ST 2989

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2989

A full review by gnomethang

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

This puzzle was published on Sunday 3rd February 2019

Morning All! Another fun puzzle by Dada this weekend with about a 3-star solving time for me.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a           Some piping hot wraps rolled off (11)
SCAFFOLDING – SCALDING or hot surrounds/wraps a reversal (rolled) of OFF.

9a           County flock diminished, as some might say? (14)
LEICESTERSHIRE – A homophone (as some might say) of LESS TO SHEAR i.e. The flock of sheep has diminished in number.

11a        Oven meal needing no introduction (4)
OAST – Remove the first letter (needing no introduction) of a (r)OAST dinner/meal.

12a        Ruin holiday (5)
BREAK – A straightforward double definition.

13a        File useless in the end, hammer nails (4)
RASP – to RAP or hammer surrounds/nails the end letter of (useless)S.

16a        Talker is remarkably bright, perhaps? (8)
STARLIKE – An anagram, indicated by remarkably, of TALKER IS.

17a        Top bounder? (6)
JUMPER – Two definitions – An upper body article of clothing and one who leaps, bounds or jumps.

19a        A short over (6)
ACROSS – A from the clue and CROSS for short(-tempered).

20a        Preening string of feathers, smart (8)
BOASTING – A charade of a feather BOA and STING for smart.

22a        Support vehicle heading west, kilometre behind (4)
RACK – A reversal (heading west in an across clue) of a CAR/vehicle and then K for Kilomere behind that.

23a        Provided in cafe, a stonking big meal (5)
FEAST – A hidden word (provided in) inside ca FE A ST onking.

24a        Observer’s problem, subeditor tampering with yesterday’s editorial, all kicking off (4)
STYE – The lead letters (the ones that kick off) the words Subeditor Tampering and/with Yesterday’s Editorial.

27a        Present a woman’s leg, perhaps? (8,6)
STOCKING FILLER – The cryptic definition refers to the hosiery although why confined to just women I don’t know.

28a        Clever Dick blitzed tyrants with spam (6-5)
SMARTY-PANTS – An anagram (blitzed) of TYRANTS and/with SPAM.

Down

2d           Huge 4WD car, the real cost laughable? (7,7)
CHELSEA TRACTOR – A laughable anagram of CAR THE REAL COST.

3d           Deal with fine crack (4)
FACE – F for Fine and ACE for crack (as in troops/shot etc).

4d           Cricket side hit out (2,6)
ON STRIKE – A charade of ON (a cricket side) and STRIKE for hit.

5d           River bird, player of many tunes (6)
DEEJAY – A charade of the River DEE and the JAY (a member of the corvid family).

6d           Small margin of victory in NW only, apparently (4)
NOSE – Only the N(orth)W(est) might cryptically indicate NO S(outh)E(ast).

7d           Frustrating thing, redundancy process? (14)
DISAPPOINTMENT – If you are hired you are appointed to a position so cryptically a redundancy process might be a DIS-APPOINTMENT.

8d           Vaulted ceiling of green repeated in building of pale red (11)
LEAPFROGGED – G, the top or ceiling letter, in a down clue, of G(reen) repeated twice in an anagram (building) of OF PALE RED.

10d        Domestic restriction in the main covered by period on holiday (5,6)
HOUSE ARREST – Place SEA (the main) inside an HOUR (period) and REST (holiday).

14d        Twinkling beam (5)
FLASH – A short period of time i.e. ‘the TWINKLING of an eye’ and also a shiny thing (like the beam of a torch).

15d        Prize money in small clean bags (5)
PURSE – PURE or clean holds/bags S for small.

18d        Good to confine son, sports official has claimed — buzzy little nipper? (8)
HORSEFLY – HOLY or good contains/confines a REF(eree) or sports official which also contains (or has claimed) S for Son.

21d        In audition, person singing note (6)
TENNER – A homophone (in audition) of a TENOR or person singing.

25d        Quickly flip through second Kipling novel (4)
SKIM – S for Second and then KIM – a Kipling novel.

26d        Mediterranean island fit for uprising? (4)
ELBA – A reversal (for uprising) of ABLE or fit.