Friday, October 31, 2014

Friday, October 31, 2014 — DT 27510


Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 27510
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Saturday, June 7, 2014
Setter
Unknown
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27510 – Hints]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27510 – Review]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Big Dave (Hints)
crypticsue (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

In my case, this puzzle was certainly not the walk in the park that it seems to have been for crypticsue. While I did eventually complete it without resorting to help from my electronic assistants, it was not done without working up a mild sweat.

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. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   English after morsel of food /and/ pickle (6)

4a   A small prayer // against being recorded in manuscript (6)

Here, "prayer" is used whimsically to mean one who prays. A mantis[5] (also called praying mantis) is a slender predatory insect with a triangular head, which waits motionless for prey with its large forelegs folded like hands in prayer.

8a   Flower // appeared to get weak, left to go west (8)

A camellia[5] is an evergreen East Asian shrub related to the tea plant, grown for its showy flowers and shiny leaves.

10a   Clergyman // to look after collection (6)

A curate[5] is a member of the clergy engaged as assistant to a vicar, rector, or parish priest.

11a   Last // guy // to put off (4)

A triple definition.

12a   Four-footed form /of/ vehicle to wobble about (10)

A tetrameter[10] is a line of verse consisting of four metrical feet.

13a   Area in front of stage /where/ theatric pros will cavort (9,3)

16a   Awkward // container ship carrying oil over America (12)

Awkward[5] is used in the sense of deliberately unreasonable or uncooperative ⇒ you’re being damned awkward!.

In cricket, an over[5] (abbreviation O[5]) is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

20a   New stationer having reorganised first /is/ booming (10)

21a   Criminal group // go for Scots (4)

In the Scottish dialect, gang[5] means go or proceed ⇒ gang to your bed, lass.

22a   Gave approval to // letter spelled out in dictionary (6)

OED[5] is the abbreviation for Oxford English Dictionary.

23a   Emperor /gives/ his refusal to hold a stake (8)

I wasted a good deal of time trying to work Nero into the solution. I was also toying with an incorrect solution at 18d which further complicated the situation.

The nationality of this Emperor (being the antecedent of the pronoun "his") plays a significant role in the clue.

Napoleon I[5] (1769–1821) was emperor of France 1804–14 and 1815; full name Napoleon Bonaparte; known as Napoleon. In 1799 Napoleon joined a conspiracy which overthrew the Directory, becoming the supreme ruler of France. He declared himself emperor in 1804, and established an empire stretching from Spain to Poland. After defeats at Trafalgar (1805) and in Russia (1812), he abdicated and was exiled to the island of Elba (1814). He returned to power in 1815, but was defeated at Waterloo and exiled to the island of St Helena.

The French word for no is non[8].

24a   Overnight flight from America /carrying/ communist spy (3-3)

Red-eye[5] (also called red-eye flight) is an informal, chiefly North American term for a flight on which a passenger cannot expect to get much sleep on account of the time of departure or arrival ⇒ she caught the red-eye back to New York.

25a   Man on board // to consider going back round Gibraltar initially (6)

A knight[5] is a chess piece [in other words, a man on a chessboard], typically with its top shaped like a horse’s head, that moves by jumping to the opposite corner of a rectangle two squares by three. Each player starts the game with two knights.

Gibraltar[5] is a British overseas territory near the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar; population 28,800 (est. 2009); languages, English (official), Spanish. Occupying a site of great strategic importance, Gibraltar consists of a fortified town and military base at the foot of a rocky headland, the Rock of Gibraltar. Britain captured it during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1704 and is responsible for its defence, external affairs, and internal security.

Down

1d   Breaks /for/ mad fellow on board (8)

This time, "on board" does not refer to a chessboard. Rather, it indicates 'on a ship'. Of course, in Crosswordland, a ship is almost invariably a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS[10]. Thus "on board (ship)" is code for 'contained in SS'.

The Hatter[7] (called Hatta in Through the Looking-Glass) is a fictional character in English writer Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and the story's sequel Through the Looking-Glass (1871). He is often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Carroll. The phrase "mad as a hatter" pre-dates Carroll's works and the characters the Hatter and the March Hare are initially referred to as "both mad" by the Cheshire Cat, with both first appearing in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in the seventh chapter titled "A Mad Tea-Party".

