DT 30366

93 comments on “DT 30366”

1. Another pleasant and gentle start fuelling hopes for the cruciverbal week to follow? 3d abbreviation always grates. 6d complete new to me. Started by looking for a homophone for 23a. Don’t think I have ever seen 26a in written form. Thanks Campbell for the fun and to Falcon for faithfully being there for us.

2. A moderately challenging guzzle from Campbell today, wieth a pleasing range of clue types with a little General Knowledge to add interest. There were some particularly good anagrams at 12d and 5d, goodd lego clue atv16d and my COTD cis the lurker at23a. Thanks to Campbell for another entertaining guzzle and to Falcon for the hints .

3. A gentle start to the week yet enjoyable. No stand outs but no tricks either.
   Thanks to setter.

4. It’s Monday :good: It’s Campbell :good: very friendly and a little ‘Jay-esque’ by getting off to a very good start by ‘going up the downs’ – 1.5*/4.5*

   Candidates for favourite – 13a, 25a, 1d, and 16d – and the winner is the Shakespearean 16d.

   Thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

5. Invariably with Campbell’s
   Completed within 1.5* – 2.5* time.
   Today 1.5* plus time.
   Eminently doable, always, perhaps,
   The wordplay is just what it says
   On the tin, eg 24a and 1d.
   Nicely concealed lurker in
   23a.
   COTD and a smile 26a.
   Thanks Campbell and Falcon.

6. Perhaps it was too much Hobgoblin Ruby last night but I found this offering by Campbell a bit on the tough side. Maybe I need some more brain cells. Amazon seems to stock everything. Once I had sorted things out, I couldn’t see why I had found it difficult. Never mind, I finished and that is the main thing. Plenty to like with a terrific lurker at 23a and a great criminal character at 4a. I had never realised that the cartoon character’s name was spelt with a “Y” – one lives and learns! :grin: My COTD is the military governor with his heartless weapon.

   Many thanks, Campbell for the guzzle. Thank you, Falcon for making sense of some of it for me.

   Of course, the other reason I might have found this on the tricky side is the noise from the builder who is refitting the utility room.

   Grey n ‘orrible in The Marches.

   1. Steve. The brain’s overall size begins to shrink when you’re in your 30s and 40s and this shrinkage increases when you reach 60. You can easily lose 7000 brain cells each day, but you start off with 100 billion of them! Just trying to cheer you up … :-)

      1. I’m resisting the temptation to divide 100 billion by 7000, Jose!

         1. Don’t worry, even wth a daily loss of 7,000 you’ve still got enough for 39,139 years!

            1. Which is why I resisted the temptation, Jose. I don’t want to live for 39,139 years.

   2. Just wait til the chatty builder comes back to drill the walls for the stair lift ;)

      1. Actually, the stair lift is attached to the stairs not the wall, SJB. I’m told it will take about three hours to install. The radiator at the bottom of the stairs has been removed as well as the bannister rail. The lift itself is still being made and the lounge is a tip!

         1. But it will all be worth it in the end I am sure. And I have been spelling Olive Oyl wrongly all my life it appears 😊.

            1. Funnily enough, I knew how to spell her name. Probably because I’m the world’s worst speller anyway.

               1. Rather like the band Thin Lizzie. They wanted to call themselves Tin Lizzie but realised the Irish folk would pronounce Thin as Tin anyway.

   3. I had no idea about the Y either. I had to use my new BRB for that one. New, but 10 years old and very informative.

      1. I know, Manders. All my life I she has been Miss Oil. Where’s my spinach?

7. 15d fooled me for a while, I was using the electrical current to generate the I but couldn’t make one northern give me two enns. It took a while for the penny to drop on the hip current.
   Otherwise a steady start to the week Thanks to Falcon and Campbell

8. 1.5*/4*. A light delight for a Monday with 16d my favourite.

   Many thanks to Campbell and to Falcon.

9. Good fun from the ever reliable Campbell to kick start the crosswording week. Some terrific clues, foremost among which were 25a and 16d. The middle pun was good too.

   Thanks to the aforementioned and Falcon.

10. Being housebound today and therefore unable to buy a DT I recalled that the secretary of my Yacht Club copied the crossword from an old original print of our newspaper reporting on the Fastnet disaster for me to do. Number 16676 so quite an old one! It was a ***/*** made quite tricky because of inevitably archaic references but interesting to note that not much has otherwise changed in terms of lurkers, anagrams and those confounded plants I struggle with.

