DT 29826 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29826 (Hints)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29826 (Hints)

The Saturday Crossword Club (hosted by Gazza)

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Tilsit has sent another cry for help this morning. He’s not at work this time but has gone out and left his completed hints at home on his laptop. It would be interesting to know whether the clues he chose to hint correspond with my selection.

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

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

Some hints follow.

Across Clues

1a Reformed bachelor’s wife or, some say, what life could be (1,4,2,8)
We start with an anagram (reformed) of BACHELOR’S WIFE OR.

11a Haunt Chinese ethnic group with painful disease (7)
Haunt here is a noun, i.e. a frequented place. It’s a charade of an old Chinese dynasty and a disease affecting the feet.

12a Food supplier of three queens? (7)
The first of the three queens is an animal.

15a Jazz fans holding a thorough search for dark passages (9)
An old slang term for jazz fans contains A (from the clue) and a word for a thorough and methodical search.

21a Type of cocktail losing crushed ice in shaky locomotive (7)
This is a subtractive anagram. Remove the letters of ICE from an anagram (shaky) of LOCOMOTIVE. ‘Crushed’ here is indicating that the letters of ice are not in the prescribed order.

27a Making an arrangement, states animosity must change (15)
Another 15-letter anagram (sigh!) – this is an anagram (must change) of STATES ANIMOSITY.

Down Clues

1d Chaotically cash in on arms. Colts given to Normans, say (12)
An anagram (chaotically) of CASH IN ON ARMS.

14d Fruit products — leading items (9)
Stick together a fruit that we tend to see at Christmas and a word for products or brands available for sale. The answer often appear at the top of news items.

18d Nice region I found in such as Mississippi area (7)
Nice is the first word of the clue here to disguise the fact that it has to be capitalised. Insert I in what the Mississippi is an example of and finish with the abbreviation for area.

24d Is rubbish turning up in trunks? (5)
Stitch together IS (from the clue) and a synonym for rubbish! or balderdash! Then reverse it all (turning up in a down clue). The answer is a slightly unusual plural.

The Crossword Club is now open.

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As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out!

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The Quick Crossword pun: KIT + CHIN + ZINC = KITCHEN SINK


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86 comments on “DT 29826 (Hints)

  1. I’ve got 5 bob on this being a Floughie Lady production, plenty of oldies but goodies and recent repeats – **/****.

    Candidates for favourite – 12a, 15a, 21a, and 2d – and the winner is one of the oldies but goodies, 12a.

    Thanks to Chalicea, or the setter if I lose my 5 bob, and to our Super Sub.

  2. I enjoyed this puzzle immensely and finished it without help – hooray!

    Dashing out to Stamford Bridge to watch ‘my’ Chelsea take on Sean ‘Gravel Voice’ Dyche’s Burnley.

    Thanks to the setter and Super Sub Gazza.

  3. I was feeling very grumpy this morning when my newspaper arrived without the Main and Sports sections. Apparently they arrived at the distributor too late to be included in the early morning delivery. The missing bits finally appeared two hours later and thankfully the puzzle didn’t delay me very much so I can get on with my jobs for the day.

    My rating is 1*/3* but, although the answer is obvious, I have to say I don’t understand the definition for 1d.

    Many thanks to the setter and the now regular Saturday stand-in, Gazza.

            1. … IMHO if you think of a Colt as a weapon, the Normans would not have had them, thus the reason for the answer to the clue.

      1. Thanks for this but it is still very tenuous for me. It was not however my last one in. That honour goes to 27a.

  4. I didn’t find this Floughie at all. Quite a struggle for me, but I got there in the end.

    Took me ages to figure out how the wordplay fitted the definition in 1d.

    So, hard but satisfying. Particularly liked 24d .
    Thanks to the setter and to Gazza.

  5. The setter missed an easy pun in 23a by not clueing ‘Mother double-crossing…’ ?
    A nice, easy solve today, with impressively long anagrams, and I say that as one in the remedial class at untangling asssorted letters.

  6. Overall good fun, though I thought a couple of the anagrams were a bit telegraphed.
    I liked 9a&14d but considering I live in the English version my favourite has to be 18d.
    2/3*
    Thanks to setter and the hard working Gazza.

  7. Thought this was going to be a write in but in the event a couple delayed me to a finish in 2.5* time. Like RD I too was a bit bemused by 1d’s definition but think I’ve got it & agree it’s not the best. The anagram at 27a forced me to jot the letters down (sorry Miffs). Unless I’m missing something I also thought mother ought to have been pluralised at 23a. Both 22&24d are words that I can’t say I’ve had occasion to use before. Enjoyed the puzzle. 25a was a neat surface read, the oriental malady at 11a raised a smile & 3d sneaks on to the podium.
    Thanks to the setter & Gazza.

