DT 29228

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29228

A full review by gnomethang

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This puzzle was published on 7th December 2019

BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

Morning All! Pretty standard fair for a Saturday with some nice surface readings and some good cryptic definitions.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a           Vote to get extra large notice dismantled (2-8)
BY-ELECTION – Ooh! Little bit of Politics to start with! A BYA (an extra run in cricket), L(arge) and then an anagram (dismantled) of NOTICE.

6a           One’s precious ring, left by father (4)
OPAL – O for a ring, and then L(eft) after/by PA for father.

9a           Flying squad character joins prison guards, not taking sides (7)
AIRCREW – AIR or character/demeanour is joined by sCREWs or prison guards with the sides removed/no taken.

10a        Short cloak, cool — no itch when used off and on (7)
LACONIC – the even (off and on letters) in c L o A k C o O l N o I t C h.

12a        Pedantic phoney’s love dismissed by the Queen (13)
HYPERCRITICAL – Replace the O for love in HYPOCRITICAL/phoney with E.R. for Elizabeth Regina, our current Queen.

14a        Away from home, time to wear dead crumpled old hat (8)
OUTDATED – OUT for away, then T for time wearing (inside) a crumpled anagram of DEAD.

15a        Rasp needed for cunning plan (6)
WHEEZE – Two definitions – a rasping cough and a cunning plan or jape.

17a        Growth of pleasure — well, that’s endless (6)
FUNGUS – Start with FUN for pleasure and then add all but the last letter (endless) of  GUSh or well (up).

19a        Sleazy club founder gets attack from on high (4-4)
DIVEBOMB – A DIVE is a sleazy club. Add BOMB for founder (as in a business or advertisement campaign).

21a        Like one who scoffs when folk get heated? (13)
CANNIBALISTIC – A cryptic definition of the person who eats people having first heated the people/folk up!.

24a        Said to be obsessed with study in retirement (7)
INTONED – INTO for obsessed with and then a reversal (in retirement) of a DEN or study.

25a        Revered figure, royal, almost due to go walkabout (3,4)
OUR LADY – An anagram (to go walkabout) of almost all of ROYA(l) and DUE

26a        Scruff takes ecstasy, seeing little sleep ahead (4)
NAPE – A NAP or little sleep ahead of E for Ecstasy.

27a        Bed one rises to go to (4,6)
ROOF GARDEN – This CD took a while until I realised that the elevated bed was a flower bed!

Down

1d           Eating bit of chicken? (4)
BEAK – A simple as it is annoying! A CD of the bit of the chicken that does the eating!.

2d           Parts of cereal crop burning in distance we hear (7)
EARSHOT – The EARS of corn/cereal crop and HOT for burning.

3d           Continental marriage? It’s hard to get out of it! (8,5)
EUROPEAN UNION – Ooh! Little bit more politics! A continental marriage might be described cryptically as a EUROPEAN UNION.

4d           Cheers! Whisky with less water is cheaper (8)
TAWDRIER – TA for cheers/thanks then W(hisky) from the NATO phonetic Alphabet followed by DRIER/with les water.

5d           One gawps, regarding learner driver with turn coming up (5)
OGLER – A reversal (coming up) of RE (regarding) , L for Learner driver and finally a GO or turn in a game.

7d           Slate and pine — that’s style (7)
PANACHE – A charade of PAN/slate and ACHE for pine.

8d           China used by pub meeting for Fulham and Chelsea perhaps (5,5)
LOCAL DERBY – Derby is a manufacturer of China crockery. Place that after a LOCAL pub.

11d        Kitty used by a merchant wandering round eastern region for customers? (9,4)
CATCHMENT AREA – A CAT/kitty then a wandering anagram of A MERCHANT round E for Eastern.

13d        Literature that’s lost the plot? (3-7)
NON-FICTION – A CD of a literary work with no plot narrative.

16d        Belt one aristo’s got on (3,2,3)
HIT IT OFF – A charade of HIT/belt and I TOFF (one aristo) split as 3-2-3.

18d        On going in opposite directions, best to be persistent (3-4)
NONSTOP – Place ON from the clue inside N(orth) and S(outh) i.e. opposite polar directions and then add TOP/best/

20d        Gold and green veg and other food grown here (7)
ORCHARD – OR, the heraldic description of gold and then the CHARD vegetable.

22d        A university occasionally copied, held up as sound (5)
AUDIO – A and U for University then the reversal (held up) of the even/occasional letters in c O p I e D.

23d        Caught Romeo escaping from relation in blue (4)
CYAN – C for Caught from the cricketing abb./notation and then a YA( r)N or story from which the NATO abb. R for Romeo has been removed (is escaping).