DT 30479 (Hints)

100 comments on “DT 30479 (Hints)”

1. I don’t know why but I didn’t quite gel with this puzzle. I managed it but with no high degree of satisfaction. Still, it does give me my umpteen thousandth try for The Mythical. I have no idea what a Milan team has to do with 7d but then I know nothing about football if that is the game in question.

   Many thanks to the setter and I’m sorry your effort did not scintillate for me. Perhaps it’s the continuous rain here in The Marches. Thank you, Crypticsue for the hints.

   1. I can’t see the connection to Milan either!

      1. I too know very little about football but I do know the name of two Spanish football teams, one from Madrid and one from Milan, the Milan one provides you with your missing letters.
         did I mention I have not got much on today…?

         1. Redacted but Mr CS says I’ve got to stop giving people cherry bakewells. Ginger nut?

            1. Ooh, think you will be on the naughty step with cherry bakewell!

      2. I think Milan is in Italy.

      3. There are two teams in Milan. One is AC Milan; theother one play in blue and black stripes.

      4. Did you know there are two football league teams in Stoke?
         Stoke City & Port Vale

   2. I only knew the Milan football team as we’ve had it quite recently, still, I think it’s pretty obscure.

      1. I’m quite surprised at the comments about the football team as it turns up in crosswords on a regular basis

         1. Funnily enough I did know that particular team but didn’t spot it in the completed clue, a bit like a lurkerl

         2. Yes, the setters are fairly kind to re-use the team, I guess. As I expect you know, there are a number of football teams that give everyday words, such as teams in Madrid and Vienna. Using ‘Edinburgh team’ to indicate ‘loth’ (Heart of Midlothian) would be tough, I think.

      2. I thought that was easy but sometimes I don’t understand answers even when given hint and the answer. This, I suppose, is why crosswords are so fascinating because everyone has a different mindset.

2. Managed OK with this one…a relief after last week.
   I had to check on 16a and am still struggling to see how 22a parses despite crypticsue’s hint. I expect it is the homophone bit that has done for me again. No doubt all will be revealed when the review is posted.
   I may, of course, have got 22a wrong…….

   Thanks to the setter and to crypticsue.

   Definitely dreich here today but at least it is not as cold. Hardly balmy at 8C but at least not Baltic like last week.
   Must get on with the Christmas cards now……deep joy.

   1. regarding 22A I too may have got it wrong, but I reasoned that for the homophone if I were to protect someone again it would just about make it work…

      1. It’s not a question of doing it again, phanciful, the two letters after the police officers are clued by “on”.

         CS, I think you need to add this to your hint for 22A.

         1. having a “doh” moment.
            thanks Rabbit Dave that makes it a much cleaner solve…

         2. Sorted, thank you

   2. I had to check 16a, he’s hardly a household name!

      1. He is in this household. A minimalist par excellence.

      2. Not on this US household either….

3. Well unlike Steve I thoroughly enjoyed this, a good breakfast companion for me.
   I did have a couple that were new to me with 12A and 16A.
   Lots of great enjoyable clues I thought: 1A, 19A, 27A, 7D, 10D were all good but my favourites were 25A and 14D which brought a chuckle.
   stuck at home this weekend with an irritating cold that I don’t want to pass on just before Christmas – its wet and miserable outside.
   Plans in ruins and the crossword done, what on earth do I do next?

4. A nice test for a prize jobbie.

   It took a bit of time for me to get up and running but, once I did, I powered through.

   Good old 27a is nearly always found at the bottom of the grid as the checkers are very common word endings. A setter is lost without this word in their armoury.

   My podium is 1a, 7d and 14d.

   Many thanks to the setter and CS.

   2*/3*

5. This was quite a tricky guzzke, particularly the top half. Like Steve C, I had no idea what the Milan team had to do with 7d, possibly another football team manager’s nickname for all I know, but the clue was gettable. I liked 25a and its reference to a favourite programme of the past. Ialso liked the lego clue/anagrams at 1a and 10d. Whilst I didnt relish being reminded ofmy hospitalization due to 5d, it was a jolly good lego clue. Thanks to the compiler and to CS for the hints.

   1. There are 2 teams in Milan – one of them, when you take the E out of their prefix gives you the 4 letters that go into the defensive barrier the clue hints at

      Hope that helps and I avoid the naughty step!

