Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26349
A full review by Gnomethang
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Afternoon All! I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle from Cephas. I thought that there were some very nice definitions and some well constructed surface readings.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
Across
1a Chief warning the majority (8)
FOREMOST – We start with a charade of FORE (a warning in golf) and MOST (the majority) to lead to a word for Chief, main or principal
5a Corporation with a strike-breaker (6)
PAUNCH – This lovely definition, corporation, means size or fatness, particularly with regard to stomachs, particularly among older men. A is breaking (going inside) PUNCH for a strike
9a Buddy, revolutionary and chaplain (8)
COMPADRE – A buddy, friend, mucker or riding companion is a charade of COM (An abbreviation of Communist, revolutionary) and PADRE, a chaplain
10a Back from game for some meat (6)
GAMMON – This pork product is a word that follows BACK to make a board game using dice and counters
11a Nude disturbed by noise in port (7)
DUNEDIN – This New Zealand port is an anagram (disturbed) of NUDE followed DIN (a synonym for noise).
12a Horse carried me to some hot stuff (7)
PIMENTO – This Cherry Pepper is comprised of ME inside (carried by) PINTO, a black and white patched horse
13a Justification for living in France (6,5)
RAISON DETRE – This enumeration usually provides fodder for complaints, being as it should be (6,1’4) which would be a giveaway!. We want the French phrase for ‘reason for living’.
16a Unexpected ratings dive for commercials (11)
ADVERTISEMENT – A straightforward anagram, indicated by ‘unexpected’, of RATINGS DIVE
21a Make notes using lines found in chapel (7)
CHANTRY – A chapel, given over to singing, is a charade of CHANT (make notes) with RY for Railway or lines
22a Introductory letter (7)
INITIAL – A sort of double definition, the initial letter is the introductory letter of a word and introductory also means initial
23a Heavenly model going like clockwork — error strangely unknown (6)
ORRERY – An orrery is a fashionable Victorian mechanical device that maps the trajectories of the planets (a heavenly model). Make a strange anagram of ERROR then add Y – one of the three variables in Cartesian geometry (the others are X and Z)
24a Silver in mad desire to dispute the matter (8)
DISAGREE – put the chemical formula for silver, AG, in an anagram (mad) of DESIRE) to find a word meaning ‘dispute the matter.
25a Tex with duo performing in evening wear (6)
TUXEDO – Make an anagram (performing) of both TEX and DUO to make a formal dinner jacket for gentlemen
26a Researcher, not Roman Catholic, arranged run through (8)
REHEARSE – ‘Arrange’ the letters of RESEARCHER but remove RC (for Roman Catholic) to find the pre-show run through associated with stage productions
Down
1d In grief, a cadet at the front (6)
FAÇADE – The front of a house is contained IN grieF A CADEt
2d Fellow socialist accepted recommittal (6)
REMAND – If one is remanded into custody one is recommitted. Here the RED (socialist) accepts the MAN (fellow)
3d Wander like two of us cockneys (7)
MEANDER – One of my favourite clues but possibly has been seen before. A cockney couple may describe themselves as “Me and ’Er”
4d Pickpocket having composure on the outside and a way of making lucky discoveries (11)
SERENDIPITY – The chance fortunate discovery or happenstance is comprised of DIP (pickpocket) inside SERENITY for composure
6d Startled a pupil bearing a weapon (7)
ALARMED – Take A + L (for Learner, pupil) then add ARMED (bearing a weapon) to get a synonym for startled
7d Mention a preposterous name (8)
NOMINATE – This took me some time as I read ‘preposterous’ as ‘prosperous’. Once you see that this is the anagram indicator for MENTION A then the definition, name as a verb, is quite clear
8d Employee completed transfer (4,4)
HAND OVER – A charade of HAND for employee, worker and OVER for completed, finished
12d I have bar first excessively high (11)
PROHIBITIVE – In this case ‘excessively high’ refers to price and if you can’t afford something its price is prohibitive. Put a word for bar (PROHIBIT) in front of IVE, the usual abbreviation for ‘I have’
14d Be careful — timekeeper is wrong (5,3)
WATCH OUT – If your timepiece is in correct then you might say that your WATCH is OUT
15d Before ten, one picked up foolish trivia from pilot (8)
AVIATRIX – The female equivalent of an Aviator. Before the letter X (Roman Numerals for Ten) place A for one (remember one = I = A) and then an anagram , indicated by ;foolish’, of TRIVIA
17d Left work and went to bed (7)
RETIRED – A double definition. Finished work at the age of 65 (for men) and also gone to bed for the night
18d Scowl when I am in prayer (7)
GRIMACE – Placing IM (for I AM) into the prayer that one says before meals leads to a scowl or gurn
19d Part of car needs to be looked into (6)
MIRROR – One of (usually) three objects that a good driver should be referring to in order to check what is behind
20d Place of secret amusement? (6)
SLEEVE – A lovely clue to finish. Where you direct your mouth to laugh when you are quietly and secretly amused
One final Thank You to Cephas and a handover to crypticsue for next week and I am gone!
I too thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle and was very jealous as it was not my turn to review and it was obviously going to be just as much fun to do the comments. Fingers crossed for the same this Saturday . Thanks again Cephas and Gnomey.
Cephas is making Saturdays crossword worth doing again, great fun, not too difficult and some lovely clues. I particularly liked 5a and 13a. Thanks Gnomethang for a super review.
I liked it. 5a was my last to go in. Thanks to Cephas, and to Gnomethang for the review.
A typo in the answer to 21a (I seem to be good at spotting other peoples, but never my own!)
Thanks Jezza, I will fix when I am back at a T’Internet.
Seems that I wad thinking about other railway abbreviations and wrote in EL(evated line) from America.
Or even Chancel ???
Possible although I did have my solution in front of me at the time!
Sorry – to qualify my comment it was not at the solution stage that I wrote CHANTEL (a delightful boy’s name!) but at the blogging stage. I actually thought ‘Chancel’ when I was solving on Clued Up but the T in the checking letters soon put paid to that.
When I came to ‘blog (Wed Night for this bit of it) I was thinking about all the different abbreviations for Railway that exist, which includes EL, so I got myself in a bit of a muddle when writing the review!.
Sorted!
Thanks BD!
I didn’t like 12a, that’s a mean definition for horse and pimento’s aren’t hot stuff at all, they’re pretty sweet in fact. Thanks for the hints during the weekend!