ST 3153

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3153

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 27^thMar 2022

BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****

Greetings from Kolkata. Dada has given us a very straightforward and gentle puzzle this Sunday, but after all an enjoyable one and I have the pleasure of presenting to you once again a full review of the same and would be delighted to have your valuable feedback.

I was aware of the ‘Bermuda Triangle’ and the unusual news about the disappearance of aircrafts and ships even during my teenage days through the elderly folks. But now, after solving this puzzle and getting this name as the answer to the clue of 24a, I wondered as to why I did not explore the net for so long to know more about this region which is a part of our very Earth, whereas I keep on updating myself with news about our Earth’s only natural satellite, the moon, our closest planetary neighbours, Mars and Venus, and even far-off planets. Hence, with a view to enriching my so-little knowledge about the Bermuda Triangle that is also known as the Devil’s Triangle, I visited the net and found out to my utter surprise that strange news about the triangle were almost outdated even when I was a teenager as most reputable sources had already dismissed the idea of any mystery surrounding it and my elderly folks themselves were not updated. Starting from 1950, many articles penned by eminent journalists from the States exhibited the attachments of mysterious and supernatural elements to the events and their tales of dread and woe. ‘The Deadly Bermuda Triangle’ of Vincent Gaddis in a pulp magazine called ‘Argosy’ said Flight 19 and other disappearances were part of a pattern of strange events in the triangle and even delineated the boundaries of the triangle, giving its vertices as Miami, San Juan and Bermuda, though subsequent writers did not necessarily followed this delineation and, instead, some of them came up with even different boundaries and vertices to the triangle, with the total area varying from 500,000 to 1,510,000 square miles. Larry Kusche, author of ‘The Bermuda Triangle Mystery: Solved’ (1975) presented and validated his mind-blowing arguments that many claims of Gaddis and subsequent writers were exaggerated, untrustworthy or unverifiable and concluded that the legend of the Bermuda Triangle is a concocted mystery of a chain of writers who were hell bent upon promoting their faulty reasoning and misconception. Indeed, the mystery surrounding the sequence of events related to the Bermuda Triangle had been poorly represented and blown out of proportion. No wonder, in a 2013 study, the World Wide Fund for Nature identified the world’s 10 most dangerous waters for shipping that did not include the Bermuda Triangle.

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Across

8a    Go for each prize — might one be on the table? (6,3)
PEPPER POT: A charade of PEP (go) as the noun for energy and high spirits or liveliness, PER (for each) as the preposition to or for each and POT (prize) as an informal term for a prize in the form of a cup or trophy, especially of silver, awarded in a competition leads to the definition of a container with a perforated top for sprinkling pepper which, inter alia, might be on the dining table

10a    Channel seabird ending on Jersey (5)
GULLY: GULL (seabird) as a long-winged web-footed seabird with a raucous call, typically having white plumage with a grey or black mantle and the ending or last letter (ending) on [JERSE]Y take to the definition of a verb meaning to form a channel or small valley, especially through cut by heavy rainwater

11a    Christian symbol on floor, oath inscribed — this (9,6)
CROSSWORD PUZZLE: CROSS (Christian symbol) as the cross worn around the neck and serving as an emblem of Christianity placed before (on) PUZZLE (floor) as to cause someone to feel confused because they cannot understand anything and WORD (oath) as a promise or assurance inserted in between the two (inscribed), arriving at the definition of this very puzzle that is meant to be solved by cruciverbalists

12a    Staff in secret set out to seize power (7)
SCEPTRE: The definition of an ornamented staff carried by rulers on ceremonial occasions as a symbol of sovereignty is manifested by an anagram (set out) of SECRET to take in (seize) P (power) as the symbol for power as in Physics

13a    With golden river, a small country (7)
ANDORRA: AND (with) as ‘in addition to’, OR (golden) as gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture, R (river) as the abbreviation for river and A from the clue take to the definition of the sixth-smallest European country with an area of only 468 kilometres

15a    Receptacle: strange item in container for politician (7,8)
CABINET MINISTER: A combo of BIN (receptacle) as a capacious receptacle for storing a specified substance and an anagram (strange) of ITEM is placed inside (in) CANISTER (container) as a round or cylindrical container used for storing food, chemicals or rolls of film, arriving at the definition of a member of a parliamentary cabinet

19a    Tailor married lover (7)
ADMIRER: An anagram (tailor) of MARRIED guides to the definition of a person who has a romantic interest in someone

22a    Intended to hold name back (7)
FINANCE: FIANCÉ (intended) as a man to whom someone is engaged to be married to keep inside (hold) N (name) as the abbreviation for name, taking to the definition of a verb meaning to provide funding for a person or enterprise

24a    Mature bird at sea with fish in Atlantic region (7,8)
BERMUDA TRIANGLE: An anagram (at sea) of MATURE BIRD and (with) ANGLE (fish) as to fish with a rod and line, arriving at the definition of an area in the western Atlantic Ocean where many ships and planes were said to have been mysteriously lost

26a    Woman’s accessory committed crime (5)
STOLE: Double definition; the second being a verb in the past tense meaning took another person’s property without permission or legal right and without intending to return it that leads to the first a noun meaning a woman’s long scarf or shawl, especially of fur or similar material, worn loosely over the shoulders

