DT 29882 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29882

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29882

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

BD Rating – Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****

Kia ora from Aotearoa.

We had a day trip to Wellington yesterday. We went down to see an exhibition of works by the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint “The Secret Paintings”. We appreciated and enjoyed it.

Our good spell of summer weather is continuing with just a few suggestions of rain on the way.

Another fine midweek puzzle too.

Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

Across

1a     Puzzled, needing source of inspiration in the sack (7)
BEMUSED :  The furniture item sometimes called ‘the sack’ contains a source of inspiration from Greek mythology.

5a     Run from vehicles on the road (7)
TRAFFIC : A double definition. Run as in deal with drugs perhaps.

9a     Article found in mostly peaceful stretch of water (5)
CANAL : Remove the last letter from a synonym for peaceful or placid and into this put the two letter indefinite article.

10a     A good example of register incorporating European fashion (4,5)
ROLE MODEL : A register or list of those attending contains E(uropean) and fashion or style.

11a     Viewer offering very little opportunity? (10)
MICROSCOPE : A prefix meaning very little and then opportunity or range.

12a     Head started to lose heart (4)
BEAN : Start with a synonym for started or initiated and remove the central letter.

14a     All the same shelters, even in a storm (12)
NEVERTHELESS : An anagram (in a storm) of SHELTERS EVEN.

18a     Rice, if gently cooked, will be astounding (12)
ELECTRIFYING : An anagram (cooked) of RICE IF GENTLY.

21a     Assign a value to degree (4)
RATE : A double definition.

22a     Make no progress, in the main (5,5)
TREAD WATER : A cryptic definition, the main here is the sea.

25a     Planned study assignment and read regularly (9)
PROJECTED : A study assignment that a school pupil might be working on is followed by the second and fourth letters of read.

26a     Regret keeping vacant place for Indian bread (5)
RUPEE : The first and last letters (vacant) of place are inside another word for regret.

27a     Informed about old English hotel getting a grip (7)
TOEHOLD : The abbreviations for old, English and hotel are inside a synonym for informed.

28a     Pressure now on board finding areas of activity (7)
SPHERES : P(ressure ) and a word meaning at this time and place are inside the abbreviation for steamship.

Down

1d     Change into suit (6)
BECOME : A double definition. Suit or be appropriate.

2d     Threat from expert supporting workers (6)
MENACE : Male workers, and then an expert or adept.

3d     Outline design of hotel suite (10)
SILHOUETTE : An anagram (design of) of HOTEL SUITE.

4d     Style of building seen in Finland (or Iceland) (5)
DORIC : A lurker, hiding in the clue.

5d     Thinking of making contact? (9)
TELEPATHY : A cryptic definition for ESP.

6d     A million visiting church for summit (4)
ACME : ‘A’ from the clue, then M(illion) is inside the Anglican Church.

7d     Acted nervously seeing unusually gifted newspaper leader (8)
FIDGETED : An anagram (unusually) of GIFTED is followed by the abbreviation for a newspaper boss.

8d     Settler working one’s time under officer (8)
COLONIST : In the order they appear in the answer, a senior army officer, then the two letter ‘working’ and ‘one’s’ written as the Roman numeral with ‘S’, and T(ime).

13d     Unsolicited opinion from writer thrown out across yard (10)
PENNYWORTH : A writing implement, then an anagram (out) of THROWN contains Y(ard).

15d     European jet fighter valued for what 8 did (9)
EMIGRATED : E(uropean), then a Russian jet fighter and a word meaning valued or assessed.

16d     Old and battered car oddly dumped in river — mine (8)
DECREPIT : The first and third letters of car are inside the ubiquitous alphabetical river, and then a mine from which minerals are extracted.

17d     Measure, including most of additional sugar (8)
DEXTROSE : Remove the last letter from a word meaning additional and place this inside a measure, probably of medicine.

19d     Pressure in heavy defeats lifted daze (6)
STUPOR : The reversal (lifted) of a word for heavy defeats contains P(ressure).

20d     Smell found in empty canals and small streams (6)
CREEKS : The first and last letters of canals surround a smell or stench.

23d     Range limited by African desert (5)
ANDES : A lurker, hiding in the clue.

24d     Check on oxygen embargo (4)
VETO : A check or examination and then the chemical symbol for oxygen.

We nominate 13d as our favourite today.

Quickie pun    bell    +    heap    +    hawk    =    belly pork (or more likely) Belle Epoque

88 comments on “DT 29882

  1. 1.5*/5*. This was a light and extremely enjoyable mid-week puzzle. I thought I was going to finish in 1* time but a few clues in the SW held me up slightly.

