DT 31042

90 comments on “DT 31042”

1. Sorry but I found today’s offering too tough. I had managed only 10d after the first pass and it remained thus for far too long. Not being a fan of football, 1a was a no go despite the fact I could see it was an anagram. Of the ones I could solve 1d was my favourite. I can’t call it my COTD because there were many I couldn’t solve that may well have been better.

   Sorry, setter but you beat me today. Thank you, Mr. K. for the hints, which I will now look at to see how things work. No doubt I’ll be saying “doh” a lot. 🙂 Thank you for the pusskits as well. 👍

   1. Steve you may well find Karla’s very enjoyable Toughie in t’other place far easier – I certainly did. Give it a whirl.

      1. I totally agree with Huntsman, Steve. It is the gentler of the two, by some margin. Well worth a look.

   2. Thanks, both. Je vais y aller maintenant

      1. Now where’s my translation book?

         1. https://translate.google.com/ of course.

            1. Really enjoyed this one today. Tricky but it fed itself. My first one in was 18d and I got the first letter wrong. From then on I was paying attention. Last in was 16d did not see it for a while until the penny dropped.

2. Got 1a and 1d in a flash, then nothing, for ages……

   Steadily came clear this was to be at the limits of my ability, but gradually they came, kicking and screaming onto the grid.

   Good luck over the pond with 1a and 9a, don’t reckon much cricket gets coverage over there.

   Always thought ‘matt’ was the word for dull, but the Dick and Harry says the version with one tee can do the job just as well.

   No real favourites today as they where all very good and fairly clued, even though it took a while to see the why of them, especially 11a, my last one in.

   Many thanks to or setter, can’t wait to see who it is.

   1. Hi TC

      You often say good luck to people overseas when it comes to British references. 90% of the audience is UK-based. So, it’s case of knowing the audience. No one from overseas has ever complained as they know the score.

      We love these nods to British things whether it be Eric Morecambe, Baldrick, Wallace & Gromit, Hearts FC, Auld Reekie or various rivers as they often start conversations or evoke memories. Who doesn’t love a bit of nostalgia.

      1. And a significant number of the people overseas are ex-pats who still read the DT as well as tackle the crosswords.

         1. Agreed, but we are still sometimes befuddled by words, TV shows etc. that have come about since we flew away. But it’s a British crossword, so no complaints here. I’m more puzzled by some of the so called Americanisms that I don’t recognise despite being over here for 43 years. Regional differences I guess.

      2. Hi Tom, talking of cricket and the US, Mrs TC and I once heard an American chap who was videoing a cricket match on an Eton sports field saying into the camera “This is cricket, a game that was based on our baseball” we just left him to it.

         1. Hilarious!

            Gotta luv the septics.

            Talking of nonsense words like gotta…gotten is everyway and I mean everywhere. I’ve even heard a couple of UK journalists use it!

            What the?????

            1. The one that has crept in that I really hate is “Can I get” now used in every cafe or pub everywhere, boils my blood….

               1. Oooo, I’m with you.

                  Grrrrr….

                  1. Or when I ask someone how they are and they say “I’m good.”
                     Sorry but I’m not asking about your morals.

                     1. Annoyance badoyance!

                     2. When my wife and I (30 years ex-pats living in the US) replied “We’re good” to my 90-year-old mother when she asked how we were, after a pause she replied, “I was asking about your state of health, not your state of piety”. Haven’t done that again!

                        1. Two excellent ones from AH and Day Zee.

                     3. And there was me thinking I was just grumpy old lady – another pet hate is see you later or see you soon when all you have done is bought a stamp.

                  2. Yep, that’s why I wouldn’t last two minutes as a barman, the first person to say ‘can I get a pint of Carlsberg’ would get the answer “sure, come through the hatch, pick up a pint glass, pour from that pump over there, don’t forget to tilt the glass, put £6 in the till, thank yourself, now go back into the bar and drink it”

                     Yep, sacked after just one customer….

                     1. Great shout!

                        Chuckling here like a good’un….or….as the yoof of today say…LOL.

               2. Do stores in the UK say the oh so annoying “Welcome In” when you enter”? One of these days I’m going to retort with “Goodbye Out” 😊

            2. But gotten is a perfectly valid, if archaic, past participle of got and we still say, for example, ill-gotten gains.

               1. Nice effort Senf but 99% of the people who say ‘gotten’ won’t have the first clue what you are talking about.

                  They are trying to say ‘got’ but are getting it incorrect.

