DT 31030

89 comments on “DT 31030”

1. I know it’s Friday, but even so…

   That was a toughie escapee if ever I saw one and no mistake.

   Took me ages the see how 25a worked, and then gradually crept through the rest until I only had two left, was held up for ages thinking 3a had to be _ _ _ sitters, but getting 7d put paid to that idea, and soon 3a became as obvious as it should have been in the first place!

   A really tough one to crack, and I damn near gave up after only six clues in the first 20 minutes, but glad I soldiered on.

   My two of the day are 14a and the brilliant 1d, fair play Mr Setter, you nearly had me, better luck next time.

2. Glad to see Disraeli Gears in the hints, their best album ever. I met Ginger Baker in the cellar bar venue at South Hill Park years ago, mad as a hatter!

3. Good morning. This felt like a Toughie and was the hardest X word of the week, including the toughies. 3d, 19d and 22d are contenders for COTD, with 19d just tipping it. Many thanks for the review and to the setter

   1. That should read 3a and not 3d🙈

4. Like Tipcat, I found this guzzle one tough challenge. The clues were very slow to go in but gradually the checkers began to make life easier as I woeked from the bottom upwards. I rhought 3a was a cracking cryptic definition and rhe two Lego clues with the GK component at 15d and 16d were particularly clever. There were lots of great clues but my COTD was the homophone with the GK component at 19d. Thanks to the compiler for the brain workout, I’m glad I didn’t give up after the first pass. Thanks too to Mr K for explaining some difficult parsing

5. 4*/5*. Magnificent! A perfect Friday back-pager which was challenging but a joy to solve.

   I made life difficult for myself in the SE corner by entering “view” for 26a until I realised that made 17d impossible.

   I’ve never heard of the Tom Hanks film and I’ve never watched 10a.

   I have ticks all over my page and after quite a struggle I’ll prune down the list to 1a, 1d, 12d & 16d to climb onto the crowded podium.

   Many thanks to the setter (surely Silvanus?) and to Mr K.

   1. Agree about 10a, utter tripe, but the Hanks film ain’t bad, funniest line is ‘OK, but I get to go on top’ watch it to see why….

   2. Hi RD

      This iconic scene from the film is worth a watch. It helped launch Tom’s career….

6. Lovely puzzle, slightly more challenging as should be the case on a Friday, but a perfectly judged backpager with which to end the week. Plenty of smiles and ‘Doh!’ moments throughout.

   Honours to 3a, 2d (for the surface) and 4d.

   Many thanks to the setter (Silvanus for my money given the surfaces, even though he gave us Wednesday’s puzzle; otherwise Zandio, maybe?) and to Mr K – good to see the cats are back!

   1. Silvanus set the Toughie on Wednesday. While setters don’t usual set two backpagers in the same week, it’s reasonably frequent for them them to set a Toughie and a backpager, and it’s something we’ve seen from Silvanus several times before.

      1. And not unknown for back pager and Toughie on the same day!

      2. Thanks Smylers, Senf – had recalled Silvanus on Wednesday, with “the child”, and mis-remembered it as having been the back pager.

         Makes it even more likely he set today’s in that case.

7. A most enjoyable cranial work out! I concur with RD on ‘surely Silvanus.’ 3.5*/4.5*

   I did get held up in the SW for a while by the casually dressed Shakespearean character in the ‘German performance car.’

   Candidates for favourite – 1a, 24a, 4d, 12d, and 19d – and the winner is 19d.

   Thanks to Silvanus, or whomsoever in the unlikely event that it is not he, and thanks to Mr K.

8. Definitely trickier than other offerings this week, with particularly slow progress in the NE, at least until I twigged the TV programme. New words for me at 3a and 20a, although the former was gettable from the anagram fodder and the latter from the relatively simple jigsaw/previously local knowledge. The first part of 4d required the hints to parse as it was also a term I didn’t know. 13a may be my COTD as I’m currently mildly obsessed with chess. Thanks very much to the setter and to Mr K.

   1. Never heard the word at 3a, really?

      1. Sorry, 5d and 20d – spectacles not in place and distracted!

         1. A-ha, thought as much…….

9. Great puzzle for which I needed help a few times (from the letter reveal). Never heard of the fox and couldn’t parse 24a and 25a and even with the hint 4s escapes me. But overall very enjoyable and it’s nice to be stretched. Thank you setter and Mr K.

