Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27122
Hints and tips by Libellule
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Exactly what I needed to brighten up my morning cup of tea.
Across
1. Shattering? Correct! (10,3)
{STRAIGHTEN OUT} – What in effect you would do if you solved the anagram (correct) of SHATTERING. Very clever!
10. Leaps in, surprising the dog (7)
{SPANIEL} – A simple anagram (surprising) of LEAPS IN.
11. Put out in unusual transport (7)
{RAPTURE} – Place an anagram (out) of PUT inside a term for unusual or uncommon to get the type of transport that can affect the mind.
12. In fine fettle, yet initially unsure (4)
{IFFY} – The first letters (initially) of the words “in fine fettle yet”.
13. A biology class (5)
{GENUS} – A taxonomic category that ranks above species and below family.
14. Have some sense, charge pounds (4)
{FEEL} – A word that means to perceive a physical sensation can be made from another word for a payment followed by L (£’s).
17. Married in a fit of lunacy? That’s slander (7)
{CALUMNY} – Place M (married) inside an anagram (fit of) of LUNACY.
18. Trite adage, but it has a cutting edge (7)
{HACKSAW} – A tool usually used for cutting metal, is another word for banal, followed by another word for a proverb.
19. I call round on pressing business (7)
{IRONING} – I and a word for a telephone call is placed around ON.
22. Reduce the numbers allowed to go in deep when swimming (7)
{DEPLETE} – A word that means to reduce or exhaust can be constructed from a word that means to give permission to, placed inside an anagram (when swimming) of DEEP.
24. Head put off awkward argument (4)
{TIFF} – Remove the first letter (head put off) of a word that means to be formal, or lack ease or grace to get another word for a petty quarrel.
25. Fast living (5)
{QUICK} – Double definition, speedy and an archaic word for being alive.
26. Fit source of water for consumption (4)
{WELL} – Another double definition, in good health, a spring or a fountain.
29. Feline that earns a detailed description? (4,3)
{MANX CAT} – Think of a feline that doesn’t have a tail (detailed). A bit like a canine without a tail (curtailed). This should raise a smile – even if you have seen it before.
30. Refrain from giving sailor dirty look (7)
{ABSTAIN} – A word that means to choose not to do something is AB (sailor) and a discoloured or spoiled spot or smudge.
31. Virus leads to a development of lameness producing complaint (6,7)
{GERMAN MEASLES} – A microorganism (virus), plus A, and then an anagram (development) of LAMENESS is another name for rubella.
Down
2. Crying, having finally got reprimand (7)
{TEARFUL} – The last letter (finally) of got and another term for a scolding.
3. Song with a tune that’s uplifting (4)
{ARIA} – A and a reversed (uplifting) word for a melody.
4. A showplace for paintings largely restored (7)
{GALLERY} – An anagram (restored) of LARGELY.
5. Having finished a boring job? (7)
{THROUGH} – A word that describes going in one side and then out the other, is also a word that can also be used to explain that a task (for example) has been completed.
6. Pinches drinks (4)
{NIPS} – Double definition. Seizing or biting, small amounts of liquor.
7. Loan sharks supply drug addicts around the city (7)
{USURERS} – People who lend money at extortionate rates of interest, are also people who use addictive drugs placed around a city of ancient Sumer.
8. The proverbial labour saver (1,6,2,4)
{A STITCH IN TIME} – If you mend a small tear now, you will not have to mend a large rip later.
9. Don’s touching sympathy (6,7)
{FELLOW FEELING} – A phrase that refers to the sympathetic awareness of others could also be a senior member of a college or university sensing something by touch.
15. Chess ploy’s no good — it shows limits (5)
{AMBIT} – Remove G (no good) from an opening in chess to get another word for a limit or boundary.
16. Room that gives a better view? (5)
{SCOPE} – A word that can describe the range of something could also be a viewing instrument.
20. Transgression produces resentment (7)
{OFFENCE} – A violation of a law or another word for annoyance or displeasure.
21. Excess weight? It’s his danger (7)
{GLUTTON} – A person who eats and drinks immoderately is a word for an excessive amount plus a unit of weight.
22. Get cleared in order to follow the Customs Officer’s advice (7)
{DECLARE} – An anagram (in order) of CLEARED.
23. Raise tax held in European shelter (7)
{ELEVATE} – The definition is raise. Place a kind of tax inside E, and a word that means sheltered from the wind.
27. Put up rainwear in a swindle (4)
{SCAM} – Reverse (put up) a shortened form of a type of raincoats to get a fraudulent scheme.
28. Oxford rowing crew is encored (4)
ISIS – IS times two, is also the name of the second Oxford rowing crew.
The Quick crossword pun: (barber} + {queue} = {barbecue}
Good morning from a very cold and white south coast. Found today’s crossword enjoyable and not to taxing. have to admit that I didn’t know the relevance of ‘living’ in the clue for 25a and also with 14a I though ‘pound’ would have been more relevant than ‘pounds’. Thanx to Compiler and to Libellule for the review. **/**** rating for me.
