DT 31147 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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DT 31147

by Huntsman  

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31147
Hints and tips by Huntsman

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty *   Enjoyment **/***

I confess to feeling a little grouchy today after an indifferent night’s sleep then waking up to this depressingly miserable weather. This may well have something to do with my failure to drum up a great deal of enthusiasm for today’s puzzle. I’ll be interested to see what others think & I hope I’m missing something but it seemed to lack some of the usual sparkle & certainly none of last week’s risqué content.

I see Hudson is on duty over in t’other place so that is bound to be a puzzle worth checking out.

As usual there are an assortment of  clips to enjoy or ignore.

In the hints below the definition element of each clue has been underlined, anagrams are CAPITALISED & the crossword technique “indicator words” are in brackets. The answers are concealed under the Click Here buttons. Please leave a comment below telling us what you thought & how you got on with the puzzle.

Across

1a Discovers new diet is fine (10)

IDENTIFIES: an anagram (new) of DIET IS FINE.

6a Sailor returning on yacht on a regular basis (4)

NOAH: reverse (returning) ON in the clue then add the even letters (on a regular basis) of y[A]c[H]t.

10a Get caught entering popular ancient city (5)

INCUR: insert the cricket abbreviation for C[aught] between a synonym for popular/fashionable & an ancient Mesopotamian city-state in modern day Iraq.

11a Begrudge eating prior to show (9)

REPRESENT: insert (eating) a prefix for prior into a synonym for begrudge.

12a Knock into middle of shelf with family’s dishes (8)

RAMEKINS: link a synonym for knock/collide with the central letter of sh[E]lf (middle of) then add another word for family + the S.

13a A drink enthrals adult once more (5)

AGAIN: A from the clue + an alcoholic drink that goes around (enthrals) the single letter for A[dult].

15a Huge mines exploding around me (7)

IMMENSE: an anagram (exploding) of MINES with ME inserted (around).

17a Indian city seen in faint drawing (7)

DIAGRAM: insert (in) the Indian city you would visit to see the Taj Mahal into a synonym for faint/indistinct.

19a Conclusions from throwing spades to the rear (7)

ENDINGS: think of a rather loose synonym for throwing/conveying then move its initial letter to the end – the card suit abbreviation for S[pades] to the rear. Here are two great ones.

21a Presumes cook uses sage but not angelica initially (7)

GUESSES: an anagram (cook) of USES S[a]GE (not A[ngelica] initially).

22a Shilling inside clean wallet (5)

PURSE: insert (inside) the single letter for S[hilling] into a synonym for clean/unsullied.

24a Cold arms or legs restricting energy ultimately for mountaineers (8)

CLIMBERS: C[old] + the plural noun for arms or legs going around (restricting) the single letter for E[nergy] & the last letter (ultimately) of fo[R].

27a Part of roof – spot for earwig (9)

EAVESDROP: link the part of the roof that overhangs the walls with a synonym for spot/small quantity.

28a A bloomer occurred (5)

AROSE: A from the clue + a flowering plant.

29a Finally wiped cheese off dagger (4)

DIRK: wipe[D] (finally) + a synonym for cheese off/irritate.

30a Experiences a second bit of avocado getting stuck in false teeth (10)

ADVENTURES: A from the clue followed by the insertion of the 2nd letter (second bit of getting stuck in) of a[V]ocado into false teeth.

Down

1d Murdoch perhaps is supporting one Republican (4)

IRIS: IS from the clue goes under (supporting/down clue) the Roman numeral letter for one + the single letter for R[epublican]. Nowt to do with Rupert.

2d Argued after former lover cried (9)

EXCLAIMED: the usual for a former lover + a synonym for argued/contested.

3d Short tree risked being regularly cut (5)

TERSE: the odd letters (being regularly cut) of the two words that follow the definition.

4d Rich king’s after iron slab for the bathroom? (7)

FERTILE: the single letter for king/R[ex] follows (after) the chemical element symbol for iron then add the name for a  bathroom slab that could be made of a number of materials depending on whether it’s on the floor or the wall.

5d Cross after European modelled bare (7)

EXPOSED: E[uropean] + the letter that represents a cross + modelled/sat.

7d Aida maybe upset a salesman with nothing on (5)

OPERA: A from the clue + the usual abbreviation for a salesman + the letter for nothing/zero then reverse ⏮️ upset/down clue) all 3 elements.

