DT 28027 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28027

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28027

Hints and tips by 2Kiwis

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

 

Our weather at the moment is hot, hot, hot. About 30C today which is quite exceptional for here and other parts of the country are expected to be even hotter. That’s just to make you all jealous. We’ve enjoyed looking at the photos and reading all the comments about the Birthday Bash, it sounds like a good time was had by all.  Jay has given us a quicker solve than last week’s.  It only just sneaked into 2* time for us.

Please leave a comment telling us your thoughts.

Across

1a     A role set by Europeans is very different (5,5)
POLES APART : These Europeans from a country with the capital Warsaw precede A from the clue and a role in a film or play.

6a     Slight effect of drink on speech? (4)
SLUR : What might have crept into some people’s speech last Saturday .

10a     Fifty per cent of outgoing people must get a bonus (5)
EXTRA : Take a word for outgoing people and remove the second half of it. (Not the usual spelling of this word for outgoing people, but BRB does support it.)

11a     Fraudulent schemes of accommodation agents? (3-2,4)
PUT-UP JOBS : How you could describe the tasks performed by accommodation agents.

12a     Thin line crossed by dispatcher (7)
SLENDER : The abbreviation for L(ine) is inside a word for a dispatcher.

13a     Source of crude instruction to mechanic (3,4)
OIL WELL : An instruction you might give to a mechanic about to perform lubrication duties on your vehicle.
images

14a     Infection caused by poor state of hotel? (8,4)
ATHLETES FOOT : An anagram of STATE OF HOTEL.

18a     Pictures inspired Scot to be moved (12)
DESCRIPTIONS : An anagram (to be moved) of INSPIRED SCOT.

21a     Energy and work embraced by fat cat (7)
LEOPARD : The abbreviations for energy and an artistic work are inside a word for fat or dripping.
imgres

23a     Stuff including revised pay for student break (3,4)
GAP YEAR : An anagram (revised) of PAY is inside a word meaning stuff or equipment.

24a     Depressing experience after star offers drink (9)
SUNDOWNER : Our nearest star precedes a word for a depressing experience.
imgres

25a     Answer anticipating return of Scandinavian’s shock (5)
APPAL : Reverse the name of a Scandinavian people and put it after the single letter abbreviation for answer.

26a     Special forces hospital band (4)
SASH : An elite military group and the abbreviation for hospital.
images

27a     Corrupt deal going bad? (4,6)
LEAD ASTRAY : The second word of the answer can be an instruction as to what to do with the word ‘deal’ in the clue.
Down

1d      Will beginning with possible rental agreement (6)
PLEASE : The first letter of possible and a word for a rental agreement.

2d     The second of two races in genuine reversal (6)
LATTER : The races as held on the Isle of Man are inside the reversal of a word meaning genuine or true.

3d     Gets up and works out, it’s logical to assume (6,2,6)
STANDS TO REASON : Comes to one’s feet and to work out by mental processes.

4d     Conservative on edge after, say, Mail article found in office (5,4)
PAPER CLIP : The one letter abbreviation for Conservative, and a synonym for edge or rim follow what the Mail is an example of.
images

5d     Proportion of allowance docked (5)
RATIO : A word meaning an allowance is docked by having its tail letter chopped off.

7d     Considered working after dole adjusted to take in fine (6,2)
LOOKED ON : A two letter word meaning working or in operation follows an anagram (adjusted) of DOLE that includes fine or hunky-dory.  Another chance for us to use hunky-dory.

8d     Engineers like this instrument firm (8)
RESOLUTE : Military engineers, then a word meaning like this and an archaic stringed instrument.

9d     The approach to landing in London? (6,3,5)
APPLES AND PEARS : In the East End of London you might hear this expression for a part of a building that could have a landing.
images

15d     Tense, fixer and journalist set off (9)
TRIGGERED : The abbreviation for tense, then a fixer or scaffolding erector followed by a senior journalist.

16d     Admires groom’s response, less worried about independence (8)
IDOLISES : A groom’s response during a marriage ceremony, then an anagram (worried) of LESS which includes the abbreviation for independence.

17d     A source of tension in rackets causes amazement (8)
ASTOUNDS : A from the clue, then the first letter of tension is inside a word for rackets or noises.

19d     Moderate anger (6)
TEMPER : Double definition. The first one is a verb meaning to make less severe.

20d     Horse crossing over finally gets ruffled (6)
FRILLY : A young female horse has the last letter of over included.
imgres

22d     Judo exponent on church steps (5)
DANCE : A word from Japan for a martial arts exponent or a level of attainment, then the Anglican Church.

