ST 2768

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2768

A full review by crypticsue

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

This puzzle was published on Sunday, 2nd November 2014

Crossword solving doesn’t get much more enjoyable than this unless you are the reviewer so you get to enjoy it twice over!

 

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Across

7a           Problem with that chap twice holding a scoundrel back (8)
HEADACHE – Two lots of HE (that chap twice) holding a reversal (back) of a CAD (scoundrel).

9a           Make nothing of penning article in regular publication (6)
ANNUAL – A (the indefinite article) inserted into ANNUL (make nothing of).

10a         Brave woman’s cut short drug (6)
HEROIN –   Cut short a HEROINE (brave woman).

11a         Excel in jumping, perhaps, on first leg rather than second? (8)
OUTBOUND – OUT (excel) BOUND (jumping). On the first leg of a journey, as opposed to homebound, the second leg of a journey.

12a         Medical specialist taking client as our GP’s poorly (7,7)
PLASTIC SURGEON is an anagram (poorly) of CLIENT AS OUR GPS.

15a         Responsibility evenly distributed in round-ups (4)
ONUS is evenly distributed in the even letters of rOuNd-UpS

17a         Satisfied about first instalment of raise I earn (5)
MERIT –   The first letter of Raise and I from the clue inserted into MET (satisfied).

19a         Indication of distress produced by rent? Doesn’t sound like it (4)
TEAR –  a tear produced when crying with distress might look like the same word as a tear (rent) but they don’t sound the same at all.

20a         As crazy monarch, I’ll ban a president (7,7)
ABRAHAM LINCOLN is a crazy anagram of MONARCH ILL BAN A.

23a         They run meetings, providing fliers after church (8)
CHAIRMEN – CH (the abbreviation for church) followed by AIRMEN (fliers).

25a         Art of defence seen in answer given by king in front of judge (6)
KARATE – K (king) A (answer) and RATE (judge).

27a         Otherwise healthy Englishman who wrote about thirty years ago? (6)
ORWELL –   OR (otherwise) and WELL (healthy) gives the name of the English author who wrote 1984 (which just happens to be thirty years ago).

28a         Vehicle I discarded disappeared (8)
VANISHED –   VAN (vehicle) I SHED (I discarded).

Down

1d           At this point, repeatedly included by the researcher experimentally (4)
HERE is repeatedly included in tHE REsearcHER Experimentally.

2d           Disgusting overdraft, evidence of debts (6)
ODIOUS –   OD (overdraft) and IOUS (evidence of debts).

3d           Carefully examine old political block (4)
VETO –   VET (carefully examine) and O (old).

4d           Eagle, possibly, or parrot, possibly (6)
RAPTOR –   An anagram (possibly) of PARROT produces a type of bird of which eagle is, possibly, an example.

5d           Doing little work during party period before festival (8)
INDOLENT –   IN (during) DO (party) and LENT (period before the festival of Easter).

6d           Old-fashioned projectile making churchman yell audibly (10)
CANNONBALL – sounds like (audibly) CANON (churchman) BAWL (yell).

8d           Establish what’s new in a couple of businesses (7)
CONFIRM –   Put N (new) in between CO and FIRM (couple of businesses).

13d         One of the English county set confused Ian with Charles (10)
LANCASHIRE – a ‘confused’ anagram of IAN and CHARLES.

14d         Casually play instrumental part (5)
STRUM –   Hidden in part of inSTRUMental.

16d         Aridness devastated fish (8)
SARDINES –   An anagram (devastated) of ARIDNESS.

18d         Concentrate, being stupid, on a couple of points (7)
THICKEN –   THICK (stupid) followed by (on) E and N (two compass points).

21d         I’m uplifted in middle of saintly sermon (6)
HOMILY –   Insert a reversal (uplifted in a down clue) of IM into HOLY (saintly).

22d         Bob is brusque, say, in heartless way (6)
CURTSY – CURT (brusque) and SY (‘heartless’ say).

24d         Dishonest person’s pronouncement in middle of church (4)
NAVE –   A homophone (pronouncement) of KNAVE (dishonest person).

26d         Trip starts in the red, finishes in the black (4)
TREK –   The ‘starts’ of The and Red and the ’finishes’ of thE and blacK.