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DT 28945

by Deep Threat  

 

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28945

Hints and tips by Deep Threat

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Good morning from South Staffs.

No horses were frightened during my solving of today’s puzzle from Giovanni, and those who object to religious references can relax, since this appears to be a secular puzzle.

In the hints below, the definitions are underlined. The answers are hidden under the ANSWER buttons, so don’t click if you don’t want to see them.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. 

Across

1a           Competition between two close teams in pub west of city (5,5)
LOCAL DERBY – Another word for a pub near one’s home, followed by a city in the East Midlands.

6a           Bad feeling when there’s destruction about (4)
MOOD – Reverse (about) another word for ‘destruction’ or ‘disaster’.

10a         What may be flowering in season — nitrogen not needed (5)
SPRIG – Remove the chemical symbol for nitrogen from one of the seasons of the year.

11a         A dad with the twitching complaint disinclined to act (9)
APATHETIC – Put together A (from the clue), another word for ‘dad’, THE (from the clue), and a nervous twitch.

12a         Silly South American country running short of energy and food (8)
CHILDISH – Remove the Energy from the end of a South American country, then add a plate of food.

13a         Taking part in debate, a marvellous group of top people (1-4)
A-TEAM – Hidden in the clue.

ARVE Error: need id and provider

15a         Model soldier to travel north (7)
PARAGON – Put together an airborne soldier, ‘to travel’, and North.

17a         Take revenge to avoid an odd outcome? (3,4)
GET EVEN – If you want to avoid ‘odd’ you need to …

19a         Heading for shelter in city mostly torn apart by conflict (7)
LEEWARD – Remove the final letter (mostly) from a West Yorkshire city, then insert an armed conflict into the result.

21a         Rise and fall of baddy from ‘ere (7)
CADENCE – A baddy or bounder, followed by a word for ‘from ‘ere’.

22a         One sister of Beth in British university, small and elegant (5)
BIJOU – The Roman numeral for one, and the name of one of Beth’s sisters in Little Women, with abbreviations for British and University placed either side.

24a         Illegal traveller taking a route east of Gloucestershire town (8)
STOWAWAY – Put together the name of a town in Gloucestershire, usually followed by ‘on the Wold’, A (from the clue) and a route or means.

27a         Superior crackpot, fellow on paper maybe not mentioned (9)
UNUTTERED – Put together the letter used to indicate superiority (of class), another word for a crackpot, and one of the usual crossword journalists.

28a         Believe in nothing and waste away? (5)
OPINE – The letter which looks like a zero, followed by ‘waste away’ (with unrequited love?).

29a         The time one’s arranged to meet (4)
DATE – Cryptic definition of a meeting set up with a potential romantic partner.

30a         Manchester has this top fellow on stage (7,3)
LEADING MAN – If you consider the spelling of ‘Manchester’ you might see that it has this, which is also the term for the principal male actor in a play.

Down

1d           Composer’s sound inclination (4)
LIST – This is an inclination from the vertical which sounds like the name of a 19th-century Hungarian composer and pianist.

ARVE Error: need id and provider

2d           New orchestra that has pulling power (9)
CARTHORSE – Anagram (new) of ORCHESTRA.

3d           The foreign female OK as an immigrant? (5)
LEGAL – A French definite article (‘the’ foreign) followed by a dialect word for a young woman. This gives us a word describing the status of someone who has not broken the law, whether as an immigrant or in some other context.

4d           Girl and boy admitting current attempt to withhold truth? (7)
EVASION – A girl’s name – perhaps the one who sang Loco-motion – followed by a boy child wrapped around the algebraic symbol for electrical current.

ARVE Error: need id and provider

5d           Put up with big, unending embrace that’s painful? (4,3)
BEAR HUG – Another word for ‘put up with’, followed by another word for ‘big’ with its last letter removed (unending).

7d           Off the wall, but not entirely without reason (5)
OUTRE – Hidden in the last two words of the clue.

8d           ‘Tom ended drunk’, copper intervening put down on paper (10)
DOCUMENTED – Anagram (drunk) of TOM ENDED, wrapped around the chemical symbol for copper.

9d           What terrible left-winger outside Parliament finally gets stopped? (8)
THWARTED – Anagram (terrible) of WHAT, followed by the colour denoting a political left-winger wrapped around the final letter of ParliamenT.

14d         Session certain to make one enthralled (10)
SPELLBOUND – A session or period of time followed by another word for ‘certain (to)’

16d         University type had to be sent down after a drug bust (8)
GRADUATE – Anagram (bust) of A DRUG, followed by ‘sent down’ or ‘swallowed’.