27a    See motel breakfast finally cooked — egg dishes (9)
OMELETTES: An anagram (cooked) of a combo of SEE MOTEL and T as the final or last letter (finally) of [BREAKFAS]T take to the definition of pancakes made of eggs beaten up and fried in a pan, with or without cheese, herbs, jam or other addition

Down

1d    Great bit of prep I completed (4)
EPIC: Part of or hidden inside (bit of) prEP I Completed guides to the definition of an adjective meaning heroic or grand in scale or character

2d    (Very!) high society? (3,3)
JET SET: A cryptic way of arriving at the definition of an informal term referring to a very exclusive and wealthy group of people in a society (set) who, in pursuit of pleasure to fashionable resorts around the world, likes to travel frequently or very high by jetliners (jet) as SET of JET or JET SET

3d    Rival not open to change buttonholing leader in parliament (8)
OPPONENT: An anagram (to change) of NOT OPEN grabbing or taking in (buttonholing) the leading or first letter (leader) in P[ARLIAMENT], revealing the definition of someone who competes with or opposes another in a contest, game or argument

4d    Cheers filling said redeveloped sporting arenas (6)
STADIA: TA (cheers) as the childish form of ‘thank you’, but now more commonly used as a straightforward colloquialism synonymous to the term ‘cheers’ getting inside or entering (filling) an anagram (redeveloped) of SAID, arriving at the definition of athletic or sports arenas with tiers of seats for spectators

5d    Prayer guides an oddball (5,3)
AGNUS DEI: An anagram (oddball) of GUIDES AN guides to the definition of a liturgical prayer beginning with these Latin words meaning ‘lamb of God’ as a chant addressed to Christ the Saviour and a set part of the Roman Catholic mass

6d    Jacket that’s far too warm? (6)
BLAZER: A cryptic way of constructing a comparative degree of BLAZE or the glow or glare that suggests a steady, warm, subdued light (far too warm) that takes to the definition of a coloured jacket worn by schoolchildren or sports players as part of a uniform.

7d    Key in model (4)
TYPE: Double definition; the first being a verb meaning to write something on a typewriter or computer by pressing the keys and the second a noun referring to a person or thing exemplifying the ideal or defining the characteristics of something

9d    Saw dog restrained by lead (7)
PROVERB: ROVER (dog) as a generic name for a pet dog kept in (restrained) by PB (lead) as the symbol for the chemical element lead, leading to the definition of a short familiar saying expressing a supposed truth or moral lesson

12d    Bones found in jar, casually tipped over (5)
SACRA: Part of or hidden inside (found in) jAR CASually turned over (tipped over) as a reversal in the down clue reveals the definition of the plural form of an anatomical term ‘sacrum’ meaning a triangular bone composed of five fused vertebrae wedged between the two innominate bones, so as to form the keystone of the pelvic arch in humans

14d    Match, on in time (5)
AGREE: The preposition RE (on) as a commercial jargon used to indicate ‘with reference to’, ‘concerning’ or ‘regarding’ is placed inside AGE (time) as the time of life reached or of being old, arriving at the definition of a verb meaning to conform or be consistent with

16d    US return surprisingly offers encouragement (8)
NURTURES: An anagram (surprisingly) of US RETURN guides to a verb meaning cares for and protects someone or something while they are growing

17d    At home, old canary (8)
INFORMER: A charade of IN (at home) as present at one’s home and FORMER (old) as past or before in time leads to the definition of a person who informs on another person to the police or other authority

18d    As this day ends, cricket side accommodated in snug (7)
TONIGHT: ON (cricket side) as denoting the leg side in cricket fit (accommodated) in TIGHT (snug) as fitting very close to the body, especially uncomfortably so, taking to the definition of an adverb meaning on the present or approaching evening or night at the end of the day

20d    Desert colour (6)
MAROON: Double definition; the first being a verb meaning to put and leave someone ashore on a desolate island and the second referring to a noun meaning a brownish crimson colour

21d    Motive in crime, initially unseen (6)
REASON: [T]REASON (crime) as the crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to kill or overthrow the sovereign or government having the initial or beginning letter (initially) hidden from view (unseen), leading to the definition of a cause, explanation or justification for an action or event

23d    Put in order, administration finally finished off (6)
NEATEN: The last or final letter (finally) of [ADMINISTRATIO]N followed by EATEN (finished off) as completely consumed something, especially food, taking to the definition of a verb meaning to make or keep up an area clean and orderly

24d    Deep swimmer (4)
BASS: Double definition; the second being a European sea-fish of the sea-perch family that leads to the first an adjective meaning low in pitch and compass pertaining to a musical instrument or voice

25d    Relax when letters read out? (4)
EASE: The definition of an intransitive verb meaning to give freedom or relief as from pain or discomfort is arrived at from the plural form of the letter E, that is, Es (letters), serving as a homophone heard by the audience (when read out)

There were several clues that I liked in this puzzle such as 8a, 11a, 15a, 22a, 24a, 26a, 5d, 6d, 9d, 17d, 18d and 20d; the best being 11a. Thanks once again to Dada for the entertainment and to BD for the encouragement. Looking forward to being here again. Have a pleasant day.

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