DT 25924 – Hints

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25924 – Hints

Selected hints by Big Dave

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

Without the obscure people and places this would have been a very good puzzle. There is quite a lot to enjoy and, for me at least, only one of those clues that give you that teeth-sucking moment.

Two small landmarks – this is the 200th post on the blog and earlier this week the view count topped 100,000.

Peter Biddlecombe’s full review of this puzzle will be published at 12.00 on Thursday, 14th May.

Across

1a Patio redesigned with lines giving shapely cut (7)
Here redesigned signals that an anagram of PATIO should precede an abbreviation of RailwaY to give a shapely cut of a tree

5a Worker spotted cutter (7)
This worker can be found in a factory or on a ship, add a word meaning spotted or noticed and you have a cutter that a carpenter might use

9a Completely submerged wearing a balaclava (4,4,3,4)
Chamber’s gives deeply submerged or engrossed as the definition of this little-known phrase; the cryptic definition describes where you might wear a balaclava – fortunately you should be able to work it out from the checked letter

11a Inferior Continental articles (5)
This word meaning inferior, or below, is found by combining the French for “a”, the indefinite arrticle, and the German for “the”, the definite article

15a How king spent his time (7)
Surely there must have been a better clue than this barely cryptic one which describes a king’s relationship to his subject

19a Where to drink having arrived during sudden increase in business activity (3-4)
This place where you can have a drink is derived by putting ARRived inside a sudden increase in business activity, or a period of expansion of the economy which is invariably followed by a bust

21a River mud broadcast (4)
Broadcast indicates that a homophone of ooze, a synonym for mud, is required for this river

23a Individual during the month becoming adherent of an Indian religion (4)
To get this totally obscure adherent of an Indian religion you need to put I, an individual, inside the abbreviation for the first month of the year – a quick check revealed that there are over a dozen sensible words that fit the checking letters, so why did the setter pick this one

27a Willingly left (7)
A cryptic definition of having made and left a valid will

28a Favourite one in Paris, one with a bloomer (7)
The teacher’s favourite is followed by the French for one, another “1” and an “A” to get this flower – thought for the day: wouldn’t the surface reading have been much better with flower instead of bloomer?

Down

1d Actor becoming true pro (7)
This generic term for a stage actor is anagram, signalled by becoming, of TRUE PRO

2d Sheer quality of valuable mine included on cape (15)
This clever bit of wordplay takes a word meaning valuable (as Gollum might say!) puts it around a coal mine, and then adds a synonym for cape, as in land jutting into the sea, to get a word meaning the quality of being sheer or steep

6d Disagreement at employment department on swelling (4)
If you are having difficulty with this one then make sure you have the right answer for 5 across first, then put a word of disagreement before the Department of Employment, an old name for the Department for Work and Pensions

7d Cheering up (8,7)
… not sitting down while you cheer!

13d Time is against us (5)
Like procrastination is the thief of time, the saying that this is based on is an old chestnut

14d Previously a number was announced (5)
The number is a 4

19d Advance praise for gradual increase (5-2)
A double definition – on the one hand to advance praise would do this to someone’s hopes, and on the other hand it’s a gradual increase leading up to a climax in a story

20d Fellow goes to one island (not Madagascar initially) capital (7)
The island that this fellow goes to on his way to the capital of Nicaragua is Guam

24d Which one has a horsy expression? (4)
Nelly Furtado might say this to stop her horse!

If you need help with any clue, ask and I’ll see what I can do.  Please don’t say things like “is xyz the answer” – just quote the clue.