ST 2748 – Big Dave's Crossword Blog
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ST 2748

by crypticsue  

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2748

A full review by crypticsue

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

This puzzle was published on Sunday, 15th June 2014

Not a particularly difficult Sunday puzzle but the usual perfect entertainment.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.  You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five stars at the bottom of the post.

Across

1a           Slender, small, and easy to lift (6)
SLIGHT – S (small) and LIGHT (easy to lift).

4a           Social group cleric converted (6)
CIRCLE is an anagram (converted) of CLERIC.

8a           Activist set on fire area in plant (8)
MILITANT –   Insert LIT (set on fire) and A (area) into a MINT plant.

10a         Hint on page spotted? (6)
PIMPLY – P (page) on (or before) IMPLY (hint).

11a         Learner in academic stream is secretive type (4)
CLAM – Someone who can keep a secret is obtained by inserting the usual learner – L – into the river CAM from which the university town of Cambridge gets its name.   Apparently CLAM is a slang name for the mouth and hence its use to refer to a close-mouthed person.

12a         Look after leg — it’s 9 Down, say (10)
TENDONITIS – TEND (look after) ON (the ‘leg’ side in a game of cricket) and IT IS (it’s).

13a         Not flexible at home, passing around front of goal (12)
INTRANSIGENT –   IN (at home) and TRANSIENT (passing) with G (the front of goal) inserted.

16a         Best work in epic art seems different (12)
MASTERPIECES –   A different anagram of EPIC ART SEEMS.

20a         Have responsibility about Eastern vase, initially, holding water? (10)
BELIEVABLE –   BE  LIABLE (have responsibility) with E (Eastern) and V (the initial letter of vase) inserted.

21a         Business at home in American quarter, for example (4)
COIN – CO (company, business) and IN (the second use of ‘at home’ in this crossword).

22a         Large snake — it goes the other way on board (6)
LADDER – L (large) plus ADDER (snake).

23a         Young women holding right tools for plumbers (8)
WRENCHES –   WENCHES (young women) ‘holding’ R (right).

24a         Make a mockery of staff dividing earnings (6)
PARODY –   Insert a ROD or staff into PAY (earnings).

25a         World record time shortened, finally (2,4)
AT LAST –   ATLAS (a record of the world) and T (a shortened or abbreviated way of saying Time), split 2, 4.

Down

1d           British money’s sound in Scottish city (8)
STIRLING –   The Scottish city sounds like STERLING (British currency).

2d           I had taken over island, in a manner of speaking (5)
IDIOM – ID (I[‘]D, I had) and IOM (the Isle of Man).

3d           After red card, chaps, lacking leader? Cheer up (7)
HEARTEN –   HEART (red playing card) and MEN without the first letter (lacking leader).

5d           It’s better coming from him, proverbially (7)
IMPROVE is hidden in hIM PROVErbially.

6d           Select group of MPs, perhaps, to pledge support for ball (9)
COMMITTEE –   COMMIT (pledge support) and TEE (support for a golf ball).

7d           Cake Alice demolished, getting taller, ultimately (6)
ÉCLAIR –   An anagram (demolished) of ALICE followed by the ultimate letter of talleR.

9d           Unusually intense blow resulting in problem for person serving (6,5)
TENNIS ELBOW – An anagram (unusually) of INTENSE BLOW.

14d         Prompt to include article that’s left (9)
REMAINDER – Insert the indefinite article A into a REMINDER (prompt).

15d         Large number in bar, e.g., I’m entertaining (8)
REGIMENT – Hidden in baR EG IM ENTertaining.

17d         Hard diamonds cut (7)
SEVERED –   SEVERE (hard) and D (diamonds).

18d         Thwart gathering arranged to promote business? (7)
PREVENT –   Split 2, 5, it might be a Public Relations EVENT to promote a business.

19d         Last month, in short, a politician beat it (6)
DECAMP –   DEC (December, the last month of the year) A (from the clue) and MP (Member of Parliament, politician).

21d         Take care of leading man with a hot drink (5)
COCOA –   CO (care of) CO (commanding officer, leading man) and A (from the clue).

5 comments on “ST 2748”

  1. Thoroughly enjoyed going through this again. I particularly liked 10a, 11a, and 23a. Thank you very much, Virgilius, for the special Sunday treat.

    Super review, Crypticsue, for which appreciative thanks. Was very interested to read about the derivation of ‘clam’. Just one small query. Which is the definition in 17d — ‘hard’ or ‘cut’?

    1. Cut would be SEVER – confusion caused by my ‘deliberate’ error (;) ) which I will now correct.

  2. Do not understand 17d; is it supposed to be corrected? Surely CUT is past tense def for SEVERED, So SEVERE(hard) + D(Diamonds)

    1. Apologies – the moral of the tale is never correct something quickly while you are at work pretending to be doing something else entirely.

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