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70 thoughts on “DA Confusion for the 1st/2nd of February, 2013”
Posted in the wrong thread before.
2 to go after a long breakfast. Not sure of my answer to 16A. There are poets of that name, but neither are Victorian, or even Australian, which makes them unusual for inclusion in a DA.
I hadn’t heard the epithet in 14A, even though I am one.
I liked the misdirection in 14D.
I take it the breach of etiquette DA refers to is the indirect anagram in 17D? I think the fodder is so immediately obvious as to let him get away with it.
Have all in and understand all but one.
Would appreciate help with the wordpaly for what I think is first 6 letters of 12A.
Pretty sure 16A is Bohemian-Austrian / German.
Rupert, is there a preamble that mentions a breach of etiquette? I did this on the iPad app, nothing about etiquette there. There are actually two indirect anagrams; 7d is the other
12a: First three letters an epithet, second three letters a key
Thanks Ian.
Yes 16A I am sure is right but I’ve never heard of “it”.
@Ian DA says “…especially as this week’s DA breaches common etiquette. (You’ve been warned.)” on his blog, in Cryptic Court 7.
After the gimme of 1a things really started to slow down. Having 25a and 26a would really help. Any assistance available on these?
Sandy – 26A – 2 letters (“return”) for “drip”. 4 letter word for “jug”. Defn first 2 words.
25A –
complicated – 4 letter word for “thug” (gives letters 1, 13, 14, 15)- anagram of “under” (letters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) with 2 letters for “my” (in context) (letters 7, 8) and 4 letter word for “gang” (letters 9, 10, 11, 12) – and defn is last 2 words.
13D So, is “to catch” now a homophone indicator?
All done except 16A, any hints?
Rupert, I don’t see any breach in 17D – certainly not by DA standards. To me 12A is more problematic – no hint that “my” is an exclamation. I got the answer, but for the life of me couldn’t understand the word play until I read this thread.
Thanks Ray,
Your hint gave me 26a, which led me to realize 14d wasn’t a word for Valium, which led me to getting that. Then the first letter of 25a put me on to the answer for that! But in the middle came a picnic tea at a twilight blues concert. Busy time.
Now for the NE corner. Any help with 5a?
Ah. 5a hit me. Covered most of NE corner now. And the rest. Still need help with 11a, first half of 12a (despite above hints) and 16a.
Drop, drop, drop. Three pennies that is. All done.
John, re 16a – ‘about’ binds ‘class’. I had never heard of him and only got it by Ray’s hint in second post above and googling.
I like how every single bit of the fodder is used in 21A, and I don’t mind the numbering convention for that matter.
Got it. Thanks Sandy :)
Yeah that’s no good, is it Geoff, “to catch” as homophone indicator in 13D. I’d hope that every cryptic device has no more than one meaning, and I’d say “to catch” can clearly be used as a container indicator and therefore should not be used for homophones. Or is this being too strict? Is there an obvious counter example?
Stuck on 27A, 20D, 9D and 1st word of 12A (despite hints above).
Not quite sure on 5A either – does it end in LL (loyal extremists)?
Think I have 8D but not sure how the wordplay for letters 1-5 works?
OK typical – 20D and 27A have just come to me seconds after posting!
So just the few in ne corner now.
Julian – 8d – watch tennis games give first 2 then 3-5 .
Lots to go – top half done – struggling with most of bottom half – tomorrow
Fin & just passing by. As far as familiar characters go, 16 ac was known to me (I love the rhythm of his name – at least those parts of it he used), more so than 5 ac (took punt on wordplay and googled result to check). Got 25 ac from wordplay only: the books in question were never part of my life! Happy solving!
All out bar 5A, which I should have known and 8D, the misdirections got me. Thanks sb. Thought ‘torture’ could have been an anagrind, or – = delete something, and miss a point = – NSEW etc. The cluing for first five letters was nifty I reckon.
Thanks to Ian for explanation of first six letters of 12A.
Think that ‘catch’ is okay as a homophone indicator. catch = hear. One of the things I enjoy about DA’s crosswords is being caught by the misdirections.
Familiar with the poet and the author and creatures but had to google the forest.