    1. I do hope you are not housebound because anything nasty, NAS.

11. Your hint for 18d doesn’t quite work, Falcon. Between the first letter of COTTON and another word for OKAY, you need ON from the clue.

    1. Oops! Now corrected.

12. Well this was quite a jolly guzzle, with a few shove-em-ins to get us all going.

    We went to the municipal tip yesterday afternoon to get rid of a few bits and pieces. Despite driving rain it was very busy. When I was little, Sunday afternoon was for going to visit maiden aunts and eating stale fruit cake. Now that pursuit has clearly been replaced by chucking black bin bags into enormous skips.
    A couple of years ago I had an encounter with a celebrity at the same tip. Ronnie Wood standing by his car while his mate did the hurling into the skips. I had a fascinating chat with Ronnie. Here it is in full:
    Me, “Busy, isn’t it?”
    Ronnie: “Innit?”
    Errr… that’s it, actually.

    Thanks to Campbell and The Bird Of Prey

    1. Terence, do you have any pearls to add to the boiled egg protocol being discussed in the letter page?

       1. I get the impression that Terence would be able to peel a soft boiled egg with a spoon and pop it onto toast like a perfectly formed poached egg.

       2. I’m vegan, lovely Daisy!

    2. What a fascinating chat! I’m sure you’ll treasure that forever.

13. A very satisfying Monday puzzle with plenty to make us smile.
    Top three for me were 4&17a plus 16d.

    Thanks to Campbell and to the off-grid Falcon for the review.

14. The gentlest of gentle starts to the crosswording week, no specialist knowledge required, everything very fairly clued. Some lovely surfaces and typically masterful construction, with all directions for solving given very openly. Hon Mentions to 4a & 7d.

    0.5* / 3*

    Thank you to Campbell and to Falcon.

15. A pleasant puzzzle from the ever-reliable Campbell – thanks to him and Falcon.
    The pick of the clues for me were 4a, 23a and 18d.

16. An enjoyable puzzle for me today…..unusual for me as I am not often on Campbell’s wavelength.
    Needed Falcon’s help to parse 1d but otherwise an unaided solve.

    Thanks to Falcon and to Campbell.

    Chucking it down here and distinctly cool. May have to out the heating on for a couple of hours…..in July!
    Mind you, preferrable to scorchio.

17. Very enjoyable, not least because I solved without help!

    Thanks to Campbell and Falcon

18. Didn’t find this a good start to the week for a Campbell puzzle for me. Decidedly tricky and hard to parse in many areas.
    Maybe it is just me today.

    2.5*/3.5*

    Favourites include 14a, 24a, 26a, 3d & 12d with winner 12d

    Thanks to Campbell and Falcon

    1. Not just you, portcoquitlambc. :smile:

19. Rather a messy grid as, not only do we have a drop of George’s Special Dressing on 4a but he glanced at 17a and confidently said Rosicrucian which I stupidly started to put in without checking the length. Also spelt Popeye’s girlfriend as Oil no doubt ruing the splodge at 4a. However , all was swiftly put to rights, a good start to the week. I also liked the neat lurker, but 1a is my favourite as we often used it as children but always followed by ’crawler’. I liked the puns also. Many thanks to Messrs Campbell & Falcon. I wonder what August will bring us, apart from a blue moon?

20. Not my best day – it’s chilly, grey, wet, can I think of anything else – oh yes – and I’m not doing too well with the crossword.
    I found it quite difficult but I’m often on the wrong wave-length with Campbell – not his fault nor mine – just a fact!!
    My specialty is not Dickens so didn’t have a clue about 4a.
    I did like 14 and 26a.
    Thanks to Campbell for the crossword and to Falcon for a fair number of hints.

21. 2/4. Enjoyable puzzle to start the week. Favourites were 10&14a and 2&5d. Thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

22. Apart from having a fixation on “satrap” for 1d, this went very well. I needed to visit the hints for that, heavens knows why, we’ve had it so many times before. I loved 4a, what a perfect Dickensian name, also one of my fave books. I also have an audio version, can’t remember the name of the narrator, a Dutchman living in California, but he had the accents down perfectly. I think my fave is the Shakespearean one at 16d, another lovely tale.
    Thanks Campbell for the fun, and to Falcon for his hints and tips. Hope your battery holds out!

