DT 26666 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
View closed comments 

DT 26666 (Hints)

by Big Dave  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26666 (Hints)

Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, I will select an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, and provide hints for them.

Don’t forget that you can give your assessment of the puzzle. Five stars if you thought it was great, one if you hated it, four, three or two if it was somewhere in between.

Could new readers please read the Welcome post before asking questions about the site.

Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also”.

A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.

Across

1a           What birds do to cause depression? (4,4)
This could describe what birds do when they moult, but actually means to depress mentally

10a         Pious Oriental quintet seen on day out (6)
To get an adjective meaning pious but the single-letter that indicates Oriental and the Roman numeral for a quintet after (on) D(ay) and end with OUT, from the clue

13a         Groundbreaker needs direction — street disrupted (11)
This groundbreaker is created from a word meaning direction or course and an anagram (disrupted) of STREET

26a         Drew from the decks (8)
A word meaning drew in outline is an anagram (from) of THE DECKS

Down

1d           Accusation of assault? (6)
A double definition – an accusation and an assault or onrush

4d           Flying visit with topless extravaganza (7,4)
This flying visit, originally during an electioneering tour, is a cleverly disguised anagram (extravaganza) of WITH TOPLESS

14d         Battered shell-like car Keith crashed (5,3)
The result of a blow administered to the part of the body sometimes called the shell-like is an anagram (crashed) of CAR KEITH

20d         Saw be arrested (6)
A word meaning saw is a charade of BE, from the clue, and arrested or detained

The clues that I chose didn’t leave much scope for illustration this week, so here’s some video help with 22 across (and no, I’m not providing an illustration of 24 across, I did that for DT 26650).

ARVE Error: need id and provider
ARVE Error: need id and provider
ARVE Error: need id and provider

The Crossword Club is now open.  Feel free to leave comments.

Please don’t put whole or partial answers or alternative clues in your comment, else they may be censored!

The Quick crossword pun: {list} + {Tenn} + {very} + {carefully} = {Listen very carefully (I shall say this only once)}

66 comments on “DT 26666 (Hints)”

  1. Good morning Dave, took me a while, but with a little perservation and help from my ‘friends’ I have finally got there! A nice Saturday puzzle, not too easy but very doable! Thanks once again for hints, didn’t need them today though, thank goodness, good luck everyone from a miserable, drizzly West Wales :-D, where is that nice weather we have been promised, who’s got it? own up! Fav clues today, 9a, 12a, 16a no real dislikes today, thank you setter

    1. I think it must be further south as it is warm and sunny in Bucks! They are promising a Indian summer for us all this week which would be right as I am going to Portugal tomorrow to play golf!

  2. Not the easiest of Saturday puzzles with a number of what Mrs B calls ‘not quite right’ answers. Ie 1a and 11a. Neither of us can work out what 25a has to do with Bob.

      1. I think I must have the wrong answer as there is no S in mine. I thought the answer was the place that battered wives go to.

          1. i.e. a word for ‘decline’ as in to decline Bob (shilling – this is where the ‘s’ comes in ) so the ‘s’ goes and is replaced by the ‘g’

  4. Thanks Dave, needed one or two of your hints where I was on the right lines but couldn’t quite get there by myself. 16a was my fav clue, made me smile when it fell into place. Top left (NW?) corner was last to go in but got there in the end!

  5. Morning all. An enjoyable crossword this morning with nothing too easy and nothing to tricky. Many thanks to the setter and to BD for the notes.

  7. Glad I’m not Robr, I have been trying to submit the online puzzle for twenty minutes. My Leaderboard rating is in tatters, the sun has not come out yet, I have been ordered to do some housework by SWMBO. Thats the prob with retirement, Saturday is just another day.
    Fav clue was 16a. Thanks to B Dave.

    2. Strange you have a Swmbo Nubian and I have a Hwmbo, in fact one of my sister-in-laws and I have written a book of rules about Hwmbos!! I agree with your comment about retirement, you can’t look forward to the weeksends anymore :-)

      1. I don’t know who obeys who in our house but we must be doing something right as it’s our 29th wedding anniversary today. As for retirement, if only……

        2. Congratulations Sue, B Dave has got ten years on me so i will ….ooooohhhh sorry being dragged away !!!

        5. Congratulations – definitely doing something right, as we must be too – it’s our 34th anniversary today. :smile:
          We both pretend to obey the other one – in fact what happens is that we each do what we were going to do anyway!! Seems to work OK.

          1. Thanks to all. We have had a nice sunny but busy day, mainly dealing with the East Kent Tomato Mountain, closely followed by the East Kent Pear Mountain.

      2. Since I don’t go to the gym on the weekends I look forward to them for that reason!!!

        Congratulations to CS for 29 years and Kath for 34.

        I have an IMBO as don’t have the hwmbo – changes things drastically believe me.

  8. A little more difficult than some Saturday puzzles. Needed the discussion above to fully explain 25a. Fell for the misdirection in 4d too. Thanks to all involved.

  9. A slightly trickier offering from Cephas today but entertaining. I too laughed at 24a. Thanks to Cephas for the crossword and BD for the hints.

