DT 29451 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29451

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29451

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

Hello, everyone, and welcome to a typical Tuesday puzzle.  I found it to be an enjoyable solve with nothing too convoluted or specialised. 

In the hints below most indicators are italicized, and underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions.  Clicking on the answer buttons will reveal the answers.  In some hints hyperlinks provide additional explanation or background.  Clicking on a picture will enlarge it or display a bonus illustration.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

 

Across

1a    Saved communist, securing plaudits finally -- and Trump's stick? (7)
RESCUED:  A derogatory informal word for a communist containing (securing) both the last letter (finally) of plauditS and the stick used by snooker player Trump 

5a    Put down skip oddly in warehouse (7)
DEPOSIT:  Odd letters (…. oddly) of SKIP are inserted in a storehouse or warehouse 

9a    The lady with a fine bundle of papers (5)
SHEAF:  Follow a pronoun for "the lady" with A from the clue and the pencil abbreviation for fine 

10a   Putting up with  pain (9)
SUFFERING:  A rather straightforward double definition 

11a   What tea leaves might be  put in the jug? (10)
IMPRISONED:  A double definition built upon the slang meanings of tea leaf and jug 

12a   Produce eastern maiden with sex appeal (4)
EMIT:  String together the single letter for eastern, the cricket abbreviation for maiden, and a dated word for sex appeal 

14a   Ended nice novel welcoming writer's lack of constraint (12)
INDEPENDENCE:  An anagram (novel) of ENDED NICE containing (welcoming) a writing instrument 

18a   I list armies fighting, concealing current resemblances (12)
SIMILARITIES:  An anagram (fighting) of I LIST ARMIES containing (concealing) the physics symbol for electric current 

21a   Fruit that's rotten coming out of one's mouth? (4)
UGLI:  A homophone (coming out of one's mouth) of an adjective meaning rotten or of unpleasant appearance 

22a   Businesses are about to be cutting choices (10)
OPERATIONS:  An anagram (about) of ARE inserted in (cutting) a synonym of choices 

25a   Vast liner at sea breaks (9)
INTERVALS:  An anagram (at sea) of VAST LINER 

26a   Haul up fish, we're told (5)
RAISE:  A homophone (we're told) of some flat fish

27a   Try diamonds with gown? Not right for beautiful woman (7)
GODDESS:  Concatenate a try or a turn, the playing card abbreviation for diamonds, and another word for gown with the single letter for right deleted (… not right

28a   Splinter group admitting American power is questionable (7)
SUSPECT:  A splinter group containing (admitting) together an abbreviation meaning American and the physics symbol for power 

 

Down

1d    Have confidence in removing leader in charge of the country (6)
RUSTIC:  A verb meaning "have confidence in" minus its first letter (removing leader) is followed by the abbreviation for "in charge" 

2d    Nods off seconds after Prime Minister's turned up (6)
SLEEPS:  The single letter for seconds comes after the reversal (turned up, in a down clue) of a 19th century Prime Minister with his 'S from the clue

 

3d    Hostile female entering inn, rudely dancing (10)
UNFRIENDLY:  The single letter for female inserted in (entering) an anagram (dancing) of INN RUDELY 

4d    Record old dance (5)
DISCO:  A synonym of record with the single letter for old 

5d    Unusual if Fred's treated by hospital department (9)
DIFFERENT:  An anagram (…'s treated) of IF FRED is followed by a usual abbreviated hospital department.  It was certainly unusual to see this very handsome bobcat passing through my backyard a few days ago … 

6d    Nobleman exercises with the Queen (4)
PEER:  Put together usual abbreviations for physical exercises and Queen Elizabeth   

7d    Doing front crawl, perhaps -- length for women losing weight (8)
SLIMMING:  In what "doing front crawl" defines by example (…, perhaps) insert the single letter for length in place of the single letter for women (length for women) 

8d    Sensible  with each other (8)
TOGETHER:  Another straightforward double definition 

