DT 26720

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26720

A full review by Big Dave

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Don’t worry, your eyes are not deceiving you! Snow will be falling on the blog until after Christmas (for the third year running).

In return for Crypticsue’s preparation of last Saturday’s hints, I offered to write the full review. I hope you enjoyed being looked after by someone else for a change!

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    Sent down in due course? (5,4)
GIVEN TIME – a double definition – sent down to prison and a phrase meaning in due course

9a    Address where one left ripening peaches (6)
SPEECH – this address is an anagram (ripening) of PE(A)CHES without the A (one)

10a    Isn’t money in Moscow easy! (2,7)
NO TROUBLE – split this as NOT ROUBLE and it could mean is not money in Russia, but it actually means easy

11a    Get back about 100 publishers (6)
RECOUP – this verb meaning to get back is a charade of RE (about), C (100 in Roman numerals) and the Oxford University Press (publishers)

12a    Brilliant but wayward anti-Fascist is leaving (9)
FANTASTIC – this adjective meaning brilliant is an anagram (wayward) of ANTI-FASC(IS)T without IS (is leaving)

13a    Without a key that’s found in coat on a line (6)
ATONAL – a musical term meaning without a key or not referred to any scale or tonic is hidden inside the last four words of the clue

17a    Second person who never can tell (3)
YOU – the second person pronoun is part of the well-known phrase “you never can tell”

Cue for some music!

ARVE Error: need id and provider

19a    Certainly at home everyone has to study a school subject (2,3,10)
IN ALL CONSCIENCE – this phrase meaning certainly comes from a charade of IN (at home), ALL (everyone), CON (to study) and SCIENCE (a school subject)

20a    Worker has no end of meat (3)
BEE – this worker insect comes from BEE(F) without the final letter (no end of meat)

21a    Former wife’s wrong to gain illegally (6)
EXTORT – a charade of EX (former wife) and TORT (a wrong) gives a verb meaning to gain illegally

25a    Little devil’s one lousy criminal, in an irreverent way (9)
IMPIOUSLY – run together IMP (little devil), I (one in Roman numerals) and an anagram (criminal)of LOUSY to get an adverb meaning in an irreverent way

26a    River police invited in to settle the issue (6)
DECIDE – start with the River DEE and insert CID (Criminal Investigation Department / police) to get a verb meaning to settle the issue

27a    Explained how margins were aligned (9)
JUSTIFIED – a double definition – explained and how both right and left margins are aligned in printing

28a    Cape maybe concealing Oriental floral display (6)
WREATH – our old friend Cape WRATH (a headland at the north-western tip of the mainland of Scotland) makes a return, with the required capitalisation of Cape being disguised by being at the start of the clue – insert E (Eastern / Oriental) to get a floral display

29a    Hired the red car out (9)
CHARTERED – a verb meaning hired, usually applied to the hiring of boats, is an anagram (out) of THE RED CAR

Down

2d           Line on map is round and local (6)
ISOBAR – this line on a map showing places with equal pressur is a charade of IS, O (a round letter) and BAR (local pub)

3d           In time, deserter makes mistakes (6)
ERRATA – inside an ERA (time) put RAT (deserter) to get mistakes in a book

4d           Commonplace tourism misguided, nothing less (6)
TRUISM – this commonplace or platitude comes from an anagram (misguided) of T(O)URISM without the O (nothing less)

5d           Minute hot lemons in fudge taste very good (4,2,4,5)
MELT IN ONE’S MOUTH – an anagram (in fudge) of MINUTE HOT LEMONS gives a phrase meaning taste very good

6d           Have to do with apparent confusion about one (9)
APPERTAIN – a verb meaning have to do with comes from an anagram (confusion) of APPARENT into which I (one) is inserted

7d           Getting back into society? (9)
REJOINING – a slightly cryptic definition of joining a society or club again – the surface reading alludes to society as a whole rather than a specific society

8d           Heels, pair becoming more elegant (9)
SHAPELIER – an anagram (becoming) of HEELS PAIR gives an adjective meaning more elegant

14d         Duck on paper cover (9)
EIDERDOWN – a charade of an EIDER duck and DOWN as in I have it on paper / I have it down, gives a cover for a bed

15d         Removed case under dish in some shallow water (6,3)
BALTIC SEA – put an anagram (removed) of CASE after (under in a down clue) a curry dish to get some shallow water – the maximum depth of the Baltic Sea is 459 m (1506 ft) compared with 5,267 m (17,280 ft) in the Mediterranean Sea

16d         Redness evident in Florida city lacking air-conditioning (9)
FLORIDITY – this redness is derived by removing a/c (lacking air-conditioning) from FLORID(A C)ITY – a simple construction that floored many!

17d         Lout bringing lad up (3)
YOB – this lout is created by reversing (up in a down clue) a lad – and that was how the word was originally derived from back-slang!

18d         Exploit said sheep (3)
USE – a verb meaning to exploit sounds like (said) ewes (sheep)

22d         End of snow cover for three months (6)
WINTER – the final letter (end) of snoW is followed by a verb meaning to cover or bury to get this three-month season

23d         Most of garment used to deaden sound (6)
MUFFLE – most of a MUFFLE(R) gives a verb meaning to deaden sound

24d         State’s wholly on edge after large number left (6)
ALLEGE – this verb meaning to state is naughtily defined as a noun – to get it run together ALL (wholly) and E(D)GE after dropping D (500 in Roman numerals / large number left)

This was the kind of pleasant Saturday diversion that we have come to expect from Cephas.