Get your confusions sorted out for the last week of Summer!
35 thoughts on “DA Confusion for the 24th of February, 2023”
Have all out (I think) but not all understood.
Took a bit to get going and finally started in SE.
Largely worked around clockwise, and then stalled when got to NE corner.
FOI 27A.
LOI 16A.
I think 11A is missing something as pretty sure I have the correct answer but can’t complete wordplay (ie: letter 1) – unless “boot” incorrectly gives 1, 5 – where I read “riding boot” as just giving 5.
And is 23D’s reference to 24A correct? Correct country??
Still working on 14D wordplay.
6D and 7D wordplays are a bit tough I think.
Pick is 22A.
Also liked 13A, 15A, 18A and 17D.
Hope someone can help me on 11A, 23D/24A and 14D.
Enjoy.
All out but, also, have some of the concerns of DAJunkie. Still doing the wordplay for 14d as well. Will be back later.
For 14D, split into 1-4, 5-8 and 9-10. Agree with DAJunkie, both 11A and 23D seem incorrect to me.
ADB – 14D – thanks.
Re11A – boot =1 and 5
Re14D – In = 1-4, gambling game = 5-8, fanatic doesn’t start = 9 and 10.
Hope that helps…
I agree with the comments about 11A (missing wordplay for letter) and 23D (wrong country).
Thanks ADB for explaining 14D wordplay :D
Brond – thanks. Yes – I did finally work out 14D – and both ADB and yourself have now confirmed.
As for 11A, as I mentioned above, I am struggling to accept “boot” is correct to give 1,5.
Brond, thanks for 11A explanation. Makes sense.
Same here, struggled with some definitions and wordplay. Hadn’t come across 4A before, although it makes sense once you work it out.
FOI 1D, 2D. LOI 4A, 6D.
DA’s Wordplay article in the Spectrum today almost quoted my book’s entry for Turkey word for word! Not that I imagine he’s actually read it given the sales are in the single digits :D
No doubt coincidence, similar research on the same topic.
First pass 3d,12d,19d,21d. LOI 7d.
A number of question marks this week, including the wrong country at 24a/23d (perhaps he was thinking of von Bismark) and the “boot” misspelling at 11a (Chambers has 1,5 as a dialect and obsolete word meaning to loath. I don’t know what the Macquarie has).
I did like 1a which brought a smile, but too many problems this week.
Certainly easier than last week’s. The NE corner took me the longest. I concur that there were a few iffy clues this week. In 11a, I thought the boots have three letters, the inclusion indicator’s a bit of a stretch, and (continuing my whinge, as I’ve started now) the word’s not terribly mainstream either.
I thought for a while that perhaps “macht” is just a word I was unfamiliar with, but no, not in English anyway. Material for the next time DA laments his stuff-ups in his Wordplay column perhaps?
I did learn a new meaning for “riddle” today. I couldn’t parse 14d until I read the above, thanks ADB. One letter in 6d was a bit unorthodox, but I’ll pay that one.
I still enjoy DA’s offerings every Friday, but are the little errors becoming more frequent? Perhaps he needs to take some long service leave?
I’ve seen that letter in 14d in other crosswords Graham M. It also struck me as a bit iffy the first time I saw it, but I’ve got used to it now (as a group of 3!)
Thanks for the hints on 14d. I was shooting all around it. I got the fanatic bit and wondered about “in”. I needed to squint a bit more.
He could’ve got away with 11a if he said “short boot”.
Re 6d: Writing is one of three, but if this is what he was thinking then there should have been a ‘maybe’ or ‘say’ in there.
In 11A does ‘odd’ also refer to letters 1 and 5? But if that is the case, is it indirect?
FOI 1D, 9D, 24A, 25D, 10A; fav so far 1A; don’t understand all the wordplays (eg 22A and 17D);
still missing the whole of NE (4, 11, 13, 16, 20A; 6, 7, 8D0 and would welcome gentle hints.
Couldn’t bear DA to go on LSL – I so look forward to Friday’s crosswords :) Sorry DA
Hi SB
4A. First two words defn; then charade.
11A. First word defn – next two words letters 3,4,5.
12A. Defn last three words. Male (1), bird first flew (2-5).
16A. Defn first two words then an anagram plus 2 other letters.
20A. Defn first word then charade.
IanF. Yes it would be indirect in that case.
SB Vicious in 17d is 3,2,1 (should really be Vicious maybe to indicate a definition by example but DA is not known for such niceties). 22a bag around is 1,2,10. If DA does go on LSL there’ll probably be a reserve of crosswords ready to go, so don’t worry too much.
6D. Defn last word – misdirected.
7D. Defn first word in sense of signing off on.
8D. Defn last word. First word homophone indicator.
Thanks Ian and Tim :) That gives me lots to go on; meanwhile I have 13A and 8D.
Done and dusted. Thanks again.
BTW I’m ok with boot as 1, 5 in 11A
I’d be inclined to defend DA for leaving Vicious unglossed in 17D. How many other people called Vicious are there?
Spent a decent amount of time making sure that there aren’t Italian-speaking cities along the rhine whose names can be extended to mean pretty.