  10. Interesting! To me today’s compared to last Saturday’s was like comparing ping-pong with the Grand Slam or beach cricket to The Ashes. Tripped through it in no time (for me). Last week for the first time I can remember I needed help to get started! From comments last week and this (so far) it shows we are all different!. I think this week is Cephas and last week he or she who remains anonymous. Only criticism of today is that with checking letters it was easy to fill in some of the answers and then work it out. It gives more satisfaction when it is the other way. 25a is a good clue for those of us who remember pre-decimal currency. Liked 13a, 16a, 2d,3d. Got 4d without realising it was an anagram! Would be interested to be able to compare entry numbers this week with last.

  11. All done now but not easy. The NW corner took ages, mainly because I had the first word of 1a wrong and I have never come across 9a before. I also tried to fit Sopwith in as the first word in 4d but to no avail. It’s grey and miserable here in Barcelona too Mary, so you are not alone.

  13. If I’m not mistaken this is the latest that I’ve ever left a comment on a Saturday morning but I do have two excuses – England-Romania and New Zealand-France. Although I’ve finished the puzzle without any difficulty, I’m slightly unsure about the first part of 1a. Are we talking about a word which can also be used as a noun to describe the dramatis personae in a film or play?

  14. Good afternoon from sunny Hertfordshire – blimey, is the cricket season starting! Lovely. Found today’s puzzle sticky in parts and it took me a while to get tuned in. Last in was 25a 16a being my favourite. Will be away until the latter part of next week – off to Moldova – anyone been there?

  15. Also found the NW corner the most difficult, and do not know why the answer I have for 2d makes sense?
    Thanks for hints, always helpful to have them if only to see whether one is right or not.
    It was a perfect morning here in S Cambs., now the sun has gone just when I must get out in the garden.
    My husband is walking to Compostela, beginning on Monday, so will have the job of tidying up outside on my own.

    i have noticed recently how many times Queen comes up in clues, there ought to be simple book on them, like the Ladybird series for people such as me who are ignorant of pop groups !

  16. An enjoyable puzzle to solve this Saturday!
    I did not find it difficult at all.
    Faves : 5a, 16a, 24a (a good laugh), 25a (a long time since £sd days), 4d, 12d & 14d.

    Weather here in NL is magnificent – real Indian Summer.

  17. An enjoyable crossword. Bit easier than par for Saturday.

    24a was last in, and is nominated for ‘favourite clue’. I see others have enjoyed that one too.

    Thanks to Cephas and BD.

    Nick

    One from Blackadder:

    Baldrick: My uncle Baldrick was in a play once.
    Blackadder: Really?…And what did he play?
    Baldrick: Second ????????. Macbeth wore him in the fight scenes.
    Blackadder: So he was a stunt ????????.
    Baldrick: Yes.
    Blackadder: Did he have a large part?
    Baldrick: Depends who’s playing Macbeth.

      1. AAAARGH!

        SO so sorry. I forgot it was a prize crossword… Lack of concentration. Hope I’ve not spoiled anyone’s fun…

        Nick

        (in naughty corner)

  18. Late today – we’ve been up to see eldest daughter in Birmingham – just a quick overnight stay. I think this was about average for a Saturday puzzle. I took ages to get 20d. The first word of 1a and the first word of 11a took some time too. My main problem in the bottom half was that I put the answer to 21a where 22a should be and the other way round – it really made things quite interesting and I didn’t spot what I’d done for some time – oh dear!! Absolute favourite today was 16a. Runners up were 4 and 14d. With thanks to the setter and to BD. Rubbish weather in Oxford – grey and muggy – not actually raining but looks and feels as if it is about to.

  19. Took me a while to sort this but got there in the end. Thanks for explaining 25a. I liked 16a, 2d, 4d and 12d. I didn’t think much of 1d, or 20d.

  20. I’ve spent the day in the sunshine with daughter and small grandson, and so started this puzzle very late. I was glad of the hint for 22a, and as an expatriate Australian was trying to remember what 19d was like — but apart from that had very little trouble getting through it and enjoyed it very much. So thanks to BD and to Cephas.

    And congratulations to Crypticsue and Kath. :-)

  21. Help – can someone help me out with 5a and 6d please?
    LOVED 16a – wonderful clue.
    Gorgeous day playing netball today and the Mini Macs won their cricket. Woop xxx

    1. 5a is a double definition – a type of choir and/or one of four books in the bible
      6d is an anagram meaning past.

      1. Someone else who shares my love of DT crosswords and netball! Our game was cancelled today as the council haven’t cleared the moss from the courts! It would have been a great day to play – just the right temperature!

  22. Didn’t even try to get on the DT site yesterday so got a paper late and did the puzzle this morning. Took a bit to get 1a (even with your hint BD) Got the second word first and then when I got 2d I could see it – not a phrase I have heard before.

    I liked 25a and 5a. Thanks to Cephas and to BD.

  23. Thanks to the setter for a very nice puzzle and to Big Dave for the hints. I raced through this, then got stuck on the first word of 1a, 1d & 20.Which I got from the hints. Favourite was 24a.

  24. Took a couple of hours this morning – Top left corner was the most difficult and I needed help there – thanks for the clues. Still not convinced that my 9a is correct. (the puzzle aspect) Lovely morning here – some gardening is required methinks – before the predicted heatwave!! Fav clues 16a / 24a /25a

    1. Nice to hear someone else does the crossword the next day! Just finished, enjoyed it today – 20d was the last one in – it suddenly dawned on me! – with help from BD’s clue. Good gardening.

Comments are closed.