DT 30814

86 comments on “DT 30814”

1. That was a tough one but no complaints from me because it is Friday. There were one or two I didn’t understand such as 30a and 20d. I will need to see the hints for explanations. Putting “Pit Stop” in at 25a held me up until I unravelled the opposition to games being played at 18d. I liked the golfing misdirection at 10a but my COTD is the missing soldier from the toybox at 24a.

   Thank you, setter, for a great Friday challenge. I will admit to seeking help with a couple in order to get across the line but it was an enjoyable tussle, nevertheless. Thank you, Mr. K for the hints and pusskits.

   Lovely, sunny day here in The Marches but a bit cold. We will have to see if the threatened snow falls here. We have a different climate to the rest of the country. Often, when the rest of the country is in the grip of heavy snow, we have none.

   1. I didn’t see the message from Mr. K above but I would like to add my condolences to the family of JB.

   2. Not often I explain things to You! but 20d is a well known seaside resort beloved by the prince regent without its first and last letters, meaning okay.

      1. Thanks, DG. I did understand after I’d read Mr. K’s hint. I had totally missed the anagram indicator at 30a. 😳

      2. …and, for all Alan Partridges like yours truly, here’s a way to remember what A road from London takes you there (the A23)

         It’s good be B RIGHT ON most occasions. You know the old saying: 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.

         1. I walked from London to Brighton a number of times as a student on the Guinness Inter-hospitals Stroll. Some stroll! Mind you, we earned a tie to say we had completed the walk and a free lunch at the Park Royal Brewery.

            I’ve also been to Brighton a number of times recently because an author friend of mine has his book launches there.

            All in all, I should have got 20d. 😊

            1. I’d say that tie is worth more than a DT pen!

               1. They would be if I still had them, DG! 😳

            2. I had a go at the London to Brighton walk just once and collapsed 10 miles from the destination. My husband John did it and got the tie but that was before we knew each other. Madness, as we would start the walk after a full day of work.Sending belated congratulations to you.

2. What a delightful surprise! Surely this super-smooth offering must be another Silvanus production.

   I found a big difference in difficulty between the top half (1*) and the bottom half (4*), so my overall rating for this puzzle is 2.5*/5*.

   My page is littered with ticks, with 14a, 21a, 4d, 15d & 26d battling it out for podium places.

   I’m not sure if “from toybox” is adding anything to 24a except perhaps to disguise the “model”.

   Many thanks to Silvanus (?) and to Mr K, and sorry to hear the sad news about JB. My condolences to her family.

   1. I agree, RD, “from toybox” is unnecessary in the clue.

3. Nicely puzzling puzzle for a snowy Friday.

   Just been out to feed the birds and have come back in looking like Frosty the Snowman.

   Top clue – 28a.

   Last one in – 21a which I can hear from the garden.

   Thanks to setter for the challenge and to Mr K.

4. For me this was less tricky than yesterday’s but just as good.

   Top picks for me were 24a, 10a, 24d and 28a.

   Thanks to Mr K and the setter.
   Condolences to JB’s family.

   1. .. agreed .. and easier than most Friday offerings. SE corner being the last to complete.
      My cotd was 24a but as previously mentioned … but what is the point of adding “toybox” .. some hint towards the Toy Story movies? It had me beat!

5. My condolences to Julia’s family. I will remember her for her strong views on the relative difficulty levels of various Telegraph crossword setters

6. A wonderful puzzle, witty & very amusing, gentle for a Friday and with little reason to lift pen from paper while progressing from N to S. Ticks aplenty, with podium places to 17d (COTD), 24a & 26d, with runners-up 6a, 10a & 20d.

   Many thanks to the setter (Silvanus was my call, too) and to MrK – great pussy-pics!

   Condolences to JB’s family on the sad news.

7. A very enjoyable nice steady solve. Only thing I don’t understand is the ‘toybox’ part of 24a. Any pointers would be greatfully received.

   Thanks to the setter and the hinter

   1. Ii don’t get the toybox either

      1. The question mark is essential, indicating one of several possible scenarios.

      2. Forget not getting the toy box reference, the photo is fabulous. How brave those soldiers were being overshadowed by a monster feline!

   2. My guess would be it adds to the surface read of the clue. Although model is the definition, model soldier…. to me implies a toybox.

      1. I agree, J.

         It is of course not necessary but I think he just fancied a trip down Memory Lane.

         Mr Smooth often does this to add a bit of colour and, in some cases, to make it a tad easier.

