Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3178
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This puzzle was published on 18th September 2022
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Dada once again providing an entertaining Sunday Prize Puzzle
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Across
1a Comfortable seat Conservative surprisingly held: it’s free (12)
CHESTERFIELD – C (Conservative) and an anagram (surprisingly) of HELD ITS FREE
9a Character with edge in game (9)
PARTRIDGE – PART (character) with RIDGE (edge)
10a Fish rest like birds (5)
PERCH – Double definition – one a noun, the other a verb
11a Christmas favourite, failure (6)
TURKEY – And another – a Christmas dinner favourite or a chiefly North American slang word for a failure
12a How might one kill a creepy-crawly? Be quick! (4,2,2)
STEP ON IT – An expression meaning to be quick could also describe a way of killing a creepy-crawly
13a Very many for example eaten by wild animal (6)
LEGION – EG (for example) ‘eaten’ by a LION (wild animal)
15a North American princess in ancient civilisation (8)
CANADIAN – DI (the abbreviated way we refer to Diana, Princess of Wales) inserted into CANAAN (an ancient civilisation)
18a Weaken soil in land (4,4)
WEAR THIN – EARTH (soil) inserted into WIN (land)
19a Ancient city where paintings etc shown in spring (6)
SPARTA – ART (paintings etc) shown in SPA (spring)
21a Shoe: lose it, disaster! (4-4)
FLIP-FLOP – FLIP (go mad, lose it) FLOP (disaster)
23a Supporter runs behind leader in battle (6)
BRACES – RACES (runs) goes behind the ‘leader’ in Battle
26a Ship concerned with nothing on return trip? (5)
LINER – A reversal (on return trip) of RE (concerted with) NIL (nothing)
27a A soldier, say, filling new crate easily (2,1,6)
AT A CANTER – ANT (soldier, say) filling an anagram (new) of CRATE
28a Immediately at that place, further in the past (5,3,4)
THERE AND THEN – THERE (at that place) AND THEN (further in the past)
Down
1d Super money (7)
CAPITAL – Double definition
2d Emperor resigns over housing blunder (5)
ERROR – Hidden (housing) in reverse (over) by empeROR REsigns
3d Untutored cast assembled (6,3)
TURNED OUT – An anagram (cast) of UNTUTORED
4d Offensive letter you read, polite last of all (4)
RUDE – The last letters of letteR yoU reaD politE
5d Argon, say, is great after mixing around nitrogen (5,3)
INERT GAS – An anagram (after mixing) of IS GREAT goes around N, the chemical symbol for nitrogen
6d Enjoy young setter from Hollywood, say? (3,2)
LAP UP – A young setter (dog) might be said to be an LA PUP
7d On level south of French border (8)
FRONTIER – ON (from the clue) and TIER (level) go under (south of in a Down solution) FR (French)
8d Turn pale while squeezing it (6)
WHITEN – WHEN (while) ‘squeezing’ IT (from the clue)
14d Stop cutting allowance in bank (8)
GRADIENT – DIE (stop) ‘cutting’ GRANT (allowance)
16d Man spared wrong sign in text (9)
AMPERSAND – An anagram (wrong) of MAN SPARED
17d Old fossil is around, unfortunately (8)
DINOSAUR – An anagram (unfortunately) of IS AROUND
18d Breakfast nonsense? (6)
WAFFLE – Double definition
20d Beaten, alas no winner, ultimately? (4-3)
ALSO-RAN – An anagram (beaten) of ALAS NO and R (the ultimate letter of winner)
22d Scottish runner just out of the medals, we hear? (5)
FORTH – A homophone (we hear) of FOURTH (just out of the medals)
24d What fielder tries to do for contract (5)
CATCH – Double definition, the first one obvious, the second one needing checking in the BRB – contract in the sense of catch a disease
25d Some ruler, a Jaipur prince (4)
RAJA – Hidden in some ruleR A JAipur
3*/3*…
liked 12A “How might one kill a creepy-crawly? Be quick! (4,2,2)”