DT 30376

101 comments on “DT 30376”

1. I humbly take back my comment yesterday about today’s puzzle can’t be any harder, as it b****y well could! This must be the hardest Friday offering for some time, stared at it for quite some time without getting a single answer and nearly gave up on the spot. Wouldn’t bow down though, and despite reading 3d as ‘relation’ carried on for seemingly an eon before getting left with three to go, 11d 12a and 10a. Convinced myself that 12a was an anaesthetic, and 11d was to do with chess, which stuck a spoke in the wheel for a bit.
   Got there in the end and am now over an hour late for the morning walk. Great clue for 16d which I’m sure will be many people’s favourite. Ta to setter for this titanic mind twister.

2. Is it really Friday? I was all geared up for a hard(er) slog than usual, but I positively sailed through this super guzzle.
   A masterclass in diversion… but I seemed to be in tune with this setter right from the start.
   Loved the  ‘?’ at 16a!
   It has quite set me up for the weekend.

   1. We must be wired exactly the opposite to each other!

3. Excellent! Totally different style to yesterday’s (it’s great we have the variety) but just as enjoyable.
   Not overly difficult, I have ticks all over the place but I’ll mention 12a plus 5&8d with my favourite being the super 7d.
   Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K.

4. This was something of a teaser and, for me, very tricky in places. I will admit to needed Mr. G. for a couple but I managed the majority unaided. I thought there were some very clever surfaces such as 3d and there were more pennies dropping than normal. These were usually accompanied by a slap of the forehead and an exclaimed “doh!” One such was 15a where taps were made hot. 16d reminds me of the clue “_____ (3, 3, 3, 1, 4)” and it nearly took the top spot but I am awarding that to the Texan drivers in 5d.

   Many thanks to the setter for the challenge and the Mr. K. for the hints.

   Once again, my sincere thanks to all who sent Mrs. C. and me best wishes about Perks.

5. Good work out for Friday. I have never seen 16d before very droll.
   Lots of amusement.
   Thanks to setter.

6. I struggled a bit yesterday but this one came more easily. Yes, 16D was great fun. 15A, 7D and 11D caused me the most trouble. Favourites other than 16A were 12A and 21A. Great Puzzle, thanks all.

   1. Your comment went into moderation as you used a different e-mail address to your last comment some time ago. Both addresses should work from now on.

7. Hadn’t seen 16d before so thought it brilliant, unlike 21a which I still can’t fathom??
   Elf=troll hmmmm?

   1. Collins has them as synonyms as do several other online thesauruses Buzza

      1. Off with the fairies all of them

      2. Chambers, in the Crossword Dictionary, agrees with Collins.

   2. Not worried about the troll but just agree with you on the clever 16d and the unfathomable 21a!!

8. An uphill slog, as is usually the case on a Friday but with some good clues on the way and a lot ofreverse engineering on the parsing. I liked the cryptic definitions at 12a, 16d and21a, the latter being a hybrid cryptic/Lego clue. 16d was COTD. Thanks to the compiler and to Mr. K for the hints (I needed to check some of the parsing today.

9. I’ll go beyond Steve Cowling and say that this was a lot of a teaser and not much fun. With Silvanus ‘moonlighting’ yesterday and no signs of either of proXimal’s trademark features that has to mean two half-crowns on Zandio as the member of the Friday triumvirate on duty today. I never seem to be able to get completely on his wavelength – ****/**

   Smiles for 6a, 17a, 25a, and 1d.

   Thanks to Zandio, or whomsoever if my five bob goes down the drain, and thanks to Mr K.

10. Very enjoyable Friday fun.

    12a, 21a,14d and 16d all got ticks today.

    Thanks to today’s setter and Mr K.

11. Great fun.

    Some excellent constructions with 7d being a brilliant example of lego on speed: four parts of a 7 letter word takes some beating. 13 words for a 5 letter answer is always a hoot (9a).

    My podium is 27a (a nice lurker), 12a (love it) and the aforementioned 7d.

    Many thanks to the compiler (Zandio?) and Mr K.

