Saturday, May 25, 2013 — Metric Leads

Introduction

I found today's puzzle from Cox & Rathvon — featuring a quartet of metric prefixes^[7] — to be one of their easiest offerings in quite some time.

Solution to Today's Puzzle

Legend:	"*" anagram; "~" sounds like; "<" letters reversed
	"( )" letters inserted; "_" letters deleted; "†" explicit in the clue

Across

1a   MEGALOPOLIS* — anagram (redesigned) of A SIMPLE LOGO

Mega- is the metric prefix for a million.

9a   GUNSHOT* — anagram (mistakenly) of STUN HOG

10a   GAR(N)ISH — N (Nation's leader; first letter [leader] of Nation) contained in (gets into) GARISH (tacky)

11a   TUR(I)N — TURN (take a new direction) containing (around) I ([Roman numeral for] one)

12a   DE(C)ATH|L|ON — {DEATH (passing) + L ([Roman numeral for] 50) + ON (running)} containing (with ... taken in) C ([Roman numeral for] 100)

Deca- is the metric prefix for ten.

13a   D(ECO)RUM — ECO (author Umberto; Italian author Umberto Eco^[7]) contained in (wearing) DRUM (barrel)

14a   LATER|AL — LATER (afterward) + AL (Capone; American mobster Al Capone^[7])

16a   LE(T INT)O — LEO (Tolstoy; Russian writer Leo Tolstoy^[7]) containing (full of) TINT (colour)

... the phrase "okay for entering" meaning "give permission to enter".

19a   ME(A)NDER — A ([indefinite] article) contained in (picked up by) MENDER (tinker)

21a   CENTIPEDE* — anagram (wriggling) of TEN-PIECED

Centi- is the metric prefix for one hundredth.

23a   TRAM|P — P (past; grammatical tense) following (behind) TRAM (cable car)

25a   C(AT|A)LAN — CLAN (family) containing (gathering) {AT (†) + A (Barcelona's terminal; last [terminal] letter of BarcelonA)

26a   TORCHES* — anagram (novel) of HECTORS

27a   _MIC|ROMAN|AGE_ — hidden in (in) acadeMIC ROMAN AGEda

Micro- is the metric prefix for one millionth.

Down

1d   MIGHT — double definition; "power" & "will, perhaps"

2d   _GEN|ERIC_ — hidden in (in) CopenhaGEN ERICsson

3d   LO(HE)NG|R|IN — {LONG (extended) + R (run; baseball — or cricket — term) + IN (popular)} containing (with ... inside) HE (that guy)

Lohengrin^[7] is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by German composer Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883), first performed in 1850.

4d   {POTS|DAM}< — reversal (brought back) of {MAD (nutty) + STOP (station)}

5d   LO(GI)CAL — GI ([American] soldier) contained in (infiltrating) LOCAL (neighbourhood; as an adjective)

6d   ST|RUT — RUT (track) following (at end of) ST (street)

7d   P(ILL)AR — ILL (poorly) contained in (put in) PAR (average)

8d   C|HANDLER — C (cold) + HANDLER (agent)

Raymond Chandler^[7] (1888 – 1959) was an American writer of detective fiction.

13d   DELICACY* — anagram (disturbed) of DICE CLAY

Andrew Dice Clay^[7] (born Andrew Clay Silverstein) is an American comedian and actor.

15d   TRATTORIA* — anagram (busted) of TRAITOR AT

17d   TEN(E)TS — TENTS (camps; as a verb) containing (holding) E (Eastern)

18d   OCEANIC* — anagram (distributed) of COCAINE

19d   MAESTRO* — anagram (new) of A METROS

Metro^[5] means an underground railway system in a city, especially Paris [or Montréal].

20d   DRA(CH)MA — DRAMA (play) containing CH (church)

Drachma^[5] could mean either (1) a former monetary unit of Greece, notionally equal to 100 lepta, replaced in 2002 by the euro or (2) a silver coin of ancient Greece.

