Friday, November 15, 2013 — DT 27248

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27248
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, August 5, 2013
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27248]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog 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

Introduction

I was feeling — as the Brits would say — rather chuffed with my performance today. However, Libellule's single star rating for difficulty took some of the wind out of my sails. Rufus, the setter of today's puzzle, is an acknowledged master of the cryptic definition — and we certainly see evidence of this today.

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. The underlined portion of the clue is the definition.

Across

1a   Profligate  poet? (7)

Sir Stephen Spender^[5] (1909–1995) was an English poet and critic.

5a   It grows in snowy Chelmsford (4-3)

Chelmsford^[5] is a cathedral city in SE England, the county town of Essex; population 107,800 (est. 2009).

The wych elm^[5] (Ulmus glabra) is a European elm with large rough leaves, chiefly growing in woodland or near flowing water.

9a   Initially a zone that excludes children of American Indians (5)

The definition is "of American Indians", indicating that the solution is an adjective. As a noun, Aztec^[5] may denote (1) a member of the American Indian people dominant in Mexico before the Spanish conquest of the 16th century or (2) the extinct language of the Aztecs, a Uto-Aztecan language from which modern Nahuatl is descended. As an adjective, it means relating to or denoting the Aztecs or their language.

10a   Silence from stupid cast (9)

Silence is used here as a verb.

11a   Old Harry entertained by poor value variety show (10)

Old Harry^[10] is an informal, jocular name for Satan. Old Nick^[5], used by Libellule in his review, is yet another informal name for the Devil.

12a   Transport army team (4)

In the UK, the Territorial Army (TA)^[5] is a volunteer force locally organized to provide a reserve of trained and disciplined manpower for use in an emergency. 

Eleven^[5] is the number of players on a cricket^[7] side or an Association football^[7] [soccer] team — and is often used as a metonym for such a team ⇒ at cricket I played in the first eleven.

14a   Large sum not declared, apparently (6,6)

One cryptic definition ...

18a   Urgent requirement at the laundry? (8,4)

... deserves another.

21a   Excellent yet not well done (4)

22a   They may cause trouble in the Highlands, as clans have in a way (10)

I agree with Libellule; there definitely would appear to more fodder than needed.

25a   Foundry club doesn't go on strike (9)

26a   Speak evil about none (5)

27a   New England domains (7)

Domain^[10] is used in the sense of land owned by one person or family.

28a   Some ran badly, running not being their sport (7)

Down

1d   Lack bite? (6)

Another cryptic definition.

2d   Have a picnic -- or go to a restaurant (3,3)

3d   Curiously desire nice divorce (6,4)

In English law, a decree nisi^[5] is an order by a court of law stating the date on which a marriage will end unless a good reason not to grant a divorce is produced.

4d   Bones which are set in a circle (5)

And yet one more cryptic definition.

5d   Likely place for tennis elbow, mind out! (9)

Wimbledon^[5] is an annual international tennis championship on grass for individual players and pairs, held at the headquarters of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon. Now one of the world’s major tennis championships, it has been played since 1877.

6d   A slap  on the wrist (4)

Technically, I would say that this is also a cryptic definition. However, it is very close to being a double definition — as long as one reads the second definition as "[something] on the wrist".

7d   Having potential for learning, possibly due to one sort of TV (8)

8d   An everyday conclusion (8)

The cryptic definitions continue to flow.

13d   Form of credit that is at no time repeated (5-5)

Never-never^[2,10] would seem to be a colloquial British term for what is known in the UK as the hire-purchase system of buying ⇒ bought it on the never-never. In Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, hire purchase^[10] [known in North America as the installment plan^[10] or (especially in Canada) the instalment plan] is a system for purchasing merchandise, such as cars or furniture, in which the buyer takes possession of the merchandise on payment of a deposit and completes the purchase by paying a series of regular instalments while the seller retains ownership until the final instalment is paid.

15d   Their appetites are all-consuming (9)

Hopefully, you have the appetite for one last cryptic definition.

16d   Pop up to extol value (8)

17d   Confirms  what Goldilocks found (5,3)

A double definition that borders on being a cryptic definition.

19d   Religious belief is held by our opponents (6)

20d   A hard back for sailors (6)

23d   Catch a young lady with nothing on (5)

24d   Very keen student pulls up (4)

A caravan (a term appearing in Libellule's review) is the British name for a travel trailer.

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