DT 29607 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29607

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29607

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ****

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

We’ve had a very busy couple of days as we have been having ‘The Bach’ re-roofed. We have been allowed to help with the fetch and carry and unskilled bits of the operation. Ross, the expert roofer, is dealing with the finishing touches as we write this. Perfect weather for the job albeit a bit on the warm side.

So to the puzzle. Just what we expect Jay to present to us each and every Wednesday.

 

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Having a hunch, and seeing bore after golf maybe (5-10)
ROUND-SHOULDERED : A word used for a game of golf that suggests a circle, and then bore as Atlas did with the Heavens, (or, as Mercator incorrectly put it, the Earth.)

9a     Start to hope lancing boil and shine (7)
SHIMMER : Boil, as one might when preparing vegetables, contains the first letter of hope.

10a     Family member‘s crushes? (7)
STEPSON : Split the answer 5,2 to understand the wordplay.

11a     Caged animals finding endless grief after people grow old (9)
MENAGERIE : Grief, with both ends removed, follows male people and a word meaning grow old.

12a     Responsibility of star making a comeback after Oscar (4)
ONUS : The letter represented by Oscar and then the reversal of our particular star.

13a     Torrent of water from river covering lounge, oddly (6)
DELUGE : Any one of the rivers named for the fourth letter of the alphabet surrounds the first, third and fifth letters of lounge.

15a     Lay out, protecting right in France with skill (8)
ADROITLY : An anagram (out) of LAY contains the French word for right.

18a     Freely rely on army accommodation here (8)
HOSTELRY : An army or large group and then an anagram (freely) of RELY.

19a     Tunnellers sent back across Germany rarely (6)
SELDOM : The IVR code for Germany is inside the reversal of tunnelling animals.

22a     Rich type who drinks a lot (4)
LUSH : A double definition.

23a     Contact head of development with private land (5,4)
TOUCH DOWN : Make tactile contact, the first letter of development and then private or belonging to the speaker.

26a     Tex-Mex food — it will be eaten by donkey (7)
BURRITO : ‘IT’ from the clue is inside a Spanish word for donkey.

27a    The lady’s bringing in gold left with international trucker (7)
HAULIER : A personal pronoun for ‘the lady’s’ surrounds the chemical symbol for gold, L(eft) and I(nternational).

28a    Sadly forget North-West must find great support (5,2,8)
TOWER OF STRENGTH : An anagram (sadly) of FORGET NORTH-WEST.

Down

1d     With page missing, took it as read and carried on (7)
RESUMED : Remove P(age) from the start of a word meaning took it as read.

2d     Marriage may see us now in obvious need initially (5)
UNION : The starting letter (initially) of five words in the clue.

3d     Political manipulator some gauged criminal having lost son (9)
DEMAGOGUE : An anagram (criminal) of (s)OME GAUGED with the abbreviation for son removed.

4d     Run quickly to cover case of affair in capital (6)
HARARE : Run quickly, as a leporine animal does, includes the first and last letters of ‘affair’.

5d     Rocky could be nude, say, dancing around top of table (8)
UNSTEADY : An anagram (dancing) of NUDE SAY contains the first letter of table.

6d     Performers to be paid on time? (4)
DUET : Needing to be paid, plus T(ime).

7d     Echoed editor supporting soldiers with short composition (9)
RESONATED : Start with engineering soldiers, then an instrumental musical composition minus its last letter, and finally ED(itor).

8d     Heartlessly deny repulsive ruling family (7)
DYNASTY : The first land last letters of ‘deny’ and then repulsive or evil.

14d     Starts off breaking regulation — that’s the limit! (4,5)
LAST STRAW : An anagram (off) of STARTS is inside a three letter regulation.

16d     Hospitality to begin with hotel on river (4,5)
OPEN HOUSE : Begin or commence, then H(otel) and a river in North Yorkshire.

17d     Cancel summons seeing upper-class type swallow drug (5,3)
WRITE OFF : A legal summons, then the letter for a party drug is inside a slang word for an upper-class type. (We think this clue doesn’t work as the wordplay gives us an extra T.  Any thoughts?)

