problem lies with me, not him.
    Thanks to Dada and to Senf for his enormous help.

26. Oh dear – very nearly a ‘just me day’ as not many of you seem to have found this as difficult as I did.
    And I still haven’t finished it even after reading the hints – not that all the ones I can’t do have hints.
    Anything but benevolent or 3d.
    Oh well – battle on, I suppose, and maybe I’ll finish it and, there again, maybe I won’t.
    I did like 13a even though I’ve never heard of ‘him’ – just a lucky guess and then a look up.
    I also liked 23a and several others but in a hurry now.
    Thanks to Dada and to Senf.

27. A real mixture for me, some easy and others needing e-help. In the end I’ve got three unsolved, all in the SE, and, natch, no hints; 25a, 18d and 22d. However, considering its a Dada puzzle, I feel I’ve done pretty well.
    My fave is 13a, one of my first solves, along with 5d, giving lots of help. I also liked 1d, my aunt lived there and I enjoyed visiting her.
    Thanks to Dada and to Senf for his hints, any chance of a few more?

    1. As it’s a prize puzzle, 25a is an anagram and 18d is a partial anagram (there is also one in NY). Assuming you have 20a and 28a, with 25a you should be able to get 22d.

       1. I know I don’t say it often enough, but I do love you to bits Senf!

28. Thanks to Dada and to Senf for the hints. A very enjoyable puzzle, but very tricky in places. Still not sure about 17a, as I don’t know the shortened synonym for “classic”. I think the third letter is either “u” or “a”? Needed the hints for 11a and 10d, and to parse 23a. Favourite was 20a. Was 4*/3* for me.

29. Another enjoyable Sunday crossword, thanks Dada. 6d gets my vote for clue of the day, last in but made me chuckle when the penny dropped! Thanks to Senf for the blog.

30. I am not clever enough to rate this one from Dada as benevolent as I needed far too much help to finish. I never heard of 13a, although I have heard of his short name, despite my lack of Shakespeare education (we only covered Henry IV, Part I). Never read Haggard either. I had 23a but didn’t pen it in as it didn’t seem to fit the clue. There were some nice long clues which were a big help, particularly 5d which just jumped off the page at me. Favourite was 6d, although I spent far too much time in the realms of government, oh dear. Thanks to Dada and Senf.

31. Never heard of 13a or 18d but I got them. I too had the wrong angle for 19d so needed help with that which then made 23a and 27a obvious. Apart from that fairly 3d. Favourite was 15a. Thanks to Dada and Senf.

32. If Dada has been on holiday, he’s definitely back this week – but an enjoyable work out nonetheless! I had to revert to Senf ‘s hints for a few clues, which were much appreciated, and I still took a while with 3d until the penny finally dropped.
    But my favourite was 13a, which was almost the last to go in when I realised the significance of ‘raids’ – I’ve not seen it used in that context before!
    Much thanks to Dada and Senf.

    1. Oops – that should be 15a!!!!! 😕

33. Not really relevant to the puzzle but someone sent me this link which may be of interest

    What Alaskans learned from ‘the mother of all pandemics’ in 1918

    As Yogi Berra said “it’s deja-vous all over again.”

    1. I didn’t know that. Yup, déjà vu all over again! I just want to know when it’s all going to end.

34. 3*/4*…
    liked 18D “scary criminal practice somewhere in Sicily (8)”…
    also partial to 12A “ship that carries sherry (8)”

35. A bit late, but lots to enjoy today.
    Some tricky clues, I spent far too long on 23a trying to find a type of sheep 🐑!
    Thanks Dada and Senf, looking forward to reading the blog.

36. 12a: Different clue in the electronic Telegraph “Shipping vessel” like the port better

37. Thanks, Senf: I needed the right angle for 19d. And thank you Dada for the crossword. 27a is my favourite today.

38. Late getting round to this one but v straightforward for Dada.

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