    1. Just remembered the name of the narrator, Frank Muller, he was so good. He did a lot of Stephen King novels.

       1. I have most of King’s early novels and immersed myself in them all. Apart from the horror aspect, his sense of everyday life was acute.
          However, the one I loved the most was “The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon”. It is about the strength of the human spirit and I found it quite uplifting.

          1. I’ve never read anything by him. I have a feeling that he’s a little too dark for me.

             1. He’s definitely dark but he is great observer of ordinary day to day life. However, he puts a bizarre spin to it all but I do realise that his writing is not to everyone’s taste

                The Girl who Loved To Gordon is not like his other works. As I said, it is about how the human spirit can prevail over adversity. It is a moving tale told with heart.

23. A bit of Will & Charlie, a tasty plate of 2d with a drop of 5d what’s not to like. An enjoyable gentle kick off to the new week.
    Thanks to Campbell & Falcon

24. A gentle(ish) start to the week 😃 ***/*** Favourites 10 & 14 across and 22d 🤗 Thanks to the Falcon and to Campbell, my only question is about the bottom phrase in the Quickie a “Moor Fowl” is new to me, probably an americanism. This side of the pond it is surely a Moorhen 🤔

    1. No, not an Americanism. Moorhen and moorfowl are different things – at least, I think so, perhaps our expert (Jane) could clarify.

       1. Moorfowl is another name for the red grouse.

          1. Thanks Jose, you learn something every day on this Blog! 👍

       2. Certainly not an expert, Merusa, just someone with a keen interest and a fair amount of reference books! Moorfowl does indeed refer to Red Grouse as Jose and Falcon rightly say but it is a somewhat archaic term and I’ve never heard anyone use it in birding circles during my lifetime.

    2. No, not an Americanism. According to Collins, in British game laws an archaic name for a red grouse.

       1. “Fortunately someone cancelled the decision to call it Moor Fowl Whisky before it was too late.”

          

          1. I don’t like whisky with the exception of one or two island single malts that taste rather more like brandy, the spirit of my choice. I do however, love the TV adverts for Famous Grouse – one of the highlights of Christmas viewing was watching the red grouse’s latest exploit!

          2. My tipple! I have mine every night.

    3. We have moorhens visiting our garden every day, coming from the lake at the back. Recently they showed up with two fluffy little black chicks. They peck around my lawn and flowers bed for their evening meal before they waddle off.

       1. We used to have some on our canals here but no more. I think the iguanas have had a few tasty meals, and they love eggs.

          1. Oh heck! The thought of having iguanas strolling around the garden! So pleased I live in fair Albion!
             🐊🐊

             1. It’s the same old story, some kid wants a baby iguana as a pet so its indulgent parents get one. Alas, like all babies, they grow up, when they’re no longer cute, they release them to go wild. They’re huge, there’s one that’s 3-4 feet in the canal just close to me. Now they’re all over. When it’s cold in the winter they fall out of the trees, they look dead but warm up and come alive again. For the same reason our Everglades are infested with Burmese pythons, they caught an 18ft one last week.

                1. I have just fainted!

25. I had satrap in my head for 1d to start with, despite not identifying a weapon! 4a needed checkers as I had a lot of Dickens characters floating around. Dickens is one of the few authors I know anything about! I needed the hint for 6d for the parsing as I hadn’t come across the synonym for ‘complete’ before. Thanks Falcon. I wasn’t keen on 9a, but I did like 14a.

    1. Me too with Satrap … long time since we’ve seen that.

26. All completed without aids. Top west last in. I didn’t think it was alot of fun buy’ut it’s a wavelength thing. I lived last Wednesday’s about which there was negative comment. Favourites 4 14 and 24a and 3 8 and 22d

27. Perfectly accceptable, nicely straightforward backpager.

    1. You’ve changed your alias so this needed moderation. Both aliases will work from now on.

28. Good afternoon
    It took me a while to get going on today’s crozzie, but pleased to report all done. C O T D has to be 23a; a good piece of misdirection there, because “mentioned” would imply a homophone……wouldn’t it? And it was a lurker all along!
    My thanks to Campbell and Falcon

29. As I often find, I agree with Steve C and found this slow going, maybe I too have lost some more brain cells or perhaps they are currently otherwise occupied. Anyway I have now completed it with a couple of hints needed for parsing and to complete 1d. The areas of general knowledge were not my forte and several synonyms were new to me. I thought the lurker was excellent and like others had not known that Olive had a Y in her surname.