18d     Boxer born in shack gets fish (7)
HALIBUT : Probably the world’s best-known boxer, plus B(orn) is inside a shack or cabin.

20d     Working during early spring for sovereign (7)
MONARCH : The two letter word for working is inside a month that is early spring for most of you although it is early autumn for us.

21d     Tabloid with dislike mostly for high-level protection (6)
SUNHAT : A popular tabloid newspaper and then a synonym for dislike with the last letter removed.

24d     Outstanding old extension (5)
OWING : O(ld) and an extension, possibly to a building.

25d     Level achieved by heartless golfer? (4)
TIER : The famous golfer in the news today for a car accident loses his central letter.

Once again we weren’t able to pick a favourite from these many possibilities.

Quickie pun    stay    +    tusk    +    whoa    =    status quo

128 comments on “DT 29607

  1. I thought I was going to have to report another non-finisher, but my mount got a second wind in the final furlong and I was across the line in a **** time.

    I, too, had a problem parsing 17d, the clue does seem to use the T twice. Other than that, 10a was my last in, and therefore my COTD.

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2 Ks.

    1. I agree re 17d, so unlike Jay to have a hanging letter like that. Maybe someone down the line has an explanation.

  2. With two golf linked clues one being unpredictably and sadly topical given recent events, I thought this a very solid offering and at the easier end of this compiler’s spectrum. COTD was 1a for me and overall **/***. Thanks to the setter and the 2Kiwis for their expert hints.

    1. Yes, it struck me as eerily coincidental that the golfer in question was badly injured in a car accident yesterday, and just aafter having back surgery too.

      1. Such a shame for him: he sounds to be in reasonable spirits although it sounds as if he will have plenty of time to take up the DT crossword! He is a fighter so hopefully will bounce back.

        1. I am not a follower of golf in any way, but I thought that this man was reviled as a cheat, a womaniser and drug-abuser?

          1. Just because he’s a famous golfer doesn’t mean we can’t sympathise with him because he misbehaved in the past, and, I might add, as I presume 75% of the men in this world have.

            1. Hmm. I’m a bit puzzled Merusa as I replied to your message 3 hours ago but it seems to have disappeared into the ether.

              1. Any comment that mentions current or former Presidents of the USA is liable to be deleted. I’m sure I’m not the only one who is bored with the continual references.

                1. Hear hear! Thanks for reminding posters that political comments are against the protocol.

        1. That doesn’t mean we cannot sympathise with him. A question from One Love by the great Bob Marley ;

          I tell you, let them all pass all their dirty remarks (one love)
          There is one question I’d really like to ask (one soul)
          Is there a place for the hopeless sinner
          Who has hurt all mankind just to save his own?

          I would like to think so.

          1. Notwithstanding his errors of judgement, I would sympathise with anyone who had had surgery to insert a metal plate in his leg and screws inserted in his foot, having been there myself.

            1. Yes – he has certainly had his ups and downs, although I had rather got the impression he was calming down a little and getting back into the swing (ha!) of his sport. I tend to agree with Chriscross.

              1. There’s a pretty good warts & all 2 part HBO documentary about Tiger that tries to look into why he’s the way he is. For me he’s unquestionably the greatest to ever play the game & the man responsible for the unbelievable money that’s available on the PGA tour. To come back & win the Tour championship & then the Masters after such extensive surgery was simply astonishing. It’s just a shame he’s never had an ounce of the class of Jack or Arnie or Tom & it’ll be a big loss to the game if he’s unable to play competitive golf again.

                1. A lot of it can be explained by his lack of a real childhood. You look at any famous person who was pushed into stardom as a child, and you will find a damaged adult. The list is endless.

                2. H,
                  I disagree about the greatest as I think Hogan deserves that. I don’t know if you have read his biography (or seen the film Follow the Sun) but his feats after he was injured in a car crash (throwing himself across to save his wife) parallel Woods’ recovery fro mis back problems in many ways.
                  Nonetheless irrespective of his personal life Wodds is a great player and competitor as such golfers should wish him a full recovery & return to the game.