13d   Promotion offers exciting experiences (10)
ADVENTURES:  Follow an abbreviation for promotion or publicity with a synonym of offers 

15d   Poles, say, are up nose, weirdly (9)
EUROPEANS:  An anagram (weirdly) of ARE UP NOSE.  The definition here is by example (…, say)

16d   A small quantity of money -- one no good's taking it (8)
ASSUMING:  Concatenate A from the clue, the clothing abbreviation for small, a quantity of money, the Roman one, and the abbreviation for "no good" 

17d   Came close to bird behind daughter (8)
EMULATED:  Stick together a flightless Australian bird, behind or overdue, and the genealogical abbreviation for daughter 

19d   Bill polite about set of books (6)
NOTICE:  Polite or pleasant containing (about) the abbreviation for a collection of biblical books 

20d   Her cats regularly departed after snake's appearance (6)
ASPECT:  HER CATS with alternate letters deleted (… regularly departed) comes after the snake that did for Cleopatra 

23d   Flowers lifted with spades (5)
ROSES:  A synonym of lifted with the playing card abbreviation for spades 

24d   Plane maybe rising in sheer trajectory (4)
TREE:  The answer is hidden reversed in (rising in, in a down clue) the remainder of the clue.  The definition is by example (… maybe

 

Thanks to today’s setter for a fun solve.  I have 11a as my top clue.  Which clues did you like best?

 


The Quick Crossword pun:  MAY + KIT + PLANE = MAKE IT PLAIN


61 comments on “DT 29451

  1. I found this very light and, a couple of dated synonyms apart, quite enjoyable.
    I liked 16 and 17d but the runaway favourite for me was 1a.
    1.5/3*
    Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K for the entertainment.

  2. 1*/2.5*. As Stephen L. says, this was light and quite enjoyable.

    The surface for 15d seemed rather strange.

    1a was my favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K.

  3. Very straightforward and enjoyable for a Tuesday. I found it to be one of the more accessible puzzles for a while. 1a came close as my favourite, but that award goes to 11a.

    Thank you to both Misters.

    The Toughie also falls into the accessible category this morning.

  4. Pleasant way to divert attention from the dreariness outside. North was first to cede and SW certainly delayed things. I wrongly think of the lift synonym as intransitive but realised that’s not the case hence 23d had to be. I’m obviously being thick but I’m not sure I can see Trump’s relevance in 1a – help! Fav is 24a. Thank you Mysteron and MrK. D’oh have just read about Judd Trump.

  5. On holiday so happily whistled through this. 11a my clear favourite. Felt so chipper went straight on to the Toughie and what do you know finished that too. Now if only the wind would allow a bit of surfing my day would be complete but sadly I suspect that is unlikely. Have a good day all and thanks to the setter and Mr K

  6. Light, fluffy, and rather strange, with oddly stretched definitions in places, but finished quickly. I felt at times, as Robert Browning maintained about his great poetry, that I was out there “on the edge of things.” (I do like Mr Kitty’s 11a choice now that I know the ‘tea leaf’ slang. And I hope that your Mr Judd Trump has more on the ball than the one who has wrecked my country and caused thousands of deaths.) I also liked 27a and 17d. Thanks to Mr Kitty, whose bobcat is a gorgeous creature, and to today’s setter. 1.5* / 3*

    Excellent Toughie today.

    1. I’m not watching the convention but I can’t ignore the clips when they come on the news and I cringe. The worrisome thing is that there are Trumpers out there believing every word. I think we’re in for trouble come November.

  7. Good fun today with enjoyable clues. Particularly 11 a . Was not sure of the reasoning for 21a but had the answer but needed Mr Ks logic to understand it.Thank you to the setter and Mr K.

