Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2531
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
The usual set of good clues – I’m doing this late, for which I apologise, so let’s get straight on. Imagine a 5-minute pause while I paste in the clue text.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Men captured in error if pawns so arranged (9,2,3) |
| PRISONERS OF WAR – anagram of “error if pawns so” | |
| 9 | Crush page inside old papers (7) |
| OPPRESS – P=page, in (O=old,PRESS) | |
| 10 | Hamlet revealing evil without delay (7) |
| VILLAGE – LAG in VILE – synonym of evil (adj.) – an anagram of it too, though that’s not important for this clue | |
| 11 | One old-fashioned hero (4) |
| IDOL – 1=one,DOL = anagram of ‘old’ | |
| 12 | Crude quality of lessons reported to head (10) |
| COARSENESS = homophone of ‘course’,NESS=head as in Orford Ness | |
| 14 | Short screw secures it for instrument (6) |
| GUITAR – IT in GUAR(d) – ‘screw’ being slang for a prison guard | |
| 15 | David’s son taken in by fortune-teller (8 ) |
| PSALMIST – S=son in PALMIST. (The Psalms are traditionally attributed to King David) | |
| 17 | Even when rebuffed accepting a role in social gathering (3,5) |
| TEA PARTY – (A PART) in reversal of YET=even | |
| 18 | Advantage it bestowed on chairperson? (6) |
| PROFIT – PROF = “chairperson”,IT | |
| 21 | Poet’s order to horse that’s unenforceable (10) |
| DRINKWATER – John Drinkwater was a poet and playwright of the early 20th century. Cryptic def based on “You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”. | |
| 22 | Spring this year’s a little longer (4) |
| LEAP – 2 def’s – leap=jump=spring, and the extended year | |
| 24 | Way to resume play with part of actor’s speech removed (4-3) |
| LINE OUT – restart of play in Rugby Union. LINE=part of actor’s speech,OUT=removed, as in having a tooth out | |
| 25 | Unspecified person also interrupting moderate (2-3-2) |
| SO-AND-SO – AND=also, in SO-SO=moderate | |
| 26 | Disruption of trade meant less for veteran politician (5,9) |
| ELDER STATESMAN – anag. of “trade meant less” | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Examining bird admitted by doctor turning up (7) |
| PROBING – ROBIN in reversal of GP = doctor | |
| 2 | I am tentative about a theatrical opening that’s unrehearsed (15) |
| IMPROVISATIONAL – (A,T) in I’M PROVISIONAL = I am tentative | |
| 3 | Married with ring that’s outstanding (4) |
| OWED – O = “ring”, WED | |
| 4 | Avoid legal action when held up in station (6) |
| EUSTON = station – reversal of ‘not sue’ = ‘avoid legal action’ | |
| 5 | Second highest mountain is extremely hard (8 ) |
| SEVEREST – S=second,EVEREST – I thought about K2, but only briefly. | |
| 6 | It could produce a small fear mistakenly (5,5) |
| FALSE ALARM = anag. of ‘a small fear’ and an all-in-one clue | |
| 7 | Deem a democracy incomplete if this liberty is destroyed (8,7) |
| ACADEMIC FREEDOM – anag. of ‘Deem a democrac(y), if’ and another all-in=one | |
| 8 | Semi-precious stone mounted for group of high-fliers (3,3) |
| JET SET – JET from Whitby, SET = mounted, as of jewels | |
| 13 | Fragrant flower mother grew after request (6,4) |
| DAMASK ROSE – DAM=mother,ASK=request,ROSE=grew – we have to read the wordplay as ‘mother, (grew after request)’ as opposed to ‘(mother, grew) after request’ | |
| 16 | Not, after disappearance of old, island seen in maps (8 ) |
| ATLANTIS – (N(o)T,I) in ATLAS. I think we have to read this as another all-in-one, as the wordplay uses up all the clue. On close inspection, I don’t think the definition reading is quite up to BG’s usual standard, but it was clear enough when solving. | |
| 17 | Small, and a bit tight (6) |
| TIDDLY – two def’s, with ‘tight’ being ‘drunk’ in the second one | |
| 19 | Highly controlled spinner joining county (3-4) |
| TOP DOWN = ‘highly controlled’ – TOP=Sipnner, DOWN=(Northern Irish) county, the crossword setter’s favourite one. | |
| 20 | Recalled country I ran without a break since 1935 (6) |
| PERSIA = ‘recalled country’ because its modern name is Iran = “I ran” without a break | |
| 23 | Club that’s used to deter attackers (4) |
| MACE – 2 defintions again – the parliamentary Mace is essentially a club, and mace is an anti-attack spray | |