DT Cryptic No 25903

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25903

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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

The lesser-known words made this puzzle harder than usual (unless, of course, you are well up on medicinal terms!).

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Across

1a Not belonging to but devoted to the United Nations (10)
{UNATTACHED} – this synonym for not belonging to is a charade of UN (United Nations) and ATTACHED (devoted to)

6a Lowest cipher (4)
{ZERO} – snappy cryptic definition – a cipher is an one of the Arabic numerals, and this is the lowest one

9a Current death (3,2,5)
{DIE OF SHOCK} – another cryptic definition – what might happen to you after contact with an electric current

10a Record errors expected from sports equipment (4)
{ÉPÉE} – EP (Extended Play record – remember them?) and EE (abbreviation for Errors Expected) gives a sharp pointed sword
EP (Extended Play record – remember them?) and EE (abbreviation for Errors Excepted, not as given here Errors Expected – see comments below) gives a sharp pointed sword

12a Clever sailor is attached to the French (4)
{ABLE} – this word meaning clever is a simple charade of AB (Able-Bodied seaman) and LE (the, French)

13a Rush about to manage a period of boxing (3,6)
{RUN AROUND} – this phrase meaning to rush about is a simple charade of RUN (to manage) and A ROUND (a period of boxing)

15a Lets loose the upper-class knight from his fetters (8)
{UNCHAINS} – another charade of U (upper-class) N (knight in chess notation) and a word meaning fetters gives us a synonym for lets loose

16a Charges for a second fondle! (6)
{CARESS} – these charges are the kind you look after, add S(econd) and you have a word meaning to fondle

18a Ingest mushroom with consuming interest (6)
{INCEPT} – a synonym for ingest comes from putting a CEP (mushroom) inside (consuming) INT(erest)

20a Drunk inert ale – what a purgative!… (8)
{ELATERIN} – drunk, rather cleverly, signals an anagram of INERT ALE to give a purgative that, fortunately for me, I have had no experience of using

23a …and fifty agreeing to mix the drink… (6,3)
{GINGER ALE} – an anagram (to mix) of L (fifty in Roman numerals) and AGREEING  give a drink that is appropriately used as a mixer – linked to the clues on either side only by the mention of drink in the wordplay of each

24a …and returns a portion of gin (4)
{TRAP} – this word meaning a portion, when reversed gives a snare – the link to the previous clue is deliberately misleading you into thinking that gin here refers to the alcoholic drink

26a Odd oratress has rows (4)
{OARS} – take the odd letters from OrAtReSs to get a word meaning rows

27a Income spun from synthesising medicines (10)
{PNEUMONICS} – this anagram of INCOME SPUN is signalled retrospectively by synthesising to make you think that medicines is the target of the anagram – it was a pity that there were only nine letters in medicines otherwise I might have fallen for it – like the earlier purgative, this was another medicinal term with which I was not familiar

28a Rap Kelvin and knock over (4)
{KNAP} – I was not aware of this answer as a synonym for rap, but the charade of K(elvin) and PAN (knock, as in criticise) reversed (over) meant that I could look it up in my trusty Chamber’s

29a Can lady jet off in a conterminous manner? (10)
{ADJACENTLY} – don’t be distracted by the long word – this is simply an anagram (off) of CAN LADY JET giving a word meaning  in such a way as to be close (in a conterminous manner)

Down

1d Cancel the Open (4)
{UNDO} – this double definition just about works although once again a verb is being treated as if it were a noun

2d Bitter and sour maple with crumbs of biccy (7)
{ACERBIC} – this is a word meaning bitter and sour which is derived from ACER (another name for the maple) and BIC (crumbs of biccy)

3d Sticks to sweet fruits (6,6)
{TOFFEE APPLES} – these are made from fruit on a stick coated with a sugary sweet substance

4d Present a good book to the first company that’s organised (8)
{COHERENT} – HERE (present) and NT (New Testament / a good book) are preceded by (to the first) CO(mpany) to give a synonym for organised – you are meant to think that organised is the trigger for a non-existent anagram

5d Geological time the Executive Officer’s seen, we hear (6)
{EOCENE} – EO (Executive Officer) then a homophone for seen give this geological time

7d Embrace foresight on the river (7)
{ESPOUSE} – a simple but clever charade of ESP (extrasensory perception / foresight) and OUSE (the river) gives us a synonym for embrace

8d Drive goons wild by taking too many drugs (10)
{OVERDOSING} – easy to spot this anagram (wild) of DRIVE GOONS giving a word meaning taking too many drugs

11d Natant style involving heart massage (12)
{BREASTSTROKE} – natant is a word perhaps more familiar to Americans where a swimming pool is called a natatorium – this is a cryptic definition of a swimming stroke

14d Musical piece of cutlery (6,4)
{TUNING FORK} – this hardly cryptic definition should be easy to get

17d Every prophet partook in the unionist academy – ‘Praise the Lord!’ (8)
{ALLELUIA} – ALL (every) the ELI (prophet) around (partook in) U(nionist) and finally A(cademy) give this word meaning “Praise the Lord”

19d Moving picture concerning a lump of grey, brain matter (7)
{CINEREA} – CINE (moving picture) RE (concerning) and A combine to give a  lump of grey brain matter – I’d never heard of it before today

21d Boxer when in holiday surroundings became a pragmatist (7)
{REALIST} – (Muhammad) ALI (boxer) inside (in … surroundings) REST (holiday) gives a  pragmatist

22d Beaten by Brown and Sherrin (6)
{TANNED} – TAN (brown) and NED (Sherrin) give a word meaning beaten – the capitalisation of Brown is there to make you think it is being used as a surname

25d Catch sight of East Samoa’s original little pygmy (4)
{ESPY} – this synonym for catch sight of is ES (East Samoa’) and PY (original little Pygmy)

Usually I find that the enjoyment increases with the difficulty, but somehow this one didn’t do it for me.  Several of the answers here would be better suited to a Toughie, or even an Enigmatic Variations puzzle.  I was glad that I was not trying to do this while sitting on the apocryphal Clapham omnibus.