ST 2995

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2995

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 17^th March 2019

BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

Dada in enjoyable but short-lived mode this time – quite a few anagrams and three different examples of how to use a single letter L

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Across

1a    Paris in tatters: end of mortal coil (6)
SPIRAL – An anagram (in tatters) of PARIS followed by the end of mortaL

5a    Interval: time one’s wasted (8)
SEMITONE – An anagram (wasted) of TIME ONES

9a    Damage in weapons — are those offensive? (5-5)
SWEAR WORDS – WEAR (damage) in SWORDS (weapons)

10a    Title not applicable with subject of autobiography? (4)
NAME – NA (not applicable) ME (subject of autobiography)

11a    Teas oddly unavailable, push zero for coffee (8)
ESPRESSO – The even letters (odds being unavailable) of tEaS, PRESS (push) O (zero)

12a    Number boarding vessel, strong (6)
POTENT – TEN (number) ‘boarding’ POT (vessel)

13a    Revolution goes quickly backwards (4)
SPIN – A reversal (backwards) of NIPS (goes quickly)

15a    Imbibing last of alcohol, tea and cola sadly set aside (8)
ALLOCATE – An anagram (sadly) of TEA and COLA ‘imbibing’ the last letter of alcohoL

18a    News reports finished in jail (8)
COVERAGE – OVER (finished) inserted into CAGE (jail)

19a    Not one detective gestures in agreement (4)
NODS – NO (not one) DS (detective sergeant)

21a    Making holes like watching paint dry? (6)
BORING – Definition and cryptic definition

23a    Up-end open container (8)
OVERTURN – OVERT (open) URN (container)

25a    A denial requiring translation soon (4)
ANON – A (from the clue) NON (French denial so requiring translation)

26a    Where landlord might stand in prison (6,4)
BEHIND BARS – A cryptic definition of where a pub landlord might stand gives us an expression meaning in prison

27a    I agree at this point to speak repeatedly? (4,4)
HEAR HEAR – A repeated homophone (to speak) of HERE HERE (at this point)

28a    Too old really, Labour leader admitted (6)
OVERLY – O (old) VERY (really) into which the L that leads Labour is admitted

Down

2d    County part of Wales initially? Yes, not English! (5)
POWYS – The initial letters of Part Of Wales plus YeS (yes without the E for English)

3d    Change back chain (9)
REARRANGE – REAR (back) RANGE (chain)

4d    Smallest number oft departing English port (6)
LOWEST – Remove the OFT from the English port of LOWESTOFT

5d    Woman expecting to help another couple? (9,6)
SURROGATE MOTHER – cryptic definition

6d    Simplest novel badly written (8)
MISSPELT – An anagram (novel) of SIMPLEST

7d    Principle that may come up just the same? (5)
TENET – This principle is a palindrome (come up just the same)

8d    Wild maiden not selected (9)
NOMINATED – An anagram (wild) of MAIDEN

14d    Say something perhaps before carriage empties (9)
PRONOUNCE – Something is an example (perhaps) of a PRONOUN which should be put before the outside letters (empties indicating the removal of the inside ones) of CarriagE

16d    Copper racket unlikely to break? (9)
CONSTABLE – CON (racked) STABLE (unlikely to break)

17d    Actual ban legit, ludicrously (8)
TANGIBLE – An anagram (ludicrously) of BAN LEGIT

20d    Slow to collect a shed (4-2)
LEAN-TO – LENTO (musical instruction meaning slow) ‘to collect’ A (from the clue)

22d    Hidden pub, ‘The Queen’ (5)
INNER – INN (pub) ER (the regnal cipher of our current Queen)

24d    Country in Peru rallying (5)
RURAL – Lurking in peRU RALlying