DT 30802

73 comments on “DT 30802”

1. Suitably challenging for a Friday and I needed a couple of explanations of the parsings from the hinter.

   My favourite is 23d, watching the big game.

   Thanks to setter and hinter.

   1. First comment at 11:25. Are all the other commenters out doing Christmas shopping?

      1. Cleaning the fridge in preparation for the Christmas food! 🎅🏻

         1. Enjoy! (The Christmas food – not the fridge cleaning)

         2. Pretty sure that was more exciting than this puzzle 😔.

      2. I was varnishing our cat, it stops him licking his fur and getting hairballs.

         1. This gets my vote as the best comment of the year, thanks Tipcat – Rofpml 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

            1. Okay, I’ll buy it, what’s Rofmpl?

               1. In view of the fact that the P refers to a bodily function I suggest you e-search but with the letters in the correct order – ROFPML

               2. I’d tend to agree whole heartedly with Senf – it’s text-speak that I learned from the younger generation, which I assumed was common knowledge having been in use for probably about 30 years now I’d guess – it really means that one is rolling around laughing somewhat. My sincere apologies if it did offend anyone.

                  I loved today’s puzzle – it has kept me quiet for a while to be sure, so it has.

2. 3*/5*. Perfect for a Friday. Super clueing, super smooth, super fun.

   I had so many ticks, I decided to give some clues double ticks and there turned out to be a lot of those: 11a, 13a, 16a, 22a, 28a, 5d, 7d, 17d (particularly special for me) & 23d.

   Many thanks surely to Silvanus and to Mr K.

3. A very enjoyable challenge for a Friday which, with, as Mr K says, smooth clues and a Scottish football team, must be the work of the smooth member of the Friday Triumvirate – 3.5*/4.5*

   I did get slowed down by 13a forgetting that Rice, cleverly positioned as the first word of the clue, could be a person – Sir Timothy no less.

   Candidates for favourite – 25a, 28a, 6d, and 17d – and the winner is 25a – a stealthy Spoonerism?

   Thanks to Silvanus, for it must be he, and to Mr K.

4. I didn’t get on with this as much as those above but I am occupied with other things today so could not give its my full attention. There were some great clues and a few laughs. My COTD is the spoonerism in disguise at 25a.

   Thank you, setter for the challenge. Thank you, Mr. K. for the hints and pusskits.

   I see the snow is back. 👍

5. It’s all been said above. This super smooth Friday grade puzzle must be the work of Silvanus.
   I’m sure some will complain that it is too difficult, but please bear in mind that it is Friday and therefore it is likely to be the trickiest puzzle of the week.
   The NE corner detained me the longest, but there were ticks all over the place, including 13a, 16a, 25a and 14d.
   A couple slowed me up a bit: I tried to make FOUR work at 5d (it is a square, after all) and at 1a, I spent far too long looking for a type of creature rather than the generic answer.
   Just one query – I would normally expect to see “upset” (as a reversal indicator) in a down clue only, but I am open to persuasion otherwise.
   Great stuff. Thank you setter and Mr K.

   1. Shabbo, if you are referring to ‘raised’ as a reversal indicator in 19d, it, and ‘upset’, are both in a list of over 30 ‘reversal down’ indicators in the Chambers Crossword Dictionary.

      1. I suspect that Shabbo is referring to upset in 12a clue which surprised me as well, especially when alternatives such as ‘retiring’ would have worked equally well.

         1. I missed that one!

   2. For those bemoaning the ever increasing number of anagram indicators the following may be useful

      

      1. Thank you for this, Sloopingtons. 👏👏

      2. Fantastic!

   3. Hi Shabbo,

      Like the use of “on” in an Across clue, I recall the subject of “upset” in an Across clue coming up on at least one or two occasions before. “Upset” can mean to overturn, so in that context I don’t have a problem with it, nor does the Puzzles Editor. In fact, “over”, “turn” and “overturn” are all seen frequently in Across clues, so just because “upset” contains “up”, that shouldn’t 11a its use.

      Hope that clarifies. Merry Christmas!

      1. Thanks, Silvanus. I didn’t doubt you for a minute!!

6. As one comes to expect from the end of the week, I found this was a difficult puzzle for Friday.

   3*/3* for me

   Favourites far and few between for me … 22a, 24a, 6d, 11d & 23d — with winner 6d , one of the two smiles in the puzzle, with 23d being the other.

   Thanks to setter (Silvanus?) & Mr. K

7. After a lovely sunny day yesterday it’s hosing it down up here in Tigh Mor so maybe just as well that I found this Silvanus gem so much of a struggle. Herbert went in without too much head scratching but for some reason the remainder of the NE took me well into Toughie time before all of the pennies eventually dropped with reluctance. As ever ticks aplenty but if pressed 13&25a plus 7&23d would be my picks.
   The mist over Ben Venue has just cleared so it’s now or never for some fresh air & a walk around Loch Achray.
   Thanks to Silvanus & Mr K

   1. Herbert?

      1. Said PM’s first name.

         1. Ta Steve, learning every day!

8. Mr Smooth and the snowflakes, what a perfect pairing for the run-up to Christmas!
   Following the instructions to the letter made this a rewarding solve but I did stumble over the PM and the required answer for the market square remained stubborn to the end.

