Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29120
A full review by crypticsue
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This puzzle was published on 3rd August 2019
BD Rating – Difficulty ****/***** – Enjoyment **
I always have major problems getting on the same wavelength as this particular setter and last Saturday was no different
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
1a Celebrity edges king out (4)
FAME – Remove the R (Rex, king ‘out’) from FRAME (edges)
3a Moderate OK about cheers meeting Left’s fibs (5,5)
FAIRY TALES – FAIR (moderate) YES (OK) ‘about’ TA (cheers) and L (left)
9a Poem by Conservative concealed message (4)
CODE – C (Conservative) ODE (poem)
10a Desperately giving up the Boxing Day diet? (4,6)
COLD TURKEY – What people quite often eat on Boxing day?
11a First thing taken from church roof in middle of night (7)
LEADING – LEAD (thing taken from church roof) IN (from the clue) G (the middle letter of night)
13a Firm for consumers with depression cutting alcohol (2,5)
AL DENTE – DENT (depression) ‘cutting’ ALE (alcohol)
14a Pedestrian ready for a fight? (4,7)
FOOT SOLDIER – A cryptic definition
18a Keep on depressing remote journey to Calais, unconventionally? (7-4)
CHANNEL-SURF – Mr CS channel-hops with our television remote control all the time, probably just to drive me mad – I’ve yet to see him set off on the implied unconventional journey to Calais. Checking as to whether the solution was non-British – we always hop rather than surf – I found that apparently here in the UK one can do these two things and also channel zap.
21a Bar has rum — boil, stirring, to infuse (7)
ABOLISH – This bizarre surface reading meant that it took a while to see that I was supposed to use an anagram (rum) of HAS and insert into it (infuse) another anagram (stirring) of BOIL
22a Apparently 3a beg (7)
IMPLORE – Fairy Tales (the solution to 3) could be described as IMP LORE
23a Bittersweet hybrid of citric mango with no name (10)
TRAGICCOMIC – An anagram (hybrid) of CITRIC MAnGO once you have removed the N (with no Name)
24a Trap wasp — oddly, rotating fly-killer could do this (4)
SWAT- Take the odd letters of TrAp WaSp and then reverse them (rotating)
25a Duo’s accompanist won’t enjoy playing this (10)
GOOSEBERRY – To be an unwanted third when lovers are together. Apparently, this may derive from the tact of the chaperon occupying the time in picking gooseberries while the others were more romantically engaged (thank you Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable)
26a Took steps, seeing team’s leader standing beside bar (4)
TROD – T (the leader of Team) standing beside ROD (bar)
Down
1d Looking up recent file, cafeteria incorporates improved frontage (8)
FACELIFT – Lurking (incorporates) in reverse (looking up in a Down clue) in recenT FILE CAFeteria
2d Press and TV nonsense upset referee (8)
MEDIATOR – MEDIA (press and TV) followed by a reversal (upset) of ROT (nonsense)
4d Together making a wish (5)
ALONG – A (from the clue) LONG (wish)
5d ‘Rays‘ created by Academician an idiot restored (9)
RADIATION – RA (Royal Academician) plus an anagram (restored) of AN IDIOT
6d Dramatic crash makes this half-cut junior give applause (11)
THUNDERCLAP – TH (the first half of this) UNDER (junior) CLAP (applause)
7d Fondness shown by Simba not on? (6)
LIKING – Simba was/is the Lion KING in the two films with this name
8d Calls tailors (6)
STYLES – A double definition for which I needed the checking letters
12d Killer in cult that is infiltrated by detectives (11)
INSECTICIDE – IN (from the clue) SECT (cult) IE (that is) ‘infiltrated’ by CID (detectives)
15d Demolished hot meal, so becoming obnoxious (9)
LOATHSOME – An anagram (demolished) of HOT MEAL SO
16d Drawing competition — little craft used in encounter? (3-2-3)
TUG-OF-WAR – TUG (little craft) OF WAR (used in encounter)
17d Pretentious cafe — fed excitedly, with time to tuck in (8)
AFFECTED – An anagram (excitedly) of CAFÉ FED into which is inserted (to tuck in) T (time)
19d Disorderly scrap over touching pursuit (6)
RAGTAG – RAG (scrap) over TAG (the children’s game of putting out someone by touching him or her)
20d Something dug up and stored in depot at Oldham (6)
POTATO – Lurking (stored) in dePOT AT Oldham
22d More slippery French here looking down on the Queen (5)
ICIER – ICI (the French word for here) looking down on (in a Down clue) ER (the regnal cipher of our current Queen)
Initially I found it difficult then everything leapt out at me. Most enjoyable and thanks for the hints Crypticsue
I was completely at sea with this one. My head was obviously not on board though! Thanks for explaining!
Welcome to the blog
Didn’t have any problems and quite enjoyed the slight quirks. Was a little surprised to see the enumeration of 23a
Thanks CS
All pretty straightforward for a change except for 18a – I thought it was luff, the sailing term – oops