Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28269
Hints and tips by Deep Threat
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Good morning from South Staffs this Armistice Day morning. Those of you waiting anxiously for the blog to appear will note that publication was delayed, deliberately, by two minutes.
The NE corner held me up longest on today’s Giovanni, but otherwise there was nothing too difficult, since the unfamiliar words were clued in the usual fair fashion. I did think, though, that the wordplay for 5d involved something of a stretched synonym.
In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the ‘Click here!’ buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.
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 Herb as son, little chap with endless merit (10)
STITCHWORT – Put together Son, a person who isn’t very tall, and a word for merit with its final letter removed (endless).
6a I left sailor travelling west for island (4)
BALI – Put together I (from the clue), Left, and one of the usual crossword sailors, then reverse the lot to get an island in Indonesia (but not the one in today’s Quick Crossword).
9a Getting snarled up — as net is here, before fishing (10)
ENTANGLING – A semi-all-in-one clue. Anagram (snarled up) of NET followed by fishing as a sporting activity.
10a A group of coppers seen to be sharp (4)
ACID – A (from the clue) followed by the acronym for a section of the police force where the detectives work.
12a Some dog reared to be monster (4)
OGRE – Hidden (some) in the clue.
13a Very small things not reused, chucked (9)
DEUTERONS – Anagram (chucked) of NOT REUSED, giving us some heavy hydrogen nuclei.
15a Blooming obsession that’s absorbing Rex, four (8)
THRIVING – Take the Latin abbreviation for a king (rex) and the Roman numeral for four, and put them inside a word that can mean ‘obsession’, as in ‘He has a bit of a —– about…’.
16a Tramp, maybe one emerging from papers (6)
DOSSER – Remove the Roman numeral for one from a word for a file of papers.
18a Greek character hugged by little child for a time (6)
MINUTE – A small child, as in ‘poor little —-‘, wrapped around the thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet.
20a Problematical situation that gets someone reaching for hair dye? (4,4)
GREY AREA – If you regard these signs of aging in your hair as a problem, you might choose to dye them.
23a Fellow surrounded by unsociable types who live in a city? (9)
LONDONERS – Some people who don’t like company wrapped around a university fellow, giving us the inhabitants of the Great Wen.
24a Member meeting unknown host (4)
ARMY – One of the members of the human body followed by an algebraic unknown.
26a Work that may be behind a counter (4)
TILL – This word for working the soil could also be where a shopkeeper puts his takings.
27a Extra lad, an idiot to be licked into shape (10)
ADDITIONAL – Anagram (to be licked into shape) of LAD AN IDIOT.
28a Money quietly given to party (4)
DOSH – One of the usual crossword parties followed by an instruction to be quiet.
29a Past rowers coming out in their kit? (10)
SPORTSWEAR – Anagram (coming out) of PAST ROWERS,
Down
1d The woman had something at the bottom of garden? (4)
SHED – A shorter way of writing ‘the woman had’.
2d Number, say, being buried in Bury (7)
INTEGER – The Latin abbreviation for say, or for example, inserted into a word for ‘bury’.
3d Keeping going in dialogue, getting two characters to switch around (12)
CONSERVATION – Start with another word for a dialogue, then swap two letters around.
4d Drilling completed? Congratulations! (4,4)
WELL DONE – A phrase which could mean that you’ve finished drilling for oil or water. The first word is what you would have drilled, the second a word for completed or finished.
5d A number landing in gutter, dismissed (3,3)
RAN OUT – The past tense of a verb phrase describing one of the methods of dismissal at cricket. A (from the clue) and Number, placed inside a verb meaning to gutter or hollow out.
7d They may go to bed after journeys (7)
ANCHORS – Cryptic definition of some things which may be lowered to the sea bed after a voyage.
8d River suffering with lots of factories around? (10)
INDUSTRIAL – A major river of the subcontinent, followed by a period of testing or suffering.
11d Scientific study in which secondary aim is dicey (12)
AERODYNAMICS – Anagram (is dicey) of SECONDARY AIM.
14d Encouraged to be false with secret ultimately hidden (10)
STIMULATED – Put the last letter of secreT inside a word for false or pretended.
17d After a day, person on slopes becomes more lively (8)
FRISKIER – A short form of the name of one of the days of the week, followed by a winter sportsperson.
19d Something that isn’t a positive feature in puzzle? (7)
NONPLUS – The definition is a verb. Split (3,4) this could be something which is not a mathematical or scientific sign for a positive. Or in French it could be two words from the title of that rather risqué song from Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin…
21d Capital city’s church featuring in adventure story (7)
ROMANCE – The adjective for something belonging to the capital of Italy, followed by an abbreviation for the Church of England.
22d Project aiming at the stars? Something we laugh at (4-2)
SEND-UP – If you project something towards the stars – a weather balloon, perhaps – you do this.
25d Slight speech defect (4)
SLUR – Double definition, the first being a slight or insult.
The dire warnings I was getting from Firefox yesterday morning about this site being an ‘attack site’ are still there today. I hope you will all be able to reach the blog without problems today.
