DT 30729

72 comments on “DT 30729”

1. Ray T being a little tricky today. Most fell in reasonable time but there were about half a dozen that overheated the brain. All very elegant, of course, with the usual smooth surfaces such as 1a and I have ticks all over the paper. I liked the scoffing politician at 7d and picking over the excavation at 13a. I have two contenders for the top spot – the nude being embraced in 15d and tedious study at 27a. After due deliberation I award COTD to 27a.

   Thank you, Ray T for the fun workout. Thank you, Shabbo for the hints.

   For some reason, I haven’t got very far with the Quickie today.

2. I enjoyed this despite struggling with a few clues. 28a and Netflix, is 27a an author or a poet, 1a even with the checkers I needed help. That said it was a good solve

3. Ray T pretty close to the top of his game this morning, with a beautifully concise and thoughtful puzzle to cheer up a dull, damp morning. 21a, my final entry, and 18d were my top picks. Great fun.

   Thanks to Mr T and Shabbo.

4. Another tremendous RayT crossy hits the back of the net.

   Even though I powered through it in good time, it was a DNF jobbie as I couldn’t biff 21a because I had nothing to work with. That’s a cryptic definition for you, I guess.

   As always with this setter, it’s never easy to decide who gets the spoils but I’ll go with 14a, 17d and 18d.

   Many thanks to ‘The Man’ and Shabbs.

   2*/5*

5. 3*/4.5*. This was very enjoyable indeed even though I found a huge disparity in the difficulty between the top half (par 1* for time taken) and the bottom half (par 5*).

   I think 18a should have an Australian indicator even though Chambers hedges its bets on this one.

   21a was my favourite.

   Many thanks to RayT and to Shaboo.

   1. We’ve had 18a ’nuff times that I could just bung it in! Maybe it’s in common usage in UK now?

      1. Only amongst Neighbours and Home & Away fans! 😉

6. Good fun from Mr T – thanks to him and Shabbo.
   The quickie pun had me muttering for quite some time – a typical Ray T groanworthy but fun production.
   The clues I marked as superior were 19a, 21a and 25a.

   Serpent’s Toughie today is very entertaining and really no more difficult than a midweek back-pager so do give it a go.

7. Quite a challenge from the Master of Brevity but as entertaining as ever – 3.5*/4.5*

   Candidates for favourite – 1a, 25a, 6d, and 9d – and the winner is 6d.

   Thanks to Mr T and Shabbo.

8. Mr T really making us work for it this morning, even down to the Quickie pun which I stared at for ages – well done to our reviewer for making sense of it! Plenty of clues making the cut although the Aussie term isn’t amongst them. Rosettes going to the tedious author, the simple but effective 8d and the pathetic jerk.

   Devotions of course to Mr T and many thanks to Shabbo for the review – don’t think I’ll ever view that particular avian friend in the same light again!

   1. Your favourite non-Irish detective is in the FT today

      1. Thanks, Sue, I’ll give it a whirl.

      2. Hi Sue – can you remind me how to access the iPad version of the FT puzzle please

         1. No idea. I use the link at the top left of the 15sq home page

         2. https://www.ft.com/content/cfe00c70-341c-4604-b9ff-0ee8207a7e22

            1. Or maybe, the online version:

               https://app.ft.com/crossword/9915776e-c859-5342-ad48-594a45259c75

               1. Thanks Stan – perfect.

   2. Hi Jane – apologies about the bird at 15d – I couldn’t resist it!

      1. I thought the picture hint for 15d was amiss to the tune of one letter!

         1. You are right. Just a bit of fun!

9. Super puzzle, and barring 4 clues in the NW & SE, all pretty straightforward. It took me ages to dismiss TNT from my mind, and even with 1a then completed I entered 4d more in hope than expectation (or understanding). Phew. Had a mental block at 28a that only lifted when the rhubarb was served.

   Plenty of humour throughout, & some great surfaces, so podium places go to COTD 21a, 18d & 25a.

   Many thanks to RayT and to Shabbo

10. Ray T in an extremely bad mood today. Not sure which is more difficult the Cryptic or the Quickie. Whatever they both beat me today.
    Way out of my comfort zone. Too tricky to be enjoyable in either puzzle.
    *****/*
    Not my best week, found them all way too tricky for comfort.
    Thx for the hints

11. Following on from yesterday another puzzle I made unnecessary hard work of – the crossword brain (such as it is) appears to have gone walkies. 1a was last in once the penny dropped with the definition of 4d giving me the last checker. Like our reviewer I appreciated the quality of the puzzle far more on the read back through it. 21a my clear favourite.
    Thanks to Ray T & to Shabbo

12. Super puzzle, and barring 4 clues in the NW & SE, all pretty straightforward. It took me ages to dismiss TNT from my mind, and even with 1a then completed I entered 4d more in hope than expectation (or understanding). Phew. Had a mental block at 28a that only lifted when the rhubarb was served.

    Plenty of humour throughout, & some great surfaces, so podium places go to COTD 21a, 18d & 25a.

