DT 30975

63 comments on “DT 30975”

1. Another struggle for me today but it is Thursday and not a Ray T puzzle. I have never heard of a 5a but on searching Mr. G. I found I knew of them but not their name. I can’t parse 1a so will need the hints to understand it. I get the dad bit but the rest is a mystery. I have three for the top spot. The centre of Brum at 2d, the princess at 19d but my COTD is the drag at 11a.

   Thank you, setter for the Thursday challenge. Thank you, Shabbo for the hints.

   It’s set to be 29oC today so I think time will be spent with the air conditioner on. Mind you, it’s our church fete on Saturday and the temperature is going to be 34oC. I think I might give it a miss. 🥵

   1. Iac is within Pa, an ace. I do agree with the puzzles being a bit harder than usual this week. Certainly they have been for me.

      1. Thank you, Lynne. I get it now. 👍

2. Completed fairly speedily although I did have to make educated guesses for 5a, 22a and 3d as they were new to me. I needed an explanation for my 15d answer. I enjoyed completing it and thought all the anagrams were particularly good today.

   Many thanks to the setter and to Shabbo for the hints.

3. Great fun, with some lively and entertaining surfaces. 28a’s jolly and 2d’s “centre of Brum” is smart. 14a in the Quick might possibly give a hint as to who set this, no? Best thanks to setter and Shabbo.

   1. Just done the Quickie. Pretty sure he set the last pangram seen there too.

4. Like Steve I had trouble parsing a few of these and found it difficult to get a start. Once I got into it I found the whole guzzle an interesting challenge with soame nice General Knowledge bsed clues. I had never heard of 5a but worked it out. 28 d and 21a were great Kego clues, though the latter was an Americanism, I have heard it used here. I likedxthe rekrol at7d and thee cryptic Wellington clue at 3d too. Thanks to the mystery compiler and to Shabbo for the hints.

5. Not a Dream Team Thursday although Silvanus is on Toughie Duty. The setter has provided a good Thursday challenge – 2.5*/4*

   5a was an ‘it has to be’ that needed e-confirmation.

   Candidates for favourite – 27a, 1d, 2d, and 15d – and the winner is 2d.

   Thanks to whomsoever, Hudson as suggested by 14a in the Quickie(?), and Shabbo.

6. Thought this was a really entertaining puzzle marred only by the Americanism at 22a, why we couldn’t have some kind of reference to ‘varnished’ or something is beyond me.

   As I’ve said, apart from that I thought rest was great, had to check the answer to 5a, but it couldn’t have been much else.

   My two of the day are 28a, as I’m a bit of a amateur astronomer, and the wonderful 11a.

   1. Hi TC

      Some of us don’t like clues that don’t have an Americanism indicator. But 22a does. So, it works for me.

      May I ask why you feel it marred the clue?

      1. I reckon if we use slang it should be UK slang and not have to search for obscure terms.

         I’ m off now to whip a ‘u’ out of colour, and the second ‘i’ out of aluminium 😉

         1. Interesting.

            I’m all for learning about words from around the world, because, the chances are, they will eventually be used in this sceptred isle.

         2. I was surprised to find the word is an Americanism as I’m familiar with it being used over here, especially in a sporting context.

            1. Likewise didn’t realise the US connection, often heard it here

7. I started off at a pace and then told myself to slow down and savour it as this puzzle is a belter. There are so many great clues here.

   I’ve narrowed down my top picks to 1a, 19d, 2d, 3d, 15d, 11a and 10a.

   LOI was 19d as I told myself the answer then spent ages parsing it. The dropping pennies made more noise than a jackpot at the amusement arcade.

   Thanks to Shabbo and the setter.

8. Well this was a DNF for me (I had to use electronic cheating to complete it – and even having done so, had to wait for Shabbo’s excellent hints to understand the parsing of several clues).
   Like yesterday’s, this was more “eh?” Than “ahh!”.

9. Not looked at the quick, but 15d may put Cephas into the frame. He is a Peter and his alias is the name Jesus gave to Peter.
   I had doubts about sauce/source for 1d but remembered the addition of cocoa to beef!! at the last minute.
   Thanks to Shabbo and Setter – who can’t be Silvanus as it is he in the Toughie Today

10. It took me a little longer than usual to get on this setter’s wavelength, but after the first few fell progress was increasingly swift, the overall result being a “reasonably straightforward for a Thursday” assessment – I’ll go with Shabbo’s difficulty rating.

