Daily Telegraph No 28162
A full review by gnomethang
This puzzle was published on 9th July 2016
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BD Rating – Difficulty **/*** – Enjoyment ***
Morning All! There were some very enjoyable clues here but for the life of me I cannot understand 24D!
Across
7a Left home to be nursed by sibling (8)
SINISTER – Place IN for home inside your SISTER.
9a Short in bar groggily put away (6)
ABRUPT – A groggy anagram of BAR followed by an anagram (away) of PUT. Good surface reading.
10a Shortened Darren’s odds ahead of victory (4,2)
DREW IN – The odd letters of DaRrEn in front of/ahead of WIN for victory.
11a Opinionated setter, perhaps, starts to moan about themes in crosswords (8)
DOGMATIC – A lovely surface reading!. Start with a DOG (perhaps a setter) and then add the starting letters of (starts to) Moan About Themes In Crosswords. My favourite here.
12a Bureaucrat on line about round fruit (8,6)
MANDARIN ORANGE – A Mandarin or Bureaucrat in government then RANGE or line about O for round/zero.
15a Cost of polish, not good (4)
LOSS – Sort of an all in one clue. If you take the G from (g)LOSS or polish which was not good then you would be out of pocket having to buy a new tin. Hence the answer.
17a Hot rock mass shown in colour supplement article (5)
MAGMA – Place M for Mass inside a MAG(azine) or colour supplement) and then add A, the indefinite article.
19a Choke about record (4)
CLOG – C for Circa or about and then LOG for record.
20a Knowing someone else’s mind, even if plodding? (7-7)
THOUGHT-READING – The cryptic definition is THOUGH TREADING or ‘even if’ and ‘plodding’
23a Gathering for dancing after easy game (8)
SOFTBALL – Place a BALL or gathering for dance after SOFT for easy.
25a Batting order for cricket? (6)
INSECT- A charade of IN (batting) and a SECT or religious order. The question marl denotes the definition of a cricket by example. Other insects are available but would not help the good surface reading of the clue!..
27a See 16 Down
See 16 Down.
28a Do nicely for so long (8)
FAREWELL – To rub along or ‘do’ nicely might be to FARE WELL. The definition is FAREWELL from the same stem.
Down
1d Row it over English river (4)
TIER – reverse (over) IT from te clue and then add the abbreviations for E(nglish) and R(iver).
2d Watched rival, United? (6)
VIEWED – A charade of VIE (rival) and WED (United in marriage)
3d Elbow maybe making piano stick (4)
PROD – P for Piano and a ROD or stick.
4d Run-down saloon, say, may cause bishop exasperation (6)
BANGER – B for Bishop and then ANGER for exasperation.
5d Anagram remarkably cold drink (8)
A remarkable anagram of ANAGRAM and then C for Cold (from the tap designation).
6d In disarray, riding team losing (6,4)
UPSIDE DOWN – A charade of UP (riding, on a horse), SIDE for team and DOWN for losing.
8d Paddy, dry, swallowing an alcoholic drink (7)
TANTRUM – TT for Teatotal including AN from the cluefollowed by RUM for alcoholic drink.
13d You can see me in John o’ Groats, and in Land’s End, but not in between! (10)
APOSTROPHE – Just a nice observational clue with a good surface reading.
14d Near base of minaret, in darkness (5)
NIGHT – NIGH for near and the bottom or base of (minare)T
16d and 27 Across: Reasonable opportunity of succeeding person catching criminal (8,6)
SPORTING CHANCE – A criminal anagram of PERSON CATCHING.
18d Terribly irate about the Spanish artist’s workroom (7)
ATELIER – An anagram (terribly) of IRATE around EL, ‘the’ in Spanish.
21d Mass of small stones in burial place close to Balmoral (6)
GRAVEL – A GRAVE or burial place and the closing letter in (balmora)L
22d Deny any connection with row involving broadcast (6)
DISOWN – A DIN or row including/involving SOW or broadcast
24d Take a journey in someone else’s vehicle (4)
LIFT – I’m not quite sure what this is all about!
26d Ring clubs, the lot (4)
CALL – C for Clubs and ALL for the lot.
Thanks to the setter.
If you’d just come back from Northern Ireland like me, you’d know about ‘lift’ as I am always instructed that someone will ‘lift me from the airport’
I took 24d to be a double definition, with lift being a slang verb meaning to take or steal.
BRB lift usually free ride in someone else’s vehicle. Thanks Gnomey.
Thanks all. So how does the clue parse?
Like Gazza says – a double definition – lift being an informal term for steal (take) and the second one being the journey in someone else’s car.