DT 28228

Daily Telegraph No 28228

A full review by crypticsue

This puzzle was published on 24th September 2016

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

BD Rating – Difficulty * –  Enjoyment **

Well if it wasn’t an anagram clue, you were probably required to insert something into something else, the whole process leaving lots of time for all the other things we have to do on a Saturday.

Across

1a           Tune librarian composed that’s played at the Proms (4,9)
RULE BRITANNIA – Write in the solution first and then check the anagram (composed) of TUNE LIBRARIAN has all the letters you need

9a           Criminal’s touching screenplay — one’s impressed (9)
CONSCRIPT – CON (Criminal) touching or next to SCRIPT (screenplay) giving us someone whose forced into service

10a         Rogue that’s shunned in football club (5)
VILLA – The VILLAIN or rogue ‘shunned’ the IN (from the clue) at the end

11a         What may be dummy run, not hard to go round (5)
NORTH – What I know about bridge could be written on the head of a small pin but the solution is obtained by putting NOT (from the clue) round R (run) and adding H (hard) at the end which is not exactly what the clue says but …

12a         State linking Indiana with Vermont (4)
AVER – The A at the end of IndianA linked with the VER from VERmont.

13a         President, Democrat, lying (4)
ABED – The DT setters’ president of the week returns – ABE (Lincoln) plus D (Democrat)

15a         An Italian poet that’s rather slow (7)
ANDANTE – Rather slow (but very chestnutty).  AN (from the clue) DANTE (Italian poet)

17a         You and I beset by noxious gas put in office (5,2)
SWEAR IN – WE (you and I) ‘beset’ by the noxious gas, SARIN

18a         What you do with holy books having resources (7)
SOLVENT –  What we do is SOLVE, followed by NT (New Testament, holy books)

20a         Mother to place bet with an Asian (7)
MALAYAN – MA (mother) LAY (place bet) with AN (from the clue)

21a         Relation making visit ‘abitually (4)
AUNT –  One of your relations could also be a verb meaning to visit habitually – HAUNT – as spoken by a Cockney!

22a         Very small container with unknown quantity (4)
TINY – TIN (container) Y (mathematical unknown)

23a         Clubs toured by twin related to an aristocrat (5)
DUCAL – C (Clubs in a card game) ‘toured by’ or put in the middle of DUAL (twin)

26a         Irritate husband in restaurant (5)
CHAFE – H (husband) in a CAFÉ (restaurant)

27a         What’s natural at spinning (9)
TARANTULA –  One of nature’s spinners is an anagram (spinning) of NATURAL AT

28a         Writer on crime‘s done paralegal working (5,5,3)
EDGAR ALLAN POE – An anagram (working) of DONE PARALEGAL

Down

1d           Casing from time arts flourished receiving study (14)
RECONNAISSANCE – RENAISSANCE (time arts flourished) ‘receiving’ CON (study).    Some clues have excellent surface readings and some, like this one, make no sense at all.

2d           Left aboard Queen Elizabeth or similar (5)
LINER – L (left) IN (aboard) ER (Queen Elizabeth’s regnal cipher) gives a ship similar to the Queen Elizabeth

3d           Sweetener producing stroke on US medical drama (4-6)
BACK-HANDER –  BACKHAND (tennis stroke) ER (US medical drama)

4d           Ape — one fellow captures it (7)
IMITATE – Ape in the sense of copy.   I (one) MATE (fellow) captures IT (from the clue)

5d           Miss performing Hair following a cold (7)
ACTRESS – A (from the clue) C (cold) TRESS (hair)

6d           Sailors certainly not travelling round Venice originally (4)
NAVY – NAY (certainly not) travelling round V (Venice ‘originally’)

7d           Where in the West End you can get luxury goods for free (2,7)
AT LIBERTY – You can buy luxury goods at Liberty’s in Great Marlborough Street in the West End of London.

8d           Cruelly avenging leader gets suspension from job (9,5)
GARDENING LEAVE – An anagram (cruelly) of AVENGING LEADER

14d         Poison that could have done for Lebanon lad (10)
BELLADONNA – An anagram (!) (that could have done) of LEBANON LAD

16d         Sideline a team that’s secured draw (9)
DELINEATE – One of the best hidden words for some time – the solution is hidden in siDELINE A TEam

19d         Laugh about Western platform for pithy comments (7)
TWITTER – TITTER (laugh) goes ‘about’ W (Western)

20d         Official’s providing prime minister with test (7)
MAYORAL – belonging to a particular official – MAY (our current prime minister) and ORAL (test)

24d         Make friends with Prince Charlie (5)
CHUMP – CHUM (make friends with) P (prince)

25d         Pray to circumvent river hazard when sailing (4)
BERG – BEG (pray) ‘circumvents’ R (river)

 

 

S2