DT 29473 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29473 (Hints)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29473 (Hints)

 The Crossword Club

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

This is a slightly tougher Saturday puzzle, which suggest it may be the handiwork of one of our Tuesday Toughie setters.

Tilsit has been called away to serve an early shift this morning, but hopes to return next week.

As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, have been selected and hints provided for them.

Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also”. Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.

A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.

Some hints follow.

Across

1a Conscientious old man at home killing vampires? (11)
A charade of a two-letter father (old man), a word meaning at home and a method allegedly used for killing vampires

9a Make one college tenure vacant? (5)
A three-letter abbreviation for a college followed by T[enur]E without its inner letters (vacant)

11a Maybe Gatwick Express connects to harbour (7)
A verb meaning to express followed by a harbour

14a One dies in little pain (8)
Someone who dies is also a word used for an annoying child (little pain)

19a Charlie greatest boxer in Colombian city (4)
Combine C(harlie) with the adopted surname of the self-proclaimed “greatest” boxer then look the result up to find that it is a city in Columbia!

21a European snake in Geordie town? That causes a stir (8)
E(uropean) and a three-letter snake go inside how a Geordie pronounces town

25a One million in criminal deposit made most favourable (9)
I (one) and M(illion) inside an anagram (criminal) of DEPOSIT

27a Recklessly altered mint causing harm (11)
An anagram (recklessly) of ALTERED MINT

Down

2d Spanish chum is yours truly? Get away! (5)
A word meaning is followed by the first person singular subjective pronoun (yours truly) and a verb meaning to get away

4d Wrong answer to consume evil pancake (8)
A legal wrong and A(nswer) around an evil

6d Champion to watch out for Duncan-Smith? (8)
A verb meaning to watch out followed by how some may (incorrectly) spell one of the Christian names of politician Duncan Smith (no hyphen!)

7d Irish ham cut round inside Asian place (9)
An anagram (cut) of IRISH HAM with the round letter inside

12d Gains control over temper — it’s very important (11)
A verb meaning gains control over followed by temper or mood

13d Word to describe English PM receiving ambassador (7)
E(nglish) followed by the surname of either of two Prime Ministers who served under George III, the latter around (receiving) the title afforded an ambassador

17d Waved proudly and ran to embrace relative (8)
A verb meaning ran (away from) around (to embrace) a female relative

19d Top international appearing in fashion title (7)
A verb meaning to top or outdo followed by I(nternational) inside (appearing in) a three-letter fashion

24d Son put to bed shows damage (4)
S(on) inside a child’s bed

For today’s music we dig deep into the Rockabilly archives for this 1956 track by Johnny Burnette and the Rock ‘n Roll Trio:


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The Quick Crossword pun: quay+whole=keyhole


83 comments on “DT 29473 (Hints)

  1. I agree this was a little tougher than normal. User errors held me up in the SE and 12d was a bit of a struggle. I needed the Atlas as well as the thesaurus today. I didn’t have far to look for COTD too 1a was a gem IMO.
    Thanks to BD and Setter – 14a and her recent “beagle” themed EV suggests Chalicea but if so she has been a busy little setter lately

  2. I found this puzzle to be roughly the same in difficulty as most Saturday puzzles with a few tricky clues in the NE to spice things up (**/****). I particularly liked 1a and 21a, which were great fun. Over all a very enjoyable puzzle, so thanks to the compiler. Thanks also to BD for the hints.

  3. I needed help with two today, the interlinked 7d and 14a. It seems to me that the word ‘cut’ in a clue can mean a whole variety of things, but I didn’t know it was an anagram indicator.

    Otherwise completed in a steady *** time, with the downs being far simpler.

    Many thanks to the compiler and BD.

  4. 2.5*/4*. A few clues took me a little beyond my 2* time, but I found this very enjoyable.

    1a was my favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter and to BD.

  5. Greatly enjoyed this.7 d was last in as l was looking for a country rather than what it is.Thanks to all.

  6. This one seemed to me as though it could have been the work of two compilers working in collaboration – the full gamut from the easy to the rather difficult.
    1a gets my vote for favourite followed closely by 11a.

