Tuesday, February 18, 2014 DT 27321

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27321
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27321]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog 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 █ - solved but without fully parsing the clue █ - unsolved or incorrect prior to visiting Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - solved with aid of checking letters provided by solutions from Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - reviewed by Falcon for Big Dave's Crossword Blog █ - yet to be solved
Notes The National Post has skipped DT 27320 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Monday, October 28, 2013.

Introduction

The National Post has again skipped a puzzle — too bad that the missing puzzle was one from the "Monday maestro" Rufus.

Today, at Big Dave's Crossword Blog, Gazza makes his debut reviewing the "Tuesday" puzzle after more than four years on the "Friday" beat.

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   Broken pot -- what a typical canal feature (7)

5a   Nothing is held by deserter detained by agents in foreign country (7)

Rat^[4] is used in the sense of a person who deserts his or her friends or associates, especially in time of trouble. Of course, rats [with the exception of the one in 17d] are well-known deserters of sinking ships.

9a   Well-bred member in retirement entertaining scruffy teen (7)

10a   A scientific establishment with a scholar in US state (7)

11a   Take out from property six engaged in city trading principally (5)

The City^[5] is short for the City of London. Take note that the City of London^[5] is not the same thing as the city of London, but merely the part of London situated within the ancient boundaries and governed by the Lord Mayor and the Corporation^[5] [in Britain, a group of people elected to govern a city, town, or borough].

The City is also a metonym for the financial and commercial institutions located in the City of London ⇒ (i) the Budget got a stony reception from the City; (ii) a City analyst. This is analogous to the use of the terms Wall Street and Bay Street to refer to the financial institutions located in New York and Toronto respectively. In the surface reading of this clue, the phrase "city trading" is likely an allusion to financial activities conducted there.

In the clue, the setter uses "city" as a surrogate for for the EC postcode which serves the City of London [postcode being the British counterpart of the Canadian postal code or American zip code]. The EC (Eastern Central) postcode area^[7] (also known as the London EC postcode area) is a group of postcode districts in central London, England. It includes almost all of the City of London as well as parts of several other London boroughs.

12a   Group of soldiers perform on square with volunteers, one with pride? (9)

In cricket, a square^[5] is a closer-cut area at the centre of a ground [an area of land where cricket is played], any strip of which may be prepared as a wicket [in this case, another name for pitch, the strip of ground between the two sets of stumps].

To "perform on square" can presumably be one of two possibilities — to bat or to bowl. 

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. 

"With" denotes being a member of, like describing Ringo Starr as a drummer with the Beatles. 

13a   Put forward in pamphlets, e.g. gush that's retrograde (7)

14a   A holder of seat engaged in diatribe that's unrestrained (7)

In many Commonwealth countries (including Britain and Canada), a member of the House of Commons or similar legislative body is known as a Member of Parliament^[10] (or MP^[5] for short).

16a   Good man notes loose headwear (7)

19a   Legendary entertainer appears in a trailer's screening (7)

Frank Sinatra^[5] (1915–1998) was an American singer and actor. His many hits include ‘Night and Day’ and ‘My Way’. He won an Oscar for his role in the film From Here to Eternity (1953).

As a hidden word indicator, screening^[5] is used in the sense of concealing something with a screen.

22a   Carer host spoilt, one of a lumbering nature? (4-5)

24a   Shame there's quiet after half-hearted pop group appears (5)

ABBA^[7] was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972, comprising Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. ABBA is an acronym of the first letters of the band members' first names.

25a   Green food found by organised workers during the summer in France (7)

In the UK, TUC^[5] is the abbreviation for the Trades Union Congress^[5], the official representative body of British trade unions, founded in 1868 and meeting annually.

In French,  le^[8] is the masculine singular form of the definite article and été^[8] means summer. Before a word starting with a vowel, le is contracted to l', so "the summer" is l'été.

26a   City missing old energy? Show indignation (7)

Bristol^[5] is a city in southwest England; population 374,000 (est. 2009). Situated on the River Avon about 10 km (6 miles) from the Bristol Channel, it has been a leading port since the 12th century.