27 A was stuck on, knew the composer but the playwright didn’t come to mind.
14D and 14A were equal favourites. Really good Spoonerism I thought. Spot on phonetics and interesting synonyms in def and wordplay.
Will not accept 20A though. Firstly, the definition is qualified. .. and not where it should be. And that phrase irks me to the point that I’ve finally looked up its supposed origins. .. a translation error made by an African basketballer playing in the US. Why do Australians use it?
Did David really produce this one? Or a stand-in? Never saw one before where so many answers could just be written in. Still 13 to go, but easy so far. But, a quibble: shouldn’t 27A have said something other than ‘sports’? Training, or exercise?
despite above hints, still stuck with 22a/24d (despite having 25a and google), 27a, 20a and 23d
sb – defn last 3 words ie: who lives is 25A?
22A – 3 letter chef for letters 1,2,4 (or 1,3, 4) and “bagel” the other letter (2 or 3).
24D – homophone for word for “plain”.
Q re 14A? Is this a character from a well-known game? Have looked at lists of Russian composers for 14D, couldn’t find one that fitted. Still 8 or 9 to go. Las bit not so easy.
No, Arthur, the composer is not Russian, and he’s in the middle.
Thanks, Manda, guess I was on wrong trail. 14A bothers me, Had it starting with D, so was looking for some variant of Diaghelev (SP?),for 14D, hard to find anything other than a Russian ending in victory. Just five to go, but needing those 14s desperately.
And suddenly, I have 14D, I remember him well. We’ll bury you, he famously said. Ta, Manda.
Thanks Ray – and there I was looking for an obscure resident – and had forgotten ‘bagel’. All done.
Arthur, def is first 4 words – Rupert, I too liked the misdirection
Arthur, 14A doesn’t start with a D, tho’ must confess I still don’t understand 2nd part of Spoonerism.
Re 14D move the 1st comma in the clue and place it after Russian
LJ – I wondered about that too; for 2nd part of the spoonerism you need to say the two words
Thanks sb, but I must be thick as still can’t see it. I often have problems with Spoonerisms
LJ – me too – say the answer then spoonerise it – g as j
Bottom half finished, only a few solved in the top half and struggling.
14a was one of the first solved, from the first word. (Maybe a generational thing? I had to Google 13d and 5a, for example. Surprisingly knew 14d, though had to confirm spelling.) The first part of the Spoonerism for “secret warrior” fits, but not sure about how the second part relates to “project”…?
sb, some hopefully not too spoilery hints:
27a – Last word is the definition. Composition was a childhood favourite for me.
20d – First three words are the definition. Not sure if I want one of these from DA just yet, I’ll let you know once I’ve finished!
23d – Should be easy once you have letters from 22a and 27a.
Yes, all finished now. Took a while to get poet, but, as always, Google is mt friend. My earliest finish on record, still some clues not understood, but I’m sure answers all OK. C-ya!
14A for second part of spoonerism, think 3 letter word for ‘project’ as a verb, to stick out, like a chin.
I had to google the “classic” people. DA isn’t much older than me – I guess seeing as he does so many other crosswords, puzzles and reading, he knows about a lot more European poets, composers, painters, writers and even martyrs.
16a binding is the containment indicator to show a short word for about holding a longer word for class or type.
I thought it was obvious 14d wasn’t a Russian composer, but I still needed the hints above.
In 20d, the def is the first three words, not just words two and three, so I had no complaint.
Still can’t see 14a or 9d
Re 14a , Tim Minchin does a very entertaining song called “Prejudice” about a hurtful word with an n an I, two g’s an e and an r.
I spotted straight after my post – isnt it always the way?
Thanks sb (and Gayle). And doh! I don’t know why but I often have trouble with Spoonerisms.
Jupiter if you still need 9D, it’s a 7 letter verb for OK without the first letter.
Aargghh!! No Life & Style in The Age this week! This happens too often… I’m sulking now. Will have to occupy my time with (shock horror) housework! Sob!!
All finished. 15a was the last to go in, amusingly. The question mark (mis)led me to believe there was something tricky to the clue.
Got about half of it before coming here. Above hints weren’t much help
Not too thrilled with 14a, would have thought it should be (6,3) or maybe (6-3), instead of (9). I think project clueing the last three letters is far too big a leap.