      1. Thanks Sim. I’m pretty ignorant about football teams, particularly overseas in Eirope.

6. 1.5*/3*. This provided a pleasant diversion on a wet weekend morning. No doubt that 25a will be Kath’s favourite today. I can’t decide between 1a & 14d so I’ll risk Kath’s wrath and have joint favourites today.

   Many thanks to the setter and to CS.

7. A bit of trouble with 8d as I had three possibilities sorted by CS’s hints,
   Got to pick Kath’s favourite policeman
   Stair–rods in deepest Yorkshire but clearing from the West

   1. 8d??

      1. 10d oops
         I couldn’t explain the first letter as my river was just an initial and my termination was different too

8. Well I thought this prize ‘guzzke’ was a little cracker. I hadn’t realised 1d was also a gem (redacted – alternative clue] so that required post solve confirmation. Fav for me was 7d & thought all the long peripherals pretty good too. 14d raised a chuckle & I’m pretty sure we can guess which one will be Kath’s pick.
   Thanks to the setter & to Sue

   1. Knuckles rapped – any cake?

      1. Cherry Bakewell?

         1. Yes 👍 please

   2. I’m with you here Hintsman – a cracker was going to be my word. It sparkled. 7d was a bung in as you know I am not into rough sports but I had the defence so it had to be. 29a was my favourite until I came across 14d. We had lots of cake left over from out WI stall this morning, it would have gone down well on the naughty step.

9. Good SPP fun – **/****

   Candidates for favourite – 19a, 26a, 5d, 7d, 10d, and 14d – and the winner is the clever charade 10d.

   Thanks to whomsoever and CS.

10. After a slow start I soon picked up the pace and fairly raced through this very pleasant and not too taxing puzzle. 14d produced the biggest smile so I will go with that for my favourite.

    Thanks to both our Saturday setter and CS.

11. So far above my level as to be stratospheric. And what on Earth is ne plus ultra? I thought I was doing a puzzle in English.
    For me a very very hard and poor puzzle. Ghastly!
    *****/0

    1. Come on Brian, don’t throw in the towel. You have solved far harder puzzles than this one, especially a recent Toughie you mentioned. Have another read through the clues, I’m sure that once you get a foot-hold you could breeze it.

    2. The be all and end all – bee’s knees.

    3. Literally there is nothing higher

    4. Does it help if I tell you that it’s the Latin translation of “the caterpillar’s spats”?

12. Found this one quite a curious mixture but 20a raised a smile as that’s where my grandchildren are today – in Lapland UK helping the big man in the elves workshop!
    25a brought another smile, as did 14d.

    Thanks to our setter and also to CS for the hints – 1a was so much nicer before ‘they’ decided to modernise it.

13. Gentle fun, soup for lunch.

    Thanks to CS and today’s setter.

14. I found this one a lot of fun. 14d my favorite. Quite a lot of rubbing out. For instance 1a I thought was the hospital that was funded by the story of the charmings at first.

    8a may challenge certain areas of the world. The y being needed for the homophone

15. Fairly steady going from top to bottom, with some nice ones on the way: 5 & 7d (a crossword fav team), didn’t know the minimalist so had to check, liked 26a too, and last one in was 27a, which I guessed from the checkers before reading the clue! All in all I’ll go for 26a, just because it’s a change from the usual mum’s mum.
    Thanks to our compiler and to the ever faithful CS.

16. Personally, I thought this was the best Saturday back pager for ages. Entertaining, plenty of humour and not overly difficult. Reading comments @ 1 just goes to prove how clues that some solvers find difficult to fathom, others find blindingly obvious – ho hum :-) such is the solving of cryptic puzzles. Too many favourites to mention them all, but 1a and 7d floated my boat,with a new meaning learned in 1d. Thanks to today’s setter and also to CS, although I didn’t nee to peep at her hints.

17. Have been in a Christmas fever. Well, that was the excuse for struggling with the last 2 days of puzzling but this morning gave a renewal of faith that puzzles can and shall be done. My only caveat is with 16 a because for me he is the opposite of minimalist and is so full of drive and excitement that he rates with the best. Only saying !
    Nice mix of clues and great start to the weekend. Thanks to all involved in this endeavour.

18. After the initial read through I had flashed to the mighty score of two. Strongly felt I should give it up as a bad job and go out, but one look at the weather made me have another crack at it. Glad I did, it grew on me more as I went along, and in the end thought it was a really well made puzzle.
    Plenty of really good clues, but my two of the day have to be 19a and 4d (as I’m waiting an op to have some of these removed)

19. A very nice Saturday solve for me, with clues that were both easy and entertaining. The ‘clue mechanics’ I found consistently neat. I’d have to plump for 14D as it provided the best laugh, a LOL moment. Also I wasn’t actually aware of that fact about Scoobs, even though it seems obvious now.

