DT 29935 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29935

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29935

Hints and tips by Mr K

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BD Rating  -  Difficulty ** Enjoyment ****

Hello, everyone.  I greatly enjoyed this refreshing puzzle, in part because there were several clues where excursions in the wrong direction were followed by amusing penny drop moments. I'd be very happy to see more like this. 

In the hints below most indicators are italicized, and underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions. Clicking on the answer buttons will reveal the answers. In some hints hyperlinks provide additional explanation or background. Clicking on a picture will enlarge it or display a bonus illustration and a hover (computer) or long press (mobile) might explain more about the picture. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.

 

Across

1a    Fruit grew popular (7)
ROSEHIP:  Grew or increased with a dated word meaning popular or trendy

5a    Cricketer might be this  confused (7)
STUMPED:  Confused or stuck is also a way that a cricketer can get out 

9a    Husband wearing small wig -- a sign he doesn't care? (5)
SHRUG:  The genealogical abbreviation for husband inserted between (wearing) the clothing abbreviation for small and an informal term for a wig 

10a   Child's booksExciting pictures too (9)
THRILLERS:  The type of books written by Lee Child are also exciting movies 

11a   From son, any gift is terribly pleasing (10)
SATISFYING:  The genealogical abbreviation for son with an anagram (terribly) of ANY GIFT IS 

12a   Leader in tournament's arrested (4)
TSAR:  The answer is hidden in the remainder of the clue 

14a   Sipped her bubbly after he's prepared meal (9,3)
SHEPHERDS PIE:  An anagram (bubbly) of SIPPED HER comes after an anagram (prepared) of HE'S 

18a   Co-pilots moan flying worldwide (12)
COSMOPOLITAN:  An anagram (flying) of CO-PILOTS MOAN 

21a   End story on the radio (4)
TAIL:  A homophone (on the radio) of a synonym of story

22a   Moving to Tunisia's places (10)
SITUATIONS:  An anagram (moving) of TO TUNISIA'S 

25a   Guys following a labyrinth with little time for confusion (9)
AMAZEMENT:  Some guys follow both A from the clue and a type of labyrinth, and then the physics symbol for time is stuck on the end 

26a   Facts are not first class (5)
GENRE:  Facts or info with ARE from the clue missing its first letter (… not first

27a   Most profound river problem (7)
DEEPEST:  One of the usual rivers with a problem or annoyance 

28a   Think highly of  relation (7)
RESPECT:  A straightforward double definition 

 

Down

1d    Weather is limiting period of relaxation? On the contrary (6)
RESIST:  Inverting the wordplay (on the contrary) we need a period of relaxation containing (limiting) IS from the clue 

2d    Fairy Queen surrounded by malice (6)
SPRITE:  The Latin abbreviation for queen inserted in (contained by) a synonym of malice 

3d    Rotting group of fish -- there are lessons to be learnt here (4,6)
HIGH SCHOOL:  Rotting or stinky with a group of fish 

4d    Short description of an orange? (5)
PITHY:  An adjective meaning short and full of meaning could also, whimsically, describe an orange

5d    Almost calm, arrive on one African plain (9)
SERENGETI:  Link together all but the last letter (almost) of calm or peaceful, a synonym of arrive, and the Roman one

6d    Fruit cocktail guzzled up partially (4)
UGLI:  The answer is hidden in the reversal (… up partially, in a down clue) 

7d    Exercises before small drinks (5-3)
PRESS-UPS:  Concatenate a short word meaning before, the clothing abbreviation for small, and a verb synonym of drinks 

8d    Detective Inspector's command creating chaos (8)
DISORDER:  The abbreviation for Detective Inspector's (including the S) is followed by a command that must be obeyed 

13d   Benefits from rearranging vast agenda (10)
ADVANTAGES:  An anagram (rearranging) VAST AGENDA 

15d   Noteworthy ball in hospital department (9)
PROMINENT:  Chain together an informal contraction of a type of ball or dance, IN from the clue, and a usual abbreviated hospital department 