                3. Tom Watson remains my favourite golfer of all time. Such a gentleman, such class. Arnie a close second. Jack far away.

                  1. Robert
                    Tom Watson is a thorough gentleman and I can attest to that.
                    He was due to play in the British Seniors’ Open at Royal Porthcawl & my friend, a County Seniors’ captain who thought Watson the greatest, had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Via his website I asked if TW would make a presentation to him. TW readily agreed & arrangements were made. Unfortunately my friend passed away before the event. We received a lovely letter of condolence from TW, & then I spoke to him on the practice ground before the event and he recalled sending the letter. A true legend!

          2. Somewhere in the Bible:
            Let him who hath no sin cast the first stone
            I’m not particularly religious, but I think that’s a good way of putting it

  3. Another fine Jay puzzle although I see what Malcolm and the Kiwis mean about the extra ‘t’ in 17d. I liked 23a and 14d but the COTD for me was 1a, where it took a while for the penny to drop about ‘shouldered ‘. It was a 2*/4* for me. Many thanks to the Kiwis for the review and to Jay, of course, for another entertaining crossword.

  4. Another lovely offering from Jay , many thanks .
    Like MR , 10a my COTD and like NAS , spotted 25d being topical .
    Not many entries in the first read through but finished very quickly once on the wavelength.
    Glad the iPad is back to normal .
    Thanks to the 2K , as usual .

  5. Apart from 17d, I thought this was an inspired puzzle, even given Jay’s high standards. So many terrific clues, with the outstanding 1a at the top of the pile.

    Many thanks to all three birds.

  6. 2*/5*. Sheer brilliance! Every clue was a joy to solve, with 10a just nudging out the rest as my favourite.

    Many thanks to the three birds, and wishing a speedy recovery to the 25d golfer.

    1. RD. You haven’t mentioned 17d – does that mean the clue’s OK as it is? It doesn’t look quite right to me (and some others). What’s your verdict, please. Cheers!

      1. Jose. I agree 17d doesn’t work. I was in a great hurry this morning and trusted Jay enough to assume the wordplay was accurate. Dangerous things, assumptions.

  7. Like MalcolmR, my only problem was with 17d, as I scribbled the synonym for a summons in the margin, along with putting the certain drug letter into the name for an upper class person. I had too many letters because of the surplus ‘T’. I also wanted to put ‘good cheer” into 17d, but resisted, and parsed the clue correctly. Thanks to Jay for his, as ever, enjoyable puzzle, and to the 2Ks for the review. Yes, 25d is indeed topical today. I wish the golfer well.

  8. Great entertainment from Jay on the easier end of his spectrum. **/**** Add me to those who paused and wondered about the t in 17d. Lots of good clues like the tunnellers in 19a and the capital in in 4d. Favourite today 11a. Thanks to all.

  9. I usually struggle a bit with Jay but for some reason I found this straightforward. No real head scratches & a very smooth solve just into ** time.
    My COTD was 1a
    I hadn’t noticed the “extra t” in 17d until I read the hints, but sure enough.
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.
    Thank you CL / DT for resuming “Normal Service” to the e versions

  10. Another great puzzle today. Took ages to get the second word in 1a as I had the wrong sort of hunch in my mind but the rest went in quite well. Glad to see the format for the electronic version is back to normal although I still have to start off in landscape and turn it to portrait when it has downloaded. Thanks to Jay and the 2 Ks.

    1. I’ve not experienced that, and have been a user since the very early days.

      The “problem” was fixed late yesterday afternoon. Apparently it was an “update” – you know, one of those that make the product worse/harder to use than previously.

  11. Another winner from Jay. How does he maintain the consistency? Well I suppose he ought to know what he is doing by now. I liked the four peripheral answers and the tunnellers made me smile. Thanks to Jay and to The 2Ks for the blog. It’s always nice to see a pub that we have frequented.

  12. What a lovely thing. I amused myself afterwards by trying to make a little short story from the answers……..

    Thanks to all our birds!

