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DT 28701

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28701

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 31st March 2018

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Lots of insertions and anagrams in this week’s Saturday Prize Puzzle, which falls to me to review as my lucky fellow weekend blogger has been spending a week in the Spanish sun.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a    Steal and finish up here? (4)
NICK – If you NICK something you may end up in the NICK

3a    Ring for service in Jewish bakery? (5)
BAGEL – A ring shaped item originally sold in Jewish bakeries but now available in most supermarkets etc

6a    Son remains in frame (4)
SASH – S (son) ASH (remains)

8a    Making progress where folk meet? (9,6)
GATHERING GROUND – A double definition, the first bit of which I had to check in the BRB

9a    Unusually muted, embracing the speaker’s boredom (6)
TEDIUM – An anagram (unusually) of MUTED ’embracing’ I (the speaker)

10a    One whose intake is sound (8)
LISTENER – A cryptic definition of someone who takes in sound

11a    Column from this writer, penetrating wall-to-wall coverage? (8)
PILASTER – I (the writer) ‘penetrating’ PLASTER (wall-to-wall coverage)

13a    Detective, 50, breaking into houses (6)
HOLMES – L (the Roman numeral for 50) ‘breaking into’ HOMES (houses)

15a    Right to head left, diverting more in shock (6)
TREMOR – A reversal (to head left in an Across clue) of RT (right) followed by an anagram (diverting) of MORE

17a    City with west-facing heath, setting for soap action? (8)
BATHROOM – BATH (city) followed by a reversal (west-facing in an Across clue) of MOOR (heath)

19a    Sword — I am against it going into wound mark (8)
SCIMITAR – IM (I am) and IT (From the clue) ‘going into’ SCAR (wound mark)

21a    That man caught cold touring island, getting feverish (6)
HECTIC – HE (that man) CT (caught) and C (cold) ‘touring’ I (island)

22a    October — glacial melting enthrals one concerned with microscopic things (15)
BACTERIOLOGICAL – An anagram (melting) of OCTOBER GLACIAL into which inserted (enthrals) I (one)

23a    Slight mumble (4)
SLUR – Double definition, one a noun, the other a verb

24a    Crew at sea coming alongside prow of keel in ruined ship (5)
WRECK – An anagram (at sea) of CREW goes before (coming alongside) the ‘prow’ of Keel

25a    Food left in cooler (4)
FLAN – L (left) inserted into FAN (cooler)

Down

1d    Another thing — caps must be raised in place of entertainment (9)
NIGHTSPOT – An anagram (another) of THING followed by a reversal (raised in a Down clue) of TOPS (caps)

2d    Guided a jerk over castle (7)
CITADEL – A reversal (over) of LED A TIC (guided a jerk)

3d    Pub with old gadget for measuring glass (9)
BAROMETER – BAR (pub) O (old) METER (gadget for measuring)

4d    Toff, defenceless clerk, becomes more kind (7)
GENTLER – GENT (toff) and the inside letters cLERk, ‘defenceless’ indicating that the protective walls or outside letters have been removed

5d    Record Ordnance Survey trademarks (5)
LOGOS – LOG (record) OS (Ordnance Survey)

6d    Duck person doing spadework (9)
SHOVELLER – A type of duck or a person who uses a spade

7d    Frank seeing that engineers will come later (7)
SINCERE – SINCE (seeing that) followed by (will come later) RE (Royal Engineers)

12d    Old school a learner with two degrees attends short time (4,5)
ALMA MATER – A (from the clue) L (learner) MA MA (two degrees) TERm (short, abbreviated TERM = time)

13d    Film director‘s thumb on part of gun (9)
HITCHCOCK – HITCH (thumb) on COCK (part of gun)

14d    Monocle is adjusted half a stop (9)
SEMICOLON – An anagram (adjusted) of MONOCLE IS

16d    Swing over the whole of shipping area (7)
ROCKALL – ROCK (swing) ALL (the whole)

17d    Checkout lines (7)
BARCODE – Cryptic definition

18d    Capitol to be rebuilt from a visual perspective (7)
OPTICAL – An anagram (to be rebuilt) of CAPITOL

20d    Cast finished, as one might say (5)
THREW – A homophone (as one might say) of THROUGH (finished)

B1

3 comments on “DT 28701

  1. I thought this was three star in terms of difficulty. It’s taken me most of the week to complete.

  2. Thanks for the review, CS. The fine-toothed comb, like me, spent much of yesterday hanging about in hospital waiting rooms, but is here now to suggest that 19&21a plus 13d could do with a tweak along with the wordplay of 12d which I think comprises ‘A’ plus ‘L(earner) along with MA,MA (two degrees) and TER(m) for the short time.

    I remember this puzzle producing plenty of smiles here – wish we knew more about our Saturday setters.

  3. Thanks for the explanation for 6a. Never thought of sash for frame. I always thought a sash window referred to the cord. Never too old to learn!

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