Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 28452
Hints and tips by Mr Kitty
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BD Rating - Difficulty ** - Enjoyment ***
Hello, everyone. Today we have another solid Tuesday puzzle. Nothing too exotic in the clueing and, while there weren’t any laugh out loud moments during the solve, there were a few smiles generated along the way. I’m interested to hear what others made of it.
In the hints below the definitions are underlined and the answers will be revealed by clicking on the 
buttons. In some hints hyperlinks provide additional explanation or background. Clicking on a picture will enlarge it. Please leave a comment telling us how you got on.
Across
1a Repaired her Nissan, working with double horsepower? (2,7)
IN HARNESS: An anagram (repaired) of HER NISSAN.
6a Racket is put in hands of one criminal (5)
NOISE: IS from the clue inside (put in hands of) an anagram (criminal) of ONE.
9a Trendy type of commercial record endlessly in paper (7)
FADDIST: Join crosswordland’s usual commercial or notice to a synonym of a (musical) record minus its last letter (endlessly). Put that object inside the initials of a pink UK newspaper that is also a usual suspect.
10a Harmony shown by one playing instrument (9)
ACCORDION: Chain together a synonym of harmony, the Roman numeral one, and a word meaning playing (the radio or a record, perhaps).
11a Disorder as newspaper boss rejected series of products (7)
DERANGE: Follow the reversal (rejected) of the usual newspaper boss or journalist by another word for a “series of products”.
12a Crowd disowning leader, part of drama that's offensive (7)
OBSCENE: Link together a three-letter crowd minus its first letter (disowning leader) and a section of a play that’s smaller than an act.
13a Skip speech that's to be self-evident (2,7,6)
GO WITHOUT SAYING: Taken literally, the answer could mean to skip speech or to remain silent.
18a Raise I'm upset about, becoming like a ritual (7)
TOTEMIC: A word that I suppose might at a stretch mean lift or raise (although I’d put its meaning closer to carry), followed by a reversal or anagram (upset) of I’M and the single letter abbreviation for about.
20a This could be a regular breakfast item? (7)
SOLDIER: A double definition. At breakfast this item might accompany a soft-boiled egg. Click on the picture for the 9a version of it.
22a Sloth perhaps from Andes, idly meandering (6,3)
DEADLY SIN: An anagram (meandering) of ANDES IDLY. Sloth is an example of the answer.
23a Meet son, say, fit after jogging (7)
SATISFY: S(on) followed by an anagram (after jogging) of SAY FIT.
24a Drummer gently crushes 'Come Together' (5)
MERGE: The first two words are hiding (crushes) the answer.
25a Comment about curiously read mass in foreign cathedral (5,4)
NOTRE DAME: A (4) brief written comment, containing (about) an anagram (curiously) of READ and the physics abbreviation for mass.
Down
1d Popular fine artist, till that's unbecoming (5,3)
INFRA DIG: Concatenate the usual word for popular, the usual abbreviation for fine, the usual artist, and a synonym of till (e.g. the earth). The answer is an informal contraction of infra dignitatem = beneath one’s dignity.
2d Question about garden tool in country feature (8)
HEDGEROW: A three-letter word that could be a question, containing (about) a garden tool used to tidy lawn boundaries.
3d Rearing mostly fruit (6)
RAISIN: All but the last letter (mostly) of a word for rearing (animals or children, for example).
4d One succeeding might acquire this long vehicle (6)
ESTATE: A double definition. The one succeeding here is a beneficiary of a will. Here’s a picture to continue last week’s nostalgia for dashpots and SU carbs. I once owned a very old Morris 1100. Awful car, but it taught me a lot about rebuilding engines.
5d Criticism dismissed in project (5,3)
STICK OUT: An informal synonym for criticism, followed by the status of a cricketer who has been dismissed. A mention of cricket provides an excuse to include this interesting picture. Reminds me of nap time in primary school.
6d Break's arranged in northern extreme of America -- here? (8)
NEBRASKA: An anagram (arranged) of BREAK’S placed between the map abbreviation for northern and an outer letter (extreme of) of America. The answer is actually located closer to the middle of America.
7d Whip up awareness in audience (6)
INCITE: An homophone (in audience) of a word meaning awareness or understanding.
8d Show French wine in English church (6)
EVINCE: The French word for wine inserted between E(nglish) and the abbreviation for the Church of England.
14d Problem for agency manager, maybe, as a pattern (8)
TEMPLATE: Split (4,4), the answer could describe a headache for somebody running a recruitment agency.
15d Memorable event or cause (8)
OCCASION: Another double definition. The second is a verb.
16d Raise most of ship wrecked in body of water (5,3)
IRISH SEA: An anagram (wrecked) of RAISE and all but the last letter (most of) SHIp. Here is Rhiannon Giddens again, with a song from the part of the world near this body of water. If it will play where you are, this version is, I think, the best. Otherwise, the version below is almost as good and it will play in the UK.
17d Grotesque spouter? (8)
GARGOYLE: A cryptic definition of an ornate rainwater spout on a roof.
