69 thoughts on “DA Confusion for the 25/26th of February, 2012”
Tough one this week. After an hour I am about half done. I do have 26/12 (nice clue), but it’s not as much help as you’d think. Probably just as well to read it as “some random letters” and get on with the rest of the crossword.
Well, I have letters in all the boxes. Off to do some googling to see if I’m right.
Once I looked up the dispenser in 1A, I realised I had 18A wrong. I haven’t heard of them, but apparently 18A are still around in some places.
I had 9A wrong – letters 1&3 of the second word reversed! The actual answer makes a lot more sense than what I originally wrote, and I also got a better understanding of the theme.
8D: Is the failing doctor “AM”? Otherwise I don’t get the wordplay.
I hadn’t heard of (or had forgotten) 27A, but got it from the wordplay. Should be an easy one to get Arthur started.
Last one corrected was 17D. I had the name of a French town, but they don’t have a famous rugby team, and it didn’t quite fit the theme.
Anyone looking for heavy spoilers can find a list of the theme words on my website.
thanks rupert. those helped a bit. although now i’m left wondering about the connection in the first place…
Very hard. Agree with Rupert that getting 26/12 doesn’t help a great deal. I had a number of the linked answers out before getting 26/12 and finding the connection was difficult in a number of cases. The only one left to get is 10a – any hints (I have all the crossers and it still eludes me)?
Took me an hour to do about half also. Like Rupert I Got the theme late and it helps but not a lot! Got some thinking to do later on to complete this.
Som fun clues today.
Just got it…….
10A: Glad you got it, Peter. Some years ago I played an online roleplaying game in which my character was a somewhat taller version of one of these. I would have to interrupt guild activities to announce that I was going to put the 10A (my children) to bed.
All done thanks to Rupert’s homepage. Re 8D: DR is removed from synonym for uniform.
8D: Thanks, Mike. I’d missed the failing, was thinking uniform in the sense of undifferentiated.
Rupert are you suggesting that there is some sort of rugby connection to 17d or to the whole theme? If the latter I’m not going to waste my time on it.
nn there is no rugby connection to the puzzle. Even with 17d, rugby has no relevance other than the answer does happen to have a rugby club
Thanks Peter I will persevere
Sorry to have scared you, @nn!
Wot I ‘ates! Clues where the answer is dependent on the prior solving of another clue. Today, we have ten clues dependent on sorting out ‘Whip-around to benefit the earth?’ Have only just begun, read-through provided two answers only. Just as well I can remember all the OT prophets, so 27A no trouble.
DA, have you been influenced by the Grauniad’s week of fiendish puzzles, starting with the brilliant tribute for Rufus’s 80th birthday? I was still reeling from all of that, and you hit me with this one!
About half-way there, but it’s like pulling teeth.
So I looked up a list of the Hebrew prophets but I don’t see how any of them are relevant. None of them had a “ran” that I could take out and none of them seemed to relate to nurses.
27A: “nurses” is an indicator. In this case, “outran a humble” nurses (contains) the name of the prophet.
All done and absolutely stoked about it. Would be even happier if I could see the wordplay in 29a , 19d and the 26/12 in 23a.
Toughest DA for quite some time , I thought.
30d, 20a and 24A my favorites.
Thanks Rupert – I re-read my list of prophets and now I’ve got it. The clue actually says “nurse” where I think “nurses” would be better.
Never fails. The cockney Hawaiian essential has finally dropped, and I now see the 26 in 23/4. Doh!
If I post I can’t see what the quarter is doing in 5a no doubt that will also occur to me a few seconds later.
Has it worked BRD?
All I can think of for the Hawaiian essential is hula. If not that, does it at least start with h?
@Rachel – you have the right shape, but it’s a food item.
5A: It’s a quarter of the compass.
Looked too difficult, and if the experts above were having difficulty, I decided too hard for me. So, carefully tore it to pieces, filed it in the circular file. See how we go next week.
