DT 26080 – Hints

69 comments on “DT 26080 – Hints”

1. Just completed at heathrow prior to a weeks golf in Spain.
   See Y’all next week.
   I liked 18a and 24a. Best Saturday for a while.

   1. lucky you – have a great time

2. Great crossword – Cephas in top notch mode. This was a pleasure to solve with lots of good clues and smiles. It was a Mercedes that purred along whilst solving it. My favourites were 15a and 7d.

3. Really enjoyable, some nice clues but I am really stuck on the last 4. Any hints for 21a? Is the barker a dog?

   1. no Barrie, I thought that at first too, Barker travelling, means move the letters around another word for bay, which will give you a word for to come into the open, hope that helps??

      1. Thank you Mary, all finished now. Had got my mind hung up on a perishing dog like a Great Dane, should have read the clue better and realised that travelling was the anagram indicator, DOH! Excellent puzzle today, more like this please.

   2. No, it’s an anagram of barker, which is split to include an alternative word for bay . The answer is an different way of saying emerge into the open. Hope this helps!

      1. Welcome to the blog Bridget

4. Morning Dave, yet another one finished without the blog, it surely can’t continue :) , thank you Cephas, my favourites were 15a, 15d and 8d, I really don’t understand the second half of 10d, though I have the answer? this should be another good day for us ‘clueless cluc’ :)

   1. Mary,
      Another word for “character” plus the first letter (head) of department….

      1. morning Libellule and thanks once again :)

5. I mean club though cluc sounds quite nice!

6. Very enjoyable – much better than recent efforts. Plenty of thought went into the cluing.

7. A good puzzle today apart from the fact I am getting fed up with 3d, I wonder how many times I have filled that clue in in the last six months.
   23d, got the answer but have not got a clue how or why.The clue confuses me, please enlighten me Master (BD)

   1. 23d Regularly fervent with worry (4)

      Regularly means to take the even or odd letters from the fodder – today it’s the odd ones.

      1. Thanks Big Dave, what a guy

   2. I thought he clue for 3d was quite good, even though it used the dreaded A B in C to mean B in A = C.

      1. The clue was very clever, it was the answer I am sick of filing in. It is fast becoming a ‘vielle rengaine’ or should I say old chestnut.

         1. Nubian,
            Ah yes I know the phrase “c’est toujours la meme rengaine” thank you for reminding me.
            or would you prefer from a stricter translation a vieux marron or vieux chataigne?
            However figuratively it could also be “une plaisanterie eculee”….

            1. chataigne was my word of the day a couple of weeks ago, I saw this brown gooey stuff in the dessert area at the local restaurant and asked what it was, there was also ‘palmiere’ in the salad area which I asked about and was told the French like to eat trees !. It tasted like cold potato slices, do you know it ?

               1. Palmiere or is it Palmier? As in “Coeurs De Palmier”? Because that would be “Hearts of Palm”, and I do believe you can buy them in cans. Not that I am in a hurry to taste it :-)

                  1. Youre right Libellule, the taste was ok, nothing out of the ordinary. bit like water chestnuts used in chinese cooking

8. Nice weekender, enjoyed it very much.

9. Good crossword some good clues. Not quite sure how 3d comes about , but like Nubian have seen it so often got it from “lodging” and “Frenchman’s”. I am further confused by Big Dave’s clarification! Can’t work out what A,B + C are. Liked 15d – straightforward but a bit obscure – also a big part of my job!

   1. Toby

      This clue actually says “Frenchman with engagement in gives a secondary lodging ” but most people would say “engagement in French man gives a secondary lodging”. In this case A = Frenchman, B = engagement and C = secondary lodging.

      1. Dohhhhh! Penny has dropped! many thanks BD- couldn’t see who the french man was but can now.

10. Mary, no comment about the cricket usage in 27a, you must be converted!.Like all loved this Saturday prize puzzle, best clue, too many good ones to adjudicate upon.

    1. Ah no, it was one of the very few cricket facts that I knew but I’m definitely not converted :)

11. Lovely crossword – no sticking points – some very nice clues. My favourite were 12a for the wordplay and 24a for the definitions.

12. Yes, I liked this as well.

    Actually all of the puzzles this week have been good, particularly Giovanni’s brilliant Friday puzzle.

    I have to concede that having re-worked Elgar’s Wednesday puzzle with the help of the hints I can now see what a great puzzle it was. I was simply a bit sour on Wednesday because I couldn’t solve it! With the help of this blog I know I will eventually be able to solve an Elgar puzzle – I appreciate the help of you all.

    Bring on Sunday! I know Jed will have a good puzzle to challenge us all.

    1. Absolutely agree esp about Fridays BUT I do not like Elgars puzzles, even with the answers I found them pretty nigh incomprehensible. Def not for me.

       1. So agree with you. I would need a brain transplant! Loved todays however. Relatively easy, but a pleasure to do. Back to the cleaning :(

13. I really enjoyed today’s too, but confess to remaining stumped in the top left – 1ac and 1dn (and 9 ac but I’m not good on plants…) Loved the rest, though.

    I’m assuming the last half of 1ac is what we didn’t get with recent strikes, but haven’t got first idea what the frist part is. Can’t think of any words that mean ‘before’ to make a gambling term, but them as I’m not a better perhaps it’s simply ignorance. Could it be an extended hill-dweller?

