DT 30604

134 comments on “DT 30604”

1. I derived absolutely no pleasure at all from doing this crossword today, no, nothing to do with the puzzle which was rather good, it’s the ‘new’ printable version that gets my back up.

   I tried all of the suggestions yesterday, and the b****y thing still comes out black as Newgate’s Knocker.

   Just looking at the grid gives me vertigo, and then eventually a headache (along with wondering how much ink I’ve just wasted).

   How hard would it be to have an option under the current print field called ‘classic, or economy’ that allowed you to print the version that we all loved up until yesterday?

   Please take heed telegraph, and give your patrons something to smile about instead of clogging up this brilliant blog with complaints every day.

   1. Thank you Tipcat for using the phrase Newgate’s knocker. I grew up in South East London and always thought it was ‘nooker’s knocker’ which made no sense whatsoever. I can see now that I’ve misused it all these years. I tried to explain it to someone the other day and couldn’t so thank you for enlightening me.
      I agree about the blackness of the print, it has given me a real headache this morning. I’m beginning to wonder whether it would be better printed on a different colour paper than white although that would mean forever having to swap the paper out.

      1. I see where you’re coming from, as a child I heard ‘Nougat’s knocker’, and thought it was about a chap call Nougat who had one black t****cle!

         1. I like that version!

      2. Nooker’s knocker is hilarious, MF, as it conjures up all sort of images.

         You’ve made my day.

         1. Well I’m glad I didn’t disappoint you!

            1. I love it, Wolfer.

   2. More less my comments yesterday. I agree with everything you say.

   3. I am not sure if it helps but I have just used Windows 10 Snip & Sketch to highlight the crossword.
      It seems to make a printable jpg file.

      1. Hi Tony, can you explain the steps to do this (in spoonfeed terms) so I can give it a try, ta.

         1. Hi Tipcat
            Not sure how well I can do this but here goes.
            Use the menu search function to find Snip & Sketch. Once this is loaded start a new Snip and with the mouse highlight the whole crossword from the puzzles site and then choose save.
            Let me know how you find this please.
            As I mentioned I use Windows 10. I am not sure if Windows 11 is similar.

            1. Sadly still very black, the quest continues…………..

               1. try the app not the website

               2. Try printing from Pressreader instead.

         2. “Snip and Sketch”. Is that what I use regularly by pressing three keys together: Windows+Shift+S. Then create a segment of the screen using the mouse. Apologies if someone has already described this function.

   4. I’m sorry to hear that. Having spent a few months dreading losing the old puzzle site, I am agreeably surprised and relieved that it works so well. I can deal with thr dark boxes, but sympathise with those who can’t. My printer has a setting option to print with less quality, perhaps that would help? Crossword a bit above my pay grade today, and seemed quite a bit more chewy than a **. Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.

2. This one didn’t really float my boat but I can’t see why as there was nothing which irked me. Probably just how I’m feeling with the drizzle yet again today.
   I did like 9a and 13d.
   Thanks to Mr K and the setter.

3. I found this rather more difficult than Mr K’s rating with the SW corner holding out the longest. Will have to read the hints to parse some of them but I quite liked it. After sizzling yesterday in the sunshine, back to cold and drizzly. I enjoyed seeing my village on Michael Portillo’s programme last evening but we only really saw the windmill. Odd that the BBC blurred out Bernard’s logo on his shirt when MP had already referred to Norfolk Wildlife Trust but the logo on the chef’s shirt was clearly visible as No Twenty. Thanks to the setter and Mr K. I’m not complaining but all the pictures are blurred or maybe its my eyesight!

   1. They are actually video clips, not photos. Mr K has blurred them intentionally, so their captions don’t give the answer away to somebody just glancing at the page. Click to play them and they’ll suddenly jump into clear focus!

      (Except for the first one, which just says “The uploader has not made this video available in your country” to me in the UK. But that’s a different issue.)

      1. Thanks Smyler, thought my eyes were going doolally!

      2. I usually verify that videos work in the UK (I’m an unindicated American) via a suitable VPN connection, but I ran out of time yesterday. That’s also why there are no cat pics this week. And why I didn’t update the difficulty rating from my default 2* to the 3* I meant to assign.

         1. I understand running out of time, I don’t know how you find time to accomplish all you do.

         2. Ha-ha — self-describing as “unindicated American” made me smile!

            If something works for you, it’s hard to know that it doesn’t work for others. I’m impressed you normally go to the bother of VPNing and checking.