Even with the help of google and all the above hints, I can’t come up with a 25a resident to fit 22a,24d.
Top left corner completely blank, lots of gaps on right side too.
nn for 22a/24d don’t look for an obscure resident – it’s a VERY familiar resident
oh dear, just seen 22a,24d after spending ages googling list of minor characters. Groan
thanks sb, I saw it while you were typing!
Bottom half complete now but only have 5 of the top half, mostly in NE corner.
Don’t get wordplay for 23d
Just re-read sb’s explanation of the spoonerism in 14a, makes sense now.
nn – for 23d I think hype gives letters 2 and 3
thanks sb.
1a groan, was looking for something far more obscure. This has given me a few more in the top left.
Still stuck on the following
10a, 2d, 9d, 12a, 11a
all done now!
Late start today. Two-thirds done, but stalled. Might try for a little longer before referring to hints above. Got 1A in 0.00000000000001 seconds. Easiest DA clue evaaaaa.
Oh Joy! Oh Bliss! Found a The Age with Life & Style in a petrol station! What one will do to find a DA! No longer sulking! :) Those who live in rural Vic will understand my glee.
Just found this site. Fantastic! My husband and I, working together, can usually triumph but this week 9d has us stuck. Saw the hint above, but maybe I’m just stupid today…
@Pamela, the word isn’t one that you’d hear very often and the other word which is missing the first letter isn’t one I’d normally associate with the phrase “OK”, although both are correct. Perhaps a better clue would be “Utter issue before arrest though not initially”.
Finished, I think. Only got there after re- re- re-reading all the hints above. Thanks again, everyone.
However, I’m not particularly happy with my 11a which makes me doubt my 2d as well.
Can anyone explain the wordplay for either/both?
Thanks
Jason, for 2D Last word is the definition, philosopher is letters 1-5. 11A again last word is the definition and think of two small words that can mean ‘very tolerable’.
@JasonL :
2d defn = last word. A very famous philosopher followed by a ‘negative’ word upside-down (about).
11a defn = last word. I think the term is specifically Oz – I’ve never heard it in Britain. First 2 letters are a recent trend meaning ‘very’ or ‘really’, as in “I’m ** loving this”. Last 2 can mean tolerable, and appear in another clue.
Had given up altogether on 9d, but finally realised my brilliant solution to 14a was the wrong brilliant solution! It fitted all the bits of the clue including the Spoonerism, but with ‘project’ as a noun, not a verb. Unfortunately, this gave me a ‘b’ as the last letter of 9d. From hints above and fruitless attempts at word-searching, I assumed there must be two very obscure Aussie words ending in ‘b’ that I hadn’t a hope in hell of finding. I’m actually a bit disappointed to find this isn’t the case after all.
Anyone help me with 5a please
5a defn = WWI martyr. ‘Extremists’ is often a signpost for the first and last letters of something.
@pommy al re 5a. JC’s hint should give you the last two letters. The first 4 are a type of dwelling/shelter, much more popular thousands of years ago than today. Put them together and you get the name of a nurse who was executed in WW1 for helping soldiers escape from behind enemy lines. You may have to google her to confirm
Thank you. Now I can gat stuck in to top right corner
@nn yay! Thanks – and also thanks to Mary, because I had made the same mistake on 14 A, which had me tearing my hair out on 9D. All done now. So glad I’ve found this site!
@pamela, I think our version actually fits the clue better – DA’s is more often a biscuit than a person!
@Mary and Pamela re 14A. I spent ages looking for a 9 letter word for this, I’ve always thought the answer was (6,3). Interestingly, having googled the term it appears that there is a breed of chicken called a 14a ranger. In this case 14a is 9 letters, so maybe that’s what DA was getting at instead of having a go at redheads. (although he did spell it ranga)
Very late starting this weekend (badly timed trip to Sydney). Got 16a early: one of my favorite poets, but stuck on NE corner. Too tired to finish, so will have to wait until tomorrow’s Age to find out whether 12a has anything to do with quahogs, which, by the way, are the longest living members of the animal kingdom, as well as one of the tastiest.
