DT 29505 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29505

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29505

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

Hello, everyone. Had to break out the snow shovel before settling down to solve this so I could get my Subaru off the street and into the driveway to make life easier for the county's snowplows.  It’s got very cold here very fast - glad I got this week's 14 mile long run in yesterday before the temperature plunged and the snow descended.  Turning to the crossword, it's pretty much what we've come to expect on a Tuesday.  I think that about says it all.

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 and a hover (computer) or long press (mobile) might explain more about the picture.  Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

 

Across

1a    Picks church over diamonds and riches, ultimately (7)
CHOICES:  Concatenate the map abbreviation for church, the cricket abbreviation for over, an informal name for diamonds, and the last letter (ultimately) of richeS 

5a    Thin line dividing poster (7)
SLENDER:  The single letter for line inserted in (dividing) the poster of a letter 

9a    Discover Will's king beginning from now (5)
LEARN:  Will Shakespeare's tragic king is followed by the beginning letter from Now 

10a   Bulldozes  transport network (9)
RAILROADS:  Bulldozes or forces is also a networked means of transport, especially over here 

11a   Getting bigger? Finding a gym's arranged and daughter goes (10)
MAGNIFYING:  An anagram (…'s arranged) of FINDING A GYM minus the genealogical abbreviation for daughter (daughter goes

12a   Everyone to the right of wide barrier (4)
WALL:  A synonym of everyone comes after (to the right of, in an across clue) the cricket abbreviation for wide 

14a   Power cut -- repairs it, no sweat (12)
PERSPIRATION:  The physics symbol for power is followed by an anagram (cut) of REPAIRS IT NO 

18a   Giving out new dust inhibitor to clear out hospital (12)
DISTRIBUTION:  An anagram (new) of DUST INHIBITOR minus the single letter for hospital (to clear out hospital) 

21a   Dedicated prima donna making a comeback (4)
AVID:  The reversal (making a comeback) of another word for prima donna 

22a   Relative amount for helping (10)
PROPORTION:  For or "in favour of" is followed by a helping 

25a   Persuaded Charlie at one time to purchase French wine with old penny (9)
CONVINCED:  Link together the letter represented in the NATO phonetic alphabet by Charlie, a word meaning "at one time" containing (to purchase) the French word for wine, and the single letter for an old penny 

26a   Somewhat insolent? A stern smack! (5)
TASTE:  The answer is hidden as some of (somewhat …) the remainder of the clue.  Remember that we can often ignore punctuation in clues 

27a   Loads go off in ship (7)
SADDLES:  Go off or become rotten is inserted in the usual abbreviated ship 

28a   Pays attention to bank Keynes oddly dismissed (7)
LISTENS:  Bank or tilt with the even letters (oddly dismissed) of Keynes 

 

Down

1d    Post  article in a newspaper (6)
COLUMN:  A double definition.  The post might be an architectural feature 

2d    Fruit from old field (6)
ORANGE:  The single letter for old with field or extent 

3d    Measure heart over allotted period (10)
CENTIMETRE:  Heart or core containing (over) a short word for allotted period 

4d    Adult caught in quick shower (5)
SPRAY:  The single letter for adult inserted in (caught in) quick or nimble 

5d    Insect is flying around head of the researcher (9)
SCIENTIST:  An anagram (flying) of INSECT IS containing (around) the first letter of (head of) The 

6d    Rake in grasp lacking length (4)
EARN:  Grasp or get minus the single letter for length (lacking length) 

7d    After small drink a nervous twitch's pronounced (8)
DRAMATIC:  After a small drink of alcohol comes A from the clue and a nervous twitch 

8d    Running around street making whispering noises (8)
RUSTLING:  Running or governing is wrapped around the map abbreviation for street 

13d   Fair US vote changes expected winners (10)
FAVOURITES:  An anagram (changes) of FAIR US VOTE 

