Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2861
A full review by crypticsue
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
This puzzle was published on Sunday 14th August
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
Solving this enjoyable Sunday puzzle took me slightly longer than normal, with the Down clues falling into place quicker than the Acrosses. The highlight of the morning was, however, breaking off from solving to enjoy the Spitfire, Lancaster and Hurricane from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and then the Red Arrows, flying over our house as part of the local air show.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
Across
7a Modified boot early in season for American sport (8)
FOOTBALL – An anagram (modified) of BOOT inserted after the first letter (early) in the season the American’s call FALL
9a Call after close of play, at hour to be arranged (6)
AUTHOR – A call for the author to appear on stage is often heard at an opening night of a play – an anagram (to be arranged) of AT HOUR
10a Formal cover for head that’s getting over operation (3,3)
TOP HAT – THAT (from the clue) goes over OP (operation)
11a E.g. game dramatist inserting line provided (8)
WILDLIFE – L (line) and IF (provided) inserted into Oscar WILDE
12a Variation for a trumpet, indeed, not rehearsed (14)
UNPREMEDITATED – An anagram (variation for) of A TRUMPET INDEED
15a Returned power tool that buzzes (4) WASP – A reversal (returned) of P (power) SAW (tool)
17a Difficult, though less hard after start (5)
TOUGH – Simply remove the first H (less H after start) from THOUGH
19a Some incentive for change in Washington (4)
CENT – Small change in the USA, as used in Washington for example, can be found lurking in some of incentive
20a Person in similar position crazily bit me on purpose (8,6)
OPPOSITE NUMBER – An anagram (crazily) of BIT ME ON PURPOSE
23a British writer of picaresque novels placed in covers, say (8)
FIELDING – If you said the name of this writer when you were playing cricket, you’d be telling people you were in the covers, for example, rather than batting
25a Least polite and most vulgar when leaderless (6)
RUDEST – Remove the leader from CRUDEST, most vulgar
27a Place for the old lady to retire, lucky thing (6)
MASCOT – Split 2’1 3 and you’d see where the old lady might go to bed
28a So led astray by sailor’s navigational aid (8)
LODESTAR – An anagram (astray) of SO LED goes by or before TAR (sailor)
Down
1d Merchant of Venice — that needs eight players (4)
POLO – Marco the Venetian merchant or a game that needs eight players, four on each team
2d Creator of prints and such that female supports (6)
ETCHER – ETC (and such) supported by (in a Down clue) HER (that female)
3d Sounded sad to those listening (4)
BLEW – To those listening it might sound like BLUE (sad)
4d Small settlement for dramatically wronged prince (6)
HAMLET – Unlike 1d, where we weren’t supposed to think of the Shakespearean character, here we do need the Prince of Denmark, whose name is the same as the word for a small settlement smaller than a village
5d Juggling act — lithe, fit and strong (8)
ATHLETIC – An anagram (juggling) of ACT LITHE
6d Female I spotted in study, poet’s lady friend (10)
CONFIDANTE – F (female) and I (from the clue) spotted between CON (study) and DANTE (the poet). Note that it has to be a lady friend as a gentleman friend wouldn’t have the E at the end.
8d Present for employee, not always on time, making effort (7)
ATTEMPT – AT (present) TEMP (non-permanent, not always) on T (time)
13d Old writer upset about a form of Latin from place in Italy (10)
NEAPOLITAN – O (old) PEN (writer) upset or reversed about A (from the clue), the result then followed by an anagram (form) of LATIN
14d Reason to give benefit that certain people don’t have (5)
DOUBT – You can give someone the ‘benefit of the doubt’, people who are certain about something wouldn’t have any doubt at all
16d The people with nothing rising up in locality (8)
POPULACE – O (nothing) and UP (from the clue) rising or being reversed inside PLACE (locality)
18d Cricketer’s feat that’s repeated after first of May for MCC (7)
HUNDRED – two lots of the Roman numeral for 100 – C – are repeated after the ‘first’ of May in MCC
21d Call for peace, captivated by Eastern religion (6)
SHINTO – SH (call for peace) INTO (captivated by)
22d Fashionable way to work on course (6)
MODISH- MO (modus operandi, way to work) on DISH (food course)
24d A person with convictions turned up for festivity (4)
GALA – A reversal (turned up) of A LAG (a person with criminal convictions)
26d State absorbing Western influence (4)
SWAY – SAY (state) absorbs W (western)
S2