DT 31047

51 comments on “DT 31047”

1. 2.5*/3.5*. Would have been 4* for enjoyment without the unindicated American abbreviation in 11a (confirmed by Shabbo and in the BRB and Collins!)

   Lots of ticks with 12a, 18a, 4d & 24d my top picks.

   Thanks to the setter and to Shabbo.

2. Beat by five clues today, roll on tomorra………

3. This puzzle, which I have onky just finised wwas even more chewy than yesterday’s. I have had to try putting it down , leaving it, while my brain(?) Works onit and then picking it up .I finally put the last holdout, (16d) in a few mminutes ago. The clues are very clever and there are still a frw in whicthe parsing eludes me.. I liked the geographical Lego clue at 10a, the reverse lurker at 19d and the creep at 25a, another fine Lego clue. Thanks to Shabbo for the hints and to the compiler for a stiff challenge.

4. Enjoyed this one .. and it went in quite smoothly .. NW to SE. Last in 23d.
   Cotd without a doubt 21a.

5. Firstly, Shabbs, I can’t believe your son didn’t go with your suggestion as it is absolutely superb. It really is.

   I’ve just had a look and the names for tattoo removal companies are not great: Ink’d, End of ink, Ink-out, Zapp and Ink Rethink (I’m hoping that none of these are his?). The logo would also be a hoot. There’s still time.

   This was a good tester that, like yesterday, fell into place pretty quickly. Goodness knows why but I’m on fire at the moment.

   My LOI was the 18a/16d comby. I’m leaning towards Mr Smooth because of the rekrul, alternate letters and the outside letters being removed from a synonym (16d) which is always tough.

   I’ve never heard of the abbreviation for the shirt in 10a so have therefore never heard of its plural. It’s an interesting one which I’m not sure about. The jury is out.

   17d is so satisfying to say.

   Is ‘bringing down’ a new letter shift indicator? I presume the next one in this group that started with ‘cycling’ is ‘bring across’ for an across clue? I’m all for evolution. So these work for me. Hmm, I know Zandio loves to push the envelope. So, maybe this is his work?

   15d is knocking on the door of Serengeti and orchestra with its number of appearances, lately.

   Forgive me as I’ve said it before but, for the newbies, a great way to remember the difference between 14a and etymology is to change the e to an a of 14a and to put an l at the start of etymology, i.e it sounds like ‘letter’mology.

   My podium is 21a (love it, i just wish Shabbs’ son did), 22d and 24d.

   MT to the super setter (I’m going for Sade) and Sir Shabbs (no reason)

   2*/4.5* (it would have been full marks but I’ve docked it half a mark for the same reason as Rabbi David)

   1. Hi TDS – I just saw your message from yesterday re: lemon difficult… Sadly I can’t claim it – it was the work of the great writers of ‘The thick of it’ and ‘in the loop (I think the former is on iPlayer and I thoroughly recommend if you haven’t seen it). It’s a very sweary ‘yes minister’!!!

      1. Hi MHUK

         I need to watch The Thick of It’ as I’ve heard so much about it. And anything that gets compared to Yes Minister gets a big, fat tick from me.

         Around 200 words to say ‘Happy Christmas’. The scriptwriters must have had so much fun.

         We are not worthy.

         1. It’s an often overused term – but I can only say ‘genius’

         2. Brilliant! I think it’s the only time I’ve seen Nigel Hawthorne use an autocue but you can’t blame him.

   2. Shabbs, you should tell your son to make the first letter of your suggested company name a zero with a diagonal line through it. Passers-by would have more chance of working it out.

6. Good morning. This was similar to yesterday’s offering. Not difficult but not a read and fill either. NE corner was first to fall then clickwise to NW; however 19d was LOI. 14a and 18a share the honours for COTD but lots to smile about. Incidentally, this took a minute longer than the Toughie; so give it a go! Many thanks for the review and to the setter!

7. A 17d crossword! 
   When you throw in 5a and 25a, there was fun to be had here.
   The decent French composer in 18a, the unopened holy book in 27a and 13d’s second pool match were also neatly constructed clues.
   Very enjoyable, thanks to our setter and to Shabbo for the blog.

   1. I love Gymnopedies No 1 which plays over the closing sequences of My Dinner With Andre, one of my favourite Louis Malle films – highly recommended for any who haven’t seen it

      1. Despite popular belief, Satie did not eat only white food.

8. Unlike Twm’s puzzle yesterday I tuned straight into this one for a brisk finish comfortably under **time & really enjoyed the solve. Ticks aplenty – 10,18,25&28a plus 5,16&17d particular likes.
   Thanks to the setter (like TDS65 Silvanus in the frame but wouldn’t back the hunch with hard cash) & to Shabbo – enjoy your day at Knebworth – am a big fan of the course & you certainly know you’ve had a good walk after playing it.
   Ps Great Django Toughie over in t’other place.

