DT 31271 (Full Review)

Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 31271

A full review by Rahmat Ali

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This puzzle was published on 20^th June 2026

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

Greetings from Kolkata. A nice and straightforward Saturday puzzle from the setter that I enjoyed solving and thereafter writing a review of the same for your kind perusal and significant feedback.

I had always known Inter, the answer to clue 25a, as Inter Milan. After solving the puzzle, I searched the internet and discovered a wealth of information about this celebrated Italian football club. Football Club Internazionale Milano, widely referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter but more commonly known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is one of the most successful and historic football clubs in Italy and Europe. Based in Milan, in the Lombardy region, the club was established on 9 March 1908 following a division within the Milan Foot-Ball and Cricket Club, now known as AC Milan. Inter quickly made its mark by winning its first Italian championship in 1910. A distinctive feature of the club is its uninterrupted presence in the highest level of Italian football since joining the league in 1909. Unlike many other major clubs, Inter has never been relegated from Serie A, making it unique in Italian football history. Since 1947, Inter has shared the iconic San Siro Stadium with local rivals AC Milan. Their encounters, known as the Derby della Madonnina, are among the most famous and passionately contested fixtures in world football. Over the years, Inter has amassed an impressive collection of honours, including 21 Italian league titles, ten Coppa Italia trophies and eight Supercoppa Italiana titles. The club enjoyed a particularly dominant period between 2006 and 2010, when it secured five consecutive Serie A championships. Inter has also achieved considerable success on the international stage, winning the European Cup or UEFA Champions League three times. Its 2010 triumph was especially significant, as it completed a historic treble, with the club also capturing the Serie A title and the Coppa Italia in the same season. In addition, Inter has won three UEFA Cups, two Intercontinental Cups and the FIFA Club World Cup. Renowned for its loyal support, the club regularly attracts the highest home attendances in Italy and ranks among the best-supported teams in Europe. Since May 2024, Inter has been owned by the American investment firm Oaktree Capital Management, which oversees one of football’s most prestigious institutions.

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Across

1a           Enraged sopranos dismissing a patron (7)
SPONSOR: An anagram (enraged) of SOPR[A]NOS excluding or not taking into account (dismissing) A takes to the definition of a patron or a person who supports or champions someone or something, such as an institution, event or cause

5a           Inclination to avoid parking in transport (7)
ENCHANT: [P]ENCHANT (inclination) as a strong inclination, taste or liking for someone devoid of (to avoid) P (parking) as the abbreviation for parking guides to the definition of a verb meaning to transport, enrapture, enthral or hold spellbound

9a           Identify suspect advice in digital feature (9)
FINGERTIP: A charade of FINGER (identify suspect) as to point someone out or identify them as suspect or responsible for wrongdoing or a crime, especially to the police and TIP (advice) as a piece of advice, hint or suggestion takes to the definition of the extreme end or tip of a digit or finger and hence a digital feature

10a         A key passage (5)
AISLE:  A from the clue followed by ISLE (key) as a small island, an example of which is a key i.e. a low offshore island or reef, also known as cay takes to the definition of a passage between rows of seats in a building, aircraft, theatre, cinema, church etc

11a         Like Bunter sitting inside to be served? (5)
OBESE: The definition of an adjective meaning excessively fat, corpulent or resembling Billy Bunter, the large fictional schoolboy, famously known as the ‘Fat Owl of the Remove’ and created by Charles Hamilton using the pen name Frank Richards, is obtained from part of or hidden inside (sitting inside) [T]O BE SE[RVED]

12a         Standard staff attached to police HQ (9)
YARDSTICK:  The definition of a noun meaning a standard or measure used for comparison is reached from STICK (staff) as a long, think piece of wood used for support in walking or as a weapon preceded by or coming after (attached to) YARD (police HQ) a colloquial or traditional reference to Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police Service

13a         Gives up bitter to give sudden impulse (4-5)
KICK-START: A charade of KICKS (gives up) as a verb in the present tense third person singular form denoting gives up, quits or stops consuming and TART (bitter) as an adjective meaning bitter, sharp sour or caustic takes to the definition of a verb meaning to give a sudden advantageous impulse or impetus, provide a vigorous initiation or accelerate a process into activity

16a         Devotee in China quelling resistance (5)
FIEND: The definition of an enthusiast or devotee e.g. a cricket fiend, a jazz fiend etc is arrived at from F[R]IEND (China) as an informal British and South African term for a friend or companion suppressing or removing (quelling) R (resistance) as the symbol for resistance in physics

