DT 30812

104 comments on “DT 30812”

1. Thanks to Senf for the review and explanations and Happy New Year everyone on and behind the blog.

   I agree that the Quickie Pun might be something more related to what you get reading small print and have updated the solution.

   1. Thank you for a great puzzle, Prolific and for popping in.

      1. Not one of mine!

         1. Sorry, Prolixic. I must not assume that when a setter comments on a puzzle it must be one of his or hers.

            1. I thought the same 🤨.

2. First of all, a Happy New Year to the setters and bloggers. Your work is greatly appreciated. A Happy New Year to all who comment including those who lurk. As for the latter, please make 2025 the year you decide to start commenting. You would be made very welcome.

   I thought I was going to struggle with today’s offering because I began slowly with only a few in the northwest having fallen at the first pass. The answers began to reveal themselves in quick succession, which made for a satisfying solve. I did resort to Mr. G. for help with 30a because I simply could not see it. Annoyed with myself for not working on it more because the clue gave clear instructions. Knowing that 27a was an anagram didn’t help even with all the checkers so I bunged what looked like a disease in. Fortunately, it was right. My COTD is Siberia changing its shape at 18d.

   Thank you, setter for the fun challenge. Thank you, Senf for the hints. I believe the Quickie pun to “eye strain”.

   A great start to the cruciverbal year.

3. The quick crossword pun is Eye Strain. I took me a while to work it out.

   1. Could have done with a spoiler alert there! 😞

4. Greetings to all for 2025 and especially thanks to setters and the blog team

5. I predict much wailing and gnashing of teeth today! 😁

   After two days of very friendly puzzles, today saw (for me) a big hike in difficulty. I’m wondering if it is a Tumbledown production, but I’m not noted for my setter spotting skills, so I’ll keep my money in my pocket. It took me some time to get started but then I made steady if slow progress. I think there may be a candidate for ‘The List’ in 27A and 30A may be new to a lot people, but it’s my favourite.

   Thanks to the setter and hintsman.

   Happy New Year to all.

6. I nearly ran up the white flag on this one, but having resorted to a bit of e-help I have a completed grid, that I’ll check against the hints. 27a was a new one for me, as with many, I expect it’s better known by its other more common name. A couple of five letter clues make my podium in 22a and 28a as both raised a smile. 11a takes top spot.
   Happy New Year to all, with thanks to compiler and Senf for the hints.

7. I thoroughly enjoyed this guzzle but I found several answers were bung ins and then I had to work out why that was the answer. Although I had the correct answer for 18d, Senf kindly explained the parsing. I also think 27A should go on THE LIST – never heard of it. The List must be quite extensive by now, Thanks to all and let’s hope that 2025 isn’t going to be as bad as we all think it will be. Happy New Year with grateful thanks to all our marvellous bloggers.

   1. Belated thanks Manders for your message yesterday re Enalapril which I believe is an ACE inhibitor. I took Zestril (also an ACEInhibitor) some time ago without any improvement however perhaps I should suggest another go at it to the cardiologist. Happy, Healthy New Year to you in any event. You certainly live in a healthy environment.

   2. I seem to recall Terrence mentioning recently that he has constructed an annexe to house new additions to the list, so I expect there is room for quite a few more.

8. Oops, 26D is A from clue plus PS short note added and E from end. Straight forward clue RECESS

   1. Your comment went into moderation as you only used Peter as your alias rather than your full name, as used previously. Both should work now.

      I think Senf’s hint for the solution was correct but the solution had been incorrectly entered. I have updated.

      Apart from the minor slip, what did you think of the crossword?

9. Happy New Year to everyone.

   2*/2*. A mixed bag for me, as often seems to be the case on Wednesdays.

   The first definition for 13a is not a spray, it is a device which creates a spray. Also, 23a is a very weak DD as the two definitions are the same (despite the quirkiness that the answer is both a synonym and an antonym of “best”.)

   Thanks to the setter and to the hard-working Senf.

   1. RD, I had similar misgivings about 13a but was surprised to discover that spray can also mean a device which creates a spray.

10. I don’t normally comment, but I do very much enjoy reading this blog and I also find it very helpful on occasion. Therefore, I would like to say a big thank you to the bloggers for all your efforts, which are very much appreciated, and to wish you all a very Happy New Year.