15d   Takes away public transport, perhaps, upsetting regions (9)
SUBTRACTS:  The reversal (upsetting, in a down clue) of a form of public transport is followed by some regions or areas 

16d   Approaches rock and caves (8)
ADVANCES:  An anagram (rock) of AND CAVES 

17d   A second mark Edward's given (8)
ASSIGNED:  Chain together A from the clue, the single letter for second, a mark or indication, and an informal contraction of Edward 

19d   Time with children? It could be used to mop up tears (6)
TISSUE:  The physics symbol for time with children or offspring 

20d   Goes in hospital department -- the woman's head is cut (6)
ENTERS:  A usual abbreviated hospital department is followed by a pronoun for "the woman's" minus its first letter (… head is cut

23d   Sound of a bell crossing middle of roadway -- it could be from a bike (5)
PEDAL:  The sound of a bell containing (crossing) the middle letter of roaDway 

24d   Clinton possibly  proposed legislation (4)
BILL:  A double definition.  The Clinton is a former US president 

 

Thanks to today’s setter for a fun solve.  I smiled at 5d because it's what I am.  Which clues did you like best?

 


The Quick Crossword pun:  BRAKING + HARTS = BREAKING HEARTS


76 comments on “DT 29505

  1. Whew, success after yesterday’s failure. All over in *** time, but the parsing of 3d was beyond me. The repetition radar nearly deafened me with 9a and 6d, but my COTD was 14a.

    Many thanks to the setter and Mr.K.

  2. Pleasantly straightforward this morning and very Tuesday-ish. It was good fun without being outstandingly enjoyable, with several long anagrams forming the basis for a quick solve. No particular favourite but 5d and 14a caught the eye.

    Thanks to both Misters involved in today’s production.

  3. I don’t know why but I enjoyed this a lot more than yesterday’s. I thought it pretty straightforward with only the NW giving pause for thought.
    I liked the misdirection of the noun in 1a, and thought the surface of 14a neat. 10a completes my picks for podium places
    2/3*
    Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K for the entertainment.

  4. A very enjoyable puzzle , which took a little longer than yesterday . Some obvious bung ins with the parsing following. The only clue I struggled to parse was 1a ice= diamond if i read the hint correctly; something I simply didn’t know.
    Favourite was 23d my last in, because I think it shows how smooth our setters really are. Lots to admire with so many of the clues, none of which seemed contrived. **/*****. Thanks to the setter and Mr K for the hints ( which are always a pleasure to read) even when they aren’t needed.

  5. Another straightforward Tuesday puzzle assisted with some oldies but goodies and recent repeats – **/***.
    Candidates for favourite – 5a, 22a, and 6d – and the winner is 22a.
    Thanks to the setter and Mr K.
    P.S. The Silvanus Toughie is quite accessible and appears to have ended the trend of Tuesday Toughies being tougher than they should be.

  6. Tricky in places I thought and not too comfortable with the synonym in 27a, doesn’t really work for me.
    However, a pleasant puzzle overall. My fav was 1a. Another anagram indicator to watch out for in 16d. It never ceases to amaze me the variety of words setters use to indicate their anagrams.
    Thx to all
    ***/***

    1. I read this as, to saddle someone with a task, you are giving them a lot to do i.e Load(s) . So it works for me.

  7. I agree with Mr K’s assessment and rating of 2*/3*. I was tempted to knock off a half-star for the answer to 10a which, with that meaning, is an American word, but I enjoyed the rest of the puzzle enough to leave it at 3*.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K.

  8. A fairly standard Tuesday back-pager – thanks to setter and Mr K. My favourite clue was 8d.
    Let’s hope that 13d is not an accurate prediction!
    I second Senf’s recommendation for the excellent Silvanus Toughie.