2d   Eating a lot but shunning starter /to get/ thin (5)

Starter[5] is a chiefly British term [according to Oxford Dictionaries Online, but certainly a term that is far from being foreign to Canada] meaning the first course of a meal.

The solution is pretty much the opposite of 20a.

3d   Biblical judge's // exercises (7)

Pontius Pilate[5] (died circa 36 AD) was a Roman procurator of Judaea circa 26-circa 36. He is remembered for presiding at the trial of Jesus Christ and authorizing his crucifixion.

Pilates[10] is a system of gentle exercise performed lying down that stretches and lengthens the muscles, designed to improve posture, flexibility, etc. It is named after Joseph Pilates (1880–1967), its German inventor.

5d   Bright light /shows/ a king vice (3-4)

Rex[5] (abbreviation R[5]) [Latin for king] denotes the reigning king, used following a name (e.g. Georgius Rex, King George) or in the titles of lawsuits (e.g. Rex v. Jones, the Crown versus Jones — often shortened to R. v. Jones).

Vice[5] is the British spelling of vise, a metal tool with movable jaws which are used to hold an object firmly in place while work is done on it, typically attached to a workbench.

6d   People in Twin Peaks // a cause of pain (9)

Twin Peaks[7] is an American television serial drama set in a small, fictional Washington town of that name. The show which follows an investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) ran on ABC in 1990 and 1991.

7d   Group support // the chair (6)

9d   Nasty oriental cat // spat (11)

14d   Journalist's note viewed /as/ clichéd (9)

15d   Count rat that's treacherous /as/ one? (8)

The pronoun "one" is standing in for 'a rat'.

17d   Signal agreement holding on // when sun is hottest (7)

Ay is a variant spelling of aye[5], an archaic or dialect — with a couple of exceptions — exclamation said to express assent ⇒ aye, you’re right there. The term is still used in voting to signify "I assent" ⇒ all in favour say aye and in nautical circles, in the form aye aye, as a response accepting an order ⇒ aye aye, captain.

18d   Relative gets doctor in /for/ most important person (7)

For a while, I worked on the eventually disproven theory that the definition might be "relative" with the solution being KINSMAN. I was far from sold on this approach as I was unable to come up with a viable — or any — explanation for the wordplay. However, it still managed to disrupt my efforts to solve 23a.

19d   He created a vampire // who feeds a furnace (6)

Bram Stoker[5] (1847–1912) was an Irish novelist and theatre manager; full name Abraham Stoker. He was secretary and touring manager to the actor Henry Irving but is chiefly remembered as the author of the vampire story Dracula (1897).

21d   Some Caligula gaoled // where state's enemies were held (5)

Gaol[5] is an alternative British spelling of jail.

Caligula[5] (AD 12-41) was Roman emperor 37-41; born Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus. His reign was notorious for its tyrannical excesses.

Gulag[5] is the name for a system of labour camps maintained in the Soviet Union from 1930 to 1955 in which many people died. The name is Russian, from G(lavnoe) u(pravlenie ispravitelʹno-trudovykh) lag(ereĭ) 'Chief Administration for Corrective Labour Camps'.
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

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Thursday, October 30, 2014 — DT 27509


Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 27509
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Friday, June 6, 2014
Setter
Giovanni (Don Manley)
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27509]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Deep Threat
BD Rating
Difficulty - ★★ Enjoyment - ★★★★
Falcon's Experience
┌────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┬────┐
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└────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┴────┘
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

Fortunately, Giovanni pitched a fairly gentle puzzle at us today. I have been struggling lately to find the time needed to get the blog out so a bit of a reprieve is much appreciated.

However, I did not pick up on the theme in the puzzle which appeared in the UK on the 70th anniversary of D-Day. In his review, Deep Threat points out the significance of some of the solutions. He indicates that "the D-Day codewords are the ones which got the then Daily Telegraph setter into trouble when they appeared in his crosswords ahead of the event".

The error at 1a threw me for a bit and I even checked on Big Dave's site to see what the correct wording of the clue should be. As it turns out, a question mark has usurped the spot that should be occupied by a hyphen.

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. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Crossing heather pass odd-looking // little trees (8)

The National Post managed to replace the hyphen with a question mark which certainly made for an odd-looking clue — especially given that said question mark happened to be positioned at the end of the first line of the clue.