            (And personally I found the 2* spot on: I’ve often struggled with Silvanus’s puzzles, but not this one.)

         3. I’ll forgive you just this once. I do miss having an animal around the house, George doesn’t quite fill the gap!
            American eh? Well, well. Didn’t see that one coming.

4. I really feel for you folk who use the puzzle site and are so unhappy at the moment. I hope someone in authority is listening and taking note. I still subscribe to the newspaper ( I was roundly admonished some time ago for my use of the words ‘dead tree’, so sternly that I haven’t forgotten) so don’t have the problem, but I do understand those who prefer pen and paper rather than completing on-line. I hope that you can all find a way that works for you. It’s good to have everyone’s contribution to this excellent blog.
   I enjoyed today’s puzzle which wasn’t as taxing as I thought it may have been for a Friday. No overall favourite but I did like 12a, 4d and 18d. Thanks to our setter and Mr K.

   1. I am with you all the way here Mhids (by the way, I often wonder how people choose their pseudonyms, some seem fairly obvious but others…..?) I really enjoy reading my paper paper despite having to walk over to the shop every morning to get it. It also has other uses such as a base to light the fire. If I had to read the paper online I am sure I’d miss half of it.

      1. I read the DT on my tablet and/or my phone and find it very convenient. I read much more of the paper like this. I’m a bit worried about losing the cryptic as I have no plan to buy a puzzles subscription or buy the paper paper

         1. Puzzles available via Pressreader, free if you have a library ticket.

            1. I’m amazed that so many people on this site actually buy the paper … I’ve been using PressReader since the start of pandemic when it was offered free by my local library. Not just The Daily Telegraph … there are lots of other publications available … The Economist, New York Times, Radio Times … and many, many more.

      2. Daisy, I do wish that there was some enigmatic answer to your query regarding my alias but it stems from a time many years ago when I was playing on-line Scrabble and needed to insert a name quickly. The result is the random wandering of my fingers over the keyboard and it has stuck in my memory ever since.

         1. 😀😀😀

5. A very pleasant Friday challenge which must surely be the work of the smooth member of the Friday Triumvirate and so my Toonie is going on Silvanus – 2.5*/4.5*

   My only hold-up was that, being a Southerner, my ‘Yorkshire speak’ was tested severely by 9a.

   Candidates for favourite – 14a, 25a, 13d, and 23d – and the winner is 13d.

   Thanks to Silvanus, or whomsoever if my Toonie goes down the drain, and thanks to Mr K.

   1. Now I had taken ‘toonie ‘ to be a northern possibly Scottish word. But you are a southerner as am I (a bona fide born within the sound of Bow Bells cockney) but have not heard it.

      1. Check this out, Day Zee (its origin, which I think Senf told me, is brilliant) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toonie

         You may have known about a loonie already but if not….https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loonie

         1. 😀😀😀Imagine

         2. I never fail to be amazed at my ignorance. Good heavens, I thought it was Glaswegian slang word. I’m just going to crawl under a stone. 😞 many thanks for enlightening me.

6. Surprisingly straightforward, answers all entered about the same time as yesterday’s, though requiring more help with parsing. Thank you, Mr K, for that — especially with 25a where the setter so successfully tricked me with “wound” that I somehow completely forgot there even was another pronunciation of those letters!

   My favourites were the Scottish and Yorkshire local dialect in 20d and 9a — thank you to the setter.

7. My brain is in altered rage today, so I found this more straightforward than many Friday offerings.
   Last in was the French city. Why on earth didn’t I see it earlier?
   Many thanks to setter and Mr Kitty, whose kits seem to have lost their way.

8. Headline: Scores of silver surfers savour Silv’s surfaces.

   This has to be the work of Mr Smooth as it’s so clinical. I see that he wisely shied away from the not-so-popular synonym in 1d and the Scottish term for river bank is one to note.

   As is always the case with him, it’s tough to choose a podium but I’ll go with 1a, 21a and the superb 13d.

   Many thanks to Mr S and Mr K.

   3*/5*

9. I found this enjoyable and surprisingly straightforward Friday challenge a well-composed, witty and most satisfying puzzle. I’ll go for a top three of 25a, 20d & COTD 13d. Great surfaces throughout, nothing obtuse, GK minimal but accessible … surely Silvanus?

