DT 30511

101 comments on “DT 30511”

1. An absolute peach of a puzzle, a real lateral thinker’s delight.
   At first glance it looked as if I’d not even get a toehold, but once I got the idea behind the whole thing it was completed almost (all but two) getting the answer to every clue in order, oh well, one day it may happen….
   Many great clues today, but as ever will mention just a couple, and it has to be the great misdirection in both 10a and 23d. Hope tomorrow’s is just as entertaining, well done to our setter, intrigued to see who you are.

2. Someone queried it being Monday yesterday, going by difficulty, well here it is today. A straight fill in left just three, two four letter and one five letter.
   They took a couple of moments longer. Cannot fault scores!
   Thanks to setter for an undemanding start to the day!

3. Not my favourite puzzle I have to say, too many anagrams and all over too quickly. A lot of the answers in the hints are already revealed, just thought I would mention it. Thanks to the setter and Mr Hintsman

   1. Sorry, glitch seems to have sorted itself out!

      1. Glitch = my ineptitude
         Sorted itself out = Gazza to the rescue.

4. Four crossies for the price of one.

   I always enjoy this sort of grid though the four letter jobbies can sometimes be a problem but not in this case.

   Straightforward stuff with the grey cells not being stretched but there’s nowt wrong wiv dat.

   My podium is 25a, 27a and 27d.

   Many thanks to Professor Plumb and Hintsman

   1*/3*

   1. 17d not 27d

   2. Jargon/slang is frowned upon here. Not “four letter jobbies” – “tetragrams” would be acceptable.

      1. I stand corrected.

         Tetrajobbies, it is

         1. 

      2. Do any of you know what “jobbies” means in Scotland ?

         1. I do

         2. I’m guessing the same as what us Sassenachs call a certain bodily function.

            It has a couple of meanings south of the border.

            1. I despair of you children.

               1. Great call, Day Zee! (I assume you meant to type ‘your’ not ‘you’ or did you indeed mean ‘you’?)

                  If it’s the former…

                  They are 22 and are doing their utmost to get enough lolly together so they can say…

                  ”I’m Tom’s triplet! Get me outta herrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre!”

         3. A tetra jobbie would be like the egg that the ooh-aah bird lays

            1. 👏👏

5. As full-size Quick Crosswords go, this sped past rather too swiftly, and as with JF only a couple remained after the first read through. Seven anagrams (and 4 within 6 D clues) verges on the excessive. Otherwise elsewhere enjoyable clue constructions and good surface reads, with the podium taken by 10a, 19a & 2d.

   1* / 2.5*

   Many thanks to the setter and to Huntsman

6. Typically Tuesdayish – 1.5*/4.5*

   Candidates for favourite – 12a, 14a, 29a, and 22d – and the winner is 14a.

   Thanks to Mr Plumb and Huntsman.

   P.S. If Mr P did not provide enough brain exercise, the Musaeus Toughie is quite ‘approachable.’

   1. It certainly is. Doubt it’ll give ALP so much as a head scratch.

      1. Bless you! But no, it didn’t. I’m feeling beautifully rested as a result.

   2. I agree about the toughie – I have almost finished it – great fun.

7. Read and write until I realised I had lost my pen.

   Thanks to Huntsman and today’s setter.

8. I could virtually cut and paste yesterday’s comment into this morning’s blog and just change the favourites. Very straightforward and fairly unchallenging yet still entertaining enough to keep me interested. 2d my top clue.

   Many thanks to AP and The Hintsman.

9. A fairly gentle but enjoyable puzzle – thanks to our setter and Huntsman.
   My boxes were ticked by 5a, 2d and 23d.

10. Over too quickly, but that’s OK. My podium, such as it is, comprises 2D and 7D. A bit of snow on the ground here in Southern Maryland and far too cold for my elderly bones, but again I can’t complain. Could be worse. I could be in Iowa. Thanks to Huntsman and setter.