8d Random things a tennis player might do (3-3-4)

HIT AND MISS: double definition – the latter not confined to tennis as it’s something I’m increasingly prone to do on the golf course.

9d Distinct parrot’s rising value (8)

SEPARATE: nowt to do with Polly. Reverse (rising/down clue) parrots/mimics then append a verb for value or judge.

14d General’s large feast (10)

WIDESPREAD: link a synonym for large/broad with a term for a feast/generous selection of food.

16d Knight working and feeling rubbish (8)

NONSENSE: the chess abbreviation for k[N]ight + the usual for working/in operation + a synonym for feeling/perception.

18d River rose irregularly creating artificial lake (9)

RESERVOIR: an anagram (irregularly) of RIVER ROSE.

20d Tied up mongrel in pit (7)

SECURED: place a term for a mongrel/mixed-breed inside of pit/ stone or pip of a fruit.

21d Look good with simple changes (7)

GLIMPSE: G[ood] + an anagram (changes) of SIMPLE.

23d Order I’ve redirected, partly, for Amazon? (5)

RIVER: hidden (partly). Nowt to do with Jeff Bezos.

25d Dog, say, son put in pound (5)

BEAST: insert the genealogical single letter for S[on] into a synonym for pound/thrash.

26d Guy’s unfinished drinks (4)

TEAS: shorten (unfinished) a verb synonym for guy in the context of rib/rag.

 

Nothing really particularly stood out for me today but I did rather like the two wee ones at 6&29a. Please tell us which ones ticked your boxes.

 

Today’s Quick Crossword pun: PAR + CAN + RIDE = PARK AND RIDE

This morning’s listening while preparing the blog has been my favourite John Mellencamp album.Here’s a track from it.

 

 

55 comments on “DT 31147”

  1. Good morning. I enjoyed this puzzle. It was reasonably straightforward with no shockers. However there are too many to like to pick a podium. The sailor at 6a, portmonee at 22, the musical at 7d, 8d, the feast at 14d are but a handful that I really enjoyed. Thanks to the setter and the reviewer for your efforts.

  2. Another very enjoyable puzzle from the professor although I couldn’t fathom 12a because I don’t associate the first three letters as being synonymous with “knock”. On reflection, I suppose it can be. 7d is rapidly becoming one of those words, like “orchestra”, that can be clued in umpteen different ways. It’s difficult to pick a favourite but I will go for bit of avocado stuck in teeth at 30a.

    Thank you, AP for a most enjoyable puzzle. Thank you, Hintsman for the hunts.

    Lots of wind and rain in The Marches today. Even Hudson didn’t want to go out, which is rare.

    1. I puzzled over knock but if you read it as knock into it would be ram. I’ve got 2 dozen Royal Worcester ramekin dishes – well used in my dinner party days! My grandchildren look bewildered by them.

      2. Oh Daisygirl, dinner party memories! I’ve got 24 china ramekins but alas only 6 are Royal Worcester!

  3. 1.5*/4*. Light, fun, excellent. What more can one say about Typically Tuesdayish Tuesdays?

    Many thanks to AP and to Huntsman.

  4. I made hard work of this but looking back can’t work out why.
    Top picks for me were 29a, 30a, 27a and 12a.

    Thanks to Huntsman and the setter.

  5. Super fun. My favourite was 6a for some reason although my last one in 14d was excellent. Thanks Huntsman for the hints so I could understand 26d which I successfully guessed. Thanks to our setter.

  6. Right on the setter’s wavelength today and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Spent ages yesterday finally completing Sunday’s Toughie having read the comments on here about it. Many thanks to Chris Lancaster for frazzling my brain a bit and I confess to needing a couple of the hints to get over the line. It was an emotional journey. Thanks to the setter for today’s contribution and to Huntsman whose hints I will now read together with the comments.

  7. Another excellent crossword from Il Professore that will be within reach of all punters. His surfaces are sublime.

    Funny to see another very similar clue for 17a so soon after the last one.

    Why do we drop the second L of thrall when adding the prefix ‘en’ and bring it back when adding a suffix? Logic? Pah!

    My podium picks are 27a 16d and 26d.

    MTTTA and Hoots!

    2*/5*

  8. Made a complete horlics of two in the NW that held me up so long I resorted to the hints. Once finally having sorted out I felt a right twerp. Hey ho, every day is a learning day. Cotd goes to 29a. Thanks to AP and Huntsman

  9. Fairly straightforward although 6a took a bit of time. I’ve been doing the crossword for many years but this is my first post. I enjoy the hints and the posts.

