Undoubtedly there be confusion in this week’s DA, and here’s where you have it sorted out.
84 thoughts on “DA Confusion for the 14/15th of September, 2012”
Help with 19A, 23A and 29A please.
I’m struggling a bit today – only about half done – so I can’t help with 23 or 29.
19A was the first one I got in. It’s a simple homophone of the state of not having something, and the definition is the sort of manipulation you do to dough.
Thanks. I just couldn’t spell 19A. Just cracked 23A after 2 hrs!.
For 29a, think swords and sandals.
A crossword in two halves. The left hand side relatively quick but tough right hand side. Favourite 17D
Thank you for 29A. That’s done it for me.
Well, we’ve finished (a team effort at the office) but are missing the wordplay for quite a few.
6a, 9a, 10a (letters 1-3 and 10-11), 12a, 5d, 6d, 7d, 13d (letters 1-2, and 7-11) and 17d.
We also have an answer for 20d but have no idea if it’s right.
Can anyone enlighten us? Thanks
I can help with some:
5D I think is “X” and “C” – odds out.
6D I think is ME – endless (p)LAN(t) – endless (r)ESI(n) – endless (s)A(p).
17D I think is having “a” “knack” and an east end honda. My way suggests a typo with car written twice.
13D I think a bit of this is covering being mat. Agree I cannot get 1, 2, 10, 11 from hems.
Interested in others views on above and the others you listed.
6A: Perversely (backwards) the setter (two letters), adjacent (two letters), maiden (cricket abbreviation).
10A: Can’t help with letters 1, 10 and 11, but I have “nothing in French” as letters 2 – 5, and “deli oddly” as letters 6 – 9.
12A: Flipped (reversed) pan gives letters 1 to 3. Remove the last letter from a three letter word for sizzling to get letters 4 and 5.
7D: Problem is also a type of meat. Remove the first letter of “flee” from that to get an insect of legendary work habits.
13D: Hems is the container indicator. “in” gives letters 1, 2, 10 and 11.
I’m confused myself on 9A, and don’t have an answer yet for 20D.
17D: Agree the first “car” appears to be a typo.
Thanks on those. Especially 6A and 12A. And “in” for 13D – always miss the little ones. Well done.
20D think is a 1959 movie – plural. First 3 letters are retro word for enjoy (reversed) and last 4 are synonym for contracts as in acquires.
10A deli oddly is letters 6-7, party all but is letters 1 & 8-11
20D: Sandra Dee seems to fit. Thanks, Ray.
10A: Well spotted, JJ.
All done now.
Why don’t some of you clever people up north post a copy of the puzzle? That would allow us southerners an opportunity to catch up with you.
Fairfax think you won’t buy the Age on Saturday if you’ve already done DA. Given that the crosswords are copyrighted, they’re within their rights to stop us sharing them.
However, if you want to delve into the seedy underbelly of crossword piracy, drop me an email at rupert AT morrish DOT org, and I’ll initiate you into your life of crime.
Thanks guys. Lots of enjoyable “light bulb” moments while reading through your explanations.
My lightbulbs aren’t lighting up – must be the new grey glow ones! Not getting far, but above will help.
Any help with 3D. Have two cross letters and have guessed an answer but can’t see definition nor wordplay.
To Ted : Blue is the definition, but not in the sense of fight. Words 2 and 3 give letters 1-3. Word 5 gives letters 4 and 5.
Rupert, you have persuaded me to turn away from the crimson path and to walk virtuously. Tis only eleven hours till the paper gets here. Thanks anyway, ’twas just a thought. Arthur.
Not even close to finished, but I think I can safely say that 25A is the dandiest of the lot! A cryptic definition and a mild indirect anagram :D
I don’t think words cluing single letters count as indirect anagrams, at least not when they’re as common as this one.
9a answer could be 2,’1′
First word is def, then think of a raucous bird whose name appears elsewhere.
Thanks Rupert for 13d wordplay!
9A: That looks right, spijk. Thanks
Parlez vous Francais? NON! So Rupert’s explanation of 10A above helped me understand clue. Finished NW corner, only about five others at this time. spijk, your clue for 9A leads me to what may be a NZ bird, but I cannot see any connection with the clue. Explanation please.
