DT 29606 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
View closed comments 

DT 29606

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29606

Hints and tips by Mr K

+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - +

BD Rating  -  Difficulty ** Enjoyment ***

Hello, everyone, and welcome to another Tuesday and another solid puzzle. 

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    Exemption from keeping me held regularly (7)
FREEDOM:  FROM containing (keeping) alternate letters (… regularly) of ME HELD 

5a    Send on  rugby player? (7)
FORWARD:  A double definition. "Send on" in a postal sense 

9a    Woodwind instruments not following stringed instruments (5)
LUTES:  Some woodwind instruments have the single letter for following deleted (not following)

"The Lute Player" by Caravaggio

10a   Beginning to gossip with a slur -- our drunk's talkative (9)
GARRULOUS:  The beginning letter to GOSSIP with an anagram (drunk) of A SLUR OUR 

11a   Control by foreign military  craft (10)
OCCUPATION:  A double definition.  Craft in the sense of trade 

12a   Jetty parking that is next to river (4)
PIER:  Link together the map abbreviation for parking, the Latin abbreviation for "that is", and the map abbreviation for river 

Brighton Pier

14a   However choppy neither vessel leaves island (12)
NEVERTHELESS:  An anagram (choppy) NEITHER VESSEL with the single letter for ISLAND deleted (… leaves ISLAND)

18a   Doctor slips hurrying out of hospital unexpectedly (12)
SURPRISINGLY:  An anagram (doctor) of SLIPS HURRYING with the single letter for HOSPITAL deleted (… out of hospital) 

21a   Partly open a container (4)
AJAR:  A from the clue with a container for jam, for example. Or cats 

22a   Check pins and notice bends (10)
INSPECTION:  An anagram (bends) of PINS NOTICE

25a   Fake restriction needing no introduction (9)
IMITATION:  A restriction or shortcoming minus its first letter (needing no introduction

26a   Half-baked crackers son leaves (5)
INANE:  Crackers or crazy with the genealogical abbreviation for son deleted (son leaves

27a   Some from Brazil are negative about army officer (7)
GENERAL:  The answer is hidden in the reversal of (some from … about) the remainder of the clue 

28a   Struggle to learn ahead of examination (7)
CONTEST:  An archaic word meaning learn or study comes before (ahead of) a synonym of examination 

 

Down

1d    Flower caught on bird (6)
FALCON:  Since in crosswordland a flower can be something that flows, we chain together a river in Cornwall, the cricket scoreboard abbreviation for caught, and ON from the clue

This large bird is a condor, not a falcon

2d    Tempt European with time in French city (6)
ENTICE:  The single letter for European is followed by the physics symbol for time inserted in a city in the French Riviera 

3d    Despair as novel about Portugal vanishes (10)
DISAPPEARS:  An anagram (novel) of DESPAIR AS containing (about) the IVR code for Portugal 

4d    I'm right to remove leaders to get power (5)
MIGHT:  The first two words in the clue minus their initial letters (… to remove leaders

5d    Got inside military shelter with English knight left behind (9)
FORGOTTEN:  GOT is inserted in (inside) a military shelter and that's all followed by the single letter for English and the chess abbreviation for knight 

6d    Rake to stir up small leaves (4)
ROUÉ:  Stir up or wake with the clothing abbreviation for small deleted (small leaves

7d    Silver ring an American scratched -- is Edward worried? (8)
AGONISED:  Concatenate the chemical symbol for silver, the ring-shaped letter, AN minus the single letter for American (… American scratched), IS from the clue, and an informal form of Edward 

8d    Attractive person losing last hair, upset (8)
DISTRESS:  An informal word for an attractive person minus its last letter (losing last) is followed by a long lock of hair 

13d   Thought about fine lesson read in church (10)
REFLECTION:  Assemble a usual word meaning about or concerning, the pencil abbreviation for fine, and a lesson read in church 

Cat reflections

15d   Something vital from German city -- it's picked up by almost everyone (9)
ESSENTIAL:  Glue together a city in Germany's Ruhr valley, the reversal of (…'s picked up, in a down clue) IT from the clue, and a synonym of everyone with its last letter deleted (almost everyone) 

