DT 31046

81 comments on “DT 31046”

1. I’m afraid I didn’t get on well with today’s puzzle. I found some of the clues somewhat convoluted. All fairly clued, of course but my brain simply was not tuned in to the wavelength. Still, after two fairly straightforward days, it is to be expected the rest of the week’s crosswords will have stings in the tails.

   Thank you, setter but I’m afraid I could not do justice to your offering. Thank you, Gazza for the hints.

2. Sadly, I had to abandon this. It was too difficult.
   The amount of lateral thinking required too much
   There is always tomorrow-hopefully

3. I felt that I stumbled through the puzzle today but looking at my page I have several ticks. Must just be in a contrary mood. SE held out for far too long and 23d was a new word for me.

   Top picks for me were 2d, 26a, 29a and 8d.

   Thanks to Gazza and the setter.

4. Good morning. This was on a par with the Today`s Toughie. Testing but not overly difficult. 1a took a while to parse and 23d was LOI! 15a and 25d were fun but COTD goes to 18a. Many thanks for the review and to the setter

5. I would have thought exterior to independent was ‘IT’, maybe just me though………

   1. Nope, TC you are not alone. I tried to fit “IT” in for ages.

   2. .. in a different context I’d agree but with the check letters I had and the colour this one simply swam in.
      Pity that I’d taken a cruel turn at 23d though. Thanks to Gazza for putting me right.
      Tough going today but it kept me out of the decorator’s way!
      By cotd was believe it or not the spoonerism at 12a.
      I’m still at a loss as to where “with me” fits in at 2d?

      1. 2d We gather leaves together with (i.e. using) ME (i.e. the answer).

6. I suspect that this puzzle will divide the room, as it is indeed a step up in difficulty from the Monday and Tuesday puzzles, as Gazza notes in his introduction. I suspect that I might be in the minority, but I loved it.
   Progress was steady but slow, as I took time to enjoy the parsing of each clue. Ticks all over my page, but if pushed, I will nominate 1a, 15a and 11d for my rostrum.
   Showing my age, I biffed Anthony for 3d. Wrong Blunt!
   Thanks to Gazza for the blog and to our setter for the puzzle. Please drop in later to take a bow.

   1. Hear hear! We loved it too.

7. As others have said, quite a sudden change in terms of level of challenge compared to the last couple of days but, for me at least, the most enjoyable puzzle I’ve seen for a while. Like MF, I found the SE tricky and I was successfully dispatched down a rabbit hole by the number in 21d. Lots of ticks but special mentions for the stationery item at 2d and the homophone at 22a (I took Gong to be the Daevid Allen led hippies with their electric cheese rather than a rapper, but then my knowledge of hip hop, as we called it then, is largely confined to the 1980s).

   Thanks very much to the setter and to Gazza.

8. Hugely enjoyable. 18a’s “immersion heater” is especially lovely, 11d’s surface is winning and 16d’s fun. Great Spooner too. Best thanks to setter and Gazza.

9. This was a very enjoyable midweeker that I somehow powered through in quick time with my LOI being 1d. The cluing was top notch with all the classic techniques on display.

   Even though it makes complete sense, I’ve never heard of 23d and my guess is some of the solvers won’t know who 3d is.

   ‘Forest manager’ and ‘Immersion heater’ are inspired.

   Re 13a, how good were Edward Fox and Michael Lonsdale in the 1973 film version of the superb Frederick Forsyth novel? Sublime.

   My podium is 1a, 2d and 11d.

   MT to Hudson (?) and Gazza.

   2*/4*

   1. It’s unlikely, but not impossible, that this is a Hudson production because he’s on Toughie duty today.

      1. Ah, thank you.

         Mr Tumble, maybe?

10. This crossword was so difficult that I nearly gave up. Eventually, after putting it down twice, I managed to complete it but it was rather chewy. I thought the cryptic definition at 2d was really clever, with the item in question describing its own function. The Lego clues at 17d and 8d were quite good too. Thank you compiler, sorry i wasn’t on your wavelength today. Thanks to Gazza for the hints, which I shall now read to clarify some of the parsing

11. Could not get into the swing of this puzzle, there seemed no “theme” or consistency to it and it just felt like a jumbled collection of clues. I personally find my heart sinks when I see a Spoonerism based clue, but this one fell out easily enough.

    Nevertheless, some really enjoyable clues such as 15a and 18a which lifted my spirits a bit, but overall I was glad to finish it.