Hi trippers! Enjoying the puzzle this morning but stuck on 11A and 20D. Beautiful spring day here. I need to hobble outside and soak up some vitamin D.
Is the def of 11A ‘disgrace’? Is the def of 20D ‘surfie chicks’?
Liked 29A. Beautiful misdirection in the def. Liked 1A too. 18D reminded me of The Surgeon of Crowthorne.
16A, a literary lion who has many characteristics of the master of the universe. Reminds me of DISCS from earlier this year, because the author’s name was in the clue/answer. Read the books repeatedly when I was a youngster.
Cheated with 11A on a2zwordfinder. Wicked DA! Here was I thinking of merchants and vendors. He got me again. When will I learn.
Done most fairly quickly today though the two I haven’t got are probably very easy – 6A and 7D.
Is the latter a black and yellow insect?
@Victor,
Re 7D: Yes.
6A is a new-ish way of admitting that one has made a mistake. It it appalling grammar IMO. It’s quite possible that you’ve never heard of it. There are some hints above regarding the wordplay.
Arthur C – spijk nailed this – in my view the best clue of the day. To show of is to —- (as spijk says a raucous bird). As spijk states CROWD becomes this with 2,1.
Victor – 7D yes. Both this and 6A given by Rupert above.
@Arthur C,
I only got the French word for nothing because DA has used it before:
Ally failed sides; grasping 1-down love (6) where 1-down was FRENCH.
Answer = FRIEND. (F and D come from the ‘sides’ of ‘failed’. The middle four letters are the French word for ‘nothing’.
Got 20D now. Memories of Sally Field.
It seems like ‘made’ is superfluous in 4D, except to allow the surface to be comprehensible. Is this okay to anyone?
Any (more) clues for 6a, 6d and 12a? (I have 2nd word for 6a thanks to above hints.)
ok I have 6a now, with help of google
and now I think I have 6d (after correcting spelling of 19a!) Which pretty much gives me 12a
All done. Yes, 17D was a beaut! Was stuck on 20D, would never have guessed it, until I saw hint above. I remember XXXXXX goes Hawaiianfrom somewhere back there. Time for after-dinner nap. But a question for anyone who uses A2Z Wordfinder: What do annotations OSPD4, CSW, SOWPODS stand for? I’ve been using it for years, never knew what those meant.
@AC,
I think an extra word to make the surface smooth is fine. Adds to the challenge. A strict Ximenean would disagree, however.
Having little success today. Any help with with1a,11a,23a and29a would help me get some much needed cross letters.
4D: As far as I’m concerned, a hidden can be as long as the setter likes. If all the words are required, so much the neater, but it’s not an error to extend the hidden to improve the surface.
re: 17D The first car could be a can, we use to use it as slang, like old bomb.
@megse,
1A: def is ‘greyish’ which is a bit misleading because there is a hint of colour. A four-letter word meaning ‘spotted’ (not in the sense of dotted) wraps the rest of the wordplay.
29A: ‘revolting oldie’ is the def. This cryptic def refers to an historical figure who participated in a revolt. Kirk Douglas played this character. The wordplay can be divided 4-2-3, where a word meaning (practice) fight gives the first four letters, a word meaning ‘thank you’ gives the next two letters, and the last three letters sounds like a word that means to use swear words.
Also, for megse, 11A, think of a word that sounds the same (is that a homophone?) as seller, the bottom part of a building. Put the ‘a’ in front of it. For 23A, think of a word for hermit, make it ‘use’less, add a synonym for ‘meant to ‘ (aimed to) and rescued gives the meaning.
Finished at last. Thank you all for the very helpful hints. I hope I get some brownie points for all the brain work.
Stuck. Stuck. Stuck. Cannot figure out 11a even with clues. Missing 2 letters if I follow homophone path
Ahhh. Just had the penny drop. I was stuck on a word sounding like what is there rather than finding a synonym for it.
Hello Trippers. Been offline for weeks. No phone, internet or TV. Crow dross! No simian monkey me.