Ling[5] is another name for the common heather (Calluna vulgaris), a purple-flowered Eurasian heath that grows abundantly on moorland and heathland.

5a   Bad feeling /from/ bishop leaving a cloud (6)

B[5] is an abbreviation for bishop that is used in recording moves in chess.

9a   Boss // going about in old Rover (8)

Rover[7] was a British automotive marque used between 1904 and 2005. It was launched as a bicycle maker called Rover Company in 1878, before manufacturing cars in 1904. From 1967 onward, ownership of the marque changed many times as the result of a series of corporate takeovers, mergers, nationalisation, and de-mergers. In April 2005, Rover branded cars ceased to be produced when the MG Rover Group became insolvent.
Operation Overlord[7] was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings (Operation Neptune, commonly known as D-Day).
10a   Servant // still left attending Queen (6)

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.

12a   Ephemeral // article is about to be submerged in river (9)

The Trent[5] is the chief river of central England, which rises in Staffordshire and flows 275 km (170 miles) generally north-eastwards, uniting with the River Ouse 25 km (15 miles) west of Hull to form the Humber estuary.

13a   Vigilant // husband of Victoria, not British (5)

Prince Albert[5] (1819–1861) was consort to Queen Victoria and prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

14a   Get rid of // mould (4)

16a   Artist /exhibiting/ pig paintings maybe by entrance to hotel (7)

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

William Hogarth[7] (1697–1764) was an English painter and engraver. Notable works include his series of engravings on ‘modern moral subjects’, such as A Rake’s Progress (1735), which satirized the vices of both high and low life in 18th-century England.

19a   University // library offers facility for this (7)

The University of Reading[7] is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, United Kingdom.

21a   Elegant // fabric concealing article (4)

24a   US city /given/ prestigious UK award — gosh! (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).
Omaha Beach[7], commonly known as Omaha, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II.
25a   Job wasn't // quiet -- it meant I worried about it (9)

Piano[3,5] (abbreviation p[5]), is a musical direction meaning either (as an adjective) soft or quiet or (as an adverb) softly or quietly.

In the Bible, Job[5] was a 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.

27a   Strange // old sweetheart needs love, twitching (6)

In tennis, squash, and some other sports, love[5] is a score of zero or nil ⇒ love fifteen. The resemblance of a zero written as a numeral (0) to the letter O leads to the cryptic crossword convention of the word "love" being used to clue this letter.

28a   Final words /from/ a posh minister, one entertained by soldiers (2,6)

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 "characteristic of the upper class" (such as posh or superior) or "appropriate to the upper class" (such as acceptable).

In the British armed forces, the term other ranks[5] (abbreviation OR[5]) refers to all those who are not commissioned officers.

Au revoir[5] is an exclamation (adopted from French) meaning goodbye until we meet again ⇒ here’s hoping it is au revoir and not goodbye.

29a   London's No. 1 home -- home given good // protection (6)

The abbreviation G[10] for good likely relates to its use in grading school assignments or tests.

30a   Support // journalist established in China (8)

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'.

Down

1d   Freckled // little son being toilet-trained it seems! (6)

Another way of expressing the wordplay would be "little son is on the potty". Also, keep in mind that this is a down clue.

2d   Pair beginning to enjoy wonderful // home -- temporary one? (6)

These sort of homes don't necessarily have to be temporary, but that is likely the reason the setter has included a question mark.

3d   Passages sealed off at the top /in/ British locations, say? (5)

I think one has to think of "seal off" in the sense of 'separate from' rather than 'plug'. In a down clue, when the topmost letter of AISLES has been sealed off from the remaining letters, we are left with ISLES.
Update (2014-11-02): Physicist on Big Dave's blog provides a better explanation, "when you seal something, you take away the opening".
The British Isles[5] are a group of islands lying off the coast of northwestern Europe, from which they are separated by the North Sea and the English Channel. They include Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Hebrides, the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands, the Scilly Isles, and the Channel Islands.

4d   Maybe a jacket // fellow's hung over part of chair (7)

6d   Ruin a leg, having to run around with a // sort of pain (9)

7d   Happy about university getting pounds -- // it should bear fruit (8)
A Mulberry harbour[7] was a portable temporary harbour developed by the British in World War II to facilitate rapid offloading of cargo onto the beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy.
8d   Like many an old record /making one/ bad-tempered (8)

The link phrase "making one" should be interpreted as 'producing the result (making) [for] the solver (one)'.