    2*/4*

    1. Seconded – we must have similar wavelengths 😅 although I’m not normally a fan of long clues. I thought 27a was superb as well, I can sniff out lurkers a mile off but this one had superior stalking skills! 12a was an absolute belter of a cryptic clue. 11d and 2d tied for today’s bronze 🥉

       1. Sniffing out….stalking skills……your alias…..your avatar…..are you the UK equivalent of Magnum, P.I?

          1. He’s the resident spy. We have one in our early morning group that meets at the village shop. He is always disappearing to strange places and keeping very quiet about it.

             1. Love it.

                I do hope Agent B has the moustache, bouffant, hairy chest, six pack and flies his helicopter to the newsagents when he gets the paper.

                1. Sounds like you have the hidden camera!! 🤣🕵️‍♂️
                   (You do mean a six pack of beer, right?)

                2. Oy. Agent B might just be female?!

                   1. Steve referred to our resident spy as a ‘he’. So, I went along with that.

                      Maybe there is a clue in the word ‘agent’…

                      1. So is a female spy ‘agal’? I am just trying to be provocative (or annoying, as George calls it)

                         1. Special Agent ‘Day Zee Gee’

                         2. I missed a trick with your comment at 2:07, Day Zee.

                            My response should have been….

                            So you are ‘Agent provocateur’.

                            But it’s six hours after the events. So, it holds no value.

                            Curses!

                            1. Agent Provocateur sounds like the brand name for somewhat dubious underwear. Or am I getting confused with something else?

                         3. You’re right about the underwear which is news to me.

                            This is conjuring up all sorts of images of Min Spy!

                      2. The spy who joins our Grumpy Old Gits group every morning at the village shop is a he. He goes to places like Ukraine, Iran etc. He is definitely a spy! His wife is called Minnie so we all assume she is “Min Spy”

                         1. I love Min Spy!
                            And Day Zee Gee.
                            George says it doesn’t matter what you call him as long as it’s not too early in the morning.

                            1. Love the ‘George in the morning’ comment. Day Zee. 😂

                   2. Generally I’m whatever people want me to be 😅
                      Got to keep that aura of mystery, eh?

12. Great work-out. Like so many others, I loved 16D and I’ve certainly never seen that before. 9A was unusual too. Not a dud in sight – loved it. Huge thanks to the setter. And Mr K, of course.

13. An excellent puzzle provoking several penny-drop moments – thanks to our setter and Mr K.
    My picks were 1a, 12a and 7d.

14. One for the Zandio fans today and it looks as though they’ve enjoyed it which is fair enough.
    Quite a few chestnuts in there but apparently new to some of our solvers so maybe they were due another outing.

    Thanks to Zandio and to the ever-busy Mr K for the review.

15. Tough and although I finished it I needed the hints to explain some of the more complex clues such as 9a, 8d, 2d, 5d and 3d.
    Point of order a Troll is not an Elf, it is in fact a type of dwarf according to the BRB, come on gets your facts right😀
    Thx to all
    ****/**
    Too hard to be classed as enjoyable, more a hike through difficult terrain.
    Just too many Toughies creeping into the BPs for my liking.

16. I’m another who hadn’t encountered 16d before so it can have the runner up medal behind 11d with 7d in the last podium spot. Surprisingly gentle for a Friday (& presumably a Zandio production) but very enjoyable.
    Thanks to the setter & to Mr K

17. A really excellent puzzle, I’m guessing from Zandio? Great clues, a good challenge and a very enjoyable tussle. Fav: 7d – a clever clue!. 3.5*/4.5*.

18. Hello, compiler here. Thanks for taking the time to solve, analyse and discuss. Much appreciated. Have a great weekend.

    1. Thanks for the challenge Zandio. Much appreciated.

    2. Thank you for the challenge, Zandio and for popping in. Have a great weekend your self.

    3. I am so pleased it is you Zandio, as Senf’s money is safe and his children will not be begging this weekend. Thanks for a devilish and devious diversion.

19. Well this one seems to have the earlier commenters having a wide range of views. I personally found it of moderate difficulty, not too Fridayish, but most enjoyable. Whether or not I have come across 16d before I cannot recollect, but it was my favourite ahead of 7d.

    Thanks Zandio and Mr K.

