Undoubtedly there will be some confusion that not even a dictionary can help you with, and here’s the place to have your questions resolved for this week’s DA extravaganza.
Undoubtedly there will be some confusion that not even a dictionary can help you with, and here’s the place to have your questions resolved for this week’s DA extravaganza.
Got 5D straight away, which wasn’t as much help as I thought it would be. 18D was the first of the themed clues to drop, and I now have 13 of the 19 with only 7 clues left to put in.
Some of the 5Ds are a bit obscure – 7D (Cambodian?) and 8D (Macbeth?) I’d never heard of. Unless I’ve got them wrong. Is the Brisbane precinct in 7D NW of the airport?
List of 5Ds
Still missing 9A.
I’m confused by the wordplay in 11A, 12A and 2D.
Got 9A. Still confused on 11A, 12A, 2D, and worried by the obscurity of the 5Ds in 7D and 8D.
No 5d in 7d
I found a 5d in 7d who was premier of Prince Edward Island
7D: It would have been interpreting the instruction in the opposite direction, anyway. So I have an answer somewhere with a 5D that I haven’t noticed, which is annoying.
Just got 12A. It’s the missing 5D.
That pingback is a bit of a spoiler, isn’t it?
Done and dusted early today. Re Rupert’s confusion,
11A: Go (as in die) + 2 quarters of the letters in near + 5down.
12A: Type of lettuce around 1 + 5down
2D: 5down + removing a favourite from a signed appeal would give you the book you seek.
I too wonder if 8 down is Shakesperian.
Thanks, Barb & Fran.
The 5D in 8D was a title in Scotland. George FM here in NZ has one.
Isn’t the 5d in 8d letters 2-6?
8D: Doh! Thanks, RK.
Double Doh!
Struggling along. Halfway done. Have the theme. Bit annoyed that there’s no containment indicator in 27A.
Finding it one of the hardest DA puzzles of recent times. Enjoying it nonetheless.
Any hints for 28A? It’s the one that’s affecting my mood the most.
Got out 28A now. I like it!
Now I have the whole RHS done and only four on the LHS.
1A is getting to me. I keep thinking LETHAL but can’t make it fit the wordplay. It’s like my brain has been dipped (or soaked) in the LETHE.
iPuzzled, for 1A you need to think about the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey…
Don’t think 27A needs a containment indicator as none of the 5D positions is indicated. Same goes for 8D. Frankly I think a lot of this week’s crossie is on the nose! The ‘fish’ in 16D is a bit stinky and had to google the oil in 20D. Got the theme straight away with 5D and 9A but can’t say I enjoyed the guessing game.
No one’s mentioned 10A but I can’t get the wordplay. Could someone explain please?
Enjoying it today, but very dismayed by the scientific misunderstanding shown in 8d, given the current issues with climate change.
I didn’t have a problem with the 5d in 8d. The lad down the road has this name. More biblical than Shakespearean.
Once again, totally hopeless. I assumed the themed clues contained the last word of 5D, until I looked at Rupert’s list above. Hard to get motivated. All I had were the anagrams at 5 & 23. Not sure it is worthwhile continuing to try. Beyond the reac of my mind, I fear.
I saw 5d straight away, apart from being somewhat ironic, this is the first time I’ve ever managed to get the key clue in a themed crossword out right at the start. I usually spend forever trying to get the vital clue. Having said that, I’ve no idea how it relates to anything else.
Have managed to get all of the southwest corner out although I don’t get the wordplay for 22a.
Top half is pretty bare and only a couple of words in south east, but I will press on.
Like Arthur, first two in were the anagrams at 5 and 23. Had thought 28 might be an anagram too, but can’t find one.