9. On first pass I thought I would never get going, but after the customary go away and return a few times it all came together. I think this is the most important tip I can offer to a newbie as today after first go I could have thrown in the towel and said it was impossible, and yet, because I had the time to return to it, suddenly it became possible. I liked the variety of clues and 21a was my favourite.

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

10. Enjoyed today’s offering with some much need humour after yesterday’s rather sombre affair. So many great clues but 21a takes the top prize for me. If I’m being hyper critical then I would say the were a few too many deletions from words which weren’t in the clue (9,12,18across 16, 17down) but that’s probably just me!

    Thanks to the setter and Shabbo for the review

11. I’m never keen on the use of slang expressions in crosswords but, other than those, I enjoyed this one. Top scorers for me were 18&21a plus 13d. I also liked the Quickie pun.
    Thanks to our setter and to Shabbo for the review.

12. I wish I could claim this as an unaided finish, but sadly I can’t. I was undone by two, where having pondered for a good long while, I resorted to the hints. That said it was, indeed, a stonking puzzle. Tough to pick a podium, but I’ll go with 16d, 18a and 22a. 28a gets an honorable mention. Thanks to compiler and Shabbo.

13. A superb puzzle with lots of smiles. Not a walk in the park though. LOI was the clever 16d.

    Top picks for me were 21a, 10a, 13d and 25a.

    Thanks to Shabbo and the setter.

14. As this is RayT’s off week, not sure who the setter may be. I found this trickier than a RayT puzzle, but then that is just me.
    A few words I had trouble with the parsing again today.

    2.5*/3.5*

    Favourites 5a, 10a, 14a, 21a, 28a & 2d — with winner 21a

    Thanks to setter & Shabbo

15. A **/*** for me. As yesterday, a break for a spell of work/walking the dog was useful in breaking a stalemate. Hence the greater satisfaction as the grid revealed itself.
    LOI 11a despite all the checkers this took a while for the penny to drop. Surprising given how often we are exposed to the NY or LA departments.
    COTD hard to pick but could be 20a, 16 or 17d.
    Great hinting Shabbo and many thanks to the setter.

16. Late on parade because of trying to sort out housing insurance. The house was insured but in Lesley’s name. I asked the insurance company to change the policy to my name. “Oh we can’t do that,” came their reply, “You’ll need to take out a new policy”. The new policy, covering exactly the same as the old policy, was going to cost four times as much. I told them, in the politest possible terms, I no longer required their services.

    A tricky little number with a good deal of head scratching on my part. I had solved one only after the first pass and thought I would get no further. However, applying the “leave it alone and come back to it” rule paid dividends and I eventually came to a staggering finish with help from El Shabbo. I have never thought that 1a was a particular cheese but a wheel of any cheese. Never mind, it’s a wonderful word along the lines of “Tranklements”. My COTD has to be the noisy pen at 21a – such a good clue.

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

    1. Sympathise on the house insurance problems. They are a large part of annual budgets over here. Until 1992 when Hurricane Andrew hit Florida, our premiums were in the normal range but have gradually gone into the stratosphere since then. We now pay 17 x what we were paying in the late 1980s. And would be even higher had we not moved to a newer house six years ago. Florida insurers look askance at any properties over 10 years old, and some won’t even consider them. But at least they insure both of us on the policy.

17. This was a great puzzle , nicely chewy but not as hard as yesterday’s. It’s funny how you get word blind. Trying to parse 26a I came up with ‘wolet’, and actually checked to see if such a bird existed ! One of my last ins was 18a, where I spent a while with a list of French composers, only having discounted them did I then look at the clue the other way round. My absolute last was 16d , where I needed the brb for the tyrant part of the clue only then completing the word – which I didn’t know meant support . Thanks to the setter for the challenge and Shabbo.

18. Thanks to the Setter and Shabbo for the hints
    Late as usual attempting today’s puzzle. We found this a struggle. Brains clearly not in gear! LOI 16d which we don’t fully understand. COTD 21a.

    1. 16d despot minus d and t (shelled), USA and L (Lima), hope that helps

19. Had to get out of the house early so had 16 down to fill in. I came a cropper because for 21 across I put in pink. That is not so mad as it may sound because it represent a frequency of sound and my father would often refer to the car engine “pinking “ which denoted some sort of problem. The crossword is a brain game and I am delighted to be beaten honourably. Three cheers for a great crossword and to Shabbo for giving the alternative answer to 21 across.

20. A lot of you seem to have enjoyed doing this puzzle, which I found too hard

21. To comment on “the white food and satie”correspondent, may I add
    I think it was Horace Walpole who ate only white food not Satie, am I right?