22d   I|SLAM — I (†) + SLAM (insult)

24d   PASTE~ — sounds like (in the ear) PACED (went back and forth)

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Friday, May 24, 2013 — DT 27121

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27121
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, March 9, 2013
Setter Cephas (Peter Chamberlain)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27121 - hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27121 - review]
Big Dave's Review Written By Big Dave (hints) crypticsue (review)
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
Notes As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two postings related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — one on the date of publication containing hints for selected clues as well as a full review issued following the entry deadline for the contest. The vast majority of reader comments will generally be found attached to the "hints" posting with a minimal number — if any — accompanying the full review.

Introduction

Although today's puzzle did not put up much of a struggle, I did need to call in my electronic assistants to help crack the last remaining clue.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

1a   Journalist's robust idea abridged when broadcast (9)

Subeditor^[4,11] is a British term for a copyeditor, a person who checks and edits copy, especially on a newspaper.

6a   Means to make a bundle from crops (5)

9a   Malcolm embracing woman who's being educated about marriage (7)

Educating Rita^[7] is a stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell that premièred in London, in June 1980 . It is a play for two actors set entirely in the office of an Open University lecturer. The play follows the relationship between a young Liverpudlian working-class hairdresser ("Rita", as she initially calls herself) and Dr. Frank Bryant, a middle-aged university lecturer, during the course of a year. The play was adapted by Russell for a 1983 film with Michael Caine and Julie Walters, directed by Lewis Gilbert.

10a   Could be gentler to spectacles when handled (9)

The trick here is to recognize that "handled" may be an adjective as well as a verb. A lorgnette^[5] is a pair of glasses or opera glasses held in front of a person’s eyes by a long handle at one side.

11a   Delighted being second, then went in front (7)

Tick^[3,4,11] is an informal British (or chiefly British) term for a moment or instant.

12a   One tee shirt? (7)

Singlet^[3,4,11] is a chiefly British term for a man's sleeveless undershirt.

13a   Won't wash, as bath without plug (5'1,4,5)

17a   Lessen a Tory’s hold on another politician (7)

19a   Study group remains at loggerheads (7)

To be at loggerheads^[5] means to be in violent dispute or disagreement ⇒ councillors were at loggerheads with the government over the grant allocation. I presume that this may infer a state of confusion, thereby explaining its use as an anagram indicator.

22a   Too quick replacing the savoury -- not acceptable (9)

Here replace^[5] is not used in accordance with either of its customary meanings, i.e. take the place of or put (something) back in a previous place or position. Rather, the setter seems to have re-imagined the word as meaning to reposition.

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective with respect to language or social behaviour meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒ U manners. The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956).

23a   Heather's clothing remains striking (7)

Ling^[5] is the common heather (Calluna vulgaris), a purple-flowered Eurasian heath that grows abundantly on moorland and heathland.

24a   Both sides needed to cover fish basket (5)

It took me forever to twig to fact that the correct reading of the phrase "both sides needed to cover" is "one needs to use both sides of the word 'cover'".

25a   Ship stored rye at sea (9)

Down

1d   Mount  a conference? (6)

2d   Wild bear-cub beginning to eat food outdoors (8)

3d   Dock  item (6)

A double definition where the first definition is the whimsical invention of the setter who supposes that de-tail might mean to remove a tail (analogous to de-ice meaning to remove ice [from an aircraft, for example]).

4d   Worked on farm, drew about two pounds (6)

The pound^[5] (also pound sterling) is the basic monetary unit of the UK, equal to 100 pence. While the symbol for pound is £, it is often written as L^[10].

5d   Retribution for pair is set in concrete (8)

6d   Brendan's changed direction, but still in packaging (5-3)

My interpretation of the wordplay is slightly different from that of crypticsue. I see it as an anagram (is changed; the 's being a contraction for "is") of BRENDAN + W (direction; west). This avoids the necessity of the word "changed" to do double duty.

7d   Left hospital department with one-fifty pulse, dry (6)

The following excerpt from the Wikipedia article on pulse^[7] may help to explain the appearance of the word "dry" in the clue.