   Between the Toughie and Back Page we’ve had enough rifles this week to stock an armoury – and without checking, each I think used a different meaning.

   2 / 4

   Many thanks to the setter and to MrK

   If anyone is printing today’s Elgar Toughie, beware: the inept design of the new site means the Toughie is printed on two pages to include the final clue, and no amount of reducing the scale seems to work.

   1. If it helps anyone who hasn’t printed it yet, the only thing it says is that to solve 23d, you have to see 3d, so do as I did and only print page 1

      1. I did the same, CS, on realising it was otherwise going to waste a second page for no good reason. But what if 23d had been a “proper” clue? Rather a faff to write out!

         1. If it helps, I’ve just found it possible to adjust my advanced print settings to ‘2 pages to a sheet’ and also to save the pdf as ‘all files’, then convert it to a word document and then adjust the margins.

      2. “to see 3d” — does that involve those special coloured glasses?

         1. 

            I sometimes need more than just glasses, special coloured ones or otherwise, for an Elgar puzzle!

            1. Not too tricky for an Elgar but I still needed Dutch’s hints. Maybe I benefitted from boozing Lager with Elgar, the regal Jane and the large Tess yesterday along with other cruciverbalists of his acquaintance
               (I wasn’t really drinking Lager – who would when Timothy Taylors was available)

   2. ‘Print on both sides’ in the print dialogue box?

      Even with the ‘Superior Old web site’ there were occurrences, when there was a very asymmetric grid, of one or two clues ‘spilling over’ onto a second page.

      1. I never experienced that, Senf, but “print on both sides” is not a solution as you waste the B-Side – an all-too familiar experience when buying singles “back in the day”!

         I print one crossword one side, a second on the other – optimum use of each page; my wife enjoys Killer Sudoku – from The Times I can print two on each side, so 4 to a page, but with the miserable excuse for a website that is this execrable rubbish from the Telegraph, I can only print one to a side.

10. Seemed like there should be more to 1d. Fairly straightforward puzzle and easier than normal Fridays.

11. 2*/4.5*. Given the high level of enjoyment and smoothness of the surfaces, I was on the point of attributing this to Silvanus until I reached 16d, the wordplay for which requires the use of an unindicated American word according to both Chambers and Collins.

    I had a plethora of ticks with 13d my favourite and 1a, 21a, & 25a fighting it out for the other podium places.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K.

    1. The word indicated at 16d has appeared in Telegraph clues before with no US attribution, and surely it’s been in use long enough in the UK for it not to need one. I honestly can’t see how a US indicator would be suddenly helpful to anyone stuck on the clue anyway.

       1. It also appears in today’s Cross Atlantic crossword (where all 4 of its letters cross with other clues) — which is handy, because I solved that first, so it was already floating around my mind when it came to 16d in this one!

    2. This is where you and I differ when it comes to when an Americanism should be used, RD.

       I first heard this word being used in The UK in the 1980s. A friend set up a company in the late-80s using this word in its title. It is very much in common parlance around these isles. So, for me, no indicator is required.

       Am I right in assuming that you accept the following words that originated in America or would they require an indicator:

       cool (hip)
       awesome (excellent)
       jazz
       discombobulate
       Gosh!

       No problem if you’d rather not answer as we’ve done the rounds with this before.

       1. One other thought…

          Do the following words that originated in India need an indicator or is just American words: bungalow, dungarees, khaki, pundit, jodhpurs, cushy and pyjamas

          1. I accept that many consider my take on this subject as extreme, Tom. Language is constantly evolving so it is impossible to define a point when a new word from wherever derived enters the local lexicon. You can see the difficulty with this as frequently the major dictionaries have differing views.

             In the UK, we are being increasingly exposed to the American language, particularly through the medium of TV and films, which is accelerating the introduction of American terminology over here.

             My (fanatical) approach is firstly to ask myself if a word or a phrase feels non-British to me and then check it in Chambers and Collins. If those two august works of reference both give it a clean bill of health, then I (try to!) accept it. Quite often they mention something is usually (“usu”) or especially (“esp”) N American, so this is something of a grey area. I have to say that I was very surprised today when looking up “sassy” (which I actually only did to check that it did mean “impertinent”) to see that both dictionaries give it as N American without qualification.