16d   Taking off after key found on computer? It's what prisoner might be doing (8)
ESCAPING:  Taking off or mimicking comes after a three-letter key on a computer keyboard 

17d   Forming response, Charlie moves to the front (8)
CREATION:  In a word meaning response or repercussion the letter represented in the NATO phonetic alphabet by Charlie moves to the front of the word 

19d   Tea leaf, in the main (6)
PIRATE:  The maritime (in the main) version of what tea leaf means in rhyming slang 

20d   Faction to follow in cricket? (6)
INSECT:  A faction or a subdivision of a religious group follows IN from the clue.  The question mark in cricket? indicates that cricket is an example of the answer 

A colourful insect

23d   Criticise current Conservative anxiety (5)
PANIC:  Put together a synonym of criticise, the physics symbol for electric current, and the single letter for Conservative 

24d   Pretty loud tune (4)
FAIR:  The musical abbreviation for loud with a tune or melody 

 

Thanks to today’s setter. I quite liked 27a and 24d. Which clues did you like best?


The Quick Crossword pun:  TOO + MAN + TENSE = TWO-MAN TENTS


132 comments on “DT 29606

  1. Well, at least I managed to complete today’s puzzle without help. In fact, I had it done and dusted in ** time, so either the compiler was being kind, or I have taken my wavelength pills.

    10a is a word I don’t use much, perhaps I should. The latter half of 13d was a word I certainly hadn’t seen before, despite being a lector in church for many years, taking my instructions from the lectionary!

    Many thanks to the compiler and Mr K.

  2. I found this very straightforward, perhaps a little too much so with only the lesson in church needing confirmation.
    I liked 10a as it’s just a lovely word but podium places go to 26a plus 19&20d.
    1/3*
    Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K.
    Ps..the Silvanus Toughie is great

  3. I thought this well crafted but tricky and had to rely on Mr K for 6d which for some reason I just could not fathom. Now embarrassingly obvious of course. COTD was 20d which I thought clever. ***/***

  4. The new version on my tablet is useless, in portrait the top 2 lines disappear and in landscape the grid and clues are ok but you can’t get at the keyboard.
    I hope it’s a temporary glitch but why change? If it ain’t bust don’t fix it.

    1. I find I have to have mine in landscape view to begin with, click on the puzzle and when it downloads, turn it to portrait view. Its annoying but it works. If I go off and do something else, I have to load from scratch the same way although any answers are still there.

    2. Couldn’t agree more Penky. I was so irritated that I only realised I was I was doing the Toughie at the point when I thought this is a bit trickier than a normal Tuesday.
      The letter keypad is far too small, fewer clues are displayed, the skip over completed letters doesn’t function properly & the clue numbers are too big.
      I hope others moan & we return to the normal layout.

      1. Me too! Thought it was harder than usual. I don’t think I’ve attempted the toughie before – didn’t realise I could do it.

    3. I agree absolutely, but can I stir myself enough to write a snotty letter to the the right D.Tel. department?

    4. Me too, had to solve in landscape in the end. Then seemed to spend ages scrolling up and down to see clues.
      Before you say about getting the dead tree version. 8 mile round trip to get it as shops don’t deliver

      To DT. Why “fix” wot ain’t broke?

    5. This is the screwed up version from 9 December 2020 (IIRC). I have flagged it with Chris Lancaster on the Puzzles FB page. I hope it’s not a new version, it’s dreadful.

      1. Glad I’m not the only one throughly irritated by this awful mess on the iPad. Why don’t the DT ever seem to test different versions before releasing them.
        Not although impressed with the puzzle either, a lot of clumsy clues.
        **/**
        Thx for the hints

        1. Whatever the opinion on the layout, one thing this update has done is to solve the puzzle page draining the battery on my iPad – on average I used to use nearly 60% of the battery for an average puzzle solve – today just 5% – yes I know it was fairly quick solve, but still…

          1. That’s a problem for me too so if this fixes it, it’s a major plus. I prefer the new layout as the clues are now very easy to read, and the delete key on an Apple keyboard instead of the back space is a nice surprise.