Re 17D: I’m with you there, Ian F.
Re the 23A 24D disconnect. I liked GrahamM’s ”mighty” solution and UStralian’s meandering along the Rhine before the Alps got in the way.
I just stopped and stared in utter confusion. It’s hard enough trying to solve DA without having to question your knowledge of languages and geography. As for 14A, well 1,5+ !
Like TimC, I was also tickled by 1A, my FOI. Ticks for 2D , 8D and 28D.
FOI 26A LOI 17D finished over breakfast this am. Visited Trippers last night and grateful for all contributions. Liked 5D/30A
18A and 17D once I twigged. It has an additional nuance for the protected species that invade our garden !
Learnt a couple of new words from 3D and 23D. I don’t get too fussed about DAs liberal geography. Borders are not set in stone for evermore.
One gripe I had a different solution for 28D
starting with ‘W’ to describe pale coming from shortening magician’s implement.
Cheers to everyone.
IanS
I had the same one for 28d to begin with for the same reasoning. Decided the odds on the W being correct was unlikely due to its location on the associated across word.
Just my level this week, setter stuff-ups notwithstanding.
Only 13a left, but I’ll keep gnawing on it for a while longer before asking for help.
Has anyone heard from DA about this week’s blunder(s) ?
Or has his recent Wordplay column absolved him from apologies ? Maybe his other ‘tidy’ clues still saw his puzzle a success ?
Who’s his/their editor ?
Has anyone heard from DA about this week’s blunder(s) ?
Or has his recent Wordplay column absolved him from apologies ? Maybe his other ‘tidy’ clues still saw his puzzle a success ?
Who’s his/their editor ?
Neanderthal, There was a name of someone a while back who has some role within 9/Fairfax and apparently has crosswords under her responsibility as well, but I think it’s more of a management thing than any true editorial oversight of the crosswords.
At the very least a test solver should be able to pick up these blunders.
Meanwhile, over at the Financial Times, the current cryptic is a tribute to their crossword editor who’s retiring after 42 years …
My two-penn’orth on:
11A – Macquarie has 2 letters as an alternative spelling for the boot. It also suggests the origin is a contraction of a 4-letter pejorative, suggesting 2 is more ‘correct’ originally but is subsequently overtaken in people’s minds (including mine) by the more-comfy/rugged-sounding brand name.
6D – ‘its’ before ‘writing’ might have made ‘writing’ a more understandable clueing of 4?
p.s. I’ve always thought ‘the three Rs’, ironically involving poor riting, should also involve poor rithmetic and be called ‘the four Rs’
?
Have all out (I think) but not all understood.
Took a bit to get going and finally started in SE.
Largely worked around clockwise, and then stalled when got to NE corner.
FOI 27A.
LOI 16A.
I think 11A is missing something as pretty sure I have the correct answer but can’t complete wordplay (ie: letter 1) – unless “boot” incorrectly gives 1, 5 – where I read “riding boot” as just giving 5.
And is 23D’s reference to 24A correct? Correct country??
Still working on 14D wordplay.
6D and 7D wordplays are a bit tough I think.
Pick is 22A.
Also liked 13A, 15A, 18A and 17D.
Hope someone can help me on 11A, 23D/24A and 14D.
Enjoy.
All out but, also, have some of the concerns of DAJunkie. Still doing the wordplay for 14d as well. Will be back later.
For 14D, split into 1-4, 5-8 and 9-10. Agree with DAJunkie, both 11A and 23D seem incorrect to me.
ADB – 14D – thanks.
Re11A – boot =1 and 5
Re14D – In = 1-4, gambling game = 5-8, fanatic doesn’t start = 9 and 10.
Hope that helps…
I agree with the comments about 11A (missing wordplay for letter) and 23D (wrong country).
Thanks ADB for explaining 14D wordplay :D
Brond – thanks. Yes – I did finally work out 14D – and both ADB and yourself have now confirmed.
As for 11A, as I mentioned above, I am struggling to accept “boot” is correct to give 1,5.
Brond, thanks for 11A explanation. Makes sense.
Same here, struggled with some definitions and wordplay. Hadn’t come across 4A before, although it makes sense once you work it out.
FOI 1D, 2D. LOI 4A, 6D.
DA’s Wordplay article in the Spectrum today almost quoted my book’s entry for Turkey word for word! Not that I imagine he’s actually read it given the sales are in the single digits :D
No doubt coincidence, similar research on the same topic.
First pass 3d,12d,19d,21d. LOI 7d.
A number of question marks this week, including the wrong country at 24a/23d (perhaps he was thinking of von Bismark) and the “boot” misspelling at 11a (Chambers has 1,5 as a dialect and obsolete word meaning to loath. I don’t know what the Macquarie has).
I did like 1a which brought a smile, but too many problems this week.
Certainly easier than last week’s. The NE corner took me the longest. I concur that there were a few iffy clues this week. In 11a, I thought the boots have three letters, the inclusion indicator’s a bit of a stretch, and (continuing my whinge, as I’ve started now) the word’s not terribly mainstream either.