12. Difficult, difficult, lemon difficult. Harder than the toughies of late. Not many laughs to be had – just a bit of a battle to the end. Not for me I’m afraid – but thanks to the setter and to Gazza for providing some much needed humour with his cartoons.

    1. Btw…lemon difficult.

       Made up on the spot by your good self or an old family one?

       Either way…..I love it!

13. I certainly did not find this crossword easy but perhaps not quite as difficult as others seem to have. We’ll, I got through it anyway.
    Thanks to the setter and to Gazza .

14. Completed either side of a flu jab and like others, Kentish corner was last to fall.
    The county motto is ‘Invicta’, so it seems appropriate that most resistance was incurred there.
    I liked the Ford in 24a, the diva in 3d and the top celebs in 8d.
    My thanks to our setter and Gazza.

15. A quite unfathomable puzzle. I failed to solve a single clue. Some of the cartoons were iffy also. Never mind, there is a fun Hoskins in the i paper.

16. I can’t claim an unaided finish today as I was undone by the SE. Having scratched my crumpet without any benefit I resorted to Gazza’s hints after which I felt a right “alias”. Of the clues I did complete, 10a and 13a get honorable mentions but cotd goes to 18a. Thanks to compiler and Gazza whose hints I definitely needed.

17. What’s the point in the “sixty” in 21d ??

    1. I think the setter wanted to use a number that ended in E but also would make a mathematical division tough. So ‘three’ for example wouldn’t really fit the bill.

    2. None whatsoever! Could have had three, five or twelve as fairer clues than sixty-one in my opinion.

       1. Hi MCUK & PG

          If it was divisible by 3, 5 or 12 it wouldn’t be tough which it needs to be to fit the parsing though it could be argued that 12 isn’t easy.

          I love the randomness of 61 as the setter could have picked any big number.

          Maybe it’s their age?

          1. I defer to both you and Gazza. I just thought it was a bit unfair to use a hyphenated number. Probably because I spent way too long trying to fit Y and E into the answer!

             1. I agree that a hyphen did complicate things, probably unnecessarily, as it’s a tricky clue anyway.

                On reflection, twelve would have been a better choice as we all had to learn our times tables and 12 was the ‘tough’est.

                It’s also a great word to say that people often choose when they think someone’s being childish…what are you, twelve?

                1. Or as my mum, who is originally from Pembrokeshire, pronounces it ‘twel -uv’
                   So that’s hyphenated too!!!!

                   1. Love it!

          2. Did anyone else spend some time trying to fit LXI in?

             1. I scribbled LXi on the side after the initial read. But this was discarded when I got the e(s) from the other clues.

18. An unfathomable offering today. I failed to solve a single clue. Never mind, there is a Hoskins offering in the i paper to compensate.

19. Didn’t feel that the clues flowed particularly well in this one which rather spoiled the solving experience for me but others have obviously enjoyed it so that’s fair enough. I did like the Spoonerism and also ticked 18a and the Quickie pun.

    Thanks to our setter and to Gazza for the review and cartoons – loved the one for 1d!

20. Have woken up this morning with a very sore lower back so maybe the fact that I’m rattling with painkillers didn’t help the solve. It edged into ***time & took longer than Mon & Tuesday’s 3 puzzles combined. Very slow to twig the context of leaves in 2d, immersion at 18a & school in 26a but the pennies dropped eventually. Those 3 can fight it out amongst themselves for the remaining 2 podium spots below 28a, which was my pick of the clues. Lovely puzzle which I thoroughly enjoyed despite the pedestrian progress working through it. Think I’ll leave Hudson’s Toughie until after my osteopath has worked his magic 🤞
    Thanks to the setter (Twm my guess) & to Gazza

    1. Yep – excellent Quickie pun.

21. Cracking puzzle, a welcome step up in challenge from the last couple of days, but very fairly clued and perfect for a Wednesday.

    Took it on trust that there’s an actress by the name of 3, and getting 25 early on very helpfully made 15 a write-in.

    Honours to the Spoonerism at 12, immersion heater at 18, the the greenish blue colour at 26, and irritating Microsoft helpmate at 2.

    Many thanks presumably to Twm, and of course to Gazza.

22. I can’t say I was a fan of this Wednesday puzzle, (that showed up 40 minutes late), as there were far too many convoluted clues for my liking. Lots of parsing not fathomed out either.

    3*/2*

    Favourites that I figured out and that made sense to me were 12a, 2d, 7d, 16d & 25d — with winner 12a

    Thanks to setter & Gazza
    I notice Senf has not commented for three days now … hope he is ok.

