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DT 27087

by Deep Threat  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27087

Hints and tips by Deep Threat

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Good morning from a grey South Staffs, where it’s considerably warmer than it was last week.

There’s a mini-theme of the Wild West in the top half of today’s puzzle, plus one or two items which have featured in the last few Tuesday crosswords.

In the hints below, the definitions are underlined.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.  You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.

Across

1a           Fellow connected with the Spanish church (6)
{ CHAPEL } Another word for fellow followed by one of the forms of the definite article in Spanish.

5a           What a nark may do is endless? (3,3)
{ TIP OFF } Endless, as in a snooker cue with a bit missing.

10a         Was up on bronco’s back in Wild West Show (5)
{ RODEO } A verb meaning ‘was up’ (on a horse) followed by the last letter (back) of bronc O.

11a         Left most of toast and cheese (4,5)
{ PORT SALUT } The nautical term for left followed by a synonym for toast (the sort you drink) with the final E missing.  Tuesday seems to be French cheese day: we’ve had two weeks of Brie, and now this one.

12a         Dance? Husband’s terribly wooden (7)
{ HOE DOWN }  H usband followed by an anagram (terribly) of WOODEN.

ARVE Error: need id and provider

13a         Hat put back on after conclusion of matins (7)
{ STETSON }  A proofreader’s instruction to restore something followed by the last letter (conclusion) of matin S and ON (from the clue).

14a         Understood about blocking plan to send down student (9)
{ RUSTICATE } A five-letter word meaning understood or unspoken is reversed ( about) inside (blocking) a deceptive plan.

17a         Lie level, reportedly (5)
{ STORY } A homonym (reportedly) of a word for a level in a building.

18a         Fruit from Spanish province marketer initially imported (5)
{ LEMON } The first letter (initially) of M arketer inside (imported) a province in the northwest of Spain.

19a         Foul by new forward in game (9)
{ BADMINTON } A charade of an adjective meaning foul, another meaning new, as in ‘brand new’, and an exhortation to go forward.

21a         ‘Betrayal’, a complete success at the box office? (4-3)
{ SELL-OUT } Double definition.

23a         What’s in bottle perhaps given a right shaking? (7)
{ VINEGAR } Anagram (shaking) of GIVEN A and R(ight)

25a         Aware of things, like the footballer about to pass? (2,3,4)
{ ON THE BALL } An informal expression for being aware, derived from a footballing situation like the one in the clue.

26a         Picture that is framing periodical (5)
{ IMAGE } The Latin abbreviation for ‘that is’ wrapped around (framing) an abbreviation of the sort of publication that a periodical is.  We had this one last Tuesday with a very similar construction.

27a         Wearing box, as a precaution (2,4)
{ IN CASE } A preposition used for ‘wearing’, as in  ‘she’s – Dior’, followed by a synonym of ‘box’.  For non-cricketers, the surface is a reference to the vital piece of equipment worn by a batsman to protect his delicate bits.

28a         The City? I dropped out, being grumpy (6)
{ TETCHY } Anagram (out) of THE C(I)TY with the I removed.

Down

2d           Row of bushes in verge below hospital (5)
{ HEDGE } The abbreviation for H ospital followed by (below, in a down clue) another word for verge.

3d           Publicity for movement (9)
{ PROMOTION }  The Latin preposition meaning ‘for’ followed by a word for movement.

4d           Bloomer at university contributing to endless row (5)
{ LUPIN }  A row of objects with the final E removed (endless) with the preposition used to indicate presence at university inside it (contributing to).

5d           Drake, thus, spliced decorative knot (4’1,4)
{ TURK’S HEAD } Anagram (spliced) of DRAKE THUS.  Nice to see the apostrophe indicated in the enumeration – though it does make unravelling the anagram easier.

6d           Stick to” “administer severe beating (5)
{ PASTE } Double definition.

7d           Fail to meet brief after defeat (4,5)
{ FALL SHORT } A noun expressing defeat (like Gibbon’s Roman Empire) followed by (after) an adjective meaning brief.

8d           Film king (6)
{ ARTHUR } Double definition. A 2011 film starring Russell Brand and Helen Mirren, and a legendary British king.  Not my favourite clue.

9d           Mean to defraud Treasury, ultimately (6)
{ STINGY } An informal term for ‘defraud’, as perpetrated on film by Paul Newman and Robert Redford, followed by the last letter (ultimately) of Treasur Y.

15d         Dope easy to name (9)
{ SIMPLETON } A charade of an adjective for ‘easy’, TO (from the clue) and N ame.

16d         Artist imprisoned by a bitter twisted judge (9)
{ ARBITRATE }  The definition is a verb.  The usual Crosswordland artist is inside (imprisoned by) an anagram (twisted) of A BITTER.