    1. Welcome to the blog Freddie and for your kind words. Do pop in again during 2025.

    2. Welcome from me as well, Freddie. As Prolific says, please do comment again – we need more regulars! 😊

11. I completed this terrific puzzle while watching the New Year’s Day concert from Vienna. 11a made me smile and that was my favourite this morning.

    I would like to echo SC ‘s thoughts at #1 and offer my thanks to our setter and Senf. HNY to all.

    1. What did you think of the scarlet bassoon? I was mesmerised by it, never seen such an instrument before ! We always watch this concert and have even attended a concert in that hall – but in the summer.

       1. We noticed the bassoon too. I guess the colour doesn’t matter of the sound is so pure. We attended a concert in the Golden Salle too, many years ago, on my wife’s birthday. Such an impressive venue.

12. Very enjoyable, a super puzzle. My fav was 18d although it did take a little time to fully parse it. 21d made me smile too.
    Such a relief after yesterday’s travails in crosswordland.
    ***/*****
    Thx to all

13. A very happy new year to you all. For me, this was a gentle solve today. My medical background meant that I knew the uncommon name for chickenpox and my only query was 23d, but it was the only word that fit. Favourite was 30a with podium places for 21a and 14d. Thanks to our setter and Senf.

14. This has just appeared in my inbox. I suspect a scam because my email is confirmed.
    Does anyone know anything about it?

    

    1. I got one as well, although I no longer subscribe (far too many emails).

       I suspect it is a bug due to the year change.

15. Excellent start to the New Year, 30a a nice word and favourite clue.
    I don’t comment due to early evening solving ( everything’s been said by then).
    Thanks to all on this site, I’ve lurked for many years

    1. Welcome to the blog, Imposter. Evening comments are more than welcome, even if to echo the thoughts of those who have contributed during the day.

    2. Welcome, Imposter and don’t let commenting late put you off. The latest comment is shown on the right of the blog and I for one always click on them.

    3. Don’t worry about posting late – I’m 5 hours behind and a late riser to boot, so I’m never going to be an early bird on here.

       1. Thanks for the welcome s

          

          1. And a surprise dog !

             1. He is just like Hudson!

16. Try again.

    Sorry – I appear to have posted twice.

    

    1. Looks like a scam to me Steve, forward it to report@fishing.com.

       1. Sorry should be report@phishing.com

    2. I’ve deleted one of those recently

    3. It’s a standard WordPress message that people on related sites (not just bigdave44) have occasionally queried on forums as coming out of nowhere. I never looked into it deeply but the general opinion seemed to be that it was a bug/glitch rather than anything sinister like a hack.

    4. A very nice lady at Santander once told me that you should never have anything to do with any email that invites you to click here to confirm something

    5. Despite selecting the boxes to get new comments, it hasn’t worked for me for over a year.

    6. I think the old adage of “if in doubt, throw it out” definitely applies to all suspicious or just strange emails. We both get them all the time, usually claiming some account information is incomplete, needs updating etc. Some really look genuine, but get deleted without opening.

    7. While it may be a legitimate request to comply with privacy laws requiring mass mailers to obtain permission from recipients on an annual basis, it is always best to ignore such emails if you are in doubt. By ignoring it, you may no longer receive emails from the sender. If it comes from a sender from whom you wish to continue to receive emails, you can go to their website and resubscribe or simply click on the “Manage my subscription” (or similar link) you will likely find at the end of an email you are confident came from that sender.

       1. Wise words, Falcon.
          When I was in the RAF the wing commander doc put ALL letters into File 13 – the waste paper bin. His reasoning was that if a letter were important whoever sent it would ring him.

17. A great puzzle to start the year. I knew the disease but needed help parsing 18d.

    Top picks for me were 2d, 19a and 30a.

    Thanks to Senf and the setter.
    I’d also like to echo the above best wishes to everyone for the New Year.

18. I found this more straightforward than usual — the fastest I’ve completed a cryptic crossword in … erm, in a while. (I was going to say “this month”, then I remembered it’s no longer the month I thought it was, and that that would be a daft thing to say today.) I think I’m just on this setter’s wavelength.

