DT 30198

87 comments on “DT 30198”

1. All went swimmingly until the last two, 8d and 9a. I’ve got all the alternate
   letters in place but still can’t make head nor tail of either.
   Will read the hints for enlightenment and maybe learn some new words.
   Well done to our setter, you beat me today!

   1. For 8d think of an epic tale by a type of cooker.

      1. Very good, I like it!

   2. Snap. Found one answer using thesaurus which rang a faint bell. The other leaves me no further forward as the musical rings not even the faintest bell

      1. Like you I have never heard of either the musical or the opera. Thought it a poor clue.

         1. La Bohème?

2. A great start to the week but with a few tricky little beggars to spice things up. An example of the latter is 25a, which had me “Going all around the Wrekin” as we say in Shropshire. Then the proverbial dropped with a loud clang and, as ever, I wondered why it had taken me so long. It also took me quite a while to work out “final” in 27a and I thought it a bit obscure. My COTD was going to be 13a then I solved 8d and that became my COTD until along came 5d and that took the prize. 9a was a bung in and I cannot for the life of me see what it has to do with the clue. No doubt Falcon will explain all.

   My thanks to the setter for a most enjoyable puzzle to ponder over the morning coffee. In fact, I haven’t enjoyed a puzzle so much for ages. Thank you, Falcon for the hints.

   I put my back out a week or so ago and it has raised one of those life questions that have no answers. Why is it that when one has a bad back does everything fall on the floor?

   1. The “final” (as in clear of, or after tax) in 27a comes up quite a lot so it’s worth remembering Steve.

      1. The “final” also has a more general (non-financial) sense, as in “The **** result of her efforts …”.

      2. Thanks, Falcon and Stephen – duly noted.

   2. My apologies to Campbell. With three puns in The Quickie the setter could be nobody else and I should have thanked him personally.

   3. 9a: the musical was so long ago and I had no idea it was based on a Puccini opera, so that answer eluded me completely.

   4. Why is it that when one has a bad back everything falls on the floor? I blame Isaac Newton for inventing gravity! Oh, and Mr Sod and his law! Hope your back is on the mend soon.

      1. A lot better than it was thanks, Mikep but things are still falling on the floor. 😏

3. Most enjoyable and, like Falcon, held up most in the NE corner. Last one in was 9a and even then I needéd the hint to parse the musical bit of the clue. Can honestly say that I’ve never heard the phrase at 8d, despite being an avid reader so even the hint wasn’t helpful and I had to reveal the answer. Can’t remember the last time I did that. Lots of good clues, favourites of which were the two long ones along with 23a and 16d. COTD for me was 26d for it’s clever construction. Thanks to Campbell for the Monday morning pleasure and Falcon for today’s much needed help.

4. In general this gave me a nice start to my crosswording week, but 9a and 8d went waaaaaay over my head, having never come across either the musical or the reading material knowldge required for solving the two clues. Loved 5, 6 and 13d though, but my favourite was 12a. Thanks to setter and especially to Falcon for some much needed enlightenment.

5. A typical Campbell puzzle, mostly enjoyable with some clever wordplay. The chapel and the (1958!) film were new but easily obtainable from wordplay and checkers and it took me a while to see 9a.
   Plenty of podium contenders but I’ll mention the excellent 25a plus 5&26d making up the numbers.
   Many thanks to our setter and Falcon

6. 2*/4*. Enjoyable Monday fare with my last one in, 9a, taking me over my 1* time.

   I’ve never heard of the musical in 9a but, a bit of Googling, reveals it is coming to the Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire to be performed by a youth company for a very brief run starting next week! 23a was also new to me.

   The rest was good fun, with 25a, 5d & 13d making it onto my podium.

   Many thanks to Campbell and to Falcon.

   1. Long Eaton is in Derbyshire with a Nottingham postcode. How cryptic is that?

7. I also got dragged into ** time in NE, but my other hurdle was 14d. If close = circa then an entirely different bird emerges, spoiling 12a for a bit.
   Lovely puzzle, thanks to Falcon and Campbell.

8. 11a would have been a brilliant clue if I had ever heard of “tope” as a drink. I guessed the writer but I had to gogle “tope ” to make sense of it.
   8d is very clever.
   Thank you Falcon for the explanation of 9a, rather obscure.
   All in all, a great start to the week.

   1. Just to clarify things, tope is not “a drink” but a verb “to drink” (and a rather archaic one at that).

9. Like many pals above, 9a and 8d were my undoing. However, one must forgive Campbell anything for he is a wizard.

   I enjoyed solving this one with the exception of the aforementioned two, and for the first time in a long time I needed to ‘click/reveal’, as even Falcon’s hints couldn’t help me over the line.