             WIth regard to your lists of Indian and American words, for me they are all long established as part of UK English, although I do find that “awesome” still grates with me a bit.

             1. Interesting.

                Firstly, thank you for replying as you have had to answer this question many times before.

                Old words, like the Indian words or long-established American words, don’t need an indication. So, it’s purely down to where me and thee draw the line which works for me. The word in question has been around for many decades so I thought you may put that in the ‘long-established’ camp. Maybe, you put it down to when you first heard it which I get.

                One question before we move on (and I will move on…promise!)…..If an American word/term, that has been around since the Indian words, has ‘usu’ or ‘esp’ in brackets, will it need an indicator or not as it’s long-established?

                1. That is in the realms of subjectivity, Tom. If Collins and Chambers both qualify it as “usu” or “esp” US then I would say, perhaps reluctantly, that it is OK without an indicator.

                   I would say in my defence that no lesser authorities than Chris Lancaster and Prolixic have each confirmed the need for indicators for some American words/meanings such as “turnpike” (toll motorway) and “off” (kill), for example. However, I have no idea what criteria they use to make that judgement.

                   I reiterate that I never dreamt that “sassy” would be considered by both dictionaries as US only, which I only discovered when double-checking the meaning. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have considered at all that it might have been uniquely American. I agree with Silvanus that adding an indicator to 16d would have ruined the surface of an otherwise excellent clue.

                   1. Thanks RD.

                      Going forward, maybe don’t dock half a point for an unindicated Americanism but mention it in despatches? *

                      The most important thing in our exchange today is that you have spelt ‘judgement’ with an e.

                      High-five, bro!

                      (* or is it dispatches? Hmm….)

             2. Living here in America for nearly 50 years, I’ve been exposed to so many Americanisms I don’t know where English stops and American begins. My Uber-Brit Mum would always correct me, but, alas, she’s been gone for some time. However, there are some things that I cannot accept … please, McVites chocolate digestives are NOT cookies, they’re biscuits!

                1. I couldn’t agree more, M!

                   But, much more importantly….a Jaffa cake is a cake not a biscuit as it’s a sponge, albeit, a small one and is made like other cakes are made. There’s a clue in the title!

                   Now, that is NOT up for discussion.

                2. As someone who has one with an iced latte every afternoon at 4pm, I heartily concur Merusa.

          2. Doolally?
             Another word from India.

             1. Doolally is a brilliant word.

    3. The use of unindicated Americanisms is not against the rules/conventions in DT cryptic crosswords!

       1. Indeed, although RD knows that I will normally reflect such a usage in my clues. This time, I opted not to do so, as it would have definitely impacted on the surface reading of the clue.

          1. Makes sense.

             Thank you, again, for another excellent crossword (oh, the tedium).

             13d is a beaut. How you come out with these clues, week in, week out, is amazing. I would never have thought of that in a million years.

             Keep ’em coming, SV!

             1. Thank you, Tom.

                I cannot claim credit for 13d, that clue was the Puzzles Editor’s. It is a great clue, far superior than my original version, I assure you!

                1. Nothing can top it.

                   People should be able to claim IP rights for clues like that and be paid every time it gets used.

                   Good man for letting us know, btw. I don’t know what the rules are between setters for taking credit for a clue that’s not theirs. There should be an asterisk by a clue that’s been recycled.

                   It has to be tough to think of a fresh clue every time…..very tough. It must be hard to resist the temptation to go online and type in, say, ‘clue for Serengeti’ and put your twist on one of the options.

                   1. Tom, a clue being written by the crossword’s editor doesn’t mean that it’s been re-used. It just means that the editor felt that the clue the setter wrote should be changed, and so they came up with an alternative. But it’s still a brand new clue, written especially for that crossword.

                      1. Hi Smylers

                         The editor thought of it and Silvy used it, ie recycled it. Whatever you want to call it. It’s semantics.

                         I wouldn’t look into it too much.

12. Excellent puzzle; many thanks to the setter.
    14a was my last one in, preceded by 3d and 13d (both in joint podium position).

