DT 30753

84 comments on “DT 30753”

1. A wonderful offering from Mr. T. today and a very enjoyable solve. I vaguely recall the card game but it took a while to arrive because I was going through all the other four-letter games. At 10a I wanted to put “snowfall” in simply because it’s cold. That is one I don’t quite understand so will need to look at the hints for an explanation. My COTD is the banker pocketing the note at 3d.

   Thank you, Ray T for the challenge. Thank you, Shabbo for the hints, which I will now read.

   1. Me too with snowfall and I will now have to read the hints to see the explanation.

      1. Even with the hint, I don’t understand it. 😳

         1. Ra(w) in fall! Took me some head scratching!

            1. Thank you Manders, I was struggling even after the hint to think of the 3 letter synonym.

               1. I would never have got it. To me, “raw” means uncooked. 😊

                  1. Golf on a wintry links with a biting wind that requires so many layers that you can barely swing the club is perfectly described as raw

                     1. Of course, playing golf, should have realised, 🙄

            2. Late on parade here in Brisbane but ‘rainfall’ was a bung in for me but thanks for the dissection Manders. Also, thanks to Mr T and Shabbo for the tips.

         2. Synonym of cold is RAW, remove the W, during is IN and fall, well you got that bit! I didn’t much like this clue either

            1. Welcome to the blog, Some time Solver.

         3. Me neither.

         4. Raw without the w

      2. Hi Manders
         Did the “spoilers” conceal the answers on your version today?

         1. No Shabbo, absolutely perfect thank you!

            1. I think I meant yes, they were concealed!

               1. Excellent news. Thank you.

2. Not my favourite grid at all – makes things very tricky and does lose some of the enjoyment – that said it was a good puzzle although I found NW pretty hard to solve.

   Thanks to setter and Shabbo

3. Enjoyable puzzle, even if not one of my favourite grids. Looked at one across and the grid, and thought “if at first you don’t succeed … start at the bottom” – 28a was a write-in and the rest then flowed uphill without hindrance. Good surfaces, all the usual RayT quality & many of this tells: few do acrostic clues & lurkers as well as he. Podium to 7d, 16d & 5d.

   Many thanks indeed to RayT & Shabbo

   1. I agree. He really is an acrostic master. Fun, this. But, knowing how impressively lean RayT is, did 14d’s nag and 3d’s banker really need a “perhaps” and a “say”? I may be missing summat as it would be unheard of him to add any words he didn’t have to. What do you think?

      1. Both 3d and 14d are “definitions by example” so require to be indicated accordingly. Nag and banker are both examples of the definition rather than the definition itself. Does that make any sense?

         1. Thanks Shabbo. Bur are they really DBEs? Not all bankers are 14ds but all 14ds are bankers, no? And a 3d is just a type/subsection of nag. Again, not all nags are 3ds but all 3ds are nags, etc. If one accepts Chambers’ main definition as “a horse”. DBEs remain my Achilles heel, for sure, but I don’t really get these two. Many thanks for your blog, btw. Sharp as ever.

            1. I feel the same, Alpers.

               I’m guessing that ‘say’ and ‘perhaps’ are subset indicators but I’ve always felt they’re not necessary.

               Synonyms…subsets….what’s the diff?

               I ignore these words as it’s all the same to me.

               1. Ha! Yes, I know you hate such indicators. And I’m almost with you, though sometimes they are necessary. But when a car can (without indication) be a Mini, etc (even though the other way round, it would have to be indicated), I don’t see why a genre such as “nag” (and Chambers does seem to back that up) needs to be DBEd to become a subset. Baffled, as ever. But there will be a reason, no doubt. RayT is, after all, the king of minimalism, as we all know.

                  1. Absolutely.

                     I’m sure there is reasoning every time but these words spoil so many surfaces.

                     Onwards!

4. Excellence comes as standard with Ray T and this was no exception. At less than 6 words per clue he must be reaching peak conciseness yet still being completely accurate. Remarkable. As for favourites, we are as ever spoiled for choice, but I will select 13 and 22a.

   My thanks to Mr T and Shabbo.

5. I found this a struggle. Needed help parsing 10a and 20a. Didn’t know that synonym for stroke.
   I also wanted 21d to include gite.

