DT 30788

94 comments on “DT 30788”

1. It took me a while to work out some of the parsing (where does “yacht” come into 4d?) but, on the whole, a satisfying solve. The answer to 10a isn’t, to my mind, a synonym for wealth. It’s how much of it you have that makes wealth but maybe I’m splitting hairs here. For once in my life, I liked a spoonerism with 7d raising a smile. I jumped to conclusions with 5d and began to enter “tarpaulin” but stopped when I got to 8a.

   My COTD is the boxer at 21a.

   Thank you, setter for the challenge. Thank you, Mr. Mustard for the hints.

   No matter how I try I cannot make the Quickie pun mean anything. All I came up with is “Your first?” but I doubt it is right.

   I’ll be glad when Christmas is over as far as the back page of the paper is concerned.

   1. Hi Steve, (to) yacht is in Chambers.

      1. Thanks, Alp. It’s a reverse word. Didn’t see that! One lives and learns! 😊

         1. “Loves” and learns? I like it! Sounds like a great blurb for a tea towel!!

            1. I did think of leaving it unedited. 😊

               1. Noooo!! Why did you change it?! Your version’s much better!

2. Mmmm. A top end **/*** for me. 21d was a new one on me but parsable enough. Slightly impenetrable clueing but fair enough. My COTD was our usual supporter in 20a although 24a was very good after I stopped trying to raise a standard. Thanks to Senf and our setter.

3. geoff hurst

4. Lots to love today. Immaculate surfaces. 24a particularly appealed to me. Smart yet simple. I really enjoyed 4d too. And 2d is so neat it looks like a chestnut, but isn’t. Many thanks to our setter and Senf. PS Geoff Hurst!

5. Chair First = Geoff Hurst? It drove me mad for a while too.

6. Firstly, thanks to Telegraph Towers for fixing the print problem from yesterday. Once I had changed the paper size to A4 from letter, everything printed as normal. The changed size option has remained and applied across all my devices.
   I thought this was an excellent puzzle. I had to work hard and return to some clues several times but I got there in the end. 23a took some time as I had M as a checker which forced me down a MAGA rabbit hole. I had the crispy surface of the baked outcome of 10a as my first attempt which also slowed me down. 15a, 20a and 21a all raised smiles. I will plump for 20a as my COTD. Thanks to the setter and for the hints.

   1. Unfortunately here in the US we don’t have the option to select A4 as the paper size.

7. I love all Spoonerisms , so 7d wins for me. The quick one might be Geoff Hurst !!

   1. I’m glad you do, Nike M, as I’m also a fig ban.

8. Quite tricky for a Wednesday, but most enjoyable.
   4d was my LOI and I see that I am not alone in finding it tricky.
   For once, I am choosing a Spoonerism as my COD – 7d raised a smile in Shabbo Towers.
   Is the Quickie Pun the only remaining player from the 1966 England World Cup winning side?

   1. That makes sense of the pun, Shabbo.

   2. Yes, sadly, he is the only one still standing.

      Some people are on the pitch….

      The best line by a sports commentator bar none. Wonderful stuff. I’m gutted I wasn’t old enough to remember it (born in 1965)

      1. Blimey. You are much younger than I thought, having previously been Sir Linkalot who seems a generation ago. Mind you I think ALP once said on this site that he was only 12. Hey ho.

         1. I am a mere whippersnapper and well done for working out who I am 🤜

            Wahoo! (I had to)

            When I was Sir Linkalot, I wasn’t really aware of the etiquette on the blog and got it completely wrong.

            I have now worked it out.

            1. Aha! So you will also be celebrating being 60 years young next year like me!

               1. U betcha, Wolfer, as is my wife.

                  We’re off to The Big Apple to celebrate.

                  1. We are off to Madeira for the flower festival (obviously!)

                     1. Of course you are! 😂

   3. Thanks, Shabbo, for explaining the Quickie Pun!

      I once got the great man’s autograph when I were a lad.

      Not at a football ground but when he was playing cricket for Essex!

      1. And me Shabbo on the quickie!

   4. .. did Ingerland win the World Cup in 1966? Who knew eh!

      1. I often drink (although he drinks tea) with Mike Trebilcock when in the West Devon Club in Tavistock. He gets a standing ovation every time he returns to watch Everton for whom he scored the winning goals in the 1966 Cup Final. Overshadowed by another game!

         A very modest chap.

9. Completed it, but a few clues in todays puzzle I found difficult to parse correctly. Like others 4d was one, and 19d I am not sure I fully get. There is another appearance of the trusty old german city. Two best clues for me were 1a and 24a. Thanks to the setter and to senf for the hints.

