Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3252
A full review by Rahmat Ali
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This puzzle was published on 18th Feb 2024
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ****
Greetings from Kolkata. A nice and lovely puzzle from Dada this Sunday that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a full review of his puzzle for your kind reading and significant comments.
Biblical brother, part of the wordplay to the clue of 13a, brought back memories of childhood days when I would take keen interest in listening to lectures of teachers, neighbours and elderly relatives pertaining to religions, particularly Christianity and Islam. At a very young age, I was familiar with the names of people and events as mentioned in the Book of Genesis that is also regarded as the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament and those in the Quran. The first biblical brothers, as mentioned in the Book of Genesis, are Cain and Abel, whereas in the Quran, they are Qabil and Habil. Their parents, Adam and Eve, the first couple on earth, are mentioned as Aadam and Hawwa in the Quran. In the same way, some of the names are thus: Enoch is Idris, Noah is Nuh, Lot is Lut, Abraham is Ibrahim, Ishmael is Ismail, Isaac is Ishaq, Jacob is Yaqub, Joseph is Yusuf, Job is Ayyub, Moses is Musa, Aaron is Harun, David is Dawud, Solomon is Sulayman, Elijah is Ilyas, Elisha is Alyasa, Jonah is Yunus, Zachariah is Zakaria, John is Yahya and Isa is Jesus.
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Across
1a Thoughts on lack of order in thearchy so unorthodox, nothing taken in (5,6)
CHAOS THEORY: An anagram (unorthodox) of THEARCHY SO having O (nothing) as the letter representing nought or nothing welcomed (taken in) takes to the definition of a set of ideas that deals with the nature and consequences of chaos and chaotic systems or with situations that are confused and have no order
9a As wind can rise (7)
ARSENIC: An anagram (wind) of CAN RISE guides to the definition of a solid chemical element of atomic number 33 that is used especially in wood preservatives, alloys and semiconductors and is extremely toxic in both pure and combined forms and having ‘As’ as its chemical symbol as we find in the Periodic Table
10a Flatter piano given lift (6)
PRAISE: The definition of a verb meaning to express warm approval or admiration of someone is arrived at from a charade involving P (piano) as an abbreviation for piano in music, denoting an instruction to play quietly and (given) RAISE (lift) as to lift something to a higher position
12a New edition sure is different, last of three (7)
REISSUE: An anagram (different) of SURE IS followed by the last or terminal letter (last) of [THRE]E produces the definition of a second or subsequent issue of a book or something that has been printed or produced again, often after some time has passed
13a Biblical brother embraces suitable leader (7)
CAPTAIN: CAIN (Biblical brother) as the brother of Abel as in the biblical Book of Genesis clasps or takes inside (embraces) APT (suitable) as appropriate or suitable in the circumstances, leading to the definition of the leader of a team, especially in sports, or a military leader or the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft or other vessel
14a Finger or toe like that thing (5)
DIGIT: A charade of DIG (like) as an informal verb meaning to like, understand or appreciate and IT (that thing) as used to refer to a thing previously mentioned or easily identified or, in another way, DIG IT (like that thing) where DIG means ‘like’ and IT refers to ‘that thing’, guiding to the definition of a human finger or toe
15a Small car or estate travelling round capital of Wisconsin (3-6)
TWO-SEATER: An anagram (travelling) of OR ESTATE placed about (round) the capital letter (capital) of W[ISCONSIN) leads to the definition of an open automobile having a front seat and a rumble seat of a small car with seating for two people
17a Wife, say, or the silly husband Alfred (5,4)
OTHER HALF: An anagram (silly) of OR THE followed by H (husband) as the genealogical abbreviation for husband and ALF (Alfred) as a diminutive version of Alfred takes to the definition of a person that one is married to, an example of which is wife
20a Bird like a chicken drops head (5)
RAVEN: [C]RAVEN (a chicken) as a chicken or an abject coward that is devoid of (drops) its leading or initial letter (head) yields the definition of a large passerine bird, Corvus corax, that has a large straight bill, long wedge-shaped tail and black plumage
22a Smoker’s accessory easier to pick up (7)
LIGHTER: Double definition; the first referring to a device that produces a small flame, especially one used to light cigarettes and the second an adjective in the comparative degree meaning easier to lift, carry or pick up
24a Country in gear, I gathered (7)
NIGERIA: An anagram (gathered) of IN GEAR I guides to the definition of the most populous country in the African continent
25a Wasted, as are plums! (6)
STONED: Double adjectival definition; the first meaning under the influence of drugs, especially cannabis and the second referring to of a fruit with the stone removed, an example of which are plums
26a Unabridged, translated to Latin (2,5)
IN TOTAL: An anagram (translated) of TO LATIN takes to the definition of an adjective meaning all together, complete or entirely or including everything added together
27a Call to action in grunt of tennis player? (8,3)
