ST 2700

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2700

A full review by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****

The usual splendid start to Sunday morning.

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Across

1a           Challenge over part of form I release to public (10)
DECLASSIFY  –   Insert CLASS (part of form) and I (from the clue) into DEFY (challenge).

6a           Gang    was audibly triumphant (4)
CREW  –   A gang or the past participle of the verb to crow (boast or swagger, be audibly triumphant).

9a           Secretly listen to Western pirate broadcast (7)
WIRETAP –   W (western) followed by an anagram (broadcast) of PIRATE.

10a         Hero of Dickens novel editor distorted (7)
TWISTED –  TWIST (Oliver, the hero  of the Dickens novel) and ED (editor).

12a         Savagery around a king that’s not personally experienced (13)
VICARIOUSNESS –   Insert A (from the clue)and R (Rex, king) into VICIOUSNESS (savagery).

14a         Managed to complete minutes in no particular order (6)
RANDOM  – RAN (managed) DO (complete) and M (minutes).

15a         Go-between one somehow has to admire (8)
MEDIATOR  –   An anagram (somehow) of  TO ADMIRE.

17a         Marine organisms not turned over on board (8)
PLANKTON –   Follow a PLANK or board with a reversal (turned over) of NOT.

19a         Unknown leading African country replaced by good leader in this one (6)
GAMBIA –   Remove the Z (unknown in, eg, algebra) from ZAMBIA and replaced with G (the leader of good).

22a         Check about second work of poet (13)
VERSIFICATION –  Insert S (second) into VERIFICATON  (check).

24a         Backed an aromatic product that’s just coming out (7)
NASCENT –    A reversal (backed) of AN followed by SCENT (aromatic product).

25a         Thoughtful writers I have abridged (7)
PENSIVE –  PENS (writers) plus IVE (I have abridged).

26a         Not quite as depressed, how one can perform (4)
SOLO –   Not quite SO LOw – not quite as depressed!

27a         Source of illumination to secure inside staircase (10)
FLASHLIGHT –   Insert LASH (secure with a rope) inside a FLIGHT (of stairs).

Down

1d           Part of Ireland (see above) (4)
DOWN –   The word just above the clue is also part of Northern Ireland.

2d           Travellers in company in vehicles going round area (7)
CARAVAN –   Insert A (area) between a CAR and a VAN.

3d           Go from nine to five with 50 per cent less effort thus? (13)
ANTICLOCKWISE –   It takes half the time for the hands on a clock to get from 9 to 5 this way round!

4d           Eastern European holding up what’s exemplary (6)
SUPERB –   One of the words used to describe a Virgilius crossword is obtained by putting UP from the clue into a SERB (Eastern European).

5d           Understood grief at home defeat to some extent (8)
FATHOMED –   To some extent is one of the ways  we know that we may find a hidden word, this time in grieF AT HOME Defeat.

7d           Pay more attention, as doctor, to back (7)
RETREAT –  To go back or to receive repeated attention from a doctor.

8d           Extra small page perused, in general (10)
WIDESPREAD –   WIDE (an ‘extra’ in a game of cricket)  S (small) P (page) and READ (perused).

11d         One pair of partners — religious, intelligent, and uplifting (13)
INSPIRATIONAL –   I (one) N S (north and south, two of the pairs of  partners in a game of bridge) PI (religious) RATIONAL (intelligent).

13d         These sources of rumours enrage VIPs misrepresented (10)
GRAPEVINES –  An anagram (misrepresented) of ENRAGE VIPS.

16d         Relating to community in that way, clubs I and others joined (8)
SOCIETAL –  SO (in that way) C (clubs) I (from the clue) and ET AL (a Latin phrase meaning ‘and others’).

18d         Spraying can damage a rose — nothing left (7)
AEROSOL – An anagram (damage) of A ROSE followed by O (nothing) and L (left).

20d         Being inclined to disallow ruler’s financial activity? (7)
BANKING –    To tilt or incline like an aircraft, or the business or services of a bank, might if split 3, 4 mean that one was trying to stop a king from doing something.

21d         Old man’s covering miles in vast plains (6)
PAMPAS –   Insert M (miles) into PAPAS (old man’s).

23d         Recited pieces of poetry, quite an achievement (4)
FEAT  – A homophone of  divisions of a line of poetry – FEET.