9d gets our vote for top of the pops.

Quickie pun      rocker   +   fore   =   Roquefort

66 comments on “DT 28027

  1. I’m obviously on a different wavelength from the setter and the 2Ks because it took me a while to get off the ground with this one. “Grin and bear it” paid off in the end but It was certainly far from hunky-dory! Fav was 9d when the penny eventually dropped. Thanks setter and tippers (envy you your warmth) ***/***. :neutral:

  2. Many thanks 2Kiwis – snow on the ground in Macclesfield today.

    I liked “thin line” in 12a, “slight effect” in 6a, “fat cat” in 21a and “revised pay” in 23a. I also quite liked 16d (admired groom’s response..)

    The reverse clue 27a was interesting (corrupt deal going bad?), it seems to work though it probably shouldn’t

    Many thanks Jay

  3. Can always tell when the puzzles are on the easier side, three days running I have completed without any help. Best one for me was 9d. Really enjoyable and thanks to the compiler.

  4. 16d. When,in 1959, the vicar asked me, “Willt thou take this woman…..” I replied “I will” not “I do”. Is there anywhere in this country where grooms say, “I do” or is it purely American? Just wondered!

  5. All hunky-dory for me, with a good dollop of multi-word answers speeding things along.
    Timing probably on a par with 2Ks but I’d perhaps give a little more than them for the enjoyment.
    Looks as though 9d will get the universal vote and I’d also give a mention to 1&13a for the smile factor.

    Thanks for a good puzzle, Jay, and thanks to our sun loving 2Ks – I’d be complaining bitterly in those sort of temperatures! Any more news of the intrepid travellers?

    PS The Shamus Toughie is well worth a look.

    1. If only we could get the Toughie on the tablet version. I always fill in the wretched feedback forms when asked, and every time ask for its inclusion. Instead we now get Codewords, which are about as entertaining as toothache.

    2. We have not heard from our intrepid travellers since they left Christchurch bound for Brisbane. We expect to have a full account of their adventures when they eventually get back to Blighty.

  6. 3*/3* for me – but if there were 2 Ns it might be only 2* for difficulty. I wonder what Brian made of it?
    Thank you setter and both Ks.

  7. A really nice entertaining puzzle quite quirky :mail: **/**** Big thanks to the 2x Ks and to Jay. Loved the photo for 21a. As everyone else loved 9d and 16d :bye:

  8. Took a bit longer to finish this than I expected, but looking back over it, I wonder why. I just seemed to make hard work of it. Favourite was 24a. It will always be my favourite! I wasn’t keen on 8 d, as I scribbled down the plural of engineers, followed by ‘so’ for like, and finished with a certain instrument. Hence, one surplus ‘s’. I bunged in the right answer anyway, and abandoned the ‘s’. Maybe I just don’t know enough about clueing. Didn’t really get a sense of satisfaction when finished, more a sense of relief that it was over. Gosh, I am beginning to sound like someone else. Thanks to the setter, at least I got through it, and to the 2Ks for the review.

  9. I am in agreement with the 2kiwis for the ratings & the favourite of 9D.Many thanks to all,time to replace the blown down fence. :wacko:

  10. Once the read and writes had rock and rolled their way in I had to start thinking which always ups the enjoyment factor. Thanks to the 2ks who are welcome to their weather (I am happy with ours). Thanks to Jay for a lovely puzzle.

  11. Realy enjoyed this one. Slight delay realising SE corner and not sure about 7d answer and considered, but I suspect the BRB will approve it. 9d was brilliantly misleading, has to be my favourite.

    1. You’ve lengthened your alias so your comment had to be moderated. Both varieties should work from now on.

  12. One or two in the top left and the bottom right took as long as all the rest put together. Eventually filled in w o help ( ta to 2 Ks anyway) but I still don’t get the link between will and please in 1d.
    Is there a little corner of my temporal lobe missing?

    1. I tried to look it up, brb says “to be the will or choice of”.
      I think it’s if you please = if you will, or as in “the court pleases”( = the court will)

      1. Ok, thanks Dutch. It’s all a bit tenuous, isn’t it? Even the surface doesn’t look quite proper….

  13. Really enjoyed this crossword, must be the fact we are ahead of the Arsenal !! pro tem anyway

  14. Very enjoyable with a couple of super clues in 13a and 9d. However, could someone tell me what the word is for outgoing people that extra is half of, why is will please and where does the extra P come from in 25a after all it is Lapland not Lappland
    Thx to all

      1. Interesting, I wonder why the extra P.
        Still don’t quite get 10a, isn’t it extrovert and vert would not be 50% ?
        Not sure about will for please but if the BRB gives it, who am I to question. Have just re-looked it up and I missed the will reference the first time.
        Thx anyway.

