DT 30561

108 comments on “DT 30561”

1. Mr Consistency churns out another solid crossy though the surfaces didn’t wow me this time.

   I learnt a couple of new words: the order in 12a and the synonym for hurry in 21d.

   My podium is 12a, 24a and 16d.

   Many thanks to what the lady loves (a great call from AB) and Shabbo.

   2*/3*

2. This looked so straightforward …. to start with! Then a bit of a struggle and not very satisfying.
   Nothing unfair, too techy or obscure so I can’t level that excuse.
   Happy to complete.

3. Mr Thursday at his very best and quite gentle with it – **/*****

   Candidates for favourite – 12a, 13a, 27a, 23d, and 26d – and the winner is 12a.

   Thanks to Mr T and to Shabbo – good luck with negotiating a pay rise but remember any per centage of zero is still zero!

4. I wonder how many other solvers put the seaside resort in Cornwall in 6a as I did? Rather complicated 8d until the penny dropped!
   Great puzzle, really enjoyed the challenge.
   Many thanks to the setter and to Shabbo for the hints.

   1. Me too with 6a!

   2. Livvete, at least your alternative solution is pronounced correctly. On the other hand I do realise the anglicism is in fact a homophone. I didn’t really enjoy today’s challenge which really was too clever by half with some iffy synonyms. I don’t think I have come across 20d but it had to be. Thank you RayT (?) and Shabbo.

   3. Nearly, but resisted it and then got the ‘u’

   4. Apologies Livvete the second half of my reply to you should have been a stand alone Comment from me.

5. 2*/4*. All the usual fun from Mr Brevity. My only hold up was initially putting “Looe” in as my answer for 6a. Well, it is a place, isn’t it?

   4d was my favourite.

   Many thanks to RayT and to Shabbo.

6. Much more manageable than yesterday, but still a tricky little tyke. I do enjoy the brevity of Ray T’s clues. ***/****

   However, YET AGAIN I was stymied for an age before realising the answer to 15a was a *#*!@* lurker! Do any others here suffer from this embarrassing affliction?

   1. Yes!!! Both the affliction and fruitless search for something with bg in it!

   2. Yes, I do. 😀

   3. 15a: there was a lot of *#*@! in this house.

7. An absolute cracker while it lasted – there’s something about a RayT puzzle that is innately satisfying: perfectly written clues, precise & concise, fair to the solver, great surfaces, plenty of wit, no obscure ‘G’K, and all the trademark ‘tells’. Not living terribly far from Looe that was my first thought, too – quite tempted to pop down there one evening for supper at The Sardine Factory, being reminded of it by its chef Ben Palmer having appeared on Great British Menu this week. I could put any number on the podium but shall restrict to 16d, 26d and 12a, with 27a the runner-up.

   ≤2* (just for Tom!) / 4*

   Many thanks indeed to RayT and to Shabbo

   1. Like it, MG. Like it.

      As you do half increments, I am guessing that <2 is 1.75 otherwise you would put 1.5. So, is ≤ 2 something like 1.875?

      Or is it a case of…..'Oh, it's under 2 but I don't know what score to give it!'. You did explain a while back but I can't remember what you said.

      Either way, it's highly entertaining.

8. I found this a bit more taxing than many of Mr T’s offerings.
   I still don’t get the parsing for 21d, but having read Shabbo’s hints I guess I need to do a bit of research on the second half of the word.
   I did however love the unusual use of Sweetheart in 16d, given that it was already clear this was a RayT offering I was properly misdirected!
   Thanks to mr T and to Shabbo for the hints.

   1. Think Lady Macbeth: Hie thee hither that I may pour my spirits in thine ear…..
      Saw it at the West Yorkshire Playhouse this week. No matter how many times you’ve seen a great Shakespeare play the experience is always so fresh and dazzling!

9. It took a while to fathom out a few clues today, but when I finished I wondered why.
   Another fun crossword.
   Many thanks to RayT and Shabbo.

10. A top notch puzzle
    From the master.
    Superb
    Surfaces and many smiles
    Along the way.
    Loved 6 and 27a
    And 7d especially.
    Too lazy with 20d so
    Looked at Shabbo’s hint.
    Thanks .
    A new word for me.

