Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3306
A full review by crypticsue
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This puzzle was published on 2nd March 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
A fairly average Sunday Prize Puzzle
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Across
7a Difficult to get best type of car (7)
HARDTOP – HARD (difficult) TOP (best)
8a Drift endlessly across free state (7)
FLORIDA – FLOAt (drift ‘endlessly’) goes ‘across’ RID (free)
10a Fortunate hand dealt, prince for example doing very nicely (5,5)
ROYAL FLUSH – ROYAL (prince for example) FLUSH (doing very nicely)
11a By the sound of it, unsteady on one’s feet for some time (4)
WEEK – A homophone (by the sound of it) of WEAK (unsteady on one’s feet)
12a Irritatingly painful things, second-rate celebrities? (8)
BLISTERS – B LISTERS (second-rate celebrities)
14a Town in Brittany offering protection to a bit of a chicken, perhaps? (6)
BREAST – BREST (town in Brittany) into which is inserted (offering protection to) A (from the clue)
15a On strike, old party not working (3,2,6)
OUT OF ACTION – OUT (on strike) O (old) FACTION (party)
19a One slip, no gulley, oddly (6)
SINGLE – The odd letters of SlIp No GuLlEy
20a Ruin feathers on trip (8)
DOWNFALL – DOWN (feathers) on FALL (trip)
22a A little larger, heaviest bird unable to take off (4)
RHEA – Hidden in largeR HEAviest
23a Long fibre wound around opening of wine vessel on dinner table (10)
FINGERBOWL – An anagram (wound) of LONG FIBRE goes around the ‘opening’ of Wine
25a Break in: after beautiful paintings perhaps? (4,3)
FINE ART – An anagram (break) of IN AFTER
26a Catching cold, a matter for story (7)
ACCOUNT – A (from the clue) and COUNT (matter) ‘catching’ C (cold)
Down
1d Waterproof prison: horrible inside without roof (7)
CAGOULE – CAGE (prison) into which is inserted fOUL (horrible without the first letter (roof)
2d Thought I treasured, briefly (4)
IDEA – I (from the clear) DEAr (treasured ‘briefly’)
3d Sweet thing on holiday: place for driving about (6)
TOFFEE – TEE (place for driving a golf ball) goes about OFF (on holiday)
4d Range of characters bathe in a fog beneath mountain (8)
ALPHABET – An anagram (in a fog) of BATHE goes under (beneath) ALP (mountain)
5d Fed up – after tanning session? (7,3)
BROWNED OFF – What you might be after a tanning session
6d Unfortunate commercial poetry (7)
ADVERSE – AD (commercial) VERSE (poetry)
9d Superior left to pay (11)
OUTSTANDING – Double definition
13d Small groups are developing resentful attitude (4,6)
SOUR GRAPES – The abbreviation for Small and an anagram (developing) of GROUPS ARE
16d Shoot fine rope into pieces (4,4)
OPEN FIRE – An anagram (into pieces) of FINE ROPE
17d Garment near accessory (7)
NIGHTIE – NIGH (near) TIE (accessory)
18d Labour admits success not coming as quickly (7)
FLOWING – FLOG (labour) ‘admits’ WIN (success)
21d Bird caught with hard tug (6)
WRENCH – WREN (bird) C (caught) H (hard)
24d Short life that’s great imbued with love (4)
BIOG – BIG (great) ‘imbued’ with O (love)