DT Sat 2nd Sept

[johnjstewart]

6 across
10 across
7 down

Completely stumped

Help please!!!!

[JoolsTwo]

Is this the GK or cryptic?

[bridgenut]

spec
ural
mixed answers here but most have gone for parroted
regards

[johnjstewart]

Thanks

Can't see why spec - presumably sc is the state? with PE as the exercise

Ural is crap and parroted? what the hell does that mean

These have got trickier in the last few weeks what is going on?

[Thumper GT]

I have to agree. I know cryptic is cryptic, but some of those clues had to be among the most tenuous ever. "Parroted" is a case in point . . . Polled? Polly parrot? Nah.

SC is South Carolina - exercise is PE, as you suspected.

[johnjstewart]

You are correct - the clue Polled - to give answer Parroted is absolutley rubbish. I think that they must have either got a new compiler or are getting too many correct submissions.

Not a good Sat crossword IMHO.

Thanks for the replies.

[goldenfield]

Simple solution - do not buy the Telegraph! To call the mountain clue crap when it is perfectly acceptable is a nonsense - Mountains (Urals) stopping short (-s) of southern river (Ural). Ok parroted IS a little tenuous but Chambers has poll-parrot as a verb meaning to parrot so it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that some dictionaries have shortened poll-parrot to poll which would make the clue quite satisfactory.