18d Junk diet Greek character's given up in boredom (6)
TEDIUM: An anagram (junk) of DIET followed by the reversal (given up in a down clue) of a Greek letter that sounds like a noise that a kitty makes.
19d Conundrum in festival with time to the fore (6)
TEASER: Start with a springtime religious festival associated with eggs and bunnies. Then move the single letter abbreviation for time to the start (to the fore).
20d Second diplomatic group ready for nightfall? (6)
SUNSET: Assemble S(econd), crosswordland’s usual diplomatic group or peacekeepers, and a synonym of ready or prepared.
21d Detest swearing in case of ladette (6)
LOATHE: Insert swearing (or a solemn promise) between the outer letters (in case of) LadettE.
Thanks to today’s setter. Some nice clues in this puzzle, but I didn’t have a standout favourite. Which clues did you like best?
The Quick Crossword pun: TACK+TICKLE=TACTICAL
For some reason , I found this quite a bit trickier than a two star rating might suggest.
Perhaps it was all the double unches.
I liked 13a, and 14d among others. I haven’t heard 1d spoken since the sixties.
With thanks to Mr Kitty and the setter.
Great, I enjoyed this exercise. NE corner last to complete mainly due to 6 d not occurring to me. Fav was 10a although I suspect it’s a chestnut. Thanks Mysteron and Mr. Kitty.
Yes, variations of 10a have appeared often enough that it’s probably acquired chestnut status:
Doesn’t surprise me – thanks for confirmation Mr. Kitty.
Pretty much standard fare for a Tuesday back pager with nothing really to send the nags galloping off to the hills. A good puzzle for people new to Cryptic Crosswords I would say. However, if you want to try something a little trickier – the Toughie by Giovanni is well worth a go.
Thanks to the 2 Misters for the puzzle and review.
Completed at a fast gallop, had to check the BRB on a couple of answers – I had 10a with 2 ‘As’ and 1 ‘O,’ not the other way round until I got an error on submission through the web site, and 18a to see if it fit the definition – */***.
Standout favourite – 20a – fond memories of that breakfast item.
Thanks to the setter and Mr K.
1.5*/3*. I found this a pleasant but untaxing puzzle. I’ll go along with Senf’s choice of favourite – 20a.
Many thanks to Messrs R & K.
I found this quite entertaining but decidedly tricky. Favourite has to be 14d, it really made me smile. 4*/3* Many thanks to Mr Ron and to Mr Kitty.
I thought this a good Tuesday-level puzzle. I think I will go for 24a as favourite, for the definition. Also like the sloth and the spouter, but maybe the illustrations had a hand in that. Many thanks.
A few too many anagrams and a few read and writes but enjoyable nonetheless. 2*/4*
Thanks to Mr Ron and Mr Kitty
Agree with Mr Kitty on a **/*** and the general view that this puzzle was basically a good middle of the road solve.
Thought the first part of 18a took liberties to say the least.
Hard to pick a favourite, liked 20a and thought that an alternative clue on the same lines would have been-he goes in when the shelling stops!.
Anyway thanks to all .liked the pic for 17d.
Nice alternate clue.
20a stood out as my COTD in this pretty straightforward Tuesday puzzle. For some reason the bottom half went in quickly, but the top half yielded its secrets a little slower, but overall I think 2*/3* seems fair.
Many thanks to the two Misters involved in today’s production.
Managed to trot along with Senf today and enjoyed an easy solve with my favourite
Being 20 across. Many thanks to the setter and Mr Kitty although for once I did not need his help.
I liked this, but it was over a bit too quickly. Thanks to all.
Thanks to messers Ron and Kitty. A very enjoyable puzzle. I was beaten by 14d, I put in timeline, which I correctly thought was wrong. Should’ve thought about the definition. I liked 17d,but my favourite was 1d, which I thought was quite original. Was 3*/3* for me.
A puzzle where I got all the answers then had to work seriously on the word play.
Very enjoyable, some new words and phrases for me.
2.5* /4*
Thanks to setter and Kitty
Very sporting of the team to help the umpire find his contact lens (5d).
Agree with Mr K’s assesment for this not too taxing puzzle. Thanks too to the compiler.
Was it the swarm of bees incident?
:) (hover your mouse pointer over the picture for more)
I agree with 2* difficulty but would probably give it a bit more than 3* for enjoyment.
No major problems today – I’m not opening the ‘dim corner’ unless someone else wants to.
Re 18a I can’t find it anywhere but I’m sure I’ve heard of ‘toting a pole’ meaning raising a flag – have I invented that?
I liked 13a and 2, 5 and 17d. My favourite was 14d. I also liked 1d – my Mum used to say it.
Thanks to whoever set this one and to Mr K.
Mostly nice and straightforward. SE corner held me up a little.
Agree with Senf etc 20a COTD.
Thanks to setter & Mr K for usual excellent review. However beware the SAS (the Sloth Appreciation Society, undercover name the Special Air Service) are extremely upset the illustration for 22a did not feature a Sloth being slothful
I certainly wouldn’t want to upset the SAS, so here you go:
Mr Wiki says they are being used as pets.
