DT 30143 (full review)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30143

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 12^th November 2022

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

I found this Saturday Prize Puzzle a bit trickier than I’d expected and assumed, wrongly, that it must be the work of X-Type. I don’t think I’ve never known a Chalicea crossword to be this [relatively] difficult.

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Across

1a    Fix cost of entertaining northern nobleman (6)
PRINCE – PRICE (fix cost of) ‘entertaining’ N (northern)

4a    Work quietly applied to hospital department for one’s rival (8)
OPPONENT – OP (work) P (musical instruction to play quietly) ON (applied to) ENT (Hospital’s Ear Nose and Throat Department

9a    Eccentric aunt and mum mostly showing period of maturity (6)
AUTUMN – An anagram (eccentric) of AUNT and most of MUm

10a    Make a fuss about old city animal (8)
CREATURE – CREATE (make a fuss) goes about the Old Testament city of UR

11a    Shape nearly everything according to established style (6)
FORMAL – FORM (shape) and nearly all of ALl

12a    Strange offence; forced labour camp not good answer ultimately (8)
SINGULAR – SIN (offence) GULAg (forced labour camp without the G for good) and the ultimate letter of answer

14a    Orangeries running wild, to sort out again (10)
REORGANISE – An anagram (running wild) of ORANGERIES

18a    Political party rhetoric in this workroom (10)
LABORATORY – LAB (political party) ORATORY (rhetoric)

22a    Main network found in roof space (8)
ATLANTIC – LAN (computer network) in ATTIC

23a    Gun plot is flawed (6)
PISTOL – An anagram (flawed) of PLOT IS

24a    Particular southern sports clubs regularly reversed coin flip (8)
SPECIFIC – S (southern) PE (sports) C (clubs) and the regular letters of CoIn FlIp reversed

25a    Take in brothers briefly returning after degree setback (6)
ABSORB – BROS (abbreviated, briefly, brothers) reversed (returning) after a reversal (setback) of BA (Bachelor of Arts degree)

26a    Guide essentially ineptly separating female and male on road (8)
SHEPHERD – The essential letters of inePtly ‘separating’ SHE (female) and HE (male) on RD (road)

27a    Harsh to lop off earl’s head (6)
SEVERE – SEVER (lop off) and E (the head of Earl)

Down

1d    Philosopher with room to embrace fine policy (8)
PLATFORM – PLATO (philosopher) with RM (room) to ’embrace’ F (fine)

2d    Spiritual
home (8)
INTERIOR – I had to check the BRB definitions to make sure that I was right about spiritual referring to being related to either devoted to spiritual life or to do with home

3d    Pacing, troubled about a mass crusade (8)
CAMPAIGN – An anagram (troubled) of PACING goes ‘about’ A (from the clue) and M (mass)

5d    Authorisation for a significant assignment (10)
PERMISSION – PER (for) MISSION (significant assignment)

6d    Love to classify fruit (6)
ORANGE – O (love) RANGE (classify)

7d    Start of easy question and answer on oddly lost matches (6)
EQUALS – The ‘start’ of Easy, QU (question) A (answer) on (in a Down solution) the odd letters of LoSt

8d    Definite article or beginning of yet unproven supposition (6)
THEORY – THE (definite article) OR (from the clue) and the beginning of Yet

13d    Foreign female gripped by a friend from Paris, a storyteller (10)
UNFAMILIAR – F (female) inserted between (gripped by) UN (French indefinite article) AMI (French friend) and a LIAR (storyteller)

15d    Feasible involving annual return that may change (8)
VARIABLE – VIABLE (feasible) ‘involving’ A R (Annual Return)

16d    Left gap for window (8)
PORTHOLE – PORT (left) HOLE (gap)

17d    One has one of them, and seven two (8)
SYLABBLE – The clue explains it all

19d    Subjects of inquiry involving university political movements (6)
CAUSES – CASES (subjects of inquiry) ‘involving’ U (university)

20d    In discussion, quote some local legends (6)
ALLEGE – Hidden in locAL LEGEnds

21d    Improve quality of frolicking disheartened children (6)
ENRICH – An anagram (frolicking) of CHIldREN without the middle letters (disheartened)