Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28713

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 14^th April 2018

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****

I thought this was one of the best Saturday puzzles for some time, hence the award of 4* for enjoyment.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a    Take advantage of what Italy and India have reported (10)
CAPITALISE – The solution sounds like a homophone (reported) of CAPITAL I’S (what Italy and India have)

6a    Port bottle’s seal (4)
CORK – This double definition is what I’d call an ‘old friend’ but others may disagree

9a    Caught mistress taking tea? One could be lucky (10)
CLOVERLEAF – C (caught) LOVER (mistress) LEAF (tea?)

10a    Frightful characters appearing regularly in Burghley (4)
UGLY – Found appearing regularly in bUrGhLeY

12a    Device for carrying babies (6)
LITTER – Another double definition

13a    In the red, fashionable music maker (8)
CLARINET – Insert IN (fashionable) into CLARET (a deep shade of red)

15a    Insist Romans misrepresented in broadcast (12)
TRANSMISSION – An anagram (misrepresented) of INSIST ROMANS

18a    Wife fighting to secure high-class sale (5,7)
DUTCH AUCTION- DUTCH (Cockney slang for wife perhaps short for Duchess of Fife) and ACTION (fighting), the latter ‘securing’ U (high-class)

21a & 22a    It involves tricks to tighten with spanner (8,6)
CONTRACT BRIDGE – CONTRACT (tighten) BRIDGE (spanner)

24a    What may catch something like a fly (4)
TRAP – Something that catches or a light carriage like a fly

25a    Remote inns served soup (10)
MINESTRONE – An anagram (served) of REMOTE INNS

26a    Useless English gent (4)
DUDE – DUD (useless) E (English)

27a    In Lib-Dem leader I will replace ace making comeback that can’t be beaten (10)
INVINCIBLE – One of those clues that might confuse the solver when it ends up in a Telegraph puzzles book in a few years’ time. IN (from the clue) and VINCE CABLE (the current Lib-Dem leader), replacing the reversed (making comeback) of ACE  in his name with I (from the clue)

Down

1d    Set up the French seafood (6)
COCKLE – COCK (set up) LE (French definite article)

2d    Following advertising get aware of straight away (6)
PRONTO – PR (advertising) ONTO (get aware of)

3d    The people shooting arrows here in classic Western (3,9)
THE SEARCHERS – THESE ARCHERS (the people shooting arrows here)

4d    Sing merrily being drunk, having consumed litres (4)
LILT – LIT (drunk) having ‘consumed’ L (litres)

5d    Steady partner, one from the same place? (10)
STABLEMATE – STABLE (steady) MATE (partner)

7d    Fine material that could give newspaper distinctive stamp (8)
ORGANDIE – ORGAN (newspaper) DIE (stamp)

8d    Island’s character is essential element (8)
KEYSTONE – KEYS (island’s) TONE (character)

11d    Satiric actor masquerading as posh (12)
ARISTOCRATIC – An anagram (masquerading) of SATIRIC ACTOR

14a    Command having entered 9a perhaps (10)
INJUNCTION – Here you have to know that 9a is the name of a type of road junction so that if you entered it you would be IN [the] JUNCTION

16d    Trained to find ancient coin in rising river (8)
EDUCATED – DUCAT (ancient coin) inserted into a reversal (rising in a Down clue) of the River DEE

17a    Colour newspaper (8)
STANDARD – Double definition – one a type of flag (colour) and the other the name of one or many newspapers

19a    Get attached to film publicity brothers brought up (6)
ADSORB – AD (publicity) and a reversal (brought up in a Down clue) of BROS (brothers)

20a    Cut energy — that’s harsh (6)
SEVERE – SEVER (cut) E (energy)

23a    Fairy queen hugged by Greek character (4)
PERI – ER (the regnal cipher of our current Queen) ‘hugged by’ PI (Greek letter)

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