11. Another goodie from the entertaining Mr T – thanks to him and Shabbo.
    Top clues for me were 7d, 16d, 21d and 26d.

12. For me (AISFM) this was exactly the type of puzzle I enjoy. Much more approachable than yesterday, but with enough thought required that it wasn’t by any means a R&W . I do agree with Anorak about the lurkers, which I also usually miss! **/***** with no electronic help or hints needed.
    It’s going to be a glorious day here in South Carolina, although we are getting into pollen season which means that everything is covered in a fine yellow dust; washing the car is pointless because it’s filthy again in minutes. Thanks to RayT and Shabbo

13. A bit on the tough side for me but fairly clued, nonetheless. Just needed to exercise the synapses more than usual. I found the North East the most difficult mainly because of the fact I had entered the wrong old queen at 11a. I liked mad Lear at 27a and the worker that took me an age to see at 16d but my COTD is the engaging clutch at 26d.

    Thank you, Ray T for making me work. Thank you, Shabbo for the hints.

    1. The only thing I remember of 11a was that hubby Henry placed crosses at the twelve places her coffin rested on the way to Westminster. Of course, I may be way off but I think that’s right. Isn’t there one at Charing Cross? Are there any more crosses still surviving?

       1. I believe you are correct, Merusa. Henry did place crosses along the route but I’m not sure if any survived or if they have anything to do with Charing Cross. This site is interesting.

          https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/royals/edward-i-and-eleanor-of-castile

    2. BTW, folks for “worker” read “lurker” in my comment.
       Why do spell checkers think they know more than we do? 😳

14. Fairly gentle but highly entertaining sums up my thoughts on this delightful Thursday puzzle. I think 26d was very original and clever, and that is my favourite.

    Thanks to Mr T and Shabbo.

15. 4/4. I wrestled with this for quite a while but it was worth it. The only obscure word was the last part of 21d which needed Mr Googles help to confirm my bung-in. My favourites were the lurker in 15a and 27a (a colleague used to describe our boss as one stop from East Ham). Thanks to Mr T and Shabbo.

16. Had my work cut out with some of our setter’s synonyms today and also nearly ended up in Cornwall to find 6a but all’s well that ends well.
    Rosettes handed out to 6,12&27a plus 21d.

    Devotions as always to Mr T and thanks to Shabbo for the review.

17. As per usual another great puzzle from the brevity champ, RayT, in his fortnightly appearance. Some super clues along with some that really stretched the grey matter.

    2*/4.5* for me

    Favourites include 6a, 13a, 27a, 28a, 3d & 7d — with winner my last in with a huge PDM and a good chuckle … 6a
    Other smilers include 17a, 21a, 27a & 7d

    Thanks to RayT & Shabbo for hints/blog

18. Bit of a struggle for me as usual with RayT, but did fairly well for one of his. Needed the hint for 21d and thought 30a was a bit below the belt🤪. Thanks to all.

    1. Very clever!

19. At one point I thought this might be the second white flag of the week, but with the helpful nudges from Shabbo’s hints on a couple of clues, I got a completed grid in the end. Podium comprises 6a, the 25a lurker and in top spot, mad King Lear. Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo.

20. I enjoyed today’s puzzle. Took me a while to spot the 16d lurker. Favourite was 27a.
    Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo who gets extra thanks for not including a picture for 30a.

21. Like some others I had Looe initially for 6a and completely missed the 15a lurker. Spent too long wondering if ‘here’ also meant ‘another’. Thanks to Shabbo for the explanations and Mr T for a good puzzle.

22. Lovely. Although I still have not cottoned on to the other Lear despite reading the hint. Nice lurker and I liked 17a &14d. Thank you all for your lovely good wishes yesterday – but you are hardly going to credit this. Addenbrookes finally rang me back this morning to say she had asked around and a) my results are not through yet ( they did say 6 weeks) and b) I am definitely not booked in for surgery on the 16th. Then had another call from admin to tell me they think it must be a scam. Very unnerving – who would be so unkind? They were not asking for money or bank details just frightening me. 😟 But I still loved my reworded Georgie Girl. Big thanks to Raytee & Shabbo, sounds like a firm of private investigators! The meanie editor did not publish my ‘outraged of Tunbridge Wells’ letter yesterday about Ladies Day. It’s that silly old bat from Cambridge again…….. .

