DT 30664

87 comments on “DT 30664”

1. A puzzle of Friday difficulty which I thought ***/**** and I needed Mr K to fully understand the parsing of my LOI being 23a although with the cross checkers it was solvable. I thought 27a excellent but my favourite was the economic 7d. All good fun and an enjoyable end to the week. Thanks Mr K and🥲🥲 about the lack of feline photos and to our setter.

2. 4*/1.5*. I found this tough and rather joyless on the whole.

   Thanks to the setter and to Mr K.

   1. Joyless is a very good word for it. I thought it about *** but even with Mr K I still wasn’t sure. I did finish it, who was the setter?

   2. Thank you Mr K for such excellent feline images

   3. Spot on RD – joyless it certainly was and I decided it wasn’t worth any more effort and called it a day.

3. An enjoyable end to the crosswording week. If it is the work of a member of the Friday Triumvirate then I would say it was by Zandio but I am not certain. 2.5*/3.5*

   Candidates for favourite – 17a, 25a, 1d, 16d, and 19d – and the winner is 17a.

   Thanks to whomsoever and MrK.

   And, for those suffering withdrawal symptoms:

   

   1. Doh! You know how to make an old lady happy.

   2. Thank you, Senf, for introducing a little joy into a “joyless” (thank you RD, perfect) task.

   3. Oh Senf, I want to take them home….

4. Wow! I only had about 4 on the first read through. But very slowly it came together but it was a slog. I had to stare very hard at the words to actually parse them but eventually I made it without the hints which I will now read to see if my answers made sense. How can Wimbledon be in lovely sunshine yesterday when it is a mere 14C here?! I didn’t feel the steroid injection go into my shoulder on Wednesday but I can certainly feel it now. I’ll let Steve C know how it goes.

   1. We had glorious sunshine yesterday and 23C – today we are back to heavy rain and 14C, but then I suppose that’s a British summer :(

      1. We certainly have lots of heat across most of BC right through to northern Ontatio that is in the range from 29c to 40c and no end in sight at this time.

      2. Our news every night shows millions in many states north of us in the grip of a heatwave of 110F plus, many of which are without power. Quite awful. The English summer must look wonderful to them. Strangely, they are all hotter than here in South Florida.

   2. I wish I could send you some of our 31 degrees (feels like 39) but they would come with a risk of strong thunderstorms.

      1. Where are you to have 31 degrees?

         1. Same place as always! Winnipeg.

            1. A-ha, that explains it!

5. Fortune was clearly looking over my shoulder while doing this excellent puzzle earlier this morning, for it fell steadily and without too much delay, with I thought a lot of wit and humour on display. I’ll go for a podium comprising 11a, 14a, and 8d (great surface and well hidden).

   2 / 4

   Many thanks to the setter and MrK

6. For Friday, a puzzle of some difficulty this week I thought. SW last to finish.

   2.5*/3.5*

   Favourites 1a, 13a, 24a, 3d, 9d & 15d — with winner 24a … I remember it well in B&W with David Jacobs the presenter. I was 8 or 9 when I started watching.

   Thanks to setter & Mr K.

7. New respect for Mr K. Even after completing many of the clues I’m not sure how I got there.

   ****/* Would be my rating.

8. This was about as easy as booking a flight and hotel for Berlin this weekend, took me three separate attempts with breaks for some Cricket (was that really the West Indies, or the local girl guides) and my dinner in-between.

   Last two in were 7d and 16d, just seemed to have a mental block with these two.
   Many great clues though, my two of the day were 11a and 27a.

   Off to do the toughie now for some light relief, many thanks to the cruel sod whoever he may be for setting this today!

