Have your confusions sorted out for this week’s DA. Do it.
68 thoughts on “DA Confusion for the 8th of December, 2017”
Morning all!
Someone usually asks, so here are five easy starters …
1A, 1D, 9A, 14A, 22A
Some might find 1A difficult, but wordplay should deliver. n.b. there are numerous film & TV adaptations of 1A’s source!
All out, all understood. Loved 1A, 4D, 5A/11D (“he animated”, indeed!), 13A, 18A, the anagramatic pair 24A & 26A, the “lavender” of 2D, and 17D’s “inadequate introvert”. Had to think hard about 16D that my answer didn’t imply an “own goal”. And googled 12A answer-from-wordplay as had never heard the term before.
Anyway, that’s my two dropped pennies’ worth, until next week, cheers.
Not expecting a lot of confusion today.
Liked the use of “dreaming” in 21A, and as Gil mentions, the pairing of 24 & 26A is good.
I was bitten by a 20D when I was a kid, still have the scar.
Sorry,Gil of Darlington, I’m too dense to make any sense of that. What exactly am I looking for? Not a republic, not a bird, but a territory? Have only letters 9&11 at this stage (both same)..
Thanks Celia and SonOfBruze.
Simple really. I get frustrated when I cant see the obvious. In this case I was looking at AGLOR instead of ignoring the A, already accounted for in the clue.
Thanks
bbOZ
Definition is “nearby territory”
Try … on a large island to our north!
Charade components occupy …
“republic” letters 1,2,4,5
“one” letter 3
“bird” letters 6-8 (if you’re a Hunger Games fan, you might get the bird right away)
letter 9 is from clue just before the definition
A study of the history of the region may come up with the answer, I imagine it would be unfamiliar to many
According to Wikipedia, it’s a former name of the place. That said, it’s a name I’m very familiar with, and geography’s not my strong suit. For the bird, think of the premier of SA.
I am stuck in NW and SE corners. Any help for 1A, 24A, 26A and 3D? I know 1A is a literary but can’t pass it unless my intersecting letters are incorrect.
Doh! Carelessness with 1a meant I’d filled in his profession, not his name, which didn’t help with 6d. Found it now. New to me, but I’m not at all familiar with this hemisphere, & geography was never my strong point anyway.
Brett, I have great expectations that you’ll solve 1a. Letters 1-3 are an issue (that you’d find in a newsagent) and letters 4-8 are the charming woman.
Re 1A there are upwards of 12 film & TV adaptations of the novel, and actors who have played 1A include Ralph Fiennes (most recent film adaptation, 2012), Ray Winstone (BBC TV, 2011) James Mason, and Anthony Hopkins.
An actor I’d never heard of, I listed the four names I thought most familiar.
Ralph Fiennes was pretty good, I thought. I recall Helena Bonham Carter was Miss you-know-who, a role filled by Gillian Anderson in the BBC version the year before.
SandyM
10A the small mints are ubiquitous in 7-11s and supermarkets, letters 1-3 homophonically (“reports”) a temporal “second”, letters 4-6 ditto a strategy (especially in sailing).
7D is a reversal (“up”) of “zip” letters 6-3, following “extremely tame” letters 1-2, Defn “foursome”. Hope that helps!
Thanks Celia. Should have thought of the mints. As for the foursome, I had worked out the word play just as you described it, but as I had never heard of the word, and hadn’t thought of that synonym for zip, I was still lost. Got it all now.
Well it’s Saturday morning and I still can’t get the gun technician one or the floral cluster one. (The cat’s on my lap so I can’t get up to check the numbers. ) If anyone around, a gentle hint for either would be appreciated.
Celia, thanks for your help with 8D and 12A, but I still couldn’t get them. In the end I gave up and looked at the answers. I’d never heard of either, so that was a bit of a relief. Nothing so annoying as the ‘I really should have got that’ feeling from an answer that was staring you in the face the whole time!
I’ve been pretty stumped with the SW corner of this week’s – I still can’t get 15D, 19D, 21A, 23A & 25A, and a few only after reading the comments above.
I knew 18A almost instantly, but wasn’t enamoured by the recipe – unless I’m reading it wrong? Also never read or seen any adaptations of 1A so only got that one via wordplay & Google.
15D: statesman OK+LAH+OMAN
19D: “I’m pale” / IMPALE
21A: “vendors”
dreaming REM
dreaming about MER+songs CHANTS
23A “passionate”
footy AFL + game beginning off AME
25A: “girl” a reversed (“wayward”) liftout from …
“cong[ENIAL E]motions”
18A: is ALLITERATION on “p” then repetition, so it is …
ALL+ITERATION
re 1A a couple of recent adaptations of Great Expectations from BBC
TV with Ray Winstone, and film version following year with Ralph Fiennes. Inexpensive DVDs available (and you get Gillian Anderson & Helena Bonham Carter, respectively, as Miss Havisham!)