According to Oxford Dictionaries Online, scratchy[5] can be used as an adjective meaning bad-tempered or irritable ⇒ she was a little abrupt and scratchy.

11d   Four members of that university set up /in/ American state (4)
Utah Beach[7] was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, during World War II.
15d   Liveliness /of/ one maiden in a race (9)

In cricket, a maiden[5], also known as a maiden over, (abbreviation M)[5] is an over in which no runs are scored. An over[5] is a division of play consisting of a sequence of six balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.

17d   Living in trees /in/ hole between a river and a lake (8)

Deep Threat tells us to start with a word meaning 'make a hole'. Yes, as a verb, this word means precisely that. But as a noun, it means a 'hole' which is a far better fit to this clue.

18d   Mum to hum softly when chewing a // biscuit (8)

What the setter calls a "biscuit", I would call a cookie. The British use the term biscuit[3,4,11] to refer to a range of foods that include those that would be called either cookies or a crackers in North America. A North American biscuit[5] is similar to a British scone.

20d   Member of film crew // to complain endlessly (4)

21d   Writer standing on head to make fine adjustments to // heavenly body (7)
The Normandy landings (codenamed Operation Neptune[7]) were the landing operations on 6 June 1944 (termed D-Day) of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II.
22d   The French profiteer /is/ released from prison (3,3)

In French, the masculine singular form of the definite article is le[8].

Tout[5] (also ticket tout) is the British term for a scalper[5], a person who buys up tickets for an event to resell them at a profit.

23d   Waxy stuff // coming from master, old (6)

26d   Those people taking priority over English // subject (5)

Giovanni signs off with a hint that there might be a theme in the puzzle.
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

Wednesday, October 29, 2014 — DT 27508


Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 27508
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Thursday, June 5, 2014
Setter
Unknown
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27508]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By
Falcon
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

Today, I very quickly recognized this as a puzzle that I had seen before. However, I was very nearly forced to look at my own hint for 8d. Fortunately, the penny dropped just as I was about to throw in the towel. I have a vague recollection that I got the solution to this clue in June without much difficulty due to having seen a very similar clue only a few days previous in another puzzle.

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. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Drink's needed by worker -- // an aid to office work? (9)

In Britain, a short[5] is a drink of spirits served in a small measure[5] [a container of standard capacity used for taking fixed amounts of a substance] or, as Collins English Dictionary puts it, a drink of spirits as opposed to a long drink such as beer[10].

6a   Inform on // German author (5)

In the UK, grass[5] is used informally as a noun to mean a police informer and as a verb meaning to inform the police of someone’s criminal activities or plans ⇒ someone had grassed on the thieves. This expression may derive from rhyming slang (grasshopper = copper).

Günter Grass[5] is a German novelist, poet, and dramatist. Notable works: The Tin Drum (novel, 1959) and The Flounder (novel, 1977). He was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize for Literature.

9a   A number heard before crashing? (7)

10a   English doctor entering quiet medical area -- // one that's deceptive? (3-6)

Emergency room[5] (abbreviation ER[5]) is a North American term. The equivalent British term would be either accident and emergency[5] (abbreviation A & E) or casualty department[5] (or casualty ward).

Oxford Dictionaries Online characterises GP[5] (abbreviation for general practitioner) as a British usage. Nevertheless, I would say that this abbreviation is certainly in widespread use in Canada.

11a   Unusual gripe in the morning? /That's/ saying (7)

12a   Comfort /given by/ vicar entertaining priest with little energy (7)

A rector[5] and a vicar[5] are both members of the clergy. In the the Church of England, a rector is an incumbent of a parish where all tithes formerly passed to the incumbent, whereas a vicar is an incumbent of a parish where tithes formerly passed to a chapter or religious house or layman.

 In the Bible, Eli[5] is a priest who acted as a teacher to the prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 1-3).

13a   Event requiring national crosses? (7,8)

17a   Trendy // resort from which bachelor's ejected (5-2)

Brighton[5] is a resort on the south coast of England, in East Sussex; population 127,700 (est. 2009).

