DT 30892

73 comments on “DT 30892”

1. A Friday cryptic? Righto chum, that was a Toughie that didn’t even have the decency to put on dark glasses and a false beard.

   Took three attempts to crack this one, with a couple of clues that had to be reverse engineered, one of which was 26a.

   Glad to see couple of terms used by Mrs TC to describe me when I’m expressing my views on current affairs, singular of 14d, and 26a. Move with the times and adapt, not me mate, I see it all for what it is, and if a child in school identifies as a cat, feed him or her some Whiskas at lunch time.

   Anyway, enough of that, off to watch some re-runs of Benny Hill now……..

2. A reasonable finish to the week that wasn’t too taxing though I couldn’t fully work out the word in 24a that means ‘space character’ as I normally plump for ‘en’ or ’em’. I must be missing something.

   I’m also struggling to see how ‘one’s history’ can be put into a sentence to mean 26a and 17d isn’t quite there for me,

   19d is definitely one of those classic crossword fillers.

   My podium is 20a, 1d and 14d.

   Many thanks to the setter and Mr K.

   3*/3*

   1. I read it as ‘one is history’ meaning the dinosaur is history, still a flakey clue though…😉

   2. 26a I think we have to read “one’s history” as ‘one is history’ i.e. one is no longer around.

      1. Snap!

         1. Ah, gotcha.

            So, One’s is playing double duty again, i.e one is and one’s.

            Thank you, gents.

            I’m still nowhere near 24a though.

            1. If you hit the space bar, what appears on the screen?!

               1. See below.

                  I thought I had lost the plot.

   3. “the word in 24a that means ‘space character’ ”

      You’ve presumably twigged by now, Tom, but it’s much more literal than that – you’re replacing nothing (or ‘O’) with … nothing!

      1. Aha! I’m there.

         I clicked on Mr K’s URL for fuel tank and saw ‘Gasholder’ but didn’t see the next term for it. So, I was thinking….How can ‘hold’ mean ‘nothing’ and ‘met’ mean ‘space character’?

         Thank goodness for that. It took me longer than solving the crossword to work it out!

3. 4*/1*. Tough and not much fun, I’m sorry to say. I could write lots but I will limit myself just to 14d. The definition is inaccurate. “Cave” means beware, not “give in”.

   Thanks to the setter and to Mr K.

   1. Hi RD

      To cave means to ‘give in’ or ‘give up’. ”He caved under pressure” is a very common expression.

      1. For me (and the BRB!) “cave in” = “give in” not just “cave”.

         IMHO, “Beware, troops – they’re barbarians” would have been a good clue.

         1. Yep, Chambers is less helpful than Collins on that one! But I think it’s fine without the “in”. That’s certainly how I’d use it.

         2. I use ‘cave’ without ‘in’ all the time, e.g Did he cave?

            ‘In’ has been dropped from the original expression by many people over the years.

   2. “Will Trump cave under global pressure?”

      1. Yes “cave in“!

         1. I think my edit coincided with your post, RD, sorry – I saw your objection at 11:23 and amended my example accordingly. Apologies.

            1. My point is that I would never say just “cave” in those circumstances. It seems rather sloppy to me, but that’s just a personal opinion (shared by Chambers and Senf!).

               1. And me

         2. Perhaps RD, MG meant “Will Trump inhabit a cave under global pressure” as per the BRB definition. Wishful thinking? 😂(Sorry, politics…)

            As for the crossword I finished it but I probably needed Mr K’s hints more than ever to understand some of the clues. Tough going but thanks to all involved anyway.

            1. And I forgot to say that I can’t see where in the BRB cavemen and barbarians are synonyms. After all Fred Flintstone seemed like quite a nice guy who looked after his pet dinosaur very well…..

      2. We can only hope…

   3. For once we agree.

4. Quite tricky, but then it is Friday, so it is entitled to be.
   The NW corner was the last to fall for me.
   If pushed, I’d probably go for 12a and 21d as my joint CoDs.
   Thank you Friday setter and Mr K.