    1a, which provided a brilliant start, was my favourite, with 13d running it very close.

    Many thanks to the three birds.

  2. Definitely a ‘start with the Downs’ day today in a perfect mid-week crossword

    Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks

  3. I thought this was excellent, the double and cryptic definitions in particular being outstanding examples of those of forms of clueing.
    As Robert has nicked a couple of my sayings I’ll use one of his…not a dud in the grid.
    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  4. Like RD, I whizzed through the grid, only to be held up by a few head scratchers in the SW. A fine set of clues and a very wnjoyable puzzle (2*/4*). Iiked the cryptic definitions at 11a and 22a and the ‘lego’ type clue at 8d but COTD was 16d, once the penny dropped. Many thanks to the compiler and to the Kiwis for the hints. Its amazung how much fun it can be to visit an wxhibition if paintings by an artist you love. My last one was an Andy Warhol event at the Ashmolean in Oxford (pre Covid). I particularly enjoyed some short films he had made, which I had previously known nothing about.

  5. About as good as it gets for me. Surely this is our customary Wednesday master plying his trade as only he can, with 13d, 16d, & 19d slightly eclipsing a whole host of other winners, but 12a is my COTD, the winner of today’s Clarkie, and my last one in. Loved it. Thanks to the Kiwis (just looked at some fascinating Googled ‘images’ of Hilma af Klint) and to (I presume) Jay. ** / ****

    Emulating, SL–didn’t mean to nick–but I’ll yield them back to you, all in good sport.

  6. Jay on absolutely top form this morning, with some masterful clueing including the fabulous 1a and the equally brilliant 13d. A real midweek delight.

    My thanks to both avian species for the puzzle and the review.

  7. Very enjoyable – like others, a bit held up in the SW. Favourites amongst many candidates, 18a and 1d. (Extreme pedantry: I wasn’t too keen on seeing “canals” in 20d.) Many thanks to Jay and Kiwis

    1. Can you explain please? I can’t see what is wrong with canals. Surely any word beginning with c and ending with s would do.

  8. Can only add to the chorus of praise expressed thus far. Excellent puzzle. The north flew in but the south extended the solve to 1.5* time. You could stick a pin in the grid with confidence that you’d select a worthy candidate for podium consideration. A nice Hudson Toughie too, which is a good deal easier than yesterday’s supposed stroll in the park.
    Thanks to Jay & the 2Ks
    Ps lovely sunny day here in Harpenden so a good walk over the golf course beckons once I’ve seen how Boris bluffs & blusters his way through PMQs assuming he doesn’t pull a sickie…

  9. Very enjoyable if somewhat enigmatic for me. I got 9a but I parsed it afterwards, which is not the way to do it. That took me ages because I just could not get the right word for “peaceful”. Putting “atlas” in 23d held me up and that was a stupid mistake simply because I missed the lurker. My favourite and COTD is 22a because I could never do it!

    Many thanks to Jay for the challenge and to the 2 Kiwis for the hints, a couple of which were needed.

    The sun is finally shining after a frosty night here in the Marches.

  10. A mildish Wed puzzle with excellent, mostly concise, clues providing an enjoyable solve. Virtually any clue could be a favourite in this one. 2*, 4*.

    *At this time of year, some people suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), often without realising it. So, if you’re down in the dumps and need cheering up a bit, take a look at this YT video – a baby elephant playing with its keeper. Absolutely joyful!

    1. Delightful! I remember going to an elephant orphanage in Thailand and the babies were adorable. Someone asked if I would like an elephant massage and I stepped forward. As I was lying there and this huge creature approached me and lifted his foot I thought this might be the biggest mistake of my life! But it was so gentle and moved its foot around over my back. Most memorable.

  11. I agree with everyone else and with the 2Kiwis rating. It may be an old favourite I haven’t seen before but I did like 5d which gets my COTD. Thanks to Jay if it is he as most seem to think.
    A fabulous day in Devon so late on parade following a blissful morning’s climbing at Chudleigh rocks.

  12. Just a couple in the SW that required pause for thought. I like the definition in 26a. Thanks to setter and 2Ks.

  13. A very enjoyable mid-week puzzle which I seem to have found slightly more challenging than most who have commented so far – ***/****.

    Candidates for favourite – 11a, 5d, 17d, and 19d – and the winner is 5d.

    Thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis.

  14. Not sure ‘belly pork’ is the quickie pun. I suspect it is the french for an historical period between the late 1800s until 1914.

      1. Nor did I because I don’t know what it is.
        Shame there wasn’t a Q – always think a Quickie pangram quite neat.