    Thanks to our compiler(s) and also to BD for the hints.

  7. Definitely at the harder end of the Saturday spectrum. Several smiles but 1a really appealed to me.
    One small point however, if Dr Wiki is correct, I don’t think the politician in 6d spells his first name in the way required by the clue.
    Thank you to BD and the setter

        1. Was going to make a comment that both of these PMs were spelt correct when I realised I was getting confused with 13d.

          1. According to Mr W the relevant part of his name is actually his second given name and he was born and christened with one spelling and adopted the alternative spelling later in life?. Probably makes him more interesting than he ever was as a politician!

  8. The left hand side was clever and entertaining but the right side was a real stinker. Still can’t parse 8d.
    Stuck between 10a and 21a for my favourite clues, both very clever. Come on the [redacted] army!
    Thx to the setter for an interesting and challenging puzzle and for the hints.
    ****/****

    1. Re 8d parsing Brian – if you split the wordplay 4,1,6.
      Hope that’s not going to get me sent to the naughty step.

      1. Even with your excellent hint I stared at it with mouth open, I’ve now got it and feel very silly!

  9. Really good Saturday prize that got off to a cracker with 1a. I too struggled with 7d/14a but the penny dropped once the anagram indicator was twigged in the down clue. Unfortunately 12d was my undoing & couldn’t see it for the life of me (even after sneaking a look at what was underlined in the hint which I’d thought anyway). Once I’d read the full hint it was clearer though the picture obviously gave it away. Plenty of podium contenders – 1a, 12d, 20&21a would be in the reckoning.
    Many thanks to the setter & BD for the review

  10. I thought this was very enjoyable today. I needed to confirm the Colombian city, and my last two in were 14a and 12d.

    Thanks to the setter and to BD.

  11. 12d last in for me. I agree, marginally harder than a usual Saturday. Thanks for the review. And now three points at Everton.

  12. Well, it looks as though I’m going to be in a minority but I thought that this was a really unpleasant offering for a Saturday puzzle. I’m grateful to Dave for the hints because I very nearly threw in the towel; however, I persevered with it and the pdf has winged its way to Telegraph headquarters.

    1. Aljanon, in what way was this crossword unpleasant?

      [*** redacted – every one else has avoided using his initials!] may well agree with you?

  13. A bit tougher than usual for a Saturday, I thought, but most enjoyable. 14a held me up forever, it seemed, and even with BD’s hint and the illustration, I find it difficult to parse, though I apparently got the right answer (strange word-formation, indeed–UK colloq?). Podiium winners: 12d, 1a, 13d. Thanks to BD for the hints, which I’ll read now, and to today’s wily setter. *** / ****

    1. Several sources indicate that 14a is ‘old-fashioned Brit. informal’ for ‘little pain’. Well, a new one on me. Have I been relegated to the Dark Corner of a Naughty Room?

      1. When I was teaching it was the little 14a’s who were sent the naughty corner, Robert. I hope the stormy eather in your part of the world is abating.

        1. Thanks for the good wishes, Chriscross. The system has moved on, and it’s sunny, cool, and very pleasant here in Charleston today. Highs in the 70s, lows in the upper 50s tonight–a touch of autumn, just in time for the equinox. Hope you’re well.

  14. Tricky but enjoyable with some clever clues. Maybe we should forgive 6d (not the bloke, but the setter who managed two errors in one clue).

    Manders – yes I really love ‘Simon’s Cat’ – it was unknown to me until recommended to me here, a few months back.

    BusyLiz – the bedroom is going to be firmly out of bounds to Lola from now on!

    RayS – I agree, the -a suffix does sound a bit contrived in speech (particularly) but great fun to say in the most pompous voice “Oh, you mean stadia, do you?” if someone says ‘stadiums’.

    Thanks to the setter and to BIG D.

    1. It will be interesting to see how long you manage to maintain this bedroom embargo – anyone up for a bet?!!

      1. Oh Jane – I’m serious! I couldn’t go through such a night again. Five minutes sleep and then an hour of purring in face, and kneading at the very top of the duvet. Repeated through the night; never again!