I struggled with SE today mainly ‘cos I’d never heard of the literary lion, and couldn’t get the long ones, 13D and 17D. I quite liked the construction of some of the more gettable ones (for me)2D, 8D, 18D and 5D.
I got thrown by the homophone in 11A. I thought homophones were supposed to work in the solution, not the other way around. Is that fair? Was looking for a homophone of a synoym of ‘seller’. (Compared with 19A which works the right way for me, ie the solution is a homophone of synonyms of the clue.)
And is it fair to do the DA thing on the definition? 25A ‘inwards’? I can see how it works in the surface, and there is a question mark, and it is a fairly obvious anagram. .. even with the quibble about the ‘one’ mentioned by AC and Rupert.
I still don’t get the ‘hems’ part of 13D. Letters 1,2, 10, 11? Can someone help please?
Same same Michelle about 11A
Have just read Rupert’s post above. Am no longer hemmed in by 13D. Thankyou.
What does ‘container indicator’ mean? Please.
I have 13d starting with P. Am I right?
Thanks iPuzzled and Arthur C . Got there at last with your help.11a kept me thinking despite your help. Then all of a sudden it was obvious!
Michelle, 13D doesn’t start with a P. The snack in 12A is Mexican.
‘container indicator’ is a signpost which tells the solver that letter/s or word/s are embedded in other letters or words. The misdirection in 13D (which I’ve only just learned with the help of Trippers above) is that both ‘in’ and ‘hems’ could be a container indicator. In this case ‘in’ is a synonym for letters 1,2,10 and 11 and ‘hems’ is the ‘container indicator’.
Thank you Gayle. I thought it was but got thrown by an earlier hint that said reverse pan.
I now have 13d starting and ending in same letter. Is this correct?
Just guessed 13d by cross letters and working out which word was def
@Michelle, yes 13d starts and ends with the same letter. I’m lost on the wordplay for this one, I get that in clues letters 1, 2, 10 and 11 but the rest of it escapes me, presumably the name of an Indian dress that I’ve never heard of.
12a first three letters are a reverse of a synonym of pan.
Unlike Peter above, I had almost all of the right side done before I got any of the left side, although I still don’t get a lot of the wordplays.
Lots of gaps on the left, 1d, 9a, 14a, 15d, 18a, 18d, 22a, 28a
Re 13D:
The ‘Indian dress’ is the only Indian dress I know – a sari. The S at the start of sari has to be moved to the end to form ARIS, if I read this clue correctly.
10A “deli oddly” gives letters 6 and 7
thanks iPuzzled, was trying to make a dress including the next three letters too, missed the significance of covering.
Think I have the rest now, finally twigged to 14a, although I think the def is a bit off, an archive usually means a store of your backup data, the answer is usually something that is still in use.
@nn,
some kwik hints for you as I must dash:
1D, 28A: Two important elements/components of a musical
9A: how do you make the word ‘crowd’ become a word that means to show off?
14A: Def is system’s archive. HQ gives last four letters.
15D: A not-so-nice word for a stubborn woman. Also describes the shape of a property.
18A: Blanchett gives the last four letters.
22A: ‘balloon’ as in grow larger. I’ve clued this one as “good wave” in the past.
Toodles.
After a late start I got today’s fairly quickly, although had to read some of the above comments to understand all the word play. Still can’t get the word play in 27A (assuming I have the right golf supporter). Loved 23A and 25A: typically DA, as is his different uses of “I” in 6A and 6D. I agree that the first “car” in 17D seems redundant. Wouldn’t “Discussed a bent Cockney car in natural wrapper?” work as well? BTW that’s another irritating/endearing thing about DA; it seems that he tries as often as possible to use words in definitions that pretend to be word play indicators (as in “wrapper” which makes me think containment indicator).
Can someone explain wordplay for 5d? Didn’t get previous explanation. Also no one seems troubled by 21d and 24d. Am I just thick? Have answer for 24d but not sure of wordplay. Thanks for tips, esp Arthur C.
Can anyone tell me why car is repeated in 17d. It seems like an error. Should be either “car for Cockney” or “Cockney car”.