Sometimes wish Biggles slept for 15 – 20 hours a day & only needed the poopbag once a week!
***/***. I thought trickier than the usual Tuesday puzzle. I needed help with 18a although subsequently confirmed the first part does indeed mean raise. Thanks to the setter and Mr K.k
Unproblematic solve today. Liked the spouter best.
As Mr K says, a solid kind of puzzle with no real laugh out loud moments, but good fun to do. 20a, although probably a fairly frequent visitor was my favourite. 2/3* overall.
Thanks to Mr Ron, and to Mr K for his review.
A good, solid puzzle that didn’t cause any hold-ups.
My top three clues, in no particular order, were 20a, 23a and 14d.
Many thanks to today’s setter and to Mr K.
Got stuck in the SW corner with 18a which stumped me. I had ‘tantric’ in there which caused it’s share of problems. Our Octogenarian family member uses 1d still, so thanks to her. Over all should have been **/*** but for 18a. There is always tomorrow.
Nothing to frighten the horses 🐎🐎 once I was in 1a a pleasant solve 🙂 **/*** 9a was new to me and I am not too sure about 18a 😏 Favourites 6a & 22a. Thanks to Mr K and to Mr “X” 🤔
Day off today, finished my chores and the crossword, on the same day it’s published. A rarity for me. Not too tricky but certainly enjoyable. Only struggle was 1d, worked it out from wordplay and confirmed electronically, but never heard it in the real world
No need for Kath’s Dim Corner today – not far off being R&W for me.
Favourite was 20a with 17d taking second place.
Thanks to Mr. Ron and to Mr. K. Ashamed to say that I didn’t know the derivation of 1d – thought it was simply ‘in for a dig’!
Interesting pic of a 17d and not one I’ve ever seen. Any idea which building it is on, Mr. K? Looks as though it’s somewhere ecclesiastical.
If I remember my Latin it’s short for infra dignitatem, meaning “beneath dignity.”
God bless a grammar school education!
Yes, that’s what it says under the “click here” spoiler in the hint :)
The 17d is one of many in the cloister of the Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo (Spain). [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monastery_of_San_Juan_de_los_Reyes ]
Thanks, Mr.K. Couldn’t find anything in the wiki’ entry to suggest why cats were used for the 17d’s – strange, given that so much symbolism has been used elsewhere in the decorations.
There’s a little more information near the bottom of http://www.toledomonumental.com/saintjohnofthekings.html . Seems that at least some of them were added in a restoration.
That was an interesting read – it does refer to the cloister, when originally built, having animal motifs. Perhaps the restorers saw cats amongst them and continued the theme? Sounds reasonable me!
Yes, that’s probably it :)
Found this really tricky, needed a lot of electronic help. 19a was new to me as was 9a.
There were two clues I liked, 14d and 19d. I would take issue with the double in 1a, a single horse could be in harness.
So for me it was ***/** today.
Thx to all
Probably the reason for the ? at the end of the clue.
I found this very tricky, but I had to leave mid-solve and when I revisited, it all slotted in nicely.
I did need gizmo for 18a, new to me. I liked quite a few, 13a, 20a and 1d all come to mind. My Mum used 1d all the time!
Thanks to setter and to Mr. Kitty for the fun blog.
I really did enjoy this puzzle. It just shows how my absence from crosswordland has made me rusty! However got there in the end with Mr Kitty’s hints for half a dozen of the clues. Thank you Mr K. My rating is 3.5 for difficulty and 4 for enjoyment. To me, 20A is one belter of a clue.
Gosh I found this one quite tricky but finished it after pulling a bit of hair out. Infra Dig is new to me but worked it out.
Very very slow to get started, with only a few of the acrosses falling at first. I thought this was going to be a real stinker, but then things moved rapidly along for a ** finish. Last in the NE corner.
Fairly straightforward but rather anagram-bound (usually a Monday, rather than a Tuesday, observation). 1.5*/3*.
Favourite was 18d with 16a (yes, one of the anagrams) close behind for the excellent surface.
Thanks to Mr Kitty and the setter.
1*/3.5*, I think. I liked 17d: not at all difficult, but reminded me of Terry Pratchett’s wonderful Discworld novels, in which these creatures inhabit the rooftops of Ankh-Morpork and are often used by the Watch to keep an eye on things. Thanks to the Tuesday Mysteron, and to Mr Kitty.
17d- just quietly pleased I didn’t need the dictionary!
I enjoyed this very much. I’ll go for 24a as my choice. Ta to Mr K and our setter. Exactly what I needed. I’m getting too old for this work business. 2*/4*
I was pleasantly surprised with this one – much better and more challenging than the normal Tuesday back-page puzzle. 1d was my favourite – new to me, but solvable from the wordplay/checkers. Very enjoyable! 3*/4*.
Nice puzzle, like the weather in Minorca. Actually more like the ladies, hot!
Thanks all