    Many thanks to RayT and to Shabbo

    Did anyone watch Ludwig last night (crossword setter becomes amateur detective, I understand, in a ‘comedy’ drama with David Mitchell) and if so, without giving anything away, is it worth catching up with on iPlayer, please?

    1. It got a fine review in the Telegraph

    2. Watched it, enjoyed it a lot. Will definitely follow it.

       1. Me,too!

    3. It was quirky, to say the least. I shall persevere with it although at times I thought it was a bit naff!

    4. Thank you all for your feedback – I shall certainly add it to the iPlayer Watchlist. Daisy, thank you for the warning!

       I think Inside No. 9 is available in full on iPlayer. Series 3 episode 3 “The Riddle of the Sphinx” is good value for those who enjoy crosswords, and for good or ill Steve Pemberton is also a published setter, amongst his many talents.

       1. Good gracious I didn’t know Steve Everton was a guzzler. We are totally addicted to Inside Number Nine and frequently re- visit them. We were amused to find we were inside no 9 ourselves in Maastricht!

          

13. Ray T in an extremely bad mood today. Not sure which is more tricky the Cryptic or the Quickie? Whatever they both beat me hands down.
    Been a really tricky week for puzzles as far as I am concerned. That together with the dreadful puzzle site is making me grumpy.
    Thx for the hints
    *****/*

14. For a change I managed to finish this RayT unaided. I usually have at least one unsolved clue. Im not as enamored with this setter as some. Took me ages to get 1a, 3d and 25a.
    ***/***

15. Ray T proving far too good for me today. Just unable to gain any traction and could complete but a handful of clues before a total halt in proceedings. Shabbo’s hints have shown me how clever the puzzle is, but by then I had thrown in the towel. Thanks to Ray T for the challenge and Shabbo for the hints and answers.

16. As it the Thursday that we welcome RayT, I must say I found this much trickier than normal. RayT at the more difficult end of his spectrum … for me almost a Beam. Some very hard parsing, I thought, as well as missing royalty too.

    3*/4* for me

    Favourites 1a, 18a, 27a, 3d & 18d — with winner 3d

    Thanks to RayT & Shabbo

17. It took me quite some time to get a foothold in this offering from Ray T, but everything became clear eventually.

    Lots to like, but the abrasive 15D gets my vote.

    ****/*** Thanks to Mr T and Shabbo

18. Well my brain has been well and truly mangled but in a nice way. Some great cluing as always from Ray T and a lot of head scratching.

    Top picks for me were 21a, 3d and 15d.

    Thanks to Shabbo, especially for deciphering the Quickie pun and to RayT.

19. I am walking on air as Lynn The Foot came this morning. The guzzle was hard going for me today and I’m still not convinced by 4d. We set off at a good pace and I liked 25a and 7d. I got the horrible 18a (yuk) and 19a was my favourite. But halfway through I had to turn to Shabbo for the underlined indicator so that I really knew what I was looking for. All finished with only one reveal 4d. It is pouring with rain in Cambridgeshire and not conducive as my father used to say. Conducive to what? Doing anything at all is the answer. I shall curl up on the sofa for a bit. Many thanks to Messrs Setter & Shabbo.

    1. DG. Same here with 4d, so I did some digging. According to the BRB, in the printing trade a “literal” is a noun that means “the misprint of a letter within a word” – or an “error”. I’d never come across it before.

20. Sadly, still not a fan of RayT but I did like the 18a from Oz
    Does no one else get fed up with his “sweetheart”?

    1. Not really, JB. It is one of Ray T’s trademarks. 😊

       1. Yes, I know. Time for a change!

21. Another smashing puzzle from Ray T. His familiar laconic clues provided a reasonable challenge and an entertainibg solve. I have ticked about half and will plump for 21a as my favourite. 3*/4.5*.

22. Whew! Wotta relief … not that this was easy, but it was all fair and that’s all I ask. I was DNF at 1a, now that I know the answer, I ask myself “why”? I needed Shabbo to unravel 14a, I got lost somewhere along the way. So much good stuff, it’s hard to pick a fave, 17d is a lovely word, and the author/poet at 27a, but fave is the handled pot at 21a.
    Thank you RayT for the fun, and Shabbo for explaining a few for me.
    We’re getting some breeze from Helene here but no rain so far. Spare a thought for our West Floridians, this is a monster.

23. It’s quite some time since I last made comment on a back page Telegraph puzzle and until reading today’s comments, Brian’s in particular, I had no special plans to write anything today, in fact I almost decided to give solving a miss if solving was going to be such a struggle. How glad I was/am that I decided to sit with coffe and pen and start to do ‘battle’. Far from being a Toughie in disguise, I found it not just one of the most enjoyable puzzles for weeks, certainly one of Mr T’s most straightforward (apart from IMHO one of the most dreadful puns ever in the Quickie 😂😂 ) In all a joy to solve after a morning trailing round some of Telford’s stores. Too many chuckles along the way to list favourites. Just lovely to solve. One question though and I address it to Mr Grumpy, why does RayT or indeed any other crossword setter have to be in a bad mood to set a ‘tricky?’ puzzle. What a silly thing to say! My thanks as ever to Mr Ray and also to
    Shabbo. And so back to keeping my thoughts to myself 😁😁

    1. Nonsense, you Salopian solver, you. I miss your comments and observations.

       I used to read Brian’s posts. But, now, I just scroll past them, not giving them a second thought as he’s so unpleasant to the setters. Silvanus aired his thoughts on this a few months ago.

