DT 29967 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 29967

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29967

Hints and tips by Miffypops

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Ratings by Beaver - Difficulty ** - Enjoyment ****

It’s a good day. The sun Is out and I get to review a puzzle by RayT, one of my favourite setters. Some long anagrams went in quickly and provided useful checking letters. There is plenty to smile about during your solve. Let’s go…..

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a Each favoured supporter embraces United constantly (11)
PERPETUALLY: Three synonyms and an abbreviation will provide your answer here. Synonyms of each, favoured and a supporter or friend surround the abbreviation for United

10a First Letter to the Corinthians? (5)
ALPHA: How a native of Corinth would say the first letter of his or her (mustn’t forget the ladies) alphabet. Nice clue if you know where Corinth is

11a Bury the hatchet relic once repaired (9)
RECONCILE: Anagram (repaired) of RELIC ONCE. The answer here is sometimes used as an anagram indicator

12a Get involved with some painter, Venetian? (9)
INTERVENE: Your answer lies hidden within the words of the clue as indicated by the word some

13a Loose woman who's related going topless (5)
UNTIE: The title given to your mother or father’s sister needs its first letter removing

14a Avoid oddly easy bite (6)
ESCHEW The alternate letters of the word easy are followed by a word meaning to bite repeatedly whe eating

16a More resolute learner comprehending arithmetic? (8)
STURDIER: A noun meaning one in pursuit of knowledge surrounds an abbreviation of arithmetic as it is known when linked to reading and riting

18a Barrel with good gun metal (8)
TUNGSTEN: A three-letter barrel and the abbreviation for good is followed by a type of sub machine gun

20a Almost grill French dish (6)
GRATIN: A metal grill or mesh needs its last letter removing. The only food in the puzzle and it’s nowt more than a cheesy topping which I had last night

23a President beginning to touch bottom (5)
TRUMP: The initial letter of the word touch is followed by another word for one’s bottom. Beet once clued this word thus: Given time an arse can become president

24a Awkward cut from fine leg anticipated (9)
INELEGANT: This was solved from the checkers. It took a while to realise that the answer lay hidden within the words of the clue as indicated by the words cut from

26a Campaign speech includes empty platitude (9)
OPERATION: A formal speech contains the outer letters of the word platitude

27a One grand lavatory for cool house (5)
IGLOO: The letter that looks like the number one, the abbreviation for grand and the smallest room in the house provide your answer

28a Governs, yet somehow keeps current autonomy (11)
SOVEREIGNTY: Anagram (somehow) of GOVERNS YET which also contains the abbreviation for electrical currant

Down

2d Banished sweetheart glib about kiss (5)
EXPAT: Sweetheart here is the heart of the word sweet. That letter and a synonym of glib surround the letter used to denote a kiss

3d Plain couple that is accepting resistance (7)
PRAIRIE: A regular word for a couple plus the common abbreviation for that is surround the letter used to denote electrical resistance

4d Sailor going over fathom mark (6)
TARGET: A regular word for a sailor is followed by a verb meaning to fathom or understand. The definition here is the intended victim of a criminal act

5d Article on coins absorbing single seniors (8)
ANCIENTS: An article (the one I have just used) plus some one hundredth of a dollar coins have the letter that looks like a single number inserted

6d Lethargy of Left facing irritation, say (7)
LANGUOR: The abbreviation for left is followed by a homophone (say) based on a word sounding like irritation or ire

7d Display stamina with fit one running (13)
MANIFESTATION: Anagram (running) of STAMINA FIT ONE

8d Detective heading tough precinct (8)
DISTRICT: The abbreviation for a detective inspector is followed by a synonym of the word tough. Tough as a disciplinarian might be

9d Wandering on pier, tearing around (13)
PEREGRINATION: Anagram (around) of ON PIER TEARING

15d Bewildered criminal stopped working? (8)
CONFUSED: A regularly used crosswordland criminal is followed by a word describing how something electrical might have stopped working

17d Drug source keeps English detectives up (8)
MEDICINE: The source here is where minerals or ore might be found. This is followed by the abbreviation for English and what you now have surrounds the reversed abbreviation for the Criminal Investigation Department. That’s over thirty words to describe how a six word clue works

19d Singer thus performed in elevated work (7)
SOPRANO: A two-letter adverb meaning thus is followed by a word meaning performed or managed which sits inside a reversed abbreviation for work or opus

21d Fuming Queen upset European ruler (7)

REEKING: Our wonderful Queen’s regnal cypher is reversed. Add the abbreviation for European and a ruler. A queen’s husband perhaps

22d Main Church holding new spiritualist meeting (6)
SÉANCE: The main here is a large body of saltwater. It is followed by the abbreviation for the Church of England which surrounds another abbreviation, this time of new

25d A tax raised for Budget (5)
ALLOT: Begin with a tax paid to use a private road. Add the letter A from the clue. Reverse what you have as indicated by the word raised

Great fun was had here by me. How about you?

