DT 28282 (Hints) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28282 (Hints)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28282 (Hints)

Big Dave’s Saturday Crossword Club

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As a result of implementing Cloudflare, visitors to the blog are being subjected to a 5-second delay.  This is a safeguard against an ongoing DDoS attack.  Each time I have changed the status from “I’m Under Attack!” the site has ground slowly to a halt, so please bear with us until the threat has finally been removed.


As is usual for the weekend prize crosswords, an assortment of clues, including some of the more difficult ones, have been selected and hints provided for them.

Most of the terms used in these hints are explained in the Glossary and examples are available by clicking on the entry under “See also”. Where the hint describes a construct as “usual” this means that more help can be found in The Usual Suspects, which gives a number of the elements commonly used in the wordplay. Another useful page is Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, which features words with meanings that are not always immediately obvious.

A full review of this puzzle will be published after the closing date for submissions.

Some hints follow.

Across

7a    Published letters in remote military camp (7)
A charade of a three-letter word meaning published and some letters

9a    Surface area of a prison about to be included (7)
The A from the clue and a prison around (to be included) a two-letter word meaning about

11a    Male in lengthy run in opera (9)
The male pronoun inside an adjective meaning lengthy is followed by R(un) and IN

12a    Doctor phoning later about boy — don’t take offence (7,8)
An anagram (doctor) of phoning later around a boy

16a    Organ only faulty near the start (5,2)
An organ of the body followed by an anagram (faulty) of ONLY

23a    Make a mistake confronting it in Conservative area (9)
A three-letter verb meaning to make a mistake and IT inside a conservative

24a    End of the opening contest (5)
The final letter (end) of [th]E followed by an opening

26a    Expert, holding tight, pulled back trigger (7)
A three-letter expert around (holding) the reversal (pulled back) of an adjective meaning tight

Down

1d    Shorts currently in demand with power workers (3,5)
An adjective meaning currently in demand followed by P(ower) and some six-legged workers

3d    Prison camp, male only, holding the French (6)
An adjective meaning male only, in the same way that hen means female only, around the French feminine definite article

4d    Founder of order, one’s withdrawn Swiss currency (6)
Start with the name of the founder of an order of mendicant friars and drop (withdrawn) the I (one)

8d    Unexpected development for Dickens character (5)
Two definitions – the second being the surname of the eponymous character in a famous novel by Charles Dickens

17d    Poet rude to sister (8)
An anagram (rude) of TO SISTER

18d    Talk idly, accepting award? It’s not important (2,6)
A verb meaning to talk idly around (accepting) a two-letter award for eminence in any field

20d    Farm animal provided that in here somehow (6)
A two-letter word meaning provided that inside an anagram (somehow) of HERE

22d    Musical drama depicted by mostly well-known artist (5)
Most of an adjective meaning well-known or public followed by our usual artist

The Crossword Club is now open.  I’ll be at the Village Café and Market until lunchtime.


Could new readers please read the Welcome post and the FAQ before posting comments or asking questions about the site.

As this is a Prize crossword, please don’t put any ANSWERS, whether WHOLE, PARTIAL or INCORRECT, or any ALTERNATIVE CLUES in your comment. If in doubt, leave it out!

Please read these instructions carefully. Offending comments may be redacted or, in extreme cases, deleted.


The Quick Crossword pun: weal+write=wheelwright


57 comments on “DT 28282 (Hints)

  1. Fairly straightforward for a Saturday puzzle; certainly easier than yesterday’s for me. Most solved quickly with 9a being LOI as I was looking for a named prison for a while. The two long across clues are nicely constructed and 1d took me back to my youth. Not that I ever modelled them myself. Nothing particularly stood out, though, as COTD so I’ll opt for 11a which has a nice surface.

    No more problems logging in recently, apart from a post that disappeared when I pressed submit. Once again, thanks to BD for the review and for keeping the site up and running.

  2. I wouldn’t disagree with Mark at #1 when thinking about the straightforwardness of this puzzle. All over far too quickly. 9 across also my last entry but for different reasons. I also liked 11 across.

    1.5*/3* from me, with thanks to the Saturday setter and BD for his hard work.

    Unusual quick crossword today.

      1. I was thinking more of the fact that all the across clues started with the same letter. Quite clever and inventive.

  3. BD. Referring to your comment at the top, I don’t mind the 5 second delay at all – if it protects the site from problematic attacks then it’s a small price to pay.

