DT 30392

64 comments on “DT 30392”

1. Fast and furious today with a pause for 23d! Have cut the grass since finishing.
   Thanks to setter.

2. I didn’t know the word in 23d either but it couldn’t be anything else. Otherwise, fairly plain sailing today. COTD for me was 21a – I love a fillet of this fish. All finished in one latte time listening to Stevie Nicks and Dire Straits in a local cafe. Happy days. Thanks to the setter and the NZ hinters – if Spring is on the way there, then we must be getting ready for autumn.

3. 2*/4.5*. I thought this was a top-notch midweek puzzle which I enjoyed from start to finish. There were lovely surfaces and too many good clues to be able to decide on a favourite.

   My only question is – is “rightly” really necessary in 18d?

   Many thanks to the setter and to the 2Ks.

   1. I had the same thought re 18d and even went down the path of right/fair(er) and homophones but couldn’t get any further than that so moved on.

   2. Confused me!

      1. `me too. Found it very difficult indeed.

         1. Last time you commented, you included your surname as well. Either just your forename or both will work from now on

4. This was a nice, approachable guzzle, which I quite enjoyed. There were some good kego clues, notably 12a,16a and Cotd 6d. I also liked the wordplay in 15d. Thanks to the Kiwis for the hints and news of the swallows, which I would love to have. Thanks to the compiler also for a jolly good guzzle.

5. I enjoyed unravelling this pleasantly taxing enigma beginning with a smooth run in the West. Surely 27a is the singular version when plural is relevant. I was slow in fully parsing my 9a bung-in. 25a Fav in that it was fun to work out. Thank you Mysteron and the two birds from Down Under.

   1. I think 27a is ok as the solution is a cluster of seven bones.

      1. And the plural presumably refers to both feet ?

         1. That’s how I would see it.

      2. Mmm – IMHO the clue could more appropriately have read “Bone” without the “s”.

         1. Of course, silly me, posted before reading the comments. I had the same reservation Angellov, and I think we’re right!

6. Did this one all fundament about phizog today, started in the SE corner and worked my way diagon ally
   up to 1a. Still, seemed to work alright like that. Pleasant sort of solve with no real dramas, my top two today were shorties, 13a and 21a, thanks to our setter, great upside-down fun.

7. Very enjoyable. Didn’t have to refer to these notes at all so feel like I’ll be ready for the toughie in a little while.

   Especially liked 7d and 13a

8. Light, enjoyable, very nicely clued; solved AC in quarters from the NW with the NE threatening to bring about a pause until I rememberd a rather more parsable alternative to Strike in 10a! Hon Mentions to 12a (nice to have a different Ireland), 21a for the smile, 1d and 22d. So many lovely surface reads.

   2* / 3.5*

   Many thanks to the setter and to the 2Ks

9. A pleasant solve with a number of pauses along the way. One was 23d because I was thinking of the wrong spring and it states “bones” in 27a and the answer is a bone. I liked the risky game at 7d and the salt at 18d although I searched for the wrong kind of salt at first. My COTD is the college material at 25a.

   Thank you, Miss Tree Setter for the entertainment. Thank you, 2Ks for the hints.

   1. SC, have just read your Comment and I agree with you re 27a – see my Comment in 5 above.

      1. Me too!

   2. Agree re 27a, as the plural form is different, unlike fish and sheep.

10. Very enjoyable!
    A couple of minor observations. I wouldn’t use the synonyms for cleaner at 1a or the sailor at 27a, I think they’re rather stock and well past their sell by date. I know that the “one” in 9a is necessary in order for the clue to parse but it sticks out like a sore thumb and spoils the surface read somewhat.
    Lots of good clues though, I’ll mention 12,24 (funny and great misdirection)&30a plus 15&23d
    Good stuff.
    Thanks to the setter and the Ks.

11. An enjoyable mid-week puzzle that I probably laboured over unnecessarily – ***/***

    Candidates for favourite – 14a, 21a, 30a, and 23d – and the winner is 30a.

    Thanks to (presumably) Robyn and the 2KIwis.

12. Agree with our blogger on a **/**** as this was a top draw puzzle.
    I was uncertain with the second beat in 15d but as usual this was confirmed by my Chambers.
    Favourite was the excellently put together 30a charade, followed by 6d.

