ST 3235 (full review)

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3235

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 22^nd Oct 2023

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

Greetings from Kolkata. A pretty gentle and straightforward puzzle from Dada this Sunday that was enjoyable and now I present to you a full review of his puzzle. Hope to have your valuable feedback and comments.

I learnt from the net that the name of Amsterdam, the answer to the clue of 15a, is derived from Amstelredamme. Literally, it is ‘The Dam on the River Amstel’, indicative of the city’s origin as a dam of that river. Although Amsterdam is the commercial and cultural capital of The Netherlands as mandated by the Constitution of the country, it is not the seat of the government, which is The Hague. Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the ‘Venice of the North’ on account of its large number of canals, now designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Netherlands is also known by another name that is Holland. While Netherlands denotes a low-lying country, the name Holland comes from Houtland or Wooded Land. The latter name was given to one of the mediaeval cores of what later became the modern state and is still used for two of its twelve provinces, namely Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland indicating North Holland and South Holland respectively. The people of this country are of Germanic descent and called Dutch. The oldest stock exchange of the world is the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, located in the heart of the city. Originally a small fishing village in the late twelfth century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the seventeenth century, as a consequence of innovative development in trade that took place over there. The period of that century that made Netherlands an economic powerhouse came also to be regarded as the Dutch Golden Age. During my childhood, I learnt from my BRB a lot of idioms and phrases pertaining to the word ‘Dutch’; for instance, a Dutch wife as an open frame of rattan or cane used in the East Indies, to rest the limbs upon in bed; a Dutch treat as an occasion of a meal or an entertainment which each person pays for himself or herself; a Dutch uncle as someone who criticises or reprimands one unsparingly and a Dutch auction at which the salesperson starts at a high price and comes down repeatedly till a bid is made. Strange it may seem, a double Dutch is any unknown or unintelligible language.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.

Across

1a    Forward striking idiot after invasion of supporters (4,2,5)
BOLD AS BRASS: The definition of a simile used to describe a person who shows a high degree of confidence, courage or is very straightforward is arrived at from BOLD (striking) as having a strong, vivid or clear appearance, especially of a colour, design or shape and ASS (idiot) as an informal term for a foolish or stupid person subject to an intrusion of (after invasion of) BRAS (supporters) as the plural form of the short for brassiere that is a form-fitting undergarment, used primarily to support and cover a woman’s breasts

9a    Wild animal found in Kigali, one’s savage (7)
LIONESS: Part of or hidden inside (found in) [KIGA]LI, ONE’S S[AVAGE] guides to the definition of the female of a large wild animal of the cat family with yellowish brown fur that lives in Africa and southern Asia

10a    Scruff with case of rubbishy linen (6)
NAPERY: NAPE (scruff) as the back of the neck and (with) the outermost letters (case) of R[UBBISH]Y takes to the definition of a household linen, especially for the table

12a    Length of a grey day that’s endless, unfortunately (7)
YARDAGE: The definition of the length or distance measured or estimated in linear yards is arrived at from A GREY DA[Y] that’s devoid of its ending or last letter (endless) and subject to an anagram (unfortunately)

13a    Upbeat sculptor? (7)
CHIPPER: Double definition; the second being a noun referring to a person whose work is to chip or cut that takes to the first an informal adjective meaning cheerful and lively

14a    Sent back, a little piece I needed for relative (5)
NIECE: Part of or hidden inside (a little) [PI]ECE I N[EEDED] that is coming from the other end (sent back) as a reversal in the across clue leads to the definition of the daughter of one’s brother or sister or of one’s brother-in-law or sister-in-law

15a    Barking recalled after lead removed from pet in capital city (9)
AMSTERDAM: The definition of the capital and the most populated city of The Netherlands is arrived at from MAD (barking) as exhibiting a severely disordered state of mind or not mentally sound brought back (recalled) as a reversal in the across clue preceded by or following (after) [H]AMSTER (pet) as a small animal covered in fur with a short tail and large spaces in each side of its mouth for storing food and often kept as a pet subject to its leading or initial letter H (lead) being extracted or taken away (removed)

17a    Ground powder in a bloomer, did you say? (9)
CORNFLOUR: CORNFLOWER (bloomer) as a common blue wildflower that is cultivated as a garden flower and also known as bachelor’s button or basket flower serving as a homophone heard by the audience (did you say?) guides to the definition of a finely ground powder made from maize, rice or other grain, used especially for thickening sauces

20a    Twentieth-century artist extracting energy from light (5)
BACON: The definition of the surname of a twentieth-century Irish-born British figurative painter Francis BACON known for his raw, unsettling imagery is arrived at from B[E]ACON (light) as a fire or light set up in a high or prominent position as a warning, signal or celebration subject to its E (energy) as the symbol for energy as a quantitative property in physics being removed or taken away (extracting)

22a    Once again launch craft after period of relaxation (7)
RESTART: ART (craft) as a skilled profession or trade, craft or branch of activity preceded by or following (after) REST (period of relaxation) as an instance or period of resting leads to the definition of a verb meaning to begin or start something again after it has stopped for a period of time

