Monday, September 8, 2014 — DT 27469

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27469
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Monday, April 21, 2014
Setter Rufus (Roger Squires)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27469]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Miffypops
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

Introduction

The planets have once again aligned and we get a 'Monday' puzzle on a Monday. Today, Rufus puts us through our paces in his usual entertaining fashion. Your task will be somewhat easier if you recognize that this puzzle appeared in the UK on Easter Monday and a great many of the clues have some religious connotation.

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

1a   Churchman about to get plate out (7)

Prelate^[5] is a formal or historical term for a bishop or other high ecclesiastical dignitary.

5a   See sign is incorrect, for a start (7)

Although the clue does not specifically refer to it in this sense, Genesis^[5] is the first book of the Bible, which includes the stories of the creation of the world, Noah’s Ark, the Tower of Babel, and the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.

9a   Memorial sculpture Lichfield Cathedral contains (5)

A relic^[5] is a part of a deceased holy person’s body or belongings kept as an object of reverence ⇒ miracles wrought by the relics of St Stephen.

10a   Job's place (9)

Here we possibly have another indirect religious reference. In the Bible, Job^[5] was a man who found himself in a [difficult] "situation". He was a prosperous man whose patience and piety were tried by undeserved misfortunes. However, in spite of his bitter lamentations, he remained confident in the goodness and justice of God. His name has come to epitomise patience ⇒ In dealing with this series of difficult circumstances, she displayed the patience of Job.

11a   Current date girl takes round to party with car (4,6)

The solution — which once again has religious significance — is actually more an attribute that applies to a current date than it is a current date per se.

Mini^[7] is an automobile brand, currently owned by BMW, but originally introduced as a model under the Austin and Morris marques by the British Motor Corporation (BMC).

12a   Simple plant Father Benedict provides (4)

14a   Any more dates in need of rearranging today? (6,6)

If you don't know when this puzzle was published in the UK, you should go back and reread the Introduction.

18a   Lent period may be an unexpected extension (8,4)

Here we find another religious term — although it is actually used in a different context in the clue. In the Christian Church, Lent^[5] is the period preceding Easter, which is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence in commemoration of Christ’s fasting in the wilderness. In the Western Church [with the exception of the Roman Catholic Church^[7]] it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, and so includes forty weekdays [excluding the six Sundays that fall during this period].

How does one get BORROWED TIME from "Lent period"? TIME and "period" are synonyms, but BORROWED and "lent" are on opposite sides of a transaction (one party lends and the other party borrows). Gazza provides the answer in a comment on Big Dave's blog, "you need to read the first two words of the clue as ‘period that has been lent (to you)’".

21a   Is he more concerned with chapter than verse? (4)

The clue is a cryptic definition. The definition, though phrased as a question, is essentially "someone who manages (is concerned with) a chapter". The remainder of the clue "more ... than verse" provides the necessary element of misdirection to make the clue cryptic rather than merely being a straight definition.

A chapter^[5] is the governing body of a religious community or knightly order ⇒ land granted by the Dean and Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral.

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.

22a   Being cut off from the world lose direct involvement (10)

Despite appearing at the beginning of the clue, the word "being" serves as a link between the wordplay and definition. This becomes clear once one restates the clue without the inverted sentence structure:

• Lose direct involvement being cut off from the world.

25a   Describing insects with wings of short span (9)

In biology, ephemeral^[2] is an adjective denoting a plant or animal that completes its life cycle within weeks, days or even hours, e.g. the mayfly and many desert plants.

26a   Cancel right to go in peace (5)

27a   Three quarters of hour setting down song about daughter -- or the Virgin Mary? (3,4)

Our Lady^[5] is a title used for the Virgin Mary.

28a   Delay decision for what bishop does with his throne (3,2,2)

Down

1d   Dad locks up an outcast (6)

2d   Break a leg in film studio (6)

Ealing Studios^[7] is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Films have been made on the site since 1902, making it the oldest continuously working studio facility for film production in the world. The current stages were opened for the use of sound in 1931. The BBC owned and filmed at the Studios for forty years from 1955 until 1995. Since 2000, Ealing Studios has resumed releasing films under its own name.

3d   Principal finding company in one churchman or another (10)

The implied definition is "another [churchman]" (i.e., a churchman different from the one appearing in the wordplay). The first churchman referred to is the one from 21a.

In the Church of England, an archdeacon^[2] is a member of the clergy who ranks just below a bishop.

4d   Course of salts? (5)

I would say that this is a cryptic definition rather than a double definition. In my opinion, "salts" is an allusion to Epsom and not a definition of Epsom.

Epsom Downs^[7] is a Grade 1 racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, England. The "downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs, a ridge of chalk hills in south east England. The course is best known for hosting the Epsom Derby, the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and fillies, over a mile and a half (2400m). It also hosts the Epsom Oaks for three-year-old fillies and the Coronation Cup for all ages over the same distance.

Epsom salts^[5] are crystals of hydrated magnesium sulphate used as a purgative or for other medicinal use [Chemical formula: MgSO₄.7H₂O].

5d   Find oneself in the groove? Quite the opposite! (3,2,1,3)

While the solution literally means to find oneself in a groove, figuratively it denotes just the opposite.

6d   The original wildlife conservationist? (4)

In the Bible, Noah^[5] was a Hebrew patriarch represented as tenth in descent from Adam. According to a story in Genesis he made the ark which saved his family and specimens of every animal from the Flood.

7d   Objects after tips turned out to be salary payments (8)

8d   Beach types who are said to exemplify happiness (8)

I have come to a completely different conclusion on the definition than did Miffypops in his review.

A sandboy^[2] is a boy selling sand. I seriously doubt that they ply their trade on a beach. Therefore, I would say that "beach types" is an allusion to — and not a definition of — 'sandboys'.

Happy as a sandboy^[10] (or jolly as a sandboy) is an expression [likely British] meaning very happy or high-spirited.

13d   Promise loyalty (10)

15d   See where they work? (3,6)

One must interpret this clue as "[A] see [is] where they work".

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

16d   A strange way to have been God's 'fireproof third party'? (8)

In the Bible, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego^[7] are men recorded in the book of Daniel Chapters 1–3, known for their exclusive devotion to God. In particular, they are known for being saved by divine intervention from the Babylonian execution of being burned alive in a fiery furnace. They were three young Jews, of royal or noble birth from the Kingdom of Judah, who, along with Daniel, were inducted into Babylon when Jerusalem was occupied by the Babylonians in 606/605 BC, under the campaign of Nebuchadnezzar II, during the first deportation of the Israelites.

Abednego is customarily listed as the third party among these young men who failed to burn in the fiery furnace.

17d   He'd like to give us all a good talking-to once a week (8)

19d   Put in orders (6)

The phrase in holy orders^[5] denotes having the status of an ordained member of the clergy ⇒ his friend in holy orders.

20d   Notice a gap coming in the church calendar (6)

In Christian theology, Advent^[5] denotes the coming or second coming of Christ. Advent^[5] is also the name of the first season of the Church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays.

With reference to the comment by Miffypops in his review, I could find no support for his assertion that Advent also refers to "the period leading up to ... Easter". In fact, the period leading up to Easter is called Lent (see 18a).

23d   Small marine detachments (5)

24d   Novel companion for Nelson (4)

Emma^[7], by English author Jane Austen (1775–1817), is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815.

Emma, Lady Hamilton (1765–1815) is best remembered as the mistress of British admiral Lord Nelson and as the muse of English portrait painter George Romney.

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