The term "pulse", as used by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), is reserved for crops harvested solely for the dry seed. This excludes green beans and green peas, which are considered vegetable crops. Also excluded are crops that are mainly grown for oil extraction (oilseeds like soybeans and peanuts), and crops which are used exclusively for sowing (clovers, alfalfa). However, in common use, these distinctions are not clearly made, and many of the varieties so classified ... are also used as vegetables, with their beans in pods while young; cooked in whole cuisines; and sold for the purpose; for example, black eyed beans, lima beans and Toor or pigeon peas are thus eaten as fresh green beans, or cooked as part of a meal.

I have long observed that the most frequently visited area of the Crosswordland Hospital is, without doubt, the ear, nose and throat (ENT^[2]) department.

8d   Watch salesman with consumer (8)

A repeater^[10] is a timepiece having a mechanism enabling it to strike the hour or quarter-hour just past, when a spring is pressed.

13d   Desmond's flipping work! Habitual response is high-handed (8)

In music, an opus^[5] (abbreviation  Op. or op.^[5]) is a separate composition or set of compositions. In general, an opus is an artistic work, especially one on a large scale ⇒ he was writing an opus on Mexico.

14d   Hazel's case has teachers appearing before she will (8)

The National Union of Teachers (NUT)^[7] is a trade union for school teachers in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

15d   Under pressure, has to collect artist with second edition (8)

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[5]) is a member of the Royal Academy of the Arts^[5], an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain. 

16d   Persistence of number taking a large town (8)

18d   It has only one eye but that's not the point (6)

Once again, I had a bit of a different take on this clue than crypticsue. I interpreted it as a statement that the eye of a needle is not at it's point.

19d   18 represented in pen by Latin American (6)

The number "18" is a cross reference indicator pointing to the previous clue. To complete the present clue, insert the solution to clue 18d in place of the cross reference indicator.

20d   Cat right on rodent's tail (6)

21d   Park officer made a dash before German fellow left (6)

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Thursday, May 23, 2013 — DT 27120

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27120
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, March 8, 2013
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27120]
Big Dave's Review Written By Deep Threat
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Today's puzzle was not overly taxing, but it took some effort to identify the Chelsea footballer. I initially suspected that the clue might refer to a nickname for the Chelsea football club^[7], but could do nothing with either The Blues or The Pensioners. Eventually, I twigged to the fact that we needed a particular football player. Luckily, John Terry is one of the few British soccer players whose name I know — a man renowned for his exploits on and off the field.

By the way, you may wonder about the origin of the team's nickname, The Pensioners. A Chelsea pensioner^[7] is resident at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a retirement home and nursing home for former members of the British Army located in Chelsea, London. An interesting name for a sports team!

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

1a   Fellow covering miles, one sailing maybe in competition (12)

Championship^[4] is used, not in the sense of the title or status of being a champion, but rather in the sense of any of various contests held to determine a champion.

The wordplay, one element of which may be unclear from Deep Threat's review, is {CHAP (fellow) containing (covering) M (miles)} + I (one) + ON SHIP (sailing maybe).

9a   Chelsea footballer eats Indian bread going around ground (9)

John Terry^[7] is an English professional footballer [soccer player]. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League [the top level league in English football]. He was also captain of the England national football team, holding the post from August 2006 to February 2010, and again from March 2011 to February 2012.

In Indian cuisine, roti^[5] is bread, especially a flat round bread cooked on a griddle.

10a   In hotel I teach select group (5)

11a   The old man's name one learner's forgotten -- a mathematician (6)

Blaise Pascal^[5] (1623 – 1662), French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. He founded the theory of probabilities and developed a forerunner of integral calculus, but is best known for deriving the principle that the pressure of a fluid at rest is transmitted equally in all directions.

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various countries (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

12a   Clog of old boy on street caught in groove (8)

In the surface reading, clog^[5] is used in the sense of a shoe with a thick wooden sole.

In Britain, an old boy^[5] (abbreviation OB^[2])  is (1) a former male student of a school or college ⇒an old boy of Banbury County School or (2) a former male member of a sports team or company ⇒the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards. It is also a chiefly British affectionate form of address to a boy or man ⇒ ‘Look here, old boy,’ he said.