27a   Put right park area provided within outskirts of Tewkesbury (7)

Rec^[5] is an informal British term for a recreation ground^[5], a piece of public land used for sports and games.

Tewkesbury^[7] is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England that stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon; population 10,704 (2011 census).

28a   Unusual tray covered with party food gets short outing (3,4)

Down

1d   Fierce animal to stray when leader is replaced with time (7)

2d   Deficient wit encapsulates name associated with common element (7)

3d   Watchful state required in mismanagement of sale and rents (9)

4d   Plea shortly in sheltered accommodation to provide fish (7)

5d   Old US president imbued with hard set of principles (7)

Jimmy Carter^[5] is an American Democratic statesman, 39th President of the US 1977–81. He hosted the talks which led to the Camp David agreements (1978) and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

H^[5] is the abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

6d   Joyful expression after award is given in US city (5)

The Order of Merit^[7] (abbreviation OM^[5]) is a dynastic order recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by King Edward VII, admission into the order remains the personal gift of its Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, and is limited to 24 living recipients at one time from these countries plus a limited number of honorary members. The current membership includes one Canadian (former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien).

Alan Partridge^[7] [mentioned by Gazza in his review] — a fictional character portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan — is a parody of both sports commentators and chat show presenters [hosts]. It would seem that "Aha!" is a catchphrase associated with this character.

7d   Train's mobilised to carry a Russian authority (7)

8d   I'm opposed to a drink when crossing a street (7)

Like Gazza, I wondered why the "I'm" is in the clue. Initially, I supposed that "for" and "against" might be used as nouns meaning pro and con respectively. However, I failed to find any evidence to support that theory.

 Therefore, the only explanation that I can come up with is that "I" is intended to refer to the solution to the clue. Thus the phrase "I'm opposed to" would be interpreted as "The solution to the clue is [a synonym for] opposed to".

15d   Lying urban reformer's slogan? (9)

16d   Civil earl's getting agitated when interrupted by copper (7)

Civil^[5] means relating to ordinary citizens and their concerns, as distinct from military or ecclesiastical matters. In this clue, we need to focus on the latter sense rather than the former.

The symbol for the chemical element copper is Cu^[5] (from Latin cuprum).

An earl^[5] is a British nobleman ranking above a viscount and below a marquess [the third highest of the five ranks of nobility — duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron].

17d   Roland, perhaps, inspired by Ernie's partner proving unpredictable (7)

Unlike Gazza, I would not include "proving" as part of the definition. To me, it is merely serving as a link between the wordplay and the definition.

Roland Rat^[7] is a puppet character that has appeared widely on British television. Gazza's characterisation of Roland as "the saviour of TV-AM" is explained by the following:

Roland Rat was introduced in 1983 to ailing breakfast television network TV-am by Anne Wood and was generally regarded as its saviour, being described as "the only rat to join a sinking ship". After a couple of months on TV-am, Roland took the audience from 100,000 to 1.8 million.

Ernie and Eric do an encore after their appearance yesterday. Ernie Wise^[7] (1925–1999) and his partner Eric Morecambe^[7] (1926–1984) comprised the British comedy duo Morecambe and Wise^[7].

18d   Place for raising issue? (7)

19d   Top tennis player beginning to besmirch journalist? It fosters something unpleasant (7)

A seedbed^[2] is an environment in which something, especially something undesirable, develops ⇒ (i) a seedbed of revolution^[3]; (ii) the seedbed of discontent^[4].

20d   Transport back over Devon landmark in agricultural vehicle (7)

Dartmoor^[7] is an area of moorland [a tract of open uncultivated upland, typically covered with heather] in south Devon, England. Dartmoor is known for its tors – hills topped with outcrops of bedrock, which in granite country such as this are usually rounded boulder-like formations. More than 160 of the hills of Dartmoor have the word tor in their name.

21d   Some refuse taken from hotel in a phase for recycling (3-4)

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

23d   Alluring woman in island after period of time (5)

A houri^[5] is a beautiful young woman, especially one of the virgin companions of the faithful in the Muslim Paradise.

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