DT 30634

78 comments on “DT 30634”

1. Damn near a DNS for me, got three in the first ten minutes and nearly lost the will to live.
   Glad I stuck at it though, as many of the clues were absolute belters. Great bit of misdirection at 16d which was my last one in, kept thinking of tents in the desert!

   Little bit risqué with 21a for the good old telegraph, but made me smile.
   Will have to see the hint for 2d to see where the ‘property’ bit fits in, also the last three letters of 11a (top?)

   All in all great fun, although it did seem well into the toughie bracket.
   My two favourites today were 13d and the very clever 23d. Chapeau Mr setter.

   1. Hands up all that had ‘O’ instead of ‘U’ in 21a, a far better answer in my view, and fits ‘bed’ as well!

      1. :D
         That did occur to me (but not in the Telegraph surely).

      2. Too much of a lady to even consider it 😌

         1. Too right DG! Has your greenhouse been repaired?

            1. Yes thank you – and the tomatoes are doing well!

         2. This lady doesn’t even know what it means!

      3. 🤣🤣

      4. 🤣

2. Despite needing help for one this was a delight to solve. After getting only two on the first pass it slowly unravelled before my eyes. There were some really good clues such as 5a and the very well hidden lurker. Each clue needed some head scratching but they were all (apart from one for me) solvable and gave great satisfaction. My COTD is the clear vision at 18a.
   The one I needed help with? To my shame, it was 16d and I slapped the forehead when I saw what it was.
   Thank you, setter, for the satisfying challenge. Thank you, Gazza for the hints.
   Anyone else keep ticking the “remember me” box in forlorn hope! :grin:

   1. I’ve tried to edit my post so as to thank Gazza for the hints but I don’t seem to be able to.
      Thank you, Gazza.
      I see I’ve now thanked you twice! Ah well – ’tis deserved. 😊

      1. SC, I have experienced similar problem because edits take a while to register and appear.

   2. I can’t see any pusskits in the hints Steve, am I missing summat?

      1. Now amended, TC. Twice! 🤣

         1. Gotcha Gotcha

   3. Yes indeed, I tick the box every time!

3. I too take issue with Property for 2d.
   Dictionary says the noun is a livelihood; a position which provides an income.
   Enjoyable puzzle though; many thanks

   1. Not sure which dictionary you are looking at, but the BRB listing for the answer includes ‘a property.’

      1. The dwelling provided for a parish priest plus the job of shepherding the flock has been called a living. In the past, it was often in the gift of a wealthy landowner (see Jane Austen’s novels)

         1. You beat me to it / I was going to cite Jane Austin

4. Setter here, I’ll pop back later to thank everyone as usual, but I just wanted to apologise personally for the faulty original clue for 15dn. It was changed as quickly as possible after it was spotted, but obviously that is too late for those printed newspaper solvers. Mea culpa.

   I hope that a certain regular commenter will like the Quick Pun!

   1. I think your original clue would work perfectly for some people, given the way I hear some pronunciations of 15d!

      1. Am I missing something? I don’t have a 15d. 😳

         1. Have you done today’s Toughie by mistake, Steve? :) – it doesn’t have a 15d, though the back page does!

            1. I was looking at yesterday’s guzzle! 😳
               Think I’ll go back to bed!

5. I found this rather more difficult than Gazza’s **. The synonym at 6d was not the first that sprang to mind and even with the checkers I needed the hint for 14a- very clever. I was also misled by the Arab’s accommodation and no wonder I couldn’t work out 15d! I definitely was not on wavelength today but that’s not to say I didn’t derive some enjoyment. Favourite was 13d with podium space for 5a and18a. Thanks to our setter and Gazza.

6. Very enjoyable and, as Gazza said, relatively straightforward. With the Scottish football club to start at 1a, I have to think that this is probably the work of the ‘smooth’ member of the Friday triumvirate – 2.5*/4.5*

   Candidates for favourite – 1a, 27a, 5d, and 13d – and the winner is 27a.

   My Toonie is firmly placed on Silvanus, so thanks to him, or whomsoever just in case my Toonie goes down the drain, and thanks to Gazza.

   (Written and posted before I saw the ‘mea culpa’ on 15d in Comment 4 – honest!)

