I’ve just purchased a new book of crossies. The Daily Telegraph Bumper Beach book of Cryptic Crosswords (Pan Books) - £6.99 and wish to post a possible warning.
Crossword 1.
Leaving aside some of the clues (subjectively, not great),
1A has:- Y for Yankee holiday (2,6,4). Quite a good clue BUT, the answer is:- Fourth of July (6,2,4)
OK, so it’s a wee misprint. It can happen to anyone. Then I went on to no. 2.
Crossword 2.
5D reads;- SECOND PART OF 4 (9) [stet the capitals];
25D reads:- ‘THIRD PART OF 4 (4).
4D reads:- What demolition gang did caused much amusement (7)
The answer to 4D (at the back) = Brought
The answer to 5D = The house
The answer to 25D =Down.
21D reads:- SECOND PART OF 19 (8)
19D reads:- Not in routine? That’s unusual (10)
The answer to 19D is:- Out of the
The answer to 21D is :- Ordinary.
Crossword 3.
5D. Routine procedure of interest to racing stewards? (16) {It’s a 15x15 puzzle)
The answer to 5D is:- Matter of course. This is actually (6,2,6.)
At this stage, having only reached the beginning of Crossword 3, I gave up attempting the puzzles. I had completely lost confidence in the edition. I’ve never seen such carelessness of editing before in a reputable crossword book. The Daily telegraph and Pan should be ashamed of themselves. Dunno whether or not to consign to the recycling bin or to write to Pan and the DT asking for my money back.