Quickie Pun Hard + Air + Hew = How dare you


 

66 comments on “DT 29967

  1. This must be Ray T at his gentlest because I finished unaided and in reasonable time for me. For some reason, the long clues fell immediately and they gave many entrances to the rest of the puzzle. As ever, the cluing was precise and enjoyable. Favourites include 1a, the cheeky 23a and 6d. My absolute favourite and COTD was 10a. I spent ages trying to use “Athens” until I realised it was more straightforward than that.

    Many thanks to Ray T for an absolutely superb puzzle. Many thanks to MP for the hints.

    Beautiful day in The Marches but the garden will have to wait – too much work to do in the house.

    Wordle in 3 and Waffle completed with 4 goes remaining.

  2. I looked at this and almost immediately picked up that it was the work of our esteemed fortnightly setter on the “wrong” Thursday.
    Not particularly difficult but great fun throughout, though it felt slightly strange solving it without having to think how to explain it!
    I particularly liked the clever 16a plus 26a where the surface read rings true and 9d as it’s a great word.
    Many thanks to Ray T and MP for the fun.

  3. Thoroughly enjoyable but over too quickly in * time.
    Unusual for one of Ray T’s.
    Special mention 10 16 and 28 across and 17d
    Many thanks, Ray T and Miffypops.

  4. Firstly and most importantly, Happy Birthday to Her Majesty, Big Dave and Libellule (a former Monday backpage blogger)

    I’d managed to solve most of this in my head while preparing the template for our blogger so it took no time at all to write the solutions I already had and then finish it off

    Thanks to Ray T and MP

      1. Indeed, very best wishes to all three – I did like the photo of Her Majesty with the fell ponies.

        1. A Very Happy Birthday from me too to a diverse threesome, each linked in their own special way to the world of crosswords.

        2. I did too, Jane, what a lovely picture. HM has always had a love affair with horses.

  5. At the friendly end of Ray T. It’s a chestnut but 10a made me smile. Thanks to setter and MP.

  6. Thanks MP, there certainly were plenty of smiles today. I got stuck briefly on 14a, LOI. 16a was an absolute beauty. Nice one RayT.

  7. 24a was the last one in because I am clearly very unobservant.
    Here’s a thing – in my mind I have always said 1a with an additional ‘p’ before the ‘t’. I even wondered if it is an alternative spelling, but it isn’t. I think it sounds better with the additional ‘p’ so I shall carry on saying it that way in my bonce.

    Terrific crossword, hugely enjoyable over three slices of burnt toast, and orange juice with no bits.

    Thanks to Ray T, The Miff, and a big Thursday shout out to The Lovely Kath

  8. Thursday puzzles seem to alternate between straight forward and difficult, this was in the friendly bracket as Jonners says.
    An enjoyable romp, excellent cluing and difficult to pick a favourite, liked 14 and 18a.Going for a **/****
    As CS says ,firstly and Importantly Happy Birthday to HM- my mother in law is the same age, 96 shortly and still enjoying the odd tipple!
    Thanks MP for the pics.

  9. Gentle it may be but a joy to solve. The ability to create a good surface read with so few words really is very impressive – 18,24&26a plus 6,7&25d just half a dozen examples. Shame it didn’t last longer really.
    Thanks to Ray T & MP
    Wordle in 5

  10. Great fun puzzle today which I thoroughly enjoyed. Wordle in 5 and Quordle in 9. There is a letter in today’s paper about my village – I can’t believe the writer was in my village at all. Yes the pub is closed for a month for a much needed refurb but the hotel is open and the beer garden packed, we have the best delicatessen in Norfolk, an Art Gallery, a Pottery, a wonderful smokehouse, terrific bookshop, huge beautiful church, lovely windmill you can stay in by the harbour and the Village Hall is a great venue for all sorts of exciting villagy things. By choice we have no street lighting and we have a dark skies policy – perhaps coming from Romford he doesn’t appreciate these things. I’m off to get my seafood platter tonight from the local bistro which will also be packed. Sorry for the rant!

    1. I look forward to a letter from you in defence of your village, Manders. If it isn’t a “ghost town” at night then tell the gentleman from Romford. :good:

      1. Well Steve, I have thought about it but we are inundated with visitors most of the year as we have Cley bird reserve on our doorstep and people come from far afield to see the bitterns, avocets, etc (and the red breasted goose). The picture in the paper is of the High Street which is very narrow and the only way through the village and gets gridlocked so maybe I won’t encourage more people. Wouldn’t surprise me if someone else replied though.