17a         Nobleman in love shed clothes (5)
BARON: The definition of a nobleman or a member of a specific rank of nobility, especially the lowest rank in the British Isles is reached from O (love) as denoting love or the score of zero in a game of tennis that BARN (shed) as a shed, store or grange covers or hides inside it (clothes)

18a         Sad secret out for French thinker (9)
DESCARTES: An anagram (out) of sad secret guides to the definition of the famous French thinker, philosopher, scientist, logician and mathematician of the seventeenth century whose full name was Réne Descartes

20a         Daughter leaves black grain in dish (9)
DREAMBOAT:  A charade of D (daughter) as the standard genealogical abbreviation for daughter, REAM (leaves) as a noun signifying a large quantity of paper precisely consisting of 500 sheets or leaves of paper, B (black) as the pencil classification abbreviation for black and OAT (grain) as a widely cultivated cereal grass or grain takes to the definition of a colloquial term for someone wonderful and desirable, usually of the opposite sex, an example of which is a dish i.e. a colloquial term for a good-looking person, especially of the opposite sex

23a         United by wise tradition (5)
USAGE: A charade of U (United) as an abbreviation for united having alongside (by) SAGE (wise) as profoundly wise or prudent or having wisdom that comes with age and experience leads to the definition of a noun denoting long-standing tradition, custom or habitual practice

25a         Football club‘s at home? They’re regularly sent away (5)
INTER: The definition of a prominent Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy is reached from IN (at home) as at or inside one’s home followed by the oddly-placed letters i.e. ignoring the evenly-placed ones (regularly sent away) of T[H]E[Y’]R[E]

26a         Teams beginning to enjoy second drinks break (9)
ELEVENSES: ELEVENS (teams) as the plural for a team of eleven in cricket, association football etc followed by the beginning or first letter (beginning) to E[NJOY] and S (second) as the abbreviation for second guides to the definition of a colloquial word meaning an eleven o’clock refreshment or a mid-morning drinks break, typically for tea, coffee and a light snack

27a         Large area of capital’s a Parisian street heading west (7)
EURASIA: the definition of a large landmass or a large geographical area comprising the continents of Europe and Asia is deduced from a combination of AI’S (capital’s) derived from AI symbolising A-1 i.e. A-one and serving as an adjective denoting first-rate, first-class or excellent; I being the Roman numeral for one, an example of which is capital, a colloquial term for the adjective indicating excellent and thus AI’s or belonging to AI as capital’s or belonging to capital followed by A from the clue and RUE (Parisian street) as the French term for ‘street’ that can be heard in Paris, the capital of France, all sequentially going in the opposite direction or from east to west (heading west) as reversals from right to left in the across clue

28a         Passionate urge for Shakespeare’s Percy (7)
HOTSPUR: A charade of HOT (passionate) as an adjective meaning intensely passionate, ardent or enthusiastic and SPUR (urge) as a verb to urge, incite, goad or drive someone forward leads to the definition of the nickname of Sir Henry Percy, an English nobleman and military commander during the reign of Richard II and later Henry IV, by William Shakespeare in his history play Henry IV, Part 1

Down

1d           Sheep turned to climb – grumble about that? (7)
SUFFOLK: The definition of a breed of hornless, black-faced domestic sheep originating in Suffolk, England is reached from OFF (turned) as turned or sour or in an unpalatable state in an upward direction (to climb) as a reversal in the down clue covered or surrounded by (about that) SULK (grumble) as to be sullenly aloof or to grumble silently

2d           Cat to strike, leaving quietly (5)
OUNCE: The definition of any of several large cats typically able to roar and living in the wild such as snow leopard, jaguar or cheetah is got from [P]OUNCE (strike) as to strike, attack, spring or swoop down upon suddenly in order to seize ignoring or not taking into consideration (leaving) P (quietly) as a written abbreviation for piano in music indicating that the piece should be played quietly

3d           Good sort introducing vespers no good as writer (9)
STEVENSON: ST (good sort) as the abbreviation for Saint who is a holy person, especially one recognised by a Christian church, or figuratively, someone who is exceptionally good, kind and patient having alongside (introducing) EVENSON[G] (vespers) as an ecclesiastical term for vespers or the daily evening service of Bible readings and prayers prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer not taking into consideration or without using (no) G (good) as the abbreviation for good takes to the definition of the celebrated Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer whose full name was Robert Louis Stevenson