@JS I’m still stuck on 21d too – hoping for a hint, but for for 24d think of a type of dog and remove the first letter (ie the “lead”)
JS – 5d think roman numerals; 21d is simply a word that answers both parts of the clue; 24d is a dog with the first letter missing, means something you hold, or have.
Actually, I am thick, got the clues around the wrong way! 24D was the answer I had but thought the clue was 21d….derr. I’ll look at 5d further.
DaveR, 27A. I didn’t get wordplay straight away either. Funny how often it’s the ones in plain sight, like hiddens and ‘lasts’ – that catch us out.
JS, the key to 5D, I think it is explained somewhere above, is ‘odds out’ of exact, which leaves XC. Does that ring a bell, remembering the reference to ‘figure’ (think number!).
KM, 17D is a beaut clue. If you have a bent for doing cryptics, (which we all need), then discussion means ‘sounds like’. The Cockney car put me onto this one straight away. The ‘natural wrapper’ may take a bit of thinking about, but it is a correct description. If you get the first four letters, meaning an ability, then with the ‘h’-less car, the answer is easy.
Ah now I get 5d! Arthur, if you don’t get da until sat’s age, when do you get answers? Smh readers get them sat (not that I always look…)
Also see why no one queried 21d! Double derr
Also, I’m not convinced 3d is a blue. Views?
Gayle, do you mean as in cobblers’? JS, it’s the kind of blue I make often, as, for example, when I misinterpret one of DA’s clues.
JS, we get the answers on Monday. I assumed that was the case up there also.
Arthur C, I’ve solved 17d (always try to solve the whole puzzle before I come here to discuss). You seem to have missed the question I was asking. Why does the word car appear twice? “Discussed a bent” clues 1-4 – as in to have a bent for cryptic crosswords. “Car for Cockney” clues 5-8. I’m a subeditor and to me it looks like DA may have decided to reword “car for Cockney” as “Cockney car”, but accidentally left the second “car”.
@6A. What a terrible apology!
@JS. A blue is a mistake – so’s the answer.
Thanks to all for the discussion above, which has helped me clear up wordplay.
@spijk: I love 9a, now thatyou’ve explained it :)
Sorry, KM, you are right. I don’t know if there is a satisfactory answer other than what you have suggested. Why the second car? I think someone up there ^ suggested that the ‘is able to’ may be a dodgy synonym for car, but I don’t know. Put DA in the dock, and demand he answer the question under oath!
DaveR, :) My husband explained the ‘cobblers’. He’d never heard of ‘lasts’ though.
Gayle, my father had a cobbler’s last. He used it when repairing our shoes. As I remember it was shaped vaguely like a T, or even an oversized tee. He also had a cobbler’s awl, but only the one.
The last my father had had threemutually perpendicular legs, each with a different sized foot onthe end, to cope with different sizes of shoes and boots. I can remember in teen years tacking metal protectors onto heels and toes of shoes. Who else remembers Kromhyd (sp?) soles?
At last !finished.
14a -working with them, I don’t see the database as the archive … More like the working folder than the back up.
My fave was the cryptic definition for 25a. And 17d.
I still don’t get the wordplay for 1a. Seen wraps ag (silver) but how is egr on tenderfoot. Or silver is a gg, but a ge g ?
18a does set mean locate ?
Re the Age, does Monday’s cryptic still give the solutions for SMH Saturday prize crossword ? WHEN I was regularly doing the SYD MEL thing, I resisted the temptation to use it. You probably have to submit at 5pm Friday to win anyway … Or at least first thing Monday am and I was just getting to work in Tulla by then.
BTW thanks all … I get more satisfaction from this site than from the solutions in the next paper. I don’t regularly buy the weekend rag now I found DA trippers !!
1A: “say” gives letters 4 and 5.
Arthur, my father had a last as well, although I was never aware of it’s actual purpose. I always thought it was a specialized door stopper.
I remember Kromhyde. It came in packets, and your stuck it on the sole of the shoe. If it didn’t fit well, you trimmed it with a knife. Must have been in the thirties and forties. I can remember them coming unstuck, and walking home with them flapping!