    Except for 8d. Please can somebody explain how the definition works?

    My favourite was the one taking the lead in 2d. Is it too late for a Christmas song? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgRbGo9XKfo

    The banjo player in 2d Hogan is the columnist Tim Dowling, who my memory says used to write for The Daily Telegraph about 25 years ago, but I can’t find any evidence in search engines to support that. Possibly a spoof column in the Saturday features section called ‘The Dinner Party‘, imagined conversations from characters at a dinner party who were also a political party of that name? Anybody else remember that, or have I either imagined the whole thing or got the wrong person?

    Thank you to the setter, blogger, and commenters.

    1. Transports of delight – ie thrilled – is how I saw it, Smylers.

       1. OK, but in ‘3d of delight’ surely it’s the delight that’s doing the thrilling rather than the 3d-ing? Probably me, but I still can’t think of a sentence where ‘thrills’ can be replaced by 3d.

          1. The BRB has “to carry away by strong emotion, to throw into an ecstasy”. Must admit, though, it seems somewhat archaic.

    2. Brilliant song, Smylers made even more poignant by the video – thank you.

       1. You’re welcome, especially since I messed up embedding it, so you had to go to all the bother of clicking on it! For everybody else:

          1. Thank you for posting that, Smylers. I still find it disgraceful that the RNLI receives no government funding.

             1. I’ve always understood the RNLI do not want the Government control and Civil Service interference that would be a necessary condition of receiving state funding, and their independence is the price they willingly pay for having to raise all their funding themselves.

                1. I think you could well be right but what a sad reflection on the way government operates in the UK.

                2. Just imagine the Health and Safety laws they break when they go out in anything stronger than a light breeze. The men and women of the RNLI deserve all the praise they get and much more. Certainly they need more of the population to support them financially.

                   1. Totally agree.

          2. We went to see Police Dog Hogan a couple of months ago never having heard of them before and they were brilliant. Tim Dowling has a column in The Guardian.

19. Sorry to see the reverend rear his head so early in 2025. Otherwise most enjoyable, 19a gets my vote. Thankss to Senf and today’s setter.

20. A skow start, whilst tucked;up warmly in bed very early this morning. However, the SE fell into place more quickly and, as the checkers went in, clues fell into place. My fvourite clue was 2d (big clang as the penny dropped for the second word) followed by rhe 9a homophone munus one an the 27a anagram disease. Thanks to today’s setter and to all the other setters who bring such pleasure throughout the year. Rhanks also to all the bloggers and to Senf for today’s overtime on the hints. Happy New Year to all . PS The New Year Concert from Vienna is still goinf on on BBC2.

    1. You have excelled yourself today CC! I also had a scow start to the day and having just downed a bowl of home made curried parsnip soup and finished the guzzle I am going to unashamedly lie down on the sofa and go to sleep. It is bucketing down and cold. But I came on to agree with you about 2d – at first I thought ‘the lead’ was van. Good twist. HNY to you, btw. (Youfspeak)

21. I found the north simpler than the south. 18d my fav. Happy new year all.

22. A brisk(ish) completion that just edged into ** time due to a wee bit of pondering in the SE. A couple of post solve checks were required however – took a fodder punt on the malady but hadn’t a scooby as to what it was & the perforated nozzle was certainly new to me. Like RD I wasn’t a fan of 23d’s DD but that one aside I thought it a rather splendid guzzle to kick off the new year. ✅s aplenty – 1,11,19,24&30a + 2,16&18d particular likes.
    Thanks to the setter & of course to Senf whose review I shall now read. Happy new year to all.

23. Fun puzzle for midweek, 19a raised a smile so is my favourite. Thanks to setter and Senf. Happy New Year to all.

24. An excellent start to the year – thanks to our setter and Senf.
    For my podium I’ve selected 19a, 24a and 2d.

25. Solved in fits and starts as the grandchildren tore around being monsters of some description – not entirely sure which particular monsters but it obviously made sense to them!
    I’m guessing from the number of hmms on my paper that this was a Twmbarlwm production but I did find a reasonable top three in the shape of 22a plus 4&8d.

    Thanks to our setter and to Senf for another splendid blog – loved the clip of the Fantastikids.

