Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 27552
A full review by crypticsue
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BD Rating – Difficulty **– Enjoyment ***
This puzzle was published on Saturday, 26th July 2014
I was slow to get started with this one, but, in the end, thought it a fairly typical Saturday Prize Puzzle.
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Across
1a Settle on a posh carriage (6)
LANDAU – LAND (settle on) A from the clue and U (posh)
9a On the map, going up in the world (10)
NORTHBOUND – A cryptic definition of the direction if you were going from the bottom to the top of a map which misled several of us as we thought the solution was northwards until we couldn’t solve 7d and 8d!
10a Assured of success in having got off the booze? (4,3,3)
HOME AND DRY – HOME (in) and DRY(having got off the booze)
11a Those doing wrong often do it inside (4)
TIME – A cryptic definition of one of the ways prisoners might refer to their sentence.
12a Express grief having very small amount of money (4)
WEEP – WEE (very small) and P (penny, amount of money).
14a Melting tar — closure required in part of London (5,5)
EARLS COURT is an anagram (melting) of TAR CLOSURE.
17a Cleaner with little energy’s given notice that needs to be worked out (7)
CHARADE – CHAR (cleaner) and E (abbreviation [little] energy) with an AD (notice) inserted.
18a Want rotten fielder far away from the wicket! (4,3)
LONG OFF – LONG (want) and OFF (rotten).
20a Good circular pan covers beginning to require basic preparation (10)
GROUNDWORK – G (good) ROUND (circular) and WOK (pan) with the beginning letter of Require inserted.
21a Ordered without water (4)
NEAT – A double definition.
22a Information coming from all directions (4)
NEWS – Information coming from all the compass points North East West and South.
23a Change of accent is appropriate (10)
CONFISCATE – An anagram (change of) ACCENT IS gives us a synonym for appropriate when it means to steal or take for one’s own.
25a Gold phone is carried over to car (10)
AUTOMOBILE – AU (the chemical symbol for gold) TO (from the clue, carried over or inserted) and MOBILE (phone).
26a Bold lover not liked initially (6)
DARING – Remove the L for Liked from DARLING (lover).
Down
2d Catch the girl singer appearing first? Absolutely (10)
ALTOGETHER – Start with an ALTO (singer appearing first) and follow with GET (catch) and HER (the girl).
3d River port unfinished (4)
DOVE – Remove the R at the end of DOVER (port) and you get the river DOVE.
4d A Parisian fiancé’s chance (10)
UNINTENDED – UN (how someone in Paris might say A) and INTENDED (fiancé)
5d Snoop’s full of insulting primness (7)
PRUDERY – RUDE (insulting) is inserted into PRY (snoop).
6d For what reason put round fifth-rate nursery rhyme fare? (4)
WHEY – WHY (for what reason) with E (A, B, C, D, then E = fifth rate) gives us the food eaten by Little Miss Muffet in the nursery rhyme.
7d One’s musical tongue? (5,5)
MOUTH ORGAN – A cryptic definition of the tongue gives us a musical instrument.
8d Now opening for a season (6)
ADVENT – AD (Anno Domini, ‘now’) followed by a VENT (opening).
13d Instruments of supersonic potential (10)
PERCUSSION – These instruments are an anagram (potential) of SUPERSONIC.
15d Accumulated capital used on mansion and diamonds (10)
STOCKPILED – STOCK (capital) PILE (the BRB has this as a tall building but it is an informal way of referring to a stately mansion) and D (the abbreviation for the card suit of diamonds).
16d Engineers taking part in light diversion (10)
REFRACTION – RE (Royal Engineers) and FRACTION (part).
19d Local authority advice is announced (7)
COUNCIL is a homophone (is announced) of COUNSEL (advice).
20d Very pleasant in gale, getting blown about! (6)
GENIAL – An anagram (getting blown about) of IN GALE.
23d Bobby’s pocketed ring and pen (4)
COOP – An O (ring) inserted into COP ( an informal term (as is bobby) for a policeman).
24d Dear French singer (4)
CHER – The French word for dear or expensive Is also the name of the singer most useful to setters of cryptic crosswords!