Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30443
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This puzzle was published on 28th October 2023
BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
A rare Saturday sighting of the NY Doorknob.
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Across
1a Greek character is out to avenge, first of all (4)
IOTA The first letters of Is Out To Average
3a All the runners in line (5)
FIELD – All the runners in an event or a line or specialism
6a When to return iron box holding valuables (4)
SAFE – A reversal (to return) of AS (when) followed by FE (the chemical symbol for iron)
8a Is it the boss we must see when someone’s late? (7,8)
FUNERAL DIRECTOR – the head of a company you’d see after someone had died (late)
9a Sort of stew and batter to conclude the order? (6)
RABBIT – A type of stew or an inferior cricketer who’d be left to the end of the batting order
10a Disregarding dangers in bay around Kuala Lumpur? (8)
RECKLESS – RECESS (bay) ‘around’ KL (Kuala Lumpur)
11a Need coat repaired — there’s yarn (8)
ANECDOTE – An anagram (repaired) of NEED COAT
13a Chap grabbing old news boss made complaint (6)
MOANED – MAN ‘grabbing’ O (old) followed by ED (news boss)
15a Not wild about hour taken by southern river (6)
THAMES – TAME (not wild) goes ‘about’ the abbreviation for Hour, the abbreviation for Southern being added at the end
17a Showing disrespect, two things swindlers do? (8)
CONTEMPT – Swindlers CON and TEMPT
19a Sceptic coasting at sea (8)
AGNOSTIC – An anagram (at sea) of COASTING
21a Yearly projection from Fremantle retailers (6)
ANTLER – Hidden in the last two words of the clue
22a Area in vibrant venue in Bristol needing many workers? (6-9)
LABOUR-INTENSIVE – A (area) inserted into an anagram (vibrant) of VENUE IN BRISTOL
23a Hardcore band, unconvincing here, finally shows bite (4)
EDGE – The final letters of hardcorE banD unconvincinG herE
24a Money returned on explosive component (5)
NITRE – A reversal of TIN (a slang word for money) followed by RE (on the subject of)
25a Ecstasy in club for pound (4)
BEAT – E (Ecstasy) in BAT (club)
Down
1d Grass playing well before being cut (9)
INFORMANT – IN FORM (playing well) ANTe (before without its last letter ‘being cut’)
2d All but one in football team fit and sound? (7)
TENABLE – There are eleven in a football team so all but one would be TEN followed by ABLE (fit)
3d Cross court as if suspect (9)
FRACTIOUS – An anagram (suspect) of COURT AS IF
4d Back where witch lived? She eschews hotel (7)
ENDORSE – ENDOR (where the OT witch lived) and ShE without the letter represented by Hotel in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
5d Order to carry out, endlessly creamy? (5)
DORIC – DO (carry out) and RICh (creamy without the end letter)
6d Harvester parked on road? People won’t take this well (4,5)
SICK LEAVE – SICKLE (something used to harvest crops) AVE (avenue)
7d Wiggling of toe is flirtatious activity (7)
FOOTSIE – An anagram (wiggling) OF TOE IS
12d Naval officer has something to go on, gathering men (9)
COMMODORE – COMMODE (something to ‘go’ on) into which is inserted (gathering) OR (men)
13d Heavy metal god not entirely covered with hair (9)
MANGANESE – Almost all of GANESH (the elephant-headed Hindu God of Wisdom and Success) inserted into MANE (hair)
14d Check blunder in endless easing of international tension (9)
DETERRENT – ERR (blunder) inserted into DETENTe (easing of international tension without the ‘end’)
16d She’s writer looking run down (7)
HAGGARD – Rider HAGGARD was the author of She, his surname can also be an adjective meaning looking run down
17d Shy target one among lovely bunch? (7)
COCONUT – A fairground target or one of the Lovely Bunch of Coconuts in the novelty song of that name
18d Despondency shown by south-east Asians in speech? (7)
MALAISE – A homophone (in speech) of MALAYS (SE Asians)
20d Wartime boffin abandons grand Italian location (5)
TURIN – TURINg (WW2 boffin) without (abandons) G (grand)