  4. Great that Saturday puzzles seem to be a little more demanding these days. As per yesterday the South was complete before I could make any impression on the North but all’s well that ends well. No particular Favs but just all round good fun. Thanks Mr. Ron and BD. ***/***.
    Happy to have Cloudfare vetting. Today at first also had message saying “Your access to this site has been limited. Exceeded maximum global requests per minute for crawlers or humans” but this soon disappeared – whatever next?!

    1. I was getting the strange message about crawlers at the beginning of the month, but not in the last ten days or so. Somewhat weird!

  5. I liked this puzzle and, as I wrote in the answer for 11a, the thought actually occurred to me that Morse would’ve have liked this puzzle too… Like those who’ve posted before me, I have no objection to the five-second delay if it keeps the gremlins at bay.

  6. No real problems, and completed comfortably before lights out last night, although 5d caused some head scratching and was my last one in – **/***.

    Four candidates for favourite – 9a, 23a, 3d, and 5d, with, probably, 5d the winner by a nose.

    Thanks to the setter and BD.

    1. Same here with 5D couldn’t get 007 out of my head until the penny dropped not miss money penny either!😄

      1. My head scratching also included the 007 connection (for a time); perhaps it is because I have just purchased DVD sets of the Sean Connery Bond movies.

        Also, it is one of those clue/answer sets where, in the Small Red Book, the ‘clue’ word is shown in the ‘answer’ word listing, but not the other way round. So, you have to know the answer before you can look it up!

  7. No major problems today other than a couple which I made “all my own self”.
    I started off with 20 and 21d each in the others place – dim, or what – and it was only when I thought 23a looked like an odd word that I realised.
    I thought this one was of average difficulty for a Saturday – certainly nothing like as tricky as last Saturday.
    I was slow to get 4d for some reason and missed the hidden 6d for the usual, for me, long time.
    I also missed the slightly unusual anagram indicator (rude) in 17d until I had most of the checking letters in.
    I liked 11a (and also thought of Morse) and the long 19a anagram, and 8 and 19d.
    With thanks to Mr Ron and to BD.
    Now – do I dare to have a look at the NTSPP? I don’t often get very far with Radler’s crosswords.

    1. Hi Kath,
      The Radler is…… well, it’s a Radler! A lot of the top half is stubbornly holding out against me – time to take a break.

    2. Kath – as well as 17d, the anagram indicators in 19a and 21d were ‘slightly unusual’ for me, but, given that the Small Red Book has a list of 1,400 or thereabouts anagram indicators, we should not be surprised when an unusual one is used (but the indicator in 21d is not one of the 1,400).

  8. just finished this one having been constantly interrupted by her in doors to do chores! Last one in was 5D & I am not a fan of opera,also had to google the poet in 17D. Many thanks to the setter & to BD for his sterling efforts of late.

  9. I’m also happy to have the short wait, it’s worth it. Thanks BD.
    Enjoyed both prize and quick crosswords today.
    Found the use of the same letter very clever and entertaining.
    Managed without hints but took me a while.
    1d reminded me of my much younger self! Where did all those years go and all those extra pounds come from?

  10. Very straightforward. I knew the poet in 17D. As a teenager, I used to scour secondhand book shops for her works. Cost 6d a volume. And I did wear 1D, though not necessarily at the same time. Enjoyed the puzzle, so thanks to the setter and to BD. I find the 5 second delay very reassuring and don’t mind it one bit.

  11. I enjoyed this a lot even though I found it more challenging than some earlier commentators seem to have done. In fact, on my first past I was beginning to despair when I had only one solitary answer in the top half. I seemed to switch on to the setter’s wavelength as I started the bottom half which fell into place quite smoothly apart from 17d, which I thought was a bit obscure. Finally the top half succumbed with 9a my last one in.

    Although 13a is technically a songbird, IMHO they are not exactly the most exhilarating examples of this ilk; our local ones seem only able to manage their version of One Note Samba.

    My favourite was 11a.

    Many thanks to Mr Ron and to BD.

  12. Don’t think it’s the first time we’ve had this setter and I do like his/her style – refreshingly different in a lot of the cluing.
    Hard to choose a favourite but I thought the 19a anagram was clever and liked the surface of 21d.

    Thanks to Mr. Ron and to BD for everything.

  13. With half of the across clues going straight in, then three-quarters of the downs, this didn’t take long at all. Don’t think I have heard of the poet, though.

    Thanks to the setter, Mr Ron and BD for keeping the site going.

  14. I very rarely have the time to do the Saturday backpager (or inside pager today), but I’m glad that I managed to squeeze this one in, as I thought it was excellent.

    The two long crossing anagrams were my favourites, and the quality of the surfaces was first rate.

    Many thanks to the compiler and to BD especially after such a trying week.

