DT 26846

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26846

A full review by gnomethang

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Morning All! This week’s Prize Puzzle looks like a Cephas production containing, as it does, a number of charades and some very appropriate anagram indicators. I enjoyed it a great deal.

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

4a           Tom maybe will go east of Long Island to get vital link (8)
LIFELINE – Place a FELINE )a tom cat perhaps) to the right (East as you look at an across clue) of LI (The abbreviations for Long and Island) to get a vital link e.g. a rope when in the water.

8a           Force Ruth bucked, by the way (6)
THRUST – A verb meaning to force is an anagram (bucked) of RUTH followed by the usual abbreviation for STreet.

9a           The Spaniard turned about during trial TV show (8)
TELECAST – Insert the reversal (turned ) of the Spanish direct article EL and then C for Circa, about, inside a TEST (trial). The result is a TV show short for TELEvision broadCAST perhaps.

10a         Game in which big caber is tossed (8)
CRIBBAGE – My favourite card game is an anagram (tossed) of BIG CABER. Lovely smooth surface here.

11a         Right indicated by milk supplier’s steering device (6)
RUDDER – Nice and straightforward this one  -a charade of R(ight) and UDDER for a steering device on a boat

12a         Little play of note? (8)
OPERETTA – A cryptic definition of a sung piece of stage theatre that is not a full opera. The ETT indicates a diminutive form of the word e.g. little opera.

13a         Able to write a letter, I struggled (8)
LITERATE – I have seen similar clues to this so no trouble. ‘Able to write’ is the definition and the wordplay is an anagram of A LETTER I having struggled around a bit.

16a         Catty in a big way? (8)
TIGERISH – We want one of the big cats here and TIGERISH is the only adjective that means something else!. The question mark is one of whimsy here.

19a         Favoured posture adopted for example (8)
INSTANCE – Another charade, this time of IN (fashionable or favoured) followed by STANCE (position or posture), leads to a word meaning ‘example’.

21a         A passion burning (6)
AFLAME – A reasonably flame-grilled chestnut here. A plus FLAME (passion, love, sweetheart) leads to ‘on fire’ or burning.

23a         Man on board converted tons to make capital (8)
KINGSTON – This time the man on the (chess) board is the KING. Follow him with an anagram (converted) of TONS to find the capital of Jamaica (having checked the location!!)

24a         British Rail taking over carbon and caught with oil upset Greens (8)
BROCCOLI – 4 abbreviations, British Rail, Over, Carbon and Caught with an upset anagram of OIL gives us a green (leguminous) vegetable. In case people were wondering, the Over and Caught are abbreviations in Cricket notation – sorry ladies!

25a         Providing material backing (6)
LINING – Lining is the backing on e.g. a shirt or pair of and lining also means “providing something with a surface of a different material”. I am still not sure about this one!

26a         Tramp got fool’s allocation (8)
FOOTSLOG – A long walk or tramp is an anagram (allocation as in doling out) of GOT FOOLS. Nice misdirection towards the ‘gentleman of the road’ in the surface reading.

Down

1d           People generally will admit blame for treatment (7)
THERAPY – THEY are people in general (at least that’s what THEY say!). placing RAP (for blame) inside gives a word for medical or holistic treatment

2d           Chief is less sensitive on Ecstasy (6,3)
NUMBER ONE – NUMBER (more numb/less sensitive) followed by ON from the clue and E for the drug Ecstasy. This leads to the chief, bigwig or head honcho.

3d           Narrow computer studies may support rising skills (6)
STRAIT – A narrow passage of water. Reverse ARTS (skills rising) and add the abbreviation for Information Technology or ‘computer studies’.

4d           Learn that liking bananas is a way to solve problems (7,8)
LATERAL THINKING – A lovely, bananas anagram of LEARN THAT THINKING also means to think outside the box or tangentially.

5d           Runny tar I left to seep through (8)
FILTRATE – Another inventive anagram indicator that fits the surface reading well. A runny anagram of TAR I LEFT gives a word meaning to ‘seep through’ rock for example.

6d           Clear learner to be seen before mid-January by detectives (5)
LUCID – Clear thinking or ‘all there’. A charade of L(earner) before the middle of janUary all followed by the CID, detectives.

7d           Budding tip of narcissus found at top of climb (7)
NASCENT – Nascent is newly born or budding. Place ASCENT (climb) after the tip (first letter) of Narcissus.

14d         Slipping back to make notes after lighter turns up (9)
RELAPSING – SING (make notes) after a reversal (turns up) of paler for lighter. The result is ‘slipping back’ into illness perhaps.

15d         Concerned with court after wife I left reveals material for cleaning (4,4)
WIRE WOOL – RE (reference, concerned with) and WOO (court a girl/boy) after W(ife) and I with Left on the end leads to a cleaning material for black pots and pans.

17d         Hell of a blaze! (7)
INFERNO – Two very close definitions unfortunately. Dante’s hell and a large fire.

18d         Bill’s story (7)
ACCOUNT – A monetary account and an account of an event (a story).

20d         Notice nothing in being decrepit (6)
SENILE – NIL (nothing) inside SEE (notice). The definition is (being) decrepit

22d         A special bed, of course (5)
ASCOT – A nice simple one to finish with. The racecourse is a charade of A S(pecial) and COT for bed.

Thanks to (I assume) Cephas for a well-pitched Saturday Prize Puzzle – see you all next week.