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DT 31002

by Smylers  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31002

Hints and tips by Smylers

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Some solvers might find today’s cryptic crossword is * for difficulty, the only obscure word being a lurker. I wasn’t one of those solvers, which is why I’ve rated it **.

If any clues are baffling you, hopefully you will find éclaircissement below.

Across

1a Film streaming on Apple, The Feast (6,2,3,4)
PLANET OF THE APES: Make the letters of the rest of the clue stream so they spell out the answer. Kudos if you do this without any crossing letters.

By co-incidence, The Feast is the name of a painting that features in the magnificent book I’m reading at the moment. I was hoping to review it today but haven’t quite finished it, so I’ll do that next time.

9a Passing trend entertains the American fool (7)
FATHEAD: We need a short word meaning ‘passing trend’. That entertains, that is welcomes inside, the ‘the’ from the clue and one of the abbreviations for ’American’.

10a Returning from injury, fit? Certainly better (7)
RECTIFY: The answer is a verb, found lurking in the letters elsewhere in the clue, once they’ve been made to return and face the other way.

11a Pleased to tour island and North Africa, e.g. (9)
CONTINENT: A word for ‘pleased’ tours one of the abbreviations for ‘Island’ and the abbreviation for ‘North’.

A map showing North Africa, including some islands
Pic credit: Peter Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA 3.0

12a Aquatic mammal is close (4)
SEAL: This is a double definition. Don’t be mislead by the surface reading, in which ‘close’ is pronounced /‍kləʊs‍/; we want the /‍kləʊz‍/ meaning.

a group of antelope-like creatures, one with big horns, on grass next to a pond
This is a semi-aquatic mammal — some lechwe we encountered at Yorkshire Wildlife Park last week. I think it’s one of the few remaining breeds of antelope which crossword setters haven’t inflicted on us yet.

13a Sprints shatter refs now and then (6)
DASHES: We need another word for ‘shatter’, often heard where its hopes that are being shattered. Follow that with some letters from ‘refs’, choosing them now and then.

15a Intoxicated, get out of bed in tower block (4-4)
HIGH-RISE: A word meaning ‘intoxicated’ (by certain drugs) is followed by one meaning ‘get out of bed’.

A tower built out of cards with cartoon pictures of animals on them
This is a game called Rhino Hero, which involves placing cards without knocking the tower over. It’s hard to make out in this photo, but there’s a small wooden rhino on the top floor.

18a Stirring up soy, chef briefly making this? (4,4)
CHOP SUEY: The ‘this’ definition refers back to the surface reading of the rest of the clue, which is also the wordplay. Stir up the letters of ‘up soy che’ — the last bit being a brief version of ‘chef’.

19a Says channels will not show golf (6)
UTTERS: Here we need some channels, as in the type that water flows along, then to remove from them the letter indicated by ‘golf’ in the Nato phonetic alphabet.

22a For example, Shakespeare‘s wife originally inspired lines (4)
WILL: We need: the abbreviation for ‘wife’; the original letter of ‘inspired’; and an abbreviation for ‘lines’ (or, if you prefer, multiple instances of the abbreviation for ‘line’).

Anne Hathaway, the actor
Pic credit: Jay Dixit, CC BY-SA 4.0

23a Defender Rio, possibly terrific on the outside (9)
SUPPORTER: The wordplay involves something that Rio is an example of; Grimsby would have worked just as well, though not for the football-related surface meaning. Put a word meaning ‘terrific’ on the outside of that. This was my last answer in, and I think it’s my favourite today.

26a Woke in English seaside resort, missing boyfriend initially (5-2)
RIGHT-ON: This is the metaphorical use of ‘woke’, meaning well-informed of societal injustices. If that provokes a reaction in you, remember Big Dave’s comment etiquette, including the rule that says not to discuss politics. ‘Resort’ here is not an indicator to re-sort the letters, but instead we need to think of a seaside resort in England, specifically one that has the initial letter of ‘boyfriend’ in it. Remove that letter to get the answer — or possibly to get complete nonsense, in which case you need to think of a different resort with that letter and try again.

27a Crossword device such as hint: hotel being The Hilton (7)
ANAGRAM: The wordplay is an example of the answer, in which as ‘hint: hotel’ can be ‘The Hilton’.