   Top picks for me were 25a, 3d and 7d.

   Thanks to Shabbo and Ray T.

6. This was an enjoyable tussle with it ending up being a DNF because I had to wave the white flag at 15a.

   This type of grid always makes it a challenge though I powered through three quarters of it but got horribly held up in the NW, taking me into, not the next time zone, but the one after that!

   I biffed 8a and couldn’t fully parse 10a. For some reason, I didn’t know the abbreviation for note. I know NB but that’s ‘nota’’ (note to self).

   Lots of excellent clues to pick three from but I’ll go with 7d, 14d and 18d.

   Many thanks to Arty and Shabbs.

   4*/4*

   1. You & me too in the NW. Thought it was just me being slow. The Toughie only took marginally longer

      1. It was brutal.

         For no reason whatsoever, Hoots Mon, what are your top three films (it’s up to you how you define ‘top’)?

         Mine are Casablanca (nothing touches it), Twelve Angry Men and Heat.

         Obviously, you don’t have to answer this as it’s a crossy blog but your film knowledge is second to none. So, I’d love to know.

         (I hope you don’t mind me asking, gang)

         This is Claude at his best…

         1. Haha! Casablanca’s always a good call, Tom. And I’m sure you’ll be forgiven (by most) for such deviation. But if Huntsman picks Citizen Kane, say, over Casablanca, there’ll be trouble!
            Heat?! What happened to Withnail, man?

            1. It’s an excellent film but there’s something about Heat. it’s probably
               that it has two legends at the top of their game. The 170 minutes fly by.

               If my wife are I are on the sofa, thinking what shall we watch, we look
               at each other, nod and say….It’s ”Heat” time, baby!

               1. Too much information, Tom!

                  1. Extremely fair.

                     1. can one be extremely fair?

                        1. Top shout, Banksie! 👏👏

            2. Kane isn’t even my fav Welles film – prefer Touch of Evil.
               Same with Hitchcock – Vertigo hugely overrated in my view: I’d have half a dozen of his ahead of it.

         2. Crikey I’d struggle to narrow it down to a top 25 or even 50. Reckon I’ve probably watched The Godfather more times than any other film & think it’s a masterpiece from the opening wedding sequence. Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven is another film I can watch over & over again. Both have to be seen on the big screen. Don’t Look Now perhaps my fav British film with apologies to Lawrence, A Matter of Life & Death, The Third Man & Get Carter & a good few others.
            Billy Wilder my fav director & still around, Joel Coen.

            1. A splendid answer. Thank you.

               Godfather comes fourth.

               I’ve never seen Days of Heaven.I know, I am hanging my head.

               No one touches Billy Wilder. A one-off.

               1. His follow up to Badlands (also excellent) then he didn’t make another for 20 years. Cinematography is stunning

                  1. The Apartment – what a film!

                     It quite rightly had a fine night at The Oscars.

                     We love Jack.

                     Check this out, Hoots…

                     I know the following Oscars:

                     All Best Films, Actor, Actress since 1928.

                     All Best supporting actor, actress and director since 1960.

                     Going through them sure beats counting sheep….

                     1. crikey thought I was good but not a patch on that

                        1. It took a while but it was great fun to learn, trying to find the occasional small sequence or pattern.

7. Another laboured solve for me. I never really notice the grid so perhaps it was the preponderance of unchecked first letters that was the cause of the pennies being so reluctant to fall. Like MG I worked my way up slowly from the south & finished in the NW. Once completed I couldn’t fathom why I’d made such a meal of it but then it always looks easier I suppose when the answers are there. Plenty of ticks – 9,10&22a plus 1&7d particular likes. All very enjoyable.
   Thanks to Ray T & to Shabbo.

8. A joy from start to finish with more than a little head scratching. This type of grid seems to give a more than usual number of vowels as checkers which is always a challenge. I too started at the bottom with 28a and finished in the NW with 15a. I didn’t know the card game, was using the wrong definition for 1d, though I knew full well that the answer was not a beetle, and couldn’t parse 10a. I didn’t fall into the snowfall trap because I already had 1d. So, a somewhat haphazard solve with so many vying for podium places. I’ll choose 4d, such a nice word, 7d for the clever misdirection and 18d for its succinct clueing and the smile when the penny dropped. Thanks to Ray T for the absolute pleasure and Shabbo for the parsing of 10a.