16d   Country dance lots spoiled, lacking energy (8)
SCOTLAND:  An anagram (spoiled) of DANCE LOTS minus (lacking) the physics symbol for energy 

17d   China supporting Estonia, I guess (8)
ESTIMATE:  The rhyming slang meaning of china comes after (supporting, in a down clue) both the IVR abbreviation for Estonia and I from the clue 

19d   Big cat under pressure might do this? (6)
POUNCE:  The wordplay has the big cat also known as the snow leopard placed under the physics symbol for pressure. The entire clue can serve as the definition 

20d   Climb a small church? Not without oxygen (6)
ASCENT:  Assemble A from the clue, the clothing abbreviation for small, the abbreviation for the Church of England, and NOT minus (without) the chemical symbol for oxygen 

23d   Golf club missing head, say (5)
UTTER:  A type of golf club minus its first letter (missing head

24d   Bare bottoms in stream are rather large (4)
MERE:  The last letters of (bottoms in, in a down clue) the remaining words in the clue 

 

Thanks to today’s setter. Top clues for me were 14a and 26a. Which clues did you like best?


The Quick Crossword pun:  ROW + TAR + LISZT = WROTE A LIST


49 comments on “DT 29935

  1. Solid, pleasant and pretty straightforward though I was held up for a short while by a couple in the South.
    Top three for me 26a plus 1&24d.
    Many thanks to the setter and Mr K for the good fun.

    1. Just looking at the pics etc in the hints. Thanks Mr K for the upload of South Devon superstars Muse, nice to know you share my good taste 😊

      1. Thanks, Stephen.

        I settled on that version because a very recent comment underneath it is:
        I am Ukrainian. We fight against the Russion invadors and we sing the song together with my students at our English class now! The words and the music is perfect! They will not force us! They will stop degrading us! They will NOT control us! We will be victorious!!! Thank you for the song!

  2. 14a and 17d, my final entry, were my two top clues from this comfortable yet enjoyable puzzle. I thought the quality of the grid was high throughout, and the clue mix added to the fun.

    My thanks to both Misters involved this morning.

  3. I needed help with the NW corner but otherwise a delightful puzzle. I’m not quite sure what children’s books have to do with 10a but no doubt Mr. K. will enlighten me. Plenty to like so difficult to pick a COTD but I will nominate the compact 26a.

    Many thanks to the setter for the fun and to Mr. K. for the hints and may I respectfully ask for more kitties? :good:

    As for Tom Cruise being Jack Reacher he is too short by half.

    Slightly cooler in The Marches today but still gardening weather if I can summon the energy. As it is Chalicea on Toughie duty, I may well be delayed.

    Wordle in 3.

    1. I asked for more cats last week Steve and I think there were more. Cannot have too many. So upsetting to see refugees from Ukraine trying to rescue their cats and dogs. Yes, I fully realise children come first but for some of those people their pets are their children. Heartbreaking, all of it. (It was CHILD’s books not children’s. I thought it a terrific clue.

      1. I’m with you on the Ukrainians and their pets, the whole thing is so upsetting, I never thought I’d see something so awful in my life.

        1. Such a sad picture yesterday of a lady carrying her two cats bound to her chest, a small dog on a leash plus her luggage, trudging hopefully towards safety. Seen lots of pictures of those escaping with their children and their pets. Heartbreaking.

    2. Yes Tom Cruise as Reacher was so ridiculous, particularly for Lee Child’s books. Talk about miscasting. However this has been redeemed by the new Amazon Reacher series.

    3. I shall try to find more kitties for next week, Steve. I was pushed for time last night so the search for pics had to be quick.

  4. Very enjoyable even though I was thrown off the track by the ‘child’ in 10a (anyone else?) and it took me a while to get back on the rails, my LOI [Not a fan, though]. Top clues for me: 26a, 1a, 4d, & 14a. Thanks to Mr K and today’s setter. ** / ***

    Very enjoyable Tuesday Toughie, finished quite happily last night. Just ordered the ‘new’ Slough House novel, #7 in the series, appropriately titled ‘Slough House’! Great stuff that series. Nobody else writing these days with the panache and pizzazz of Mick Herron.

