Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28306
A full review by crypticsue
+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +
This puzzle was published on Saturday 24th December
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **
If you like cryptic definition clues and are fond of an anagram, this Christmas Eve offering would have suited you down to the ground. I’ll just say that it did make typing the explanations more than a little repetitive!
Across
1a Father with part in panto perhaps — it’s a promise! (6)
PAROLE – PA (father) ROLE (part in panto perhaps)
4a Rates ski resorts as ‘one star’ (8)
ASTERISK – An anagram (resorts) of RATES SKI
9a Game in crackers is a puzzle (6)
ENIGMA – An anagram (crackers) of IN GAME
10a Moans about fool’s revels (8)
WASSAILS – WAILS (moans) goes about ASS (fool)
12a Takes down what is on the Christmas menu (4)
EATS – A slightly odd cryptic definition clue
13a Paper decoration coming from China (5)
CHAIN – An anagram (coming from) of CHINA
14a Ice in the drink (4)
FLOE – A cryptic definition of a large piece of ice found in the sea (drink)
17a Waits to do it! (5-7)
CAROL-SINGING – Waits being people who welcome in Christmas by playing or singing out of doors at night
20a Gift of new tunic to Robin (12)
CONTRIBUTION – An anagram (new) of TUNIC TO ROBIN
23a Forget start of carol, being confused, it’s not written down (4)
ORAL – an anagram (confused) of CAROL once you have forgotten the C at the start
24a Prepares gifts, say, and lots of cards (5)
PACKS – of cards – as a verb it is what you do to gifts before, eg, posting them
25a Small present that may arrive around Christmas time (4)
SNOW – S (small) NOW (present)
28a Steadily as Christmas guests might once have travelled (2,6)
BY STAGES – thinking about it, you don’t see many depictions of people on stagecoaches on Christmas cards these days
29a Commercial song that one often hears with bells (6)
JINGLE – An advertising song or the word that goes before Bells in a Christmas classic
30a Part of year that includes the present time (8)
DECEMBER – Another cryptic definition
31a Spirit of Noel follows this? (6)
BLITHE – Noel being the playwright, Sir Noel Coward and Blithe Spirit being one of his plays
Down
1d Bearing gifts, we hear (8)
PRESENCE – A homophone (we hear) of PRESENTS (gifts)
2d Resort is being rebuilt in 10 Across (8)
ROISTERS – An anagram (being rebuilt) of RESORT IS
3d A dollop of plum pudding! (4)
LUMP – Lurking in pLUM Pudding
5d Figures are cut on them by blades a foot long (7,5)
SKATING RINKS – Another cryptic definition
6d Point the way the Wise Men came from (4)
EAST – The compass point indicating the direction of travel undertaken by the Three Wise Men
7d It’s suspended when it is very cold at Christmas (6)
ICICLE – And another cryptic definition
8d Touching displays of affection under the mistletoe? (6)
KISSES – And another
11d Revises match arranged for today (9,3)
CHRISTMAS EVE – well it was ‘today’ when we ‘arranged’ REVISES MATCH
15d Distribute the whole first part of the Bible (5)
ALLOT – ALL (the whole) OT (Old Testament, first part of the Bible)
16d Article being cut out of yearbook creates void (5)
ANNUL – Remove the A (article being cut out) from ANNUAL (yearbook)
18d Time for a mass celebration? (8)
MIDNIGHT – A cryptic definition for the time of one of the Christmas church services
19d Start off Happy New Year in fancy dress — no special venue (8)
ANYWHERE – An anagram (in fancy dress) of H (the start of Happy) NEW YEAR
21d Pessimistic doctor cooked bird (6)
MORBID – MO (Medical Officer, doctor) and an anagram (cooked) of BIRD
22d Pub’s bill for wine (6)
BARSAC – BARS (pub’s) AC (account, bill)
26d Tree that’s inspected by a fortune-teller (4)
PALM – A tree or part of your hand examined by a fortune-teller
27d She joins Jack climbing nursery slopes (4)
JILL – the nursery rhyme character who went up the hill with Jack to fetch a pail of water.
B1
Thanks to CS and gnomey for all the reviews of the prize puzzles, I always read them and find them useful to explain some of the clues which I couldn’t parse and point out some of the subtleties I have missed.
Great help in my slow progress up the learning curve.
Thank you Sue for your reviews and help over past year. Happy New Year to you and your family.
Thanks CS! You have a thankless task. Seems like most of us make do with the prize puzzle hints and don’t come back for the full review, and I’m guilty of that. My New Year’s resolution is to be more diligent in this respect and show my appreciation better for all you do. Happy New Year to you and yours!
Thanks CS, for this and all the reviews you do.
I could not see ‘floe’ for the life of me…..