28a Cheers for one such television show? (9,6)
SITUATION COMEDY: This is a cryptic definition by example, in which Cheers (in italics, though it isn’t in the clue) is one instance of the answer.

Down

1d Humourless, Spooner’s enemy walked back and forth (2-5)
PO-FACED: We need words for ‘enemy’ and ‘walked back and forth’, then to imagine them spoken aloud by Rev 22a Spooner. Remember that a Spoonerism is swapping the sounds of the beginning of words to form the sounds of new words; the spelling of the common parts doesn’t necessarily stay the same.

a headshot of the red one from ‘Teletubbies’

2d Protein partly contracting (5)
ACTIN: I didn’t know this protein, but it’s easy enough to find it lurking inside ‘contracting’.

3d Make-up items prepared serenely around one (9)
EYELINERS: Prepare the letters of ‘serenely’ into a different order and place them around the Roman numeral for one. If you aren’t immediately spotting the 7a, you could try imagining the answer is 3-6. (It isn’t; but pretending that it is might help!)

Tim Minchin, staring straight at the camera, with lots of eye make-up on
Pic credit: Katy Walsh, CC BY 2.0

4d A lot of dogs with no lead … (6)
OODLES: This is a dog breed in the plural, without its leading letter.

5d … go with dog for run (4,4)
TURN TAIL: This is a go in, say, a board game, followed by another term for ‘dog’ as a verb. The answer looks like it should mean something somebody may do immediately before running; dictionaries differ on whether it includes the actual running itself.

Dennis the Menace from ‘The Beano’ running with hsi dog, Gnasher

6d Engrave back of watch and so on first (4)
ETCH: The back letter of ‘watch’ goes at the end of the answer, because first there’s a term meaning ‘and so on’.

7d Prudish film beginning to irk me in peak viewing period (5,4)
PRIME TIME: Enter in order: another word for ‘prudish’; the title of crossword setters’ favourite 2-letter film; the beginning letter of ‘irk’; and ‘me’ from the clue.

8d Son occasionally okay, then down a shade (3,4)
SKY BLUE: Enter in turn: the abbreviation for ‘son’; letters from ‘okay’ taken occasionally, that is every other letter; a word meaning ‘down’, in the sense of feeling glum.

14d Draw attention to difficulty ahead of Dawn (9)
SPOTLIGHT: The ‘difficulty’ here is a predicament one might find oneself in. That goes ahead of a word meaning ‘dawn’, or what first appears then.

16d Controversial issue, something unpleasant in Jaws? (3,6)
HOT POTATO: Ignore the capital letter and italicization; the wordplay is a literal description of a phrase which is used metaphorically to refer to a controversial issue. (Though it’s often more unpleasant to hold than in your jaws; depending on the exact level of the first word, it might be entirely pleasant to eat.)

17d Male manufactured silk in European city (8)
HELSINKI: Start with a pronoun that can be used to refer to somebody mail. The rest is the letters of ‘silk in’ which have been manufactured into a different order.

18d A crow’s curiously circling daughter’s chickens (7)
COWARDS: Arrange the letters of ‘a crow’s’ in a curious order and make them circle the abbreviation for ‘daughter’.

20d Rugby players extremely poorly getting this drink (7)
SCRUMPY: A term for a group of rugby players (seen in Union more than League) is followed by the extreme letters of ‘poorly’.

21d Wrench finally adjusts pressure on shower (6)
SPRAIN: Enter in turn: the final letter of ‘adjusts’; the physics symbol for ‘pressure’; and a shower.

24d Sweet cake and French crumble served up (5)
TORTE: Serve up the grid the French word for ‘and’ and a word meaning ‘crumble’ or ‘deteriorate’.

25d Somewhat enchanted when climbing volcano (4)
ETNA: Make ‘enchanted’ climb up the page then take some of its consecutive letters.

Quickie Pun

I love the pun in today’s Quick Crossword, formed by saying the first 3 answers out loud (indicated by their clues being italicized):

HACK + JAW + RAGE = ACT YOUR AGE

Recent Reading

cover of the book, featuring the title in a handwritten script over the sky of a cul-de-sac You should read this book! I wouldn’t normally go for two crime books in a row, but such is the nature of the library reservations system. No One Would Do What The Lamberts Have Done is Sophie Hannah’s latest, and has a feel of Janice Hallett’s mysteries about it, with embedded documents, conversations between characters discussing other parts of it, and unknown narrators.

