DT 26116

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26116

A full analysis by Big Dave

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

One of the best Saturday Prize puzzles for quite a while has no answer of less than six letters. Most of the recent puzzles from Cephas have been pangrams – that is all 26 letters of the alphabet are used – and this one is no exception.

Across

1a    Endorse cards carried by hiker (8)
BACKPACK – a charade of a BACK (to endorse) and PACK (a set of cards) gives something that could be carried by a hiker

5a    Container inside another holding nothing (6)
VACANT – CAN inside VAT

9a    Herb’s divine article (8)
ANGELICA – this herb is simply ANGELIC (divine) with A

10a    A fib about artillerymen in part of Nigeria once (6)
BIAFRA – About signals an anagram of A FIB is followed by RA (Royal Artillery) to give a part of Nigeria

11a    Check joystick (7)
CONTROL – a double definition

12a    Time when one is out of work (7)
LEISURE – a cryptic definition

13a    Question Tom ordering air-raid precaution (8,3)
MOSQUITO NET – an anagram (ordering) of QUESTION TOM give a protection from flying insects

16a    Slightly drunk blonde (5-6)
LIGHT-HEADED – a double definition, the second part of which is a bit cryptic

21a    Cry about donkey at festive occasion (7)
WASSAIL – put WAIL (cry) around ASS (donkey) and the result is a seasonal festive occasion

22a    Greatest current asset of the People’s Republic (7)
YANGTZE – one of my favourites is this cryptic definition of a Chinese river, although you need to know that this puzzle is pangrammatic in order to choose between this spelling and YANGTSE

23a    Cast off (6)
EXEUNT – an instruction for all the cast to leave the stage – “Exeunt, pursued by a bear” was famously used in The Winter’s Tale

24a    Such confusion enveloping bird in large flower (8)
HIBISCUS – an anagram (confusion) of SUCH is to be placed around (enveloping) an IBIS (bird) to get a large flower

25a    Sweltering bridge player truly confused (6)
SULTRY – a word meaning Sweltering comes from S (South / bridge player) followed by an anagram (confused) of TRULY

26a    May be used by speakers at station? (8)
PLATFORM – a double definition – someone who is speaking to an audience would often use this, and it can be found at any railway station

Down

1d    Local office out on a limb? (6)
BRANCH – this double definition is a bit of an old chestnut – the local office of a large organisation or a limb of a tree

2d    Powerful businessman (6)
COGENT – a word meaning powerful is a charade of CO (company / business) and GENT (man)

3d    Quietly I left determined wayfarer (7)
PILGRIM – wordsum time – P (quietly) I L(eft) and GRIM (determined) adding up to this wayfarer

4d    Light boat providing cover for sea-creature (11)
COCKLESHELL – a light boat, made famous by the film Cockleshell Heroes, could provide a SHELL (cover) for a COCKLE (sea-creature)

6d    Soulful believer, saint I’m converting (7)
ANIMIST – someone who believes in the attribution of a soul to natural objects and phenomena is an anagram (converting) of SAINT I’M

7d    A loud and voluble flush (8)
AFFLUENT – A F (loud) and FLUENT in speech (voluble) gives a word meaning flush, in the sense of well-off

8d    Attempt to include a singlet in disguise (8)
TRAVESTY – a TRY (attempt) is placed around (to include) A VEST (a singlet) to get a disguise, especially of a man as a woman or vice versa

12d    Price of cleanliness? (7,4)
LAUNDRY BILL – a cryptic definition

14d    Unblemished foreigner starting without rules (8)
FLAWLESS – a word meaning unblemished comes from F (Foreigner starting) and LAWLESS (without rules)

15d    Yellow and white container (8)
EGGSHELL – a cryptic definition

17d    Coach and carriages about to turn up (7)
TRAINER – a word meaning a coach, in the sense of a person who prepares athletes for completion, is built up from TRAIN (carriages) followed by RE (about) reversed (to turn up)

18d    He draws when one is open-mouthed (7)
DENTIST – a cryptic definition

19d    Cuts up firm plaster (6)
STUCCO – CUTS is reversed (up because this is a down clue) and followed by CO (firm) to give a kind of plaster used to coat exterior walls or make architectural mouldings

20d    Black missile thrown overboard? (6)
JETSAM – our final charade combines JET (the colour of a rich black highly-polished variety of lignite) with SAM (a Surface-to-Air Missile) to get items thrown overboard from a ship and subsequently washed up on shore