    1. Hi EC

       Talk me through the positives of the Old Line state vs the Hawkeye negatives as I’m not that au fait with this sort of thing…

       1. Sorry to disappoint you, but all I was talking about is the weather in those states right now. Much colder there and a lot more of the white stuff.

          1. Fairy nuff

11. Not read and write at all. Rather challenging and I needed the Chris Lancaster crossword guide to remind me of how to think. Very cold here in North Yorkshire with snow falling in small flakes with no intention of blocking us in.

    Liked 12a and 7d and the plethora of anagrams a great help.

    Thanks to the setter and Huntsman.

12. A nice friendly crossword today.
    Last one in 28a. No particular favourites, all good .

    Thanks to the setter and to Huntsman. Enjoy your pint later.

    Still at least as cold here but very little wind, thank goodness, and still no white stuff yet….but I suspect it may not be far away. Hatches have been battened down.

13. I enjoyed this one. Unusual for me as I managed to solve it in one bash; sipping orange juice and waiting for a tradesman to call, which he did, extraordinarily, within the agreed time. He told me it was minus four degrees outside, so this might be an afternoon to watch an old movie whilst lolling on the sofa under what we used to call a blanket but now is known as a ‘throw’.
    I think the movie must star Margaret Rutherford or Kenneth More for the full wintry comfort.

    Thanks to the setter and Hintsman.

    16a related:

    1. As long as it’s not Kenneth in the remake of The Thirty-Nine Steps.

       1. My adternoon novie today is The African Queen with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. BBC i player

          1. Great film

    2. Blankets/throws? You raise an interesting point. Anything you (permanently) throw over an easy chair or sofa (usually because the upholstery is old/tatty but the item is still so comfortable) is called a throw, even though it might actually be a blanket. But if you sat on a chair with a throw upon it and then covered yourself with a secondary warm sheet – this could be called a throw because it’s is thrown over a chair but since you’re underneath it, it might have to be a blanket (even if it was bought as a throw). There is much confusion with this important topic! Of course, you could throw a nice blanket over a bed to give it a pleasing finish and then call it a throw. Bed throws are made specifically for this purpose and are usually more decorative and if it was thick enough if would be a bedspread but not an eiderdown. Not sure where counterpanes come into it, but I’m sure some of the ladies will know. Hope this clarifies a complex situation satisfactorily.

       1. Excellent piece of work there lad. I like it.

14. A busy day for me today, taking Mrs RD to our local hospital for her second knee replacement – an event we had been waiting for since her successful first one last April. It’s all been a bit of a rush over the past few days as we were only alerted to a cancellation on Friday last week.

    My rating for today’s light but very enjoyable puzzle is 1*/4*. I thought we were in for anagram-fest when four appeared in six successive down clues but there were only another couple in the rest of the puzzle.

    One of Anthony Plumb’s great skills is the use of homonyms (same word with different meanings). There were a lot of those in evidence today, but not only in double definition clues, such as the excellent 14a & 2d. Those two were joined on my podium by 24a.

    Many thanks to Mr P and to Hintsman.

    1. Oh bestest of wishes to Mrs RD. I am awaiting an appointment with a consultant as my other knee is now giving me a lot of pain. Doubtful if they will operate on someone of my age with a dicky heart and I can understand that. If hers is a second one she will know what to expect, first couple of days are the worst!

       1. Thanks, DG. I’ve just heard it all went well and she is back in the ward, sitting up eating a sandwich I’m heading off now to visit her.

    2. Best of wishes to Mrs. RD, I hope she’s up and running around soon!

       1. Thanks, Merusa.

    3. We’ve just been getting everything ready as we have to be up at silly o’clock tomorrow as Mr CS is having his first knee replacement in the morning

       1. Hope it goes well for him.

          1. Thank you

       2. Best wishes! One of my golf companions had one done not so long ago, now walking like a good’n. Having the other one done next summer.