    1. …to go with the old bat from Yorkshire that some might say is silly, others….not.

    2. My sympathies, Daisy. Who on earth would pull a stunt like that? It hardly sounds credible.

       1. So sorry DG, how absolutely horrid for you.

    3. What a trial you are having at the moment, DG. I hate scammers! Despite being very wary I was scammed out of a lot of money just before Christmas. Fortunately, the bank got the money back.
       I do hope things are sorted for you soon.
       Thinking of you and, if Brian has no objection (😎), praying as well. 🌹

23. I had to toil mightily with this, I usually do with RayT, but what a difference from yesterday! There is so much to like, and all fairly clued. I’ve reached a ripe old age and I still can’t spell, doesn’t “i” come before “e”? Natch, I had 3d wrong, but corrected when 10a fell into place. I also don’t know any 2d dogs, do you? I did need some ehelp but only for a couple. My fave is 21d, my name for a certain yellow-headed, scrofulous idiot who shall be nameless.
    Thank you RayT for the fun and Shabbo, whose hints I’ll now read to get the “why” for three answers!

24. Isn’t there a second quickie pun on the bottom line (def: relating to or resembling a German astronomer and necromancer reputed to have sold his soul to the Devil)

25. I didn’t really enjoy today’s challenge which really was too clever by half with some iffy synonyms. I don’t think I have come across 20d but it had to be. Thank you RayT and Shabbo. (Sorry for repetition as this originally appeared as part of my reply to Livvete).

26. Typical Ray T, some obvious and some almost impossible.
    At his most devious today.
    ****/**
    Thx for the hints

27. A mixed bag for me, with some answers going straight in, some needing the hint to verify my answer and some hanging around defying me to solve them. While I cannot claim to find this a gentle or a rapid exercise, it was much better than yesterday when I just could not work up any steam. Joint COTD goes to 27a and 8d. Thanks to Ray T and Shabbo.

28. A lovely and enjoyable puzzle … although I didn’t understand the need for “almost” in 7d – unless, of course, I’ve missed something. Thank you all…

    1. I’m with you about ‘almost’, RF.

       In fact, I’m not sure what the surface means. Maybe, if I can work that out, it may explain ‘almost’.

       Can anyone help?

       1. A champion missing “w” (with) is all I can see.

          1. I think it’s archery rather than darts. The Brb says “(archery) a hit on that part of a target next to the bull’s eye”.

             1. Oh dear! When I used to be an avid archer (admittedly over 50 years ago), it was absolutely verboten to call the gold a bull’s-eye – as bad as misnaming a chess rook, but we’d better not go there.

                1. I was an avid Archer until Grace died in the stable fire.

                   1. She’s back!

                   2. 

                   3. I left when they pushed Nigel off the roof!

             2. Archery terminology is new to me. So, I’ve just looked it up and there are two parts of a bull’s eye: a ’10 ring’, i.e the outer golden circle, and an ‘Inner 10 ring’ which is only used for tiebreaks.

                If RayT was referring to archery, what is he implying? I can’t see he would have gone down this really specialised terminology but I could be wrong.

                My guess is he is referring to darts.

                Hoo nose.

                1. I replied to this Tom, and the reply didn’t appear. I kept a copy so I repeated the reply, only to be rebuffed by a message saying “duplication, you’ve already said that, and it still hasn’t appeared

                   1. Maybe reply to a different post or bung it in tomorrow’s crossword from hell.

                      1. I think you’ve covered a lot of what I was saying in your various posts today. I see the man himself formulated the clue using the BRB, so, no surprises, he’s in the clear! Your question about where Chambers got their information from is pertinent but unlikely to be answered.

                         I’ll try and bore everyone by attempting to post mine again as a fresh comment at the bottom of this review.

                         If that fails I’ll drop it in on an unsuspecting public in tomorrow’s blog.

                         1. Hmm. It still didn’t work. I can’t see any obvious reason for it to fail.

                            1. I’ve looked and can’t see where your comment is hiding. Can you send it again but with a typo in your email address so it should go into moderation and I can rescue it

                            2. We’re lost without CS.

                               Such a ledge.