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c^[5] indicates caught (by).

13a   Eccentric having party by river dam (6)

15a   Welsh river fellow whose life was filmed (8)

The River Cam^[7] is a tributary of the River Great Ouse in the east of England (there are also a couple of other rivers by the same name in England).

 Monty Python's Life of Brian^[7], also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin), and directed by Jones. It tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Chapman), a young Jewish man who is born on the same day as, and next door to Jesus Christ, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.

 Cambrian^[5] means Welsh (i.e., 'of Wales').

18a   Tot eaten by fish? It's a nightmare! (3,5)

The bream^[5] is a greenish-bronze deep-bodied freshwater fish (Abramis brama) native to Europe.

19a   Mother gets exercise in building that can be walked around (6)

21a   One making a decision about someone like you! (8)

23a   I had got into fight knocking out wife at the wedding (6)

26a   Do away with  disagreement (5)

27a   Special deals one found around end of summer for shrubs (9)

28a   Repairer of bike  who has something to say? (12)

I would suggest that this is a double definition, with the first one being cryptic.

Down

1d   Person exploited, initially childlike, was apt to look silly (4-3)

2d   Extent of farmland possibly yielding a green plant mostly (5)

3d   Couple in Buckingham Palace briefly flirt! (9)

The ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus the cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina — and that of King George was GR^[5] — from the Latin Georgius Rex.

4d   Sound of Cockney tramp's instrument (4)

A cockney^[5] is a native of East London [specifically the East End], traditionally one born within hearing of Bow Bells (the bells of St Mary-le-Bow^[7] church). Cockney is also the name of the dialect or accent typical of cockneys, which is characterised by dropping the H from the beginning of words and the use of rhyming slang^[5].

5d   Food that could be extracted from a bone, say (4,4)

6d   Sluggish pitman heading off before time (5)

7d   Separate newspaper, the thing to fade around the edges (8)

The Sun^[7] is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom by the News Group Newspapers division of News International, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.

8d   Exist as a team one short? You may get this (6)

... eleven being the number of players on a cricket^[7] side or an Association football^[7] [soccer] team.

14d   South of river attempt to establish factories etc (8)

The Indus^[5] is a river of southern Asia, about 2,900 km (1,800 miles) in length, flowing from Tibet through Kashmir and Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. Along its valley an early civilization flourished from circa 2600 to 1760 BC.

16d   Nebuliser fashioned for the older female? (4-5)

17d   Spooner's humble kitchen-worker features in reference volume (8)

A spoonerism^[7] is an error in speech or deliberate play on words in which corresponding consonants, vowels, or morphemes are switched (see metathesis^[7]). It is named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner^[7] (1844 – 1930), Warden of New College, Oxford, who was notoriously prone to this tendency.

18d   Most scantily furnished pub on estate (6)

20d   Curse coming from African country boy (7)

Malison^[3,4,11] is an archaic or poetic word for a curse.

22d   Possible clue for pal to relish (3,2)

24d   Robe covered by padre's surplice (5)

25d   Almost the smallest grassy areas (4)

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 — DT 27119

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27119
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, March 7, 2013
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27119]
Big Dave's Review Written By Falcon
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★ / ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Despite having reviewed this puzzle when it originally appeared in The Daily Telegraph, the solutions to many of the clues still required a fair bit of thought. It was an entertaining puzzle the first time I solved it — and still very enjoyable the second time around.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

1a   Section with opinion containing usual Telegraph leader (11)

The Daily Telegraph^[7] is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper, founded in 1855 as The Daily Telegraph and Courier, which is published in London and distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. In Britain, a leading article in a newspaper is known as a leader^[7].

10a   Character from a tale about cat's head (5)

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland^[7] (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is an 1865 novel written by English author Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice^[7] who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world (the Wonderland of the title) populated by peculiar and anthropomorphic creatures — including the Cheshire Cat^[7].

11a   Mistress can't rouse fancy (9)

12a   Mark, abstract art genius (9)

Mark Rothko^[7] (1903 – 1970) was an American painter of Latvian Jewish descent. He is generally identified as an Abstract Expressionist, although he himself rejected this label and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter." With Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, he is one of the most famous postwar American artists.

