Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3296
A full review by crypticsue
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This puzzle was published on 22nd December 2024
BD Rating – Difficulty */** – Enjoyment ***
A typical Dada Sunday Puzzle – this one had seven anagrams and a couple of seasonal references
Please let us know what you thought
Across
1a Slip up – in the slips? (4,3,4)
DROP THE BALL – Make a mistake or mishandle things; or literally while playing cricket
9a Huge battle with theory, oddly (7)
MONSTER – The First World War Battle of Mons and the odd letters of ThEoRy
10a Gorgeous tailoring my dear! (6)
DREAMY – An anagram (tailoring) of MY DEAR
12a Female feline worried sister, nursing young at last (7)
TIGRESS – An anagram (worried) of SISTER ‘nursing’ the last letter of younG
13a What about mine, a page for final inscription? (7)
EPITAPH – EH (what) goes about PIT (mine) A (from the clue) P (Page)
14a Group or classical team, eight then first of all (5)
OCTET – The first letters of Or Classical Team Eight Then
15a Awkward swerving, get in lane (9)
INELEGANT – An anagram (swerving) of GET IN LANE
17a Fruit, low-fat, focus of attention (9)
LIMELIGHT – LIME (fruit) LIGHT (low-fat)
20a Smell second smell (5)
SNIFF – S (second) NIFF (smell)
22a Craft with little time to follow what’s pulled by reindeer? (7)
SLEIGHT – The abbreviation (little) for Time follows SLEIGH (what’s pulled by reindeer)
24a A stripe lit up, maroon (7)
ABANDON – A (from the clue) BAND (stripe) ON (lit up)
25a Small river runs into vapour (6)
STREAM – The cricket abbreviation for Runs inserted into STEAM (vapour)
26a Crowd controller great as sprayed around (4,3)
TEAR GAS – An anagram (sprayed around) of GREAT AS
27a Kind that’s second-rate, I gathered (11)
CONSIDERATE – An anagram (gathered) of SECOND RATE I
Down
2d On luxury flight (7)
RETREAT – RE (on the subject of) TREAT (luxury)
3d Very cold at death’s door? (9)
PERISHING – A double definition, the first of which matched the wind on the morning I solved the crossword
4d Bush ultimately on border – is it? (5)
HEDGE – The ultimate letter of busH on EDGE (border)
5d Queen’s home, old style (7)
BEEHIVE – The home of a queen bee or an old hair style
6d Tibetan priest embracing awful dance (7)
LAMBADA – LAMA (Tibetan priest) ‘embracing’ BAD (awful)
7d Ice, in the end, still cold (11)
EMOTIONLESS – The letter at the end of icE and MOTIONLESS (still)
8d Man in dark, by the sound of it? (6)
KNIGHT – A homophone (by the sound of it) of NIGHT (dark)
11d Still European discussed close result (5,6)
PHOTO FINISH – PHOTO (still) and a homophone (discussed) of FINNISH (European)
16d Old vehicle on farm, cooler (9)
EXTRACTOR – EX (old) TRACTOR (vehicle on farm)
18d Great musician in store playing after mother (7)
MAESTRO – An anagram (playing) of IN STORE goes after MA (mother)
19d Only able to crawl then after pub crawl? (7)
LEGLESS – Only able to crawl possibly after too much to drink on a pub crawl
20d Glue required, alas net coming unstuck? (7)
SEALANT – An anagram (coming unstuck) of ALAS NET
21d I’m going in to hug daughter, kind of blue? (6)
INDIGO – IN I GO (I’m going in) ‘hugs’ D (Daughter)
23d Tiny character I had, like a mouse? (5)
TIMID – A character from A Christmas Carol – Tiny TIM and I’D (I had)