                  1. Getting it wrong.

                     1. You raise an interesting point, Em Dubs, as I use them interchangeably.

                        I’ve had a quick look online and found these though they could be wrong (I had to)…

                        1. ”Wrong and incorrect are completely different, and most people use WRONG incorrectly. Think of WRONG as right vs wrong, a moral option…whereas INCORRECT is not a correct spelling, usage, etc., but without any notion of morality.”

                        2. ”Incorrect can be a “softer” word than wrong, particularly when pointing out someone’s mistake. The two words indeed overlap in meaning, but the word wrong can be used to refer to moral lapses, while incorrect isn’t really used that way. That’s why wrong can seem like a “more negative,” “more harsh,” or “more personal” word than incorrect.” Compare these definitions from Collins:

                        wrong (adjective)

                        1 not correct or truthful ⇒ the wrong answer
                        2 acting or judging in error ⇒ you are wrong to think that
                        3 immoral; bad ⇒ it is wrong to cheat

                        with these:

                        incorrect (adjective)

                        1 false; wrong ⇒ an incorrect calculation
                        2 not fitting or proper ⇒ incorrect behaviour

                        It is hilarious that the first definition of wrong is ‘not correct’ as opposed to ‘incorrect’.

                        Hoo nose, Mike. But, it is a goodie.

                        Btw, I love the brevity of your post. Are you RayT’s brother, perchance?

                        1. Here endeth the lesson. 😊

                           1. I’ll stick to wide of the mark just to be on the safe side

3. I’m not usually good at football clues bbut 1a fell into place straightaway becauuse I used to be fascinated by the names of the Scottish clubs as my dad listened to thefootball results with my dad, he checked his pools coupon . Apart from that , I liked the geographical Lego clue at 1d, the missing lettwrs clue at 16d and the0d anagram. Thanks to Mr K for the hints and ro the compiler for a very enjoyable guzzle.

4. 1a does indeed scream Silvanus. Some super surfaces, as ever. 11a, 1d, 7d, 15d, etc. 9a’s “the same” tickled me and I was much cheered to see “capsized” as an across reversal. Quite right too! Best thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.

5. For a Friday relatively benign although the west was trickier.Last one in 1d and an excellent one to finish on.1,9,17 and 27 pick of a very good bunch . Thanks to all .

6. Fooled me! Not much FUN

7. This was decidedly chewy in places, but perseverance paid off for a very enjoyable solve. The SW was delayed by my own stupidity in bunging in an answer for 18d, unparsed, having not read the clue correctly. I have many ticks on my page including honorable mentions for 9a, 23a and 6d, but podium places go to 25a, 22d and 1d in top spot. Thanks to compiler and Mr K.

8. Good morning. I was expecting a more challenging crossword today as Fridays can be testing especially if the crosswords earlier in the week, were somewhat light. I felt as though I has raced through this but the clock said otherwise. 1d is my COTD and the medical procedure reminded me of the schoolboy humour of yesterdays 6a, if I remember correctly. Thank you for the review and to the setter

9. A splendid finish to the week by Sade with 1a kicking things off very nicely.

   I have to applaud him for spotting that May 1st is the feast day of St Peregrine who I’ve never heard of. Maybe Brian can pop in to tell us more about him. (love ‘feast day’, btw)

   I got 15d but the parsing threw me and now I see why. I had ‘ligate’, meaning to bind or tie, with the reversal of the abbreviation for the game of rugby union. But, this meant the word ‘one’ was redundant.

   I didn’t know the item of clothing in 5d or mat with one t. I thought ‘kip’, a little sleep, was outside the reverse of ‘and’.

   But, I got there in the end which made it an enjoyable solve.

   My podium is 1a, 26a and 1d.

   MT to Silvanus and Mr K.

   3*/4*

   1. I parsed 4d that way too!

      1. So did I!

         1. By misparsing it (that needs to be a word) * , I have learnt a new one.

            * Or is it parsing it incorrectly or wrongly? (see my last post in # 2)

            The latter is such an ugly word.

10. After a relatively ‘gentle’ four days, Silvanus, for it must be he after 1a, reminding us, well me at least, that DT back pagers are supposed to provide cranial exercise especially on a Friday – 3.5*/4.5*

    Candidates for favourite – 27a, 1d, and 21d – and the winner is 27a.

    Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.