13a   Live, that is, around midnight in buff (5)

14a   Concern facing start of long year with resolution (6)

16a   Exotic leaves in ointment (8)

Vaseline^[7] is a brand of petroleum jelly based products owned by Anglo-Dutch company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, soaps, lotions, cleansers, deodorants and personal lubricants.

18a   Massive company deficit facing almost everybody (8)

20a   Gave lesson for 'tense' aloud (6)

23a   Composition from compiler following article (5)

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as compiler, setter, author, or writer to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must usually substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms has been used  in the clue.

24a   Fundamentalist error is made embracing political violence (9)

26a   Manifest annoyance with United finally getting beat (9)

Manchester United Football Club^[7] (often referred to as simply United) is an English professional football [soccer] club, based at Old Trafford [football stadium] in Old Trafford [district of Manchester], Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League (the top level in the English football league system).

This puzzle appeared in The Daily Telegraph on March 7, 2013. Two days earlier,  on March 5, Real Madrid came from behind to defeat Manchester United 2-1 and eliminate United from the UEFA Champions League^[7] tournament.

27a   Strumpet flipped over accepting one's quirk (5)

28a   Teens caught in a social security spot (11)

Down

2d   Behind, to win, goal's let in (5)

3d   Win pawn and bishop perhaps with trouble (7)

4d   'Get Back', disc half finished over on rooftop? (6)

As usual, the quotation marks perished during the Atlantic crossing.

"Get Back^[7]" is a song by the Beatles, originally released as a single on 11 April 1969 and credited to "the Beatles with Billy Preston." A different mix of the song later became the closing track of Let It Be (1970), which was the Beatles' last album released just after the group split. The single version was later issued on CD on the second disc of the Past Masters compilation.

In cricket, an over^[5] (abbreviation O^[5]) is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

5d   Computer device paused abnormally after flash (8)

In the UK, mo^[5] is an informal term for a short period of time (hang on a mo!) [abbreviation of moment].

6d   Somebody's impotent perhaps (7)

7d   Deceit by an official, it's out of order (13)

8d   A leap circling mid-air is ambitious (8)

9d   Disparage mates in duet badly covering Queen (13)

The ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus the cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina — and that of King George was GR^[5] — from the Latin Georgius Rex.

15d   Thankful about original woman wearing top (8)

17d   Rustic prior has spoken (8)

A prior^[5] is the male head of a house or group of houses of certain religious orders, in particular (1) the man next in rank below an abbot or (2) the head of a house of friars.

19d   Extracted first of silver that's turned to liquid (7)

21d   A job with laudable ends for missionary (7)

22d   They're against empty puzzles with naughty content (6)

Although I overlooked it the first time round, I now realize that this is a semi all-in-one clue of the WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition) variety, to use the terminology of my blogging colleague scchua. The entire clue provides the definition with the latter portion also constituting the wordplay.

25d   Israelite Sarah and Abraham created initially (5)

This is a true all-in-one clue where the entire clue serves as both definition and wordplay.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Tuesday, May 21, 2013 — DT 27118

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27118
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27118]
Big Dave's Review Written By scchua
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog

Introduction

Since I completed the puzzle without electronic help, I was a slightly surprised to see that it had been awarded three stars for difficulty by scchua. I'll attribute my success to having got on the setter's wavelength.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

1a   This is Q1, isn't it? (7,8)

9a   Animal's mistake, crossing one river (7)

10a   Show maturity, collared by quiet worker (7)

Piano^[3,5] (abbreviation p^[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

11a   Dilapidated ancestral house (9)

The House of Lancaster^[5] is the English royal house descended from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, that ruled England from 1399 (Henry IV) until 1461 (the deposition of Henry VI) and again on Henry’s brief restoration in 1470-1. With the red rose as its emblem it fought the Wars of the Roses with the House of York; Lancaster’s descendants, the Tudors, eventually prevailed through Henry VII’s accession to the throne in 1485.