    1. I’m not sure about Walpole, B apart from the fact that Strawberry Hill House was white.

       Satie claimed to eat only white food in Memoirs of an Amnesiac (a contradictory title if ever there was one) along with descriptions of his “Salutary horseback riding, in the back of my park”. He stated that “Dinner is served at 7:16 p.m. and finished at 7:20 p.m.” and that, “I breathe carefully (little at a time). I dance very rarely. As I walk, I hold my ribs and stare behind me.”

       It was meant to be silly because Satie was poor and did not have horses to ride in a park. However, it was all taken at face value and the “white food only” myth was born.

22. Put me down as someone who didn’t get along with this puzzle at all. Started off badly at 1a having never heard of the cheese. Don’t believe I even saw it at the wonderful Cheese Shop that used to be in Streatley, near Pangbourne (shop no longer there sadly). After filling in just three answers on first pass I looked at a few hints, and realised I was on a different planet from the setter. I will blame it on the contrast injected early this morning for my fasting MRI, obviously clouded my brain 😊. Feeling pathetic, this being two days in a row that I was up the proverbial creek. Thanks for setter, and to Shabbo.

23. On first run through I thought this was going to a be a DNF. However after a slow start the clues gradually started to make more and more sense and I finished in good time with the clever 21a which made me laugh and is my COTD.

    I had never heard of the French composer in 18a but the hint about the plant helped me over the line.

    I have to admit that the parsing of some of the answers was a challenge and I was on a deadline, so quite a few of my entries towards the end were Bung Ins, so thank you Shabbo for your words of wisdom that have put my mind at rest and to the setter for stretching my thinking!

24. I feel so incompetent when I read the comments. I managed around 50% before I started “cheating” as my husbands says, by reviewing your wonderful web-site. Some days I actually manage it on my own, but today I’ll admit, I needed your help and on a few, I could’t even work out how you got there. It’s only by using your wonderful web-site that I’ve managed to start getting to grips with these Cryptic crosswords. Thanks so much to you all.

    1. What a great post, Alison!

       Mastering a crossword takes a long time and the fact that you can sometimes complete one on your own is an achievement.

       I and, for sure, others look forward to your next comment.

       1. Ditto what Tom said – keep commenting

    2. Indeed we do, TDS65. There is no such thing as cheating, Alison. If you look up the answer to a clue you are learning how the clue works so you are doing research into cryptic crosswords. How else can we learn?

25. Thanks Shabbo for the thorough blog and to everyone who has commented today.

    See you all next time.

    1. That you, Karla for a great puzzle and for popping in.

26. Great work from Karla. 10A, 18A and 16D superb, and I particularly enjoyed 8D. VMT Karla & Shabbo.

27. A lot of this was finding a synonym then going “of course!”. Except for 16d which I put in the only word that fitted but didn’t really get. I did like 21a and 28a

28. Interesting how so many people loved 21a … funnily enough, I interpreted the pen as a female swan (thanks to Rodney’s biro!) … don’t they make a noise like that?
    On reflection, maybe a little porker is the better option …. 😂

29. Re my comment above …. I think my reasoning was that little porkers usually live in stys rather than pens.
    Same result though ….

30. Looked impossible on a first look and went back to this many times today, solving clues each time. Eventually, after a huge battle I completed it unaided although I needed to check the hint afterwards to fully understand the parsing of 27a and again afterwards checked the meanings of 1a and 9a. LOI 16d. COTD 21a, very clever. Thanks to Karla and Shabbo. ***/****

31. 1.5* / 4* excellent and a pleasure to complete, unlike yesterday’s struggle. Lots of clever and tricksy clues, favourites include the impressive 17d, cheese at 1a and the creep at 25a
    Also liked the quickie pun
    Thanks to Karla and Shabbo

32. Didn’t know the cheese, the broth or the composer, I do now, and I suppose 16d just about passes muster. I struggled with this most of the way through but got there in the end. Favourite was 17d. Thanks to Karla and Shabbo.

33. I’m impressed that so many solved or nearly solved this today.

    I managed 2 clues before conceding defeat.

    Thanks to all.

34. Wow, another difficult challenge, probably slightly harder than yesterday. Again, about 80% completed before I had to use the hints. I didn’t help myself in the southern half by misspelling ‘entymologist.’
    Struggled with some of the parsing particularly in the SW quadrant.
    Favourites today were 5a, 21a, 22a and 26a.
    Thank you to the setter and to Shabbo for the hints.

35. Couldn’t get anywhere with this. First read through gave me no answers. Left it and watched the first half of the Notts Forest Euro game, then returned to the puzzle. Second time round I got three answers. The rest of the puzzle is a mystery to me, and even Shabbo’s clues don’t help!

    Put it down to a different wavelength day. Actually, I must be not only on a different wavelength but in a different galaxy!

    Thanks setter but I give in!

36. Very difficult but fair with the pen noise as my favourite. Thank you compiler and Shabbo

37. 3*/4* …
    liked 20D ” ‘Redo it,silly !’ , one might say (6) “

Comments are closed.