    Eyebrows twitched at a couple of clues – there’s more than one varsity match, and I can’t readily equate a show with a film. Two excellent lurkers at 5d & 7d, but a shame they were so close to each other. Have never seen a 5a in the flesh, but have read plenty of what a PITA they are in those towns & cities that suffer them (ditto rental e-bikes); took a while to get Casablanca out of my mind at 3d – knew it was wrong and did not write it in, but it blocked other cities until I had a further checking letter at 9a.

    All ticks appeared in the bottom half – honours to 22a, 25a, 28a, & 19d.

    Many thanks to the setter (Hudson, maybe? I’d have guessed at Donny but that this is not Saturday, and it does not feel like Zandio) and to Shabbo.

    1. Re 5d and 7d. Are you saying that if 2 brilliant goals were scored in a football match [insert any sport and means of scoring] it would spoil your enjoyment. Surely a belter so soon after another lifts the excitement higher? 🤔

11. Nice to see the Iron Duke’s nag getting a mention at 3d. In years gone by, it was frequently referenced in cryptic crosswords.
    Can’t see anything contentious here to rival the furore caused by yesterday’s monkeynutgate.
    Fairly straightforward but fun, I’ve picked out 22a, 27a and 19d for my podium.
    Thanks to the setter and Shabbo.

12. This was an enjoyable solve with some lovely constructions including a few cryptic definitions that I always enjoy.

    My LOI was 5a as I hadn’t heard of it though I like the term. I also didn’t know the star in 28a.

    2d was good fun as I couldn’t get the centre of Brum (ru) out of my brain and the TV family in 25a caught me out nicely. I haven’t seen 3.14 used as constant before but it makes sense. ”How I wish I could calculate **” is a good way to remember the first seven digits (number of letters in each word).

    A quick question: we talked about capitalising words recently e.g polish/Polish, nice/Nice, job/Job, august/August. I assume the setter isn’t allowed to have the D of Dean in 19d as a lower case letter as it would help the surface?

    My podium is 14a, 18a and 3d.

    MT to Hudson (?) and Shabbs.

    3*/4*

    1. Hi TDS65
       Regarding your query, I think most crossword editors will accept upgrading a lower case initial to a capital one, but not the other way round.

       1. Hmm, interesting.

          I wonder why that is as it seems odd to do it one way but not the other….don’t you think?

          In this case, Dean is grammatically incorrect.

          1. By convention, names always retain their capitalisation and other words can be capitalised for obfuscation. In 19d, Dean is a name and, as a lot of punctuation is omitted from clues, I imagined it as . . . senior, Dean . . .with the comma providing a short pause.

             1. Thanks S.

                They can obfuscate one way but not the other. Setters are forever throwing us off the scent with all sorts of shenanigans (great word). It seems strange that they won’t decapitalise Dean.

                I suppose I need to accept it and move on.

13. Couple of answers I simply didn’t know, such as 22a, and others that I’d shamefully forgotten, such as Wellington’s partner, so I had a bit of work to do on the parsing front post-solve, but it all slotted into place eventually. Top clues for me were 11&18a plus 19d and I reckon ALP could well have hit the nail on the head with his setter guess.

    Thanks to Hudson (?) and to Shabbo for the review – yes, your inclusion of the Sting pic will keep you on my Christmas card list!

14. Where does Peter fit in 15down please. Thanks to hinter and setter.

    1. Peter is a slang word for a safe.
       Peterman is a slang term for a safe-breaker.

       1. Well, one lives and learns! Thank you, Shabbo.

          1. Peter is also slang for a prison cell….

             1. In the UK anyway…😁

       2. Back in the days of black and white TV in films about cops and robbers, the term was regularly used.
          It helps if you’re an old so-and -so sometimes…

       3. I guess my knowledge of slang is limited, never heard of this.

15. Well for this non-RayT Thursday puzzle I found it quite enjoyable and no obscure answers either. Had several chuckles on the way through from top to bottom.

    2*/4* for me

    Favourites 10a, 11a, 25a, 4d, 17d & 24d — with winner 17d
    Smile for 18a, 26a, 6d & of course 17d

    Thanks to setter & Shabbo

16. I completed this in one sitting, but several were bung-ins that turned out to be correct. Thanks to setter and Shabbo for the explanations, and I too had no idea how Peter fitted into 15d, so thank you for the elucidation. Every day a school day.