4d           Stylish liturgy endlessly supported by unknowns (5)
RITZY: The definition of an informal term for an adjective meaning expensively stylist is got from RIT[E] (liturgy) as a religious liturgy or a prescribed form or set of forms of public religious worship without the end or terminal letter (endlessly) and having below in the down clue as support (supported by) ZY (unknowns) as referring to Z and Y that are two unknowns, variables or yet to be ascertained quantities or factors as used in mathematics, especially in algebra

5d           Superheat liquid in long river (9)
EUPHRATES: An anagram (liquid) of SUPERHEAT takes to the definition of the longest river in Western Asia, stretching approximately 1,740 miles and flowing from eastern Turkey through Syria and Iraq before merging with the Tigris to form the Shatt al-Arab, which empties into the Persian Gulf

6d           Boorish, but he avoids collisions (5)
CRASS: The definition of an adjective meaning boorish, gross, stupid or insensitive is got from CRAS[HE]S (collisions) as the plural for a collision as between two automobiles or trains from which HE comes out or is removed (avoids)

7d           Restrained element breaking away (9)
ABSTINENT: The definition of an adjective meaning restrained, abstentious, abstemious or practising self-denial is got from TIN (element) as a chemical element that is a soft and silver-coloured metal and having atomic number 50 getting inside (breaking) ABSENT (away) as not present or being away

8d           Modified material from Harris a king wears (7)
TWEAKED: The definition of a verb in the past tense denoting modified, adjusted or altered is reached from TWEED (material from Harris) as referring to Harris Tweed, a loosely-woven thick woollen fabric or material made in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland covering (wears) a combo of A from the clue and K (king) as the abbreviation for king in chess notation

14d         Come in with fish and chips (9)
CARPENTER: ENTER (come in) as to come in following or coming after (with) CARP (fish) as an edible freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae produces the definition of a skilled worker who makes, finishes and repairs wooden objects and structures, who is also referred to by the slang term ‘chips’

15d         Absurd drama done for stars (9)
ANDROMEDA: An anagram (absurd) of DRAMA DONE leads to the definition of a constellation in the Northern Hemisphere near Perseus and Pegasus that is a recognisable pattern of stars in the sky

16d         Inactive uranium fast producing gas (9)
FLATULENT: A charade of FLAT (inactive) as an adjective meaning sluggish or commercially inactive, U (uranium) as the chemical symbol for the radioactive metallic element uranium and LENT (fast) as a period of fasting and penitence observed by many Christians leading up to Easter or, figuratively any period of fasting guides to the definition of an adjective meaning bloated or swollen with air or generating excessive gas or wind in the alimentary canal

17d         The point of retirement? (7)
BEDTIME: A cryptic definition of the time or moment when somebody retires or withdraws from the activities of the day and goes to bed to sleep

19d         Poet and writer in ship on turning turtle (7)
SPENSER: The definition of the celebrated sixteenth-century English poet and travel writer whose full name was Edmund Spenser is arrived at from PEN (writer) as an instrument used for writing taken inside (in) SS (ship) as the abbreviation for steamship and followed by RE (on) as a commercial jargon used to indicate ‘on’, ‘about’, ‘referring to’ or ‘regarding’ in an upside-down mode (turning turtle) as a reversal in the down clue

21d         Notices Kelvin tucking into chocolate bar (5)
MARKS: The definition of a verb in the third person present tense singular form meaning notices, observes, perceives or pays careful attention to is arrived at from K (Kelvin) as the international standard SI unit abbreviation for the thermodynamic scale of temperature called Kelvin taken inside (tucking into) MARS (chocolate bar) as referring to the famous British brand of chocolate bar manufactured by Mars Incorporated

22d         Saw things in Société Ethnologique? (5)
TEETH: The definition of the plural of a projecting part of a comb, rake, saw etc and hence regarded, inter alia, as saw things is part of or hidden inside (in) ]SOCIÉ]TÉ ETH[NOLOGIQUE]

24d         Fabulous writer misinterpreted as Poe (5)
AESOP: The definition of the famous old storyteller of ancient Greece whose fables served as ethical guides and from the Renaissance onwards were particularly used for the education of children is reached from an anagram (misinterpreted) of AS POE

There were several clues that I liked in this puzzle such as 12a, 17a, 20a, 23a, 28a, 1d, 2d, 5d, 14d, 16d and 17d; 16d being the best of the lot. My prayers to the Almighty for the eternal rest and peace of BD and my thanks to the setter for the entertainment. Looking forward to seeing you here again. Have a nice day.