Monday, May 25, 2015 — DT 27669

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27669
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Setter Jay (Jeremy Mutch)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27669]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By 2Kiwis
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's puzzle is from Jay—and it delivers pretty much everything that we have come to expect from him.

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 (//). Definitions presented in blue text are for terms that appear frequently.

Across

1a   Henry I has only // fish (7)

Hal^[nameberry] is a venerable nickname for Henry, Harry [itself a variant of Henry (see below)] and Harold, famously used by Shakespeare in King Henry IV as the name of the king's son, the future Henry V.

Harry was considered the "spoken form" of Henry^[7] in medieval England. Most English kings named Henry were called Harry. At one time, the name was so popular for English men that the phrase "Tom, Dick, and Harry" was used to refer to everyone.

Scratching the Surface
Henry I[5] (1068–1135) was the youngest son of William I, reigned 1100–35. His only son drowned in 1120, and although Henry extracted an oath of loyalty to his daughter Matilda from the barons in 1127, his death was followed almost immediately by the outbreak of civil war.

5a   Bed in untidy heap? // One might say 'Rest in peace' (7)

Pit^[5] is an informal British term for a person's bed.

9a   Distress // increases, then energy taxes cut by 80 per cent (5)

Ups meaning increases as in the expression ups the ante.

In physics, E^[5] is a symbol used to represent energy.

10a   Remember // to pick up after unloading rifle (9)

11a   Chef/'s/ unusual blunder -- cook ultimately dismissed (6,4)

As a noun, cordon bleu^[5] means a cook or chef of the highest class.

12a   Travel document /for/ five with savings account (4)

In the UK, an ISA^[5] (individual savings account) is 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).

14a   Complete cost of transport /for/ public highway (12)

18a   Business group /needing/ a long-term CEO to be sacked (12)

21a   Lot of money /made from/ failure (4)

A bomb^[5] is an informal British term for a large sum of money ⇒ that silk must have cost a bomb.

22a   Prejudiced, /and/ keen on verbal onslaught about the French (10)

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

25a   A dentist worried about love // potions (9)

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.

26a   Definitive book /showing/ business leader in ill-humour (5)

The word bible^[5] is used informally to denote a book regarded as authoritative in a particular sphere ⇒ a brand-new edition of this filmgoers' bible.

27a   Neglected /and/ treated with contempt outside university (7)

28a   Quantity of beer /to give you/ such a belly? (3-4)

Such^[5] is used in the sense of to so high a degree or so great (often used to emphasize a quality) ⇒ (i) autumn’s such a beautiful season; (ii) she is such a competitor. Along the same lines, one might say his six-pack is such a belly.

Down

1d   Gut feeling about a // cut of meat (6)

A haunch^[5] is the leg and loin of an animal, especially a deer, as food ⇒ haunch of venison.

2d   Glitter /of/ attraction bringing in Scot in need of company (6)

3d   Flower for display /in/ corner (10)

Buttonhole^[5] is a British term for a flower or spray worn in a buttonhole on the lapel of a jacket.

4d   Beat // most of the nick (5)

Nick^[5] is an informal British term meaning to steal ⇒ she nicked fivers from the till.

Scratching the Surface
I have no idea what—if anything—the surface reading of this clue means.

5d   Treasury -- // 'Former inspector reported' (9)

An exchequer^[5] is a royal or national treasury ⇒ an important source of revenue to the sultan’s exchequer.

Her Majesty's Treasury^[7] (HM Treasury), sometimes referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is the United Kingdom government department responsible for developing and executing the British government's public finance policy and economic policy. The Cabinet minister responsible for the Treasury department is known as the Chancellor of the Exchequer^[7] (equivalent to the role of Minister of Finance in Canada or Secretary of the Treasury in the US). In recent times, the position has come to be the most powerful office in British politics after the Prime Minister. Historically, the Chancellor carried responsibility for the Exchequer, the medieval English institution for the collection of royal revenues.

6d   No head for accounts // problems (4)

7d   Native /of/ Crimea struggling with a name (8)

The definition here would seem rather tenuous. In any sense of the word, not all natives are American, nor are all Americans natives.

Native^[5] is a (1) a person born in a specified place or associated with a place by birth, whether subsequently resident there or not ⇒ a native of Montreal, (2) a local inhabitant ⇒ New York in the summer was too hot even for the natives or (3) a dated or offensive term for a non-white original inhabitant of a country, as regarded by European colonists or travellers ⇒ he led an expedition to New Guinea and was wounded by a native’s spear.

8d   What comes from geezer, you might say, /is/ trouble (3,5)

While the words geezer and geyser do not have the same pronunciation in North America, they do in Britain with both being pronounced GHEE-zah—as you can hear for yourself by comparing the British and American pronunciations at TheFreeDictionary.com (geyser, geezer).

What did they say?
In their review the 2Kiwis (who happen to be New Zealanders) comment In our part of the world it would not be a homophone for geezer that supplies the answer but we know that folk in the Northern Hemisphere do treat these as homophones. I would point out that this pronunciation is a British trait—not one applicable to the Northern Hemisphere.

13d   Person going on // about mad bloke on telly? (10)

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".

Telly^[5] is an informal British term for television ⇒ (i) there’d been a cowboy film on telly; (ii) a black-and-white telly.

The box^[5] is an informal, chiefly British term for television or a television set ⇒ we sat around watching the box.

15d   Thought // strange -- at home with date off (9)

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

16d   One won't strike, except daughter /gives/ the case for a weapon (8)

17d   Gives new life to // friends after endless panic (8)

In Britain, mate^[5] is an informal term (1) for a friend or companion ⇒ my best mate Steve or (2) used as a friendly form of address between men or boys ⇒ ‘See you then, mate.’.

19d   Part of Africa /that sees/ doctor embraced by earth mother (6)

In Britain, the degree required to practice medicine is a Bachelor of Medicine^[7] (MB, from Latin Medicinae Baccalaureus), which is equivalent to a North American Doctor of Medicine (MD, from Latin Medicinae Doctor). The degree of Doctor of Medicine also exists in Britain, but it is an advanced degree pursued by those who wish to go into medical research. Physicians in Britain are still addressed as Dr. despite not having a doctoral degree. 

In Greek mythology, Gaia^[5] (also Gaea or Ge) is the Earth personified as a goddess, daughter of Chaos. She was the mother and wife of Uranus (Heaven); their offspring included the Titans and the Cyclops.

Gambia^[5] (also the Gambia) is a country on the coast of West Africa; population 1,778,100 (est. 2009); capital, Banjul.

20d   Lightning // flash? (6)

23d   Safe haven /from/ love unaltered (5)

For the meaning of love, see 25a.

24d   When collecting theologian // makes a contribution (4)

Doctor of Divinity^[7] (abbreviation D.D. or DD, Divinitatis Doctor in Latin) is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects. In the United Kingdom, Doctor of Divinity has traditionally been the highest doctorate granted by universities, usually conferred upon a religious scholar of standing and distinction. In the United States, the Doctor of Divinity is usually awarded as an honorary degree.

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