   We took my sister and nephew to Stamford Bridge yesterday, and we all watched Chelsea struggle to a 1-0 victory. It was celebrated as if we had just beaten Barcelona in the final of the Champions League.

   Thanks to Campbell and The Feathery Fellow From Ottowa.

   1. I struggled with 8 and 8 too. The chapel was no problem as I was brought up in Wales.
      I celebrated too Terence, on Saturday.
      The cheers were very loud when the Reds made City very blue!

      1. Sorry. I forgot to say thankyou to Campbell and Senf.

         1. Double sorry Falcon !

10. I really dislike the 8d term, which has appeared before in one of these cryptics and about which I had occasion then to agree with Joanna Trollope, who hates that so-called genre. Otherwise, I enjoyed the solve, though I must say that the appropriation of 23a as a chapel is a far cry from the biblical healing pools and houses of mercy that it usually refers to, but I rather like it. I have seen the 9a musical, based on La Boheme, several times, and it is brilliant. Surprised to read that it’s unfamiliar to some. Favourite? 11a because he is one of the greatest of all English novelists and an absolute favourite of mine; thus, the clue, which rather tickled me. Thanks to Falcon and Campbell. **/***

    1. I see that one of the definitions of 23a is ‘place of flowing water’ and that would certainly describe the small township of that name a few miles away from me.

    2. Out of interest I checked and Joanna is a fifth generation niece of the Victorian novelist.

       1. That’s right but I never thought of her when answering. I went back to A level English

    3. I thought the answer was based on orent (a drama set to music) with an “i” in it.

       1. You’ve used a different alias from the ones you’ve used before so your comment required moderation. All your aliases will work from now on.

11. The NE corner def pushed into *** difficulty.
    The rest was enjoyable.
    Thx for the hints
    ***/***

12. Straightforward until it wasn’t. Like Tipcat & Mhids 8d&9a the problems turning what would have been a * time solve into a ** time fall over the line. 8d involved a mental trawl through the alphabet & vaguely rang a bell but 9a was an unparsed definition bung in as I’d completely forgotten the musical. No problems elsewhere other than a need to confirm 23a. The double homophone at 5d my pick.
    Thanks to Campbell & Falcon

13. Like others the NE corner held out the longest and I had to abandon the 9a musical. Is there one called Orient?
    I can quite see the female 11a being cross about 8d but I much prefer it to “ chick lit” and so, sorry Joanna, it’s my COTD!

    1. I se the musical is “Rent” based, loosely, on “La Boheme”. The mind boggles!

    2. I’d never heard of 8d either, but wholeheartedly agree JB, much better than “chick lit”.

14. I thought I had a good working knowledge of classical music and opera, but 9a was a bung in and I would never have parsed it without electronic help. That aside, this was a typically enjoyable Monday puzzle with 13d my favourite.

    Thanks to the ripple punner and Falcon.

15. It’s Monday It’s Campbell (except for the NE!)

    Favourite by a country mile – 20a!

    Thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

16. Great puzzle again from Campbell with 11 and 25a, together with 13d getting very honourable mentions. All three are great clues. Disagree with Robert about the very inferior Trollope ; her writing hardly deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the wonderful Aga. Surp

    Many thanks to Campbell and Falcon for another joyous Monday.

    1. Corky: The ‘Trollope’ I referred to as one of the greatest novelists (I said ‘he’) is Anthony, not Joanna. I made no value judgment about her writing, except that I agreed with her that 8d is a term I dislike. There’s a huge difference between the Victorian man of letters and Joanna.

       1. I’ve not read the books (Barchester Chronicles) but remember enjoying a fine television adaptation of the first 2 books many years ago starring the great Alan Rickman.

          1. Yes it was brilliant

             1. For your information despite what Joanna Trollope’s publishers claim there is no direct relationship between Joanna and Anthony. I am first cousin to Joanna and have done quite of research into the family tree. Rather embarrassingly I didn’t solve this clue despite nearly completing the puzzle

                1. Welcome to the blog, Charles.

17. I had the same experience as a number of others on this blog – it was going relatively smoothly until I got stuck in the NE and on 8d. Bunged in 9a but needed the hints to parse it. And never heard of the type of story in 8d so had to ‘reveal’ the answer. New word for me at 23a as well – I can’t tell a scallion from a shallot when it comes to religious knowledge – but from a combo of the clue and the checkers there was only one answer. Not sure about the dd in 3d either. So, all in all, I found this quite tricksy for a start of the week puzzle. COTD for me was 13d which made me smile. Thanks setter, thanks Falcon, thanks BD contributors.

