DT 30362

112 comments on “DT 30362”

1. I’m not sure what others will think of today’s offering but I found it hard. I have never heard of 11d and I doubt I will remember it. Putting “ghost” as the first word in 14d did me no favours at all and I fail to see what 28a has to do with “snap changes”. No doubt I will be enlightened by our antipodean friends. Also, I am not sure which kind of dress goes in 5d.

   No COTD but I did like 10a and 19d.

   My thanks to the setter for the brain bashing and to the 2Ks for the hints.

   Pleasant day in The Marches so I better get in the garden.

   1. Me too with ghost Steve. Snaps as in photos

      1. Thanks, Huntsman. I got the photo part after reading the 2K’s hint.

         I thought “south” in France was “sud”. The answer to 5d means “noon”.

         1. An area in the South of France is Midi – the Canal Du Midi is a fantastic way to spend a couple of weeks boating.

            1. Thank you, Manders. I did not know that. Our trips to France were always to Brittany.

            2. Wholeheartedly agree, Manders.
               I’ve cycled the Canal du Midi three times.
               From Toulouse to Agde.

               1. Wasn’t it a tad wet?

                  1. Almost uninterrupted cycle tracks all the way. Well-maintained, but beware of protruding tree roots. :)

         2. You are right Steve, ‘midi’ does mean middle of the day, or noon. I believe the French call the south of France ‘le Midi’ because that’s where the Sun is at midday.

            1. Thank you, Mark. That’s today’s something learned. “good”

               1. I did, of course, mean :good:

                  1. 👍🏻😀

   2. I agree Steve, I found this considerably harder than a usual Wednesday. Began to think it was Thursday or Friday and that the heat here had addled my brain. Was left with a couple in the SE corner that I needed the hints for. The dress is neither a mini or a maxi! Hope that doesn’t get me put on the naughty step 🙄
      Thanks to the setter and the 2Ks.

      1. No naughty step during the week, Lanzalily. That is reserved for prize puzzles. :grin:

         1. Phew! I’m new to this – don’t want to blot my copybook 😀

            1. Welcome to the wonderful world of cryptics! Don’t worry about blotting your copybook – I have several times. :good:

   3. I got 14d from the song from Mary Popins

      1. Yes, that’s where I remember it from, Mr. Dawes (name?) used it. I thought it a lovely word.

   4. Definitely hard Steve. 11d is often heard here, usually followed by responsibility. One of my few answers today.

   5. Take a look at the Toughie Steve, much easier 😊.

      1. I’m going to print that off for tomorrow. I already have the NSPP from last Saturday for Friday!

      2. Thanks BL. I will look at it later but it annoys me that my dog can compile cryptic crosswords and I can’t! :grin” :grin:

         1. I tried to edit the above post but it says I do not have permission. I guess it’s part of the regeneration of the site.

2. Agree wih 2K’s that this puzzle was trickier than usual,took a while to parse the last two in 20d and 28a,
   Nicely clued throughout.
   Favourite was 27a, liked 17d which was recently in a telegraph clue with the same definition.
   Going for a ***/****

3. An expected step up in difficulty but well worth it. I thought this was an excellent guzzle full of great clues. 28a was my fav for the PDM when the context of snap eventually dawned on me. The pen at 18d was the other head scratch. Comfortably for me BOTW thus far with ticks for 13,16,25&29a plus 2,7,11&18d
   Thanks to the setter (Robyn I should think) & to 2Ks for the review

4. Well I will buck the trend as I was on the setter’s wavelength from the off. Had to check a couple of words but fairly clued IMHO. A couple in the SE held me up for a bit. Lovely start to the day so the washing is out and now clouds threaten. Thanks to the setter and the 2 birds. Any chance the email notification will appear again soon?

   1. What are these email notifications I keep hearing about?

      1. Well I used to get an email every day at around 11 am and just clicking on the email took me to this site – now I have to go via the internet. However I see under Site Update that this is being looked at. It’s just easier that’s all.