I’m struggling. Got 3D and 13D in the first few seconds but then stared at the puzzle for another 20-30 minutes before anything else came to mind. Got most of the NW corner now and a few others, but the East side of the grid is almost bare.
Will give it a break for an hour and see if the crossword muse wants to pay a visit.
Been out all morning just got back to it. Have three answers so far.,3d,13d were quick,5d would have been quick too if I hadn’t misread it and tried to fit an extra letter i. Will google some prophets as none come to mind that fit.
Found this week’s a bit of a slog. Congrats to BRD, Rupert and others who got it out, and thanks for the clarification here of my queries.
Did anyone have trouble with the way the text was laid out in 17D in the Herald? Very confusing! Didn’t get it until quite late that it wasn’t:
French city poet doffs cap after 2
6/12 (8)
30D was a good deception as DA has used ‘cases’ to indicate the outer letters of words.
nn, Seek the prophet within.
Or wait and the prophet will come to you.
Thanks Rupert, it’s so obvious now you’ve told me! I’ve spent 15 mins trying to figure out what a quarter of green might be. What a goose!
Rachel, yes, and it’s not a pineapple.
Unlike iPuzzled, I have almost all the eastern half, but precious little else. Even having read the comments above concerning 18A, and having worked out the dispenser in 1A, I’m at a loss. I can think of a couple of essayists who’d fit 29A, but can’t figure out any appropriate word play, and 23/4 remains a mystery.
Dave, I had the shell of an answer originally, but the wordplay was as elusive as the golden fleece, really got my bp up high.
With 23/4, you may need to try a novel approach.
Whew, what a scorcher! And I don’t just mean the weather, though that didn’t help. I’ve got there, but I’m both bits of 30a.
Thanks a lot, Rupert, for your list – I held off for as long as I could but needed it for four of them.
Hadn’t heard of 18a and only found it by googling with every possible second letter. (Good thing I didn’t try with the dictionary first, because I wouldn’t have found it. But I’m being a whingeing Pom again.) Only after looking on here again did I finally twig the Hawaiian bit.
Really struggled with 21d and 30a, which were my last ones in. Not sure about the definition in 21 – doesn’t it have a more negative implication than the answer? Not sure I’ve got the energy left to quibble though – I’m just chuffed to have finished it. Worth a larger than usual g&t this evening, I think!
Thanks Gayle I knew where the prophet was hiding, just no idea on how to recognise him or her. List from Google has revealed the name. Not sure what you mean by waiting until the prophet comes to me.
I now have 5 answers, one of which (14a )I don’t fully understand as it relates to the unknown 26/12 and I’m guessing that explains letters 2 to 5 of the wordplay as I can see the rest. Suspect I will need a lot of googling and wordfinding software to get anywhere with this. Resisting temptation to look at Rupert’s list or to follow Arthur, but not getting very far at the moment. Getting too hot to think in Melbourne this afternoon.
Half an hour later I have managed to get precisely nowhere with the rest of it
how big is the French city in 17d? Can’t find anything that fits the only cross letter I have amongst the major ones. Too many smaller ones to search without having any hope of the wordplay
nn, the city is medium-sized, I guess. Look to the South. I didn’t get it for a long while, mainly because I was looking for a better 26/12 than this answer has. Really, is this a 26D? Or something processed from one? Thanks for the hints, BRD. Helped me get 23/4, the movie of which I saw not long ago. Once I’d sorted out the essayist the rest of the SW corner fell into place, but for 18A I’d been looking for far too long for the name of a generic substance. Now all I need are 10A and 11A, for neither of which can I think of anything fitting the cross letters.
Thanks Dave R. Have found one that fits my cross letter. You at least have the (dis?)advantage of knowing 26/12 so some clue as to whether or not it is right. Can’t see a poet in there, even without a cap, but haven’t managed to add any answers in almost two hours now so am about to follow Arthur.
