Tuesday, August 5, 2014 — DT 27443

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27443
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Friday, March 21, 2014
Setter Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27443]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Deep Threat
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 27442 which was published in The Daily Telegraph on Thursday, March 20, 2014. However, not to worry, it will appear in this space next Monday.

Introduction

Apart from suffering a mental block at 27a, I was able to solve the puzzle without the aid of electronic help.

I invite you to leave a comment to let us know how you fared with the puzzle. 

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.

Primary indications (definitions) are marked with a solid underline in the clue; subsidiary indications (be they wordplay or other) are marked with a dashed underline in all-in-one (& lit.) clues, semi-all-in-one (semi-& lit.) clues and cryptic definitions.

Across

7a   The old woman had briefly organised one Indian lady (8)

A maharani^[5] (also spelled maharanee) is a maharaja’s wife or widow, a maharaja^[5] (also spelled maharajah) being an Indian prince.

9a   One deciding to leave country before catching plane (6)

A MiG^[7] is a type of Russian jet fighter. The name comes from the initials of the two founders (Mikoyan and Gurevich) of the organization that designs the planes.

10a   Barbarian got down with army heading west (6)

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.

Attila^[5] (406–453) was king of the Huns 434–453. He ravaged vast areas between the Rhine and the Caspian Sea before being defeated by the joint forces of the Roman army and the Visigoths at Châlons in 451.

11a   Establishes companies, initiated by trick (8)

In his review, Deep Threat mentions "There is a typo in the clue in the paper and online versions ...". As this error does not appear to be present in the puzzle published in the National Post, I would conclude that it was introduced during the production process in the UK after the puzzle had already been sent to syndication.

12a   Magazine's left something for fans to enjoy looking at (9,5)

The Spectator^[7] is a conservative-leaning weekly British magazine, first published in 1828, owned by the same people who own The Daily Telegraph^[7].

15a   Balance end of object on edge (4)

Trim^[5] means to adjust the balance of (a ship or aircraft) by rearranging its cargo or by means of its trim tabs.

17a   The Yorkshire bumpkin is stupid (5)

In dialects spoken in Northern England (including Yorkshire), the word the is commonly shortened to t'. An old Yorkshire saying goes "The only good thing to come out of Lancashire is t’road back to Yorkshire". Rivalry between these two northern counties dates back at least to the Wars of Roses^[5], the 15th-century English civil wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster, represented by white and red roses respectively, during the reigns of Henry VI, Edward IV, and Richard III.

19a   A woman's right at all times (4)

Although the setter doesn't specifically identify the woman as the Eve from the Bible, the fact that her mate is close by might lead one to believe that it is.

In the Bible, Eve^[5] is the first woman, companion of Adam and mother of Cain and Abel.

20a   This being put on should ensure more than just a warm reception (7,7)

23a   Gross female prisoner having angry words (8)

In British slang, a lag^[5] is a person who has been frequently convicted and sent to prison ⇒ both old lags were sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.

25a   Descend in plunge, concealing hesitation (6)

27a   Very small star, about four, seen to be lively (6)

During my deliberations, I think I may actually have considered and ignored the correct solution. My failure is largely attributable to becoming hung up on finding a "small star" rather than a "small very".

In music, vivace^[5] is a direction indicating that a piece is to be played in a lively and brisk manner.

28a   Government department, if that is dead, must be changed (8)

In the UK, MOD^[5] stands for Ministry of Defence.

Down

1d   Vehicle taking rough road north stopping prematurely (4)

2d   Fellow in charge penning article that's mad (6)

The abbreviation i/c^[5] (especially in military contexts) is short for in charge of ⇒ the Quartermaster General is i/c rations.

3d   Element extracted from quartz in chemistry (4)

4d   Man who has transgressed looking heavenward (6)

The phrase "who has" acts as a link between the definition (man) and the wordplay (transgressed looking heavenward).

5d   Chemical substance obtainable from isocline (8)

An isocline^[5] is a line on a diagram or map connecting points of equal gradient or inclination.

6d   Daringly innovative parent with home in a mess (10)

In Greek mythology, Prometheus^[5] was a demigod, one of the Titans, who was worshipped by craftsmen. When Zeus hid fire away from man Prometheus stole it by trickery and returned it to earth. As punishment Zeus chained him to a rock where an eagle fed each day on his liver, which grew again each night; he was rescued by Hercules.

As an adjective, Promethean^[5] means daring and skillfully inventive.

8d   Firm's first male worker (7)

... and the mate of the woman in 19a.

13d   Drink on select island -- bar entrance with this maybe? (10)

Port^[5] is a strong, sweet dark red (occasionally brown or white) fortified wine, originally from Portugal, typically drunk as a dessert wine.

14d   College learner follows Conservatives, avoiding extremes (5)

A Tory^[4] is a member or supporter of the Conservative Party in Great Britain [or Canada]. Historically, a Tory was a member of the English political party that opposed the exclusion of James, Duke of York from the royal succession (1679-80). Tory remained the label for subsequent major conservative interests until they gave birth to the Conservative Party in the 1830s.

The cryptic crossword convention of L meaning learner or student arises from the L-plate^[7], a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in various countries (including the UK) if its driver is a learner under instruction.

Oriel College^[7] is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford.

16d   Letters presenting a unified image? (8)

18d   Dough may be required by the sound of it (7)

21d   This person blocking the way was a nomad (6)

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as compiler, setter, (this) author, (this) writer, or this person to refer to himself or herself. To solve such a clue, one must generally substitute a first person pronoun (I or me) for whichever of these terms has been used in the clue.

22d   Display of irritation about a restaurant's opening menu (6)

Tariff^[5] is a chiefly British term for a list of the fixed charges made by a business, especially for use of gas, electricity, or a mobile phone. In British law, a tariff is a scale of sentences and damages for crimes and injuries of different severities.

24d   Old books turned up, your writer providing one volume (4)

In Crosswordland, the word "books" is often used to clue either the Old Testament (OT) or the New Testament (NT). Often the clue does not specify whether the reference is to the former or the latter. However, today's setter is very precise.

In this clue the setter changes things up slightly, referring to himself as "your writer" rather than "this writer". Nevertheless, the comment at 21d is still applicable here.

26d   See contest won with cricket side eliminated (4)

In cricket, the on^[5] (also known as on side) is another name for the leg (also called leg side^[5]), the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) away from which the batsman’s feet are pointed when standing to receive the ball ⇒ he played a lucky stroke to leg. The other half of the field is known as the off^[5] (also called off side).

The wordplay parses as VIE (contest; as a verb) + W(ON) (from the clue) with ON (cricket side) removed (eliminated).

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