10. Cracking puzzle Gromit – 24a fave today “mad” clue and “mad” answer
    Thanks to Senf and Setter

    1. Nice to see that prince appearing in a crossword – a first time I think

11. I am so glad about the printing update. I used it this morning.

12. Another puzzle to up the average solve time stats but an enjoyable solve. I’ve only ever owned one silk scarf & it wasn’t that shape so just assumed a double definition. 4d was the other parsing head scratch – I pegged the yacht synonym but only twigged the other element when recalling an Eilen Jewell song. Liked all 4 of the peripheral clues but pick of bunch for me was 13d.
    Thanks to the setter (T presumably) & to Senf – I hadn’t a scooby re the pun either.

13. Sorry,setter, but this wasn’t for me. The Spoonerism would have taken the honours if it weren’t for the ridiculous surface read, so I’ll give the prize to the typical group of schoolkids with a nod to 24a.

    Thanks to Twmbarlwm for his efforts and to Senf for his hard work.

    1. I loved 7d’s surface as it conjures up a great image.

       Horses for corsets, I suppose.

14. This was tremendous.

    There were no ‘tumbleweed moments’ with this Tumbleweed crossy who is really hitting his straps.

    It was a DNF as I had to wave the white flag at 14a. Using Vespucci as a rekrul was excellent and getting the term WAG in a clue may be a first (whoever coined the term Wagatha Christie is a genius).

    Lots to choose from for the pody but I’ll go with 24a, 3d and 13d.

    Many thanks to Mr T and Senf,

    3*/4.5* (I knocked off a half a as 19d needs an American indicator. Putting ‘American’ at the start would have worked for me)

    1. Not according to the BRB for 19d – apparently a ‘universal’ term.

       1. If that’s the case then full marks it is!

          Thanks, S.

15. Tough but fun. 11a city seems to be a regular go to recently. Oh for reasonably-priced silk 14a – Hermes those were the days! Last in 9d when female George finally dawned and likewise for 17d distinguished. Fav 13d. Thank you MrT(?) and Senf’

    1. I have a treasured Dior 14a from the heady days of my youth. It has the word printed all over it, so subtle.

       1. Of course! That’s it!

16. One of those puzzles in which it proved difficult to see what the compiler was thinking of. I completed it but didn’t understand some of the parsing. 7d was the best clue, unusually, I liked this Spoonerism. 9d was a clever anagram bbut it took a while to identify George!. Thanks to the compiler and to Senf for the hints.

17. [*** REDACTED ***]

    1. Must say you don’t mince your words Brian!

18. For me, and I stress for me (™ Senf), this was quite a tricky fellow. A ‘get one’ then ‘get another’ affair. These are satisfying to solve as one feels like one has put a full shift in.

    Each week we reach (usually) Wednesday here, and a curious situation arises. Having received a massive supermarket delivery the previous weekend, I am given a shopping list in the middle of the following week for essential items to get us through to the next huge delivery in three days time. Each week, this midweek list seems to grow. I am often about to go out of the front door, when either H, or The Youngster, request the list back to add yet more items. As a result of this, I intend to leave here in the next minute before I need to hire a truck to bring these ‘essential items’ back home.

    Thanks to the setter and The Man From Manitoba

    1. Have you ever wondered, Terence, whether this is a ploy to get you out of the house for an hour? Think on’t!

       1. Of course…! That’s it!

19. A very enjoyable midweek puzzle – thanks to our setter and Senf.
    I especially liked 24a, 3d, 19d (and the Quickie pun).

    1. Any idea Gazza who today’s toughie setter is before I print it off?
       The website used to show the setter, but doesn’t appear to this week.

       1. Hudson

          1. Many thanks

       2. Guilty

          1. No guilt – it’s excellent

          2. Most enjoyable. Thank you!

20. Gosh, that was a game of two-halves. The left side went in as a */** puzzle, and the right as a ***/**** puzzle taking (at least) triple the time to do. Sadly fell one short as I’d forgotten that hankies are called ‘pocket squares’ when stuffed in a jacket. Still, all-in-all a decent puzzle with a nice dollop of quirkiness. ***/****

21. A note on the new print function – I’m very grateful for the option to reduce ink usage (isn’t printer ink the most expensive substance there is?), but alas printing from my phone is no longer viable. No matter what I try all I get the option to print is the grid and the first across clue.

    1. Same here! Absolute First World problem but we can no longer print from our iPhones. Hopefully this will be fixed soon!