    1. I took the mother in this case to be **** rather than **.

      [Please read the instructions in red]

  8. Fairly standard fare for a Saturday with plenty of long clues to get the grid underway. I think perhaps a better example of a 1d could have been used, but that was my only gripe. 15a was my favourite clue.

    Thanks to Chalicea and Gazza.

  9. Strange mixture of well written elegant clues such as 1a and 21a, a clumsy sounding word such as a and totally incomprehensible such as 1d and 8a.
    I tried putting 1d into Google but even that could not explain the wordplay.
    As always for Saturday very tough. A real Curates Egg for me.
    Thx to all
    *****/***

    1. Brian I could be completely wide of the mark but think it’s that Colts (brand of) weren’t used at Hastings in 1066.

      1. agree … see my response in 3 which is the same essentially as Huntsman’s explanation

  10. Quite a teaser for me today and a few hints were needed to get over the finish line. Having said that it was a most enjoyable tussle with a number of outstanding clues although, like others, I could not understand 1d. I did like 12a and 7d but my COTD is 21a.

    Many thanks to Chalicea for the puzzle and to Gazza for the hints and stepping in.

  11. Loved 2d and 12a.
    Quite straightforward and very enjoyable Chalicea. It must be a wavelength thing. I didn’t get one clue yesterday and had to use all the across hints to get a foothold. Even then had to use a few down hints. I don’t usually have a problem with Zandio but did yesterday. Colts can be guns.
    Thanks to Chalicea and Gazza. No help needed today
    **/****

  12. Last to fall was the dreadfully convoluted word at 27a. Like Huntsman, I had to write out the anagram letters to get that one.
    11a made me laugh and top of the bill went to 17a.

    Thanks to Chalicea and to Gazza for stepping up to the mark yet again.

  13. My paper was very late this morning too, unlike RD I was waiting until 11:40 for ALL of the paper. Seems like a nationwide delay last night I wonder if a big news story broke or were the insulate britain people blockading print works again.
    I started today’s puzzle on the puzzles site though but was held up in the south 22d 24d and the long anagram at 27a were all words I rarely drop into casual conversation, but the clue lead to the answer so all’s fair in love and cruciverbalism.
    I parsed 1d as Huntsman suggests, but I disagree about the pluralisation of mother in 23a If the mother is singular it crosses the middle bit but if plural they surround it.
    Thanks to Chalicea and Gazza the super sub.

    1. I agree. Idiot that I am I only considered the 2 letter term for mother rather than the 4 – too posh for me though I do remember a childhood phase when I annoyed the hell out of my mum by calling her mater.

  14. The DT’s delivery problems didn’t do much for my carbon footprint as I had to go out a second time this morning in order to find a copy of the paper.

    Any chance the criminal acts by clergymen could be given a rest – it’s turning from word of the month to word of the quarter?

    Thanks to Chalicea and Gazza

  15. It must be a trend. I had to phone to find out what had happened to my paper. It finally arrived at 12.30. A fairly straightforward puzzle with some rather odd clues , particularly in the SW (1.5/3.5). It was quite enjoyable.and I liked the long anagram at 27a and 10d. Whilst I coulld see the rationale of 1d, the wording was a bit odd. Thanks to Gazza for stepping into the breach once more and for explaining 14d. I could see the answer but didn’t know what it was. Thanks to the compiler (Chalicea?)

  16. Funny sort of puzzle today. For the first time in ages I finished it so there’s that and a few clues made me smile, a few others I got but a few just didn’t make sense to me even though they fit at least part of the clues. I both liked it and was not so keen overall, if that makes sense.
    After a very long summer, we were still picking tomatoes last weekend, the cold weather has arrived, it was -9C the other night, the cat is so used to going outside now (we put her on a lead, seriously, and she loves it) and now she keeps dragging the harness over, purrs as we put it on her, then when we open the door ……. well if cat looks could kill we would both be in trouble. She seems to think we are doing it deliberately. Meanwhile I was robbed of yet another armful of blood on Wednesday, they want to schedule yet another MRI but I really don’t want to play ‘Let’s pretend I’m a torpedo’ any more.

    Hope everyone is well and not going completely doolally as this lock down/lock up thing continues.

        1. Hi Carolyn iagdhjoMON, it has turned jolly cold here in South Cambridgeshire UK too – and when George says ‘you can’t be cold’ I could hit him! It is just getting dark and I’m going to light the fire and hunker down for the evening, nice and cosy. Nice to hear from you and I envy you having a cat!