            1. Being unable to sleep, I checked today’s (Wednesday’s) puzzles on my iPhone and they seem to have reverted to the previous version, thank goodness. Perhaps the DT app developers could ask this group to be beta testers? Better than a launch you have to roll back.

        2. Don’t know about you Brian but I thought England Golf Union were reasonably hopeful of a March 8 resumption. Must say I’m disappointed.

          1. Ridiculous decision H. Guess it is just they don’t want to have one sport looking like it is getting preferential treatment.
            Hopefully they let it happen up here.

              1. Yes in fact they have, although the weather heavy frost, rain then snow had effectively stopped it at Dornoch. As I hadn’t seen any for weeks I’d forgotten
                I wouldn’t think that anytwo-balls join up would you?

                1. Yes, how does a 2 ball game of golf differ from meeting in a park. Ridiculous. I assume was worried that he would get slaughtered for being seen to show favouritism to an ‘elite’ game, even though it isn’t.

    6. The app version on my Android phone only shows half the 2nd line of a clue and the occasional 3rd line is completely hidden!
      Codewords is also useless as letters used are not highlighted and a letter already used can be repeated
      You have to wonder if any user testing has been done.
      Will look at the Cryptic on the web later.

    7. The newspaper app version is ok on my iPad. A little strange to look at but I will get used to that

      1. It’s us oldies that find it hard to adapt to change, for you youngsters maybe it’s different. Even when the change is for the better. Today’s decidedly isn’t, certainly as far as I am concerned

          1. I get the newspaper app MP. Maybe the Samsung I use doesn’t like the new format as much as the ipad.
            No delivery up here – we tried the full sub. but going & changing the coupons was a pain & expense.

          2. The only problem I’ve ever encountered with the real newspaper version is when they covered the bottom line with an advert, otherwise it works fine every time. Just thought I’d mention it.

    8. I’m in a far worse state. I had the same problem last night so I deleted the app and went to reinstall it. Sadly, the app store thinks it is still there so only gives the option to open it. A forced restart brought a ghost icon that does nothing so I deleted that. I left the iPad overnight to calm itself down and get out of its grumpy mood. It is no better now though I have a reply to my reported problem telling me what they want from inside the app. I’m not happy!

      1. You don’t need to delete the app, only the edition. It’s now fixed, as of about two hours ago.

  5. A pleasant and pretty straightforward puzzle, which I enjoyed (1.5/3*). I knew the word lector and guessed the ending for 13d, which I hadn’t seen before either. There were some good anagrams and 1a was clever but my COTD was 18a, which was quite intricate. Thanks to the compiler and to Mr K for another fine review.

  6. Great fun but on the easy side of straightforward I thought. 20d has appeared in various guises this year already but was still my favourite. Must be the thought of the promise of long sunny days spent at the county ground in Worcester. All told, an enjoyable if brief journey into crosswordland. Now for the Silvanus Toughie.

    Many thanks to our Tuesday setter and Mr K.

  7. Not too taxing today but very enjoyable. Having been mistaken for the Manders who compiled the Rookie crossword yesterday, I looked into the copious notes on this site that are to help Rookie setters. My admiration for all setters is vast – I’m not sure that I could even compile a grid, let alone a whole crossword, so well done to the other Manders.

      1. Thanks Miffypops but I can see them all in my head! Until the first lockdown I never missed an episode of the Archers (haven’t listened since and have cured my addiction) but I never wanted to see what any of them looked like. I had a letter published in the DT a couple of year’s ago when I accidently saw a picture of ‘Lilian’ and ‘Matt’. They were absolutely nothing like the photo and I accused them of being imposters – one was short and dumpy and the other tall and thin but they were the wrong way round in the photo! Started a whole chain of similar letters.

        1. I remember the letters Manders. The only times I have sent letters in they have not been published but an almost identical letter from another person has. I think I was once alluded to in a letter from a blog member regarding my opinions on anagrams

  8. I thought that “leaves” was the definition for 6d, until I got absolutely nowhere with it, and realised that the definition was “rake”. The answer was a bung in, but I still couldn’t parse the clue, so thank you for the review Mr Kitty. Thanks too go to the setter. Extended coffee break over, now back to the ironing.

