DT 28084

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28084

A full review by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

This puzzle was published on Saturday, 9th April 2016

It is really difficult to find something new and original to say about a Saturday Prize Puzzle as most weeks they are exactly what is required to encourage both  new solvers and hopeful long-time entrants in the competition to win a Daily Telegraph pen.   As I was solving, it seemed that it was a bit anagram-heavy, but it isn’t really, I think the three-in-a-row in the Down clues just makes it seem that way

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Across

1a           Get rid of European predicament (6)
SCRAPE –   SCRAP (get rid of) E (European)

4a           Perhaps I carved jewel (8)
SAPPHIRE –   An anagram (carved) of PERHAPS I

10a         Make use of a screen broadcast (5)
AVAIL –   A homophone (broadcast) of A VEIL (a screen).

11a         Playing chess I try frenzied attacks (9)
HYSTERICS –   Anagram no 2 (playing) CHESS I TRY

12a         Wretched chap with list of duties taking turn as supervisor (7)
CURATOR –  CUR (wretched chap) plus a reversal (taking turn) of ROTA (list of duties)

13a         One promoting health — of flower? (7)
TOASTER –   TO ASTER (to the health of a particular flower)

14a         Fundamentalist Christian sect’s potential for conversion (14)
PENTECOSTALIST –   Anagram no 3 – SECTS POTENTIAL (for conversion)

17a         Licence for every letter head (14)
PERMISSIVENESS –   PER (for every) MISSIVE (letter) NESS (head)

21a         Mother’s pet dog (7)
MASTIFF –   MAS (mother’s) TIFF (tiff and pet being informal terms for a fit of the sulks)

23a         Take plunge, having kind of comfortable job with police force (7)
PLUMMET –   PLUM  (comfortable job) MET (Metropolitan police force)

24a         Tasteless stuff Venetian artist announced, crafty fellow (9)
TACTICIAN –   Homophones (announced) of TACK (tasteless stuff) and TITIAN (Venetian artist)

25a         Protective clothing not right for love (5)
AMOUR –   There isn’t anything to tell you that the first R is the one to be removed(not right) from ARMOUR (protective clothing) but if you took the final one away, you’d be left with a very strange non-word.

26a         Does perhaps clothing indicate what’s fashionable? (8)
DESIGNER –   DEER (does perhaps) ‘clothing’ or going round SIGN (indicate)

27a         Football club cancel tickets for enclosure (6)
CELTIC –   Lurking in (for enclosure) canCEL TICkets

Down

1d           The main view south on break touring Austria (8)
SEASCAPE  –  S (south) and ESCAPE (break) ‘tour’ A (the IVR code for Austria)

2d           Back cooker put in order again (9)
REARRANGE –   REAR (back) RANGE (cooker)

3d           Spread around permitted range of colours (7)
PALETTE –   PATE (spread) goes around LET (permitted).

5d           Dubious business practice like factions taking drugs (5-9)
ASSET-STRIPPING –   AS SETS (like factions) TRIPPING (taking drugs)

6d           Put pressure on clergyman with pain to pull through (7)
PREVAIL –  P (pressure) REV (Reverend, clergyman) AIL (pain)

7d           Fool, I eat less having nothing to replace energy (5)
IDIOT –  Replace the E (energy) in  I DIET (I eat less) with an O (nothing)

8d           Make certain of being on river (6)
ENSURE –  ENS (being, existence, entity) URE (river)

9d           Running film could make a historic offer (8,2,4)
CHARIOTS OF FIRE – Anagram no 4 (could make) A HISTORIC OFFER

15d         Tom Bates messed about, holding a vessel (9)
STEAMBOAT –   ‘Setters’ Vessel of the Month’ as I’ve seen several steamboats lately.    This one is an anagram – no 5 – ‘messed about’ TOM BATES into which is inserted (holding) A (from the clue)

16d         Mysterious coteries assembled (8)
ESOTERIC –   Anagram no 6 – COTERIES – assembled.   Another of those words that appears more in crosswords than in real life.

18d         Injuring old Lib-Dem leader after month in France (7)
MAIMING –  MING (Ming Campbell, the old Lib-Dem leader) goes after the French month of MAI.

19d         Copy bird not flying after specified time (7)
EMULATE –   EMU (a bird that doesn’t fly) LATE (after specified time)

20d         Showed feelings being relegated, losing head (6)
EMOTED –   Lose the ‘head’ from DEMOTED (relegated)

22d         Plunders    fortified wines (5)
SACKS –   A double definition to finish with.

S2