Reviews (proper ones, not crossword hinters mentioning a recent book in passing) say how clever this book is, and how smug you’ll feel for working out the final revelation. There are plenty of hints in the book itself to something important on the very last page. Which is why you should read it — ideally all of you. Because I’ve now read the last page multiple times, and I’m still unsure as to exactly what happened. So I want you to read it and then explain it to me, as though it’s a cryptic crossword clue I’ve failed to parse. Thank you.

100 comments on “DT 31002”

  1. I found today’s puzzle somewhat of a struggle but I can’t pinpoint why. I guess I’m having an off day or the thought of the impending heatwave is addling my grey cells. There were many good clues and plenty of dropping pennies but I had to work for them. For example, it took me a long time to work out the significance of “Jaws” in 16d. For once, the good reverend didn’t phase me and he raised a smile. My COTD is the Quickie pun because it caused me to laugh out loud.

    Thank you, setter for the Monday challenge. Thank you, Smylers for the hints, which I will now peruse.

  2. A great kick off to the new week. Remember seeing 1a in a double bill with The Omega Man as a kid & thought them both great films. Nice use of Jaws, which I watched the last hour of the other night. Got to dash for golf so will read the review later. Fav 8d only because it’s the nickname of my team.
    Thanks to the setter & to Smylers

    1. Hi Hoots

      Have the seen this year’s doc about Jaw: ”Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story”.

      It’s an absolute beaut which I found fascinating

      Here’s the trailer…

      This is also brilliant (we love the laconic Lipton)

  3. Smylers has got it bang on with his rating. Slightly obtuse and thank heavens for the 5 anagrams and the 2 reverse lurkers! I smiled at 4 down. Thanks Smylers for explaining 27a which I didn’t quite understand. A stiff challenge from the setter.

  4. Definitely not a* for difficulty. Like Steve, I found it really made me think. There was some subtle misdirection and a few unusual synonyms to dd to the confusion. I liked the 10a reverse lurker, the Spoonerism at 1d, the geographical anagram at 7d and the geographical lego clue at 11a. Thanks to the compiler and to Smylers for the hints (although maybe a map of the whole 11a would be more appropriate as a hint?)

    1. Hi, Chriscross. I try to go for the illustrations mostly just being there to add some pictures, with people needing to read the text to get hints. Some solvers have pointed out that if they want to check an explanation for one clue mid-solve, it’s easy to end up seeing the pictures for other clues while scrolling past — which can lead to being given the answers of clues they haven’t yet reached, if the pictures are too literal.

      So for 11a I chose a map of North Africa, as that’s what the clue mentions. Anybody who stops to look at that hint can see the underlining and work out what’s actually going on. (That’s also why 12a is the ‘wrong’ aquatic animal!)

      1. Now you have let the Lechwe out of the bag, how long before we see it in a toughie?

        1. I presumed it was going to appear soon enough anyway, so we may as well be forewarned.

          Some days I get the feeling that somebody is creating new breeds of antelope just to use them in crosswords …

            1. I took the North in the clue to be part of the anagram fodder, rogether wuth rhe i from island and the synonym for pleased. So it woyyld be Africa as a whole that provided an e.g. or example of a whole 11a. Sorry, we geography teachers are rerribly nitpicking

              1. You’re absolutely correct about how the clue works and its definition, Chriscross. But as I tried to explain above, the illustrations can be related to any element of the clue, not necessarily the answer. See also the photo for Shakepeare’s wife, the video for an American fool, and the cartoon of running with a dog!

                The illustrations are not there to give away the answer. They may help a solver, but they’re just as likely to mislead …

  5. Well you got me with the image at 12a, which doesn’t look like a 12a but it isn’t, magnificent beast though it is and one I’ve never heard of. I really liked this puzzle, nothing too head-scratchy but plenty of meat in it. Thankyous to whomever composed it and to Smylers whose hints are always enjoyable. I haven’t read the book but shall do based upon your recommendation, and the challenge it contains.

  6. This was a bit of a tester that I enjoyed solving.

    I too have never heard of the protein and I do like the answer for 4d: a great word which I’m pleased to say is of unknown origin. Someone has clearly made it up and it’s a belter.