    Great stuff, thanks to Ron and to CS for the hints.

20. A fun Saturday puzzle with some great clues and answers. Lots of surface reading here. Couple GK clues that may take a little working out or e-help to get them.
    Feeling this could be a Cephas offering today, so I will throw my 5/- out there today.

    1.5*/4* for me

    Favourites include 8a, 19a, 25a, 4d, 5d & 14d — with winner 19a …with smiles for 25a, 4d, 14d

    Thanks to Cephas(?) & CS for blog/hints

21. Slow starting but then everything fell into place.

22. I think I have said it already. I got 1a straight away then nothing. Then suddenly my brain clicked out of WI cake stall mode and we fairly whooshed through it. Very funny weather in Cambridge, dark as can be and pouring one minute then the sun is shining. DD2 just rang to say she’s going into town and what do I want Daddy to buy me for Christmas! Hey ho. Many thanks to the Very Clever Setter and the indefatigable CeeSee.

    1. How is George doing after his surgery yesterday? Is he obeying your rules?

       1. No surgery required! It seems our local doctor was wrong 😊 I rather think they thought ninety?! Leave well alone. The specialist said his circulation was very good so it is nice to know something is working! I’m having a lovely messy afternoon finishing off my Christmas cards. I am covered in gold paint and glitter.

          

          1. So glad George didn’t need his surgery! However minor, it’s not pleasant.

23. I think lots of long answers made this tricky. Didn’t actually take me any longer than is typical, bit it felt much more stretching. Also my vocab wasn’t quite up to scratch in several areas of the puzzle, 1 word and 2 definitions were new to me

24. btw – the second word of 1 across answer has 6 letters – not 7.

    1. The newspaper version and the one on the old (and best) Telegraph Puzzles site both show 6,6 as the enumeration for 1a

       1. …but GRANTED is 7 letters…………..

          1. One of the letters is attached to the charming group

             1. drrrr………………!

25. I can’t say I disliked this but it was a bit like trying to catch an eel with soapy hands. Some good stuff, but others were so hard to understand the parsing. I had no idea 1d was a gem, pretty esoteric; if you learn something every day, your day has not been wasted. I know Kath will be over the moon with 25a. My fave has to be 14d, of course, he’s a dog, the best.
    Thanks to setter, and many thanks to CrypticSue for the enlightenment.

    1. My thoughts about 1d exactly 😊.

       1. That reminded me of the fishmongers in our local shopping centre,, when I was a child. A large metal tank held live eels swimming around, which , to my fascination, werecaught and wrestled into paper wrapping for sale

26. Rather tricky to begin with then got going and things improved.
    Not any idea with 7d for ages – got there in the end.
    The crossword felt a bit odd – don’t know why, just did!
    My major problem was (and still is) 3d – I have an answer which I know is a sort of shark but on earth how did the harbour get in there?
    I liked 18 and 19a and 1 and 2d. Needless to say that 25a was my favourite – as predictable as usual!!
    Thanks to whoever set this one and to CS for the hints

    1. Harbour is a verb

       1. . . . .suppose so but felt a bit odd – anyway thanks.

          1. If my answer is right, then I cannot see how harbour fits either.

             1. Look up the definition of harbour as a verb

    2. PS – I reckon 27a is going to be a very peculiar stew!

    3. I had to check my thesaurus for 3d as well. They’re the sharks we have in Jamaica so it came right away.

27. A doable crossword with help from the wizard Chambers for the last few. Pretty good for me I think. I don’t think the King will agree that 1d is a gem though.

    Favourite today is 10d but honourable mentions for, 9, 11 and 13a, together with 1, 7,14 and17d.

    And many thanks to the setter for such an enjoyable puzzle and the same to CS for her great hosting.

    1. I seem to remember (redacted – alternative clue)

       1. Now I remember, (redacted – alternative clue)

          1. Sorry! I didn’t know that would be considered a clue!

             1. Don’t know what you wrote Merusa (as it’s already been redacted by the time of reading) but I was chastised & summarily dispatched to the naughty step for I suspect the same offence early doors so the I didn’t realise defence ain’t gonna cut the mustard – and I’ve scoffed all the cherry bakewell.