10. Perfectly pitched for a Friday – thanks to our setter and Mr K.
    I ticked 1a, 21a, 19d and (my favourite) 3a.

11. 21A just wouldn’t reveal itself so a DNF for me. I also had three bung ins, 4D, 19D (not only can we not afford them in Sheffield but they are not a homonym for the Shakespeare character) and 17D but despite the failure to parse I guessed correctly. I too had 26A as view which made 17D even more difficult. I still cannot fully resolve 4D despite the hint. The stand out clues for me were 6D and 12D.
    Thanks for the hints which were much needed, to understand the parsing of my bung ins and thanks to the setter.

    1. Hi Tyke,
       4d neat = ox, detailed plan = ide(a)

       Hope this helps.

       1. Hi, thanks for that. I guess my problem is that I have never seen any bovine refered to as a neat in any context in any publication. I see from a google search that I must have not been reading the appropriate literature.

          1. I only known it as one of my customers used to make Neatsfoot Oil, and he gave me a tin to treat my footie boots, the stuff was brilliant, the boots outlasted my footballing days!

12. This week I found the Friday puzzle quite tricky and it took a while to get going. In the end the top went it relatively well but the bottom was a lot slower to complete and I found the parsing hard to decipher. Just me, I expect.

    3*/3*

    Favourites 1a, 3a, 13a, 2d, 6d & 20d — with winner 20d
    Smiles for 3a, 1d & 6d

    Thanks to setter & Mr K.

13. If anyone had picked up this puzzle without knowing which day of the week it was from, it wouldn’t take long to guess correctly.
    Worthy of a Friday backpager and as Conor suggests, we’ve had easier toughies.
    I’m not great at guessing compilers, but there are many very smooth surfaces…
    The hideous casualwear in 21a, the Russki readies in 6d and the key soldiers at 17d stand to attention on my podium.
    Thanks to our setter and Mr K.

    1. The quickie pun was a belter, too.

    2. Thank you for the mention. The toughie was tough as well. When it takes (redacted), I start to get anxious.

14. Certainly a tricky little devil, with a few I wouldn’t have got without the helpful digital edition telling me I was wrong. That said it was a brilliant challenge with some really clever lego clues and anagrams. For me 6d was my favourite with 3a close second. I enjoy clues where a word I do not know is able to be got from the excellent clue eg 5d or 7d. I was glad 23a was an anagram.

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

15. No fun at all but bit the bullet and somehow managed the North however South was a lost cause until MrK came on the scene and picked up the towel I had thrown in. Thank you setter (? Silvanus) and MrK.

16. Reversals aplenty plus very smooth surfaces can only mean one particular DT setter, the blog’s very own Silvanus. Quite a bit of wrestling required here to bring all the wordplay into line with 26a holding out until the end. Our blogger’s picture for that clue was perfect! Quite a battle for the prizes today with the eventual nod going to 24&25a plus 6&12d. The Quickie pun made me smile given its link to one of the answers in our setter’s Wednesday Toughie and Mr T’s follow-up on Thursday.
    Many thanks to Silvanus and also to Mr K for the review.

17. A top-notch Friday puzzle and if it’s not from S I’ll eat my hat – I’ve got one like Carmen Miranda’s just for these occasions. Great clues, a tricky challenge worthy of a Friday and a very satisfying tussle. Plenty of ticks and I’ll pick 3a as my favourite; not the most difficult but the most pleasing somehow. 3.5*/4*.

18. A screamer that was a joy to solve from start to finish.

    I wasn’t sure if it was Silvy Wilvy or Zorro. But, the former’s trademark reverse alternate letter acrostic howdy doody (9a) makes me think it’s him.

    I’ve never heard of 23a but perfectly gettable and 14a was neat.

    Benjy baby became the first Jewish PM in 1868 and here’s how I remember it:

    1 letter of the 8 in Benjamin is J (for Jew) and the middle 6 letters of the 8 in his surname spell his country of origin.

    My pody picks are 10a (my favourite actor), 2d (tidy) and 15d.

    MT to the super setter and Special K.