12a   Good Queen Bess's mole (4)

A mole^[5] is a large solid structure on a shore serving as a pier, breakwater, or causeway.

Pi^[5] is an informal British short form for pious (thus "good"). "Good Queen Bess", together with "The Virgin Queen" and "Gloriana", are nicknames by which Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533 – 1603) was known. Therefore, "Queen Bess" is likely a reference to Elizabeth I. It did occur to me that it might be a reference our current Queen. However, although Elizabeth II is sometimes referred to informally as "Liz" or "Beth" or even "Brenda" (a sobriquet bestowed upon her by the British satirical magazine Private Eye), I could find no evidence to suggest that she is called "Queen Bess".

The ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus the cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina — and that of King George was GR^[5] — from the Latin Georgius Rex. Thus, the cipher of Elizabeth I was presumably ER — the same as that of Elizabeth II.

13a   Professional American's positive response with 12 unfinished (6)

The number "12" in the clue is a cross reference to clue 12a. Insert the solution to the cross referenced clue in place of the cross reference indicator to complete the present clue.

15a   Go bottom and leg it (4,4)

Leg it^[5] is British slang meaning (1) travel by foot or, in other words, walk ⇒ I am part of a team legging it around London or (2) run away ⇒ he legged it after someone shouted at him. I was familiar with the first meaning, but it is the second which is of interest today.

18a   Standard bargains which you find at the greengrocer's? (8)

Greengrocer^[5] is a British term for a retailer of fruit and vegetables ⇒ white cabbage was selling for 12p a lb at the greengrocer’s. In British English, snip^[5] is an informal term for a surprisingly cheap item or, in other words, a bargain ⇒ the wine is a snip at £3.65.

19a   Bird or other creature that might fly -- with time! (6)

Pigs might (or can) fly^[5], according to Oxford Dictionaries Online, is a British expression [but one that is certainly also used in North America] used ironically to express disbelief ⇒ ‘Maybe he’s trying to change.’ ‘And maybe pigs can fly.’.

22a   Pain caused by trapping horse's head in crack (4)

23a   The cause of a dark look? (9)

26a   Most of those people enjoy similar things (3,4)

27a   The Yorkshire currency is a load of bother (7)

One of the characteristics of the Yorkshire dialect is Definite Article Reduction (DAR)^[7], which is a linguistic term referring to the use of vowel-less forms of the definite article the in Northern dialects of English English, for example in the Yorkshire dialect and accent. DAR is often represented by dialect spelling "t'" or "th'".

Rouble^[5] is the British spelling of ruble, the basic monetary unit of Russia and some other former republics of the USSR, equal to 100 kopeks.

28a   Moving on can revitalise conscription (8,7)

National service^[5] refers to a period of compulsory service in the armed forces during peacetime (phased out in the UK by 1963).

Down

1d   Support friend in law (7)

2d   A professional name for part of a stage (5)

The first part of the wordplay would appear to be missing from scchua's explanation. It should be A (from the clue) + PRO (professional) + N (name).

3d   Burning, losing a couple of thousand due to rising prices (9)

4d   People invited invest time in speculation (6)

5d   Some speed reduction can be part of fighter's armoury (8)

Speed^[5] is slang for an amphetamine drug, especially methamphetamine. Upper^[5] (usually uppers) is slang for a stimulating drug, especially amphetamine. 

It would appear that all speed are uppers, but not all uppers are speed. From this perspective, the definition "some speed" seems to be incorrect. Perhaps the intent is that "some speed" indicates that we are to use only part of the word "uppers" (deleting the final letter).

6d   Manifestation of good in evil? (4)

7d   Not moving prisoner outside a part of the UK (9)

Again, a part of the wordplay seems to be missing from scchua's explanation. It is INMATE (prisoner) containing (outside) {A (from the clue) + NI (Northern Ireland)}.

Northern Ireland^[5] (abbreviation NI^[5]) is a province of the United Kingdom occupying the NE part of Ireland; population 1,775,000 (est. 2008); capital, Belfast. According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, Northern Ireland is the only major division of the United Kingdom to hold the status of province, with England and Scotland being considered countries, and Wales a principality.