22. Unable to do the crossword today. The change in printing options seems to have broken something, as the entire grid prints as solid black!

    Using Firefox on Linux.

    1. The new printing options:

       Does anyone in Telegraph Towers read this blog?

       Does anyone in Telegraph Towers actually test changes to their software?

       Answers on a postcard?

23. I found this quite hard for a midweek crossword but enjoyed the challenge once I got into the rhythm of the solve. Plenty to admire, especially 23d, my favourite.

    Many thanks to our setter for a fine workout, and to Senf.

24. I started slowly with this one and was shocked that my first one in was a Spoonerism as I usually find them very difficult and try to leave them to last.

    I was ok with the Italian musical term and the yacht part of 4d but needed Senf’s help to understand the host part. The quickie pun was also lost on me.

    Top picks for me were 20a, 14a and 21a.

    Thanks to Senf and the setter.

25. 3*/2*. I didn’t warm to this puzzle, I’m sorry to say. After the frequent use of “oar” as a verb, we now have to suffer “yacht”. It will not be long before every noun can be used as a verb and vice-versa. 😥 And, whatever Chambers has to say about it, 19d is an Americanism. Collins agrees.

    I did like 24a.

    Thanks to the setter and to Senf.

    1. Not exactly RD!
       dishrag
       in British English (‘difrag ®)
       noun
       another name for a dishcloth
       Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

       1. Copied from Collins online: “a dishrag is a cloth used for washing dishes, pans, and flatware.[US]”

          In any event, I’ve never heard of any Brit referring to a dishcloth by that name.

          1. Ha! Mine was copied from there too!!

          2. Likewise “washcloth” and “washrag”?

26. I thought this was absolutely first class. My only gripe was 4d where, Senf, I would have added several more m’s to your Hmm. I particularly liked l9d where to begin with I was off to Asda (never actually been in one being a middle class lady of a certain age – I think I am over doing this) so it is my favourite, closely followed by 24a. The rekrul was well hidden and the Spoonerism made me smile but I would never use that term for a dish cloth. Really. The only one I needed help for was the boxer but when I read the hint I did know him. DD1 met him once and said what a nice man he was. Many thanks to Messrs Setter & Senf. If I ever open an emporium that will be the name above the door. PS miraculously my pseudonym and email are being filled in automatically once more. Hallelujah.

    1. I was thinking of three more mmm’s!

27. Still ridiculous printing to get It all on one page. The grid becomes so small t is unusable. It was better before the “improvements” I just did a screen copy of the puzzle as it comes up with clues at the side (just as if you are doing it online), then I print that. The print out means the paper copy is in landscape mode, but who bloody well cares. It is SO MUCH better than the TeleTowers one is. Get it together there whomever is in charge.
    As far as the puzzle is concerned another easier than normal, (for me), Wednesday offering again this week.
    I don’t get 4d at all

    2*/3*

    Favourites 7a, 20a, 24a, 5d & 9d — with winner 24a, that made me laugh. Close second was 9d. Great clue.

    Thanks to setter & Senf

28. I’m not sure these improvements have actually improved anything but there are a couple of tweaks that might help. For the Toughie (and presumably others) calling for ‘double-sided’ (if you’re printing it and your printer has that facility) will print page 2 upside down which means you can turn the page over bottom-up and keep the grid in view. If I find any other useful changes I’ll pass them on.

    PS Today’s Regular Sudoku is a pig! It nearly reduced ‘er indoors to tears which is not easy ……😪

    1. Welcome to the blog,Mike.

29. Unable to print at all today. What is happening at the DT? When I try to print I get this silly Print Options box and when I print I get two blank pages. They don’t need to look for a fix, just put it back the way it was. Will be cancelling if I can’t print. Very disappointing.

    1. As of this morning on the website there’s a print button which, for me anyway, does nothing. If I use the app I’m able to download to my phone and print from there. Spoonerisms usually maffle be but today’s raised a smile, as did 3d, my COTD.
       Thanks Senf for the explanations and setter for the enjoyment 2.5*/****

       1. Welcome to the blog.

    2. Yes indeed, BusyLizzie!

       Surely they must have noticed the problem yesterday?

       Why didn’t they test the new version of software before they released it?

    3. I have tried using those buttons in Print Options, but they all seem designed to make things even bigger, and I still get blank pages. At least yesterday I could print on two pages. Today, all I have after repeated attempts is 12 blank pages, a frustrating waste of time. There was nothing wrong, nothing needed improving. If this is not fixed I’m afraid I will have to stop solving after all these years. Clearly nobody is testing g before they issue these “improvements”. This is not what I am paying for DT. Emails aren’t even answered, just a form reply that they have a “lot” of emails to deal with. I wonder why?