9. Hello, compiler here. Thanks very much for taking the time to solve, analyse and discuss.
   What follows is long, and may be of no interest at all, but if there are any blues fans in the house, they might like this.
   There is a slight Juke Box Jury theme going on today (inspired by Jane mentioning it here recently).
   Today’s Quick pun was a feature of Juke Box Jury, and my favourite memory of that programme is when the American blues singer Howlin’ Wolf appeared in that role, rather bizarrely.
   There is now a Juke Box Jury website which tells us that the date was Saturday 12 December 1964, and the panel of Lonnie Donegan, Shirley Eaton, Jimmy Edwards and Polly Elwes voted ‘Love Me Darling’ a hit.
   It’s an incredible record. The band start at a tremendous pitch, then Hubert Sumlin begins soloing furiously. How could any vocalist follow that? Then Howlin’ Wolf starts singing — boom!
   So Howlin’ Wolf emerged from behind the Juke Box Jury curtain, a giant of a man with a surprisingly quiet speaking voice. David Jacobs commented on the difference between that and his volcanic vocal style.
   Wolf replied: “I have to shout on my records.” A lovely moment.
   Apologies for making this even longer, but a few years later, in 1969, I booked Howlin’ Wolf for a gig in Lancaster. I asked my beautiful girlfriend Cathy (now my late wife) to look after him until showtime. She bought him a bottle of whisky and he invited her to sit on his knee.
   By the time he came on, Howlin’ Wolf was ready to upstage the support artist, the great blues guitarist Freddie King.
   Like most US blues stars, Wolf toured the UK with a British band — in this case, Junco Partners, from Newcastle. In an online diary, one them has described that show as “Howlin’ Wolf’s best ever performance”.
   Later that evening, bearing in mind that he hadn’t brought his US band with him, I asked Howlin’ Wolf: “In America, do you still play with Hubert Sumlin?”
   Howlin’ Wolf glared down at me and replied: “Boy, I don’t play with Sumlin. Sumlin plays with me!”
   Thanks again for the interest in the puzzle. Have a great weekend.

   1. 1. Excellent & a great story. Love the blues & HW is big fav but for me Freddie King tops him.

      2. What a good story Zandio. A few years later at Bangor (then the University College of North Wales) we so enjoyed seeing another blues artist who was not nearly so well known – Dr.Ross the Harmonica Boss. He usually worked for a few months in a Detroit car factory and then toured the college and club circuits for the rest of the year. My task that night in 1973 was to supply him with numerous bottles of his favourite UK tipple … Newcastle Brown! …. throughout the performance. Boy could he play that guitar and mouth organ once he’d had a few!!

         1. Haha, great story! He was a real character, but also a brilliant songwriter — ‘Cat Squirrel’ and ‘Boogie Disease’.

   2. Great story, wonderful music – thank you Zandio for both, as well as the super crossword.

   3. Thank you, Zandio for the guzzle. I solved about three quarters before seeking help but it is Friday.
      Have a great weekend yourself.

   4. We spotted Howlin(g) Wolf in the quickie and commented on it and the pun (and the blues) makes it a nicely themed puzzle and great story, thank you!
      Presumably that’s the Lancaster in Lancashire? Was it at the university? They had quite a music scene going back then, I believe. We’re just down the way in Carnforth.

      1. Yes, Lancaster University.

   5. Great anecdote! Pretty good guzzle too.

   6. Love it! Ta lots for a cracking tale, tune and – as ever – puzzle.

   7. Many thanks for the story and the puzzle! Have a lovely!

      1. Thanks for your great contributions Zandio

         Such fun

   8. Thank you, for bothe the anecdote and crossword. Given that I found today’s easier to get into than yesterday’s (although my overall time was similar) I’m happy enough for a Friday.

10. I enjoyed this – thanks to our setter and Mr K.
    I thought that 21a was rather weak but I gave ticks to 1a, 17a, 23a, 5d and 15d.

11. I *think* that was the hardest puzzle I’ve managed to complete unaided (I’ve only been a resident of Cryptic Land for about two years), so I’m feeling mighty pleased with myself. It was a real struggle to get going, and I had a major stall after the first corner went in (SW – though I see portcoquitlambc finished there?!). Dogged perseverance paid off eventually, with the NE corner being the holdout and 14a the last in.

    No COTD, but I enjoyed the three clues linked by – and including – 13a. ****/***

12. I thought this tough even for a Friday. I “guess solved” quite a few then tried to work out the parsing, which did not make for a satisfying solve. I also needed Mr. K’s hints for some and I couldn’t get “pagoda” out of my mind for 1a nor “Beef” for the first part of 21a. Fortunately, I managed to get a couple of the long ones and the checkers they gave helped a bit. No COTD today.

    Thank you, setter for the difficult challenge. Than you Mr K of the hints and allow me to also help out with the pusskits.

    

    1. Thank 😳

    2. Now you are aiming to make me smile as well. Cute.

    3. Thank you, Steve, we need it!

13. A difficuult and convoluted guzzle. I thought I couldn’t even gwt a start at first, then 5d, on if my favourite cryptic definitions, fell into place. I liked 17a and 9d too it,was a food day for cryptic definitions. Some of thw other,clues took ages to riddle out and I’ll have to look up the parsing of some in Mr K’s excellent hints, for which many thanks. Thanks to the compiler for a chalkenging Friday puzzle, a little over complicated at times but hey ho it isFriday

14. One for the ladies

    

    1. That’s your bag, isn’t it, SJB? 😊

       1. Very good!

       2. I’ve been saving that pic for just such an occasion

       3. I don’t know how Abercrombie & Fitch got that pic of me in my undies 😃

    2. Cor !

       1. 🥰 Thanks SJB. Very nice too!