18d         Vehicle belonging to artist on front of mansion gets barbarous treatment (9)
VANDALISM – Put together a small commercial vehicle, a Surrealist artist plus the letter indicating ‘belonging to’, and the first letter (front) of Mansion.

20d         Merit of some Parisian bottle unopened (7)
DESERVE – the French word for ‘some’ followed by another word for bottle or courage with its first letter removed (unopened).

21d         Odd crew at sea, cramped (7)
CROWDED – Anagram (at sea) of ODD CREW.

23d         Jack joins member of family for a trip (5)
JAUNT – The playing-card symbol for a Jack followed by a female relative.

25d         A party with sailors below deck (5)
ADORN – Put together A (from the clue), one of the usual crossword parties, and the letters after the name of one of Her Majesty’s sailors.

26d         The wren, regularly disappearing bird (4)
TERN – Remove alternate letters (regularly disappearing) from the first two words of the clue.

Image result for tern

The Quick Crossword pun CAULS + ENTERS = CALL CENTRES

63 comments on “DT 28945”

  1. Neat handwriting and ‘normal’ Friday Giovanni time – a crossword with lots of wordy clues, especially if you compare and contrast with today’s Toughie

    Thanks to Giovanni and DT

    1. Today’s toughie isn’t very tough, if people would like to try something else after this one.

  2. Giovanni has done it again , great crossword with 30A outstanding , although it is a pity that the hint gives it up so easily .

    Thanks to everyone .

    4. Wish I could agree with you but nowadays people seem to swallow their food. Not sure that the future generations will need teeth at all.

  4. Great – just my cup of tea. Not sure about 10a. Lots of clever clues with good surfaces so hard to pick outstanding Fav(s) but liked 5d and 18d. Thank you to Giovanni for yet more good fun and to Deep Threat for being there in case of need.

  5. I was wondering where the unexplained vowel came from in 4d. Thanks to Deep Threat for enlightening me. Otherwise, it was remarkably straightforward for a Friday back page puzzle.

  6. Excellent Friday puzzle 3*4.5* For me. not as tricky as a normal Friday because I usually cant finish them. I got 30a but not sure I understand the relevance of Manchester?

    2. It’s Manchester because its spelling has a “leading man” (i.e. it has MAN at the front/beginning of the word).

  7. Lovely crossword from the Don with all answers nicely accessible from the clues. 7d was my favourite.
    Thanks to Giovanni, and to DT for the review.

  8. Rather liked 25d but that was the height of it for me.

    Thanks to DG and to DT – especially for the classical music.

  9. This seemed to be missing some of the usual Friday ‘sparkle,’ perhaps it was the absence of some of Giovanni’s ‘trade mark’ clues. Still, I was able to complete it at a gallop – **/**.

    Favourite – 1a.

    Thanks to DG and DT.

  10. Great puzzle and not too difficult. Stuck on 22a for a bit as could only remember Meg and Amy to start with. Thanks for explanation for 30a, I had it correct but didn’t know why. Lots of favourites.

  11. I have to agree with RD that 16d was a bit ‘weak’ and I did not think much of 3d either, also 21a !
    On first reading I thought that the puzzle was going to be difficult, but it was not.
    Going for a **/**.
    Liked 30a .
    Thanks DT-doesn’t Liszt look smug.

  12. I’ve not always enjoyed Friday puzzles mainly for the reason alluded to by our reviewer but I thought this was very entertaining. My only small gripe would the 28a stretched synonym but, as I usually say, that could just be me.
    2*/3*
    Many thanks to Giovanni and DT.

    1. Ne too – I’ve never come across the answer as to believe – only to express an opinion.

  13. I’d give it *** for difficulty. Slow start but once it opened up…I with Pete, I had the down clues to ‘build’ 30a but now I get it. I’ll nominate it as my favourite.

    Thanks DT and Gio

  14. I am in the pleasantly straightforward yet enjoyable camp with this one. Giovanni puzzles seem to have an element of Marmite about them – love them or hate them. I always enjoy them, and 1a stood out for me as a favourite with 25d hard on its heels.

    Thanks to The Don and DT.

  15. A fitting end to a nice puzzling week. All week has very straightforward and a nice debate over the use of men, boys. women and girls. Hopefully our setters will ignore us and carry on as usual. I will see you all on Monday. play nicely children.

  16. Not quite as tough as yesterday’s horror but still too difficult for me. Managed about half of this one. Not sure if 30a is very clever or just plain daft!
    ****/**
    Struggling the latter part of this week.
    Thx for the hints.
    PS didn’t manage to get back on yesterday’s blog, but thx to those who replied to my post.