…and it – the SC – is getting whiter by the minute as I type.
Not so hard as some recent Mondays, last in 11a.
Some nice diversions.
Thanks setter and Libellule for the review.
25a, the difference between the quick and the dead.
2*/4* for me too. Last one in was 25a, then I remembered the idiom ‘the quick and the dead’.
Thanks to Rufus, and to Libellule.
A nice gentle intro to the week,I to had never come across 25A in that context,thanks to setter & libellue fo the review at least the snow has stopped on the south coast.
Depends where you are on the south coast, its a blizzard here at the moment in Portsmouth.
Opposite, yes, a blizzard at the moment.
I agree with the **/**** rating. A very enjoyable start to the week, with no particular issues but still a nice challenge. As a chess player I was annoyed with myself for taking too long to solve 15d. My favourites today were 1a and 5d.
Many thanks both to the setter and to Libellue for the review.
An enjoyable puzzle today. 1ac put a smile on my face. The usual plain sailing start to the week.. Never heard of 15d but it could not be anything else. Thanks to all concerned.
Thanks to Rufus and Libellule for the review and hints. Very nice start to the week, not too taxing. A few made me smile. Favourites were 1a and 16d. Last in was 9d. Was 2*/3*for me. A few snowflakes in Central London.
Blizzard just started in Wimbledon, SW London!
All seemed plain sailing, until I found 3 clues that gave me some bother. Got 29a very quickly, but still do t understand why it’s the correct answer (& it is – I checked!). Last one in was 15d which was a d’oh moment. Thanks to Setter as well as Libellule – a 2/4* for me. Enjoyed staying in the warm while doing this. Few tiny snowflakes falling, brrrrh. Now off for some heavy duty choral work at our new Rector’s Installation, inc. Parry’s “I was glad” which clears all the bats out of nearby belfrys as we reach for those high notes…
The main difference between a Manx cat and other cats, is that a Manx cat has no tail (ie de-tailed)
Oh thanks, Skempie – talk about me not seeing what’s right in front of my nose
Not having the 1549 Book of Common Prayer for 25a used Chambers .
Lovely puzzle .Agree with the rating certainly for enjoyment .
Odd mixture of alternating sunshine ,blizzards in N Yorks .
Thanks vey much .
No problems today either with the crossword or the weather. Hummed and Hahed (how do you spell that?) for a while over 25A until all that religion stuff that was hammered into me as a sprog came to the fore.
Bright sunshine in Bristol at the moment, but very very cold. We are forecast ‘the possibility’ of snow (sounds a bit like the weather forecasters coming up with 50% chance of rain (biggest cop out ever in my opinion).
Thought England were very lucky yesterday, could be a very interesting game next week.
I agree, England were pretty poor, Mary must be feeling optimistic about next Saturday..
Lets say we’re in with a chance Brian :-), and Liverpool beat Spurs!
Mary
Credit where credit is due – four of the five goals were created by Spurs players…
Being of Welsh descent myself, Brian, I’m also feeling pretty optimistic about next week. Just hope i can get my shirt washed and dried in time (always like to dress the part)
My Father was Bristolian skempie, but having never lived there and being born and bred in Wales I only ever think of myself as Welsh, whereas one of my sons believes he has more English blood and supports England in everything!!
Much to his brothers disgust!
I have 3 welsh Grandparents and there is still some debate as to whether or not my father was born in Wales. I’ve always considered myself Welsh (possibly because I was partly brought up my my Welsh Nan) and always support Wales over England.
What part of Wales are you from skempie?
All the Welsh Grandparents were from near Swansea – Sketty.
Ah not too far away then
Hi Skempie
The ODE entry has:
hum and haw (or chiefly N. Amer. hem and haw) Brit. be indecisive
So it’s hawed, assuming you’re in a house of good repute
Cheers Steve. I’ll have to check with the Mrs as to how reputable our house is.
Incidentally – it tried to flurry on me as I popped out to do some shopping. Bloody weather. Grrrrr
No particular problems today apart from 15d which I haven’t come across before but the wordplay was fairly obvious. Pleasant start to the week for a change with a couple of ‘smile’ clues in 1a and 29a. Thx to the setter and Libellule for the hints (not needed but nice to see) and for once I totally agree with the ratings.
No golf this week unless that wind drops, -3 at the moment with a windchill of -11
What a lovely crossword for a perfectly beastly morning. It’s arctic here – have only just thawed out from morning dog walk and we got home over two hours ago.
I really enjoyed this one and agree with Libellule’s ratings – maybe four and a bit * for enjoyment from me.
The only one that caused a problem was 1a – and that was a massive problem – just couldn’t do it for ages even though it was staring me in the face and, if it had had teeth, it would probably have bitten me. Seriously ashamed about that one.