    As ever many thanks to Campbell and to a Falcon for the hints.

30. 16d my last one in and my COTD. The test match is now so exciting I can’t concentrate on anything else. Thanks to all.

    1. Oh Manders, I know I’ll be sent to hell and brimstone for this, but how can you say cricket is exciting!

       1. OMG Merusa, we have just won and it was just sooo exciting! I was brought up on cricket and love it, sometimes it’s rather dull but certainly not today.😁

       2. You made me think of a time while living in New York where there was a cricket team for which an English friend played. I took an American friend to watch a match but unfortunately said English friend was out for a duck. My U.S. friend said “why is he coming off so soon?” I needed to explain the rules to her!

       3. Merusa! Cricket is so exciting especially test matches!

    2. What a finish and well done to England for levelling the series. What a shame about the rain at Old Trafford.

       1. What a wonderful finish for Broad!

31. I am in the somewhat tricky camp today, despite getting the longer answers early on. The spelling of the 26a lady was new to me, didn’t know 4a, nor how the answers to 6d and 18d fit, never known them to be used like that. But overall a much more doable Monday puzzle than some recent offerings and quite enjoyable. Thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

32. An enjoyable puzzle and I got off to a great start until mislaying my favourite crossword pen (Parker) when needing to breaking off. Then spent every conceivable spare moment looking for it. Still not come to light despite looking in some odd places including the cutlery drawer, fridge, down the sides of the chair etc, etc. Bill very kindly emptied the kitchen bin, paper waste etc still not found. But back to the puzzle. I came across a few head-scratching moments but got there in the end.
    Many thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

    1. Hope you find it! Glad also I’m not the only one to have a lucky pen – last one was a cheapo 99p black gel pen which did me proud – now I’m using a biro the answers just aren’t coming as quickly 🤣

       1. 👍☺️

    2. I use a Parker on the guzzles, Hilary and it, too, kept vanishing. The culprit turned out to be Perks our ginger Tom who played with it at night and hid it anywhere he could. I now keep it in the cutlery drawer.

       🐈🐈🐈

       1. 🐱🐱🐱 clever Perks!

       2. Cannot help saying I use one of my Daily Telegraph Prize Pens but I shall probably be booed off the blog. Hopefully it is so late no one will read this. 😊😊😊

          1. Booo! :grin:

33. What a great puzzle. Strangely Monday is the end of my working week so it’s always a pleasure to sit down with the puzzle. Really enjoyed it, took a while but got 26a. My wife says I have the sense of humour of an eight year old boy, but I would urge any one one of a similar vein to look on YouTube for, “realistic Popeye”. I cried laughing
    Probably not my finest moment
    Thanks to all

    1. Thank you, grahame – I have just watched it! Wonderful. 🤣🤣

    2. I think your wife’s probably right, Grahame!

    3. Laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed 🤣🤣🤣

34. Late to the party today but glad I made the effort. Lots of fun and a good steady solve for me, perfect Monday offering. I’m not a great literary expert but luckily the two references of 4a and 16d are regulars. 17a gets my COTD, simple and effective – “say what you see” as Roy Walker would have said. */****

    Thanks to Campbell and Falcon 👏

35. I made harder work of this than I should have. NE last in but after I had cracked the Dickens character it fell quickly. Favourite was 26a. Thanks to Campbell and Falcon.

36. Good to see my benefactor in 4a.

    1. What larks, eh Pip?

37. After many days of trying to cope with escaped toughies, this guzzle was a complete pleasure, difficult enough to be reasonably challenging but with a variety of clever clues. Did not know the Dickens character but easy to get from the clue. Was also sadly ignorant of 26a which prevented me from finishing SW corner, and also needed help with 16d. When I knew the answer this brilliant clue had to be COTD for a number of reasons. Many thanks to Campbell for the enjoyment and to Falcon for helping me.

38. For 24a I put emojicon? 🙃

    1. Welcome to the blog, Les the Fez.

39. 2*/4* …
    Liked 5D “All do it wildly after a second noon drink”

Comments are closed.