Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29024
A full review by crypticsue
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This puzzle was published on 13th April 2019
BD Rating – Difficulty **** – Enjoyment **
Solved while being driven down the M1 – I did wonder whether that contributed to my finding the crossword so tricky, so it was a relief when I got home to find that it wasn’t ‘just me’ that struggled with another offering from the setter who likes to make sure every single piece of available space left for the clues in the newspaper is completed filled.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
1a Passing in van, sharing time with politician (10)
TRANSITORY – TRANSIT (van) and TORY (politician) sharing the T for Time
6a Likelihood one in ounces could be seen as this? (4)
ODDS – The odd letters of OuNcEs reveal the word ‘one’
10a Flash Seventies rock style involving energy (5)
GLEAM – GLAM (Seventies rock style) ‘involving’ E (energy)
11a List in menu revamped before the Queen dined (9)
ENUMERATE – An anagram (revamped) of MENU goes before ER (regnal cipher of our current Queen) and is followed by ATE (dined)
12a Apparently forces to be located in Middle Eastern area swamps (7)
ENGULFS – If you enlarge something, you are ‘forcing’ it to be larger – so similarly if you force something to be located in the Middle Eastern area known as the GULF, then ENGULFS is the word you should use which then matches the definition.
13a Did sketch in which party facing both ways governed (7)
DOODLED – DO (party facing one way) OD (party reversed or facing the other way) LED (governed)
14a Tremendous macaroni — lots to be used (12)
ASTRONOMICAL – An anagram (to be used) of MACARONI LOTS
18a Copying letter from Greece will limit delay occurring (12)
PLAGIARISING – The Greek letter PI will ‘limit’ LAG (delay), the result followed by RISING (occurring)
21a Bans unfashionable boys in blue Sierra (7)
OUTLAWS – OUT (unfashionable) LAW (the police, or ‘boys in clue’) S (Sierra in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet)
23a Group of motorists keeping small lead in the main (2,1,4)
AS A RULE – AA (Automobile Association, group of motorists) ‘keeping’ or having inserted S (small), the result followed by RULE (lead)
24a Tar perhaps filling in this clearing (9)
ABSOLVING – AB (tar, sailor) SOLVING (filling in this crossword – although this week with quite a struggle)
25a Problem children (5)
ISSUE – The very old chestnut of a double definition that I recommended that Brian look at, just so he could say he’d solved one clue
26a Not rocket science, returning post-ready envelope with address unknown (4)
EASY – A reversal (return) of an SAE (post-ready envelope with address) followed by Y (mathematical unknown)
27a Later family member finds insect beside sink (10)
DESCENDANT – ANT (insect) precedes DESCEND (sink or go down)
Down
1d Drawn, having temperature, looking rough with no resistance (6)
TUGGED – T (temperature) followed by rUGGED (looking rough) without the R (no resistance)
2d Dish out a dose of own medicine in Whitehaven General? (6)
AVENGE – Lurking in WhitehAVEN GEneral
3d I spill mystical liquid in a shallow way (14)
SIMPLISTICALLY – An anagram (liquid) of I SPILL MYSTICAL
4d Person responsible for notes in tango decided to interrupt final section (9)
TREASURER – T (Tango in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet) and SURE (decided) inserted into (to interrupt) REAR (final section)
5d Drinks stout (5)
ROUND – Another old friend of a double definition – a ROUND of drinks or a description of a stout person
7d Log jam six feet under part of canal (8)
DEADLOCK – DEAD (six feet under) LOCK (part of a canal)
8d In haste, parking to enter in scruffy style (8)
SPEEDILY – P (parking) entering SEEDILY (in scruffy style)
9d A condiment more ‘runny’ — good word! (14)
RECOMMENDATION – An anagram (runny) of A CONDIMENT MORE
15d Boy used up scented stuff around girl, getting half-cut and sentimental (9)
NOSTALGIC – A reversal (used up) of SON (boy) and then some TALC (scented stuff) around the first half of GIrl (the second half having been cut off)
16d Ready for romance, very modern (2,2,4)
UP TO DATE – UP TO (ready for) DATE (romance)
17d Blessed drips from the ministry (8)
BAPTISMS – A cryptic definition which even having all the checking letters took me a while to see – probably helped that the first letter of the solution was quite near the top of my working through the alphabet
19d Country person wasting no time in conversation? (6)
RUSSIA – A homophone (in conversation) of a RUSHER (person wasting no time)
20d Amid first set, Edberg, going head over heels, can’t stand (6)
DETESTS – A reversal (going head over heels) of part of (amid) firST SET EDberg
22d Drop that’s put under the microscope (5)
SLIDE – Double definition – a verb meaning to drop or an item used ‘under the microscope’
I agree with Cryticsue’s comments. Some of the clues are very obscure rather than being clever and some of the definitions are a bit tortured (‘one’ for odds – surely should be ‘ones’?).
Sue/Gnomethang ..Any tips for teasing out long (14-15 wd) anagrams which just look like a jumble of letters without some effective starting technique?
Rod, ‘one’ isn’t the definition of ‘odds’ (for 6a): the letters of the word ‘one’ can be found at positions 1, 3, and 5 in ‘OuNcEs’ — so ‘ucs’ could be seen as the evens, and ‘one’ as the odds.
Thanks Smyler. Note to self: must think all round the problem!
I think everyone has a different technique for anagrams. Long ones often mean a word ending in .ent, .ous., .tion., ing, .able, ably, .ally, .ial etc. It helps me to take those letters out and see what the first part could be. Hope that helps a bit.
Thanks for the review, CS, I was looking forward to seeing how you dealt with the explanation of 12a. Still don’t find the clue very convincing but I’m pleased that there wasn’t some trickery that I’d missed!
I agree a rather dull puzzle no eureka moments unusual for the telegraph I also think the clue for engulfs is a bit far-fetched not clever or amusing