Help with 19A, 23A and 29A please.
I’m struggling a bit today – only about half done – so I can’t help with 23 or 29.
19A was the first one I got in. It’s a simple homophone of the state of not having something, and the definition is the sort of manipulation you do to dough.
Thanks. I just couldn’t spell 19A. Just cracked 23A after 2 hrs!.
For 29a, think swords and sandals.
A crossword in two halves. The left hand side relatively quick but tough right hand side. Favourite 17D
Thank you for 29A. That’s done it for me.
Well, we’ve finished (a team effort at the office) but are missing the wordplay for quite a few.
6a, 9a, 10a (letters 1-3 and 10-11), 12a, 5d, 6d, 7d, 13d (letters 1-2, and 7-11) and 17d.
We also have an answer for 20d but have no idea if it’s right.
Can anyone enlighten us? Thanks
I can help with some:
5D I think is “X” and “C” – odds out.
6D I think is ME – endless (p)LAN(t) – endless (r)ESI(n) – endless (s)A(p).
17D I think is having “a” “knack” and an east end honda. My way suggests a typo with car written twice.
13D I think a bit of this is covering being mat. Agree I cannot get 1, 2, 10, 11 from hems.
Interested in others views on above and the others you listed.
6A: Perversely (backwards) the setter (two letters), adjacent (two letters), maiden (cricket abbreviation).
10A: Can’t help with letters 1, 10 and 11, but I have “nothing in French” as letters 2 – 5, and “deli oddly” as letters 6 – 9.
12A: Flipped (reversed) pan gives letters 1 to 3. Remove the last letter from a three letter word for sizzling to get letters 4 and 5.
7D: Problem is also a type of meat. Remove the first letter of “flee” from that to get an insect of legendary work habits.
13D: Hems is the container indicator. “in” gives letters 1, 2, 10 and 11.
I’m confused myself on 9A, and don’t have an answer yet for 20D.
17D: Agree the first “car” appears to be a typo.
Thanks on those. Especially 6A and 12A. And “in” for 13D – always miss the little ones. Well done.
20D think is a 1959 movie – plural. First 3 letters are retro word for enjoy (reversed) and last 4 are synonym for contracts as in acquires.
10A deli oddly is letters 6-7, party all but is letters 1 & 8-11
20D: Sandra Dee seems to fit. Thanks, Ray.
10A: Well spotted, JJ.
All done now.
Why don’t some of you clever people up north post a copy of the puzzle? That would allow us southerners an opportunity to catch up with you.
Fairfax think you won’t buy the Age on Saturday if you’ve already done DA. Given that the crosswords are copyrighted, they’re within their rights to stop us sharing them.
However, if you want to delve into the seedy underbelly of crossword piracy, drop me an email at rupert AT morrish DOT org, and I’ll initiate you into your life of crime.
Thanks guys. Lots of enjoyable “light bulb” moments while reading through your explanations.
My lightbulbs aren’t lighting up – must be the new grey glow ones! Not getting far, but above will help.
Any help with 3D. Have two cross letters and have guessed an answer but can’t see definition nor wordplay.
To Ted : Blue is the definition, but not in the sense of fight. Words 2 and 3 give letters 1-3. Word 5 gives letters 4 and 5.
Rupert, you have persuaded me to turn away from the crimson path and to walk virtuously. Tis only eleven hours till the paper gets here. Thanks anyway, ’twas just a thought. Arthur.
Not even close to finished, but I think I can safely say that 25A is the dandiest of the lot! A cryptic definition and a mild indirect anagram :D
I don’t think words cluing single letters count as indirect anagrams, at least not when they’re as common as this one.
9a answer could be 2,’1′
First word is def, then think of a raucous bird whose name appears elsewhere.
Thanks Rupert for 13d wordplay!
9A: That looks right, spijk. Thanks
Parlez vous Francais? NON! So Rupert’s explanation of 10A above helped me understand clue. Finished NW corner, only about five others at this time. spijk, your clue for 9A leads me to what may be a NZ bird, but I cannot see any connection with the clue. Explanation please.