    2. There are none so blind as those who will not see Manders. Can we have a photo of the seafood platter please?

      1. Are you referring to the 14 people who didn’t read the first line of my comment?

  11. This took me longer because solving the perimeter clues proved to be quite a tussle, particularly 9D which was new to me. But fall they did eventually and very satisfying it was, too. My picks are 10A, 16A and 25D and, for obvious reasons, my absolute favorite –2D. Thanks to RayT and MP.

      1. I wondered about that one too. We are expats but certainly weren’t banished. It was a job transfer that led us here 40 years ago, but it was our choice so this clue left me feeling rather out of sorts. And it doesn’t appear my thesaurus as a synonym.

        1. BL. I think it’s a reference to the verb expatriate – meaning to banish or exile/expatriate (oneself or another). It is in the BRB.

  12. We do like a RayT puzzle, and this one was no exception. We found it at the easier end of his scale, with us just squeaking into 1* time, but still an enjoyable solve (4*).

  13. Another fine puzzle from my favourite setter. As usual, the clues were excellent and elegantly concise and I’d put the difficulty level just a tad above average for a back-pager. So, fairly mild but a very enjoyable solve. I’ve ticked quite a few and will mention 16a. 3*/4*.

  14. Found this slow to get into – too many distractions and still feeling the elation of last night’s result at Stamford Bridge (sorry Terence!) – but swift when started, moving from E to W and then N to S, with LOI 17d. A typically rewarding RayT challenge, very enjoyable.

    10a my COTD, with HM to 23a simply because it made me laugh. Which led me to think of an alternative (of dubious acceptability on several levels) for 16a, along the lines of “More resolute Trump inspired by silicon before Queen”

    2.5* / 3*

    Many thanks indeed to RayT and to MP.

  15. Nicely cryptic with some clever surfaces but no serious hold-ups. “Wandering” letters for 9d took a bit of concentration as did arithmetic part of 16a. Do wonder about 2d being banished. Three Favs – 10a, 13a and 20a. Crafty Quickie pun. Many thanks RayT and MP.

  16. As always, I found this Ray T puzzle a mixed set of clues. Some came relatively easily whilst others required a hammer & tong to get free.
    Overall, I enjoyed the solve with my rating 2.5*/4* for today.
    Favourites include 10a, 13a, 18a, 5d & 22d with winner 5d but it could have been any of them.
    Chuckles go to 13a, 27a, 14a, 2d and a huge groan to the idiot in 23a … I’ll say no more as I will get the naughty step.

    Thanks to Ray T and MP

  17. Jolly enjoyable with a few doh moments as is usual with Ray T. Thanks Ray T and MP.

  18. Another very enjoyable Ray T Thursday, with the fastest finish for one of his in a long time. Hard to choose s favourite among such good stuff, but 17d gets my nod. I could have done without 23a, but never mind. Thanks to MP and Mr T. 1.5* / 4*

    1. Your comment re 23a is a lot kinder than our blogger’s comment, whom I thought was spot on!

      1. Well, so do I, but I felt that anything I said otherwise would be unprintable. Cheers to MP!

        1. In the interest of keeping political persuasion/character assassination out of this blog I too demurred.

      2. Me too. Could have done without him in our crossword though. I do hope the Montecito pair don’t show up tomorrow ☹️.

  19. Excellent puzzle apart perhaps from 10a which I thought poor and a little patronising.
    Thx to all
    **/****

  20. Mostly enjoyable but had never heard of 9d. Not enamoured of 16a on a number of fronts. Favourites 10a, 28a, and 15d. Thanks Ray T and MP.

  21. This has to be RayT but I can’t believe I finished it without help, except e-help with 16a, my last in. Oh, I had to check spelling of 28a. I loved it, lots of honourable mentions here. Fave is 9d, I love the word, with 10a hot on its heels. M’pops, not sure 20a is necessarily cheesy, it’s the French name for the type of dish it’s cooked in.
    Thanks RayT, loads of fun, and M’pops for the hints and tips, where was that lovely pic taken?
    Last but not least, very Happy Birthday to HM, long may she reign, and our superb leader, BD, for the enjoyment every day.

    1. The photo was possibly the first of very few selfies we have ever taken Merusa. At Sanna Beach near Ardnamurchan Point the most westerly place in the United Kingdom. About six years ago.

