DT 26972 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 26972 (Hints)

by Big Dave  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26972 (Hints)

Big Dave’s Crossword Club

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Today is the last day that you can enter our September Monthly Prize crossword.

As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, have been selected and hints provided 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

4a           By end of over I had ball causing dismissal (8)
A charade of the final letter (end) of oveR, the two-letter abbreviation of I had and a ball (the kind where people take steps in time with the music!)

8a           Dolly has heart turned by regular customer (6)
This Dolly is a well-endowed country singer and actress! – just swap round the middle two letters of her surname

13a         Is annoying society without cause (8)
A verb meaning is annoying followed by S(ociety)

16a         Shrub, being at home in desert, to become sickly when uprooted (8)
This being that is at home in the desert is followed by the reversal (when uprooted?) of a verb meaning to become sickly

21a         Beat Obama, for example, one after another (6)
A verb meaning to beat followed by the three-letter abbreviation for Barack Obama’s political party

26a         Control opening to create in new form (8)
A charade of a verb meaning to control and an opening

Down

1d           Quiet region of Spain, one that’s just perfect (7)
The musical notation for quiet followed by a region of Spain

3d           Unmentionable things zombie does? (6)
These undergarments could be what a zombie does

6d           Did ‘urt with weapons (5)
Drop the initial H from a verb meaning did hurt

15d         American beach barbecue where Madeleine perhaps eats meat (8)
The kind of food item of which Madeleine is an example (perhaps) around (eats) a type of meat

ARVE Error: need id and provider

22d         Condescend to exclude son from plan (5)
Drop the S(on) from a plan or pattern,

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: {Western} + {soup} + {ameer} = {Weston super Mare}

76 comments on “DT 26972 (Hints)”

  1. Quite easy for us today, but thanks for the explanation of 8a; could not be anything else as an answer but did not understand it. Now feel quite sheepish about the direction we were heading in.

  2. I enjoyed today’s, finished before 9 am. Got a bit stuck in the NW corner, confusing singers with cloned sheep.
    A good start to the weekend.
    Thanks BD and the setter

  3. Not a sheep, but I did try to get VADREN to work at 8a, till the pennies hit me between both eyes.
    A nice, gentle Saturday work-out on a cracking day in Heavenly Henfield.
    Thanks (Cephas?) and BD

  4. I thought this was a lovely crossword with some brilliant clues – really enjoyed it.
    I would NEVER have got 4d if it hadn’t come up before – and I’m still in a bit of a muddle with all the men so haven’t quite unravelled it yet! I was a bit slow to get 16a – kept trying to get “in” for “home” into it somewhere.
    Far too many favourites to write them all down so a few of them are 9, 10, 16 and 23a and 3, 14 and 15d.
    With thanks to the setter – whether it’s Cephas or Mr Ron – and to BD.
    Beautiful sunny day AND the dancing starts again tonight! :grin:

      1. Thanks BD,
        How dim can I possibly be, not that there’s any need for anyone to answer that! I had 3, 2 and then another three letter one further down – the rest of it was a bit of a mess! :roll:

    2. Thanks for reminding me about the dancing Kath, something to look forward to :-) , Have only just started this and at first glance it doesn’t look too easy to me, I think 9a is a place I’ve never heard of!!

      1. One of my sons has given up expecting any sun and has bought himself a SAD lamp, thinking of getting one myself, this summer the weather has really been depressing!

        1. Mary, I doubt that you have heard of 9a. Concentrate on the anagram. This is a lovely puzzle and very doable once you get into it

  5. Although I don’t play golf, I do have a good knowledge of most sports and saw the answer to 4d straight away. But, when I came to find the three men, they weren’t immediately apparent! They are now because one of them is my actual forename and I’m sorry to disappoint anyone who thought that my nom-de-plume was my real name…

  6. Always nice to learn from crosswords.

    Quite like the idea of a 16d, and never heard of 16a before.

    Really enjoyed this one. Could not for the life of me work out why I got 8a, other than it was obvious – thanks for explanation.

    Just about to start an ANTINOVEL having first learnt about the concept last week. – “Report on probability A” – anyone ever read it?

  7. Thought at first run through that ths was going to be troublesome but perservation showed it to be quite achievable. Best clue for me was 19a, clever!
    Didnt need the hints today but thx anyway and to the setter.

        2. My brother and his wife are in France for a month in their motorhome in the Languedoc area but haven’t had very warm weather so far

  8. Despite the glorious sunshine (sorry Mary) and its warm too, I have had one of those mornings when I might have done better staying in bed. However, solving the Saturday Mysteron just now didn’t take long so perhaps things will improve this afternoon. I particularly liked 3d. Thanks to BD for the hints.

