Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28243
Hints and tips by 2Kiwis
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty **– Enjoyment ****
Kia ora from Aotearoa.
We were wondering what to write about this week. The options were the things we spotted on our walk this morning such as the three new large families of ducklings, the pair of Kotuku or White Herons that appear to have become residents rather than occasional visitors, the flock of very hungry bedraggled Bar-tailed Godwits that have just arrived from their non-stop flight from Alaska, or even the unexpected spring shower that made us glad we had worn our raincoats. But then we opened up the blog website and found that our last contribution was number 99 under the 2Kiwis banner. If this were a cricket match, now is the time we would raise our bats in the air and wave them in acknowledgement to the crowd. Doesn’t time fly!
Plenty to enjoy again in Jay’s puzzle.
Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
1a Undercover family needs it to change (11)
CLANDESTINE : A Scottish family group and then an anagram (to change) of NEEDS IT.
9a Lawyer meeting patient, maybe a carrier (9)
BRIEFCASE : An informal word for a lawyer, and then how a doctor’s patient might be described.
10a Material convinced on the radio (5)
SUEDE : A homophone of a word meaning convinced or influenced.
11a Perjurer ringing once oddly in a row (6)
Clue amended to read: Perjurer ringing once, oddly not involved in a row (6)
LINEAR : A four letter teller of untruths contains the second and fourth letters of once.
12a Good! Fish, fish and fish (8)
GRAYLING : The abbreviation for good, then a shark related flatfish and a fish of the cod family, to give the answer, that is a fish of the salmon family.
13a Newspaper article about length for such a coat (6)
RAGLAN : An informal word for a newspaper, the abbreviation for length and one of the options for the indefinite article.
15a Left dance drunk after graduate fair (8)
BALANCED : A graduate with a bachelors degree, the abbreviation for left and an anagram (drunk) of DANCE.
18a Element speaking languages before 10 (8)
TUNGSTEN : A homophone (speaking) of a word for languages and then 10 written as a word.
19a Make up name to be assumed by popular doctor (6)
INVENT : A two letter word meaning popular and then an animal doctor contains the abbreviation for name.
21a Extend agreement to cover results over target range, initially (8)
PROTRACT : A four letter word for an agreement has inside it the starting letters of the fifth to eighth words in the clue.
23a Tipsy chef’s hidden spirit (6)
PSYCHE : A lurker hiding in the first two words of the clue.
26a Principle demonstrated by the empty grid (5)
TENET : ‘The’ is emptied by removing its H. Then a synonym for grid or lattice.
27a Lease revoked in disturbed client’s mind (9)
INTELLECT : An anagram (disturbed) of CLIENT surrounds the reversal of a word meaning lease or make available to rent.
28a Rotten practice with company of French driver’s rules (7,4)
HIGHWAY CODE : A word meaning rotten and smelly and then one for practice or method, the abbreviation for company and the French word for ‘of’.
Down
1d Person at last getting a pie (7)
COBBLER : Double definition. The second is a fruit pie with a thick crunchy topping.
2d Co-ordinate a policy broadcast (5)
ALIGN : ‘A’ from the clue and then a word that sounds like a policy or system of operation.
3d Costs incurred by scuffle during trades (9)
DEFRAYALS : A scuffle or minor skirmish is inside trades or financial transactions.
4d Creature from the deep lake (4)
SEAL : A body of water sometimes referred to as ‘the deep’ and the abbreviation for lake.
5d Church elite must support one dairy product (3,5)
ICE CREAM : The Roman numeral one, the Anglican church abbreviation and then a synonym for elite.
6d Try, seeing enemies losing heart, perhaps (5)
ESSAY : Remove all but the first and last letters from enemies and then a word meaning perhaps or for example.
7d Promised disheartened pal, getting nicked (7)
PLEDGED : The first and last letters of ‘pal’ and then nicked as in the game alluded to in the preamble.