5. I found some of this quite difficult in places, however it was a welcome challenge.
   The ones that held me up were:
   13a – it took me a while before I could see past “scored”
   24a – I was looking for EN (space) to feature somewhere in the wordplay.
   17d – Obvious answer – parsing took a little longer.

   Many thanks to the setter, and to Mr K – 4*/4*.

6. It was so hard to get a start in this guzzle but very alowly, a few clues went in in the south. The checkers hwlped me to guess the answers to some clues , using rhe defunition as one would in a non-cryptic crossword. I had to work most of the parsing outretrospectively. It wasvery satidsfying to finalky fill the last clue in but enjoyable it was not. I did like the Lego clue at 12a and the missing letter clue at 24a but the COTD was the homophone/ double definition clue at 6d . Thanks ro Mr K for the hints and to the compiler for a stiff challenge. However this guzzle would have been a better fit in the Toughie slot rhan the backpage slot imho.

7. A Friday brain mangler which, if it is the work of a member of the Friday Triumvirate, has to be the work of Zandio – 4.5*/2.5*

   I’m with RD on the use of ‘cave’ in 14d – ‘cave-in’ or ‘cave in’ says the BRB; ‘cave’ on its own for ‘give in’ is just lazy.

   Smiles for 4a, 13a, 27a, and 21d.

   Thanks to, presumably, Zandio, or whomsoever if it was not he, and Mr K.

   For 6d:

   

   1. Nice pic, senf!

8. Cracking crossword, absolutely wonderful. Certainly on the chewy side, but appropriately so for a Friday. Was certain it would divide the audience, and so it has proved.

   Many great surfaces, some lovely tricks and innovations (esp. 24a), good variety of clue types, and loads of early morning exercise for the LGCs. One of the most satisfying puzzles to solve this week. Ticks absolutely everywhere, but will limit to COTD 8d with podium places to 12a and 11d, runner-up 25a.

   I’m going to go with Zandio as today’s setter, but grateful thanks to whomever it is if that particular fiver has gone down the pan. Thanks also to MrK for the review.

   There are so many superb tracks that could be played following 8d, but let’s go for this, from incomparable greats The Cure, with plenty of “pusskits”

9. Decidedly quirky. But very entertaining. 24a’s “space” was novel and, while I appreciated the helpful nod to the lift-and-separate in 17d, it didn’t quite work for me. Clever, mind. 9a appealed as did 12a. Many thanks to our setter and Mr K.

10. Tricky even for a Friday, as others have said, but extremely enjoyable with some neat touches – thanks to our setter and Mr K.
    Ticks from me for 9a, 12a, 15a, 24a and 17d.

11. It’s Friday and the puzzle for me reflects that. Found this troublesome and difficult to get through, and not a lot of fun.
    Gave me a bit of a 22d and left me 16d. Oh well, I am 27a that as it’s a Friday puzzle.

    3*/2.5* for me

    Favourites 9a, 18a, 26a, 6d, 14d & 23d — with winner 6d

    Thanks to setter (Zandio?) & Mr. K.

12. A rarity, a Friday I finish before lunch and almost enjoyed. I seem to be in the minority. I sometimes cave at lunchtime and look at the hints, but not today.

    1. Tee-hee!

       (That usage also seems widespread to me. Chambers needs to catch up!)

       1. Agreed. It’s miles out-of-date.

13. Like others I found this at the trickier end of the spectrum as befits a Friday, although I, too, found a couple of the clues a little iffy. They were offset, however, by some very good clues, foremost among which were 9a and 6d.

    Thanks to our setter and Mr K.

14. Gosh, what a toughie! Needed electrical help to complete, and Mr K’s help to parse 5, 7, 11 and 17d!
    Thanks to the setter for addling my brain and to Mr K for straightening it out!

15. Whilst I can appreciate the artifice employed, this didn’t score highly for enjoyment. If pushed, I would go for a top three of 9,13&20a.

