Monday, September 2, 2013 — DT 27194

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27194
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, June 3, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27194]
Big Dave's Review Written By Libellule
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 Monday Diversions page in the Saturday, August 31, 2013 edition of the National Post.

Introduction

The planets have are in alignment and the "Monday" puzzle (as published in the UK) falls on a Monday in Canada. Thus we have the usual gentle — but nevertheless highly enjoyable — offering from the Monday Maestro, Rufus.

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   Severe strain unsettled man (10)

9a   Lock up silver in church (4)

The symbol for the chemical element silver is Ag^[5].

 The Church of England (CE)^[10] is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

10a   Make an impression on Telegraph, perhaps, but one gets fired before one retires! (10)

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. Of course, it also happens to be the source of this puzzle.

Touchpaper^[5] — which would appear to be a British term — is a strip of paper impregnated with nitre, for setting light to fireworks or explosive substances. In setting off fireworks, one would first light the touchpaper, then retreat (retire) to a safe distance.

11a   New missile contract (6)

12a   It's hell for nine at sea (7)

15a   Return roster to dog warden (7)

The wordplay would be parsed as a reversal (return) of ROTA (roster) placed next to (to) CUR (dog). The word "to" is used in the same sense as it is in expressions such as "put your shoulder to the wheel" or "have your nose to the grindstone". ROTA follows CUR based on the premise that if ROTA is placed next to CUR, then CUR must have been there first (i.e., was written first).

16a   The shame of having broken the law? (5)

17a   I take friend out in vessel (4)

18a   This may lead us to the light! (4)

A cryptic definition of 18a —as well as 31 others found in today's puzzle .

19a   Country  porcelain (5)

21a   Appeal to doctor in French first (7)

En^[8] is a French preposition meaning in.

22a   Change gears, points and lubricants (7)

24a   Beauty that totally occupies the viewer (6)

In this clue, we encounter an instance of what I call "definition by extension". Although the meaning is not to be found in general usage, this cryptic crossword device is premised on a logical deduction that "viewer" should mean 'something that views' and, consequently, can be applied to an organ of sight. We will see other instances of this whimsical device later in the puzzle.

27a   Blunders and gives short change (10)

28a   Biting  a pastry (4)

29a   Not a true origin of race? (5,5)

Down

2d   Opening for a machine operator (4)

This is a case where the cryptic reading of the clue may come to mind more readily than the straight reading. One meaning of slot^[3] is a position of employment in an organization or hierarchy. I am most familiar with this usage in a sports context ⇒ a number of rookies will be vying for a slot on the roster. In this sense, the clue could be a reference to a position for a machine operator in a factory. Of course, the cryptic reading refers to someone playing the one-armed bandits in a casino.

3d   Go back and make a further concession? (6)

With respect to the second definition in this double definition, to recede^[3] actually means to yield or grant to one formerly in possession; in other words, to cede (something) back. Thus, it means to reverse a concession rather than make a further concession. I conclude that the definition in the clue is another example of "definition by extension" [see comment at 24a] in which recede is presumed to mean to cede again (based on an analogy with words such as redo [to do again] and repaint [to paint again]). The question mark at the end adds weight to this argument, indicating that the definition is questionable (whimsical).

4d   Taking pictures topless -- if careless, it's how you may be caught (7)

5d   See key goes to agent (4)

6d   Expel  a number of people, say (7)

7d   Safety rail adapted for diversions in the nursery? (5,5)

8d   Computer operators are indispensable members of the staff (3,7)

In this double definition, the first definition is a cryptic definition of someone working at a computer terminal. As for the second, in Britain, a key worker^[10] is a worker in any of a number of public sector professions considered by the government to be essential to society, for example teachers, police officers, NHS [National Health Service] health workers, etc.

12d   Carries out  tools (10)

13d   Timorous person, eager to acquire the skill (5-5)

Fain^[5] is an archaic term which can mean, as an adjective, (1) pleased or willing under the circumstances ⇒ the traveller was fain to proceed or (2) compelled by the circumstances or obliged ⇒ he was fain to acknowledge that the agreement was sacrosanct or, as an adverb, gladly ⇒ I am weary and would fain get a little rest. Followers of the Pepy's Diary feature in the National Post will certainly have encountered this word.

14d   Should  duck? (5)

In cricket, a duck^[5] is a batsman’s score of nought [zero] ⇒ he was out for a duck. This is similar to the North American expression goose egg^[5] meaning a zero score in a game.. In British puzzles, duck is used to indicate the letter "O" based on the resemblance of the digit "0" to this letter. Certainly, if a batsman has a duck, he has experienced "failure with the bat".

Ought^[5] (also spelled aught) is an archaic term for nought^[5], a British term for the digit 0.

To confound matters, aught^[5], naught^[5] and nought^[5] — but not ought — can also be used as pronouns. Furthermore, naught^[5] is the common North American spelling for nought (as a noun).

15d   Held on -- though a number will need a breather (5)

Terms such as "a number", "a large number", "a great many" are often indicators that a Roman numeral is required.

Here we have another instance of "definition by extension" in which a lung is whimsically defined by breather (something that breathes).

19d   Decide not to proceed with the visit? (4,3)

I would say that the entire clue constitutes a cryptic definition. While one could argue that the solution is completely defined by merely "decide not to proceed", the final phrase supplies the additional bit of information that CALL (a synonym for visit) is to be found in the solution.

20d   A performer appearing in part is tense (7)

23d   Come down  on fire (6)

25d   How to bring in little river fish? (4)

This is a semi-all-in-one clue — of a type that scchua (a fellow blogger on Big Dave's Crossword Blog) likes to call a WIWD (wordplay intertwined with definition). The entire clue provides the definition while the wordplay is found in the latter portion of the clue.

26d   Start to wake up in prison (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