20. Quite tricky today. Not seen 16d before and loved it! Last one to go in.

    1. Welcome to the blog, Chopdogs.

    2. Welcome from me, as well, Chopdogs and please don’t be a stranger.

21. Found this tougher than some of the more recent Friday puzzles, but just required some grey matter usage and head scratching to get there in the end. No unknown words and no weird GK needed.

    2*/3.5* for me

    Favourites include 1a, 27a, 3d, 4d & 16d — with winner by a country mile 16d
    Very clever.

    Thanks to Zandio and Mr K for hints/blog

22. 2.5*/3.5*. This provided a pleasant finish to the crosswording week with 12a my favourite.

    Many thanks to Zandio and to Mr K.

23. Another great crossword. A Friday one that I could solve straightforwardly too!

    I don’t recall a clue like 16d before, but absolute genius.

    Here’s hoping all Fridays are as good as this.

    Thanks to all.

24. Found this much easier than last 2 days – I often seem to catch Zandio’s Length of wave – so hurrah!
    16d new to me – a fabadoozie giggle
    Loved so many, but mentions to 21a, 26a and 27a ( what a slur Kermit!)
    Thanks to Zandio and mr K

25. Golly, it is good to be home and good to be shot of that wretched duvet. I feel about duvets the way Terence feels about ‘bits’. Lovely crossword, I had to look up the parsing for one or two – 21a, 19a for example but the lurkers were so well hidden and I also liked 17a. Thanks to Mr K (I have already thanked Lord Zandio) and as you admit to being busy I will overlook the feline deficiency. Have a good weekend.

26. Super puzzle, and as I tuned into Zandio’s wavelength from the start, all generally light, although it probably took as long to get 11d as the rest of the clues together, pushing me into 2* time. Hon. Mentions to 1a, 21a, 27a and 16d – though I’m sure we’ve seen that ploy before it’s still a great clue.

    2* / 4*

    Many thanks to Zandio and Mr K

27. Top-drawer puzzle. Thanks to Zandio and Mr K.
    Like many, I’ve not seen the excellent 16d before.
    To be honest, I was a bit 16d myself so asked a passing son (home from uni and not someone who normally does crosswords) what he made of it. To my chagrin, he came up with the solution before I could! Doh…

28. Sitting here sipping my too hot postprandial coffee, I’ve been reading yesterday’s copious comments on the difficulty of the daily crosswords. It puzzles me. I have, as someone else said yesterday, been doing the DT since 1964, before that we took the Manchester Gaudrian as that was the paper George took. When I realised he was abroad at least half of the year I changed back to my parent’s choice of the DT purely because of the crossword. Over the years I have both flourished (winning 3 prizes sorry Steve) and failed miserably. It’s life. Then I met Big Dave and at last I was able to explore the whys and wherefores of each puzzle. What a revelation. And as far as the toughie is concerned and the depleted number of comments- although I am retired and old my days seem to be so full that I often do the toughie in the bath or in bed and am too tired or the phone is in the other room and I don’t comment. Maybe others are the same and the toughie is an add on not the main course. As I have said before, it is just a crossword. Yes, a huge part of my daily routine – but in the overall scheme of things just a crossword. I think we should stop beefing about hard and easy and abstruse and arcane (although we Must Allow Terence His List) and enjoy it and offer heartfelt thanks that we have setters to set and hinters to hint. I shall shut up now.

    1. Well said Daisy. I think it’s such a shame that the Toughies attract so few comments. I do wonder just how many of our regular back page contributors bother to have a stab at them – many are not a great deal harder than the back-pager. Similarly the excellent NTSPPs often attract no more than a handful of comments

       1. Since many of us struggle with cryptic Toughies why would we subject ourselves to more frustration? Life is much too short at 76 for failing again and again at puzzles which prove doable to those who can do them and assume we others will find it so.

          I am quite happy not to call the cryptics Toughies, indeed I never do but I would be ecstatic if the clever ones could please stop telling us that a particular Toughie is easily within our reach. I have never found it so.

          1. I always look at the Toughie (except Elgar) and, on occasion, have finished one. My take on it is that if I don’t attempt Toughies, I will never learn their subtleties. As for back pagers being too tough, I never get involved in such debates. Things are what they are and tomorrow is another day.