   Top clues for me included 11&29a plus 17&23d but many others in close contention.

   Many thanks to Silvanus for the festive goodies and to Mr K and the felines for their smile-worthy contributions.

9. Having spent some of the morning battling through Tesco’s, I had hoped for less of a tussle with this puzzle, but it was not to be. This was a great challenge with some tidy misdirection and neat surfaces. I am tempted to agree it was by Silvanus, but apologies to the actual setter if I am wrong. 8d was my final entry, with my favourite 23d.

   Many thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.

10. Hitler could have done with this setter making his codes during the war, Turing and the Bletchley mob would never have cracked them.

    But in all fairness I was only beaten by four clues today, just not tuned in, he’s on FM, I’m stuck on AM, oh well…..

    My two of the day were 11a, and the brilliant 13a, very clever.

    1. 🤣

11. I found today’s puzzle slightly tougher than yesterday’s but still relatively easy for a Friday. I did however enjoy solving it much more than yesterday’s and quite a few of the clues raised a smile. I thought 25a was a lovely clue but I’m not convinced it works fully. When the tips are exchanged, as instructed, I cannot see in the clue a definition for the second word. Podium places for me got to 6d, 27a and 13a with the latter being my COTD.
    I note from the comments above that nobody else had the same issue as I did with 25a so the two words must be synonyms, which I was unaware of.
    Thanks for the hints and to the setter.

    1. Try looking at it as a colour shade – definitely synonymous in that instance.

12. A lovely Friday puzzle – thanks to our setter and Mr K.
    Like others I was held up in the NE corner.
    Top clues for me were 11a, 16a and 6d.

13. I needed the hint to get my thoughts in order for 9a, so strictly a dnf from me today. Subject to that one lapse I really enjoyed this puzzle which was a good challenge for a Friday. Much humour and wit. My podium comprises 13a, 22a and 29a in top spot. Thanks to compiler and Mr K.

14. What a super crossword. Mr Smooth at his silkiest best.

    It was such an enjoyable solve with Tyne & Wear the last quadrant to drop.

    I like the abbreviation for newspaper in 4d and ‘live with’ is nice. The alternative to our resident reverend was very clever.

    In fact, I think Silvy Wilvy has hit on something: a spoonerism is not often in people’s top three. Many solvers twitch when they see the word. But, today, a handful have put it on their respective podiums. I wonder, if the clue had been ‘ Reverend Spooner did discover rich renewable energy source’ (or something like that), would people still have picked it? Maybe they chose it as they liked ‘exchange tips’? Hoo nose.

    It’s all booting off at the base of the podium for the silverware but I’ll go with 22a (outstanding rekrul), 6d and 14d.

    Many, many thanks to Mr S and Mr K,

    3*/5*

    1. Or New Hose?

       1. We love the Reverend but not as much as Stanley Unwin.

          Wouldn’t it be great to get his gobbledygook into crossword clues.

          Washing machine fronty loado.

          Deep joy. Deep joy.

          1. Sorry but you asked for this,TDS65.

             Oh, didn’t load. Sorry.

15. A great Friday puzzle with lots of great clues and smooth surfaces.
    Interesting how different reviews show a wide variety of favourite clues. 9 a 22a and 11d my faves today.
    Thanks to all.

16. A good challenge with a few head scratchers for me but the answers were always fair. Thought the lurker at 22a was excellent.
    ***/****
    And I thought no two snowflakes were the same! 😀
    Thanks to setter and Mr K

17. A slow and steady solve between ascents of the racking for stock taking rechecks, the country, PM and Wine were the last to fall
    Thanks to Silvanus (if he – I see FYI X on the bottom row) and thanks to Mr K

    

18. I was slow to get into this one but really enjoyed it once I did.
    Top picks for me were 28a, 11a, 17d and 13a.
    Thanks to Mr K and the setter.

19. We enjoyed that one, but struggled with the north-east corner. Some clever clueing and misdirection – I’m particularly thinking of 13A. It’s so satisfying when the penny drops! Thanks to the setter and to Mr K for helping us to finish. Love the pussy cats!

20. Many thanks to Mr K for his usual excellent Hints and Tips but this time with a great selection of felines and the added bonus of snowflakes, what could be better? Thanks also to all solvers, especially those leaving comments when there are so many other things to do at this time of year.

    As this is my final appearance before the big day, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, wherever they are and whatever their plans are.

    The clue for 13a reminded me that, exactly fifty years ago in 1974, a film came out starring Jon Voight called The Odessa File, based on the book by Frederick Forsyth. (Huntsman can provide more information, I’m sure). Tim Rice wrote the lyrics (well, the English ones) and Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote the music for a song featured in the film, sung by Perry Como. I hope all your Christmas dreams indeed come true…

    1. No more Silvanus puzzles until 2025! What a horrible thought but many thanks for all the pleasure you’ve given us over 2024 and I hope all your Christmas dreams come true as well.