Rupert, I thought 7d had to do with the word rather than the place
ground to a halt after a good start. Haven’t managed to put in anything in the last half hour despite reading all of the above (but not Rupert’s link yet). Don’t quite get how the theme works, am I looking for sci fi classics or invisible men?
ok think I’m getting it now, but makes it very difficult when you don’t know which clues contain the 5ds and also whereabouts in the answers the 5ds appear. Easy enough once you have the answers I suppose…
Now I get the wordplay in 22a!
with thanks to Rupert’s list I’m all done except for 11a, 14a, 17a and 24a. Any hints?
I’m glad someone else thinks 8d has an incorrect definition. I was worried by the first hints above.
24a up front means first letter of one of the two words. The first or last word are the def. The other of those two words defines the rest of the word.
It’s such a guessing game as I only have five 5d so far.
can’t help you with 11a, not convinced of my answer for 14a as mine is what the keeper and first slip are hoping to get when the batsman hits it, but it doesn’t seem very cryptic.
17a is a type of fence. first word means to go, second word is a type of bird
24a def is channel. surfer up front gives firs letter, remaining letters are a character (or characteristic to be more precise)
Hint for 9a and 13d would be a big help at the moment. Still have lots of gaps on the right side and a couple (9a and 11a) on the top left
thanks Jupiter, your comment just helped me work out 8d, agree, it is incorrect.
10A: Account for = dispose of; an Anzac = a biscuit. Definition is present, in the sense of gift. 5D is the most famous Australian batsman.
11A: on the banks is the definition, pertaining to rivers. See Barb&Fran above for the wordplay.
14A: It’s cricket. There’s a meter hidden near the stumps to detect these.
17A: No 5D in this one. Left as in went away (rather dated slang); rail as in pukeko; fencing is the definition.
Would like a “please explain” about the spelling of 20 down, if I have the right word. The addition of “o” as the sixth letter gives it a different meaning.
thanks Rupert, I did have 14a wrong, which was making a mess of 2d.
I had a word for 10a but couldn’t understand the account for an Anzac bit, makes sense now.
Would love to help you with 20d Claire, if only I had the answer…
Thanks Rupert re 10A, ditto nn’s comment.
14A was really good I thought, with the double play on first slip.
20D Agree there is some debate about this, but not being RC I don’t feel qualified to say.
left side done now I’ve corrected my mistake in 14a (and another in 4d)
lots of gaps on the right…
8D and 20D are wrong!
Have an answer for 20d from this website http://www.fisheaters.com/holyoils.html
Three oils mentioned, am going with the latin version of the second one. This isn’t helping me with 28a though and I don’t get where the 6th letter comes from in the wordplay. This assumes I have the right word, something I’ve not been having a lot of luck with so far today…
Claire, 20d one of the few I have. I thought last 2 letters were from reversing “second”as in time, the first5 letters being part of the theme. Have only managed one quarter with 5d the first one out.
Chamollie, re 20d, that would make more sense in terms of the wordplay, but the website I googled (see above) doesn’t have the o in in (as someone mentioned)
Oops, not only RC, I musn’t have been paying attention in Sunday school.
And it seems one of the 16D ingredients in the sacred oil is 22A.
You’re right about the wordplay in 20D Chamollie, but there are at least 4 definitions and some have variant spelling which is the quibble here.
and that would make more sense in terms of me finally getting 28a out. An answer I rejected a while ago because it didn’t fit 20d. GRRRR.
thanks everyone
9A: Dog is the definition (from an area around Leeds, and not a Yorkshire terrier). Choice = prime, and about is one of the usual abbreviations. Last 4 letters are a 5D.
13D: These are passages in your body, and the blockage is particularly a problem for men of my and DA’s age. Apart from the 5D in letters 4 – 9, “train” could be the sound of the first 4 letters, but is in fact an educational verb missing it’s first letter.
I can’t find the wordplay to get the fourth letter of 4d. A bit of google and two needed a wordfinder, but I got the rest. Where does the first letter of 28a get defined ? The doctor is one of the usual abbreviations.
My favourite was 27a for its wordplay doubling into the definition.
