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DT 29597

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29597

Hints and tips by Deep Threat

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Good morning from South Staffs, where the day began with a brief display by ‘rosy-fingered Dawn’ which has now faded to grey.

There was nothing particularly tricky for me in this morning’s puzzle, though I suspect I can hear Brian warming up for another diatribe about ‘religious’ content!

In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the ANSWER buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a           In possession of Burma’s king, tapestry that’s put up for decoration (7,4)
MASKING TAPE – Hidden in the clue.

Image result for masking tape

7a           Most bitter requires little bit of money and relaxation (7)
SOUREST – A small old French coin, followed by another word for ‘relaxation’.

8a           Woeful poet I edited, American (7)
PITEOUS – Anagram (edited) of POET I, followed by one of the usual abbreviations for ‘American’.

10a         End of tie seen at work every day (4-4)
FULL-TIME – Double definition, the first being what you get at the end of a football match.

11a         Hollow wood with nothing inside (6)
GROOVE – A small wood or clump of trees, wrapped round the letter which looks like a zero.

13a         Lean nurse (4)
TEND – Double definition, both verbs. The first is a synonym of ‘incline towards’.

14a         Cassette player perhaps found next to class pigeonhole (10)
STEREOTYPE – An informal term for the sort of music player of which a cassette player or record turntable may make up a part, followed by another word for ‘class’ or ‘sort’.

16a         Mother fast to catch rodent — nasty! (10)
MALEVOLENT – Put together a short word for ‘mother’ and a period of fasting in the run-up to Easter, wrapped round a small rodent.

18a         Ring up over head displaying saintliness (4)
HALO – Cryptic definition of the image used in art to denote that the subject is divine or saintly.

Image result for nativity scene painting

21a         A comedian should have this hat I’m in, gran admits (6)
TIMING – Hidden in the clue.

22a         A gent may wear this belt and tie (4,4)
CUFF LINK – Another word for ‘belt’ or ‘hit’, followed by another word for ‘tie’ or ‘join’.

24a         Panama usually has one marking its borders (7)
HATBAND – Cryptic definition of a decorative item found on the outside of a hat such as a Panama.

25a         Visiting cathedral city, reportedly crashed with an upright carriage (7)
ERECTLY – A homophone (reportedly) of another word for ‘crashed’ or ‘ruined’, with Crosswordland’s favourite cathedral city wrapped round it.

26a         It’s delivered along the ground air ducts, yet to be processed (5-6)
DAISY-CUTTER – Anagram (to be processed) of AIR DUCTS YET, giving us a cricket delivery which shoots along the ground on pitching.

Down

1d           A mild UN broadcast that gets half-cut? (7)
MAUDLIN – Anagram (broadcast) of A MILD UN.

2d           Bouquets creating impression when delivered (6)
SCENTS – This word for ‘bouquets’ or ‘aromas’ sounds like (when delivered) an impression or feeling.

3d           One with spoilt mentality personally (10)
INTIMATELY – The roman numeral for one, followed by an anagram (spoilt) of MENTALITY.

4d           Open Jeep gang’s taken over regularly (4)
GAPE – Alternate letters, reading from the back (taken over regularly) of JEeP gAnG.

5d           He’s active in the masses observed by the ministry, sometimes getting cross (5,3)
ALTAR BOY – Cryptic definition of a lay assistant at a Roman catholic or Church of England eucharistic service, one of whose duties may be to carry the processional cross. Quite likely to be a girl these days, as well.

Image result for altar boy

6d           Green with no well — financial resources needed (7)
ECONOMY – The prefix which now indicates all things ‘Green’, followed by NO (fom the clue) and an exclamation like ‘well!’

7d           Striker needs security before game (6,5)
SAFETY MATCH – Another word for ‘security’ followed by another word for a competitive game, giving us the sort of striker which comes in a little box with a special rough surface on one side.

9d           Kent lose terribly important opening all-rounder? (8,3)
SKELETON KEY – Anagram (terribly) of KENT LOSE, followed by another word for ‘important’ or ‘crucial’.

12d         Sort of design a clue for ‘Rat’ in French? (3,7)
ART NOUVEAU – An art and design movement which flourished around the beginning of the 20th century could also be a way of cluing ‘rat’ as an anagram in French.

