Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2547
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment *****
A bit trickier than some Sundays. As I start to write this I’ve forgotten the puzzle experience and didn’t write anything about it on my copy – just the wordplay structures. More after I’ve written these up below (so to speak).
First thought: good solid grid – he says after only having to set up 14 numbers each for acrosses and downs. Those 14-letter answers in the middle hold it all together very well. Not much more to say after writing up the clues – “just” another easy but very classy Sunday puzzle.
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Primate giving bishop a blessing (6) |
| BABOON – B=bishop,A,BOON=blessing – Primates can of course be monkeys or important man of the cloth | |
| 4 | Castles, say, expropriated from duchess mendaciously (8) |
| CHESSMEN – hidden word – and chessmen/castles is a nice follow-up to the bishop in 1A – now I’m looking for a theme! But in vain, it turns out. | |
| 10 | Promoted one internally in firm (5) |
| SOLID – 1 in SOLD=promoted | |
| 11 | They are put on canvas in topsail at sea (3,6) |
| OILPAINTS – anag. of “in topsail” | |
| 12 | A cause of current stoppage? Worker, perhaps, being inflexible (7) |
| ADAMANT – A,DAM=cause of current stoppage,ANT=worker, perhaps | |
| 13 | Cut off one part of rising scale (7) |
| ISOLATE – 1=one,(SO,LA,TE) = part of rising scale – from Guido d’Arezzo or Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music | |
| 14 | Make enlargement of early photograph that’s not unappreciated, for instance (6,8 ) |
| DOUBLE NEGATIVE – DOUBLE = “make enlargement of”,NEGATIVE = “early photograph”, for those who still remember photos being stored on film rather than memory cards | |
| 17 | An old artist I upset about it, being not avant-garde (14) |
| TRADITIONALIST – IT in an anagram of “An old artist I” | |
| 21 | Fault sorted out outside court, in short — that’s discreet (7) |
| TACTFUL – CT.=court, in anag. of ‘fault’ | |
| 23 | Replace bottle containing such ineffective medicine (7) |
| PLACEBO = ineffective medicine (in theory, at least) – hidden in “Replace bottle” | |
| 24 | One switch made in train carrying old theatrical type (9) |
| TRAGEDIAN – AGED = old, in TRIAN = “train with one switch” – “one switch” can be read as a single swap of adjacent letters, or a switch in the position of I=one – it matters not. | |
| 25 | Flier party produced before end of election (5) |
| RAVEN – RAVE=party,N from electioN | |
| 26 | Legacy male removed from Russian museum (8 ) |
| HERITAGE – m=male is removed from Hermitage = Russian museum | |
| 27 | Obsequious NCO standing in front of troops (6) |
| SMARMY=obsequious – S.M.=Sergeant Major=NCO, in front of ARMY = troops. Fairly easy as “obsequious” is about the last word you’d use to describe the SM of popular imagination. | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Status of issue raised by those in unholy alliance? (8 ) |
| BASTARDY – this is the same “issue raised” trick as in the usual clue for “Foster parents” – “They continue to raise different issues” or similar. | |
| 2 | In last part of winter months, class beset with difficulties (9) |
| BELEAGUER – LEAGUE=class (not alliance, as we’ve just mentioned one of those), in BER = “last part of winter months ” (September to December), depending on exactly what you call winter months. I seem to remember that in printed diaries, winter was supposed to start on 21/12, which would give us only one -BER winter month, but I always thought that division was pretty daft. | |
| 3 | Eccentric in Democratic party set up formal gathering (7) |
| ODDBALL – reversal of (D=Deocratic,DO=party), then BALL=formal gathering | |
| 5 | Financial business maintaining body of soldiers (7,7) |
| HOLDING COMPANY – HOLDING = maintaining (as of an argument), COMPANY=body of soldiers | |
| 6 | Soundly understand wine, such as Bordeaux (7) |
| SEAPORT = “see port”, Bordeaux being both a wine and a seaport | |
| 7 | Married woman producing heavenly food (5) |
| MANNA = heavenly food – M=married,ANNA=woman | |
| 8 | Built home as a hobby, or for a lark, perhaps (6) |
| NESTED – CD trying to disguise the fact that hobbies and larks are both birds. | |
| 9 | Revealing lots, since strain significant (7-7) |
| FORTUNE-TELLING – FOR=since=because,TUNE=strain,TELLING=significant | |
| 15 | Background sound from concealed speaker (5-4) |
| VOICE-OVER – cryptic def – a concealed human speaker rather than a woofer or tweeter | |
| 16 | Source of legal help on treaty that’s broken (8 ) |
| ATTORNEY – anag. of “on treaty” | |
| 18 | Failing to get round learner driver, change course (7) |
| DEFLECT = change course – L = learner driver, in DEFECT = failing. L=learner driver is ultra-fair – “learner” is fine, and you’ll never catch BG peddling the student=L” nonsense used by some setters | |
| 19 | A couple of animals shot for host, for example (7) |
| ANAGRAM – which is A,then a NAG and a RAM – this part of the clue is fairly chestnutty, but the “shot for host” part is much more interesting – a sample pair of anagrams | |
| 20 | Running problem streaker completely avoids (6) |
| STITCH = that inexplicable pain you sometimes get when running, and of course streakers don’t have a stitch on | |
| 22 | With key, locks a piece of furniture (5) |
| CHAIR – C=key,HAIR=locks | |