       3. Wishing Mr. CS all the very best.

       4. Oh, it is new knees all round it seems! Best wishes to Mr CS too.

          1. Hands, knees and bumpsadaisy
             Best wishes to everyone getting new knees,

    4. Best wishes for Mrs. RD. I hope all goes well.

       1. Thanks very much, Steve. I’ve just got back from visiting her and she seems very much better at this stage than she did with knee number one last year. 🤞

          1. Good news. 👍

             1. Good news, indeed!

15. A pleasant and swift solve easier than yesterday’s. Tetragrams is a new one for me , but think I prefer 4 letter jobbies ! Thanks Jose and TDS65. 😀
    Thanks also to setter and Huntsman.

    1. It is a top word, JM, as is whojammaflip, wotsit l, whatshisface and thingy.

16. Very odd one for me. Sailed merrily through 3/4 of it and came to an abrupt and total halt in the SW quadrant. So complete was my breakdown that, even after adding answer after answer by referring to the hints, none of the others would fall.

    So that’s a */*** for NE/SE/NW zones, but a ****/* for the SW!

17. Busy morning so I was grateful to get an easy ride from our setter when I finally had time to relax.
    Top three for me were 5a plus 3&17d with a nod to 25a simply because my good friend, Jacquie, spent years trying to talk her Mike out of his longing for facial hair – to no avail!

    Thanks to Mr Plumb and to Huntsman for the review.

18. Could have been a Monday Puzzle ,straight forward ,enjoyable, no obscurities.
    Favourites were the charades 25a 10a 19a..
    Going for a **/***, don’t like halves!
    Liked the Quickie-managed the pun.
    Thanks all.

19. Having bucked the trend yesterday which was a bit of a slog for me, I’m back in the mainstream today as this must be one of my fastest and totally unaided solve for a very long time. The only pause for breath was the pesky 4 letter14a where I could think of half a dozen synonyms for the first word but not the second – as always, it’s easy when the penny drops. A thouroughly enjoyable solve with podium places for the misleading 24a, joined by 25a and 21d. Thanks to Mr Plumb and Huntsman.

20. A funny thing happened just now. Got half way down Huntsman’s blog and realised he was hinting clues I hadn’t done! For a variety of reasons had a v v short brekkie and had to leave a good third of the puzzle for completion later. Lunchtime rolls around and one of my reflexes is to come here for a quick lurk, or not as the case may be!
    Anyway did leave and finish the puzzle in good time.
    Two clues stand out. 19a because it took me forever to parse it properly, because, despite being a cricketer (and son of a 1st class player) failed to see the ‘on’ at first. And then 14a! Biffed ‘lots’ and then spent ages unsuccessfully Googling an appropriate vessel. Slowly coming back at lunchtime to revisit the things I hadn’t finished enabled me to see them in a new light, thankfully confirmed by Mr Huntsman!
    I’ll keep those two, 14&19a, as joint faves!
    Many thanks to our setter and Huntsman.

21. A gentle but enjoyable puzzle for me.
    I particularly liked 10a, 25a and 23d.
    Just very cold here in the Bristol area with no sign of snow and fingers-crossed it stays that way.

22. Very straightforward. I prefer a Wednesday /Thursday type crossword rather than something that is read and write, but it was enjoyable 3*
    I found yesterday’s much harder.
    Thanks to all.

23. Right in my wheelhouse today – not quite a R&W but nothing to scare the horses. Slipped into ** time because of staring at 23d (my LOI) for far too long until the proverbial dropped. *** for enjoyment, maybe a low ****. Thanks to the setter, and to Huntsman for the clues which were not needed but most enjoyable to read after the fact.

24. I found this puzzle a little tougher than a normal Tuesday.

    3*/3* for me

    Favourites include 5a, 10a, 12a, 29a & 18d — with 10a winner.

    Thanks to AP & Huntsman for blog/hints

25. It’s Tuesday, oldies’ shopping discount day in the supermarket our local schoolchildren use as a tuck shop. Timing one’s visit to avoid the jabbering throng, and apparently being invisible, presents a weekly challenge. I often wonder how many breaks from tuition they get in a day. Stoppit Pip – mustn’t grumble!
    Oh, the crossword. A comfortable early Tuesday solve in a comfortable bed. Such a good way to start the day.