Well, after several weeks of completing, or very nearly completing the DA, this week I was totally baffled and bamboozled. I got 3A – worked out the anagram – and I guessed 22A but cannot see anything that relates to the rest of the clue. That gave me 22D, and when I finally cheated and looked up 10A/6D I understood what was going on there, but it didn’t help me with anything else. What a horrible experience – looking forward to next week!
DA Trippers 
Morning all!
Someone usually asks, so here are five easy starters …
1A, 1D, 9A, 14A, 22A
Some might find 1A difficult, but wordplay should deliver. n.b. there are numerous film & TV adaptations of 1A’s source!
Hi Celia, all quiet on the Western Front?
All out, all understood. Loved 1A, 4D, 5A/11D (“he animated”, indeed!), 13A, 18A, the anagramatic pair 24A & 26A, the “lavender” of 2D, and 17D’s “inadequate introvert”. Had to think hard about 16D that my answer didn’t imply an “own goal”. And googled 12A answer-from-wordplay as had never heard the term before.
Anyway, that’s my two dropped pennies’ worth, until next week, cheers.
Not expecting a lot of confusion today.
Liked the use of “dreaming” in 21A, and as Gil mentions, the pairing of 24 & 26A is good.
I was bitten by a 20D when I was a kid, still have the scar.
I liked 21A’s “dreaming” too, Black Pen. Meant to rem ark on it in my list above, but overlooked somehow!
Gil, you must have bumped the space bar after “rem” — very careless!
Yes, Geoff M, was care less, accidentally on etc.
Have only eight at this stage. is the republic at 6D the obvious one? If so, where is the bird?
Arthur C, the republic occupies letters 1,2,4,5 of 6D. The bird does pop in at 6-8!
Arthur C, the republic is a very Islamic one.
Is 5a/11d someone’s name?
Geoff M, yes, as with 1A another famous literary creation. “Winner” gives 5A component, to get you started.
Pop in? Oh dear. You’re not DA in disguise, are you?
Still working on 5a/11d. It’s probably someone I in my sheltered life haven’t heard of. Perhaps I should go and mow the lawn?
Geoff M, a famous Gothic novel!!!
Sorry,Gil of Darlington, I’m too dense to make any sense of that. What exactly am I looking for? Not a republic, not a bird, but a territory? Have only letters 9&11 at this stage (both same)..
Geoff M you would have most definitely heard of him, though his surname is too often used to refer to his ‘animation’!
Aha! No need to mow the lawn!
All done in under an hour today. Either it was easier than usual or the extra Vegemite on my toast kicked in.
Is it Blend 17 Vegemite, Geoff M?
Arthur C: yes, 6D is a territory of a nearby nation. Was acquired by that nation in controversial circumstances in, I think, the 1940s.
Home and hosed, but will someone please justify 20D for me.
BillyboyOZ, reverse inner letters and tack a Y on the end, and you should have a word meaning majesty!
RE: 20d I had
Wading bird=definition
Bobs head=letter 1
Reflecting a shortened word for majesty=letters 2-5
Finally down to last three in SW corner. Relieved!
Thanks Celia and SonOfBruze.
Simple really. I get frustrated when I cant see the obvious. In this case I was looking at AGLOR instead of ignoring the A, already accounted for in the clue.
Thanks
bbOZ
All done in reasonable time this week, interrupted by tiresome radiotherapy. I, too, loved the 26/24 pair and also 13A.
Probably overstepping the spoiler line there, bbOZ!
Sorry, AG.
Or as DA might put it: an agitated lace puma (3,5).
I have everything except 6d, which I can’t get in spite of hints above. Is it just because I’m geographically challenged?
Definition is “nearby territory”
Try … on a large island to our north!
Charade components occupy …
“republic” letters 1,2,4,5
“one” letter 3
“bird” letters 6-8 (if you’re a Hunger Games fan, you might get the bird right away)
letter 9 is from clue just before the definition
A study of the history of the region may come up with the answer, I imagine it would be unfamiliar to many
@Mary. It appears that way. I’ve heard of it and got it quite early in the piece.
Thanks Celia, but I had all that from previous hints – I just can’t find the place!
According to Wikipedia, it’s a former name of the place. That said, it’s a name I’m very familiar with, and geography’s not my strong suit. For the bird, think of the premier of SA.
I am stuck in NW and SE corners. Any help for 1A, 24A, 26A and 3D? I know 1A is a literary but can’t pass it unless my intersecting letters are incorrect.
Doh! Carelessness with 1a meant I’d filled in his profession, not his name, which didn’t help with 6d. Found it now. New to me, but I’m not at all familiar with this hemisphere, & geography was never my strong point anyway.
Brett, 26a: first two words are definition. Words 3 & 4 are letters 1-3. Letters 4-8 are an anagram of “Sydney” without its final letter.