Image result for art nouveau

15d         A compelling figure in orchestration, Gil Evans (8)
SVENGALI – Anagram (in orchestration) of GIL EVANS.

Image result for svengali

17d         Fly-in mail, trend used off and on with restrictions (7)
LIMITED – Alternate letters (used off and on) of the first four words of the clue.

19d         A Roman way to run gets one flying (7)
AVIATOR – Put together A (from the clue), a Latin word for ‘way’ or ‘road’, TO (from the clue) and the cricket abbreviation for ‘run’.

20d         Result: fine is doubled in East European court (6)
EFFECT East and European placed either side of two instances of the abbreviation for Fine, followed by an abbreviation for ‘court’.

23d         Irritable, being on the fringes? (4)
EDGY – This word for ‘irritable’ could also be a description of something close(ish) to the border or fringes of an object.


The Quick Crossword pun GRATE + SCOT = GREAT SCOTT!

89 comments on “DT 29597

  1. That was a proper Friday work-out for me. Completed in **** time without help. A knowledge of cricket certainly helped, featured in the Quickie too.

    Last two in were 11a & 14a, so they are my votes for COTD.

    Many thanks to the setter and DT.

    1. Malcolm,
      26a has equine application too (and a very lethal sounding bomb.Yes I suppose they all are).

  2. This had Zandio written all over it, quirky and good fun. West went in a lot quicker than East for me, which required a little more head scratching. My only real problem however was the parsing of 5d, but eventually came to the same conclusion as DT.
    Podium places go to 15d, as it’s a great word with 22a and top spot going to 9d.
    2.5/4*
    Many thanks to setter and reviewer.

  3. I started well and filled in over half of the grid before running into difficulties in the NE, where I spent as much time on 5d as the rest of the crossword (3.5*/2*). It seemed that 18a and 24a were barely cryptic clues and the long-winded 5d didn’t work well as a cryptic definition. However, I did like 26a (another favourite that was a crickety clue) and 1a. Thanks for the hints DT, and thanks to the compiler.

  4. 2*/4*. No hold-ups with this nicely enjoyable Friday puzzle, which I suspect is Zandio’s handiwork.

    I didn’t know that one needed to be drunk to be 1d, but the BRB confirms that this is often the case. Thankfully 26as are now ruled as no-balls so are no longer the scourge of unsuspecting batsmen.

    12d was my favourite with 9d & 22a joining it on my podium.

    Many thanks to Zandio (?) and to DT.

    1. Unfortunately whatever 26a’s are ruled as now they’re still the scourge of any unsuspecting Kaths.

  5. I too faltered in the NE after spending ages on not seeing the great lurker nearby. This all pushed me into *** time. I enjoyed 9d the best for some reason. A satisfying *** for enjoyment with thanks to the setter and DT.

  6. At times I felt that some Gil Evans had wackily been let loose on a Friday puzzle, but then I cleared my head and went to work, and this was indeed a workout for me, taking me well into 3* time. 26a was new to me (but had to be what it was) and 10a apparently alludes in part to a term in football that is new to me. Still, I managed to finish on my own, with top accolades going to 12d, 5d, and 9d. I mostly enjoyed it but also was relieved when I finished. Thanks to D T and to today’s setter. *** / ***

    The Toughie is indeed that…for me anyway.

  7. Managed to sit down with the crossword early today in some nice sunshine which kinda matched the mood. Found it enjoyable, completing it left to right in quick order **/**** for me. 9d, 5d, 22a, 16a & 26a (2nd test starts tomorrow). I’m going with 16a today
    Thx to the setter and DT

  8. After a tough crossword week nice to have a nice end tomthe week, Mondays puzzle was excellent then it all went downhill for the rest until today. A nice crossword to get your teeth into completed well within my time parameters. That is to say a caffitiere and a pipe. Favourites for me 14a and 16a plus 9d.
    Now looking forward to the Saturday prize.
    Thanks to Deep Threat and setter.

  9. A steady solve this morning. No particular difficulties apart from 5d which was my last one in. “Observed by the ministry” I eventually took to mean overseen by the presiding vicar or am I missing something? 9d was easily worked out, not least because Robert Key used to be Kent’s opening batsman. May still be even though he pops up more at the test match commentaries. **/***On the cricket theme, I’ll nominate 26a as my favourite. Thanks to all.

