DT 26123

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 26123

Hints and tips by Big Dave

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

It looks like we can look forward to a week of very gentle puzzles, if the pattern for yesterday and today is continued. Perhaps this is to be Clueless Club week!!

Gazza’s new broadband connection has broken, so I am filling in for him today (and Tilsit is doing battle with the Toughie).  [15:30 – Gazza is now back online, and all set to tackle tomorrow’s Toughie.]

Leave a comment telling us what you thought. You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.

Across

3a    Contention if rest is disturbed (6)
{STRIFE} – a word meaning contention gets us off to an easy start with an anagram of IF REST, signalled by “is disturbed”

6a    Nervous characters among trained gymnasts (4)
{EDGY} – I told you it was easy today! – this word meaning nervous is hidden inside (characters among) trained gymnasts

8a    Scholars associated with fine African people (5)
{MASAI} – a charade of post-graduates with a representation of fine, in the sense of first-class, leads to these African people of the highlands of Kenya and Tanzania

9a    Poor area losing hospital getting good number for meeting (3-8)
{GET-TOGETHER} – lose the H(ospital) from the poor area of a city, and then add G(ood) and a colourless, transparent, volatile liquid used as an anaesthetic (number – get it?)

ARVE Error: need id and provider

10a    Son reluctant to show sluggishness (5)
{SLOTH} – the usual abbreviation for S(on) is followed by a word meaning reluctant to get a synonym for sluggishness

11a    Leading representative of cause and Olympic figurehead? (11)
(TORCHBEARER} – a double definition, the second part of which is a description of the athlete carrying the Olympic flame

16a    Hints of indiscipline definitely infecting older college youths — dim conduct? (6)
{IDIOCY} – Hint is often used to indicate the first letter of a word, and here the plural means that you need the first letter of several words are required to get dim conduct

17a    Tale told mischievously and given out for a purpose (8)
{ALLOTTED} – an anagram of TALE TOLD is indicated by mischievously and the result is a word meaning given out for a purpose

19a    Lee’s talk reviewed as very thin? (8)
{SKELETAL} – a similar clue has an anagram of LEE’S TALK, signalled by reviewed, giving a word meaning very thin

20a    Retired Irish singer in part of Venice (6)
{RIALTO} – IR. is a common abbreviation for Ireland or Irish – this is to be reversed (retired) and followed by a operatic singer to get a in part of Venice with a well-known bridge

22a    Sailor thoroughly protected and actively recovering? (3,3,5)
{OUT AND ABOUT} – today’s sailor is Able-Bodied and he is inside (protected) a phrase meaning thoroughly to give another phrase, this one meaning actively recovering or convalescent

25a    Opening in resort, nightclub’s backed (5)
{INTRO} – the opening passage of a piece of music is hidden inside resort, nightclub, but reversed (backing)

27a    Minute prosaic comic faltered without sign of appreciation (11)
{MICROSCOPIC} – a word meaning minute, in the sense of extremely small, is an anagram (faltered) of PROS(A)IC COMIC without the A (sign of Appreciation – I’m not too sure about this one, do you think it works?)

28a    Love a party with pair of regulars (5)
{ADORE} a word meaning to love is a charade of A party and the first two letters (pair of) REgulars – this last construct is a refreshing change from usual “about” or “of”

29a    Part of car, exhaust by the sound of it (4)
{TYRE} – this essential part of a car sounds like a word meaning to exhaust

30a    Posh Northern supplier of water experiencing complaint? (6)
{UNWELL} – run together crosswordland’s term for posh, N(orthern) and a source of water and you get a word meaning experiencing complaint, in the sense of being ill

Down

1d           Nice friends perhaps for English writer (4)
{AMIS} – easy when you know how! – how you might describe friends if you lived in Nice (see how the required capitalisation is disguised by putting this word as the first in the clue) is also the surname of father and son English writers Sir Kingsley and Martin, so you can take your pick as to which of them is the answer

2d           Play offering liberal scope? (2,3,4,2)
{AS YOU LIKE IT} – the title of one of Shakespeare’s plays could also be a phrase meaning offering liberal scope

3d           Assistance required when receiving a delivery? (5,6)
{SIGHT SCREEN} – a cryptic definition of a large, usually white, screen placed on the boundary behind the bowler, providing a backdrop against which the batsman can more easily see the approaching ball (thank you to Chambers for the description of this feature found on a cricket ground)

4d           Official statement showing profit (6)
{RETURN} – a double definition

5d           Purchase grub around hotel abroad lacking energy (8)
{FOOTHOLD} – a word meaning  purchase, in the sense of a means of exerting force advantageously, is constructed by putting FOOD (grub) around an anagram (abroad) of HOT(E)L without the E (lacking energy)

6d           Minor part in late edition (5)
{EXTRA} – a double definition – a minor part in a film or play or a late edition of a newspaper

7d           Bird close to lapwing, rising type without tail (5)
{GREBE} – this bird is created from G (close to lapwinG) and REBE(L) (rising type without tail)

12d         Conceited logic I state to be wrong (11)
{EGOTISTICAL} – a word meaning  conceited is an anagram (to be wrong) of LOGIC I STATE

13d         Retired boxer into a terrible tit-for-tat? (11)
{RETALIATION} – add together RET (the abbreviation for retired), former World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad ALI and an anagram (terrible) of INTO A to get a word meaning  a tit-for-tat

14d         Tabloid reported in a mess, about to disappear (3-3)
{RED-TOP} – a term used to describe a tabloid newspaper is an anagram (in a mess) of (RE)PORTED without the RE (about to disappear)

15d         Disaster in motor racing? A shadow initially put over company (6)
{FIASCO) – this disaster is built up from F1 (Formula one motor racing) S (a Shadow initially) and CO(mpany)

18d         Preserve road by prison belonging to island? (8)
{JAMAICAN} – another word sum – JAM (preserve, as a noun) A1 (the road from London to Edinburgh and CAN (slang term for prison) gives a resident of a Caribbean island

21d         Item left in car (6)
{COUPLE} – two people living together can be described as an item – just insert L(eft) inside a two-door motor car with a roof sloping towards the back

23d         Whole property having domestic fixture by yard (5)
{UNITY} – the property of being whole is built up from a kitchen UNIT and Y(ard)

24d         Get on with a southern European largely (5)
{AGREE} – a word meaning  to get on with is formed from A GREE(K), a southern European without the final letter (largely)

26d         Old timeless outlet producing kitchen feature (4)
{OVEN} – O(ld) and VEN(T), an outlet without the T (Time less), give an essential feature of any kitchen

It seems from the early comments that some of you have struggled with this one, but apart from the definition for 22 across it still looks relatively straightforward to me, but your views are always welcome.

It certainly looks like the same setter that has alternated with Ray T in recent weeks – maybe we will know for certain later.