    1. Yes, Robert, I wondered about 10a and the children until I saw the hint. Makes it a very clever clue assuming, of course, you know the author.

      1. I was very pleased with myself as initially having completed the puzzle I didn’t get this reference and was planning to read the hint once out when half way through my bacon and eggs the penny dropped and I realised what a clever clue it was!

  5. Initially thought this looked like being a killer but it turned out to be exactly the opposite and I really enjoyed the solution. 10a was not fully parsed as I have to admit to not having heard of that Child. Joint Favs 24d and 26a which was last to fall. Altogether this proved to be a fun-time. Thank you Messrs. Ron and K.

  6. Very enjoyably Tuesdayish – **/****.

    Like Angellov, Robert, and Steve, I was confused by the Child in 10a. Totally unfamiliar with his books and I wouldn’t go to to see the films as I am not a fan of the ‘star.’

    Candidates for favourite – 5a, 26a, and 5d – and the winner is 5d – a nice change to see the plain clued somewhat differently (for me, at least).

    Thanks to the setter and Mr K.

    1. The tv series on Amazon Prime is much better than the films. At least the hero is actually six foot three and 230 pounds.

  7. A bit different to the usual run of Tuesday puzzles, it took me a long tme to get going on it (3*/2.5*).Misdirectiion and obfuscation weremuch in evidence and I too had problems with the NW corner
    Little 4dwas my favourite clue. Thanks tothe compiler and to MrK for the hints.
    .

  8. 2*/3.5*. Another light and fun puzzle to continue the week, although I have docked half-a-point for the triplication of the abbreviation for “small”.

    My top three were 10a, 26a & 4d.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K.

  9. Like Mr K I enjoyed the misdirection and penny drops of this crossword. Took a wee bit of puzzling over but all the more enjoyable for that.

    Thanks to the setter and to Mr K….great pics as usual….

  10. I agree with many that this was a great **/**** Tuesday offering. My LOI was 1a for some inexplicable reason since it seemed obvious in retrospect and that just pushed me into ** time. I thought 17d very good and my COTD was 10a for the reason stated in my comment above. Thanks MrK and the setter.

  11. Certainly a lot of ‘smalls’ going on here, as RD commented, but nevertheless quite an 11a solve. Like others, the ‘child’ had me confused for a while, in fact it was my LOI. Have to admit that I haven’t read any of his work, nor seen the films.
    Top three here were 1&26a plus 4d.

    Thanks to our setter and to Mr K – loved the 19d pair!

  12. A straightforward and enjoyable puzzle today. Not sure I am too keen on 1d and 4d, both seem more than a little odd.
    However that is being picky as there were lots of really good clues too. My fav was 14a mainly because I a, very partial to this dish with buttery mash.
    Thx to all
    **/****
    PS Wordle in 2

  13. Well I’m obviously in a minority of one as I’m afraid I found this a tad lacklustre. I did twig the writer at 10a though I’ve not read any of his stuff & found the puzzle a bit of a write in with the exception of a brief head scratch with 1&24d. I noticed 23d also popped up, clued slightly differently, in yesterday’s excellent Rookie Corner puzzle.
    Thanks to the setter & Mr K
    Wordle – another last gasp phew.

  14. Found this Tuesday puzzle similar in difficulty and fun as the Monday offering. 1*/4* today.
    Favourites include 1a, 21a, 27a, 8d & 15d with winner 27a.
    5a, 9a, 3d & 8d all gave me a chuckle.

    Thanks to setter and Mr K

  15. 2/4. Pleasant while it lasted with a slight pause in the NW. No stand out favourites for me. Thanks to the setter and Mr K.

  16. This was a lovely as the weather today – light and bright. Last one in was 26a which I entered but as a last resort. Then I read your analysis Mr K and my, what a clever clue. Many thanks to Messrs setter & Hinter. Of to my reading group now, discussing Rose Tremain’s A Single Thread. And we always have cake🍰.

  17. A rather dull and un-11a puzzle, I thought, and one of those rare occasions where I have not marked a single clue for special mention. Started in the S and progressed steadily N.

