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DT29829

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29829

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

BD Rating – Difficulty *** Enjoyment ****

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

We’re almost prepared to believe that our summer is not far away now. We are having a great spell of fine, warm weather with clear, blue skies and gentle sea breezes. Everything is bursting with life. We saw so many duckling families on our walk this morning that we stopped counting them.

We note that today’s Toughie setter is Logman (aka Jay) so we can be pretty sure that this one is by someone else. Guess away. We’ll save our guess until our early morning comment tomorrow.

Thoroughly enjoyed solving it.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Help as Brie deteriorates — being this? (10)
PERISHABLE : An all-in-one clue with the wordplay being an anagram (deteriorates) of HELP AS BRIE.

6a     Owed pound in honourable affair (4)
DUEL : Owed or needing to be paid, then the abbreviation for pound as money.

10a     Pork pie and case of Grenache for lord (5)
LIEGE : An untruth (pork pie) and the first and last letters of Grenache.

11a     Start to read publication that includes new version (9)
RENDITION : The first letter of read, then a publication or issue includes N(ew).

12a     Savoury cake politician dipped in salt pot (7)
CRUMPET : A fancy name for a table salt container surrounds a Member of Parliament.

13a     Deathless seabird observed in wild lea (7)
ETERNAL : A type of seabird is enclosed by an anagram (wild) of LEA.

14a     Chair covering — not for mum? — Charlie carried in vehicle (12)
ANTIMACASSAR : A four letter prefix meaning ‘against’ (not for), then an alternative shorter version of mum, next a charlie or nincompoop is surrounded by an automobile.

18a     For example Pancake Day hamper? (7,5)
MOVABLE FEAST : The answer can either describe Pancake Day as part of a religious festival, or a Pancake Day hamper. (A clever clue which we found tricky to hint.)

21a     Beaming princess almost taken in by traitor (7)
RADIANT : The name of crosswordland’s favourite princess without the last letter, is enclosed by the animal used as a metaphor for a traitor.

23a     Fuss about vocab omitting British fruit (7)
AVOCADO : A three letter fuss surrounds the word vocab once B(ritish) has been removed.

24a     Ground is stained, so decontaminated (9)
SANITISED : An anagram (ground) of IS STAINED.

25a     500 on steamship wear formal clothes (5)
DRESS : The Roman numeral 500, then the two letter ‘on’ or regarding, and the abbreviation for steamship.

26a     Swear as dance party beginning to end? (4)
AVER : A wild party that might include dancing has its first letter moved to the end.

27a     Entertainment centre just by stadium (10)
FAIRGROUND : Just or equitable, then stadium or sportsfield.

Down

1d     Area within location for splendid residence (6)
PALACE : Location or site contains A(rea).

2d     Macaque needs bringing back to life outside hospital (6)
RHESUS : A short form of a word meaning bringing back to life contains H(ospital). (We couldn’t find this short form in our BRB.)

3d     Miss out on prince’s appearance? (8,6)
SLEEPING BEAUTY : A fairytale character who is ‘out’ when the prince appears.

4d     Three-wheeler following parades hit from above (3,6)
AIR STRIKE : Parades or publicizes and then a three-wheeler often used by a young child.

5d     Spear in butcher’s no good (5)
LANCE : A cursory observation (butcher’s) in cockney rhyming slang loses its G(ood).

7d     Marriage is with Democrat in the end, not Republican (8)
UNIONIST : Marriage or coming together, then ‘IS’ from the clue and the final letter of Democrat.

8d     Letter also featured in amusing write-up? (8)
LANDLORD : Another word for also or plus is inside the reversal (write-up) of amusing or whimsical.

9d     Somewhat limited success as year in Down ends badly (4,4,6)
NINE DAYS WONDER : An anagram (badly) of YEAR IN DOWN ENDS.

15d     Great soldier brings cross into a famous rowing club (9)
ALEXANDER : The letter that looks like a cross is surrounded by ‘A’ from the clue and a famous rowing club on the Thames.

