DT Cryptic No 25911

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25911

Hints and tips by Libellule

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

Hmm, I did not think this was one of the better Friday crosswords today. However in conversation with Gazza, he seems to think it’s the most difficult one of the week.  On the plus side I did learn a new slang term.

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Across

5. Interruption affected us badly, adult admitted (6)
{HIATUS} – Affected is HIT admit an A(dult), then add US for an interruption in space and time.

8. Morse can go wrong in love affairs (8)
{ROMANCES} – An anagram of MORSE CAN (wrong) to give another term for love affairs.

9. Match officials given twenty rules devoid of content! (7)
{SCORERS} – An old word for twenty is a SCORE, then take R(ule)S (devoid of content) for the kind of match officials who keep count during a cricket match.

10. Fellow attending church’s social function (5)
{DANCE} – The fellow here is a man’s name DAN followed by C(hurch of) E(ngland) for a type of social function.

11. Arabs running wild may be this (9)
{RIDERLESS} – A cryptic clue, where arabs in this case refer to Arabian horses, and if they were running wild, then they would be untamed, and lack human guidance.

13. Guarded two notes and a coin (8)
{RETICENT} – Two notes are RE and TI (alternative spelling?) plus an American coin CENT to give a word that means that you are the sort of person who is inclined to keep one’s thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself.

14.  Animal burrowed with leg at front of garden (6)
{DUGONG} – The answer to this clue is an animal (or more accurately large marine mammal), and the name of it is constructed as follows. Burrowed is DUG, with leg is ON (onside in cricket), and finally front of G(arden).

17.  Fellow giving sign of approval on return (3)
{DON} – In this case Dan’s friend has turned up. A sign of approval is a NOD, reversed is a man’s name or a fellow at a university.

19. Chief dismisses one bloke (3)
{MAN} – Another bloke, but in this case its not a man’s name. Chief is MAIN, if you dismiss I (one), you have a term for a “bloke”.

20. Busy person who manages to keep quiet (6)
{COPPER} – A person who manages is a COPER, insert (keep) P (quiet) for a “busy” person. At first I couldn’t work out how the answer resolved to a busy person. Until I was reliably informed by Gazza that a busy is also a slang word for a policeman.

23. A German repeatedly imprisoning a good person, a brainbox (8)
{EINSTEIN} – The indefinite article – “a” in English, is EIN in German, repeat it, and then place a saint, ST (good person) inside the two EIN’s and you have a well known scientist who won the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics “for his services to Theoretical Physics”.

26. Wood, say, fashioned to make on-board supports (9)
{FORESTAYS} – A hint of misdirection here, at first sight the word say in the clue seems to indicate we are looking for a sounds like, but in this case no, say is actually an integral part of the clue. A wood is a FOREST, and then we need to take SAY and rework it (fashioned). This then gives us a word used to describe the adjustable ropes from the foremast to the deck that controls the bending of a mast.

28. Inspection of passage, allowing anyone to see inside (5)
{AUDIT} – The passage here is a nearly horizontal passage from the surface into a mine, i.e. an ADIT, into which we need to insert (inside) a U (a film grading that allows anybody to go and see it)

29. Ill-used, getting no place at Oxford? The reverse (3-4)
{PUT-UPON} – The key to solving this clue is “reverse”. If you reverse NO PUT (place) and UP (at University), you have another term for Ill-used.

30. Trendy rioter on the rampage inside (8)
{INTERIOR} – An angram (on the rampage) of RIOTER and IN (trendy), that leaves us with another word for the inside of something.

31. Odd matter that creates a commotion (6)
{RUMPUS} – RUM (odd) plus PUS (infected matter) creating a noisy clamour or commotion.

Down

1. Conservative more impolite and less refined (6)
{CRUDER} – C (conservative) being more impolite RUDER, for something less refined.

2. Emerge as some gentleman at Eton (7)
{EMANATE} – The answer to this is hidden in the clue, and is another word for emerge. Look closely at a word that is hidden somewhere in gentleman at Eton.

3. Moderate and decent with ire controlled (9)
{INTERCEDE} – An anagram of DECENT and IRE (controlled) for a word that can be used when you act as a mediator in a dispute.

4. River is dangerous with final change in direction (6)
{SEVERN} – Dangerous is SEVERE, but we need change the final letter with a compass direction. In this case N, for the longest river in Great Britain.

5. Rake had a nice estate in Spain (8)
{HACIENDA} – An anagram of HAD A NICE (rake) for a word used to describe a large estate or plantation in Spanish-speaking countries.

6. Time when penny’s found in old money turning up (5)
{APRIL} – The old money is Italian old money, i.e. the name of Italian currency before the Euro. This needs to be reversed (turning up) and you need to place a P(enny) in it. Once this has been done you have the name of a month. In fact this month.

7. Rebellion of superior prude cloaking wickedness (8)
{UPRISING} – Superior is U, then add a prude (PRIG), insert (cloaking) wickedness, SIN and voila another word for rebellion or revolution. This picture by Eugene Delacroix personifies it.

12. The thing’s in pieces with the top piece missing (3)
{ITS} – Another word for “The Thing”, take BITS (in pieces) and remove the top.

15. Shun a dame cruelly, lacking any feeling of guilt (9)
{UNASHAMED} – An anagram of SHUN A DAME (cruelly) for word that means feeling or showing no remorse, shame, or embarrassment.

16. Hard old woman ensnaring number in Pacific port (8)
{HONOLULU} – H(ard) O(ld), along with a woman’s name (LULU), that also has number (NO) inside (ensnaring) for the capital, and a major port of Hawaii.

18. Amount put into very big speeches (8)
{ORATIONS} – An old chestnut, amount is RATION, put this word into very big (OS) (outsize), and it’s a word used to describe formal or ceremonial public speeches.

21. Land you once left heading north (3)
{LEY} – YE is an old word (once) for you, L is left. If you now invert this (head north, used in reversed down clues only) you get a word used to describe a piece of land put down to grass.

22. Female doctor, one getting cross with rock musician (7)
{HENDRIX} – HEN (female), DR (doctor) I (one) getting X (cross) for the worlds finest rock guitarist.

24. Man is one? Yes and no! (6)
{ISLAND} – The best clue of the day, Man is one, as is Wight, but not according to a famous poem by John Donne.

25. Funny aunt about to show character (6)
{NATURE} – An anagram of AUNT (funny) and to show, e.g. in reference to (RE) for the essential characteristics and qualities of a person or thing.

27. Drug joke engenders fit (5)
{EQUIP} – E(cstasy) or rather the slang term for MDMA, followed by joke (QUIP), which  means to supply with necessities such as tools or provisions, or fit.