11. Got 1a quickly although I am from Edinburgh. Couldn’t parse 9a – the hint was hugely helpful. Fine puzzle though – thanks to setter and Mr K

12. A first-rate puzzle whic is extremely enjoyable – thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.
    My printout is festooned with ticks – I’ll just mention 23a, 24a, 27a, 1d and 16d.

    May I reinforce the above recommendations of Huntsman and ALP for today’s Toughie by Karla. If you normally avoid Friday Toughies do have a go at this one which is very gentle and very good.

13. 1a certainly suggests it’s a Smooth production, wasn’t so sure during solve but reading back through it reckon Silvanus a safe bet. Either way I struggled & had 4 holdouts at the end which took an awful lot of crumpet scratching & nigh on doubled my usual back-page completion time. Hadn’t previously realised there was a 2 letter abbreviation for ditto & very slow to twig a few others. Very enjoyable – 11,23&24a + 1,4,7&21d among particular likes.
    Thanks to the setter & to Mr K for a 24a review with puss pics.
    Ps not really a fan of the 13a singer’s own stuff but she’s got a great voice & was terrific in the remake of A Star Is Born. She also sings the backing vocals on this great song from Willie Nelson’s boy & his country rock band (who featured in the film with Lukas dubbing Bradley Cooper’s guitar playing)

14. I needed parsing help with several clues today, thanks Mr K.

    Good to see The Jags in the crossword….but a bit obscure for a lot of folks I guess. Hope it won’t make The List.

    Thanks to the setter and to Mr K. Great pics .

    Coming to the end of a lovely peaceful holiday in the very South of Italy. Near Lecce if that rings any bells. We went to the end of the earth yesterday…..in Santa Maria di Leuce where the crusaders set sail for the Holy Land.

15. A very enjoyable puzzle which required some thinking to complete.
    I laughed at the evacuation procedure and the cyclist, and they both received ticks.
    Many thanks to Silvanus and to Mr K.

16. 1a was certainly something of a giveaway when it comes to identifying today’s setter as were the ultra smooth surfaces. My knowledge of Scottish football clubs comes from the same source as Chriscross’s does – listening to the dulcet tones of Mr Gordon as he read out the results on the radio. To be honest, I don’t think my dad had much interest in football, he was a tennis fan, but ‘doing the pools’ was something of a weekly ritual, rather like checking the lottery numbers has become these days. I did have a mild panic on reading the clue for 27a as I don’t know the names of many cyclists but the casino operators came to my aid although no such luck with the cricket tournament where I had to rely on the sense of the clue and the checkers to give me a ‘possible’ that I could verify with Mr G.
    Masses of ticks on my paper with special mentions for 11a plus 2,16&22d along with the Quickie pun which made me laugh.

    Many thanks to our smooth operator, Silvanus, and also to Mr K for the review – pleased to see that you’ve let the cats out to play today!

    Masses of ticks on my paper with special mentions f

    1. Don’t know how the partial repetition occurred but the ‘edit’ facility won’t allow me to get rid of it!

    2. Hi Jane,

       This may bring back memories for you, the mellifluous master demonstrating his craft. However, it is clearly a “cut-and-paste job”, as JAG retired/died a decade before these fixtures and, if you listen very carefully, someone else’s voice is used for “Bonnyrigg Rose” who weren’t a League team in his day! No matter, though.

       By the different inflexions in his voice, one could always tell if the home team had won, drawn or lost, even before the away team’s score had been given.

       1. Did JAG ever report this score? East Fife 4 Forfar 5?

          1. Sadly not. My researches suggest that the only time this score occurred between these two teams was in a penalty shoot-out in a cup game (after it had ended 1-1).

       2. It certainly did bring back some memories although the crackle from our old radio was missing!

          1. This conversation reminds me of the shipping forecast, with Dogger,, Tyne, Hebrides etc

             1. Absolutely – that’s another one that lodged in my brain although I don’t think I’m as word perfect on all the areas as I used to be…..

17. This took me several visits to complete, perhaps the Kefalonian sun was adding my brain.

    1A threw me somewhat as the club in the answer are no longer in the SPFL as far as I know.

    Very enjoyable once I finished and looked back.

    Thanks to the setter and Mr K

    1. But a ‘trip’ to that unimpeachable source Wikipedia will tell you that, since the 2013-14 season, the SPFL is the ‘overall’ organisation consisting of the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Championship (where 1a is ensconced), Scottish League One and Scottish League Two –
       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Professional_Football_League

       1. Indeed, thank you Senf. Also “SPFL” is much more succinct for a setter to use than “Scottish football”, especially if one is looking to save print space!