16d     Heavenly grub in bar: I am so excited! (8)
AMBROSIA : An anagram (excited) of BAR I AM SO.

17d     Support ecstasy habit, immoral, keeping place for it? (8)
EVIDENCE : The letter used to represent the drug ecstasy, then an immoral habit surrounds a place where it is reputed to be practised.

19d     Cake and a drink in heart of Burgundy (6)
GATEAU : The two letters at the ‘heart’ of Burgundy surround ‘A’ from the clue and Britain’s national drink.

20d     Euros revolutionary: regard finally shown for ‘woke‘ (6)
ROUSED : An anagram (revolutionary) of EUROS and then the last letter of regard.

22d     Inventor renovates large houses (5)
TESLA : A lurker, hiding in the clue.

Lots of ticks on our page today but we’ll go with 8d as favourite.

Quickie pun    feeler    +    frayed    =    feel afraid

96 comments on “DT29829

  1. 4*/2*. I couldn’t get onto this setter’s wavelength at all today, and the NE corner held out the longest. 17d seemed rather strange, and, although most of the surfaces were fine, the reading of 14a made little sense to me.

    Thanks to whoever set this – I have no idea who it was but definitely not Jay, and thanks too to the 2Ks.

    P.S. Jay has set today’s Toughie under his pseudonym of Logman, and very good it is too.

    1. 14a was my last one in. I took it to be antima ( not for mum) ass for Charlie and car for vehicle but I may be quite wrong.

        1. One occasion where the punctuation, if hyphens are punctuation, should be ‘acknowledged’ breaking the clue up into three segments?

      1. That was my take on it too Greta. Strangely It came to straight away. Possibly because my great aunt always used the term and I thought it funny as a teenager.

      2. The ‘not for mum’ made me smile as it was only the chairs sat on by male members of the family that would need protecting from the hair oil

  2. Whoever set this, it was great fun and had some memorable clues (2*/5*). Who could forget 14a and 3d, my joint cluescof the day. 1a was pretty good as an all in one clue and 9d deserves a mention too, a phrase I’d almost forgotten. Many thanks to the summery Kiwis for the hints and to the cimpiler

  3. I thought this was first class, nicely challenging (but not as challenging as trying to get through to TalkTalk) with some crafty misdirection. Had a slightly unfamiliar feel so pretty sure it wasn’t a Jay production.
    I particularly liked the contemporary references (more of these please) at 20&22d along with 18a plus 7&8d but top spot has to go to 3d.
    Great stuff.
    Many thanks to the setter and the 2Ks for a top puzzle and review.

  4. I have an idea who set this nicely pitched for a Wednesday crossword with lots to enjoy throughout – I’ll select 14a/18a/3d for particular favouritism,

    Thanks to our setter and to the 2Ks.

    I

  5. There are some excellent clues here – thanks to the setter and 2Ks.
    Best of the lot for me were 18a, 3d and 8d.

  6. Despite a couple of very strange surface reads (14a, 17d) and disagreeing almost entirely with the assertion that 12a is either savoury or a cake (whatever the BRB might say!), I thought this a tremendous puzzle while it lasted. LOI was 26a – I had two possible answers and needed 17a, my POI, which delayed me almost into 2* time. Even then could not parse it until reading the 2Ks review, for which my thanks.

    Ticks aplenty – Hon Mentions to 14a (notwithstanding the surface read), 18a (chuckled), and 5d (groaned). COTD to the wonderful and most amusing 3d.

    1.5* / 3.5*

    Many thanks indeed to the Setter and to the 2Ks.