      1. No, I didn’t, DG because the deluge resonated from the halibut burrito in an open house hostelry. It was the last straw and resulted in a write off for my car. I was rescued by a round-shouldered tower of strength haulier, the stepson of the monarch, who was kind enough to lend me his sun hat.

      2. DG I answered your yesterday’s comment re emails this evening if you haven’t seen it. I think, or hope, I’ve sorted it now!

  13. Lovely Jay puzzle; on the tricky side but a joy to complete. A day of Jay joy.

    Thank you so much to all those following, and posting support regarding, little Lola’s progress. She continues to baffle various vets. Her test results are still not yet analysed (in Germany) which is exasperating, but because her condition persists, the vets are able to rule certain possibilities out due to medication not resolving her issues. The latest is that we are supposed to get haematology results today (we’ll see). However, she has been prescribed a new drug (to her) ‘Antirobe’ for the time being. Further options are anti-viral drugs, and a rather unthinkable prospect regarding her paws. That would be the last of all last resorts, apparently.
    She continues being stoic in the face of over two months of ill health.

    Today’s crossword soundtrack: Palestrina – Canticum Canticorum (Hilliard Ensemble)

    A big cheer for Jay and the 2Ks, and best wishes for a speedy recovery for 25d.

    1. Having two boxers I undestand you concerns, if one of them coughs or looks under the weather it straight to the vets. I hope Lola recovers.

      1. Hamish, our Westie has damaged his left hind cruciate ligament (skidded on the conservatory floor whilst chasing a young robin that had entered in error). I’m off to collect him from the vet who has today X-rayed his knee. At £600 for those and maybe £3,000 for an operation, thank Heavens for pet insurance.

        Meanwhile, Angus, our Scottie has howled the house down since 09:00; they’re separated in age and companionship by only 20 days and this is the first time they’ve been apart in nine years.

        1. I had a spaniel who damaged cruciate ligaments in both rear legs one worse than the other. I had the worst one operated on about 18 years ago (artificial cruciate ligaments) the total bill came about £300 or so, the other one seemed to not bother him at all after that. What’s happened, I think someone’s taking the Michael. Anyway I retired him a couple of years later when he was 12, lived until he was 16.

          1. Similar experience at about the same time Taylor. Our first lab got hit by a van & did his CL. Our bill came to about £600 as I recall.
            Of course the answer “yes” to the question “are you insured” is music to the vet’s ears ( and his bank manager’s)

    2. Poor little Lola, I empathise completely with how helpless and upset you and your neighbour feel.
      Best wishes to her & all of you.

    3. Thank you for the update, Terence, but it doesn’t sound as though the vets have come up with any real answers as yet. I do hope that your neighbours don’t get to the point of considering the ‘unthinkable’ you mentioned – poor Lola deserves better than that.

  14. Very friendly Jay on this gloriously warm and sunny day. Thanks to him and the 2Ks

    We’ve been watching the New Zealand detective series Brokenwood (which is sort of Midsomer Murders with better scenery) and when the murder suspect last Saturday used ‘being at her bach’ as her alibi, I was, thanks to the 2Ks able to explain to Mr CS exactly where she’d been!

    If it is February, even though it is 16 deg outside, does putting down the sun roof on your car count as ‘casting a clout before May is out’? I passed two such cars on my way back from my monthly visit to M&S Food

        1. Ours is tonight. The trouble is we are a newish three year old club so only about 23 members and half of them don’t do zoom. So we are not spending our money equally on members which is not right.

          1. There are only about 23 in our WI (we were a hundred years old in 2019! – slap up tea at the Blakeney Hotel). Gradually more and more people are managing to Zoom, one new one today who will join the red wine tasting next week! Not very impressed that we have to send so much of our sub to HO when we are getting nothing in return for it.

  15. I really enjoyed doing this puzzle, but for some reason I could not get my head around 9A.
    I did not even spot the extra T in 17D
    Time for some Steely Dan.