8. A perfect end to the (non-)work week which has has to be the work of the smooth member of the Friday triumvirate – 2.5*/4.5*

   Candidates for favourite – 6a, 24a, 25a, 5d, and 7d – and the winner is 24a.

   Thanks to Silvanus, for it must be he, and to Mr K.
   Very sad news about JB, my condolences to her family

9. RIP JB, and condolences to her those who knew her. And thank you to her son for getting in touch with the site: with all the other sadmin one has to do following the death of a family member, it’s appreciated you took the time to let us know the news as well.

10. Tough but on the whole fair. One very clever clue in 27a which made me smile.
    Sorry to hear the news about JB, my condolences.
    ****/***
    Thx to all

11. I found this very tricky and indeed only managed about half a dozen in bed. Came back to it later and made good headway with a lot of help using the trusty BRB. 28a my COTD. Absolutely perishing here and am now wearing 2 sweaters and still shivering. Thanks to the setter and to Mr K for his pictures. Sad to read the passing of one of our crossword flock and I also send my condolences.

12. Great Friday entertainment – some cracking surfaces. 21a reads brilliantly and 17d is delightful. I don’t think I’ve seen 19a’s “upsetting” used this way in an across before. Perfectly clear, mind. And 24a’s “from toybox” has the faintest whiff of padding, but it’s such a fun surface, so why not? Many thanks to our setter and Mr K. Very sad news about JB. Touching to hear that she referred, quite rightly, to BD as her website. Sincere condolences to her family.

13. I found this more friendly than yesterday’s offering apart from a couple of answers in the south. It took ages for the penny to drop with 18D and I thought 23D was very clunky and didn’t really get the parsing until just now.

    Favourite my a mile was the AWOL soldier at 24A.

    Thanks to the setter and MrK for the hints and puss cats.

    1. A stiff challenge of a guzzle and a hard slog to finish. I did get a sense of satisfaction when I got ro rhe end wven if much of rhe parsing was found by reverse engineering. I liked the reverse geographical lurker at 14a and the well misdirected geographical anagram at 21a. The cryptic definition at 25a made me laugh too, which warmed me up on this icy, blue-skied winter day. Thanks to Silvanus and to Shabbo for the hints. It was sad tohear about JB,my cindolences to her family

       1. Sorry Mr K. I should have thanked you for the hints and the great cat ohotos too

14. Thought I’d had me chips when it came to the SW corner, but suddenly saw the light with 20d (Leslie Ash always springs to mind at the thought of this town, no idea why through….) and then was off again to finish get the last few answers.

    Good solid Friday fare, but did have to check the Paddy parliament name again.

    My two of the day were the aforementioned 20d, and 12a, always need to check the spelling of this one.

    Many thanks to our setter today, great fun.

15. A top-notch puzzle – thanks to our setter and Mr K.
    My rosettes go to 10a, 24a, 28a, 4d and 26d.
    My condolences to JB’s family and friends.

16. Looks as though we have a second puzzle from Mr Smooth to celebrate the first week of 2025 – how lucky are we!
    I had a definite favourite in the missing toy soldier, with other big ticks going to 1a plus 15&24d.

    Many thanks to Silvanus for the new year treats and thanks to Mr K and his band of felines for the illustrated review.
    So sad to hear of the passing of JB, grateful thanks to her son for finding the time to let us know.

17. An nice Friday puzzle than the last couple have been and seemed easier to tackle. A few head scratchers, but for the most part a pleasant solve.

    2.5*/3.5*

    Favourites 10a, 12a, 27a, 7d & 22d — with co-winners 10a & 12a

    Thanks to Silvanus(?) & Mr.K and sorry to hear about JB

18. Surprisingly benign for a Friday but great fun. Wouldn’t be in the least surprised to see Silvanus popping in soon as you could stick a tick against pretty much all of ‘em. The toybox bit eluded me though the homophone was obvious. I’ll plump for 7,17&26d for my podium.
    Very sorry to hear such sad news. Condolences to the family.
    Thanks to the setter/Silvanus & to Mr K.

19. My immediate reaction on a first read through was that this was going to be a stinker. But lo, with a couple of footholds from an anagram or two it all came together with many a smile as well. In the end I have so many ticks on my page, it’s difficult to pick a podium, but I’ll go with 14a, 24a with 17d in top spot. Thanks to compiler and Mr K.

20. After a chaotically crowded Christmas, full of family fun, it’s time to take time out and be back to the bestest of blogs.
    Yesterday, I could hardly find my way
    But here, the clues were all okay
    Silvanus really made my day
    Oh I believe he’ll have his say.