  10. Really enjoyable this end of the week puzzle, nicely clued throughout and a **/**** for me.
    Not seen 26a for a while, ready for the next Test tomorrow.
    Favourite was 1a for its surface and the clever ‘tapestry’ use.
    About time Mr S in 15d made an appearance again, Trilby worked quite nicely with 24a!
    Thanks DT for the picks, now I know where the cross comes from in 5d.

    .

  11. No crazy visually impaired motorists pulling out in front of me with an apologetic SMIDSY so over in ** for me. Some lovely clues today of which I will nominate the lurker in 1a as my favourite.

    Thanks to the setter for a very enjoyable workout and to DT for his review.

    And in line with the suggested comment to come from Brian can we please have a classless crossword in future? A few days ago a dinner jacket / dress wear was mentioned and today we have cufflinks. No more middle/upper class, freemasonry, Round Table, Rotary rubbish please.

    1. Oh dear oh dear. George has a dinner jacket, a white tuxedo and a club blazer or two, bow ties, a panama and is a Rotarian and member of Stewards and Remenham. It was only last year that we sold his tails and opera hat. I had not realised that crosswords could be middle class, let alone upper class. This is going to cause me sleepless nights – on the other hand I daresay all crickety clues would have to go as cricket is undoubtedly a middle class game. Football would be allowed but no more epees or tennis., decidedly MC. The Art Nouveau clue would have to go as it is ‘culture’ and would necessitate a knowledge of French. Vector in today’s news on Chest-feeding and I am beginning to lose the will to live.

      1. See my reply to Ora below. Anyone who admits to deliberately posting controversial comments to attract replies is just winding people up & intelligent comment is wasted on such posts.
        My suggestion would be , that, if he were serious he should stick to the backpager in the Daily Worker and start Corky’s blog to review it. If there isn’t one he could compile it.

    2. I don’t own a dinner jacket, tuxedo, cuff links or a Panama hat but I’ve no objection to anybody who wants to wear these items doing so. The last time I wore a tie was at school and I haven’t missed that either. Where’s the harm? And wouldn’t it be very boring if we were all the same.

  12. Solved alone and unaided but needed DT’s help to parse 10a….was thinking of entirely the wrong tie and 22a where hitting someone had not entered my head..doh to both.

    I really liked 12d.

    Thanks to the setter and to DT

    1. Corky wiill take the key out of the square peg now Ora. (Remember his post on being deliberately provocative?)
      How are things with you down there in Dundee?
      A foot of snow but beautiful sun up here & the far-off Cairngorms look beautiful from the living room.

      1. Hiya

        About a foot of snow here too, LROK. Maybe a bit less. When the sun shines, it does sparkle beautifully and we have a lovely view over the Tay to Fife.

        Getting into town for our jags on Wednesday was a challenge…..no buses no trains, no taxis and even if we had managed to get the garage dug out, the roads were dreadful…and there would have been no way we could have got the car back up the steep hill to our house. Hmmmm….

        Fortunately the buses started up again just in time for us to get there……but we had an anxious couple of hours.
        PS I don’t come on every day, so I don’t remember Corky’s ‘provocative’ post. I just thought he was unnecessarily rude today.

        1. Took us a couple of days to get out Ora. No buses near us so we were stuck.
          Hopefully no reactions to the jag.
          Glad to see the infection rate down to more manageable figures almost everywhere.
          Hopefully our car-less son in Edinburgh can come up to see us soon ( he is separated from his wife so can be in our bubble).

          1. Sore arms fir both of us and I had a day in bed ….not feeling ill, just very very tired and sleepy. Worth it for the protection, though.

            Hope your son can get up to you soon. Ours is in Norway with his wife. No chance of visits either way for quite some time. Thank goodness for Zoom.

  13. Took a fair while to get going with this one then completed the west in respectable time but stuttered in the east. Eventually a couple of light bulb moments got me to a finish in just over *** time. There were a few clues I didn’t particularly care for (5d,18&24a) but also plenty of very good ones in what was a good end to the week. 11,14&16a plus 9&15d were the picks for me. Like RD I’d never really thought maudlin particularly associated with booze though gin used to give my ma the blues. Back to Ireland for today’s albums: Poetic Champions Compose (Van) & Prosperous (Christy Moore)
    Thanks to Zandio (if indeed you’re responsible) & to DT

  14. I took a bit of persuading where 5d was concerned so left that until the checkers were in place but everything else slotted in quite nicely despite taking more time than usual – generally a clue that Zandio was the compiler!
    1a was well hidden and gets my vote along with 16a plus 9&12d.

