DT 28915 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 28915

by Falcon  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28915

Hints and tips by Falcon

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ****

Greetings from Ottawa, for the second week running. Since last week, the weather has turned a bit colder and the skies a bit more grey. A construction crew has been working on our street since July replacing the existing storm sewer with a much larger one — not for our benefit but to carry the runoff from a neighbouring community. Huge machines rumble up and down the street sometimes shaking the house like an earthquake.

Today’s puzzle is definitely not by RayT. I got off to a roaring start but became severely bogged down in the southwest corner causing me to add half a star to the difficulty level. I added yet another half star when I finally succeeded in parsing 5d. Although I found the puzzle to be decidedly on the difficult side, I also quite enjoyed it (but then I do have a bit of a masochistic streak). My enjoyment, however, was somewhat tempered by concern with completing the puzzle and getting on with composing the blog. I think the crossword is like sex; it is hard to derive maximum pleasure when conscious of a clock ticking.

In the hints below, underlining identifies precise definitions and cryptic definitions, and indicators are italicized. The answers will be revealed by clicking on the ANSWER buttons.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought of the puzzle.

Across

1a   Minor reprimand as result of make-up misapplication? (4,2,3,5)
SLAP ON THE WRIST — a double definition in which the second is a literal interpretation of the answer

9a   Warned treadle is unreliable (7)
ALERTED — anagram (is unreliable) of TREADLE

10a   Flood when scoundrel punctures canoe on vacation (7)
CASCADE — “on vacation” is an indication that the inner letters must vacate C(ano)E; “punctures” instructs us to fill the resulting void with an alternative to when and a dishonourable man

11a   Once more, make love after wine (4)
REDO — a poor tennis score follows a wine of a certain hue

12a   Everything improved at centre managed by multi-talented person (3-7)
ALL-ROUNDER — a charade of a word signifying everything, the two central letters of impROved, and a preposition denoting managed by or working for

14a   Was eating female monarch’s biscuits (6)
WAFERS — WAS (from the clue) ingesting F(emale) and our monarch’s regnal cipher

15a   Contend encyclopedia contains bias (8)
TENDENCY — a lurker concealed in the first two words of the clue

17a   Country men with guns surrounded by barking hounds (8)
HONDURAS — shortened men with very big guns in the midst of an anagram (barking) of HOUNDS

18a   Article in Paris South, antique still on the market (6)
UNSOLD — string together a French indefinite article, S(outh), and an adjective denoting antique

21a   Spy boss expressed hesitation infiltrating a military group by Eastern Front (10)
MASQUERADE — lead with 007’s boss, then place an expression of hesitation (not UM) inside a group of about a dozen soldiers; follow-up with E(astern)

22a   Surge of water with hail (4)
WAVE — W(ith) accompanied by a Roman shout of welcome

24a   Obvious identification is required in organised activity (7)
EVIDENT — a short proof of identity within an organised activity such as a concert or sports meet

25a   Celebrity, initially learner, in English broadcasts making cakes (7)
ECLAIRS — the recipe for these cakes is to place the initial letter of Celebrity together with L(earner) between E(nglish) and a synonym for broadcasts

26a   Silly act, that man ran off with bride (7-7)
FEATHER-BRAINED — line up an act or deed, a pronoun standing in for that man, and an anagram (off) of RAN and BRIDE

Down

1d   Bird box with commotion beneath (7)
SPARROW — to exchange fisticuffs atop a noisy quarrel

2d   Meat in seafood he cooked is extremely radical (5,2,4,4)
AHEAD OF ONE’S TIME — an anagram (cooked) of the first four words in the clue

3d   Aware of filling used in oriental dumpling (4)
ONTO — you need to find an oriental dumpling (WONTON) and then extract the four central letters from it; indirect anagrams are a no-no but it would seem that indirect extractions are fair game

4d   Tango casually, holding daughter, being a bit squiffy (6)
TIDDLY — start with the letter represented by Tango in the NATO phonetic alphabet, follow this with adverb denoting casually or lazily which is embracing D(aughter)

5d   Guided from base and cut around back of fort (8)
ESCORTED — a mathematical base (“e” is the transcendental number that is the base of Napierian or natural logarithms, approximately equal to 2.71828) followed by the past tense of a verb meaning to cut or scratch a surface wrapped around the final letter of forT; I can’t believe that anyone who doesn’t have a degree in mathematics should necessarily be expected to recognize the base, but I can come up with no other explanation

6d   Ringing plastic surgeon about dad’s rear and hip (10)
RESOUNDING — an anagram (plastic) of SURGEON enveloping the final letter of daD and a short word meaning hip or trendy

7d   Appreciative response from resistance with independent government dividing country (8,7)
STANDING OVATION — begin with a show of resistance and the abbreviations for I(ndependent); finish with a short form for GOV(ernment) inside another term for country

8d   Chance upon fish shop (6)
BETRAY — chance or wager followed by a fish with winglike fins; shop is used in the sense of split or grass