The Quick Crossword pun MIST + HAKE = MISTAKE
A good scientific lesson learnt today having never heard of 1A or 13A. Many thanks to all & hope you have a good weekend.
3*/3* from us, perhaps partly because the iPad/Telegraph app version clues 29a as ‘Kit on the ground’ which took us some time to solve.
Plenty of enjoyment, though. Liked 2d and 3d. Thought 7d pushed the cryptic definition to the limit and, perhaps, a little beyond it.
Thanks to DT and the setter. Deepest respect on Armistice Day.
Not too challenging, and very enjoyable – 1.5*/3* for me. I concur with DT on the synonym in 5d, but there was nothing else it could be.
Favourite 2d, an oldie but goody.
Today is a holiday in (most of) Canada with services in all the major cities. I will be attending the main one in Winnipeg wearing my poppy with pride.
Thanks to Giovanni and DT.
Thanks to Deep Threat and Giovanni (I wonder whether he’ll choose Trump as his next pseudonym?).
In 5d I took number to be NO with RUT being the channel.
Same for me with 5d.
Gazza, you do make me laugh :).
Gazza is not the first person to suggest that – some bright spark on Times for the Times mentioned that the other day.
I enjoyed this much more than the Giovanni toughie on Tuesday. Nice surfaces, nice wordplay. I particularly liked 9a, 23a, 27a, 29a, 2d, 7d, 19d.
I was surprised to see 13a though
Many thanks Deep Threat and Giovanni
Doubtful that I would have got 13a had it not been an anagram and confess that I only looked at 16a as a straightforward cryptic clue – so obvious when DT pointed it out!
Not sure about 3d – isn’t there an issue with the tenses used in that one?
Favourite was 20a – made me smile.
Thanks to DG and to DT and also to this site for respecting the 2 minute silence.
Feel a bit nervous but am hoping for the best. This was entertaining enough but not exactly thrilling. Had to wrack my brain to recall 1a and failed to come up with 13a anagram but Fav was 10a. Thanks Giovanni and DT. ***/**.
For three quarters of this I didn’t find much either to make me frown or smile. There were a few stinkers in the NE which I actually used help to catch, having lost patience. My favourite clue today is 19d.
I solved from the app, where the 20a would-be dyers were specifically male – that version had “fellow” in place of “someone.” There was in fact an overpopulation of fellows, because in 1a the “chap” was a “fellow” too. The only fellow that is in both editions is the don in 23a, our setter leaving his signature. Also, as Sheffieldsy said, the app version of 29a is “Kit on the ground.” Oh, and as usual, hyphenations in enumerations are omitted in the app: 22d is given as (4,2). I wonder if there are further discrepancies in the dead tree version.
Sorry to be grumpy. I shall work it off by going for a run and then cheer up with Elkamere. Thanks to Giovanni and to Deep Threat.
The clues in my edition of the paper are the same as the clues printed above, which came from the Telegraph Puzzles site just after midnight. I haven’t checked for any later alterations.
Thanks for checking that, DT.
the I-Pad app seems to have different clues to the puzzles site and paper more often than not. I wonder why?
Interestingly (says who?) the Guardian featured “three quarters” today in a clue that took me a while. Didn’t realise it was a kind of back in rugby.
The other interesting thing is that Giovanni is the first to leap up if anyone else uses clergyman or some such to clue a church official, reminding us that the church also employs women in top roles – so the specific male references would hopefully be atypical – else they would be hypocritical.
Hope the elkamere cheered you up – i’m guessing it did :-)
I had exactly the same thought about the clergypeople. As for the Elk, I’ll comment in the proper place.
Hi all, just for info I am getting the warnings but I’m on google chrome . Says this site is infected by Malware.
On to the Crossword, i thought 1a was subtly clever. I spent a while thinking the with was the “w” in the answer and so was held up the most on that clue.
Really enjoyed this even though not the hardest Giovanni I’ve come across on the back page.
Thanks very much Giovanni and DT
Good weekend all.
2*/3*. I found this surprisingly enjoyable for a Friday puzzle. The surfaces were generally good with less verbosity than normal, and there was even some humour.
I had the wrong tense for 5d, having parsed it as “uno” in “rut”, although in my defence either answer fits the definition. 1a was a new word for me, and 20a was my favourite.
Many thanks to Giovanni and to DT.
P.S. Thankfully (and touch wood!) my Trojan warnings have stopped today.
A pretty good brain teaser resorted to help for13a.
Thanks to Deet Threat and the Don
I do look forward to Fridays puzzle, it is always so entertaining esp with Giovannis obscure words. For me today was **/****
Had to delve back into my physics for 13a and relied on Mrs B and her horticultural knowledge for 1a. Lots of lovely anagrams and my favourite is 2d. Could only been improved by the inclusion of a cricket clue! 😉
Thx to all
I thought 5d was a crickety thing?
So did I.
Tricky enough for me as Fridays often are.
1a fooled me for a while – I’d call it a weed but it depends how you define herb.
