ST 3026

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3026

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 20^th October 2019

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

As a blogger, you’d like to think that the setter would be reading your thoughts and possibly acting on some of them. Well it may be coincidence, but after all my going on about too many insertions, we only have six insertion clues this week, thus leaving plenty of room for a nice variety of other clue types. I’ve awarded it a whole extra enjoyment star for that reason alone.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

7a    Setter unhappy when all becoming dimmer? (7)
SUNDOWN – SUN (setter) DOWN (unhappy)

8a    Tighten mangle (5,2)
SCREW UP

10a    Ebbing and flowing tempo that’s out of this world! (4,5)
DEEP SPACE – Two synonyms for tempo – SPEED and PACE – the former ebbing or going backwards and the latter flowing forwards

11a    For example, king or lord might live here (5)
MANOR – MAN (king, chess piece, man) OR (from the clue)

12a    Japanese food American put in vessel, briefly (5)
SUSHI – US (American) put in SHIp (vessel ‘briefly’)

13a    Can of worms on which butter would melt? (3,6)
HOT POTATO – Makes you hungry just reading the clue!

15a    Repaired a lot, red garment (7)
LEOTARD – An anagram (repaired) of A LOT RED

17a    West Street Providence, say, for brilliant performers (7)
MAESTRI – No hmm from me on this one, possibly because as I had a boss who worked for a company based in Providence, I automatically think ‘Providence RI’ – MAE (West) ST (street) RI (Rhode Island)

18a    Chicken on range fills container, however (4,5)
THEN AGAIN – HEN (chicken) AGA (range) ‘fills’ TIN (container)

20a    Drop by five, might that be? (5)
VISIT – V (Roman numeral for five) IS IT (might that be)

21a    Ridiculous brain an egghead possesses (5)
INANE – Lurking in (possesses) braIN AN Egghead

23a    Decent restaurant rejected sack containing rotten sprout (9)
GASTROPUB – A reversal (rejected) of BAG (sack) ‘containing’ an anagram (rotten) of SPROUT

24a    Circling end of pier, fancy eating rock (7)
GRANITE – An anagram (fancy) of EATING ‘circling’ the R at the end of pier

25a    Look at setting off a bomb with old flame (7)
EXAMINE –EX (old flame) precedes (setting off) A MINE (a bomb)

Down

1d    Emphasise it’s nineteen or fewer? (10)
UNDERSCORE – Because nineteen is UNDER twenty (a SCORE)

2d    Little growth in Nairobi, as no businesses set up (6)
BONSAI – Lurking in reverse (set up) in NairobI AS NO Businesses

3d    Single covering remains dirty (8)
UNWASHED – UNWED (single) ‘covering’ ASH (remains)

4d    Climb a trail (6)
ASCENT – A (from the clue) SCENT (trail)

5d    Proper wine a shade of yellow (8)
PRIMROSE – PRIM (proper) ROSE (wine)

6d    Always the most superior of swimmers, with arched neck? (4)
SWAN – The most ‘superior’ letters of Swimmers With Arched Neck

7d    Face getting divorced? Hilarious! (4-9)
SIDE-SPLITTING – SIDE (face) SPLITTING (getting divorced)

9d    He is number two here (8,5)
PERIODIC TABLE – HELIUM (He) is no 2 on the PERIODIC TABLE – those sneaky chemical symbols at the start of clues get me every time!

14d    Patient is treated with cold disinfectant (10)
ANTISEPTIC – An anagram (treated) of PATIENT with C (cold)

16d    Teacher of little importance (8)
ACADEMIC – Double definition

17d    Politician is introduced to someone making money, quite possibly? (8)
MINISTER – IS (from the clue) ‘introduced’ to MISER (someone making money)

19d    Person often sitting quietly, one suspended having blown top (6)
ANGLER – Blow the top off DANGLER (one suspended)

20d    Insult party and 17 Down upset (6)
VERBAL – A reversal (upset in a down clue) of LAB (Labour Party) and REV (Reverend, Minister – the solution to 17d)

22d    A grate, not quite shut (4)
AJAR – A (from the clue) JAR (grate) – I can never see this word without muttering ‘when is a door not a door?’