DT 28408

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28408

A full review by gnomethang

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This puzzle was published on Saturday 22nd April

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Morning All! – This one had a lot of anagrams that I looked at and wrote in (I tend to spot them quite well!) thus resulting in a time just in to the 2 start slot. Otherwise I found it a pretty fair Saturday puzzle.

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

1a           Chinese side shows two simple gymnastic exercises (6,4)
SPRING ROLL – The side being a side dish. Two gym exercises are a (hand) SPRING and a (forward) ROLL.

6a           Repeat section of the chorus (4)
ECHO – A hidden word is a SECTION of thE CHOrus.

10a         Just offside? (5)
RIGHT – The first definition is just or fair, the cryptic is the right hand side or off-side of a car in the UK.

11a         Frank scoffed seeing would-be MP (9)
CANDIDATE – A charade of CANDID (frank/open) and ATE for scoffed food.

12a         Everyone will come into bonus and get fat (7)
BALLON – Place ALL (everyone) inside a BOON or bonus.

13a         Salesman commonly has not put new gloss on (7)
REPAINT – The REP(resentative) or salesman followed by AIN’T or ;has not; in common parlance.

14a         Revenue man extorts — panic could result (3,9)
TAX INSPECTOR – An anagram (could be the result) of EXTORTS PANIC.

18a         Getting better beers around in religious institution (12)
CONVALESCENT – Place ALES (beers) and C for about (Circa) inside a CONVENT or religious institution.

21a         Gangster’s starter replaced by first bit of local seafood (7)
LOBSTER – Replace the starting letter, M, in MOBSTER (gangster) with the first letter/bit in L(ocal).

23a         Learned without starting to repeat (7)
ITERATE – Remove the first letter (without starting) from (L)ITERATE or learned.

24a         Where top golfers play outside (2,3,4)
IN THE OPEN – The first definition refers to the OPEN championship of Golf (where the top men play) and the second is outside or not closed in.

25a         Person honoured to be in newspaper boss’s set (5)
EMBED – An MBE, Member of the British Empire (someone honoured) inside the ED or Editor/Newspaper Boss.

26a         Turn detective and see Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, perhaps (4)
GODS – A GO for a turn ina game followed by the D.S. or Detective Sergeant.

27a         Obstinately determined the dragons must be beaten (10)
HEADSTRONG – An anagram (must be beaten) of THE DRAGONS. I know a better clue for this!.

Down

1d           London prison surgeon’s outfit (6)
SCRUBS – Wormwood Scrubs, the London nick and also the clean surgeon’s garments in the vernacular.

2d           Entertain using the Queen’s English (6)
REGALE – REGAL for ‘the Queen’s’ followed by E for English.

3d           Animal that none implicated in patriotic song (8,6)
NATIONAL ANTHEM – An anagram (implicated) of ANIMAL THAT NONE.

4d           Obscure novel tried once (9)
RECONDITE – An obscure anagram of TRIED ONCE.

5d           Queen Mary? Nothing upset Her Majesty (5)
LINER – Reverse (upset_ NIL or nothing and then add E.R. for Elizabeth Regina, our current Queen.

7d           Old racing cars to crash — I will be shattered (8)
CHARIOTS – Another anagram, this time indicated by ‘will be shattered’ of the words TO CRASH I.

8d           Open vessel to capsize (8)
OVERTURE – This answer appeared in the Times on Saturday as well. This one is a charade of OVERT (open) and an URN or vessel for liquids.

9d           Bank payment for unsophisticated hobby? (6,8)
SIMPLE INTEREST – A charade of SIMPLE (unsophisticated) and an INTEREST or hobby.

15d         Teen disco frenzied in parts (9)
SECTIONED – A frenzied anagram of TEEN DISCO and a nice surface reading.

16d         Tell about bitter rebuke (8)
SCOLDING – To SING or tell (‘Sing like a Canary’ in old gangster movies) around or about COLD for bitter.

17d         A bad tune played with no less energy (8)
UNABATED – An anagram (played) of A BAD TUNE.

19d         Cane makes graduate low after pinching book (6)
BAMBOO – A BA (Bachelor of Arts or graduate) and then MOO (Low like a cow) with B for Book inserted/pinched.

20d         Travels round coasts of Dominica upset old sailor (3-3)
SEA-DOG – Place GOES around the outer letters or coasts of D(ominic)A and reverse (upset) the lot – SE (AD) OG.

22d         Indian ready for rugby games heading east (5)
RUPEE – Don’t forget the old favourite ‘ready’ for ‘money’. A charade of RU (Rugby Union), PE or Physical Education for games and finally the heading of E(ast).

Thanks to the setter (seemed like a Cephas) and to crypticsue for the cover when I was on hols last week!