Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3298
A full review by crypticsue
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This puzzle was published on 5th January 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty * – Enjoyment ***
A particularly friendly Sunday Prize Puzzle with several anagrams and quite a few ‘old friends’ of the experienced cryptic crossword solver
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Across
1a Colourful flier Real Madrid distributed (3,7)
RED ADMIRAL – An anagram (distributed) of REAL MADRID
6a Others yet to be discussed behind back (2,2)
ET AL – A reversal (back) of LATE (behind)
9a Start enjoying assignment in lecture (4,2,4)
TAKE TO TASK – TAKE TO (start enjoying) TASK (assignment)
10a Soar without opening wing (4)
LIMB – cLIMB (soar) without its opening letter
12a Ranking – of chicken farms? (7,5)
PECKING ORDER – What chickens have and people too!
15a Last slogan and first of bywords reversed (6)
BOTTOM – A reversal of MOTTO (slogan) and the first letter of Bywords
16a Game bird lowly farmhand has caught ending in broth (8)
PHEASANT – PEASANT (lowly farmhand) has caught H (the ending in broth)
18a Scribbled note on grammatical term not allowed (8)
VERBOTEN – An anagram (scribbled) of NOTE goes on or after VERB (grammatical term)
19a Journalist specified it ordering pens (6)
EDITOR – Penned by specifiED IT ORdering
21a One side of Germany run by machine, possibly (6,6)
BAYERN MUNICH – An anagram (possibly) of RUN BY MACHINE
24a Wine, a blend that’s unfinished (4)
ASTI – A (from the clue) STIr (blend ‘unfinished’)
25a Sickening destruction of a planet and sun (10)
UNPLEASANT – An anagram (destruction) of A PLANET and SUN
26a March second follows first and second of December (4)
DEMO – MO (second) follows the first and second letters of December
27a Bullet after bullet for poisoner (4,6)
SLUG PELLET – PELLET (bullet) goes after SLUG (bullet)
Down
1d Greatly admire speed (4)
RATE – Double definition
2d Noble instrument: daughter on it (4)
DUKE – The abbreviation for Daughter goes on UKE (ukelele – instrument)
3d Serve cheat with top cards (2,3,7)
DO THE HONOURS – DO (cheat) THE HONOURS (the top four cards in a game of whist or bridge)
4d Crop that’s neat I gathered, sack finally tied up (6)
INTAKE – An anagram (gathered) of NEAT IT into which is inserted (tied up) the final letter of sacK
5d Sailor’s in the drink (8)
ABSINTHE – AB’S (sailor’s) IN THE
7d Number divided by five hundred, average score for intermediary (5,5)
THIRD PARTY – THIRTY (number) ‘divided’ by D (Roman numeral for 500) and PAR (average score)
8d Chemist’s workplace, political choice? (10)
LABORATORY – LAB OR A TORY (political choice)
11d Crawl – as might a fiddler? (3,3,6)
BOW AND SCRAPE – Behave sycophantically or literally what a violinist might do
13d Legitimate leading directors? (5-5)
ABOVE-BOARD – ABOVE (leading) BOARD (directors)
14d Order smartest say, though not a brilliant arrangement? (4,6)
STAR SYSTEM – An anagram (order) of SMARTEST SaY without (though not) one of the As
17d Last tramline on circuitous route? (8)
TERMINAL – An anagram (on circuitous route) of TRAMLINE
20d Remove a French advertisement (6)
UNPLUG – UN (French indefinite article) PLUG (advertisement)
22d Audible gender message (4)
MAIL – A homophone (audible) of MALE (gender)
23d A bird on the go (2,2)
AT IT – A (from the clue) TIT (bird)