18. Like others, I found a few sticking points in this one – 9a where I was convinced I needed a 5-letter musical, 4d where I was trying to fit the gold into the wrong place and 8d which was a silly thing to have forgotten.
    Clues that particularly appealed were 20a plus 5,6&13d.

    Thanks to Campbell for the enjoyment and to freezing Falcon for the review.

19. Like many others above, I couldn’t parse my bung-in at 9a, otherwise very much plain sailing, as is the norm for a Monday.
    We can’t (thankfully) match Ottawa weatherwise, but we did have a thin blanket of the white stuff here on The Downs this morning.
    Thanks to Campbell for a good range of clues and Falcon for the explanation of same.

20. Damn.
    Completed unaided all but 8d.in *time.
    So, a DNF!
    This clue, a new word or words, rather.
    Some very clever clueing eg 7 and 9 and 11a
    16d made me smile.
    Many thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

    1. The musical in 9a featured, if that is the word, in a much publicised prosecution of a nanny in America many years ago. That is the only reason I knew it.

21. Thought this was going to be short and sweet but, in common with others above, I hiccupped in the NE particularly 9a as I didn’t know the musical which I gather ran for 12 years on Broadway.
    Favs 25a, 5d and 13d (all clever clues). Thank you Campbell and Falcon.

    1. Yes, 12 years on B’way but only a year and a half at the Shaftesbury in the West End. A very American musical, set mostly in Lower Manhattan…perhaps that explains its unfamiliarity to many in the UK. In addition to seeing it on B’way shortly after it opened in 1996, I saw two road show engagements. And then there was a movie, which (typically) did not fare so well, like movies of Hair and Cats, etc.

22. The only four letter musical I could think of (other than Gigi which we already had, was Hair – so I was struggling in that quarter. Otherwise mostly plain sailing although I wouldn’t have called 23a a chapel. Many thanks to Falcon and Campbell. I might just go and indulge in a 10a.

    1. In addition to the pool in Jerusalem, Collins defines 23a as a chapel of any of certain Nonconformist Christian sects.

       1. Cannot argue with Colin !

       2. Ditto for the BRB.

23. Another Campbell Monday at the easier end of his range. A half dozen clues at the end took my time up a bit though as I had parsing issues.

    1.5*/3.5* for me

    Favourites include 7a, 25a, 4d, 6d & 26d — with winner 25a

    Thanks to Campbell and Falcon

24. DG thanks for the info about Cley’s cool postcode in yesterday’s Sunday Times. I missed it so retrieved the paper from the bin just now. Slight error, we have absolutely no chic boutiques but everything else is correct. The owner of the windmill has just bought the deli so I hope it is in safe hands. Thanks again.

    1. Sorry this was meant to go under your posting DG! Enjoyed the puzzle after returning from the dentist, no real hold-ups and had heard of the musical although did not know it was based on La Boheme. ‘Fraid I immediately thought of Joanna as the author. Thanks to the setter and Falcon.

    2. Glad you found it. The Chic grandmas are correct too I am sure.

25. An unusual DNF for me as I gave up on 9a and have never heard of the musical. I always prefer purely cryptic clues but that is just sour grapes as I know some GK is perfectly legitimate. Bah humbug. I really enjoyed 90% of this Campbell though and in particular 5d but my overall feeling was ???/*. Thanks to Falcon for enlightening me and the setter for his endeavour.

    A light smattering of snow on Dartmoor this morning but nothing like our Canadian friend’s experiences.

26. Is it Monday?, I needed help with seven clues, my worst Monday effort ever. Thanks to all.

27. 3/3. All was going swimmingly well until the NE did for me. I needed help to finish that quadrant. The rest was very enjoyable. Thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

28. 8d was my first in….never read one….but I do live in Shropshire – so – easy!

    1. I take it your reference to living in Shropshire is because they are made here, sabrinastar?

29. Strange, I found this to be much harder than the delightful offering from Dada yesterday! I bunged in 9a and 4d, both wrong, so a DNF from me. I’d never heard of 8d, but the setter’s clue of being read either way and having all the checkers, I googled a guess and it was right. Isn’t 25a going back a long way? Do they still have that toy? My brother had one in the 1940s, a while ago. My fave was 20a. Apart from the NE, glad to know I’m in good company, I very pleasant puzzle today.
    Thank you Campbell for a good start to the week, and to Falcon for unravelling the NE.