    1. I was picking up the DT at 7.45 yesterday and a schoolgirl in front of me had about ten packets/bars of sweets, fizzy drink, etc produced a £10 note which just covered the cost and the assistant says she does it every morning – it is her lunch!

       1. I hope she shares them with her friends, who contribute things like sandwiches and fruit to a picnic! 😬

       2. I thought I shouldn’t go further with my shopping story (a daughter gave me a ‘Grumpy Old Man’ apron and a ‘Mr Grumpy’ key ring), but Daisygirl you have prompted me to add that the items many schoolchildren buy are in no way considered healthy lunches by grumpy oldies. I shudder when I see what they are grasping.
          PS. The aforementioned daughter is a healthy eater par excellence.
          I will try to be more cheerful in future posts.

26. Don’t’ know why not but I didn’t particularly enjoy this solve although it wasn’t too testing. In line with Anorak the SW was stickiest patch for me. Going for wrong sea in 1d delayed things. 19a on didn’t occur to me and kicked myself for not tumbling to my 2d Fav immediately. Thank you MrP and Huntsman.

27. A quick but enjoyable solve as I moved clockwise around the grid alternating between across and down clues, using the checkers from one to help get the other. I was held up momentarily trying to use a word with a different initial letter for 24a.

    PS Huntsman, you are missing one letter in your hint for 12a.

    1. Well spotted – the missing T will have to wait until I’m back home

28. I sailed around clockwise starting in the NE and finishing in the NW. A delight to solve and, by me, preferred to yesterday’s. 1d was the last in but that’s more about my direction of travel. I wondered about 24a as I entered it, but if I’m right I was honking coconut rather than coy. I only have 12a down as a favourite but that tends to be the case when I rattle through without pausing for breath. Thank you Mr Plumb (my maternal grandmother’s maiden name and to Huntsman whose hints I shall now peruse. I was not sure why an illustration of an ice lolly appears among the hints.

    1. I seem to remember there was an ice lolly called a Fab

       1. There still is! My granddaughters love them!

29. I picked the wrong vessel so it took a bit of a rethink to get the waving lady
    Squash and Orangeade today is MrP having a dry January?
    Thanks to the sober one and Hintsman (I would much prefer a proper scotch but work means I am sticking with tea until hometime)

30. The first half of the
    Week is getting
    Easier while the second is
    Harder.
    Some complain about
    The latter but no one
    About the former.
    Funny, that.
    Nevertheless, enjoyed today’s, a
    Neatly put together puzzle.with some
    Juicy anagrams
    Thanks to the setter and Huntsman.

    1. Whist I admire your brevity, I miss your chat!

    2. Looking at the comments above, there are quite a few people who seem to be complaining about this being too easy. There was a fairly testy complaint about people using the blog to plead for easier puzzles recently, but it seems that the reverse goes by largely unnoticed. Personally, I don’t think the first half the week is getting easier overall. I didn’t even see this puzzle as a walk in the park, and a lot of people aren’t going to say why when there is a lot of bluster on the blog about how easy it is.

       1. I look on the daily guzzle rather like a tin of Quality Street. Sometimes you pull out a favourite, sometimes it’s a strawberry yuk. But either way, it’s a sweet treat and you enjoy it to an extent, because the next one you get might be a yummy purple one. I think a lot of people get very het up about something which, let’s face it, is fairly low on the list of things to loose sleep over. (Apologies to all the lovely setters and hinters, but you get my drift)

          1. You don’t like the strawberry delight? They’re the best!

             One solver’s strawberry yuk is another…etc

             One thing’s for sure, I don’t miss the coffee cream…

             1. Green triangles forever…

          2. They just aren’t the same in paper wrappers!

             Anyone remember the marzipan and almond charm in Roses? 😋😋

31. Just one evasive clue but it well and truly scuppered my chances of a complete unaided solve: 1d. Thank you setter and Huntsman

32. Like RD, i eeally enjoyed the homonyms in this enjoyable guzzle. To make it eveen more enjoyable there were some great anagrams, I thought 15d was particularly good. 25a was aa good lego clue and 1d appealed as a geographical lego clue to make this very much my kind of puzzle. Thanks to the compiler and to Huntsman for the hints.