9. I never take any notice of the grid but Shabbo’s comment about the preponderance of unchecked first letters makes a good argument why I found this a bit trickier than Ray T’s usual back-pagers. I did enjoy it – thanks to Ray T and Shabbo.
   For my podium I’d select 22a, 7d and 16d.

10. I found this tricky but more enjoyable than yesterday’s offering, though I did need quite a bit of help with this one, including, unfortunately, three reveals.

    Not sure why people are talking about the type of grid. I really can’t see what the type of grid has anything to do with the how difficult a puzzle is.

    For me this was a 3 star for difficulty and a four star for enjoyment.

    1. Hi B cubed

       When the checkers are the second letter of a word, they are often vowels which are less useful than consonants.

       1d and 4d are great examples. I got the latter in a heartbeat.

11. Tricky but fun, I am always left in awe of Ray T’s ability to tangle up my brain when there are so few words. I needed the hints to parse 10a and 12a and I had to use the hints and reveal for 15a which I don’t think I would have got. I always feel I learn a lot and have definitely improved at these Thursday challenges.

    Many thanks to RayT and to Shabbo for the hints.

12. This took longer than usual to solve, and I had to resort to the hints to get 15a. 23d held me up, because I had written objection initially for 22a, until I realised my mistake. My picks for the best clues are 1d, 12a and 10a. Thanks to the setter and for the hints.

13. I was interested in the idea that the awkward grid made this more difficult than the usual Ray T. Like Huntsman, i certainly laboured over this guzzle, the NW being particularly slow to fill in. The two lego clues, 1d and 22a were great as was 12a byt overall there,werent as many stunning clues as usual for a Ray T puzzle thanks to Shabbo for the hints and to Mr T

14. It’s Thursday and Ray T and true to form my 14d refused at the last fence in, of all clues, 12a. Embarrassed or what. I put it down to the usual brain mangling I get from MrT. One day I’ll finish one unaided. Having spent far too long trying to get a river to fit 3d, the penny dropped and it’s my cotd. Thanks Ray T and Shabbo for pointing out what should have been obvious for me.

15. Our minimalist setter invariably includes a few tripwires to catch the unwary and today it was 3d’s banker who tripped me up. All perfectly valid, of course, but I was very busy elsewhere until the proverbial penny dropped on my head.
    Podium contenders here were 8,22&28a plus 1d with an hon. mention for the shrinking violet in 15a.

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

16. Very enjoyable and no real holdups apart from 2d. Nice to get back to a lunchtime solve – we had a nasty ‘police’ scam on Tuesday which was upsetting and has taken up a lot of time. So plausible. If they asked for money I would have immediately put the phone down but apparently it is identity theft. Very unnerving. I said to George if a police officer turned up on the doorstep I really wouldn’t know if he was bona fide. Beware! I liked the simplicity of 14d and 16d, both anagrams of course. Did anyone see the lovely quotation in the Letters yesterday – Rupert Brooke on ‘the comfort of blankets’ ? I think Duvets are the Devil’s invention – I wonder where Terence stands on this? The List? Anyway, viele danke to Shabbo & Raytee.

    1. Haha. Duvets are indeed the devil’s work. Well, putting the bloomin’ cover back on certainly is. Line of the day!

17. 2*/4*. A lovely, concise puzzle with just a little gloss taken off by the Americanism needed for 10a.

    My podium selection is 25a, 16d & 21d.

    Many thanks to Ray T and to Shabbo.

    1. I rely on the Americanism to decide whether to put hour forward or back as per this weekend – spring forward fall back!

18. For me it’s a great day as it is our fortnightly visit from RayT with a superb puzzle that has logic and sense in the clueing and the answers.
    I can’t say I have heard of the card game, but with cross check letters, it became clear.

    1*/5* for me today.

    Favourites include 10a, 13a, 26a, 7d, 14d & 18d — with winner so hard to pick, but I choose 26a
    All the rest get smiles and a chuckle too.

