ST 2737

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2737

A full review by crypticsue

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

This puzzle was published on  Sunday, 30th March 2014

The clocks changing meant that I solved this very enjoyable Virgilius puzzle at what seemed to my sleepy head a very early hour but that didn’t detract from the entertainment.   Top favourites have to be 19a and 25d, the latter because I love the way our setter always hides something more than once.

 

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Across

1a           Discouragement from exam I took, one taken in bad spirit (14)
DEMORALISATION –   Insert into DEMON (bad spirit)  ORAL  I SAT   (exam I took) and I (one).

9a           Removes couple at table tucking into university food (7)
UNSEATS  –  U (university)   NS (a ‘couple’ or pair of players at a bridge table) EATS (food).

10a         Excitement as our rucking set back the French (7)
AROUSAL –   An anagram (rucking) of AS OUR followed by a reversal of LA (the feminine form of ‘the’ in French).

11a         Was lying like a minister? On the contrary (3)
LAY  –   The past participle of the verb to lie can also mean relating to people who are not members of the clergy.

12a         Improvising at sea,      cheating in trial? (4-7)
JURY-RIGGING –   Improvising a temporary mast on a boat could also describe manipulating a jury in a trial in a dishonest manner.

14a         One barely able to live in certain colonies (6)
NUDIST –   A cryptic definition.

15a         Not asked, you said nothing about son (8)
UNSOUGHT –   U (a homophone ‘said’ of you) and NOUGHT (nothing) with S (son) inserted.

17a         Royal epithet or polite expression of surprise (8)
GRACIOUS – A word used as an epithet of royal acts or inclination can also be used as a polite interjection.

19a         Complete book collection started by Matthew in Ireland (6)
ENTIRE –  NT, the abbreviation for the New Testament, the Biblical collection of books which starts with the Gospel according to Saint Matthew,  inserted into EIRE (Ireland).

22a         Reduced number of brain operations, being inconsiderate (11)
THOUGHTLESS –   Split 7, 4 this might be a simpler way of saying “reduced number of brain operations”!

23a         Minor person in organisation    that engages with others in revolution (3)
COG – An unimportant person in a large organisation or one of the  projections on a toothed wheel.

24a         Arrogant in the extreme, upset natives (7)
VAINEST –   An anagram (upset) of NATIVES.

26a         Effect of bad blood I convey the wrong way in articles (7)
ANAEMIA –   Insert a reversal (the wrong way) of I MEAN (I convey) between two As  (articles).

27a         German king foolishly greets foe, right? (6,3,5)
GEORGE THE FIRST –   An anagram (foolishly) of GREETS FOE  RIGHT.

Down

1d           After large drink, say, in local making grammatical mistake (6,8)
DOUBLE NEGATIVE –  A grammatical construction using  two negatives when only one is required.   DOUBLE (large drink) followed by NATIVE (local) with EG (say, for example) inserted.

2d           Walked slowly as doctors watched (7)
MOSEYED  – Sauntered along slowly –  MOS (Medical Officers, doctors) EYED (watched).

3d           Again modifying fair in English city (11)
READJUSTING –    JUST (fair) inserted into the English city of  READING.

4d           Distinction that may be misrepresented as result (6)
LUSTRE –  A figurative term for distinction is an anagram (that may be represented as ) of RESULT.

5d           Ecstatic about distinctive hairstyle — that’s where the waves come in (8)
SEAFRONT –   SENT (roused to ecstasy) with AFRO (distinctive hairstyle) inserted.

6d           Company, so it’s said, in prime — that’s not odd (3)
TWO –  Two  can be  company (or so the old proverb says), but it is also the only even prime number.

7d           Squadron leader, some way into trip, ejecting (7)
OUSTING –   The leader of Squadron is put in third place (some way into) an OUTING (trip).

8d           RAF type needing thin fabric in cooler temperature (6,8)
FLIGHT SERGEANT –   LIGHT SERGE (thin fabric) inserted into FAN (cooler) and followed by a T (temperature).

13d         Reason tenors are, initially, very loud — they have to work on pitch (6,5)
GROUND STAFF –   GROUNDS  (reason)  T and A (the initial letters of Tenors and Are)  and FF (the musical notation for very loud).

16d         It’s included in understated bottom line for foreign movie? (8)
SUBTITLE –   Insert IT into SUBTLE (understated).

18d         Be very worried as answer goes in incorrectly (7)
AGONISE –    A (answer) followed by an anagram (incorrectly) of GOES IN.

20d         Add royalty to revenue for new resident (7)
INCOMER –  INCOME (revenue) with R (royalty) added.

21d         Separate from husband, having first acted badly (6)
DETACH  –   An anagram (badly) of ACTED precedes (having first) H (husband).

25d         Bit of corn seen in some arable area sooner or later (3)
EAR –   Hidden or seen three times  in (sooner) in somE ARablE ARea and (later) in the last letters of arablE areA sooneR

My weekend blogging partner  is currently ‘spoiling good walks’ on a golf course in Spain – he picked the right week as it is his ‘week off’ from blogging duties, which means that I’ll be back in the morning with a review of last Saturday’s prize puzze.