ST 2985

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2985

A full review by gnomethang

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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Moring All! This was about 2 -3 star territory for me but I enjoyed many of the clues.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

8a           Working, he got ridiculously busy (2,3,2)
ON THE GO – ON for working/switched on and then a ridiculous anagram of HE GOT,

10a         Second isn’t bad, crawler trailing behind (7)
INSTANT – Make an anagram (bad) of ISNT and then add an ANT for insect/crawler which is trailing behind the anagram.

11a         Croon about boat’s artwork (9)
SKETCHING – To SING or croon around/about a KETCH/boat.

12a         Spud that’s less hard: I’m not sure (5)
TATER – Remove the H for Hard (from pencil grading) from T(h)AT and then add ER for “I a not sure”.

13a         Mother, I nearly forgot disease! (5)
MUMPS – A charade of MUM for mother and then P.S. or Post Script – “I nearly forgot”.

14a         Alpine slipper concealing funny bags (7)
LUGGAGE – A LUGE or alpine slipper containing/concealing a GAG or funny (used as a noun in America particularly).

17a         One or two perhaps I’d written about in sexy book (8,7)
CARDINAL NUMBERS – Reverse (written about) I’D inside (IN) CARNAL for ‘sexy’ and NUMBERS for a book of the bible. Personally I don’t like carnal (of the flesh) to equate to sexy as it seems a second remove synonym.

19a         Coppers perhaps welcoming any reduced punishment (7)
PENANCE – PENCE for coppers including/welcoming a reduced AN(y).

21a         Rat pack member? (5)
KNAVE – Two definitions – a rat or cad is a KNAVE and also a member of a pack (of cards). Liked this one!

24a         Always hanging around Latvia’s capital, slippery little thing (5)
ELVER – EVER for always around the capitalletter of L(atvia).

26a         Uncertain if angler in a tangle having hooked boot in the end (9)
FALTERING – An anagram, indicated by ‘in a tangle; of IF ANGLER which includes (has hooked) the end of (boo)T.

27a         Get under someone’s skin, as perfume? (7)
INCENSE – Two definitions again – to annoy/INCENSE and a perfume usually distributed by a censer.

28a         Stop voting system happening (7)
PREVENT – Start with P.R. (Proportional Representation or a voting system) and then add an EVENT or happening.

Down

1d           Endless pole, problem for marsupial (6)
POSSUM – Remove the end from a POS(t) or pole and then add a SUM/arithmetic problem.

2d           Flag in shocking cold? (8)
STREAMER – Another two definitions – a piece of bunting and a dreadful  messy head cold.

3d           Supersonic shifts in triangles etc (10)
PERSUSSION – The letters in SUPERSONIC shift/rearrange. I am currently playing the triangle in a Calypso band.

4d           Look to break up wrong crowd — in which everyone joins in? (9)
SINGALONG – LO for looks is inside/breaking up SIN for wrong and a GANG or crowd.

5d           Piano sonata sounding terrific initially, listen! (4)
PSST – The initial letters in P(iano) S(onata) S(ounding) T(errific).

6d           Powerful words, something that may catch you stopping short (6)
MANTRA – Remove the last letter (stopping short) of a MAN TRA(p) or something that will catch you.

7d           Might a low budget film be so dark? (8)
STARLESS – The second definition refers to a dark night, the cryptic to a film that cannot afford decent named actors.

9d           Partly provides for old poet (4)
OVID – The Roman poet is hidden inside (partly in) pr OVID es.

15d         Goalie after match revealed as worker on estate (10)
GAMEKEEPER – A (goal)KEEPER after a GAME or match.

16d         Tiny crustacean: a few later cooked (5,4)
WATER FLEA – A cooked anagram of A FEW LATER.

17d         Fixed PC yet? Do I check text for errors? (4-4)
COPY-EDIT – An anagram (fixed) of PC YET DO I.

18d         Digger once impressing a judge (8)
EXAMINER – I haven’t seen this for a while. Someone who used to dig pits might cryptically be described as EX A MINER.

20d         Student finding feature of winter in autumn? (6)
NOVICE – ICE is a feature of winter but when found in the autumn month of November might be described as NOV(ember) ICE.

22d         Scalp important figure (6)
EIGHTY – Remove the top letter (scalp it) of wEIGHTY or important.

23d         Turkey dandy, left for stuffing (4)
FLOP – L fr left is stuffed inside a FOP or dandy.

25d         Money to pay, ruined (4)
RENT – A final double definition to finish. Money topay for accommodation and then RENT for torn/ruined.

Thanks to the setter – I think that this is a level of difficulty and amusement that will suit most. I’ll see you tomorrow.