ST 2760

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2760

A full review by crypticsue

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

This puzzle was published on Sunday, 7th September 2014

One of those crosswords where the solving process seemed to be taking longer than the actual time it took, or was that just waiting for the amphibian to hop across the pond in my favourite clue, 7d?

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Across

1a           Deficiency in rebuilt base where part of Russian navy is (5,3)
BLACK SEA –   LACK (deficiency) is inserted into an anagram (rebuilt) of BASE.

9a           How the scales of justice should operate better, we hear, for traveller (8)
WAYFARER sounds like the scales of justice should operate – WEIGH FAIRER.

10a         Player as viewed by opponent in bridge school (4)
ETON – E (East) TO N(North) in a game of bridge.

11a         Ready to get off the ground, completely developed (5-7)
FULLY-FLEDGED – Two definitions – a baby bird with enough feathers to enable it to fly; completely developed or experienced.

13a         Duke and I taken in by lustful churchman (8)
CARDINAL –   D (Duke) and I are inserted into (taken in by) CARNAL (lustful).

15a         Black sheep’s description — dull and stupid (6)
BOVINE – B (black) and OVINE (adjective meaning like a sheep).

16a         European   hero of American novel (4)
FINN is another double definition – someone from the European country of Finland or the hero of Mark Twin’s novel Huckleberry Finn.

17a         Indian garments from South, having come to be cut (5)
SARIS –   S (south) and ARISEN (having come to be ‘cut’).

18a         Small part of litter, in turn, recycled (4)
RUNT is a recycled anagram of TURN.

20a         Quit or accept new contract? (6)
RESIGN – leave one’s job or sign a new contract, although the second definition would usually be written 2-4.

21a         15 joining game that brings rival universities together (8)
OXBRIDGE – OX (an example of a bovine animal – see 15a) and BRIDGE (game) – Oxbridge relates to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge combined  and is used to typify  an upper-class-oriented education.

23a         Gradually developing as rebel after monarch’s ousted as leader (12)
EVOLUTIONARY   –   Remove R (Rex, king, monarch) from REVOLUTIONARY (rebel).

26a         Island after island found in river (4)
ISIS –   One of crosswordland’s favourite rivers is obtained by putting two abbreviations for island – IS – one after the other.

27a         Patience, for example, to repeat after revision (8)
OPERETTA – Patience is the name of a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, which in this clue comes from an anagram (after revision) of TO REPEAT.

28a         Person involved in case originally tailing leader of thieves (8)
LITIGANT – An anagram (originally) of TAILING plus the ‘leader’ of Thieves.

Down

2d           Author that is initially holding up American volume for book-lovers (8)
LITERATI –   The initial letters of Author That Is ‘hold up’ or come after an American measure of liquid volume, a LITER.

3d           Fictional characters disturbed about study meant to be secret (12)
CONFIDENTIAL –   An anagram (disturbed) of FICTIONAL put round about a DEN (study).

4d           Tyrant giving bad mark, with learner kept in (6)
STALIN –   L (learner) kept inside a STAIN (bad mark).

5d           Ignoring origins of law, try being crooked (4)
AWRY – Do as the clue says and ignore the ‘origins’ of lAW and tRY.

6d           Details of course of naval vessel mate’s heading North (8)
SYLLABUS – A reversal (heading north) of SUB (naval submarine) and ALLYS (mate’s).

7d           Transformed prince, perhaps, changed for good (4)
FROG –   D’oh of the week!   An anagram (changed) of FOR plus G (good).

8d           Drop in financial support — it’s not on the level (8)
GRADIENT –   DIE (drop) inserted into GRANT (financial support).

12d         I had turned up poet’s work showing more variety (12)
DIVERSIFYING – A reversal (turned up) of ID (I had) followed by VERSIFYING (or how a poet turns words into poetry).

14d         Movement that’s slowly taken inside popular government (5)
LARGO – the musical instruction to play something slowly is found inside popuLAR GOvernment.

16d         Border for skirt or winter coat further down (8)
FURBELOW – A word for a plaited border of flounce on a skirt which you don’t hear much these days. FUR (winter coat) and BELOW (further down).

17d         Inviolability of court, within reason (8)
SANCTITY –   The abbreviation for court – CT – inserted into SANITY (reason).

19d         Denial, for example, that’s accepted by people (8)
NEGATION – EG (for example) accepted by, or inserted into, NATION (people).

22d         Attend one opening in theatre and quickly leave (4,2)
BEAT IT –   BE AT (attend) I (one) and T (the opening of Theatre).

24d         Covering or partly covering (4)
OVER or covering is found partly in cOVERing.

25d         Gemstone seen in ring partner has on (4)
OPAL –   O (ring) and PAL (partner) – ‘has on’ indicating that the ring goes before the pal.