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DT 26354

by Gazza  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26354

Hints and tips by Gazza

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***

Giovanni has told us before that he likes to produce “bread and butter” puzzles from time to time, and this is one of them. It’s solid fare but with nothing too exciting. I got through it at a fairly steady rate but was held up in the top left-hand corner. Let us know what you think of it in a comment.
To see an answer drag your cursor through the space between the brackets under the relevant clue.

Across Clues

1a  Young bird making more vulgar sound (7)
{CHEEPER} – a description of a chick based on the sound it makes sounds like a comparative meaning more vulgar.

5a  Be a star, suffering shoulder to shoulder (7)
{ABREAST} – an anagram (suffering) of BE A STAR.

9a  One to shift a couple of maidens? (5)
{MOVER} – combine the abbreviation for a maiden in cricket with a six-ball sequence which may or may not be a maiden (hence the question mark).

10a  Driver leaves rubbish outside university by back street in Paris (9)
{CHAUFFEUR} – to get this driver put a word meaning rubbish around U(niversity) and add the French word for street which has to be reversed (back).

11a  Dismay is squashed by excited adherent (10)
{DISHEARTEN} – a verb meaning to dismay has IS placed inside (squashed by) an anagram (excited) of ADHERENT.

12a  Maybe a club character regarded as an eccentric (4)
{CARD} – double definition. Something that could be a club (but might be a spade) is also an eccentric person.

14a  Member of extended family and husband among brawnier lot getting drunk (7-2-3)
{BROTHER-IN-LAW} – this relative by marriage is an anagram (getting drunk) of BRAWNIER LOT with H(usband) inside.

18a  The sort of guards to have hrs pottering about? (5,7)
{NIGHT PORTERS} – the sort of guards that you might find in hotels (with not a lot to do for most of their shift) are an anagram (about) of HRS POTTERING. The abbreviation ‘hrs’ sticks out like a sore thumb and makes the clue far from smooth as well as hoisting a big flag saying “I’m part of an anagram”.

21a  Name specific area in speech (4)
{CITE} – a verb meaning to name or quote sounds like (in speech) a specific area.

22a  I sit in and help out someone far from intellectual (10)
{PHILISTINE} – someone who is indifferent or hostile to artistic matters (far from intellectual) is an anagram (out) of I SIT IN and HELP.

25a  Red stone making for an architectural monstrosity (9)
{CARBUNCLE} – double definition, the second being an architectural monstrosity of the type denounced by our heir to the throne.

26a  Suggest nothing and languish (5)
{OPINE} – a verb meaning to suggest or express a view is O (zero, nothing) followed a verb meaning to languish or waste away.

27a  Writers stuck in Devon water? There’s a price to pay (7)
{EXPENSE} – putting writing implements inside a Devon river creates a cost (price to pay).

28a  Weapon gents deployed when joining peacekeepers? (4,3)
{STEN GUN} – an anagram (deployed) of GENTS is followed by the abbreviation for the world body who provide peacekeepers in areas of conflict to make a weapon.

Down Clues

1d  This person joins daughter in modest form of entertainment (6)
{COMEDY} – the definition is form of entertainment. Put a pronoun identifying the speaker (this person) and D(aughter) inside an adjective meaning bashful or modest.

2d  Mischievous American singer hard to follow (6)
{ELVISH} – the abbreviation used to identify hardness in pencils follows an American singer no longer with us (unless you read the Daily Sport) to make an adjective meaning mischievous or capricious.
ARVE Error: need id and provider

3d  Pull agent up when having the sulks over payment per hour? (10)
{PERPETRATE} – we want a verb meaning to pull, as used in phrases such as pull a trick or pull a fast one. Start with the reversal (up, in a down clue) of the abbreviation of a sales agent and add a fit of the sulks and the standard amount of pay per hour.

4d  Come back again about scoundrel (5)
{RECUR} – this is a charade of a preposition meaning concerning and a synonym for scoundrel.

5d  A time to grasp confusing situation with blokes in shock (9)
{AMAZEMENT} – we want a feeling of great surprise (shock). Put A and T(ime) around (to grasp) something confusing and complicated and another word for blokes.