8d Rather inferior cider some brewed with no end of apples (8)
MEDIOCRE : An anagram (brewed) of CIDER sOME after the last letter of apples has been removed.
14d Muzzle pug — not in buckles (8)
GUNPOINT : An anagram (buckles) of PUG NOT IN.
16d Relative’s friend is an easy target for criticism (4,5)
AUNT SALLY : A female relative, ‘S from the clue and then a friend or associate.
17d Attractive, feminine and making a deep impression (8)
FETCHING : The abbreviation for feminine and the craft of engraving.
18d Dump mainly serious adviser on course (7)
TIPSTER : A synonym for dump and then a word meaning serious or authoritarian loses its last letter.
20d Settler settling for support under table (7)
TRESTLE : An anagram (settling) of SETTLER.
22d Gag miserable specimen with no wife (5)
RETCH : Remove the abbreviation for wife from the beginning of a miserable specimen.
24d Belief system encountered in sacred orders (5)
CREDO : A lurker hiding in the last two words of the clue.
25d Cook‘s stitch in time? No — the other way round! (4)
STEW : The abbreviation for time is inside a word to do needlework (ie time is in stitch not stitch in time.)
The proliferation of fish makes 12a our favourite this week.
Quickie pun sigh + defects = side effects
2*/4*. Another great puzzle for a Wednesday which oozes class. I found this at the easier end of Jay’s spectrum; the NW corner stretched my time up to 2* with the delightful 4d my last one in.
The brilliant 12a was my favourite.
Many thanks to Jay and the 2Ks, and congratulations on reaching 100*. I look forward to your double century in due course!
No I have not done the crossword but just wanted to congratulate Tstrummer on becoming a grandpa to a baby boy. In case you did not pick it up he wrote it at silly o’clock early this morning. :rose: :yahoo:
That’s great news, Tstrummer. I am a little bit envious – I have three adorable granddaughters, but I would love to add a grandson to the collection too.
Congrats from me as well, TS. Baby-sitting duties await!
Thanks Annie, RD & Jane. Babysitting out of the question – they live miles away. However, I do some of that for my two granddaughters and it’s never a chore
Slipped up on 18 and 21 across and 18 down. So looked at the hints and the reveals. Thanks to the centurions for those. As RD above I thought 12 ac was a marvellous clue. Before solving it I read it out to Saint Sharon. Thanks to Jay for the puzzle even though you beat me today
**/*** for me, completed comfortably before lights out last night. I concur with Rabbit Dave, 12a was brilliant and is my stand out favourite.
I was ready to have a winge about 13a because I knew that the answer is a type of sleeve design (distaff side of family full of knitters and dressmakers) but an on-line check showed that it is also a type of coat with that type of sleeve design, so, instead, thanks to Jay for the learning point.
But, I do have a comment about 11a. I thought that ‘once oddly’ would mean selecting the odd-numbered letters ‘o’ and ‘c’ in this case, and there is a different terminology for selecting the even-numbered letters. Can someone clarify please.
Thanks to Jay and the 2Ks and congratulations on the ton!
I printed the puzzle this morning, and my 11a reads ‘once regularly’!
I’ve just looked again at the online site and the clue has now been changed to:
Perjurer ringing once, oddly not involved in a row (6)
Hi Senf
“…once oddly not involved…” leaves ‘n’ and ‘e’. Hope that clarifies
My early edition (in S. Wales our version is printed late the night before I think) printed version says ‘Perjurer ringing once oddly in a row’.
That is also what appears in my online version too.
Thanks to all. When I printed my copy from the web site shortly after midnight UK time (6:00pm ‘yesterday’ where I am in Canada) it had the erroneous ‘once oddly,’ hence my original comment.
Thanks to Jay for an excellent crossword. Too many good clues to pick out a favourite. Congratulations to the 2Ks on your 100th blog.
I found this puzzle tricky – but it not a style that I enjoy at all. Lots of very dodgy and poor clues in my estimation. I had so many pencilled in as dubious on my first pass through, that I finally ended up realising were correct despite the awful clue construction.
