ST 3104 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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ST 3104

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3104

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 18th April 2021

BD Rating – Difficulty ***Enjoyment ***

The Right-Hand side of this Sunday Prize Puzzle was more difficult than the Left but, as usual with a Dada crossword, once I’d solved the clues, they were easy to explain.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

7a    Reckless daughter, a communist, wicked (4-5)
DARE-DEVIL – D (daughter) A (from the clue) RED (communist) EVIL (wicked)

8a    Child I located in outbuilding (5)
BAIRN – I (from the clue) ‘located in’ BARN (outbuilding)

10a    Couple of shakes, very little (6)
MINUTE – A short period of time (couple of shakes) or something very little

11a    Great innings, then dismissed (8)
KNOCKOUT – KNOCK (cricket innings) OUT (dismissed)

12a    Seize brood of chickens (6)
CLUTCH – Double definition

14a    Almost nothing about it, hard instrument (6)
ZITHER – Almost all of ZERo (nothing) goes about IT and H (hard)

16a    Sweet confection here, or candy, first of all (4)
CHOC – the first letters of Confection Here Or Candy

17a    Sailor, I nearly forgot to say, returning for fish (5)
SPRAT – A reversal (returning) of TAR (sailor) PS (I nearly forgot to say)

18a    Stop baseball team making comeback (4)
STEM – A reversal (making come back) of the METS baseball team

19a    Let me see rose cut in Italian region (6)
UMBRIA – UM (let me see) BRIAr (rose ‘cut’)

21a    Weed remaining on empty lake (6)
NETTLE – NETT (remaining) on the outside (empty) letters of LakE

24a    Fish food: idiot has loads (8)
PLANKTON – PLANK (idiot) TON (loads)

26a    Preserve guts (6)
BOTTLE – Double definition

27a    Bulb illuminated, one working (5)
ONION – Time for a very old friend of the crossword solver – ON (illuminated) I (one) ON (working)

28a    Combine treating complex with medicine, ultimately (9)
INTEGRATE – An anagram (complex) of TREATING with the ultimate letter of medicinE

Down

1d    Instant blow over documents (5)
RAPID – RAP (blow) over (in a Down solution) ID (documents)

2d    Place for drinkers to get into scrap — France perhaps? (8)
REPUBLIC – PUB (place for drinkers) to get into RELIC (scrap)

3d    Failing, join the opposition (6)
DEFECT – Double definition

4d    Select digger (4)
PICK – Double definition

5d    Seal petition in bag (6)
GASKET – ASK (petition) in GET (bag)

6d    Half of tree, flower and cherry stolen (9)
TROUSERED – The first half of TRee, the river OUSE (flower) RED (cherry)

9d    What’s shouted when bowler perhaps claims wicket in Australia? (6)
HOWZAT – HAT (bowler perhaps) ‘claims’ W (wicket) inserted into OZ (Australia)

13d    Part of feather, one for bird (5)
HERON – Hidden in part of featHER One

15d    Awkward, fake jewellery? (9)
SHAMBLING – SHAM (fake) BLING (jewellery)

17d    Number of sailors try to entertain soldier (6)
SHANTY – SHY (try) to ‘entertain’ ANT (soldier)

18d    Very bright ray bothered one (8)
SOLITARY – SO (very) LIT (Bright) and an anagram (bothered) of RAY

20d    Chance hurried complete with header from midfielder (6)
RANDOM – RAN (hurried) DO (complete) and the ‘header’ from Midfielder

22d    Present time for medication (6)
TABLET – TABLE (present) T (time)

23d    Note on instrument one’s played (5)
FLUTE – F (musical note) on LUTE (instrument)

25d    Number going into eighteen I notched up (4)
NINE – Hidden in reverse (up) in eighteEN I Notched

8 comments on “ST 3104

  1. Thank you CrypticSue ! I always leave these till I know I will have your answers available – so I started it last night thinking that I would not be able to do much. It was tricky but I did all but 17d and then managed to work that out from the prize puzzle comments on the day. Feeling like I am making progress ! Thanks for the explanations of some of the more tricksy ones – ‘try’ for ‘shy’ is still not completely working for me although I know they are always in that famous BRB.

    1. I’ve solved so many crosswords with shy meaning try that I just accept that they both mean ‘attempt’

  2. 23d seemed an unsolvable clue and it still is. How you get to ‘flute” from the definition “one’s played” I don’t understand.

    Probably slightly confused since the word “tones” is included within the clue, and it’s five letters, and that’s where I went with it.

    1. Years of solving clues like this – you learn how to spot that you need another instrument. There isn’t anything in the clue to indicate either a hidden word, not is there a definition for ‘tones’

      1. Ok, fair enough. So how are the words “One’s played” a definition for the word “flute”?

        1. I have to say I just saw the ‘note’ and the ‘instrument’ and knew the solution was FLUTE and then reading further along the clue, decided that ‘one’s played’ was a cryptic definition of an instrument

    1. Welcome to the blog Angela

      It’s always a good bet to look in the BRB (Chambers):

      shy 2
      transitive verb and intransitive verb (shyˈing; shied)
      To fling, toss
      noun (pl shies)
      1.A throw
      2.A fling
      3.A gibe
      4.An attempt, shot
      5.A thing to shy at

      An attempt is a try

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