I thought for a while that perhaps “macht” is just a word I was unfamiliar with, but no, not in English anyway. Material for the next time DA laments his stuff-ups in his Wordplay column perhaps?
I did learn a new meaning for “riddle” today. I couldn’t parse 14d until I read the above, thanks ADB. One letter in 6d was a bit unorthodox, but I’ll pay that one.
I still enjoy DA’s offerings every Friday, but are the little errors becoming more frequent? Perhaps he needs to take some long service leave?
I’ve seen that letter in 14d in other crosswords Graham M. It also struck me as a bit iffy the first time I saw it, but I’ve got used to it now (as a group of 3!)
Thanks for the hints on 14d. I was shooting all around it. I got the fanatic bit and wondered about “in”. I needed to squint a bit more.
He could’ve got away with 11a if he said “short boot”.
Re 6d: Writing is one of three, but if this is what he was thinking then there should have been a ‘maybe’ or ‘say’ in there.
In 11A does ‘odd’ also refer to letters 1 and 5? But if that is the case, is it indirect?
FOI 1D, 9D, 24A, 25D, 10A; fav so far 1A; don’t understand all the wordplays (eg 22A and 17D);
still missing the whole of NE (4, 11, 13, 16, 20A; 6, 7, 8D0 and would welcome gentle hints.
Couldn’t bear DA to go on LSL – I so look forward to Friday’s crosswords :) Sorry DA
Hi SB
4A. First two words defn; then charade.
11A. First word defn – next two words letters 3,4,5.
12A. Defn last three words. Male (1), bird first flew (2-5).
16A. Defn first two words then an anagram plus 2 other letters.
20A. Defn first word then charade.
IanF. Yes it would be indirect in that case.
SB Vicious in 17d is 3,2,1 (should really be Vicious maybe to indicate a definition by example but DA is not known for such niceties). 22a bag around is 1,2,10. If DA does go on LSL there’ll probably be a reserve of crosswords ready to go, so don’t worry too much.
6D. Defn last word – misdirected.
7D. Defn first word in sense of signing off on.
8D. Defn last word. First word homophone indicator.
Thanks Ian and Tim :) That gives me lots to go on; meanwhile I have 13A and 8D.
Done and dusted. Thanks again.
BTW I’m ok with boot as 1, 5 in 11A
I’d be inclined to defend DA for leaving Vicious unglossed in 17D. How many other people called Vicious are there?
Spent a decent amount of time making sure that there aren’t Italian-speaking cities along the rhine whose names can be extended to mean pretty.
Re 17D: I’m with you there, Ian F.
Re the 23A 24D disconnect. I liked GrahamM’s ”mighty” solution and UStralian’s meandering along the Rhine before the Alps got in the way.
I just stopped and stared in utter confusion. It’s hard enough trying to solve DA without having to question your knowledge of languages and geography. As for 14A, well 1,5+ !
Like TimC, I was also tickled by 1A, my FOI. Ticks for 2D , 8D and 28D.
FOI 26A LOI 17D finished over breakfast this am. Visited Trippers last night and grateful for all contributions. Liked 5D/30A
18A and 17D once I twigged. It has an additional nuance for the protected species that invade our garden !
Learnt a couple of new words from 3D and 23D. I don’t get too fussed about DAs liberal geography. Borders are not set in stone for evermore.
One gripe I had a different solution for 28D
starting with ‘W’ to describe pale coming from shortening magician’s implement.
Cheers to everyone.
IanS
I had the same one for 28d to begin with for the same reasoning. Decided the odds on the W being correct was unlikely due to its location on the associated across word.
Just my level this week, setter stuff-ups notwithstanding.
Only 13a left, but I’ll keep gnawing on it for a while longer before asking for help.
Has anyone heard from DA about this week’s blunder(s) ?
Or has his recent Wordplay column absolved him from apologies ? Maybe his other ‘tidy’ clues still saw his puzzle a success ?
Who’s his/their editor ?
Has anyone heard from DA about this week’s blunder(s) ?
Or has his recent Wordplay column absolved him from apologies ? Maybe his other ‘tidy’ clues still saw his puzzle a success ?
Who’s his/their editor ?
Neanderthal, There was a name of someone a while back who has some role within 9/Fairfax and apparently has crosswords under her responsibility as well, but I think it’s more of a management thing than any true editorial oversight of the crosswords.
At the very least a test solver should be able to pick up these blunders.
Meanwhile, over at the Financial Times, the current cryptic is a tribute to their crossword editor who’s retiring after 42 years …
https://www.ft.com/content/17f5cf03-a88d-4e3e-9968-d5f8b9299b56
Good crossword, by the way.
My two-penn’orth on:
11A – Macquarie has 2 letters as an alternative spelling for the boot. It also suggests the origin is a contraction of a 4-letter pejorative, suggesting 2 is more ‘correct’ originally but is subsequently overtaken in people’s minds (including mine) by the more-comfy/rugged-sounding brand name.
6D – ‘its’ before ‘writing’ might have made ‘writing’ a more understandable clueing of 4?
p.s. I’ve always thought ‘the three Rs’, ironically involving poor riting, should also involve poor rithmetic and be called ‘the four Rs’
?