          1. Thanks Daisygirl, We swore we would never have another cat after CB died but we got a call about this one, her name is Maggie. The lady owner had died six months earlier and then very suddenly the gentleman died and no one wanted a 7 year old cat. She is quite tiny in spite of her age, very sweet but does not seem to get the scale of things, she goes after BlueJays which are almost as big as her and a few wild turkeys wandered past last week and we think she wanted to treat us to Christmas dinner but even though turkeys are not the brightest of birds even they had the sense to move along swiftly out of her reach and into the surrounding bush.

          2. I sympathize. We’re the opposite here, with Peter telling me “you can’t be hot”…

        1. Because we live on an acre of land that is ours, heavily treed and steep and sounded by many acres. hundreds? more…. of bush (trees, undergrowth, a couple of lakes). If she ran off we would not find here, even human visitors are warned that it is very easy to lose your bearings within about 100 feet or so. There is a road along one part of our property that has become very busy over the years and dead wildlife is a frequent decoration for the want of a better word. Maggie was an apartment cat until she came to us age 7 and so has little fear of the outside world. It’s a long lead but she can’t get out of sight. I couldn’t believe she would take to it but she loves it, brings the harness to ask to be put it on. This is our place.

          1. We also have twice annual visits from these :-)

            1. Well they have been following that route for a lot longer than this house has been standing so it seems fair. They tell me black bears are timid but we don’t put it to the test. Watch from the window but don’t venture outside. :-)
              It is idyllic, I had lived in so many places and countries before we got here but the moment we set foot in this place we knew we were home. Though there are downsides, expensive and slow internet access and I do miss the sea, for years no trash(dustbin) service but we rarely need it even now, but yes, it is lovely. Hearing how much people pay for water and knowing that we don’t pay any water bills is a nice bonus.
              Having the crosswords to do makes it all the more enjoyable, and this community – Thank you Big Dave and everyone else here.

              1. I’ve wondered what your geodesic dome looked like, and now I know. It’s lovely. Thank you.

  17. I thought this was quite a teaser although I liked the anagrams, of which there were several. I had never come across 22d but it had to be and like Jane 27a was my LOI. I assumed that 1d was something crickety or footbally to do with colt players but bunged the answer in recklessly. I shall now take to my couch as I am exhausted having been serving coffee and cakes to the folk attending our Church Bazaar held outside in the freezing churchyard. I was cunning in opting for the kitchen job it was slightly warmer. But now I am exhausted. Where are all the youngsters who should be doing this? Thanks to Gazza and Chalicea for the brain stretching exercise. Have a good weekend.

  18. I had no problem with 1d–Colt 45s would hardly have been used at Hastings; anyway, that was my take on it. Actually, I enjoyed the whole grid, as I always do with today’s setter. Here, in the American South, “****” is probably the most popular tern of endearment for one’s mother, as certainly was the case for my sainted **** (accent on the first syllable, sometimes spelled ‘*****’). Top three today: 1d, 17a, & 23a. Thanks to Gazza once again for stepping in for our dear truant, and many thanks to Chalicea for the usual excellence and pleasure. ** / ****

    1. Oops. So sorry. Forgot it was Saturday! While I am here with my tail between my legs, let me ask if anyone else remembers the American songstress Jaye P Morgan’s recording of 1a? It’s been my earworm since I finished the puzzle last night. She was my great love as a teenager.

      1. I did have to bite my tongue a bit when I was tempted to refer to my maternal parent as I normally do.
        Haven’t heard of Jaye P Morgan before but I have found a youtube of it and it is definitely very earwormy.

        1. Thanks, John. Takes me back almost 70 years. I learned to play all of her big hits (most famously, “A Little Love That Slowly Grows and Grows”) on my old upright piano and bought all of her 45s. She’s still with us, too; she’ll be 90 in a few weeks.

  19. Felt it dragged on a bit but to my surprise was a fairly swift solve. I finished unaided with, unsurprisingly, 27a bring the last in. 1d was not far ahead. I did not understand the parsing until some of our contributors explained. Favourites 1a and 2 7 and 14d. Thanks Chalicea and Gazza

  20. All fairly straightforward despite 27a being a new word for me but it was an anagram so with all the checkers in place I played around with the letters until I came up with something that looked like it could be a word. Favourite was 15a. Thanks to Chalicea and Gazza.