    Thanks to our setter and to DT for the review.

  15. Found this tough but doable. Kicked myself with 26a – with a couple of early checkers couldn’t get ‘dairy’ out of my mind for the first word. Meant SE corner took half as long as the rest.
    Seeing 12d held me up too, thinking I should know the French for ‘rat’. It was clever & gets my COTD.
    Thank you to setter and DT.
    Summer is coming! Only -8C last night & solar panels generating something again.

          1. We are silly moos aren’t we?
            Not meant in the Alf Garnett way.
            What with you getting half a mention in 26a, St. Sharon’s tiara in 18a, Kath in 13a and 12d a clue for Jean Luc a bit of a mini “BD theme” today.

  16. Apologies, bit slow today, but is there a clue I’ve missed for the ‘nouveau’ part in the answer to 12d. ‘Art Nouveau’?

    1. Welcome to the blog Mr K Wall.

      If you were writing a cryptic clue for ‘rat’ in French you might use ‘nouveau (new)’ as the anagram indicator, and ‘art’ as the anagram fodder – hence ‘a clue for rat in French’.

  17. The very clever 12d was my top clue this morning in this tricky but very solvable puzzle. I also liked the excellent lurker at 1a. This has certainly been a great week for puzzles, and this one was no exception.

    I am in the Zandio camp so many thanks to him and to DT.

  18. A nice Friday puzzle with some good clues, I liked 1a and 26a with 9d as my COTD 22a deserves a mention also, but I couldn’t parse 5d and the rest were all fine **/****.
    Thanks to DT and Zandio.

  19. A very pleasant not too challenging end to the (non-)work week – **/****.
    Like LrOK I got hooked on ‘dairy’ for 26a until the penny dropped.
    Candidates for favourite – 22a, 7d, and 9d – and the winner is 22a!
    Thanks to Zandio(?) and DT.

  20. Lots to smile about and lots of ticks with this one. A gent doesn’t normally wear one 22a, unless he’s lost one. He needs a pair. Thank you setter and DT.

  21. Most of the answers slotted in after due wrangling – it was a pleasure to find many clues could be solved by building up from their component parts. I was thrown a bit by clues which are hardly cryptic but were fun and quirky definitions – e.g. 5d, 12a, 24a. All good fun since they had me bogged down trying to find non-existent “component parts”! **/****

  22. Held up on the east side, but eventually solved in 2* time for me. Very enjoyable with some lovely surface readings and clever clues. Particularly like the lurker in 1a. Thanks to everyone.

  23. For once I managed to complete this puzzle without reference to the hints. A mixture of easy clues and one or two snorters. For me 26a was a gas and I enjoyed the perceived misdirection of 8d. Thanks to the setter and for the (unused) hints.

  24. Did Vangelis create his own name from Gil Evans or 15d. Otherwise my lack of interest in cricket at school often lets me down – I struggled with 26a which was my last clue in. Anyway a nice end to the week. Too cold and icy for cycling here – hope it warms up soon.

  25. Some people have minds where it’s all stored in neatly labelled drawers, mine is more like a rummage drawer, you have to rootle around to find anything ,then find something else and forget what you were looking for in the first place. For today’s puzzle 60% of it was at the top of the drawer, I will look for the rest later( I may be some time). Thanks to all for the entertainment.

  26. Hello, compiler here. Thanks very much for the analysis and discussion. I must admit I hadn’t actually listened to Gil Evans before writing that clue but I’m now enjoying investigating his versions of Jimi Hendrix songs. Have a good weekend.

    1. Thanks for dropping by Zandio, thanks also for another entertaining puzzle
      Good weekend to you too

  27. Another lovely puzzle to close the week, I even guessed the crickety 26a (once I had established that the ‘r’ was in the second word so it could not be dairy) and George confirmed it. I thought 9d was going to be another crickety one and was getting ready to do a Brian but then I spotted the anagram. If someone can be malevolent could I be femalevolent? I think that is a valid question. Malevolent is definitely sexist. Thanks to Rabbit Dave for the bilabial nudge – how could I have forgotten, I must get my Fowlers out and do a refresher course. Thanks to Deep Threat and the setter, what would we do without you?😘 Love to Lola.

