Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26005
Let’s all play charades
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment **
If you enjoy playing charades, then this is the puzzle for you. For the rest of us it was an average puzzle apart from the one or two new words.
You can add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.
Across
1a I object to a certain course of action (7)
{MEASURE} – a charade of ME (the objective form of I) A and SURE (certain) gives this course of action
5a Father, leases, with mother as well (7)
{PARENTS} – PA (father) and RENTS (leases) make up this charade for father and mother
9a Is ‘engloom’ a newly coined word? (9)
{NEOLOGISM} – an anagram (newly coined) of IS ENGLOOM gives a word meaning precisely that, a newly coined word – this all-in-one only gets 9 out of 10 because of the padding
10a Lowest degree for trainee getting the point (5)
{LEAST} – the lowest degree is another charade, this time L (learner / trainee) and EAST (compass point)
11a Request quiet guide (5)
{PLEAD} – continuing our game of charades, to request comes from P (piano / quiet) and LEAD (guide)
12a Worries about assignments (9)
{EXERCISES} – a double definition …
13a Amuse host (9)
{ENTERTAIN} – … followed by another
16a Reveal you are a little immature (5)
{VEALY} – hidden inside reVEAL You is a word meaning a little immature that was unknown to me, and to the spellchecker
17a Vegetable tea brewed by Rural Dean (5)
{CHARD} – a vegetable that is made up from CHA (tea brewed) and RD (Rural Dean – a new abbreviation for me)
18a I will, for example, collaborate feloniously (9)
{ILLEGALLY} – time for another charade! – ILL (I’ll / I will) EG (e.g. / for example) and ALLY (collaborate) give a synonym for feloniously
20a Shoe carer prepared a Grand National runner (9)
{RACEHORSE} – the ridiculous expression SHOE CARER should tell you very quickly that it is an anagram (prepared) of a Grand National runner, or any other horse race for that matter
23a Article about a knight who was the King’s companion (5)
{THANE} – put THE (definite article) around A and N (knight in chess notation) to get a King’s companion in days of yore
25a There’s nothing green, just plain (5)
{OVERT} – why not have another charade? – O (nothing) and VERT (green) give a word meaning plain or obvious
26a The celebrity panel is on the right (9)
{STARBOARD} – STAR (celebrity) and BOARD (panel) give us the right-hand side of a ship
27a Little eagles start to rest in their eyries for cuddles (7)
{NESTLES} – put L and E, the initial letters (start) of Little Eagles, inside (to rest in) NESTS (eyries) to get a word meaning cuddles
28a Created an upstanding journalist (7)
{ERECTED} – finishing the across clues as we started, we have a word meaning created which comes from a charade of ERECT (upstanding) and ED (editor / journalist)
Down
1d Pin back centre of masculine vestment (7)
{MANIPLE} – put PIN reversed inside MALE to get an antiquated vestment
2d Compensate a heavyweight Earl (5)
{ATONE} – a synonym for to compensate comes from A TON (a heavyweight) and E(arl)
3d Startled deer do run when not organised (9)
{UNORDERED} – an anagram (startled) of DEER DO RUN gives a word meaning not organised, and one of the better clues
4d The aristocracy are regularly well-birthed (5)
{ELITE} – to get a description of the aristocracy take the even letters (regularly) of wElL-bIrThEd
5d Flower worn by a colourful hero? (9)
{PIMPERNEL} – a cryptic definition, or just a definition?
6d Antique contents were licensed (5)
{RELIC} – a synonym for antique is hidden inside (contents) weRE LICensed
7d Tell Satan to muck out the cowshed! (4-5)
{NEAT-STALL} – an anagram (muck out) of TELL SATAN gives a cowshed – regular cruciverbalists will, by now, know all about neat cattle!
8d Convince to pay in full (7)
{SATISFY} – a double definition that should need no explanation
14d Ex-PM’s roofers (9)
{THATCHERS} – likewise this one
15d A sanctimonious group of timeless artists keep bees (9)
{APIARISTS} – combine A PI (sanctimonious) and AR(T)ISTS (Timeless artists) to get people who keep bees – while both definition and wordplay are obvious, the clue just doesn’t work
16d Food the vet and beagle both chewed (9)
{VEGETABLE} – a food that is an anagram (chewed) of VET and BEAGLE
17d Illustration of box containing nothing (7)
{CARTOON} – an illustration that comes from CARTON (box) containing O (nothing)

19d Badly dyed lei was cropped (7)
{YIELDED} – another very obvious anagram (badly) of DYED LEI gives a word meaning cropped
21d Enraged — the Spanish find a place to stay (5)
{HOTEL} – our game of charades finishes with a run of three – first HOT (enraged) and EL (the Spanish) give a place to stay
22d Raise the spirits of the Earl recently (5)
{ELATE} – second, to raise the spirits of fron E (Earl, again) and LATE (recently)
24d Look for a delay (5)
{AWAIT} – finally, thank goodness, to look for is A WAIT (a delay)
Well, did you enjoy the game? Or did you, like me, get tired of it well before the end?
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I learnt a couple of new words that I doubt I will ever use again. Perhaps I am just a bit vealy for this crossword.
RUBBISH!!!
Wait until you do the Toughie, and then you will appreciate that this one isn’t all that bad!
A “vealy” bad day in crossword land.
Nice puzzle today, particulary liked 5d.
Didn’t like await as a synonym for look. And never heard of vealy.
Otherwise it was all straight forward.
Pixie
Await is a synonym for ‘look for’ rather than ‘look’.
I agree with Bigboab (I’m pleased to admit!), apart from two new words that I’m going to immediately forget not much to enjoy
Never heard of the word VEALY before but found it in an old (1930’s ?) dictionary I own. The meaning is given as ” like veal; immature”
Neither had I, and I then had to look it up in Chambers. Perhaps this was the last bit of the crossword that the setter filled in, and it was the only word that would fit? Hmm on checking I think I might be right :-)
Not too impressed.
Contrary to the above I quite enjoyed this puzzle but again 16a was a new word for me (and for others it seems). A nice one to round off a day’s work. See you tommorow folks – I anticipate 26,006 will present greater challenges.