ST 3063

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 3063

A full review by crypticsue

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This puzzle was published on 5^th July 2020

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

A nice Sunday puzzle – with one of those grids where you solve corner by corner rather than by going down the Acrosses and then the Downs. However tricky some of Dada’s clues may be to solve, they are a gift to the blogger as they are so easy to explain

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Across

7a    Feeble month in regard to colliery (8)
DECREPIT – DEC (December, month) RE (in regard to) PIT (colliery)

9a    Three crackers inspiring a cook again (6)
REHEAT – An anagram (crackers) ‘inspiring’ A (from the clue)

10a    Turn river into land (6)
SPRAIN – R (river) inserted into SPAIN (land)

11a    Traveller’s one-liner? (8)
MONORAIL – A cryptic definition of a railway system using only one rail (line)

12a    Setter: artless fop, I suspect about average (7,2,5)
PLASTER OF PARIS – An anagram (suspect) of ARTLESS FOP I goes ‘about’ PAR (average)

15a    Do go (4)
BASH – A pesky four-letter double definition – luckily I didn’t have to go too far through the alphabet for the penny to drop

17a    Plot followed on the radio? (5)
TRACT – A homophone (on the radio) of TRACKED (followed)

19a    Something with teeth going through the ear? Painful! (4)
SORE – A homophone (going through the ear) of SAW (something with teeth)

20a    Dramatic work, a repeat newly presented in mews (8,6)
SEPARATE TABLES – An anagram (newly presented) of A REPEAT inserted into STABLES (mews)

23d    Pumped up, and I felt excited! (8)
INFLATED – An anagram (excited) of AND I FELT

25a    Bit of fun with popular poet (6)
LARKIN – LARK (bit of fun) IN (popular)

27a    An emptier diary for instruction (6)
LESSON – An emptier diary might indicate that you had LESS ON

28a    Something sticky: soft food eaten by bird? (8)
FLY PAPER – PAP (soft food) ‘eaten’ by FLYER (bird)

Down

1d    Gather rice, eggs and peas, primarily (4)
REAP – The primary letters of Rice Eggs And Peas

2d    Brothers cooks, by the sound of it? (6)
FRIARS – Sound like FRYERS (cooks)

3d    Staunch supporter of plants (4)
STEM – Double definition – the first a verb and the second a ‘plant supporter’

4d    Agreement in relationship where Greek character bedded by groom (6)
PRENUP – NU (Greek letter) inserted (bedded) into PREP (groom)

5d    Plans catching on in French cathedral town (8)
CHARTRES – CHARTS (plans) ‘catching’ RE (on) – slight beep of the repetition radar (see 7a) here

6d    Shop butter is seen on TV programme, briefly (10)
PATISSERIE – PAT (butter) IS (from the clue) SERIEs (briefly indicating the requirement to omit the last letter)

8d    Sharp joke, man! (7)
PUNGENT – PUN (joke) GENT (man)

13d    Mercury, say: something slightly burning metal? (4,6)
LEAD SINGER – LEAD (metal) and something that could slightly burn it – SINGER

14d    Modern pieces go after old (2,3)
OP ART – PART (pieces) go after O (old)

16d    Awful trampoline finally put in without springs? (8)
HOPELESS – E (the final letter of trampoline) put in HOP LESS (without springs?)

18d    Quite small kid, friend (7)
TOTALLY – TOT (small kid) ALLY (friend)

21d    Podgy about right, ultimately? (6)
ROTUND – ROUND (podgy, fat) goes ‘about’ T (the ultimate letter of right)

22d    Office furniture (6)
BUREAU – A type of office or a piece of furniture

24d    Woeful pudding (4)
DUFF – An informal adjective meaning woeful, broken, no good or a flour pudding boiled in a bag

26d    Couple a little bit emotional (4)
ITEM – Found in a little bIT EMotional