Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2873
A full review by crypticsue
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This puzzle was published on Sunday 6th November
BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ****
The usual joy and a pleasure to solve and review – my favourite clue (and it was hard to pick just one) was the typical Virgilian 26a
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Across
1a Still cold, wrapped in piece of woollen cloth (6)
PLACID – C (cold) wrapped in PLAID (woollen cloth)
4a Single out what’s central to president if young (8)
IDENTITY – Someone was saying that Virgilius appeared recently to have given up cluing ‘lurkers’ – not in this crossword he hasn’t! The word you need is ‘central to’ presIDENT IF Young
10a Showing doggedness wrongly put into cause (9)
TENACIOUS – An anagram (wrongly put) of INTO CAUSE
11a Small house by ocean for prophetic writer (5)
HOSEA – One of the Old Testament prophets is obtained by following an abbreviated (small) house – HO with SEA (ocean)
12a Like the most sacred thing that is penned by composer (7)
HOLIEST – IE (that is) penned by the composer HOLST
13a Bad treatment for natural wood (3,4)
RAW DEAL – RAW (natural, untreated) DEAL (type of wood)
14a Characteristic of courageous person, never being ruffled (5)
NERVE – An anagram (being ruffled) of NEVER
15a Prepare to recall note I put in code (8)
MEMORISE – ME (musical note) followed by I put in MORSE code
18a Tree is what ruined instrument (8)
HAWTHORN – An anagram (ruined) of WHAT followed by HORN (instrument)
20a Land in South America suffering from cold, we hear (5)
CHILE – A homophone (we hear) of CHILLY (suffering from cold)
23a A regal upset about British subject creating class struggle? (7)
ALGEBRA – An anagram (upset) of A REGAL ‘about’ B (British)
25a Part of brass band behind with note, time after time (7)
TRUMPET – RUMP (behind) E (musical note) and T (time) all go after another T (after Time)
26a Stick fork, say, into small fruit or vegetable, right? (5)
SPEAR – S (small) PEAR (fruit) or S (small) PEA (vegetable) R (right)
27a Worshipping, I perform line I chant (9)
IDOLISING – I DO (I perform) L (line) I (from the clue) SING (chant)
28a Criminal sheltered by parson is terrified (8)
ARSONIST – Another lurker – this one sheltered by pARSON IS Terrified
29a Top player finishes off the season heavy (6)
LEADEN – LEAD (top player) and the ‘finishes’ of thE and seasoN
Down
1d Sanctimonious leader of cult in affair, having fling (8)
PITCHING – PI (sanctimonious) and C (the leader of cult) inserted into THING (affair)
2d Make nothing of a boxer’s last round (7)
ANNULAR – ANNUL (make nothing of) A (from the clue) and R (the last letter of boxer
3d It’s not fair, people being taken in by bad client (9)
INCLEMENT – MEN (people) being taken in by an anagram (bad) of CLIENT
5d With record margin, one people showing good judgment (14)
DISCRIMINATION – DISC (record) RIM (margin) I (one) NATION (people)
6d Specialised skill, from what we hear? Absolutely not! (5)
NOHOW – Sounds like (from what we hear) a homophone of KNOW-HOW (specialised skill)
7d Parts of feet getting hot or cool on flight (7)
INSTEPS – IN (hot or cool both here meaning fashionable or trendy) STEPS (flight of stairs)
8d Like dates, with one exception, unknown in advance (6)
YEARLY – The one exception being in a leap year 0 Y (a mathematical unknown) EARLY (in advance)
9d Tories are mad about one in Commons following Conservative peers (14)
CONTEMPORARIES – CON (Conservative) followed by an anagram (mad) of TORIES ARE ‘about’ MP (one in the House of Commons)
16d Run over revised clues I have separated from others (9)
RECLUSIVE – R (run) goes over an anagram (revised) of CLUES and IVE (I have)
17d Write label about figure in plan for military HQ (8)
PENTAGON – PEN (write) TAG (label) ON (about) gives a figure that is the shape of the US Military HQ, thus giving it its name
19d E.g. sail erratically across river in African capital (7)
ALGIERS – An anagram (erratically) of EG SAIL goes over R (river)
21d Insinuated rascal spoke dishonestly (7)
IMPLIED – IMP (rascal) LIED (spoke dishonestly)
22d Loathing that’s irrelevant without a purpose (6)
NAUSEA – NA (not applicable, irrelevant) goes ‘without’ A (from the clue) and USE (purpose)
24d Part of goal supported by noble (5)
BARON – BAR (part of goal) ON (supported by)
S2