    My podium is 9a (another excellent word), 23a and 28a (my LOI)

    MT to the setter and Smylers.

    3*/4*

  8. This was so much fun having a relaxing Monday after long days at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta. For once I was on the same wavelength as the setter. Favourite has to be 1a – a film I have heard of is a rare occurrence.
    Many thanks to the setter and Smylers

  9. As said above, a great start to the week. A couple to ponder on to justify that second *
    Thanks to Setter and Smylers

    P.S. feel free to delete this; when you spot that a 1across has sneaked in from an earlier blog, and a couple of spoilers (12a and 13a) are hiding nothing.

    1. Thank you. All now fixed. I initially leave in the first clue from the previous hints as a placeholder and so I can check that the ‘real’ clues and hints have the same formatting. And apparently I forgot to proofread the hidden bits.

      Not deleting, because it’s only fair you get the credit for spotting my ineptitude. Fortunately it’s Falcon for the next two Mondays, which should help to keep standards up.

  10. Enjoyed this. 19a was last in and took an age as, working back, I tried to park the golf everywhere and anywhere but it’s rightful spot. The rather meta 27a and the spoon at 1d my faves. Thanks to the setter and Smylers

  11. For me, etc, and as SC says, a bit of a struggle for Monday – 2.5*/3*

    Candidates for favourite – 19a, 27a, and 1d – and the winner is 27a.

    Thanks to whomsoever and Smylers – a nice illustration of ‘Shakespeare’s wife.’

  12. Contrary to the normal state of affairs, I found this a little easier than some of the other commentators. That was despite foolishly attempting it at midnight, and thus moving my brain to a gear unsuitable for sleeping. One never learns.

    The gentle Spoonerism was a nice way to kick-off the NW, as well as a taking a (correct!) punt in the middle two words of 1a, though the solution to that took a lot more crossers. LOI was 19a – obvious when you have the answer – with the sparkly rosette going to 4d. 1.5*/3.5*

  13. Are you asking us for “eclaircissement” re the denouement of your book recommendation? I can’t help you there; had enough trouble with today’s crossword. I even had to look up the meaning of “ecla…”

    1. Ha! I didn’t know the word either till it appeared in news reports about the spelling competition — hence why I made it a link to something which includes its definition.

      And yes, please, re the book. Though possibly more telling you all to do it than asking …

  14. Reasonably straightforward apart from the protein lurker which I had to check. My loi was 5d which finally dawned on me, doh. All down clues on my podium being, 1, 18 and the rugby players drink at 20. Thanks to compiler and Smylers.

  15. Great start to the week – thanks to our setter and Smylers.
    Having recognised the fodder for 18a I carelessly wrote in ‘soup’ for the second word then had to make a hasty retreat when the first word didn’t work.
    For my podium I’ve selected 26a (I think this is the first time I’ve seen ‘woke’ as a definition), 16d and 24d.

    The DT Vintage series has reached 1961 and we finally have a puzzle (Vintage 15) which is recognizable as a cryptic crossword for today’s solvers. Rossophile will be blogging it today and I’m sure he’d appreciate some comments on it. The offer is still open for anyone else to have a go at blogging one of these puzzles – so what are you waiting for?

  16. For me etc, not straightforward at all. A real brain mangler in fact.
    A quorum for the committee could not be raised (Colonel Bagshot proposed 2d) as Miss Gomshall and Miss Abinger refuse to attend until the Colonel apologises for his suggestion of a game of strip poker at last weekend’s flower show. PC Chilworth recorded the matter as a non-crime hate incident (NCHI).

    Thanks to the setter and The Connections and Sequences Champ From Ilkley (I enjoy Smylers days)

  17. It was nice that 1a jumped off the page as my first one in. With part of the enumeration being 2,3 and the letter F as part of the fodder, ‘of the’ immediately sprung to mind.
    I did not know the protein, but “partly” was an obvious containment indicator.
    Favourite clue, 24d.

    Thanks to the setter and to Smylers.

  18. Not a fast solve by any means (possibly because part of my brain is still in a field in north Oxfordshire, but a pleasing one nevertheless. I thought 27a was excellent and liked the Spoonerism at 1d. Thanks very much to the setter and to Smylers for the enjoyable hints. As a native of Stratford-on-Avon, I spent too long thinking about the person pictured at 22a’s namesake before alighting on the rather more obvious and correct solution.

