Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27672
A full review by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Difficulty **– Enjoyment ***
This puzzle was published on Saturday, 13th December 2014
Quite a mixture of clues in this one, with several cryptic definitions which aren’t usually seen as much on Saturdays as they are in the week.
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Across
1a Attendant’s needed after petticoat sliding (8)
SLIPPAGE – SLIP (petticoat) and PAGE (attendant).
9a Minute device one could go off after a while (4,4)
TIME BOMB – TIME (minute being an example of a period of time) and BOMB (device).
10a Not favouring some indignant individuals (4)
ANTI is hidden in some indignANT Individuals.
11a Colour that’s vulgar after a time (8,4)
MIDNIGHT BLUE – MIDNIGHT (a time) and BLUE (vulgar).
13a Close shave going over the top? (5,3)
RAZOR CUT – A description of a type of hair cut achieved without the use of a pair of scissors.
15a Flower planted in sediment is ruined (6)
SPOILT – I am going to be kind to my fellow blogger 
and just say that the Italian river PO (in crosswordland a flower isn’t always a bloom) is inserted into SILT (sediment).
16a Curtain evidentially drawn out at intervals (4)
VEIL – The second letter and then every third letter (at intervals) of eVidEntIalLy.
17a Where one learns one’s social status? (5)
CLASS – A fairly obvious double definition.
18a Mammoth seen in press reaching Estonia’s capital (4)
HUGE – HUG (press) and E (the ‘capital’ of Estonia).
20a Works to get across independent statement of grievance (6)
PLAINT – PLANT (works, factory) put round I (Independent).
21a Heavenly ale — three drunk (8)
ETHEREAL is an anagram (drunk) of ALE THREE.
23a Unintended consequence of engineers striking (12)
REPERCUSSION – RE (Royal Engineers) and PERCUSSION (striking).
26a Its passengers don’t take flight (4)
LIFT – A cryptic definition of something you’d use when you don’t want to climb a flight of stairs.
27a Lameness bothered representatives (8)
SALESMEN – An anagram (bothered) of LAMENESS.
28a Kindness to pass over diamonds given by final bequest (8)
GOODWILL – GO (pass) O (over) D (diamonds) and WILL (a document detailing a final bequest).
Down
2d Polish one’s speech? (8)
LANGUAGE – Polish being an example of this.
3d Hull’s high-water mark (8,4)
PLIMSOLL LINE – A mark on the side of a ship showing the load-lines for different waters and conditions, introduced as part of the Merchant Shipping Act in 1876, passed at the instance of the English politician, Samuel Plimsoll. The canvas shoes we wore for school PE are apparently called Plimsolls because the line where the sole joined the upper was supposed to resemble the Plimsoll line.
4d Bill I had put on in charge, that leaves a bitter taste (6)
ACIDIC – AC (account, bill) ID (I’d, I had) IC (in charge).
5d Case for the sewer (4)
ETUI – A sewer’s case holding needles etc is also an old friend of the crossword setter and solver.
6d Same ship suffering stress (8)
EMPHASIS – An anagram (suffering) of SAME SHIP.
7d Object to delay, nothing’s to be held up (4)
GOAL – Insert O (nothing) into LAG (delay) and then reverse the result (to be held up… in a down clue).
8d Sailor dispatched over limitless reef one’s failed to show up (8)
ABSENTEE – AB (sailor) SENT (dispatched) and EE (rEEf, without its ‘limits’ or outside letters).
12d Born with real worries in relation to partner (7-2-3)
BROTHER-IN-LAW – Having spent part of the day with my lovely brother-in-law, this clue did make me smile when I’d worked out the anagram (worries) of BORN WITH REAL.
14d Business pace has two characters rising at another’s expense (5)
TRADE – The word TREAD (pace) has the last two letters moved up (rising in a down clue) above the third letter (at another’s expense).
16d Turn to mist and spray over Pisa (8)
VAPORISE – An anagram (spray) of OVER PISA.
17d Roman underground terminus? (8)
CATACOMB – A cryptic definition of a Roman burial chamber (terminus).
19d Appreciative for quantity of coal (8)
GRATEFUL – Split 5, 3 you get a quantity of coal.
22d Style set around one ring (6)
HAIRDO – Insert I (one) into HARD (set) and follow with an O (ring).
24d European flag-bearer (4)
POLE can be either a native of the European country of Poland or something from which a flag flies.
25d Chorus starts to serenade in noisy group (4)
SING – The ‘starts’ of Serenade In Noisy Group.
Unless there is a very short closing date for this Saturday’s Prize Puzzle, this is my last Saturday PP review of 2014, so I’d like to wish Cephas (and Mrs C) and the Saturday Mysterons a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
