DT 29012

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29012

A full review by gnomethang

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This puzzle was published on 30^th March 2019

BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***

Morning All! – A pleasant enough Prize Puzzle with a couple  of enjoyable lavatorial clues.

Across

1a           Spreads river across five docks (8)
DEVELOPS – The river DEE goes across V for 5 in Roman Numerals and then LOPS for docks/cuts is added.

5a           Slates laid backwards give way (4)
SNAP – Reverse (laid backwards) of PANS for slates.

9a           Lists gobbling duck and other fowls (8)
ROOSTERS – Place ROSTERS or lists outside (it is gobbling/swallowing) O for duck/nil.

10a        Missing parts of muscular body found by hospital dept (6)
ABSENT – Place ABS (abdominal muscles) next to ENT – Ear Nose and Throat , a hospital department.

11a        Having dropped a name, niece is disposed to be celebrity (8)
EMINENCE – Make an anagram (is disposed) of N( a )ME NEICE having first lost/dropped A.

12a        American music accompanying tango is most crude (6)
BLUEST – BLUES (American music) with/accompanying T for Tango.

14a        Stake European thrust into sentry and swore (10)
GUARANTEED – Place an ANTE or stake and E for European inside a GUARD or sentry.

18a        The still, small voice opposed to logical observation? (10)
CONSCIENCE – A charade of CON SCIENCE or against logical observation.

22a        All-round entertainment mostly about America (6)
CIRCUS – Most of CIRC( a ) or about in Latin and US for American.

23a        Flier that shows cockney barber’s art (8)
AIRCRAFT – A barber’s art might be HAIRCRAFT so a Cockney would drop the leading H.

24a        Mention collecting or looking back can be stimulating (6)
EROTIC – Reverse (looking back) CITE or mention with OR included (also reversed).

25a        Novel artily involving the Queen should be well-read (8)
LITERARY – A novel anagram of ARTILY with E.R. (the Queen) inside.

26a        Ergo Russian’s definitely getting something to drink (4)
SODA – So for ergo and DA for Yes/definitely in Russian.

27a        Disturbed and elderly, eating junk after lunchtime? (8)
AGITATED – AGED for elderly including/eating TAT/rubbish after I for one o’clock or lunchtime.

Down

2d           Olive largely gets stitched up in fiddle (6)
VIOLIN – Most of OLIV (e ) (largely) is jumbled/stitched up and then IN is added.

3d           Amounts of water possibly needed in sunlit resort (6)
LITRES – A hidden word IN sun LIT RES ort.

4d           Light fabric items designed to go over jumpers (10)
PARACHUTES – A cryptic definition of the light canopy that goes over someone who jumps out of a plane.

6d           Writer with showy jewellery having little taste (8)
NIBBLING – A NIB/writer/pen with BLING or showy jewellery.

7d           Came first and quietly withdrew (8)
PRECEDED – P for quietly and then RECEDED for withdrew.

8d           Praise where bird nests, going to Spain for liberty (8)
LATITUDE – A TIT/bird is nesting inside LAUD for praise and is followed by E for Espania/Spain.

9d           In speech, Shakespearean character facing north wind (4)
REEL – Reverse (facing north) a homophone (in speech) of King LEAR/LEER.

13d        Hopelessly aspiring to be seen around court, working as a lawyer? (10)
PRACTISING – Make a hopeless anagram of ASPIRING and place it around CT for court.

15d        Dish, ceramic, for cooking wraps around East (3,5)
Newspaper version – Energy put into shaping of ceramic dish
ICE CREAM – An anagram (for cooking) of CERAMIC wrapping around E for East [Energy for newspaper version].

16d        Gross to come in unshaven or moustached (8)
ENORMOUS – A hidden word IN unshav EN OR MOUS tache.

17d        Busy, as ladies often seem to be … (8)
OCCUPIED – The ladies toilets are typically more OCCUPIED than the gents.

19d        … acute in writing, maybe. Alternatively, there’s one’s expression when talking … (6)
ACCENT – Two definitions  – an acute ACCENT in the French language over an e and also a different regional expression of the same word in speech.

20d        … blank, as gents often are! (6)
VACANT – The Gent’s toilets are often more VACANT than the ladies!.

21d        Visit source of Scottish river (4)
STAY – The source letter in S(cottish) and the river TAY.

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