    Thanks to Zandio, presumably, and to Mr K for the review.

16. A dnf from me as I was stumped by 20a and 21d. I had answers that fit the checkers, but could not parse, so Mr K rode to the rescue. I found this a struggle overall and consequently derived little pleasure from it. Sorry compiler, not one for me today, but thank you. A big thumbs up for Mr K’s hints.

17. I must have been on a wavelength today.
    I bashed through this very enjoyable grid down to the last 2. Lovely surfaces.
    But I couldn’t work out what a hedgehog had to do with a green screen till the penny dropped and hog became row and Brut completed it. ***/****
    Lovely to solve in the sun. Toughie time now.
    Thanks to all

18. 3*/4* A good Friday workout, as it should be. Favourites 15a public houses, 12a green screen and 1a country

    Thanks to setter and Mr K to confirm a couple of parsings

19. Not for me today.

    Limped through it .
    Not much enjoyment.
    Sorry setter.

    Thanks to Mr K.

20. Not a great deal of fun today and I had to utilise some electrons to get over the finish line in a reasonable time.

    I thought 15A was a very strange clue and, for me, lacking any cryptic nature. 6D raised a bit of a smile so that will have to take the top place.

    Thanks to the setter and Mr K for the hints.

21. I found this hard going and was glad to finish it unaided.

    Top picks for me were 12a, 9a and 18a.

    Thanks to Mr K and the setter.

22. A fast-finishing Friday. Well, faster than Fridays often are, anyway. Not as quick as Wednesday’s, but still faster than Monday’s with all its anagrams. Thank you to Zandio for the entertainment and Mr K for explaining 17d’s playmaker.

    For 9a, I first tried ‘Esharp’, which in music could also be written more shortly as F. (And that one’s usually written as F, unlike the answer which is usually f in lower-case!) Soon remedied when I got to the down answers.

    My top few were 12a’s green screen, 27a’s familiar, and 8d’s cover version.

    Glad to see 24a turning up so soon with the other sort of meter, after discussions on Wednesday.

23. I got there in the end but this one was beyond my abilities, there was a lot of reverse parsing. I needed a visit to the comments to reassure me I had not gone mad, as I had only done a quarter at that point. I then got to within 2 of the end and needed a hint to get past the post. Having now read the hints I am not sure quite why I was so stuck, I seemed to have trouble working out which word I was looking for. I still enjoyed the challenge and learnt a lot along the way.

    Many thanks to the setter and to Mr K for the hints

24. Took a break from today’s thus far virtually impenetrable Elgar toughie to knock this one out.
    A bit stop-start in that the solutions came in groupings interspersed with blank stares.
    Degree of difficulty: about par for the course for a Friday backpager.
    Top three being 9a, 12a and the semi-pornographic 1d.
    Thanks to the setter and Mr K.
    Now back to Mr Henderson for further humiliation…

    1. Perseverate with the Elgar, there are a few gimmes that provide checkers and Sue’s hints certainly helped me see those that surely belong in their own addendum to Terence’s LIST™

       1. Own addendum? Own universe more like!

          1. I’ve heard of the tree but the book and plant were new to me

25. I’m sure this was nowhere near as difficult a solve as I made of it – had it been a Toughie I may well have caved. Reckon the concoction of strong painkillers I’m necking for my poorly back must have addled my brain – in 15a I had run = national (this Sat) & spent an age trying to figure out where trust came from before the blindingly obvious dawned. In the end completion edged into **** time with 17d remaining only sort of parsed – kind of on the right lines. 12&24a plus 1&3d particular likes.
    Thanks to the setter (Zandio probably) & to Mr K

26. Shockingly I found today much easier than yesterday, although it was also a bit of a mixed bag. Some clues opened up at the first look, but others put up a good fight. Joint COTD for 12a and 6d. LI was 19d, rather a strange one. But the best Friday for me for several weeks. Thanks to setter and Mr K, although I did miss the kitty pictures.