      1. Fairport Convention’s annual reunion at Cropredy, where I possibly extended Sloop John B’s exhortation to have a pint of Old Hooky for him to also having one for everyone else on this blog.

        1. I feel your hangover from here.
          Were they up to the usual standard?

          We’ll meet on the Ledge…

          1. Tighter than in some recent years if not quite at Swarbrick/Thompson levels from reunions in the early 80s. Then again, neither am I (see above). Martin Barre was superb.

  19. Like quite a number of folk on here I found it a little tougher than a usual Monday. But all the more enjoyable for it. And as well as some top music vids in the hints there is also a mindbogglingly long word for me to fail to remember and a book recommendation which I shall see if my library has.

    Thanks to all involved in the above!

  20. 1.5*/3.5*. This provided a light and pleasant diversion for a hot Monday morning.

    My only reservation is that “streaming” in 1a is the latest in a long line of dubious anagram indicators. Doubtless someone will tell me that it appears somewhere in a long list of anagram indicators, but that’s not good enough in my book.

    24a was my favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Smylers.

  21. A lovely puzzle and a fairly gentle start to the week. Thank you Smylers and today’s setter.
    My ticks are all for across clues: 9a, 23a, 27a and my CoD 10a.
    Great fun.

  22. I found this a bit easier than recent Monday puzzles. The Spoonerism was my first entry, I doubt that will happen again as they are usually my last.

    Top picks for me were 26a, 8d and 1d.
    I also really liked the Quickie pun.
    Thanks to Smylers (I’ve just put in a reservation at the library for the book) and the setter.

  23. Learnt something new in 2d although I doubt I’ll need it again! My top three were 10&23a plus 18d with a nod to the Quickie pun. Finding it hard to concentrate today as my son-in-law decided that it was a good idea to march the grandchildren up Snowdon. The little girl has only recently celebrated her fifth birthday so I won’t rest until they’re safely back down again – call me a silly granny if you like, but….

  24. The most gentle start to the week for some weeks for me ( © etc. etc.). Loved 1d and having children who used to be the appropriate age, loved the Teletubbie picture too, Smylers!
    A very minor claim to fame, is that my father-in-law built the Teletubbies external grounds set – although what they were building was a complete secret and they only found out what the weirdness was when it arrived on TV!

    Ticks also went to 18a (mmmm), 4d’s lots of dogs and 20d’s drink highly appropriate to Rugby players!

    Thanks again to Smylers and to the setter.

  25. A regular Monday puzzle for me this week.

    1.5*/3.5*

    Favourites 15a, 26a, 16d, 17d & 20d — with winners a tie with 15a & 26a

    Thanks to setter & Smylers

  26. That was challenging but not too difficult. A steady solve but came to a halt on 2d, had to do a mental trawl through the alphabet and take the plunge. So another solve without reference to the hints or any other source, although as I say, lucked out with 2d.
    The Spoonerism fell reasonably easily, especially after an inspired guess gave me 1a. No particular stand out clues today but with the PL upon us as from next weekend, 8d brought a smile to my face and the sense of rising anticipation.
    As always, thank you to the setter and to Smylers for the hints.

    1. Having just read the hint to 2d I arrived at the answer by a completely random route. Totally missed the obvious means of getting the answer and thought about the final word, if you contract something out then someone is ***ing on your behalf and knocked off the final letter having read “partly” as an instruction.

      2. Well there you go Flyboy . It wasn’t just me then ! ???? I only just saw it was a lurker.

  27. In a rather stunning display of irony you have claimed your antelope to be the extremely rare (in Crosswordland) lechwe when it is actually the most popular antelope in Crosswordland – the Eland.

    1. Ooops, the lechwe and eland were in the same enclosure, so my photos of them were also adjacent, and I uploaded the wrong one. Now fixed, thank you — though caching may mean some users still see the original image. Try this link if that’s you.

      Welcome to the blog, Pup. I think that’s the most-niche correction I’ve had. I should try to make these kind of mistakes more often if it’s going to encourage new commenters. Please do join in and post again even when the bloggers aren’t demonstrating rather stunning displays of irony!