6d  Collar could be chafing from what we hear? (4)
{RUFF} – this Elizabethan collar sounds like (from what we hear) an adjective meaning uneven (could be chafing).

7d  Compliant in the morning when given sanction (8)
{AMENABLE} – an adjective meaning agreeable or compliant is made from an abbreviation meaning before noon followed by a verb meaning to give authority to (sanction).

8d  Refuse to be depressed after fit of illness (4,4)
{TURN DOWN} – we want a phrasal verb meaning to reject an application or request (refuse). It’s made from an adjective meaning depressed which comes after a brief and sudden feeling of illness.

13d  Instrument, one about to be included by new-style composer (10)
{MICROSCOPE} – put I (one) and C (circa, about) inside an anagram (new-style) of COMPOSER.

15d  The reason for an oral examination? (9)
{TOOTHACHE} – the setter wants to misdirect you into thinking that oral examination is a spoken test, but it’s equally, or possibly more, likely that your first thought will be the correct one of a session in a dentist’s chair.

16d  Mode of transport very cold — that’s what relation admits (8)
{UNICYCLE} – a male relative (relation) includes (admits) an adjective meaning very cold to form a precarious form of transport.

17d  A nasty type given post in Communist bureau (8)
{AGITPROP} – this is part of a Russian word meaning office of agitation and propaganda and it’s come to mean political propaganda, especially of a pro-Communist nature. Put A and an informal word meaning unpleasant person (nasty type) in front of a supporting post.

19d  Current source of income (6)
{LIVING} – double definition. A present participle meaning still in existence (current) is also, as a noun, a source of income sufficient to get by on.

20d  River girl’s going up ahead of navy (6)
{SEVERN} – reverse (going up, in a down clue) a girl’s name (possibly the oldest female name) plus the apostrophe S and follow this with the abbreviation for our navy to get the longest river in Great Britain.

23d  Deposit diminished, hole appearing in it (5)
{LOESS} – put the letter that looks like a hole inside an adjective meaning smaller or diminished to make a German word (new to me) meaning a windblown loamy deposit found in river valleys. Although this is a pretty obscure word the wordplay makes it easy to get.

24d  Water flowing from black vase (4)
{BURN} – a Scottish word for a small stream (water flowing) is B(lack) followed by a vase.

The clues I liked included 22a, 1d and 3d, but my favourite today is 8d. Let us have a comment with your views.

57 comments on “DT 26354”

  1. I actually thought that this was harder than bread and butter – toast perhaps? although when I reached the end I wasn’t entirely sure why I struggled. I liked the same clues as you but my favourite is 10a. Thanks Giovanni and Gazza.

    Now if you really want a struggle and have nothing else to do but mutter all day, I can recommend the Toughie. Some fantastic clues but I still have three left after looking at it on and off for two hours!!

  3. Thanks Gazza, the two that kept me guessing for longest were Cite and Agitprop (which I’d never heard of before). Out of interest, how do you know who is the setter/compiler each day? Is it just through getting used to the way they write the clues or is there a code somewhere that tells you?

    1. The Telegraph follows a pattern and on Fridays it’s Giovanni (he sometimes leaves a comment to confirm this)

  4. I agree with Sue’s comments. My favourite clue is also 10a. The last clue I entered was 19d (took me ages to get this one!). Thanks to Giovanni, and to Gazza.
    As for the Toughie…. big struggle for me today; only managed half so far!

    1. Domus,
      The answer I’ve given is correct (verified on CluedUp). I’m not sure how “wiring” fits in with income?

  6. A Good roast beef bread and butter sandwich with English mustard from the Maestro today. Bit like a Politburo crossword. Solid well brayed together clues that will last forever, regardless of age or use.
    Sorry, it’s my normal Friday rant.
    Plus I just got wet coming back from the barbers. now I’m home the sun has come out. Winston was right, it’s the only country in the world where you can experience all four seasons of the year in a half hour walk.
    Fav was 10a. Thanks for blog Gazza. I thought todays was going to be a pangram but couldn’t find J and K in the end.

    2. Four Seasons in One Day – try Vermont – that is their claim too – nothing new in New England then – maybe its down to the valleys (or should it be Valli).

