ST 3217 (full review)

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3217

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 18^th June 2023

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

Greetings from Kolkata. A straightforward Sunday puzzle of Dada that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review of his puzzle for your kind perusal and important feedback.

Motorway, part of the wordplay to the clue of 12a, took me down memory lane. I, along with members of my family, visited London in October 2012. During the tour, I became familiar with M1 motorway. I reminisced that I enjoyed walking on the roads and pavements of London, but it also saddened me to think that my knowledge of the motorways and roadways of the United Kingdom, in particular, is actually very little, and so I had to explore the net to update myself. I learnt that there are four types of roads in the United Kingdom. There are roads that are motorway standard the whole time and very important. They are each called M followed by a number. For instance, M1 is a motorway between London and Leeds, while M2 is that between Strood and Faversham and M3 runs from Sunbury-on-Thames in Middlesex to Southampton in Hampshire. Then there are roads that are still important and expected to carry a lot of traffic but are not motorway standard for the full distance. They are called A roads and followed by a number. These roads are major routes that often connect towns and cities. The roads are often dual carriageway, but still there are also many such roads that are single carriageway. Thus, A1 is a major road running from London to Edinburgh. It is a dual carriageway for most of its length. Motorways only allow motorised vehicles, so that means there won’t be any pedestrians or cyclists. They have the M designation before or after the road number, such as M1 or A1(M). The addition of the (M) means the former dual carriageway, that is the A1, has been upgraded to motorway status. There are signs warning non-motorway traffic to leave when the designation changes. In the third category, there are B roads, designated as B and followed by a number. They are often narrower, less used and hence less busy than A roads and are almost all single carriageway. They are used to interconnect towns and villages. Speed limits vary from 20 mph often in residential areas and in rural locations up to a maximum of 60 mph. The unclassified roads belong to the fourth category and do not have any number. They are used to connect a village with the next village and not expected to be used heavily.

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Across

1a    Crate in dock transported by bird (6)
JALOPY: The definition of an old motor car or aeroplane is arrived at from LOP (dock) as to cut off a limb, part or the like from a person, animal etc taken inside (transported) by JAY (bird) as a bird of the crow family with colourful plumage

4a    Get up and out back (5-3)
STAND-OFF: A charade of STAND (get up) as to get or rise to one’s feet and OFF (out) as an adverb meaning absent or away from work guides to the definition of a rugby half-back who stands away from the scrum as a link between scrum-half and the three-quarters

9a    Time in silence, playing on computer? (6)
GAMING: MIN (time) as a short form of minute that is a unit of time equalling sixty seconds placed inside (in) GAG (silence) as to silence someone or prevent someone from speaking freely or disseminating information, arriving at the definition of a verb in the continuous form meaning playing on a console or computer

10a    Role exists with an adherent to the cause (8)
PARTISAN: PART (role) as the function assumed or part played by a person or thing in a particular situation, IS (exists) as a form of the present tense of ‘be’ used with third person singular meaning exists or lives and (with) AN from the clue lead to the definition of an adjective meaning prejudiced in favour of a particular cause

12a    Points made by travellers in Israel after diversion around motorway (3,5)
AIR MILES: ISRAEL after being subject to an anagram (diversion) is placed around (around) MI (motorway) as the M1 motorway, the first inter-urban motorway of the United Kingdom that connects London to Leeds and stretches 193.6 miles in length; I being the Roman numeral for one, taking to the definition of points equivalent to miles of free air travel accumulated by buyers of airline tickets and other products and redeemable against the cost of air travel with a particular airline

13a    Long to see American partner (6)
MISSUS: A charade of MISS (long to see) as to feel the absence of someone or long for someone not met or seen for quite some time and US (American) as the adjectival abbreviation for the United States or belonging to the United States guides to an informal definition of a person’s wife

15a    Wonderful, not that then? (9,4)
SOMETHING ELSE: Double definition; the second being a response as something entirely different that concurs with the question that takes to the first referring to something amazing, special, remarkable or out of ordinary

18a    The way said to incur pain, on being given treatment (13)
PRONUNCIATION: TO INCUR PAIN, ON being subject to an anagram (given treatment) guides to the definition of the way a word or a language is customarily spoken

20a    Old units, pieces of copper? (6)
CUBITS: BITS (pieces) as small pieces or parts of something of CU (copper) as the chemical symbol for copper, that is BITS of CU or CU BITS, leads to the definition of the plural of any of various ancient units of length based on the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger and usually equal to about 18 inches or 46 centimetres

22a    Beelzebub’s punishment, expect him to shoot? (8)
HELLFIRE: HE’LL FIRE (expect him to shoot) as to mean that he will either remove someone from the job or shoot someone using a weapon, giving rise to the definition of the fire produced by the devil, that is Beelzebub to dole out punishment in Hell

24a    Garment in a fashionable company stolen by cad (8)
RAINCOAT: A combo of A from the clue, IN (fashionable) as currently fashionable or trendy and CO (company) as the abbreviation for Company taken inside (stolen) by RAT (cad) as a contemptible or despicable person guides to the definition of a light overcoat capable of protecting the wearer from getting drenched in the rain