    1. extraverts (also spelt extroverts).

      It’s Lapp or Laplander

      Finn and Finland comes to mind. Finns speak Finnish but come from Finland – and yes, Lapps speak Lappish.

      see above comment for will=please, you may find that less convincing.

      1. The fact that some people spell extravert ,”extrovert” (including the Apple spellcheck, dammit), doesn’t make it right! You might as well write “labor” or pronounce “laboratory” without the O. It’s a C20 American annoyance.
        I’m in the trade and I’ve even had people correcting my (correct) version….? :negative:

        1. B. Extravert isn’t primarily an Americanism, it’s just a listed alternative spelling of extrovert (Collins Online, OED, possibly BRB but mine’s at home). 10a. This is a very simple clue – it’s just half of the word EXTRA(VERTS) = bonus.

          1. You missed a couple of letters out of your e-mail address, which put you into moderation. I’ve corrected the error.

  15. Many thanks to Jay for this very enjoyable puzzle, and to the 2 Ks for their excellent review. I agree with the 2* for difficulty, but 9 down alone pushes up my enjoyment to 4*. The SE corner held me up a little longer than necessary and pushed me into the 2* time zone, with 20 down my last one in once 25 across had yielded its answer.

  16. Snow on the ground here at the high end of Sheffield resulting in a closed golf course which is why we did this puzzle earlier than usual.

    We agree with the ratings.

    We’re not happy with the will/please thing here, either. Favourite by a long way is 21a (fat cat).

    In 3d, shouldn’t works out (works with a trailing ‘s’) lead to reasons also with an ‘s’? I understands why it need to be that way for the neat surface reading, but pedantry rule in our house today!

    Thanks to the 2Ks for a nice blog, as they always do, and to Jay for the puzzle pleasure.

  17. Very entertaining today, a steady solve throughout with no new words! Agree with the 2K’S **/*** , loved the blog pics, especially 21a which looked as thought it was about to leap out of the page. For a change, i liked an anagram -14a and also 19d, with 9d providing the d’oh moment.Also I was one of the BT users who wasted an hour of my life trying to get the broadband working. At least they could have sent an apology today.

  18. Beautiful day down in Hyeres albeit a small Mistral. All doors and windows open and wearing a long sleeves T-shirt.
    Very enjoyable crossword today.
    I validate the definition of 2d. The argument is now settled.
    Liked the “conservative on edge” in 4d and the “corrupt deal” in 27a.
    Favourite is 16d also.
    Thanks to Jay and to 2ks for the review.

  19. Hmmmm, Kiwis and Jean-Luc enjoying lovely weather … Yes I am jealous.Here, we are wondering if winter will ever end.
    9d held me up for ages. 1a is my favourite.
    Thanks Kiwis and Jay.

  20. **/**. A real mix of emotions about this one. Liked some clues (11&24a) but didn’t like others (7&20d). Nevertheless thanks to the setter and the 2Ks for the review.

  21. Mrs RD and I are spending a couple of days with friends in South Wales and none of the local shops seem to stock the DT so I had to drive into Caerphilly to get a copy. :sad:

    I have belated managed to get my daily crossword fix which was certainly worth waiting for! My rating is 2*/4* with the superb 9d my runaway favourite!

    Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks.

  22. Thanks to Jay and to the 2 Kiwis for the review and hints. A very nice puzzle with a few that made me laugh. 13a, 3&9d, got the latter straight away as I’m a Cockney. Favourite was 14a just because A was an anagram of B. Last in was 20d, that really made me think. Was 2*/4* for me. The Sun is out at last in Central London.

  23. My progress with this one was more staccato than I originally expected, but it was certainly a more entertaining puzzle than yesterday’s.

    I thought that the two long across anagrams (14a and 18a) were top-notch, but I’ll go for 8d as my favourite rather than the popular 9d, just to be different! I can’t recall having seen “independence” abbreviated by its initial letter before (16d), and couldn’t see it in Chambers, whereas “independent” is given and seems to crop up in puzzles with some regularity.

    Many thanks to Jay and to the sweltering Kiwis.