  16. Pleased to see that we’re back with the normal iPad format & properly able to enjoy our usual Wednesday treat. Struggling to recall an instance of iffy wordplay from Jay but I too was baffled by the extra T at 17d. After yesterday’s distressing news it’s strangely coincidental that we should have 3 golf related clues today with 2 here & my favourite in Stick Insect’s Toughie. Never been his biggest fan but wishing TW a full & swift recovery. Found the crossword reasonably straightforward with 10,11 & 19a (the latter a menace on golf courses & if only they were 19a seen) my picks of a fine bunch. 3 to go with the Toughie while listening to Eagles Live.
    Thanks to Jay & to the 2 Ks

      1. Don’t mind them now & again & struggling for albums beginning with E.
        Remember the scene in The Big Lebowski when the Dude gets chucked out of the cab for asking the driver to change the music – ‘Jesus man I’ve had a rough night & I hate the ****** Eagles’

        1. Their music was fresh when it was fresh but soon became very formulaic and boring. The copycats didn’t help.

    1. Yes indeed, back to the normal format and back to it draining my battery again, at least I had one day of not having to recharge the iPad to actually read the paper!

  17. I seem to be in the minority today, this was tough I could not get going. Through pure struggle i got half completed but the rest defeated me. Still tomorrow is another day.
    Thanks Jay for baffling me.

  18. Mr Wednesday continues to excel himself, another delightful offering today. I didn’t find it particularly difficult but it was certainly very satisfying to solve.
    10a made me laugh and I also rather liked 18&23a.

    Thanks to Jay and also to our hard-working 2Ks. Just as well you haven’t got our current weather to contend with for your re-roofing project!

  19. For me, Jay continuing his somewhat trickier approach to Wednesday but maintaining the usual level of enjoyment – 3*/4.5*.
    The 17d ‘T’ certainly appears to be doing double duty.
    Candidates for favourite – 13a, 19a, 1d, and 16d – and the winner is 16d.
    I have said before that Jay produces some of the toughest Quick puzzles and I thought today’s was no exception.
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  20. Sunny day here and a nice crossword 😎 ***/**** Favourites 19a and 14d Thanks to 2xKs and to Jay 🤗

  21. I could not get started with today’s offering from Jay. On the first pass, I had solved one. The second pass gave me two more and that is where it stayed. In the end, I had to resort to the hint for 1a and, after that, it all fell into place. Of course I am now quite puzzled as to why I couldn’t break into it. Still, it was most enjoyable as Jay’s always are. As usual, there are many good clues but my COTD is 19a. Shades of the puzzle that gave the D-Day landing beaches at 25d. I’m not a golfer but I wish him well.

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2 Kiwis.

  22. Thoroughly enjoyable as we expect from Jay. LOI was 17d for reasons above. Otherwise a straightforward solve. COTD was 15a as remembered my little French when I guessed the word from the checkers. Thanks Kiwis for explaining 7d as missed the musical composition.

  23. Didn’t think I was going to like this one but it grew on me as I worked my way (often with some difficulty) through some clever and some clumsy clues. I liked 19a, 26a and 20d but found 23a, 18d and 17d cumbersome. Jay is not my favourite setter, his clues often require leaps of faith and single letters that are unclued.
    Thx for the hints
    **/***

  24. Did Jay, like Homer, nod a moment in 17d? Still, a joy to solve. I thought that 1a was quite clever and amusing, as was 10a. Podium toppers: 11a, 3d, 14d. Thanks to the Kiwis and to Jay. ** / ****

    Toughie doable…with an electronic assist.

  25. Hello!
    Long time lurker saying hi! I credit this website for enabling me to truly enjoy cryptics!

    Enjoyed 28a. Got the first two words and then assumed I’d gone wrong with the anagram when I was left with eight letters and only one vowel, but not so! My Spanish was not up to 26a but managed to find the word anyway!

    COTD probably 14d. Very smug I found that one after putting the crossword down and pondering while I showered!