    1. Glad you enjoyed it Philip. Now that you’ve taken the plunge & de-lurked I hope that you’ll join the gang & comment regularly

    2. Welcome from me, as well, PhilipS. Please do keep on commenting. Be great to have you along. 😊

  10. I am a little on the same wavelength as Hintsman this morning. I was awoken a few times by A Cat who kept squawking at me until, at 5.30am, I arose and gave her food and not the Dreamies she was hoping for. Anyway, she ate the lot and meandered off without a word of thanks. The Other Cat turned up and watched with disdain.
    I will require an afternoon nap.

    Neat guzzle, right at my level.

    Thanks to the setter and Andy Surely Not On The First Tee.

  11. Rather like or blogger, I found my concentration wavering at times during the completion of today’s puzzle, as if I was in a management team meeting discussing the latest staff survey results. It’s not like there’s much to look at out of the window this morning and even the kites seem to have landed somewhere rather than amusing themselves by putting the wind up the pigeons – although very unusually I can’t see any of them either. Anyway, a neat puzzle and the roof at 27a was probably my favourite today, with competition from the tennis at 8d. Also I’d forgotten that 29a can mean a knife, which is the kind of thing I’m going to have to rectify before my random trip to Edinburgh next week or they’ll spot me for a foreigner right away. Thanks very much to the setter and to Huntsman.

  12. Good morning all! Fairly straightforward for me today but with a couple of stings in the tail, namely 9d and 26d. Thanks to Huntsman for sorting those two out for me. Otherwise it was a most enjoyable solve with favourites being 17a and 21d among many. Thanks to the setter (AP?) and Huntsman for the hints.

  13. This was just about a R&W for me and completed asin less than (redacted – please don’t include solving times as everyone’s solving rate is different), so I must be on the same wavelength as the setter today. I particularly liked the ancient yachtie (6a), the family’s dishes (12a), but my favourite is the sad stabber at 29a.
    My thanks to the setter and Huntsman.
    0.5*/3*

    1. You’re tempting fate posting a solving time.
      I’ll give you about 10 minutes until someone redacts that part…

    2. crikey that is swift CD but please note comment etiquette (point 6 in the dos & don’ts) dictates that we refrain from mentioning actual completion times so don’t be surprised if there’s a redaction

    3. I once posted a solving time that did not get redacted. It was an early Sunday Dada one and it took me 3 days 🤣

  14. Sorry!!! It was just self congratulations that slipped out reflecting my personal benchmark.
    I’ll write 100 lines……

  15. Many thanks to the setter and to Huntsman.
    Last one in was 4d, with the sailor at 6a getting my vote.

  16. A very enjoyable Tuesday puzzle, many thanks to the setter (AP, presumably) and Huntsman. Great choice of JB track and version.

    My first thought for 6a was AHAB and that the clue was a very clever all-in-one. Read as AB on yAcHt. Then realised the AB wasn’t returning (stereotypical old time sailor…) and briefly went back to the drawing board, at which point the correct answer dawned.

    1. Went down the Ahab route as well until I realised it couldn’t be. It just about works though!

  17. ** / ***
    Would have been 1* apart from the 12a dishes. Couldn’t get the right knock and despite having some and having heard the word in the dim and distant, couldn’t get the dishes without the hint!
    Liked 23d as despite the immediate lurker diagnosis, the word ‘redirected’ made me want to read backwards. Is it just me or has it been quite a while since we visited the ancient city in 10a?

    Thanks to Huntsman and AP from AP(!).

  18. A swift solve for me in a blustery Cornwall. I’m hoping for a wind drop soon for a stroll with the dog on the beach ! Sorry to hear you woke up grouchy Huntsman, and thanks as always for the blog and to the setter.

  19. Not overly taxing, but a pleasant enough solve over a light lunch after a morning partly spent defrosting the fridge – I’m glad that’s over and done with for a while. I liked the sailor at 6 and the ‘guy’ at 26, but I think 29 across just about fits the bill for my favourite clue. Thanks to both setter and hinter.

