DT 30887 (Full Review)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30887

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 29^th March 2025

BD Rating –  Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***

NY Doorknob set us a Saturday Prize Puzzle where the wordy clues filled up all the available space allowed for it on the inside back page of the newspaper.  A couple of ear worms were included to help you sing while you solved

Please let us know what you thought

Across

1a           Repeated sound from screech owl (4)
ECHO – Hidden in the last two words of the clue

3a           Author without recognition wore tights to dance (5-5)
GHOST-WRITE – An anagram (to dance) of WORE TIGHTS

10a         Three notes, the last penned by my tardy guest (9)
LATECOMER – LA TE and ME (three musical notes), the last one ‘penned’ by COR (my)

11a         Four getting stuck into the drink – bubbly? (5)
ALIVE – IV (Roman numeral for four) ‘stuck into’ ALE (drink)

12a         Fish starters in taverna and rotisserie, not in office (5)
TROUT – The ‘starters’ in Taverna and Rotisserie followed by OUT (not in office)

13a         Dog kept outside home finally found niche therein? (3,6)
BOW WINDOW – Ear worm one, although it probably depended on your age as to whether you remembered it.   BOWWOW (childish name for a dog) goes ‘outside’ IN (home) and the final letter of founD

14a         Burn church again? Investigation needed! (8)
RESEARCH – RE SEAR (burn again) CH (church)

16a         Miniature basin, cracked, containing nothing (6)
BONSAI – An anagram (cracked) of BASIN ‘containing’ O (nothing)

19a         Representing this country: male team in green? (6)
MEXICO – M (male) and XI (team), the latter inserted in ECO (green) gives a country where teams play in green shirts

20a         Fish eating fresh eels: that’s unsubstantiated (8)
BASELESS – BASS (fish) ‘eating’ an anagram (fresh) of EELS

22a         Condemn only rogue field of medicine (9)
NEUROLOGY – An anagram (condemn) of ONLY ROGUE

24a         Small border plant in wet ground (5)
SEDGE – S (small) EDGE (border)

26a         Daggers bishop plunged into old priest (5)
OBELI – B (chess abbreviation for Bishop) ‘plunged’ or inserted between O (old) and ELI (Old Testament priest)

27a         Reckless kid able to withstand the cold (9)
FOOLHARDY – FOOL (kid) HARDY (able to withstand the cold)

28a         Affluent living the simple way? (4,6)
EASY STREET – EASY (simple) STREET (way)

29a         Drunk secures parking place (4)
SPOT – SOT (drunk) ‘secures’ P (Parking)

Down

1d           Ecstasy and white powder elevated striking effect (5)
ECLAT – E (Ecstasy) and a reversal (elevated) of TALC (white powder)

2d           Men inside fix this warped floor (3,3,3)
HIT FOR SIX – OR (Other Ranks of soldiers, men) inside an anagram (warped) of FIX THIS

4d           Whale to carry home? (8)
HUMPBACK – HUMP (carry) BACK (home)

5d           Clever wife coming in to destroy documents? (6)
SHREWD – W (wife) inserted into SHRED (destroy documents)

6d           Several overcome by river current like bore (9)
WEARISOME – SOME (several) goes under (overcome by in a Down solution) WEAR (NE River) and I (symbol for electrical current)

7d           Tale in which old Greeks kill wizards regularly (5)
ILIAD – The Greek tale can be found in the even (regularly) letters of kIlL wIzArDs

8d           Flower seeds lie all over the place with cutting (9)
EDELWEISS – Ear worm no 2 – An anagram (all over the place) of SEEDS LIE into which is inserted (cutting) W (with)

9d           Highlander perhaps initially slumped on bed (4)
SCOT – The initial letter of Slumped on COT (bed)

14d         Old Italian we hear recognises feature with bridge (5,4)
ROMAN NOSE – ROMAN (old Italian) and a homophone (we hear) of KNOWS (recognises)

15d         Schiavone ordered some pizza topping (9)
ANCHOVIES – An anagram (ordered) of SCHIAVONE

17d         Police check excessive in areas to the north (5,4)
SPEED TRAP  – A reversal (to the north in a Down solution) of DEEP (excessive) inserted into PARTS (areas)

18d         Boy with nothing to support Yankee sweetheart (4-4)
LADY LOVE – LAD (boy) with LOVE (nothing), the latter supporting (again in a Down solution) Y (the letter represented by Yankee in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

21d         Losing heart maybe pine for award (6)
CONFER – CONiFER (pine maybe) losing the middle letter

23d         Doorkeepers abandoning hotel customers (5)
USERS – UShERS (doorkeepers) ‘abandoning’ the letter represented by Hotel in the NATO Phonetic Alphabet)

24d         London enclave is posh now ousting odd characters (4)
SOHO The even (ousting odd) characters in iS pOsH nOw

25d         Country poem without the Spanish part (5)
EGYPT – elEGY (poem without EL – the Spanish definite article) and PT (abbreviation for part)