Hi trippers! Enjoying the puzzle this morning but stuck on 11A and 20D. Beautiful spring day here. I need to hobble outside and soak up some vitamin D.
Is the def of 11A ‘disgrace’? Is the def of 20D ‘surfie chicks’?
Liked 29A. Beautiful misdirection in the def. Liked 1A too. 18D reminded me of The Surgeon of Crowthorne.
16A, a literary lion who has many characteristics of the master of the universe. Reminds me of DISCS from earlier this year, because the author’s name was in the clue/answer. Read the books repeatedly when I was a youngster.
Cheated with 11A on a2zwordfinder. Wicked DA! Here was I thinking of merchants and vendors. He got me again. When will I learn.
Done most fairly quickly today though the two I haven’t got are probably very easy – 6A and 7D.
Is the latter a black and yellow insect?
@Victor,
Re 7D: Yes.
6A is a new-ish way of admitting that one has made a mistake. It it appalling grammar IMO. It’s quite possible that you’ve never heard of it. There are some hints above regarding the wordplay.
Arthur C – spijk nailed this – in my view the best clue of the day. To show of is to —- (as spijk says a raucous bird). As spijk states CROWD becomes this with 2,1.
Victor – 7D yes. Both this and 6A given by Rupert above.
@Arthur C,
I only got the French word for nothing because DA has used it before:
Ally failed sides; grasping 1-down love (6) where 1-down was FRENCH.
Answer = FRIEND. (F and D come from the ‘sides’ of ‘failed’. The middle four letters are the French word for ‘nothing’.
Got 20D now. Memories of Sally Field.
It seems like ‘made’ is superfluous in 4D, except to allow the surface to be comprehensible. Is this okay to anyone?
Any (more) clues for 6a, 6d and 12a? (I have 2nd word for 6a thanks to above hints.)
ok I have 6a now, with help of google
and now I think I have 6d (after correcting spelling of 19a!) Which pretty much gives me 12a
All done. Yes, 17D was a beaut! Was stuck on 20D, would never have guessed it, until I saw hint above. I remember XXXXXX goes Hawaiianfrom somewhere back there. Time for after-dinner nap. But a question for anyone who uses A2Z Wordfinder: What do annotations OSPD4, CSW, SOWPODS stand for? I’ve been using it for years, never knew what those meant.
@AC,
I think an extra word to make the surface smooth is fine. Adds to the challenge. A strict Ximenean would disagree, however.
Having little success today. Any help with with1a,11a,23a and29a would help me get some much needed cross letters.
4D: As far as I’m concerned, a hidden can be as long as the setter likes. If all the words are required, so much the neater, but it’s not an error to extend the hidden to improve the surface.
re: 17D The first car could be a can, we use to use it as slang, like old bomb.
@megse,
1A: def is ‘greyish’ which is a bit misleading because there is a hint of colour. A four-letter word meaning ‘spotted’ (not in the sense of dotted) wraps the rest of the wordplay.
29A: ‘revolting oldie’ is the def. This cryptic def refers to an historical figure who participated in a revolt. Kirk Douglas played this character. The wordplay can be divided 4-2-3, where a word meaning (practice) fight gives the first four letters, a word meaning ‘thank you’ gives the next two letters, and the last three letters sounds like a word that means to use swear words.
Also, for megse, 11A, think of a word that sounds the same (is that a homophone?) as seller, the bottom part of a building. Put the ‘a’ in front of it. For 23A, think of a word for hermit, make it ‘use’less, add a synonym for ‘meant to ‘ (aimed to) and rescued gives the meaning.
Finished at last. Thank you all for the very helpful hints. I hope I get some brownie points for all the brain work.
Stuck. Stuck. Stuck. Cannot figure out 11a even with clues. Missing 2 letters if I follow homophone path
Ahhh. Just had the penny drop. I was stuck on a word sounding like what is there rather than finding a synonym for it.
Hello Trippers. Been offline for weeks. No phone, internet or TV. Crow dross! No simian monkey me.
