DT 25917

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25917

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BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment ***

I found this one to be a lot harder than the other crosswords this week. Either I was having a bad day, or this really was more difficult. Comments appreciated.

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Across

8. Ruler about to run into demonstration? (7)
{MONARCH} – ON (about to) is placed inside (run into) MARCH (demonstration) to give a word for the ruler of a state or a nation.

10. Sitting somehow in a street before journey (7)
{ASTRIDE} – Typically used to describe how you would sit on a horse, A ST (street) before RIDE (journey).

11. Port being wondrously divine (9)
{ARCHANGEL} – ARCH (wondrously) and a divine being ANGEL put together give the english name of a port (Arkhangelsk) found in the north of the Russian Federation. A port that was a major source of aid during both world wars. Equally the “wondrously divine” could be taken as a whole, and is a being found in the second choir of angels, since the port was named after the archangel Michael.

12. Horticulturalist’s original border? (5)
{HEDGE} – A H(orticulturalist’s) cutting EDGE (original) for a line of closely spaced shrubs and tree species planted as a barrier or a boundary.

13. Elders perhaps giving time to returning prophet (5)
{TREES} – A prophet is a SEER, which needs to be reversed (returning) then we need to place T(ime) in front (giving time to), for a collection of Sambucus’ (Elders)

14. The French certificate presented to a group of stars (7)
{LACERTA} – I worked out the answer from the clue before I knew that this was a group of stars. The french LA, certificate (CERT), presented to A.

17. Revised test sent out — groups hoping to gain advantage? (6,9)
{VESTED INTERESTS} – An anagram of REVISED TEST SENT (out) for a term used to describe a person or a group who isn’t neutral, and may gain from the outcome of something.

19. Well-respected film director’s outside place (7)
{REPUTED} – I believe the reference to film director here is to the film director, most famous for directing The Third Man and Oliver! Sir Carol REED which is outside PUT (place) for a word that is used to mean “well respected”. As in deed Sir Carol Reed was.

21. University learner bowled over by fashion in town (5)
{LUTON} – U(niversity) L(earner) reversed (bowled over) with TON a fashionable style or distinction.

24. Tree from which swan crosses a river (5)
{CAROB} – The name for a male swan, COB around A R(iver) gives the name of a type of an evergreen tree native to the middle east.

26. Written account, very bad article in French (9)
{CHRONICLE} – A history of events (perhaps the most famous being the Anglo-Saxon ones), is made up of CHRONIC (very bad) and LE (the – an article in french)

27. Stole the thing outside back of mill, set of implements (4,3)
{TOOL KIT} – TOOK (stole) IT (the thing), placed outside the back of the milL, for a set of tools.

28. Piece of furniture in entrance to the west before (7)
{ETAGERE} – The entrance is a GATE which then needs to be reversed (to the west) and then we need to add ERE (before). Put together we have a piece of furniture used as a stand with a series of open shelves for small objects. In french the word simply means shelf.

Down

1. Force rascal to perform (6)
{IMPACT} – IMP (rascal) ACT (to perform).

2. Garment thieves getting reported? (8 )
{KNICKERS} – A garment that sounds like (getting reported) NICKERS (thieves).

3. Our newspaper? Couples may sleep under it! (10)
{BROADSHEET} – A double definition, a word used to describe a newspaper printed on large paper (like the Telegraph), and the type of large cover a couple would need to sleep under in a double bed.

4. Specially produced, this local fabric (9)
{SAILCLOTH} – An anagram of THIS LOCAL (specially produced) gives a type of fabric commonly used on ships.

5. State starts to undermine those admirable heroes (4)
{UTAH} – U(ndermine) T(hose) A(dmirable) H(eroes), the starting letters, produce an American state.

6. More primitive American dramatist (6)
{WILDER} – A reference to an American playwright and novelist whose best play is perhaps Our Town whose name is a synonym for “more primitive”.

7. Lean Muse disturbed mythological king (8 )
{MENELAUS} – An anagram of LEAN MUSE (disturbed) gives us an ancient King of Sparta, and husband of Helen.

9. Hospital? That’s awful, man! (4)
{HUGH} – H(ospital), and UGH (that’s awful) for a man’s name.

15. Woman at home with man in one American state or another (10)
{CAROLINIAN} – CAROL (woman) IN (at home) with IAN (man) is a word used to describe a native or inhabitant of North Carolina or of South Carolina.

16. Justify giving nit advice that’s wrong (9)
{VINDICATE} – An anagram of NIT ADVICE (that’s wrong) to give a synonym of justify.

17. Woman wanting business centre to present the truth (8 )
{VERACITY} – VERA (woman) plus CITY (business centre), for accuracy or truth. Big Dave will be delighted, three names nearly in a row.

18. Team fixes first mechanical device (8 )
{SETSCREW} – Team is CREW, fixes is SETS, which needs to be placed before (first) CREW, and we have a word used to describe a screw, often without a head, that is used to hold two parts together.

20. Time when there’s rising anger in school (6)
{PERIOD} – IRE is reversed upwards (rising) in a POD (school) for an interval of time.

22. Relations creating awful scene around one (6)
{NIECES} – Take an anagram of SCENE (awful) and place it around I (one) for the daughters of a person’s brother or sister.

23. Indian in narrow inlet not completely visible (4)
{CREE} – The narrow inlet in the case is a CREEK, remove the K (not completely visible) for a type of Red Indian.

25. US President following British vehicle (4)
{BIKE} – B(ritish), plus the nickname for Dwight D. Eisenhower (US President) and you have what is usually a two wheeled vehicle, very popular in Holland.