    1. An interesting if somewhat frivolous stream of correspondence in the DT about ironing at the moment. I am an ironer – I cannot
      imagine getting into sheets which have not been ironed. My mother was not over fulsome in her praise, but she did once say that I
      was a good ironer so I guess we stick with what we know we are good at! Very satisfying and a lovely smell, especially when (today for the
      first time in months) the washing dried on the line.

      1. It may be several months before I dry washing outside. A neighbour in the Lane is having a massive extension built. I’m not sure exactly what they are doing, other than kicking up a lot of dust.

  9. Cracked through this in record time for me, despite the awkward new tablet version!
    Didn’t we have this weird layout version for the puzzles appear once before – turned out to be a technical glitch which required a re-install of the app to fix?
    Anyway, thoroughly enjoyed the challenge – thanks to the setter (Silvanus?) and Mr K for the blog & hints.
    Cheers!

    1. Definitely not Silvanus, he’s in the Toughie slot for a start, and he only sets back pagers on Fridays.

      1. Thanks both, whoever the setter, I’m thankful to be on the right wavelength…for once. 😀
        Cheers!

    2. 9 December 2020, IIRC. And should only have needed deletion of the edition and re-downloading of that, not an app reinstall.

      I suggest you complain on the Telegraph Puzzles page on FB. I have.

  10. As Mr K said, this was a solid Tuesday puzzle. I like the sound of the word at 10a so that gets my vote today.

    Thanks to our setter and to Mr K for a most enjoyable review – loved the disappearing cat!

  11. A straight forward Tuesday romp and a **/*** as per Mr K-loved the disappearing cat!
    A new lesson for me in 13a,and also confirmed 1a in Chambers, took a while to parse.
    Liked the surface of19d, my favourite.
    Quickie pun a tad iffy.

  12. No problems with this one, thank you compiler and Mr Kitty for succinct hinting especially the very beautiful, but grumpy, 20d. Counted 6 ings in the QC!

  13. Didn’t find this easy. No real reason when I finally did get there.
    Of course this is the “sub” for the real thing that some solved last week
    19d was my COTD.
    Again a 4 letter word, 6d, my LOI.
    Thanks to setter & Mr K . Illustrations, as always provide a bonus. No thanks to DT for change in the e-edition format though.
    Not a good day cloudy & showery then had our home insurance quote. No claims in 2020 but premium up nearly 30%. Hmm.

        1. We have found Saga pretty good and have been using them for car, home and travel. The paper work is easy to do online too (even for a technophobe such as myself).

        2. Don’t bother with comparison sites, the prices are loaded one way or another
          If you get a quote as a new customer directly from your insurers website it will be cheaper and they are obliged to honour the quote
          Then ring them up and say you have another quote just a bit cheaper – but you would really prefer to stay with them as they are great etc
          Works every time – every salesperson knows that a cheap sale is better than no sale, especially if you’re saying nice things about them

          1. Thanks all the hunt continues.
            Didn’t use price comparison sites before the recent scandal.
            Dread to think what the premium would be if we lived in a listed building in a high crime area subject to flooding.

      1. If one goes up 30% here, they all do – that is if you can even find an insurer. Living in a hurricane belt, I can’t even afford windstorm insurance, prayer is my insurance!

    1. Montmorency sour cherry juice has suddenly doubled in price everywhere online.
      Harvest failure, Brexit or Covid?
      We’ll see more weird hikes this year.

  14. 2*/3* from me for a pleasant and undemanding puzzle. I’ll go along with those who picked 10a as favourite because it’s such a lovely word.

    Many thanks to Messrs R & K.

  15. No real difficulties today but an enjoyable solve. **/*** I hadn’t factored in the scratched American in 7d so thanks for the hints there. Sometimes Ned is an abbreviation for Edward so I wasn’t sure how that fitted together. Likewise I didn’t know the ending of 13d was a lesson read in church. I learn something new here everyday. Favourite today 19d. Thanks to all.

  16. A very straightforward Tuesday solve completed at a fast gallop – 1.5*/2.5*.
    Candidates for favourite – 21a, 13d, 17d, and 20d – and the winner is 13d.
    Thanks to the setter and Mr K.