    1. I suppose benevolent is also sexist DG.
      Anyway in my experience ladies are never malevolent (recouping at least 1 negative MSP brownie point).
      That begs another thought – why is it we earn brownie points. Why don’t men get cub points? Is that not sexist?
      Far better to be asleep than woke in my view.

  28. **/***. Docked a star for enjoyment due to 5d which I thought was a cumbersome clue. The rest was very enjoyable and satisfying. Thanks to the setter and DT. For the first time in memory (at least mine) we have sub zero temperatures across the whole country (10m sq kms) although I can’t imagine the cold where Senf lives. Should warm up a bit here in the next few days thank goodness.

  29. I enjoyed this one, immensely. Oh – except for being reminded of when I was press-ganged into being a 5d and I simply could not wait to become a rebellious teenager and get out of a duty I loathed in a spectacular number of ways. (Phew! Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.)

    I am late today because I had the Astra Zeneca vaccine this morning. I’d like to be able to say how well it was organised. However… it was awful. About seventy to a hundred of us forced to queue in freezing conditions in a car park with no shelter. Then eventually allowed into a bitterly cold hall with no heating. I hope to be able to feel my legs again sometime soon.

    Lola is now to be tested for ‘feline viral rhinotracheitis’ – if tests are positive she will move on to anti-viral meds. She’s ok; eating well, but still living life solely on a cushion by a radiator.

    Today’s soundtrack: Bruckner, again.

    Thanks to the excellent Zandio, and the equally splendid DT. Lola sends love to Daisy.

    1. Good news really about Lola. That she is eating (and hopefully drinking) is, as the vet has probably said very positive.
      Hope I didn’t offend the other day Terence one of our cats had FVR coupled with complications. At least if it is that the treatment can be targeted.
      Good luck

    2. Hope they can find out what’s amiss with poor little Lola, Terence. Keep hanging in there ( you and Lola both).

    3. Frankly right now I would be more than happy to join her curled up under a radiator
      and have someone bring me smoked salmon and a glass of wine. Go for it Lola.

    4. I’m sorry to hear that the mystery of Lola’s nose and paws continues. I hope they get to the bottom of it soon. Glad she is OK(ish) and eating well, though. By the way, Terence, I can report 50% success with the Easy Pill putty and the worm pills. One cat wolfed it all down no problem and the other one carefully ate all the putty and left a pristine pill on the floor. So I took my life in my hands and shoved it down her throat and it actually worked – a first with this cat! So, all in all, a success and thank you for telling me about it. We normally have to take them to the vet for their pills.

      I hope you don’t have any adverse reaction to the vaccine. We’ve got ours on Monday, which will be a relief.

      Haven’t started on the crossword yet, but thanks in advance to Zandio and DT.

    5. I feel sorry for the people doing the injections if they have to stay in a cold hall all day, I’m sure they didn’t do the organising.Nice to hear you got the jab though, and fingers crossed for Lola.

      1. Dave – agreed! The lady who jabbed me had a hot water bottle on her lap and was wearing a coat. She was half way through a twelve hour day.

        1. Went to Westpoint just outside Exeter last Saturday as a “blow in”. They were brilliant, well organised and in a huge, heated agricultural barn. No waiting and no side effects.

  30. Seemed like a typical Friday puzzle with some obscurities but some quite straight forward clues too. Overall 2.5*/****. needed a couple of electrons to solve the last 4 clues for me in the SE area.
    COTD candidates include 16a, 22a, 25a, 5d & 7d with 7d/5d co-winners.
    Some clever clueing that really made me think and second guess to get to the answer.
    5d was easy as I was one many, many years ago.
    1a & 25a were tricky. 26a needed some of the electrons to get the answer as that was an unknown for me. Live and learn.

    Thanks to setter and DT

  31. Left half went in fast, followed by NE but completely floored by 26a . I’m in the please no crickety clues group. Loved the Gil Evans anagram. Overall lots of fun to brighten up a dull cold minus 10 day. Thanks to Zandio and DT.

  32. Half done right now. If I could just keep my eyes open, I might be able to finish this puzzle. But we had our second doses yesterday, and experiencing side effects, which did not happen the first time. I think a nap is in order, and perhaps I will be somewhat back to normal later.