       1. Thank you, Jane! I didn’t say that though, I said no more before Christmas

          Happy Christmas to you!

          1. 👍 That sounds promising!

             1. It certainly does!

    2. Thank you for the puzzle, silvanus and for popping in. Have a very Merry Christmas.

    3. Merry Christmas, silvanus, and thanks for all the fun!

21. Terrific combination of relatively plain-sailing in the South followed by a bit more of a challenge in the North making for a lot of fun overall. 29a was a bung-in as I failed to clock lurker. Wasted a bit of time trying to work in an Italian wine for 8d! So many great clues with particular recognition for 27a, 29a and 11d. TVM Silvanus (I gather) and MrK.

    1. Just noticed the concealed answer to 3a in the hints has last two letters reversed.

22. My first thought was’is this Friday?’ as I found it easier than usual , although still nicely challenging. The last quartile in was the NE . I was a bit slow with 7d as I usually think , if it’s a U it may follow a Q , but I took a while for that penny to drop. Anyway thanks to Silvanus for a great puzzle and Mr K for the hints.

23. Tricky but fun and entirely fair. The lurkers were brilliant and for me 13a was my favourite. I also found the NE hardest, I needed the hints to explain the parsing of a couple but overall I’m a very happy bunny.

    Many thanks to Silvanus for consistently providing us with entertaining puzzles and for always visiting us to read the comments and answer questions, I hope you have a Merry Christmas. As ever thanks too to Mr K for the wonderful hints and cat pictures.

24. Some really good lurkers, thank you Silvanus and Mr K

25. Completed in the car en route to Aldeburgh. NE held out longer than the rest put together! Very enjoyable tho! My birthday today, so dinner at the Lighthouse. Yum yum. Thanks to all.

    1. Happy birthday 🎉🎂

    2. Happy birthday, Manders. I know The Lighthouse in Aldeburgh well. I’m sure you will have a lovely evening.

    3. Happy Birthday, Manders. Enjoy your dinner!

    4. Happy birthday Manders

    5. Happy Birthday, Manders and have a great meal. 🎂🍹

    6. Happy Birthday 🎂

    7. Happy Birthday Manders, have a lovely evening.

       1. Thank you all so much! I’m here having a lovely meal at the Lighthouse with a bottle of Viognier, what could be better? See you all tomorrow for the prize guzzle!

    8. Very late to spot your comment Manders, but hope you’ve had a lovely day and enjoy your meal at the Lighthouse this evening.

26. A very Fridayish challenge, but v enjoyable. My only slight niggle is the use of a single letter for that newspaper in 5d, definitely needed Mr K to explain the parsing, the answer went in quite easily.
    Took a while to take 6d at face value! Big thumbs up to 11a, and 14d, with 11a just taking Gold.
    Thanks again to silvanus and to Mr K for the help.

27. Horses for courses and all that, but nothing surprising being as it’s Friday. Even the answers that I did get needed verification from the hints, as I am so off wavelength with Silvanus. But it was worth the visit to see the kitty pics. Now I have no excuse not to get on with some more Christmas baking. We have tried our very best to indoctrinate our two son-in-laws with our Christmas traditions but I don’t think we will ever get them to wear the hats out of the crackers, nor try the Christmas pudding, or mince pies. To be fair, I still don’t like peanut butter or iced tea though. Thanks to Silvanus for pleasing those smarter than I, and to Mr K for the hints and pics.

28. Good evening

    Today’s tussle with the Brain Of Silvanus took even longer than yesterday’s crozzie; my pen has only just been put away and I started at 11am. Perhaps I should have looked for my lucky green one instead of the black one I used today…

    I have to confess to having had recourse to the hints and tips today, which helped immensely with 9a and 14a, and meant I could finish off the NE quadrant, which gave me the most trouble. Also 15, 21, and 27a along with 18d gave me a few head-scratching moments when it came to parsing. Therefore many thanks are due to Mr K (and today was definitely a fourser, not a threeser!) as well as to Silvanus.

29. Found this to be a clever offering today. Needed lots of help, so thank you Mr K for your efforts.
    I’ve been quiet recently due to festive busy-ness and anticipation 🎄

30. I’m very late to the party, mainly because I struggled with a lot of the clues and decided to come back after a really busy day to try and finish. In the end I was losing the will, so I gave up. I just couldn’t get on to the wavelength on this one, though it wasn’t entirely unenjoyable. Thanks Mr K and Silvanus.
    ****/**

31. This was tough.
    Couldn’t finish it last night, but golf rained off today, so I’ve just managed it.
    Thanks for the hints, which I definitely needed to parse some of them. Still not really understanding 16a.
    Happy Christmas to all.

32. 3*/4* ….
    liked 6d “Supporter ready for the cup? (6)”

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