  9. This was a Tuesday puzzle that was a little easier than recent Tuesdays but still enjoyable. A couple of silly spelling mistakes held me up for a short while. (both spellings of 3d are in the dictionary but of course, I chose the wrong one) – soon sorted leaving time to tackle the toughie which is as Senf said is quite accessible.
    The maths cartoon for 15d got a laugh from me.
    Thanks to Mr K and setter

  10. After the first read through I thought I was going to find this as tricky as yesterday but once started it was a reasonably brisk completion in 2.5*time. I thought 16d had a clever surface & unlike Brian enjoyed 27a largely because I initially had ship as the definition & tried to make an anagram of loads go.
    Thanks to the setter & to Mr K

  11. Rattled through. 3d was last in. I found it more enjoyable than yesterday. Thanks to Mr K and the setter.

  12. Solved alone and unaided and understood all the clues, so a hurrah day for me….haven’t had one for a while.
    Enjoyed the solve today and particularly enjoyed Mr K’s pictures…..I can hear the roaring in the aisles of the maths department at the cartoon at 15d.

    Thanks to the setter and to Mr K

  13. Not my favourite puzzle ever but that’s just a matter of mind set. No real difficulty. **/** 27a is a bit stretched as definitions go. 12a and 24d are so simple that they could go in the quick crossword. No particular favourite. Thanks to all.

  14. A nice straightforward Tuesday puzzle 😃 **/*** Favourites 22 & 27a 👍 Thanks to Mr K and to the Setter

  15. I’ve very little to add to what others have said. It was a very straightforward quite enjoyable, typical Tuesday puzzle (1.5*/3*). I thought 15d was nicely put together but the topical 13d was COTD for me. Many thanks to the compiler and to Mr K. For the hints and pictures.

  16. Straightforward but enjoyable Tuesday fare. NW corner put me into ** time. Anagram fans should feel at home today & those that dislike GK happy too. Not much sport, literature, religion or flowers so should not ruffle any feathers (sorry Mr K cause the fur to stiffen).
    No real stand-out
    Thanks to setter & Mr K always enjoy the reviews. 14 mile runs – hmm!
    For middle-of-the-roaders like me I reckon the Tuesday Toughie is about Thursday backpager. If this left you with spare crossword time well worth a look

  17. A nice Tuesday puzzle had some difficukty with 26a so needed the hints to sort out. I was trying work around John Maynard Keynes!
    Favourites 27a and 7d. Its been pretty wet and stormy down here kn NC but there are hopes that it will improve.
    Thanks to Mr K and setter

  18. Hallo everyone – many thanks for all your good wishes. I am home with a brand new knee! There were a few wobbles on the way and I did not come out as quickly as anticipated but here I am.
    My dear husband is a lovely man, well known and respected in the village and much beloved by children, animals and old ladies. But carer he is not. Today, first morning up I had cold thin lumpy porridge with no fruit or milk or access to sugar AND he put the empty pan back on the stove where it of course burned. Then he went across to our neighbour to return a dish, was gone an hour returning to say he had stopped to have coffee with them in the garden. Did I have a drink? Nope. But at least he is here and I am not on my own! Before I left the Nuffield I was given a shower by a very charming Staff Nurse who washed and dried me very carefully and then, despite me saying I thought I could manage, HE insisted on putting on my bra and pants and dressing me and I thought, well, this is a first. Go with the flow. My lovely surgeon commented on my Scrabble playing and I told him my real love was cryptic crosswords. He said he often looked at the DT but could never sort out many of the answers and of course I recommended Big Dave so we might have another convert. The pain of bending the knee is excruciating and I am black and blue and I want my Mummy, but apart from that I am looking forward to seeing a newspaper and joining the gang once more!

    1. Welcome back – Keep exercising the knee and the brain cells. Today is a good day in crossword land – both the back page and toughie are good today

    2. Glad to hear that you’re home Daisy & hoping the post op recovery will proceed with haste. We’ve missed your comments….