7. Great fun. Hard work but great fun.

   Lots of lego today from Mr Smooth with plenty of his trademark surfaces on display. 24d defeated me which is often the case with a four letter word that is a double definition. It’s probably the toughest type of clue as there’s nowt to work with.

   My podium is 14a, 5d and 13d.

   Many thanks to the aforementioned and Gazza.

   3*/4*

   1. I got hung up onPartick Thistle for the Scottish football club and took a long time to sort out the NW corner as a result.Howevercit was an enjoyable guzzle with some clever clues. I liked the geographical clue at 4d, 14a and 28a. Thanks to Gazza for the hints and to Silvanusfor a well-balanced Friday backpager.

8. … I see we had a “knub” up from Telegraph Towers re 15d today . I wondered how the extra “a” was being excluded from the answer. An enjoyable puzzle especially for a Friday.
   Cotd 1a because it was Scottish .. and the team in question is known as “the Bairns”. 16d went in on the nod (or should that be nag)… Arab = horse in my Crosswordland.
   Thanks to setter and Gazza.

9. I am obviously becoming slower in the uptake because once again today my first read through filled me with apprehension but in fact next time around all gradually became clear and I made it after an enjoyable exercise. 1a and 12a were bunged in as I’m not a great watcher of many TV series. 5d support certainly is a chestnut. I note 15d has a revised clue although I had made the original my Fav. Thank you Mysteryone and stand-in Gazza. MrK, sorry you are under the weather while in air but hope all will soon be well for you.

   1. Are you watching Roland Garros? Sinner/Alcaraz good match, I like them both, my toy boys!

10. Definitely seemed like a 3*

    Some clues I entered because they fit not because I have any idea why are correct. Now I’ll check the hints

11. at last this week we have a puzzle worthy of the name! After 3 days of easy offerings, finally a delightful workout. I thoroughly enjoyed this today and would give it **** for enjoyment My COTD was 16d but there were many others in contention. Thanks to the setter and Gazza.

    1. You beat me to the “submit” button, but good to see you enjoyed the step-up in challenge! Have a go at the Toughie – no idea yet who has set it.

       1. proXImal

          1. Thank you Sue, appreciated.

12. The first few in the NW made me think this would be a long drawn-out affair, so I headed down to the SE from which rapid progress back to the NW proved my earlier concerns misplaced. Still the most challenging back-page puzzle of the week & I hope it meets with Steve M‘s approval!

    Cracking clues throughout, great variety and admirable self-restraint in the use of anagrams! I think there will be a few more clues than those listed by Gazza which could trip-up a non-UK solver. Could pick most of these for the podium but shall limit to 1a, 18a, and 13d.

    2.5* / 4.5*

    Many thanks indeed to Silvanus, and to Gazza for stepping-in – and for giving us more cartoons!

13. A lovely puzzle and no surprise at all that Silvanus has claimed it.
    Ticks all over the place. LOI 6d.
    Thanks to Silvanus and the hardworking Gazza.

14. 15d in its original form got an immediate star from me and is my CotD. Can’t see what the fuss is about which is probably why I am a poor solver of cryptic crosswords. Thank to Gazza and to Silvanus from whom no apologies needed from me.

    On another matter is there no end to the weirdness of this site? Yesterday I was told I was not allowed to edit my message. I rarely post on the site because of all the fuss in making comments but that is a step too far.

15. Yet again, I had to give thanks to my dear old dad for listening to the football results on the radio every weekend – 1a went straight in and also earned a place on the podium. It was subsequently joined by 10&18a along with 1&16d.

    Such a treat to have another Mr Smooth production, I really thought we’d be out of luck this week. Many thanks to him for the puzzle and to Gazza for stepping in to provide the review and a few more of those great cartoons. Hope Mr K soon shakes off the lurgy – and hasn’t given it to everyone else on his flight!

16. Great puzzle today….but much more than 2 stars difficulty for me. Took me ages.
    Thanks to Silvanus and to Gazza.

    Pouring down here and distinctly cool…..