    May I wish everyone who contributes to the BD blog a very Happy New Year, may 2025 be kind to all of us.

26. Surprised that the setter chose not to clue 20a differently in the Quick crossword – an easy opportunity to stick in a J for a rare pangram.

    1. I noticed that and wondered if Jay might be today’s setter? Haven’t looked at the cryptic yet.

       1. That’s not a bad call – the cryptic has one of his trademark letter swap clues.
          Django’s none too tough Toughie is a cracker too.

27. HNY and thank you to everyone who runs this blog. Much appreciated and I’ve learnt a lot.

28. Thoroughly enjoyed this and didn’t have to resort to the clues but it’s always good to read them anyway. 24a is my favourite, I liked the simplicity of the letter move. 11a made me smile as well. A great start to the new year – are we not fortunate to be guzzlers with access to BD? Many thanks to Messrs Setter & Senf and a healthy and peaceful new year to all. With those, happiness must surely follow.

29. For me, and I stress for me (™ Senf) this was a tricky fellow to encounter after a late night. My gruel and orange juice with no bits had been long consumed when I plonked 24a in as my last entry.
    I make my gruel in the microwave each morning, and it is rather aggravating when ‘someone’ has used the microwave to defrost something, but has failed to put it back to ‘full power’ so that after three minutes, one’s gruel is a cold mess of porridge and water, and needs to be run for a further three minutes. For reasons of loyalty I cannot name the person responsible, but we can narrow it down with the knowledge that The Youngster stayed at a friend’s house overnight and was not here this morning.

    Thanks to the setter for what was quite a challenge for me, and to the excellent Man From Manitoba.

30. This was a nice gentle offering, which is always appreciated after a night on the lash, and smacks of the Jaymeister as his clues tend not to be too long not like this sentence.

    I worked my way around it at a nice steady pace with a couple of road bumps and smiles along the way.

    I didn’t know the synonym for thrills and had no problem with 23d as I liked the use of beat as a noun.

    My pody is 17, 19 and 28.

    Many thanks to the setter and Senf.

    2*/4*

31. Barring a couple in the S, a gentle and swift puzzle, very enjoyable. Thank you setter and Senf.

32. 27a was a new word for us but apart from that pretty straightforward and enjoyable. Favourite was 18d. Thanks to the setter and Senf.

33. Really enjoyed this. Straightforward for a Wednesday with some very neat clueing. I did need Google though to verify the disease I didn’t know I’d had! Podium places for 16d and 28a for the image it creates. Top place I’ve awarded to 2d – surely clue of the year so far!
    Many thanks to our setter for the fun and Senf for the blog. I don’t normally click on the musical links but very glad I did for the joyful children’s choir’s performance.

34. Happy new year to all. A nice puzzle to start the year with. I did wonder about 18d. My BRB doesn’t include what you get if you simply delete the S and normally (I think) the related example of the answer includes an N at the end. So I assumed that ‘if not South’ not only required the removal of S for south at the beginning but the addition of N for north at the end? Thanks to the compiler and Senf.

35. Difficulty 3*/ Enjoyment 4*
    Enjoyable tussle in the new year with a good variety of clues. 1a and 2d my joint favourites today.
    30a was a new word for me.
    Thanks to all the bloggers and setters for the fun in 2024.

36. Very happy to find another enjoyable puzzle and one for which I needed minimal help, quite shocking for a Wednesday when I am usually quite pathetic. Then I read Comment #1 and was amazed that I had done so well with a Prolixic offering, before reading on and seeing it was not one of his. However, still pleased that I wasn’t beaten by a Spoonerism. Of course writing in answer to 21d in 20d didn’t help 😕. LI was 30a for which I definitely needed a hint. Thanks to setter and to Senf, what a man, still doing double duty.

    Happy New Year to One and All!

37. Happy New Year to all! A delightful and slightly more chewy than the last two days puzzle , perfect for New Year’s Day. A couple of new words for me at 27a and 23d. I bunged in 13a and of course having seen the hint picture all makes sense . Some great clues throughout. Thanks so much to the setter and to Senf.