Anyway, I would rate it as 3* for difficulty and 1* maybe 2* for enjoyment.
Enjoyable puzzle, some really good clues, especially 12a and 8d. The only one that presented a problem was 3d, not sure Ive heard the word before. 3*/3.5* Many thanks to Jay and to 2Kiwis.
Superb entertainment almost first to last I thought. 1a, 9a, 12a, 1d, 18d so many “doh, now I see that” clues. As RD says it ‘oozes class’ praise indeed from someone who clearly knows his stuff.
Plus I found it just about solvable without help The perfect back pager perhaps.
Although completely trivial in the context of the rest I agree with Senf re 11a: would ‘removed’ after oddly have been better?
Thanks to setter for a lovely start to the day. To 2Ks thank you, congratulations on the 100 partnership. 3 months ago I would have got about half of today you have increased my enjoyment so much.
NW corner was my stumbling block – couldn’t get beyond ‘incognito’ being involved in 1a and forgot about the 1d man with the last.
Then I tried to use the ‘odd’ as opposed to ‘even’ letters of once to form 11a and questioned 13a being a coat as well as a type of sleeve.
Further along and I was looking for an element ending in ‘X’ for 18a and also had to verify net = grid for 26a.
So – it all took rather longer than usual but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
12a would take the honours were it not for 5d, which reminded me of sitting in the sunshine at Red Wharf Bay enjoying a ’99’ with Kitty last Sunday!
Thanks to Jay and congrats to 2Ks on their 100th blog – keep them coming, along with the wildlife reports.
Jane – if you look at the comment I started on 11a (number 4 above) you will see that there was an error in the clue when the puzzle was first published.
I also thought that raglan referred to sleeves not a whole coat. Great minds?
Enjoyed this one. Took a while to get on the wavelength for some of the clues, but once ‘seen’, perfectly fair. Congrats to 2Ks, the blog consistently provides (as someone said the other day) free entertainment.
An excellent crossword today. Some real teasers of all varieties and plenty which frustrated at first but, when solved, were undeniably fair.
Several favourites. I’m with the others in liking 12a which made me laugh. 10a was nice; 1d confounded me until the penny suddenly dropped; 23a is a clever lurker and I’m not a huge fan of lurkers. Top prize in this feast of delights is shared between 6d which cleverly uses crosswordland’s regularly featured “perhaps” and 14d where both of the key words in the clue misled me on first reading.
I’d never heard of the coat in 13a or the answer to 3d.
As is often the case on a Wednesday, this was a belter. Not *that* difficult but enough to make you think and a whole host of brilliant clues. Loved it.
Not my sort of crossword today, far too obtuse.
Jay on top form today. Like RD above, the NW corner held me up for a short while, but overall this was a 2.5*/4* puzzle for me. So many great clues, but I have to go for the brilliant 12 across as my COTD.
Many thanks to Jay for a superbly diverting crossword, and thanks and congratulations to the 2Ks for a finely-crafted 100 not out.
Thoroughly enjoyable, SW last to go in, except for 3d which I eventually worked out and looked up. New to me.
Thumbs up in particular for 18a, 15a and the rather ‘brilliant’ 12a. Slightly marred by the ‘oddly’ in 11a which has been already been mentioned.
Congrats to Tstrummer & 2K’s, and thanks to all as ever.
Good fun as Wednesdays usually are – and also as is usual on Wednesdays I got stuck with my last few answers.
The answer to 3d just wouldn’t pop into my head, I missed the anagram indicator in 14d and I got myself into a right royal muddle with 21a.
Apart from those I didn’t have too many problems.
I knew 13a but only as the shape of a shoulder seam in knitting patterns – didn’t know it was a style of coat but the BRB did.
I liked 15 and 23a (even though 23a is a lurker) and 1 and 8d. My favourite is either 12 or 28a – not two – just haven’t yet made up my mind!