  24. A fairly relaxing challenge I thought. No real problems except the last word of the fraudulent schemes clue seemed to take a while to surface. 9d although an old chestnut was still the favourite. 2/3* overall.
    Thanks to Jay, and to the 2K’s out there baking in the heat…. grrr…..

  25. Very enjoyable for me, no hold ups.
    Fave was 9d, with honourable mention to 24a.
    Thanks to Jay, and to 2Kiwis for the lovely review, particularly the pic at 21a.

  26. Straightforward puzzle today which I found to be enjoyable as always from this setter.

    Thanks to the 2Kiwis and Jay */****

  27. Good morning everyone. The weather forecaster tells us that there should be some cloud cover today which might keep the temperatures down a bit. Hope so. 30C is a bit too warm for playing golf but don’t expect the course to be closed by snow like the one in Sheffield. Cheers.

  28. A very gentle canter: 1*/3*. No stand-out favourite, but 16d and 27a were pretty good. Ignore me – this weather makes me grumpy! Thanks to Jay for this attempt to cheer me up, and to the 2 Kiwis for the review (and NZ weather report) which I am afraid had the opposite effect.

  29. Pretty much a Wednesday back pager at the easier end of Jay’s range, but enjoyable nonetheless. Lots of good clues, surfaces and well hidden definitions. My stand out favourite was without doubt 9d – it did make me laugh :good:

    Thanks to Jay for the puzzle and to the 2K’s for their excellent review.

    1. I’ve just received some excellent news through an email that I must share with you all :yahoo:

      I have been informed by an American solicitor that I am the sole heir to a $20.8 million inheritance and to collect said inheritance I need only send my personal details (NI number, bank account number, etc) to start the ball rolling.

      Once the money is safely deposited in my bank, I wild be holding a huge bash to which you’ll all be invited.

      Watch this space for further details. I’m so excited :yes:

        1. I do hope you won’t hold your breath too long Merusa :smile:

          In the UK we are inundated with emails that get past your filters, flyers delivered by the postmen (because nobody sends proper mail anymore due to postage prices), flyers from independent delivery people and every other pieces of c**p that you can’t imagine. Sadly, older people have even taken their own life due to harassment from various charities.

          It’s a pretty poor state of affairs :negative:

  30. SE Corner looks to have me beat…9d…grrr…can’t make any sense of that. Rest all done.
    I shall have to resort to watching an old episode of Red Dwarf and come back to it…Would like to finish it as I have not had to resort to any hints. Important to us novices!!

    1. Oh well, no joy with the SE corner, had to resort to hints, but progress.
      Many thanks to the 2k’s and to the setter.

  31. Very nice, enjoyable solve – no electronic help required which makes a nice change!

    First game of golf since Christmas, a bit muddy, the greens were slow but really enjoyed it – 30 points without touching a club for 6 weeks – well pleased!

    :whistle:

  32. Finished apart from help with two clues, 25a and 20d. Loved 9d and 13a. Am actually starting to appreciate the quality of the clues so feel that progress is being made. Thank you to setter and the 2 kiwis.

  33. This one didn’t hold us up too much this morning but we enjoyed it very much. The good puzzles have Kitties Mr and The solving separately all the way through so we can both enjoy them to the max, and this was one of those cases.

    Thanks to Jay for another great puzzle. I agree it was a little easier than an average Jay, but there was still quite enough meat in it to make it satisfying. And many thanks also to the 2Ks. I am impressed by the consistent high quality of your reviews, week after week.

  34. Splendid stuff again from Jay. I tried to start it on the train home but I had what used to be called, quaintly, a courting couple on the seats opposite. There was so much billing and cooing – and slurping – going on that I was unable to lift my eyes from the page, but unable to concentrate either. He had an undercut, his hair in a bun and a huge beard. She didn’t.

    Thanks to our heatwave-enduring Antipodeans and to Jay for the diversion, particularly 27a, which tickled my fancy (ooh matron). 2*/3*

  35. Much enjoyed this puzzle and yes 9d gets vote for favourite. Thanks to setter for such diversion and 2Kiwis for the hints.

  36. 8d are like and love genuine synonyms ? IMHO the clue would have been much more valid if the word love had been used – from the Pedant-in-Chief !!

    1. Hi Almo,
      If you look at the 2Ks hint for 8d you’ll see that ‘love’ doesn’t come into it at all!
      RE (Royal Engineers) then SO (like this) plus LUTE (stringed instrument) = RESOLUTE (firm).

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