DT 28204

Daily Telegraph No 28204

A full review by crypticsue

This puzzle was published on 27th August 2016

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

I think it was the abundance of ten letter words that made solving this puzzle take longer than usual, although with the addition of some ‘old friends’ and some very obvious wordplay for other clues, I should probably have finished it off sooner than I did.

Across

1a           Followers of star, K Hepburn’s partner — they’re trying people (10)
MAGISTRACY – MAGI (followers of star) and S TRACY (Spencer Tracy, the partner on and off screen of Katharine Hepburn

6a           Dashed odds on journalist (4)
SPED – SP (starting price, odds) ED (journalist)

9a           Dreadful alternative to a musical (10)
CALAMITOUS – An anagram (alternative) of TO A MUSICAL

10a         Black bird in wood (4)
BOWL – B (black) OWL (bird) – this wood is used on bowling greens

12a         Rudest officer commanding ruler, a brainy type (12)
BLUESTOCKING – BLUEST (rudest) OC (Officer Commanding) KING (ruler)

15a         James goes after port and Spanish wines (6)
RIOJAS – JAS (the abbreviation for the Letter  of James in the Bible goes after RIO (port)

16a         Determined that chap will be joining conservationists (4-4)
HELL-BENT – HE LL (that chap will) BE (from the clue) NT (National Trust, conservationists)

18a         Put night out on Facebook, perhaps, and mark for attention later (8)
POSTDATE –  POST about your DATE (night out) on Facebook or some other form of social media.

19a         A quick look round hospital — refuse to go in it (3-3)
ASH-CAN –  A (from the clue) SCAN (quick look) the latter going round H (hospital)

21a         Religious type playing special piano (12)
EPISCOPALIAN – An anagram (playing) of SPECIAL PIANO

24a         Antelope’s endless dash (4)
ELAN – An ‘endless’ ELAND (antelope)

25a         A bad result, collapsing row of pillars (10)
BALUSTRADE – An anagram (collapsing) of A BAD RESULT

26a         It may be involved in nasty eye (4)
STYE – Even with a sore eye, it wouldn’t be hard to spot this lurker in naSTY Eye

27a         Old Middle Eastern country’s lacking a shelter for carrying on (10)
PERSISTENT – Belonging an old Middle Eastern country –  PERSIA’S, lacking the A, and followed by  TENT (shelter)

Down

1d           Make fun of topless dress (4)
MOCK – a ‘topless’ SMOCK dress

2d           A habitual criminal turns up in fete (4)
GALA – A reversal (turns up in a down clue) of A LAG (a habitual criminal)

3d           Manager sacked as clearly mad (3,9)
SAM ALLARDYCE – An anagram (sacked) of AS CLEARLY MAD

4d           Nasty chap makes Del Boy lose his head (6)
ROTTER – Del Boy TROTTER losing the letter T at the head of his surname

5d           Messenger taking time for a hanger-on (8)
COURTIER –  COURIER (messenger) taking T (time)

7d           Papers in French region may bring fortune (10)
PROVIDENCE – ID (identity papers) in PROVENCE (French region)

8d           Revelling in making it dark apparently (10)
DELIGHTING – Split the solution 2, 8, and you could be making it dark

11d        Book as place for cakes and teas is chaotic (12)
ECCLESIASTES –  I really loved the ‘place for cakes’ (I like the cakes too) ECCLES which is followed by an anagram (chaotic) of TEAS IS

13d         She might see what’s coming and oppress the unfortunate (10)
PROPHETESS – An anagram (unfortunate) of OPPRESS THE

14d         Plot with prisoners making illegal copies (10)
CONSPIRACY – CONS (prisoners) PIRACY (making illegal copies)

17d         Arrest coach carrying Opposition’s top trio (8)
STOPPAGE – STAGE (coach) carrying the top trio of letters from OPPosition

20d         Makes obscure university dons bumpkins (6)
CLOUDS –  U (university) ‘dons’ or ‘wears’ CLODS (bumpkins) on the outside

22d         Western star said to be in decline (4)
WANE – A homophone (said) of John WAYNE, the star of many a Western movie

23d         Attend club (4)
BEAT – Split 2,2 to BE AT (attend)

 

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