  17. This was not very straightforward as far as I was concerned. I found quite a number of clues a bit tortuous. They were gettable but only after some lateral thinking. An example was 7d. A great clue but it took ages to work it out. I had four checkers in 14a and they were all “e”. I don’t what it is about this letter but I can never use it to work out solutions because my brain refuses to work when that particular letter appears so, no chance when four appear. Great clues but I was way off wavelength today. However, I do have a COTD – the terrific lurker at 27a.

    Grateful thanks to the setter and to Mr. K. for the hints.

    1. Yes, my heart sank when I saw all those ‘e’s but when I worked out the clue I thought it was quite brilliant.

  18. This was a cracker – and not a half-baked one. I am not a Luddite but I just can’t get on with completing crosswords through any ‘electronic’ method. Nothing suits me better than the printed out version from the puzzles website, accompanied by far too much toast, and a big glass of fresh orange juice.

    Lola returns to the vet at 16:30 today. My lovely neighbour is going to say that we MUST find a solution as poor Lola has been waiting for way too long. The lab in Germany has still not returned any results, claiming ‘bad weather’ is causing a delay. Perhaps the laboratory is on top of a remote mountain in Bavaria.

    Today’s crossword soundtrack: Thomas Tallis – Lamentations (I can’t think of a composer who moves me more than T. Tallis).

    Thanks to the setter, and the celebrated Mr K (cats ‘n’ all)

    1. I did not realise until today that so many bloggers do so electronically. Like you Terence I like the paper in front of me with biro and cup of tea to hand. I have tried it electronically but maybe after over 60 years of paper versions it just does not gel with me.
      Good crossword today, nevertheless appearing yet again. Many thanks to the setter and Mr K. Though I am a dog lover I have followed poor Lolas traumas with great interest and do hope the mountain tops of Bavaria are not snowbound!!

    2. Totally agree with you, Terrence. I can access the puzzles online but much prefer the folding of the paper (especially when it is actually on the back page), the smoothing it out and picking up my pen with the odour wafting up from my coffee cup beside me. I have done it this way for years and doing a puzzle online just does not cut it for me.

    3. I do hope there is good news about Lola and that this snow bound Bavarian laboratory gives some answers. Why Bavaria? Are there no such places in the UK?

      Anyway fingers crossed.

      1. Good luck with Lola, Terence. Tallis ‘Spem in Alium’ would be my pick for Desert Island Discs. Every time I listen to it, I notice something new.

    4. I’m in the paper and pen solver group, I’m too old to change.
      I’m also a Tallis fan.
      There are all sorts of good wishes winging across the pond for Lola, please oh please!

      1. I’m paper and pencil. I used to be a draughtsman on a drawing board before having to move to CAD so old habits die hard and mistakes rub out easier.

        1. The “pen” bit was a mistake, or maybe a show-off Freudian slip. I use a pencil, but my Dad always used a fountain pen in the newspaper.

    5. Completely agree, and that’s why I pay extra so that I can print the puzzles. Breakfast just wouldn’t be the same without my crossword and pen in hand. And a dead tree version is not available here, at least not within 25 miles driving distance.

      Having rewatched all 3 Godfather movies recently it reminded me how much I enjoyed the music, so recently got soundtrack and it even makes housework enjoyable.

      1. I don’t know much about the Godfather movies but the little I do know convinces me that getting any closer would be a huge mistake!

  19. After the first reading I thought this was going to be firmly in the stinker pile, but I managed to gain a foothold. I was a bit baffled by 14a until my anagram antenna kicked in. Two favourites 10a and 8d. I still needed some hints to confirm answers. All in all another really good crossword.
    Thanks to MrK and setter.

  20. The puzzle confused me with the awful layout.not only is the layout very hard to read, in either portrait or landscape, but the clues do nit grey out once they have been input.
    Tried removing the puzzle and clearing the cache then downloading it. Still the same.
    Will send a complaint, but they never respond.
    Regarding the puzzle, 6 down had me stumped. Not a clue.

  21. A straight Ford and very enjoyable solve. 12a was my COTD.

    Sent a snotty feedback via the Telegraph app. While the new layout of the crossword is awful, that pales into insignificance compared to Codewords and Sudoku – all letters/numbers are black so it’s impossible to distinguish between the ones they give you to start with, and the ones you enter.

