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
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.
I’ve solved so many crosswords with shy meaning try that I just accept that they both mean ‘attempt’
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.
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’
Ok, fair enough. So how are the words “One’s played” a definition for the word “flute”?
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
Why is try… shy?
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