DT 28438

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28438

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on Saturday 27th May

BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

A read and write Saturday puzzle so I bet the postman delivering the competition entries to DT Towers had quite heavy load this week

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Across

1a Nothing was converted into capital (10)
WASHINGTON – An anagram (converted) of NOTHING WAS

6a Most of the month’s brandy (4)
MARC – Almost all of the month of MARCh

9a Precision shown by former turn, one with duet to perform (10)
EXACTITUDE – EX (former) ACT (turn) I (one) and an anagram (to perform) of DUET

10a Expert collects hard pine (4)
ACHE – ACE (expert) ‘collects’ H (hard)

13a Computer peripheral, second used by baked-bean processor? (7)
SCANNER – S (second) CANNER (used by baked-bean processor?)

15a Little room to fail in court (6)
CLOSET – LOSE (fail) in CT (the abbreviation for court)

16a Make fun of aim to have drink outside (4,2)
SEND UP – END (aim) has SUP (drink) ‘outside’

17a Shocking termination of sentence (11,4)
EXCLAMATION MARK – cryptic definition of something that might go at the end of a sentence

18a Trout swimming round black fish (6)
TURBOT – An anagram (swimming) of TROUT ‘round’ B (black)

20a Initially crossed lines abroad? Shout loudly! (3,3)
CRY OUT – C (crossed ‘initially’) RY (railway lines) OUT (abroad)

21a Tall tree Edward, half-cut, carved into cross (7)
REDWOOD – EDW (the first half only of Edward) ‘carved into’ ROOD (cross)

22a Amusement park needs loud music (4)
FAIR – F (musical instruction meaning loud) and AIR (music)

25a Picket building where prisoners are kept (10)
GUARDHOUSE – GUARD (picket) HOUSE (building)

26a Bed contains a blanket — or fleece (4)
COAT – COT (bed) ‘contains’ A (from the clue)

27a Already sat with a resort guide in a bad way (4,6)
LEAD ASTRAY – An anagram (a resort) of ALREADY SAT

Down

1d Tobacco plant in the wrong place (4)
WEED – An informal term for tobacco or a reference to the expression that there’s no such thing as a weed, it’s just a plant growing in the wrong place

2d Catch southern horse (4)
SNAG – S (southern) NAG (horse)

3d Perfect popular diplomacy (6)
INTACT – IN (popular) TACT (diplomacy)

4d Told how entering alien’s become upwardly mobile (3,2,2,3,5)
GET ON IN THE WORD – An anagram (alien) of TOLD HOW ENTERING

5d Lots of dogs head off (6)
OODLES – Take the ‘head’ off some POODLES – Variations of this clue have been around a lot lately – definitely reaching chestnut status

7d Cleric ruined chance with Dora (10)
ARCHDEACON – An anagram (ruined) of CHANCE with DORA

8d Skinflint, fellow catching European fish (10)
CHEAPSKATE – CHAP (fellow) ‘catching’ E (European) SKATE (fish)

11d Methodical but not artistic presumably (10)
SCIENTIFIC – Although I have known a number of scientific research projects where artists have been involved!!

12d Harmony in a musical instrument (10)
CONCERTINA – CONCERT (harmony) IN A (from the clue)

13d Lessen a Tory’s hold on foreign politician (7)
SENATOR – We don’t get many lurkers on a Saturday but this is found in lesSEN A TORy

14d Sly creature about — hurried up to cross short distance (7)
REYNARD – the sly fox – RE (about) and a reversal (up) of RAN (hurried) ‘crossing’ or going in the middle of YD (a ‘short’ abbreviation for the distance of a yard)

19d Holding catch over river (6)
TENURE – A reversal (over) of NET (catch) followed by the river URE

20d He has to support firm’s blunt weapons (6)
COSHES – HES (he has) supports or goes after COS (company’s, firm’s)

23d Seedcase donkey’s bitten off at the end (4)
BURR – a BURRO (donkey) without its last letter (bitten off at the end)

24d Particularly light? (4)
VERY – A double definition – an adverb or a signalling lamp named after Edward Very who invented it

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