    1. I had my first dose yesterday – without an appointment but had heard from a chum lots of no shows so going spare if I could leg it to the Centre and they were overjoyed to see me – and I thought I was going to escape side effects but am suddenly feeling drowsy. Hopefully I’ll be effect free for the second. No achey arm though. Glad I did the crossword this morning.

  33. Why is there always one that eludes me? This time it was 11a. As I usually find with Zandio’s work, it was very clever and a challenge (as demonstrated by some workings out in the margin). Favourites 14a and 12d. Merci to setter and blogger.

  34. A very fine puzzle Zandio thank you with two terrific lurkers and neat clues throughout. Thank you DT for explaining 5d and 12d which I parsed without understanding!

  35. I’m on the “hard in places but fair and thoroughly enjoyable” camp this afternoon. All solved and parsed off my own bat so to speak. Favourite was 12a, cricket clues hold no fears for me with 12d coming a close second as French clues do and I was well chuffed to have got it. Many thanks to Zandio and DT.

  36. Really good and really difficult – it’s taken me a very long time so has given me something to fill yet another day with nothing much else to do.
    I missed the 1a lurker for ages – no change there – and, needless to say, have never heard of 26a.
    Didn’t know 5d either so that and 11a were my last answers.
    I was fooled by 12d – could remember the French word for a mouse but not a rat . . . :roll:
    I could go on at length but just for once maybe I won’t as most things have been already said.
    Too many candidates for a favourite so I won’t even try.
    Thank you to Zandio for such a good crossword and to DT for the hints.
    Still arctic in Oxford – went to make a hole in the ice on the pond – had to use an axe!

    1. I remember staying on the left bank in Paris and there was a Boulangerie by the entrance. Coming back late after dinner we were fascinated to see that the elaborate arrangement of fancy breads, baquettes, batons etc was alive with mice, they had made tunnels through the long loaves and were having a fine old time. The following morning I went in and told the proprietor (I was very young and knew no better!) that he had mice. Unfortunately I mixed up the French for mouse Souris with the verb to smile Sourire (easy enough to do) and the withering look I received lives with me still.

  37. Found this a little quirky 😳 ***/*** Could not work out the parsing for 26a as the letters I chose for the anagram came out as “ Dairy Butter” 😬 Favourites were 11 & 14a Big thanks for the blog to Deep Threat and to Zandio for a nice end to the week 😃

  38. We are in the DAIRY club for the first word of 26a too before the penny dropped. Lots of good clues to keep us smiling.
    Thanks Zandio and DT.

  39. I found this really difficult, then I was interrupted by drama and mayhem, I returned to the puzzle just now and it all slotted in without a whimper. I did need some e-help, never heard of 26a, when I looked it up it said something about bombs at ground level … fair enough, anagram, so bunged it in.
    I liked a lot, but the lurker at 1a is fave, and rat in French is pretty damned clever!
    Thank you Zandio and DT for helping unravel a few. Must get in the pool to shake a leg so will read the comments later.

  40. Started off very well with me throwing the clues in and I was hopeful I could complete it unaided but I ground to a halt with 11a and 25a and had to resort to electrons. A fun crossword with lots of interesting clues and some great lurkers. ***/****

  41. Yay! For the first time ever I managed the whole lot by myself with no other help whatsoever (you can tell I am very pleased)! Took me much of the day with more pennies slowly dropping at each session. Favourite was 1A lurker and last one in was 11A. These things are only easy if you are good at them. I am not. Found it difficult but gave a great sense of achievement. Time for a sip of something celebratory !

  42. Being a fan of Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain which was co-arranged with Gil Evans, that’s my clue of the day! Thanks to Zandio for the puzzle and DT for the hints.

  43. Thoroughly enjoyed this today.

    Most satisfaction came from the penny dropping with 9d so favourite clue.

    ***/****

  44. An awful lot of waffle clues. Solved it in the end but cannot say I enjoyed it at all. Too many “cryptic” clues with too many words. No, thank you.

  45. Sorry cannot see any religious content today!
    I found this almost a R&W but enjoyable for all that. Must have been on the setters wavelength. Nice to see the Gotham knight get a mention.
    Thx to all
    **/****
    Sorry to be late on parade but today was a golf match in the sun, lovely!

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