24a    Grey squirrel’s back by an abomination of nature (7)
NEUTRAL: The back or final letter (back) of [SQUIRRE]L (squirrel’s) coming after or preceded by (by) an anagram (abomination) of NATURE guides to the definition of a pale colour such as cream or grey

25a    Performance of trio on commercial, masterly (6)
ADROIT: An anagram (performance) of TRIO from the clue preceded by or coming after (on) AD (commercial) as an informal term for an advertisement, a type of which could be commercial, that is an advertisement included with another broadcast as on radio, television or a podcast takes to the definition of an adjective meaning dexterous, skilful or masterly

26a    Important huge hole in net mended (7)
EMINENT: MINE (huge hole) as a huge deep hole or series of holes that are dug in the ground in order to find gold, coal, diamonds etc placed inside (in) an anagram (mended) of NET leads to the definition of an adjective meaning of great significance or value

27a    Parse clue and undergo spiritual transformation? (3,3,5)
SEE THE LIGHT: Double idiomatic definition; the second meaning to undergo a religious or spiritual conversion or to become converted to a new belief that takes to the first denoting to put the words to lights, that is, to provide the explanations for crossword clues

Down

2d    Work exercise into talk (7)
OPERATE: PE (exercise) as the abbreviation for physical education that represents sport and exercise that is taught in schools placed inside (into) ORATE (talk) as to speak in an elevated and often pompous manner takes to the definition of a verb meaning to work, perform or function

3d    Gangster tearing up road with speed (9)
DESPERADO: An anagram (tearing up) of a combo of ROAD and (with) SPEED leads to the definition of a desperate or reckless person, especially a criminal

4d    Change in coins for some sort of boom? (5)
SONIC: COINS subject to an anagram (change) takes to the definition of a type of boom that has the characteristic of producing an explosive sound, especially when an aircraft is travelling faster than the speed of sound

5d    Agent on slab, snake say (7)
REPTILE: REP (agent) as a secret agent employed to watch others or to collect information, especially of a military nature placed upon (on) TILE (slab) as a slab of baked clay for covering roofs, floors etc in the down clue yields the definition of a vertebrate animal of a class distinguished by having a dry scaly skin and typically laying soft-shelled eggs on land, an example of which is the snake

6d    Priest improvised with five hundred in bands (7)
STRIPED: An anagram (improvised) of PRIEST and (with) D (five hundred) as the Roman numeral for five hundred leads to the definition of an adjective meaning in or having lines or bands of different colours or textures

7d    Club, for example, broadcasting message (7,4)
PLAYING-CARD: A charade of PLAYING (broadcasting) as broadcasting a dramatic work for the stage and CARD (message) as a piece of thick, stiff paper with a picture and used to send a message or greeting takes to the definition of one of a set of 52 small, rectangular pieces of stiff paper, each with a number and a design showing one of the four suits printed on it, used in playing various games of chance and skill; an example of one such suit being the club

8d    Root relish mentioned? (6)
SOURCE: SAUCE (relish) as a condiment or relish for food, especially as a fluid dressing or topping serving as a homophone heard by the audience (mentioned) guides to the definition of a noun referring to origin or root or the point at which something begins its course or existence

11d    Evil chapter in military manoeuvres (11)
CRIMINALITY: The definition of a noun meaning guiltiness, wrongdoing or evil is arrived at from C (chapter) as the abbreviation for chapter followed by an anagram (manoeuvres) of IN MILITARY

16d    Plain green compound in group with iodine (9)
SERENGETI: The definition of a large plain in Northern Tanzania, part of which is set aside as a national wildlife sanctuary is arrived at from an anagram (compound) of GREEN put inside (in) SET (group) as a group or collection of things that belong together or resemble one another or are usually found together and followed by (with) I (iodine) as the chemical symbol for iodine

18d    With menu finally gathered up, settle balance (7)
RESIDUE: With the final or terminal letter (finally) of [MEN]U collected or taken inside (gathered up) RESIDE (settle) as to stay, remain, settle or dwell permanently or continuously yields the definition of a noun meaning remainder, balance or that which is left after other parts have been taken away

19d    Totally exhausted running at full tilt (4,3)
FLAT OUT: Double phrasal definition; the first meaning lying stretched out, especially in a state of exhaustion and the second denoting moving or working at top speed or with maximum efforts

20d    Wicked sweeper holds it up (7)
BRUTISH: BRUSH (sweeper) as a sweeping device composed of bristles typically set into a handle contains (holds) IT from the clue that is seen going upwards (up) as a reversal in the down clue, arriving at the definition of an adjective meaning resembling, befitting or typical of a brute or beast

21d    Move swiftly in professional work (6)
CAREER: Double definition; the second being a noun referring to one’s profession or occupation or progress or advancement in to one’s profession or occupation that takes to the first a verb meaning to gallop, rush wildly or move or run rapidly

23d    Heading into orbit, it leaves (5)
TITLE: Part of or hidden inside (into) [ORBI]T, IT LE[AVES] guides to the definition of a general or descriptive heading for a section of a written work or the name or heading of a proceeding or statute

There were several clues that I liked in this puzzle such as 1a, 13a, 15a, 20a, 24a, 27a, 3d, 7d, 11d, 16d, 18d and 19d; the best among them being 15a. 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. Looking forward to being here again. Have a nice day.