DT 27402

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27402

A full review by gnomethang

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Morning All!. We had a pretty straightforward puzzle today with a couple of clues that could be written in without considering the wordplay at all (Nightingale and ‘kiss and make up’ in particular. Still an enjoyable solve despite this.

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           Pests concealed in recess mostly (6)
APHIDS – HID (concealed) inside most of APS(e) or recess in a church.

4a           People photographing fish (8)
SNAPPERS – Two definitions, people taking snaps (pictures) and also e.g. the Red Snapper fish.

9a           Cook’s instruction ready to embrace Eastern cuisine’s starter (6)
RECIPE – The instruction for ‘take’ from the Latin word. Place E(astern) and the starting letter of C(uisine) inside RIPE (ready).

10a         Troublemaker a soldier has to turn endlessly back (8)
AGITATOR – A GI (american soldier, short for Government or General Issue) followed by the reversal (back) of the endless word ROTAT(e) or turn.

11a         Piece following article on hot part of Aga saga (3,6)
THE HOBBIT – BIT (piece) placed after THE (the definite article) and HOB (hot bit of an AGA cooker).

13a         French girl’s name? No, English one (5)
ELLEN – ELLE is French for she (French girl’). Then add N for Name.

14a         Getting exhausted managers a place to dry out (8,5)
DRAINING BOARD – DRAINING for Exhausted and then the BOARD of managers.

17a         Smack accompanied by slap then settle one’s differences (4,3,4,2)
KISS AND MAKE UP – KISS (a smack on the lips) AND (accompanied by) MAKE-UP (slap in the vernacular).

21a         Caught in temptation to make riches (5)
LUCRE – C for Caught inside a LURE or temptation.

23a         Knight put in good spirits engaging against old fighter (9)
CHEVALIER – To CHEER is to put in good spirits. Inside that (it is engaging) V for Versus (against) and Mohammed ALI – the old fighter.

24a         After time, European organisation gets pick-me-up from Germany (8)
TEUTONIC – T for Time then the abbreviation of the European Union and finally a TONIC or pick-me-up.

25a         Tight pain, variable (6)
STINGY – Tight as in coin-wary. Start with a STING (pain) and add Y – one of the usual mathematical variable or unknown.

26a         Did gas develop net trade? (8)
NATTERED – An anagram (developed) of NET TRADE. Gas being slang for talk/chat and the ‘did’ puts the verb in the past tense

27a         Show on television loose material that’s new (6)
SCREEN – SCREE (loose rocks/material) and N for New.

Down

1d           A European levy to produce inflation? (6)
AERATE – A from the clue then E for European and finally RATE for levy/tariff.

2d           South American farms in a shed I can let out (9)
HACIENDAS – An anagram (let out) of A SHED I CAN.

3d           Envoy lacks ultimate qualification (7)
DIPLOMA – A DIPLOMA(t) or envoy missing/lacking its ultimate letter.

5d           Singer in London square hailing gent rudely (11)
NIGHTINGALE – Berkeley Square to be precise. A rude anagram of HAILING GENT.

6d           Sage perhaps makes fuss over book (3,4)
POT HERB – POTHER here is the fuss. Place it above (over in a down clue) B for Book.

7d           Praise old group given a boost (5)
EXTOL – EX for old then a reversal (given a boost i.e. sent up) LOT for group.

8d           Sing to a duke in comfortable surroundings (8)
SERENADE A and the abbreviation of D(uke) inside SERENE or comfortable.

12d         Monk well read in Latin keeps order at home (11)
BENEDICTINE – The Latin for well (i.e. read in Latin) is BENE. That word is keeping/containing an EDICT (order of law) and IN (at home).

15d         Piece of kit I can reorder with electronics company around (9)
APPLIANCE – The electronics company is APPLE. Place that outside/around an anagram (reorder) of I CAN.

16d         With the team depleted, Kent lose badly (8)
SKELETON – A simple anagram (badly) of KENT LOSE. q.v.’Skeleton Crew’

18d         Chemical giving one very good mood (7)
ACETONE – ACE (one who is very good) and TONE for mood.

19d         Giving investiture initially in ruined castle (7)
ELASTIC – The initial letter of I(nvestiture) in an anagram (ruined) of CASTLE

20d         Writer Charles perhaps taken in by trick (6)
CRAYON – RAY Charles the Singer for example inside (taken in by) CON or trick.

22d         Outer surface about to corrode (5)
CRUST – C for Circa (Latin for about/approximately) then RUST (corrode).

Thanks to the setter, I’ll see you in a couple of week’s time as I have next week off.