Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2970
A full review by crypticsue
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This puzzle was published on 23rd September 2018
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****/*****
A perfect crossword to cheer up a very wet and windy morning. Wonderful surface readings and clever clues – the half a point deduction from enjoyment was because I found quite a lot of anagrams and insertions when typing the review. I have marked lots of clues I really liked, but I’ll just mention 15a, 19a, 27a, 8d and, especially, 24d
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
1a Solemn excerpt from clip of ace director (2-5)
PO-FACED – An excerpt from cliP OF ACE Director
5a Flier‘s circuit with part of RAF (7)
LAPWING – LAP (circuit) WING (part of RAF)
9a Concerned team, in a practical sense (7)
ANXIOUS – XI (team of eleven) in A (from the clue) NOUS (practical sense)
10a Employee of mine runs after dog (7)
COLLIER – R (runs in cricket score) goes after COLLIE dog
11a Fire hazard, thus ward off danger (5-4)
TOUCH-WOOD – According to the BRB, the decayed wood that can be used as tinder, thus making it a fire hazard, is a nine-letter unhyphenated word
12a Frenchman’s expression when making presentation (5)
VOILA – A clue that made me think of Jean-Luc
13a Final acts on board for some in crew (5)
MATES – Final actions in a chess game or some members of a ship’s crew
15a In accordance with reality, with or without leading female (9)
FACTUALLY – FACTUALLY with the ‘leading’ F for Female, or ACTUALLY without
17a Change over years, say, in flying instrument (9)
ALTIMETER – ALTER (change) goes over TIME (years say)
19a It’s repeatedly said to be comforting at that point (5)
THERE – Another clue I really liked
22a Group of soldiers having bad time in retreat (5)
TROOP – A reversal (in retreat) of POOR (bad) T (time)
23a Unattractive, cold, and innocuous (9)
CHARMLESS – C (cold) HARMLESS (innocuous)
25a Ugly sight very well concealed in electronic product of mine (7)
EYESORE – YES (very well) concealed in E (electronic) ORE (product of mine)
26a Train as frantically as one of the top Russians once (7)
TSARINA – An anagram (frantically) of TRAIN AS
27a Characters in front of VW cause depression in learner (7)
STUDENT – S T U (the characters in front of V and W in the alphabet) DENT (cause depression)
28a Like John, Paul or George, isn’t taken in by cunning (7)
SAINTLY – AINT (isn’t) taking in by SLY (cunning)
Down
1d Spirit shown by an MP, tho’ with constituents in disarray (7)
PHANTOM – An anagram (with constituents in disarray) of AN MP THO
2d Kiss husband in spring — a country pursuit? (3,4)
FOX HUNT – X (kiss) and H (husband) inserted into FOUNT (spring)
3d Stuff in chapter about destiny (5)
CLOTH – CH (chapter) goes about LOT (destiny)
4d Rattle male in party with sudden attack (9)
DISCOMFIT – M (male) inserted between DISCO (party) and FIT (sudden attack)
5d Most of fortune I had easily grasped (5)
LUCID – Most of LUCk (fortune) ID (I had)
6d European place to keep wine event with flexible support (4,5)
POLE VAULT – POLE (European) VAULT (place to keep wine)
7d First subscribe minimally (7)
INITIAL – First or subscribe minimally by just initialling a document for example
8d Start overlapping with lots in country (7)
GERMANY – GERM (start) overlapping with (sharing the same M) MANY (lots)
14d Hear poems, in a way, as means of communication (9)
SEMAPHORE – An anagram (in a way) of HEAR POEMS
16d A TV screen distorted writer (9)
CERVANTES – An anagram (distorted) of A TV SCREEN
17d Simple description of Higgins, as Eliza would say (7)
ARTLESS – Eliza Doolittle might have described Henry Higgins as HEARTLESS but she wouldn’t have pronounced the H
18d US writer, author switching parts without energy (7)
THOREAU – Switch the two halves of AU THOR and put them round (without) E (energy)
20d Poet‘s line, for example, is in French also (7)
ELEGIST – L (line) EG (for example) IS (from the clue) in ET (the French word for and, also)
21d Religious experience in weird sect, say (7)
ECSTASY – An anagram (weird) of SECT SAY
23d Conservative and the opposition divided (5)
CLEFT – C (Conservative) and LEFT (opposition to Conservative)
24d City in which I am upset — is that so? (5)
MIAMI – The clue I saw when waiting for the printer to do its magic – and what a lovely clue it is too – A reversal (upset in a Down clue) of I AM followed by AM I (is that so?)
Good crossword, but I would have thought 11a should be numerated (5,4) not (5-4).
Welcome
Interestingly the BRB doesn’t have hyphens for either the fire danger or the way of ensuring luck
4*/4*…had all the answers correct but needed explanations for several-for instance 24D (answer “Miami”), for which Thanks.
Lots of v good clues-no particular favourites.