  8. I found this a tad trickier than the rest of you. Once again I was stymied by a sporting clue and spent a long time trying to fathom why Donald Trump had anything to do with 1a and where the cue came from (not a Snooker fan!). I’ll have to start making lists of previously unheard of sports personalities (….Langer, Judd Trump for a start). There were a good many very straightforward clues but a few that were more complex and had to be reverse engineered. So it’s 2.5* for difficulty and 3* for enjoyment today. I enjoyed the anagrams, particularly 3d but had no real favourite amongst the other clues, whilst 16d seemed a rather clumsily worded clue and I thought the synonym was over-stretched. Thank you to Mr K for the review and the delightful picture of the cats with their tails forming a heart shape. Thanks to the setter also.

  9. Ashamed to say that I lost patience & logged on to the puzzles website to reveal the 16d/21a checker & immediately groaned. 4 letter homophones are seemingly a real problem for me. As an avid snooker fan I’m also embarrassed that I missed the 1a wordplay so that one was a bung in too. Otherwise the north fell quickly but the south proved a little trickier. 11a was clear favourite for me though 1a is good, now it’s been explained. The Toughie seems accessible today though only halfway through.
    Thanks to the setter & Mr K for the always entertaining review (the fridge note made me chuckle)

  10. Apart from the inclusion of the snooker player, I felt this one had a rather dated feel to it but it was still quite an enjoyable puzzle.
    2d rather amused so gets my vote for today.

    Thanks to our setter and to Mr K for the review – liked the reaction to the girlfriend’s note and also that cute little hedgehog. I read that a Bobcat is also known as a Red Lynx, which makes perfect sense although they obviously have shorter ear tufts than those of their cousins. Lucky you had the camera to hand at the time!

    1. Jeepers, if thats the kiwi fruit pic, I took it as a kitten. Time for a visit to specsavers for one of us Jane!

      1. Worry not – the hedgehog was the ‘bonus picture’ for 2d. Click on the little boy with the cow and all will be revealed. Mr K often includes extras in his reviews, clever fellow!

  11. Another occurrence of a Monday puzzle on a Tuesday, completed at a fast gallop – 1.5*/3*.
    Candidates for favourite – 22a, 8d, and 17d – and the winner is 8d.
    Thanks to the setter and Mr K.

  12. Well, I am certainly going to buck the trend of the comments today. I did not get on with this at all and gave up. There is no rhyme or reason why I couldn’t do it. Perhaps it was wavelength, Perhaps my brain was not in gear. Whatever the reason, I did not enjoy it. As ever, that is my fault and not the setter’s so thanks to him or her and thanks, also, to Mr K for the hints, which I consulted at great length.

    I would look at the Toughie but the way my brain is functioning it would be a forlorn quest. :sad:

    1. Especially as one clue is decidedly football-y Steve. I don’t usually get anywhere but I am within sight of completing almost unaided so could be worth a go.

      1. I looked at it, LROK and only got one. I think my cruciverbalist brain has deserted me. I have never felt so frustrated.

    2. I’d echo LROK’s assessment – very doable & more fun than the back pager so well worth a bash.

    3. Loved the pic of Hudson leading himself. (https://1drv.ms/w/s!Ar8oD5wfaFPegSHww7CdmaJ3OI_e)
      It even brought a tear to Mama Bee’s eye. ( i just gulped and pretended to have the sun in my eye)
      My childhood dog Kim ( after Kipling’s Little friend of all the world) was the spit of Hudson. He departed this world almost 40 years ago but I still have his identical chain collar hung on my shaving mirror, and his old plaited dog lead now does duty as the means to ring the old brass ships bell by our back door.

      As to the puzzle I did ok but the SW defeated me. The fruit at 21a crossed my mind but I didn’t even pencil it in. needed the hint for 16d and couldn’t sort my birds and daughters in 17d either. I have made a start on the toughie but much still left to do before I resort to the hints.

      1. The lead I use for Hudson is the same one I used for the last two Labs – Abbot and Mason. I also have collars from earlier pals. I can never bring myself to get rid of them.