        1. We all have to suffer from time to time, just grin and bear it. Phoebe only does it occasionally, thank goodness, but I wouldn’t know how to lock her out!

  15. Really enjoyable, if on the tough side of Saturday solves. Into *** time with 14a LOI.Nothing to not like with a good number raising a smile
    1a, 14a and 21a joint favourites. Missed the error in 6d.
    Thanks Mysteron & Big Dave for the hints.

  16. A puzzle of two halves with a roughly North-South split. North was Monday-ish/Tuesday-ish and South was Friday-ish. Completed at a fast canter – 2.5*/3.5*.
    Candidates for favourite – 1a, 26a, 13d, and 17d – and the winner is 1a.
    Building on BD’s comment on the setter, could this be a Donnybrook – I think he has set a SPP or two?
    Thanks to the setter and BD.

  17. I thought I was finding this hard going because I’m in a bit of a mood! I took delivery of a new laptop yesterday. Spent most of the afternoon setting it up and finally shut it down. Went to open it this morning – can I remember the password? No, I @##@#$ cannot!

    Anyway, I was molified and heartened by seeing that most thought this was a tough one. I needed a few hints but got there in the end. Some great clues, I thought 2d had a neat misdirection – spent ages trying to use “E”. I also liked 16d but my COTD is the very neat 5d. I’m not sending it in as I made a mess of the grid.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Big Dave for the hints. So pleased it is work that has detained Tilsit and not a return of the dreaded virus.

  18. That was really enjoyable with so many clever clues which were fun to work out including 11a, 21a, 13d and 16d. NE was stickiest patch mainly due to 7d and 14a. Hadn’t come across 19a before. 8a helping seems to have made frequent recent appearances. Thank you Mysteron and BD (btw the central heading to today’s hints shows last week’s number).

  19. Good fun and probably slightly trickier than usual Saturdays.
    Last answer was the 7d anagram – even with alternate letters in it took ages as I didn’t know if I was looking for a city, a country or what and geography never was a strong point anyway.
    I agree with everyone that 1a was a good clue but my favourite, by a long way, was 14a.
    Thanks to whoever set this one and to BD.
    It looks as if I might have to do something useful – I know that I can’t do Radler’s crosswords. :sad:

  20. My favourite Saturday Crossword for some time and loved like many 1a and 21a but having had no clue on 10a until I got the last letter and then the penny dropped and reminded me of that early morning cup of tea at our bach and the vital dunker! Cheers BD and the setter for the memories.

    1. Ah – the ‘bach’ – so it’s an NZ term – I know the 2K’s use it but thought it was a family expression of theirs.

  21. Got there finally with hints and electronic help. Not very enjoyable with some stretched synonyms but 1a, 21a, and 8d were I thought worthy of a mention. Thanks to BD for guiding me to a full solution and to the Saturday setter.

  22. Well this was a struggle. Like others the last 3 held me up for ages 7d, 14a and 12d. Nonetheless very enjoyable so thanks to all. We have a huge tide here tomorrow so our village has a flood alert. The last time, about 6 years ago was extraordinary to see and only just short of the 1953 floods that hit N Norfolk.

      1. Thanks Steve – fortunately we don’t live on the coast road but one road inland which is slightly higher and we will be fine. It’s so sad when you see baby seals, etc., stranded in the High Street. They get put back in the sea but whether they find their mothers or not I don’t know.

  23. God fun this one, with plenty of trickiness to keep me interested throughout. 1a was a clear favourite and went in straight away, leading me to think that the rest would follow in quick time. Not so. Somewhat bizarrely, 19d was my final entry having completed other potential sticking points.

    Many thanks to our Saturday setter and to BD.

  24. A fine end to the week. I’ve never heard of 19a but if you say it’s a drug smuggling spot I’ll take your word for it. I loved1a and 21a both made me laugh but for some reason was completely stuck on either birds or servicewomen until the penny dropped with a huge clang. There is not a cloud in the sky here and it should be Battle of Britain day at nearby Duxford and the skies should be buzzing with vintage aircraft, such a shame. Just one or two spitfires out for a spin. Many thanks to the setter and to BD – I think I deserve a nap now!