25a    Planet: go beyond it (6)
SATURN: The definition of the planet that is second in size and sixth in distance from the sun and that has rings around it is arrived at from TURN (go) as to go round or move in a circular direction wholly or partly round an axis or point preceding or coming after (beyond) SA (it) as the abbreviation for sex-appeal that is also colloquially known by ‘it’

26a    Drawing man, I get out first of crayons (8)
MAGNETIC: The definition of an adjective meaning very attractive or alluring is obtained from an anagram (out) of MAN I GET followed by the first or initial letter (first) of C[RAYONS]

27a    Sorrowful whistler secured by stake (6)
BEREFT: REF (whistler) as the short form of referee or a person who is an arbitrator, umpire or judge or the official, who controls a sports event such as a football game, especially by blowing a whistle that is sometimes needed to start, stop or restart the game, hence also informally known as whistler held inside (secured) by BET (stake) as to lay or stake money etc against someone else’s on the basis of the outcome of an unpredictable event such as a race or game takes to the definition of an adjective meaning sad and lonely, especially through someone’s death or departure

Down

1d    Tool that’s pieced together? (6)
JIGSAW: Double nounal definition; the second being a puzzle consisting of a picture printed on cardboard or wood and cut into various pieces of different shapes that have to be fitted together that leads to the first a machine saw with a fine blade enabling it to cut curved lines in a sheet of wood, metal or plastic

2d    Unsophisticated type with hundred to invest in shockingly sour wine (9)
LAMBRUSCO: LAMB (unsophisticated type) as one who is simple or innocent followed by (with) C (hundred) as the Roman numeral for hundred to fill or get inside (invest) in an anagram (shockingly) of SOUR leads to the definition of a sparkling red wine made from the grape grown in the Emilia-Romagna region of North Italy

3d    Little hairy feature bothered the masculine cop (6,9)
PENCIL MOUSTACHE: An anagram (bothered) of THE MASCULINE COP guides to the definition of a fine and neatly-clipped moustache found adjacent to or a little above the lip

5d    A shade late when disorganised (4)
TEAL: The definition of a dark greenish-blue colour is arrived at from LATE when it is subject to an anagram (disorganised)

6d    Romantic movie opening in part of London (7,4,4)
NOTTING HILL GATE: A charade of NOTTING HILL (romantic movie) as a romantic comedy film starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant and directed by Roger Michell and GATE (opening) as a narrow opening or defile leads to the definition of one of the main thoroughfares of Notting Hall, a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

7d    Old relative defending a group (5)
OASIS: O (old) as the abbreviation for old as OT in Old Testament and SIS (relative) as an informal term for a sister upholding or guarding A from the clue leads to the definition of an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991

8d    A little puffin, is he drooled over? (8)
FINISHED: Part of or hidden inside (a little) [PUF]FIN, IS HE D[ROOLED] guides to the definition of an adjective meaning complete or over

11d    Northbound English ship shortly heading for Latvia, leaves (7)
LETTUCE: A combination of E (English) as the abbreviation for English, CUTTE[R] (ship) as a small vessel with one mast having its last letter removed or shortened (shortly) and the head or uppermost letter (heading) for L[ATVIA] all headed northwards or going upwards (northbound) as a reversal in the down clue takes to the definition of a cultivated plant of large, green leaves, eaten raw in salads

14d    Extraordinary detail under roof of Chinese fortress (7)
CITADEL: An anagram (extraordinary) of DETAIL is placed below (under) the uppermost letter (roof) of C[HINESE] in the down clue, leading to the definition of a fortress, typically one on high ground above a city

16d    Imaginary line, moulds glued on it (9)
LONGITUDE: An anagram (moulds) of GLUED ON IT guides to the definition of any of the imaginary vertical lines that bisect the globe through the North and South Poles

17d    Entire distribution of power in cult, strange (8)
SPECTRUM: The definition of colours produced when white light is dispersed by a prism or diffraction grating is arrived at from P (power) as the symbol for power in physics placed inside (in) SECT (cult) as a religious group that has separated from a larger religion and is considered to have extreme or unusual beliefs or customs followed by RUM (strange) as an adjective meaning odd or peculiar

19d    Seed that’s very little, cut (6)
PEANUT: PEANUT[S] (that’s very little) as something very trifling or insignificant, especially a paltry sum of money that is devoid of its last letter (cut) guides to the definition of the oval seed of a tropical South American plant, often roasted and salted and eaten as a snack or used to make oil or animal feed

21d    Big on elastic — by the sound of it? (5)
BOING: An anagram (elastic) of BIG ON identifying the definition of the sound made by an elastic object, such as a spring, when bouncing

23d    Gathered by seamstress, a ripped Indian dress (4)
SARI: Part of or hidden inside (gathered by) [SEAMSTRES]S, A RI[PPED] guides to the definition of a women’s garment from the Indian subcontinent that consists of an unstitched stretch of woven fabric arranged over the body as a robe, with one end attached to the waist, while the other end rests over one shoulder as a stole, sometimes baring a part of the midriff

The clues that I liked in this puzzle were 1a, 12a, 15a, 20a, 22a, 25a, 27a, 1d, 3d, 6d, 7d, 11d and 21d; 1d being the topper. My prayers to the Almighty for the eternal rest and peace of BD and my thanks to Dada for the entertainment and to Gazza for the assistance. Would love to be here again. Have a nice day.