13d   Dodgy woman in German university fencing diamonds fast (10)
FRAUDULENT — begin with a German woman and U(niversity) surrounding (fencing) D(iamonds); follow-up with a Christian period of fasting

16d   He painted male garbed at first in orderly attire (8)
MAGRITTE — commence with M(ale); to this append the initial letter of Garbed inserted into an anagram (orderly) of ATTIRE

17d   Check  what might be required for picnic? (6)
HAMPER — a double definition; I was initially ******ed by attempting to pack my picnic lunch in a BASKET

19d   Prepared to take away silver in horse competition on day (7)
DRESSED — remove the chemical symbol for silver from an equestrian competition and add D(ay) at the end

20d   Cut short promotion on book hastily, perhaps (6)
ADVERB — trim the end off an already somewhat shortened name for a commercial message and replace the severed letter with B(ook) to get the grammatical term for words such as hastily

23d   Claim place on middle of seat (4)
PLEA — the shortened form of place found on street signs precedes the middle letters of sEAt

There are too many great clues for me to choose a favourite so I am going with 7d as a sign of appreciation for the puzzle as a whole.

Quickie Pun: MIKE + ROPE + HUB = MICROPUB

46 comments on “DT 28915”

  1. I found this one a bit tricky, especially the SW quadrant – a decent challenge, good clues and a satisfying solve. Best of the week so far, for me. 3.5* / 4*

    1. PS. Your comment at the end of the second paragraph above reminds me of an old joke I first heard in the 70s: I’m getting really good at sex – I’ve got it down to 3 minutes now!

  2. A tricky crossword, although I will say that the mathematical base in 5d does appear quite a lot these days.

    Thanks to the Thursday Mysteron for the brain work out and to Falcon for the blog

  3. Glad Falcon came up with a ****/**** as it was for me ,and like others I thought that the SW quadrant was the toughest, 26a was the last in when I eventually worked out the charade- was sure it was going to be scatter brained!
    Liked 1a and 21a.
    I found the quickie difficult too, thanks Falcon and setter, going for a sausage roll and a cup of tea.

  4. A thoroughly rewarding and enjoyable puzzle this morning. Pleasantly tricky in places but very doable, I have put 1a as my COTD. As is often the case, there were two or three four letter answers which held out the longest, but overall this fun to complete.

    Many thanks to the Thursday setter and to Falcon.

  5. Not as challenging or as enjoyable as a typical Thursday, Mr Ron or Ray T, puzzle so I would have to disagree with my fellow Canadian blogger and rate it **/**.

    Favourite 1a.

    Thanks to the setter and Falcon.

  6. Some of the clues seemed quite ‘wordy’ but I thought this was a very good puzzle.
    As CS said, that mathematical base does show up quite regularly – almost as often as the 25a cakes!

    1a produced the widest smile.

    Thanks to Mr Ron and to Falcon for the blog – hope you’ll soon be rid of the contractors!

  7. Yep, a few in the SW corner delayed things as did initially putting in cheek as the last word of 1a. 5d was a bung in that worked online and had to be but I had no idea about the base. Overall though it was an enjoyable challenge.

    21a gets my vote as favourite for the construction and the surface.

    Thanks to setter and Falcon.

  8. A game of two halves for me. The first half went in without any trouble, then it became more difficult. Solved it though. A nice workout. 3d was my last in! 1a was amusing. 8d was clever. 21a was bit tortuous. I’ll go for 12a as my pick of the day.

  9. After the first read through I had a completed triangle of letters from the top left to the bottom right. The empty triangle took much longer possibly due to putting scatter brained in. Thanks to the setter and thanks to Falcon. Ignore the clock whilst doing sex or crossword puzzles especially whilst doing both simultaneously.

  10. I made a good start on the left side, a little slower in the NE corner, delayed by whether to put CHEEK as last word of 1a. Then totally stuck in the SE corner. Could not have finished in any reasonable time without clicking for the answer to 26a which had me completely beaten!
    Excellent overall, so 4*/4* for me. Thanks to Falcon and the compiler .

  12. I think Falcon’s 4* / 4* is about right with the SW corner the hardest part to crack. As Jane says there were some very wordy clues but despite this the surfaces were generally very good.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Falcon.

  13. I was unable to finish this without three hints, all in the SW corner. It’s been a long time since I have said that about a back-pager.

    Many thanks to the setter and Falcon.

  14. Herein lies the problem with discussing difficulty ( see Dada comments passim).
    I found this puzzle quite easy and in my terms breezed through it and enjoyed the solve.
    Thanks to Falcon and the setter.

  15. I was undone by the oriental dumpling, not a word I know, so needed a hint for that.
    Agree with everyone that the SW corner was tricky, but doable. Like Jane, some if the clues were quite wordy, but a very enjoyable puzzle.
    I didn’t know the artist, but worked it out from the checking letters then consulted Google.
    Thanks all.