17d         Boffin in tests spread across Channel Islands (9)
{ SCIENTIST } Anagram (spread) of IN TESTS around (across) the abbreviation for C hannel I slands. Not the same boffin as last week.

18d         The French boy’s Bible reading (6)
{ LESSON } One of the forms of the definite article in French followed by another word for boy gives one of the readings which precede the Gospel in a Eucharist service.

20d         Took care of shark close to land (6)
{ NURSED } A variety of shark followed by the last letter (close) of lan D.

22d         Oxygen needed by enormous Greek character (5)
{ OMEGA } The chemical symbol for oxygen followed by a prefix derived from the Greek  meaning ‘very large’.

23d         Steward may be very late, unfortunately (5)
{ VALET } V ery followed by an anagram (unfortunately) of LATE.

24d         Grind and cut small number inside (5)
{ GNASH } An abbreviation (small) for N umber inside a noun or verb meaning cut, giving a grinding of teeth.

The Quick Crossword pun { MIST } + { TICKLE } = { MYSTICAL }

61 comments on “DT 27087”

  1. 2*/3* for me as well. Re 8d – I never thought of that film; the one with Dudley Moore was the one that immediately sprung to mind.
    Thanks to setter, and to Deep Threat.

  2. Yeee Hah. Enjoyable today but i did think I was going to fail miserably in the NW corner, then 11A popped into my head and the rest followed with no problem. Some very nice surface reading today and it was really nice to see 14A – not a nice word if it were to happen to you or someone you know, but it always makes me think of the countryside for some strange reason.
    Thought 27A was very clever.

  3. Thanks Deep I needed to see your answer to 8d as I had never heard of the film. I suppose I was looking for something less shallow.

  4. Was not aware of the Russell Brand film also assumed it was the original Dudley Moore version took a while to parse 14a even though knowing the answer .NE corner was slowest but most enjoyable .
    Agree with the ratings .
    Thanks again .

  5. Another vote for the 28*/3* rating in an equally grey but warmer than last week East Kent. Like Jezza, my 8d thought was the Dudley Moore film too. No particular favourites – thanks to the Tuesday Mysteron and Deep Threat.

    You will need some sort of hat to sort out the Petitjean Toughie – there was quite a bit of muttering here – perhaps I had the Hogwarts Sorting Hat on!!

    1. 28* Wow !!! As far as I’m concerned, that Brand person does not exist, I’m still wondering how he managed to get involved in the Olympic closing ceremony.

  7. My last one in was 8d (& the NW quarter generally). So I would also give this 2/3. Thanks to the setter & to DT for some nice hints (although I’m thrilled that this was my first completion without needing any – see how brilliant this site is!).

    1. Congratulations on your success! If you want a further test, try today’s Toughie, which is not too fearsome.

    2. Really well done Poppy in the three and a half years I have been doing these cryptics there are only just over half a dozen I have completed without any help at all, be it from the blog or electronic friends, google, books etc.

      1. Oh whoops :oops: ! I don’t want to give a false impression, as I did use my Thesaurus and Dictionary – it was just I didn’t access this super site until I’d finished…. That was definitely a first for me! But I do appreciate the encouragement, and this cheers me on to perservate for longer. Sadly I can’t get the Toughie, DT, as it’s not included in the online version.

          1. That’s brilliant, Mary, thank you. I signed up for the paid online subscription only to find just the cryptic & quickie Xwords were included! Didn’t know about the site you mention – & when I contacted the DT to ask for the Toughie, they just said ‘sorry, we don’t cover that one, & have no immediate plans to do so’ and never even mentioned this site you’ve given me :-o !! So they missed that opening. I’ll get on to it – gratefully..

  8. When it comes to the film in 8d, I hadn’t heard of either – I’m hopeless on cinema – but the Russell Brand one popped up first on Google.

    1. There was a million times better version with Dudly Moore and Liza Minnelli. Russell Brand is such an awful actor.

      1. You are quite right, it was a two session puzzle.looking back it wasn’t too difficult but didn’t have my right head on over breakfast, better at lunchtime:-)
        How the weather in wet Wales?

        1. Misty and wet today but not too cold, believe it or not it’s not always rainng here, just pretty often!

  10. I agree with **/***.
    I spent too long trying to make 1a begin with either F or Don. I got in a terrible muddle trying to untangle 14a and hadn’t noticed the ‘cricketiness’ in 27a. I’d never heard of the 5d knot.
    I liked 11, 12 and 21a and 9 and 20d.
    With thanks to Mr Ron and Deep Threat.
    Grey and a bit drizzly but 12C in Oxford.

    1. I’m with you on 14a Kath, to me the instructions in the clue say to put a word for ‘understood’ reversed and around a word for
      plan! but I think I can finally see it :-)

        1. Cricketers wear a box to protect their vitals, usually batsmen, wicketkeepers & close fielders.

      2. With 14a the bit that threw me was getting stuck on seeing ‘C’ or ‘Ca’ and thinking that was the ‘about’ in the clue. :roll: Oh well, I suppose we all have our dim days.

