Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25955
Hints and tips by Tilsit
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Another Monday and here’s our regular setter to entertain us. A pleasant enough solve with not to much to cause stress. Just the thing to help you clear the Monday morning blues.
Across
1a One who’s out and about (11)
{SLEEPWALKER) A cryptic definition to start with today. Think of someone who is out cold, but able to move
9a He always ends up in the relay race or tug-of-war (6,3)
{ANCHOR MAN} A double sporting definition. The last man running in a relay race is known as this, as is the pivotal point of a tug-of-war team.
10a Religious representation of two Greek letters (5)
{PIETA} Take the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet and add the 7th letter and you’ll get the name for a picture that is a religious representation, usually of the Virgin Mary.
11a Worthless friend put to the test (6)
{PALTRY} A word sum: A word for a friend (think Dog food!) + a word meaning to test = worthless.
12a Oh boy! All round publicity! (8)
{BALLYHOO} An anagram of OH BOY ALL, round is the anagram indicator.
13a Stream of invective I get in traffic (6)
{TIRADE} A word for traffic or business with I inside will lead you to a stream of abuse.
15a Joined in, without being searched (8)
{COMBINED} A word meaning searched with IN inside. This gives you a word meaning joined.
18a Denials of faults in the show ring (8)
{REFUSALS} Cryptic definition. Think the world of show jumping and how you earn faults without knocking a fence over..
19a Orders to back team put around court (6)
{EDICTS} CT is an abbreviation meaning court. This needs to be put inside a word meaning a team that is reversed.
21a Point finally reached after weeks of study in America (8)
{TERMINUS} Simple word sum. Weeks of study in school or college + IN US (in America). This leads you to the point finally reached by a bus or train.
23a Girl carries on in Juliet’s place (6)
{VERONA} You need a girl’s name (Think Coronation Street’s Duckworth, or a wartime singer whose surname is Lynn) with the word ON inside. This gives you the town in Italy where Juliet comes from.
26a Sympathetic about egghead member of the family (5)
{NIECE} A word meaning sympathetic or friendly with E (for Egghead), leading you to the name of a relative
27a Lady dines out, showing gluttony perhaps? (6,3)
{DEADLY SIN} Out indicates that an anagram of LADY DINES leads you to one of seven items, of which gluttony is an example, as is lust and envy.
28a By which we are well refreshed (6,5)
(SPRING WATER} A cryptic definition. What do we get from a well?
Down
1d Visit park and refuse to leave (4,3)
{STAY PUT} A word sum. Visit + Park = Refuse to leave.
2d We hear forty of the Romans do better (5)
{EXCEL} What is forty in Roman numerals? This sounds like a word meaning to do better.
3d Puts order into projects (9)
{PROTRUDES} It’s obviously an anagram of PUTS ORDER, but there’s no indicator as such. I cannot see this being one of those clues where the whole thing provides the clue and indication.
4d Doctor on morning rounds (4)
{AMMO} Simple word sum. The abbreviation for a Doctor added onto the abbreviation for morning. Rounds here refers to things fired.
5d Jumper with a pocket (8)
{KANGAROO} Is there anyone here who would thing this refers to clothing? If there is, it’s an animal!
6d Check the advance of a sick man getting up (5)
{REPEL} Reverse the name for a sick person, one with Hansen’s disease. Apparently Robert the Bruce may have been one of these as well.
7d Hard stone field used for playing baseball (7)
{DIAMOND} The name of the playing area in baseball is also the name of one of the hardest minerals.
8d Garage worker tuned machine to go over a hundred (8)
{MECHANIC} Probably my favourite clue of the day. An anagram of MACHINE + C; as it’s a down clue, ‘over’ can be used to enhance the clue.
14d Shaped up again — to a more moral life? (8)
{REFORMED} This is a double definition clue, with one of the definitions cryptic. ‘Shaped up again’ is the main definition. If you led a less than honourable life and then changed and became more moral, you would have become this.
16d Sleeping partner? (9)
{BEDFELLOW} A cryptic definition, although I think it’s rather a weak one. If you sleep with someone, they may be described as one of these.
17d Fish thrash around wildly (8)
{FLOUNDER} Double definition. The name of a flat fish and a word meaning to struggle, thrash around in water, etc.
18d Royal train, perhaps? (7)
{RETINUE} I’m not keen on this clue. A retinue is a group of people that follow an important person, usually royalty.
20d A help or a hindrance in the works (7)
{SPANNER} Another double definition where one is cryptic. If you are a hindrance, you throw this “in the works”. Alternately, this could be a help in a factory.
22d Schemes thrown aside (5)
{IDEAS} An anagram (thrown) of ASIDE
24d Ready to start acting from the beginning (5)
{ONSET} If you were ready to start acting you’d be this, ready to perform or be filmed. The word can also be used to mean the beginning.
25d One in the front row when the game starts (4)
{PAWN} And a last cryptic definition for today. The “game” here is chess.
Thanks to our Monday compiler for the usual challenge.
Would never have got 1a without fairly easy clues down giving me six of the letters, then the clever wording of the clue became apparent, therefor must vote it as my clue of the day.
I agree with Kram about 1a, but it certainly made Kangaroo 5d easier.
Re 3d I took ”into’ as indicating ,make these words ‘puts order’ into the answer. No doubt the setter was able to misdirect using order as one of those words.
Perhaps if he had used ‘spurred to’ arrange etc that might have seemed to simple…although I like the idea perhaps of ‘sod rupert ‘ as an alternative.
Enjoyable and typical Monday fare. By the way, it is now generally believed that the Bruce died from a combination of venereal and skin diseases rather than leprosy, at least that is what they are now teaching in the schools north of the border.
Three-quarters finished today and pleased to get 10a from the clue as it’s not a word I know.
Best clue 2d
A straightforward ease into the week. I managed to complete it halfway through the commute in save 25d that had me foxed until the return leg! I was convinced it was something to do with rugby – I was very wrong! I also got my prize entry in the post but I am not holding my breath (12 years of entering and not a sniff).
From a novice crossword solver who rarely got an answer right, I am now achieving at least half of the answers thanks to your site. My clue of the day has to be 6d.