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ST 2840

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2840

A full review by crypticsue

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

This puzzle was published on Sunday, 20th March 2016

Another lovely Sunday puzzle – lots of lurkers and other trademark clues – but my favourite is 24d

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           Reacted to foul play in game, having initiated trick (8)
WHISTLED –   WHIST (game) LED (having initiated trick in whist)

9a           Articles of protective clothing in war are badly needed (8)
RAINWEAR –   An anagram (badly) of IN WAR ARE

10a         Urgent request from top leaders or people appointed (4)
PLEA –   This urgent request can be found lurking not once but twice –  toP LEAders or peoPLE  Appointed.

11a         Getting better with unorthodox cure, gym activity helping (12)
RECUPERATION –   An anagram (unorthodox) of CURE  followed by  PE (gym activity) and RATION (helping)

13a         A learner, in loud argument, raised voice (8)
FALSETTO –  A (from the clue) and L (learner) inserted between  F (loud) and SET TO (argument)

15a         Enlist and begin fighting (6)
ENGAGE  –  This can mean  enlist and, in the military, begin an action against.

16a         The writer adds second note, reduced by 60% (4)
MEMO –  ME (the writer) MO (second) –   MEMO being 40% of a 10-letter MEMORANDUM.

17a         Backed up attempt, being assertive (5)
PUSHY –   A reversal (backed) of UP followed by SHY (attempt)

18a         It’s needed by diplomat, actually (4)
TACT –   Another lurker –  diplomaT ACTuallly

20a         Straightforward shot for model (6)
SITTER – An easy shot or someone who models for an artist.

21a         Constable’s superior, American painter said (8)
SERGEANT –   ‘said’ indicating a homophone of the surname of the American painter John Singer SARGENT.

23a         Fast mode of transport put in front of school (7,5)
EXPRESS TRAIN –   EXPRESS (put) TRAIN (school)

26a         Country‘s anger, as expressed in blog? (4)
EIRE –  Anything on the web usually is an e- something, eg email, so here – e anger would be E IRE.

27a         County having season, as American says, that’s failure (8)
DOWNFALL –   DOWN (one of the Six Counties of Northern Ireland) FALL (what the Americans call autumn).

28a         Test ground with it for authority (8)
LORDSHIP –   LORDS (cricket ground where test matches are played) HIP (with it)

Down

2d           Assisting partner, get ample home partly set up (8)
HELPMATE –   This craftily reversed (set up in a down clue) lurker was my last one in.   It is found, partly, in gET AMPLE Home.

3d           Marksman notes part of face (12)
SHARPSHOOTER –   SHARPS (musical notes) HOOTER (a slang term for a nose, especially a large or ugly one)

4d           Window   that’s needed for theatre opening (6)
LANCET  –   A narrow pointed window or a surgical instrument used to open the site of a surgical  operation.

5d           Who, for example, gets work in decline? (4)
DROP –  DR (Who, for example) OP (work)

6d           Fellow that is caught in bank in violent fashion (8)
FIERCELY –  F (fellow) IE (that is) plus C (caught) inserted in RELY (bank).

7d           Source of special fare, reduced, as I went first to North (4)
DELI –   The abbreviated (reduced)  way we refer to a shop selling specialized food is a reversal (to north) of I LED (I went first)

8d           Redesigned patterns for part of church (8)
TRANSEPT –   An anagram (redesigned) of PATTERNS.

12d         Characteristic of close-knit group to understand her point (12)
TOGETHERNESS –   TO (from the clue) GET (understand) HER (from the clue) NESS (point)

14d         Place offering respite from old fool grabbing one (5)
OASIS –    O (old) ASS (fool) grabbing I (one)

16d         Wrongly advises girl about heavy metal (8)
MISLEADS –   MISS (girl) goes ‘about’ LEAD (heavy metal)

17d         French citizen having change of air in Spain, possibly (8)
PARISIAN –   an anagram (change of) AIR inserted into another anagram (possibly) of SPAIN.

19d         New composition for cornet among 101 musical works (8)
CONCERTI –   An anagram (new composition for) CORNET inserted into C I (101 in Roman numerals)

22d         Kind of book, one of those author writes for (6)
READER –  A reading book or someone an author hopes will buy their book.

24d         Pirate fighter protecting wife for weakest man on board (4)
PAWN –   This clue gets the ‘favourite’ top spot  as I just loved the  “Pirate fighter” –   Peter PAN ‘protecting’ the abbreviation for Wife.

25d         Utter   hero of some central Europeans (4)
TELL –   A verb meaning to utter  or a Swiss hero.

S1

 

2 comments on “ST 2840

  1. Oh dear! What passes as our ‘filing system’ seems to have gone wrong. I can find lots of old Sunday crosswords and last Sunday’s but not this one.
    I can’t remember much about it other than being completely mystified as to why my 26a was right.
    I know that I can safely say that I enjoyed it very much because I always enjoy Sunday crosswords so thanks to Virgilius and to CS.

  2. Eire, brilliant. Ta to the usual culprits. When my house move works out, and now I can access the site …… keep you all posted. 2000 books gone to charity boo hoo, not posting as much as usual but will do soon, imminent house move eek

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