  7. Terrific crossword – so many clever and amusing clues. 12a isn’t savoury when I spread strawberry jam all over it…

    Strange thing – last week there was a bit of chat here about boilers breaking down. That very day our boiler failed again, despite being relatively new and being repaired in the summer following a previous failure. So for nearly a week we have been living in one room with electric heaters on the go. It is only when one loses heat and hot water the necessity of having them becomes so clear. It is incredible to think that only a generation or so back, central heating didn’t exist. I can recall scraping ice from the inside of windows on cold mornings. It was awful! Thank goodness it was fixed this morning – the bloke came yesterday and despite me telling British Gas that it was the fan that failed and the exact model number, the chap brought the wrong fan. He brought the right one today.

    Today’s crossword soundtrack: Van Morrison – Astral Weeks

    Thanks to the setter and the excellent 2Ks

    1. My favourite album, Terence. However, as MP will tell you, there’s an even better live performance by the rude man “ live at the Hollywood Bowl” circa nineteencanteen. It’s on you tube which you can cast to your tv and watch on the big screen.

      1. Hi Greta – The Miff pointed me to that live performance and I have it saved in my favourites on YouTube!

    2. I remember during the war (WWII) being fascinated by a bottle of Silvikrin shampoo frozen into fabulous green crystals on the bathroom windowsill.

    3. Glad the boiler is fixed. Re living without central heating, I remember waking up to my bedroom curtains being frozen stiff for about a foot up, thanks to the Crittal windows. And we all got dressed or undressed in front of the fire, before we leapt into our beds clutching hot water bottles. We finally discovered the delights of central heating in our second house in 1967.

      1. My bedroom in London, Buckingham Street, had been painted over when it was slightly open and we couldn’t shut it. There were heavy curtains and when it rained/snowed they would get wet at the bottom, a form of air conditioning. I was never so glad that my parents set sail for Jamaica before I was born, I set sail again soon after to return.

    4. I feel your pain, re British Gas , Terence.
      We did not renew our service agreement with them but have switched to a local plumber who charges much less. Thankfully we have not had to call on his services yet.

      The turning up with the wrong part surprises me not a bit.

  8. Quite thought provoking in parts. ***/**** No idea about the setter but I know it isn’t Jay. The toughie was actually slightly easier for me and definitely a Jay production. That said, I’ll have to wait for the explanation of 5a. I can’t fathom it at all. My mum used to have 14a in the plural on the chair backs. Haven’t seen them used for years. Runaway favourite 3d. Thanks to all.

      1. No, as a South Londoner by origin I know what a butcher’s hook is! I meant 5a in the toughie today. Sorry shouldn’t really comment on that here.

        1. The first letter of your answer together with your last three letters make the private eye Greta. You can work out the rest for yourself

    1. I only know 14a from trains, where (at least until recently) some operators were putting them over headrests. Partly, I suspect, as a relatively cheap way of getting their branding all over the carriage, given how often the operator or logo changes …

      1. When I was a child most of our older relatives always had them on their chairs and “settees”.

  9. Fantastic puzzle that had me pondering many possibilities before the right ones came along. I did have a couple of bung-ins such as 17d but there were a fair few ticks by clues by the time I finished. I remember 14a from my childhood because we had them on the three piece suite in the “front room”, which was reserved for special occasions. My favourites were 1a and 8d with my COTD being 12a.

    Many thanks to the setter for the fun – is it Jay?. Also many thanks to the 2Kiwis for the hints, which I will now read.

    Dull and dreary in the Welsh Marches today but not too cold so ideal for a bit of gentle rose pruning.

  10. Like RD, I struggled to get onto the setter’s wavelength and there were a few surface reads that resulted in raised eyebrows. Having said that, there were some goodies to be found and I chose 18a plus 3&8d to sit atop the podium.

    Thanks to whoever set this one and to our 2Ks as they enjoy the sunshine.

    1. Exactly the same podium for me, Jane, with 3d taking gold just ahead of 8d and 18a.
      Slightly more challenging than yesterday, but a very enjoyable solve.

