Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3257
A full review by crypticsue
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This puzzle was published on 24th March 2024
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Dada back in ‘how many anagrams can I fit in this crossword’ mode, not to mention ‘what word can I insert into another?’
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Across
1a Yell, like great soprano! (6)
CALLAS – CALL (yell) AS (like)
4a Popular musician in Australia having saturated market (6)
MOZART – OZ (Australia) having ‘saturated’ MART (market)
8a Boxer with cut covering up, tho’ woozy (8)
SOUTHPAW – SAW (cut) ‘covering’ an anagram (woozy) of UP THO
10a Fashionable dance music (3-3)
HIP-HOP – HIP (fashionable) HOP (dance)
11a Sign of old injury, frightening cut (4)
SCAR – SCARy (frightening) with its last letter cut
12a Chief criminal element in campanologist? (10)
RINGLEADER – LEAD (element) in RINGER (campanologist)
13a Search is around country for underwear (12)
COMBINATIONS – COMB (search) and IS (from the clue), the latter going around NATION (country) – the BRB defines this underwear as “a warm undergarment covering the whole body with long sleeves and legs”
16a Unfriendly attitude in Arctic bear (4,8)
COLD SHOULDER – COLD (Arctic) SHOULDER (bear)
20a I chop, as it’s chopped nuts! (10)
PISTACHIOS – An anagram (chopped) of I CHOP AS ITS
21a Cold wine unfinished — a little sweet? (4)
CHOC – C (cold) HOCk (unfinished wine)
22a Con elected ally (6)
INMATE – IN (elected) MATE (ally)
23a Plant in Grenada I built (8)
GARDENIA – An anagram (built) of GRENADA I
24a Man on left I love (6)
LIKING – KING (chess ‘man’) going on or after L (left) and I (from the clue)
25a Steward originally found in bus garage, tyrant (6)
DESPOT – S (the original letter of Steward) found in DEPOT (bus garage)
Down
1d Loco partner of Bill smuggles in illicit whisky (4-4)
CHOO-CHOO – COO (partner of Bill in Bill and Coo) ‘smuggles in’ HOOCH (illicit whisky)
2d A little secret always turns up in due course (5)
LATER – Hidden in reverse (turns up) in secRET ALways
3d Tablet poisoning animal, one runs home (7)
ASPIRIN – ASP (poisonous animal) I (Roman numeral for one) R (cricket abbreviation for Runs) IN (home)
5d Too upset about a nightmare play (7)
OTHELLO – An anagram (upset) of TOO goes about HELL (a nightmare)
6d Arranged ASAP, April review (9)
APPRAISAL – An anagram (arranged) of ASAP APRIL
7d Line in lease looked up for one of those residing in toolshed? (6)
TROWEL – ROW (line) inserted in a reversal of LET (lease)
9d Twins eating out, sampling drink (4-7)
WINE-TASTING – An anagram (out) of TWINS EATING
14d Change one’s tune in second song (9)
BACKTRACK – BACK (second) TRACK (song)
15d Party animal, teacher is into the dancing (8)
HEDONIST – DON (teacher) and IS (from the clue) inserted into an anagram (dancing) of THE
17d Stand in line on centre ground (7)
LECTERN – L (line) goes on (in a Down solution) an anagram (ground) of CENTRE
18d See irregular verbs in middle of poem (7)
OBSERVE – An anagram (irregular) of VERBS inserted into OE (the middle letters of pOEm)
19d Cue is raised and brown finally pocketed by girl (6)
SIGNAL – A reversal (raised)of IS (from the clue) and N (the final letter of brown) inserted into (pocketed by) GAL (girl)
21d First of chords, large number — for a song! (5)
CHEAP – C (the first letter of Chords) HEAP (large number)
4*/4* …
liked 1D “Loco partner of Bill smuggles in illicit whisky (4_4)”