ST 4261 (Sun 27 Jan) – Scrawls of residents

Author   talbinhoPosted on Categories Daily Cryptic
Solving time: 12:50, about half of which spent baffled by 14ac and 2dn (which I think contains an error).

Much better than usual, some good clues in this; 2dn is a bit baffling though. If pressed, I’d guess that Tim Moorey might have written this puzzle, but I expect I’ll be put straight shortly.

* = anagram, “X” = sounds like ‘X’.

Across
1 PERSIFLAGE; (PLEAS[e] FERGI[e])* – very good surface (if a little pro-Man United for my liking), and ‘two backs sent off’ just about works cryptically.
6 ABED; ABE (= Abraham Lincoln) + D[own]
10 FRESH[en]ER
12 DISCOUNTS + TORE (= ‘rent’)
14 INSERTED; (RESIDENT)* – I wish I’d looked at this before getting an incorrect crossing ‘D’ from 2dn (qv).
15 TIN + SEL[l]
21 MATRICULATION; I/C in (TUTORIAL)*, all in MAN – ‘tutorial’ was a good spot for the wordplay but I’m not quite sure what this surface means.
24 OFF-STREET (cryptic definition)
25 INTRO (initial letters) – jazzy clue.
26 PAYS (French for ‘country’)
27 DISREGARDS; (DRIED GRASS)* – good clue.

Down
1 PANT[s]
2 RE + SIDES – ‘stay’ can mean ‘live (somewhere)’ in Scottish, but unless I am missing something the clue should say ‘stays in Scotland’, not ‘stayed…’.
3 INDUS + TRIAL + IS + T – ‘River Test’ is so clichéd for INDUSTRIAL that I should have got this instantly, but didn’t.
5 GLEAN; (ANGLE)*
7 BAN + JOES
8 DAR(JEE[p])LING
11 HOSPITALISING; HO[use] + (SALPINGITIS)* – salpingitis is the inflammation of a tube, especially the Fallopian tube(s), but obviously you don’t need to know that to solve the clue.
13 NINCOMPOOP; INCOM[e] + P[ressure], all in (NO + OP)
16 MEGASTAR; (RAMSGATE)*
18 LET’S FLY – nice (‘…invitation to increase carbon emissions?’).
20 IGNITER; (INGREDIENT – NED)* – I don’t really like deletions from anagrams where the letters are not consecutive, unless this is indicated, but this one is totally transparent.
22 UTERI (hidden)
23 D[r]OSS

One comment on “ST 4261 (Sun 27 Jan) – Scrawls of residents”

  1. I thought 1 across was a bit obscure to be clued with an anagram. I guessed PARSIFLEGE – not to be confused with the singer of “When a man loves a woman” – and therefore scored another FAIL. I looked up PERSIFLAGE (allegedly the correct answer) and got the definition “light and slightly contemptuous mockery or banter”. I am left wondering how this can be clued with a literal of “Rallying”. Just sayin’.

    Otherwise I found this to be quite challenging and – apart from the mysterious Scottish RESIDES at 2dn – satisfying when the light bulbs finally illuminated.

    There are a mere 4 “easies”:

    9a Numbers given to journalised, moved slowly forward (5)
    NOS ED

    17a Mentioned trader in wine stocks (6)
    CELLAR

    19a Making denial, say, in state (8)
    N EG ATION

    4d Surplus port finished (4,4)
    LEFT OVER

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