      1. Before I read your naming of the selfie I predicted that had to be the west coast of Scotland. It is a lovely place. Not to split hairs but it is the westerly most point of Great Britain (the biggest of the British isles.) But not the most westerly point of the United Kingdom. I am not nit picking but I have to defend the honour of Clan Bee who come from the Isle of Mull, some of which is a mile or so west of Ardnamurchan.

    2. P.S. Did anyone do Canuckle yesterday? I crashed and burned, I’d never heard of the word and it’s not in my dictionary.

      1. When I was in Canada on a rugby tour the speed limits were always described as so many Klicks per hour. Klicks meaning kilometres. Needless to say they were mostly ignored.

  22. Definitely at the end of Ray T for his gentle crossword.
    I’ve never heard of 9d and had trouble with 6d which I always spell wrong.
    Quite often the long anagrams are a couple across in the middle of the crossword but the long anagrams round the outside certainly make a difference to the difficulty – well, I think so anyway.
    Thanks to Ray T and to MP.

    1. Hi Kath. You have to agree with Merusa, 9d is a lovely word, as is 6d even if its vowels always want to reverse.
      I’ve tried to achieve 6d in my 9d’s in my quest to become a flaneur. Not easy with my dog.

    2. 9d was new for me too, and 6d didn’t quite work for me. Not sure if I could spell it either.

  23. Evening all. My thanks to Miffypops for the elucidation and to everybody else for your comments. With best wishes to Kath, of course!

    RayT

    1. Many thanks for popping in and for such an entertaining puzzle. And yes, best wishes to Kath too,

    2. Good evening, Mr T. Such a nice surprise to get another of your back-page gems this morning.
      It’s also nice that we invariably get to see Kath on ‘your’ days, I think she hates not being able to get back into her blogging role at the moment.

  24. On my own once again in not enjoying this.

    Awful word in 9d that I couldn’t get with all the checkers. Kept thinking one of the across answers must be wrong.

    Also got the answer for 21d but dismissed it. I must get hold of the BRB for archaic words like this.

    Thanks to all.

  25. Lovely treat from Ray T today, I bet he swapped his alternate Thursday slot in order to coincide with ER majesty’s (and BD and Libellule’) birthday.
    I laughed at 23a and nearly spat my coffee out at Miffs comment on The Beet alternative. Mama Bee and I were having a nice brew in Dentdale, tea and scone for Mama, coffee and a bacon butty for myself. We arrived home to find this had arrived. The crossword companion set for (hangs head in shame) a killer sudoku in the newsletter. I am still hoping to land the pen one day, so I will have to stick at the weekend puzzles for a while yet.
    Happy Birthday to all who celebrate today and best wishes to Kath.

  26. A mixed bag for me today. Solved more than I usually do on Ray T days, so agree it must be on the benevolent side. 9d was new to me, and as an expat I have to question 2d as we certainly were not banished. Less said about 23a the better. Very enjoyable, and thanks to Ray T and MP. Scraped by in Canuckle yesterday and then again this morning in Wordle. But at least my latest batch of chocolate chip Icecream was a success 😊.

  27. My latest post ever I think but we were out all day and only got back a shortish while ago, but enough time to sprint to the finish with this very friendly but hugely enjoyable Ray T compilation.

    Thanks to Mr T and MP.

  28. Azmost have said Ray T in benevolent mood but for me a super puzzle. Always look forward to a Ray T Thursday so today was a bonus. Hopefully next week will be another.
    What a difference to a couple of years ago when I looked forward to Thursdays expecting a DNF. Thanks Kath for the enlightenment. Glad to see your improvement continues.
    Thanks to Mr T and MP. Surely only the one on the left in the illustration is an ancient.
    Happy birthday to CSs big three.

  29. I’m at odds with the majority as I found this extremely difficult. Not helped by going on the lash with the lads, falling asleep halfway through (the crossword) and my complete inability to spell 6d, you’d think I’d know better at my age. Oh well! Favourite was 1a. Thanks to Rayt and MP.

  30. Celebrations for the first one I’ve been able to get out without the hints🥳 Loved it. 23a and 21d had me laughing. 10a was also a highlight. 16a was the last out and agree with Weekend Wanda it’s problematic. Resolute and Rithmetic- really?

    1. Well done you. It’s a good feeling isn’t it. Keep at it. I’m sure there will be more

    2. C, 16a. More resolute is the definition of the solution. Arithmetic or “rithmetic” is one of the 3 Rs, producing the R in the answer. Where’s the problem?

    3. Indeed. Well done C! I suspect you may have been somewhat lead astray by other comments on 16a. I know I’m a dogmatic so-and-so, but I am just trying to help.

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