17. A most enjoyable puzzle.
    There were a few that I had to think about; the 21a lump, the 2d property, and the Arab’s accommodation (nice misdirection, as seraglio was the first word I thought of before even looking at the wordplay, or the grid).
    3d didn’t need much thought as we had a variant a few days ago.
    I liked 7d – noises at No. 5…
    Thanks to Silvanus and to Gazza

18. Most enjoyable solve of the week! Did wonder about 25a being a newspaper solver. It had me questioning my spelling for while but thought it just about worked as it was. Last to fall were the two 4-letter ones 6d and 24a. Many jostling for places on the podium but I’ll settle for 18d 10 and 14a.
    Many thanks to Silvanus and Gazza – loved the illustrations.
    **/****

19. What a treat this was for me, a name check in the Quickie pun and a very entertaining guzzle completed relaxing on a sun lounger in the shade, with a cool drink….not quite cocktail time yet! No complaints from me as I loved the variety of clues, both 1a and 1d made me smile and so I will have them as joint favourites! Another bonus is the puzzle still being in the digital edition.

    Many thanks to Silvanus for the guzzle and name check and to Gazza for the hints, I hope Mr K soon feels back on par.

    1. I was fervently hoping that you hadn’t succumbed to the Greek sun and alcohol to the extent that you didn’t bother with the puzzle! How delightful to get a name check all of your own.

       1. The puzzle is high on the list of daily activities and definitely best attempted earlier rather than later when the alcohol may definitely affect one’s abilities!

20. I found this Friday puzzle a little trickier than the last couple, but not a head banger. All went in well with a little head scratching.

    2.5*/3.5* today

    Favourites 12a, 18a, 28a, 17d & 19d — with winner 18a
    Smiles with 12a, 28a, 8d & 19d

    Thanks to Silvanus & Gazza for blog/hints

21. Enjoyable. For some reason it took a while to see the cleverness of 23d, even after I’d solved it. Found 13d too obscure – I owned a Golf, but it was a TDI – the GTI bit escaped me completely.

    1. Welcome to the blog, Andy Bell.

22. I found the puzzle to be difficult, the vagrant in 14a was a new definition for me-last in. Excellent cluing throughout
    Favourite was 13d followed by 8d and 1a.
    Going for a ****/****

23. 2.5*/4.5*. A puzzle of great beauty which I solved over breakfast as usual but have been our working in the garden since then so not able to post.

    My initial thought for 15d was that it was a lurker gone wrong. Then I saw that the answer was an anagram of (“becoming”) consecutive characters in eaSTHAMATICe, so I actually gave this a tick for a very inventive construction.

    I also had ticks for 18a, 5d, 7d, 13d & 16d.

    21a was a new word for me.

    Many thanks to Mr Smooth and to super-sub Gazza.

24. I enjoyed today’s puzzle although I struggled to parse in places.
    Favourites for me were 13d, 18a and 3d.
    Thanks to Gazza and Silvanus. Hope Mr K is feeling better soon.

25. I too found this difficult and needed Gazza’s hints to get me to a completed grid. Found it too much of a struggle to get much enjoyment from it. Can’t blame my ineptitude on Silvanus to whom thanks for the drubbing and Gazza for the very necessary hints.

26. Best wishes to Mr K and thanks to Gazza for stepping in. I needed the clue for 1a as I am not footbally, although Selkirk came to mind – do they have a team? ‘Spect so. Ploughed my way through this – brilliant misdirection in 16d and ( using the paper version as I do) I had the incorrect clue for 15d but put the right answer in anyway. Watched the DDay coverage last night and thought it was splendid. I remember well my mother’s excitement the following day when the news was released. She told my brother ‘Daddy was coming home soon’ – Ian had never seen our father, he was almost 6 before they met. Two months after 6th June a doodlebug fell and trapped me underground for four hours all on my own. It upsets me so much to see the children suffering in today’s conflicts. Thanks to Setter and Hinter for bringing us joy.

    1. Daisy, I remember well my Dad with his ear to our shortwave radio, listening to the BBC World News. I was too young to appreciate the full meaning of it all, but both parents, with family in England, had kept up with the “home news” throughout the war. We were actually in England when war was declared, I was 18 months old, and we returned to Jamaica by ship in convoy.