With thanks to Jay and thanks and congratulations on your 100th blog to both K’s.
Just my cup of tea ( coffee actually). A relatively quick and thoroughly enjoyable puzzle, exactly hard enough, so **/****.
Congrats to 2Ks for not. ( ton up!). My pals and family think I am weird ‘cos I like riddles and puns.
Here’s one for you to solve:
A bat and a ball cost £1.10. The bat costs £1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?
Don’t think about it too long!
5p
i had some trouble with 9A and 3D but otherwise OK and good fun as usual. My runaway favorite is 12A. Thanks Jay and thanks and congrats to the 2Ks.
Recent plain-sailing days have inevitably delivered our comeuppance today. I found this quite tough but nonetheless enjoyable. Like RD and Young Salopian NW corner was last to yield. I presumed defray in 3d but failed to come up with last three letters. I’m with Kath in only having heard of a Raglan sleeve but Googling revealed that a Raglan-sleeved coat was designed to facilitate dressing for Lord Raglan who had an arm amputation after the Battle of Waterloo – one lives and learns! Fav 1d with 28d following up. Thanks Jay and the 2Ks. ***/***.
Pre-Google, we just lived. Now we can all live and learn! :smile:
Indeed; and above of course I meant to say 28a for follow-up Fav.
Another excellent crossword the third this week. Not quite sure how difficult it was as I must confess I completed it whilst watching a very tense one dayer against Bangladesh in the series decider, so my attention was not solely on jays puzzle. 9a my favourite. Come on England!
Knew that 7d had something to do with cricket but forgot to check and happily bunged it in.
The odd/even device in 11a didn’t cause a problem as I always try both sets of letters.
Liked 12a a lot but favourite is 28a.
Thanks to Jay and congratulations to 2ks for all the reviews so far.
Excellent puzzle with 10&12a my favourites. Thanks to the 2ks and the setter. I upgraded my iPad ios yesterday so maybe the hints dont reveal now as a result. Hey ho. Back to blighty for a week and my mums 90th.
I found this tricky but very enjoyable. I think my brain is having an “away” day as my last one in was 2d; I just could not see it, eventually I had to resort to gizmo, how sad is that?
Apart from that, I had to look up 18a and 3d which I worked out from the clue but had never heard of it.
Lots to like, 6d, 9a, 28a, but runaway fave was the fish at 12a. Kiwis, I never knew the ray was of the shark family, so that’s my “learn something new every day.”
Thanks to Jay and to the 2Kiwis, lovely NZ snapshot today, great stuff.
Unlike RD, I didn’t think this was one of Jay’s easier puzzles, in fact a few of the clues needed some coaxing out.
I ticked 12a (a popular choice, it seems), 1d, 16d and 25d as my clues of the day. I thought it was unfortunate that effectively the same middle deletion device was used in two consecutive clues, i.e. “losing heart” in 6d, and “disheartened” in 7d. Hey ho.
Thanks to Mr. Mutch and to the 2Kiwis. Many congratulations on reaching your milestone. Is it possible to make any sort of sensible anagram from Aotearoa I wonder? I have severe doubts!
AA are too disorganised for this country (8) ??
Aotearoa
Brilliant Gazza! Well done. :good:
I thought someone might rise to the challenge! Well done, Gazza :-)
Shows even the apparently impossible is possible. Very neat!
Excellent Gazza. Amazing what can be done with six vowels and only two consonants.
Thanks, 2K, and congratulations on reaching your first century.
I was down to just two.3 down needed electronic help, not a term familiar to me. Then 6 down I correctly entered, though am embarrassed to admit I didn’t know this could mean ‘try’. Still, a nice puzzle , favourite 18 across.
***/***. Thanks to setter and to 2 Kiwis.
A fine crossword from Mr Mutch. I actually took quite a while to complete it. There were some lovely clues – 12a, 1d, 8d and my favourite 14d just being some of them.
3/3.5* overall.
Thanks to Jay, and to the Centurions for their review.