13. For a Friday on the light side but still enough to fire the frontal lobes ( and hippocampus) . I thought 1d too easy to be true so struggled with 9a . Eventually I put the obvious answer for 1d and bunged 9a in. Even though I spent four years at Leeds University and married a Leeds girl I couldn’t see how 9a worked until I looked at the hints.
    Thanks to all. Favourites 15 and 17a

    1. Next you’ll be telling us that you’ve never sampled a drop of T’ Etley’s!I
       ( 3 years with a Leeds flatmate!)

       1. To the tune of Land of Hope and Glory…
          Land of Joshua Tetley
          Brewers of Fine Ales
          How can we extol thee
          We get P1$$ed by thee…

          1. Love it, Sloops!

             Good to see that you’re giving the Posh Poet a run for his moola.

             1. ‘Moola’ – of US origin.
                We don’t mind where words in (fairly) common usage originate.

                1. Good shout, Squeak (so to speak)

       2. I had a night out in Outwood many moons ago with a mucker from Wakey where we sampled a gallon of Tetley’s. It was and is, to this day, the best pint I’ve ever supped: the cream stuck to the sides and I had no headache the next day.

          Nectar in a glass.

          Being raised in Wimbledon on watered-down Youngs, it was heaven on earth. A completely different drink.

          1. Hi Tom
             Completely irrelevant to the puzzle, but your reference to being raised in Wimbledon… a KCS pupil or Wimbledon College? I only ask because I was at KCS until 1987.

             1. Ah ha!

                Being a lapsed left-footer, I went to your local comp rival, leaving in ‘83.

                My brother’s year (class of 86), were a brilliant rugby team who kicked your derrières (very rare): Jon Taylor, Andrew Snalune, Jim Connolly, John Magee, David Harmon, Ivan Stroud.

                Do you know any of them?

                1. It’s a long time ago, and I cannot say that I remember any of those names.
                   The only thing I will say if we are talking about rugby is that my maths A-level teacher was also the rugby coach for the school. His name was/ is Bob Hiller. For those who don’t know much about rugby he played for England and the British Lions as one of the best full backs of all time.

                   1. *fullbacks

                   2. Bob Hiller. What a player! Your school were very lucky to have him.

                      He scored THE try until Gareth put paid to it.

             2. Hey! I was at school in Wimbledon too, and my brother was at Rutlish!

                1. Rutlish?

                   We may have been a comp but at least we were the right side of the tracks in the proper postcode,

                2. What school did you go to or did girls not go to school in your day?

                3. One of my sisters went to Wimbledon High School, and the other went to The Study.

                   1. How old is the one who went to Wimbledon High as I have a few friends who are around 60 years old?

                      1. My sister Claire turned 60 last August.

                         1. She will probably know Fiona Wolfe-Murray and Sarah Dawson

          2. Tetley’s served through an autovac hand pump was like mothers milk to me, but then they banned the autovac (probably rightly as the beer was repeatedly pulled over the bar staff’s fingers) and then they managed to kill the original yeast! Tetley’s was never same after that and after Carlberg took over the Leeds brewery is long gone it is just another brand now and will never be the same

             1. Gutted

                It was almost as smooth as Silvy’s surfaces. Almost.

14. A fairly gentle Friday offering, but perhaps a tad more difficult than Mr K’s rating with the four longish answers helping to anchor the solve. 11 and 13d comprise the bottom places of my podium with 10a getting top spot if for no other reason than it references a top dunking biscuit. Thanks to compiler and Mr K.

15. A strange one today, which I thought was going to be much easier than a normal Friday offering. In fact the difficulty often came from the parsing while the answers were ‘obvious’. I think 9a has to be the winner, telly because we haven’t had a Yorkshire clue in a long while (as opposed to Cockney) so had forgotten the Xwordland meaning..
    Thanks to the setter and to Mr K for some of the parsings (and pics!)

    1. Not ‘telly ‘, but ‘mainly’….

    2. PS My only problem with 22d was that I’ve always remembered it as having an ‘h’ at the end.

16. I found this one the trickiest of the week, obviously not on the setter’s wavelength nor Mr K’s rating, but that’s the joy of puzzles and if we all thought the same life would be very dull
    Thanks to all

17. I thought that this was on the gentle side for a Friday but enjoyable, Thanks to the setter and Mr K.
    Top clues for me were 3d and 13d.

18. Has to be the work of Mr Smooth although I did find the reference to Duran Duran a little surprising for him. In fairness, I did some reverse parsing to get confirm that one! 22d was unfamiliar without its ‘H’ ending but no other problems to report.
    Top three here were 1a (good spot by our setter), 9a & 3d.