    1. Welcome to the blog

      We hope that now you’ve ‘delurked’ you’ll come back and comment again

  26. Filled in all the answers and then had to rely on you to tell me why the last three were correct.

  27. Very nice Wednesday offering as usual, always hard to single out any particular clues. The two long ones top and bottom were a good starting point – 10a made me smile. Thanks to the two Kiwis and to Jay.
    Do you remember me talking about the long departed PC Chairman who got all his words wrong and talked about the ancestors who come after us? There is a lovely example on page 11 today reporting on Jesus College. I fired off a letter to the editor, am taking bets on whether he publishes it!

  28. Lovely puzzle. Just the right amount of thinking time for me.
    No hints required but thanks to the 2 kiwis and Jay.
    **,****

  29. Wonderful puzzle from Jay with some great clues. No I couldn’t see how 17d managed in the presence of an extra T but it had to be. 1a has a honourable mention because although I put tentative letters for the second word it was my last one to write in properly and needed the 2Ks to parse it for me. Other honourable mentions for 19a and 8d but my favourite today is 7d.

    Thanks to the 2Ks and to Jay for providing a puzzle I could solve.

  30. 17d is wrong on two points. Cancel can be Write Off, not Writ Off, surely? Then the extra T…

    1. Don’t suppose anyone looking at this now but I have only just done this excellent puzzle due to circumstances beyond my control. Why is it that when a contributor misunderstands something they rarely reply to say Sorty. Sad to say it is often people who comment rarely and only to complain. I agree about the missing T (unless it is solved further down the page). However, write off means cancel, an Upper class type is a toff and E is a drug. Whilst writing this I’ve had a flash of inspiration. Is Toff upper class, not upper class type and T an abbreviation for type. I will now probably find this explained more succinctly below.

      1. WW, that’s a very creative explanation for 17d, but I think it would only work if “toff” could be used as an adjective to mean “upper class” and neither Chambers nor Collins supports this.

  31. Thanks Jay for a super fun puzzle. 1a & 10a joint COTD. Sadly topical 25d, as others have commented. Thank you to the 2Kiwis for the entertaining hints with free bonus lemurs.

  32. A generally smooth set of clues barring 17d from the Wednesday maestro but surely 26a is just a Mex in the culinary world?!

  33. Nice crossword ***/****. Took me a tad longer to get on the wavelength today, once the checkers were in all went well enough unlike England’s first innings in the third test today.
    11a,15a, 18a , 14d & 16d with 3d getting my vote today.
    Thx to setter and 2K’s

  34. Excellent!
    Needed a couple of sessions to complete but managed without needing 2Ks’ hints. Agree ref 17D with an extra T required….otherwise, thoroughly enjoyed – always a pleasure to solve Jay’s puzzles!
    Thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis – hope the new roof keeps you dry down there.
    Cheers!

  35. Morning all.
    Looks like quite a wide range of opinions on how tricky this one was. Suspect it has a lot to do with how quickly the penny dropped for 1a as this could supply a lot of starting letters. We got lucky and filled that one in without any delay so had a flying start and managed to keep that momentum.
    Cheers.

  36. Great fun. Didn’t get ‘shouldered’ until I read the hints, and wasted some time because I inexplicably put ‘last throw’ in for 14d, making 22a impossible. Penny finally dropped in 3* time. Thanks to Jay and the two Kays.

  37. Following yesterday’s fiasco with the puzzles .I received the following
    Quote

    Dear Subscriber,

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

    Following this feedback we have taken the decision to roll back this update, and puzzles will be reverted to the previous version going forward. Should you wish to do so, you can delete and then re-download Tuesday’s edition to complete the puzzles in their original format.

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

    Should you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to reply to this email so we can help.
    Yours sincerely,

    Amy Hayes
    Customer Engagement
    The Telegraph Subscriptions Team
    End quote
    Seems ok today

  38. A nice Wednesday puzzle from Jay today. 2.5*/**** for me with some nice clues. Favourites today include 10a, 23a, 17d 18d & 25d with winner 17d followed by 10a
    Didn’t recognize the city in 4d so that was the most troublesome.

    Thanks to the 3 birds for the puzzle and hints

      1. Hmmm … and the country as Rhodesia … kind of loses it in the dog of the same name’s alliteration!
        Somehow a “Zimbabwean Ridgeback” just doesn’t make it!