33. Agree with CC, first class guzzle with lots of sideways thinking, good anagrams, misdirections. 7d was a beauty but so was 12a and 15d and 6d was a nice approach to an old favourite. Bit of an odd day really as I took George to have the rest of the stitches taken out of his head. Seemed to be the whole day taken up, glad to be home in the warm and able to be diverted by Messrs Setter & Hintsman. Thankyou.

34. I did this in a doc’s waiting room, so no aids available, all on “me tod”. I was DNF with 14a, and bunged in 28a. I found the whole thing a bit odd, though some real aah moments. Fave was 25a, with 23d runner up.
    Thanks to Mr. Plumb for being so kind, and Huntsman for explaining so much.

    1. Wot? No iPhone with scrabble or patience installed?

       1. I have a Samsung, but, no, I’m so untechie, I use my phone as a phone and WhatsApp. Oh! And I know how to read emails.

35. I needed the hints for 24a and 17d but, other than those, it was an enjoyable solve. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen 16a clued – rather like “Orchestra”. I spent a moment trying to make an anagram out of “Severely”at 28a until the penny tapped me on the shoulder. For once my COTD is a lego clue giving Mike losing his pain the award.

    Thank you, Miss Tree Setter (although by now I ought to realise it is Professor Plumb in the library). Thank you Hintsman for the hunts, which I will now enjoy going through thoroughly.

    Anyone see the article in the DT yesterday about how climbing two flights of stairs helped solve cryptic crosswords? I tried it but it didn’t work. I had left the paper downstairs.

    PS I’m getting on quite well with the Toughie if those who don’t usually try want to have a look.

    1. I read it but we live in a bungalow which is just as well with my knee – no hope of getting a mental boost either way.

    2. Left the paper downstairs! 😁

       I agree about the Toughie. There were some people arguing that the Toughie is completely different to the backpager recently (I think to say that the former is not an option for them when the Friday backpager isn’t tenacious enough for them). But I suspect the crosswords are on a spectrum, with the Friday backpager and the Tuesday Toughie being broadly equivalent. I would say today’s Toughie is at the lighter end of the Toughie spectrum. In fact, I found it easier than today’s backpager, which seems to go completely against the grain! I’m guessing it’s just me, I can fairly often find the Friday Toughie easier than the Friday backpager for some reason and I find the FT generally easier than the DT backpager, which isn’t how most people view it, I think.

       1. I agree, today’s toughie is indeed very doable with a little structured thought, well within the difficulty spectrum of the backpagers through the week.

36. Tuesday is a busy day for us so I am always pleased when Tuesday is my new Monday in terms of the crossword. Today did not disappoint and I completed it before going out and thoroughly enjoyed it. Lots of anagrams and clever clues to enjoy, so no real favourite.

    Many thanks to Mr Plumb and to Huntsman for the hints.

37. Excellent puzzle, very enjoyable. Just my cup of tea.
    **/*****
    Thx to all

    1. Brother Ian and Professor Plumb in the library with the crossword.

38. I thought this about spot on for a Tuesday with a couple of head scratchers 14a being a good example, personally I needed an easier start to the week after last week. Favourite was 25a. Thanks to AP and Huntsman.

39. Perhaps a bit bland? I failed on 23d and shuddered at 30a. A real instrument of torture!

40. Can I ask what you mean by an AP puzzle. Is it a reference to the setter? I’ve always wondered how solvers identify the setter.

    1. Welcome to the blog, Roland.
       AP is a reference to Anthony Plumb who sets many of our Tuesday puzzles.

    2. FAQ #28 will provide the answer to your query regarding the identity of setters although the list of setters on given days of the week provided there which was “current” at the time it was written is now quite out of date.

41. 2*/3* …
    liked 10A “Felt possibly wonderful with wealthy husband leaving”

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