Dave, I didn’t think either of these were outstanding clues, and it’s a bit hard to give clues without spoiling. The aliens are from the Lucas genre, while the 26/12 referred to in 11a may be relevant to an upcoming caucus meeting.
Gave up and went to crossword club. So far I’ve only looked at the answer to 26/12. Nice clue now I’ve seen it but would never have worked it out without a few more cross letters (I had one cross letter). Doesn’t help to work out any answers but at least explains the wordplay in the two that I do have that involve it. Am sure I have the right French city now and agree that DA is being a bit loose with definition of 26D. Can see the poet now. May have a go at a few more before tea, but I can’t see myself getting very far with it.
Thanks again, BRD. Never seen a Lucas movie; not my thing at all, but I’d vaguely heard of these. I’ll keep on puzzling about 11A. With luck it will come to me as soon as I post this comment.
Finished! Although with a lot of help. Thanks for the hints.
Yes, a real challenge today. Just two to go: 26d and 30a. Any clues? Wondering whether I’ve made a mistake with 21a (seems right though) because I can’t think of any word that fits what I’ve got so far for 30d.
Finally can see the theme running through the 26/12 references but still don’t see what 26/12 has to do with it. Might surrender to Rupert’s website.
@sb, 30a, def is last two words, cases as in encloses
got 1a without too uch trouble but it didn’t help with18
Mary I’d worked out that they must be the def but what on earth is a snapping window?
30A: A snapping window is a period of time in which it’s possible to take a picture.
18A: It’s now part of Caltex
11A: A serving in the sense of someone has a spoonful and drops it on your plate.
21D: I think it just means aware of. I’m not aware of [ha!] any sinister implications.
thanks for 30a Rupert, i had the first and last letter already and now have an answer that fits your hint. I thought I understood “cases” but can’t see any connection between the first three words of the clue and my answer.
Have an answer for 11a which fits serving as the def, but can’t see how that fits the first part of the clue or the 26/12
Have been at it for fifteen and a half hours now (on and off) and have 15 answers. Am beginning to think Arthur had the right idea.
make that 16 now, just saw 1d which lessened my woes slightly
Half given up and went to Rupert’s list. This tells me that I needed a much broader interpretation of 26D than I’d previously thought of. It also tells me that I appear to have 5A wrong!
At least it gave me 18A and I can see the Hawaiian. Groan!
Finally feel as if I’m getting somewhere, but would have been lost without Rupert’s page of hints. Bit of a quibble, I would have described what is happening as a reversal or mirroring not a 12A.
Nine to go, will I finish before midnight?
gave up with a couple to go, too tired,too hard
How are you doing now, nn?
You’ve probably sussed it by now , but 11a:- study, as in study a subject at university, for first two letters. Then reversed word that can mean cut or head. (I agree it’s not strictly 12a.)
5a can go with lovage.
Thanks Mary. And thanks Rupert. I had misunderstood “whip”, got stuck in other meaning of “whip-round”, so had 12a wrong. All good now. phew!
nn, think of colloquial exhaust (as in what DA does) wrapping colloquial smoking (but not puffing)
Enjoy!
Phew!
Got this out (missing 11A and 2 D – because I was working on ‘den’ for study), slowly and largely unaided, but more as a laborious quick crossword than a cryptic i.e. narrow down the definition and make it fit. I didn’t really get how the theme worked in most cases, and it seemed to me to be straying close into indirect anagram territory.
Agree JD, it was a real slog, trying just about everything in the clue as a possible definition and then hoping to spot some sort of wordplay. Got a bit easier once I’d got over half way and had enough cross letters to start making some half reasonable guesses.
Hi DA Trippers
I don’t post often as I like to try and get the DAs out without any assistance or hints – but it usually takes me until midweek by which time the discussion is over!
It seems everyone has found it as difficult as I did, so I feel happy to have this one completed by Monday.
The only missing part of the puzzle is that I can’t see the wordplay in 15D. The last half makes sense but the “…outlandish finale first – ” bit has me stumped. Anyone out there got any ideas?
