ST 3257 (Full Review) – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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ST 3257 (Full Review)

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3257

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 24th March 2024

BD Rating – Difficulty **Enjoyment ***

Dada back in ‘how many anagrams can I fit in this crossword’ mode, not to mention ‘what word can I insert into another?’

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought

Across

1a           Yell, like great soprano! (6)
CALLAS – CALL (yell) AS (like)

4a           Popular musician in Australia having saturated market (6)
MOZART – OZ (Australia) having ‘saturated’ MART (market)

8a           Boxer with cut covering up, tho’ woozy (8)
SOUTHPAW – SAW (cut) ‘covering’ an anagram (woozy) of UP THO

10a         Fashionable dance music (3-3)
HIP-HOP – HIP (fashionable) HOP (dance)

11a         Sign of old injury, frightening cut (4)
SCAR – SCARy (frightening) with its last letter cut

12a         Chief criminal element in campanologist? (10)
RINGLEADER – LEAD (element) in RINGER (campanologist)

13a         Search is around country for underwear (12)
COMBINATIONS – COMB (search) and IS (from the clue), the latter going around NATION (country) – the BRB defines this underwear as “a warm undergarment covering the whole body with long sleeves and legs”

16a         Unfriendly attitude in Arctic bear (4,8)
COLD SHOULDER – COLD (Arctic) SHOULDER (bear)

20a         I chop, as it’s chopped nuts! (10)
PISTACHIOS – An anagram (chopped) of I CHOP AS ITS

21a         Cold wine unfinished — a little sweet? (4)
CHOC – C (cold) HOCk (unfinished wine)

22a         Con elected ally (6)
INMATE – IN (elected) MATE (ally)

23a         Plant in Grenada I built (8)
GARDENIA – An anagram (built) of GRENADA I

24a         Man on left I love (6)
LIKING – KING (chess ‘man’) going on or after L (left) and I (from the clue)

25a         Steward originally found in bus garage, tyrant (6)
DESPOT – S (the original letter of Steward) found in DEPOT (bus garage)

Down

1d           Loco partner of Bill smuggles in illicit whisky (4-4)
CHOO-CHOO – COO (partner of Bill in Bill and Coo) ‘smuggles in’ HOOCH (illicit whisky)

2d           A little secret always turns up in due course (5)
LATER – Hidden in reverse (turns up) in secRET ALways

3d           Tablet poisoning animal, one runs home (7)
ASPIRIN – ASP (poisonous animal) I (Roman numeral for one) R (cricket abbreviation for Runs) IN (home)

5d           Too upset about a nightmare play (7)
OTHELLO – An anagram (upset) of TOO goes about HELL (a nightmare)

6d           Arranged ASAP, April review (9)
APPRAISAL – An anagram (arranged) of ASAP APRIL

7d           Line in lease looked up for one of those residing in toolshed? (6)
TROWEL – ROW (line) inserted in a reversal of LET (lease)

9d           Twins eating out, sampling drink (4-7)
WINE-TASTING – An anagram (out) of TWINS EATING

14d         Change one’s tune in second song (9)
BACKTRACK – BACK (second) TRACK (song)

15d         Party animal, teacher is into the dancing (8)
HEDONIST – DON (teacher) and IS (from the clue) inserted into an anagram (dancing) of THE

17d         Stand in line on centre ground (7)
LECTERN –  L (line) goes on (in a Down solution) an anagram (ground) of CENTRE

18d         See irregular verbs in middle of poem (7)
OBSERVE – An anagram (irregular) of VERBS inserted into OE (the middle letters of pOEm)

19d         Cue is raised and brown finally pocketed by girl (6)
SIGNAL – A reversal (raised)of IS (from the clue) and N (the final letter of brown) inserted into (pocketed by) GAL (girl)

21d         First of chords, large number — for a song! (5)
CHEAP – C (the first letter of Chords) HEAP (large number)

1 comment on “ST 3257 (Full Review)

  1. 4*/4* …
    liked 1D “Loco partner of Bill smuggles in illicit whisky (4_4)”

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