Wednesday, July 10, 2013 — DT 27154

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27154
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27154]
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

It took me a while to find a starting point, but once having done so, solutions fell into place fairly readily.

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   Communication as result of period of chaos? (7)

9a   Usual  book for service in church (8)

Ordinary^[5] denotes (1) those parts of a Roman Catholic service, especially the Mass, which do not vary from day to day or (2) a rule or book laying down the order of divine service.

10a   Relation with a rarely empty storehouse (7)

11a   Total show of hesitation by Tory user (8)

12a   Main place of work (3,3)

The main^[5] is an archaic or literary term referring to the open ocean.

13a   Even a horrible smell is short-lived (10)

Evanescent^[5] is a chiefly literary term meaning soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing ⇒ the evanescent Arctic summer.

15a   Look hungrily at some frog legs (4)

16a   Look around university popular for subject of marine biologists (3,6)

A sea urchin^[5] is a marine echinoderm [a term you would be wise to add to your memory banks] which has a spherical or flattened shell covered in mobile spines, with a mouth on the underside and calcareous jaws.

21a   Not really missing odd characters in speech (4)

22a   The effect of drinking with no good Scotsman of a royal house (10)

In Crosswordland, there seem to be very few Scotsmen who are not named Ian. The House of Hanover^[5] was the British royal house from 1714 to the death of Queen Victoria in 1901.

24a   One who addresses house painter taking month off (6)

25a   Teach group providing model transport (5,3)

27a   Resolute detectives in action (7)

The Criminal Investigation Department (seemingly better known by its abbreviation CID^[2]) is the detective branch of the British police force.

28a   Occasional copies I'd botched (8)

29a   One in ten men working to become famous (7)

Down

2d   Revenue obtained from executing wishes (8)

In Crosswordland, executions are almost invariably accomplished through beheading.

3d   Star drives, carrying no very odd items (8)

4d   Places for parking beer for local disposal (6,4)

5d   Spirit born on carnival venue (4)

Rio de Janeiro^[5] (popularly known as Rio) is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro, a state of eastern Brazil, on the Atlantic coast. The chief port of Brazil, Rio was the country’s capital from 1763 until 1960, when it was replaced by Brasilia. It is renowned for its annual carnival^[7].

6d   Fail to hit America's other half (6)

7d   Wine for cooking meals within the limits of mediocrity (7)

Malmsey^[3] is a sweet fortified wine originally made in Greece and now produced mainly in Madeira [a Portuguese island located off the NW coast of Africa]. .

8d   Cover broadcast on charge to supply water (7)

11d   Ascent providing a moving experience with no effort (9)

The solution — or, rather, a solution — came to mind immediately. Unfortunately, ESCALATOR turned out to be the wrong answer. The correct solution eventually occurred to me — but not without the expenditure of significant mental effort.

14d   16, for instance, in unfortunate Homeric end (10)

The adjective Homeric relates to Homer^[5], an 8th century BC Greek epic poet. He is traditionally held to be the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

17d   Score for music that, oddly, is welcomed by idea (8)

18d   No Parisian should imprison a European emperor (8)

Non^[8] is a French word meaning "no".

Napoleon I^[5] (1769 – 1821) was emperor of France from 1804–14 and again in 1815; full name Napoleon Bonaparte; known as Napoleon. Two other French rulers also carried the name Napoleon — his son Napoleon II and his nephew Napoleon III.

19d   Idle talk about milliner (7)

20d   Occupy hospital -- shortly to be found outside! (7)

23d   Person who sells five to finish with gold (6)

Or^[5] is gold or yellow, as a heraldic tincture. In heraldry, a tincture^[5] is any of the conventional colours (including the metals and stains, and often the furs) used in coats of arms.

26d   Make changes before publication in reversal of trend (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