            1. Surely the setter meant good ol’ British belly pork rather than an obscure French historical term! If not, he needs a good talking to. :-)

    1. With only a single bean to eat in Jays Cryptic today, I’m sticking with the belly pork. You can’t eat a period of French history

      1. When I ordered belly pork at a local a few years ago it did not arrive looking like that. In fact, it was a soft, fatty lump. Never went back there and have never tried belly pork since.

        1. It’s great when it’s good but so often a bit of a disappointment when ordered in a restaurant

          1. I had a similar experience to Steve and have avoided belly piek ever since. It was downright nasty.

            1. I would not call the Belle Époque an obscure French historical term, but neither would I say it is the answer to the quickie pun. Hawk rhymes with pork – époque does not.

    2. Good spot. That works better than belly pork for me.
      The puns are listed on the Puzzles Website after the event so it’ll be interesting to see what the ‘official’ answer is (unless Jay would like to look in and tell us what he intended).

      1. The puzzles website currently claims to lists puns up to 29880 — which should be Monday’s, though the entry it gives for 29880 is “four-poster bed”, which was Saturday’s pun, number 29879. The off-by-one error seems to be caused by Christmas Day’s online-only pun having been assigned the next number up, 29868, when actually it didn’t have a regular number and 29868 was used for the next printed crossword on the Monday.

        Anyway, today’s printed paper says “Belly pork” — so I was wrong! Well done to everybody who went for the food rather than the period in history.

    3. That’s more or less the same period as Art Nouveau. Not that that’s got anything to do with it …

  15. Great fun puzzle today – SW held out the longest for me with 16d LOI. Lots to like with no particular favourite. Managed the Wordle at go 5 but bitterly disappointed at the American spelling. Lovely day here in Norfolk so thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis.

    1. Same here with Wordle, Manders. It took me 6 because of the American spelling. I suppose, though, that our friends across The Pond have to put up with British spelling. :grin:

        1. I have nothing against Americans, but they do have a history of mangling our English language. And with the lame excuse of making it legible! :-)

          1. I agree about the mangling of the English language. The postings on my neighborhood blog would make your toes curl, particularly “your” and “you’re”. A post two days ago: “if your interested, text me …”, I replied, “I hope you won’t take offence, but you need to correct that to if ‘you’re interested'” and so on. Back came several people, telling me that I shouldn’t correct anyone if I can’t spell offense. You can’t win.

              1. Well, they don’t spell it “fense”, so they shouldn’t spell offense with an S. So M doesn’t need to dismount off fence because she finds “offense” offensive! :-)

          2. In their defen(c/s)e not all confusing American spellings are their fault.
            The Aluminum/Aluminium debate is down to an indecisive Englishman.
            An indecisive English scientist is the source of all the confusion.

            Chemist Sir Humphry Davy first named the metal “alumium” in 1807.

            No, that’s not a typo — it was neither “aluminum” nor “aluminium” at its birth, but according to World Wide Words, Humphry later renamed the metal “aluminum.” By 1812, he had changed it again, settling on “aluminium.”

    2. Manders
      The original app was created by an American for his girlfriend so you should expect American spellings.

      1. Ah, thanks LROK. It makes sense now and I’ll look for Americanism in future. Something so simple but so addictive.

      1. Robert
        It was a 5 letter “our” word where you drop the u.
        It is a website not an app. I access it through powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/ you might try that.

  16. Jogged along nicely to an unaided conclusion.
    Spent, though, too much time on 5d in spite of the checking letters.
    Silly me.
    Elegantly clued throughout.
    So, **/****
    Many thanks to the setter and to the 2Kiwis..

  17. A Jayday with a 2Ks blog and a trip to an art gallery. What’s not to like. Thanks everyone

  18. Super puzzle, very enjoyable. My favs were 22a and 5d. Not totally certain of the 2nd definition in 21a, seems a bit weak but probably just me as I’m not a huge fan of the double definition clue. You either know them or not, you can’t work them out by the wordplay.
    A minor issue in an otherwise elegant crossword.
    Thx to all
    **/***

  19. It has all been said. A joy, and the sun is warm on my back and we had a glass of wine with our salad just because. 1a went straight in which is always a good start. 27a, 13 &16d ⭐️Like RD I was held up in SW by 21a. Many thanks to the three birds.

  20. Another great puzzle from the master. Needed to check the spelling of 3d, it always catches me out, and needed a bit of google help on 17d. 14a seems to make regular appearances so I’ve made a mental note of that for at least 5 minutes. Bunged in 5d ,it had to be what it was but couldn’t see the connection till I read the hint. Thanks to all.

    1. Does this help, DG?

      The middle is the word house without the s (for silhouette)?