And 24a is an anagram of 26a, the answer you might give to a question when there are arguments both sides.
Brett, 3d/27d is something with a similar function to a teleprompter. Directors relates to the second word, turkey to the first.
Is the answer to 25A a girl’s name?
Yes, Jack, it is.
Thank-you Geoff. Now I see the relation between 24A and 26A. All out now apart from 1A which I am guessing is someone I have never heard of.
Brett, I have great expectations that you’ll solve 1a. Letters 1-3 are an issue (that you’d find in a newsagent) and letters 4-8 are the charming woman.
Re 1A there are upwards of 12 film & TV adaptations of the novel, and actors who have played 1A include Ralph Fiennes (most recent film adaptation, 2012), Ray Winstone (BBC TV, 2011) James Mason, and Anthony Hopkins.
Thanks Geoff, but I still can’t parse it.
For “wayward” think “backward”.
Aha! Thanks GeoffM
Finally, the penny dropped. Thanks again Geoff. All out.
Celia, the definitive portrayal was by Finlay Currie
An actor I’d never heard of, I listed the four names I thought most familiar.
Ralph Fiennes was pretty good, I thought. I recall Helena Bonham Carter was Miss you-know-who, a role filled by Gillian Anderson in the BBC version the year before.
Jack, I remember that. Scared the c**p out of me as a kid.
Brain dead today. Didn’t find it as easy-going as some. Was about to ask, what was the cryptic element in 18A, then wondered if it’s 1-3, 4-12?
Yep, Gayle, the P’s of 18A are the
single-word answer, and the repetition the divided two-word answer!
All done. Got most fairly quickly, took a while for the last few.
If anyone is around today… I got a late start. Got some help from here (thanks). But still stuck on 7d and 10a. Any hints?
SandyM
10A the small mints are ubiquitous in 7-11s and supermarkets, letters 1-3 homophonically (“reports”) a temporal “second”, letters 4-6 ditto a strategy (especially in sailing).
7D is a reversal (“up”) of “zip” letters 6-3, following “extremely tame” letters 1-2, Defn “foursome”. Hope that helps!
Thanks Celia. Should have thought of the mints. As for the foursome, I had worked out the word play just as you described it, but as I had never heard of the word, and hadn’t thought of that synonym for zip, I was still lost. Got it all now.
Well it’s Saturday morning and I still can’t get the gun technician one or the floral cluster one. (The cat’s on my lap so I can’t get up to check the numbers. ) If anyone around, a gentle hint for either would be appreciated.
Carol … Gun letters 1-4 technician’s first letter 5 (n.b. a medical device)
The floral cluster is a “block” of “over a cement”
Can someone explain the reference to lavender
Peter, laV ender provides the V you need for the anagram!
Ah thanks very clever
Peter, that one took me a while too.
Celia, thanks for your help with 8D and 12A, but I still couldn’t get them. In the end I gave up and looked at the answers. I’d never heard of either, so that was a bit of a relief. Nothing so annoying as the ‘I really should have got that’ feeling from an answer that was staring you in the face the whole time!
Carol, go with the wordplay, can find answer even if it’s unfamiliar to you …
8D … oveR A CEMEnt block
12A STEN+T
I’ve been pretty stumped with the SW corner of this week’s – I still can’t get 15D, 19D, 21A, 23A & 25A, and a few only after reading the comments above.
I knew 18A almost instantly, but wasn’t enamoured by the recipe – unless I’m reading it wrong? Also never read or seen any adaptations of 1A so only got that one via wordplay & Google.
OFM if posting for December 15, you’re in the wrong thread!
OFM, re
15D: statesman OK+LAH+OMAN
19D: “I’m pale” / IMPALE
21A: “vendors”
dreaming REM
dreaming about MER+songs CHANTS
23A “passionate”
footy AFL + game beginning off AME
25A: “girl” a reversed (“wayward”) liftout from …
“cong[ENIAL E]motions”
18A: is ALLITERATION on “p” then repetition, so it is …
ALL+ITERATION
re 1A a couple of recent adaptations of Great Expectations from BBC
TV with Ray Winstone, and film version following year with Ralph Fiennes. Inexpensive DVDs available (and you get Gillian Anderson & Helena Bonham Carter, respectively, as Miss Havisham!)
Well, after several weeks of completing, or very nearly completing the DA, this week I was totally baffled and bamboozled. I got 3A – worked out the anagram – and I guessed 22A but cannot see anything that relates to the rest of the clue. That gave me 22D, and when I finally cheated and looked up 10A/6D I understood what was going on there, but it didn’t help me with anything else. What a horrible experience – looking forward to next week!
Oops – just posted the above for the wrong week – I meant the 15th Dec – I certainly am baffled and bamboozled!
Anyone up yet?
I had 11a in fiest. It seemed easy but later realised I had the wrong answer
All out. FOI 18a LOI 3d.