RALLYING CRY: The definition of a catchphrase, incident or event that is used to excite people to support a cause or to rouse people to action is cryptically arrived at from a grunt that is a low, short guttural sound made by a tennis player (cry) during their involvement in a series of to-and-fro strokes or exchange of shots in deciding a point (rally), thus ‘a cry during a rally’ or, precisely, a ‘rallying cry’
Down
2d Remote control wedged in couch and settee (7)
HANDSET: Part of or hidden inside (wedged in) [COUC]H AND SET[TEE] guides to the definition of a device that one holds in their hand to operate a television etc, such as a remote control
3d Carrots he cooked for band (9)
ORCHESTRA: An anagram (cooked) of CARROTS HE takes to the definition of a band or group of musicians who play together on a variety of instruments
4d Subject that’s of potential interest, chemistry first of all (5)
TOPIC: Each of the first or initial letters (first of all) of T[HAT’S] O[F] P[OTENTIAL] I[NTEREST,] C[HEMISTRY] guides to the definition of a subject of discussion or conversation or the subject of a speech, essay, thesis or discourse
5d Test odd bits of pollen, for instance (7)
EXAMPLE: EXAM (test) as an official test that shows one’s ability or knowledge in a particular subject followed by the oddly-placed letters (odd bits) of PoLlEn leads to the definition of a specimen or instance that is typical of the group or set of which it forms part
6d Stop painting, say, and begin again (7)
RESTART: A charade of REST (stop) as to stop or to cease from motion or activity and ART (painting, say) as the expression of ideas and emotions through a physical medium, an example of which is painting takes to the definition of a verb meaning to start or begin again
7d Cross with Los Angeles sketch of underwear? (11)
LABRADOODLE: The definition of a dog that is a cross between a Labrador retriever and a poodle is reached from LA (Los Angeles) as the abbreviation for Los Angeles followed by DOODLE (sketch) as to draw or sketch aimlessly, especially when preoccupied of BRA (underwear) as an undergarment worn by women to support their breasts, that is DOODLE of BRA, or precisely, BRA DOODLE
8d What beggar’s doing, royally? (6)
ASKING: AS KING (royally) as a phrasal adverb meaning like a king or in a royal manner takes to the definition of a verb in the continuous form meaning saying to someone that one wants them to do or give something
11d Blue rant in paper’s leader unfortunately too rude to publish … (11)
UNPRINTABLE: An anagram (unfortunately) involving BLUE RANT IN and the leading or initial letter (leader) of P[APER] (paper’s) guides to the definition of an adjective meaning too offensive or shocking to be published, especially of words, comments or thoughts
16d … bad last few pages proving vulgar (9)
OFFENDING: A charade of OFF (bad) as an adjective meaning bad or affected by spoilage and ENDING (last few pages) as the last part of something, such as last few pages of a book produces the definition of an adjective meaning causing disapproval or displeasure, violating moral or divine law or guilty of a crime or wrong action
18d Meal eight cooks fed to outsiders in Havana (4,3)
HIGH TEA: An anagram (cooks) of EIGHT going inside (fed to) the outermost letters (outsiders) H[AVAN]A takes to the definition of a light meal eaten in the late afternoon or early evening that usually includes cooked food, cakes and tea to drink
19d Metal in concrete touching on part of the eye (7)
RETINAL: TIN (metal) as a silvery-white metal, the chemical element of atomic number 50 placed inside (in) REAL (concrete) as actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact and not imagined or supposed leads to the definition of an adjective meaning relating to, involving or being a retina that is the light-sensitive layer or tissue at the back of the eyeball
20d One making corrections, author by the sound of it? (7)
RIGHTER: A homophone heard by the audience (by the sound of it) of WRITER (author) as a person engaged in writing books, articles, stories etc, especially as an occupation or profession takes to the definition of one who sets right or makes corrections or who redresses wrong
21d Accuracy, so nailing it (6)
VERITY: SO (very) as an adverb meaning to such a great extent inserting (nailing) IT from the clue provides the definition of a noun meaning correctness, exactness or accuracy
23d Awesome, two straight lines (5)
RADII: A charade of RAD (awesome) as a slang term for an adjective meaning wonderful or excellent and II (two) as the Roman numeral for two yields the definition of the plural of radius that is a straight line extending from the centre of a circle or sphere to the circumference or surface
Some of the clues that I liked in this puzzle were 1a, 9a, 14a, 20a, 25a, 27a, 7d, 8d, 21d and 23d; the best of the lot being 7d. 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 pleasant day.
Thank you so much for explaining the parsing, Rahmat; and especially your weekly opening paragraphs which are immensely interesting. I very much appreciate all the time and effort you expend.
Thank you so much once again, jan, for liking my review and your kind comments.
Thank you, Rahmat. I remember solving this puzzle, and thought I’d commented on Senf’s hints that day, but apparently not. So thank you also to Senf, as well as Dada.
My favourite was 7a’s cross — the underwear sketch was amusing, and it brought back memories of our late commenter LabradorsruleOK.
Thank you so much once again, Smylers, for liking my review and your kind comments.
3*/3* ….
liked 27A “Call to action in grunt of tennis player? (8,3)”