DT Cryptic No 25853

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25853

Not as easy as last Monday

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

A full analysis of DT Cryptic No 25846 has now been published as a review.  I hope to publish analyses for both weekend puzzles by the following Thursday – starting this week with Peter Biddlecombe’s review of DT 25852.

Last Monday we had a nice easy one to start the week – this one will make you think a little harder, but that’s where this review can help.  Don’t forget that clicking on the links reveals supplementary information, some useful and some frivolous.

Across

1a By no means on one’s uppers (8 )
Double definition:  insolvency

9a Nymph with broken heart goes to America (8 )
An anagram (broken) of heart followed by (goes to) USA (America) giving a nymph

10a List of options for fellows at university (4)
Men (fellows) U(niversity) – always look for easy ones like this if you have trouble getting started

11a Courted lover? (2-10)
The other party in a divorce case

13a Man, for example, follows man in Northern city (8 )
Carl (man) followed by isle (Isle of Man, for example) giving a city in Cumbria

15a The Spanish weapons involved in the movement of arms (6)
El (the, Spanish) bows (weapons)

16a The country providing exercise and sport (4)
PE (exercise) RU (sport) giving the country that Paddington Bear came from

17a Total regard (5)
Double meaning:  count

18a Who ditched England and Wales of all football clubs? (4)
Of and FA (Football Association / all football clubs) giving the King of Mercia responsible for building a well known dyke

20a Submit and face the wall (6)
Double meaning:  render – the second one being to plaster with a first coat

21a Publication that is rarely bound to sell (8 )
A description of a pamphlet

23a A description of pagan Rome embarrassed female (7,5)
Scarlet (embarrassed) woman (female) giving how pagan Rome is often described

26a Oh dear! Nothing works! (4)
O (nothing) ops (works)

27a Still managed to snuggle into quilt when drunk (8 )
Ran (managed) inside (to snuggle into) an anagram (when drunk) of quilt

28a A letter I composed is well expressed (8 )
An anagram of  “a letter I” giving a word meaning able to read and write

Down

2d Create novel about graduate in distress (8 )
An anagram (novel) of create around BA (graduate – could have been MA, but not this time)

3d Be subject to joint French and German articles (7,5)
Knuckle (joint) un (a, French article) der (a, German article)

4d Makes a pretence a reality (6)
A deliberately confusing definition of usurps

5d They are able to identify trite Latin quotations (4)
Double meaning:  labels and Latin words commonly used in English, such as “bona fide”

6d Evocative of European river rising fast (8 )
Redo (Oder / European river) reversed (rising) then Lent (fast – this came up as recently as 1 across in DT 25852!)

7d Government measure (4)
Double meaning:  rule

8d It follows the point of logarithms (8 )
Remember this from schooldays? – mantissa

12d Not to pay it would diminish one’s credit (4,2,6)
A subtle definition:  debt of honour

14d Provide the point before the joke (5)
E (East / the compass point) quip (the joke)

16d The ruination of parties, a hanger-on can be (8 )
An anagram of “parties a” giving a person who lives at the expense of society or of others and contributes nothing (definition from Chambers)

17d A guard dog from hell? (8 )
The guard dog from hell

19d Top shelf may be the place for titillating entertainment (8 )
An anagram of “top shelf” giving a place where entertainment of a sexual nature is on offer (Chambers again)

22d Second in importance (6)
Double meaning:  moment

24d The first man to be a mother (4)
A dam (a mother)

25d Fit a spring (4)
Double meaning:  well

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