        Ours came from Dilham in Norfolk, (in 1968), and it also became his name.
        Great dog!

  39. I was totally on wavelength here, just as well as I was late starting and I’ve had so many interruptions today, but I’ve finished and read the comments.
    I thought this gem was one of Jay’s most entertaining, but I usually think that anyway! Only 17d gave pause for thought, couldn’t find that extra “t”. Fave? I dunno, maybe 19a, or 22a?
    Thank you Jay, you’re a star, and to the 2Kiwis for the hints and pics.

  40. I’m in the slightly tricky camp today but it looks as if I’m in the minority – as long as I’m not the only one I don’t care!
    I have to admit that I didn’t spot the extra ‘T’ in 17d – it was my last answer but not because of that.
    For far too long my 1a ‘hunch’ was a bit of intuition which really didn’t help at all and it stayed like that for ages. Oh dear!
    The ‘tunnellers’ in 19a are a swear word in our house!
    Anyway, the usual good fun from Jay.
    All good clues today so I’m not going to pick any particular ones.
    Thanks to Jay and the K’s and good luck with the bach roof.

    1. Our resident 19a has gone mad since the cold spell finished. We have found little windmills stuck in the ground can work.
      You are a gardener Kath any other suggestions?

  41. Started at the bottom and worked up, that way it seemed to fall into place. If I hadn’t been fixated on 4d ending in an i, might have finished without needing the hint. Thanks to all. Didn’t spot the superfluous T.

  42. I found this a tad easier than usual for a Jay day, and this was almost able to finish it unaided. Just four clues were hold outs, and when I looked at the hints I couldn’t justify why I needed them. There does appear to be an extra T in 17d but it didn’t stop me filling it in. COTD was definitely 1a for me. Thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis for their help.

  43. Found this tricky and quite a slog – but enjoyed the cleverness. Got it done in the end. I managed to resist the temptation to put “touch base” at 23a and, with 17d shrugged and moved on when I couldn’t see where to lose the extra ‘T’. ****/***. Thanks to Jay and 2Kiwis.

  44. Lovely Wednesday puzzle. 17d was my last one in – I’d like to say that I was thrown by the extra T but I think my brain had just temporarily misfiled the word ‘writ’.
    Am I wrong in thinking the Performers in 6d to be more of a Performance?

  45. Apart from the surprising error at 17d (maybe should have been “Cancel short summons…) I thought this was an excellent and very accessible Jay puzzle. Took me far too long to see why 10a was what it was, but that apart all went in very smoothly.
    I liked 23a plus 18d but runaway winner for me was 14d.
    2/4.5*
    Many thanks to the 3 birds.

  46. Another great crossword from Jay which I thought I was going to find really tricky but managed to finish without help apart from my husband reminding me of the other meaning of hunch. 10a wins my COTD prize. Thanks to all. **/****

  47. My only real problem was trying to spell 26a
    Otherwise no real problems. Enjoyable puzzle all round. Thanks all.

  48. I really don’t see the issue with 17d. The answer jumped right out at me. I was not fazed by the last letter of one word being the first of the next, with the “e” inserted into the second.
    … after all it is a cryptic puzzle … “always expect the unexpected” is my motto

  49. I’m in the “why the extra T” camp this evening. I had to trawl the internet translator for the French “right” in 15a, my foreign language skills equate to zero, but hey ho! I’ve heard of it now but I’m forgetting it as I write. Favourite was 17d, no only joking, it was 9a because it made me laugh. Thanks to Jay and 2 K’s.

  50. Really enjoyable puzzle. I normally start in the evening and have a few left to solve over breakfast but it is all done and dusted tonight. 23a was my favourite. I checked the hints for 17d to understand the missing T and realise no-one has an answer.
    Please can anyone explain what the quickie pun is? I print my crossword from the Telegraph Puzzles site so maybe miss out on this.

    1. If you look at the Telegraph puzzles site, you’ll see there is a Quick crossword. The first two (or sometimes more) solutions are always a pun and we include this at the end of the hints to help people who can’t ‘see’ it

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