8d   Racing certainty  with no airs (7)

Natural^[10] is an informal term for a person or thing regarded as certain to qualify for success, selection, etc ⇒ the horse was a natural for first place.

14d   Something to write on page merchant prepared (9)

16d   Live close by developing region with hub (9)

17d   Insect that's found in objects of limited value (8)

An ephemera^[10] is a mayfly, especially one of the genus Ephemera^[7].

18d   Carriage or stanhope redesigned without top (7)

A stanhope^[5] is a light open horse-drawn carriage for one person, with two or four wheels. A phaeton^[5] is a light, open four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage. In Greek mythology, there are several figures having the name Phaeton^[7] (or Phaethon).

The term phaeton has also been applied to automobiles. A phaeton^[7] is a style of open car or carriage without weather protection. It is an automotive development of the fast, lightweight phaeton carriage. Originally meant to denote a faster and lighter vehicle than a touring car, the two terms eventually became interchangeable.

Phaetons fell from favour when closed cars and convertibles became widely available in the 1930s. Convertibles and pillarless hardtops were marketed as "phaetons" after actual phaetons were phased out. In 2004, Volkswagen introduced a sedan with the name Phaeton, despite the car not resembling an open car in any way.

20d   At the moment, present is not to be found (7)

21d   Ties up in beds? (6)

24d   Knight on road from city abroad (5)

The A1^[7] is the longest numbered road in the UK, at 410 miles (660 km). It connects London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, with Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.

Dubai^[5], a port on the Persian Gulf, is the capital city of Dubai, a member state of the United Arab Emirates. In 2009, the population of the state was estimated to be 1,775,000 of whom 1,770,500 (99.75%) resided in the capital.

25d   Area of London with no drunk (4)

The W1 postcode districts — a group of postcode [the British term for postal code (Canadian) or zip code (US)] districts within the W postcode area^[7] — cover a section of London, England concentrated mainly in the City of Westminster^[7], a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, including most of the West End.

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Signing off for today — Falcon

Monday, May 20, 2013 — DT 27117

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27117
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27117]
Big Dave's Review Written By Gazza
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★★	Enjoyment - ★★★
Falcon's Experience ┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐ ███████████████████████████████████ └────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘ Legend: █ - solved without assistance █ - incorrect prior to use of puzzle solving tools █ - solved with assistance from puzzle solving tools █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by puzzle solving tools █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's blog
Notes This puzzle appears on the second [unlabeled Monday] Diversions page in the Saturday, May 18, 2013 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

Similar to the experience reported by Gazza, it was a handful of clues in the northwest quadrant that I found most difficult. With a period of cogitation, I was able to solve all but one of them.

Notes on Today's Puzzle

This commentary is intended to serve as a supplement to the review of this puzzle found at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, to which a link is provided in the table above.

Across

2a   An expert at assessing faults? (12)

8a   Measure of insulation found with a traditional dress (4)

In Britain, tog^[5] means a unit of thermal resistance used to express the insulating properties of clothes and quilts. The name comes from the word togs (meaning clothes) on the pattern of an earlier unit called the clo (first element of clothes).

9a   Dub lout misbehaving around factory's entrance suspect (8)

10a   Flower getting spread around island past its best? (8)

In Britain, marg^[10] is short for margarine.

11a   Rear royal figure to stop progress (6)

The ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus the cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina — and that of King George was GR^[5] — from the Latin Georgius Rex.

12a   Pollution from pass encountered around North (10)

A defile^[5] is a steep-sided narrow gorge or passage (originally one requiring troops to march in single file) ⇒ the twisting track wormed its way up a defile to level ground.

13a   Catch criticism faced by part of hospital (6)

The most frequently visited area of the Crosswordland Hospital continues to be the ear, nose and throat (ENT^[2]) department.

16a   Put off fellow interrupting animals (5)

F^[2] is the abbreviation for Fellow (of a society, etc).