    As for 1dn… um… nope. Ah, hang on…. if 1ac is an extended hill-dweller, then could that perhaps kick off a bad ‘******’?

    1. Chambers defines the first word for 1a as
       “a fixed stake put down by a poker player, usu before the deal or an advance payment” and an extended hill dweller would be right, or even an eastern hill dweller. You usually hear the word in the betting phrase “to up the ****”.

       1. Many thanks, Libellule. Never heard of it, but thanks!

          Time for a nice cup of tea….

    2. It was difficult to provide a hint for 1d but you seem to be there. I’ve censored your comment as it contained 5 of the 6 letters in the answer, you can see how hard it is to provide a hint without using the word itself or one close to it!

       1. Thanks, BD. New to this, so didn’t realise I shouldn’t use a similar word with a different meaning if the letters are close. Certainly don’t want to spoil anyone else’s fun, so will remember for next time! Sorry!

          1. Usually it would be ok, but that one was a bit too close. The problem I am trying to avoid is having comments like “Can’t get 2d, have A?B?C?” – the difficulty is where to draw the line.

14. Not as keen as some of you on this.

    Stuck on a lot.

    19d?

    22d?

    Peter

    1. 19d Del-Boy?
       22d Double definition – a jump for example perhaps using a pole, and and the cellar would have “arched walls and ceiling”.

    2. 19d Scurry back to Queen’s merchant (6)

       Libellule’s hint is harder than the clue!!

       Reverse a 4-letter word meaning to scurry and add the usual crosswordese for Her Majesty – result, a merchant

       1. Dave,
          You think so :-)

15. Stuck on 8d – think I have the answer but no idea how. Any assistance?

    1. 8d Animal that’s strange at home with hill-dweller (8)

       It’s a charade – strange (3) + at home (2) + hill-dweller (3)

    2. If I said the definition was animals that chewed the cud and the hill dweller was “Any of the various social insects of the family Formicidae” would that help?

       1. Excuse my ignorance but I wasn’t aware of that definition for the first part of the charade. Got the answer – just wasn’t sure how!

          1. It’s worth remembering as it comes up quite often in one form or another.

16. This blog is great…….as well as being very helpful it is also very entertaining :)

    1. I agree with you Mary – learn something new every day don’t we? French phrases and food included.

       Thanks BD for making it available to all of us.

    2. I wonder if Big Dave will have an AGM for all users of the blog with pop and crisps for the yungins and chicken tikka masala for the more discerning palate and then lots of beer and wine and wassailing

17. Finished at last.

    Thanks all.

18. Finished, thanks BD for your help with the cud-chewer which otherwise would never have got!

19. Down to the last one and completely stuck on 5a – any suggestions??
    Great blog by the way

    1. Welcome to the blog Robbo

       5a Man on whom success depends gets an honour, gold (6)

       The definition is “man on whom success depends”, and it’s charade time again – AN + an Honour from the Queen + gold, crossword style (but not AU).

20. Enjoyable but again the easiest of the week by a mile. Finished it during my son’s wind-band performance. It’s in the envelope ready to post after firework watching and now a nice glass of white burgundy. Lovely.

21. Best Saturday crossword for months and the right level for me. I can rarely solve the more complex clues like in yesterday’s offering.

    Great blog – amazing how the number of comments has grown recently as has the number of hits.

22. Loved this weeks Saturday crossword (and this blog!) but can’t finish :-( 17a and 20a have me stumped. Pretty sure I have 8 down ok & I thought 16d was ok but maybe not…. or maybe I’m just being dumb!

    1. 17a Amphibian remaining headless (3)
       Drop the first letter from a word meaning remaining (after some has been taken away)

       20a Say about husband going in pale (4)
       This is an anagram (about) of SAY around H(usband) to give a word meaning pale

       8d there are a number of hints above!

       16d Neat gash free from infection at the start (5-3)
       The definition is neat, and you get there by putting a word meaning a gash after one meaning free from infection

       1. Do you ever sleep BD?

       2. Thanks BD – had 16d ok – should have got 20a! Unless my hill dweller’s wrong I’ve never heard of 17a!

          1. 17a is a word that crops up frequently in quick crosswords.

23. Enjoyed this. Much more fun than watching Strictly . . or X Factor!

24. Hi all
    I’m now done with a little help from here.
    I’m a Saturday only man, when i get the time (Tricky this weekend with daughter largely unable to walk due to descending a staircase the quick way) and SWMBO having a dental procedure yesterday) so have been looking after the grandson (2 1/2) mostly, but an enjoyable and well pitched puzzle I thought.
    I always say there’s a new word in every Saturday puzzle, today i learned 2. 9a and 17a are new to me, I think 9a is a well known clue/wordplay, but 17 had me stumped for a while. Had no knowledge of the word, but in true “good clue” style, you could work out pretty much what it just has to be.
    Especially liked 15a and 18a.
    Cheers
    Bob

25. Hi. Just wanted to say thanks for the help to finish today’s xword. Have eventually got round to posting something. Am a relative newbie but love doing them.

    1. Welcome to the blog Hippo.

       You are in good company here!

26. don’t understand the clue for 5a at least not the 1st 4 letters of the answer which I assume is a thing on a boat – can you assist please

    1. Did you see comment #19 above?

       1. Thanks – being dim here still dont get logic for letters 3 and 4

          1. Try looking up Companion of Honour – it’s used a lot in crosswords!

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