Friday, March 28, 2014 — DT 27349

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27349
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, November 30, 2013
Setter Unknown
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27349 - Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27349 - Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave - Hints gnomethang - 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 █ - 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
As this was a Saturday "Prize Puzzle" in Britain, there are two entries related to it on Big Dave's Crossword Blog — the first, posted on the date of publication, contains hints for selected clues while the second is 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

It took a fair amount of effort, but I eventually completed the puzzle without resorting to help from my electronic assistants.

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.

Definitions are underlined in the clue, with subsidiary indications being marked by means of a dashed underline in semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across

4a   Aircraft making journey by road! (8)

8a   Using maximum effort, tenth wicket has been taken (3-3)

In cricket, to take a wicket^[5] (said of a bowler or a fielding side) is to dismiss a batsman.

This clue would seem to escape being classified as a double definition only because the second definition does not match the numeration.

All-out^[2] (spelled with a hyphen) is an adjective meaning using all one's strength, powers, etc.

All out^[7] (with no hyphen) is a cricket term denoting that an innings is ended due to ten of the eleven batsmen on the batting side being either dismissed or unable to bat because of injury or illness.

In cricket, batsmen bat in pairs, one positioned at either end of the pitch. Once ten of the eleven batsmen have been dismissed, there are not enough batsmen left to constitute a pair.

9a   Stop to mend the lady’s old penny crock (8)

Crock^[5] is used in the sense of a broken piece of earthenware.

A potsherd^[5] is a broken piece of ceramic material, especially one found on an archaeological site.

10a   Raised voice in argument beside river in Cornwall (8)

The River Fal^[7] flows through Cornwall, England, rising on Goss Moor and reaching the English Channel at Falmouth.

11a   Danger: Bill keeps caged rodent (6)

As gnomethang alludes to in his review, the hidden word indicator could equally well be deemed to be "keeps caged" with the definition being "rodent".

12a   Circuit avoided by motorcade upset politician (8)

Like gnomethang, I too questioned the use of "circuit" to clue the letter O.

13a   Problem — top teacher’s a revolutionary (8)

In Britain, head^[5] is short for for headmaster^[5] (a man who is the head teacher in a school), headmistress^[5] (ditto for a woman), or head teacher^[5] (the teacher in charge of a school).

Che Guevara^[7] (1928 – 1967) was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia within popular culture.

16a   Sloppy sentimentality has space to grow quickly (8)

19a   In the open air, take clothes off — that’s better (8)

21a   One churchman or another going round Colorado (6)

A dean^[7], in a religious context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Lutheran Church. In the Church of England and elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, the dean is the chief resident cleric of a cathedral or other collegiate church and the head of the chapter of canons. If the cathedral or collegiate church has its own parish, the dean is usually also rector of the parish.

In the Catholic, Anglican, and Orthodox Churches, a deacon^[5] is an ordained minister of an order ranking below that of priest. On the other hand, in some Nonconformist Churches [Protestant Churches which dissent from the established Church of England], a deacon is a lay officer appointed to assist a minister, especially in secular affairs.

The US Postal Service abbreviation for the state of Colorado^[7] is CO.

23a   Man casually meeting friend as a rule (8)

24a   Migrating bird is in Italian port (8)

Brindisi^[7] is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi. Located on the Adriatic Sea, the city is a major port for trade with Greece and the Middle East.

25a   Cat not in life nine, frisky (6)

26a   The lengths a complete swine will go to? (5,3)

Down

1d   Skilful when holding a knife (7)

Believe it or not, this was my last one in! Judging by gnomethang's comments, I am in good company in that regard.

2d   Skip the whisky, it’s child’s play (9)

3d   Mount rotates, showing no energy for stationary part (6)

In a down clue, mount serves as a reversal indicator.

4d   11.59 am greeting? (3,2,3,7)

In Ireland, top of the morning^[5] is a friendly morning greeting ⇒ top of the morning to you, Inspector — and one that I am sure is well-known around the world.

5d   Essential to redraw triangle (8)

6d   Hungarian composer of memorable harmonies (5)

Franz Lehár^[5] (1870–1948) was a Hungarian composer He is chiefly known for his operettas, of which the most famous is The Merry Widow (1905).

7d   See rich now in resort (7)

It would appear that gnomethang was a tad careless in his underlining. He has actually underlined the anagram fodder rather than the definition.

A see^[10] is the diocese of a bishop, or the place within it where his cathedral or procathedral is situated.

Norwich^[5] is a city in eastern England, the county town of Norfolk; population 171,500 (est. 2009). It is the site of Norwich Cathedral^[7], the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich.

14d   Shy relative (4,5)

Shy^[5] is a dated term meaning, as a noun, an act of flinging or throwing something at a target and, as a verb, to fling or throw (something) at a target ⇒ he tore the spectacles off and shied them at her.

Aunt Sally^[5] is (1) a game played in some parts of Britain in which players throw sticks or balls at a wooden dummy; (2) a dummy used in this game; or (3) a person or thing set up as an easy target for criticism ⇒ today’s landowner is everyone’s Aunt Sally.

15d   Kind of circular that’s run out covering United Nations course (8)

In cricket, run out^[5] (abbreviation ro^[2]) means to dismiss (a running batsman) by breaking the wicket with the ball, or with the ball in the hand, while he is out of his ground^[10] (i.e., the area from the popping crease back past the stumps, in which a batsman may legally stand).

17d   Discover a foreign planet (7)

In French, un^[8] is the masculine singular form of the indefinite article.

18d   Wild flower’s name included (7)

Once again I found myself in the same boat as gnomethang, this being one of my last to solve.

20d   Jack provided fellow’s price list (6)

Tar^[5] is an informal, dated term for a sailor. The term, which dates from the 17th century, is perhaps an abbreviation of tarpaulin, which was also used as a nickname for a sailor at that time.

F^[2] is the abbreviation for Fellow (of a society, etc). For instance, it is found in professional designations such as FRAIC (Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada).

22d   Old town lake and waterway (5)

Cana^[5] was an ancient small town in Galilee, where Christ is said to have performed his first miracle by changing water into wine during a marriage feast (John 2:1-11).

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