         1. Me too Manders. It was easy to click on the email link now I have to go through Mr Google. You see Huntsman, we ladies are so busy we are always looking for the short cut so that we can spend more time looking after you. 😌

5. Way beyond me today. Stared at this for most of the morning and solved 3 clues.

   Kudos to anyone who can solve this.

   Thanks to all.

6. It took me a while to get into the right mindset to tackle this one, but once I did so I thought it was great fun.

   Many thanks to the Kiwis and to the setter.

7. Did not find this
   Too exacting but 18d took
   An age to sus. (awful word)
   As did 27a.
   Enjoyable throughout.
   Many thanks to the setter
   And to the 2Kiwis.

8. Too Hard; Didn’t Even Start. 5* / 0*. Not going to read any comments today – the usual experts’ swagger about ‘nice while it lasted’, etc, is going to be a bit irritating!

   1. Never mind Mark I used to think that. However with practice it is possible to get up to a reasonable standard (low in my case) but it can still be fun. I have several issues with this crossword but it’s usually down to obscure synonyms, unusual words, or generalisations like autor or play. A good setter can point the way others deliberately obfuscate. keep at it

      1. I’ve been practicing for 54 years and I was in the weeds today.

         1. Same here. Anyway, anyone can write “Nice while it lasted.” It doesn’t mean they finished it! :grin:

            1. Thanks all. It’s only Wednesday, and we’re already at Friday difficulty! 😬 I imagine the experts will be pleased, but suspect many of those who are new to cryptic crosswords or do these things for light entertainment got nothing today.

               1. Maybe, Mark but before I joined this blog I solved very few. I didn’t blame the guzzle or deride those who could solve it. I just used the blog to get better at solving. I now am able to solve most and it is purely because of Big Dave.

                  Please keep using the blog and you will find your solving skills will improve immensely. 👍

                  1. I agree that the blog is great, and the people who devote their time to hinting are marvellous. Who is ‘blaming’ the puzzle or people who solve it? I’m certainly not. The puzzle is whatever the editor decides is fit for the day and if people can solve it, good for them. Most people rankle at bluster though, particularly when it’s done in the faces of people who struggle. As for this puzzle, no problem. I just didn’t waste my time with it! I would like to see a quick cryptic though, so there’s something for everyone. Sometimes there’s nothing accessible. The Times has one, but I don’t think there’s any chance of one in the DT for the foreseeable future.

9. Pleasingly tricky for a sunny Wednesday morning, with plenty of moments of pause to work through some of the wordplay. Many fine clues from which to pick a favourite, but
   my trusty pin landed on 27a.

   My thanks to our setter for a terrific challenge and to the 2Ks.

10. For me, and I stress for me, this, presumably Robyn, back pager could easily trade places with today’s Hudson Toughie! Definitely a head scratcher – 3.5*/3*

    Candidates for favourite – 10a, 28a, 2d, and 18d – and the winner is 2d.

    Thanks to Robyn(?) and the 2Kiwis.

11. Brilliant! I loved it. Lots of clever misdirection and therefore many PDMs. 11d was a new word for me, but fairly clued so just required a trip to the BRB. I was grateful for the hint for 18d, which now seems easy enough but just couldn’t see it at the time. Favourite today was 12/24a which took me an age to work out. The podium could be overfull today but I’ll restrict myself to mentioning 9a, 27a and 28a all of which caused some head scratching. Thanks to the setter for the workout and the 2Kiwis for their help.

12. That was a wake-up call to the old grey matter but have to say that it was extremely well constructed and well worth the effort it took to complete. The last to fall here were 27a&18d and I simply jiggled the fodder around to arrive at the answer for 11d – a word I hadn’t come across previously. I wonder whether Terence will view it as a candidate for THE LIST?
    Favourite was 11a which really made me smile.

    Thanks to Robyn and to our 2Ks for the review.

    1. 11d is used in Mary Poppins, that how I remember it.