12A The key is a key on the keyboard!!! Arrgh. (and cor blimey)
Posted in the wrong thread before.
2 to go after a long breakfast. Not sure of my answer to 16A. There are poets of that name, but neither are Victorian, or even Australian, which makes them unusual for inclusion in a DA.
I hadn’t heard the epithet in 14A, even though I am one.
I liked the misdirection in 14D.
I take it the breach of etiquette DA refers to is the indirect anagram in 17D? I think the fodder is so immediately obvious as to let him get away with it.
Have all in and understand all but one.
Would appreciate help with the wordpaly for what I think is first 6 letters of 12A.
Pretty sure 16A is Bohemian-Austrian / German.
Rupert, is there a preamble that mentions a breach of etiquette? I did this on the iPad app, nothing about etiquette there. There are actually two indirect anagrams; 7d is the other
12a: First three letters an epithet, second three letters a key
Thanks Ian.
Yes 16A I am sure is right but I’ve never heard of “it”.
@Ian DA says “…especially as this week’s DA breaches common etiquette. (You’ve been warned.)” on his blog, in Cryptic Court 7.
After the gimme of 1a things really started to slow down. Having 25a and 26a would really help. Any assistance available on these?
Sandy – 26A – 2 letters (“return”) for “drip”. 4 letter word for “jug”. Defn first 2 words.
25A –
complicated – 4 letter word for “thug” (gives letters 1, 13, 14, 15)- anagram of “under” (letters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) with 2 letters for “my” (in context) (letters 7, 8) and 4 letter word for “gang” (letters 9, 10, 11, 12) – and defn is last 2 words.
13D So, is “to catch” now a homophone indicator?
All done except 16A, any hints?
Rupert, I don’t see any breach in 17D – certainly not by DA standards. To me 12A is more problematic – no hint that “my” is an exclamation. I got the answer, but for the life of me couldn’t understand the word play until I read this thread.
Thanks Ray,
Your hint gave me 26a, which led me to realize 14d wasn’t a word for Valium, which led me to getting that. Then the first letter of 25a put me on to the answer for that! But in the middle came a picnic tea at a twilight blues concert. Busy time.
Now for the NE corner. Any help with 5a?
Ah. 5a hit me. Covered most of NE corner now. And the rest. Still need help with 11a, first half of 12a (despite above hints) and 16a.
Drop, drop, drop. Three pennies that is. All done.
John, re 16a – ‘about’ binds ‘class’. I had never heard of him and only got it by Ray’s hint in second post above and googling.
I like how every single bit of the fodder is used in 21A, and I don’t mind the numbering convention for that matter.
Got it. Thanks Sandy :)
Yeah that’s no good, is it Geoff, “to catch” as homophone indicator in 13D. I’d hope that every cryptic device has no more than one meaning, and I’d say “to catch” can clearly be used as a container indicator and therefore should not be used for homophones. Or is this being too strict? Is there an obvious counter example?
Stuck on 27A, 20D, 9D and 1st word of 12A (despite hints above).
Not quite sure on 5A either – does it end in LL (loyal extremists)?
Think I have 8D but not sure how the wordplay for letters 1-5 works?
OK typical – 20D and 27A have just come to me seconds after posting!
So just the few in ne corner now.
Julian – 8d – watch tennis games give first 2 then 3-5 .
Lots to go – top half done – struggling with most of bottom half – tomorrow
Fin & just passing by. As far as familiar characters go, 16 ac was known to me (I love the rhythm of his name – at least those parts of it he used), more so than 5 ac (took punt on wordplay and googled result to check). Got 25 ac from wordplay only: the books in question were never part of my life! Happy solving!
All out bar 5A, which I should have known and 8D, the misdirections got me. Thanks sb. Thought ‘torture’ could have been an anagrind, or – = delete something, and miss a point = – NSEW etc. The cluing for first five letters was nifty I reckon.
Thanks to Ian for explanation of first six letters of 12A.
Think that ‘catch’ is okay as a homophone indicator. catch = hear. One of the things I enjoy about DA’s crosswords is being caught by the misdirections.
Familiar with the poet and the author and creatures but had to google the forest.
