Wednesday, September 23, 2015 — DT 27777

Puzzle at a Glance

Puzzle Number in The Daily Telegraph DT 27777
Publication Date in The Daily Telegraph Thursday, April 16, 2015
Setter RayT (Ray Terrell)
Link to Full Review Big Dave's Crossword Blog [DT 27777]
Big Dave's Crossword Blog Review Written By Kath
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

RayT is in a rather benign mood today.

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   Remarkably // gruff about pressure mounting (12)

"pressure" = P (show explanation )

In physics, the symbol p^[5] is used to represent pressure.

hide explanation

8a   Record one hit? Hard /to produce/ commemoration (7)

"record" = EP (show explanation )

EP^[10] (abbreviation for extended-play) is one of the formats in which music is sold, usually comprising four or five tracks.

hide explanation

"hard" = H (show explanation )

H^[5] is an abbreviation for hard, as used in describing grades of pencil lead ⇒ a 2H pencil.

hide explanation

9a   Plug fitter /for/ electrical accessory (7)

11a   Song embodying unending territory // somewhere in the USA (7)

In music, an aria^[5] is a long accompanied song for a solo voice, typically one in an opera or oratorio.

12a   Showing off curves, // former wife caught in liaison (7)

13a   Caught then time's /in/ pens (5)

"caught" = C (show explanation )

On cricket scorecards, the abbreviation c.^[2,10] or c^[5] denotes caught or caught by.

In cricket, similar to baseball, one way for a batsman to be dismissed is to be caught out^[5], that is for a player on the opposing team to catch a ball that has been hit by the batsman before it touches the ground.

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Scratching the Surface

Unless I am missing something, the surface reading of this clue would seem to be pretty rough. I do not see how "time's" can be either a contraction of "time has" or a possessive. Therefore, it must be a contraction for "time is" making the sense of the clue be "Caught then time is in pens". Perhaps this is intended to convey the idea that some people or animals are caught and placed in pens for a time. Still, I don't find the surface reading very meaningful. The surface reading would seem to have made more sense without the apostrophe.

14a   Well satisfied by the compiler's empty excuses // occasionally (9)

"compiler's" = IM (show explanation )

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.

Today, the setter has made the scenario slightly more complicated by combining "compiler" with the verb "to be" producing "compiler's" (a contraction of "compiler is") which must be replaced by "I'm" (a contraction of "I am").

hide explanation

16a   Ravel's including unlimited brio /for/ instruments (9)

Scratching the Surface
The surface reading alludes to French composer Maurice Ravel[5] (1875–1937). His works are somewhat impressionistic in style, employing colourful orchestration and unresolved dissonances. Notable works: the ballets Daphnis and Chloë (1912) and Boléro (1928) and the orchestral work La Valse (1920).

19a   One attempts // to rake in extra readies initially (5)

Scratching the Surface
Ready[5,10] or the ready[10] (also called readies or the readies) is an informal British term for ready money[5,10] (also called ready cash), funds for immediate use or, in other words, available money or cash. To a Brit, the clue would connote  One attempts to rake in extra spare cash initially.

21a   Adult support facing very big // fitting (7)

"adult" = A (show explanation )

The A (Adult) certificate is a former film certificate^[7] issued by the British Board of Film Classification. This certificate existed in various forms from 1912 to 1985, when it was replaced by the PG (Parental Guidance) certificate.

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"very big" = OS (show explanation )

The sizes of clothing that North Americans would describe as plus-size^[7] (or often big and tall in the case of men's clothing) would be called outsize (abbreviation OS^[5]) in Britain.

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23a   Mine/'s/ topical preparation (7)

24a   Clue's 'Single by Queen, // rockier' (7)

"Queen" = ER (show explanation )

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.

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25a   On fire after explosion, consuming new // fire (7)

26a   Stellar // tail arcs incredibly around spinning moon (12)

Down

1d   Unwell below decks, finally // at sea (7)

2d   Concerned with a relative's // motives (7)

3d   Drill // catches in concrete (9)

4d   Personnel // removed from post affected (5)

5d   Scoff inside shelter /for/ most organised (7)

6d   Element // illuminated with buzz holding current (7)

"current" = I (show explanation )

In physics, I^[5] is the symbol for electric current. 

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Lithium^[5] is the chemical element of atomic number 3, a soft silver-white metal. It is the lightest of the alkali metals. (Symbol: Li)

7d   Defiant // bluster undermining cleric at broadcast (12)

10d   Enrolment /of/ American soldier in support, helping (12)

"American soldier" = GI (show explanation )

A GI^[5] is a private soldier in the US army ⇒ she went off with a GI during the war.

Contrary to popular belief, the term apparently is not an abbreviation for general infantryman, but rather derives from the term government (or general) issue (originally denoting equipment supplied to US forces).

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15d   Mother love in separation /producing/ pleasure from pain (9)

"love" = O (show explanation )

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.

Although folk etymology has connected the word with French l'oeuf 'egg', from the resemblance in shape between an egg and a zero, the term apparently comes from the phrase play for love (i.e. the love of the game, not for money).

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17d   Breaks in // rugby strip which is damaged outside (7)

"rugby" = RU (show explanation )

Rugby union^[10] (abbreviation RU^[5]) is a form of rugby football played between teams of fifteen players (in contrast to rugby league^[5], which is played in teams of thirteen).

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Irrupt means to break or burst in^[3] or enter somewhere forcibly or suddenly^[5] ⇒ (i) the boys irrupted into the kitchen; (ii) absurdities continually irrupt into the narrative.

Scratching the Surface

In the surface reading, strip[5] is a British term denoting the identifying outfit worn by the members of a sports team while playing [in North American parlance, a uniform] ⇒ the team’s away strip is a garish mix of red, white, and blue. Breaks in[10] may have been intended in the sense of to use or wear (shoes, new equipment, etc) until comfortable or running smoothly. However, that does not really jive with the final clause "which is damaged outside". Thus "breaks" might refer to damage to the rugby strip, although I think one would be more apt to characterize damage as "rips" or "tears" rather than "breaks".

18d   Tack over on jetty /getting/ more nimble (7)

Nippy^[5] is an informal British term meaning:

1. able to move quickly; nimble ⇒ a very nippy scrum half [rugby player]; or
2. (of a motor vehicle) able to accelerate quickly ⇒ the new Saab is very nippy and jolly safe when overtaking.

19d   Providing force in truck lifting // vehicles (7)

"force" = F (show explanation )

F^[5] is a symbol used in physics to represent force.

hide explanation

The vehicle that is known in North America as a truck^[5] would commonly be called a lorry^[5] in the UK [despite the fact that Oxford Dictionaries Online defines a lorry as being a truck and a truck as being a lorry]. In this clue, truck is used in the sense of a low flat-topped trolley used for moving heavy items.

20d   Noble, not having a // chance (7)

I am not convinced that chance and imperil are synonyms. Chance^[5] means to risk ⇒ they chanced a late holiday, while imperil^[5] means to put at risk ⇒ they advised against tax increases for fear of imperilling the recovery — which to my mind, at least, are quite different concepts.

22d   Father seen with woman, ultimately // she's seductive (5)

In Greek mythology, a siren^[5] is a woman or winged creature whose singing lured unwary sailors on to rocks. In modern usage, a siren^[5] is a woman who is considered to be alluring or fascinating but also dangerous in some way.

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