DT 30569 (Full Review)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 20569

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 23^rd March 2024

BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***

NY Doorknob set (for me anyway) a  friendly Saturday Prize Puzzle with an (apparently unintentional) American flavour or should that be ‘flavor’?

I have no problem with American words in crosswords – it was just when I got to the end of this one, much in the way that one might think ‘there seem to be a lot of anagrams’, I definitely was aware of the six references to places and people over the Pond

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Across

1a           Talk about wobbly rear as handsome in Arab leader? (6,6)
YASSER ARAFAT – A reversal (about) of SAY (talk), an anagram (wobbly) of REAR AS followed by FAT (handsome, generous)

8a           Parish priest ignoring first offence (5)
ARSON – An old friend of the crossword solver – simply remove (ignoring) the first letter from pARSON (parish priest)

9a           Detective in Georgia unwise to enter without invite (9)
GATECRASH – TEC (detective) inserted between GA (the abbreviation for the US State of Georgia) and RASH (unwise)

11a         Inadvertently extend retirement? (9)
OVERSLEEP – A cryptic definition of what you do when you inadvertently extend retirement

12a         Your escorts posed for Playboy? (5)
SATYR – YR (your) ‘escorts’ or follows SAT (posed)

13a         Shot crow dead circling round timber (9)
CEDARWOOD – An anagram (shot) of CROW DEAD ‘circling’ O (round)

16a         Girl generous with cider or tea in London? (5)
ROSIE – The girl who gave Laurie Lee too much cider or Cockney Rhyming Slang for tea

18a         Salary increased, settle arrears (3,2)
PAY UP – PAY (salary) UP (increased)

19a         Oppenheimer’s workplace also twice rebuilt — million invested? (3,6)  The ‘new’ Telegraph Puzzles site had a different clue from that in the newspaper and on the Old puzzles site: Manhattan home also twice rebuilt – million invested? (3,6)
LOS ALAMOS – Old site clue – Two anagrams (twice rebuilt) of ALSO into which M (million) is ‘invested’.  New site clue – The same anagram and investment of a Million but the definition refers to the home of the Manhattan project which created the first atomic bomb – As SJB said on Saturday, a much more difficult clue

20a         Ladies sleep here and there in corridor (5)
AISLE – The even (here and there) letters of lAdIeS sLeEp

22a         Notice wife plunged into warmer stream (9)
HEADWATER – AD (notice) W (wife) ‘plunged into’ HEATER (warmer)

25a         Made a fruitcake? (6,3)
DRIVEN MAD – A cryptic definition of making someone crazy

26a         Garlic piece in cold relish (5)
CLOVE – C (cold) LOVE (relish)

27a         Cross river shortly after two vessels (12)
CANTANKEROUS – OUSe (truncated river) goes after two vessels – CAN and TANKER

Down

1d           Song about breaking up 24 hours ago? (9)
YESTERDAY – The Beatles’ song about breaking up or twenty-four hours ago

2d           Cavity walls in usual houses (5)
SINUS – Housed by wallS IN USual

3d           Hunting hound slipping lead finds bird (5)
EAGLE – Another old friend – Simply remove the ‘head’ from a bEAGLE (hunting hound)

4d           Mountain range including peak over in Australia? (9)
ANTIPODES – ANDES (mountain range) into which is inserted TIP (peak) and the cricket abbreviation for Over

5d           Ground Lancaster inherited (9)
ANCESTRAL – An anagram (ground) of LANCASTER

6d           Expect a delay (5)
AWAIT – A (from the clue) WAIT (delay)

7d           Maybe barman in AA right about police state? (5,7)
AARON COPLAND – AA (from the clue) R (right) ON (about) COP LAND (police state)

10d         Needing treatment, let’s try here — a medical hub? (6,6)
HARLEY STREET – An anagram (needing treatment) of LETS TRY HERE A

14d         Act for theatre to feel bitter about (9)
REPRESENT – REP (theatre) RESENT (feel bitter about)

15d         Monk with a halo converted Tulsan? (9)
OKLAHOMAN – An anagram (converted) of MONK A HALO – Tulsa being the second most populous city in Oklahoma

17d         Rich and posh MP turned out in southern states? (9)
SUMPTUOUS – U (posh) MP (from the clue) and a reversal (turned) of OUT inserted between S (Southern) and US (states)

21d         Certain Muslims penning verse for Hindu god (5)
SHIVA – SHIA (certain Muslims) ‘penning’ V (verse)

23d         Two daughters introduced to beer go off (5)
ADDLE – D D (two abbreviations for Daughter) ‘introduced’ to ALE (beer)

24d         Nuts — kilo taken into Texan town (5)
WACKO – The abbreviation for Kilo ‘taken into’ the Texan town of WACO