DT 27465

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27465

Hints and tips by scchua

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

As expected, Jay delivers another enjoyable, accessible puzzle. A little over 1.5* difficulty for me, and 3* for enjoyment. Thanks Jay.

P.S. If you still find the mechanics of the hints a mystery, you should read the following, which should help in understanding.

Definitions are underlined in the clues (in blue).

Words in blue are lifted from the clues.

Italicised words are instructions for constructing the answer. Parentheses following these enclose the indicators from the clues. Eg. Reversal of(up, in a down clue).

[xxx;yyy] denotes that a synonym for xxx or yyy is required.

{} are used to give the order of construction. Eg. Reversal of(up, in a down clue) AB + C is different from Reversal of(up, in a down clue) {AB + C}.

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Across

1a Escapes from rich people on cul-de-sacs (5,6)

{CLOSE SHAVES} : [rich people, who possess things in contrast to the poor who do not] placed after(on, in an across clue) [cul-de-sacs;residential streets without through access].

Defn: As a plural noun.

Answer: And taken literally:

9a Sign of remorse seeing material on fire? (9)

{SACKCLOTH} : [material;fabric in general] placed after(on, in an across clue) [to fire from a job].

Defn: …, as worn in penitence. Or in mourning:

10a Run away from revolutionary European, free at last! (5)

{ELOPE} : Reversal of(revolutionary) [an Eastern European national] + the last letter of(free at) “last “.

11a Short article – very dry – about parking (6)

{ABRUPT} : [an article in grammar] + [very dry, as applied to champagne] containing(about) [abbrev. for “parking”].

Defn: … in manner or speech;curt.

12a Budding setter’s back with new genre, not without a negative reaction (8)

{EMERGENT} : Reversal of(…’s back) [self-referential pronoun for the setter of this puzzle] plus(with) anagram of(new) GENRE + “not” minus(without) [a negative reaction;an expression of refusal].

13a Demand points to follow (6)

{ENTAIL} : [abbrevs. respectively, for 2 cardinal points on the compass] + [to follow, like a private detective might do, someone].

Defn: To involve as a necessity or as a consequence.

15a Barack’s worried about new cafe! (5,3)

{SNACK BAR} : Anagram of(worried) BARACK’S containing(about) [abbrev. for “new”].

18a Sheet iron reshaped as a form of entertainment (4,4)

{FILM NOIR} : [a sheet of thin material] + anagram of(reshaped) IRON.

Defn: …, with dark brooding sets, femmes fatales, and other cynical characters, to be seen in the cinema. And nowadays, on music videos too (sans plot):

19a Assorted nuts covering each throw (6)

{UNSEAT} : Anagram of(Assorted) NUTS containing(covering) [abbrev. for “each”].

Defn: … like a horse of its rider.

21a Prepare a team reserve (3,5)

{SET ASIDE} : [to prepare, say, a table for a meal] + A + [a team in opposition to another].

23a Country needing man with an answer (6)

{GUYANA} : [an informal term for a man – ask Madonna] plus(with) AN + [abbrev. for “answer”].

Defn: … in South America.

26a Type of woodwork popular with non-specialist (5)

{INLAY} : [popular;trendy] plus(with) [non-specialist;amateur, as an adjective].

27a Wearing down, turning it into art (9)

{ATTRITION} : Anagram of(turning) IT INTO ART.

Defn: As a noun.

28a Rocket, say, for second eleven needing to change, lacking core (5,6)

{STEAM ENGINE} : [abbrev. for “second” in time notation] + [a side, in some sports, consisting of eleven players] + anagram of(… to change) “needing ” minus its innermost letter(lacking core).

Answer: One of which;say, was the Rocket, or Stephenson’s Rocket, an innovative design in its day.

Down

1d Falls for bounder in suit (7)

{CASCADE} : [a bounder;a scoundrel] contained in(in) [a suit in a court of law].

Defn: A series of waterfalls over rocks.

2d Award for boys regularly on wheels (5)

{OSCAR} : 2nd and 4th letters of(… regularly) “boys ” placed above(on, in a down clue) [a vehicle, informally called “wheels”, as in “Dad, may I please borrow your wheels tonight?”].

These guys have each won the award. But, sadly, no award for best turned-out at the ceremonies:

3d It proves the rule, but no one returns (9)

{EXCEPTION} : [but;other than, as in “did nothing but complain”] + reversal of(… returns) { NO + [Roman numeral for “one”] }.

Defn: …, as the saying goes.

4d Criminal needing specs to be included in high definition (4)

{HOOD} : [letters that look like a pair of spectacle lenses] contained in(to be included in) [abbrev. for “high definition”, as applied to, say, monitor and TV screens].

5d Forceful opening across European border (8)

{VEHEMENT} : [an opening, usually to allow gas to escape] containing(across) [abbrev. for “European”] + [a border, say, of a dress].

6d Cornish listener’s curse? (5)

{SWEAR} : [abbrev. for that area of England in which Cornwall is situated] + [the part of your anatomy that’s a listener].

7d One who wields a cross in Spain with moulded Celt gold (7)

{ELECTOR} : [International Vehicle Registration code for Spain] plus(with) anagram of(moulded) CELT + [gold colour, especially in heraldry].

Defn: …, to exercise his/her right as a citizen in a democracy.

They’re not saying “Up y****s” but that they have put their crosses down:

8d Endearing label designed to cover the centre of Dover (8)

{LOVEABLE} : Anagram of(… designed) LABEL containing(to cover) the 4 inner letters of(the centre of) “Dover “.

14d Revealing story supports Swiss marksman (8)

{TELLTALE} : [a story] placed below(supports, in a down clue) [Swiss marksman and patriot with a crossbow].

Defn: As an adjective.

16d Discoloration of skin of onions cut in pieces (9)

{CONTUSION} : Anagram of(… in pieces) ONIONS CUT.

17d Time to lock up for a walk in London (8)

{BIRDCAGE} : [rhyming slang for time locked up in prison] + [to lock up, behind a barred enclosure, in a zoo, say].

Answer: Combined with Walk, the proper name of a street in London. Or a giant prop … and look! no feathers on this occupant:

18d Refusing to eat following an insect bite (7)

{FASTING} : [abbrev. for “following”, in reference to pages in a book] + [a variant of the article “an”] [a bite from an insect, say, a bee].

20d Fall in support on course for novice (7)

{TRAINEE} : [to fall;to shower on] contained in(in) [a support for your ball … a golf ball on a golf course, of course].

22d Problems for viewers in street, of course (5)

{STYES} : [abbrev. for “street”] + [of course;agree].

Defn: …, ie. your eyes.

24d Politician protected by first-class defence (5)

{ALIBI} : [short for one belonging to a political party, in the UK, say] contained in(protected by) [first-class, denoted by a letter and a number] with that number changed to its Roman numeral.

Defn: An excuse in your defence, which could be that you were somewhere else at the time the offence was committed.

25d Shred a short book (4)

{ATOM} : A + [a book, especially a large, weighty one] minus its last letter(short).

Answer: A very small amount, used figuratively.

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The Quick crossword pun: (sough} + {therm} + {Erica} = {South America}

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