ST 2717

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2717

A full review by crypticsue

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

Another master class in superb clue writing – a joy to solve and a treat for me as this week’s lucky blogger who got to enjoy it twice over.  My top favourites (of many) were 19a, 16d and 23d.

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           What could be my one way to make payment? (5,5)
MONEY ORDER –   ‘What could be’  is the instruction to make an anagram of, or  ORDER  MY ONE.

6a           Slowly move    part of foot (4)
INCH –   A verb meaning to move by slow degrees or the twelfth part of  a foot.

9a           Reviews revised section once it’s edited (7)
NOTICES –   A typical bit of Virgilian cleverness –   to get a word meaning dramatic or artistic reviews, we have not one but two anagrams –   ‘revised’ SECTION and ONCE ITS ‘edited’.

10a         American serving in country area or city in Italy (7)
PERUGIA  –  Insert a GI (American serving soldier) into PERU (country) and finish with A (area).

12a         Change in indigenous fashion, otherwise (13)
ALTERNATIVELY –   ALTER (change)  NATIVELY (in indigenous fashion).

14a         Bad reputation among relations, apart from one Liberal (6)
INFAMY –   Remove the I (one) and L (Liberal) from IN FAMILY (among relations).

15a         Strange taste in European liqueur (8)
ANISETTE –   An anagram (strange) of TASTE IN and E (European)

17a         Split in duties after reorganisation (8)
DISUNITE –    Another anagram (!) , ‘after reorganisation’ telling you to rearrange IN DUTIES.

19a         This hat, passed round, gets a chap a little money (6)
PANAMA –   A reversal (passed round) of A   MAN (chap)  A and  P (the abbreviation for that little sum of money, the penny).

22a         Care about right ancestry, sons, and the boys’ friendly relationship (13)
BROTHERLINESS    Insert R (about right) into BOTHER (care) , follow with LINE (ancestry) and S S (sons).

24a         Head in certain direction as prisoner on the loose (7)
ESCAPEE –   Insert a CAPE (headland) into the compass direction ESE.

25a         Northern country in which I caught antelope (7)
ICELAND  –  I  C(caught) ELAND (antelope).

26a         Part of hospital lunch that’s hard to swallow (4)
TALL –   There had to be a hidden word somewhere and here it is in part of hospiTAL Lunch.

27a         Support current attitude on stupid person (10)
ASSISTANCE –   I (the symbol in physics for electrical current) and STANCE (attitude) follow (on in an across clue meaning ‘preceded by’ )  an ASS (stupid person).

Down

1d           You’ll find him among German novelists (4)
MANN –   One of the novelists I studied for German A Level many moons ago can be found among GerMAN Novelists.

2d           Very much in the minority (3,4)
NOT HALF –  A slang term meaning not moderately, not at all, very much or exceedingly can also be used to say in the minority.

3d           At sea, with this, many chaps could be sailing craft (13)
YACHTSMANSHIP –   An anagram (at sea) of THIS MANY CHAPS.

4d           Where people engage in recreation or in relaxation (6)
RESORT –   Insert OR from the clue into REST (relaxation).

5d           Spells out different way to make axle spin (8)
EXPLAINS –    This clue made me think of Mary who always thanks the daily  blogger for the ‘explainations’ (sic).  An anagram (spells out different way) of AXLE SPIN.

7d           Lack of care showing, ultimately, in name chosen (7)
NEGLECT –  N (name) and ELECT (chosen)  the latter having  G (the ultimate letter of showing) inserted.

8d           Gold, for example, found in this kind of rock (5,5)
HEAVY METAL –of which gold is an example.

11d         Controls people around gallery with little time for restoration (13)
REINSTATEMENT –   REINS (controls)  TATE (gallery) MEN (people) and T (abbreviated [little]) time.

13d         Irish writer first covering English game in Africa (10)
WILDEBEEST –   [Oscar] WILDE   and BEST (first) with  E (English)inserted (covering)

16d         Like fairytale emperor or king, surrounded by curious people (8)
STARKERS –   Insert K (King) into  STARERS (curious people).   Lovely surface reading.

18d         A clot is strangely able to endure suffering (7)
STOICAL –   An anagram (strangely) of A CLOT IS.

20d         Top marks, bad mark? Stay neutral, in a way (7)
ABSTAIN –   the top marks of A and B followed by a STAIN (bad mark).

21d         British couple in Rome clothing family in swimwear (6)
BIKINI  –   B (British)  I and I (two in Roman numerals) with KIN inserted (clothing family)

23d         Create borders, those of England and Greece (4)
EDGE (to create bordrers)  is formed by the borders or outside letters of EnglanD and GreecE.

Thanks once again to Virgilius –  if I have missed anything sneakily obvious this time, it isn’t for lack of looking!