    3. I’m so pleased you’re back. You might have to let the housework go until your knee settles down.

    4. Hi Daisy, how lovely to see you back AND with your new knee in situ. What a lot you’ve put yourself through for the novelty of having another man wash and dress you! Sounds as though George is being really helpful and attentive…………..

      Keep telling yourself that there’s no gain without pain and be a really good girl where your exercises are concerned – poor old hubby obviously can’t manage by himself! Perhaps you could get him enrolled on a nurse training scheme?

      Hope to see your lovely surgeon on the blog ‘ere long – we can all pester him with medical questions!

    5. Hi Daisy! Glad You’re back and full of your good fighting spirit. Keep exercising and get much better soon.

    6. Glad to hear you are home, and hopefully on the mend. Everyone tells me it’s all about sticking with the therapy afterwards. Easier said than done, but grit your teeth Daisygirl, and you’ll be playing soccer soon 😊

      1. Think DG will find better use of the knee than playing soccer BL so hopefully won’t.
        The number of cruciate ligaments that get damaged playing the game – safer to take up rock climbing!

    7. So glad you are back home with ‘some’ TLC. Warmest wishes for a speedy and complete recovery and looking forward to your future comments.

    8. Hello Daisygirl, and welcome back from me too.
      You must be so relieved that it’s over and “all” you need to do now is recover properly which I’m sure at the moment feels easier said than done. I wonder if your surgeon will join us on the blog and, if he does, whether or not he’ll announce himself! Probably not!!
      There are lots of ‘jokes’ about various specialities in the medical/surgical professions but can’t remember any about orthopods. The main one I can think of is, “What’s the difference between God and a cardiac surgeon?”

      1. Even with the lumpy porridge, I’ll bet you’re glad you are out of hospital, Daisy. Keep your spirits up. Perhaps your neighbours will gift you some edible offeringsto help with the food situation. My hubby has short-term memory loss and loses the thread even if the recipe is in front of him. We have had to resort to Wiltshire Farm Foods (other companies available too). They are not bad and at least you don’t starve. Get well soon.

      2. As far as I’m concerned, in my experience, all surgeons are “shed-men”, even the women….but especially the orthopods. They like fiddling with tools (and inventing new ones). Give them a hammer, a few screws and a wrench and they’re happy as Larry.

      3. Yes, God doesn’t think he’s a cardiac surgeon……other surgeonS are available, also.

    9. Welcome back Daisygirl! All the brain cells seem to be fired up, anyway.
      I’m glad you have a place here to “vent“ your frustrations about your “home care” arrangements, so that he is free from them. It doesn’t do to offend the help…….especially if they’re in charge of food.
      If I were you, I’d order in some of those instant porridge pots – even your untrained carer can boil a kettle.

    10. Ah, Daisygirl, it’s a pure pleasure to have you back, we missed you a lot. The exercises are a pain but so essential.

    11. Well done! Sounds like your branch of the Nuffield is the one to go to with such good after service from the Staff Nurse

    12. Welcome back Daisy girl. You don’t say whether the attendant put your bra and panties on himself or on you. Either one would’ve been a memorable experience. In any case it is great to have you back and I see that your wit is still at a razors edge. Pam and I won’t be able to go back to Melbourn for quite a while due to Covid and we miss it so. Best regards.

      1. Ha ha I was going to say something but discretion is the better part of valour. I am trying to place the name, you are not related to Laura and Chris are you?

  19. I do applaud the way in which a setter can convince you that you’re looking for a verb when you actually need a noun and vice versa.
    A pleasant Tuesday puzzle with my ticks going to 10&22a.

    Thanks to today’s setter and many thanks to Mr K for another eagerly anticipated pictorial review – well done to the nuns operating the bulldozer and the guys who painted the bus.

    Now then, must make some painful decisions – I currently have 9 favourites in the Silvanus Toughie and someone’s bound to snitch to Kath!