  20. Oh to be in Cornwall! Are you anywhere near Prussia Cove? Anyway, we are in Cambridge which is equally wet and squally. Great guzzle, enjoyed it especially 18&31d although 14d was my standout favourite. I am weepy today and in the doldrums- I think I shall treat myself to a postprandial nap. January blues or sulking as I don’t think I can manage to get to the Birthday
    Bash. I am also sad that Carol Kirkwood is resigning as BBC weather reporter – she is the only one who tells us to ‘wrap up warmLY’. Many thanks to our renowned Setter and to the Hertfordshire Hintsman.

  21. I can only endorse the comments above. It was a straightforward guzzle, the left side going in inrelatively easily , rhe right side sllightly less so. I liked the 8d tennis clue the 12a cooking pots and sneaky little 6a ( a good example of a clever 4-letter clue. Thanks to the compiler and to Huntsman for the hints).

  22. I enjoyed this puzzle immensely, I was on the right wave length and for once I didn’t use the hints! It certainly brightened up a miserable dark day in deepest Yorkshire. Thank you Huntsman and the setter.

  23. This week the puzzle felt more like a Typical Tuesday offering to me. Pretty well straightforward with a couple of zingers in the mix.

    2*/3.5*

    Favourites include 6a, 13a, 21a, 30a, 8d & 23d — with winner 30a
    Smiles from 13a, 8d & 23d

    Thanks to AP & Huntsman

  24. Very engaging. Nearly completed it over a short breakfast.

    The world may be going over the cliff at the moment but there’s always the DT crossword to bring consistent challenge and pleasure into our lives.

  25. A very enjoyable start to the day, completed too long ago to remember any details but I thought it was an excellent puzzle.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Huntsman for the hints, let’s hope for some sunshine to lift everyone’s spirits.

  26. All very simple and straightforward. But enjoyable nonetheless. Yet again this setter produces the smoothest of surfaces – however I did find this one lacking the humour normally served. Perhaps like Huntsman I’m just being grumpy due to a lack of sleep and the biblical weather outside!
    Thanks to the setter and to the aforementioned hinter – I hope your fugg has lifted!!

  27. I really enjoyed this, although it was over far too quickly. Lots of clever, concise clues, with 6a, 29a and 26d taking my prize spots.

    I think we’ve been spoilt today, as Hudson’s Toughie is also very clever and enjoyable.

    Thanks to our Setter and Huntsman for their respective entertainments!

  28. I can never remember the name of those little dishes! Thank you compiler … and Huntsman for the lovely music

  29. Enjoyed it whilst it lasted and certainly an early finish for me but it’s only Tuesday! Many thanks to the setter and Huntsman. I think we will all be glad to see the end of January but not sure February will bring much better weather. Feel so sorry for people affected by another lot of floods and possibly no longer able to get/ afford insurance cover.

  30. 4D and 6A were my favourites in a most enjoyable puzzle, but Toni’s comment on the unredacted solve time beats both for best laugh.

    VMT to the Prof & Huntsman.

  31. I finished this some time ago but involuntarily nodded off before posting, an age thing I suppose. Favourite was 30a. Thanks to the setter and Huntsman.

  32. 1*/ 3.5* Unlike Huntsman I enjoyed this puzzle, I thought it had some nice surfaces and plenty of wit.
    Favourites include the dishes at 12a, the drawing at 17a and lastly the Scottish dagger at 29a
    Thanks to Huntsman and setter

  33. Good to know the solving time etiquette, I must surely have been redacted recently (sorry) 😬.

    I enjoyed this puzzle, it was a steady solve. LOI was 12A’s dishes, I was treating ‘knocked into’ as a container initially. Podies are 27A’s earwig, the clever surface realism of 1D’s Murdoch and my favourite to get my teeth into was 30A, I chuckled at that one.

    Thanks to setter and Huntsman ⭐️

  34. I beg to differ with RD because for me Tuesdays ain’t wot they used to be and this took some sorting. Rap in 12a didn’t really ring true. Altogether a bit of a grind. Thank you AP and Hintsman.

  35. Hi I am new to cryptic crossword. What synonym is used to arrive at 19a. I can’t find the ‘ a rather loose synonym for throwing/conveying’.
    Thanks

    1. Welcome to the blog, Ram Nathoo.
      Now that you’ve introduced yourself I hope that you’ll become a regular commenter. Never be afraid to ask if you don’t undertsand something.
      The synonym you need is ‘sending’.

      1. Thanks, Gazza. Initially I considered sending but over thought it and couldn’t sense. 👍🏾

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