       Get back in the mix. In the words of a TV resident of Peckham….you know it makes sense.

       1. 😁 Lol, thanks Tom, maybe perhaps. 😉 For the record, I thought today’s was quite brilliant – the pun as well. But I’ll be hanged if I can get a grip on today’s Osmosis Toughie, so IMHO the back pager is in no way near like a toughie. I solved Serpent’s yesterday okay though, which made me happy , but maybe that was a back pager in disguise, as 50% of Toughies are usually beyond me . . . . . . . or perhaps my patience 😊😊

          1. I have recently taken on a few toughies and toughies they most certainly are.

             They are way harder than any Fridays. No question.

             I will do some more, when I’m on fire.

             1. Agreed. I’ve not long sat down to take a fresh look at Osmosis, having watched and revelled in England’s lastest cricketing victory over the Aussies and have just about managed to solve almost half – so there’s still hope, lol.

                1. Power through, SB!

                   Livingstone’s knock was outrageous.

                   1. Absolutely

24. However much I appreciate RayT and share Jane’s second’s fan I have to admit this one was too much for me!
    Lots of wonderful clues as usual including 12 and 26a and 15 and 24d. I think my favourite was 5d.
    I still don’t “get” 4d.
    Thanks to RayT for his crossword and to Shabbo for the hints.

    1. I don’t “get” 4d either, but decided to let it slide as it couldn’t be anything else!

    2. I don’t really think 4d plus heading letter is necessarily equivalent to panic.

25. Re 22d, the word “oar” is certainly a noun but I would query its use as a verb. You don’t oar a boat, you row it. This has come up before.

    1. Chambers lists it as a verb as well.

       1. Yes, but I have never heard it used as a verb.

          1. Nor me.

       2. either oar then

    2. Let’s await a comment from Daisygirl!

       1. Too late for anyone to read it but George, as a member of Stewards, Remenham and Twickenham Rowing Clubs goes mad if he hears oaring. I know it may seem if you use oars you are oaring (and if you use a whisk you are whisking) but it just ain’t done.

26. RayT proving to difficult for me this week. I got off to a good start with several answers going straight in, but half way through I lost the plot and set aside. Hadn’t come across 21a before, couldn’t make head nor tail of 14a and 15d doesn’t gel in my book. And 15a was stretched. If you smooth something you “sand” it, you don’t sandpaper it, but perhaps that is just me. No time to peruse further as it was off to the gastroenterologist this morning, such fun. Thanks to RayT and Shabbo.

    Just giving thanks that unlike almost all of Florida(except us down here on the southeast side) we are spared from category 4 Hurricane Helene. Watching the pictures of the folks preparing for god knows what makes you really thank your lucky stars.

27. Managed the majority of this before deciding to break off but a return to the challenge later in the day was more productive and hey presto barring 1a. 18a from Down Under is a new one on me but I bunged in. Surely “vote for” is not necessarily the 3d component and I would quibble over 6d which are covered whereas courts are not. I failed to parse 17d. Enough whinging from me because I did enjoy it all. Thank you RayT and the early bird Shabbo.

28. So I started this quite late today , and thought I d look at the blog to sense the ‘vibe’ as I ve done just over half which I found ok but finding the second half a bit of a challenge. Good to know I am in good company judging by some of the comments. I don’t want to look at the hints yet ,but I m having a glass of wine now so maybe it will help loosen up the grey cells. I will thank Ray T and Shabbo with the hope that I finish.

    1. Phew finished but I did need electronic help for 1a and 6 d which I don’t think I would ever have got in a million years.

29. I’m with others re 4d but thanks to Jose @ #19 for explaining it but neither he, I or anybody else for that matter has ever heard of it. Anyway a small gripe. I did make harder work of this than I should have but nothing new there then. Favourite was the handled pot in the past, very droll. Thanks to Rayt and Shabbo.

    1. Hi TG

       Literal is one of those classics ‘rarely seen in life but often seen in crosswords’.

30. Evening all. With apologies for my tardiness, many thanks to Shabbo for the decryption and to everybody else for your observations.

    RayT

    1. Great puzzle, Ray.
       Many thanks.

    2. Great guzzle, Ray T. Thank you.

31. I found parts of this extremely tricky but as ever it was brilliant. I have just returned to it having had 4 clues left and they have all fallen into place. There were so many clever clues, I do not know how it is possible with so few words. I needed the hints to parse a couple and one or two were guesses eg 4d and the author.

    Many thanks to Ray T and to Shabbo for the hints

32. 4d was just too obscure for me (as for others) and marred what was otherwise a tough but v enjoyable puzzle

33. 4*/4* ….
    liked 21A “Handled pot in the past ? (7)”

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