  7. Nothing much to add, but I will anyway. 19d was blindingly obvious when the penny finally dropped, and 1a was also slow to go in; 12a was quite nifty. Apart from that, it was a welcome periodic diversion to a fairly slow Friday morning. Thanks G-squared.

  8. Probably because I’ve been away from the UK and the DT for a couple and are out of practice but I thought this a Giovanni from the bad old days. Only managed 2 answers UGH! Must get back in practice.

    2. Hello Barrie, really good to ‘see’ you again, have you been off on your adventures filming?? when are we going to see your name in lights? I was away for 8 days last week and it really does take a while to get back into it, welcome back :)

  9. Morning Gazza, I thought this was going to be pretty straightforward today and got off to a good start, after an hour I was totally stuck on the L/H bottom corner, so instead of perservating I went shopping and have come back and completed it with a little telephone help from my brother, because I would never ever have got 17d! which means I was stuck on 21a too! Because of this a 4* for me today, I am struggling to find favourite clues this week, I think if I had to pick one it would be 15d :) Fellow CCers a lot of perservating needed today!

      1. I thought it might be tiding… This was my last clue, and I had no idea what it could be. I had a few guesses on Cluedup before I got it right. Not my favourite clue!

  10. Bit of a slow slog for me today but eventually solved. Had to confirm 23d..a new word and 25a meaning of stone. Off topic but can anyone confirm if Rufus does (Aberdeen) Press & Journal under RFS. I know he does (Glasgow) Herald on Wednesday. Today’s P&J is RFS. Thanks to both again.

  11. More like steak and chips if you ask me! Thought that this was worthy of a bit more than 3* – ie I found it quite difficult. It’s definitely been a bad week for my personal “betes noires” – today they were cricket and guns! I spent ages with 1a trying to think of a specific young bird. 18a took a while as I managed to convince myself that the first word was ‘horse’. I also had ‘wiring’ for 19d. 23d was a new word for me but easy to work out and look up. Last to go in was 13d – trying to think of a musical instrument. Having finally finished it I’m not quite sure why I found it hard to do – maybe something to do with knowing what day it is and that I always find Friday crosswords the most difficult. Favourite clues today were 14 and 22a and 15d. Thanks to Giovanni and Gazza (and looking forward to tomorrow and Monday – can almost always do them without feeling like a complete numbskull!)

      1. Thank you Mary – she is still in theatre. We do seem to be staggering from crisis to crisis with her at the moment.

  12. I raced through this apart from a few in the SE corner so found it pretty much bread and butter but still a pleasant enough diversion.
    Sweating on the last 7 Toughoes though!

    Thanks to gazza and Giovanni.

  13. Crossword Editor – please ban cricketing terms! I found this the usual Friday standard of difficulty, and had 3 blanks left before resorting to the blog. Like Mary I would never have got 17d.

    Just back from a couple of weeks in Normandy, visiting those D Day beaches with the famous connection to the DT crossword. Was it ever resolved if the use of code names in the crossword was pure coincidence?

    1. Hear, hear about banning cricketing terms! I could add a few more – rugby, football, guns, bridge, golf – I’m sure there are others which I will add when they come to me!!

      1. You ladies will just have to get to grips with the noble game. As a Yorkshireman, where we invented it, I’m very willing to offer help and coaching. Meanwhile, here’s a very simple explanation:
        Cricket: As explained to a Big Dave Doubter.
        You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that’s in the side that’s in goes out, and when he’s out he comes in and the next man goes in until he’s out. When they are all out, the side that’s out comes in and the side that’s been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
        When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out.
        When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.

        1. Thank you so much, Digby – all is now as clear as mud. I just need an equally quick run down on rules of rugby and football,( to include, please, the names of all the positions and names of famous players) golf (also to include, as before, famous golfers and the names of all the different sticks that are used) – a few hints on bridge and guns wouldn’t go amiss either!