             1. The debates about the crosswords are just whistling Dixie, it makes no difference.
                With regards to today’s? I’m letting that hare sit, frankly I couldn’t be bothered, there are so many fun things to do in life, why torment oneself.

                1. Whistling Dixie? That’s a new one for me – I shall have to try and use it. I had never heard of bloviating until you used it – and then I thought it was an invented word!

             2. I agree with you Steve, I have a go at the Toughie except when I spot the dreaded word ‘Elgar’!

          2. Where have you been Corky?

    2. Like your comment Daisy.

       I, for one, have done two of the Toughies this week (one was a Silvanus and one a Dada … both 1*), and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Yes a toughie 1* is a little more difficult than a regular BP cryptic .. say that is rated 2-2.5*, but they were quite gettable.
       Worth tackling some of them for the learning process and just the sheer fun of doing them. I too was surprised by the lack of comments leading me to believe a lot of people don’t even try them. I have never tried an Elgar as those always seem to be 4-5* and that is way beyond me at this stage.
       Nonetheless … maybe one day

       1. I kept trying to get to grips with Elgar, even finishing one once, but in the end accepted they’re way out of my league. I do sometimes reveal immediately all of the answers then see if I can parse ‘em & if not seek Dutch’s help which is an entertaining diversion in itself

    3. Well said, Daisygirl.
       People improve their solving ability over time.
       So, of course there should be a mix of hard and easy.
       Seems elementary to me.

    4. Well said Daisygirl! I have a go at the toughies every day and they do vary in difficulty quite a bit. Sometimes if you happen to be on the right wavelength it all goes well. I regularly have to refer to our wonderful hinters for guidance on the more subtle parsings. I treat it as a learning process and I tip my hat to the setters for the clever challenges.

       1. Great that some have the time to do the toughie so are able to comment. The day is full of other things to do which often precludes the time to even nod in the toughie’s direction!

29. A lot of excellence on view but struggled with the top left quadrant. I just couldn’t get 1d and half of 3d . Retrospectively they were two of the easier clues on board. I didn’t like 21a but did enjoy 11d . 16d had me stumped but a quirky clue and one for the memory banks. Similar difficulty to Thursday ‘s offering.
    Thanks to Mr K particularly.

30. Very slow out of the starting blocks and even then quite a brainteaser. North yielded first. 21a parses OK but does crossword setter represent self? Food for 26a is a bit obscure. I will go with the majority and opt for 16d as Fav. Thank you Zandio and MrK. Not being a cockney am not keen on Quickie pun!

31. What fun, I agree it was tricky in places but other clues just fell into place quickly as I was on wavelength today. 16d was last in but I finally got it from the checkers. The lurkers were great today and I nearly failed to spot them, I am particularly bad when the clue is split over 2 lines.
    I will put 16d as my favourite.

    Many thanks to Zandio and to Mr K for the explanations which clarified a couple of parsings.

32. Too hard at first glance.
    Dismissed that and eventually
    Got started.
    Random solving at a laboured
    Pace to an unaided finish.
    Big smiles at the surfaces for 9a and 22d.
    Flukily guessed the novel
    16d straightaway.
    9a a gem, my COTD.
    Many thanks Zandio and and Mr K.

33. No obscure gk and enough straightforward clues to enable the more difficult ones to be solved = excellent setting. I found this more enjoyable and doable than some. Favourite was 3d. Thanks to Zandio and Mr. K.

34. One word – Terrific! Thanks to all. But I won’t be tackling the Toughie today as I see its at Elgar one.

    1. Ha! I’m with you all the way. Life’s just too short for an Elgar!

    2. Hi, Manders. Hope you’re now on the mend.

       1. Thanks LNM, hopefully doing better and had bloods taken today and another visit to the doc next week.

          1. 🙂

35. I’m in the ‘great puzzle’ camp. Lots of really satisfying solves. I’m not a regular toughie tackler but will often have a go if I see that others have said it’s not too much above a back pager. Thank you setter and hinter.