    2. I agree with you about 7d, Rod. I meant to mention it in my comment but forgot.

       7d is part of the bull’s-eye on a dartboard so, for me, the clue would work if it said “… with part of bull’s-eye” (and it would still be only 6 words!). “Almost” appears to be unsuitable.

       1. Good afternoon Dave!

       2. I think he’s referring to the inner (treble) ring.

          1. Hi PS

             The treble is called the triple ring. The only part of the board that has the word inner is the bull’s eye. It’s officially called the ”Inner Bull’s eye” and the ring around it is called the ”Outer Bull’s eye” that scores you 25 points.

             I’m glad to see that Rod and I aren’t the only ones who aren’t sure about it.

             Could it mean that a champion has gone missing with the eye of a bull, i.e he has a bull’s eye in his hand and ‘almost’ means…well, not literally?

             Oh, I dunno.

    3. It’s what it says on the tin the answer surrounds the bull and therefore is almost but not the bull

       1. Hi BH

          The inner is part of the bull, it doesn’t surround it.

          1. Perhaps. I’ve no idea really. I was going from memory of darts in the pub. Obviously I was wrong. But it seemed logical to me

             1. As per BobH. The bull (red) is 50pts the inner (green) surrounds the bull and is 25pts. Give young Luke a ring, he will explain.

                1. Hi Rog

                   I don’t know if you saw my post from 4:59 but the only part of the board that has the word inner is the bull’s eye. It’s officially called the ”Inner Bull’s eye” and the ring around it is called the ”Outer Bull’s eye” that scores you 25 points

             2. I’m just glad that I avoided the darts/archery debate by choosing a real live bull for my illustration!

                1. It’s all a load of bull!!

                2. A very good point, Shabbo. 👏👏

29. An enjoyable solve with the right amount of challenge. Could not parse 21d so needed the hint. Had total word blindness for my last one in 23d for ages which was so obvious once the penny finally dropped 🙄. Learnt a couple of new words too 18 and 20d. Thanks Ray T and Shabbo.

30. I always find some of Ray TS synonyms a bit obscure. Therefore unless I find the answer from the test of the clue, which usually works, then I’m banjaxed. I normally recognise the obscurity afterwards. Sometimes, even with all the letters, I’m flummoxed.
    On this occasion there were fewer problems.
    **/***

    1. What an outstanding word ‘banjaxed’ is!

       It kicks ‘flummoxed’ into a cocked hat.

       A great one for Scrabble.

       Thank you for alerting me to it, BH.

       1. I see it is a word of Irish origin.

          1. Splendid.

             I will use it at every given opportunity. In fact, I will put myself into awkward, challenging situations to give me that chance.

    2. Hear, hear BobH re RayT’s synonyms particularly today as per my comment in 25 above.

31. Phew – what a day!
    Too much to do, too many people, it’s raining again and it’s a tricky RayT so it’s taken ages – as if that isn’t enough it’s our younger Lamb’s birthday.
    Having been RayT’s “hinty person” for quite a long time I don’t normally have trouble with his clues but I did have with a couple today.
    I liked 17 and 27a and 14 and 16d. My favourite has to be 11a as it’s the name of our birthday girl (even though she’s always called Mouse)
    Thank you to RayT for the crossword and to Shabbo for a few bits of help.

32. Evening all. My thanks to Shabbo for the decryption and to everybody else for your comments. Regarding 7d, and knowing almost nothing about archery, I went with Chambers:

    inner
    noun (archery)
    (a hit on) that part of a target next to the bull’s-eye

    RayT

    1. Evening, RT.

       I don’t know if you saw my reply at 5:15 to Rod’s post (no 28) but, having looked up three, what look like, reliable websites, there are two parts of a bull’s eye on an archery target: a ’10 ring’, i.e the outer golden circle, and an inner 10 ring which is only used for tiebreaks. So, the inner is part of the bull’s eye not next to it.

       I wonder where Chambers got their definition from.

       Anyway…thanks for the fortnightly workout. Averaging 4.7 words per clue must be close to your PB.

       Saying that, I can’t imagine you are into noting it down every time you do one if at all!