23. Funny one this, only managed a mere third of it in bed and thought it would be a dnf. Came back to it much later and thought I’d have another look before Wordling and the rest just flew in. 10a I hadn’t heard of before but it seemed to fit OK. Like Madflower hadn’t heard of churl before either but if you are in a churlish mood I suppose you are a churl. Anyway thanks to all involved. I do get a bit annoyed at all governments spouting ‘free childcare’, ‘free school meals’ etc. etc. They most definitely are not free, they are paid for by us, the ever hard pressed taxpayer.

24. An excellent puzzle which was a tad above average difficulty for a Wednesday (and no complaints from me). Fine clues and a good challenge provided an enjoyable solve. Plenty of ticks and my joint favourites today: 18a and 2d. 3.5*, 4*.

25. Thank you for the warm welcome on Monday.
    Back to struggling today – however I was pleased to nearly finish it, considering how tough others have found it.
    I spent ages trying to fit Liz into 11d, my favourite was 18a
    Thank you to the setter and hinter

26. Still had 8 clues to fill in so went off to tai chi to help. Got along a bit more after that but it was the south east corner that was lacking. Had to resort to Gazza – so thank you. Totally fair puzzle which had some great clueing. Favourite was 26 across and after decades of book club reading a literary reference is always welcome.A thank you to our setter . Not finishing a puzzle is my problem and as school reports liked to say “ Could do better”

27. A toughish solve today but finished in reasonable time . I thought some of the answers I bunged in didn’t make sense initially but on introspection they proved to be little gems eg 1,18, 21 . Thanks to all.

28. I’ve been out for most of the day. I thought I had posted at around 11.00 but as I can’t see it here, I’ll try again …

    2.5*/4*. Good fun and just the right level of challenge for a Wednesday back-pager.

    18a was my favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter. My guess is Karla. Thanks too to Gazza.

29. Too many tough, convoluted clues here, with Rugby, rap and a Spooner thrown into the mix. I have an inordinate number of sad faces in the margins. Way above my pay grade and reminds me of Wednesdays a few months ago. Thanks to setter and to Gazza. But I’m not letting it spoil my day as it is our 59th wedding anniversary and we’re odd out to celebrate later – so I won’t need my apron tonight 😊.

    1. Many congratulations, BL! My parents were 1966 too, and we’re looking forward to the Diamond celebration next summer, DV, inshallah etc etc. Both you and they have a way to go to catch up with Daisygirl, of course, but 59 years is still an incredible feat.

    2. Congratulations BL!
       I hope you have a lovely evening.
       I found it very hard to get going today. Monday and Tuesday were much more my level, however I did like 15 and 26 across. The cartoons also raised my spirits!
       Thankyou to hinter and also the setter for the challenge.

    3. Congratulations on a great milestone, BL. I hope you both have a wonderful time. 🥳🎂🍾🥂

       1. Congrarulations from me too. Our 57th anniversary was a couple of weeks ago.🍾🥂

    4. Thank you, much appreciated. When asked when we got married I like to say “oh in 1066” and wait for the puzzled looks 😊.

       1. Very clever!

30. I was convinced that 21d had to contain xli, but, try as I might, oxlips just wouldn’t go in.

31. First time commenting! Finished Cryptic today but hard going. Tend to check in on site when I have correct but unparsed answer(s), like today. And still do not understand how “gather leaves together with me”= paper clip. Frustrated! Is it too late for explanation?

    1. Welcome to the blog

       The leaves are sheets of paper

       1. Yes, I got that bit easily enough! Still don’t see where “with me” comes in.

    2. Welcome, Ally, good to have you on (the) board.

       In addition to CS’s explanation, have a look at Gazza’s reply to BigEck among the replies in comment 5, above, which might help you.

    3. Welcome, Ally and please keep commenting now you have introduced yourself.

    4. Hi Ally and welcome. I’m, a relative newcomer and I hope you blog again. I think the ‘with me’ is also a bit of misdirection. If it said ‘with it’ the answer would have been more obvious.

32. Found this tough today and a DNF.
    4*/4*
    Thanks to Gaza and Setter.
    Lots to like – 1a and 16a favourites today. Was unaware of the truncated form of 23d but that now makes perfect sense.

33. Whew, tricky! 18a is a great clue, thank you compiler …. and Gazza for explaining the gathering of leaves

34. Nope. Gave up with 14 clues unsolved. I still don’t get why ‘me’ is anything to do with 2d despite Gazza’s explanation, although I did put the right answer in. Roll on Thursday.