      1. Hi Smylers and thanks for your cheerful reply. I’m not really familiar with the lechwe, but I do know what an eland looks like. A few years ago it seemed to appear in every crossword I did so I decided to read all about it. I just knew it would come in handy one day…

        1. Welcome to the blog, pup and that was a good spot. Hope to see you commenting again.

          1. Most kind of you, Steve – thank you. I promise you that if I spot any erroneously labelled antelopes I shall pounce with the speed and athleticism of a leopard jumping on an unwary impala grazing on the grass beneath the leopard’s tree.

  28. Easiest and most enjoyable for me for a long time. Thanks Setter and Smylers. Managed without the hints. A bit of trouble parsing some. Favourites 23a and 20d. Rainy day here today in Cornwall.

  29. So I also thought it was a notch up from the usual Monday with a few clues that I had to think hard about. Like Flyboy I missed the lurker at 2d also thinking it was a truncated word . Great minds and all that ! Anyway thanks so much to the setter for an enjoyable solve and to Smylers.

  30. All completed but some took a while to fathom. I did manage the spooner which is always pleasing. My favourite was 4d. I spent far too long trying to make 11a a partial anagram of pleased with an I and n.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Smylers for the hints

  31. I really enjoyed this with a good mixture of clues. It flowed nicely with checkers proving very useful in the harder clues.
    I knew the protein but I couldn’t parse the clue. In the end I decided acting was a synonym of partly and then contracted it by removing the G!
    Thanks to Smylers and Setter
    23a favourite today
    2*/4.5*

    1. Hi SL8

      2d has turned into a fascinating clue because there are three feasible parsings: yours, Flyboy’s and the setter’s.

      I have never seen that before, especially as it’s only a three word clue!

      I appreciate that ‘partly’ and ‘contracting’ may not be used as indicators to knock off the last letter but they make sense. Looking at the recent anagram indicators where everything goes, why not!

        1. It somehow gets better!

          To quote legendary Aussie commentator Bill Lawry….it’s all happening.

          Thank you, TG.

  32. 24a easily my favourite from this very Mondayish and typically enjoyable kick start to the crosswording week.

    Many thanks to our setter and Smylers.

    1. I presumed not, Portobella — and therefore didn’t check. Chris Lancaster was the latest double-punner, as a tribute to Campbell, and now he has sadly announced there won’t be any more backpagers from him, I saved time this morning by not even solving the bottom of today’s quick crossword.

      But maybe another setter has taken over double-punning, as a tribute to Chris Lancaster’s tribute to Campbell? Has anybody else checked?

  34. I found this very chewy, and was luckily to get enough answers at first and second pass to follow the old advice of ignoring the remaining clues to fill in the blanks. Amazingly, the Spooner clue was one I solved right away. Not very satisfying though, except for 1a which brought back memories of simpler times. Thanks to setter and Smylers. Might have a look to see if my library carried Sophie Hannah’s books.

  35. A quicker solve for me today (these things are relative!). Like others, I didn’t know the protein, but got it from checkers and the clue wording. My favourites were the seaside wokeness at 26a, the meta 27a and the sweet cake at 24d.
    Thank you setter & Smylers

    1. Hi Joey

      You have a tremendous alias.

      Is there a story * behind it or is it simply that you’re always having a good time?

      If it’s the latter then you need to meet Larry Reilly, the sandboy, as he is clearly a happy bunny like your good self.

      * ‘Backstory’ will never pass my lips.

      1. I enjoyed the comedian David Mitchell’s memoir, called Back Story. He’d been suffering backache and a doctor had recommended going on walks. Each chapter tells us both about a walk he’s going on for his back and also a story from earlier in his life. I thought the title was clever!

          1. S and T. In a similar vein, another book with a clever title is Vic Reeves’ (Jim Moir’s) autobiography Me:Moir.

            1. Very good.

              My faves are:

              The autobiography of George Adamson, Joy’s hubby, is My Pride and Joy

              Gene Simmons’ (Kiss’ lead singer) – Kiss and Make-up

            2. A former nickname, Noir (my surname in French) lead me to propose Re:Noir as the title of my autobiography.

      2. Hi Tom,

        The alias was from the dim and distant past when my friend decided we should have traveling aliases when we went overseas……I can’t recall why…….anyway there are one or two stories that usually come out after a few drinks, but all from too many years ago!
        These days, my good times are more likely to be solving the Wordle in 3 turns or completing the DT cryptic with no hints…….it’s probably for the best.
        I’ve admired your alias from afar too…….I’m sure it’s a misnomer ????