27 A was stuck on, knew the composer but the playwright didn’t come to mind.
14D and 14A were equal favourites. Really good Spoonerism I thought. Spot on phonetics and interesting synonyms in def and wordplay.
Will not accept 20A though. Firstly, the definition is qualified. .. and not where it should be. And that phrase irks me to the point that I’ve finally looked up its supposed origins. .. a translation error made by an African basketballer playing in the US. Why do Australians use it?
Did David really produce this one? Or a stand-in? Never saw one before where so many answers could just be written in. Still 13 to go, but easy so far. But, a quibble: shouldn’t 27A have said something other than ‘sports’? Training, or exercise?
despite above hints, still stuck with 22a/24d (despite having 25a and google), 27a, 20a and 23d
sb – defn last 3 words ie: who lives is 25A?
22A – 3 letter chef for letters 1,2,4 (or 1,3, 4) and “bagel” the other letter (2 or 3).
24D – homophone for word for “plain”.
Q re 14A? Is this a character from a well-known game? Have looked at lists of Russian composers for 14D, couldn’t find one that fitted. Still 8 or 9 to go. Las bit not so easy.
No, Arthur, the composer is not Russian, and he’s in the middle.
Thanks, Manda, guess I was on wrong trail. 14A bothers me, Had it starting with D, so was looking for some variant of Diaghelev (SP?),for 14D, hard to find anything other than a Russian ending in victory. Just five to go, but needing those 14s desperately.
And suddenly, I have 14D, I remember him well. We’ll bury you, he famously said. Ta, Manda.
Thanks Ray – and there I was looking for an obscure resident – and had forgotten ‘bagel’. All done.
Arthur, def is first 4 words – Rupert, I too liked the misdirection
Arthur, 14A doesn’t start with a D, tho’ must confess I still don’t understand 2nd part of Spoonerism.
Re 14D move the 1st comma in the clue and place it after Russian
LJ – I wondered about that too; for 2nd part of the spoonerism you need to say the two words
Thanks sb, but I must be thick as still can’t see it. I often have problems with Spoonerisms
LJ – me too – say the answer then spoonerise it – g as j
Bottom half finished, only a few solved in the top half and struggling.
14a was one of the first solved, from the first word. (Maybe a generational thing? I had to Google 13d and 5a, for example. Surprisingly knew 14d, though had to confirm spelling.) The first part of the Spoonerism for “secret warrior” fits, but not sure about how the second part relates to “project”…?
sb, some hopefully not too spoilery hints:
27a – Last word is the definition. Composition was a childhood favourite for me.
20d – First three words are the definition. Not sure if I want one of these from DA just yet, I’ll let you know once I’ve finished!
23d – Should be easy once you have letters from 22a and 27a.
Yes, all finished now. Took a while to get poet, but, as always, Google is mt friend. My earliest finish on record, still some clues not understood, but I’m sure answers all OK. C-ya!
14A for second part of spoonerism, think 3 letter word for ‘project’ as a verb, to stick out, like a chin.
I had to google the “classic” people. DA isn’t much older than me – I guess seeing as he does so many other crosswords, puzzles and reading, he knows about a lot more European poets, composers, painters, writers and even martyrs.
16a binding is the containment indicator to show a short word for about holding a longer word for class or type.
I thought it was obvious 14d wasn’t a Russian composer, but I still needed the hints above.
In 20d, the def is the first three words, not just words two and three, so I had no complaint.
Still can’t see 14a or 9d
Re 14a , Tim Minchin does a very entertaining song called “Prejudice” about a hurtful word with an n an I, two g’s an e and an r.
I spotted straight after my post – isnt it always the way?
Thanks sb (and Gayle). And doh! I don’t know why but I often have trouble with Spoonerisms.
Jupiter if you still need 9D, it’s a 7 letter verb for OK without the first letter.
Aargghh!! No Life & Style in The Age this week! This happens too often… I’m sulking now. Will have to occupy my time with (shock horror) housework! Sob!!
All finished. 15a was the last to go in, amusingly. The question mark (mis)led me to believe there was something tricky to the clue.
Got about half of it before coming here. Above hints weren’t much help
Not too thrilled with 14a, would have thought it should be (6,3) or maybe (6-3), instead of (9). I think project clueing the last three letters is far too big a leap.