    3. You’ve made my day!

15. I’ve earned my sauce tonight with this one, along with yesterday’s challenge, but it will taste nice as this was another good workout.

    Lots to like here with all the techniques (old and new) on display. 12a’s rekrul is a fine effort as is 8d. When I saw ‘Who rejected rubbish’, I thought we were going down the ‘Doctor (Who)’ route, with the synonym for rubbish reversed. Alas, it wasn’t to be. I also like ‘objectively I’.

    My podium is 11a, 1d and 2d.

    Many thanks to Mr Z and Mr K.

    4*/4*

16. Not my favourite puzzle by a long chalk I’m afraid to say.

    I had to resort to e-help to get the grid filled and even after getting the answers, had trouble understanding the parsing of 21A, 25A, 5D, 8D, and 16D. I did like 24A, which brought back memories and 9D.

    4*/2* – Thanks to Zandio and Mr K.

    Here is another cat, Susie, our third puss who had a penchant for sitting in strange places!

    

    1. She looks a bit like our old Maine Coon. We were told they were the most dog-like cats!

       1. She was a rescue cat so we were never sure of her exact type but hovered between Maine Coon and Norwegian Tree Cat. She had big paws and was always trying to catch butterflies between them.:-)

    2. It gets better and better, thanks!

17. Good afternoon

    After yesterday’s battle of wits with our anonymous setter, comes another battle of wits with a heavily-armed and familiar Friday setter. And so to another occasion of crossing swords with the Mind of Zandio!

    I’m pleased to say that I got ’em all – thanks mainly to a train journey to the dental surgery and back providing peaceful thinking time. The MoZ has certainly provided a brain-cellular workout today, with some witty and amusing clueing. Last to fall was 23a; the SE quadrant proving the trickiest overall. I’m going to nominate 12a for COTD, since I so nearly missed the backwards lurker!

    Many thanks to the MoZ and to Mr K.

18. Although I got 21a from the clue, I couldn’t parse it and still can’t even after Mr K’s hint – what am I missing?
    Other than that I did eventually finish the solve even though half way through I didn’t think I was going to and actually ended up quite enjoying it.
    Thanks to Zandio and Mr K

    1. Me too with 21A. Still a mystery.

       1. Add me to the list.

          A birthday cake can be iced and you have it traditionally at teatime?

          Oh, I dunno. I’m clutching at all sorts of straws,

          1. That’s exactly how I parsed the word play element.

             1. Splendid

                1. My thinking was that if scones, cream, and jam are key ingredients of a “cream tea”, then, whimsically, an (iced) birthday cake could be regarded as the core of an “iced tea”. Which is pretty much what you’re saying.

19. Too good for me today. I’m retiring hurt with a headache having battled to solve half of the grid. I was wondering who had possibly upset Mr Ed, having scheduled two humdingers in a row. Thanks to Zandio and Mr K for the hints.

20. I don’t usually do the cryptic in the middle of the day and I often struggle with a Zandio production but I must have been on the right wavelength today. I’d have solved it sooner if I had read 25a properly…I thought it said ‘very interesting’! Really enjoyed this one, thank you Zandio. Thanks to Mr K too.

21. Definitely a Friday special. 5d was first one in and, I thought, very clever. I am not sure I get the parsing of 11a, I guessed the answer straight away with the headless port – ah, I have just cottoned on. Heads = rules. OK, it’s a fair cop. 17a was going to be my favourite but I think it has been usurped by 7d. Many thanks to Messrs Zed ‘n Kay. Jolly cold here and looks like rain again. Happy weekend, folks.

22. I did surprisingly well on this, tripped myself up on 25a by bunging in tepid which made 19d ungettable, after resorting to the hints it all fell into place. It’s funny how I now struggle on Monday and Tuesday’s but do better on the supposedly harder end of week ones🤷‍♂️. Thanks to all.

23. Fitted this in before a friend arrived for lunch – well done to COOK for another enjoyable ‘easy meal’.
    I certainly enjoyed Juke Box Jury back in the day but wouldn’t have paid any attention to that particular artist, needless to say!
    From amongst the surface reads that made sense, I opted to give the crown to the northern racecourse.