        1. Firstly, I’d love to know your stories. But, what goes on tour….

          Secondly, my golfing hero is Tom Watson (middle name Sturges) who shot 65 to Jack’s 66 in the Duel in the Sun in ‘77 to beat him by a stroke.

          His swing is so natural and will last until he’s 90.

          A couple of years ago, I said on this blog…RayT never fails to disappoint.

          A triple negative used incorrectly which I had to acknowledge.

          1. I fully agree with you about Tom Watson and what a shame we couldn’t enjoy the full circle story at Turnberry in 2009, how magical that would have been. I wasn’t aware of his middle name, now I know!

            1. Every day’s a school day and all that.

              Your ‘full circle’ comment is spot on.

              When he hit his approach to the 18th, needing a par to win, he said to his caddie ”That’s perfect”. But, it took a huge, unexpected bounce and went through the green (that is definitely unlucky as it landed at the front of the dance floor so it will roll up to the pin).

              His chip back was okay but not great, leaving him a tricky eight footer. Unfortunately, his effort was very poor.

              Winning that, two months shy of his 60th, would have been the greatest ever sporting achievement though Tiger winning the US Open in 2000 by 15 strokes and Ali’s ‘Rope a dope’ runs it close.

              I still haven’t got over it.

  36. Thanks to the setter and Smyler for the hints. We came to this later on in the day due to Monday morning commitments. We found this a tad harder than usual for a Monday, enjoyable nevertheless. Gary and Val

  37. Enjoyed that, especially with po-faced, humourless, woke, and right-on, all in such appropriately close proximity in the west.

    Thank you to the setter (X-Type? Twm?) and Smylers

  38. 1*/3* Just right for a Monday, also didn’t know the protein, but the clue was clear enough.
    Top clues for me today include 28a Cheers, 23a defender and unusually for me the Spooner at 1d
    Thanks to Smylers and setter

  39. Good Monday fun, especially the hilarious 28A. 20D is my COTD, not just because it’s a great clue, but it alsombrings back memories of misspent youth in the South West. VMT Setter and Smylers.

  40. Looked difficult on a first view but persevered and solved it all without any assistance. LOI 5d took awhile because of the debatable definition and afterwards I had to check the hint for the full parsing of 7d. COTD 27a for its construction and surface. Thanks to the setter and Smylers. **/***

  41. I had to check the protein at 2d but easily gettable from the the clue and turned out to be very clever, see reply to #31. I can’t see that 26a means woke by any stretch of the imagination, I’ll refrain from commenting further. The rest of the crossword was pretty straightforward compared to recent Monday offerings and rather more enjoyable. Favourite was 7d. Thanks to the setter and Smylers.

  42. Thanks all, and thank you to Smylers for the review.
    Woke and right-on appear together as “informal” synonyms for liberal, progressive etc in Oxford Dictionaries online, which I think is good enough for the purposes of a clue. Unfortunately ‘woke’ has recently become a much more pejorative byword for strident and unreasonable opinions, rather than the rational awareness of social unfairness that it’s supposed to describe.
    I wrote just the one pun for the Quick crossword!

  43. Another of my random jottings but it could find its way into a cryptic one day.

    I found this growing by the compost bins and I have no idea where it came from. According to the plant identifier, it is American Pokeweed.

    Is this what Elvis sang about?

  44. Not really my cup of tea so was unsurprised to find it came from Twmbarlwm as I rarely go a bundle on his products which I do find difficult to fathom/parse. 27a had to be but needed guidance to suss. 5d somehow doesn’t really seem appropriate. Thank you anyway T*******m (others have obviously enjoyed it) and Smylers.

  45. Began this yesterday evening and hit a wall with about a third left to complete, unusually my first one in was the Spoonerism. Managed to complete the grid this morning before the heat fries Bracknell. Favourite was 18 down after trying to think of all the kinds of hen I could. Thanks to Twmbarlwm and Smylers

    1. Welcome. Well done for completing — I often find that as well: somehow clues that were baffling the day before suddenly become clear!

      And do please keep commenting. Even if it’s the day after, there are plenty of us still reading.

  46. 3*/4* …
    liked 26A “Woke in English seaside resort, missing boyfriend initially (5,2)”

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