Gday Trippers
Thanks for keeping the creative turbines churning. This site zings, a great balm for the faint-hearted solver, and your musings & mullings offer invaluable feedback. While I seldom post, I peek often, just to see how everyone is handling the mayhem.
The CROP ROTATION was sparked by the whip-round fluke, a cute doubled-meaning that opened the door to a manipulation theme. On seeing how few cereal crops lent themselves to spinning, I next branched into crop synonyms. This proved far more fertile, and evidently ramped the difficulty rating tenfold.
Well done Rupert for trailblazing the hitlist – a great innovation for less seasoned solvers to make more progress – and mrigeoy [above] for pinpointing the one annoying flub on my part, aptly enough for ALL THUMBS. The emended wording should be:
Bungling outlandish opener last – audience drones (This sees T/ALL become ALL/T, with ‘HUMS’ to follow.)
Apologies for that glitch. ‘Usual’ services resume this week…
Thanks for the admission of your “annoying flub” DA.
I must say it had never occurred to me that my inability to see the wordplay was anything other than my own shortcoming.
You’ve made my DA!
You’ve just gotta love it.
I think someone needs to tell Mrs Astle that her son is getting worse – someone at the SMH should be responsible for making sure he takes his medication EVERY day!
A toughie but a goodie. Thanks DA, and thanks to all the good DA Trippers!
Hi,
I only managed about a third. Very demoralising… Anyhow, wondering if I could get some help with answers and wordplay for the following:
1D ((Befall?)
2D (Overlay?)
29A (Emerson?)
Thanks.
Grant
1D: Befall was my first guess, too, but the actual answer usually follows woe …
2D: Very close. Try the present tense.
29A: Ralph Waldo himself. The measure is for printers, and the soul is an individual (as in a city of a million souls) missing the leading P.
Thanks Rupert.
29A is a great clue. I thought of Emerson immediately without understanding wordplay. Inidentally, does losing “face” normally refer to removal of a single letter, or a string?
Tough one this week. After an hour I am about half done. I do have 26/12 (nice clue), but it’s not as much help as you’d think. Probably just as well to read it as “some random letters” and get on with the rest of the crossword.
Well, I have letters in all the boxes. Off to do some googling to see if I’m right.
Once I looked up the dispenser in 1A, I realised I had 18A wrong. I haven’t heard of them, but apparently 18A are still around in some places.
I had 9A wrong – letters 1&3 of the second word reversed! The actual answer makes a lot more sense than what I originally wrote, and I also got a better understanding of the theme.
8D: Is the failing doctor “AM”? Otherwise I don’t get the wordplay.
I hadn’t heard of (or had forgotten) 27A, but got it from the wordplay. Should be an easy one to get Arthur started.
Last one corrected was 17D. I had the name of a French town, but they don’t have a famous rugby team, and it didn’t quite fit the theme.
Anyone looking for heavy spoilers can find a list of the theme words on my website.
thanks rupert. those helped a bit. although now i’m left wondering about the connection in the first place…
Very hard. Agree with Rupert that getting 26/12 doesn’t help a great deal. I had a number of the linked answers out before getting 26/12 and finding the connection was difficult in a number of cases. The only one left to get is 10a – any hints (I have all the crossers and it still eludes me)?
Took me an hour to do about half also. Like Rupert I Got the theme late and it helps but not a lot! Got some thinking to do later on to complete this.
Som fun clues today.
Just got it…….
10A: Glad you got it, Peter. Some years ago I played an online roleplaying game in which my character was a somewhat taller version of one of these. I would have to interrupt guild activities to announce that I was going to put the 10A (my children) to bed.
All done thanks to Rupert’s homepage. Re 8D: DR is removed from synonym for uniform.
8D: Thanks, Mike. I’d missed the failing, was thinking uniform in the sense of undifferentiated.