          1. Apologies.

             My Googling of SPFL produced a plethora of links to the Scottish Premiership table which led me to believe that the P in SPFL denoted Premiership. 😬

18. I’m not a fan of this Friday puzzle, but then again it is often the most difficult puzzle of the week. I struggled with lots of the parsing and I don’t even fathom many even with the answer.
    Oh well.

    3*/3* today

    Favourites 17a, 27a, 1d & 4d — with winner 17a

    Thanks to Silvanus & Mr. K

19. Excellent Friday Cryptic. Solved 1a and 1d straight away. Then spent most of the time trying to remember where I had seen 1d before

    … Ah, of course, the famous Rufus clue: “Kiss me! Hardy!” (7,5)

    Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.

20. A superb puzzle – pitched just right for a Friday. Thanks to the setter and to Mr K who’s words of wisdom I shall now peruse.

21. A better day pour moi today here in Moraira and there were some excellent clues in this puzzle. 23a raised a chuckle and 1d was my COTD. Thanks for the hints Mr K as these helped to fully understand 13a and 15d. Thanks to the setter for a fun **/**** Friday.

22. A chewy but enjoyable puzzle today. Had to check my cricket assumption was correct and needed Mr K’s help parsing 15d.
    LOI was 26a I’m ashamed to say as being a mathematician I should have got it sooner.

    Top picks for me were 1d, 23a, 16d and 27a.
    I also liked the Quickie pun, such a lovely word.

    Thanks to Mr K and Silvanus.

23. Thanks a lot, Silvanus, for the entertainment; tricky but not too tricky, my effort only thwarted by putting in the “wrong” one, as per usual, at 2d. Very happy to see the return of the pusses. Tvm to Mr K

24. 3*/5*. 1a was a clear indication right from the off of the authorship of this absolutely top-notch puzzle, which oozes smoothness in every clue.

    With almost every clue ticked, picking a podium is quite a struggle, but I’ll settle on 11a, 1d (my favourite), 2d & 21d.

    Many thanks to Silvanus and to the cat loving Mr K.

25. Bit of a strange solve for me today. Rattled through most of it very quickly for a Friday/Silvanus production. Then got stuck in the SE and the intersecting 26a and 22d completely defeated me. Got them via the hints and my only excuse is on 22d having the ‘R’ checker meant I couldn’t get ‘GP’ and was stuck trying to use ‘DR’ which got me nowhere!
    Although I got 19a quickly, I still can’t add a letter to get a synonym of fat/rotund and nor can my app, would appreciate any enlightenment.
    Oh, COTD goes to the evacuation procedure in 23a.
    Many thanks for a great puzzle to Silvanus and Mr K for the hints.

    1. The letter you need to add at 19a is P.

       1. Oh for pity’s sake!! Obvious, thanks Gazza!!!!!!!

          I think I need a beer – and two words of that sentence are superfluous and it’s not the last two!

26. Mostly light and straightforward with a few firmly in Friday territory though once those answers had come to mind I had no idea why I’d been so dense. Honours to COTD 2d, 26a, and 1d.

    Many thanks to Silvanus for the great puzzle and to Mr K for the hints and cats.

27. Many thanks as always to Mr K (you didn’t disappoint me with a picture for 16d!) and to all those solving and commenting. Quite an interesting range of opinions about the difficulty level!

    Like Chriscross and Jane, I also found myself intrigued and charmed by some of the names of Scottish football teams. To me, Queen of the South sounds more like a character from Game of Thrones or a CS Lewis novel rather than a football club based in Dumfries. I fondly remember a short documentary series that the writer and broadcaster Jonathan Meades made for the BBC about fifteen years ago where he tried to locate the likes of Raith, St Mirren, St Johnstone etc., only for his satnav (with a Scottish voice) to tell him that there are no such places and he would need to go to Kirkcaldy, Paisley and Perth instead.

    May I wish everyone a good weekend. I’ll see you all again soon.

    1. My word Sylvanus you mangled my brain there for a while. A proper Friday guzzle. I loved the Capsized seamen and am amazed and proud to say I got 1a because I am not a footbally type, but am quite hot on anagrams. I did need Mr. K’s help – so thanks to you as well. Have a good weekend everyone.