It would have been much harder if 5d and 18d didn’t come first.
4 d famous female diarist 3 letter name crosses the 2 words
28 a first letter of his name
Filled in all the grid, but must admit to getting some help from Rupert’s list. As to 20D, I agree it is a DA mistake (if that is possible), but the two parts fit, the capsized second certainly OK for letters 6,7.
20D: My dictionary says the longer word can be the oil or the garment; without the penultimate letter it’s just the oil.
For what it’s worth (maybe not much … see DA’s Wordplay column in the SMH this weekend!) the ‘Oxford’ has the 6 letter word as = a mixture of oil and balsam, consecrated and used for anointing at baptism and in other rites of Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican Churches. It’s origin is given as Old English: from medieval Latin crisma, ecclesiastical Latin chrisma, from Greek khrisma ‘anointing’, from khriein’anoint’.
Whereas the 7 letter word is = a white robe put on a child at baptism, and used as its shroud if it died within the month, its origin being Middle English: alteration of chrism, representing a popular pronunciation with two syllables.
Sorry…I have been no help – travelling so only got it Sat morning. In any case, I got 5D but like Rupert forund it not much use. A lot of guessing involved.
I have only recently started doing DA’s crosswords and was fortunate enough to stumble on your site last week – what a relief! You have all helped me enormously to fathom DA’s strange and wonderful mind. Once I am more adept I do hope I can contribute to your site and help others. Bye for now and a very big thank you.
Welcome, Susie, I am sure you’ll have a lot of fun…
Have been away most of this weekend. Finally got a bit of time this afternoon to fill in the last six clues. I liked this puzzle a lot. The most challenging clues were the ones where the missing ingredient was contained, but no container indicator was given. The canine clue was last in.
I admire DA’s skill in getting 19 of the themed elements into one crossword. Especially the two 11-letter clues with 6-letter themed elements.
I brainstormed a list of themed elements – the common ones – and found that most of them weren’t in there (the ones starting with J for example). But a reasonable number of common ones were.
20D was a new word for me, no matter how you spell it. Once again, DA used ‘second’ to clue MO. I think it really is one of his signature wordplay elements.
@Rupert Re10A: I can’t agree with the biscuit idea because the tense is all wrong. I think there was a famous ANZAC named T.E. (Drane) who wrote a Gallipoli War Diary. What do you reckon?
Sorry I didn’t have the puzzle in front of me. I see now it says “accounted” so the tense is correct.
Re 7D: Has anyone explained the word play in”Brisbane precinct”?
7D: precinct means part of an area, in this case, part of the word “Brisbane”. It’s an unfamiliar hidden indicator, but seems fair.
Thanks Rupert.
My take on 10A:
DON (one of 19 names) gives letters 1 to 3.
‘accounted for an Anzac’ is just a long way of saying ATE.
‘present’ is the def, as discussed above.
[No spoiler alert necessary as it’s Monday afternoon.]
Thanks hs,
I didn’t know there was a wiki category for diarists. I thought I had the field clue … And I did.
Any clues for the quick of the same day ? I got about half !
Good point Brian – although “Chlorinated Methanes” are one of the base ingredients towards manufacturing CFCs, I suspect DA was more likely thinking that farts are responsible for ozone layer depletion…
An off-DA query for mid-week ….. In Wednesday’s SMH crossword by DP there was this clue:
7D – Like an Amazon’s suit (6-8)
I got the answer which is confirmed today as SINGLE-BREASTED but why? Has anybody got any ideas?
That’s a funny clue.
Amazons reputedly cut off one of their right breast to make it easier for themselves with a bow and arrow.
And I say reputedly rather than according to myth because I like to believe they really did exist.
Thanks AS. You are absolutely right as I found a page in Wikipedia which tells us all about it.
By the way, I trust that everyone is suitably impressed that I now go to DA Trippers BEFORE Wikipedia these days……!