I’ve never heard of 13a so needed as many letters as possible before I got that one.
7d was my last answer – just couldn’t see it.
I don’t think I’d ever have got 29a from the alternative clue that others have mentioned.
I liked 20a and my favourite was 17d.
Thanks to Giovanni and Deep Threat.
I still can’t get to the blog except on the iPad – big red scary warnings right left and centre on my computer although it’s OK on husband’s computer – all too clever for me but I shouldn’t think that surprises anyone.
My sister, who was a gardener for some years, says that weeds are simply flowers you don’t want.
Like your sister I’m a gardener – I think she would agree with me in that there are weeds and WEEDS.
Army = Host? Am I missing something obvious?
Adventure story = Romance? Love story perhaps.
Bluebirds, BRB definition 2 for host: “an army (archaic); a great multitude”.
Also see “Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing” in the drop-downs.
A good list to try to commit to memory ( hard at my age I’m finding)
I can never remember what my age is these days …
According to the Small Red Book (Crossword Dictionary) army and host are synonymous, but, I think, somewhat archaic.
But I agree that adventure = romance is a bit of a stretch.
Army/host crops up from time to time.
Agree with your second point.
The definition of ‘romance’ in the BRB starts with a reference to the Romance languages – the Western European languages that developed from Latin. A romance was originally a tale of chivalry, written in verse, in one of these languages, then developed to encompass a fictitious narrative passing beyond the limits of ordinary life.
Not owning said book, I didn’t get the army host clue either.
“an army of ants” and “a host of ants” both sound OK to me.
Good Friday fare with a new word (1a) and a forgotten one(13a). Enjoyment *** with just about average solve-time.
Thanks to setter & DT. Flanagan & Allen brought back memories, thanks.
DT’s commens and rating are bang on. NE corner was last for me with 7d then 16a finishing it. Liked both of those and 19d best.
Thanks all
The Don up to his usual standard, with lots to enjoy and no great difficulties encountered along the way. 3 down my favourite despite reservations about tense. Simple but clever. Overall 2.5*/3* from me, with thanks to Giovanni and DT.
Since the recent computer problems with the site, the answers are not greyed out. Anyone else having the same problem?
Thankfully the dire warnings have disappeared!
Well lucky old you – I’d swap the answers being visible for the beastly dire warnings.
I found this a little tricky in parts. Didn’t know 1a or 13a, so I needed electronic help for those.
I liked 20a, 7d and 17d, fave was 23a.
Thanks for “Underneath the Arches”, one of my Dad’s faves which he used to sing to us on those long car trips to school on unpaved roads.
Thanks to Giovanni and to Deep Threat for his review.
Once again, RD and I are in complete accord, this one was definitely more fun to solve than usual for a Friday. Several clues, like 1d, 2d and 4d for example, were extremely Rufusesque.
I gave ticks to 16a, 7d and 17d.
Many thanks to Mr. Manley and to DT, and a good weekend to all.
Too hard for me.
Too many unusual definitions .
Do not think I will ever be on this setter’s wavelength.
Thanks to Deep Threat for the hints.
Apart from inventing a new particle for 13a, which held me up until I spotted the anagram at 11d, this didn’t cause too much trouble. Call it 2*/3*. I enjoyed 20a – finding the non-grey areas is more problematical for me – so that’s my favourite. Ta to the Don, and to DT.
1a and 13a were both new for us but not too difficult to get them sorted. Took much longer to work out the anagram for 11d.
Thanks Giovanni and DT.
Tried to log onto BD via ipad, warning messages about damage to your computer. Went to BD Facebook and followed the link, then got here ok. Anyone else ?
Nice puzzle today, **/***.
Yes been there and done that!
Sorry ! Thanks to DT !
Dire warnings indeed! Wondered if it was picking up Deep Threat.
Welcome to the blog Georgina
Mixed bag for me today. Not sure 1a is a herb (or ‘erb as they insist in the US), more of a weed. And 13a stumped me having never paid attention to anything remotely scientific in school. Thanks to Deep Threat for hints which I needed today for several clues.
I know, we have so much fun with ‘erb! I often wonder why it’s pronounced like that.
Enjoyable but tricky needed a clue for 15a because I was having a conversation about conservation 😳 ***/** 1a & 13a were new words for me 😏 Still getting dire warning messages about the site 🙁 Thanks to DT and to Giovanni
Giovanni on a Friday normally comes up with a crossword that stirs the grey cells and makes you work. Today’s was no exception. 7d took a while before the penny dropped so that is my favourite.
3/3* overall.
Thanks to Mr M, and to DT for his review.
Je t’aime, moi non plus indeed.
Managed to misspell 13a even after checking it up. The only other word that needed checking was 1a.
Thought 5d was a crickety clue too.
Thanks to the Don and to DT.
Trying to catch up with my Crosswording. Friday’s puzzle was a ***/*** for me and completed the SW only after a night’s sleep. Present time is Monday night and I have not started that one yet. Here goes. Is anyone there anymore??
Thought not.