13. It is indeed your turn today, Robyn, and very satisfying it was, although I did have the same thought as RD when it came to the inclusion of ‘rightly’ in 18d.
    Our Wednesday setter does seem to have his own particular style of clueing – almost an a**e about face approach which definitely marks out one of his puzzles.
    1d made me smile the most so takes the gold star.

    Thanks to Robyn and to our 2Ks as they enjoy the first signs of Spring in their part of the world.

14. If this is one is from Robyn, which I somehow doubt, it didn’t hit last week’s heights for me whilst still being very enjoyable. A quick grid fill but a parsing mishap at 2d (missed the Italian the) & I’m struggling to see how suspension relates as a double definition. 6d&30a my top two.
    Thanks to the setter & the 2Ks

    1. If something is dissolved in a liquid it can be said to be in suspension.

       1. I knew bunking off O Level chemistry would catch up with me sooner or later. Thanks Steve

       2. SC, reacting to another of your comments – surely solution indicates to mix and stay mixed whereas suspension components don’t mix completely i.e. small particles of a solid in liquid (sand in water).

          1. You are quite right, Angelov. :good:

             1. Goodness me, you learn some very interesting facts on this site!

       3. I totally daydreamed my way right through Chemistry, a waste of a year I thought, but I did know that other meaning of suspension so something must have got through to my grey cells 😊.

15. An enjoyable puzzle – thanks to our setter and 2Ks.
    The clues I liked best were 13a, 24a, 1d and 4d.
    I too wondered why ‘rightly’ was included in 18d.

16. On first read through I thought I might struggle, but in the event it all fell into place without problem.I too would query the need for ‘rightly’ in 18d but I think I’m splitting hairs. The pendant in me needs restraining sometimes. Favourite today was 13a for the clever surface read, joined on the podium by 30a and 23d, both lovely words so well clued. Thanks to our setter and the 2 Kiwis.

    1. That’s the pedant, not the necklace, to be pedantic!!

       1. It’s is amazing to see what havoc predictive text can cause!

17. A puzzle of two halves – left side of grid went in without problems, but the little grey cells needed for the right. Many thanks to setter for enjoyable solve, and to 2Ks for the hints.

18. As per pah above. The left half went in easily, the right took a little more thought, but all fell into place eventually.
    Thanks to Robyn and the 2K’s the American Gothic Sculpture? helped

19. Excellent puzzle where all the clues made sense when you had the answer, something that is refreshing in many puzzles of late.
    My two favs were 27a and 18d with a MenInDesp for 23d.
    Thx to all
    **/*****

20. This was a really tough puzzle to break into for me today, as the past few Wednesday ones have been. Probably just me. Eventually I found a few spots that I could open up, but was still a struggle until I got some cross linking words to keep me going.

    3*/3.5* for me on a cool, damp Tuesday night.

    Favourites include 1a, 25a, 15d, 21d, 23d & 28d — with winner toss-up between 25a & 23d

    Thanks to Robyn (??) and the 2K’s

21. Like others the LHS just shot in and I was feeling rather smug until I started to tackle the RHS which took twice as long. So thanks to all for the ride. I hope our friends the other side of the pond are not caught up in the terrible weather there. Stay safe

    1. I’m too far south, just a few outer bands last night. The latest report is that it’s heading for Charleston but should be a rain event by the time it gets there, let’s hope they’ve got it right, meanwhile spare a thought for our Robert.

       1. Merusa – having looked at the weather maps on our UK news I imagined and hoped that you would be far enough South to have escaped the ravages of Hurricane Idala. I do however feel for all those who have been so badly affected.

22. Terrific guzzle, most enjoyable. I too (as highlighted by Manders) found the west zoomed in but had to use more brain cells (I can’t spare many) for Kent, East Anglia, and Yorkshire.

    We depart a little later for Stamford Bridge (v AFC Wimbledon – what could possibly go wrong?) but with a bizarre diversion to enable us to drop off The Youngster somewhere on the Elizabeth Line.

    Thanks to the setter and The TwoKays

    1. Good luck with the Elizabeth Line – our through ticket included going from Paddington to Farendon and there was a malfunction. We had to get a taxi and the metre went up 20p every 10seconds! Ouch.

23. Finally completed, like others west much easier than east. Lots to like and many ah ha moments. My favourite 25a but I enjoyed the word play in 24a and 23d.
    Like others I too believe that the answer in 27a is a singular, meaning ankle/foot, the individual bones (7) are the tarsals.