28. I thought this was pitched just right for a Friday with some tricky clues – aided by some useful checkers that came to my rescue. Was unaware of DO as an abbreviation for ditto so failed to pares 9a but the IPL gave the game away.
    3*/4.5*
    26a, 16d favourites.
    Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.

29. I found this decidedly tricky today but got there in the end. Thanks to Mr K for the pusscats and Silvanus for the brain mangling.

30. Strange how the brain works (or doesn’t). I fairly rattled through this one without quite understanding the cricket reference but bunged it in anyway, only to be defeated by 26A – Grr!

31. Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K. We found this tough and resorted to a few hints before the sunsets! COTD 17a. Matt is matt not Mat! I photo printed on Matt paper most of my career.

    1. To be fair, Chambers starts with mat, and also gives matt and matte as alternatives. It would be a rare day indeed that you can catch out Silvanus!

    2. See comment about mat at No. 2, I thought it was always 2 Ts until I looked it up, learn summat new every day!

       1. I have never seen it with one t though it obviously exists. Way ahead are matt and matte.

          Wordle a few weeks ago had matte as an answer which mucked up my average.

          Officer Dibble said in post 2 that, for Dick and Harry, mat is acceptable. But, for Tom, I say…….pah!

32. Very tricky in places with 15d being last in, but a very enjoyable and entertaining challenge. The 4 long ones were got early on which helped a lot and 1d was my favourite.

    Many thanks to Silvanus and to MrK for the hints which I needed to clarify the parsing of a couple.

33. Huntsman and ALP both persuaded me to try today’s Toughie by Karla and I’m pleased I did. If you don’t normally look at the Toughie do so today – it’s quite gentle.

34. Went off to book club after hardly making a dent in today’s offering.Later came back and DNF with just 2 not filled in. Thought it was. 4 star for difficulty because even when a few of the answers felt right I could not parse them. There was much to admire and bring a smile. Should have got 26 across and then 22 down might have made itself evident. Football and cricket often trip me up and I hardly drink more than half a glass of what my Lithuanian friend calls “ pink lady wine “. Must broaden my horizons of only to help with the crossword.Thank-you Silvanus and really needed Mr. K today.

35. I was surprised how well today’s puzzle came together, especially as my hackles went up straight-away on seeing a football clue at 1a and mention of cricket at 9a, sorry Silvanus! I thought 1d was a brilliant clue and it brought a smile. Many thanks to Silvanus and to Mr K for the hints and kitty pics. Have a nice weekend everyone.

36. Great Friday puzzle. 1A and 1D made a lovely start, and 2D very funny. VMT Silvanus and Mr K.

37. 1* / 4* I found this surprisingly straightforward for a Friday, nonetheless very enjoyable.
    Favourites include 9a with the cricket reference, the comfortable cop at 12a and the hierarchy at 1d
    Many thanks to Silvanus and Mr K

38. So definitely a notch or two up but it is Friday. A few chewy clues that made this a bit of a head scratcher and I had to focus to finish , but very satisfying. I couldn’t parse 9a – cricket …grrrr! Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.

39. A tough Friday puzzle made enjoyable by the return of Mr K’s picture hints – always a mood saver on such days. I did get 1a but only because I recognized it as an anagram, and then cheated by looking up a list of SPFL teams…. I was mistaken by thinking 11a is solely a noun, can never spell 25a, and beaten by the clues that needed detailed explanations. COTD 1d, very clever. Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.

40. A tough Friday that I finished unaided, so very happy.

    9a need the detailed explanation, so, many thanks for that! The IPL and do for ditto are new to me.

    For 5d I tried to fit numerous words but the actual answer was found eventually. It wasn’t plonkers unfortunately.

    Thanks to all.

41. Had a long battle with this crozzie late this afternoon and throughout this evening and eventually finished it almost unaided apart from 22d: I know nothing of spirits and had never heard of it. Also, afterwards, I needed the hints to fully understand the parsing of 9a and 15d, both of which I mainly solved from the checkers and the straightforward part of the clue; the parsing of both was too stretched I thought. Otherwise, enjoyed the crozzie. COTD 26a for its simplicity and subtlety. Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K. ***/***

42. Got there in the end but defeated by three down clues in the southern hemisphere so had to revert to Mr K’s hints and some electronic help. A real challenge.
    Two standouts, 1d and 22a.
    Thank you to the setter and to Mr K for the hints.

    1. That should have read 23a, the evacuation procedure. Had me smiling.

43. 3*/4* ….
    liked 19A “Choice using reduced fat (4)”

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