DT 27432

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27432

A full review by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

This puzzle was published on Saturday 8th March 2014

If you weren’t sure whether it was the turn of  Cephas or the Mysteron to produce the Saturday Prize Puzzle, typing ‘anagram’ ten times while producing this review would certainly seem to confirm that it is the work of the former rather than the latter.

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Across

1a           Round we had — and hadn’t paid (4)
OWED  – O (the round letter) WE[‘]D   (we had)

3a           Very useful, home price covering rebuilt lab (10)
INVALUABLE –   IN (home)  VALUE (price) ‘covering’ an anagram (rebuilt) of LAB.

8a           Mockery made of tryst Eva organised (8)
TRAVESTY –   An anagram (organised) of TRYST EVA.

9a           Awkward ridge gets left in waistbelt (6)
GIRDLE –   An anagram (awkward) of RIDGE with L (left) inserted.

10a         Two Spanish articles following pop as a local speciality (6)
PAELLA  – PA (pop, father) EL and LA (Spanish definite articles).

11a         Green buggy? (4,4)
GOLF CART –   A cryptic definition of something used to take you round a golf course.

13a         Train rodents to roll over after French bread (8)
EUROSTAR –   EURO (French money, bread being a slang  term for money) and a reversal (roll over) of RATS (rodents).

14a         Wrote from prison: ‘Study’s gone west’ (6)
PENNED –   PEN (an abbreviation for a penitentiary or prison) and a reversal (gone west) of DEN (study).

16a         Young woman‘s mother the French brought back (6)
DAMSEL –   DAM (mother) and a reversal (brought back) of LES (the French plural form of ‘the’)

19a         Unbecoming to be in drag, if getting a makeover (5,3)
INFRA DIG –   An anagram  (getting a makeover) of IN DRAG IF.

21a         Journalist’s taken back intended hostile challenge (8)
DEFIANCE –   A reversal (taken back) of ED (editor, journalist) and FIANCE (intended).

22a         Journey cut short through irrelevancies (6)
TRIVIA –   Nearly all (cut short) of a TRIP (journey) and VIA (through).

23a         I sped round lake to drive away (6)
DISPEL  – An anagram (round)  of I SPED followed by  L (lake).

24a         Many-sided but with no sides? (3-5)
ALL-ROUND –   applying to all (many sided) can also describe something circular (without sides).

25a         Fry often gets tipsy around the Queen — sheer impudence! (10)
EFFRONTERY –   An anagram (gets tipsy) of FRY OFTEN with ER, the  cipher of our current Queen inserted.

26a         Monster not on trail (4)
DRAG –   Just take the ON away from a DRAGON (monster).

Down

1d           Fully extended providing picnic? (9)
OUTSPREAD –   Split 3, 6, this might describe a picnic

2d           Satanist‘s lived riotously — wish proper reforming’s to come (5-10)
DEVIL-WORSHIPPER –   An anagram (riotously) of LIVED followed by another anagram (reforming) of WISH PROPER.     Not much rearranging required – more a reversal –   lived it up  perhaps!

3d           Second      of this month (7)
INSTANT –   Double definition – a short period of time, similar to a second; a business term meaning ‘of this month’ usually abbreviated to ‘inst’

4d           Envoy, a German taking part as tourist (7)
VOYAGER –   A tourist is hidden (taking part) in enVOY A GERman.

5d           Cricketer and members going over feature (3,4)
LEG SLIP –  LEGS (members) and LIP (feature).

6d           Final cardiogram disguised bloomer (7,8)
AFRICAN MARIGOLD –   An anagram (disguised) of FINAL CARDIOGRAM.

7d           Wield cross held in upturned palm perhaps (5)
EXERT –   Put an X (cross) in a reversed (upturned) TREE, the  ‘perhaps’ indicating that a palm is an example of the word we are looking for

12d         Grain    port (3)
RYE –   A double definition.

15d         No-holds-barred cannibalism? (3-3-3)
DOG-EAT-DOG –  Ruthless self concern sounds like it could be canine cannibalism.

17d         Pronounce as an alternative to wonder (3)
AWE –   a homophone (pronounce as) of OR (an alternative).

18d         Fat left a stain finally on jazzy lino (7)
LANOLIN  – L (left) A (from the clue), an anagram (jazzy) of LINO, and N (stain ‘finally’).

19d         Learned not to start or repeat (7)
ITERATE –   LITERATE (learned) without the letter at the ‘start’.

20d         Footballers agree with a deadly final ending? (7)
FATALLY –  FA (the Football Association) and TALLY (agree).

21d         Setter perhaps needs clue at the end to cover up dead duck (5)
DODGE –  DOG (setter perhaps –   being an example of a dog) with D (dead) inserted and then finished off with E (clue ‘at the end’)