Wednesday, September 3, 2014 — DT 27466

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27466
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, April 17, 2014
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27466]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Big Dave
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

There is no doubt as to the authorship of this puzzle. RayT certainly delivers a top-notch effort today. He even serves up a double helping of Queen.

I nearly threw in the towel with a handful of clues remaining unsolved. Instead, I set the puzzle aside and did a few chores. When I returned, the remaining clues soon fell into place. Rather than continue to stare at what seems to be a blank wall, I find that it helps to glance away for a period. When one then turns one's eyes back to the formerly blank wall, patterns often start to emerge.

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   Choose one spiritualist, say, seeing bright future (10)

6a   The French socialist leader's not so much! (4)

In French, the plural form of the definite article is les^[8].

9a   House radiolocation case in plane's broken instruments (10)

An alpenhorn^[5] is a very long valveless wooden wind instrument played like a horn and used for signalling in the Alps.

10a   Capital left in Midland account initially (4)

Lima^[5] is the capital of Peru; population 7,605,700 (est. 2007). Founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro, it was the capital of the Spanish colonies in South America until the 19th century.

12a   The setter scoffs empty dog's dinner (4)

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.

A dog's dinner^[5] (or a dog's breakfast) is an informal British expression for a poor piece of work or, in other words, a mess ⇒ we made a real dog’s breakfast of it. I would say that the latter version of the expression is common in North America; the former not so much.

13a   Struggle by English head to follow American familiarity (9)

Usually found in place names, ness^[5] means a headland or promontory ⇒ Orford Ness.

15a   Reject record hit penning single (8)

16a   Female convert producing flag (6)

18a   Where drivers are found to get offensive (6)

20a   Rasputin upset religious moralists (8)

The Puritans^[5] were a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church under Elizabeth I as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship.

23a   Wounded, holding one end of arm cut off (9)

24a   Miss daughter born first (4)

26a   Send out text messages, endlessly affected (4)

Tweet^[5] means to make a posting on the social media website Twitter ⇒ she tweeted a picture of them smiling at the camera.

Twee^[5] is a British term meaning excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental ⇒ although the film’s a bit twee, it’s watchable.

27a   Depository shooter used, almost shot (10)

Whether intentional or not, the clue evokes the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald^[7], fired the fatal shots from the Texas School Book Depository where he was an employee. When arrested by Dallas police, Oswald denied shooting anybody, claiming he was a patsy. However, the clue ends on a false note. While being transferred from police headquarters to the county jail, Oswald was shot and mortally wounded by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby in full view of television cameras broadcasting live.

28a   Act fit for the audience (4)

29a   City of Rome spoilt in ruins (10)

Down

1d   China topped by old gem (4)

In Britain, china^[5] is an informal term for a friend (or, as the Brits would say, a mate^[5]). This comes from Cockney rhyming slang, where china is the shortened form of china plate which rhymes with 'mate'.

2d   Hats with cork tip dangling below (7)

In the surface reading, cork tip^[10] is apparently an old term for a cigarette having a filter of cork or some material resembling cork.

3d   It defines one or two, but not many! (12)

4d   Uneven fusion of disco and rap (8)

... a fusion of disco and rap! Heaven forbid!

5d   Using some education I analyse ancient Greek (6)

The Ionians^[5] were an ancient Hellenic people inhabiting Attica, parts of western Asia Minor, and the Aegean islands in pre-classical times. Apparently displaced from some areas by the Dorians in the 11th or 12th century BC, they retained their settlements in Attica, especially Athens, where they were responsible for some of the greatest achievements of classical Greece.

7d   Distinguished rapper nearly meets nastiest outsiders (7)

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, better known by his stage name Eminem^[7] and by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and actor. In addition to his solo career, Eminem is a member of the group D12, as well as one half of the hip hop duo Bad Meets Evil, alongside Royce da 5'9". Eminem is the best-selling artist of the 2000s in the United States.

8d   One having pins and needles in hands? (10)

11d   Bond is on alert breaking in (12)

This clue evokes agent 007.

14d   Broad, mini's terribly constricting run (10)

17d   'Killer Queen' after instrument's turned up by Queen (8)

The regnal ciphers (monograms) of British monarchs are initials formed from the Latin version of their first name followed by either Rex or Regina (Latin for king or queen, respectively). Thus, the regnal cipher of Queen Elizabeth is ER^[5] — from the Latin Elizabetha Regina.

19d   Observe using some miniature spectacles (7)

21d   Like former wife, coupled topless without libido (7)

22d   Bust, perhaps, is acceptable in shape (6)

In Britain, U^[5] is used informally as an adjective (in respect to language or social behaviour) meaning characteristic of or appropriate to the upper social classes ⇒ U manners. The term, an abbreviation of  upper class, was coined in 1954 by Alan S. C. Ross, professor of linguistics, and popularized by its use in Nancy Mitford's Noblesse Oblige (1956). In Crosswordland, it is frequently clued by words denoting upper class such as posh or superior — or, as today, acceptable.

25d   Caresses move upwards (4)

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