17. Nicely tricky for a sunny Thursday with plenty of head-scratching needed to get over the line. 3d was my top clue ahead of 18a.

    Many thanks to our setter and of course Shabbo.

18. Great stuff – thanks to our setter (and well done on knowing which Prem rugby team our blogger supports) and to Shabbo.
    My printout is awash with ticks; I’ll just mention 11a, 2d, 3d and 19d.

19. A few new words for me today, notably the bike, star and safe, but an enjoyable solve. My COTD was 11a, with 9a and 6d in close contention. Thanks very much to the setter and to Shabbo.

20. A tale of two halves for me in terms of difficulty: with the top half relatively straightforward and the bottom half a real head scratcher. All very enjoyable though, so 3*/4* with 11a, 18a & 3d making up my podium selection.

    NHO 5a, but it could not have been anything else.

    Many thanks to the mystery setter and to Shabbo.

21. Late on parade as have spent an enjoyable morning at the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar looking at all the amazing work keeping Spitfires etc flying. Much to like in the puzzle, full of wit and charm. I was wondering whether Col Bagshot might have called an extraordinary meeting of The List committee over 5a but perhaps he’s been unable to engage with the remaining members. All in all great fun. My podium, from a packed list of possibilities is 1a, 28a and 2d in top spot. Thanks to compiler and Shabbo.

22. I have been “doing” the DT main crossword for over 50 years. To me it has changed a lot, especially over the last 15 years. I think it has gone downhill in that there used to be a couple of cryptic induced anagrams per weekday now there are a couple of cryptic clues amongst the innumerable anagrams. Anagrams aren’t a real challenge to me because if not apparently known there are so many online pages that will give you an immediate answer. Cryptic clues are more subtle and need some working out, rather more than rearranging letters to make an alternative word. Am I fighting by myself to try to get rid of excessive anagrams and return to a more cryptic crossword?
    Psm

    1. An interesting observation.
       Crosswords evolve over time, of course, but setters are still constrained by the rules imposed by their crossword editors.
       The DT does not allow more than 6 anagram clues. There are 5 in today’s puzzle.
       Consecutive anagrams at 14a and 18a are probably not ideal, but solvers don’t always tackle the clues in numerical order.
       I thought the anagrams at 14a, 18a and 13d were excellent clues.

       1. @Peter Smyth the challenge of an anagram for most is surely persevering until you get it, not looking it up to get the answer!

          1. The challenge these days is spotting an anagram as the indicators have got a life of their own!

    2. Having recently returned to the DT cryptic crossword after several decades away, I have to agree that, as would be expected, the setters’ language, style and wordplay has changed considerably over the years, though not, in my opinion, always for the better.
       I don’t have a problem with the number of anagrams, however, nor with lurkers, but too often I now find I have to guess the answer and then try to fit it to the sometimes very complex clue. From memory, I think it nearly always used to be the other way round, i.e. the wordplay of the clue enabled the solver to deduce the answer. I’d find it an interesting exercise to revisit a puzzle from the 1970/80s, if this were possible.

23. A mixed bag for me, lots of enjoyment with the clues I could understand, but 1a is beyond my Ken even with the hint, and Peter = safe was new to me. Been in the US for 43 years but never heard anyone say 22a. So thwarted in my attempt to finish unhinted and unaided, but enjoyed more than a lot of Thursdays, and definitely more than yesterday. Thanks to setter and Shabbo.

24. Quite enjoyable. Needed the hint for 5a and it’s a new word for me too but can’t agree with those saying it’s “obvious” what the first few letters are as I cannot see anything in the wordplay to give you them – it’s just a whole phrase cryptic definition is it not? Could just be having a senior moment of course.

    Couldn’t dismiss “ru” as the centre of Brum and then was delayed because the centre in question isn’t in the centre of Brum🤣! All that makes it a great clue. Being a child of the 60s, I’m shocked I couldn’t think of the appropriate Springfield either!

    Thanks to Shabbo and setter for the blog and a great workout!

25. It’s only obvious Alfiepops if you know it so agree with you. 3d might fall under the obvious as you have a smaller field of capital cities, but even then, not ‘obvious’ to all.
    Loving the challenges this week. They should not be a stroll and are all the more satisfying if you are made to work hard for a completion.
    Thanks to all.

