DT 29234

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 29234

A full review by gnomethang

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This puzzle was published on 14th December 2019

BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

Morning All! A very straightforward puzzle this week..

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a           Blocked motorway going west — pretty normal (10)
IMPASSABLE – Reverse (going West in an across clue) MI for the M1 motorway and then add PASSABLE for pretty normal/OK.

6a           Cotton on branch (4)
TWIG – Two definitions, possibly from the chestnut tree.

9a           State I had removed plants (5)
FLORA – the I had/ID leads one to look for IDAHO but in fact you need to remove the I’D fro the state of FLORidA.

10a        Person responsible for moving scenes? (9)
STAGEHAND – A cryptic definition in the Moving Pictures idiom.

12a        English female with high fever facing fuss about cold fizz (13)
EFFERVESCENCE – E(nglish) and F(emale) then an anagram (high) of FEVER and finally a SCENE or fuss about C for Cold. Phew!.

14a        Mother, tense, rests somehow — on this? (8)
MATTRESS – Ma for Mother, T for Tense and an anagram (somehow) of RESTS.

15a        Diamonds, maybe gold, for lover (6)
SUITOR – A SUIT of diamonds in cards followed by OR, the Heraldic (and French) term for the colour gold.

17a        Charge copper in criminal case (6)
ACCUSE – CU, the chemical symbol for copper inside a criminal anagram of CASE.

19a        ‘Time’ ultimately granted uniform allowance (8)
DURATION – Start with the last/ultimate letter in (grante)D, add U(niversity) and then a RATION or allowance.

21a        Terribly full, dines with chap that’s dissolute (4-9)
SELF-INDULGENT – An anagram (terribly) of FULL DINES and followed by a GENT/chap.

24a        Disapprove of damaged carpet being dumped in river (9)
DEPRECATE – An anagram (damaged ) of CARPET inside (being dumped in) the river DEE.

25a        Provide joke online? (5)
EQUIP – An online joke might cryptically be referred to as an E(lectronic)-QUIP.

26a        Disturbance in carriage when tea’s spilt (4)
RIOT – Remove CHA/tea (it is spilt) from a chaRIOT or carriage.

27a        Dressed like priest, one might attract interest (10)
INVESTMENT – The second is the straight def, the first would be a priest who is IN a VESTMENT.

Down

1d           Bar opponent reportedly supplying dope (4)
INFO – Two homophones (reportedly) – IN for INN/bar, and FO for FOE/enemy.

2d           Throw stick out (7)
PROJET – Two definitions – to PROJECT one’s voice and to PROJECT (e.g. a rock overhang) from a cliff face.

3d           Doctor heads first for part of the Midlands (13)
STAFFORDSHIRE – Make an anagram (doctor) HEADS FIRST FOR. What a nice surface reading.

4d           Mysterious religious figure right to stop exploitation (8)
ABSTRUSE – ST for Saint/religious figure and R(ight) stopping inside ABUSE/exploitation.

5d           Set out casserole a vegetarian eats (5)
LEAVE – A hidden word is inside/eaten by cassero LE A VE getarian.

7d           Somewhere to put bric-a-brac and other things (7)
WHATNOT – Two definitions – The noun of a Victorian self-standing shelving unit where you put these things and a WHATNOT/thingummy.

8d           I fared badly wearing medal attending church? (3-7)
GOD-FEARING – A GONG or medal outside of/wearing an anagram (badly) of I FARED.

11d        Support teen struggling with ‘gram’ and ‘ounce’ (13)
ENCOURAGEMENT – A struggling anagram of TEEN GRAM and OUNCE.

13d        In capitals, he could be a diplomat (10)
AMBASSADOR – In Capitals H.E. is an abbreviation for His Excellency, a title applied to AMBASSADORs.

16d        Sweet centre (5-3)
BULLS-EYE – A straightforward double definition. Darts is on for Christmas!

18d        Cellist initially plays moving love song (7)
CALYPSO – The Initial in C(ellist) an anagram (moving) of PLAYS and O for Love.

20d        Get in the way? I’m not regularly impolite (7)
INTRUDE – The odd/regular letters in Im NoT and then RUDE for Impolite.

22d        Daughter perhaps showers in ditch (5)
DRAIN – D for Daughter and then RAIN (possibly showers).

23d        Polish might be seen with this issue? (4)
SPIT – SPIT and Polish being a phrase in which both words can be seen together.