I struggled with SE today mainly ‘cos I’d never heard of the literary lion, and couldn’t get the long ones, 13D and 17D. I quite liked the construction of some of the more gettable ones (for me)2D, 8D, 18D and 5D.
I got thrown by the homophone in 11A. I thought homophones were supposed to work in the solution, not the other way around. Is that fair? Was looking for a homophone of a synoym of ‘seller’. (Compared with 19A which works the right way for me, ie the solution is a homophone of synonyms of the clue.)
And is it fair to do the DA thing on the definition? 25A ‘inwards’? I can see how it works in the surface, and there is a question mark, and it is a fairly obvious anagram. .. even with the quibble about the ‘one’ mentioned by AC and Rupert.
I still don’t get the ‘hems’ part of 13D. Letters 1,2, 10, 11? Can someone help please?
Same same Michelle about 11A
Have just read Rupert’s post above. Am no longer hemmed in by 13D. Thankyou.
What does ‘container indicator’ mean? Please.
I have 13d starting with P. Am I right?
Thanks iPuzzled and Arthur C . Got there at last with your help.11a kept me thinking despite your help. Then all of a sudden it was obvious!
Michelle, 13D doesn’t start with a P. The snack in 12A is Mexican.
‘container indicator’ is a signpost which tells the solver that letter/s or word/s are embedded in other letters or words. The misdirection in 13D (which I’ve only just learned with the help of Trippers above) is that both ‘in’ and ‘hems’ could be a container indicator. In this case ‘in’ is a synonym for letters 1,2,10 and 11 and ‘hems’ is the ‘container indicator’.
Thank you Gayle. I thought it was but got thrown by an earlier hint that said reverse pan.
I now have 13d starting and ending in same letter. Is this correct?
Just guessed 13d by cross letters and working out which word was def
@Michelle, yes 13d starts and ends with the same letter. I’m lost on the wordplay for this one, I get that in clues letters 1, 2, 10 and 11 but the rest of it escapes me, presumably the name of an Indian dress that I’ve never heard of.
12a first three letters are a reverse of a synonym of pan.
Unlike Peter above, I had almost all of the right side done before I got any of the left side, although I still don’t get a lot of the wordplays.
Lots of gaps on the left, 1d, 9a, 14a, 15d, 18a, 18d, 22a, 28a
Re 13D:
The ‘Indian dress’ is the only Indian dress I know – a sari. The S at the start of sari has to be moved to the end to form ARIS, if I read this clue correctly.
10A “deli oddly” gives letters 6 and 7
thanks iPuzzled, was trying to make a dress including the next three letters too, missed the significance of covering.
Think I have the rest now, finally twigged to 14a, although I think the def is a bit off, an archive usually means a store of your backup data, the answer is usually something that is still in use.
@nn,
some kwik hints for you as I must dash:
1D, 28A: Two important elements/components of a musical
9A: how do you make the word ‘crowd’ become a word that means to show off?
14A: Def is system’s archive. HQ gives last four letters.
15D: A not-so-nice word for a stubborn woman. Also describes the shape of a property.
18A: Blanchett gives the last four letters.
22A: ‘balloon’ as in grow larger. I’ve clued this one as “good wave” in the past.
Toodles.
After a late start I got today’s fairly quickly, although had to read some of the above comments to understand all the word play. Still can’t get the word play in 27A (assuming I have the right golf supporter). Loved 23A and 25A: typically DA, as is his different uses of “I” in 6A and 6D. I agree that the first “car” in 17D seems redundant. Wouldn’t “Discussed a bent Cockney car in natural wrapper?” work as well? BTW that’s another irritating/endearing thing about DA; it seems that he tries as often as possible to use words in definitions that pretend to be word play indicators (as in “wrapper” which makes me think containment indicator).
Can someone explain wordplay for 5d? Didn’t get previous explanation. Also no one seems troubled by 21d and 24d. Am I just thick? Have answer for 24d but not sure of wordplay. Thanks for tips, esp Arthur C.
Can anyone tell me why car is repeated in 17d. It seems like an error. Should be either “car for Cockney” or “Cockney car”.
