Monday, December 1, 2014 — DT 27531

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27531
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27531]
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

I would second Big Dave's assessment that "this is a fairly straightforward puzzle". His comment indicating that he experienced some slight degree of difficulty with 1a reinforced my suspicion that this might be a North American expression. However, I found the term listed in a couple of British dictionaries, but not in North American dictionaries. Granted, the North American dictionaries are more dated than are the British ones, and this is a fairly recently coined term.

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   Budget holiday // planning at any cost must include Italy (10)

The International Vehicle Registration (IVR) code for Italy is I^[5].

6a   Tea, say, with small Scottish // dainty (4)

Wee^[5] is a chiefly Scottish adjective meaning little ⇒ (i) when I was just a wee bairn; (ii) the lyrics are a wee bit too sweet and sentimental. The word may be of Scottish origin but, like the Scots themselves, the word has migrated around the world.

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

9a   Go with lad /for/ thrills (5,2)

10a   Let off the hook, // sailors love getting drunk (7)

In the Royal Navy, according to Oxford Dictionaries Online, able seaman^[5] (abbreviation AB^[5]), is a rank of sailor above ordinary seaman and below leading seaman. On the other hand, Collins English Dictionary tells us that an able seaman^[10] (also called able-bodied seaman) is an ordinary seaman, especially one in the merchant navy, who has been trained in certain skills.

12a   Addition to bill /from/ mass accusation? (7,6)

14a   Symbolic tale /making you/ really upset about travel (8)

One should interpret the link phrase "making you" in the sense 'producing for you [the solver]'.

15a   Arrangement /by which/ mother is protected by garrison (6)

17a   Material /to give/ daughter a disguise (6)

19a   Fish // left in sink (8)

A flounder^[5] is any of several species of small flatfish typically found in shallow coastal water.

21a   Attention /paid in/ Mass (13)

The word "Mass" is deceptively — and quite deliberately — capitalized.

As a link word, the setter might be using pay^[10] in the sense of to yield a return of ⇒ the shares pay 15 per cent.

24a   Craftsman // pictures tax-free investment (new) (7)

In the UK, ISA^[5] stands for individual savings account, a scheme allowing individuals to hold cash, shares, and unit trusts free of tax on dividends, interest, and capital gains; in 1999 it replaced both personal equity plans (PEPs) and tax-exempt special savings accounts (TESSAs).

25a   Get rid of // boils spreading in a hospital (7)

26a   Thanks the Navy /for/ a feature of the Lake District (4)

Ta^[5] is an informal British exclamation signifying thank you ⇒‘Ta,’ said Willie gratefully.

The Royal Navy^[5] (abbreviation RN) is the British navy. It was the most powerful navy in the world from the 17th century until the Second World War.

A tarn^[5] is a small mountain lake.

27a   Writer met rate for changing // a line of verse (10)

Down

1d   Location /making/ sense in audition (4)

2d   One can under pressure! (7)

3d   Resist charges for designing // machines in store (4,9)

4d   Fresher-smelling South // African city (8)

Although I didn't think of it as meaning "fresh", according to Chambers 21st Century Dictionary tangy^[2] means with a fresh sharp smell or flavour.

Tangiers^[5] is a seaport on the northern coast of Morocco, on the Strait of Gibraltar commanding the western entrance to the Mediterranean; population 762,583 (2004). Portuguese from the end of the 15th century, Tangier was ruled by the sultan of Morocco 1684–1904, when it came under international control; it passed to the newly independent monarchy of Morocco in 1956.

5d   Love to put a value on // talk (5)

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.

7d   New law from /producing/ metal (7)

Wolfram^[10] is another name for tungsten^[10]. The symbol for this element (W) is derived from the former name.

8d   Simple // carbon, for example, used on a railway (10)

11d   What children may have to wear /for/ lunch, if room so untidy (6,7)

13d   Convenient-sounding ship/'s/ activity requiring skill (10)

16d   Affable // student welcomed by country worker once (8)

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.

18d   Brute/'s/ in form -- on steroids! (7)

20d   Surgeon /has/ time in study first (7)

22d   Touch /that's/ integral to getting even (5)

23d   Person who does clean // fish (4)

Char^[5] is another name for a charwoman^[5], a dated British term for a woman employed as a cleaner in a house or office.

Since do^[5], is an informal British term meaning to do the cleaning for a person or household ⇒ Florrie usually did for the Shermans in the mornings, might the setter have chosen to word the clue simply:

• Person who does // fish (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