36. Thought it was quite straight forward for a Friday although I did wander off a couple of times which always helps.
    Thanks Zandio and Mr K
    **/***

37. I managed to complete it without coming here, but then I had to in order to fully understand the parsing.

    I had an ‘C’ instead of an ‘H’ in the Quickie pun, but I guess an ‘H’ can be dropped in poor speech whilst a ‘C’ cannot. Not the best.

38. I really enjoyed this one, but I needed the review to check some of my answers. 16d was new to me. I’ll try and commit it to memory, but these days there’s no guarantee. Thank you setter and Mr K.

39. Most enjoyable, with lots of different types of clue, including of course the weird 16d, which was one of the last in. Overall a long breakfast workout rather than a breakfast and lunch. I’m just putting 7d as COTD, though there are many others.
    Many thanks to Zandio and to Mr K.

40. Upon my first read through I really didnt think I could get anything. After a hesitant start it gradually got better and better. So thank you Zandio for an enjoyable puzzle and to Mr K for the hints which I although I didnt need today found them reassuring to confirm my efforts. Have a nice weekend everyone.

41. I am in the ‘that didn’t feel like a Friday’ camp today.
    Thanks to the setter and Mr K (there is no need to be scared of the pictures!😉).

42. Good evening
    I did wonder at the start, as I stared hard in a Paddington Bear stylie at the crozzie this afty, if I was being invited once again to tackle the Mind of Zandio, and I see that was indeed the case. Well, I did it. It has taken me since 1 o’clock, having fitted it in during work breaks, but I got there.
    COTD is definitely 16d, and I let out a cry of CRIKEY!! when the pennies finally dropped on 13a and 15a; parsing 9a was a bit tricky, and I tripped myself up by putting SELF-PROFESSED at 21a.
    As for the Toughie debate, well, if I’m attempting the crozzie on a work day, I don’t always have time to attempt a second one; often I’ll have a go but don’t get very far, so I don’t comment. I won’t be drawn on the other debate about Toughie clues sneaking into the back-pager; to me, a crozzie is a crozzie.
    Many thanks to The Mind Of Zandio and to Mr K for the hints.

43. Late on parade here in Brisbane but I have to pay homage to 16d. I was 16d till I got all the checkers. Excellent clue among many. Thanks to Mr K for the extras notwithstanding sans cat pics.

44. 16d – my favourite crossword clue ever. Can’t get any more minimalist than that! Although it was my penultimate answer and I needed all the cross letters. 7d kept me guessing until the end. Most enjoyable thanks to the setter.

45. I forgot to say thanks to Mr K for explaining 7d. I guessed the answer but couldn’t understand why.

46. Didn’t get time to do Friday’s crossword until this morning. Usually Friday’s offerings can be a struggle for me but somehow everything fell into place quite quickly and I really enjoyed it! Especially 16d (brilliant!) 11d and 21a. For much the same reasons as Senf I thought it was Zandio, so pleased to have that confirmed. I rate this as ***/****

47. 3*/4* ..
    liked 16D “? (8)” … not seen this one before.

    1. I have seen it before, Robert but in a slightly different form. I did mention on the blog but nobody picked up on it. The similar clue I have seen is

       1d. (3, 3, 3, 1, 4)

       1. I thought it was quite the old chestnut, surprised how many haven’t seen it before. My mother told me about it when I was a kid learning cryptics. I’ve seen 5,3,1,4 and 6,3,1,4 – same answer but slighlty different abbreviated opening word (one of which is above). I think mum had also seen the title of the R4 comedy show as an answer.

          1. 👍

       2. “1d. (3, 3, 3, 1, 4)” .. any hints please ??
          1D in the puzzle is “Give birth to furry beast (4)”

          1. Is it something to do with the old cost of ‘spending a penny’ – ‘paying a call’?

             1. Nope.

          2. Steve was giving other possible answers to 16d I think 1d – (3,3,3,1,4) would be I’ve not got a clue

             1. OK – I’m just nipping off to spend a penny now………….

             2. Got it, SJB but my answer is “Has not got a clue”

          3. My putting 1d is purely arbitrary, Robin. It was just to indicate that it was a clue. I could have put 4a or 23d. There is also supposed to be a space between the clue number and bracketed numbers but it didn’t transfer to the blog.

             1. Got it !
                Thanks

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