    I’m generally in favour of change, but not when it’s a backwards step.

    1. The balance between number and letter size in the Codewords is inverted, and the Sudoku doesn’t report success.

    2. Also can’t see what letters you have used in the codeword. Officially now “infuriating” to Mrs LrOK & Sudoku yet to come!
      😡

      1. yep that got me annoyed as well. and you have to click on the grid and not the number to get it to work, hard to find the last letter on the grid.

    3. UPDATE the Telegraph have replied to me saying that they will revert back to the previous version tomorrow morning.

      The keyboard is mightier than the sword.

  22. The new layout is nowhere near as good as the one that it replaced. Why have they done it? And I can’t find the control that gives an automatic time start for each puzzle. I always try to solve the Codewords in under 2 minutes before I get out of bed in the morning, but if the timer doesn’t start automatically, I will forget to switch it on.

  23. I guess any appreciation I may or may not have had for the merits of the puzzle was lost in my grumpiness at completing it in this bloody awful new iPad layout. I suppose I am guilty of being a bit of a Luddite but pleased to see that nobody has commended the change so let’s hope CL reads the comments. As for the crossword, well it was pleasant enough & largely straightforward with rather a lot of answers ending in TION. I did like the 1a&d kick off & to my shame couldn’t remember where the river was despite the clue being in the name & having been in the vicinity many times. Anyway enough of grumpiness – the sun is shining, a nice walk beckons & much to my surprise my jab has been confirmed for this Sat at a vaccination centre is a 10min walk away. Today’s albums: Don’t Explain (Joe Bonamassa & Beth Hart) & Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark (Robert Cray Band)
    With thanks to the setter & to Mr K

  24. Some lovely, clever and succinct clues with lots of great surface readings. Over too quickly, sadly. 20d my favourite. Thanks to setter and MrK. With regard to the ipad blues mentioned above, I now pay a puzzles subscription and complete the puzzle online through the puzzles website. Never a problem … yet …

  25. Nice and straightforward puzzle 😃 **/*** Favourites 1 & 20d Thanks to the Setter and as always to Mr K 🤗 The only puzzle I had today was the illustration to 1d why was it a picture of a huge Vulture 🤔

    1. Hi, JL. For 1d I decided to go with what I thought would be an interesting bird pic rather than a straightforward illustration of the answer. The hover/long press text explains that the massive bird is a condor, not a 1d.

  26. Thanks for the Sabbath clip Mr K……..1970, no messing about.
    I’ve been watching my 3yr old grandson on WhatsApp- he’s like a broken record at the moment, incorporating “Can you help me?” in all his role playing games. I knew I’d heard that somewhere before!

    Crossword was fine. Thanks for hints, though.
    Did the swan(?), in the 1d clip, do a cuckoo on the lure meat? Amazing.

    1. Thanks, BB. Hard to believe that Black Sabbath clip is from 50 years ago. I picked in part because of how great they sound live. And not a single guitar effects pedal in sight.

      The 1d bird is a condor. I’d let it have whatever meat it wanted.

  27. 19d caught me out as I was completely oblivious to the rhyming slang origin, but I enjoyed the rest of the puzzle. I 7d over 19d until I gave up and went electronic, so my long reign over Tuesday puzzles came to an end, alas. Thanks to Mr K for the review and pictures, and to today’s setter.

  28. A steady ** solve with no real highlights but enjoyable nevertheless (and 19d reminded me to revise my xword cockney) – thank you setter and MrK

  29. Nice Tuesday offering **/***. I too don’t like the changes on the iPad app.
    10a, 21a, 7d with 17d getting my vote today
    Thx to the setter and Mr K.

  30. Enjoyed this very much on my cheap little tablet from a company who don’t care what apps or programs you download. Mr K as usual provided much cat fun with his pictures and with a few clues corrected my rather slapdash parsing which passed muster for the solution but not the wording of the clue. Lots to enjoy but not surprisingly 18a is my favourite.

    Thanks to Mr K and to the setter for a pleasant after lunch solve.

  31. This committed iPad user very much enjoyed this puzzle as well as The Toughie and The Quickie. Each to their own but as someone who cannot write legibly the onset of the modern keyboard is a great blessing.