  11. A tricky puzzle today from our unknown setter, concur with 2K’s ***/**** ,
    Two favourites 18a and last in 3d, liked 15d.
    remembered 14a but not the spelling!
    Took ages to work out the anagram in 9d.
    Certainly a different ;]’feel’ today, interested to see who the setter is.

  12. I really enjoyed this — thank you to the setter. (I think Donnybrook has filled in on some non-Jay Wednesdays before, but I’m not good enough at style-spotting to identify a setter from the clues.) It was perfectly pitched for me: not too easy, but I got there in the end, with everything parsed.

    I liked all the food clues, and thought 18a was going to be my favourite, but that was later usurped by the marvellous 8d.

    2Kiwis, isn’t 18a ‘just’ a double definition — “For example Pancake Day” and “hamper?” each separately defining the answer, in their own ways. I don’t know what kind of weather you typically have on Shrove Tuesday, but round here a hamper would not be involved in marking the day!

    For anybody who likes cryptic definitions, with a smattering of general knowledge, I can recommend the The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus puzzle from last night’s Puzzled Pint.

  13. Both this back pager and today’s easy on the solver Toughie brought a smile to my face. Only the spelling of certain words gave me any trouble which was soon sorted. Plenty of food in both puzzles too which also goes down well. I struggled to find a beer to wash it down with but found some at the start of 15 down. Thanks to the setter. The smart money is on Donnybrook but don’t discount our editor. Thanks to the 2Ks as well

  14. A bit of a wrong envelope day for me as this took quite a while longer than Logman’s Toughie. Enjoyably completed at a steady pace – ***/****.

    Candidates for favourite – 11a, 14a, 15d – and the winner is 15d.

    Thanks to the setter, I would go along with StephenL’s suggestion of Mr Ed, and to the 2 Kiwis.

  15. Good puzzle.
    Beaten by 14a ( which will go down as vocabulary learning for future reference) and 18a ( I just wasn’t on the right wavelength)
    Also not seen 9d with an ‘s’ in the second word before – but it made for a good anagram.

  16. Well, I did happily finish a Jay puzzle today–the Toughie by Logman, that is–but found myself stuck in Terra Incognita with 18a (the only 18a I know is by Hemingway!) and had to have a wee bit of e-help to finish. (Pancake Day?! Shucks, I should have got that.) But there is much to praise elsewhere here: 14a, 8d, & 3d most notably. Is this a setter we’ve seen before? Certainly seems newly minted to me. Thanks to the Kiwis and to today’s compiler. **** / ****

  17. Very reasonably clued puzzle. Just one moment of having to use IT, the real irritation coming from, “Have you ever heard of a [14a]?” Wife: “Of course; everyone knows that.” Well, they do now, I guess… 🤷🏻‍♂️

    1. I wonder if anybody has ever used one to remove eye makeup? Then it’d be an antimascara antimacassar …

      1. Two anti’s – would that mean an antimascaraantimacassar would be used for putting mascara on?

  18. Not the easiest puzzle but for me one of the cleverest and most elegant for quite a while.
    My favs were 3d, 18a and best of all 9d. No religion for me or cricket for Kath (how is she, do we know?). I miss her comments.
    Thx to all
    ***/*****

  19. Fairly rattled through this and no real holdups. the pesky 4 letter clue at 26a being the only real delay.
    My vote is for Mr Ed rather than Donnybrook but either way thanks for a Weds Workout.
    Thanks to 2k’s for the hints too. I am away to tackle the toughie and in honour of 1a today I shall mostlybe eating Pork Pie with Grenache and listening to ; Liege and Lief

  20. Another terrific puzzle today. Had to wait for all the checkers to spell 14a – it was **/**** for me. No particular favourite. Great article by Alison Pearson, how many decent people have had their lives turned upside down on the unproven evidence of a single person. Happened to me at school when I was about ten and I have never forgotten it or the delight of my accuser who ‘so enjoyed making things up to hurt people’. Thanks to the mysterious setter and 2 Kiwis.