38. Great start to the year with steady progress and no help needed. It won’t carry on that way but it is cheering on such a wet dreary day. Poor John could not go for his usual walk and as we needed bread he kneaded bread.
    So many ticks I will just frame Siberia the other way round and leave it at that.Grateful thanks to compilers, hinters and our remarkable assortment of commenters.

39. A tricky one for me so straight back down to earth after yesterday. The tablet told me I’d got it wrong – but in the end just a letter that got changed accidentally. Thanks all

40. I’m one of those who reads this blog every day but rarely comments. Mainly because by the time I get around to logging on in the evening, everything’s already been said!

    But today I wanted to wish everyone a happy new year and thank setters, hinters and bloggers for all the help, encouragement and humour over the past year.

    1. A Happy New Year from me, Jon and please comment more. On this blog there is always more to be said. 😊

       1. But I have a suspicion most of the regulars don’t log on after sunset. It might just be me talking to you, Steve 😊

          1. As I am 5 hours behind the UK, definitely not an early riser, my comments are always entered later than most. Don’t let that deter you. Plus, lots of us go back in much later just to read any replies or late posts. Welcome to the blog 😊.

             1. True, BL. I always check the blog first thing in the morning for new comments.

          2. Nothing wrong with that, Jon. 😊

          3. Fair enough. I shall try to make a few comments in the graveyard shift this year!

             1. 👍😊

41. Good evening

    At first glance, this one looked a bit tricky, so I decided that this was a job for the Lucky Green Pen. Thankfully, once I managed to worm my way in, the clues began to fall.

    Some excellent contenders for COTD; 17a and 24a appealed, but 16d was the clear winner. The only one I had difficulty parsing was 18d, so my thanks to Senf for the explanation, and thanks also to our setter.

42. That was no walk in the park but was very enjoyable with which to do battle. SW held out longest. 27a and 3d are new ones on me. 16d and 23d unparsed. Fav 2d. Thank you for the fun Mysteryone and Senf. My bestest wishes for a Happy, Healthy (and Prosperous?) New Year to all setters, hinters and fellow commenters on this blog which gives me so much pleasure.

43. I took the lead reference to mean be in front and so was pleased with police van for 2d. Didn’t help me with 15&19a…

44. Like Brian, I struggled with yesterday’s crossword (often do on a Tuesday) but really enjoyed this one.
    Thanks to the setter (maybe Jay?) and Senf. And Happy New Year to all.

45. I greatly enjoyed today’s puzzle. Quirky definitions like “looking for understanding” always raise a smile. 27a came fairly easily, likely because I will soon be getting my shingles booster jab.

    Wishing all contributors to and partakers of the blog – as well as those at The Telegraph who provide the puzzles – a very Happy New Year.

    1. I’ve had my shingles jab, it didn’t help me though.

       1. I had shingles last year. Horrible!

46. I really enjoyed this even with a dreaded spooner at 1a. It was not straightforward and a few clues held out to the bitter end. My favourite was 30a and I also enjoyed the linked clues.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Senf for the hints. HNY to all on the blog.

47. Just right for a Wednesday guzzle, with a nice mixture of clues. **/*** Favourites – 30a and 18d.

48. Nice puzzle and enjoyed it all except 1a. I don’t mind Spooner but surely the reversed initial letters should mean something sensible and, in this case, they don’t. Top spot goes to 24a. Thanks to the setter and Senf for the hints.

49. I made a slow start to the guzzle today having been awake most of the night listening to the torrential rain pounding on the windows. Many of the roads around here are under water and unpassable. The shop that delivers my paper was flooded but somehow they managed to get the papers out.
    There were many enjoyable glues, I found 18d tricky, thought I knew the answer but couldn’t see why! 30a was my favourite. Thankyou to setter and Senf.
    A very late happy new year to everyone!

50. As with imposter’s comment it’s all been said by now but a belated hny to all and thank you compiler and Senf – 2d is a brilliant clue

51. Can only think my new 2025 brain hasn’t kicked in yet. Had to refer to the hints (thank you Senf) when some of the clues were giving perfectly straightforward instructions. Maybe a little too much impatience on my part. Things might improve wants the decs are down……but is it the 5th or the 6th? (an ongoing debate in my family)

52. 3*/3* ….
    liked 28A “President losing time for golf is a misery guts (5)”

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