Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30600
Hints and tips by pommers
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BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
Hola from Almoradí where spring seems to have taken a break. The weather has turned cold and wet and it was so dark yesterday that we had the light on in the kitchen all day! Today’s looking pretty much the same! The forecast says that normal service won’t be resumed until Thursday!
Nothing to frighten the horses today but 18d did give me “pause for thought” as they say. There’s six clues involving anagrams so there’s plenty of checkers easily available. I don’t think many of you will need the hints today.
As usual my podium three are in blue. The definitions are underlined in the clues and the answers are under the “click here” buttons so don’t click on them unless you really want to see the answer. Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.
Across
1a Modern poetry Macron translated (12)
CONTEMPORARY: Anagram (translated) of POETRY MACRON.
9a Fizzy drink is what a hypochondriac might have we hear (9)
CHAMPAGNE: This fizzy wine sounds like (we hear) a pretend ache (what a hypochondriac might have).
10a Character in Twelfth Night one’s played (5)
VIOLA: This character from Twelfth Night is also a musical instrument.
11a One’s maintaining grand bathroom in chilly abodes (6)
IGLOOS: IS (one’s) placed around (maintaining) a G(rand) and a bathroom or toilet.
12a Assigned clerk to fill in advert (8)
ASCRIBED: Another word for a clerk placed inside (to fill in) the usual two letter advert.
13a Tattler back in group is so gregarious (6)
GOSSIP: This is a reversed lurker hiding in (back in) the last four words. Here’s a bit of Sarah Brightman with a hot version of this . . .
15a Ridiculous if car breaks down west of California (8)
FARCICAL: Anagram (breaks down) of IF CAR followed by an abbreviation of California.
18a Caviar supplier — worker in theatre eats tonnes (8)
STURGEON: Take someone who works in an operating theatre and insert (eats) a T(onnes).
19a Made better clothing son reviled (6)
CURSED: A word meaning made better or well placed around (clothing) an S(on).
21a Try to get part from German car with tin-plated wheel (8)
AUDITION: A marque of German car followed by the TIN from the clue around (plated) the letter which looks like a wheel.
23a Journalist‘s flipping rubbish on Edward I (6)
EDITOR: Start with a diminutive of Edward and the I from the clue. Then a word for rubbish reversed (flipping).
26a One’s fired head dismissed from public school (5)
ARROW: Fired from a bow. It’s a public school without its first letter (head dismissed).
27a Democrat, after public fury, is exhausted (9)
OVERTIRED: A word meaning public (5) followed by some fury or anger (3) and after that lot it’s a D(emocrat).
28a Consoles Victoria, say, during Hamlet and Macbeth? (12)
PLAYSTATIONS: What Victoria in London is an example of (say) inserted into (during) what Hamlet and Macbeth are both examples of (?).
Down
1d About to abandon ecofriendly activity and ecofriendly travel (7)
CYCLING: Remove two letters for “about” from an ecofriendly activity to give the ecofriendly form of travel publicised by Boris Johnson when he was Mayor of London.
2d Irishman wholly supporting region of Ireland (5)
NIALL: A word for wholly or everyone after (supporting in a down clue) two letters for the region of the island of Ireland which is part of the UK.
3d Using some stratagem — ploy in game (9)
EMPLOYING: A lurker hiding in (some) the last four words.
4d Play-goer periodically ignored section of text (4)
PAGE: Alternate letters (periodically) out of PLAY-GOER.
5d Device resisting current threat so remarkably (8)
RHEOSTAT: This is a device that resists electric current. It’s an anagram (remarkably) of THREAT SO.
6d Someone very keen on a party in Republican state (5)
RAVER: R(epublican) followed by a word meaning to state.
7d Small eggs on American bread for male herbivores (8)
ROEBUCKS: Some small eggs like caviar followed by a slang term for American money (bread).
8d Hooligan left behind London museum (6)
VANDAL: How the Victoria and Albert museum is usually written followed by an L(eft).
14d Partner of French danseur’s dancing around (8)
SAUNDERS: This partner of Dawn French is an anagram (dancing around) of DANSEURS. I’m not a great fan of anagrams but I do like this one.
16d Change of regime due to pact getting broken (4,5)
COUP DETAT: Anagram (getting broken) of DUE TO PACT.
17d Day Blair perhaps follows old, boring routine (8)
MONOTONY: Start with the short form of a weekday and the an O(ld). After that (follows) is the Christian name of the Blair who was Prime Minister.
18d Without potassium, sodium makes up salt (6)
SEAMAN: Start with the chemical symbol for sodium and the MAKES from the clue. Remove the K (without potassium) and reverse the lot (up in a down clue).
20d Mocks the German side in disarray (7)
DERIDES: The German definite article followed by an anagram (in disarray) of SIDE.
22d Terry drinks zero whiskey — this may make him dry (5)
TOWEL: A diminutive of Terry has inserted (drinks) the letter for zero and a W(hiskey).
24d Heads for tree, observing rare shade of trunk (5)
TORSO: First letters (heads for) the next five words.
25d Remaining article in French newspaper (4)
LEFT: A French definite article followed by the newspaper printed on pink paper.
My podium today is 2d, 14d and 18d with 18d on the top step.
Quick crossword pun:
REEK + ROUTE + MEANT = RECRUITMENT
