DT 30629 (Full Review)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30629

A full review by crypticsue

+ – + – + – + – + – + – + – +

This puzzle was published on 1^st June 2024

BD Rating – Difficulty *** – Enjoyment ***

The NY Doorknob set what I thought was a tricky Saturday Prize Puzzle where we had to start by playing ‘hunt the clue’.  I didn’t write anything in the grid until 12a and took a lot longer to solve the whole thing than I normally do on a Saturday

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought

Across

1a           See 10 Across

7a           Bolshevik leader‘s run media company (7)
TROTSKY – TROT (run) SKY (media company)

8a           Made complaint being finally woken (7)
GROUSED – The final letter of beinG and ROUSED (woken)

10a/1a Enjoyably nostalgic experience: eruption of Vesuvius? (5,4,3,4)
BLAST FROM THE PAST – although Vesuvius has erupted since AD79, this is the ‘blast from the past’ that people remember

11a         Debtor has ground in wetlands area (3,6)
THE BROADS – An anagram (ground) of DEBTOR HAS

12a         Girl dancing with men shows mischievous spirit (7)
GREMLIN – An anagram (dancing) of GIRL with MEN

14a         Spend penny – allowed to go in river? (7)
DEPLETE – P (penny) LET (allowed) inserted in the river DEE

15a         Worried singer Jones grabbing weapon (7)
ALARMED – ALED Jones the singer ‘grabbing’ ARM (weapon)

18a         Plain in Peru oddly blowy do they say? (7)
PRAIRIE – The odd letters of PeRu and a homophone (do they say) of AIRY (blowy)

20aa       One’s seen in Modi’s land, an Asian nation (9)
INDONESIA – ONES (from the clue) inserted in INDIA (the land where Modi is Prime Minister)

21a/24a Instrument transformed satellite upgrade (5,5,6)
PEDAL STEEL GUITAR – An anagram (transformed) of SATELLITE UPGRADE

22a         R.E.M. in to see musical technique (7)
TREMOLO – REM (from the clue) inserted between TO (from the clue) and LO (see)

23a         Brute leaving Black Death area of London (4,3)
EAST END – Leave off the B for Black in bEAST (brute) and follow with END (death)

24a         See 21 Across

Down

1d           Film enemy keeping old gun elevated (7)
FOOTAGE – FOE (enemy) ‘keeping) O (old) and a reversal (elevated) of GAT (an American abbreviation for a Gatling Gun)

2d           No turning back: determined to make start (5)
ONSET – A reversal (turning back) of ON (from the clue) followed by SET (determined)

3d           Push your luck – in the fitting-room? (3,2,2)
TRY IT ON – An informal attempt to do something risky or audacious to see how far one can go unscathed.  Whether you would do this while trying on a garment in the fitting room is up to you

4d           E for expert? (7)
EGGHEAD – E is the first letter (head) of Egg

5d           Fresh approach taken about year books (9)
APOCRYPHA – An anagram (fresh) of APPROACH ‘taken about’ Y (year)

6d           Trial, then tucked in with a will (7)
TESTATE – TEST (trial) ATE (tucked in)

7d           Force that pulls in giant boost rocked downhill racer (11)
TOBOGGANIST – G (the force that pulls something towards the earth) inserted into an anagram (rocked) of GIANT BOOST

9d           Tousled beauty had fun avoiding Romeo (11)
DISHEVELLED – DISH (beauty) rEVELLED (had fun) ‘avoiding’ the letter represented by Romeo in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

13d         Something from poissonnier, no Moselle ordered (5,4)
LEMON SOLE – Something from a French (or other) fish shop (poissonnier) is an anagram (ordered) of NO MOSELLE

16d         Democrat in a garment gives speech (7)
ADDRESS – The abbreviation for Democrat inserted in A DRESS (garment)

17d         Fibbed about keeping small Post Office sack (7)
DESPOIL – A reversal (about) of LIED (fibbed) ‘keeping’ S (small) and PO (Post Office)

18d         Flat ground helping American university (7)
PLATEAU – PLATE (a helping of food) A (American) U (university)

19d         Animal beginning to eat: more ginger brought round (3,4)
RED DEER – REDDER (more ginger) ‘brought round’ the beginning to Eat

21d         Suggest one opens the letters (5)
POSIT – I (The Roman numeral for one) ‘opens’ POST (letters)