                1. Huntsman, apparently all the bakewell have gone and CS says it’s now ginger nuts. A fellow WI member and I were chatting about Masterchef on Thursday. We both wanted the red haired chap to win and she mentioned the ginger contestant in the pub the previous evening and was soundly rebuked for being a red haired racist – what land are we living in!?

                2. Noooooo cherry bakewells are official CIA property! How dare you finish them off 😅🤯🤣

                   1. There are still cherry bakewells. Mr CS said that they were too nice to give to people sent to the Naughty Corner. They are on special offer in Sainsbury’s if you want to get your own

28. A mixed bag, but mostly doable although I can’t claim to have solved completely unaided. Still learning, as I only started doing these in 1969 ☺️. Was helped several time by checkers when the clues didn’t lead me to the answers. But did manage to solve most and content with that. Thanks to setter and CrypticSue.

29. I enjoyed this one and liked 4 down !
    Is it me ? Or was it a bit easier this Saturday ?

30. An enjoyably light and swift solve over a pre-supper G&T. Nothing to frighten the equines, all very fairly clued. Many thanks to the Setter & Sue.

    1* / 2.5*

31. Rather enjoyed this today. After my struggle with the beastie yesterday, it was good to solve this unaided.

    Particularly enjoyed 14d.

    Thanks to all.

32. Very fair I thought. Had to check the hints for 1d. Thats a new one for me. Not being a football fan I sort of got the name but spelt it wrong and so needed the hints to fully parse . The last word on 22a also needed checking. So thanks both
    **/****
    Ps. Also needed the hints for 10d as I had ,”d” for death so I couldn’t find the extra 2 letters in the clue. I must read my answers more carefully.

33. I thought this was great fun, it certainly took me several goes to get into it but I got there in the end. 1d was a new definition for me. I rather liked 1a and the long clues were a big help once ai worked them out with 10d last to click.

    Many thanks to the setter and to CS for the hints which explained the why for a couple.

34. I thought this was doable as the clues could be worked out even if you didn’t know the minimalist composer or the football team or Scooby Doo. I got 1a straightaway with no checkers and no parsing. Favourite is 19a. Thanks Setter and CS although no hints needed. Always good to read and the comments. I think we have the old Brian back. His stand-in or stunt double had not been half as much fun.

    1. 😀😀

35. Quite enjoyed this one. A few bits of GK I had to look up but nothing too painful. A question – why are most checking letters vowels?!

    Thanks to the setter and Crypticsue.

    1. All words (well most words – we had PSST the other day) have vowels in but with more consonants to choose from they are gonna occur less often as checkers

36. Great Saturday tussle, the Cotes du Rhone very nearly all gone before this one fell. Loved the witty 1d 7d 14d, and smooth 1a.

    Suspect this puzzle may be the work of our good friend the ‘knob 🙃😉

37. Correct.

    Many thanks to all who commented — it’s always good to hear your thoughts — and to the ever-illustrious CS for the hints.

    1. Thank you kind sir

38. I finished this unaided with the exception of 14d, which completely eluded me. I have only now had time to read the hints and comments, and note that this clue has been the favourite of many. I am so curious, dare I ask for a little hint to help me?

39. Addition to the above – I forgot to thank setter and CS, whose hints I (almost) did not need.

    1. The cartoon dog and the Shakespearean character share a pedigree.

40. Thank you Falcon, I’ve now got the answer, but have to admit my ignorance of Scooby-Doo. As it seems to appear quite often I shall have to file this information for future reference.

41. I’m quite fascinated reading all the comments on here – what a variety of opinions on this puzzle! Personally I loved it plenty grins 14d and fore head slappers 6d and 20a in particular 🤣 7d went in early doors for me but then I knew there were two teams… 24 down I had but had to check it as new to me! Still not sure if the parsing for 13a though!
    Hope you all had a great Sunday as usual I didn’t get to mine till today 😬
    Thanks to setter and @crypticsue!

    1. Welcome to the blog

42. I’m quite fascinated reading all the comments on here – what a variety of opinions on this puzzle! Personally I loved it plenty grins 14d and fore head slappers 6d and 20a in particular 🤣 7d went in early doors for me but then I knew there were two teams… 24 down I had but had to check it as new to me! Still not sure if the parsing for 13a though!
    Hope you all had a great Sunday as usual I didn’t get to mine till today 😬
    Thanks to setter and @crypticsue!

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