    1. I too struggled with this one…or maybe it was the effects of “the night before”.

      Needed a lot of help from here….thanks for the tips…..I’m with Brian on 30a….either genius or a stretch!

  17. Lovely puzzle today, completed without any major hold-ups. 25d is my favourite today for its beautiful misdirection “below deck”, but I really didn’t like 27ac, what a horrid word, I can’t imagine anyone actually using it.
    Thank you to Giovanni for the entertainment and DT for the ( not needed) hints.

  18. I’m surprised the “name” thing hasn’t come up again with 4dn and 22ac (the one I had to Google). But a pleasant puzzle for Friday. 23 dn eluded me for a while as “ab” wouldn’t leave my mind. But all fair.

    Thanks Don and DT.

    1. There was probably a great deal of rolling of eyes on 4d but putting anything is writing is like banging your head against a brick wall, it’s lovely when you stop.

  19. Fairly gentle Giovanni but none the worse for that . ***/**** enjoyment, time irrelevant.
    As a Mancunian male 30a spot on & my COTD.
    Thanks to both Giovanni & DT.

  20. We got stuck in NE corner and just couldn’t see 6a and 7d. :scratch:
    Think we were being stupid and it put us in a bad 6a :lol:
    Not keen on 24a – for me, the place in Gloucestershire is always referred to as “****-on-the-Wold” – as the other one with the E on the end is where I refer to without the “-on-the-Wold” (if you get what I’m trying to say! :) )
    Otherwise 3* / 3* for us. Thanks to The Don and DT for the hints

  21. This totally flumoxed me, might as well have been wriiten in Chinese, still perseverence prevailed and I completed most of it.
    This is in my stinker pile.
    Thanks to DT amd the Don

  22. Thanks to Giovanni and to Deep Threat for the review and hints. A very good puzzle today from Giovanni, fairly straightforward, but with a few to make you think. Maybe it was the grid, but it seemed like four mini puzzles to me. Completed NE, SE, SW, NW. Last in was 4d. Just needed the hints to parse 22a, my knowledge of Little Women is zero. I liked 1,12,30a, but my favourite was 25d. Was 2*/4* for me.

  23. Very enjoyable, though I did not find it as easy as some did.
    30a was very much top of the pops today.
    Thanks all.

  24. I have not yet looked at today’s crossword but felt I should share this with all of you. I came across a 1952 copy of the DT with the crossword untouched. It was illuminating and as yet I have a few answers unfinished. I have a photo of it blank if anyone is interested – If anyone is I will ask BD how best to include it or send it.

            1. Thanks, Gazza. Nice try but it doesn’t fit the checkers. But it did give me the right answer: something else you find on a dray – BARRELS. And now I think that 10a is ENTRANTS.

          2. Thanks for 7d. Never have bagged that one. And the parsing is…?

            3d – Thin Man

            Entrants..?? why?

            1. 7d is simply a GK question (obviously 1950s Telegraph solvers were expected to know their Shakespeare). I guessed what it might be from the checking letters, then found it in the BRB.

              3d thanks, I did manage to work that one out after my first post.

              Entrants: because without entrants races (horse, motor or running variety) will cease to exist.

  25. Very enjoyable from the Don, as usual. 30a gave me a laugh when the penny dropped – so top marks today. I also liked 21a, but didn’t much like 16d.

  26. I fairly whizzed through (my whizz is probably others snail pace) this today until I got to the SE corner. I had a wrong answer for a start, but a quick look at DT’s hints put me back on track.
    I agree with Gilesindevon, have you ever heard anyone say 27a?
    I think, not sure, that 30a is fave, but liked lots more.
    Thanks to Giovanni, and to DT for his needed hints and the music at 1d, nice change.

  27. ***/**. Not particularly enjoyable which is unusual for a Friday. 16d was a stretch as was 30a. Thanks to all.

  29. Found this one of Giovanni’s lighter offerings and enjoyed it, though like RD et al I wasn’t convinced by “sent down” in 16d. I see I’m in good company too in liking 30a and 25d.

    Thanks Giovanni and DT.

  31. Trying again. Thanks Giovanni and Deep Threat for a fun puzzle today. Loved 17a and 30a, and 22a as I know more about Little Women than sports, any sport.

  32. Super puzzle but can anyone explain to me the “west of city” part of 1a? Thanks to all concerned.

  33. Very good. Thank you. 24 and 27a two of many very good clues. Confess to getting 7d without noticing the lurker.

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