    10a was an obvious bung-in given the checkers, only properly parsed and understood moments before opening the blog to see who or what the Child was – recalled him or her as being the writer/screenwriter of a 2nd-rate film I’d seen some years ago. Not this setter’s best puzzle, whomever they may be, but thanks of course nonetheless; thanks also to Mr K.

    1.5* / 1.5*

  18. A straightforward Tuesday puzzle. Not too many standout clues but 10a made me smile when the penny dropped. I quite agree with Young Salopian that the casting of the Amazon Prime series makes the hero a much more credible character than the diminutive Tom Cruise of the movies.
    Thanks to all

  19. I quite enjoyed my hour lying in this morning until it was daylight. Not only did it give me an hour pain-free, but I had a lovely hour of think time. What should I use for seed word in Wordle? Should Britain have the atom bomb? How do I make Putin go pouff?
    It took a little while to get into this but it went very quickly once I started and got some checkers. Lots to like, of course 10a was a bungin for me, but 26a and 5d were both starred.
    Thank you setter for the fun and Mr. K for the unravelling, and the pics. Wordle in 4.

      1. Still working on it, a cocktail based on vodka with perhaps a little arsenic. Problem is delivery.

  20. What a refreshingly delightful puzzle, right up my street. Almost all my own work, just needed to a couple of hints to finish. Knew the author in 10a, although it did take me a while to realise where the setter was going. Too many great clues to pick a favourite. Thanks to the setter (would like to see more like this), and to Mr K.

  21. A very enjoyable romp today – didn’t know the author but quite doable. Have been doing the Toughie while watching an Art Society Zoom – 6 left to go but I think 19d will defeat me. Thanks to all. Wordle in 4

  22. Took a time to get into this but then made steady progress and overall thought it about average standard for a Tuesday.
    Hints needed to understand the relevance of child in 10a, very clever & gets my COTD.
    Thanks to setter for the diversion and Mr K for the feline-themed review..
    Covid in Scotland running rampant with worst infection rates ever across the whole country. Bafflingly rates are highest in the least populated areas like up here in the Highlands & islands. Worrying that hospitalisations are rising too.

    1. Oh no, just when we thought that it was slacking off. Are people getting careless with masks and hand washing? They said on the news this morning that they’re expecting another surge. Oh please!

      1. I’ve read that there’s yet another strain starting to take hold – Deltacron – a combination of the Delta and Omicron variants. I think we’re a long way from defeating the wretched virus although these newer strains do seem to be less life-threatening in the main.

      2. M
        Ironically Scotland has kept compulsory face masks (though there is an increasing number mainly 30- are ignoring the law) yet has a massive surge, England which has abandoned compulsion is not seeing one. Picture is very complex as England has stopped free testing.

  23. A little trickier than recent Tuesday offerings 😳 ***/*** Favourites 9a, 3d & 7d 👍 I am afraid I still don’t understand 24d 🤔 and the Compiler on a Tuesday is never mentioned

    1. The last letters (bottoms) of four words in the clue give a word that can be used as “bare” or “barely”. :grin:

  24. I found this a quite 11a solve today, 26a took a good coat of looking at before the penny dropped and a small groan escaped when I realised which Child I needed. I like a nice bit of 14a too. I almost bunged in Juicy for 4d but resisted until another PDM put me on the right lines.
    Thanks to Setter and Mr K

  25. Just could not get 4d… kept on thinking about a short word for ‘Protestant!? Thank you setter and DT for enlightening me

  26. My fastest ever solve, just as well a I’d have run out of time. Favourite was 29d. Thanks to the setter and Mr. K.

  27. Done the Xword but only just had time to comment. With regard to some of the clues upon which others have commented: I get the wordplay in 1d but the answer bring a synonym for weather I don’t get. 4d the pith of an orange is the white bit between the peel and the flesh so an orange could be said to be pithy. I spent a long time on 10a. I got the exciting films bit but was looking for a child. Thanks to Mr K I now get it. Favourite 5a. Thanks Mr k and setter

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