Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27313
A full review by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
A write-it-in-as you read the clues puzzle – just what I needed on Saturday morning ( 
) – the straightforwardness didn’t detract from the enjoyment factor.
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Across
1a Keep book behind piano (8)
PRESERVE – P (piano in music notation) and RESERVE (book).
9a Respect shown by veteran travelling around Orient (8)
VENERATE – An anagram (travelling) of VETERAN around E (eastern, orient).
10a Catch sight of agent from Spain? (4)
ESPY – An old favourite ! E (the IVR code for Spain) and SPY (agent).
11a Rex, disorientated mountaineer, gets financial reward (12)
REMUNERATON – R (Rex) followed by an anagram (disorientated) of MOUNTAINEER.
13a Monitor timer used by boxer? (8)
WATCHDOG – A WATCH (timer) [used by a] DOG (the ? indicating that boxer is an example of a dog).
15a Parking to find accommodation with outstanding evening meal (6)
SUPPER – Insert (find accommodation with) P (parking) into SUPER (outstanding).
16a Print section of warranty perhaps (4)
TYPE can be found hidden in a section of warranTY PErhaps.
17a American author, Mark 2 (5)
TWAIN – The American author or an archaic term for two.
18a Ceremony that’s appropriate to be heard (4)
RITE – A homophone (to be heard)of RIGHT (appropriate).
20a Mother’s put by nothing — article or capital (6)
MANILA – The capital of the Philippines – MA (mother) NIL (nothing) and A (indefinite article).
21a One must do this for it to reach addressee (8)
POSTCARD – Split 4, 4 and the wordplay makes sense.
23a Bird call observed by Edward, Penny and Romeo (6,6)
RINGED PLOVER – RING (call) ED (Edward) P (Penny) and LOVER (Romeo).
26a Study time causes depression (4)
DENT – DEN (study) followed by T for time.
27a A lot of our menu’s rewritten (8)
NUMEROUS – A rewritten anagram of OUR MENUS.
28a Shock, finding purser is at sea (8)
SURPRISE – An anagram (at sea) of PURSER IS.
Down
2d Woman‘s beads set around heart of gems (8)
ROSEMARY – Insert the middle two letters (heart) of gEMs into a set of ROSARY beads.
3d Fast-rising TV company playing loud music, and French being gripped (12)
SKYROCKETING – As the BRB says ‘rising high and fast’. SKY (TV company) ROCKING (playing loud music) with ET (the French for and) inserted (being gripped).
4d Wandered aimlessly in capital — that’s taken over a day (6)
ROAMED – A from the clue is inserted (taken over) into ROME (capital) and D (day) is added at the end of the result.
5d Flat race perhaps finished early (4)
EVEN – Finished early is what tells us to remove the last letter from EVENT (race perhaps).
6d Nip out before religious instruction with lad sent for detention (2,6)
INPRISON – An anagram (out) of NIP followed by RI (religious instruction) and SON (lad).
7d Offered in bar, a kirsch, a Turkish drink (4)
RAKI – Hidden (offered in) baR A KIrsch.
8d Kind of Tory one cares to treat like a small child (3-5)
WET-NURSE – WET (a derogatory term for a moderate Conservative and NURSE (one [who] cares).
12d Audio equipment reported race being fixed (4,8)
TAPE RECORDER – An anagram (being fixed) of REPORTED RACE.
14d Understand key file (5)
GRASP – The musical key of G plus RASP (file).
16d Tropical tree comes from river Indus, mainly (8)
TAMARIND – The river TAMAR plus IND (the first three letters – mainly) of INDus).
17d Opening that might let actor down (8)
TRAPDOOR – A cryptic definition.
19d End of period in States (8)
TERMINUS – TERM (period) IN (from the clue) and US (United States).
22d A very filling bitter taste (6)
SAVOUR – A (from the clue) and V (very) are inserted into (filling) SOUR (bitter).
24d Call with directions to come round in the morning (4)
NAME – Two compass directions N and E are put round AM, the abbreviation for morning.
25d Not more confusion — metres to be replaced by litres! (4)
LESS – Remove the M (metres) from MESS and replace with L (litres).
Gnomey and I enjoyed meeting up with Cephas (and Big Dave) again in Wapping on Saturday afternoon. I wonder if one day we’ll get to meet the Mysteron (whose puzzle will be blogged by me next week).