    3*/5

19. 3*/ 4* After a quick start slowed to a snails pace but eventually they all fell into place. Favourites include the vicious 14a, the snappy 3a and the reverse lurker at 22d
    Thanks to MrK and setter for a proper Friday challenge

20. I’m pleased I managed about half of this unaided. Several words I’ve not heard of, but, hey ho, every day a school day. Thanks to setter and Mr K for the invaluable explanations.

    1. Oh, just realised you had commented – I added a note for you !!

       1. 😛😛👍

21. A tricky puzzle with 5d being a new word for me. I remembered the meaning of neat so that helped. LOI was 3a.

    Top picks for me were 4d, 6d, 21a and 22a. I also liked the Quickie pun.

    Thanks to Mr K and the setter.

22. Very tricky indeed. Sailed through the north but ground to a halt in the SW and resorted to the hints for 21a which had proved to be stubborn beggar. Once the hint revealed the answer the rest fell into place. Cotd for me was the Shakespearean cast member at 19d. Truly groanworthy once the penny dropped. Thanks to compiler for the brain mangling and Mr K for the hints.

23. Im really not getting 24a 😐

    1. Most mean = lowest. Remove the LO (see out).
       Does that help?

       1. Thank you Shabbo

24. Tricky, obscure and beyond me. Even with the hints it was hard to see some of the connections. Figured out 5d from definition but would never have thought of the archaic/shakesperean word for cattle.
    ****/0 – sorry not for me.

25. Piecing together the, er, pieces of 21a and somehow ending up with a answer that fitted the definition: my proudest crosswordy moment in a long time
    Thanks Setter and Mr K

26. Cor Blimey, guvner (that’s my cockney side) that was hard and I leaned somewhat on Mr. K’s hints. I could not think of 9a as a course of action, felt that 18a had to be what it was but didn’t know they were sporting as well as leaflets. 6d was my favourite, bringing fearsome memories of travelling in Russia in freezing November before Perestroika. However, it wouldn’t be Friday if it all fell into place neatly and I did feel quite proud of myself for spotting some of the red herrings. Many thanks to Mr K for the hints and pictures, more thanks to the Wily Setter for making my brain go into overdrive and a note for Sheila – I brushed my tongue this morning !

27. Brilliant! Perfect for a Friday and most entertaining.
    I’m also in the Silvanus camp for this one.
    Our King is not normally associated with modern revolutionary architects, but never mind, 1a is a cracking clue and a great start to the puzzle.
    1d is pertinent in our household, as Mrs Shabbo and I regularly play Scrabble on the phone, normally accompanied by a couple of pints at our local.
    As well as these, I also particularly enjoyed the pest controllers at 3a, the man fighting at 14a and the posh car at 19d.
    Thank you clever setter and Mr K (and the cats!).

    1. On the phone? why don’t you take Mrs Shabbo down the pub with you? 😊

       1. Good idea. That never occurred to me!!

          1. That reminds me of a Jethro sketch:
             Jethro: Put your coat on. I’m going down the pub.
             Wife: Are you taking me with you?
             Jethro: No, I’m turning the heating off.

28. Wow – that was tough. Took me longer than a month of back pagers (well, it felt like that). Dead chuffed to have completed it but need a lie down in a dark room now! That is my absolute limit of solving ability and I’m exhausted!!

    Thank you to the setter – you have broken my brain!!

29. A DNF for me today
    SW – I couldn’t get the casual wear so resorted to the hints before the Shakespearean character fell.
    3*/5*
    Thanks to silvanus and Mr K

30. I searched and searched but any fun eluded me today. Have to agree with Tipcat, Chriscross et al that this was Toughie level, despite there being a Toughie on offer today for the clever folks. Having scored a paltry 4 at first pass, I allowed myself to peak at the pictured hints, and found 22a particularly tricky, obscure and convoluted. Thus confirming my decision that this is way above my pay grade. Congrats to all who were able to finish unaided. Thanks to setter and Mr K. Think I need to go back to missing Fridays.

    1. And does anyone actually wear at 21a?

31. 23a was not the first beer ingredient to sorting to mind and I agree with the majority on the difficulty level. Hadn’t heard of the garment or the fox. Just glad to finish it. Thanks to the setter and Mr. K.

32. Never mind a DNF, for me it was an HES (hardly even started!). I now have a full grid thanks to Mr K, but unfortunately couldn’t say I enjoyed the process. Thanks to the setter, but was just not on your wavelength today.