Even with the help of google and all the above hints, I can’t come up with a 25a resident to fit 22a,24d.
Top left corner completely blank, lots of gaps on right side too.
nn for 22a/24d don’t look for an obscure resident – it’s a VERY familiar resident
oh dear, just seen 22a,24d after spending ages googling list of minor characters. Groan
thanks sb, I saw it while you were typing!
Bottom half complete now but only have 5 of the top half, mostly in NE corner.
Don’t get wordplay for 23d
Just re-read sb’s explanation of the spoonerism in 14a, makes sense now.
nn – for 23d I think hype gives letters 2 and 3
thanks sb.
1a groan, was looking for something far more obscure. This has given me a few more in the top left.
Still stuck on the following
10a, 2d, 9d, 12a, 11a
all done now!
Late start today. Two-thirds done, but stalled. Might try for a little longer before referring to hints above. Got 1A in 0.00000000000001 seconds. Easiest DA clue evaaaaa.
Oh Joy! Oh Bliss! Found a The Age with Life & Style in a petrol station! What one will do to find a DA! No longer sulking! :) Those who live in rural Vic will understand my glee.
Just found this site. Fantastic! My husband and I, working together, can usually triumph but this week 9d has us stuck. Saw the hint above, but maybe I’m just stupid today…
@Pamela, the word isn’t one that you’d hear very often and the other word which is missing the first letter isn’t one I’d normally associate with the phrase “OK”, although both are correct. Perhaps a better clue would be “Utter issue before arrest though not initially”.
Finished, I think. Only got there after re- re- re-reading all the hints above. Thanks again, everyone.
However, I’m not particularly happy with my 11a which makes me doubt my 2d as well.
Can anyone explain the wordplay for either/both?
Thanks
Jason, for 2D Last word is the definition, philosopher is letters 1-5. 11A again last word is the definition and think of two small words that can mean ‘very tolerable’.
@JasonL :
2d defn = last word. A very famous philosopher followed by a ‘negative’ word upside-down (about).
11a defn = last word. I think the term is specifically Oz – I’ve never heard it in Britain. First 2 letters are a recent trend meaning ‘very’ or ‘really’, as in “I’m ** loving this”. Last 2 can mean tolerable, and appear in another clue.
Had given up altogether on 9d, but finally realised my brilliant solution to 14a was the wrong brilliant solution! It fitted all the bits of the clue including the Spoonerism, but with ‘project’ as a noun, not a verb. Unfortunately, this gave me a ‘b’ as the last letter of 9d. From hints above and fruitless attempts at word-searching, I assumed there must be two very obscure Aussie words ending in ‘b’ that I hadn’t a hope in hell of finding. I’m actually a bit disappointed to find this isn’t the case after all.
Anyone help me with 5a please
5a defn = WWI martyr. ‘Extremists’ is often a signpost for the first and last letters of something.
@pommy al re 5a. JC’s hint should give you the last two letters. The first 4 are a type of dwelling/shelter, much more popular thousands of years ago than today. Put them together and you get the name of a nurse who was executed in WW1 for helping soldiers escape from behind enemy lines. You may have to google her to confirm
Thank you. Now I can gat stuck in to top right corner
@nn yay! Thanks – and also thanks to Mary, because I had made the same mistake on 14 A, which had me tearing my hair out on 9D. All done now. So glad I’ve found this site!
@pamela, I think our version actually fits the clue better – DA’s is more often a biscuit than a person!
@Mary and Pamela re 14A. I spent ages looking for a 9 letter word for this, I’ve always thought the answer was (6,3). Interestingly, having googled the term it appears that there is a breed of chicken called a 14a ranger. In this case 14a is 9 letters, so maybe that’s what DA was getting at instead of having a go at redheads. (although he did spell it ranga)
Very late starting this weekend (badly timed trip to Sydney). Got 16a early: one of my favorite poets, but stuck on NE corner. Too tired to finish, so will have to wait until tomorrow’s Age to find out whether 12a has anything to do with quahogs, which, by the way, are the longest living members of the animal kingdom, as well as one of the tastiest.
12A The key is a key on the keyboard!!! Arrgh. (and cor blimey)