Rupert are you suggesting that there is some sort of rugby connection to 17d or to the whole theme? If the latter I’m not going to waste my time on it.
nn there is no rugby connection to the puzzle. Even with 17d, rugby has no relevance other than the answer does happen to have a rugby club
Thanks Peter I will persevere
Sorry to have scared you, @nn!
Wot I ‘ates! Clues where the answer is dependent on the prior solving of another clue. Today, we have ten clues dependent on sorting out ‘Whip-around to benefit the earth?’ Have only just begun, read-through provided two answers only. Just as well I can remember all the OT prophets, so 27A no trouble.
DA, have you been influenced by the Grauniad’s week of fiendish puzzles, starting with the brilliant tribute for Rufus’s 80th birthday? I was still reeling from all of that, and you hit me with this one!
About half-way there, but it’s like pulling teeth.
So I looked up a list of the Hebrew prophets but I don’t see how any of them are relevant. None of them had a “ran” that I could take out and none of them seemed to relate to nurses.
27A: “nurses” is an indicator. In this case, “outran a humble” nurses (contains) the name of the prophet.
All done and absolutely stoked about it. Would be even happier if I could see the wordplay in 29a , 19d and the 26/12 in 23a.
Toughest DA for quite some time , I thought.
30d, 20a and 24A my favorites.
Thanks Rupert – I re-read my list of prophets and now I’ve got it. The clue actually says “nurse” where I think “nurses” would be better.
Never fails. The cockney Hawaiian essential has finally dropped, and I now see the 26 in 23/4. Doh!
If I post I can’t see what the quarter is doing in 5a no doubt that will also occur to me a few seconds later.
Has it worked BRD?
All I can think of for the Hawaiian essential is hula. If not that, does it at least start with h?
@Rachel – you have the right shape, but it’s a food item.
5A: It’s a quarter of the compass.
Looked too difficult, and if the experts above were having difficulty, I decided too hard for me. So, carefully tore it to pieces, filed it in the circular file. See how we go next week.
I’m struggling. Got 3D and 13D in the first few seconds but then stared at the puzzle for another 20-30 minutes before anything else came to mind. Got most of the NW corner now and a few others, but the East side of the grid is almost bare.
Will give it a break for an hour and see if the crossword muse wants to pay a visit.
Been out all morning just got back to it. Have three answers so far.,3d,13d were quick,5d would have been quick too if I hadn’t misread it and tried to fit an extra letter i. Will google some prophets as none come to mind that fit.
Found this week’s a bit of a slog. Congrats to BRD, Rupert and others who got it out, and thanks for the clarification here of my queries.
Did anyone have trouble with the way the text was laid out in 17D in the Herald? Very confusing! Didn’t get it until quite late that it wasn’t:
French city poet doffs cap after 2
6/12 (8)
30D was a good deception as DA has used ‘cases’ to indicate the outer letters of words.
nn, Seek the prophet within.
Or wait and the prophet will come to you.
Thanks Rupert, it’s so obvious now you’ve told me! I’ve spent 15 mins trying to figure out what a quarter of green might be. What a goose!
Rachel, yes, and it’s not a pineapple.
Unlike iPuzzled, I have almost all the eastern half, but precious little else. Even having read the comments above concerning 18A, and having worked out the dispenser in 1A, I’m at a loss. I can think of a couple of essayists who’d fit 29A, but can’t figure out any appropriate word play, and 23/4 remains a mystery.
Dave, I had the shell of an answer originally, but the wordplay was as elusive as the golden fleece, really got my bp up high.
With 23/4, you may need to try a novel approach.
Whew, what a scorcher! And I don’t just mean the weather, though that didn’t help. I’ve got there, but I’m both bits of 30a.
Thanks a lot, Rupert, for your list – I held off for as long as I could but needed it for four of them.
Hadn’t heard of 18a and only found it by googling with every possible second letter. (Good thing I didn’t try with the dictionary first, because I wouldn’t have found it. But I’m being a whingeing Pom again.) Only after looking on here again did I finally twig the Hawaiian bit.