    2. Good evening, Mr T – who knew that your champion would cause so much serious discussion!

33. Certainly easier today but still some challenging moments. I went for the Cornwall town which didn’t help. My favourite was the naughty dog in 9d. Thankyou both setter and hinter.

34. A classic Rayt which is another way of saying testing, amusing and entertaining. I didn’t have a problem with the second word in 21d as its part of a command which I give to my dogs when they are close to something they are retrieving which is ‘hie lost’ meaning ‘quickly find’. It was my favourite anyway. Thanks to Rayt and Shabbo. The toughie will have to wait until tomorrow as I strived for ages and got precisely 7 answers.

    1. I have used “Hie Lost!” many times but never really knew how it came to be.
       Thank you, Taylor for enlightening me.

35. I found this tough as ever and was left with 6a as my final clue. There were lots of clever (brief) clues and a few new synonyms for me but I did get there in the end with a great sense of satisfaction.

    Many thanks to Mr T and to Shabbo for the hints.

36. Re17a, does not “swagger” mean a manner of walking or other bodily gesture while “brag” is something done verbally? Both are intended to send the same message but is there not this distinction between the two? Comments awaited!

    1. With your alias being what it is, you may not get many comments! 🤣🤣

       1. Spot on Steve – no comments at all so far.

          1. Hi G

             I too have never heard the verb swagger to mean brag but, sure enough, it’s in the dictionary.

             Setters always check.

37. This is just a dummy message to change my saved email address back to what it should be!

    1. Curiouser and curiouser said crypticsue

       There’s no sign of any message with a wrong email address

       1. Mmm. What I’ll try now is to split into different paragraphs and see what happens.

          1. Take great care, RD! You are entering Wonderland!
             Are you a white rabbit and are you late?

             1. I feel more like a mad hatter at the moment …

       2. Paragraph 1 didn’t work, so I am trying it again changing numbers to words.

          As far as I understand it there are two configurations of Target Archery target: the Imperial, with five rings (gold, red, blue, black, white) scoring nine, seven, five, three and one; and the World Archery (WA) type where each of the five coloured rings is split into an inner and an outer, with the scoring ten down to one. In my day as an archer, I only ever knew about the Imperial type.

          1. Bingo! Here are paragraphs 2 & 3.

             With the WA target, the gold (which may or not be called the bull’s eye) is split into an inner and outer. However. there is also a further very small circle in the centre, whose only function is for tie-breaks. I have found this central circle described variously as the “x-ring” and/or the “inner 10 ring”. Which of the outer gold ring, inner gold ring and x-ring might be referred to as the bull’s-eye remains a moot point.

             None of which of course helps with deciphering the clue …

             1. Well, well, well. Perhaps Mr K can explain why comments with strings of numbers won’t post successfully?

                1. They not only don’t post, but they don’t even turn up in the Pending waiting to be moderated

                   1. Hi, RD. Your earlier comments went directly into our spam folder. I can’t see why the spam filter did that, but I will investigate tomorrow whether there is a way to stop contributions from established commenters being labelled as spam.

                      1. Thank you, Mr K.

             2. …..but you feel a whole lot better for squeezing in to today’s blog.

                Bravo!

                You will sleep well tonight.

                Maybe RayT should have stuck with a darts reference and taken out the word ‘almost’ as the archery definition is clearly a load of bull. (not sorry)

38. Gentle but entertaining as ever. 27a my favourite.
    Thanks to Ray T & Shabbo.

39. Set off at a cracking pace, then slowed down but finished it which made a change from recent attempts. Being a northerner and having the last letter of 6a as u Cornwall never entered my mind. Favourites were 14d and 17a.,

40. I found this very difficult. Can’t say I enjoyed this solve.

    Not sure I will ever get 3d.

    Thanks to all.

41. Before I got a grip of myself, 6a took me to the Italian city famed for its leaning tower 🤦🏻‍♂️

42. On the trickier end of the spectrum for RayTs. The Cornish town in 6a doesn’t spring to mind, though have heard of it in retrospect. Funnily enough the most common pronunciation for me is ‘Lee’, which is how my last UK address Beaulieu was pronounced, though I realise that on its own the oo is fine.
    Many thanks anyway to RayT and Shabbo.

43. 3*/4* ….
    liked 22A “Initially turns hotter after winter season (5)”

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