    Many thanks to Silvanus for a most enjoyable Friday puzzle and to Mr K for the review.

    1. Edit function doesn’t seem to be working – should have read ‘to get confirmation of’.

19. Not too many problems with this excellent Friday puzzle that was full of terrific clues. 1a was a marvellous anagram, but my favourite this afternoon was 3d.

    Thanks to our setter and Mr K.

20. Well, I had to finally print the puzzle from the new site as the other one is shut and closed.
    Not bad for a Friday puzzle again this week. Not brain crushing or a headache at all.

    2*/3*

    Favourites include 9a, 10a, 17a, 27a & 1d — with winner 9a

    Thanks to setter & Mr K for blog/hints

21. An excellent puzzle from S, but a tad on the mild side for a Friday. Great clues and an enjoyable solve. Favourite clue: 3d. 3*/4*.

22. Gentle but fun. Couple of the whys provided pause for thought but otherwise unusually plain sailing for a Friday. Ticks at 9,12&21a plus 3,11&13d. 11d may pick ‘em.
    Thanks to Silvanus (presumably) & to Mr K.
    Ps was fortunate enough to see Floyd at 1a in 94 (Pulse recording) & it remains to this day one of the most spectacular gigs I’ve ever been to

    1. That must have been fab, H.

       I’m well jel.

    2. I was there too! It was on several nights as I recall, the first night I think the plane that crashed into the heart of the sun broke down, we were there the 2nd night (22nd October – I know as it was Sis’ Birthday)
       I was in the 3rd row and managed to catch one of the drumsticks at the end (not Nick Mason’s but the second drummer -Gary Wallis)
       I no longer have it – I gave it to my sis for her b’day as she couldn’t go to the concert

       1. The first time I saw them was on their Animals tour which they played in track order followed by WYWH album & Money as an encore. Hardly said a word & very underwhelming.
          Ps within 3 answers now in last Sunday’s Toughie

          1. I was a little underwhelmed with Animals too

             Keep at it, It was a real toughie and Elgar today has some trademark proXimal extraction/reverse anagrams They must be comparing notes!
             I wonder how long I will be at Robyn Sunday night, I may have to change strategy without the help from the old site

23. Bah. There are drawbacks to being the Trustee living closest to the Community Hall – just got called out to sort out an old codger who couldn’t get the key safe to work. It is very wet and very cold out there and has negated my warm and cosy feeling after hot soup and the guzzle. 9a was brilliant. Clue of the day closely followed by 3d. No problems apart from 22d which we did eventually get without recourse to the hints, although I have never had cause to use the word. I didn’t see any cats on my way down here but will go back and see what Mr K has hidden. Many thanks to both Setter & Hinter. Have a good weekend everyone.

24. I found this a nice end to the week, in that I managed it unaided. I was not sure of the parsing for a couple but the hints resolved that. I enjoyed the wordplay throughout and had no favourite.

    Many thanks to the setter (Silvanus?) and to Mr K for the hints and pics.

25. Very surprised to finish this today, had to check it was really Friday, found it easier than Monday and Tuesdays offerings. Very enjoyable,thanks to all.

26. Good afternoon

    It’s a DNF. For the life of me, I could not get 13d, nor could I figure out 14a. The sound of my size 10 hitting my own hint-end must have resonated all over Oxfordshire…

    Some excellent misdirection and wit in the clues today. COTD has to be 9a. I’m from a bit further up the A1 than Yorkshire but I got it straight away!

    Many thanks to our compiler and to Mr K.

27. Pretty straightforward for a Friday with a few more difficult clues thrown in. No quibbles on any of the clues. Favourite was 4d. Thanks to the setter and Mr. K.

28. Yes, it is me, for the second Friday in succession. Many thanks, as ever, to Mr K and to everyone taking the trouble to leave comments. I do hope that those having issues with accessing, formatting or printing the puzzles from the website will soon have their problems resolved.

    My next back-pager will be somewhat more challenging, I think, than this one – so you’ve all had an advance warning!

    May I wish everyone a good week-end.

    1. Oh no, I thought this was just right for a Friday … tricky but doable. Please, no heavy foot on the pedal, think of the tiny brains.

    2. Thanks for dropping in and thanks for a great puzzle to solve and to hint.

29. Nice review again, many thanks ……..but …… there seems to be a dearth of pictures – especially cats !! Will the real Mr K please step forward please?