Really struggled with 21d and 30a, which were my last ones in. Not sure about the definition in 21 – doesn’t it have a more negative implication than the answer? Not sure I’ve got the energy left to quibble though – I’m just chuffed to have finished it. Worth a larger than usual g&t this evening, I think!
Thanks Gayle I knew where the prophet was hiding, just no idea on how to recognise him or her. List from Google has revealed the name. Not sure what you mean by waiting until the prophet comes to me.
I now have 5 answers, one of which (14a )I don’t fully understand as it relates to the unknown 26/12 and I’m guessing that explains letters 2 to 5 of the wordplay as I can see the rest. Suspect I will need a lot of googling and wordfinding software to get anywhere with this. Resisting temptation to look at Rupert’s list or to follow Arthur, but not getting very far at the moment. Getting too hot to think in Melbourne this afternoon.
Half an hour later I have managed to get precisely nowhere with the rest of it
how big is the French city in 17d? Can’t find anything that fits the only cross letter I have amongst the major ones. Too many smaller ones to search without having any hope of the wordplay
nn, the city is medium-sized, I guess. Look to the South. I didn’t get it for a long while, mainly because I was looking for a better 26/12 than this answer has. Really, is this a 26D? Or something processed from one? Thanks for the hints, BRD. Helped me get 23/4, the movie of which I saw not long ago. Once I’d sorted out the essayist the rest of the SW corner fell into place, but for 18A I’d been looking for far too long for the name of a generic substance. Now all I need are 10A and 11A, for neither of which can I think of anything fitting the cross letters.
Thanks Dave R. Have found one that fits my cross letter. You at least have the (dis?)advantage of knowing 26/12 so some clue as to whether or not it is right. Can’t see a poet in there, even without a cap, but haven’t managed to add any answers in almost two hours now so am about to follow Arthur.
Dave, I didn’t think either of these were outstanding clues, and it’s a bit hard to give clues without spoiling. The aliens are from the Lucas genre, while the 26/12 referred to in 11a may be relevant to an upcoming caucus meeting.
Gave up and went to crossword club. So far I’ve only looked at the answer to 26/12. Nice clue now I’ve seen it but would never have worked it out without a few more cross letters (I had one cross letter). Doesn’t help to work out any answers but at least explains the wordplay in the two that I do have that involve it. Am sure I have the right French city now and agree that DA is being a bit loose with definition of 26D. Can see the poet now. May have a go at a few more before tea, but I can’t see myself getting very far with it.
Thanks again, BRD. Never seen a Lucas movie; not my thing at all, but I’d vaguely heard of these. I’ll keep on puzzling about 11A. With luck it will come to me as soon as I post this comment.
Finished! Although with a lot of help. Thanks for the hints.
Yes, a real challenge today. Just two to go: 26d and 30a. Any clues? Wondering whether I’ve made a mistake with 21a (seems right though) because I can’t think of any word that fits what I’ve got so far for 30d.
Finally can see the theme running through the 26/12 references but still don’t see what 26/12 has to do with it. Might surrender to Rupert’s website.
@sb, 30a, def is last two words, cases as in encloses
got 1a without too uch trouble but it didn’t help with18
Mary I’d worked out that they must be the def but what on earth is a snapping window?
30A: A snapping window is a period of time in which it’s possible to take a picture.
18A: It’s now part of Caltex
11A: A serving in the sense of someone has a spoonful and drops it on your plate.
21D: I think it just means aware of. I’m not aware of [ha!] any sinister implications.
thanks for 30a Rupert, i had the first and last letter already and now have an answer that fits your hint. I thought I understood “cases” but can’t see any connection between the first three words of the clue and my answer.
Have an answer for 11a which fits serving as the def, but can’t see how that fits the first part of the clue or the 26/12
Have been at it for fifteen and a half hours now (on and off) and have 15 answers. Am beginning to think Arthur had the right idea.
make that 16 now, just saw 1d which lessened my woes slightly
Half given up and went to Rupert’s list. This tells me that I needed a much broader interpretation of 26D than I’d previously thought of. It also tells me that I appear to have 5A wrong!