Right-on[3] means up-to-date and sophisticated. Although I had supposed that it might be a British expression, I was surprised to find it listed in The American Heritage Dictionary. Oxford Dictionaries Online defines right-on[5] as an informal, often derogatory term meaning in keeping with fashionable liberal or left-wing opinions and values ⇒ the right-on music press. Collins English Dictionary says that right-on is an informal term denoting modern, trendy, and socially aware or relevant (i) The people that come to watch the play are all those right-on left-wing sort of people.; (ii) right-on green politics; (iii) the young, right-on student crowd.

19a   Severe // military bigwig detaining an American close to unit (7)

22a   Below par flavour /observed in/ less popular period (9)

23a   Judge and retiring society girl getting day /in/ growing area? (7)

The word "retiring" was omitted from the clue when it first appeared in the UK. The version of the puzzle on The Daily Telegraph website did get corrected at some point during the day of publication (see the comment that Big Dave inserted into my review at his website).

From my experience, the life cycle of a puzzle is as follows:
  1. The setter creates the puzzle and submits it to the puzzle editor.
  2. The puzzle editor and setter refine the puzzle.
  3. The puzzle is distributed in syndication.
  4. The puzzle editor may make changes to the puzzle (with or without consulting the setter) after it has been distributed in syndication. These (and subsequent) changes do not appear in the syndicated puzzle (which has already been distributed).
  5. The puzzle is prepared for publication. Errors may be introduced during the production process. These errors sometimes also carry forward to the online version of the puzzle.
  6. The online version of the puzzle is posted to the website. Errors introduced at this point affect only the online version of the puzzle.
Given that no one on Big Dave's site reported differently, the error was likely present in both the print version and the online version of the puzzle in Britain. As the error does not appear in the syndicated version of the puzzle, we can assume that it was likely introduced during the production process at The Daily Telegraph.

24a   Ground // that's blocked near thoroughfare (5)

25a   Inspector in the flying squad? (4,5)

Flying squad[5] (as we are meant to interpret it in the surface reading) is a British term for a division of a police force or other organization which is capable of reaching an incident quickly ⇒ (i) the gang were caught by the Flying Squad; (ii) a medical flying squad.

Down

1d   Comfort // thus found with delicate fabric (6)

2d   Old boy damaged violin, /showing/ forgetfulness (8)

In Britain, an old boy[5] (abbreviation OB[2])  is (1) a former male student of a school or college ⇒an old boy of Banbury County School or (2) a former male member of a sports team or company ⇒the White Hart Lane old boy squared the ball to present an easy chance from 12 yards. It is also a chiefly British affectionate form of address to a boy or man ⇒ ‘Look here, old boy,’ he said.

3d   Problem /in/ police device around Spain (6)

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Spain is E[5] [from Spanish España].

4d   A yard in run-down area /provides/ refuge (6)

5d   Husky, perhaps, actor Richard goes over line /in/ poor poetry (8)

Richard Gere[7] is an American actor. Among his film credits is a starring role opposite Julia Roberts in the 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman.

6d   Come out /as/ one involved in US party club that's riotous (2,6)

GOP[5] stands for Grand Old Party, a nickname for the Republican Party in the US.

7d   /Get/ a place on course about extremely traditional // PM (6)

Although it appears at the beginning of the clue, the word "get" would appear to serve effectively the same purpose as a link word.

Clement Attlee[5], 1st Earl Attlee (1883–1967) was a British Labour statesman, Prime Minister 1945–51. His term saw the creation of the modern welfare state and the nationalization of major industries.

8d   Theatre worker capturing actor's heart, // provider of delicacy? (8)

13d   A logger working round year /is/ grotesque figure (8)

14d   Make economies -- /and/ have another dig? (8)

15d   What paparazzi might get /in/ improbable venture (4,4)

16d   Labs unit planned /in/ foreign city (8)

Istanbul[5] is a port in Turkey on the Bosporus, lying partly in Europe, partly in Asia; population 10,757,300 (est. 2007). Formerly the Roman city of Constantinople (330–1453), it was built on the site of the ancient Greek city of Byzantium. It was captured by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 and was the capital of Turkey from that time until 1923.

18d   Boss // upset man in the middle with cigarette (6)

Gaffer[5] is an informal British term for a person in charge of others; in other words, a boss ⇒ street cleaners stopping for a smoke when their gaffer isn’t in the vicinity.

19d   Church students holding second // count (6)

The Church of England[10] (abbreviation CE[10]) is the reformed established state Church in England, Catholic in order and basic doctrine, with the Sovereign as its temporal head.