       1. Me too!

    2. I was a DNF with 18d and 27a.

13. A bit meatier than usual but very entertaining – thanks to our setter and the 2Ks.
    Add me to those who had the wrong sort of spirits for 14d until 13a forced a change.
    The clues I liked included 9a, 27a and 7d with my favourite being 28a.

14. This guzzle was very, clever and some of the clues a bit impenetrable. I didn’t find it as enjoyable as usual, although I did manage to finish it eventually. 18d and 22a across were the best of the clues for me . 2d seemed a bit of an anachronism with its play on May and European Sovereignty. I accept that alot of our community enjoy political plays on wordsmore than I but do think they need to be relevant to contemporary issues. Thanks to the compiler and to the Kiwis for the hints.

    1. Did I miss something ? I took ‘may’ to be can. My mother always used to say, if we said can we have an ice cream, Of course you CAN – but the question is may you. Oh, the things my mother told me…….

       1. I thought there was avsimilar clue way back when Theresa Maynwas PM. At the time, she was having a frustrating time trying to negotiate with the European Union pre Brexit. The clue seems vaguely familiar.

15. A bit of a struggle, but very enjoyable. I don’t often pick a COTD but 27a was excellent.

    And thanks so setter and 2Ks

16. This crossword was a little beyond my skill level – therefore the setter must be fired immediately. The crossword editor must be paid off without serving his notice. The editor of the Telegraph should be imprisoned and the owners of the paper must be forced to sell (oh…wait a minute…).
    All shops selling the Telegraph will have their premises requisitioned.

    It’s only fair.

    Thanks to the setter and The TwoKays

    1. Paid off without having to serve notice ? I should have thought summary dismissal without severance pay more appropriate.

       1. :good:

    2. Exactly

    3. Oh dear Terence, did you get bits by mistake this morning?

    4. Oh, Terence, you said it all although with more wit than any of us can.

    5. You obviously had bits in your orange juice today, Terence! 🍊

17. Good golly, Miss Molly, but that was a workout – two meals and a Google! Funnily enough knew 11d but didn’t know 22a, so took a v long time to crack; takes allsorts!
    Very much liked 11a and 28a.
    Many thanks to our setter and to the pair down under!

    1. 22a is George’s favourite indulgence (apart from whisky,gin, red wine, etc) and for many years the DD’s used to give him packets for birthday and Christmas.

       1. Yes, love allsorts, just didn’t know the cakes!
          My Yorkshire flatmate manymanymoonsago just taught me all about Tetleys, being a Leeds man.

          1. Sorry about the typos, my version of the app doesn’t edit properly.

18. Two clever misdirects (well, they misdirected me). Convinced myself 16A was cash crops [cash meaning support] and that 14D was ghost story [ghosts being spirits].

    12/24A my COTD – nice anagram.

19. 3.5*/4.5*. Although this was certainly challenging, it was very enjoyable apart from the “guess a girl” in 13a (which I am pleased to say appears to have been a rarity of late).

    I did know 11d from somewhere in the back of my mind, but 2d was new for me. 27a seems a bit odd enumerated as (7). I would have used (2-5) but I see the BRB gives both options.

    I had a lot of ticks and 11a, 28a & 7d make up my podium selection.

    Many thanks to the setter and to the 2Ks.

20. Too hard for me. Not nice while it lasted.

21. Definitely an exercise marathon for the little grey cells. Wonderful constructions and misdirection aplenty. Not too keen on the clueing of 21a but 12a 24a brilliant. Thanks to setter and to our antipodean guides

22. Sorry to say I did not enjoy this one!

23. Funnily enough I didn’t find it too difficult even though it was DNF for me. As an amateur photographer for many years 25a eluded me. Only certain professionals a long time ago actually used airbrushing and this only rarely and certainly not on “snaps” It did however become universal usage indicating a change or deletion of something or someone, usually from history. Everybody now uses photo programs some even use a darkroom for reasons of novelty but I doubt if any of them uses an airbrush except illustrators.
    As for the crossword. ***/***

24. Well in my mind this was far more like a toughie than a DT back pager and frankly I did not enjoy it. For me was a DNF under my own steam. Some really weird parsing to my way of thinking.