  21. Found this tough to get through today but I have trouble with Chalicea’s wavelength, but in the end I made it.
    SW last area completed. ***/****
    Favourites include 1a, 12a, 21a, 26a & 2d with winner tied with 1d & 2d

    Thanks to Chalicea and Gazza

  22. 3/3. A steady plod but some enjoyable fare. My favourite was 12a even though I suspect it’s made a few appearances. Thanks to the setter and our super sub Gazza.

  23. Hello to all. I am enjoying the comments, especially all those on 1d. I suppose I could have clued it differently but did feel that an example of the things defined had to be used and the ‘colts’ were suitably ambiguous (young horses or 45s) to give a valid clue. Many thanks to Gazza for stepping in.

    1. I liked 1d. As I said above, it took me ages to figure it out, but I thought it was very clever.

  24. I don’t understand all the puzzlement over 1d. Chaotically signalled an anagram and it was obvious that ‘guns’ or ‘horses’ wouldn’t parse, so the reference to Colts (capitalised) and Normans showed the temporal abberation. I thought it was an inspired clue.

  25. As a huge Chalicea fan, today I was in hog heaven. My only ugh was 27a, I needed e-help to get that, the only one I needed help for. As I read through the clues, 1a went on immediately, I always like when that happens, a good omen. Lots to like here, but 15a takes top spot, I was amused!
    Thanks Chalicea for all that fun in a week that has been trying, and to Gazza for subbing again, you’re almost a Saturday regular!

    1. We have a cold spell galloping down the peninsular towards us and I’m dreading it. Sadie and I might just immigrate to Manaus for the duration.

  26. A Chalicea puzzle, always a treat. I had to think deep in a few places, but my only real holdups were 13a and 17a, because I had the wrong fruit in 14d. And the 27a long word, as I have only seem it without the “at” in the middle. No problems with 1d, except making sure I spelt it correctly. Nonetheless, a real pleasure to solve on this cool Saturday in the sun tropics. But lovely and sunny after Friday’s deluge, much to the delight of all the roofing repair companies. Thanks to Chalicea, and to Gazza for stepping in once again.

  27. Afraid I didn’t enjoy this at all (too clever by half) and I found several clues unnecessarily obtuse e.g. 1d, 14d and 27a. Thank you Chalicea (I will continue to seek out your wavelength) and Gazza.

  28. Cracking start then faltered with 7 to go.
    Like pulling teeth but got there eventually.
    Last in 1d which, of course, it could only be with its checking letters.
    Nice mental workout.
    Many thanks Chalicea and Gazza.
    PS
    Mindful of the Rules regarding Prize crosswords.

  29. Enjoyed this and finished without help apart from checking 24d was actually a legitimate answer! Last in 27a but only because there were so many letters. Good fun, thank you.

  30. Oh the irony. 1 down and using a digital platform to complain about late delivery of a hard copy newspaper that is available online. Great puzzle Chalicea. Thank you. Thank you Gazza for the review

  31. A very late start for me yesterday. I subscribe to the DT online , minus puzzles, and usually sneak out when my neighbour’s DT arrives and take a pic of the Crossword, but he is away in the Lake District so I had to walk to the shop and spend £3 on a hard copy . I think this extravagance must have been playing on my mind as I struggled to complete it . The NE corner and most of the NW were done in minutes and then I didn’t use my pen for nearly half an hour . Very enjoyable though . 12 and 23 were my Cs OFTD .
    Thanks to the setter .

  32. Hi all, I have been lurking here for the last couple of years and over that time you have taught me how to do cryptic crosswords! Thank you all so much. Obviously one should do these crosswords without any help, but everyone talks about the Chambers Dictionary. Do people tend to use that or others for synonyms to help or do all you experts just do it without? I tend to have to use some sort of thesaurus for about a quarter of the clues at the moment. Also how on earth do you know who is the setter and how does that help? Thanks to setters and bloggers alike.

    1. Welcome to the blog, Marshwiggle. Now that you’ve de-lurked I hope that we’ll get regular comments from you.
      I use two ‘synonym’ books:
      a) The Chambers Crossword Dictionary – the synonyms here are listed by word-length which is very useful
      b) Bradford’s Crossword Solvers’s Dictionary – contains more obscure words than the Chambers but synonyms usually in alphabetical order, not by length.

      For information on setters see FAQ 28.

    2. Welcome from me too. I solve on an iPad which has every extraneous device to hand although I try to solve without help. The setters are explained somewhere in the FAQ tag above. As to how it helps? Well. Somebody else can explain that. Thanks for the thanks and keep on keeping on.

  33. Still catching up after a few weeks away. Slow but sure. Anagrams were a bit long for my aging brain. Missed a couple of lurkers till the end. Many thanks

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