DT 26648

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26648

A full review by Crypticsue

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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment **

This week’s Saturday puzzle split the camp between those like me who found it easy solving and others who struggled to get sort out the wordplay and find the solutions.  Thank you to the Saturday Mysteron – the clue I liked the best was 7d.

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Across

1a           Treating cancer a doc gets agreement (10)
ACCORDANCE – an anagram (treating) of CANCER A DOC produces a synonym for agreement.

6a           Biting a Spanish hero (4)
ACID – One of the definitions of ACID is biting or keen:  A plus CID (El Cid was a medieval Spanish hero and champion of Christianity against the moors, whose exploits both real and imaginary are chronicled in Spanish history and literature).

9a           Endlessly refrigerate one spicy ingredient (5)
CHILI –  A spicy member of the capsicum family:   CHIL(L) (endlessly refrigerate indicates that you remove the last L from CHILL) and replace it with an I (one).

10a         Corrupt Ernest accepts small bribe 9)
SWEETENER – An informal term for a bribe is an anagram (corrupt) of ERNEST placed around WEE (accepts small).

12a         Home Counties Tory feeling apprehensive about Parliamentary Process (6, 7)
SECOND READING – A Parliamentary Process whereby a Bill receives a second debate and vote on its way to become an Act of Parliament is a charade of SE (the South East of England is known as the Home Counties)  followed by CON (Conservative, Tory) and DREADING (feeling apprehensive) which is  then split 6, 7.

14a         She turns out woman after game (8)
HUNTRESS –  A female person that hunts game is an anagram (out) of SHE TURNS.

15a         Make tough old queen a liberal (6)
ANNEAL  – To toughen metal or glass by a method heating and cooling gradually is  a charade of old Queen ANNE (1665 – 1714) with A (from the clue) and L (liberal).

17a         Accident: Fell on motorway (6)
MISHAP  – an unlucky accident – MI (the M1 is the most commonly found motorway in crosswordland) and SHAP (Shap Fell is in Cumbria – the capital F for Fell indicates that we are looking for an actual place name).

19a         Underhit stroke to fall behind at golf (4-4)
DROP -SHOT – the first part of the clue is a definition:  a tennis ball hit in such a way as to drop close to the net immediately after clearing it; the second part is a cryptic definition: dropping a shot in golf would mean that you would fall behind the leaders.

21a         Repel nag still running – it’s not run many races (7-6)
SELLING-PLATER –    An anagram (running) of REPEL NAG STILL produces a type of horse which has performed so badly that it is entered into a race where the winner must be offered for sale at auction.    I constantly surprise myself with the amount of trivia my brain retains as I was instantly able to remember this term on seeing nag in the anagram fodder.

24a         Contrive again to accommodate new standard for shipping (3,6)
RED ENSIGN  –  The Red Ensign is the flag or standard flown by British merchant shipping.   REDESIGN (contrive again) with N (accommodate New) inserted; the result being rearranged 3, 6.

25a         Get used to rail union that is out (5)
INURE – to get accustomed or harden oneself to something.   Insert NUR (the National Union of Railwaymen) into I E (the abbreviation for id est, which is of course the Latin for that is.

26a         Gain drug – it may get you intoxicated (4)
WINE –  A nice simple clue –   WIN (gain) plus E (the drug Ecstasy).

27a         Punk group left surrounded by unknown people (10)
STRANGLERS –  This one had a few people reliving their musical youth.   One of the more well known punk groups –   L for Left inserted into, or surrounded by, STRANGERS (unknown people).

Down

1d           Principal supporting structure (4)
ARCH – Another double definition –   The adjective ARCH means principal or chief; the noun ARCH means a structure of wedge-shaped stones supporting each other by mutual pressure and able to sustain weight.

2d           Like a cricket ball to deceive, catching edges (7)
CRIMSON –  Cricket balls used in Test and other matches are usually  coloured a lovely shiny crimson.    Insert RIMS (edges) into CON (to deceive).

3d           Starting new life, getting about in pink (13)
REINCARNATION –  To be born again in another body –   RE (preposition meaning about, concerning)  IN (from the clue) and CARNATION (a double flowering variety of the pink family).

4d           One criminally burns roasts in cooking (8)
ARSONIST –  Someone who deliberately sets fire to property is an anagram(cooking) of ROASTS IN.

5d           Caught that woman swallowing Oriental fare (5)
CHEER  –  Fare and CHEER both mean food –    C (caught in cricket) HER (that woman) with E inserted (swallowing E for Eastern or Oriental).

7d           Old French ready mixed cement traps one
CENTIME – It wasn’t a penny that dropped this time but a hundredth of a French Franc!   Ready here refers to money and the old French coin is an anagram (mixed) of CEMENT into which is inserted I (traps one).

8d           Remove restrictions to put off endlessly holding a gun up (10)
DEREGULATE –  A verb meaning to remove from restrictions or controls:    Endlessly tells you to remove the last letter from DETE(R) or put off and insert a reversal of the German gun, the LUGER.

11d         Teaches snooker skill, a novel hobby (13)
TRAINSPOTTING  – Combining TRAINS (teaches) and POTTING (a skill much needed by snooker players) produces TRAINSPOTTING which is both the title of a novel by Irvine Welsh and also a hobby for people who collect locomotive or carriage numbers, quite often dressed in anoraks!

13d         Cursorily reads gang something painful (10)
THUMBSCREW – An old instrument of torture is a charade of THUMBS (turns the pages of a book rapidly with one’s thumb) and CREW (gang).

16d         Tropical island  that’s long and thin braced by breezes from the south (3, 5)
SRI LANKA –  This wasn’t the first or even second tropical island that came to my mind but I soon realised that  if I put LANK (an adjective meaning long and thin) into a reversal (from the south) of AIRS (breezes) I would arrive at the republic in the Indian Ocean which I still tend to think of as Ceylon.

18d         Mixed food favoured for crusaders’ foe (7)
SALADIN  –  Saladin was the Muslim leader who fought against Richard the Lionheart  in the Crusades.   SALAD   (a cold dish of mixed vegetables or herbs) plus IN (favoured, in fashion).

20d         Detective’s given name of woman clue unravelled (7)
HERCULE –  The given name of Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian sleuth  – HER (of, or belonging to,  a woman) and CULE (clue unravelled or rearranged).

22d         Dressing putting on a bit of glamour and sparkle (5)
GLINT –  An alternative word for sparkle or gleam is obtained by putting G (a bit of Glamour) before LINT (cotton or linen prepared for dressing wounds).

23d         Where officers eat hash (4)
MESS –  A final double definition – a MESS can be a place where officers eat or  what Chambers defines as ‘a mixture disagreeable to sight and taste’ (my late mum’s corned beef hash was no such thing and thoroughly enjoyable). 

I return to the world of the Sunday puzzle for the next two weeks while the friendly Gnome returns to Saturday duty.

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