          1. Great print LROK! I will save that link for when I get tired of the sunrise over the beach and castle at Bamburgh that is over our fireplace at the moment. Our dog loved Bamburgh and could tell/smell he was going to the seaside at least 10 mins/miles before we could even see the sea!

          2. Terrific picture, LBROK, Labs go hand in hand with Land Rovers. If you have an Aga as we do try stopping a lab hogging it!

            My favourite painter of Labs is John Trickett.

  13. Straightforward I felt but mainly well clued & enjoyable. Given me time to have crack at the Toughie where progress much slower but worth a look even for those of modest ability like me.
    Another vote for 11a as COTD
    Thanks to setter & Mr K for insightful hints. I shouldn’t have to ask, but where is the “backyard”?
    1a refers to Mr (R) Trump who is a former World Champion ball potter. His more famous namesake Mr D Trump is the world champion ball-dropper currently being challenged by Gavin Williamson.

    1. Wasn’t sure we’d ever get a worthy rival to Chris failing Grayling but GW is certainly making a pretty good fist of it.

      1. Minister of Education is a post that seems to either be filled by incompetents or bring out the worst in politicians. I can count on one hand the incumbents who have made a decent fist of it in the 50 years since I started as a baby teacher ( and have few fingers left over).

        1. I’d be curious to know who makes it onto your list. Most seem to stay 5 mins & are then moved on. Keith Joseph must be about the longest tenure I can remember. Am sure GW will be gone before long.

          1. Keith Joseph was ok. Also John MacGregor and Gillian Shephard were liked by teachers because they seemed to understand the education system better than most. Both were short lived. Michael Gove and Maggie Thatcher were widely disliked because they each had their own axe to grind. However they were not incompetent.

            1. Interesting – my teacher friends absolutely loathe Gove but I always thought him broadly on the right track.

        2. Chris
          Perhaps it also has something to do with the Department they head. Just a thought, I have never been connected with the teaching profession (even when I was at school).

          1. I’m sure there is a lot to be said for that point of view. I worked in the Civil Service during one of the long vacations (Ministry of Health and Social Security in central London). There is definitely a feeling that the Civil Service is cumbersome, slow and overdue for modernisation. Yes Minister was funny but there was an element of truth in it. I suspect it still has a way to go.

  14. Sailed through the northern half which usually means that, for me, the buffers are coming up fast! This was certainly the case today as the South took ages and I had cause to be thankful for Mr K’s hints for a couple (16 & 17d). In my defence, I thought that the wording of both clues was a bit convoluted and contrived but I enjoyed the tussle overall. Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K for sorting me out. Loved the note from the (ex) girlfriend!

  15. That little exchange way over my head. But glad you are having fun, boys. Nice puzzle, done all by my own as George off to a Rotary lunch which I couldn’t face sitting through with my knee, which strangely affects the whole leg. 11a was fun, 1a was a bung in until I read mr K’s hints. Dare I try the toughie if it is footbally? Thanks to mr K and the setter for seeing me through lunch.

    1. Only one DG. Tilsit gives it 2* & it is probably at the lower end of that if I can need only 1 hint to get me home.

  16. Solved alone and unaided and understood the clues with the exception of the fruit at 21a. It had to be what it was, but I did not see the homophone indicator so failed to parse. So a well done day today.
    I cannot say that I found it easy, though. Took me quite a while to complete.

    Chucking it down here and looks to be on for the day…..and rather cool for the time of year too.
    Thanks to the setter and to Mr Kfor his hints and his pictures…..though the one with the kiwi fruits looks like kitten abuse to me!

  17. A nice straightforward solve 😃 **/*** Favourites another for 11a along with 17d 🤗 Thanks to Mr K 😺 for the humorous blog and also to the Setter 🌧💨

  18. I started off slow on this crossword and as time went by the answers were entered at a steady pace, just like Young Salopian for a while 1 a was the favourite then came 11 across, my thanks to the setter and to Mr K for their efforts.