You may recall from yesterday that, in the UK, NUS[5] is the abbreviation for the National Union of Students[5], a confederation of students’ unions in the United Kingdom.

20d   Maintenance // that, if followed, produces secret look? (6)

This is an inverse wordplay type of clue — specifically an inverse reversal. The solution to the clue consists of a reversal indicator and its fodder, with the result of the reversal being found in or given by the clue.

The solution is UPKEEP which, if split (2,4), could be used in a down clue in a cryptic crossword as wordplay indicating a reversal (up) of KEEP giving the result PEEK (secret look).

The wordplay tells us that if we follow the instructions (UP KEEP) given in the solution to the clue, the result will be a synonym for 'secret look'.

21d   Councillor shortly getting correct // praise (6)

Cr[5] is the abbreviation for Councillor.

The wordplay is CR (Councillor shortly; abbreviation (shortly) for Councillor) + (getting) EDIT (correct).
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

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Tuesday, October 28, 2014 — DT 27507


Puzzle at a Glance
Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph
DT 27507
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Setter
Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review
Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27507]
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

This fairly gentle puzzle from Jay should not cause you to raise an excessive sweat.

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. Explicit link words and phrases are enclosed in forward slashes (/link/) and implicit links are shown as double forward slashes (//).

Across

1a   Responsible prisoner/'s/ time -- out of practice! (6)

When used as a link word, the 's is interpreted as a contraction of is.

4a   Story about a ship/'s/ dog in pictures (6)

I long ago discovered that a ship in Crosswordland is almost invariably a steamship, the abbreviation for which is SS[10].

Lassie[7] is a fictional female collie dog character created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, Knight's novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six other MGM feature films through 1951. Pal's owner and trainer Rudd Weatherwax then acquired the Lassie name and trademark from MGM and appeared with Pal (as "Lassie") at rodeos, fairs, and similar events across America in the early 1950s. In 1954, the long-running, Emmy winning television series Lassie debuted, and, over the next 19 years, a succession of Pal's descendants appeared on the series. The "Lassie" character has appeared in radio, television, film, toys, comic books, animated series, juvenile novels, and other media. Pal's descendants continue to play Lassie today.

If the illustration used by Big Dave appears very British, it is because it comes from the theatrical release poster for Lassie[7], a 2005 remake of the original story, which was filmed in Scotland, Ireland and on the Isle of Man.

Those — such as myself — who are familiar with Lassie only from the television series will no doubt be surprised to learn that the original story was set in Yorkshire, England and not in the US.

8a   Odd sock/'s/ potential cause of merriment (3,5)

Rum[5] is a dated informal British term meaning odd or peculiar ⇒ it’s a rum business, certainly.

10a   Roofing material /for/ brood on top of tree (6)

11a   Just // loud music (4)

Forte[5] (abbreviation f[5]) is a musical direction meaning (as an adjective) loud or (as an adverb) loudly.

12a   Open // popular castle regularly occupied by herald (10)

In ancient Rome, an augur[5] was a religious official who observed natural signs, especially the behaviour of birds, interpreting these as an indication of divine approval or disapproval of a proposed action. Today the term augur[3,4,11] has come to mean a seer, prophet or soothsayer.

13a   Unhappy /and /confused client, so sad, accepts ring (12)

16a   A barrier /for/ good girl securing broadcast? (5,7)

20a   Where a sommelier might be // cooking tuna rarest (10)

21a   Policeman embracing universal // success (4)

Under the British system of film classification[7] a U (for 'universal') rating indicates that a film is suitable "for all the family" — or, at any rate, for children over 4 years of age.

22a   Stung /by/ scrap -- then dismissing hospital (6)

23a   Rough cost /of/ redeveloping site with partner (8)

24a   Fail to embrace South American // neglect (6)

25a   Watch // nurse have a go (6)

In the UK, a State Enrolled Nurse[5] (abbreviation SEN) is a nurse enrolled on a state register and having a qualification lower than that of a State Registered Nurse.