Good morning all. The fish in 12a seem to have impressed lots of us this week, it is not often that there is such consensus on a Wednesday. We have made a note above for the alteration to the clue for 11a. We did not see it as a problem when we were solving as, like Jean-Luc, we always try each option with clues like this, reading ‘oddly’ meaning every second letter regardless of where one starts.
The showers we had yesterday seemed to have moved away so it looks like we are back to fine weather today. Enjoy what is left of yours.
Cheers.
Congratulations to the 2Ks for your 100th review. Certainly an achievement. Best wishes to Tstrummer and all the family on the arrival of the first grandson. How exciting. After a busy day, my husband has printed the crossword off for me but I have to head to a charity event with my choir so will be completing the puzzle as the clock strikes midnight, if I can stay awake. Thank you setter. I will look forward to coming home to your offering.
Thanks to Jay and to the 2 Kiwis for the review and hints. Congratulations on your 100th blog, super. A wonderful puzzle again from Jay. Didn’t find it too tricky, I must be on the right wavelength. 18a made me smile, but my favourite was 12a. Took me ages to get the last two answers, 3d&9a. Was 2*/4 *for me.
Enjoyed this one very much.
Needed help for the parsing of some, so thanks to the 2Kiwis as well as to the setter.
As “the new girl on the block” I found the SW corner pretty tricky so was very grateful for all the help from the 2 kiwis on their hundredth blog. Where have I been all this time struggling on my own??
Welcome to the blog, Jen. Today is the first day of the rest of your crossword life!
No need to be on your own Jen. Just ask and an answer will appear. Welcome aboard
I found this one quite tricky, and thought I was going to get mightily stuck more than once. 1d and 20d I managed to solve without any clue as to the cryptic bit at all, so I suspect my brain might just not be in gear this evening.
I’m often slow to get going with a Jay, but today I maintained that pace. Did lots of things like being convinced there was a material which is a homophone of sure (10a), taking forever to come up with the person at last (1d), and being ridiculously slow to massage the letters of 14d into the right order.
13a was new to me but gettable, and I only vaguely remembered 3d after I’d finally constructed it from wordplay and checkers.
So I haven’t been covered in glory today, but that’s just fine because I have been marinating in sunshine and wine.
I smiled at the ice cream for the same reason as Jane. (And those who know me well know how much of that stuff I can eat!) I also found 17d quite fetching.
Thanks to Jay and the 2Kiwis. Congratulations on the century. I guess that’s half a century apiece? ;)
Another excellent Jay puzzle, clever, inventive clues.
Thanks to the 2xK’s and Jay.
Good evening everybody.
A late entry thanks to a crashed computer and losing my notes. Anyway the lawyer’s bag was the solution that lit up the stragglers and let me finish this excellent puzzle. There were a couple of solutions that I couldn’t fully explain but Ive forgotten which ones and there were two or three very good clues too.
***/****
I was convinced that 4d had to be a hidden lurker and went on a wild goose chase to see if there was such a thing as a ‘plak’. I now know members of the Dutch volleyball team. As soon as I remembered that ‘the deep’ meant ‘sea’ I set off in the right direction’. I really liked 1d, 25d and 28a. Thanks again to all.
Loved this offering from Jay – as usual. Lots of clever misdirections and a cracking lurker. Had plenty of time to complete it as Southern Rail (also as usual) are in complete disarray and I had to wait in the rain for bus to finish my commute. It did my cold no good at all, so I’m going to bed with a generous glass of Jim Beam Single Barrell 95% proof bourbon, and to hell with the doctor’s alcohol ban – it’s the only cold remedy I know.
PS Thanks to all for good thoughts about the arrival of my third grandchild, the first boy. Another Spurs fan is always worth celebrating
PPS Thanks to the centurions and Mr Mutch. Top of the pile was 9a. 2*/4*
Best of the week so far – until tomorrow, when it’s Ray T. This was about average difficulty but quite enjoyable. 2*/3*.