Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2535
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment *****
No great difficulty with this one – just the smooth surfaces and fair clues that we expect. The grid consisting entirely of 5, 7, and 9 letter words probably helps to make it easy – these are the bread and butter of 15×15 grid-fill.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Make intelligible point, after censure (7) |
| DECRYPT=”make intelligible” – DECRY = censure (verb), pt. = point – one of your tasks here is to split “make intelligible point” into the right set of parts | |
| 5 | Error that’s dangerous on flight (7) |
| MISSTEP – cryptic def selling you the kind of flight that can be grounded by volcanic ash, rather than the kind where you can trip up on the stair carpet | |
| 9 | Person protesting getting royalty after a month (7) |
| MARCHER – MARCH = a month,E.R.= “royalty” | |
| 10 | The German players moulded, in a way (3-4) |
| DIE-CAST – DIE=”the German”,CAST (noun) = players. “The German” could of course be DER or DAS, but in a charade for an English word, DIE is the hot favourite | |
| 11 | Monies distributed, including record coinage (9) |
| NEOLOGISM – LOG=record in anagram of ‘monies’ | |
| 12 | In operation nine to five, say (5) |
| RATIO = “nine to five say” when these are plain numbers, and hidden in opeRATIOn | |
| 13 | Constant requests for quantities of alcohol (5) |
| CASKS – C=constant (maths),ASKS = requests (verb not noun) | |
| 15 | Needless to say, imprisoning fellow that’s gone astray (3,6) |
| OFF COURSE = “that’s gone astray” – F=fellow in OF COURSE = needless to say | |
| 17 | Composed by old poet, characteristic of what comes from the heart (5,4) |
| BLOOD TYPE = anag. of ‘by old poet’ | |
| 19 | Cause current stoppage without union, in fact (5) |
| DATUM – TU = (trade) union, in DAM=”Cause current stoppage”. As pedants will be delighted to tell you, “data” was originally the plural of this word for a single fact. I’m not troubled by the modern English usage which treats “data” as an uncountable noun like “oxygen” | |
| 22 | The thing that contains energy – cereal (5) |
| WHEAT – E=energy in WHAT=the thing that – as in “a Brian Greer puzzle is what we like to solve on a Sunday afternoon” | |
| 23 | Conservative has to keep secret before spring (9) |
| HIDEBOUND=conservative – HIDE=to keep secret, BOUND=spring (verb) | |
| 25 | Put in position at home to play for time (7) |
| INSTALL – IN=at home,STALL=to play for time | |
| 26 | Introduce article to make from clay (7) |
| EARTHEN = clay (adj.) – THE = article, in EARN=to make | |
| 27 | In treating her kindly, one may end up in a pickle (7) |
| GHERKIN – hidden word, with a rather epic wordplay/def link by BG standards – “one may end up in” | |
| 28 | In a suit, oddly, in African country (7) |
| TUNISIA – anag. of “in a suit” | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Diabolical arrest shortly after protest (7) |
| DEMONIC – DEMO=protest, NIC(k) = arrest | |
| 2 | Scoundrel, with promises of redemption – that’s unusual (7) |
| CURIOUS – CUR=scoundrel, I.O.U.’S = promises of redemption = repayment | |
| 3 | Cry of joy from unruly type (5) |
| YAHOO – 2 defs – the unruly type was invented by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver’s Travels, and the yahoos were ruled by the houyhnhnms, a coinage that didn’t catch on, for at least two reasons – unpronounceability and rarity (they were horses with human wisdom). | |
| 4 | Great fear after it enters unknown area (9) |
| TERRITORY = area – IT in TERROR, then Y=unknown – you have to mentally punctuate this as “(Great fear after it enters), unknown = area” | |
| 5 | So-called lady married the first man to appear (5) |
| MADAM – M=married,ADAM from Genesis | |
| 6 | E.g. bloody weapon hidden in clothes? Just the opposite (5-4) |
| SWEARWORD = “e.g. bloody” – WEAR = clothes, in SWORD = weapon, so “clothes hidden in weapon” rather than “weapon hidden in clothes” | |
| 7 | One vehicle or another heading North on peak (7) |
| TRACTOR = “one vehicle” – rev. of cart = another (vehicle), TOR = peak | |
| 8 | Drug healthy, we hear, for depression, in a way (7) |
| POTHOLE = “depression in a way” – way=road – a dull term compared to the French “nid de poule” = “chicken’s nest”. Back at the wordplay, POT=drug,HOLE sounds like “whole” = healthy | |
| 14 | Two parts of old LP are diverting (9) |
| SIDETRACK – SIDE and TRACK being the parts of “old LP” | |
| 16 | Doctor settled if check needed in operating area (5,4) |
| FIELD TEST = anagram of “settled if” – “doctor” as anagram indicator is a well-worn trick but creates a good surface here | |
| 17 | Moving quickly and taking over (7) |
| BOWLING = moving quickly – “move rapidly and smoothly” says the Concise Oxford, though rather surprisingly it doesn’t give “bowling along” as a common form. “taking over” is another def based on (it had to be in here somewhere) cricket | |
| 18 | Be in supervisory role, as bishop is (7) |
| OVERSEE = “over see” – it’s the old see=diocese trick again | |
| 20 | Moves with pained expressions after short time (7) |
| TOUCHES = moves = has an emotional effect on – T-time,OUCHES = pained expressions | |
| 21 | Famous singer to perform in unexpected benefit (7) |
| MADONNA – DO=perform, in MANNA as in “manna from heaven” | |
| 23 | Female entertaining the French – her beauty captivated Paris (5) |
| HELEN – LE = “the French”, in HEN=female. Paris is the son of Priam rather than the French capital | |
| 24 | Stop working for nobleman (5) |
| BARON =- BAR = stop, ON=working | |
Thanks Peter.
Sunday is becoming a real favourite!
I was floundering 2/3 way through this when my friend looked over my shoulder and said ‘Madonna’!
The rest, as they say, was history
Peter
Does the Times still prohibit living people in crosswords? Obviously this does not apply to the Telegraph!
Yes, with minor exceptions:
* Mention of the reigning monarch
* Small groups of people – I think we’ve had at least one of Abba and Oasis as answers in the last few years.