DT 25945

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25945

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

An easy but pleasant puzzle, with a strong feeling of déjà vu about some of the clues.

Across

1a Good boy, study please (7)
{GLADDEN} – a straightforward charade of G(ood) LAD (boy( and DEN (study0 gives a word meaning to please

9a Press perhaps for downturn (8)
{DECREASE} – part of this double definition is slightly cryptic

10a Decisive break from the other half (7)
{DIVORCE} – an attempted misdirection on to the football pitch, but this cryptic definition didn’t fool me

11a Feeling so much better! (8)
{ARROGANT} – another cryptic definition – to feel so much superior rather than fitter

12a Spring bloke, it’s reported (6)
{GEYSER} – this hot spring sounds like (it’s reported) geezer (bloke)

13a Earliest Victorian gold ring (10)
{PRIMORDIAL} – this word meaning existing from the beginning of the world (earliest) is a charade of PRIM (Victorian) OR (gold) and DIAL (ring)

15a Party’s destiny in speech (4)
{FETE} – this party sounds like (in speech) fate (destiny)

16a Rival with deep novel won (9)
{PREVAILED} – here novel indicates that an anagram of RIVAL and DEEP will give a word meaning won

21a Love hearing violinist’s accessory instrument (4)
{OBOE} – combine O (love, as in tennis) with a word that sounds like (hearing) bow (violinist’s accessory) to get a wind  instrument

22a All the gin? Very drunk! (10)
{EVERYTHING} – a synonym for all is an anagram (drunk) of THE GIN VERY

24a In the middle of dream, I’d start (6)
{AMIDST} – a word meaning in the middle of is hidden ( in the middle of) dreAM I’D STart

25a Petty Tory leader’s sacking (8)
{TRIFLING} – a synonym for petty is constructed from T (Tory leader) and RIFLING (sacking)

27a Opera star with sob creating impression (7)
{MIMICRY} – another charade – MIMI (the star of the opera La Bohème) and CRY (sob) giving a word meaning creating an impression of something else

28a Careful, however, holding gold (8)
{THOROUGH} – a synonym of careful comes from a straightforward insertion (holding) of OR (gold) inside THOUGH (however)

29a Number Ten, say for example, in between (7)
{INTEGER} – a bit cleverer than it looks – this number, of which ten is an example (say) is derived by putting EG (for example) inside INTER (between)

Down

2d Tore idle off and wasted one’s time (8)
{LOITERED} – find an anagram (off) of TORE IDLE that means wasted one’s time

3d Darling’s cross turning up on threshold (8)
{DOORSTEP} – take PET’S (darling’s) and ROOD (cross) all reversed (turning up – another down-clue only construct) and you have a threshold

4d Cliff? Treat man with respect (10)
{ESCARPMENT} – this steep slope (cliff? – the “?” indicates that a cliff is one example of this) is an anagram (treat) of MAN and RESPECT

5d Stagger up getting dirty look (4)
{LEER} – this may be the first time that you have seen REEL (stagger) reversed (up – down-clue only!) to get LEER (dirty look), but it won’t be the last! – sometimes it’s the other way around

6d Passion sounds more difficult (6)
{ARDOUR} – by now you should be expecting another homophone! – this passion sounds like (sounds) harder (more difficult)

7d Brown in charge after stigma ends? Diabolical (7)
{SATANIC} – a topical clue! – put TAN (brown) and IC (In Charge) after SA (StigmA ends) to get a word meaning diabolical

8d Fruitful time following Queen in procession (7)
{FERTILE} – this word meaning fruitful is obtained by putting T after (following) ER (Elizabeth Regina / Queen) and then inserting it all inside FILE (procession)

11d Upsetting gag, it ain’t funny (9)
{AGITATING} – which is the anagram indicator and which the definition? – a word meaning upsetting, by stirring violently, is an anagram (funny) of GAG IT AIN’T

14d Bond’s got no alibi, unfortunately (10)
{OBLIGATION} – not James Bond, but a moral or legal bond, tie, or binding power which is an anagram (unfortunately) of GOT NO ALIBI

17d Obedient setter’s back inside house (8)
{DOMICILE} – take DOCILE (obedient) and put I’M (I am /  setter’s / setter is) reversed (back) inside it and you get a house

18d Deduce jailbird’s honest (8)
{CONSTRUE} – a synonym for deduce that is anothe charade, this time of CON’S (convict’s / jailbird’s) and TRUE (honest)

19d Having a will of one’s own? (7)
{TESTATE} – a gently cryptic definition of someone who has made a will

20d Expensive sounding source of this meat (7)
{VENISON} – the source of this meat is a deer, which sounds like (sounding) dear (expensive) – this type of clue, an indirect homophone, must rank with the indirect anagram in the list of debatable constructs; what do you think?

23d Chicken or canary (6)
{YELLOW} – a part cryptic double definition of which the less said the better

26d Endless darkness approaching (4)
{NIGH} – take NIGH(T) (darkness) and lose the “T” (endless) and you have a synonym for approaching – this cropped up in ST 2479 as “Almost dark, but not quite (4)“ – I have only had one link so far today, so I dedicate this “off topic” recording of Endless Sleep by Jody Reynolds, one of the all-time great songs of the Rock’n’Roll era, to regular contributor Kram:

ARVE Error: need id and provider

How easy did you find it?   Sometimes when I say it’s easy I get a chorus of people saying “It wasn’t easy for me”.  A lot depends on how many times you have seen several of these clues, in one form or another, before.