27. Hello all, compiler here. Thanks very much for taking the time to solve, analyse and discuss. Mustafa G has already kindly given us a dose of The Cure, so here’s something that has nothing to do with today’s puzzle but just happens to be on my radar. I’m going to see The Kooks next month at a fantastic-looking club in Washington DC called Anthem. So here’s ‘Naive’, which I sometimes think may be the best record this century. Have a great weekend.

28. Needed the hint to parse 17d but that was the only one. Not entirely straightforward but I enjoyed the challenge. About right for a Friday I’d say. Favourite was 25a. Thanks to the setter and Mr
    K.

29. I found this very tough but hugely satisfying to finish – eventually. Someone mentioned wavelength, so to quote Douglas Adams, as I’m won’t to do: if this puzzle was in the ultra-violent, I was infra-dead!!!! To mangle things further, I wondered if Sellafield had gone up as the NW was unreachable for me until the very end.

    Big thanks to Zandio and Mr K!

30. I’ve had a truly ghastly day and the guzzle is only two thirds completed. 2 hours was spent looking for husband’s passport and all along it was there next to mine but I had forgotten he still has a red one and I was looking for a black one. My stress levels are still shot to pieces. Can someone tell me if I can still send back unused tokens to Telegraph Towers that I won’t use on our hols? We used to be able to but now not so sure. Bit mean if they don’t accept them as they are hideously expensive now. As I have calmed down a bit I will return to the guzzle. I think the top left corner needed to be completed and at least there are just 25 minutes before bar opening time! Thanks to Zandio and Mr K – was hoping for a soothing pusscat pic or two but sadly none today.

    1. Eeek, Manders! I hope the stress is now over and you enjoy your trip. Sorry, no idea about the tokens

    2. Manders, the system has changed. You just email the Telegraph with the dates you were away and they process the refund.
       I think there are some restrictions in terms of minimum number of days at one time and maximum number of days in a year.

       1. Thanks RD, will do.

31. There are some famous (but redundant now) 24a next to The Oval Thanks to MrK and Zandio, I’ll expect another grilling from Zandio on Sunday

    

    1. SJB. There is only one 24a remaining at The Oval. It is safeguarded but is being transformed by a building development within the frame.

       1. I hope they don’t ruin them – I always thought they were listed buildings

          1. My first comment was incorrect. There are currently three gasometers adjacent to The Oval. Only the largest one is listed. The two smaller ones are being demolished. The whole site is being redeveloped and the development within the listed gasometer is being confined to inside the framework. However, I don’t think much of the artist’s impression. Here is a copy of it:

             

             1. Flats with a view of the cricket will be twice the price (and then some) of those that can’t see the square!

             2. There is a similar development adjacent to St Pancras Basin on the Regent’s Canal and adjacent to the Midland Main Line and HS1, just before it turns East, as they leave St Pancras Station. Four in total – three have developments inside them and one has a park.

                

32. That was a steep climb to the summit. I got all the answers unaided eventually but several I just could not parse . It has been a day of perseverance on 4 fronts and one of them was this puzzle. I can see it is clever but not in an enjoyable way for me. Sorry about that. Probably just feeling tired.
    Thanks to all .

33. 3*/4* ….
    liked 6D “Pets must be under control -verbally come down hard (4,4,3,4)”

34. Everyone on here is very polite! I do the DT crossword every day but this one made me wonder whether I had lost the knack. Then I realised that the setter and I clearly don’t have the same understanding of what many common English words actually mean.

    1. Welcome to the blog

    2. You’re not the only one Mike, I often struggle with Zandio puzzles. He’s a clever setter but I just can’t make head nor tail of his crosswords. Silvanus is another I struggle with but I know they both have a legion of fans.

35. Original comment lost in the ether. In fact I finished today’s challenge thanks only to much bunging in due to so many obtuse clues. Not much fun. Thanks anyway Zandio and MrK.

    1. What is a podcast anyway?!

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