ST 2824

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2824

A full review by crypticsue

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

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

This puzzle was published on Sunday, 29th November 2015

Another thoroughly enjoyable Sunday crossword with all the usual things to look out for when Virgilius has set the puzzle. My favourite Across clue was 11a and my favourite Down clue was 4d.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.  You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five best!

Across

1a           Times, reprinted badly, read wrongly (14)
MISINTERPRETED   – An anagram (badly) of TIMES REPRINTED

9a           Desist from    much-repeated saying (7)
REFRAIN – A double definition – the first a verb and the second a noun.

10a         Put out book with line I added in press (7)
PUBLISH –   Insert B (book) L (line) and I (from the clue) into PUSH (press)

11a         Work in garden, with no tree or bush to prune, finally (3)
HOE –   Found in the ‘final’ letters of either witH nO treE or busH tO prunE

12a         For amusement, take back painting etc, in a manner of speaking (11)
DISTRACTION –   ARTS (painting etc) reversed (take back) and inserted into DICTION (manner of speaking).

14a         Type  scientific publication (6)
NATURE – Another double definition.

15a         Amount divided by people about to start (8)
COMMENCE –   COME (amount [to]) divided by MEN and C (circa, about).

17a         Sound of nocturnal hunter, initially from small branch (8)
OFFSHOOT –   OFF (from) S (small) HOOT (sound of nocturnal hunter).

19a         Names of two men hunting animal in Africa (6)
JACKAL – JACK and AL (names of two men).

22a         Repeated failure in court, conceding point (6,5)
DOUBLE FAULT –   An appropriate cryptic definition for the day when Great Britain won the Davis Cup.

23a         ‘Old Man River’ as standard (3)
PAR – PA (old man, father) R (river)

24a         Like part of eye stored in secret in a lab (7)
RETINAL –   Hidden (stored) in secRET IN A Lab

26a         Misrepresented himself in European language (7)
FLEMISH –   An anagram (misrepresented) of HIMSELF.

27a         Clubs chat about what diners require — good reason not to buy something (11,3)
CREDIBILITY GAP –   C (clubs) and RAP (chat) into which is inserted EDIBILITY (what diners require) and G (good).

Down

1d           Doctor harming records, resulting in dismissal (8,6)
MARCHING ORDERS –   An anagram (doctor) of HARMING RECORDS

2d           Third part in examination might be least hard (7)
SOFTEST –  The third part of an examination is the S OF TEST.   Yes, I know, I took ages to ‘see’ it too!

3d           Old person that is somehow different than an elder (11)
NEANDERTHAL –   An anagram (that is somehow different) of THAN AN ELDER.

4d           Nominally important role, so to speak, in modern establishment (6)
ERNEST –   The name of the ‘nominally important’ part in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Ernest is found in modERN ESTablishment

5d           Arranged probe into earnings for youth providing daily service (8)
PAPERBOY –   An anagram (arranged) of PROBE goes into PAY (earnings)

6d           Outgoing movement featured in web blog (3)
EBB –   Featured in wEB Blog

7d           English scholar including it with current version (7)
EDITION – E (English) and DON (scholar), the latter ‘including’ IT (from the clue) and I (abbreviation for electrical current).

8d           University position — risks pinning list up with it (14)
CHANCELLORSHIP –   Insert a reversal (up in a Down clue) of ROLL (list) into CHANCES (risks) and then finish with HIP (with it).

13d         Something said about piece or section (11)
COMPARTMENT –   PART (piece) inserted into COMMENT (something said)

16d         Driver, for example, that’s needed here (4,4)
GOLF CLUB –   A driver (GOLF CLUB) is something you’d take to a GOLF CLUB (here)

18d         Bat, making fine half-century, say (7)
FLUTTER –   F (fine) L (Roman numeral for 50, so half a century) UTTER (say)

20d         Man checked, holding one place for author (7)
KIPLING –   KING (man checked in a chess game) ‘holding’ I (one) and PL (place).

21d         Couple of females breaking up fight or rough stuff (6)
DUFFEL –   Two Fs (couple of Females) ‘breaking up’ or going in the middle of a DUEL (fight) to make a thick coarse woollen cloth.

25d         Sign agreement Mafia boss set up (3)
NOD –   A reversal (set up in a Down clue) of a DON (Mafia boss).

S1