  32. I’m pleased I don’t use the electronic version. The problems many have noted today would have infuriated me. I’m having enough of a struggle with the new weekend paper format.
    A gentle crossword got me in the mood for the first toughie of the week, where I was pleased to learn a couple of new words.
    Thanks for this puzzle and the hints and comments

  33. I found this very enjoyable, not unduly tricky until I got to the NW where I had five unsolved. Have no idea why I found them so hard.
    So much to like, 10a is a lovely word, Shakespeare used it to describe Polonius. I also liked 6d, clever that. I see 14a has made a regular appearance again.
    I wonder who the setter is, please come back soon. Thanks Mr. K for taking me to the finish line and all the lovely cats, also the magnificent bird at 1d, though Bluebird tells us it’s a swan!

    1. Ha!
      No webbed feet, so it wouldn’t get far in the water……..it’s just looks a bit more elegant and romantic than a carrion eater. It reminds me a bit of the male swan in the ballet on the lake…….
      What is the story, Mr K?

        1. Thank you so much Mr K.
          How fascinating and elemental!
          I suppose the fluffiness around the neck gave away the creatures youth. I wonder if the imprinting on the trainer will change the condor’s behaviour as it matures?
          Off to read up!

  34. I enjoyed this and almost completed it during my third pass. I have not yet found any of these straightforward but am keeping at it! Needed the answer for 6d and the hint for 19d. Thanks Mr T and setter.

  35. My favourite, and last answer, was 19d.
    I think everything else has been said long before now.
    I quite enjoyed this one so thanks to the setter and to Mr K.

  36. Well I thought this puzzle sparkled, I really enjoyed it. Favourites were 10a, 14a, 18a and 22a but really it was right up my street.
    Last one in was 20d because I was looking for a ‘crickety’ answer whereas it could not have been more simple. Many thanks to the setter
    and to Mr. K – I really love the cat getting into the jar, why do they do that? And what would you do if it couldn’t get out again?
    Wend to the little cottage hospital in Saffron Walden this morning to have my hip X-rayed, no one about, in and out in a flash so we
    drove on to have a look at the Tuesday market where I know they have a fabulous greengrocer stall. No, there were two stalls selling olives,
    one selling sausages, a baker and a fishmonger. No candlestickmaker. George of course wanted sausages, and we bought delumptious
    olives, about 18 for £4 so will be sure to enjoy them, fresh fish and some very expensive artisan bread. The sun was shining and things
    were almost normal! Like Terence and Jen and others I am a paper and pen solver and I don’t think I would bother with the crossword if
    I had to do it electronically. I did not realise that so many of you do – does that mean you do not read a newspaper either I wonder, but get your news
    on line? (Best wishers to Lola)

    1. I read the paper but D doesn’t get it til 9ish so I start the puzzle in bed first thing with my cuppa. Used to love going to S Walden.

    2. I subscribe to the Newspaper App which gives me the whole newspaper online, The Cryptic, The Toughie, The Quickie, A codeword and a Sodoffku. That’s enough puzzles for one day and no trees hurt in the process. The paper is always there no matter how early I wake up

      1. Hmm. I do see your point about not harming any trees, but I think I am a bit of a dinosaur (as you may have gathered). Our newspaperr get used for all sorts of things including, crucially, making up the fire. Wrapping up clumps of snowdrops to give to neighbours, etc. Mind you, I do wish we had the option to choose which supplements we get – don’t need or read most of them and they ARE a waste of paper.

      2. I recycle all my newspapers, plus all the other rubbish papers that come in the mail. I was told I’m OTT with recycling as I even toss the cardboard paper towel and loo paper centres in the recycling.

        1. The paper goes in the compost bin along with other compost makers. Those who use the online version would be horrified at the carbon footprint they are leaving. Mind you, I accept it is a moot point. What is destroyed in the manufacture of both? Trees for the paper version, which can be recycled to help other trees? Goodness knows what is destroyed to make an iPad. Can an iPad be recycled like a newspaper? If I throw my iPad into the compost bin will it help my vegetables to thrive!