26. Lovely puzzle. Lots of great clues but 11A gave me the best laugh. Loved Centre of Brum too. VMT Setter & Shabbo.

27. Not much fun to be had for me today particularly in the North where I threw in the towel on most and consulted MrG. The 19d Dean didn’t occur to me. Wonder if 14a will have occurred to non rugby followers. Invariably overlook 17d type of flight. I continue to find abundance of anagrams with obtuse indicators to be rather tedious and IMHO not exactly cryptic. Nevertheless thank you Mysteryone and particularly Shabbo.

28. Found this quite hard but at least I was able to do more than one clue. Needed help to parse several clues.

    Peter for safe is new to me, as was the name of a 5a. Also not heard the term in 14a, but I’m one of the great unwashed who didn’t go to uni.

    I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to fit 25a with the TV family. They briefly had a dog, but not a retriever. Exactly what the setter was aiming for no doubt. 😎

    Thanks to all.

29. Good evening

    Much as I hate to disagree with our esteemed bloggers, but come on, Shabbo! No way was today’s crozzie a twoser! A fourser, I reckon. Crikey, that was tricky!

    Mind you, I’ve upped my GK stock, not having previously heard of a 5a; nor 22a. I was convinced that 28a was ASTERIX, although I know that a star (*) is an asterisk; the -ix is a common mispronunciation, and Asterix was one of a duo with funny ears…

    19d takes COTD. Thank you to our setter for the challenge and thank you Shabbo.

30. A Hudson production would be my guess but then CS usually comments when it’s one of his so maybe not. Either way it was very enjoyable, pretty straightforward & completed in a wee bit quicker time than yesterday. My picks would be the cryptic clues at 5,11&25a (I’m inclined to agree with Peter Smyth in that you can’t beat a clever one) but there were plenty of ✅s elsewhere – particularly liked 3d’s DD & 7d’s answer preceding the mention of Rachel in pain in the next clue. 2d’s Brum centre prompted fond memories of my first ever visit there – to see Rory Gallagher on successive nights (£3.50 a ticket).
    Thanks to the setter & to Shabbo.

31. 2* / 4* as per Shabbo, needed some confirmation with the star and 5a. All in all an excellent challenge for Thursday.
    Favourite and last one in Wellington’s cuddy
    Thanks to setter and Shabbo

32. Very enjoyable although I was slow to get going. Once a few clues had been filled in most of the grid followed apart from the NE Corner. Needed the hints for 5a although I was originally thinking of rickshaw, which obviously did not fit. Had to cheat and use the electronics! After that pretty much plain sailing.
    COTD for me 11a, even though I don’t touch the things.
    As always, thank you to the setter and Shabbo for the hints.

33. Very difficult. I nodded off part the way through at a point where I was bereft of ideas but it seemed to work as on waking i started making headway again. 5a, 3d and 22a were all bung ins mainly as they were the only words that fitted in. Not sure about 14a. No real favourite but it would be churlish of me not to give one so I’ll say 1d. Thanks to the setter and Shabbo.

34. Late on parade but for me this was a breeze.i thought my faculties were failing but this has reassured me. Must be a wavelength thing. Most were write ins and parsed. I was sadly left with two. I would never have got 22a. No excuses for not getting 19d as saw the famous pair on ice at the old Nottingham Ice Stadium when he was still on the beat with Pc Tug Wilson a local legend and she worked in an insurance office on Friar Lane.

35. 3*/3* ….
    liked 11A “A constant drag to do this (5-5)”

36. Thank you so much for your blog and tips on solving crosswords, really helpful in learning to solve crosswords.

    1. Welcome to the blog and to the world of cryptic crossword solving

    2. Welcome to the blog, Susan.
       Now that you’ve introduced yourself I hope that you’ll become a regular commenter.

    3. Thank you, Susan for your very kind words and welcome to the BD “family”.
       I hope you will now comment regularly.
       There is also an excellent guide on solving cryptic crosswords on this website at https://crypticcrosswords.net/crosswords/crossword-guide/

37. I saved this at the time and I’m pleased I did because I found it rather enjoyable.
    Top of my podium is 25a. I also particularly liked 11a, 1d and 4d (brings back memories … this was Mr Catnap’s fave tea).
    Many thanks to the setter and to Shabbo.

Comments are closed.