At least it gave me 18A and I can see the Hawaiian. Groan!
Finally feel as if I’m getting somewhere, but would have been lost without Rupert’s page of hints. Bit of a quibble, I would have described what is happening as a reversal or mirroring not a 12A.
Nine to go, will I finish before midnight?
gave up with a couple to go, too tired,too hard
How are you doing now, nn?
You’ve probably sussed it by now , but 11a:- study, as in study a subject at university, for first two letters. Then reversed word that can mean cut or head. (I agree it’s not strictly 12a.)
5a can go with lovage.
Thanks Mary. And thanks Rupert. I had misunderstood “whip”, got stuck in other meaning of “whip-round”, so had 12a wrong. All good now. phew!
nn, think of colloquial exhaust (as in what DA does) wrapping colloquial smoking (but not puffing)
Enjoy!
Phew!
Got this out (missing 11A and 2 D – because I was working on ‘den’ for study), slowly and largely unaided, but more as a laborious quick crossword than a cryptic i.e. narrow down the definition and make it fit. I didn’t really get how the theme worked in most cases, and it seemed to me to be straying close into indirect anagram territory.
Agree JD, it was a real slog, trying just about everything in the clue as a possible definition and then hoping to spot some sort of wordplay. Got a bit easier once I’d got over half way and had enough cross letters to start making some half reasonable guesses.
Hi DA Trippers
I don’t post often as I like to try and get the DAs out without any assistance or hints – but it usually takes me until midweek by which time the discussion is over!
It seems everyone has found it as difficult as I did, so I feel happy to have this one completed by Monday.
The only missing part of the puzzle is that I can’t see the wordplay in 15D. The last half makes sense but the “…outlandish finale first – ” bit has me stumped. Anyone out there got any ideas?
Gday Trippers
Thanks for keeping the creative turbines churning. This site zings, a great balm for the faint-hearted solver, and your musings & mullings offer invaluable feedback. While I seldom post, I peek often, just to see how everyone is handling the mayhem.
The CROP ROTATION was sparked by the whip-round fluke, a cute doubled-meaning that opened the door to a manipulation theme. On seeing how few cereal crops lent themselves to spinning, I next branched into crop synonyms. This proved far more fertile, and evidently ramped the difficulty rating tenfold.
Well done Rupert for trailblazing the hitlist – a great innovation for less seasoned solvers to make more progress – and mrigeoy [above] for pinpointing the one annoying flub on my part, aptly enough for ALL THUMBS. The emended wording should be:
Bungling outlandish opener last – audience drones (This sees T/ALL become ALL/T, with ‘HUMS’ to follow.)
Apologies for that glitch. ‘Usual’ services resume this week…
Thanks for the admission of your “annoying flub” DA.
I must say it had never occurred to me that my inability to see the wordplay was anything other than my own shortcoming.
You’ve made my DA!
You’ve just gotta love it.
I think someone needs to tell Mrs Astle that her son is getting worse – someone at the SMH should be responsible for making sure he takes his medication EVERY day!
A toughie but a goodie. Thanks DA, and thanks to all the good DA Trippers!
Hi,
I only managed about a third. Very demoralising… Anyhow, wondering if I could get some help with answers and wordplay for the following:
1D ((Befall?)
2D (Overlay?)
29A (Emerson?)
Thanks.
Grant
1D: Befall was my first guess, too, but the actual answer usually follows woe …
2D: Very close. Try the present tense.
29A: Ralph Waldo himself. The measure is for printers, and the soul is an individual (as in a city of a million souls) missing the leading P.
Thanks Rupert.
29A is a great clue. I thought of Emerson immediately without understanding wordplay. Inidentally, does losing “face” normally refer to removal of a single letter, or a string?
Regards,
Grant
Yes, it’s usually just the first letter, grant.
Thank you RB