    1. I had that experience at school too. A child in another class accused me of stealing her sweets and my class teacher immediarely called me a thief. Luckily for me the accuser’s teacher took her outside to search the playground and found the sweets but have never forgotten being falsely accused and not being believed.

  21. Beaten by 18a, had the second word but not the first, and 17d. The rest I managed to untangle eventually. 14a sprang to mind as soon as I read the clue but had to check on the spelling. No particular favourite, they were all pretty good. Thanks to all.

  22. Hello. Your compiler here.

    I am currently enjoying the fallout from jab 3, but I’m even more knocked out by the comment at 18. I’m chuffed as a train!

    Thanks 2K and all who commented. Flattered to be compared to Jay as always, and to Mr Ed, another very fine compiler.

    Cheers
    Donnie

        1. Nice puzzle DKNY which is what your pseudonym always says to me. Some cracking clues here, Daisy stars by 10a, 5,8 and 9d – but they were all good. I don’t think of 12 a as a cake though!

    1. Thank you. Can I take back what I said above about not being good enough at recognizing compilers and pretend I knew it was you all along?

      Best wishes for the jab recovery.

    2. Many thanks NYDK for an excellent puzzle even though you caught me out with the Pancake Day, for which I’m still smarting. We don’t have such outings here in the American South, alas.

  23. Unlike most people here I don’t get on well with Jay puzzles so I was quite happy to have this very enjoyable one.

    I always get the s and c mixed up in the furniture covers which I had to sort out.
    Thanks to the setter and the 2 Ks
    **/***

    1. I enjoyed the puzzle very much, thank you for the 14a, which brought back memories of elderly relatives and their front parlours. A stiff Brandy or Scotch might help with the booster side effects, at any rate you’ll feel better about feeling groggy.

  24. Rather slow today as we had a Bug Evening Out last night at Queens. I think it is my favourite college, so very beautiful. Entering via the Mathematical Bridge and walking through the cloister to the magnificently over decorated dining hall, all that history speaking to me. Nice to get back to crossword land though and many thanks to Setter and Hinter Ltd.

    1. My favourite college too, probably because Aged P went there. When I first moved to Cambridge in 1977 I worked for John Bradfield who was the Senior Bursar at Trinity College (founder of the Science Park etc). A fantastic and kind gentleman who insisted I use the College surveyors/lawyers etc when buying my first little house – saved me a fortune as I paid College rates. Bless him.

  25. I see the setter has outed himself just as I was about to comment on his puzzle. Thanks, NYD, for a very entertaining puzzle. 3d was my absolute favourite of several fine clues, and 6a was my final entry. Great fun.

    My thanks to, to the 2Ks.

  26. Did not feel like a Jay to me and I see in the comments it wasn’t
    Tough to get going, then went ok until the final area in the NE that needed hints.
    14a and 26a new words for me. Favourites 6a, 10a, 12a, 3d & 9d with no outstanding winner.

    Thanks to NYD and the 2K’s

  27. Have to agree with Brian today 😳 a very nice solvable crossword ***/**** 😃 Favourites 18 & 27a and 8d. Thanks to the 2x Ks and to Donnybrook 👍

  28. You did us proud today NYD with a great combination of food for thought and fun. NE corner hung fire longest. 17d a bit clunky. 8d letter gets me every time. 14a definitely Fav with 7d running up. Thank you NYD and 2Kiwis.

  29. 3/4. Good fun with the odd tricky element. Favourites were 14a&4d. Thanks to the setter and the 2Ks.

  30. Morning all.
    Good to see that we do not need to make a setter guess after all. Just confirm that we had got it right.
    Thanks for the fun NY Doorknob, much appreciated.
    If anyone is wondering what the pink hippo is doing in the hint for 15d, we learnt that it is the mascot of the famous rowing club and it appealed to our sense of humour.
    Cheers.