    2. I’m a life-long cricket fan and I can honestly say I never even thought about a cricket reference for 27A. I was more drawn to kiddies playing with a cardboard box turning themselves into robots, or Wallace using a box of cheese to protect his modesty in Curse of the Warerabbit.

  11. Must have been on the right wavelength as we finished this in record time. Very enjoyable though.

  12. Good morning DT thanks for the hints, I must admit to not knowing that cheese, I am no cheese expert, my one and only like being cheddar! I got eight down once the checking letters were in there was nothing else it could be, a puzzle of two halves for me, the bottom half I liked but struggled with some in the top half, perservation, once again winning the day, quite a few clues I like today, most clues reading really nicely, fav clue 22d, liked 25a,27a,15d,18d and a few others, all in all a nice tuesday crossword on a very wet and miserable day in West Wales

  13. Like others put in the answer for 8d more in hope having not heard of the film. Lack of GK again. Enjoyed the puzzle – thank you setter and thanks to you DT for your review – I had the answer for 20d but needed you to tell me why ! GK problem again !

  14. Agree with the score,last in was the film,only got it when i finally worked out 14a.Did’nt like Dudley Moore in the original either,not my cup of tea.Enjoyed the solve, remembered the cheese from somewhere and the knot,treated myself to a bar of fruit and nut-on special offer-are the nuts getting smaller -or is it just me?

  15. Thanks to the setter for an entertaing crossword, I agree with Skempie re Russell Brand (and his cohort Ross ) should have been boiled in oil. Many thanks to Deep Threat for the fun review.

      1. I think it’s more a matter of taste.Someone I work with , my own age ,who was disappointed when Woss had his program axed.Some of us think Woss and Russel are tasteless.

  16. 1* difficulty from us. Pommette got all but 7 answers on first pass!

    Quite enjoyed it though so 3* for that.

    Thanks to Mr Ron and Deep Threat.

      1. Hi Mary, still get tired rather easily but getting better by the day. I’ll be back blogging in a couple of weeks. Can’t do this week and it’s Falcon’s turn the week after but then I’ll be back.

  17. Very enjoyable – I got 5d but did not know it was a knot – thanks for the illustration.

    1. The other knot worth remembering is a “Monkey’s Fist” – sometimes it’s useful to have been a sailor!

  18. I loved today’s puzzle, it all went in a treat. Confess to having to refer to hints to know the why of 14a, but it really couldn’t be anything else with the letters I had. I only knew of the Dudley Moore film. Thanks to setter and DT for a fun start to th day.

  19. Enjoyed the puzzle today but needed DT’s explanation to understand the word play in 14a. Could not parse my answer! Had never heard of that meaning – only the “retire to the country ” meaning.
    Also wanted to put “vintage” in for 23a until I had a better look at the letters available.
    Thanks to the setter and to DT

  20. Agree with the ratings. 14a was the last one in. Had to dredge the word from the depths of memory and then spend a little time working out the word play. The puzzle looks very much like the same setter as last Tuesday. Just wish we could have a name so we could know we are thanking.
    Thanks Mr Ron and DT.

  21. A pleasant puzzle today.

    Faves : 5a, 13a, 18a, 5d, 17d & 22d.

    Rain all day here and more forecast for the next several days.

    I have a couple of knot books as my late wife and I sailed a lot in the old days – there is a lot of water in NL!

  22. Quite enjoyable, and mostly not too hard,although I have never before heard of 5d,and just misread 11a.Of course I didn’t remember that film and am more than willing to light the faggots under R B. Thanks to setter and Deep Threat.

  23. I found the NE corner trickiest but once I got 11a things dropped into place. Last in was 14a first in 24d.

  24. Thanks to Mr.Ron & to deep Threat for the review & hints. I enjoyed this, but found it quite tricky, needed the hints for 8d, had never heard of the film, didn’t really like this clue. 5d, new it was an anagram but had never heard of this knot. 5a, thought it was a tad obscure. Managed the rest, but guessed 11a, had never heard of this cheese. So it was quite educational. favourite was 23a. Was 3*/3* for me. Drizzly in Central London.

  25. A fine puzzle was, in my book, spoilt by 8d which I failed to solve.. No problem with Kings but I draw the line at needing to remember said film of no consequence (much as I admire the man’s comedy and musicality elsewhere). Unfair on the solver is my opinion.
    Nevertheless thanks to the setter and to Deep Threat for the review.

  26. Agree with Pommers – a 1* for difficulty. It all went in pretty easily for us except for a slightly longer perservation in the south-east corner. Some nice word play, though. Favourites were 11a and 5d.

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