ST 3129

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3129

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 10^th Oct 2021

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

Greetings from Kolkata. There was much delight and enjoyment in solving this Sunday puzzle of Dada as also in writing thereafter a review that I now present for your kind perusal and significant feedback.

I wanted to know more about the House of ‘York’, the answer to the clue of 1a and so visited the net. I learnt that it was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. It was established in 1385 by Edmund of Langley, 1^st Duke of York and the fourth surviving son of King Edward III of England. However, it was through the marriage of his younger son, Richard of Conisburgh, to Anne Mortimer, a great-granddaughter of Lionel of Antwerp, that the Yorkist faction in the Wars of the Roses made its claim on the throne. Richard was executed following his involvement in the Southampton Plot to depose Henry V of England in favour of the Earl of March. The Dukedom of York then passed to his son, Richard Plantagenet who, through his mother, also inherited the lands of the Earldom of March, as also the Mortimer claim to the throne. But, despite his elevated status, he was denied a position in the government of King Henry VI. In the Wars of the Roses that later followed, the Yorkists captured the king at the battle of Northampton, but soon thereafter, Richard and his second son Edmund were killed at the battle of Wakefield and the claim to the throne was inherited by Richard’s first son Edward. While Henry VI was campaigning in the north, Richard Neville, the 16^th Earl of Warwick, who supported Edward, gained control of the capital and had him declared King Edward IV in London in 1461. Thus began the reigns of the Yorkist Kings. Richard III, the last of the Plantagenet kings, who died at the battle of Bosworth in 1485, was also the last English king to die in battle.

I could not think beyond ‘your and my’ for ‘our’ that featured as part of the answer ‘journo’ to the clue of 1d.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

8a House in Surrey or Kent (4)
YORK: Part of or hidden inside (in) surreY OR Kent, revealing the definition of the royal house of England that reigned from 1461 to 1485

9a Creative work so profound, narrative ends (3)
ODE: The ending or the last letters (ends) of [S]O [PROFOUN]D [NARRATIV]E take to the definition of a lyric poem, typically one in the form of an address to a particular subject, written in varied or irregular metre and regarded as a literary and artistic composition

10a Shade aggressive, knight knocked out (6)
VIOLET: VIOLE[N]T (aggressive) as using or involving unrestrained or unjustifiable physical force to injure or kill someone having N (knight) as the abbreviation for knight in the game of chess removed (knocked out), taking to the definition of a shade of bluish-purple that is also noticed at the end of the spectrum opposite red

11a Country governed by leader in Borneo: that is revolutionary (6)
BRUNEI: RUN (governed) as the past participle form of the verb ‘run’ meaning to administer or be in charge of something is preceded by or follows (by) the head or first letter (leader) in B[ORNEO] and followed by IE (that is) as the abbreviated version of the Latin phrase id est written back (revolutionary) as a reversal, arriving at the definition of a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia

12a Isolated individual, fellow on manoeuvres (4,4)
LONE WOLF: An anagram (manoeuvres) of FELLOW ON takes to the figurative definition of a person who prefers to act on his or her own and not to have close friends or confidential relationships

13a Picture blown away? (4,4,3,4)
GONE WITH THE WIND: Double definition; a cryptic way of arriving at the name of a 1939 American epic historical romance movie (first definition) by uttering the tragic fate of something that has been swept by a strong or forceful current of air (second definition)

15a Ramp alongside water, edge cut into rock (7)
SLIPWAY: LIP (edge) as the outside or upper boundary of a hollow container or an opening interrupted or got inside (cut into) SWAY (rock) or move slowly or rhythmically backwards and forwards or from side to side, leading to the definition of a pier in a dock or shipyard that slopes down into the water and is used for launching and landing boats and ships or for building and repairing them

17a Deceitful behaviour in the last suspect (7)
STEALTH: An anagram (suspect) of THE LAST takes to the definition of a cautious and surreptitious action or movement

20a I’m on racehorse, in winds, whatever the weather? (4,4,2,5)
COME RAIN OR SHINE: An anagram (in winds) of I’M ON RACEHORSE, IN leads to the definition of an expression meaning no matter what happens or regardless of circumstances, good or bad

23a Kind of grey sock dipped in Merlot, say (8)
GRAPHITE: A forceful blow or HIT (sock) put (dipped) in a variety of GRAPE (Merlot, say) that produces a light-bodied red wine, leading to the definition of a type of grey colour

25a Creature a member of religious organisation? (6)
INSECT: A charade of IN (a member of) as a member of the party in office and SECT (religious organisation) as a school or institution of opinion, especially in religion, arriving at the definition of a small invertebrate of the largest group within the arthropod phylum, having a three-part body of head, thorax and abdomen, three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae

26a Let me think about that boy, briefly, in Italian region (6)
UMBRIA: UM (let me think about that) as an interjection used by a speaker when momentarily hesitating or in doubt is followed by BRIA[N] (boy) as the name of a boy in brief or with its last letter removed (briefly), leading to the definition of the only landlocked region on the Apennine Peninsula in Italy

27a Nothing new, I left (3)
NIL: The abbreviation N (new), I from the clue and the abbreviation L (left) altogether result in the definition of a score of zero in certain games including football

28a Sight the four of us recalled? (4)
VIEW: We four or WE IV (the four of us) written backwards (recalled) as a reversal, arriving at the definition of a panorama or prospect, typically of an attractive natural scenery

Down

1d Reporter beginning to judge yours and my denial (6)
JOURNO: The first or starting letter (beginning) of J[UDGE] is followed by the possessive adjective OUR (yours and my) and NO (denial) as an expression of rejection or refusal, leading to the definition of an informal noun meaning a journalist or a person who writes for a newspaper or a magazine

2d Shallow type in drip (4-4)
SKIN-DEEP: KIND (type) as a particular variety is placed inside (in) SEEP (drip) as a place or area where water or other liquid has oozed through the ground, arriving at the definition of an adjectival expression meaning superficial or not deeply fixed

3d Beastly campaigner ridiculously maniacal, it impresses one during election (9,6)
POLITICAL ANIMAL: An anagram (ridiculously) of MANIACAL IT joins or follows (impresses) the Roman numeral for one I (one) together placed inside (during) POLL (election) or the process of voting, arriving at the definition of a person who is enthusiastic about or involved in political activity, such as seeking votes

4d Loaded question about dubious tale (7)
WEALTHY: WHY (question) as an interrogative word that asks for a cause or reason is placed around (about) an anagram (dubious) of TALE, leading to the definition of a slang term for an adjective meaning rich or having a great deal of money, resources or assets

5d Shocking Russian TV with three Liberian plays (4,3,8)
IVAN THE TERRIBLE: An anagram (plays) of TV and (with) THREE LIBERIAN leads to the definition of the Russian ruler of the 16^th century who was infamous for his sadistic and brutal deeds

6d Dog in front, great success (6)
BOWWOW: A charade of BOW (front) as the forepart of a ship and WOW (great success) as anything thrillingly good, successful or according to one’s wishes leads to the definition of a child’s word for a dog

7d Marine mammal shut up (4)
SEAL: Double definition; a cryptic way of getting to the name of a fish-eating aquatic mammal with a streamlined body and feet developed as flippers, that returns to land to breed or rest (first definition) from the expression meaning to prevent all access to (second definition)

14d Fastener in cask pulled up (3)
NUT: TUN (cask) as a large beer or wine cask is taken upwards (pulled up) as a reversal in the down clue, leading to the definition of a wheel fastener

16d Sign put up in bistro, elevated (3)
LEO: Part of or hidden inside (in) bistrO ELevated taken upwards (put up) as reversal in the down clue, leading to the definition of the fifth sign of the zodiac

18d That man’s visiting a seedy joint — tacky! (8)
ADHESIVE: He is or HE’S (that man’s) dropping in (visiting) a combo of A from the clue and DIVE (seedy joint) as a shabby or sleazy bar or similar establishment, arriving at the definition of an adjective meaning sticky or able to stick fast to a surface or object

19d Feeling appendage, all toes bandaged by girl (7)
ANTENNA: TEN (all toes) or the total number of human toes is wrapped or covered (bandaged) by ANNA (girl) or a popular name for a girl, taking to the definition of either of a pair of long, thin sensory appendages on the heads of insects, crustaceans and some other arthropods

21d Partner dispatched cheeky ace (6)
EXPERT: A charade of EX (partner dispatched) as a former partner with whom a relationship existed and PERT (cheeky) showing a lack of respect or politeness in a way that is amusing or appealing leads to the definition of a person who is very knowledgeable about or skilful in a particular area

22d Person stealing money (6)
NICKER: Double definition; the first being a slang term for a person who nicks or steals and the second a slang term for a pound sterling

24d By the sound of it, travel destination in Italy (4)
ROME: ROAM (travel) or move about aimlessly or unsystematically as a homophone heard by the audience (by the sound of it) takes to the definition of the capital city of Italy as an ideal place someone intending to make a special trip to

There were so many clues that I liked, such as 8a, 11a, 12a, 13a, 15a, 20a, 23a, 26a, 28a, 3d, 4d, 5d, 6d, 19d, 21d, of which 23a was my favourite. Thanks to Dada for the entertainment and to BD for the encouragement. Looking forward to being here again. Have a wonderful day.

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