  16. Was pleased to complete after two visits. Half went in smoothly then NE & SW a struggle. Thanks Falcon for help explaining 5d, l thought it somehow connected to the e on the end of base – now I know.
    Thanks to setter & Falcon

    1. This is the first time that I have seen this mathematical base used in a crossword puzzle. Although I recognized it as a possibility fairly readily (I happen to have a degree in mathematics), I thought it not likely to be used in a crossword. Turns out I was wrong as crypticsue reports that it “does appear quite a lot these days”. When I think about it, I suppose it is no more obscure than some of the musical notation that frequently appears.

      1. I am wondering when, if ever, HTML letters would be allowable? A B H I LI OL P etc (Cue Chris saying ‘Never’)

        1. I’ve never heard of it even though CS says that it comes up from time to time.
          I got a grade 2 at ‘o’ level – teachers said that I should have got a grade 1 and that I should take it again. I took it again and got a grade 3. Oh dear!

  17. I enjoyed this, though I admit to being unable to complete the SW corner. Have to go out so resorted to the hints.
    Both 3d and 5d were bung ins, guaranteed I’ll fail to remember the mathematical whatsit.
    Fave was 7d, shout out to 2d as well, both opened up the puzzle and helped a lot.
    Thanks to whomsoever set this and to Falcon for his needed hints.

  19. The hardest for me for many weeks so thanks Falcon for half a dozen hints. Parts of this were quite enjoyable in a parsons egg kind of way but there was no chance I would ever finish this without Falcon’s hints.

  20. I knew early on that I was never going to get 3d. Pity – for me it spoiled an otherwise very enjoyable puzzle.

  21. Well I didn’t really enjoy that. I am not going to blame the puzzle or the hints but the brain was befuddled by last night’s works Christmas do. All the taking apart and substitution was too much for my hungover brain.
    Thanks to Falcon for the (much needed) hints and thanks to setter too.

  22. Finished in a reasonable time this morning . Enjoyed but some clues were over wordy in my opinion
    Last in ( as 15A fooled me) and favourite 8D .
    Thanks to everyone

  23. Never heard of the oriental dumpling or the mathematical base but managed to complete this at a brisk Senf. Thank you setter and Falcon.

  24. We had a bigger team than usual working on this one and did think that it was on the tricky side. Plenty to appreciate and enjoy.
    Thanks Mr Ron and Falcon.

  25. Must be a wavelength thing as I flew through this great crossword.
    Everything parsed successfully.
    Thanks to the setter and to Falcon for the review.

  26. Although I finished this in reasonable time and with no ekectronic help, 21a an 5d were bung ins. Thanks to Falcon for the hints so that I could get to the bottom of parsing them. The SW corner took twice as long as the rest of the crossword. It was quite enjoyable as mental work-outs go!

  27. I never really got on wavelength today but battled on and did in the end manage to finish thanks to a couple of Falcon hints in the SE including 26a. IMHO several clues were flimsy, clumsy and even unacceptable (e.g. 3d). My Fav was 13d. Thank you Mysteron and Falcon.

  28. I got off to a good start but soon had to resort to Falcon’s hints, and agree with his **** difficulty rating. Wordy clues and no math degree didn’t help (although smarty pants Mr BL did know it of course). I just wasn’t on wavelength, but otherwise enjoyed.

  29. This felt a little tricky when solving, especially the SW corner, but still finished in ** time. Chips and coffee are obviously a winning combination.

  30. Jolly difficult but what an absolutely cracking crossword – I loved it although it took me ages to even get started.
    I would have said that I’d never met the 5d base before but it sounds as if I’ve just forgotten it so that was a bung in.
    The second word of 12a was another bung in – started off trying to make it ‘dancing’ but it wouldn’t work.
    I could go on at length but it’s too late now so I’ll just leave it at a combination of :phew: and :good:
    Thanks to whoever set this one – let’s have more like it, please – and to Falcon for the hints – I’m glad it was you and not me today!
    Too tired and it’s too late now to do much more of anything so I’m going to save the Beam Toughie for tomorrow.

  31. I thought this was a splendid crossword. Half of it was straightforward; the rest wasn’t. I had to work quite hard to complete it. 1a was fave.
    Thanks to the setter, and to Falcon for the review.

  32. Very satisfying. Finished without help in bed this morning and agree SW was the most challenging. My usual ploy of going through the alphabet did not work but note to self to thing of a “q” before a “u”. 26a took some unscrambling but once I had that 20d surrendered (also must remember grammar when stuck) leading me on to the aforesaid 21a. Favourites 1a and 7d. Thanks to Falcon for parsing 5d and much thanks to the secret setter.

  33. Started this on Thursday evening, slogging away, managing around 40%. Was then rushed to Whipps Cross hospital in agony. An old long standing kidney stone had begun to move, hence my unbearable state. Came home Friday evening, stabilised after much medication and cheered myself up by completing this pretty tricky puzzle. Twas quite a challenge, I thought.
    Thanks to Falcon for the fine appraisal of the puzzle and to the setter.

    Surgery to follow. ****/****

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