    For me today 4*/1.5*

    Favourites … was hard to find any worthy of being as such … but I pick 15/22a, 12/24a & 14d

    This was one I should have skipped as it was definitely not my cuppa in any, way shape or form.
    Nonetheless, thanks to setter and the 2K’s as I look at the hints to try and descramble this.

25. Cor, that was a beast! I had a promising start but got KOed two thirds of the way through. I had a few that I just couldn’t get.

    An excellent crossword which would fit nicely into Friday’s slot.

    So many good clues but I’ll go with 22a as I’ve never heard of one, 29a and the brilliant 10a.

    Mastery

    5*/5*

26. I still have 3 to do but read the comments to see if I was having an off day or if it was as tricky as I thought. I now see it was the latter, I will persevere for a bit longer before using the hints!

    Thanks (I think) to the setter for the challenge and to the 2 kiwis whose help I will almost certainly need to finish and untangle some of my answers

27. Rather a waste of paper and ink, not the Wednesday I was hoping for, but should have expected. Very few answers going in before I had a peek at the hints. Have tried 21a, found it quite awful, slimy and never to be repeated. When I saw 15a I knew it was time to throw in the towel. With tricky Thursday and Friday coming right up, I am pretty fed up.

    1. Just finished today’s Toughie from Hudson. So much friendlier than this backpager. Thoroughly recommend to anyone who found this too tricky today. Definitely a wrong envelope day.

28. That was a struggle particularly in the South. DNF this morning but a second go this p.m. prised all bar a couple of DNF viz 27a (iffy clue and I agree with RD I would have written it 5-2) and 18d. Fav 9a. Merely degree to signify 11a is a bit far-reaching. Thank you Mysteron and 2Kiwis.

    1. What do people make of 13d in the Quickie?

       1. Mounting.

          1. Now I understand had wrong two letters in for 13a! Thanks Gazza.

          2. I realise that Gazza but how/why?

29. Horses for courses! I loved this one. Took me ages and several visits but what a sense of achievement to reach the finish line. LOI was 28a. 🤦‍♀️Thank you setter.

30. Rather tougher than one would expect for a Wednesday – more like a Friday backpager or Sunday/Wednesday Toughie, I thought. Not helped by putting Ghost in 14d – it parses perfectly, and I see I wasn’t alone – which made 13a slow to complete.

    2d – my primary school English teacher would have been appalled at ‘can’ being offered as a synonym for ‘may’ – she was very firm that the two words meant very different things and if a child said “Please miss, can I ring the bell” (or similar request) would reply to the effect “I’m sure you can, but please don’t”, or “I don’t know, can you?”, however the first child who said “Please *may* I ring the bell?” would usually get a positive response!

    Some fun clues (podium places to 25a and 18d) but I thought the puzzle marred by some clumsy / strange surface reads.

    3.5* / 2*

    Thanks to the mystery setter and to the 2Ks

    1. My daughter is forever saying “Can I get”, which drives me mad. Perhaps it’s a good idea she lives in Melbourne!
       (Only joking – I love her immensely!)

       1. My younger daughter developed the same trait when she lived in the US for a while and she still persists in using it. Mind you, it pales into insignificance when set alongside some of the terminology my elder daughter has acquired since living over here in N. Wales!

          1. Such as “Can I get somethink?” :grin:

             1. Fortunately, ‘somethink’ hasn’t raised its ugly head!

       2. Here in the US “can” and “may” are used interchangeably, “I get bent out of shape.” Like Daisy, my Mum, the Brit stickler, would lecture me whenever I used them incorrectly.

       3. Quite agree. When they say on Countdown ‘can I get a vowel’ I shout NO.

          1. I also hate “If I was” instead of the correct subjunctive case of “If I were”. 😤

    2. Just what I said several comments back. My mother drilled it into us and I hate to hear people say can I.

       1. Me too DG.

31. Well I really struggled today. First read through and I managed just a couple of clues. Surprisingly I got 11d early on but had to check the spelling as only got checking letters from 11a and 13a. Required too many hints to make sure I was on the right track. Not my cup of today but tomorrow is another day!

