DT 29784

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29784

A full review by crypticsue

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

This puzzle was published on 18^th September 2021

BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

Cephas provided a short-lived pangram for this week’s Saturday Prize Puzzle

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a    Relative with a universal set of books (4)
AUNT – A (from the clue) U (universal) NT (New Testament, set of books)

3a    Card
one’s not taken seriously (5)
JOKER – Double definition

6a    Few like this going to Maine (4)
SOME – SO (like this) ME (the abbreviation for the US State of Maine)

8a    Gardening trough designed for catchment area (9-6)
GATHERING-GROUND – An anagram (designed) of GARDENING TROUGH

9a    Problem having no opening to make money (6)
ROUBLE – Remove the opening letter from tROUBLE (problem)

10a    Choice food‘s fragility (8)
DELICACY – Double definition

11a    Aspic ordered with pepper (8)
CAPSICUM – An anagram (ordered) of ASPIC followed by CUM (with)

13a    Put in order, buy, eat — lovely! (6)
BEAUTY – An anagram (put in order) of BUY EAT

15a    Not allowed to consume fat (6)
TALLOW – Hidden in (to consume) noT ALLOWed

17a    Calls back for the second time? (2-6)
RE-ECHOES – Cryptic definition

19a    It’s for those who need fresh air in the main (8)
AQUALUNG – As is this clue – the main being the sea

21a    Boiler found in the kitchen (6)
KETTLE – And another cryptic definition

22a    One gets rich as if by magic (9,6)
FINANCIAL WIZARD – And other …

23a    Give way, top tennis player said (4)
CEDE – A homophone (said) of a SEED (top tennis player)

24a    Irritable, having no spirit with Raymond around (5)
RATTY – TT (teetotal, having no spirit) inserted into RAY (Raymond)

25a    Kind of light, to a great extent (4)
VERY – A double definition – a Very Light being a signalling flare fired from a pistol

Down

1d    Article on farm animal biting motorists, silky beast (6,3)
ANGORA CAT – AN (indefinite article) on GOAT into which is inserted RAC (motorists organisation)

2d    Call made at the table — T-bone or fillet perhaps? (2-5)
NO-TRUMP – without the hyphen, a choice of steak

3d    Jumper over the moon? (6,3)
JERSEY COW – Another cryptic definition clue

4d    Piece on Sixties youth that’s taken over country (7)
KINGDOM – KING (chess piece) on a reversal (that’s taken over) of MOD (Sixties youth)

5d    Glider daughter’s dispatched deviating around star! (5)
RIGEL – An anagram (deviating) of GLIdER without the D (daughter’s dispatched)

6d    Loafer that’s not suitable for express train? (9)
SLOWCOACH – Only to be used on slow trains??

7d    Relative of 1 Down finally stumped (4,3)
MANX CAT – A cryptic definition of a relative of 1d without a tail (finally stumped)

12d    Country fruit, dried before half-term (9)
SULTANATE – SULTANA (fruit, dried) before the first half of TErm

13d    Damage a route for escape (9)
BREAKAWAY – BREAK (damage) A (from the clue) WAY (route)

14d    You strayed badly in the recent past (9)
YESTERDA – YE (you) and an anagram (badly) of STRAYED

16d    Get a hundred to join singers on the radio (7)
ACQUIRE – A (from the clue) C (Roman numeral for 100) to join a homophone (on the radio) of CHOIR (singers)

17d    Expecting to start late exercising power (7)
REGNANT – pREGNANT (expecting without its first letter – to start late)

18d    Played ace OK, nibbling at biscuit (7)
OATCAKE – An anagram (played) of ACE OK ‘nibbling’ or taking in AT (from the clue)

20d    Partly harmful, certainly that’s sore (5)
ULCER – Found in part of harmfUL CERtainly