    1. M, 25a. I thought “toy” was a verb not a noun. I also had the definition as “Toy with”. You’ve got me thinking now …

       1. Jose,
          My first thought was also “toy with” (as a verb). However, on realizing one would also say “tinker with”, I concluded the definition must be merely “toy” and “with” must be serving as a link word.

          As for the construction set, it was designed in 1914 and is currently owned by Hasbro which produces both a plastic version as well as the classic wood version.

          1. Well I never! You never hear of it.

             1. I thought it a clever double reference–to the verb and the little wooden toys I loved playing with.

          2. F. Belatedly and with hindsight, I’d agree that “with” is a link word. I believe that the single word definition and the answer are both verbs. I’m not convinced by suggestions that the clue is anything to do with a kid’s toy. As you may have gathered, I don’t like untied loose ends but unless the setter pops in to confirm I guess we’ll never know definitively.

30. I don’t know why but other than 2/3 easy clues in the north west I completed most of the puzzle from the bottom up. I delayed entering the first letter of 14d until getting 12a I couldn’t see the connection of the letter d for close? But it had to be right! I too needed help to finish in the NE I struggled to get 8d and 9a without the hints. Many thanks to Campbell for an enjoyable puzzle and to Falcon. Thought the onion chart quite interesting!

31. All went swimmingly until I got to 13d.I got into a right pickle with it, and was convinced that there was an anagram somewhere. I saw the word “waterway” , and realised that I could make the word “canal” from Alice band. Talk about dig a hole. I waited until I had lots of checking letters, then the penny dropped. Very funny. 13d and 20a were my favourites. Thank you setter and Falcon.

32. Enjoyable but on the tricky side for a Monday 😳 ***/**** 16d and 23a were new to me, I think 🤔 but as they were anagrams it was OK, Favourites were: 11a, 19a, ( the penny eventually dropped) 6d, 13d and of course 14d 😃 Thanks to Falcon and to Campbell for a nice start to the week, probably all downhill from here 😟

33. Ditto 9a! Apart from that an enjoyable Monday crossword. We live near the Lancaster Canal and you won’t find any 13d – it is the longest stretch of canal without any in England. Probably my clue of the day too.
    Thanks to Campbell and Falcon for the hints.

34. Like others I too was undone by the NE corner and the stove books.
    Not my finest hour.

    Thanks to Campbell and to Falcon.

    Blinking baltic up here today.

35. Like others, I was heading for record timing then hit the NE wall and spun out. Both 9a and 11a were bung-ins for me. The dastardly 8d was not only a obscure term to me but impossible from the wordplay only (and the hints), leaving what I felt to be quite a poor clue and needed a reveal. On the positive ledger many of the remaining clues were humerous and clever and very much enjoyable to solve. **/***

    Ty to Campbell and Falcon

36. I was always going to put ‘straightforward until it wasn’t’ but Huntsman beat me to it. Monday is back to being the new Friday. Never heard of the musical in 9a, the chapel in 23a or 8d and 5d just about passes muster for a Monday. Too convoluted in places to be enjoyable. If I had to choose a favourite, and I’m tempted not to, it would be 20a as at least it made me smile. Thanks to Campbell anyway and Falcon.

37. Good evening. Newbie in here!
    I attempt the DT crossword most days. Today, hands up! I had to look in here for the answer to 9a….

    Look forward to calling in here again soon

    1. Welcome to the blog, ShangaJi.

    2. Welcome, ShangaJi. I look forward to hearing from you again.

38. Much the same here, all went swimmingly until I got to the opera. At least the writer and the stove stories came to mind. Thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

39. Well what a good quick crossword- 3 great puns. I always do the quick first and it’s usually a good gauge for how I’ll do in the cryptic. Many thanks to Falcon and Campbell. I only needed extra help with 4 clues today so am feeling very pleased with myself. I can’t imagine how Falcon copes with such cold weather. In Surrey it’s minus 5 at the moment and I’m really cold solving in bed so I’m going to use fresh water bottles instead of cups of coffee to put my solving time at 2 refilled bottles. So a good solve time for me!

40. Sorry, I hate 5d, just doesn’t work with a Scottish accent.

    1. You’ve shortened your alias so this needed moderation. Both your aliases will work from now on.
       It doesn’t work for lots of us, not just the Scots.

       1. So long since I posted, I couldn’t remember!

41. 3*/4*…
    liked 25A “Toy with one considering getting rid of husband (6)”

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