27. Didn’t twig the GTI parsing but otherwise ok though more difficult than a ** difficulty rating for me. Couldn’t make sense of the 15d parsing either but see that the clue has now been amended. The usual class from Silvanus with ticks all over the shop.
    Thanks to Mr Smooth & super sub

28. Didn’t notice the mistake in 15d – I suppose you see what you want to see. I was very slow to get going with this one, in fact only 5 or 6 at the first pass but slowly it all fell into place. The little 6d held me up the longest. Sorry to hear MrK is poorly but thanks to Gazza for stepping in and to Silvanus for a great guzzle. I’m pleased to say no-one appeared to notice my gargantic mistake with my volunteer printing job or if they did, they weren’t sure which of the ‘team’ to blame, I also have to fill in my contact details each time but its a poor price to pay – at least the cryptic is back where it belongs, please put the Toughie back too.

29. Again, I thought this more than **, but it was a most enjoyable solve. When you don’t know the answer but can work it out from the clue, means this has got to be Silvanus; eg 1a, I didn’t know the football bit, but the clue told you all and I know the Scottish place. My one quibble is 8d, I can’t imagine when I would use that word … to describe myself for instance? Surely not! I was DNF with 24d, but I had “generic” for 27a; I dunno, surely there’s a knight Eric somewhere? I needed help with the “why” of 13d. Good stuff, I think I’m going for joint favorite with 14a and 18a.
    Thank you Silvanus (?) for a good workout and the fun, and Gazza for his invaluable unravelling.

    1. Regarding 8d, Merusa, it’s usual over here to say “Johnny no mates”.

       1. Really? It’s always been ‘Billy no mates’ to me.

          1. And for a female, it’s Emily Maitlis ;-)

             1. 🤣

          2. I suppose it depends where we grew up, Jane. It was “Johnny no mates” as far as my mother was concerned. She was born in Scotland but grew up in Liverpool.

             1. I wonder why it isn’t Scott No-Mates, as that sounds a bit like ‘he’s got no mates’.

30. No more lockdown clues please, trying to forget all of that! Very enjoyable though, thank you Silvanus and Gazza

31. I took the “skating” in the original clue for 15d to indicate “sliding around”, which just about made it work…

32. Many thanks to Gazza for deputising in the Friday blogging chair (great cartoons, as always!) and to everyone commenting. I hope that Mr K is better soon.

    In the season just finished, not only did 1a gain promotion, but they were undefeated in all 36 League games they played, quite an achievement.

    Sorry again about 15d, I’m glad that it doesn’t seem to have detracted from solvers’ enjoyment of the puzzle. May I wish everyone a good weekend, wherever they are.

    1. Thank you for a terrific guzzle, silvanus. I’m especially chuffed because, at one time, I could not fathom your offerings at all. 👍

       Have a great weekend yourself.

    2. Good fun but a real workout, it is, after all, Friday.

33. Top notch puzzle, and doable for me unlike many (ok, most) Fridays. I got the ‘wrong’ clue right without realising, so interesting to review it here and spot the rogue letter in the lurker (lurkear?).

    My joint COTD were 16d for being nicely misleading, and 17d for a surface so smooth you could play snooker on it. **/*****

34. Loved this. One of those puzzles that I found hard to get a foothold in but once in more and more became solvable.

35. Good evening

    Once again, I must disagree with our esteemed Blogger; Shabbo yesterday, Gazza today. No way was today’s crozzie a two-star job! A fourser, in my humble opinion!

    It took me forever to find a way in at the start; when I’d eventually filled in 3 quadrants and left myself with the NE, I was about to hoy the sponge in. Eventually, 9a was solved, but it still took ages to get the rest of the NE quadrant done. My braincells are worn out!

    Good fun, though. And I’m not surprised to find out that I have been battling the fabled Brain Of Silvanus.

    COTD: 5d & 1a take joint honours.

    Many thanks to Silvanus and to Gazza.

36. With the new site, I can find the old issues of this crossword (I am normally 2 to 3 weeks behind real time) but not for the Toughies. Am I missing something?

    1. Select ‘More Puzzles’, then ‘Crossword’, then ‘Crossword Archive’. ‘Toughie Crossword’ is one of the options there.

       1. Much appreciated. Thank you, Gazza

37. What a challenge!
    Brilliant clues and
    Surfaces
    eg 18 and 28a
    And 3d
    Unaided finish but
    In 4*time.
    Many thanks indeed
    Silvanus and Gazza

38. 4*/3* …..
    liked 16D “Chuck accepts bill for Arab ‘s accommodation ?(8)”

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