      No problem, if not.

      1. I would not call the Belle Époque an obscure French historical term, but neither would I say it is the answer to the quickie pun. Hawk rhymes with pork – époque does not.

  21. Another in the long line of enjoyable offerings from Mr Wednesday. 1a & 1d took the prizes for me today with a string of others close behind – 11a plus 3,5&13d.

    Thanks to Jay for the puzzle and to our 2Ks for the review – I’ll look into Ms Klint’s work now.

  22. A nice puzzle today with a few twists. 2*/4* for me today.
    Favourites include 11a, 22a, 5d & 13d with winner 11a

    Thanks to the the 3 birds

  23. Pleasantly surprised with this very doable puzzle today, just perfect for me. Solved this sitting waiting for our
    car being serviced in customer area despite two TVs blaring out different stations etc. Slowed in SW corner with 25a LI. Thanks to Jay for a lot of enjoyment and to 2Kiwis.

  24. I had pretty much the same experience as RD – SW holding out until a second session.I did wonder what the emus were doing in my bed at 1a before the obvious parsing came to me.
    Id reminded me of Mourning Becomes Electra by E O’Neill.
    When 16and 17d revealed themselves they Join 13d on my podium.
    Thanks to Jay and 2K’s
    A bit late in the day to start the toughie but I will have a gander on Huntsman’s recommendation.
    (Braising Steak for tea here but I will try and get a nice bit of Belle Époque for tomorrow.)

  25. As usual for me with Jay slow to start then picking up to a smooth solve. About average difficulty for e Wednesday and thoroughly enjoyable.
    Nothing really contentious and to me 13d took the COTD honours with 1a a close second.
    Thank you to Jay for the challenge and the 2Ks for the excellent review.
    Not heard of the artist (amazing how ignorant some of us are I know. Looked at examples on net with Mr Google said she was “ahead of her time” were colourful but were way beyond my appreciation I’m afraid.

    1. Very diplomatic of you, LrOK, I’m afraid her work doesn’t pass my ‘would I want it hanging on my wall’ test but I can appreciate that others would feel differently.

  26. This all fell into place nicely until I came to 16d which I initially thought was derelict – even if I couldn’t work out what the pit was doing in there. That slowed things up for a bit until enlightenment dawned as, of course, the cross clues wouldn’t fit. **/*** Favourite 13d. Thanks to all.

  27. Morning all,
    We have just altered the Quickie pun answer so that the two possibilities are there. Suspect that Jay intended the French allusion but have left in the tasty snack for those who are feeling peckish.
    We were actually awake when this post was published at midnight our time last night. We had been asleep but were woken at about 11.50 by a longish reasonably severe earthquake. No damage, just jiggled about a bit.
    Cheers.

    1. There is nothing that frightens me more than an earthquake. When visiting Japan, it seemed we had them every five minutes, excessive jiggling when on the 20th or so floor of a hotel.

  28. This Jay offering was such a treat from start to finish. I solved most unaided until I got to the SW where I needed e-help to get going again. I couldn’t see the why of 5a but it had to be, then I tumbled to it; isn’t that so clever? I don’t know that I can choose a fave, 13d amused, so did 22a; I think I’ll pass on the fave, I’ll pick the whole puzzle.
    Thank you Jay for all the fun, and the 2Kiwis for unravelling a few.

  29. I enjoyed today’s offering completed in two parts because of a shopping trip in-between. Like many others skated along (except for 12a) and delayed in the SW but not for long. I always enjoy doing the Quickie before going onto the Cryptic and will not start the latter until finished. Have to confess to using the Anglais version of today’s pun. Many thanks to Jay and the Pommers. I hope you don’t have anymore earthquakes to disturb your sleep!

  30. My apologies I meant the 2 Kiwis! Apologies to the Pommers! That’s what tearing round the shops does to ones brain!

  31. Another one held up in the SW. Never heard of 13d, a regional thing I suppose as it’s fourpen’th round here. Favourite was 5d. Thanks to Jay and 2K’s.

    1. That’s what inflation does Taylor. I blame the Russians.
      It was two pennorth with us (and they were the ones with Britannia on them!).

  32. I agree with most comments. Late finish as had the morning out in the sun and the afternoon shopping, followed by many interruptions. 25a was my last in and I agree SW was the toughest. 13 d my favourite but also enjoyed 4 and 16d and 10 11 14 and 22a. I think most of these featured as favourites of others on the blog. Three cheers for the three birds.

  33. I managed more by myself than I often do with a Jay crossword. Thank you to him, and to the Kiwis for the hints. No particular favourite stood out. I thought the period of history for the pun.

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