  20. A pleasure to have a puzzle devoid of stumbling blocks or unparsed bung-ins and today’s was just that. NW went straight in which is always encouraging. 8d, I suppose running = ruling. No outstanding 13ds but did like 22a. Thank you Mysteron (more of the same please) and MrK (presume you will be reading John Gray’s “Feline Philosophy …” which apparently contains some sound thinking!).

  21. A smooth, solid Tuesday puzzle that I finished in Usain-ish time (he appeared in a NYT puzzle earlier, so he’s been on my mind), with 8d emerging as the top clue today. I also liked 10 and 27a. Thanks to Mr K for the kittens and the math symbols (very clever) and to today’s setter. 1.5* / 3*

    Silvanus’s Toughie is most enjoyable; I finished without any help–very satisfying.

    1. Hi Robert,
      Made it through Stanley Middleton’s Holiday and can’t say that I felt much better for the experience although I suppose it gave a fairly accurate description of how people often behave whilst on that sort of break. Next on my list is The Giver of Stars – Jojo Moyes – recommended by Cryptic Sue. Hopefully, I’ll find that rather more enjoyable.

      1. Oh Jane you are going to love that book. I read it in hospital, I think it is one of her best. As I think I have bragged before, she lives near me and when she first started with Ship of Brides she came to my home and spoke to my Reading Group augmented by Rotary Wives. She is delightful. You have a treat ahead of you.

        1. As Mrs LrOK can attest DG ” I’m patient” can seem to say something entirely different sometimes! Of course it’s all down to stress.

      2. Hi Jane. Thanks for alerting me to the Moyes novel, which I have just read a few reviews about. I’ve never read her, but the subject of librarians in backwoods Kentucky is rather a fetching one to me…a beautiful state whose far-right, fascistic politics and political leaders are about as corrupt as some of ours here in S Carolina. But my copy of the latest Ian Rankin ‘Rebus’ arrived about an hour ago, and I’ll be a captor of the Edinburgh sleuth for the next few days. Are you a Rebus fan?

        1. Did I say ‘captor’ when I meant ‘captive’? Well, yes I did. Forgive my slip. (Well, actually, in a sense I’ll be a captor as well.)

        2. My one complaint with the book was that the blurb said it was “enchantingly “ and, with all those wife beaters, it definitely was not!
          Welcome back DG. I think the mail order meal idea is a good one. I hope your pills don’t deprive you of a heartening glass of something alcoholic.
          My son says you must embrace the stairs. A friend of his did not and now he’s back to square one. All that pain and no gain.
          Good Luck.

  22. Enjoyable and not too taxing. My favourite was the photo at 4d. (Not the cat)

    Glad you’re on the mend DG. By coincidence I have recently been carrying out similar duties to your husband, although in my case for a partner with a new hip. Please pass my best regards to him. I have found that the word ‘patient’ does not always apply

    1. That’s a bit near the (knee) bone and I am certainly not going to put you in touch. I have just told him the kitchen floor needs a vacuum
      before going off for a rest.
      I know I m cranky and bad tempered – frustration mostly at not being able to do it myself but I am a very good apologiser. I do
      always say sorry for being grumpy. Hope the hip is progressing well, I nursed George through two hips and of course I was
      a veritable ministering angel throughout, nothing was too much trouble.

  23. First of all – great to see Daisy back! I have been wondering how she got on.

    I really enjoyed today’s puzzle.
    “Is that because you solved it, unaided?” Oh you see right through me – doing so gave me a genuine sense of achievement.
    Today’s great excitement was bringing in the bin after the Sturm und Drang visit of the huge truck that comes grinding along the road each Tuesday. Lola is as fleet of foot as a kitten in her haste to remove herself to the very far end of the garden when she hears its approach.

    Thanks to the setter and Mr K.

  24. A fair bit easier than yesterday’s I thought although I made a bit of a pig’s ear of a couple.
    I’ll go for 5d as my favourite, if only for my Elder Lamb who is one.
    Apart from that nothing in particular stood out for me today.
    Thanks to the setter and to Mr K.
    Off to try the Toughie.