  15. Dim or what?
    It’s only after reading Jane’s comment that I realised that 19a was an anagram.
    Couldn’t parse it although the answer was quite obvious.
    The rest was quite clear.
    Thanks to the setter and to BD for the secure blog.
    RIP to David Hamilton. I was 14 when Bilitis came out. I’ll say no more.

  16. Very grateful the site works again – and never mind the delay.
    The prize puzzle seemed unusually straightforward today.
    The Quickie across clues made me smile.

  17. I found the left hand side pretty straightforward, but needed a bit of help with the RHS.

    Not helped by my getting 9a wrong …won’t say how for fear of the naughty corner.

    Cannot say that this one was my favourite this week, but enjoyed what I could of it.

    Thanks to the setter and to Big Dave.

  18. So much more doable than yesterdays offering (at least for me). 11a was my favourite although there were a few close runners up. Thanks to the setter and BD for keeping the site in good health. No issue with a 5 second pause.

  19. Attempted a bit of multi-tasking in watching the England v Argentina game whilst trying to do this crossword – maybe it’s my imagination but it seemed trickier than normal – very enjoyable nevertheless.

    Now for Chelsea v Tottenham – it’s all go!

  20. Rant: When I turned my computer on this morning to print my daily fix, I had no internet, phone or TV. I don’t know about you chaps in the UK, but we have to call the Philippines to sort out our messes. Much frustration, many calls and several “I didn’t understand that, please say again”, and now several hours later I am back, but furious.

    Never mind, I’m here. Fortunately, the crossword was 1* today for me, otherwise I could have wasted the whole day.
    Fave was 11a, and it was so well clued, I didn’t even have to look up the spelling.
    Thanks to setter, really enjoyed your offering, and to BD for the hints.

  21. Fairly straightforward and very enjoyable . I got the poet though I can’t for the life of me parse the clue.
    Much thanks to BD for keeping the blog going.

  22. No worries regarding Cloudfare; if it keeps the site safe a 5 second wait is nothing. Again thanks to Big Dave for all his efforts to keep this going.I was slow to get started on this one, and not my favourite puzzle of the week. Just not on this setters wavelength. Didn’t know the poet, but figured it out. 12a and 19a were joint favorites today.

  23. Tough as Saturdays have been of late but apart from a poet that I had never heard about of, it went in ok.
    A 5 second delay is worth it to keep the site running well.
    Thx to all

  24. Lovely Saturday treat, ginormous thanks to BD for his valiant efforts to keep site up and running, 5 seconds wait is a very small price to pay. Daily jelly baby ration eaten, GK crossword done off to read latest Kobo book. Thanks to setter. :phew:

  25. Rather a gentle doddle, but plenty to enjoy: 1*/4* or thereabouts. Lots of nice clues to choose from, but my pick is 19d. My thanks to the setter and, as always, to BD.

  26. Big Dave, I wholeheartedly endorse your efforts on this site

    I hope you feel more heartened by us mere contributors than those who wish to corrupt your valiant and tenacious efforts

    To quote Startrek “live long and prosper”

    The cryptic crossword followers from the Telegraph will mourn if you are not able to continue in your peaceful endeavours

    1. I’d hate to speak for BD but I wouldn’t mind betting that he takes heart from all the supportive comments that are posted on his blog.
      He’s a star and I hope that he knows we all think so.

      1. You are right, as ever, Kath. It is fantastic to know how much everyone loves the site. I would have responded earlier but I have been out all evening.

  27. No problems for me, although this wasn’t my favourite puzzle of the week. Good enough, though – but no particular favourite. Thanks to the setter and BD. 1*/2*

  28. Late in the day, I know, but some of us put on a black uniform on a Saturday afternoon and arbitrate 22 idiots of very limited ability…
    Very enjoyable, I did not know the Poet or the Opera, so Mr.Google helped.
    Favourite was 1d, purely because it reminds me of the girls in Abba from many years ago….

  29. Very glad to have you back! What is a mere 5seconds? Unlike everyone else I have struggled but may be because it is now Sunday evening after a very busy week end. Thanks for the hints BD

  30. Just to say I don’t even mind if the 5 second delay is permanent. It is a very small price to pay to have the site working normally

  31. Every time the poet in 17d comes up as an answer I swear that I’ve never heard of him ( or her).

  32. Hi

    Anyone still about? Am struggling with 5d. Just that and 26a left now. Obviously not on the same wave length as the setter as I’ve struggled a bit. Enjoyable nonetheless.

    Favourite clues so far 23a &19d.

    Thanks to BD for caring enough to keep the site up and running. Cross wording wouldn’t be the same for me without it – be much harder to improve my skills.

    Brigid

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