    Many thanks to the setter and to The 2 kiwis for the hints and pics

24. This was a wavelength thing. I went through all the acrosses and only solved two, but I started to get this setter’s wavelength and the downs came to my rescue. Only one quibble, surely the bones (plural) would make 27a end in “i”? I got stuck in the NE and needed to get a hint for 6d to get me on my way again. Some good stuff, I liked 12a and 1d.
    Thank you setter, I hope you pop in to claim it, and thanks to the 2Kiwis for explaining so much.

    1. 27a wouldn’t end at all as the plural only has 5 letters, most medical textbooks of Mama Bees’s acquaintance have tarsus as a group of bones, and only unfortunate sufferers of the Thalidomide scandal, or similar, may have less than the full quota

25. Good afternoon
    On my way into work with the crozzie done! I found it reasonably challenging; I steamed away once I found a way in, but I did fear peaking a little bit early when I found the NE quadrant still awash with white spaces. I have to nominate 21a as COTD, as this was the last one to go in, and a Crikey! for 6d, which was last but one.
    Many thanks to our compiler and to 2Ks

26. Late coming to this puzzle today but I am so glad I made the time to solve it, as it was an absolute gem, first to last. I found it impossible to pick a favourite, but my pin selected 21a.

    Thanks to Robyn for a most enjoyable challenge, and to the 2Ks.

27. As the Americans might say, this was “very excellent” 😊. I enjoyed it from start to finish, although I do confess that in several instances I got the answer from the definition rather than the clue. That tactic didn’t work for 25a when I bunged in polyester having sussed it began with poly. The 22d cat clue set me straight on that. This was rather like the porridge in the Three Little Bears, not too easy, not too hard, just right. Thanks to the setter and to 2Kiwis. I envy you waking up to a crisp white frost this morning. We haven’t seen one of those since January 1983, when we had an extremely rare frost here. Most of my neighbours didn’t have a clue what it was and were shocked when lots of subtropical plants quickly turned black. Our 5ft ficus hedge died back to that ground, but eventually recovered.

    1. Or they might say “so fun”, it always grates.

       1. Oh yes, that too.

          1. “Have a nice day” gets me. After our daughter spent a year in Delaware she came back saying it to everyone. She once answered a call for me from a patient who had terrible toothache. After she advised the patient she said “Have a nice day”! Unlikely with raging toothache.

             Mind you, to be fair, I am sure there are things we say that irritate our friends across The Pond.

    2. I took a wrong turn in placing ‘dole out’ and ‘dace’ for 23d and 23a – both of which seemed plausible (apart from forcing a ‘c’) at the end of 6d.

28. Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, known as “Bones”, thinks that “Bones” is OK.

    As does Chambers: ”the seven bones forming the upper part of the foot and ankle.”

    Hic!

29. All been said, very enjoyable – even Brian likes it so it must be OK. Lots to like but I am torn between 1d and 24a – and I shall plump for 1d.
    I like this time of the year – our garden is surrounded by nut trees and the hazel nuts are just beginning to fall. It is a race between me and the squirrels. Cracking the nuts when they are this new they are almost waxy and very plumptious. Many thanks to the setter and the two Kiwis and stay safe all who are in stormy waters.

    1. Plumptious? Love it … talk about descriptive.

30. Morning all.
    Looks like pretty much a consensus on the fun level of this puzzle.
    We’re sure the setter will be as pleased to see this as we are.
    Cheers.

31. I enjoyed today’s puzzle although on first read through I wasn’t so sure I could actually complete it. I had to check that I was right with 23d, as though, seen it before but not for some time. Can’t say I have a particular favourite clue. Many thanks to the setter and the two Kiwis. Lovely to hear about the swallows.

32. I’m fairly sure I made harder work of this than I should have. Last in was the NE. Unfortunately 6d reminds me of that ghastly child rapist and murderer from Littlethorpe, Leicestershire, let’s hope the parole board reconsiders its decision and never release him again. I was fully expecting to be called in for dna testing at the time only to find I was too old by a year. Any road up I’ve rambled on long enough. Favourite was 17d for the brilliant new, for me, anagram indicator. Thanks to the street and 2 K’s

33. Setter

34. Tarsus = “A group of small bones between the main part of the hind limb and the metatarsus in terrestrial vertebrates.” per Oxford

35. 3*/3* ….
    Liked 21A ” swimmer shocked if found naked “

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