30. Re the printing, it only works on a pc/laptop. I cannot print from my phone. Does anybody check these things in the Telegraph IT section?

31. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is Toombarloom, and I’m seriously worried about my sanity. I was dead on wavelength here, so much more friendly (for me) than yesterday. The Spooner clue amused but I refuse to claim it as fave on principle. I only needed ehelp for 24a, I should have got it! My fave was 9d, one of my fave books in English Lit at school. I also liked 10a. I did look up 5d for the synonym, I would have said they were different, what do I know!
    Thank you setter, Toombarloom?, and hinter Senf for unravelling a couple for me.

    1. To say you lost your sanity
       Merusa, my overseas friend,
       Would be a sort of inanity
       And drive us all round the bend.

       1. Hello Pip, my friend! I’ve never been able to understand Tombarloom’s puzzles, but I’ve solved two in a row now. Is it my brain that is adjusting to his contortions, or is he becoming more understandable? What larks!

          1. Twmbarlwm confuses
             Merusa amuses.
             Wednesdays are tough
             I huff and I puff.

32. Cracking puzzle that I completed over breakfast before enduring the traffic on the M25 and M23 on a 4.5 hour round trip to Brighton. The spoonerism is my cotd. I’m ordinarily not a fan of the Rev, but in this case it was a great clue. Thanks to compiler and to Senf.

33. Wow that was tough
    24a LOI and COTD. Also a fan of the spoonerism today.
    5* for difficulty
    But lots to love so 4* for enjoyment.
    I’ve parsed the sea as the host of the yacht for 4d which I found a poor clue IMHO of course.

    1. I think host is a synonym of sea meaning a big number of things

34. Good afternoon

    By the cringe! That certainly stretched what passes for my braincells this afty, and much though I hate to disagree with our esteemed blogger Senf, today’s crozzie is definitely a fourser.

    Although nobody has claimed responsibility yet, my fiver is on Twmbarlwm: something about the clueing that seems at first glance impenetrable, but slowly reveals itself quadrant by quadrant.

    COTD: 14a and 15a are joint runners up; 24a and 9d are joint winners. 4d takes a special place in the Tenuous Zone! 21a is last to fall, because I had “curious” as the keyword rather than “boxer”; and I hope none of you have done what I did and entered BREAD at 10a!

    Many thanks to our compiler (Twm?) and to Senf.

35. I enjoyed this puzzle , 3/4 went in fairly easily and then I slowed down for the last bit mainly in the NE. Nicely challenging , but not too tough I thought. I started the puzzle on my iPad then went out and did a fair bit on the phone app , having just finished on my iPad. Interestingly the timers are independent , so my finish time on the iPad looks well impressive! Thanks to setter and Senf

36. Setter here. Thank you to all solvers and commenters, and to Senf for the review.

    1. Thank you, Timbuktu for an interesting guzzle. I’m starting to see the way you work.
       The Quickie pun had many of us foxed. 😊

    2. Cracking puzzle, Twm., absolutely wonderful. You were very gentle with us today, but I’m exhausted and this crossword was just the ticket. Thank you, and thanks also to Senf.

37. Another great puzzle – perfect for a midweek back pager. Last one in was the 19d cleaner that I entered reluctantly. Of course our setter is vindicated by BRB. Podium places to 20a and 7d with top spot taken by 24a.
    Thanks Mr T and of course to Senf

38. Brilliantly challenging as ever. I was pleased to get the spooner and it was my favourite. I needed help to understand a couple but very ,uch enjoyed it.

    Many thanks to Twmbarlwm and to Senf for the hints.

39. Not for me I’m afraid another escaped toughie and I admit to nodding off halfway through, anyway I managed it in the end. I’m sorry it’s unlike me but i didn’t read all comments. Thanks to T anyway and Senf.

40. Good puzzle. Was held up a bit by the “host” in 4d, the silk scarves and the work by George I hadn’t heard of but eventually guessed because 14a looked like it probably ended in ‘s’.

    The new printing features are welcome. I had been running my own program to adjust the pdf in all the same ways. And before that, used the old site for as long as possible!

41. Only got to this today. A little trickier than Twmbarlwm often is. Thank you to Senf for explaining “host” in 4d. I had to look up 9d, and to Twm for the puzzle.

42. 3*/4* ….
    liked 24A “Flags up the pole ?(5,6)”

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