ST 3275 (Full Review)

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3275

A full review  by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 28^th July 2024

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

It is a good job not many people look at the Prize Puzzle reviews so I may get away with admitting that I disagreed with many of the commenters  on the day, as this is what I wrote first thing on Sunday morning:

It may well be ‘just me’ as I am typing this review before the Hints are published, but I thought this was a difficult crossword which would have been better placed in the Toughie slot rather than on a Sunday.

When solving the crossword, it seemed like there were lots of ‘do something with a letter’ clues but it turned out to be three lots of’ take the outside letters’ and four ‘omit a letter at the end’

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought

Across

1a           Wet stain shrinking (6)
MARSHY – MAR (stain, disfigure or spoil) SHY (shrinking)

4a           Cuttlefish emptied into rather speedy ship (8)
SCHOONER – The outside (emptied) letters of CuttlefisH inserted into SOONER (rather)

10a         Recollection of cattiness, most brief (9)
SCANTIEST – An anagram (recollection) of CATTINESS

11a         Home cut method of payment for old people (5)
INCAS – IN (home) and truncated (cut) CASh (method of payment)

12a         Jug painting under discussion? (7)
PITCHER – A homophone (under discussion) of PICTURE (painting)

13a         Dodgy pedals on bicycle finally went (7)
ELAPSED – An anagram (dodgy) of PEDALS goes on or after the final letter of bicyclE

14a         Girl fed starter of vegetarian grub (5)
LARVA – LARA (girl) ‘fed’ V (the starter of Vegetarian)

15a         Swimmer in shade in Florida, extremely sunburnt earlier (8)
STINGRAY – The American (as used in Florida) spelling of GRAY (shade), IN (from the clue) and the extreme letters of SunburnT go ‘earlier’ or before the shade

18a         Reduce team where loads taken off (8)
DOCKSIDE – DOCK (reduce) SIDE (team)

20a         Back clipped on old passenger vehicle, wide say (5)
EXTRA – EX (old) and TRAm (passenger vehicle) with its back ‘clipped’

23a         Ultimately, abandonment justification for crime (7)
TREASON – The last (ultimately) letter of abandonmenT and REASON (justification)

25a         Successful pop songs, those lined up for the Killers? (3,4)
HIT LIST – Successful pop songs or people someone would like assassinated

26a         Dance venue very lacking in invention (5)
DISCO – DISCOvery (invention) lacking the ‘very’

27a         I survive in awfully nice firm (9)
INELASTIC – I (from the clue) and LAST (survive) inserted into an anagram (awfully) of NICE

28a         Novel noted, ace story (8)
ANECDOTE – An anagram (novel) of NOTED ACE

29a         Weapon hidden in river well! (4,2)
DEAR ME – ARM (weapon) hidden in the River DEE

Down

1d           Simplest forms requiring an editor? (8)
MISSPELT- An anagram (forms) of SIMPLEST

2d           Priest has installed a device using atomic energy (7)
REACTOR – RECTOR (priest) has installed A (from the clue)

3d           Sit on reverse in car (9)
HATCHBACK – HATCH (sit on eggs) BACK (reverse)

5d           Firework each winter turned on end (9-5)
CATHERINE-WHEEL – An anagram (turned) of EACH WINTER goes on HEEL (end)

6d           Board requiring agreement from two countries? (5)
OUIJA – OUI and JA (agreement from two countries)

7d           Island capital, one island I found in North America (7)
NICOSIA – I (Roman numeral for one) COS (island) and I (from the clue) inserted into (found) NA (North America)

8d           Some creatures I’d exported, live (6)
RESIDE – Hidden in creatuRES ID Exported

9d           Phoney sent in, cries out for medical expert (14)
NEUROSCIENTIST – An anagram (phoney) of SENT IN CRIES OUT

16d         Dog enraged at barking (5,4)
GREAT DANE – An anagram (barking) of ENRAGED AT

17d         Pressure on item, something very small (8)
PARTICLE – P (pressure) ARTICLE (item)

19d         Direct lines into Odense after evacuation (7)
OVERSEE – VERSE (lines) inserted into the outside (after evacuation) letters of OdensE

21d         Devastating blow for a dancer? (7)
TWISTER – A devasting wind (blow) or a 1960s dancer

22d         Arenas, first of those in blue and lilac, nothing odd there! (6)
STADIA – T (the first letter of Those) inserted in SAD (blue) following by the even (nothing odd there) letters of lIlAc

24d         Southern term for weapon (5)
SWORD – S (Southern) WORD (term)