33. Sorry, not for me. Mind you, I am well under the weather at the moment and not thinking straight. I thought 18a was something else entirely and, as I used to brew beer, 23a didn’t occur to me because I never used it.

    Thank you, setter for the puzzle, I wish I could have done it more justice. Thank you, Mr. K. for making sense of it and for the pusskits.

    1. Hope it’s nothing serious, Steve.

34. Many thanks to Mr K for his Hints and Tips (always better when accompanied by cat pics!) and to all those solving and commenting.

    I hate the lazy term “escaped Toughie” with a passion and find it interesting that those who tend to use it rarely, if ever, go anywhere near the Toughies. I’ll leave it there.

    May I wish everyone a good weekend. See you all again soon.

    1. Re your 2nd paragraph: Hear hear !

       And thanks for the puzzle. Very enjoyable.

       thanks to Mr K too

    2. Hello, Silvanus. Thanks for dropping in, and thanks for a fun puzzle to solve and to hint.

       I’ve added a few hyperlinks and additional explanation to some clues that have received questions in the comments.

       Thanks to everyone who has commented.

    3. Thanks for a proper Friday challenge

35. Having done the DT Cryptic for about fifty years with a finish rate of about 75%, this is the first time I have given up after three clues. Must be losing my grip.

    1. You told us in 2023 (DT 30454) that you gave up after just one clue so you must be improving.

       1. So I did – definitely losing my grip!

36. Thanks Silvanus, you beat me today! My first DNF in a long time. I’m not at 100% health wise and home event wise but that’s no excuse as the last few I got via Mr K’s excellent hints, I would not have got in a month of any days you care to choose. I’ve never heard of the fox and just wouldn’t have got to the Shakespeare character as, like most people I know, I don’t pronounce the car correctly!

    Also in 20d, I can never get past looking at Birmingham’s central letter(s) and am further foxed (see what I did there) by the fact that the centre in question is validly clued but not in the centre of Birmingham.

    Having tangled myself in all those knots, many thanks anyway to Silvanus and Mr K!

37. Thanks to the Setter and Mr K for the hints (which we needed 2 of). We worked 20d out from the clue but never heard of the “beast”! COTD 14a. Would class this puzzle as Tough! But hey we finished it!

38. A DNF for me too on this too tough to be enjoyable cryptic. The south particularly ‘foxed’ me!
    Thanks Mr K for the hints and tips which were needed.

39. Well, I finished but only thanks to a few ‘reveal letter’ and copious e-help.

    I had little sleep last night which probably didn’t help but even so, I feel sure that this was the most difficult back-pager I’ve tackled.

    Precious little enjoyment here but thanks to the setter anyway.

40. Like Rabbit Dave, I thought this a magnificent puzzle.***/ ***** .
    I was on the right wavelength from the start and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.
    I felt there was a good variety of cleverly constructed clues.
    My printout is crowded with ticks. For example:
    1a
    3a (ours were all humane; ‘unwanted guests’ were each given a chocolate biscuit as they were ushered out into a nearby field!)
    10a (have never watched either)
    21a (the forerunners of these were very fashionable back in the 1970s. We used to call them ‘catsuits’ or ‘jumpsuits’.)
    22a, 24a, 25a and 26a.
    I also particularly liked 12d and 19d with the literary references, as well as 4d, 6d and 15d.
    Many appreciative thanks to the setter for an excellent puzzle.
    Many appreciative thanks to Mr K for the clear and delightfully illustrated review. 20d is a new word for me. And I must add a particular ‘thank you’ for explaining ‘Birmingham’s centre’, which I did not know. Otherwise I had no problems in following the parsing correctly and only referred to a dictionary once, and that was for 20d’s ‘Fox’.

41. Much too hard for me but a few of the easy ones were amusing eg 3a.

42. Silvanus certainly reminded us it was Friday with this challenge – wonderful clues throughout, and I’m still laughing at 2D. Many thanks to Silvanus and Mr K.

43. Re solving instructions for 25a – you seem to equate deafness with inattention. Not the same thing and harsh on deaf people.

    1. Your post needed moderation because you inserted spaces into your previous alias. Both versions will work from now on.
       Deaf means inattentive or indifferent as in, for example ‘He was deaf to her needs’.

