Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2548
A full analysis by Peter Biddlecombe
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BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
A bit harder than usual for me – this one took almost exactly my average time for a Times crossword. That’s not supposed to happen when there are 3 hidden word clues, but I did start rather badly …
| Across | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Complaint coming from one woman after another (6) |
| MALADY = MA,LADY – I was annoyed with myself after solving for not seeing this fairly familiar wordplay structure on my first look at the clue. Possible moral for speed merchants: slow down a bit for the first few clues, and then start shifting when you’ve got checking letters to work with. | |
| 4 | Declared illegal, since evil (6) |
| FORBAD = declared illegal – FOR=since,BAD=evil | |
| 8 | Chosen to succeed – and, I note, corruptly (8 ) |
| ANOINTED – anag. of ‘and I note’ | |
| 10 | Commercial break lacking any purpose (6) |
| ADRIFT – AD = commercial (noun),RIFT=break | |
| 11 | Part of peace dividend foiled with first shot (4) |
| ACED = “foiled with first shot” (tennis) – hidden in ‘peACE Dividend’ | |
| 12 | Being abroad without money leads to self-denial (10) |
| ABSTINENCE – TIN = money (slang), in ABSENCE = “being abroad” | |
| 13 | Lottery committee one returns to for another try (7,5) |
| DRAWING BOARD – 2 definitions – “Lottery committee” (draw = lottery), and “(that) one returns to for another try” | |
| 16 | Runs repeatedly coming in boundaries smashed – it takes a lot of pace to break through (5,7) |
| SOUND-BARRIER – (R,R) = “runs repeatedly” in anag. of “boundaries” | |
| 20 | Behind one supporter, great footballer of the past (6,4) |
| SECOND BEST = behind one (one being equated with first/best) – SECOND=supporter, BEST=great footballer of the past | |
| 21 | Concession for prisoner – its dropping may lead to appeal (4) |
| BAIL – 2 definitions – the second one relating to bails in cricket | |
| 22 | Hunter, or other kind of horse (6) |
| CHASER – 2 defs again | |
| 23 | What disturbed King Edward was frustrating (8 ) |
| THWARTED = was frustrating – THWA = anag. of what,R=King,TED=Edward | |
| 24 | Opportunity to do something stylish – act in Westerns (6) |
| WINDOW = opportunity to do something – (IN = stylish = fashionable, DO=act), in WW = “westerns” (W being “Western” as well as “West”). Those who remember the 1970s might wonder whether “fashionable” and “stylish” are necessarily the same thing! | |
| 25 | Final portion used in sample, either hot or cool (6) |
| TRENDY – END = final portion, in TRY = sample (verb.) | |
| Down | |
| 1 | Patient of mine getting better cosmetic treatment (8 ) |
| MANICURE – 2 defs – the first (“Patient of mine getting better”) is for MAN I CURE | |
| 2 | Man who’s landed in Scotland as part of tactical airdrop (5) |
| LAIRD – a Scots landowner (so “landed” is as in “landed gentry”), hidden in “tacticaL AIRDrop” | |
| 3 | Get out of transport, having finally arrived, maybe, on coach (7) |
| DETRAIN – (arrive)D, (mayb)E, TRAIN = coach | |
| 5 | Instrument installed in radio car in advance (7) |
| OCARINA = instrument – hidden in “radiO CAR IN Advance”. Fitting O?A?I?A makes this one of the favourite instruments of crossword setters, along with OBOE for O?O? | |
| 6 | Local employee’s counter-proposal (9) |
| BARTENDER – BAR=counter,TENDER=proposal – fairly easy as same kind of BAR is used in the wordplay and the answer word | |
| 7 | Start believing in different cause for flaw (6) |
| DEFECT – 2 defs – well disguised, with “cause for flaw” needing to be separated, and very different lengths for the two defs | |
| 9 | Insubordinate, spreading sedition around base (11) |
| DISOBEDIENT – BED ( = base – think of “on a bed of spinach” from Master Chef), in anag. of SEDITION | |
| 14 | West is opposed to evil northern state (9) |
| WISCONSIN – W=West,IS,CON=opposed to,SIN=evil | |
| 15 | Labour’s end, in a manner of speaking (8 ) |
| DELIVERY – 2 def’s – a way of speaking, and “Labour’s end” when “labour” is the kind undergone in childbirth, and “end” is either “objective”or “conclusion” – both seem to work | |
| 17 | Immersed in game out East, getting experience (7) |
| UNDERGO – UNDER = “immersed in” (as in “under water”), GO = “game out east” | |
| 18 | I want a modified resistance, as opposed to conflict (7) |
| ANTIWAR – ANTIWA = (anag. of ‘I want a’),R = resistance | |
| 19 | Short letter from Paul received by young relative (6) |
| NEPHEW – EPH.=Ephesians (New Testament epistle) = “short letter from Paul” (short referring to the abbreviation – as Eddie Izzard reminds us, Paul’s letters were not short), in NEW=young | |
| 21 | Noble piece of music being broadcast (5) |
| BARON – BAR=piece of music, ON = being broadcast | |
Some lovely clues – 7d in particular. 1d was a bit chestnutty!. In general I am finding Sunday to be my favourite puzzle of the week. Thanks for the review!