So many good clues that it’s quite difficult to pick favourites but probably 1, 29 (even though I’ve seen something similar) and 31a and 5, 8 and 21d. Absolute favourite 9d.
With thanks to Rufus and Libellule.
I thought 1a was tough Kath one of the last in for me
Only flurries still in Surrey – a grumpy me almost managed a smile at 29a. **/**** and thanks to all.
Managed to get back onto this site today – thank you Rufus if it was you and Libellule for your review – an enjoyable puzzle which I found difficult to start with, but once under way had no problems.
Was still getting the big black page yesterday and couldn’t access the blog – but that also was an absorbing puzzle which took a while to complete – more difficult than usual. Thank you Virgilius and presumably to BD for hints which I couldn’t access !
Very enjoyable and not too taxing. Enjoyed 1a and 29a. Thanks to setter and Libellule. Cheshire is sunny but with the odd snow flurry.
Very pleasant start to the week. 10 mins ago bright Sun, just looked out of window and we too have a Blizzard in Peterborough Cambs. Accuweather had a “real feel” reading of -16c at 7am when Dog walking, I do believe they could have been right for once
Good afternoon Libelulle and thanks once again for the blog, I did need your help to see 1a and 7d, the last two in, thank you, liked lots of clues today, inc, 8d,2d,16d,22d,12a,19a,24a, a 2 to 3 * for me today, a dry bright day here today but with a very cold wind and flurries of snow, -2 deg when I left the house at 7.45 this morning
Forgot to say three words I didn’t know today, ‘quick for living’ , ‘hack for trite’ & ‘ambit’
Thanks to Rufus for his usual gentle bur enjoyable start to the week and to Libellule for the review.
Thought it was a good crossword today for which many thanks. Have to stand up for the English against all these welsh though thought they were poor yesterday. I notice that my I-pad puts a capital letter for the word English, but not for welsh…quite right too…..only joking.
That’s because to welsh is a verb meaning to run off from a racecourse without settling or paying one’s bets!
… whereas “English” is an American snooker term for “side”…
Its also written ‘WELCH’ although there is some debate as to whether this is a derivation of Welsh or vice versa
Good start to the week,all agreed about a **/****,not too taxing,thought the solution to 1a must be derived from shattering as there was not much else to work from! enjoyable clues all round. Quite a lot of sports comment in today’s blog , did the mother in law’s day thing so have enough ‘brownie ‘points for next saturdays denouement at Cardiff- hope its as good as last nights Poirot-love the suits.
In case nobody’s mentioned it Rufus is in feistier mood across in the Grauniad [INMHO]
Hello from a very snowy Jersey . Enjoyed this puzzle very much but having lived in the IOM should have got 29a straight away.
Welcome to the blog Sandra.
As ever. thoroughly enjoyable. Rufus is a role model for all compilers. Fun to solve
We are still in tropical Rarotonga having a great time. Just had a phone call confirming my fishing trip is on for today, Wheee!
An enjoyable puzzle that did not present too many problems but gave a lot of fun.
Thanks Rufus and Libellule.
A lovely Monday puzzle, and thanks to Rufus and Libellule. Snowy and very, very cold here in central Edinburgh. Should be a good night for seeing some stars!
A very enjoyable puzzle, as always ,on a Monday. Thanks to Rufus and Libellule.
Hi. I’ve had a break from doing the DT crossword. I blame getting an iPhone and being more distracted by moving shiny things around a screen to pass the time. A weather induced delay caused me to pick up a DT and get my brain working again. I’m glad I did as I really enjoyed this one. Thanks for the blog and comments. I have seen the error of my ways……….
Welcome to the blog, Miff.
I was pointed to this site a couple of weeks ago by a friend – and what a great place it is.
Help with the crosswords not needed yet but I thought I should say ‘hello’ because you never know what’s in store in the future.
Hi brengun – welcome to the blog.
It really is a great place – keep commenting!
As you say, you never know what’s in store! There are a lot of very helpful, friendly and knowledgeable people here.
Just in case anyone cares I’m officially sick of winter – fed-up with being wet/cold/having a permanently muddy kitchen/soggy doggy/leaky wellies/running out of clean jeans/ etc etc. Can anyone think of other things they’re fed-up with? I could go on but then it would become boring, as if it isn’t already!
It’s -3C now – whatever is it going to be down to in time for morning dog walk?
Grumpy so going to bed VERY early . . . and leaving husband listening to the kind of stuff that I don’t want to hear.
Thanks Gazza – might start trying Toughies soon as I’ve now found a bit of a backstop!
Oops, that didn’t work! Went in wrong place. Better luck next time?
Enjoyed this one a lot over a preprandial in the bar tonight. (also the Rufus from the Grauniad).
Favourite was 1a – first time I think that I’ve seen Rufus use a “reverse anagram” construction, which isn’t my favourite, but somehow this one seemed to work seemlessly!. Pommette nearly fell off her bar stool when she spotted how it worked (before me BTW!).
Thanks to Rufus and Libellule.