    And I add my condolences to JB’s family.

21. A most enjoyable puzzle.
    Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K.
    Sorry to hear the sad news about JB. Condolences to all the family and close friends.

22. That was a very entertaining and satisfying exercise. I agree with RD re the difference in difficulty levels between North and South. 5d number is becoming a bit of a chestnut. I suppose 26d could be described as a series of woes. Thank you Silvanus for a lot of fun and MrK without whose help I just managed.

23. Pleasingly chewy for a sunny Friday afternoon that was jam packed with some excellent and inventive clues. Tough to pick any outright winners from such a fine crop, but the whimsical pair of 25 and 27a get the nod.

    Many thanks to our setter for a great puzzle, and to Mr K. It is always sad when one of our commenters passes away, so I would like to add my sincere condolences to the family and friends of JB.

24. Well, slap me sideways and call me Stanley, I breezed through this one, very unusual indeed for a Friday. Even more so if it was Silvanus as I often struggle with his puzzles. No favourites today, this one was a pleasure from start to finish. Thanks Mr K and setter.
    ***/*****

    1. Love the choice of ‘Stanley’, STH!

       I’ve heard of the expression with Sally. So, I guess Stanley is the male version. Either way, it’s a goodie.

       1. I always used ‘Stanley’ and believed that it had something to do with the slapstick comedy of Laurel and Hardy, but then again that could be something that was just made up in my head and is completely wrong.

          1. New to me but love it

          2. It’s yours. You now own it.

             Very funny as are these gentlemen. The true trailblazers of slapstick…

25. Another screamer to go with yesterday’s to finish off a short week of joy in Crozzyland.

    This all went in very smoothly until I got to 12a which took me a while to get. I kept trying to force in ‘oaps’ (soaps without the s) and then it hit me. Great fun. 20d is a top expression. It reminds me of wilco and jolly d.

    Nice to see a couple of Silvy’s trademark l_r_e_s on display. 14a was a neat rekrul.

    My pody is 21a, 17d and 26d.

    Many thanks to Mr S & Mr K and condolences to JB’s kith and kin.

    3*/5*

26. How kind of JB’s son to tell us the news, it is yet another sign of how much this site means to people, especially those of us who don’t get out much and look on the guzzlers as friends. I suspect she might have left a note asking him to tell us, which is a touching thought. It was a bit of a trial today with some big leaps of faith – 26d as a series of woes made me laugh, 20d fills me with nostalgia as we used to jump in the car and drive down to walk our Alsatian along the beach and have a meal at Wheelers when I was young. 28a was very neat, altogether Fizzing Friday Fare. Many thanks to Messrs Setter and Kaye – I am no ornithologist but would have called 24d a thrush because I am one! Lovely cats.

27. I did not find this as easy as many of you and needed a couple of hints to get me out of bother (maybe I was just impatient). There were some cracking anagrams, a new bird to me and some well hidden lurkers. My favourite was 1a.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K for the hints.

    My condolences to the family of JB.

28. Many thanks to Mr K and to all those commenting, I hope that 2025 has started well for all of you.

    Guilty as charged, “from toybox” in 24a isn’t required at all, but Jezza is quite correct, I thought it a nice embellishment to the clue.

    My condolences to the friends and family of JB, one never quite knows when somebody stops commenting what the reason might be, I’m so sorry that this is why.

    I’ll see you all again soon.

    1. ‘From toybox’ definitely made the clue for me!

29. A tribute tp 29ac – this is Chin-chin (China):

    

30. and this is Bonnie (Ebony)

    

31. … and Tish on an olive root …

    

32. And when it was cold and we had a temporary boiler outside the house we were renovating I found a cat pile-up. In the background Pozzo (he turned up the day we first got water from the well … Pozzo is Italian for well), Tosh the ginger master of the house and you have already seen Chin-chin and Tish:-)

    

33. I had a little trouble with a few clues today. Too much wine maybe! So thanks to Mr K for sorting things out and of course for the challenge from the setter. Happy New Year to everyone and I hope it’s not to late for some of you to see the pics.

    Oh and I found a pic of Pozzo on his first day. He happens to be on an olive root too!

    

    1. Handsome cats all & loved the “pile-on” – I don’t suppose you’ve ever seen a rat or mouse on your property!

       1. They bring them home from faraway as prizes and dump them outside the door. Unfortunately all the cats you see have passed on but they all had wonderful lives with us. The only one remaining is in my avatar but unfortunately the avatar no longer seems to display on the site.

