Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3026
A full review by crypticsue
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This puzzle was published on 20th October 2019
BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ****
As a blogger, you’d like to think that the setter would be reading your thoughts and possibly acting on some of them. Well it may be coincidence, but after all my going on about too many insertions, we only have six insertion clues this week, thus leaving plenty of room for a nice variety of other clue types. I’ve awarded it a whole extra enjoyment star for that reason alone.
Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
7a Setter unhappy when all becoming dimmer? (7)
SUNDOWN – SUN (setter) DOWN (unhappy)
8a Tighten mangle (5,2)
SCREW UP
10a Ebbing and flowing tempo that’s out of this world! (4,5)
DEEP SPACE – Two synonyms for tempo – SPEED and PACE – the former ebbing or going backwards and the latter flowing forwards
11a For example, king or lord might live here (5)
MANOR – MAN (king, chess piece, man) OR (from the clue)
12a Japanese food American put in vessel, briefly (5)
SUSHI – US (American) put in SHIp (vessel ‘briefly’)
13a Can of worms on which butter would melt? (3,6)
HOT POTATO – Makes you hungry just reading the clue!
15a Repaired a lot, red garment (7)
LEOTARD – An anagram (repaired) of A LOT RED
17a West Street Providence, say, for brilliant performers (7)
MAESTRI – No hmm from me on this one, possibly because as I had a boss who worked for a company based in Providence, I automatically think ‘Providence RI’ – MAE (West) ST (street) RI (Rhode Island)
18a Chicken on range fills container, however (4,5)
THEN AGAIN – HEN (chicken) AGA (range) ‘fills’ TIN (container)
20a Drop by five, might that be? (5)
VISIT – V (Roman numeral for five) IS IT (might that be)
21a Ridiculous brain an egghead possesses (5)
INANE – Lurking in (possesses) braIN AN Egghead
23a Decent restaurant rejected sack containing rotten sprout (9)
GASTROPUB – A reversal (rejected) of BAG (sack) ‘containing’ an anagram (rotten) of SPROUT
24a Circling end of pier, fancy eating rock (7)
GRANITE – An anagram (fancy) of EATING ‘circling’ the R at the end of pier
25a Look at setting off a bomb with old flame (7)
EXAMINE –EX (old flame) precedes (setting off) A MINE (a bomb)
Down
1d Emphasise it’s nineteen or fewer? (10)
UNDERSCORE – Because nineteen is UNDER twenty (a SCORE)
2d Little growth in Nairobi, as no businesses set up (6)
BONSAI – Lurking in reverse (set up) in NairobI AS NO Businesses
3d Single covering remains dirty (8)
UNWASHED – UNWED (single) ‘covering’ ASH (remains)
4d Climb a trail (6)
ASCENT – A (from the clue) SCENT (trail)
5d Proper wine a shade of yellow (8)
PRIMROSE – PRIM (proper) ROSE (wine)
6d Always the most superior of swimmers, with arched neck? (4)
SWAN – The most ‘superior’ letters of Swimmers With Arched Neck
7d Face getting divorced? Hilarious! (4-9)
SIDE-SPLITTING – SIDE (face) SPLITTING (getting divorced)
9d He is number two here (8,5)
PERIODIC TABLE – HELIUM (He) is no 2 on the PERIODIC TABLE – those sneaky chemical symbols at the start of clues get me every time!
14d Patient is treated with cold disinfectant (10)
ANTISEPTIC – An anagram (treated) of PATIENT with C (cold)
16d Teacher of little importance (8)
ACADEMIC – Double definition
17d Politician is introduced to someone making money, quite possibly? (8)
MINISTER – IS (from the clue) ‘introduced’ to MISER (someone making money)
19d Person often sitting quietly, one suspended having blown top (6)
ANGLER – Blow the top off DANGLER (one suspended)
20d Insult party and 17 Down upset (6)
VERBAL – A reversal (upset in a down clue) of LAB (Labour Party) and REV (Reverend, Minister – the solution to 17d)
22d A grate, not quite shut (4)
AJAR – A (from the clue) JAR (grate) – I can never see this word without muttering ‘when is a door not a door?’
What has happened to the top line of the quick crossword which usually appears below the cryptic each day?
Welcome to the blog
You’d have done better to ask this question as a comment on the blog for today’s crossword DT 29196 – Pommers usually leaves the Quick Pun for Big Dave to add – I’m sure he’ll do so shortly
4*/3*…
liked 24A “circling end of pier, fancy eating rock (7)”
Verbal…is not synonymous with insult is it? It’s colloquial English and needs additional words to turn it into a phrase eg “give it some verbal”. I can’t help thinking Nuala would not have set a clue like this.
Welcome to the blog Bronwyn
Chambers defines it as a slang term for abuse or invective which equates to an insult