    1. Think of “with me” as denoting “with this device”. It specifies that the answer is a device used to gather leaves together rather than the act of gathering leaves together.

35. Very tough today I thought although I was very distracted by sorting a leak, packing to go away and various other jobs so maybe I did not give my full attention. In the end I needed 3 hints to complete the grid (including 21d). I did enjoy the challenge and liked 18a, 26a and the spooner….you won’t hear that often. My favourite was 2d.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Gazza for the hints.

36. 3* / 3.5* as others have said a real a step up after two gentle days. Favourites include the quickie pun, location of school at 26a, first problem at 18a and it would be churlish not to pick 23d
    Thanks to setter for a proper challenge and Gazza for the tips

37. I found this both as tough and as fair as Mr Langdon Jones, my PE teacher.
    COTD 18a for but plenty of other smiles along the way. LOI 21d.
    Many thanks setter and Gazza.

38. Definitely tricky, but excellent. 18A should be on the shortlist for Clue of the Year …still laughing about that immersion heater.

    VMT to the setter and to Gazza.

39. I found this a very challenging but satisfying solve today. Managed to solve unaided so gave myself a pat on the back.

    Penultimate one in was 23d which then made 26a obvious.

    Thanks to all.

40. Wow. Massive step up. Needed the hints. Loved the 18a immersion and 16d pork pie. Needed the hints for 4 in the SE at then end though. Thanks for the workout setter and the hints Gazza, without which it would have been a DNF for me © etc.

41. That was pretty tough. About 80% completion before I had to use the hints, especially in the SE corner. Saw 1a and was hoping the answer was Grimsby! Too many letter unfortunately.
    I am hoping to graduate to the Toughie so I find the more challenging puzzles a necessary step on that road.
    As for favourites 12a, 18a and 2d.
    Thank you to the setter and to Gazza for the hints.

    1. Do have a go at today’s Hudson Toughie, Flyboy – if will be a decent challenge and does require some broad GK, but it’s very amusing, fairly clued, and eminently approachable.

       1. Thank you.

42. I started this late and had time so sat down and tried to engage brain. Finished it but needed BRB help for a couple at the end. A satisfying solve given that bit did feel quite a notch up from the last two days. Thanks to the setter and Gazza.

43. I loved this. Yes, it wasn’t a Gimme, but there’s a lot of value for money here. 2d is wonderful, 18a is still making me smile, 23d is a great word and I even like the controversial 21d. I’m sure I’ve seen plenty of “final letters of hyphenated terms” used in the past, and 61 does fit with the surface and overall mood of the clue.
    Thanks to our setter and Gazza for the blog

44. Thanks all, and thank you to Gazza for the review.
    Chris M @7, a tip of the Flying Teapot to you as I did have the space rockers in mind for Gong. They’re still going today, albeit with none of the original members à la Trigger’s broom.

    1. Thanks for the enjoyable puzzle, Twmbarlwm.

    2. Thanks for popping in T – lovely puzzle.

45. Good evening

    Well, I held out for as long as I could – I’ve been back and forward to today’s crozzie throughout the afternoon and evening, but now is the time to hoy the sponge in and declare a DNF with 27a, 29a, and 21d remaining.

    Armed with my trusty Lucky Green Pen, I managed to get three quadrants done, but ran out of steam when it came to the SE. My eventual realisation of the answer to 20d unlocked 24a; but that was it! Having read Gazza’s explanations, I’m a little annoyed with myself for not having twigged those final three solutions. But there we are. Not even the LGP could save me today!

    I completely failed at first to spot the link between 4a and 24a/5d. I particularly liked the superb misdirection in 26a and 3d, and they were up for joint COTD, but have been eclipsed by the magnificent 18a.

    I see that Twmbarlwm has claimed today’s crozzie, so many thanks Twm, and many thanks to Gazza.

46. Wednesday was homemade cookies day, the 11-year-old informed me on turning their calendar the night before. This fantastic puzzle took me longer than usual, meaning I only just squeezed it in before cookie-making time and didn’t manage to comment until now.

    Thank you to Twmbarlwm for the challenge. My top few include immersion heater in 18a, utter silence in 28a, and the top celebrities in 8d. And thank you to Gazza for blogging.

    For 29a I was initially trying to make prize/pries work (neither has the correct number of letters) — what’s the chance of English having two sets of gong–snoop-synonym homophones?

47. 3*/4* ….
    liked 26A “Greenish-blue, strange exterior to independent school here? (8)”

48. ****** does not mean guess!

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