DT 29927

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29927

A full review by crypticsue

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BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

A friendly Saturday Prize Puzzle from a setter who preferred to remain anonymous

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Across

1a    About time skilled knights sat here? (5,5)
ROUND TABLE – ROUND (about) T (time) ABLE (skilled)

6a    Where men might eat jam (4)
MESS – Double definition, the ‘men’ being soldiers

9a    Adapted bowl building less wide vessel (6,4)
PADDLE BOAT – An anagram (building) of ADAPTED BOwL (less wide telling you to omit the W)

10a    Minimal investment restricts African country (4)
MALI – One of Crosswordland’s favourite African country is found restricted by miniMAL Investment

12a    Writer from south-east in bed? On the contrary (6)
SCRIBE – The CRIB (bed) is found in the SE (South-East)

13a    Truth about tucking into new variety (8)
VERACITY – C (circa, about) ‘tucking into’ an anagram (new) of VARIETY

15a    Small walk after school to get anorak at the station? (12)
TRAINSPOTTER – S (small) and POTTER (walk) go after TRAIN (school) to get someone who follows a pursuit or interest that is deemed boring by others (anorak), this one often seen at a railway station

18a    Terrible slur worried dogs (4,8)
BULL TERRIES – An anagram (worried) of TERRIBLE SLUR

21a    Grease sophisticated? Crude in the main (3,5)
OIL SLICK – OIL (grease) SLICK (sophisticated)

22a    Pilot almost swallowing six trifles (6)
TRIVIA – Almost all of TRIAl (pilot) ‘swallowing’ VI (Roman numeral for six)

24a    Trees he climbs on a regular basis (4)
ELMS – The regular (even) letters of hE cLiMbS

25a    Odd social event adult left (10)
OCCASIONAL – OCCASION (social event) A (adult) L (left)

26a    Finishes repairs with minutes to go (4)
ENDS – Remove the M (minutes to go) from mENDS (repairs)

27a    Teenager upset with the French perfume (10)
ADOLESCENT – ADO (upset) LE (French definite article) SCENT (perfume)

Down

1d    Meal starts to really excel with endless Italian food (6)
REPAST – The ‘starts’ to Really Excel and almost all (endless) PASTa (Italian food)

2d    Lower milk containers? (6)
UDDERS – A cryptic definition of the part of a cow (lower) that contains milk

3d    Day I tell off student in Cambridgeshire city on purpose (12)
DELIBERATELY – D (day) I (from the clue) BERATE (tell off) ELY (Cambridgeshire city)

4d    Some flipping yob’s appropriate court punishment (4)
ASBO – Hidden in reverse (some… flipping) in yOBS Appropriate

5d    Heard lies about heading to party — this is what we expect from the PM (10)
LEADERSHIP – An anagram (about) of HEARD LIES followed by P (the heading to Party)

7d    I came up with price right away for waste (8)
EMACIATE – A reversal (up in a Down solution) of I CAME (from the clue) followed by rATE (price without the R for right)

8d    Smack builders in this workplace? (8)
SHIPYARD – A cryptic definition of the place people work to build fishing smacks

11d    Jumbo might show these low spirits crossing path (6,6)
VAPOUR TRAILS – VAPOURS (low spirits or a nervous disorder) ‘crossing’ TRAIL (path)

14d    This could be found in explosive exchange critic had in leaving hospital (6,4)
NITRIC ACID – An anagram (exchange) of CRITIC hAD IN without (leaving) the H for Hospital

16d    Old boy with very large settee, not oddly out-of-date (8)
OBSOLETE – OB (Old Boy) SO (very) L (large) and the even (not oddly) letters of sEtTeE

17d    Skier perhaps did this second demonstration, upset after all collapsed (8)
SLALOMED – S (second) and a reversal (upset) of DEMO, the latter going after an anagram (collapsed) of ALL

19a    Location south of a street (6)
AVENUE – VENUE (location) goes south of, or under in a Down solution) A (from the clue)

20d    Bad actor allowed leading role (6)
HAMLET – HAM (bad actor) LET (allowed)

23d    Blubber from sea mammal, we’re told (4)
WAIL – A synonym for blubber or cry comes from a homophone (we’re told) of WHALE (sea mammal)