          1. Feel free to ask, any time. In return I could use help with ballet steps, dress & shoe styles and types of make-up!

              1. There’s American equivalents for both baseball and football – they’re even longer and more complex. I got in late yesterday so didn’t bother to take up the discussion on ‘beer’ but this ‘string of pearls’ enables:
                – since I have a family name of Murphy (handy since any nominal list sorted by surname from top/bottom inevitably puts me somewhere in the middle so any unpleasant ‘individual exercise’ involves a load of other precursors before my turn) my natural inclination is to ’26a’ that stout is the definition of a man’s drink;
                – due to my maritime background I favour larger lagers in summer months and available world wide – a double dose of lime prevents scurvy – maybe it allows me get into my feminine side;
                – so I guess I should admit to having bitter moments on the solstices – autumn ‘going-down’, spring ‘bottoms-up’.
                Come on guys give the girls a break – lets have one clue every solstice that only they can answer.
                Off to the fridge!!

          1. So did I – still do in fact, but don’t know how to use it. Not Pudsey – Gilling West, a village between Richmond and Scotch Corner.

      2. Thanks boys all is now clear (not) I can give you lessons in ballroom, latin, old time or sequence – any good?? :)

    3. To Patsyann, Kath, Mary et al – one of the best books on sport is : “Sports – The Complete Visual Reference” François Fortin published by Firefly Books. ISBN 1-55209-540-1 Canada.
      I got my copy in Vancouver BC years ago but I also have a Dutch edition!

  14. Nice workout from Giovanni, I liked 10a and 17d best, never heard of 23d but obvious from the wordplay, thanks Giovanni and thanks Gazza for review.

  15. Steady progress until the top left corner then it slowed down. I also put tiding for 19d but did manage to work out 17d from the word play despite it being a completely new word for me.
    Favourite 10a.
    Thanks to Giovanni and Gazza for the review,

  16. Hard going for me in a few places, SE corner, and failed on 17d ad 23d. Don’t usually enjoy the harder ones, but some nice moments along the way on this dull, grotty day.

    Thanks to G&G.

    1. That corner was tough today Geoff and those two other words aren’t exactly common everyday words are they! I think most of the CC would be in the same position today, so well done :) Hope the new car’s behaving?

      1. I’m getting the car on Tuesday, still got some petrol to use up in the old one on a trip on Monday.

  17. Looked difficult – all the long clues, but went pretty quickly once started. Good misdirection in 13d. 18a a poor clue.

    2. I thought that it was spelt (spelled?) with an F and ended in an N – ie elfin – but lots of other spellings are in Chambers.

  19. A pleasant stroll today apart from 17d which I had to use Gazza’s hint for, I agree with Mary regarding the cricket terms and me being a proper Tyke born in Barnsley, but there again if it hasn’t got an engine in it I’m not interested , thanks to G & G for today’s rendition. :D

  20. I also got held up in the top left hand corner, until I got 1d then everything seemed OK. Seemed bread and butter to me too.

  21. Oh dear — I’m going to have bread and butter stuffed down my throat for ever! The fact is that one wants to encourage the less advanced solver with some straightforward clues, but blogs are primarily initiated by experienced solvers (as you lot know) and there is a tendency for some setters (not necessarily Telegraph ones) to play to the blogging gallery with sophisticated stuff all the time. I shan’t play that game, but let’s forget the basic foodstuff, can we please?

    1. OK – no more food analogies from me. I’ll have to think of some other way of describing puzzles. How do we feel about sporting metaphors?

  23. Comments mainly as above, all straightforward except top left corner. I’m not sure I agree that 22a means ‘far from intellectual’

  24. Having been in meetings today and ploughing through work, I haven’t had an opportunity until now to comment! I did not find this as straightforward as some and it took some time to unravel the wordplay. It was enjoyable and 10a was my favourite. Many thanks to Giovanni and to Gazza for the blog.

  25. Solved this early this morning – too tired to start on it last night.
    Very enjoyable.
    Best for me was 25a followed by 15d & 16d.

    Nice work Giovanni!

  26. A bit late to the party – but not because it took 2 days to complete! I found this one slightly hard going but not enough to ruin the enjoyment. Unlike many, 23d was one of my first clues in, but only because I remember it from school geology lessons. Quite a few smiles and one or two of those Homer Simpson moments – when the penny drops and you think to yourself “Doh”.
    I would agree with Giovanni that there should be the occasional puzzle suitable for those of us who are … er….far from intellectual.
    Favourite clue was 2d. Straightforward but made me grin as it works an several levels.

    Nigel

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