44. Terrific puzzle – the full 5* enjoyment rating & though it’s a close run thing for me this one had the edge on Wednesday’s Toughie. Needed Mr K for the why at 24a having both failed to twig the most mean synonym & the context of see out. Had never heard of the fox species but remembered the Brummie centre from a previous puzzle & Mr G confirmed the critter.
    Ticks aplenty – 3,10,14&18a along with 1,2,12,15,16&19d my top ten with the 2d lurker top of the pops.
    Thanks to Silvanus & to Mr K

45. Has my post re deafness /inattention been rejected without explanation?

    1. No.

46. Thought this was going in nicely as the top half succumbed without too much of a fight but then got a few hard punches that floored me. Would never have got 21 across let alone wear one. I do not pronounce the name of the car in 19 down in a way that would give me the answer . 16 d and 26 a got me knocked out . However it was a classy puzzle and most cunning.Favourite was 6 down with 3 and 24 across close behind. Many thanks to all involved and I live to fight another day.

47. I really enjoyed this , although I did find it quite hard in places held up by a handful at the end. I hate looking at the hints for help but my last one in 7d totally eluded me so just checked the hint – and I hadn’t heard of the word. I spent ages on 20d until finally I twigged the ‘nec’ bit , I tried ‘bognec’ first ! I loved 21a , which I got once all the checkers were in place. Thanks Silvanus and Mr K

48. I normally do the G and the Times. We found the G quite hard and did the I which also hard.
    Normally to feel good we will trot through the T as a warm down in the pub. ********.
    This was damned hard IMO. Hardest of the day.
    Cheated with the blog and even then.
    Personally I think its time religious references were taken out of general knowledge and stuck into an area for those that like astrology and stuff, but I expect to get flamed for that

    1. Welcome to the blog, Budgie.
       Please don’t discuss solving times in your posts – see Comment Etiquette #6

       1. Cool. Understood ☺️

    2. Welcome, Budgie. Please do comment again.

49. That was a genuine challenge. Got within two clues of a completion, both in the SW corner, before I had to resort to Mr K’s hints. Completely thrown by the reference to Birmingham in 20d, was looking to literally use the two letters from the centre of Brum, i and n, in the answer or the ICC. Being pedantic, the NEC is not in the centre but out by the airport. Also the garment in 21a, although aware of the type it passed me by. That said, really pleased to have done as well as I did but just didn’t quite get over the line.
    Favourites were 3a and 19d.
    As always, thank you to the setter and to Mr K for the hints.

    1. Hi FB and others.

       Silvanus is saying ‘The famous centre of Birmingham’, ie The National Exhibition Centre, like ‘The tower of Paris’.

       It’s not a geographical reference.

       1. I see where you are coming from but the International Convention Centre (ICC) is in the centre of Birmingham. As I said, I was being pedantic.

          1. Maybe Silv should have put THE centre as it is the biggest exhibition centre in The UK, let alone Bham.

             Onwards!

50. Completed three quarters yesterday, tried again this morning and …. no luck! The fox, car, and jumpsuit demanded Mr K’s expert help. Thank you Silvanus for a real challenge

51. I gave up on this yesterday .. but with a fresh morning brain and cup of coffee have just finished it this morning.
    That was tough with several “obscurities”. I’m with some re comments for 10a .. and I’ve never watched it. Last in was 21a which I’ve never owned or worn and imagine as a suitable garment for engrossing oneself in whilst watch 10a

52. Good afternoon from a poolside in Tenerife

    I’ve finally had to hoy the sponge in with 17d, 24a, and 26a left to solve. I thought I might get it done on the flight over yesterday, but nope!

    My stock of GK has increased now that I know what a 20d is and where one might find 23a.

    Unfortunately, I was convinced 26a was VIEW, which meant I was never going to twig 17d in a million years; I actually had the correct solution for 24a, but lacked the courage of my convictions to ink it in, because I couldn’t parse it. I needed the hintingtons to parse 4d and 21a.

    Splendid challenge from the Brain Of Silvanus! My thanks, along with thanks to Mr K.

    I can’t get the Telegraph here, so I’ll have to put up with the Waily Fail for a week. Back here on Monday week, God willing. I wish you well!

53. 4*/4* …
    liked 3A “They’re employed to remove unwanted guests, snappily ? (10)” …
    felt sorry for the unwanted guest in the picture to the hints.

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