          1. I can see your avatar, SW, showing your charming cat helping you with your crossword!

             1. The Toughie shown in the picture is from almost six years ago (Feb 2019), so I hope your cat continues to help

                1. Hi Silvanus, thank you again for all your crosswords. You are right it was a toughie, but I took the photo without actually realising what was in it😎

             2. Hi RD. Yes, but did you notice anything in particular?

    2. Never too late to see pics of your much-loved felines, Stone Waller!

34. A less difficult than normal Friday, took a while to get started, but steady going thereafter. Liked the misdirection in 1a, last one in 26d. Thanks to silvanus, plenty of smiles and a great end to the week

35. Unusually for a Friday a fair number of the answers fell into place on a first read through of the clues. I’d put the wrong first letter in for 13A though – should have read the clue more carefully. That meant 5D held out much longer than it should have and was my LOI. A satisfying puzzle all round, including the toybox embellishment. Thanks to setter and blogger.

36. Hi Jane, thanks. So I should add Whisper … not on an olive tree but on the beach near us. She was nearly 20 and was blind. Travelled with us wherever we went. Lived in UK, Switzerland and Italy.

    

37. For a Friday this wasn’t overly challenging , but very enjoyable. I didn’t know that 22d was also a loudspeaker having bunged it in , I googled . That was my last one in. Thanks so much to Silvanus , Mr K and to those posting cat pics. I ve always loved and had cats until more recently when I have switched to a dog (which is truly wonderful have to say ) .

38. How sad to hear about JB. It was correspondence about our clash of initials with Julia that persuaded me that I ought to add Sloop to my moniker. I wouldn’t dream of changing back now and will miss her comments a lot. My condolences to her family and friends. Thank you to her son for telling us this at such a difficult time for the family.

39. Phew. Well I got there at last. I did like 24a and 26d. Thanks for a Friday brain workout after the physical one!

40. Good evening

    Pen down after five hours! The sort of crozzie where you have to keep going away, letting the subconscious do the work, and return.

    Some excellent clueing, and of the required standard for a Friday; no surprise that the Brain of Silvanus has been at work here.

    COTD is 24a, which made me laugh!

    Many thanks to Silvanus and to Mr K.

41. I found this very hard but was worth the battle. At first I thought I was going to wash out completely. Came back later and gradually nearly solved unaided. 12a was my undoing.

    I don’t understand 16a. It is either a new term (to me) for swindle or I am missing something. My Thesaurus does not work in either direction for swindle/twist.

    Thanks to all.

    1. I hear what you’re saying, Bee Dubs.

       Twist on its own isn’t working for me. Twist the facts or twisting my words is fine but it needs some words to assist it.

       Maybe Silvanus or someone else can give us an example…

       1. Bananawarp and TDS65, the BRB gives “swindle” as defintion 15 for “twist” as a transitive verb.

          However, I can’t come up with an example illustrating equivalence.

          1. He twisted me out of my money?

          2. Thanks RD and TDS65 for your replies. At least I’m not on my own on not getting or being able to come up with an example of the use of 16a that makes sense.

             I do need to upgrade my Thesaurus it would seem.

    2. Interesting point. Certainly “twister” and “swindler” are synonyms of each other so, logically, their verbal forms ought to follow suit.

       1. Hmm, it is interesting.

          Thank you gentlemen.

          Onwards!

       2. I’ve been racking my brain as I seem to recall a screenplay line along the lines of ‘there’s the twist’ – possibly from Stephen Frears, The Grifters or maybe David Mamet’s terrific debut, House of Games.
          You’ve certainly hit the ground running this year btw.

42. 25a made me laugh out loud !

    1. Welcome to the blog, Susie.

    2. Welcome, Susie! I do hope we hear more from you. 👍😊

43. Very Late to comment today
    Great puzzle
    4*/4* – the north flew in but south decidedly tricky imho.
    I fixated on the toy box for a while which added to the difficulty of that clue.
    20d my fav.
    Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K

44. While I respect this setter as intelligent I feel [Redacted – see Comment Etiquette No 3]. Which definitely does not help a mediocre puzzler like myself. For example: 24a What possible connection is there to a toybox? 29a So a tree is now defined as an olive oil producer? 18d What relevance were the words “being played”? 20d Righto? Does this word really exist outside casual slang?

    1. Keep at it, WW. You get to know the quirks of setters after a while. 😊

45. 3*/3* ….
    liked 25A “Worst possible situation in which F1 driver’s seen (3,4)”

    1. I got that one the wrong way round. 😏

       1. Sorry ! No comprende. ???

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