    Two questions – why don’t the DT put italics when the QUick Pun is going to be 3 words? Am I a bad person for laughing out loud in the supermarket queue when I saw today’s Matt cartoon? :D

    1. Not a bad person at all sue, not even for mentioning the warm sunshine you have, once again it is cold and cloudy!

    2. I laughed at the Matt too – don’t think it makes us bad people but do rather wish that all the photographers would leave them alone.
      I thought the clues for the Quick pun were in italics if it was more than two words, but haven’t done today’s.
      Hope that your day improves – don’t forget the dancing!

  10. Although once I settled down to this it fell into place, I don’t think it was one of the easier Saturday puzzles, thinking Andrews was the last word for 4d didn’t help until I looked it up, needed my usual ‘help’ and one or two hints from Dave, thanks Dave, a three star for me today, fav clue 3d

    1. Last time we had 4d in a prize crossword I mentioned what you said you were thinking of for the last word – seem to remember being deleted (and probably sent to the naughty corner!!)
      I liked 3d too.
      Maybe the sun will come out later in Wales.

      1. Really? well hopefully I will not be sent again today, can’t really see what’s wrong with that, maybe you put the three words in Kath?

  11. Some very enjoyable surface readings from our Mysteron with a crossword that shows it does not have to be fiendish to be fun.

    If anyone has time to solve Gervase’s crossword in the NTSPP series today, I would recommend that you give it a go.

    1. Just having a go at the NTSPP – seem to have ground to a complete halt – more “perservation” needed, I think.

  12. I always seem to end up in the NW at the weekend. The last two for me were 8a, followed by 3d.
    I should have sussed 8a earlier; reminds me of a Chubby Brown song……..
    Thanks to setter, and to BD.

            1. I know it’s silly and it probably doesn’t apply any more, but my brother who has been doing these for over forty years as opposed to my three, gave me that advice, he used to think that by the time setters got down to the last few clues they were running out of ideas and therefor the last down clues would be the easiest, so that’s what I do :-D

  13. Completed this while laid flat on my back with a spot of sciatica incurred picking up my briefcase following a meeting at Schiphol airport – not the most comfotable journeys home I’ve experienced. Thanks to Cephas (although I’ve got my doubts) & to BD as usual.

    Now if I can pesuade Mrs S to print the NTSPP then I won’t have to stare at the ceiling for the rest of the afternoon.

    1. Me. It is not a course – there is an Old Course associated with it but it’s definitely a club.

      1. I just see it as the names of three men and an american coin round i ? If it’s not a golf course what is it?

      2. See – I SAID I didn’t know anything about golf, or golf courses! MUST learn to keep big mouth shut and stop questioning the clever people! :oops:

  15. Very enjoyable crossword, the *** is the club, but the courses are all owned by and shared with the St. Andrews Local Authority, even the championship courses, they are open to the public ( when there are no matches being played ) theoretically anyway. Glorious sunshine up here on the Fife coast, aperfect day for the airshow at Leuchars, next door to St. Andrews.

          1. There are lots of courses in the city where the answer is based. The most famous of them is called the Old Course.

  16. For me some v good clues especially 8 16 and 23 a and 3 and –
    14 d. Quite a breeze till I arrived in the South West

  17. Quite straightforward but a lovely crossword.

    Has anyone done the quickie. It looks like its a pangram but I’m missing a “G”. Have I gone wrong somewhere?

    Thanks

    W

    2. I can’t find a “G” either! Maybe, we’ve both gone wrong?

      I really must try to find something more important to do! Ah! Lose some money on the St Leger?

  18. Really enjoyed today’s puzzle, this is defined by; I solved it in record time and had no recourse to gizmos.

    Thanks for the hints.

    Thanks to the setter.

  19. Enjoyed this today. A bit of an American flavour to it including 8a ,one of my favouite places in the world . :smile:

  20. Thanks to the setter and to Big Dave for the hints, which I didn’t need for once. First in was 2d, last in was 24a, favourites were 3 & 4d, even though the definition was dodgy.Weather superb in central London, went to Arsenal & they hit 6, great day.

  21. Very late input from me as was hauled out by my daughter to go to a restaurant in Amstelveen to celebrate her twins’ birthday. Back home this very early morning – slept till 9 o’clock!
    The twins are what the French call “faux jumeaux” – we don’t seem to have a name unless non-identical fits the bill.

    A nice Saturday puzzle.

    Best clues for me : 16a, 21a, 3d & 15d.

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