    Thanks to Zandio, to Mr K for the review and to all those who ensured that we didn’t go short on the feline front.

24. Nice puzzle today, solved with one eye on what’s happening in today’s stage of the TdF. Thanks to Zandio for crossie and interesting story and to Mr K.

25. I’ve had my travails with the crosswords this week and thought this was going to be another struggle but as I got into it it turned out to be pretty straightforward. I don’t know how that works when I’ve found almost everything more difficult than most all week. I really enjoyed this with lots of contenders for favourite but I’ll go worth 15d. Thanks to Zandio and Mr. K.

26. Zandio’s blog is even better than the xword, thank you for both. Whilst I managed somehow to get all the answers I could not work out the logic of using the ‘mount’ word and therefore grateful to MrK for explaining its meaning in a down clue

27. Thanks to everyone who has commented, especially those who have contributed brilliant cat pics.

    1. Thank you Mr K

       Much appreciated

28. Must have just tuned in with this one as I didn’t find it as testing as I often find Zandio’s Friday guzzles. Really enjoyed it & had ticks all over the shop & especially in the downs – 5,9&15d my podium choices.
    Thanks to Zandio for puzzle & anecdote & to Mr K for confirming my parsings.
    PS I did wonder what music SJB or ALP would have gone for had they reviewed this one. I’d have had John Martyn’s interpretation of a great Ben Harper song for 1d

    1. For 4a I would have gone with

       Even though they couldn’t spell espresso properly then

29. I can never find Zandio’s wavelength and it’s Friday, I stood no chance. I did like a few, 17a and 5d for example, but most of it was way out of my abilities. This is a DNF for three days in a row, oh dear!
    Thank you Zandio, and plaudits to Mr. K for sorting that lot.

30. Way beyond me today. Managed 3 clues before conceding defeat.

    Either solves are getting harder or I am losing way too many brain cells.

    Thanks to all.

    1. You too?

    2. A second look at this, with the help of a glass or two of vino collapso, enabled me to finish unaided. Very pleased with myself to say the least.

       I still think solves are getting harder or that I am losing brain power.

       Thanks to all again.

31. Amazingly, being it is Friday and Zandio, I found this more of a *** than a ****, just like yesterday. That said, I can only claim to have solved about half on my own. Liked 24a for nostalgic reasons, wasn’t that the program with the young girl made famous for “I’ll give it foive” 😊. Thanks to Zandio and Mr K, but I do have withdrawal for the absent pictures cat 🐱 🐈 🐈‍⬛ .

    Oh woe is me. I bombed on Wordle today, ending my current streak of 384 days. But strangely relieved, as the higher your streak goes, the higher the self imposed pressure to get it right.

    1. That was my first thought as well but Mr Google tells me that the young lady was called Janice Nicholls and she appeared on Thank your Lucky Stars. Dispiriting when we realise how much our memories are letting us down, isn’t it!

       1. Oh dear. I wasn’t 100% but I do remember both shows at least, even if I muddled them up 😊.

32. Another late attempt for me today and I thought it was going to be a hard slog. It took longer than usual, which I blamed on being tired, bit I managed to finish unaided.
    Top picks for me were 15d, 17a, 5d and 20d.
    Thanks to Mr K and Zandio and everyone else who added a cat pic.

33. I got there in the end but several were guesses and I needed Mr K to explain the parsing, but I am very pleased I managed to finish what I consider to be a puzzle beyond my ability.

    Many thanks to Zandio for the puzzle, the visit and background info and to Mr K for the hints and all those who shared cat pics.

34. I knew it was going to be a slog when I had read through all the clues with no joy until I actually managed to solve 22d. Anyway a sort of thank you to Zandio and definitely thanks to MrK for making sense of my DNF. When reading Comments I am always pleased to find myself in tune with other bloggers and find that is often with the same people.

35. I struggled with this one, which is unusual for me on a Zandio puzzle, but I wasn’t feeling completely well yesterday, so probably it was just me. Thank you to Zandio, and to Mr K for decoding the “short” in 23a.

    My favourite clue was 1d, for “objectively I”. And I’ve learnt that the place in 15d has a racecourse.

36. 4*/4* ….
    Liked 15D “Northern racecourse, favourite place to spot celebs (3,6)”

37. Really pleased with myself as got through this eventually with aids – well worth the slog. Very clever throughout. Thank you

Comments are closed.