@JS I’m still stuck on 21d too – hoping for a hint, but for for 24d think of a type of dog and remove the first letter (ie the “lead”)
JS – 5d think roman numerals; 21d is simply a word that answers both parts of the clue; 24d is a dog with the first letter missing, means something you hold, or have.
Actually, I am thick, got the clues around the wrong way! 24D was the answer I had but thought the clue was 21d….derr. I’ll look at 5d further.
DaveR, 27A. I didn’t get wordplay straight away either. Funny how often it’s the ones in plain sight, like hiddens and ‘lasts’ – that catch us out.
JS, the key to 5D, I think it is explained somewhere above, is ‘odds out’ of exact, which leaves XC. Does that ring a bell, remembering the reference to ‘figure’ (think number!).
KM, 17D is a beaut clue. If you have a bent for doing cryptics, (which we all need), then discussion means ‘sounds like’. The Cockney car put me onto this one straight away. The ‘natural wrapper’ may take a bit of thinking about, but it is a correct description. If you get the first four letters, meaning an ability, then with the ‘h’-less car, the answer is easy.
Ah now I get 5d! Arthur, if you don’t get da until sat’s age, when do you get answers? Smh readers get them sat (not that I always look…)
Also see why no one queried 21d! Double derr
Also, I’m not convinced 3d is a blue. Views?
Gayle, do you mean as in cobblers’? JS, it’s the kind of blue I make often, as, for example, when I misinterpret one of DA’s clues.
JS, we get the answers on Monday. I assumed that was the case up there also.
Arthur C, I’ve solved 17d (always try to solve the whole puzzle before I come here to discuss). You seem to have missed the question I was asking. Why does the word car appear twice? “Discussed a bent” clues 1-4 – as in to have a bent for cryptic crosswords. “Car for Cockney” clues 5-8. I’m a subeditor and to me it looks like DA may have decided to reword “car for Cockney” as “Cockney car”, but accidentally left the second “car”.
@6A. What a terrible apology!
@JS. A blue is a mistake – so’s the answer.
Thanks to all for the discussion above, which has helped me clear up wordplay.
@spijk: I love 9a, now thatyou’ve explained it :)
Sorry, KM, you are right. I don’t know if there is a satisfactory answer other than what you have suggested. Why the second car? I think someone up there ^ suggested that the ‘is able to’ may be a dodgy synonym for car, but I don’t know. Put DA in the dock, and demand he answer the question under oath!
DaveR, :) My husband explained the ‘cobblers’. He’d never heard of ‘lasts’ though.
Gayle, my father had a cobbler’s last. He used it when repairing our shoes. As I remember it was shaped vaguely like a T, or even an oversized tee. He also had a cobbler’s awl, but only the one.
The last my father had had threemutually perpendicular legs, each with a different sized foot onthe end, to cope with different sizes of shoes and boots. I can remember in teen years tacking metal protectors onto heels and toes of shoes. Who else remembers Kromhyd (sp?) soles?
At last !finished.
14a -working with them, I don’t see the database as the archive … More like the working folder than the back up.
My fave was the cryptic definition for 25a. And 17d.
I still don’t get the wordplay for 1a. Seen wraps ag (silver) but how is egr on tenderfoot. Or silver is a gg, but a ge g ?
18a does set mean locate ?
Re the Age, does Monday’s cryptic still give the solutions for SMH Saturday prize crossword ? WHEN I was regularly doing the SYD MEL thing, I resisted the temptation to use it. You probably have to submit at 5pm Friday to win anyway … Or at least first thing Monday am and I was just getting to work in Tulla by then.
BTW thanks all … I get more satisfaction from this site than from the solutions in the next paper. I don’t regularly buy the weekend rag now I found DA trippers !!
1A: “say” gives letters 4 and 5.
Arthur, my father had a last as well, although I was never aware of it’s actual purpose. I always thought it was a specialized door stopper.
I remember Kromhyde. It came in packets, and your stuck it on the sole of the shoe. If it didn’t fit well, you trimmed it with a knife. Must have been in the thirties and forties. I can remember them coming unstuck, and walking home with them flapping!