  25. A finish without the BRB, SRB, electronics, or hints to help. Happens very rarely, much less than once in a blue moon. Favourites were 25a and 16d. Thanks to Mr K for his enjoyable blog, and to the setter.

    1. Thought there would be some posts like yours today Corky. Great feeling, may you have it again soon.
      Keep at it and the exceptions become the norm & you start counting consecutive successes, then full weeks.
      At least with the crossword bug there is no known cure & nobody’s looking for one.

  26. **/***. Took a while to get going and not helped by my spelling of 14a. Careless. Favourite was 28a. Thanks to the setter and Mr K.

  27. A typical Tuesday puzzle that was a steady solve top to bottom with SW last area completed with 27a last in. Lots of clues to like in this 1.5*/**** puzzle.
    Favourites for me today are 5a, 21a, 28a, 8d, 15d &17d with winner 28a and runner up 21a

    Thanks to setter and Mr K

  28. Straightforward and enjoyable today thank you setter and MrK – also best wishes to Daisygirl hope you did not have to wait years for that new knee

  29. I found this very, very tricky, in fact I’ve said pax. I may have another look later on, in the meantime the sun’s out and the gravitational pull from the pool is much stronger than this puzzle.
    Thanks to our setter, much gratitude to Mr. K for solving it for me and the usual pics. I always look forward to those.

  30. Enjoyable, understandable, most slipped in easily. I had trouble parsing 3d too. Easy when you know which T to use. Lots of favourites 5 14 22 and 25a and 1 6 7 and 23d. Thanks setter and Mr K. I did it all on my own self as young children are incluned to say, apart from the 3d parsing. I was a bit uncertain about 10a largely because it is not a word we use for the transport network. I like to think the setter did it especially for Mr K.

  31. Managed to tackle this before I set off for bone density, and thankfully it was a pleasure to do. Otherwise, I might have asked for a brain density test instead when I got there. Thanks to Mr K for hints, particularly for 3d as I wasted too much time thinking of measure as a verb rather than a noun. Had a bit of an advantage with 10a having lived here since 1982. Like several others, 27a didn’t leap off the page. But did much better today than some days, so thanks to setter for an enjoyable puzzle.

    1. I’ll be following in your footsteps next week although obviously to a different bone density scanner. Don’t know about getting my brain scanned, I’d settle for them scanning my back to discover whether any of the bones in there are actually still working!
      All these more ‘routine’ appointments do appear to be getting up and running again now, I suppose it’s down to us whether we choose to keep them. Bone density appointments are a bit like gold dust here so I think I’m going to take the chance – along with the face mask, hand sanitiser etc……….

      1. Jane
        Having been in & out lof hospital ike a fiddler’s elbow recently, if your hospital is anything like Inverness you will be totally impressed by the measures they have put in place to ensure you are safe.

  32. I darted through this before darting off to play darts in a bit. 13d was 8d. Thanks to the setter and Mr. K.

  33. We were quite slow getting started in the NW corner but once underway it all flowed smoothly enough for us. Note that nobody has been playing ‘Guess the setter’ with this one but we thought it felt like it could be by Stick Insect.
    A pleasure to solve.
    Thanks Mr Ron (Stick Insect?) and Mr K.

  34. Not as successful as yesterday but still enjoyable. Once I’d got rid of the idea of gondola, the bottom half 3 complete, with barely anything in the top half. Just a little help from MrK and all finished.
    Thanks to all
    Glad your op went well Daisygirl, best wishes for your recovery.

  35. Much easier than yesterday’s! I liked 14a.
    Thanks to the setter, and Mr K, as always, for the cats.
    Pleased Daisygirl is back, and all went well!
    I haven’t commented for a while, but read all the comments with much amusement – thanks, all!

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