Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 25984 – Review
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***
More difficult than usual – I certainly struggled with 21A, as the S_R_T_ER with possible choices for the blanks takes up quite a bit of the print-out’s white space. A slightly unsatisfactory grid – answers like 1 and 10 are underchecked, but ones like 12, 15 and 17 are overchecked.
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| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ostentatious in a smock? (11) |
| OVERDRESSED – CD based on a smock being worn over other clothes for a messy activity like pottery. | |
| 9 | Approach time for preparation (3-2) |
| RUN-UP – 2 defs | |
| 10 | Stop including one pound that’s most common (9) |
| PREVALENT – (A,L) = “one pound” in PREVENT | |
| 11 | Be at home after short break for painter (7) |
| HOLBEIN – painter of Henry VIII among others. HOL. = “short break”,BE,IN=at home | |
| 12 | It is likely to be found at the end of the column (8 ) |
| PEDESTAL – a barely cryptic definition – only “end” rather than “bottom” is a variation from a plain def. | |
| 14 | Undignified leading character on the air performing (4-4) |
| ANTI-HERO = anag. of “on the air”. “undignified” seems a bit odd, but I guess dignity is one of the heroic attributes which an anti-hero could lack. | |
| 15 | Part of sudden ovation is for the star (4) |
| NOVA – hidden word. First major gripe: the word “is” in the clue can only be surface padding. The subsequent “for the” makes it a bit worse, though these two words can be justified without “is”. | |
| 17 | Supporting part of machine (7) |
| BEARING – 2 defs | |
| 19 | Symbol for the most part split (4) |
| CLEF – a musical symbol, which is most of “cleft”. Just “symbol” seems a poor def., and the surface meaning doesn’t seem interesting enough to excuse a weak def. | |
| 20 | Second person in Paris allowed back with plenty of time for private tuition (8 ) |
| TUTELAGE – TU = “second person [in the grammar sense] in Paris”, TEL = reverse of let=allowed, AGE=plenty of time. Solid wordplay construction and reasonable surface meaning – one of the better clues here. | |
| 21 | Spray hesitantly put on drink (8 ) |
| SPRITZER = a drink, possibly of white wine and soda, but it depends very much where you are. The Italian variant called Spritz is a good start to an evening in Venice. SPRITZ = spray or squirt (same Germanic word origin), ER = “hesitantly”. Not too conviced by the second part, though I suppose if you say something with an “er” you do so hesitantly. I’ll buy that reason when the “er” comes first! | |
| 23 | Opening in modern surgery (7) |
| KEYHOLE – 2 defs, though one is really “type of surgery”. We don’t yet hear that Mr Smith’s speciality is “Keyhole”. | |
| 25 | Travelling considerable distance to large working farm (4-5) |
| LONG-RANGE – |
|
| 26 | Lady accountant, about 50, soldiers on (5) |
| CLARA = one of Dave’s favourite unspecified ladies. L=50 in CA = (Chertered) Accountant, RA=Royal Artillery=soldiers. I quite liked “soldiers on” as a tricky bit of wordplay. | |
| 27 | Usherette is a headliner (7,4) |
| LEADING LADY – 2 defs | |
| Down | |
| 2 | Reluctant to lose a few lines (5) |
| VERSE = “a few lines” – (a)verse | |
| 3 | I arrive dishevelled from coastal area (7) |
| RIVIERA – easy anag. of “I arrive” | |
| 4 | Corresponding with daughter, say (8 ) |
| RELATIVE – 2 defs | |
| 5 | Henry prepared to go above third son (4) |
| SETH – set = prepared, H=henry (the SI unit). Seth was the third son of Adam and Eve. If you think he’s little known, spare a thought for Adam’s unnamed other 30 sons and 23 daughters | |
| 6 | What is the dentist doing? Exercising (8 ) |
| DRILLING – 2 defs | |
| 7 | I name officer in most cases (2,7) |
| IN GENERAL = I,N,GENERAL | |
| 8 | Nothing to write inside present for sale to highest bidder (4,2,5) |
| OPEN TO OFFER – PEN=write, inside OTO = “nothing to”, then OFFER = present for sale. Wordplay which took quite a while to explain. | |
| 12 | Fine shot? (7,4) |
| PENALTY KICK – nice cryptic def. based on fine=penalty and kick=shot (in football) – and a penalty kick might turn out to be a “fine shot”. | |
| 13 | Shakespearean, despite real trouble, set out (7) |
| LAERTES – anag. of real, anag. of set. Not impressed by this one – “despite” is surface padding, and with 40-odd plays, “Shakespearean” doesn’t help you very much. | |
| 16 | My servant could have been member of parish council (9) |
| VESTRYMAN = anag. of “My servant” – once upon a time, parish councils met in vestries, and to this day, churchwardens are elected at “vestry meetings”. | |
| 17 | Soothing oil said to come from castle (8 ) |
| BALMORAL – BALM=soothing oil, ORAL=said. You have to like a clue where “said” is not acting as a homophone indicator. | |
| 18 | Grit mixed with neon gas (8 ) |
| NITROGEN = anag. of (grit, neon) | |
| 19 | ‘Felix!’ (7) |
| CATCALL – nicely done cryptic def. | |
| 22 | Pleaded but not initially encouraged (5) |
| EGGED = encouraged, from pleaded = (b)egged | |
| 24 | Lamb, priest starting academy (4) |
| ELIA – pen name of Charles Lamb. Eli=priest,A=”starting academy”. Eli and Elia are long-standing crossword favourites. | |
25a. I think that the wordplay is L(arge) + ON (working) + GRANGE (farm).
I think you’re exactly right!