Down

1d   A mist swirling around tabloid // catastrophes (8)

The Sun[7] is a daily tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and Ireland by a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

2d   Stimulant // that's found in shoe (5)

3d   Stress // formerly missing from new part of house (7)

5d   Important I guarantee to provide accommodation for // holiday destination (7)

Antigua[5] is One of the islands that make up the country of Antigua and Barbuda[5], a country consisting of three islands (Antigua, Barbuda, and Redonda) in the Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean; population 85,600 (est. 2009); languages, English (official), Creole; capital, St John’s (on Antigua). Discovered in 1493 by Columbus and settled by the English in 1632, Antigua became a British colony with Barbuda as its dependency; the islands gained independence within the Commonwealth in 1981.

6d   Air pocket occurring mid-flight? (9)

I think we have to accept this as one of those fanciful cryptic definitions for which there is no concrete explanation.

I pursued a number of fruitless leads in attempting to glean more from this clue than perhaps exists. I thought that "air" might possibly refer to the letters AIR occurring roughly in the middle of the word STAIRWELL. However, that does not appear to be the case. I also briefly flirted with the idea that "mid-flight" might be clueing the letters IG (the middle letters of flIGht). I even toyed with the notion that "mid-flight" could be referring to a landing.

Most dictionaries define stairwell[5] along the lines of a shaft in a building in which a staircase is built. However, I got some inspiration from the listing in The American Heritage Dictionary which defines stairwell[3] as a vertical shaft around which a staircase has been built. Thus one might conceivably think of the empty shaft at the centre of an open staircase as an "air-pocket". Granted this shaft is only part of the stairwell — with the stairs themselves occupying the remainder of the stairwell. Also a flight (a set of steps or stairs between one landing or floor and the next) is hardly synonymous with staircase — unless, of course, one is talking about a circular staircase (which has no landings).

7d   Quote by divorcee // to cause great emotion (6)

9d   Putin, say, // has to defeat revolutionary (4,2,5)

Vladimir Putin[5] is a Russian statesman, President 2000-8 and since 2012, Prime Minister 2008–2012.

14d   Muses // get a Stoic in trouble (9)

The surface reading is an allusion to Greek and Roman mythology, where the Muses[5] were the nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who preside over the arts and sciences. The Muses are generally listed as Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (flute playing and lyric poetry), Terpsichore (choral dancing and song), Erato (lyre playing and lyric poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Thalia (comedy and light verse), Polyhymnia (hymns, and later mime), and Urania (astronomy).

A Stoic[5] is a member of the school of Stoicism[5], an ancient Greek school of philosophy founded at Athens by Zeno of Citium. The school taught that virtue, the highest good, is based on knowledge; the wise live in harmony with the divine Reason (also identified with Fate and Providence) that governs nature, and are indifferent to the vicissitudes of fortune and to pleasure and pain.

15d   Attempt to underpin flower // business (8)

The setter uses flower in a whimsical cryptic crossword sense meaning something that flows — in other words, a river.

The Indus[5] is a river of southern Asia, about 2,900 km (1,800 miles) in length, flowing from Tibet through Kashmir and Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. Along its valley an early civilization flourished from circa 2600 to 1760 BC.

17d   Graduate // students supporting a learner with sign of hesitation (7)

In the UK, NUS[5] is the abbreviation for the National Union of Students[5], a confederation of students’ unions in the United Kingdom.

18d   Call // sir? (7)

I thought that this clue might simply be a cryptic definition. To call (someone) sir would be to award the title sir (to someone) or, in other words, to entitle (them).

However, Big Dave suggests that it is a double definition — although he clearly experiences some difficulty in his attempt to explain why. The first definition is straightforward ⇒ Margaret Atwood chose to call/entitle her first novel The Edible Woman. The second definition is far less clear. For the clue to be a double definition, sir would seem to have been used whimsically as a verb meaning to award the title of sir (to someone) ⇒ I hereby sir you/I hereby entitle you.

19d   Challenged // proof of title to cover Grand Prix racing (6)

FIA Formula One World Championship[7] (also Formula One, Formula 1, and F1) is the highest class of single-seat auto racing that is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The "formula", designated in the name, refers to a set of rules with which all participants' cars must comply. The F1 season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix (from French, originally meaning great prizes), held throughout the world on purpose-built circuits and public roads.

21d   Space traveller /finds/ the compiler in bed! (5)

It is a common cryptic crossword convention for the creator of the puzzle to use terms such as (the) compiler, (the) 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.

Cot[5] is the name used in Britain for a crib[5], a small bed with high barred sides for a baby or very young child..
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