    1. I ran short of time this week to scour the internet for cat pics. They should be back next week.

30. What a lovely day today … the troubles of yesterday are all behind me, I printed this off as smoothly as butter. I knew it had to be Silvanus, he’s always so fair, but I did need to go to hints from time to time to get going again and the use of ehelp. I also had a problem parsing a couple, eg 9a. Great enjoyment, nevertheless. I remember many events at 1a when I lived in London. So much good stuff, fave was 4d, though I had to google DD to understand the last three letters.
    Thank you Silvanus for the fun, and, of course, Mr. K for his invaluable help. Wot??? No pusskits … I’m gutted!

31. A slow solve today, not because it’s the excellent Silvanus but because foresters are cutting down a huge tree in the garden and I am just fascinated by their skills. It’s one thing to climb up a ladder or similar but to then do something clever with a chain saw when you get up there ….!!! Anyway, eventually the clues fell as did the branches with 13d being my stand-out favourite. Thanks Mr K for explaining the Yorkshire port

32. Definitely not my cup of tea but managed to complete bar 22d which I don’t recall having seen but perhaps not surprising as I see it has Fijian origin. Failed to parse my bunged in 9a and 14a. Know nothing about Duran Duran so 4d was also a bung-in. 10a amused. For me this was a rather dour way to kick off the weekend. Thank you for revealing youself Silvanus and for the puzzle itself and thanks also MrK for hinting.

    1. We should soon be glued to Roland-Garros, I must google, looking forward to it.

33. Just to add and hopefully keep up momentum with complaints, the new print format is horrible. Why have they changed it?
    Found todays puzzle was more of a 3 star for difficulty.

34. This was all going swimmingly , until I got right royally stumped in the SW. in the end I got 14a from the letters but could not parse it – just looked at the hint 🙄, and it’s kind of obvious when you know. I needed a hint for my last in 13d , which again seems then obvious. I loved 9A – Must remember when I see a Yorkshire reference it probably starts with a T 😀. Thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.

35. What a nice puzzle to finish the week 😃 I can’t make up my mind which I enjoy the most 🤔 solving this enjoyable crossword or the craic on blog ***/**** Favourites 9a, 13d and 23d 👍
    Many thanks to Silvanus for brightening up an expectedly wet day here in the East and of course to Mr K (what no cats!)
    PS Where’s Brian?

36. I’ve got to 4 clues remaining and think I’m stuck. Will come back to it a little later for one last try before looking at the hints. There’s a couple of those 4 that I’m struggling to even know which bit is the definition

    1. Mr K has underlined the definition in each clue.

37. I believe that changing the puzzle website is a mistake. There are obviously problems with printing and my impression is that the website is aimed at a younger generation than those who use it. Graphics are childish. I think the remit for the redesign must have been to modernise it.
    Why? Old people like myself were quite happy and would like consideration to be given to their going back to the old site.

38. I enjoyed today’s puzzle and found most of it straightforward with about 5 or 6 requiring more pondering. Going off topic does anyone who has been skilled enough and luck enough to win one of the pens recently know which ink cartridges it takes

    1. https://amzn.eu/d/bMgJmHo
       Work in mine but beware The DT has changed its pens several times over the years – used to be Mont Blanc /Waterman and Cross over the years but mine is a brand called Da Vinci but it still looks like a universal ink cartridge
       My local friendly pen shop has advised buying a converter to a refillable system like a tiny syringe, but I will wait until I have used up the cartridges I have first

       1. Thank you SJB mine is also Da Vinci, last week I bought Parker cartridges in a supermarket as I had assumed they were all the same
          only to find of course they don’t fit.

39. Realise hardly anyone will read this as I’m always a day late. Fantastic puzzle. Thanks Silvanus. I did it in double quick time. Normally it would take me ages to do Friday’s but this was straight in. Even the money was doable from the clue.favourites have to be 9a and 20d with 2d coming in for simplicity. I found them all easy to parse. I should also give a nod to the Ed’s contribution at 13d and I don’t always like his amendments. Thanks Mr K too – always read even when not needed.

40. Just seen my picture on Friday’s letters page!
    That Estella was rotten to me.

41. 4*/3* …
    liked 13D “Swimmers able to do the crawl ? ( 10 )”

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