  25. Difficult but fun today. Had to give in and use the electronic gizmo…but only once. Needed help with parsing 8d but Huntsman helped me out with that.
    Absolutely cracking weather here today in Bonnie Dundee.
    Thanks to Big Dave and to the setter.

  26. A somewhat trickier puzzle than normal for a Saturday I thought. 2.5*/*** Some nice clues and some favourites include 1a, 10a, 21a, 5d (groan and LOL) & 19d with winner today 10a and 21a is a close runner up.

    Thanks to setter and BD for hints

  27. Harder than this week’s Toughies but my wife was inspired at the start and we got there in the end. Last one in was 12d. Favorites 1a and 21a – excellent.

  28. What a super puzzle today. At first I thought it was a bit of a stinker, but slowly most of it fell into place. Took a break and went outside to start planting some shrubs. Had to retreat indoors to cool down, it is 95F after all, and the rest all became obvious. All done, and all my own work. Very happy. Nothing sports, convoluted or require archaic GK. Big thank you to the setter and to Big Dave.

  29. For once I fairly whistled through this one, a very pleasant Saturday solve. Favourites 1a and 17d. Beautiful weather in NC again.
    Thanks to BD and setter.

  30. Thanks to the setter and to Big Dave for the hints. A very enjoyable puzzle, but quite tricky. Needed the hints for 12d and 14a, I wouldn’t have got either of them. Favourite was 21a. Was 3*/3* for me.

  31. No trouble with 7d. Realised when I got 8d (last one in) that I had wrong last letter in 14a. That explains why I could not parse fully! Penultimate one in was 12d. Both long one word answers had double unches which did not help. Neither did the fact that I was expecting a different ending. When I got 19d I thought I had parsed it. Now I am not sure I’m right as I don’t get the “fashion” so I’ll run it through the gadget to check there’s not an alternative. Top favourite is 21a. Thanks setter and BD.

  32. I found this very, very tricky but hugely enjoyable, taken quite a long time. I did need some electronic help with three, one was 12d, but I think I’ve got the wrong answer as BD’s hint bears no resemblance to what I’ve got.
    I agree that 1a was super, but I’m going to choose 10a as my fave. So much choice! I spent far too much time looking up the Geordie town, thick?
    Thank you setter for our Saturday fun and to BD for his hints and tips.

  33. I’m in the “difficult but enjoyable” camp this evening. I never noticed the errors in 6d until one of the more observant of us pointed it out. Favourite was 1a and my first in. There were other contenders, for favourite not first in obviously. Thanks to the setter and BD.

  34. SE corner completed first. Favourites today 1a and 20a 😂. A bit of a tough one today but got there in the end. Here’s hoping for another good win for the 21a tomorrow

  35. I struggled with this one -and dispiriting when others found it a snip, However I did manage in the end. The anagrams were entertaining but I missed a few first time round! Despite the hint didn’t get 12d and sought help elsewhere!
    However didn’t like 10a with the misleading reference to German…
    Notwithstanding it saved me from gardening!
    Many thanks to BD for his efforts.

    1. There’s nothing misleading about the reference to German in 10a but that’s all I’m saying until Friday

  36. You know that this was a struggle when the last one in is the left hand edge. As for this three letter word that means fashion, I know it’s in the dictionary but is it really in use anywhere in the English speaking word apart from in crosswords?

    1. It is a rather arbitrary indication of difficulty and enjoyment (in that order) rated out of five from one’s perspective
      */***** would be a doddle but very enjoyable: *****/* would be bloody hard work and no fun at all
      Doesn’t mean much – 1 or 5 rarely appear at either end so it may as well be 2-4, which is hardly earth-shattering
      Meaningless, but the juxtaposition of views is occasionally interesting

  37. C as me back to this old one which I’d got stuck with. Got 7d and top half all fell into place quite quickly for me. Very enjoyable and not too bad. Just have use brain. Loved 1a

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