  19. I enjoyed this one immensely, but fell short with 21a (I’d never heard of it). An early solve of 14a and 18a helped enormously.
    A conversation:
    Me, “Hello little Lola! Look I’ve changed the water in your bowl. Lovely fresh tap water, the very best Surrey can provide!”
    Lola, “Yes… thanks… but I had already made an arrangement to drink this grubby, five day old rain water from out of this equally grubby old plant pot saucer over here. See you later.”

    Thanks to the setter and Mr K.

    1. Thompson will not drink anything except rainwater. What with that and special diet food that has to come from Germany, she is one very fussy cat.

    2. One of cats preferred to go out and drink the chlorinated pool water. He had to bend over quite a way, his little rump up in the air, but never fell in doing it. Seems it tasted better than our nicely filtered water in his bowl. His brother fell in the pool several times when trying to catch lizards.

  20. Very enjoyable offering today, I really enjoyed it. Even the unknown Trump didn’t prevent solving. Shudder, shudder!
    Fave was 11a, seems the most popular one today.
    Thanks to our setter and to Mr. K for unravelling some for me, and the cat pics. I look forward to those.

  21. Found this puzzle to be 2.5*/*** as the the last 8 or 9 clues at the bottom half of the puzzle took as long as the rest of it did. I really struggled too, in the fact I had the wrong answer bunged into 13d that hindered the process. Oh well … one of those days. Also put the wrong answer into 7d but that didn’t affect any of the adjoining clues. Just me being duh!
    Candidates for favourites 10a, 8d, 17d & 20d. Winner 8d for sheer simplicity.

    Thanks to setter and Mr K

  22. 1a was my downfall. Snooker is not my thing. Thank you setter and Mr Kitty. I enjoyed the pics today, particularly the bobcat and the hedgehog. We encountered a coyote on our last day in Yellowstone Park a few years ago. It wasn’t as handsome as the bobcat.

  23. Too hard for me, SW corner miles over my head. Give me a tough Sunday Dada any day.
    As a committed birder, one day I will solve a clue with a bird in it.
    Thanks all.

  24. Once I got on the right wavelength I did quite well with this, but still needed MrK’s helpful hints for a few. Loved the pictures especially the very handsome bobcat.
    Thanks to setter and Mr K

  25. Rattled through although had to assume the snooker reference in 1a. Late to the game as I had to wait for a dead tree version when my better half went shopping. Thanks all.

  26. Another lovely day in crossword land. Really enjoyed this one, just stumped by the fruit, which I had forgotten, and 11a which I just couldn’t follow before I read the hint. I got 1a quickly, didn’t know what the Trump connection was, but just blotted that part of the clue out…😊. Thanks to setter for a lot of fun, and to Mr. K.

  27. I’m in the “not quite so smug” camp this evening as most found this as straightforward as I did. It’s just as well I finished it before playing darts or I’d be trying to do so later in a befuddled state. Must go as the dartboard and Mr. Marston are calling. Favourite was 1a, no problem with the snooker player. Many thanks to the setter and Mr K.

  28. So that is what the Trump reference in 1a was about. We just left a question mark beside that clue although we did have the right answer. Everything else went in smoothly for us with plenty of smiles along the way.
    Thanks Mr Ron and Mr K.

  29. You will have seen that you have plenty of good company in being baffled by the 1a Trump reference however I am interested to now learn that Judd has £14 million career winnings from his game – wonder how that compares with Donald’s?!

  30. Yay, after Monday’s disaster, I managed to complete this one! Thank you setter, and Mr K for explaining the 1a stick-holder.

    My favourite was the 26a fish homophone, because it was my last in and it made my laugh when I finally got it.

    I also marked 9a, 25a, 4d, and 23d, any of which might have been my favourite had 26a not come along at the end. I might even try Tuesday’s Toughie, just to see if I do find it easier than Monday’s backpager…

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