    1. Forgot to thank the setter and the 2Kiwis.

32. A DNF for me. Quite ridiculous as I sailed through the Toughie.

33. Very tricky, got stuck on two. Possible spelling mistake in print version of quick 13d.

    Have tried to get my daily email prompts for review back to no avail . Can you please help?

34. Really pleased to complete this as I only had 6 in on the first pass. Got a lot on at the moment with builders and grandchildren so nearly gave up on it.
    However I got there in the end and really liked some of the clues.
    Thanks to the kiwis and setter
    ****/***

35. Well I didn’t think it was that bad. 1a went in straight away which is always a good sign and I didn’t get stuck until I was down south. 28a was LOI, with Kiwis help. 25a made me laugh but I think 19 d is Top of the Pops. Such good news that the Fabulous Four are taking over the Big Dave site and so good of his family to facilitate it. BD will not be forgotten, I don’t know how we would have got through the Lock Downs without him. Many thanks to Setter & Hinters, as recommended I shall have a look at the toughie before going to a talk on ballet at W I.

    1. You are right, DG, this site was a live saver during lockdown.

36. I really enjoyed this.
    I tried to get lascars into 1a, which bugged me for a while.
    Ticks to 10a, 29a and 7d. Last one in 21a.
    Good puzzle.

37. Today in Miami, it’s overcast and rainy, it’s a little cooler, but not a pool day, so I decided to battle this bovine instead. A DNF in the SE, 21a, 27a and 18d. I used copious ehelp, getting 22a with the checking letters; know the town but not the cake. I liked 1a, first clue solved and I hoped the rest would follow suit. Alas, faint hope. I think 2d and 11d are lovely words, so they go top of my friendly list.
    Thank you setter, no thanks to Mr. Ed, and much appreciation to the 2Kiwis for unravelling that lot.
    I’m so tempted to cancel my sub, I seem to get so few crosswords to enjoy. Unfortunately, I print these off and mail them to my friend in Wales who has difficulty getting the DT delivered to her, it would be mean to stop now.

38. I usually think its a tad unfair to have a rather obscure word as an anagram, since it is not always possible to guess correctly what goes between the checkers. Luckily today, Mary Poppins ( or rather George Banks) was able to help my solve.

    1. Was it George Banks, I thought it was Mr. Dawes? Splitting hairs, it doesn’t matter.

       1. A number of people join in the song including both Banks and Dawes, don’t they?

39. We did wonder if it was just us and the effects of some winter snuffles that made this one such a tussle. Looks like there were plenty of others felt the same way though.
    Bit surprised there is not more discussion on the abbreviation in 4d. According to our BRB the IVR code for Italy is ‘I’ and ‘It’ the abbreviation for Italian and cannot find any justification for ‘It’ being Italy.
    Any thoughts on this?
    Cheers.

    1. IT is the internet domain code for Italy.

40. Surely 26 down can’t be the answer provided in the hints?

    1. Welcome to the blog, Veronica.

    2. Why shouldn’t 26d be the answer provided in the hints and, since you ask so politely, how did you like the crossword?

    3. It has to be Veronica because it’s a word hidden in the clue (a lurker).

    4. Welcome, Veronica, “Disregarding danger” is what the answer means. It is a lurker.
       What did you think of the rest of the guzzle?

41. I was just browsing before I go off to sleep in Ballybucklebo and I came across this?

    Enjoy and good night to you all.

    1. Lovely! English as she orta be spoke!

42. Thank you, Steve, that is SO funny! 😂

43. 4*/4* ….
    liked 1D “Witty words from English farm animals (7)” …
    surprised myself by solving 22A “Changing tack on a perfect sweet (10)” , since my Xword gizmo did not come up with the goods.

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