ST 3196 (Full Review)

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3196

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 22 January 2023

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

I found this Dada Sunday Puzzle very tricky – in fact I did wonder whether it had escaped from the Tuesday Toughie envelope as it certainly took me longer to solve than many a Dada ‘toughie’

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Across

7a    Mark is cool with men on manoeuvres (9)
SEMICOLON – An anagram (on manoeuvres) of IS COOL with MEN

8a    Meat company in embargo (5)
BACON – CO (company) in BAN (embargo)

10a    Uphill path, a track (6)
ASCENT – A (from the clue) SCENT (track)

11a    Old coin, item from a long way back? (8)
FARTHING – An item from a long way back could be a FAR THING

12a    Part of eye with ear, ear cut (6)
CORNEA – CORN (ear) with EAr (ear ‘cut’)

14a    Toy, something played on (6)
FIDDLE – A verb meaning to toy or a musical instrument

16a    Pot with lid off spilling coloured fluid (4)
SINK – Pot a snooker ball, for example – the ‘lid’ of Spilling and INK (coloured fluid)

17a    Forcefully push boat (5)
BARGE – A verb meaning to forcefully push or a type of boat

18a    Army in triumph, ostensibly (4)
HOST – Hidden in triumpH OSTensibly

19a    Briton given master’s degree — lucky thing? (6)
MASCOT – MA (Master of Arts degree) SCOT (Briton)

21a    Entertain girl in green, removing coat (6)
REGALE – GAL (girl) inserted into the inside (removing coat) letters of gREEn

24a    Japanese dish I’m returning, nothing special, finished (4,4)
MISO SOUP – A reversal (returning) of IM, O (nothing), S (the abbreviation for Special) and UP (over)

26a    Concerned with couple put back together (6)
REPAIR – RE (concerned with) PAIR (couple)

27a    20 Down dog? (5)
HUSKY – A synonym for the solution of 20d is also the name of a breed of dog

28a    Flier over southern oceans, rare bird on course? (9)
ALBATROSS – A bird which flies over the southern oceans or a golf term for three strokes under par

Down

1d    Champion traps a wild animal (5)
BEAST – BEST (champion) ‘traps’ A (from the clue)

2d    Different wire in separate rocket, say (8)
FIREWORK – An anagram (different) of WIRE inserted into FORK (separate)

3d    Cushion regularly found under head of sleeper (6)
SOFTEN – OFTEN (regularly) found under the ‘head’ of Sleeper

4d    Brain left fool (4)
LOAF – Cockney rhyming slang for the brain or head – L (left) OAF (fool)

5d    Smashed, drunkard as he drinks bottles (6)
DASHED – Hidden in (bottled by) drunkarD AS HE Drinks

6d    Infinite spring gone then? (9)
BOUNDLESS – BOUND (spring) LESS (gone)

9d    Sweet flirt toyed with emotions, initially (6)
TRIFLE – An anagram (toyed) of FLIRT with the initial letter of Emotions

13d    Yorkshire river with last of water, drier (5)
AIRER – AIRE (river in Yorkshire) with the last letter of wateR

15d    Savage biting arm briefly suffered as if the victim? (9)
VICARIOUS – Imagined through the experiences of others – VICIOUS (savage) ‘biting’ ARm (briefly telling you to omit the M)

17d    Shakespearean character, lowest part (6)
BOTTOM – Double definition

18d    Other lip damaged where chopper may have come down? (8)
HELIPORT – An anagram (damaged) of OTHER LIP

20d    Rough, rocky ground in which article is buried (6)
CROAKY – An anagram (ground) of ROCKY into which is ‘buried’ A (indefinite article)

22d    Language very similar, though not entirely (6)
GERMAN – Almost all of GERMANe (very similar)

23d    Earliest tree on street (5)
FIRST – FIR (tree) on ST (street)

25d    White stick (4)
PALE – White in colour or a stick driven into the ground for fencing