17a   Put aside old novel with affection, nothing less (6)

She^[7], subtitled A History of Adventure, is a novel by English writer Henry Rider Haggard (1856 – 1925), first serialized in The Graphic magazine from October 1886 to January 1887. She is one of the classics of imaginative literature, and as of 1965 with over 83 million copies sold in 44 different languages, one of the best-selling books of all time. Extraordinarily popular upon its release, She has never been out of print.

18a   Prim woman calms room after disorder around hotel (10)

Hotel^[5] is a code word representing the letter H, used in radio communication.

A schoolmarm^[5] is a female school teacher (in Britain, a schoolmistress), especially one regarded as prim, strict, and brisk in manner. British dictionaries characterise this meaning of schoolmarm^[2,5] as being North America. Interestingly, the extension of the term schoolmarm^[10] to women other than school teachers is said by Collins English Dictionary to be a British usage — though I believe that it may be used in this way in North America as well. It would appear that this is a North American expression which has been adopted in Britain — but only in its figurative sense.

21a   Fastening material concealed by level crossing (6)

23a   Vulgarity endures sadly with first of sketches (8)

24a   Old artist accommodated in remote old state (8)

A Royal Academician (abbreviation RA^[5]) is a member of the Royal Academy of the Arts^[5], an institution established in London in 1768, whose purpose is to cultivate painting, sculpture, and architecture in Britain. 

25a   Spell in Italian city I relinquished (4)

Turin^[7] is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River.

26a   Autonomy obtained by more than one paper, we hear (12)

The Independent^[7] is a British national morning newspaper published in London. Nicknamed the Indy, it was launched in 1986 and is one of the youngest UK national daily newspapers.

Down

1d   Comfort in putting up very large ornamental material (6)

The sizes of clothing that North Americans would describe as plus-size^[7] (or often big and tall in the case of men's clothing) would be called outsize (OS^[5]) in Britain.

2d   Ridiculing poor trails about London gallery (9)

The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA)^[7] is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It contains galleries, a theatre, two cinemas, a bookshop and a bar.

3d   Trainer might have this popular fish (6)

4d   Unexciting  location for traffic island? (6-2-3-4)

5d   It can be killing with no end of jokes? (8)

This an & lit. (all-in-one) clue. The entire clue provides the wordplay which is SLAUGHTER (killing) having the S (end of jokeS) deleted (it can be ... with no). As for the definition, an endless stream of exceptionally funny jokes might cause one to figuratively "die of laughter".

6d   Prosper in good school (3,2)

Eton College^[7], often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent [private] school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor". It is located in Eton, near Windsor in England, and is one of the original nine English public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868. [Note: In Britain, "public schools" are a special class of private school; what North Americans would call public schools seem to be referred to in Britain by terms such as state-run or state-funded schools].

7d   Impudence shown by childish character -- it can make you stew! (8)

Peter Pan^[5], a boy with magical powers who never grew up, is the hero of a play of the same name (1904) by Scottish dramatist and novelist J. M. Barrie (1860 – 1937). The name has come to symbolize a person who retains youthful features or childlike characteristics ⇒ the author is a Peter Pan obsessed with his own childhood memories.

14d   Stop a trim teen getting out of shape (9)

15d   Fit into tight space and get clipped holding gardening tool (8)

16d   Dreary tea sold improperly close to cafe (8)

19d   Peculiar relative? That's very likely! (4-2)

20d   Holiday destination in October emptied among others (6)

22d   Divided  segment of garlic (5)

Key to Reference Sources: 

^[1]   - The Chambers Dictionary, 11th Edition
^[2]   - Search Chambers - (Chambers 21st Century Dictionary)
^[3]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (American Heritage Dictionary)
^[4]   - TheFreeDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[5]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford Dictionary of English)
^[6]   - Oxford Dictionaries (Oxford American Dictionary)
^[7]   - Wikipedia
^[8]   - Reverso Online Dictionary (Collins French-English Dictionary)
^[9]   - Infoplease (Random House Unabridged Dictionary)
^[10] - CollinsDictionary.com (Collins English Dictionary)
^[11] - TheFreeDictionary.com (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary)

Happy Victoria Day — Falcon