    Thanks to RayT & Shabbo

19. Usual mixture for a Ray T of the solvable and bizarre. Not made easier by the antics of the puzzle app. It really is a piece of c..p. The old system worked well in the electronic DT but this is just a very poor piece of software.
    Not my favourite Ray T by a long way.
    ***/**
    Thx for the hints

    1. no it’s not

20. Lovely, and appropriately troublesome for a Thursday. I fell one shy of the finish line, unable to see the definition of 2d as anything other than ‘sentimental stuff’. Ah, well.

    Chuffed I managed to parse the precipitation clue all on my very own. A year ago I wouldn’t have had a cat-in-hell’s chance, so thank you to all the bloggers and commenters here for assisting in my cryptic journey. Contrafibularities all round (as Mr E Blackadder would say). ****/****

    1. And why not share that particular gem.

       1. Great word!

          1. … but it doesn’t fit in a crossword grid.

21. That was hard, probably one of the most difficult of RayT’s that I can remember for a long time.
    It’s taken me for ages, happily and enjoyably – what a good thing I wasn’t in a a rush though!
    I particularly liked 11 and 13a and 7 and 23d. My favourite was 22a.
    With thanks to RayT for his wonderful crossword and to Shabbo for sorting out a few problems.

22. Would never have finished this without the hints, particularly for 10a. Never heard of the card game, would never have equated 15a with seduced or 19d with confused, and the first part of 2d did not spring to mind. A grid is just a grid to me, and I never understand what the big deal is about them. This felt to me as though it was written in two halves, half user friendly and half a real work out. Thanks to RayT and Shabbo.

23. I’m always initially disappointed when I see a grid like today’s. I suppose the point is that it’s a lot easier to work on a word if you have the confirmed first letter rather than the second. Particularly, as Tom said above, if that second letter is a vowel. Knowing the first letter, you can exclude 25/26ths of the dictionary from your musings.

24. Evening all. Many thanks to Shabbo for the elucidation and to all who commented. Much appreciated.

    RayT

    1. Thank you, Mr. T. for the challenging and enjoyable guzzle. Also, many thanks for popping in – it is always appreciated.

    2. Thanks, Ray. Great puzzle, as ever.

    3. Good evening, Mr T, always a delight to have one of your puzzles to solve – many thanks.

    4. I always enjoy your puzzles. Look forward to them!

25. Enjoyed unravelling this but NW corner defeated me so had to turn to Shabbo to get me out of that sticky patch. Card game is a new one on me. Was slow in the uptake on 12a even though a fish sprang to mind! Not sure about using busier as synonym for 3d. IMHO 14d rather weak clue. A trio of Favs in no particular order – 22a, 16d and 18d (sorry Kath). Thank you Ray T and particularly Shabbo.

26. I’d say mid range difficulty and enjoyment for a Rayt today and like others last in was the NW. Favourite was 22a. Thanks to Rayt and Shabbo.

27. I really enjoyed today..still dont quite get 10 across…Almost cold…?
    Nice puzzle…Doug.

    1. I think it’s …almost raw in fall.

28. Thank you so much for all the work that goes into this site! I’m learning to solve cryptic crosswords and the clues here are instrumental in getting the hang of it. Yesterday I couldn’t get started without help; today I managed 4 answers before turning to the hints, and they were even right. 20a, 21d, 25a, and 26a, though I was team gite for the first 6 minutes.

    1. Welcome to the blog, Victoria.
       Well done on the progress you’ve made. Stick with us and you’ll soon be solving whole puzzles.

    2. Hi Victoria. It’s a steep learning curve but so rewarding once you ve mastered it. This blog is brilliant and you will learn loads. Really good to hear from you.

    3. Excellent progress and thank you for your very kind words. I’m glad our hints are helping you in the early part of your crossword journey.

29. A really enjoyable and knotty solve , and like others held up with 3 in the NW that I eventually got after much head scratching. Had not heard of the card game , and had not considered the word meaning seduced. Thanks Ray T and Shabbo .

30. Really enjoyed this solve despite 15a which caused a dnf. If I told people that I had “decoyed a woman in a bar”, most people would be rightly confused. A daft synonym that was clever and a bit naughty of the setter to use.

    Thanks to all.

31. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday…..super, super, super and super! Got on very well with them all. Clearly watching Ludwig has boosted my brain activity!

32. 3*/5* ….
    liked 14D “Nag perhaps, and chores are undone (9)” … amongst several others.

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