Tuesday, November 11, 2014 — DT 27504 (Bonus Puzzle)

Remembering those fallen — in battles long ago and far away and more recently closer to home

Prologue

This being Remembrance Day in Canada, the National Post did not publish. For those readers who cannot bear to pass a day without a puzzle, here is one that the National Post skipped on October 27.

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27504
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Saturday, May 31, 2014
Setter Cephas (Peter Chamberlain)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27504 – Hints] Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27504 – 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
The National Post skipped this puzzle which, according to the established publishing schedule, would have otherwise appeared on Monday, October 27, 2014. 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

This puzzle is surprisingly light on Briticisms and specialized references that I deem might be unfamiliar to some solvers and therefore worthy of being explained in the blog.

I failed to notice (as usual) that this puzzle is a pangram — one in which the solutions to the clues contain at least one instance of every letter of the alphabet.

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

8a   Cannot, in rush, put back // container (8)

9a   A maiden accustomed /to be/ tickled (6)

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.

10a   Before final letter, make a charge against // shipping route (4)

The Suez Canal^[5] is a shipping canal connecting the Mediterranean at Port Said with the Red Sea. It was constructed between 1859 and 1869 by Ferdinand de Lesseps. From 1888 it was a neutral zone under British protection; its nationalization by Egypt in 1956 prompted the Suez crisis.

11a   Lacking variety /when/ under the weather (3,2,5)

12a   Accompanying a learner driver, // moreover (6)

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.

14a   Gas main? (5,3)

The surface reading alludes to the pipe that delivers gas to your home. However, cryptically the clue is a reference to where the gas might have originated.

The main^[5] is an archaic or literary term for the open ocean.

I think that Big Dave's statement "a type of domestic gas" refers to the fact that this resource is produced domestically (from a UK perspective). The North Sea has been an important oil and gas producing region since the early 1970s^[7].

North Sea Gas also happens to be the name of a Scottish musical group.

15a   Excited when dealing with notes (7)

Agitato^[5] is a musical direction meaning agitated in manner ⇒ allegro agitato.

17a   Credit given with dodgy quote -- /it's/ a competitive game (7)

20a   Trade /in/ former money (8)

22a   Provide space for books // put aside (6)

23a   Bright idea // to hit kid on the head? (10)

24a   Evident one is not included /in/ project (4)

25a   Show remorse /being/ locked up for at least the second time (6)

A double definition with the second being a bit on the whimsical side.

26a   Avalanche /that's seen at/ end of voyage? (8)

A landfall^[5] is a a collapse of a mass of land; in other words, a landslide ⇒ a landfall had blocked off the river centuries back.

Landfall^[5] is also an arrival at land on a sea or air journey ⇒ (i) we planned a day with landfalls at Hrensko and Bad Schandau; (ii) he made landfall and fixed his position.

Down

1d   Giving no answer (8)

2d   Music /that produces/ initially just a snoring sound (4)

3d   Way to go round // promenade? (6)

4d   Behave unnaturally // before nurse (7)

5d   Traveller/'s/ manner gets lighter in conversation (8)

6d   Nasty chore, standing in queue after arranging // method of payment (10)

A Eurocheque^[6] is a cheque issued under an arrangement between European banks that enables account-holders from one country to use their cheques in another.

7d   When warmed up, one should sing (6)

13d   One who gives the thumbs-up sign by the way (5-5)

16d   Persistence /needs/ certainty -- possibly not right (8)

18d   Inevitable without it becoming // sought-after (8)

19d   Medium/'s/ car? (7)

21d   Ruler /in/ double-cross, partly taken in by crooked seer (6)

Xerxes I^[5] (circa 519–465 BC), son of Darius I, was king of Persia 486–465. His invasion of Greece achieved victories in 480 at Artemisium and Thermopylae, but defeats at Salamis (480) and Plataea (479) forced him to withdraw.

22d   I would make notes about // short track (6)

24d   Advertisement/'s/ turned up very loud (4)

Fortissimo^[5] (abbreviation ff^[5]) is a direction used in music to mean either (as an adjective) very loud  or (as an adverb) very loudly.

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