ST 3140

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3140

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This puzzle was published on 26^th December 2021

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

One of those Dada crosswords where, as you type the explanations, you wonder why the puzzle took you longer than usual to solve it. Yet another Sunday when my views on the difficulty level differed from those of the commenters on the day

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a    Father out of bed, nothing filling in snack — something in the kitchen? (3-2,7)
POP-UP TOASTER – POP (father) UP (out of bed) and O (nothing) ‘filling in’ TASTER (snack)

9a    Predatory bird, one running across country (7)
HARRIER – A bird of prey or a cross-country runner

10a    Find round sovereign in bank (7)
TERRACE – TRACE (find) goes round ER (the regnal cipher of our current Queen)

11a    Seen during tour, a long Russian river (4)
URAL – Seen during toUR A Long

12a    Good space for union man? (5)
GROOM – G (good) ROOM

13a    Solid
business (4)
FIRM – Double definition

16a    Very keen to go around a country (7)
HUNGARY – HUNGRY (very keen) goes round A (from the clue)

17a    Cunning in trade cultivated (7)
TRAINED – An anagram (cunning) of IN TRADE

18a    Road hazard, however, covered up by staff (7)
POTHOLE – THO (however) ‘covered up’ by POLE (staff)

21a    Huge residences, intimate ones (7)
PALACES – PAL (intimate, friend) ACES (ones)

23a    Register tip (4)
LIST – Register or lean (tip) to one side

24a    Twenty notes to play (5)
SCORE – A set of twenty or a musical score (notes to play)

25a    Initially, all molluscs made ornate shells, say (4)
AMMO – The initial letters of All Molluscs Made Ornate

28a    Mistake of royalty beginning to cut back (7)
CLANGER – A reversal (back) of REGNAL (of royalty) and the ‘beginning’ to Cut

29a    A victory in French city, most gallant (7)
BRAVEST – A (from the clue) V (victory) inserted in BREST (French city)

30a    Old spinner given test, he failed to trap Yorkshire’s opener (7-5)
SEVENTY-EIGHT – An old long-playing record (spinner) – An anagram (failed) of GIVEN TEST HE which ‘traps’ Y (the opener of Yorkshire)

Down

1d    Relate narrative originally supporting pirate at sea (7)
PERTAIN – N (narrative originally) supporting, in a Down solution, an anagram (at sea) of PIRATE

2d    Carrier ashen, did you say? (4)
PAIL – A homophone (did you say) of PALE (ashen)

3d    Draw electrical link on beam (7)
PORTRAY – PORT (electrical link) RAY (beam)

4d    Published correspondence for remote settlement (7)
OUTPOST – OUT (published) POST (correspondence)

5d    Class put in order (4)
SORT – Another double definition clue

6d    High spirits seeing mother-in-law perhaps shave head (7)
ELATION – Shave the head of a rELATION (mother-in-law perhaps)

7d    Literary force, but contrived plot, cold stuff (7,6)
THOUGHT POLICE –THOUGH (but) and an anagram (contrived) of PLOT followed by ICE (cold stuff)

8d    Mother’s absurd tailored garment (7,6)
BERMUDA SHORTS – An anagram (tailored) of MOTHERS ABSURD

14d    Country welcoming leader in gorgeous African city (5)
LAGOS – LAOS (country) ‘welcoming’ the leader in Gorgeous

15d    Improve motoring event (5)
RALLY – Another double definition clue

19d    Cricket match consumed with a will (7)
TESTATE – TEST (cricket match) ATE (consumed)

20d    Part not including drinking water, ultimately (7)
EXCERPT – EXCEPT (not including) ‘drinking’ the ultimate letter of wateR

21d    Standard fit for lesson (7)
PARABLE – PAR (standard) ABLE (fit)

22d    Observe thousand people in bed (7)
COMMENT – M (a thousand in Roman numerals) and MEN (people) inserted into COT (bed)

26d    Look inside tunnel, going up (4)
OGLE – Hidden in reverse (going up) in tunnEL OGing

27d    Canine, cooler dog in the end (4)
FANG – FAN (cooler) G (the end of doG)