Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30593
A full review by crypticsue
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This puzzle was published on 20th April 2024
BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
NY Doorknob once again provided our Saturday Prize Puzzle, which after taking a moment or two to get going (I should have started with the Downs) turned out to be most enjoyable
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Across
1a Direct instruction Edward Lear disregarded? (2-8)
NO-NONSENSE Remove the hyphen and the instruction that Edward Lear ignored when writing his poems
6a Land covered in Virginia creepers (4)
ACRE – Hidden (covered) in virginiA CREepers
10a Freight firm holding a case of Riesling (5)
CARGO – CO (company, firm) ‘holding’ A (from the clue and the outside letters (case) of RieslinG
11a Nervous reaction from heartless wife in chair (4,5)
COLD SWEAT – COLD (heartless) and W (wife) inserted in SEAT (chair)
12a British-Australian Dame offering drink? (8)
BEVERAGE – B (British) and EVERAGE (the Australian Dame Edna)
13a Rat not initially an aquatic creature (5)
OTTER – rOTTER (rat) without the initial letter
15a Mazy run at Wembley making you drool? (7)
DRIBBLE – A winding (mazy) run with a football at Wembley or another ground can also be a synonym for drool
17a What Cockney trichologist may treat for nothing? (4,3)
THIN AIR – A Cockney trichologist may treat THIN [h]AIR
19a Revolutionary soldier — no communist — brushed aside (7)
IGNORED – A reversal (revolutionary) of an (unindicated) American soldier, NO (from the clue) and the colour which gives its name to an informal word for a communist
21a Collusion: accountant sounds warning (7)
CAHOOTS – An abbreviated Chartered Accountant followed by HOOTS (sounds warning)
22a Card player swivelling on crutch occasionally (5)
NORTH – A reversal (swivelling) of ON (from the clue) followed by the occasional letters of cRuTcH
24a Hearty pie and mash prepared — time to tuck in (8)
SHIPMATE – A hearty is an old name for a fellow sailor – an anagram (prepared) of PIE and MASH into which is inserted (to tuck in) T (time
27a Devout old man embracing bishop (9)
OBSERVANT – O (old) SERVANT (man) ‘embracing’ B (the chess abbreviation for Bishop)
28a Illustration in book helping (5)
PLATE – An illustration in a book or a helping of food
29a Antelope leaving delta shows style and vigour (4)
ELAN – An ELANd (antelope) without (leaving) the letter indicated by Delta in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet
30a Soldiers reorganised somehow — nothing to lose! (10)
GRENADIERS – An anagram (somehow) of REoRGANISED without the O (nothing to lose)
Down
1d Agreeable city on French Riviera (4)
NICE – A synonym for agreeable or a city on the French Riviera
2d Munch for instance on grain we cultivated (9)
NORWEGIAN – An anagram (cultivated) of ON GRAIN WE
3d Rope and ring put through snout (5)
NOOSE – O (ring) put through NOSE (snout)
4d Leaderless coppers seizing throne in Vatican City? (7)
ENCLAVE – pENCE (‘leaderless’ coppers) ‘seizing’ LAV (toilet, throne)
5d Conspicuous way to involve stranger (7)
SALIENT – ST (way) to ‘involve’ ALIEN (stranger)
7d Leading side in cup round play away (5)
CHEAT – C (the ‘leading’ side in Cup) and HEAT (round)
8d The Starship Business? (10)
ENTERPRISE – The name of the fictional starship or a business
9d Surprise greatly — like Villa? (8)
ASTONISH – Something like the football team – ASTON ISH
14d Normal idea strange for secret diarist (6,4)
ADRIAN MOLE – An anagram (strange) of NORMAL IDEA
16d Hot meat rolls brought round for citizens (8)
BURGHERS – BURGERS (meat rolls) ‘brought round’ H (hot)
18d A fight with mug brings change of attitude (5-4)
ABOUT FACE – A (from the clue) BOUT (fight) FACE (mug)
20d Anguish of the French couple? (7)
DESPAIR – DES (French for ‘of the’) PAIR (couple)
21d Ex-president criminal entertaining bits of fluff (7)
CLINTON – CON (criminal) ‘entertaining’ LINT (small bits of fluff that ‘cling to clothes and furniture and accumulate in the filters of washing machines and driers and in navels’ The last bit did make me smile 😊
23d God having succeeded thanks Jamaican devotee (5)
RASTA – RA (ancient Egyptian sun god) S (succeeded) TA (thanks)
25d 1960s scooterist straddling exercise bike? (5)
MOPED – MOD (1960s scooterist) ‘straddling’ PE (exercise)
26d Great being where crisis was once mounting (4)
ZEUS – A reversal (mounting) of SUEZ (the name given to a 1956 crisis in the Middle East