    1. Hi Kiwis, I made a guess about the hippo and then looked him up through Mr Google. ‘king of the river’ seems very apt but nobody seems to quite know how he became pink rather than the more sedate shade of cerise that previously adorned the club’s outfits.

  31. A nicely challenging puzzle today with lots of fun clues. 14a reminded me of my dear old mum – who always had such chair coverings. Favourite clues for me were 18a and 3d – both very clever! Many thanks to NY Doorknob and to the 2Kiwis.

  32. Very much enjoyed this one, and it didn’t even put my blood pressure up 😊. 1a and 1d got me off to a good start, followed by 14a, although 9d took me a while for some strange reason. Last in was 17d, just because I was intent on including sin in the answer. 23a didn’t spring to mind at first, probably because it is one of the few fruits I don’t like. Thanks to NY Doorknob and 2Kiwis. Off to have a stab at the Toughie as yesterday’s was so much fun.

  33. Really enjoyed this one, 8d and 17d were bung ins at first but then the penny dropped!
    Thank you to Doorknob,a new name for me.
    Favourite has to be 14a as it brought back many memories.

  34. That was a corker, you’re a star NYDoorknob. It’s been busy here this morning so it took a bit longer than it should have, but what a load of fun. Both 12a and 17d were bungins, and 26a nearly caused a DNF, but the light went on just in time. There are so many choices to pick a fave from, I think 8d gets the gold star and 15d the silver.
    Thank you NYDoorknob, pplease come back more often, and thanks 2Kiwis for your hints and tips. Always love your running commentary about your corner of Enzed.

  35. 9d had me completely stumped. Had to check the hints to satisfy myself it was an anagram & only then got the answer Never heard of the term. Found the puzzle very challenging but hugely enjoyable.
    Thanks Donny & 2Ks.

  36. An interesting puzzle, unusually i got the trickier ones and struggled otherwise. 8d was the exception, my mind was blank.

  37. This was a crossword where I had three quarters of the clues solved but still only had the checkers written down.

    14a is one of those words you only hear once in a lifetime so I shall make no effort to memorise. Not surprisingly a dnf because of this clue.

    Otherwise a satisfying solve.

    Thanks to all.

  38. A difficult puzzle for me today, but very satisfying to complete it.
    I’m afraid I have to say that in my neck of the woods, a crumpet is never savoury, but a thin sweet pancake sometimes with sultanas in or even chocolate chips. So, the savoury cake took me a while to figure out.
    Loved seeing antimacassar …haven’t thought of that word for years…but auntie always had them on her chairs and settee.

    Last one in was 8d which I thought was great after I got it.

    Thanks to the setter and the 2Kiwis.

  39. I’m in Brian’s camp too. Thought this was challenging but almost every clue got a big tick as it went in.
    8d and 17d last in and the most rewarding to solve.
    Thank you DNY and Kiwis for the illustrations!

  40. Had to use a crossword solver to get 14a as I’d never heard of the word and never realised such a thing existed, even if I’d read the hint first I still don’t think I’d have got it. Apart from that no real problems but definitely harder than the toughie. Favourite was 18a just shading 8d. Thanks to Donnybrook and 2K’s.

  41. This was a great puzzle. Hard in places. SE corner last in for me. 3d excellent penny drop moment. Thanks to setter & all analysis. Phil

  42. 3*/4*….
    liked 16D “Heavenly grub in bar: I am so excited! (8)” amongst others….
    thought the quickie was quite good too.

  43. Great to hear of 2 kiwis reviewing our favourite pastime!

    We’re in Rangiora and looking at setting up a weekly cryptic circle, if you’re anywhere near us or passing through and we’ve got it going we’ll convene to meet you.

    We’ll be following you know on here.

    Sam

    1. Welcome from us too Sam.
      As you might have gathered we are in Foxton Beach so not really within ‘dropping in’ distance sadly.
      It’s nice to know that there are other solvers from our part of the world out there. Keep commenting.

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