          Here I am making such comments using an iPad! 😁

  37. Found this one a bit of a struggle to get solved. ***/**** for me today, but yet there was nothing too hard. However considering 14a shows up a lot and I didn’t recognize it today shows my brain must tired. Last area filled in was NE with 12a last in….Thus my favourite clue today. So straightforward, and a great clue.
    Other clues I liked include 5a, 13d, 16d & 20d.
    Also a word I know but didn’t recognize today was 6d.

    Yes, definitely needed a few hints today.
    Thanks to setter and Mr K

  38. ***/***. enjoyable while it lasted – I did this while waiting on a call centre hold, possibly the longest I’ve ever experienced. There was definitely a wavelength component to this puzzle. Thanks to the setter and Mr K.

  39. Surprised by the number of answers ending in TION, particularly in the bottom half where there are four of then at a quick count.
    Enjoyable solve that all went together smoothly with just a bit of head-scratching for 19d.
    Thanks Mr Ron and Mr K.

  40. This went in very quickly until I got stuck on 1d and 19d. I should have thought of the rhyming slang as I spent all my student years in the East End. Generally a pleasant Tuesday puzzle and great cat pictures as usual. Thanks to the setter and MrT. Plus 6 in S. Ontario today relatively balmy.

  41. This was a very satisfying, steady solve. Only held up in the NE corner as I got 6d wrong, making 5a and 7d the last two hold outs. Was very pleased to come home to this after a nice breakfast out, followed by a walk and some shopping. Thanks to setter and to Mr K. Any news on how Tilsit is doing?

  42. I’m in the “wood is a renewable resource and electricity isn’t necessarily and I can’t be bothered to comment further on that subject” camp this evening. Oh! I just did. Any road up, joking apart, having made harder work of the toughie than I should have I didn’t have the same problems with this little gem. Favourite was 10a, not that I am but my girlfriend is. I would never tell her of course, mainly because I struggle to get a word in, when I open my mouth words go in. Many thanks to the setter and Mr. K.

  43. Just watched the Black Sabbath video. That was definitely on our playlist either to open the second set or last but one prior to Gay Bar. Both our two main guitarists who both left and came back several times, or stood in when the other couldn’t, could handle them easily. Particularly Justin “Juggy” McDonald but Jim “Woody” Wood wasn’t far behind.

  44. Biffed in 12a and 14a from the get-go and steady solving after that. Then slowed right down in NW. LOI was 1d for which I needed the hint after giving up on trying to justify “fulmar”! Enjoyed solving 1a which is my favorite. ***/*** Thanks to all…

    1. Oops! I just realized I got 19d completely wrong with “tisane”! No wonder I couldn’t quite parse it!

  45. Finally able to post at a sensible time…work and an allotment getting in the way.
    Straightforward enough, apart from 6d, new word for me.
    I enjoyed 1d and am about to do likewise with the blog.
    Thanks all…

  46. The problems with the layout of the Puzzles was fixed around 6pm GMT.

    There is no need to delete the app, just remove the edition and download it again.

      1. Fixed for iOS devices. As it’s a formatting issue with the edition, deleting it and re-downloading it should fix it. It has twice on mine (9/12/2020 and 23/2/2021).

  47. After the rumpus over yesterday’s difficult xw, a nice easy one for us xw learners to gain confidence. Never knew roue or rake means a roue. Never too old to learn as my old gaffer used to say

  48. A tad worryingly, it seems that yesterday’s (23 Feb) formatting issues were an “update”. Email received signed by Mathias Douchet, Director of Product – Telegraph Media Group, said:

    “Thank you for your feedback regarding the puzzles updates in today’s edition.

    Following this feedback we have taken the decision to roll back this update, and puzzles will be reverted to the previous version in tomorrow’s edition.

    Your feedback has been captured and we will ensure that it is taken into account for future puzzles updates.”

    I hope it doesn’t see the light of day again.

  49. Found bottom right corner difficult, could not get inane,pirate or insect. I really enjoyed this crossword must be at my level , it took me [Timing info redacted].

  50. 2*/3*….appreciated the colourful creature in Mr K’s hint….
    liked 10A “Beginning to gossip with a slur — our drunk’s talkative (9)”

Comments are closed.